20. You Are the Lord’s Secret Ones, His Hidden Ones

Twentieth and laſt place, conſider, that you are only the Lords ſecret ones, his hidden ones; and therefore if you do not apply your ſelves to private prayer, and to your ſecret retirements, that you may enjoy God in a corner, none will. ‘Tis only Gods hidden ones, his ſecret ones, that are ſpirited, p. 118 principled, and prepared to waite on God in ſecret, Exod. 19. 5. Then ſhall ye be a peculiar treaſure unto me above all people. The Hebrew word Segullah ſignifieth Gods ſpecial Jewels, Gods proper ones, or Gods ſecret ones, that he keeps in ſtore for himſelf, and for his own ſpecial ſervice and uſe. Princes lock up with their own hands in ſecret, their moſt precious and coſtly Jewels; and ſo doth God his, Pſal. 135. 4. For the Lord hath choſen Jacob unto himſelf, and Iſrael for his peculiar treaſure, or, for his ſecret Gem. Pſal. 83. 3. They have taken craftie counſel againſt thy people, and conſulted againſt thy hidden ones, or, thy ſecret ones; ſo called, partly, becauſe God hides them in the ſecret of his Tabernacle, & partly, becauſe God ſets⁵² as high a value upon them, as men do upon their hidden treaſure, their ſecret treaſure; yea, he makes more reckoning of them than he doth of all the world beſides: And ſo the world ſhall know, when God ſhall ariſe to revenge the wrongs and injuries p. 119 that hath been done to his ſecret ones.

1. 52. Pſal. 31. 20. [dropped from the edition]

Neither are there any on earth that knowes ſo much of the ſecrets of his love, of the ſecrets of his counſels, of the ſecrets of his purpoſes, of the ſecrets of his heart, as his ſecret ones do. Neither are there any in all the world, that are under thoſe ſecret influences, thoſe ſecret aſſiſtances, thoſe ſecret incomes, thoſe ſecret anointings of the Spirit, as his ſecret ones are under: And therefore no wonder if God calls them again, and gain, and again, his ſecret ones. Now what can be more comely or more deſireable, than to ſee their natures and their practices to anſwer to their names? They are the Lords ſecret ones, his hidden ones, and therefore how highly doth it concern them to be much with God in ſecret, and to hide themſelves with God in a corner! Shall Nabals nature and practiſe anſwer to his name? 1 Sam. 25. 25. Let not my Lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, p. 120 ſo is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. Nabal ſignifies a fool, a ſot, a Churle, it notes one that is void of wiſdome and goodneſs, it ſignifieth one whoſe Mind, Reaſon, Judgment & Underſtanding, is withered and decayed. Now if you look into the ſtory you ſhall find that as face anſwers to face, ſo Nabals nature and practiſe did Eccho and anſwer to his name. And why then ſhould not our natures and practiſes anſwer to our names alſo? We are called the Lords ſecret ones, his hidden ones; and how highly therefore doth it concern us to be much with God in ſecret?

Why ſhould their be any jarring or diſcord between our names and our practiſes? It is obſervable, that the practiſe and carriage of other Saints have been anſwerable to their names. Iſaac ſignifies laughter,⁵³ and Iſaac was a gracious ſon, a dutiful ſon, a ſon that kept clear of thoſe abominations with which many of the Patriarchs had defiled themſelves, a ſon that proved matter p. 121 of laughter to his Father and Mother all their dayes. So Joſiah ſignifies the fire of the Lord, and his practiſe did anſwerto his name; witneſs the pulling down of Jeroboams⁵⁴ Altar, and his burning of the Veſſels that were made for Baal, and his pulling down the Idolatrous Prieſts, whom the Kings of⁵⁵ Judah had ſet up, and his burning the Grove at the brook Kidron, and his ſtamping it to powder, and his breaking down the houſes of the Sodomites, and his defiling of the high places where the Prieſts had burnt incenſe, and his breaking in pieces the Images, and cutting down the Groves, and filling their places with the bones of men, &c. So Joſhua ſignifies a Saviour, and his practiſe was anſwerable to his name. Though he could not ſave his people from their ſins, yet he often ſaved them from their ſufferings. Great and many were the deliverances, the ſalvations, that were inſtrumentally brought about by Joſhua, as all know that have p. 122 read the book of Joſhua. So John ſignifies gracious, and his practiſe was anſwerable to his name; he was ſo gracious in his teachings, and in his walkings, that he gained favour in the very eyes of his enemies.

1. 53. Gen. 18. [dropped from the edition]
2. 54. 1 King. 13. 2. [dropped from the edition]
3. 55. 2 King. 23. 4,—21. [dropped from the edition]

By all theſe Inſtances (and by many more that might be given) you ſee that other Saints practiſes have anſwered to their names And therefore let every one of us look that our practiſes do alſo anſwer to our names, that as we are called the Lords ſecret ones, ſo we may be much with God in ſecret, that ſo there may be a bleſſed harmony between our names and our practiſes, & we may never repent another day, that we have been called Gods ſecret ones, his hidden ones, but yet never made conſcience of maintaining ſecret communion with God in our cloſets.

And thus you ſee that there are no leſs than Twenty arguments to perſwade you to cloſet prayer, and to maintain private communion with God in a Corner.