NExt to praying for our selves, we should likewise be careful to intercede for others, because we are all fellow-members of one body; And the members should have the same care one of another. (1 Cor. 12.25)
These Intercessions are either General. Special. Particular.
- General. For the whole Catholick Church Militant here on earth, (Ps. 122.6) dispersed over the face of the whole world: (Eph. 6.18) That peace and mercy may be upon the Israel of God, that he would give his Gospel a free, (2 Thes. 3.1.2) and an effectual passage, prospering it where it is, and sending it where it is not; that it may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: That his delight may be in mount Sion: That he would grave her on the palmes of his hands, and let her walls be continually before him; (Isa. 49.16, 17) that her builders may make haste, and that he would cause her destroyers, and such as would lay her waste, to depart from her: That he would be merciful unto all his elect people, and blesse them, and cause his face to shine upon them; (Ps. 67.1, 2) that his way may be known upon earth, and his saving health among all Nations.
That he would enlarge the borders of Christs Kingdom,1 and adde daily to the Church such as shall be saved: Enlightening those that sit in darknesse, and in the shadow of death, and guiding their feet into the way of peace.
And here we may derive arguments from those many promises that are made in Scripture to this purpose that he would give unto Christ the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. (Ps. 2.8)
That the mountain of the Lords house shall be established on the top of the mountains, (Isa. 2.2) and shall be exalted above the hills, and all Nations shall flow unto it.
That the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the Sea. (Isa. 11.9)
That the worme Jacob shall thresh the mountains, (Isa. 41.14, 15) and make the hills as chaffe: Speaking of the Kingdom of Christ under he Gospel.
That all the ends of the earth should see the salvation of God. (Isa. 52.10)
That all the Kingdomes of the world should become the Kingdomes of the Lord, and of his Christ. (Rev. 11.15)
And to this purpose that he would afford the means that are requisit to this end; that he would informe the ignorant, reclaim the erroneous, encourage the backward, strengthen the weak, binde up the broken, succour the tempted, comfort the sorrowful, restore the sick, deliver the prisoners, relieve the needy, break every yoke of the oppressour, and hasten the coming of his Kingdome.
That he would sanctifie the several gifts distributed in the Church, (Eph. 4.11, 16) for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Ministery, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature, of the fulnesse of Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joyned together, and compacted by that which every joynt supplyeth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, may increase, and edifie it self in love.
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Special Intercession may be either Ordinary. Occasional.
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In Ordinary, or common we are to pray for the Nations uncalled, whether Jewes. Infidels.
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For Jewes, that God would perswade Sem to dwell in the tents of Japhet; (Gen. 9.27) that he would not forget his old loving kindnesse to his first-borne, the seed of Abraham his friend; that he would raise up the Tabernacle of David which is fallen, (Am. 9.11) and close up the breaches thereof: And make Jerusalem a praise upon the whole earth: That he would do good in his good pleasure unto Sion, (Ps. 51.18) and build up the walls of Jerusalem; that he would open their eyes to see him whom they have pierced;2 that the merit, and not the guilt of his blood may be upon them and their children.
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For the uncalled Gentiles whom he hath decreed to salvation, who are without the pale of the visible Church; that God would wisit them with the Day-spring from on high, send forth his everlasting Gospel amongst them, and bring in the fulnesse of the Gentiles;3 and make us all one sheepfold, under one shepherd according to those many promises which he hath made to this purpose.
Amongst the Nations that are called, we are to pray more especially for them to whom we are allied by Neighbourhood, League, Religion, &c. But chiefly for those of the houshold of faith; the Nations and Families that call upon his Name. (Gal. 6.10) Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoyce, (Ps 5.11, 12) let them shout for joy, because thou defendest them; let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee: For thou, Lord, wilt blesse the righteous, with favou wilt thou compasse him as with a shield.
O continue thy loving kindnesse to them that know thee, and thy righteousnesse to the upright in heart. (Ps 36.10)
Let all them that seek thee, (Psal. 40.16) rejoyce and be glad in thee, let such as love thy salvation, say continually, The Lord be magnified.
Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, (Psal. 1.5, 4) and to them that be upright in their hearts & let peace be upon Israel.
But above any other, we are to pray more especially for our own Nation, the land of our nativity; to which as we have a neerer relation· so ought we to have a greater affection; That God would pardon our crying sinnes, purge out our corruptions, heal our distempers; that he would remove the judgements under which we suffer, and prevent those which we have most justly deserved; that he would continue to us the mercies we enjoy, and bestow upon us the blessings we want.
