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heaven_n	day_n	light_n	rule_v	3,304	5	10.4231	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01902	The returne of prayers A treatise wherein this case how to discerne Gods answers to our prayers is briefly resolved, with other observations vpon Psal. 85.8. concerning Gods speaking peace, &c. By Tho: Goodvvin. B.D.	Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1636 (1636)	STC 12041.3; ESTC S117577	96,573	431

THE RETVRNE OF PRAYERS A TREATISE WHEREIN this Case How to discerne Gods answers to our prayers is briefly resolved WITH OTHER OBSERVATIONS UPON PSAL. 85. 8. concerning GODS speaking PEACE c. BY THO GOODVVIN B. D. HAB. 2. 1. I will watch to see what he will say to mee LONDON Printed for R. Dawlman and I. Fawne at the signe of the Brazen Serpent in Pauls Church-yard 1636. TO THE MUCH HONOVRED KNIGHT SIR NATHANIEL RICH. SIR GOd who from all eternitie hath had an infinit Masse of grace and glory lying by him to bestow upon his Church and did accordingly provide a treasury and Magazin sufficient wherein to store up all the Bosome of his Sonne in whom are hid Ephes 3. 8. riches so unsearchable as cannot bee told over much lesse spent to all eternity Hee hath as richly shed his holy Sprit on us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tit. 3. 6. that we who could never have known of any thing bequeathed us nor what to pray for as wee ought might both fully from him know all that God hath given us and through him lay claime thereto who maketh intercession for us and so doth furnish us with a privy key to all that Treasury which otherwise is fast shut up to all the world Through which Spirit of of prayer and supplications thus powred foorth beleevers come to bee at once anointed to the fellowship and execution of those three glorious Offices of Christ their head Not only 1. of Priests by offering up their prayers as spirituall sacrifices acceptable to GOD through Jesus Christ but 2. of Kings to rule with God Hos 11. 12. Being hereby made of Privy Councell to the King of kings Psa 20. 4 5 so as their Councels and desires exprest in their Petitions are said to be fulfilled and their decrees in their Praiers made Iob 22. 27 28. ratified and establisht Nay further by vertue of this priviledge advanced to such height of favour Hos 12. 3 4 as by their strength in praier alone to have power with God himselfe and not onely with him but also over him and in their wrestlings to prevaile Yea to command Himselfe hath said it Thus saith the Lord the holy One of Israel and his Maker ASKE of me of things to come concerning my sonnes and concerning the worke of my hands COMMAND ye ME Isai 45. 11. which so transcendent priviledge of power is likewise by the expresse words of this great Charter universally extended unto all transactions of this lower part of his dominions whether Ecclesiasticall which doe concerne his sonnes that is his Church or what ever other the more ordinary works of his hands that appertaine to common providence And for as much as these grand affaires of this his Kingdome Mat. 6. 10. as future and to come are commended to their praiers as their most proper subject about which they are to treate Aske of mee of things to come in this respect they doe become as truely 3. Prophets also though not in so full and compleate yet in some kinde of true resemblance not by foretelling yet by forespeaking in their prayers things that come to passe To demonstrate which God who made and upholds this world and all things in it by the word of his power doth likewise rule and governe it by the Presidents and prescript rules of the word of his will exactly dispensing unto men Psal 25. 10. both rewards and punishments according to the tenour of some or other of his promises and threatnings and former like proceedings therein recorded though with such various liberty in respect of the particulars that his wayes remaine unsearchable and past finding out That looke how he appointed in the heavens those ordinances of the Sunne Moone and Starres by their light heate and motion to rule the day and night to divide and cause the severall seasons of the yeare and all the changes and alterations that doe passe over this animall and naturall world in like manner hath hee stretched out that so exceeding broad expanse of his word and law Psal 119. 96. to which the Psalmist doth assimulate it over this rationall world Psal 19. 1 2 3 4. compared with Rom. 10. 18. of Angels and Men and therein set his Statutes and his Judgements that by the light of Precepts and their influences in rewards and punishments they might order and direct these his creatures reasonable and all their actions also dispose and set out all the issues of them And seeing his Saints they are a people in whose hearts is his Law and their delight is to meditate therein both day and night they daily calculating and observing the various aspects conjunctions and mixt influences of those innumerable precepts promises and threatnings which themselves and others Nations or Men stand under and by a Judgement thence resulting Ier. 8. 7. so farre as they have attained endeavouring to frame their supplications and petitions according to Gods will Hence their praiers oft full happily succeed and aforehand doe accord to those issues and events that afterwards fall out That like as it sometimes falls out that the earth comes to bee just under the Sun and Moone in some of their conjunctions so their desires and praiers sometimes in a direct line fall under and subordinately concurre with Gods secret purposes and some revealed promise met in conjunction to produce such and such effects The Spirit also herein helping their infirmities sometime so guiding and directing them by a gracious preinstinct though unbeknowne to them to pitch their requests upon such particulars as God hath fully purposed to bring to passe becomming thereby as it were the Spirit of prophecy unto them respectively in some measure and degree Thus doth that great King imploy his nearest servants as his under-Officers and Sherifes to serve his Writs executions upō his Enemies to execute the Judgement written in his threatnings Psalm 149. 9. and to accomplish his mercies written also by putting all the promises in suit to be as man-midwives as Hezekiahs allusion when hee sent a visiting to the Prophet Esay Esay 37. 2 3 4. for his voice and suffrage seemeth to import to help and assist his promises and decrees in their travell with mercies and deliverance Zeph. 2. 2. when these their children doe come unto the birth and there is no strength to bring them forth In all which they shall therefore have the honour to bee accounted Co-workers together with God in his greatest works of wonder And at the latter day when that great and last Edition both of all Gods works and likewise ours then compleate and finished shall be published to all the world they shall finde their names put to them together with his owne and the same by him acknowledged to be as truely the works of their hearts and prayers as that they are the sole worke of his hands and power Such honour have all his Saints And if all the

