By late REV. MATTHEW HENRY.
A tract printed by the Religious Tract Society, 1882.
THE good work which we are here taught to do by the example of David, is, in one word, to pray; a duty dictated by the light and law of nature, which plainly and loudly asks, should not a people seek their God? But for which the gospel of Christ gives us much better instruction and encouragement, than that which nature furnishes; for it tells us what we must pray for, in whose name we must pray, and by whose assistance. It invites us to come “boldly to the throne of grace,” and to “enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” That throne of grace is always open; humble suppliants are always welcome, and cannot come unseasonably. If we look inward, and can say by experience, that God has prepared our hearts; we may look upward, and say with confidence, that He will cause His ear to hear: Notwithstanding the distance between earth and heaven, and our great unworthiness of any notice or favour, yet God hears our voice, and will not turn away our prayer, or His mercy.
So the promise is, John xvi. 23; and its truth is sealed by the concurring experience of the saints in all ages, ever since man began to call upon the name of the Lord.—Prayer is the lifting up of the soul to God; yet as far as the expression of the devout affections of the heart by words, may be of use to fix the thoughts, and to excite and quicken the desires, it is good to draw near to God, not only with a pure heart but with an humble voice.
Yet, He requires that by prayer we solemnly pay our homage to Him, and give honour to His name, that by this act and deed of our own, thus frequently repeated, we may strengthen the obligations we lie under to observe His statutes, and keep His laws, and be more and more sensible of their weight. “He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him;” that by frequent humble adorations of His perfections, a constant humble compliance with His will may become the more easy. For by doing obeisance, we learn obedience.
We all have something to ask of God every day. Many are not sensible of this, and it is their sin and misery. They live without God in the world; they think they can live without Him, and are not sensible of their dependance upon Him, or of their obligations to Him.
But I trust we can come to God daily as a friend we love and have freedom with: Abraham is called the “friend of God,” and “this honour have all his saints.” Christ says, “I have not called you servants, but friends; His secret is with the righteous; we are invited to acquaint ourselves with Him, and to walk with Him, as one friend walks with another; the fellowship of believers is said to be with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
God speaks to us as a friend every day, by His written word, in which we hear His voice, by His providence, and by our own conscience. When He says, “Seek ye my face,” should we not answer from our hearts, as to one we love, “Thy face Lord will we seek.” When He says, “return ye backsliding children,” we should readily reply, “behold we come unto Thee, for Thou art the Lord our God.” If He speaks by way of correction or reproof, we should answer by confession and submission. If He speaks by way of comfort, we ought to reply in praise. We should come to God, as a Master we serve, and have daily business with. Think how numerous our concerns are with God, and you will readily acknowledge that we have much to say to Him. We have constant dependance on Him, all our expectation is from Him; we have constant dealings with Him; “He is the God with whom we have to do.” Heb. iv, 13.
Do we not know that our happiness is bound up in His favour? It is life; the life of our souls; and have we not business with God, to seek His favour, to intreat it with our whole hearts, to beg as if for our lives, that He would lift up the light of His countenance upon us, and to plead the righteousness of Christ, as that only plea through which we can hope to receive the loving kindness of God?
Do we not know that we have offended God, and by sin have made ourselves obnoxious to His wrath, and that we are daily contracting guilt? Have we not then to confess our fault and folly, to ask for pardon in the blood of Christ, in Him who is our peace, to make our peace with God, and in reliance on His strength to go and sin no more?
Do we not know that we have daily work to do for God, and our own souls, the work of the day, that is to be done in its day? Ought we not then to beg of God to shew us what He would have us do; to direct us in it, and strengthen us for it? to seek to Him for assistance and acceptance; to work in us both to will and to do that which is good?
Do we not know that we are continually in danger? Our bodies are so, our life and comfort. Have we not business then with God, going out and coming in, lying down and rising up, to put ourselves under the protection of His providence? Our souls are in great danger: it is that, our adversary the devil, a strong and subtle adversary, wars against and seeks to devour; should we not then go to God, to put ourselves under the protection of His grace, that, clad with His armour, we may be able to withstand the wiles and violences of Satan?
Do we not know that we are dying daily: that death fetches us to judgment, and that judgment fixes our everlasting state? shall we not say, Lord, make us to know our end! Lord, teach us to number our days! that we may be so enabled to judge ourselves, that we be not judged?
Have we not business with God, as members of that body whereof Christ is the head; as living members have we no intercession to make for His church, for Zion, for Jerusalem, for the peace and welfare of the land of our nativity?
Have we no relations, no friends, who are dear to us, in whose joys and griefs we share? Have we nothing to say to God for them? No complaints to make, no requests to make known? Now if we have all this to say to God, let not distance hinder us. It need not; for though it is true that God is in heaven, and we upon earth, yet He is nigh to His praying people, in all that they call upon Him for; He hears their voice wherever they are. David says, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee” (Ps. cxxx, 1). “From the ends of the earth I will cry unto thee” (Ps. lxi, 2). In all places we may find a way heavenward. Thanks be to Him, who, by His own blood, has “consecrated for us a new and living way into the holiest.”