That he would teach us to observe, and understand his meanings towards us in all his publick dispensations, that we may accordingly apply our selves to meet him in his wayes.
That he would sanctifie unto us every condition, and make us wise by the example of others, that we may be willing to learn righteousnesse, (Isa. 26.9) when his judgements are abroad in the world: To hear his rod, and who hath appointed it;4 as knowing that every judgement hath as well a noise to informe, as a blow to correct, and that if we will not amend by the sound of them upon others, we shal feel the smart of them our selves·
These are some of the general heads, which ordinarily, may be insisted upon, and inlarged, in our intercessions for National mercies; upon occasion of any extraordinary want, or judgement. We ought in a more particular manner to frame our petitions, according to the present condition of a people, in regard of any publick necessity; but chiefly in respect of those three principal judgements, Warre, Famine, Pestilence.
51. In times of Warre, that he would take care for the interest of his own people, and cause, in the midst of all confusions: That he would behold the tears of those that are oppressed, and have no comforter; that he would be strength to the poor, and to the needy in their distresse, (Isa. 25.4) a refuge from the storme, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storme against the wall; That upon all the glory there may be a defence.6 That he would consider their troubles, and know their soules in adversity, and not shut them up in the hand of their enemies. That they may not any longer hear the sound of the Trumpet, (Jer. 4.19) and the alarm of Warre.
That he would remove that judgment from them, and let them not fall into the hands of men,7 whose mercies are cruel. He can make warre to cease in all the world, breaking the bowe, and cutting the spear in sunder. (Isa. 2.4) And he hath promised a time when men shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, when Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation, neither shall they learn Warre any more. He is the great Peace-maker, the Prince of peace, who did finde out away hidden from ages, (Col. 1.26) and generations, to reconcile the sinful world unto himselfe. He can bring light out of darknesse, and settlement out of confusion. He can with a word of his mouth rebuke, and alay the tempestuous windes and sea. He can still the raging of the seas, the noise of his waves, and the madnesse of the people. (Psal. 65.7) He can create peace where there is no pre-existent disposition, or preparation towards it. He can make the wrath of man turn to his praise, and when he please he can restrain it. That he would think thoughts of peace towards us, and not of evil, to give us an expected end. (Jer. 29.11)
That he would repaire the desolations that have been hereby occasioned; (Jer. 31.27) that he would sow the wast places with the seed of man and of beast; and as he hath formerly watched over them, to pluck up and to destroy, so he would now watch over them to build & to plant.
To this purpose the book of Psalmes does abound with many petitions and complaints.
O let the wickednesse of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the just. (Psal. 7.9)
Shew thy marvellous loving kindnesse, (Psal. 17.7) O thou that savest by thy right hand them that put their trust in thee, from such as rise up against them.
Let not those that waite on thee be ashamed.8 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast been displeased, O turne thy selfe to us again. Thou hast made the land to tremble, thou hast broken it; heal the breaches thereof, for it shaketh. Thou hast shewed thy people hard things; thou hast made them to drink the wine of astonishment. Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man.9
Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; let them also that hate him, fly before him. (Psal. 68.1)
10 O deliver not the soul of the turtle unto the multitude of the wicked; forget not the congregation of the poor for ever. O let not the oppressed return ashamed, let the poor and needy praise thy name. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause, &c.
(Ps. 79.4, 5) We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousie burn like fire? O remember not against us our former iniquities, let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name, deliver us, and purge away our sins for thy names sake.
(Ps. 86.14) O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art our God, full of compassion & gracious, long-suffering & plenteous in mercy and truth. O turne unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the sonne of thine handmaid. Shew me some token for good, that they which hate me may see it, (Psal. 94.2) and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
(Ps. 102.13) Arise, O Lord, and have mercy upon Sion, for the time to favour her, yea the set time is come.
112. In times of Famine; We should pray that our land may yield us bread without scarcenesse: That he would not send upon us the evil arrowes of famine,12 nor break our staffe of bread: Nor take away our corne in the time thereof, nor afflict us with cleannesse of teeth; When men shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry, and shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be satisfied: but every man shall eat the flesh of his own arme: When we shall pine away, (Lam. 4.9) and be stricken through for want of the fruits of the earth: When we shall eat bread by weight, and with care, and drink water by measure, (Ez. 46.16) and with astonishment: When the land shall mourne, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, (Hos. 4.3) with the beasts of the field, and the fowles of the Heaven: When the husband-man shall be ashamed, (Joel 1.11) and the vine-dressers shall howle, because the harvest of the field is perished: The fig-tree shall not blossome, (Hab. 3.17) neither shall fruit be in the vine, the labour of the Olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no heard in the stalls: When we shall sowe much and bring in little, when we shall eat and not have enough, drink and not be filled, (Hag. 1.6) cloath our selves and not be warme.
