(2.) God manifests his acceptance of their prayers, by answering them, by doing for them agreeably to their needs and supplications. He not only inwardly and spiritually discovers his mercy to their souls by his Spirit, but outwardly in his providence, by dealing mercifully with them in his providence, in consequence of their prayers, and by causing an agreeableness between his providence and their prayers.

I proceed now,

II. To show that it is eminently the character of the true God, that he is a God that hears prayer. This appears in sev eral things.

1. In his giving such free access to him by prayer. God in his word manifests himself ready at all times to allow us to come to him. He sits on a throne of grace; and there is no vail to hide this throne, and keep us from it. The vail is rent from the top to the bottom; the way is open at all times, and we may go to God as often as we will. Although God be infinitely above us, yet we may come with boldness. Heb. iv. 14, 16. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in, time of need." How wonderful is it that such worms as we should be allowed to come boldly at all times to so great a God!

Thus God indulges all kinds of persons, of all nations, Jews or Gentiles. 1 Cor. i. 2, 3. "Unto all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours; grace be unto you," &c. God allows such access to all of all ranks; none are so mean but that they may come boldly to God by prayer. Yea, God allows the most vile and unworthy; the greatest sinners are allowed to come through Christ. And God not only allows, but encourages, and fre quently invites them; yea, God manifests himself as delighting in being sought to by prayer. Prov. xv. 8. "The pray er of the upright is his delight;" and in Cant, ii, 14, we have Christ saying to the spouse, “O my dove, let me hear thy

voice; for sweet is thy voice." The voice of the saints in prayer is sweet unto Christ; he delights to hear it.

The freeness of access by prayer that God allows them, appears wonderfully in his allowing them to be earnest and importunate; yea, to that degree as to take no denial, and as it were to give him no rest, and even encouraging them so to do. Isa. lxiii. 6, 7. "Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest." Thus Christ encourages us, as it were, to weary God out by prayer, in the parable of the importunate widow and the unjust judge, Luke xviii. at the beginning. So, in the parable of the man who went to his friend at midnight, to borrow three loaves, Luke xi. 5, &c.

Thus God allowed Jacob to wrestle with him, yea, to be resolute in it. God allows men to use, as it were, a violence and obstinacy, if I may so speak, this way; as in Jacob, who, when God said, "Let me go," said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." So it is spoken of with approbation, when men are violent for the kingdom of heaven, and take it by force. Thus Christ suffered the blind man to be most im portunate and unceasing in his cries to him, Luke xviii. 38, 39. He continued crying, "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Others who were present rebuked him, that he should hold his peace, looking upon it too great a boldness, and an indecent behavior towards Christ, for him thus to cry after him as he passed by. But Christ himself did not rebuke him, though he did not cease at the rebuke of the people, but cried so much the more. Christ was not offended at it, but stood and commanded him to be brought unto him, saying, "What wilt thou that I should do to thee?" And when the blind man had told him, Christ graciously granted his request.

The freedom of access that God gives in prayer, appears also in allowing us to come to him by prayer for every thing we need, both temporal and spiritual, whatever evil we need to be delivered from, or good we would obtain. Phil, iv. 6. "Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and

supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

2. That God is eminently of this character, appears in his hearing prayer so readily. He often manifests his readiness to hear prayer, by giving an answer so speedily, sometimes while they are yet speaking, and sometimes before they pray, when they only have a design of praying So ready is God to hear prayer, that he takes notice of the first purpose of praying, and sometimes bestows mercy thereupon: Isa. lxv. 24. "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." We read, that when Daniel was making humble and earnest sup plication to God, God sent an angel to comfort him, and assure him of an answer, Dan, ix. 20....24.

And when God defers for the present to answer the prayer of faith, it is not from any backwardness in God to answer, but for the good of his people, sometimes that they may be better, prepared for the mercy before they receive it, or because another time would be the best and fittest time on some other account. And even then, when God seems to delay an answer, the answer is indeed hastened, as in Luke xviii. 7, 8. "And shall not God avenge his own elect that cry unto him, day and night, though he bear long with them? I tell you, that he will avenge them speedily." Sometimes, when the blessing seems to tarry, God is even then at work to bring it about in the best time and best manner: Hab. ii. 3. "Though it tarry, wait for it; it will come, it will not tarry."

3. That the Most High is eminently one that hears prayer, appears by his giving so liberally in answer to prayer: James i. 5, 6. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask it of God, who giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not." Men often show their backwardness and loathness to give to those who ask of them, both by the scantiness of their gifts, and by upbraiding those who ask of them. They will be sure to put them in. mind of these and those faults, when they give them any thing; but, on the contrary, God both gives liberally, and upbraids us not with our undeservings, when he gives.

God is plenteous and rich in his communications to those who call upon him. Psal. lxxxvi. 5. "For thou art good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all that call upon thee;" and Rom. x. 12. "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”

Sometimes God not only gives the thing asked, but he gives more than is asked. So he did to Solomon, 1 Kings iii. 12, 13. “Behold, I have done according to thy words: Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any rise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee, all thy days." Yea, God will give more to his people than they can. either ask or think, as is implied in that, Eph. iii. 20. “Now, unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think."

4. That God is eminently of this character, appears by the greatness of the things which he hath often done in answer to prayer. Thus, when Esau was coming out against his broth er Jacob, with four hundred men, without doubt fully resolved to cut him off, Jacob prayed to God, and God turned the heart of Esau, so that he met Jacob in a very friendly manner; as in Gen. xxxii. So in Egypt, at the prayer of Moses, God brought those dreadful plagues, and, at his prayer, removed them again. When Samson was ready to perish with thirst, he prayed to God, and God brought water out of a dry jaw bone, for his supply, Judg. xv. 18, 19. And when he prayed, after his strength was departed from him, God strengthened him, so as to pull down the temple of Dagon on the Philistines; so that those whom he slew at his death were more than all those whom he slew in his life.

Joshua prayed to God, and said to the sun, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon ;" and God heard his prayer, and caused the sun and moon to stand still accordingly. The prophet " Elijah was a

man of like passions" with us; "and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit;" as the Apostle James observes, James v. 17, 18. So God confounded the army of Zerah, the Ethiopian, of a thousand thousand, in answer to the prayer of Asa, 2 Chron. xiv. 9, &c. And God sent an angel, and slew in one night an hundred and eighty thousand men of Sennacharib's army, in answer to Hezekiah's prayer, 2 Kings xix. 14, 15, 16, 19.

5. This truth appears, in that God is, as it were, overcome by prayer. When God is displeased by sin, and manifests his displeasure, and comes out against us in his providence, and seems to oppose and resist us; in such cases, God is, speaking after the manner of men, overcome by humble and fervent prayer. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," James v. 16. It has a great power in it. Such a prayer hearing God is the Most High, that he graciously manifests himself as conquered by it. Thus Jacob conquered in the wrestle which he had with God. God appeared to oppose Jacob in what he sought of him; he did, as it were, struggle against him, and to get away from him; yet Jacob. was resolute, and overcame, Therefore God changed his name from Jacob to Israel; for, says he, "as a prince thou hast power with God and with men, and hast prevailed," Gen. xxxii. 28. A mighty prince indeed! to be great enough to overcome God: Hos. xii. 4. "Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept and made supplication unto him."

So Moses, from time to time, did in this sense overcome God by prayer. When his anger was provoked against Is rael, and he appeared to be ready to consume them in his hot displeasure, Moses stood in the gap, and by his humble and earnest prayer and supplication averted the stroke of divine vengeance. This appears by Exod. xxxii. 9, &c. and by Numb. xiv. 11, &c.