TWO PLEAS Satan hath to cheat the Christians of their seasons of prayer 3/5

[1.] See whether thou hast not been tampering with some sin knowingly. There is an antipathy betwixt sinning and praying, partly from guilt, which makes the soul shy of coming into God's sight, because conscious of a fault. The child that hath misspent the day in play abroad, steals to bed at night, or plays least in sight, for fear of a chiding, or worse, from his father. And also there is this antipathy between those two lines of acting, as the same doth roil and disorder the heart. Sin and prayer are such contraries, that it is impossible at one stride to step from one to another. It is an ill time when the fountain is stopped or muddied, to go to draw water thence. If the workman’s tools be blunt or gapped, no work an be well done till a new edge be set on them. It is the devil's policy thus to disturb and unfit the Christian for duty that he may leave it undone. And therefore, let thy first care be to keep the fountain of thy heart clear all the day long, as remembering that from it those holy affections which in prayer thou art to pour forth to God must be drawn. Look thou lendest not any power of thy soul to be Satan's instrument in sin’s coarse foul work, lest thou find it out of case when thou art to use it in this spiritual service. A good servant will not have her dishes or pots foul when they should be used, but stand clean and bright upon the shelf, to be ready against they are called for. And so is the true Christian characterized. ‘If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work,’ II Tim. 2:21.

But again, if thou findest guilt to be contracted and thence a fear to come so nigh God, as this duty will bring thee, yea an estrangement also upon thy heart from this work, thy best way is to speedily to renew thy repentance, and so thy faith both for pardoning mercy and purging grace. New breaches are made up better than long quarrels; green wounds healed easier than old sores; spots washed out sooner when newly got than when ingrained by long continuance. Ply thee to the throne of grace. Water the earth, if thou canst, with thy tears, and fill heaven with sorrowful sighs for thy sin; but by no means shift off the duty on this pretence; for that is not the way to mend the matter, but make it worse. Jonah did ill to consult his credit rather than the exaltation of God’s mercy; and how he should come honourably off with this embassage, than how the name of the great God his Master that sent him might be magnified. But he did worse than these sinful thoughts stirred in him—which he should have humbled himself for—made him run away from his Master’s work also. Thus, Christian, it is ill done of thee to make a breach in thy holy course by tampering with any sin; but thou wilt commit a greater if thou turnest thy back on God also in that ordinance where thou shouldst humble thyself for thy former sin. Can one sin be a good argument for committing another? Thou hast fallen into sin in the day; wilt thou not therefore pray at night? Surely it were better to beg of God forgiveness of this, and more grace, that thou mayest not do the like or worse to morrow. Neglect of duty is not the way to help thee out of the pit thou art in, nor keep thee from falling into another. Take heed thou runnest not thyself further into temptation. Now is the time for the devil to set upon thee, when this weapon is out of thy hand. The best thou canst look for is a storm from God to bring back thee, his runaway servant, to thy work again. And the sooner it comes, the more merciful he is to thee.

TWO PLEAS Satan hath to cheat the Christians of their seasons of prayer 2/5

(2.) Indisposition of heart. O but, secondly, thou mayest say, It is not the sickness of thy body, but the deadness of thy heart, and indisposition of thy soul, that keeps thee from duty. Thou wouldst fain have that in a better frame, and then thou wouldst not be long a stranger to it.

Answer (a). Let me ask thee, Christian, what thou hast found—in the observation of thy own heart—to be the fruit that hath grown from such put offs and excuses;—hath neglect of duty at one time fitted thee for it at another? I believe not. Sloth is not cured with sleep, nor laziness with idleness. If our leg be numb, we walk, and so it wears off. Satan knows if thou playest the truant to day thou wilt be more loath to go to school tomorrow. Give the flesh a little scope and liberty by thus unlacing thyself, and it will endure less to be straitened afterwards. There is something to do to bridle a wanton beast, when hath got the bit once out of his mouth. The spouse’s coat sat very easy on her back, and unwilling no doubt she was to be stripped; but when once, by a wile of Satan, she was persuaded to put it off, how loath was she then to get it on again! And therefore, whenever you are turning from this or any other duty merely upon this account, consider well what is like to fol-low. One of these two will come of it. Either thou wilt see thy sin, and return with shame and sorrow for thy neglect. And is it not less trouble to pray now than upon such terms afterwards? A heathen could say, ‘He would not sin to buy repentance.’ And shouldst not thou have more wisdom to know which is a bad bargain for thy soul than he? Or, if not that, it will follow, secondly, that this neglect will beget another, and that a third, and so thou wilt run further in arrears with thy conscience, till at last thou givest over all thoughts of renewing thy acquaintance with God because thou hast discontinued it so long.

