be able to doe as much as euer Elias did if we come in the spirit and power of Elias as Iohn Baptist did If we haue such a spirit in our heart to seeke and such a power in our hand to knocke it shall likewise be opened vnto vs. For Christ hath saide here Knocke and it shal be opened vnto you Thus much for the first part what we in our praier must performe to God in these words Aske seeke knocke The second part followeth what God for our praier will performe to vs And it shall be giuen you That 's for temporall things In another place it is said Giue and it shall be giuen you Here Aske and it shall be giuen you So that it is all one with God We may get as much of him by asking as by giuing By asking that which we haue not as by giuing that which we haue Yet S. Iames saies You aske and it is not giuen you But the reason follows Because you aske amisse Because you aske not with your mouth For you aske temporall things to consume them vpon your lusts Now though this be the ende which thou intendest yet thou darest not confesse so much with thy mouth Therfore then perhaps thou maist aske and misse whenas thou dost aske amisse Whenas saies Barnard either thou dost aske from the writtē word or els thou dost not aske for the begotten word Seeing euery thing which we aske as it must be assured and warranted to vs by the Scripture which is the written word so it must be count'nanced and commended to God by Christ which is the begotten word Now both these wordes written and begotten presuppose a mouth Which if they be in thy mouth then Gods promise is plaine Open thy mouth and I will fill it Aske of me and I will giue thee the heathen for thine inheritance For the eyes of the Lord are vpon the righteous and his eares are in their praiers He saies not their praiers are in his eares but his eares are in their praiers To signifie that though our praiers be so weake that they cannot pierce through the cloudes much lesse enter into the eares of the Lord of Hostes yet that he will bowe downe and incline his eares vnto our praiers So that though our praiers cannot be in his eares yet his eares shall be in our praiers A captaine of the host of Israel beeing cut off by the time before he could cut off all his enemies spake to the sunne saying Sunne stand thou still This was a temporall thing euen time it selfe which he praied for But there was neuer seene such a daie neither before nor since wherein the Lord obeyed the voice of a man His praiers were not in the eares of the Lord. They went vp to the sunne and no further Yet the eares of the Lord were in his praiers For the scripture saies not that the sunne obeyed but that the Lord obeyed the voice of a man To signifie that not onely God himselfe will yeeld vnto vs but also if the sunne or any other of his creatures should refuse to giue vs our asking yet that he will command and compell them also with himselfe to serue vs. And what man then will not obey the voice of the Lord seeing the Lord will obey the voice of a man Pharaoh beeing plagued with frogs got the man of God to pray for him And the Lord did according to the word of Moses And the Lord obeyed the voice of a man Moses did according to the word of the Lord. That 's plaine The Lord did according to the word of Moses That 's straunge Yet thus it is And this it shewes that if Moses will doe according to the word of the lord the lord will doe according to the word of Moses If we will keepe his precepts he will fulfill our praiers He will fulfill the desire of them that feare him he also will heare their crie and will help them I haue cried saies the Psalmist because thou hast heard me One would thinke he should haue said contrariwise Thou hast heard me because I haue cried Yet he saies I haue cried because thou hast heard me To shewe that crying doeth not alwaies goe before hearing with god as it doeth with vs but that God will not only heare our crie but also heare vs before we crie and will helpe vs. And that which is most admirable of all though it were a thing which once he purposed neuer to giue vs yet if we aske it he will reuerse and repeale his owne sentence to pleasure vs. God once repented him that he had made man said I will destroy man whom I haue made from the face of the earth Yet when Noah had built an altar and praied to God The lord smelleth a sauour of rest and said in his heart I will not henceforth curse the earth any more for mans cause God once was so displeased with his people that he said flatly I tell you truely I will deliuer you no more Yet when when they asked a deliuerer of him his very soule was grieued within him for the miserie of Israel and he gaue them Iepthe to deliuer them from their enemies God once sent Nathan with this message to