“The desire of the righteous shall be granted.”  But I find it not so, says one; for though I have desired and desired a thousand times upon my knees, for something that I want, yet I have not my desire; and indeed, the consideration of this has made me question whether I am one of those to whom the promise of granting desires is made.

Answer.  What are the things thou desirest; are they lawful or unlawful? for a Christian may desire unlawful things.

But we will suppose that the thing thou. desirest is good, and that thy heart may be right in asking, as, suppose thou desirest more grace; yet there are several things for thy instruction may be applied to thy objection:  as,

1.  Thou, though thou desirest more of this, mayest not yet be so sensible of the worth of what thou askest, as perhaps God will have thee be before he granteth thy desire.

2.  Hast thou well improved what thou hast received already?

3.  When God gives to his people the grant of their desires, he doth it so as may be best for our advantage:  as,

(1.) Just before a temptation comes; then if it rains grace on thee from heaven, it may be most for thy advantage.  This is like God’s sending plenty in Egypt just before the years of famine came.

(2.) Christians, even righteous men, are apt to lean too much to their own doings; and God, to wean them from them, ofttimes defers to do, what they by doing expect, until in doing their spirits are spent, and they, as to doing, can do no longer.  When they that cried for water, had cried till their spirits failed, and their tongue did cleave to the roof of their mouth for thirst, then the Lord did hear, and then the God of Israel did give them their desire.  The righteous would be too light in asking, and would too much owrprize their works, if their God should not sometimes deal in this manner with them.

(3.) It is also to the advantage of the righteous, that they be kept and led in that way which will best improve grace already received, and that is, when they spin it out and use it to the utmost; when they do with it as the prophet did with that meal’s meat that he ate under the juniper-tree, “go in the strength of it forty days and forty nights, even to the mount of God.”  Or when they do as the widow did—­spend upon their handful of flour in the barrel, and upon that little oil in the cruse, till God shall send more plenty.

A little true grace will go a great way, yea, and do more wonders than we are aware of.  If we have but grace enough to keep us groaning after God, it is not all the world that can destroy us.

4.  Perhaps thou mayest be mistaken.  The grace thou prayest for may in a great measure be come unto thee.

Thou hast been desiring of God, thou sayest, more grace, but hast it not.

But how, if while thou lookest for it to come to thee at one door, it come to thee at another?  And that we may a little inquire into the truth of this, let us a little, consider what are the effects of grace in its coming to the soul, and then see if it has not been coming unto thee almost ever since thou hast set upon this fresh desire after it.