Answer (b). Examine from whence this present indisposition comes, and probably thou wilt find reason to charge it either upon some sinful miscarriage in thy Christian course, or on thy neglect of those preparatory means through which thou art to pass into the performance of this duty.

TWO PLEAS Satan hath to cheat the Christians of their seasons of prayer 1/5

1. The Christian’s present indisposition to prayer. 2. Some worldly business that then stays to be despatched.

1. Plea. The Christian’s present indisposition to pray. ‘Stay, Christian,’ saith the tempter, ‘till thou art in a better temper for duty, and thou wilt pray to more purpose. Better not write that scribble—leave the work undone, than go about it when thy hand is out.’ Now there is a double indisposition, which both Satan and the flesh make use of to colour their pretence with.

(1.) Indisposition of body. Some distemper lies on at present on that, and Scripture, say these, tells thee God loves mercy rather than sacrifice. And it cannot be denied but the Scripture will reach as far as the body, for God’s commands are not cruel to it.

Answer. But, to help thee out of this snare, tell me plainly, how great is this distemper of thy body? Haply thou art not so ill but thou canst go about thy worldly business, though with some groans and complaints in the same. But when thou shouldst pray, then thy head aches and shoots more than be¬fore. Art thou well enough to go into thy shop, and not to pray in thy closet? Canst thou waddle so far as to the market, and not pray at home? Canst thou overcome thy distemper so far as to traffic with the world, and not to trade with heaven? Surely all is not right. God is but little beholden to thee. May not God say, I deserve thy company as well as the world? But, suppose thou beest right-down sick, and quite laid up from meddling in thy worldly employments; yet, will this excuse thee from visiting the throne of grace? God takes thee out of the shop to show thee the way into the closet. He knocks thee off thy worldly trade, that thou mayest follow thy heavenly the more close. Thou art not, indeed, able to pray in a continued discourse as in health. Neither doth God expect it. Here that Scripture, which the devil would have thee abuse, is pat, and suitable to thy present state: God loves mercy rather than sacrifice. Yet now, if ever, is the time for thee to shoot those jacula præcatoria—darts of ejaculatory prayer to God. When our body breathes shortest, it breathes quickest and oftenest. Though thou canst not pray long, yet thou mayest pray much in these pathetical sallies of thy soul to heaven. The Christian should have his quiver full of these arrows, which, though short, go with a force. Christ never prayed more earnestly than in his agony; which prayer was of this nature, ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt,’ Matt. 26:39. And after a little pause—for nature to take some breath, by reason of that unspeakable burden which then lay upon it—he shoots the same dart again to heaven thrice, one after another, ver. 44. In a word, Christian, though thou canst not pray as thou wert wont, yet thou canst desire others to pray for thee and with thee. We are bid to send for the elders, yea and beg prayers of others too. So pitiful is God to us, that when, through our own weakness, we are disabled from delivering our own conceptions in prayer, that then we may bring forth as Bilhah on others’ knees. When we cannot go ourselves as we were wont to the work, we may be carried on the shoulders of their prayers, and fly on the wings of their faith to heaven.

Satan keeps from prayer, through present indisposition to it.

         Third Stratagem.  Satan and the flesh too have their dil­atory excuses to take thee off this duty, when thy stated usual time comes about for the perform­ance of it.  Dost thou never, Christian, when thou art addressing thyself to the throne of grace, hear Satan and thy flesh whispering in thine ear, ‘Christian, what art thou going to do?  This is not a fit time for thy praying.  Stay for a more convenient season.’  Here the devil seems modest.  He saith not, Pray not at all, but ‘not now’—not dissolve, but ‘adjourn’ the court for a fitter time.

         Answer.  Now beware, Christian, thy foot is near a snare.  If thou takest the devil’s counsel, and waitest for his convenient season, may be it will prove like Felix’s ‘convenient season’ for calling Paul to a fur­ther hearing; which, for aught we find, never came about.  When the flesh or Satan beg time of thee, it is to steal time from thee.  They put thee off duty at one time, on a design to shut thee out at last from this duty at any time.  The devil is a cunning sophist; he knows a modest beggar may sooner obtain the little he asks, than he that saucily asks that which carries more unreasonableness in the request.  Jephthah, who yielded to his daughter’s desire for a few months reprieve, would, it is like, not have heard her had she begged a full release from her father’s vow.  A gracious soul is under a vow to call upon God.  He knows such a motion would be flung back with the saint’s abhorrency upon his face, should he at the first dash bid him never pray more, and wholly leave his acquaintance with God.  Therefore he would seem very willing he should pray.  ‘Aye! by all means,’ saith he, ‘I would not have you turn your back on your best friend; but now is not so fit a season.’

