and being in that case, you may cry and pray till your hearts ache, and your tongues ache too, yet no prevailing with God, no grant, no hearing. Another Prophet tells them as sad news from the Lord, (Jer. 11.11.) Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape, (or, go forth of) and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken to them. Though the Lord threatened, I will bring such evil upon them, that they shall not escape; they might say, well, but when the evil hath taken hold of us, we hope God will hear us, and deliver us. No, saith God, when the evil hath overtaken and arrested you, yet your prayers shall not overtake me; Though you cry, yet I will not hearken unto you. That's a dreadful Scripture of the same import, (Psal. 18.41.) They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. They cried being in great distress, and they cried to the Lord; he brings in that, lest any should say, they cried indeed, but possibly 'twas to false gods, to idols, possibly they knocked at a wrong door, and so were not heard: No, they cried to the Lord, to the Lord by name; they were right as to the object of prayer, but their hearts were not right; they were not right subjects of prayer. That once blind man saw this truth, when answering the Pharisees about the person by whose power he received his sight, he told them plainly, (Joh. 9.31.) We know that God heareth not sinners; that is, Such as love and live in sin, such as go on impenitently in their sins. By this answer he closely, but strongly confuted that blasphemous opinion and censure of the Pharisees, who reputed and reported the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners, as one of the vilest sinners in the world, and upon that account ⟨p. 91⟩got him crucified at last. As if the man had said, Were he that cured me of my blindness such a sinner as you reckon him to be, he could never have obtained power from God to cure me of my blindness, for we know God heareth not sinners. When men sin and pray as it were by turns, their prayers are turned into sin, and therefore will not be returned in mercy. God sometimes hears sinners in wrath and judgement, and he sometimes will rot hear Saints, as to the grant of the thing in hand prayed for, in love and mercy;
and being in that case, you may cry and pray till your hearts ake, and your tongues ake too, yet no prevailing with God, no grant, no hearing. Another Prophet tells them as sad newes from the Lord, (Jer. 11.11.) Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape, (or, go forth of) and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken to them. Though the Lord threatned, I will bring such evil upon them, that they shall not escape; they might say, well, but when the evil hath taken hold of us, we hope God will hear us, and deliver us. No, saith God, when the evil hath overtaken and arrested you, yet your prayers shall not overtake me; Though you cry, yet I will not hearken unto you. That's a dreadful Scripture of the same import, (Psal. 18.41.) They cryed, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. They cryed being in great distresse, and they cryed to the Lord; he brings in that, lest any should say, they cryed indeed, but possibly 'twas to false gods, to idols, possibly they knockt at a wrong doore, and so were not heard: No, they cryed to the Lord, to the Lord by name; they were right as to the object of prayer, but their hearts were not right; they were not right subjects of prayer. That once blind man saw this truth, when answering the Pharisees about the person by whose power he received his sight, he told them plainly, (Joh. 9.31.) We know that God heareth not sinners; that is, Such as love and live in sin, such as go on impenitently in their sins. By this answer he closely, but strongly confuted that blasphemous opinion and censure of the Pharisees, who reputed and reported the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners, as one of the vilest sinners in the world, and upon that account ⟨p. 91⟩got him crucified at last. As if the man had said, Were he that cured me of my blindness such a sinner as you reckon him to be, he could never have obtained power from God to cure me of my blindness, for we know God heareth not sinners. When men sin and pray as it were by turns, their prayers are turned into sin, and therefore will not be returned in mercy. God sometimes hears sinners in wrath and judgement, and he sometimes will rot hear Saints, as to the grant of the thing in hand prayed for, in love and mercy;
