The Return of Prayers

And concerning this also I will also add a Caution, ¹as about the former. That it doth not always fall out upon all such kind of evidences made to a mans spirit, and that by God, that the thing prayed for doth come to pass. For these very persuasions stirred up by God, ⟨p. 112⟩may be and are often but conditional, though thus immediately made to a mans spirit, and are so to be understood, and not peremptory and absolute. It cannot be imagined that all these should always be of greater absoluteness and peremptoriness, than were many of those revelations made by God to the Prophets, wherein He manifested his gracious purpose towards such a man or people, either to vouchsafe them such a mercy, or bring such a judgement; which forewarnings though they were particular and express, yet limited and intended ⟨p. 113⟩with a condition, according to the performance, or not performance of which, it fell out, either the judgement expressly threatened was diverted, or that good thing which was as directly and fully promised, was not bestowed: as it was in the case of Jonah threatening the destruction of Nineveh; and so in the promise concerning Ely's house, 1. Sam. 2. 30. I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever, but now the Lord says, it shall not be so: For they had broken the condition which was implied in it; they had despised the ⟨p. 114⟩Lord; and them that despise me, says God there, I will despise. In like manner is Gods meaning, expressed towards us in such like persuasions wrought in us by prayer, to be understood; as that such mercies will surely come to pass, but still under a condition of obedience, and performing of those vows, which a man joined with those his petitions, to move the Lord to grant the things; which if a man fail in, or ceaseth to go on to believe, it may and doth often come to pass, that things fall out contrary to that persuasion, and then we are apt to question whether ⟨p. 115⟩it was from God or no; which it might be, and truly wrought by his Spirit and yet not always absolutely meant (that was your mistake so to take it) but conditionally only. For in such great requests of the soul unto God there use to pass mutual covenants between God and us;