Satan keeps from prayer by undervaluing the Christian’s gift for it

         Second Stratagem.  ‘O but,’ saith Satan, ‘thou hast no gifts for prayer.  Leave that for them that can perform this duty after a better fashion.’

         What meanest thou by ‘gifts?’  If a rowling, flow­ing tongue which some have, whereby they are able on a sudden, with a long-continued discourse, to run over all the heads of prayer in a clear method, and clothe every petition with apt and moving expres­sions, we will suppose thou hast not this gift.  But, God forbid that want of this should keep thee from praying, or make thee go the less comfortably to the duty.  The want of these, show only thou hast not so good a head, but doth not the least hinder thy heart to be as gracious as theirs. And better of the two, that the defect should be found in thy head than in thy heart.  Thy invention indeed in prayer by this will be more barren, but thy heart may be as fruitful over the few broken disjointed sentences that by piecemeal fall from thee, as theirs with their eloquent oration.  Thy language will not be so trim and gaudy but thy soul and spirit may be as sound yea more upright, than many of those will be found who charm the ears of those that join with them by the music their words make.  It is possible a man may have a rotten body under a gorgeous suit; and sub hâc purpurâ linguæ pannosam conscientiam—under the bravery of language a poor ragged conscience.  Who had not rather be the healthful man in plain clothes, than unsound and diseased under rich apparel?—sincere with mean gifts, rather than rotten-hearted with raised parts.  We do not count him the best patriot in the parliament—house that plays the orator, and makes more rhetorical speeches than others, but he that takes with the best side, and whose vote is sure not to be wanting to carry on a righteous cause.

         It is not the rhetoric of the tongue, but the hearty ‘amen’ which the sincere soul seals every holy request withal, that God values; and this thy honest heart will help thee to do, which his head cannot do for him that wants this sincerity. It is not the fairness of the hand that gives the force to the bond, but the person whose hand and seal it is.  If it could, a scriv­ener might make all the country his debtors.  Gifts may make a fair writing—which the hypocrite can do—but faith and sincerity make a valid prayer; and this alone can lay claim to the good things of the promise.  In a word, sincere soul—for so I take thee to be—and if such, though thou hast not these praying gifts as others, yet thou hast as much interest in Christ, the ‘unspeakable gift,’ II Cor. 9:15, as any of them all.  And, for thy everlasting encouragement, know, it is not those gifts in them, but this gift of God to thee and all believers, which is the key that must open God's heart, if any mercy be got thence.  Yea, this gift must sanctify their glistering gifts, as the altar did the gold upon it, or else they will be an abomination to the Lord.

Satan’s designs against prayer

Now Satan’s designs against prayer are of three kinds.  First. If he can, he will keep thee from prayer.  If that be not feasible, Second. He will strive to interrupt thee in prayer.  And, Third. If that plot takes not, he will labour to hinder the success and return of thy prayer.

Satan strives to keep from prayer

First Design.  Satan’s first design upon the Christian will be to keep him from prayer.  To effect this he wants not his stratagems; many objections that he will start, and discouragements he will throw in thy way to this duty; hoping that if thou stumblest not at one, yet he may make thee fall by another, and be sick of thy enterprise before thou settest upon it.  And, which is worst, thou wilt find a party in thy own bosom too ready to listen to what he saith, yea, to take up his arguments and maintain the dispute against thy engaging in this work.  We shall pick up a few among many, and put an answer into thy mouth against he comes.

Satan keeps from prayer by charging the Christian with hypocrisy.

First Stratagem.  ‘What! thou pray!  If thou dost, thou wilt but play the hypocrite; and better not pray at all, than never the better!’  Nay, possibly thy own misgiving heart may suggest the same, or at least so far credit his charge, as to make thee waver in thy thoughts what thou shouldst do—pray or not.  Now, to arm thee against this, consider,

1. Thou art but afraid thou shouldst play the hypocrite, if [you] pray; but thou wilt certainly prove thyself an atheist if thou dost not.  And that is it which he would have.  I hope thou art wiser than to neglect a known duty upon a jealousy thou hast of miscarrying in it; to lie down in a known sin—yea, so broad a one as brands him for an atheist that contin­ues in it—for fear of meeting a lion, may be but a bugbear, in the way of thy obedience to an indispens­able command.
2. Thou art in the less danger of playing the hypocrite, because of thy fear.  Some bodily diseases indeed are caught with a fear and fancy.  He is most like to have the plague or pox that fears most he shall have them.  But none are so safe from sin as they that fear the falling into it most.  The truth is, I would desire no better argument to prove thee sincere than this—to fear thy hypocrisy.  Believe it, if this be the great trouble of thy soul, the devil hath more reason to fear thy sincerity than thou thy hypocrisy.  And in all likelihood this it is that makes him to scare thee from prayer—because thou scare him so much by thy praying.  If thou wert a hypocrite, as he pretends, himself would invite thee to it; yea, make a lane for thee, rather than that thou shouldst not come to the work; and when thou art risen from thy knees, he would thank thee for thy pains, because he knows God would not.  The hypocrite does him more service than God.  You do not believe, sure, that the devil was any great enemy to Jezebel's fasting.  Nay, I doubt not but he put it into her head, that she might thereby mock both God and man.  Her fast was the devil’s feast.  But,

