Chapter V
Concerning praying, and faith in prayer, for performance of promises purely
spiritual. A division of spiritual promises into three sorts. A discussion
concerning absolute promises. How this maxim is to lie understood, that
absolute promises are to be absolutely sought by us. With what manner of faith in prayer any soul may deal with God for the performance of those
promises.
Promises purely spiritual are such as purely concern our salvation. There are three sorts of promises that concern salvation.
1. Such as are absolutely absolute, absolutmima ; that are absolute
indeed, primo primes ; such are all those immediate declarations of God s
purposes to save, and all such promises as hold forth so much of the covenant of grace: Jer. xxxi. 33, I will write my law in their hearts. Which promises God makes without respect had to any prerequisites at
all in men, as unto which he should have respect in his making those pro mises ; which God is so far from, that in those promises he undertakes to
perform the conditions.
2. A second sort of promises are absolute in this sense, that they express a certainty of performance of them, but yet do suppose prerequisite quali fications first wrought by God, and a continuation thereof ; and though not
for which, yet as upon which, and not without which first wrought, they are
ever performed to any. The qualifications are such as faith and repentance, &c., which do at first put a man into a state of grace, according to that of the apostle, speaking of faith, Whereby we have access into the grace wherein we stand, Rom. v. 2. They are such promises as these :. Whoso ever believeth hath eternal life, and shall never perish, John iii. 16, and John xviii. 36 ; He that believeth shall never die, John xi. ;
* They shall never enter into condemnation, John v. 24. Unto this sort belong all
promises of perseverance, and of giving the possession of salvation in the
latter end of our lives ; and these, because of the certainty of the perform ance, though made unto such and such qualifications, I do call secondarily absolute.
3. There is a third sort of promises belonging to salvation, which I call
aditional promises, as those that are made of giving more or less degrees of grace, and of preserving a man through his whole course from falling into gross sins, and of giving joy and peace in believing, joy unspeakable and full of glory, and peace which passeth understanding. These I call
additional to salvation, because they belong but to the bene esse, to the
better being of a Christian, and yet have salvation in them, as the apostle s word is ; i.e., they belong to salvation, but not absolutely to the esse or
being of a believer, as such, or as without which he is not a believer, and
shall not be saved ; whereas those two former are essential to salvation itself, without which none is or can be saved.
According to this division of promises, I shall first shape this general division of answers to the point in hand, viz., how we are to act faith about each of these promises, and to manage our prayers about any of them.
452 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [PART II. BOOK III.
1. As to that third and last sort of additional things and promises of
salvation, they are those that are the occasions and matters of the greatest
complaints amongst Christians. We pray indeed for such and such graces, and holy dispositions, &c., but we find no more performance of them than we do in temporals ; and this causeth a great discouragement, scruple, and
sadness, rising even unto this, that God therefore answereth not our prayers at all, and that therefore we pray not in faith.
2. As to the second sort of promises, which I call secondarily absolute,
they being of the essence of salvation, and the final possession thereof
being annexed unto the qualifications of faith, &c., first wrought ; a be
liever that sees, and spiritually perceives the qualifications wrought in
himself, may further by a faith of certainty believe and pray for the per formance thereof. He withal must diligently attend unto a continuing in
that faith and mortification of lusts, &c., which are to be the consequents of the first faith wrought, to the end to obtain such promises. For even
such promises are uttered with an if; thus it is said, that we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence to the end, Heb. iii. 14 ; and such is that promise of Christ,
* He that endures to the end shall be saved ; and such is the contrary threatening of the apostle,
1 If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die ; but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live, Rom. viii. 13. So as hypo-
thetically it may be said, that if those that have true faith once, should not
continue and exercise to do those things throughout the future course of
their lives, they would certainly perish. But yet because God hath
absolutely undertaken, without ifs or ands, to keep and to preserve them
out of his faithfulness, and to sanctify them oXoreXs/j, which word imports
finally and totally (as his promise is, 1 Thes. v. 23), therefore believers may
pray absolutely, that is, with a belief of certainty, for the performance of
those promises, and God s continuing to preserve them to the end.
. 3. But, thirdly, as to that first sort of absolute promises and declarations, which I call most absolute, there is in experience found (as well may be
thought), some difficulty in the thing itself, how a man may apply his faith
thereto, whether in an absolute way, or how ? and consequently, how he may make use even of such promises in praying, and wind them into his
prayers, and pleas for his salvation, by virtue of them.