Let not fear hinder you from saying what you have to say to God. Such are His compassions to humble suppliants, that even His terror need not make them afraid. It is against the mind of God that you should frighten yourselves; for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, by which you are brought into this, among other of the glorious liberties of the children of God. Nor is this all, we have an advocate with the father. Did ever children want an advocate with a father? But that, by those two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation; we have not only the relation of a father to depend on, but the interest and intercession of an advocate; a high priest over the house of God, in whose name we may approach with confidence.
It is true all your desire is before God; He knows your wants and burthens, but He will know them from yourself: He has promised relief, yet we must plead His promise, and He will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them (Ezek. xxxvi, 37). Though we cannot give Him information, yet we must by prayer give Him honour, and help to put ourselves into a frame of mind fit to receive mercy. How easy and reasonable a condition is this of His favours; ask, and it shall be given unto you. No other business should prevent our saying what we have to say to God. It is not necessary to our happiness that we should be rich or great in the world, but it is absolutely necessary that we should be at peace with God, obtain His favour, and keep ourselves in His love; and the closer we keep to prayer, and to God in prayer, the more will all our affairs prosper. The word of God must be the guide of our desires, and the ground of our expectations in prayer; nor can we expect He should give a gracious ear to what we say to Him, if we turn a deaf ear to what He, in Scripture, says to us.
As you say you have frequent occasion to speak to God in prayer, you are concerned to grow in acquaintance with Him, to take heed of doing anything to displease Him, and to strengthen your interest in the Lord Jesus, through whom alone it is, that you have access. And in every prayer remember you are speaking to God, and make it appear that you have an awe of Him upon your spirits. Let us not be rash with our mouth, nor hasty to utter anything before God, but we must speak from the heart heartily, for it is for our lives and for the lives of our souls we pray. Let not self be the spring and centre of your prayers, but God; let the eye of your soul be fixed upon Him, as your highest end in your applications to Him; let this be your design in all your desires, that God may be glorified. Our Saviour has plainly taught us this, in the first petition of the Lord’s prayer, “Hallowed be thy name.” In that we fix our end, and other things are desired in order to that. Prayer is directed to the glory of God, in all whereby He has made Himself known, the glory of His holiness; and it is with an eye to the sanctifying of His name, that we desire, that His kingdom may come, His will be done, and that we may be fed, kept, and pardoned. An habitual aim at the glory of God, is that sincerity which is our gospel perfection; that single eye, which where it is, the whole body, the whole soul, is full of light.
We must look up after our prayers, as those who, having referred themselves to God, are easy and well pleased, and, with an entire confidence in His wisdom and goodness, patiently wait the event. We must observe, what returns God makes to our prayers; we must look within us, and observe what the state of our minds are, after we have been at prayer, if satisfied in the will of God, and disposed to accommodate ourselves to it. We must observe how Providence works concerning us; that if our prayers are answered, we may return thanks: if not, to remove any hindrances, and continue waiting. “Thus we must sit ourselves upon our watch-tower to see what God will say to us” (Heb. ii, 1); and ready to hear (Ps. lxxxv, 8). “Expecting that God will give us an answer of peace.” Thus we must keep our communion with God, and trust, that when we lift up our hearts to Him, He will be pleased to lift up the light of His countenance upon us.
The Morning Prayer
The particular time fixed by David, for this good work, is the morning. Let that be one of our hours of prayer. Every Christian should pray in secret; and every master of a family with his family, morning by morning. The morning is the first part of the day; and it is fit that He that is first should have the first, and be the first served. A heathen could say, “Whatever you do, begin with God.” Wisdom has said, “Those that seek me early shall find me”; early in their lives, early in the day; for hereby we give to God that which He ought to have, the preference above other things. Hereby we shew, that we are careful to please Him, to approve ourselves to Him, and that we seek Him diligently. David expresses the strength and warmth of his devotion, when he says, in Psalm lxxiii, 1, “O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee.”
Worshipping God is work that requires the best powers of the soul, when they are at the best; and it well deserves them; how can they be better bestowed? “Let all that is within me bless His holy name”; and all little enough. When our spirits are refreshed, and have gained new vigour, then let us stir up ourselves to take hold on God.
In the morning we are most free from company and business, and, in general, have the best opportunity for solitude and retirement. It is the wisdom of those who have much to do in the world, and have scarce a minute to themselves all day, to take time in the morning, before business crowds in upon them, for the business of their religion, that they may be entirely for it, and therefore the more intent upon it.
Our Lord Jesus has set us an example of this, who, because His day was wholly filled up with public business for God and the souls of men, rose up in the morning a great while before day, and went out into a solitary place, and there prayed (Mark i, 35).
