XCII. CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES IMPROVED IN PRAYER. Heb. xiii. 20, 21. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. PRAYER is that which alone gives energy to our endeavours The means best calculated to do good will fail without it The Christian has recourse to it on all occasionsSt. Paul affords us in this, as in every thing else, a good example He begins and ends almost every epistle with prayerIn discoursing on this comprehensive prayer, we shall I. Explain it The apostle's mind was much occupied in meditating upon God He here represents the Deity in a most glorious view We are first told what God is to us [God under the Old Testament was called "the Lord of hosts". In the New, he is represented as "the God of peace"- He feels nothing but love towards those who believe- " He has brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus" [This exercise of the Father's power is of infinite import ance to us If Christ had not been raised, our hopes had been vain3— But God raised him up that we might have a well-founded hopeb And this consideration encourages us to approach him—] a 1 Cor. xv. 17. b 1 Pet. i. 21. He has constituted Christ" the great Shepherd of his sheep" [God's people are like a weak and timid flock But he has appointed his own Son over them Christ, as their Shepherd, watches, feeds, heals them, &c. The appointment of such a Shepherd is a wonderful token of God's love-] He, in both these instances, has had respect to "the blood of the everlasting covenant" [In the eternal covenant the Son undertook to humble himself, and the Father pledged himself to exalt his Son"Christ in due time sealed this covenant with his own blood The Father also now remembered his part of the covenantHe had regard to his own engagements, when he raised up his Son, and constituted him our head-] Thus the apostle represents God as a gracious, almighty and faithful God With this view of the Deity his benevolent heart is expanded— He enlarges his desires on behalf of the believing Hebrews The sum of them is, that they might be "perfect" [Absolute perfection was not to be expected But the will of God was to be the rule and reason of their duty The extent of their duty was, "every good work" without exception For the performance of it he desires that God would "fit them"f And that he would "work in them" by his Spirit, as the means whereby they might perform it— The end he proposes is, that they might "please" GodAnd, that their services might be accepted "for Christ's sake"-] To this devout wish he adds an ascription of praise [He can scarcely ever mention Christ, but in terms of adoration He has been speaking of Christ as the head of the church, and as the author of our acceptance with God— e Isai. xl. 11. Ezek. xxxiv. 16. d Isai. liii. 10. 1 Καταργίσαι. He now breaks forth into a tribute of praise to himSurely every one will add, "Amen," to his doxology-] Such being the import of his prayer, we shall II. Improve it The prayer before us is replete with sublime instruc tion There are two things in particular which we ought to learn from it 1. The true use of evangelical principles [Many represent the doctrines of the gospel as mere objects of speculation But in reality they lie at the root of all vital godlinessThey afford us the only sure directory for an acceptable approach to God How can we venture to draw nigh to God, unless we have some view of him as a God of peace?— Or how can we hope for acceptance with him, if we do not trust in the mediation of our risen Saviour, and in the covenant which he ratified with his own blood?— Certain it is that no man can come to God in his own name, and that there is no name but that of Christ which will prevail for the obtaining of any blessings at God's hands Moreover, they afford us the only effectual motives for devoting ourselves to his service All other motives, whether of hope or fear, are found ineffectual for the making of our hearts right with God But what will not a sense of redeeming love effect? A view of God as reconciled to us in Christ, and of Christ as our living Head and Advocate, will constrain us to live to his service and glory"— Hence then we may see why the apostle introduced so much of Christian doctrine into his prayer He knew that such a view of the Deity was necessary to the acceptance of his prayers; and that, while it encouraged our hopes, it would stimulate our exertions, to obtain the object which he prayed for Let us then cultivate the knowledge of Christian principles in order to the enjoyment of Christian privileges, and to the practice of Christian duties-] 2. The proper aim of all that embrace them [Though the world often calumniate the principles of the gospel as licentious, they expect eminent sanctity from all that profess them 8 Acts iv. 12. 2. Cor. v. 14, 15. But however high they raise their expectations, they still fall short of the scriptural standard of our duty If we cannot attain absolute perfection, we should never contentedly stop short of it Let us then make, not the practice of others, but the "will of God" the rule of our conduct— Let us seek not to advance our own honour or interests, but to" please God" in all things Let us desire, both for ourselves and others, to be pure as God is pure, and "holy as God is holy”— And if the world condemn us for our singularity and preciseness, let us "endure the cross and despise the shame"] XCIII. THE CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLECTING PRAYER. Isai. Ixiv. 7. There is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us. MAN is encompassed with dangers from which no human foresight can deliver him He is oppressed with wants which no creature can supply It is to God that he must look for the blessings which he needs But he is naturally so averse to prayer, that he will bear all his own burthens rather than apply to God for relief On this account it is that so many faint under their afflictions And this was the ground of God's controversy with his people I. The nature of prayer Prayer is represented in the Scriptures by a variety of expressions It is here set forth under the idea of "calling upon God" a It should be translated "therefore." Bp. Lowth. [Petitions, either with or without a form, are not worthy the name of prayer, if they be unattended with a devout spirit Prayer is a work of the heart rather than of the lips It supposes that we feel our wants, desire to have them supplied, and believe that God is able and willing to relieve them-] It is also described as a "taking hold of God" [God has set himself, as it were, before us in the promises There we may lay hold on him by faith We may address him as the patriarch of old— And this is the mean prescribed by God for the obtaining of his blessings—] It is further called a "stirring up of oneself" to lay hold on God [It is no easy thing to gain access to God in prayer— We engage in it for the most part with much reluctanceOur thoughts wander, ere we are aware, and in spite of our endeavours to fix them We seem to lose the accustomed energy of our mindsWe need again and again to stir up our sluggish hearts-] When we consider the duty in this light, we shall see reason to lament II. The general neglect of it Many live entirely without prayer [They are wholly occupied with worldly concernsThey are not sensible of any spiritual wants They rely on their own industry for temporal advancementThey acknowledge not before God either their sins or their necessities Others only occasionally lift up their hearts to heaven [They will cry under the pressure of some heavy affliction But they resemble those spoken of by the prophete Like metal from the fire they soon return to their former hardness After some signal deliverance too they will praise GodBut, like the Israelites, they will soon forget his mercies-] Some will maintain with constancy an external regard to this duty b Gen. xxxii. 26. e Hos. vii. 14. e Isai. xxvii. 5. f Ps. lxxviii. 34-37. d Isai. xxvi. 16. |