That he would according to his promise, abundantly blesse our provision,13 and satisfie our poore with bread: That our Garners may be full and plenteous, affording all manner of store; That he would hear the Heavens, and let them hear the Earth, (Hos. 2.21, 22) and the Earth hear the Corne and the Wine and the oyle, and that they may hear his people.
Now because Famine is usually occasioned, either by immoderate raine, or drought, therefore in our intercessions against this National judgement, we may frame our Petitions more immediately against each of these, as necessity shall require.
- Against immoderate raine: That God would remember the Covenant which he hath made, and though our wickednesse be very great upon the earth,14 so that he might justly repent that he hath made us; and now again resolve to destroy us from the face of the earth; yet he hath promised that he will not any more cut off all flesh by the waters of a flood, (Gen 9.11) neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
15That he would give us the former and the latter rain moderately, and not punish us with a sweeping rain, which leaveth no food.
16‘Tis he alone, by whom the windows of Heaven are opened, who giveth raine upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields; Who cloatheth the Heavens with blacknesse, and maketh sack-cloth their covering; Who calleth for the waters of the Sea,17 and poureth them out upon the face of the Earth; He maketh small the drops of water, they poure down raine according to the vapor thereof, which the clouds do drop, and distill upon men abundantly: He covereth the light with clouds, and commandeth it not to shine: (Ps. 78.23) He commandeth the clouds from above, and openeth the doors of Heaven.
That he would so order all those things which are at his disposal, as that the earth may yield her increase, (Ps. 97.6, 7) and all the ends of the earth may fear him.
- Against Drought; That he would open to us the good treasures of Heaven,18 and give rain to our land in its season, and blesse the labour of our hands: He is the Father of the rain, and does beget the drops of dew: The bottles of heaven are at his command to open, and shut them as he pleases: He bindes up the waters in thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them: ‘Tis he that does stay the heaven over us from dew,19 and the earth from his fruits: Who doth with-hold the raine from us, causing it to rain upon one City, and not upon another: It is by his command that the Vine-tree is dryed up, (Joel 1.12) and the Fig-tree languisheth, and all the trees of the field are withered: The seed is rotten under the clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barnes are broken down,20 for the corne is withered; the beasts groan, and the herds of cattel are perplexed, because they have no pasture, and the flocks of sheep are made desolate.21
‘Tis at his command that the clouds do not raine upon us; He makes the heavens over us to be brasse,22 and the earth under us to be iron, and the rain of our land to be powder and dust: He causes the land to mourne, and the herbs of every field to wither;23 When the ground is chapt for want of rain, when the plowmen are ashamed, and cover their heads; when the wilde Asses do stand in the high places, and snuffe up the winde like Draggons, and their eyes do faile because there is no grasse. (Vers. 6)
And therefore unto him it is that we must make our addresses, for help and supply in all such exigences; That when heaven is shut up, (1 Kin. 8.35, 36) and there is no rain, because of our sins against him; Yet if we shall pray unto him, and confesse his name, and turne from our sins when he afflicts us; That then he would hear in heaven, and forgive the sins of his servants, and teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain unto the land, which he hath bestowed upon them for an inheritance.
Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? (Jer. 14.22) art not thou he, O Lord, our God? therefore we will waite upon thee, for thou hast made all these things.
That he would open the windows of heaven, and cause the rain to come down in his season, and let there be showers of blessing;24 making grasse to grow for the cattel, and herbs for the service of men: That we may fear the Lord our God, who giveth us rain, (Jer. 5.24·) both the former and the latter in its season, reserving unto us the pointed weeks of harvest.
- In times of Pestilence:25 That he would (according to his promise) deliver us from the noysome Pestillence; (Psal. 91.3, 5, 6) that we may not be afraid for the terrour by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the Pestilence that walketh in darknesse; nor for the destruction that walketh at noon-day; that no evil befall us, nor any plague come nigh our dwellings:26 That he would command his destroying Angel to put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. (1 Chron. 21.27)
That he would teach us to see the plague of our own hearts, (1 King. 8.38) and to returne unto him with unfeigned repentance, that he may returne unto us in mercy and compassion, and pardon our sins, and heal our land.