There is a trite and common maxim passeth up and down (but I fear is
not so well understood by all), viz., that spiritual promises and things being
absolute, therefore all men are bound to pray absolutely, or with a faith of
certainty about them. And the supposed grounds for this are,
(1.) That faith in us being to be answerable to the matter and nature of
the promise, and the things therein promised, therefore if the promise be
absolute, then the faith ought to be absolute, and then as absolute a pray
ing for them in such a faith ought to be also ; and that absoluteness of
faith required of all in praying for them, is understood to be a faith of
certainty, or assurance that they shall absolutely, that is, certainly, obtain them.
(2.) A second supposed ground is, that this is a commonly received
difference between temporal promises and spiritual ; that the temporal are to be prayed for conditionally, &c., and so with an it may be, therefore
oppositely all spiritual promises, and the performance of them, are to be
prayed for absolutely, without any if or it may be. And hence men think,
that every man is bound to seek for these with such an absolute faith as is
certainly persuaded they shall obtain, although a man cannot assure him
self the like of temporals. Here I judge it conducible to the point afore us,
CHAP. V.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 453
to consider how that common maxim is to be understood, as in relation unto our prayers about absolute promises.
1. Let no man deceive himself that these are called absolute promises, as if God would save men without those qualifications mentioned wrought in them. Let not any man imagine that he should seek for salvation
absolutely, thinking that though he should want those qualifications, yet he should obtain it. No ; for some of those very promises instanced in, are to work the very conditions themselves, and are thereby differenced from the covenant of works. I may absolutely say, as the apostle doth in my text, without those qualifications, Let no man think to receive anything of salvation from the Lord ; for without true faith and holiness, which are
a part of writing the law in our hearts, no man shall see or be accepted of
God, Heb. xii.
2. The matter in those absolute promises, which is salvation itself, and
the qualifications promised to be wrought, are absolute indeed in this sense, that they are things of an absolute necessity, as to man on his part ; mark
that. Both the things themselves are necessary, and that every man should seek after them for himself also is necessary.
(1.) The things are of absolute necessity. Christ calls them, as most
interpret that speech, that one thing necessary; and in this sense indeed, in respect of the kind of absolute necessity of them, these spiritual promises are rightly distinguished from temporals, which do not contain matters of
absolute necessity. It is not necessary to have honours, riches, pleasures, which yet are the materials of many promises ; but to be saved is, for the man is destroyed else. So as the things are of absolute necessity to every man.
(2.) Thereupon it is of as absolute necessity, for every man to seek for
* Work out your own salvation, Philip, ii. 13; of which working, there spoken of
the accomplishment of them to himself, for it is his own salvation :
in the general, this of a man s seeking to God by prayer is one great part. It is an argument of sufficient cogency that is couched in that clause, your own salvation. And thus, and in this sense, in respect to man, these
things, I confess, are absolutely necessary.
(3.) But then, thirdly, we must take in God s part too, whose mind in such promises is, that although the matter of these promises be most abso
lute every way, yet as to the tenor of them, that is, the declaration of them, as to the persons to whom he intends them, so they are utterly indefinite, that is, are intended but for some, and not to all men universally ; which
is manifest in this, that God doth not write his law in the hearts of all men, as we see in common experience, and which the apostle would have us observe in saying, All men have not faith. Hence, therefore, it comes
to pass, that though all men ought, out of their own necessit}
, to put in
for a share and interest in the things therein promised, yet as necessarily, I say, it doth fall out, that in the first puttings forth of faith towards such
promises, none can or must think to set out with a full persuasion, or an
absolute faith, as in this argument and upon this occasion I term it, that
they shall obtain, as if they were infallibly certain that their individual
persons were absolutely intended by God in those promises. No ; and the reason is, because evidently they are not universal promises, and therefore men cannot, nor must not, at first dash, or at their first entrance into faith, believe that they are elected, or be assured of their personal interest in such
promises. No ; but all they are capacitated to do, in point of believing at
first, is, to comply with the indenniteness of the promise, by a faith that is
suitably indefinite as to their persons, whereby, though not knowing of a
454 Of THE OBJECT AND ACTS [PART II. BOOK III.
certainty they are the persons, they yet cast themselves upon God and
Christ, to be made partakers of the salvation promised therein. The pro mises being made to some (and who knows or can tell, but God may be
gracious to me ? as I have elsewhere shewn), they wait on him to find the
accomplishment.
