The Return of Prayers

Sir,

God, who from all eternity hath had an infinite mass of grace and glory lying by him, to bestow upon his Church: and did accordingly provide a treasury and magazine sufficient wherein to store up all, the bosom of his Son: in whom are hid riches so unsearchable as cannot be told over, much less spent to all eternity.

He hath as richly shed his Holy Spirit on us: that we, who could never have known of anything be-Eph.iii,

ttXov-
(xicos.
Tit. iii.

VI

THE EPISTLE

queathed us, nor what to pray for as we ought, might both, fully from him know all that God hath given us; and through him lay claim thereto, who maketh intercession for us, and so doth furnish us with a privy key to all that treasury, which otherwise, is fast shut up to all the world.

Through which spirit of prayer, and supplications thus poured forth, believers come to be at once anointed to the fellowship, and execution of those three glorious offices of Christ their head. Not only of priests, by offering up their prayers, as spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ: but of kings, to rule with God; Hos. ii. 12. Being hereby made of privy council to the King of kings, so as their councils, and desires expressed in their petitions, are said to be fulfilled; and their decrees in their prayers made, ratified, and established. Nay, further, by virtue of this privilege, advanced to such height of favour, as by their strength in prayer alone, to have power with God himself; and not only with him, but also over him; and in their wrestlings to prevail. Yea to command: himself hath said it; thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his maker. Ask of me, of things to come, concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me, Isai. xlv. 11, which so transcendent privilege of power, is, by the express words of this great charter, universally extended unto all transactions, of this

Psal. XX.
4.5.

Job xxii.
27, 28.

Hos. xii.
3.4.

THE EPISTLE

Matt. vi.
10.

lower part of his dominions; whether ecclesiastical, which do concern his sons, that is, his Church: or whatever other, the more ordinary works of his hands, that belong to common providence.

And forasmuch as these grand affairs of this his kingdom, as future, and to come, are commended to their prayers, as their most proper subject, about which they are to treat, Ask of me of things to come: in this respect, they do become as truly prophets also: though not in so full and complete, yet in some kind of true resemblance; not by foretelling, yet by forespeaking in their prayers, things that come to pass. God, who made and upholds this world, and all things in it, by the word of his power, doth likewise rule and govern it, by the presidents, and prescript rules, of the word of his will: exactly dispensing unto men, both rewards and punishments, according to the tenor of some or other of his promises and threatenings, and former like proceedings therein recorded: though with such various liberty, in respect of the particulars, that his ways remain unsearchable and past finding out: that look as he appointed in the heavens, those ordinances of the sun, moon, and stars, by their light, heat, and motion, to rule the day and nighty to divide, and cause the several seasons of the year, and all the changes and alterations that do pass over this animal and natural world: in like manner hath he stretched out, that so exceeding

Psal. XXV.
20.

Ps. cxix.
96,

Ps. xix.
1, 2. compared
with Rom.
X. 18.

broad expanse of his word and law, (to which the Psalmist doth assimulate it) over this rational world of angels and men; and therein set his statutes and his judgments, that by the light of precepts, and their influences in rewards and punishments, they might order and direct these his creatures reasonable, and all their actions; also dispose and set out all the issues of them. And seeing his saints they are a people in wJiose hearts is Ms Law; and their delight is to meditate therein both day and nighty they daily calculating and observing the various aspects, conjunctions, and mixed influences of those innumerable precepts, promises, and threatenings, which themselves and others, nations or men, stand under; and by a judgment thence resulting, so far as they have attained, endeavouring to frame their supplications and petitions according to God’s will: hence their prayers oft, full happily succeed, and aforehand do accord, to those issues and events, that afterwards fall out. That like as the earth comes to be just under the sun and moon, in some of their conjunctions; so their desires and prayers, sometimes in a direct line fall under, and subordinate ly concur with God’s secret purposes, and some revealed promise met in conjunction, to produce such and such effects. The Spirit also, herein helping their in firmitieSi sometime so guiding and directing them, by a gracious pre-instinct, though unbeknown to them, to pitch their requests upon such

J6r.viii.7.

Is. xxxvii.
2, 3, 4.

Zep. ii. 2.

particulars, as God hath fully purposed to bring to pass; becoming thereby, as it were, the spirit of prophecy unto them; respectively, in some measure and degree.

Thus doth that great King employ his nearest servants, as his under officers and sheriffs, to serve his writs and executions upon his enemies, to execute the judgment written in his threatenings, Psal. cxlix. 9, and to accomplish his mercies written also, by suing out all the promises; to be as man-midwives (as Hezekiah’s allusion, when he sent a visiting to the prophet Isaiah, for his voice and suffrage, seemeth to import) to help and assist his promises and decrees in their travail with mercies and deliverance, when these their children do come unto the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.

In all which they shall therefore have the honour to be accounted co-workers together with God in his greatest works of wonder. And at the latter day, when that great and last edition, both of all God’s works and likewise ours, then complete and finished, shall be published to all the world, they shall find their names put to them, together with his own; and the same by him acknowledged to be as truly the works of their hearts and prayers as that they are the sole work of his hands and power. Such honour have all his saints.

And if all the works of God are so exceeding great, and his thoughts therein so very deep that every iota

Psal. xcii.
5.

Ps. xxvii.
6.

Mic. vii.

of them doth deserve our deepest studies and intentions, and thereunto require a proper skill and wisdom, to read his hand, peculiar unto the saints, ver. 6, whereunto there must be adjoined the most diligent search and attentive observation, to find out his meaning in them; and withal a special inclination and delight to be conversant therein. Thy works are very great, sought out of those that have pleasure in thenii Psal. cxi. 2. And if, of all the rest, those choicer pieces, his works of mercy, may challenge our best regard; in which his heart and delights are most; on which his wisdom hath laid on the richest workmanship, in the most curious contrivements of his love. Then surely that selected volume of more special mercies (his Epistles) vouchsafed in answer to our prayers, is above all other most exactly to be studied, and most diligently to be perused by us. Wherein God doth unbosom himself, and lay open his heart more sweetly, more familiarly unto us, which are directed, and in a manner dedicated more particularly unto ourselves alone: many of them written with his own hand, in a more immediate manner discovered and appearing in them: and all of them come sealed with the impress of everlasting love, and down laden with the enclosure of the most precious tokens of his special favour. Whoso is wise, will observe these things, and they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. Neither have such favours only

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