(Jer. 47.6) O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thy self into thy scabberd, rest, & be still.
(Job. 6.4)That the arrows of the Almighty may not be any longer within us, nor the poison thereof drink up our spirits.
(Jer. 9.21)That death may not come up into our windows, nor enter into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets; that he would not sweep us away with the besome of destruction; (Isa. 14.23) but would be pleased now at length to heal us, and to restore comfort unto us, (Isa. 57.18) and to our mourners.
We are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath we are troubled; (Ps. 90.7, 8) thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance: Returne, (Ver. 13.14) O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants: O satisfie us early with thy mercies, that we may rejoyce and be glad all our dayes.
For the better strengthening of our faith and fervency in our intercessions for any National mercy, we may back our requests with some of those Arguments which the Scripture does afford to this purpose
God hath stiled himself a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble, (Ps 9.9, 11) and that he will never forsake them that seek him.
He is a present help in trouble,27 and hath proclaimed himself to be a God that hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servants.
He hath promised that the poor shall not alwayes be forgotten,28 the patient abiding of the meek shall not perish for ever. But he will redeem their souls from deceit and violence; He heareth the poor, (Ps. 69.33) and despiseth not the prisoners.
He hath said, that he will not alwayes contend with the children of men, lest their hearts should faint, (Isa. 57.16) and their spirits fail within them.29 But when their power is quite gone, then it shall repent him for his servants; when there is no other help or uphold, then the arme of the Lord shall bring salvation.
He hath assured us, (Psal 37.5) that if we commit our way unto the Lord, and trust in him, he will bring it to passe; That the meek shall inherit the earth,30 and delight themselves in the abundance of peace. That the upright shall not be ashamed in the evill time, and in the dayes of famine they shall be satisfied; that though the wicked doth watch the righteous, and seek to slay him,31 yet the Lord will not leave him in his hand,32 nor condemn him when he is judged. But if we wait on the Lord, and keep his way, he will exalt us to inherit the land.33 That the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, who is their strength in time of trouble.34 The Lord shall help them and deliver them, he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.35
He has promised that the rod of the wicked shall not alwayes rest upon the lot of the righteous. (Ps. 125.3)
The Scripture is very copious in such expressions as may afford Arguments to this purpose, besides those that were mentioned before in the fourth Chapter, which are properly reducible to this place.
← Chapter 23. Of petitioning for temporal good things, Provision and Protection · Contents · Chapter 25. Of Particular Intercession for our several relations →
Footnotes
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Act. 2.47. Luk. 1.79. ↩
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Zach. 12.10. Mat. 27.25 ↩
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Rom. 11.25. See before. ↩
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Mich, 6.9. ↩
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Against Warre. ↩
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Isa. 4.5. Psal. 31.7, 8. ↩
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2 Sam. 24.14. Psal. 49 9. ↩
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Psal. 25.3, 22. Psal. 66.1, 2. ↩
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Verse 11. ↩
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Ps. 74·19, 22. ↩
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- Against Famine.
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Deut. 8.9. Ezek. 5.16 Hos. 2.9. Amos 4.6 Isa. 9.20. ↩
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Ps. 132.15 Ps. 144.13 ↩
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Gen. 6 5.6 ↩
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Joel. 2.23. Prov. 28.3 ↩
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Gen. 7.11. Job. 5.10. Isai. 50.3. ↩
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Am. 5.8. Job 36.27 ↩
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Deut. 28.22. Job 38.28 Vers. 37. Job. 26.8. ↩
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Hag. 1.10. Amos 4.7 ↩
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Verse 17. ↩
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Vers. 18. ↩
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Isa. 5.6. Deut. 28.23, 24. ↩
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Jer. 12.4. chap. 14.4· ↩
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Ez. 34.26 Ps. 104.14 ↩
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- Against Pestilence.
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Vers. 10 ↩
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Ps. 46.1. Ps. 35.27. ↩
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Psal. 9.18. Ps. 72.14. ↩
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Deut. 32.36 Isa. 63.5.5. ↩
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Verse 11. Verse 19. ↩
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Verse 32. ↩
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Verse 33. ↩
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Verse 34. ↩
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Verse 39. ↩
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Verse. 40. ↩