Chap. 3o. An Expo/ition upon the Bloke of J o B. Vert, ro 189 wicked man, he (hall be dealt.with accordingly ; Hotiy (hall God heare their requefis, who doe not hearken to his commands ! God will not hear a Saints prayer,unleffe he live like a Saint,and he will not fade tohear him,as David found in that Pjame)v. t 9, 20.) But verily rod bath heardme ; be bath attended to the voce ofmy prayer ; Blued be god, who bath not turned away myprayer, nor his mercyfromme. Godly menareever anfwered in efft&, though not alwayes in kind, And wicked 'men are rarelyanfwe- red inkind, but never in e(fe&. Whatfoever they aske,thcy asks that they may confume it upon their lulls,and therefore they ash's andreceive not, (J'mes 4.3. ) And if a godly man aske ( as pof- fibly he may) for fomew=hat to lay out and confume upon his lufi#, he alto (hall aske and not receive. A godly man (in temp- tation) may pray asa wicked man doth, and then God will no more heare him then he doth a wicked man. And he often de ferres toheare the prayer of a Godly man when he prayeth in > the moll holyand fpiritual enanner,and he doth fo for- many rea- fono, I (hall name only two. Firfl, to exercife his graces, his faith and.patience. Secondly, to draw out more of the-Spirit+of prayer fromhim,or that-he may pray more ; God Both not flop anfweringprayer, to the intent that Saints fhould, flop praying, but to the end they (hoold renew prayer, Icry unto thee, and thou hears(/ me not. He was Dill crying, thoughGod as to his apprehenfionwas not hearing. lob thought he was not ,heard, becaefehe had not preterit de4 liverance: and in that fence indeed hewas not heard ; and thus many of the Saints may pray and not beheard, that is, theymay pray and not have.prefent deliverance. But how may we know that we are heard at anytime, efpeci.... ally then when we have not prefent deliverance I anfwer it in' foure things, Fitt , By the quietneffe'of our fpirits ; 'Ti'sa figne prayer is anfweredwhen we are fátisfied, though the thing be not given 'in which we prayed for. Plannak having powred but her foule before the Lord, went her way and didBate, and her countenance was no more fad, (t Sam. a. t 8.) The text faith nothing of the anfwer ofher prayer at that time: Butthe peace and fatisfaetion whichThe had in her own fpirit about it, was an argument that the thing was granted, as indeed it was, , Secondly,
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