out in ages to come NOw as for rules and helps to find out Gods meaning towards you in your prayers and to spie out answers and how to know when God doth any thing in answer to your prayers this is the next thing to bee handled wherein first I will answer some cases and queries which may fall out in severall sorts of prayers about the answering of them 1 As first concerning prayers put up for the Church for the accomplishment of such things as fall out in Ages to come 2 Concerning praiers made for others of your friends kinred c. 3 Concerning those praiers whether for your selves or others wherein others joine with you For the first §. 1. The full answer to such prayers is to come First there may bee some prayers which you must bee content never your selves to see answered in this world the accomplishment of them not falling out in your time such as are those you haply make for the calling of the Iews the utter downfal of Gods enemies the flourishing of the Gospel the full purity and liberty of Gods Ordinances the particular flourishing and good of the society and place you live in all you whose hearts are right doe treasure up many such praiers as these and sowe much of such precious seed which you must bee content to have the Church it may be in after Ages to reape All which prayers are not yet lost but will have answers for as God is an eternall God and Christs righteousnesse an everlasting righteousnesse and therefore of eternall efficacie Dan. 9. 24 Being offered up by the eternall Spirit Heb. 9. 14. So are prayers also which are the worke of the eternall Spirit of Christ made to that God in his Name and in him are eternally accepted and of eternall force and therefore may take place in after Ages So the prayer that S. Stephē made for his persecutors tooke place in Saul when S. Stephen was dead So Davids prayer against Iudas Psal 109. 8 9. took effect above a thousand yeeres after as appeares Acts 1. 20. So the prayers of the Church for three hundred yeeres in the Primitive times That Kings might come to the knowledge of the truth and they leade peaceable and quiet lives in all godlinesse and honesty which S. Paul in Nero's time exhorted unto 1. Tim. 2. 2. were not answered accomplished till Constantines time whē the Church brought forth a Man-childe Revel 12 1 So Esay 58. after hee had exhorted to and given directions for fasting prayer in a right manner hee adjoyneth this promise Thou shalt raise up the foundation of many generations thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach namely for this because his fasting and prayers might have influence into many ages yet to come in the accomplishment of what was prayed for And that which Christ saies of the Apostles reaping the fruit of S. Iohn the Baptists ministery and the seed he had sowne is in like maner herein verified Iohn 4. 37. One soweth and another reapeth And in this sense that which the Papists say is true that there is a common treasury of the Church not of their merits but of their praiers there are bottles of teares a filling Vials a filling to be powred out for the destruction of Gods enemies what a collection of prayers hath there been these many Ages towards it and that may bee one reason why God will do such great things towards the end of the world even because there hath beene so great a stock of prayers going for so many ages which is now to be returned and herein it falls out to us in our prayers as in their prophecies to the Prophets of old 1. Pet. 1. 11 The Spirit in them did signifie the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow Vnto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things that are now revealed and thus is it in the spirit of prayer which is instead of the spirit of prophecy for wee pray through the guidance of the Spirit who teacheth us what to aske for many things that come to passe in after ages Onely at present §. 2. Yet they may have an answer at present in assurāce both that they shall come to passe and of the acceptation of our persons for them it may bee in prayer thou hast revealed unto thee by a secret impression made on thy spirit that these things shall come to passe and so hast thy faith confirmed in them and withall an evidence that even for thy prayers among others God will performe them and that the contribution of thy prayers doth help to make up the summe and upon such prayers God usually for the present also testifies the acceptation of a mans person and reveales himselfe most to him that hee is his as he did to Moses he never revealed his love to Moses more then when he praied most for Gods people And haply thou hast that as one of thy best evidences of the uprightnesse of thy heart that thou canst pray for the Churches good though for a long time to come which thou maiest never behold with thine eyes even as David also did and rejoyced in it §. 3. And in heaven we shall rejoyce at the accomplishment of them and at the day of Judgement And when they are accomplished and thou in heaven thy joy will surely bee the more full for these thy praiers as at the conversion of those thou hast prayed for so at the ruine of the Churches enemies c. whom thou didst pray against For if there bee joy in heaven at the conversion of a sinner as at the birth of a new Prince and Heire of heaven then haply in a proportion hee shall rejoyce most whose prayers had most hand in it and a speciall interest therein And so as thy other workes so thy prayers follow thee and the fruit of them Ier. 17. 10. as Ieremy speakes and how ever yet at the day of Judgement thou shalt rejoice as well as they that enioyed the fruit of thy prayers in their times thou having sowne the seed of their happinesse both hee that sowes and hee that reapes shall then rejoyce together as Christ sayes Iohn 4. 36. Chap. 3. CHAP. III. The second Case concerning prayers made for others of our friends c. How they are answered THe second case is concerning answers to our prayers for others for particular men as friends and kinred c. and likewise for temporall blessings Pray for others you know wee must Pray for others wee ought so the Elders of the Church for those that are sick Iam. 5. 15 16. Pray one for another sayes S. Iames as in case a man is troubled with a lust tell some private friend of it Confesse your sins one to another that when a man 's owne prayers are not strong enough to cast it out it may bee done by the help of