Dauid As the Lord liueth the man that hath done this thing shall surely die Yet when Dauid had ask't forgiuenesse and said Haue mercie vpon me O lord after thy great goodnesse and according to the multitude of thy mercies doe away mine offences God sent the same prophet with a contrarie message The lord hath taken away thy sinne and thou shalt not die God once sent Esay with this message to Ezechias Set thy house in order for thou shalt die and not liue Yet when Ezechias had turned him toward the wall and wept and praied and said O Lord remember howe I haue walked before thee in trueth and with a perfect heart God sent the same prophet with a contrarie message Thus saith the lord I haue heard thy praiers and thy teares and now behold thou shalt liue and not die Then did the king reioyce in thy strength O lord exceeding glad was he of thy saluation For thou didst graunt him his owne desire and didst not denie him the request of his lips He asked life of thee and thou gauest him a longer life euen fifteene yeares longer As also here thou doest promise vs both for this life and for all temporall things cōcerning this life yea though it be a thing which once thou hadst purposed neuer to giue vs Aske and it shall be giuen you Yea not only God will giue you temporall things but also you shall find spiritual things Yet the Church saies I sought him whome my soule loued I sought him and I found him not But the reason goes before because she sought him in her bed she sought him not with her heart My soule loueth him saies she yet at
The power of praier A SERMON PREACHED in the Cathedrall Church of Exeter in August 1596. By THOMAS PLAYFERE Professour of Diuinitie for the Ladie Margaret in Cambridge PRINTED BY IOHN LEGAT PRINter to the Vniuersitie of Cambridge 1603. And are to be sold in Pauls Churchyard at the signe of the Crowne by Simon Waterson To the Queenes most excellent Maiestie REligion dread and deare Soueraigne is an vnmoueable foūdation of highest authoritie and honour O then howe blessed are all we how sure and vnmooueable is our peace and ioy God hauing blessed vs with a king who in religion and learning excelleth all aliue and his Maiestie with a Queene in due proportion answerable to himselfe Wherefore as it is our dutie to ioyne both in our daily praiers so neither would I separate you in my humble endeauours For the present felicitie and glory of this realme resteth wholly in his Maiestie but the future hope to haue these infinite blessings continued vpon vs and all our posteritie euen vnto the worlds end ariseth from you both in respect of that most happie royall issue you haue had alreadie and which if it please God you may haue hereafter Which as it will be our greatest securitie and comfort so that it may be no danger to your Maiesties health especially that which your Highnesse now goeth withall we shall continually and importunately pray and beseech at Gods hands And what the power of praier is this short sermō which I presume to offer vnto your sacred Maiestie doeth in some sort shewe Your Maiesties most deuoted and obedient subiect Thomas Playfere THE POWER of prayer THE TEXT Aske and it shall be giuen you seeke and you shall finde knocke and it shal be opened vnto you Matth. 7.7 BEfore I come to the particular intreatie of this text it will not be amisse as I take it generally to obserue some fewe things Our Sauiour saies not here as to one Aske thou seeke thou knocke thou but as to many Aske seeke knocke For it is Our Father though it be I beleeue A sparke of fire in the fire keepes fire by it selfe of it selfe goes out A droppe of water in the sea is safe beeing alone is soone dried vp Euen so in priuate praier that small sparke of zeale which is in vs may quickly be put out and that little droppe of deuotion which is in vs may quickly be dried vp but in publique praier it is not so Whereupon Daniel requesteth his companions Sidrach Misach and Abednago to pray with him Yea Ioel aduiseth them to gather a solemne assemblie and to call the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord to offer vp praiers vnto God A threefold cord is not easily broken Now what is praier els but a cord wherewith we binde Gods hands when he is readie to smite vs for our sinnes Euen as Esay complaining to god saies There is none that calleth vpon thy name none that riseth vp to take hold of thee to hold thy hands and binde them fast with the cord of praier But if a twofold cord or a threefold cord cannot easily be broken whenas two or three of Daniels companions are gathered together in the name of Christ then much more a hundred-fold cord or a thousand-fold cord cannot easily be broken whenas not onely two or three of vs haue agreed vpon a petition in