In the morning we have received fresh mercies from God, which we are concerned to acknowledge with thankfulness to His praise. He is continually doing us good, and loading us with His benefits, and every day we have reason to bless Him; for every day He is blessing us.
Have we had a good night, and ought we not to return thanks for it? How many mercies concurred to make it a good night. Distinguishing mercies granted to us, but denied to others. Many have not where to lay their heads; our Master Himself had not. “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head”; but we have houses to dwell in, quiet, peaceable habitations, perhaps stately ones. Many have beds to lie on, yet dare not, or cannot lie down in them, being kept up either by the sickness of their friends, or the fear of their enemies. But we have laid us down, and there has been none to make us afraid; no alarms of the sword, either of war or persecution. Many lay them down and cannot sleep, but are full of tossings to and fro, until the dawning of the day, through pain of the body, or anguish of mind; but we have laid us down and slept without any disturbance: our sleep was sweet and refreshing, the pleasant parenthesis of our cares and toils. Many lay them down and sleep, and never rise again; they sleep the sleep of Death: But we have slept and waked again; have rested, and are refreshed, because the Lord sustained us. Have we a pleasant morning? have we clothes to wear, change of raiment, not for necessity only, but for ornament? we have them from God. Are we in health and ease? Have we been long so? We ought to be as thankful for a constant series of mercies as for particular instances of it. Perhaps we have experienced some special mercy to ourselves or our families, in preservation from fire or thieves; for dangers we have been aware of, and for many more unseen, all call aloud upon us to own the goodness of God.
In the morning we have fresh cause for adoration of the greatness and glory of God. We should notice, not only the gifts of God’s bounty to us, they are narrow souls that confine their regards to them; but we ought to observe the more general instances of His wisdom and power, in the kingdom of providence, which redound to His honour and the common good of the universe. We have also the word of God to converse with, and a portion of it should be read every morning. By that God speaks to us, and in it we ought to meditate day and night. If God in the morning, by His grace, directs His word to touch our hearts, that will engage us to direct our prayer to Him.
In the morning we begin the work of the day, and are therefore concerned by prayer, to seek for the presence and blessing of God. We come, and are encouraged to come boldly, to the throne of grace; not only for mercy to pardon what has been amiss, but for grace to help in every time of need. And, therefore, what morning should pass without morning prayer? We read in Ezra iii, 4, of that which the duty of every day requires; and, in reference to that, we must go to God every morning, to pray for the gracious disposals of His providence concerning us, and the gracious operations of His Spirit upon us.
If we have families to look after and provide for, let us every morning, by prayer, commit them to God, put them under the conduct and government of His grace, and then we effectually put them under the care and protection of His providence. Holy Job rose up early in the morning to offer burnt-offerings for his children; and we should do so, to offer up prayers and supplications for them. Thus we cause a blessing to rest on our houses. If we go about the business of our callings, let us first look up to God for wisdom and grace, to manage them well in the fear of God, and to abide with him in them. If we have journeys to go, let us look up to God for His presence with us; and go to no place where we cannot in faith beg of God to go with us. We have perhaps a prospect of opportunities of doing, or getting good; let us look up to God, for skill, for will, for courage to improve them, that it may not be as a price in the hand of a fool. Every day has also its temptations, some of which perhaps we foresee; but there may be many more of which we think not; and should therefore be in earnest, in prayer to God, that we be not led into any temptation, but guarded against all; that whatever company we come into, we may have wisdom to do good, and no hurt to them; to receive good, and no hurt by them.
We know not what a day may bring forth; little think in the morning what tidings we may hear, or what events may befall us before night; and should therefore beg of God, grace to carry us through the duties and difficulties which we do not foresee, as well as those we do; that in order to our standing complete in all the will of God, as the day is, so the strength may be. We shall find, that sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof; and that therefore, as it is folly to take anxious thoughts for the events of to-morrow, so it is wisdom to take thought to the duty of to-day; that sufficient unto this day and the duty of it, may be the supplies of divine grace, thoroughly to furnish us for every good word and work, and thoroughly to fortify us against every evil word or work, that we may not think of, speak, or do anything, all the day, which we may have cause upon any account to wish unthought, unspoken, and undone again at night.
Thus make conscience of your secret worship, keep it up; not only because it is a custom received by tradition from your fathers, but because it is a duty, concerning which you have received commandment from the Lord. Keep up stated times for it, and be true to them. Let all who have hitherto lived in the total neglect, or in the frequent omission of secret prayer, be persuaded from henceforward to look upon it as the most needful part of their daily business, and the most delightful part of their daily comfort. God looks not at the length of your prayers; nor shall you be heard for much nor fine speaking; but He requires truth in the inward part, and it is the prayer of the upright that is His delight. And when you have prayed, look upon yourselves as thereby engaged and encouraged, both to serve God and to trust in Him, that the comfort and benefit of your devotions, may not be as the morning cloud which passeth away, but as the morning light which shineth more and more unto the perfect and eternal day.