Confess your faults one to another
Which must be understood of sins committed against one another;
which should be acknowledged, and repentance for them declared,
in order to mutual forgiveness and reconciliation; and this is
necessary at all times, and especially on beds of affliction, and
when death and eternity seem near approaching: wherefore this
makes nothing for auricular confession, used by the Papists;
which is of all sins, whereas this is only of such by which men
offend one another; that is made to priests, but this is made by
the saints to one another, by the offending party to him that is
offended, for reconciliation, whereby a good end is answered;
whereas there is none by the other, and very often bad
consequences follow.
And pray for one another, that ye may be
healed;
both corporeally and spiritually:
the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
Not any man's prayer; not the prayer of a profane sinner, for God
heareth not sinners; nor of hypocrites and formal professors: but
of the righteous man, who is justified by the righteousness of
Christ, and has the truth of grace in him, and lives soberly and
righteously; for a righteous man often designs a good man, a
gracious man, one that is sincere and upright, as Job, Joseph of
Arimathea, and others; though not without sin, as the person
instanced in the following verse shows; "Elias, who was a man of
like passions", but a just man, and his prayer was prevalent: and
not any prayer of a righteous man is of avail, but that which is
"effectual, fervent"; that has power, and energy, and life in it;
which is with the Spirit, and with the understanding, with the
heart, even with a true heart, and in faith; and which is put up
with fervency, and not in a cold, lukewarm, lifeless, formal, and
customary way: it is but one word in the original text; and the
Vulgate Latin version renders it, "daily"; that prayer which is
constant and continual, and without ceasing, and is importunate;
this prevails and succeeds, as the parable of the widow and the
unjust judge shows. Some translate the word "inspired": the
Spirit of God breathes into men the breath of spiritual life, and
they live, and being quickened by him, they breathe; and prayer
is the breath of the spiritual man, and is no other than the
reverberation of the Spirit of God in him; and such prayer cannot
fail of success: it may be rendered "inwrought"; true prayer is
not what is written in a book, but what is wrought in the heart,
by the Spirit of God; who is the enditer of prayer, who impresses
the minds of his people with a sense of their wants, and fills
their mouths with arguments, and puts strength into them to plead
with God, and makes intercession for them according to the will
of God; and such prayer is always heard, and regarded by him:
this has great power with God; whatever is asked, believing, is
received; God can deny nothing prayed for in this manner; it has
great power with Christ, as Jacob had over the angel, when he
wrestled with him; and as the woman of Canaan, when she
importuned him, on account of her daughter, and would have no
denial: such prayer has often been of much avail against Satan,
who has been dispossessed by it; even the most stubborn kind of
devils have been dislodged by fasting and prayer: it has often
been the means of preserving kingdoms and nations, when invaded
by enemies, as the instances of Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah show;
and of removing judgments from a people, as was often done,
through the prayers of Moses, as when fire and fiery serpents
were sent among them; and of bringing down blessings as rain from
heaven by Elijah; and of delivering particular persons from
trouble, as Peter was delivered from prison, through the
incessant prayer of the church for him: and this power, and
efficacy, and prevalence of prayer, does not arise from any
intrinsic worth and merit in it, but from the grace of the
Spirit, who influences and endites it, directs to it, and assists
in it; and from the powerful mediation, precious blood, and
efficacious sacrifice of Christ; and from the promise of God and
Christ, who have engaged, that whatever is asked according to the
will of God, and in the name of Christ, shall be done. The Jews
have had formerly a great notion of prayer: the power of prayer,
they say F2, is strong; and extol it above all
other services: they say {c}, it is better than good works, or
than offerings and sacrifices; and particularly, the prayer of
righteous men: says R. Eliezar F4
``to what is (Myqydu lv Ntlpt) , "prayer of righteous men" like? it is like a shovel: the sense is, that as the shovel turns the corn on the floor, from one place to another, so prayer turns the holy blessed God from wrath to mercy.''