earth but euen Ioels solemne assembly such a solemne assembly as here is many hundreds yea many thousands of the faithfull are gathered together in the house of the lord to offer vp praier vnto God Such a strong cord of praier as this is so well twisted by so many must needs most forcibly draw downe from heauen infinit graces for vs. And therefore our Sauiour saies here not as to one but as to many Aske seeke knocke So likewise it is not saide here as in the time present that by and by we obtaine the thing we pray for but as in the time to come And it shall be giuen you and you shall find and it shall be opened vnto you For as Laban kept Iacob a long while from his yongest daughter whome he loued best that his loue might be more increased continually so God oftentimes holdeth vs a while in suspence that he may the more sharpen our appetite and inflame our desire Because saies Gregorie The more earnestly he is desired of vs the more sweetely he is delighted in vs. Wherefore as a marchant beeing about to put money into a bagge and perceiuing the bagge will scarce hold all the money first stretches out the bagge before he put in the money after the same sort in this case dealeth God with vs. God knowing that those blessings wherewith vpon our praiers he purposes to inrich vs are so great that our hearts as yet are not capable of them staies a while till afterward when our hearts are more inlarged and stretched out like a wide bagge we may thē receiue them when we are fitter for them Whereupon the princely prophet saies Lord I crie vnto thee in the day time and thou hearest not also in the night time and yet this is not to be thought follie in me Some perhaps would thinke it a great point of folly for a man to call and crie vnto him who stoppes his cares and seemes not to heare Neuertheles this follie of the faithfull is wiser then all the wisdome of the world For we know well enough that howsoeuer God seem at the first not to heare yet The Lord is a sure refuge in due time in affliction First in due time then in affliction Because for the most part in helping vs God rather respects the due time then the affliction So that although as soone as we pray he doe not alway presently free vs from affliction yet if we can be content to wait a while and tarie the Lords leisure in his due time he will surely releeue vs. And therefore it is said here not as in the time present but as in the time to come And it shall be giuen you and you shall finde and it shall be opened vnto you Now then in this whole sentence two principle parts would be considered The first what we in our prayer must performe to god The second what God for our prayer will performe to vs. What we in our praier must performe to God is in these wordes Aske seeke knock Aske with the mouth seeke with the heart knock with the hand What God for our praier will performe to vs is in these wordes And it shal be giuen you and you shall find and it shal be opened vnto you And it shall be giuen you that 's for temporall things and you shall find that 's for spirituall things and it shal be opened vnto you that 's for eternall things Aske seek knock and it shal be giuen you and you shall find and it shall be opened vnto
that time her heart loued her bed better Therefore sayes Augustine Seek what you seeke but seeke not where you seeke Seek Christ that 's a good what Seek what you seeke But seeke him not in bed That 's an ill where But seeke not where you seeke Moses found Christ not in a soft bed but in a bramble bush So that the bed is no fit place to find him in who had not where to rest himselfe But goe into the garden among the bramble bushes and there you shall find him not sleeping but sweating dropps of blood for your redemption and calling you to him Come vnto me all you that labour not you that lie a bed and are secure but you that labour and are heauie laden and I will refresh you Take my yoke vpō you and you shal find rest for your soules If you seeke rest with you hearts with your soules you shall find rest for your soules that rest also which is not to be found in the bedde of pleasure but in the yoke of Christ. If thou seekest for this spirituall rest as for siluer and search for it as for treasures then shalt thou vnderstand the feare of the Lord and find the knowledge of God Therefore seek the Lord not in the bed of sensuality but where he may be found And seek the lord while he may be found Or rather indeed though not in what place soeuer yet at what time so euer we sinners seeke we shall be sure to finde him that saies I am found of them that sought me not So that no man seeking God shall returne with a Non est inventu◠but we that haue erred straied like lost sheepe shall finde him or rather we