And then indeed, after a soul hath exercised these indefinite acts of faith,
turning therewith and thereupon unto God with its whole heart, then indeed
believers may come to be assured, with a faith answering to, and corre
sponding with, that certainty which is found in that second sort of promises,
which I have termed secondarily absolute. They endeavouring to believe, or to enter into that rest, as the apostle speaks, Heb. iv., if they find that
in doing so, they arrive at true spiritual faith and sound repentance, and
that in the event these actings of both prove to be such, then indeed they may be assured of their personal interest in, and God s intendments of their
particular persons therein, because then they find that God hath wrought the qualifications in them, according to his promises and declarations in those first sort of promises made, unto which qualifications salvation is
absolutely, that is, certainly, annexed ; and by those qualifications thus
wrought, their persons are set forth and declared to be those whom God, in the first sort of promises, had indeed intended. But until these qualifi cations be wrought, or whilst they are but in the working, and a man s heart under the anvil, or but in hammering thereunto, or whilst they are not discerned by themselves to be in them, they can but apply themselves with a faith suitable to that tenor in which God hath on his part uttered
(as in respect of persons) in those his most absolute promises, which, as
to persons, are but indefinite. And to be sure, if we will deal with God, we must treat with him according to his own way and manner of revelation. For it is from him we are to have our salvation made over to us, and there
fore this application of faith must be suited to the tenor of the promises ;
it must be even an indefinite faith (as I may call it), in respect unto a man s own personal interest, yet with a firm cleaving unto God, and to the good things promised, to obtain them through a casting ourselves upon him, though we be not assured we are the persons who shall infallibly obtain
(for the event must shew that), and yet we are, as in respect of our pursu ance after the salvation promised, to seek for it, out of the same necessity that a man condemned to die doth seek for his life. And the parallel between the case of such a one and of this other holds very much alike. For if a king should declare his absolute purpose and intention to be to
pardon some in such or such a rebellion, but says not whom, though he
declares withal he will be sought unto in such an humble and submissive manner (as he himself will be the judge of) by them that shall obtain that
pardon. In this case those that sue for it, not knowing whom he intends
personally, nor whom he will judge to seek it in that manner he desires, they in their seeking cannot be absolutely, that is, certainly assured they shall find grace ; and yet they pursue it out of an absolute necessity as to themselves. And so the case falls out to be oftentimes in souls that seek
for salvation, I judge some difference may be found in these two cases,
yet in this main they are alike, for many believers, though true, yet do
not, nor cannot a long while, judge or discern in themselves, whether they seek and apply themselves to God with such an unfeigned faith as the word describes and God requires, so as they are enforced, and yet enabled by God to seek him by such a faith, as the event must prove whether it be true or no ; and yet they make a venture of a believing, and of a turning unto God (as the consequent of that faith), submitting unto God, and leav-
CHAP. V.] or JUSTIFYING FAITH. 455
ing it for him to judge of, and to give them the Spirit whereby to discern
the truth of it.
Lastly, To move and stir up all men to come to God with such an inde
finite act of faith, God makes an universal promulgation of these promises, though they shall be accomplished but in some persons, that men may be
assured that they shall be most certainly fulfilled unto some that thus lay hold on them, and so they are universally made known. He would have
the promulgation of them to be universal, to the intent that every man that
hears them, finding himself nowhere excluded, and withal not knowing but he may be one of those some who shall have those things promised fulfilled
in him and upon him, may thereupon (and he ought to do so) apply him
self to God by acts of believing, and to prayer for his particular attainment.
2. We shall now consider with what manner of faith, and level of such
faith in prayer, any sort of soul may treat with God for the performance of those absolute promises. To the end I may assign to every one their
right and due elevation of faith in prayer, about absolute promises, I must
necessarily set out the several climates that all or any believers are brought
into, or do live in ; and according to the elevation of their faith must their
applications in prayer necessarily be supposed, and accordingly measured
forth to be.
The several elevations of believers are these :
(1.) The first elevation is of such as are in ipso articulo, vel apice conver-
sionis, upon the point of believing in God and Christ for salvation, and
who, through that faith, are turning to God, and have been humbled for
sin, &c., without which no man will come to Christ. I plainly mean those
that are now to put forth a first act of saving faith, having never done it
before, which was the case of the jailor, Acts xvi. 30, 31, What shall I do to be saved? said he; Believe in the Lord Jesus, said the apostle. And as everything must have a beginning, so every one that is saved must have a first beginning to believe.
(2.) The second sort are such as have had (and that perhaps for some
time) a true faith already wrought in them, and some fruits thereof in the
course of their lives. They are such as have truly come to God through Christ for salvation, and from the first putting forth of faith have also con
tinued to pray, and to seek for salvation at the hands of God, and yet,
through God s dispensations towards them, are kept under, without pre
vailing assurance that they are or shall be saved, although withal there be some lesser degrees of hopes growing up towards assurance, that are added
to, and do accompany their faith more or less.