3. If thou findest more cause to fear thy playing the hypocrite than I who am a stranger to thy heart have reason to do—who indeed can know so well how thy own heart beats as thyself?—I say, if thou fearest this be the sin which is most likely to make a breach upon thee in thy duty, do as Moses, who slew the Egyptian to rescue the Israelite—destroy the sin, that thou mayest rescue thy soul from the neglect of a duty.  Thou hast a very fair advantage, by the intel­ligence God graciously gives thee whence thy danger is most likely to come, of falling on thy enemy, and taking the fuller revenge on him, before thou settest about the work of prayer.  Get but thy heart into a hatred of this odious sin, and fixed resolution against it, and, with God’s blessing, it shall neither be able to hurt thee, nor hinder thy prayer from finding wel­come with God.

Exhortation to saints to abound in prayer

         Use Second.  To the saints.  Be you provoked to ply this oar more diligently than ever.  If this be neg­lected, a universal decay of all your graces follows.  When the ports and havens of a kingdom are blocked up, that the merchant can not go forth, there follows a damp on all the inland trade, so that an enemy needs not strike a stroke, but only stand still to see them eat up one another.  The psalmist tells of a stream which ‘makes glad the city of God,’ Ps. 46:4. The promise is this stream, upon which the saints have all their livelihood brought up to their very doors.  If this be kept open, Satan cannot much distress them; which then is done, when they can send out their prayers on this stream to heaven.  But if once this trade be stopped, then they are hard put to it.  It is observed of our neighbours the Nether­lands, that whereas other nations used to be made poor by war, they have grown rich with it; because, with their wars, they have enlarged their trade and traffic abroad.  And if thou, Christian, wouldst thrive by all thy temptations, thou must take the same course.  Whatever thou dost, starve not thy trade with heaven.  God hath—to make thee more diligent in this duty—so ordered things, that all the treasure of the promise is to be conveyed to thee in this bottom of prayer.  This is like the merchant’s ship, it ‘bringeth her food from afar,’ Prov. 31:14.  If thy mer­cies were of the growth of thy own country, thou mightest spare a voyage to heaven.  But alas! poor creature, when thou art best laid in, and thy store­house fullest, if no foreign supplies should come unto thee from heaven, how soon wouldst thou be brought, with the poor widow, to eat thy last cake and die!  It was not her little meal in her barrel, nor oil at the bottom of her cruse, but God’s blessing multiplying them, that make them hold out so long.  So, not thy present grace, strength, or comfort, but God's feeding these with a new spring, that thou must live upon. Now cease praying, and the oil of grace will cease running: ‘Ye have not, because ye ask not.’  And when the store is spent the city must yield.  As thou wouldst not therefore fall into Satan’s hands, lose not thy interest in God, thy best ally, for want of preserving a good correspondence with him at the throne of grace.

         Now, for the better pursuit of this exhortation, some counsel would not be amiss in order to thy driv­ing this trade of prayer more successfully.  Satan hath received so many shameful overthrows by the saints’ prayers, that he trembles at the force of this great ordnance of heaven.  This is the voice, the mighty voice of God in his saints, which shakes those moun­tains of pride, divides the flames of fiery temptations, and makes them cast forth their abortive counsels to their shame and disappointment.  ‘O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness,’ II Sam. 15:31.  This one prayer made both Ahithophel a fool, and him that set him on work also—defeating the wisdom both of man and devil. Satan hath such an impression of dread upon him—from the remem­brance of what he hath suffered from the hands of prayer—that he will turn every stone, and try every way, to obstruct thee in it.  ‘What do we,’ said the Pharisees concerning Christ, ‘for this man doeth many miracles?...if we let him thus alone, the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.’ Satan cannot deny but great wonders have been wrought by prayer.  As the spirit of prayer goes up, so his kingdom goes down.  It is of the royal seed. He can no more stand before it than falling Haman before rising Mordecai.  And therefore, seeing this is like to do thee such great service against him, it be­hooves thee the more to defend it from his strata­gems.  Because the great artillery of an army is so useful to it, and formidable to the enemy, therefore it hath a strong guard set about it.