shall be found of him before we seeke him And that which is most wonderfull of all we shall not onely finde oftentimes before we seeke but also we shall finde much more then we seeke That good Centurion sought onely one word Dic verbum saies he but he found more Christ vttered not onely one word whereby his seruant was healed but also very many words wherein he gaue himselfe a most singular praise and commendation for his faith Dymas the theife on the right hand sought onely to be remembred when Christ should come into his kingdom but he found more What talkest thou of beeing remembred saies Christ as though thou shouldst be farre from me out of my sight Tush man I will doe more for thee then so Thou shalt not onely be remembred but thou shalt be with me And why saist thou Whē I come into my kingdome as though it would be a long while first This very day shalt thou be with me in my kingdome this day shalt thou be with me in paradise That needie man in the Gospel sought onely to borrow three loaues but he found more God his good friend bad him welcome at midnight and did not onely lende him but frankly and freely giue him not onely three loaues but as many as he needed He gaue him as many as he needed Salomon sought onely wisdome but he found more Seeing he sought first the kingdome of God the righteousnes thereof all other things besides were added vnto him Wherefore if any man want wisdome or any such spirituall thing let him with Salomon seeke it of God he shall finde it Yea we shall finde infinitely aboue measure more then we seeke or can deuise to seeke of him that saies Seeke and you shall finde Yea not only you shall find spirituall things but also it shall be opened vnto you that 's for eternal things Yet we read that some began to knock saying Lord Lord open vnto vs and it was not opened vnto them But the reason is euident elsewhere Because they did not knock with their hands They had I grant lampes in their hands but they had not oyle in their lāps So that all their knocking was but as a sounding brasse or as a tinckling cimball Whereas if we would knocke to purpose indeede the way were as Christ teacheth vs elswhere not to crie Lord Lord but by setting to our hands to doe and worke the will of our heauenly father Loe ye saies Chrysologus how loath our good Lord is to denie vs any thing seeing though he were neuer so much disposed to keepe vs out yet here he teacheth vs a way how we may breake open the dores and presse in vpon him and get the kingdome of heauen whether he will or no by the violence and force of faith from him For ther 's a great difference betweene Diues and God though there be a great agreement betweene Lazarus and vs. Lazarus was a beggar full of sores so are we all by nature beggars standing without and knocking at the dore Yea his bodie was not so full of sores as our soule is of sinnes Lazarus desired to be relieued with the crummes of bread which fell from the rich mans board so haue we all neede God wote to be refreshed with the crums of mercie which fall from our masters table Yet in one respect we are better then Lazarus In that it was his hard happe to knocke at the dore of a cruell a wretched a miserable caitiffe who could see no time to open vnto him But we knocke at the dore of a most kind a most liberall a most mercifull father who as soone as he heareth vs rapping with a liuely faith which worketh by charitie hath no power to keepe vs out any longer but presently he openeth vnto vs. And euen as S. Peter when he saw that lame cripple lying vpon the ground crauing an almes at the beautifull gate of the temple said vnto him Siluer and gold haue I none but such as I haue health and recouerie I giue thee so Christ when he seeth vs lying prostrate groueling on the groūd before him and knocking for an almes at the beautifull gate of his holy temple by and by openeth vnto vs and giues vs not siluer or gold or any such corruptible thing but health and saluation to our soules and all the inestimable riches of his glorie and all the eternall treasures of his kingdome O that some of you would a litle trie whether this be true which I say or no! that you would bounce as hard as euer you can at this beautifull gate and say with the Psalmist Arise arise O Lord why sleepest thou I warrant you you should heare him answer you in another Psalme Now for the pitifull cōplaint of the poore I will arise saith the Lord I will sleepe no longer I will arise and open vnto them So it was opened to the poore Publican He went vp to the temple to pray and when he came thither he knocked his breast and said Lord be mercifull vnto me a sinner Therefore the dore of mercie was opened vnto him and he went home euen into heauen his long home more iustified