XI. The fourth and last rule is, That thus prostrate with true humility, we should nevertheless be animated to pray by the certain hope of obtaining our requests. It is indeed an apparent contradiction, to connect a certain confidence of God’s favour with a sense of his righteous vengeance; though these two things are perfectly consistent, if persons oppressed by their own guilt be encouraged solely by the Divine goodness. For as we have before stated, that repentance and faith, of which one terrifies, and the other exhilarates, are inseparably connected, so their union is necessary in prayer. And this agreement is briefly expressed by David: “I will come (says he) into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.”[296] Under the “goodness of God,” he comprehends faith, though not to the exclusion of fear; for his majesty not only commands our reverence, but our own unworthiness makes us forget all pride and security, and fills us with fear. I do not mean a confidence which delivers the mind from all sense of anxiety, and soothes it into pleasant and perfect tranquillity; for such a placid satisfaction belongs to those whose prosperity is equal to their wishes, who are affected by no care, corroded by no desire, and alarmed by no fear. And the saints have an excellent stimulus to calling upon God, when their necessities and perplexities harass and disquiet them, and they are almost despairing in themselves, till faith opportunely relieves them; because, amidst such troubles, the goodness of God is so glorious in their view, that though they groan under the pressure of present calamities, and are likewise tormented with the fear of greater in future, yet a reliance on it alleviates the difficulty of bearing them, and encourages a hope of deliverance. The prayers of a pious man, therefore, must proceed from both these dispositions, and must also contain and discover them both; though he must groan under present evils, and is anxiously afraid of new ones, yet at the same time he must resort for refuge to God, not doubting his readiness to extend the assistance of his hand. For God is highly incensed by our distrust, if we supplicate him for blessings which we have no expectation of receiving. There is nothing, therefore, more suitable to the nature of prayers, than that they be conformed to this rule—not to rush forward with temerity, but to follow the steps of faith. To this principle Christ calls the attention of us all in the following passage: “I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”[297] This he confirms also in another place: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”[298] With which James agrees: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.”[299] Where, by opposing