Thirdly, Prayer in time of affliction is under most promises to be heard: Now not to pray, not to cry to God, when we have so many promises to assure us of hearing, increaseth our sin in the neglect of prayer. Though I do not say, the hypocrites prayer is under these promises of hearing, yet it shall be reckoned as a ⟨p. 268⟩sin that he ha•h not prayed in affliction, because there are so many promises of hearing prayer in affliction. The Lord is very gracious to those tha• cry in affliction, and the hypocrite hath often heard that he will be so; how wretchedly sinful is he then against God, as well as regardless of his own good, it God hear not of him, or from him, in his affliction! (Psal. 102.17.) He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer, that is, graciously accept and answer it. Again (Psal. 69.33.) The Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his Prisoners; that is, any who are bound in affliction: For I suppose that Text is not to be restrained to those only, who are shut up in prisons, but takes in all those that are bound in any trouble. In which sense the word is used (Lam. 3.34.) The Lord doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the Prisoners of the earth: The Hebrew is, All the bound of the earth; by whom, he means, as chiefly the Jews gone into Captivity, who were more properly bound, so any detained under any calamity whatsoever; to all, or any of them, that Scripture is appliable, The Lord doth not willingly afflict. Seeing then there are so many promises made to those that cry in affliction, this will be urged upon the hypocrite as an heightening of his neglect, that he hath not cried when God bound him. Thus we see the second part of these hypocrites misery, by what they do not, They cry not when he bindeth them.
Thirdly, Prayer in time of affliction is under most promises to be heard: Now not to pray, not to cry to God, when we have so many promises to assure us of hearing, encreaseth our sin in the neglect of prayer. Though I do not say, the hypocrites prayer is under these promises of hearing, yet it shall be reckoned as a ⟨p. 268⟩sin that he ha•h not prayed in affliction, because there are so many promises of hearing prayer in affliction. The Lord is very gracious to those tha• cry in affliction, and the hypocrite hath often heard that he will be so; how wretchedly sin•ul is he then against God, as well as regardless of his own good, it God hear not of him, or from him, in his affliction! (Psal. 102.17.) He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer, that is, graciously accept and answer it. Again (Psal. 69.33.) The Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his Prisoners; that is, any who are bound in affliction: For I suppose that Text is not to be restrained to those only, who are shut up in prisons, but takes in all those that are bound in any trouble. In which sense the word is used (Lam. 3.34.) The Lord doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the Prisoners of the earth: The Hebrew is, All the bound of the earth; by whom, he means, as chiefly the Jewes gone into Captivity, who were more properly bound, so any detained under any calamity whatsoever; to all, or any of them, that Scripture is applyable, The Lord doth not willingly affl•ct. Seeing then there are so many promises made to those that cry in affliction, this will be urged upon the hypocrite as an heightning of his naglect, that he hath not cryed when God bound him. Thus we see the second part of these hypocrites misery, by what they do not, They cry not when he bindeth them.