(3.) The third sort is of those that have triumphant assurance of salva
tion, whether obtained by experience of their own graces, and manifold gra cious dealings of God with them, or further by a superadded immediate
testimony of the Spirit, by whom the love of God is shed abroad in their
hearts immediately, beyond all those experiences. You have both in Rom. v. , where it is first said experience breeds hope, that is, an assurance (in which sense the word hope is there used in 1 John iii. 2, 8), and then fur
ther, that the love of God, which is shed over and above immediately into
the heart by the Holy Ghost, breeds a hope or assurance beyond what
experience gives, which he there calls a hope which maketh not ashamed ;
no, not in respect of the continuance of that assurance in our hearts.
Now as touching this last sort, of such as have personal assurance of
faith, there is not, nor can be, no difficulty how either their faith should come
to close with such absolute promises mentioned, or how they may take such
promises into their prayers. And as touching the first and second sort,
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there is often found small difference in the attainments of their faith, they being fain to live mostly upon a mere act of adherence and recumbency, without additional comfort. I shall therefore speak to both in a notion common to both, which is the consideration of men wanting prevailing assurance.
1. There is this general rule, that whatever degrees or actings of faith
in any of these mentioned are to be allowed unto true faith, the prayers also that are put up in such a faith must be allowed to be a praying in faith to
all intents and purposes, which therefore shall be accepted of God, and shall obtain and have power with God (as the phrase used of Jacob is) for what the man prays for. And the reason is clear ; for if the faith be such as wherewith God is well pleased, as the apostle s aphorism of it is, then cer
tainly the prayer put up, though but according to the proportion and eleva
tion of that faith, must be accepted as a praying in faith also. And the
proof of this is from what the apostle says in treating of saving faith, Rom.
x. 15, where he so nearly links faith and prayer together, and makes them of so like an extent in regard of obtaining salvation itself, as evidently shews the truth of this maxim ; and to that end he brings together two things sometimes far remote in place one from the other : speaking of each singly,
first, he speaks for faith, Whoever believes on him shall not be ashamed, ver. 11; secondly, he speaks for prayer, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved ; and this conjunction of each one with the other, and his prescribing the same influence for salvation unto each, doth plainly hold forth there three things
(1.) That true faith from the first sets a man upon prayer for what his
faith aims at, which was his own case during the first three days of his con version : Behold he prays, says Christ, Acts ix. 11, for now he had begun to believe.
(2.) Such prayers out of that faith do obtain salvation, which is the matter there spoken, and is the great aim of faith at first.
(3.) He speaking this of faith in prayer in general, and so of all the
degrees thereof, and accordingly of all praying out of all, or any such de
grees of faith as a man hath attained, therefore all such praying out of that
faith which he hath, is accepted to obtain. And my ground for this is, that the apostle utters those speeches of faith and prayer in the general, Whoever believes, ver. 10, and Whoever shall call on the name of the
Lord, &c., and therefore means that all and any of them that do believe, and do call upon the name of the Lord, with whatever degree of true faith, shall be accepted according to the degree of faith in prayer. And in verse 11 (which is the middle between them two sayings), you have this reason of it given, For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, whether out of a strong or weak faith, whether out of a faith of recum
bency to obtain, or assurance that they shall obtain, which accords with what our apostle says, He giveth liberally to every one that prayeth in
faith, I add by way of explanation to both, be the faith of what degree and elevation whatever.
2. A second maxim or rule is this, Upon these, and such like general dictates of the Holy Ghost, I may warrantably conclude, that so as a man s
faith in all these three several conditions fore-mentioned doth rise, so far a man s praying in those degrees of his faith, or his putting forth faith in
prayer, will rise also. The stream never riseth higher than the fountain, but so far it will. A man can but pray with that faith which he hath, and his prayer shall be accepted according to what he hath, agreeable to that assertion of the apostle, 2 Cor. viii. 12, It shall be accepted
CHAP. V.J OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 457
according to what a man hath, and not according to what a man hath
not. So that as the apostle speaks of God s judging men at latter
day, that those that are without law shall be judged by what light and
power they had without the law, and those that have sinned living under
the law shall be judged by the law, and the light and power they had there from (and in like manner they by the gospel that had the light of it, and
all in their due proportions), so I may say of praying in faith, he that prays in faith of bare recumbency without assurance, shall by that faith obtain what he prays for without assurance ; and he that prays with some hope
ful trust of obtaining, though not rising up to full assurance, which is some
times the case of the second condition, he shall obtain according to the measure of his faith, although short of full assurance. In short, I may say of them all, as Christ did, Be it unto you according to your faith.
OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS OF JUSTIFYING
FAITH.