peace is a giving of pardon and a working of peace and therefore when David prayes for peace hee makes that expression of it l Psal 35.3 Say unto my soule I am thy salvation Trouble of conscience it ariseth from the want of Gods love and favour and therefore it is onely the presence and apprehension of it that can remove that trouble and settle peace there if darknesse be the cause of trouble it is onely light that can make peace and so it is here it is spirituall darknesse occasioned by the absence of the Sunne of righteousnesse that breeds all her trouble and therefore it is onely the light of Gods countenance shining upon thy soule that can cause peace to spring up there when the face of heaven smiles upon the conscience and gives her an inward sense and feeling of the love of God and of that hidden comfort which accompanies the state of reconciliation there is the true Ierusalem the vision of peace it is God onely that justifies the penitent and beleeving sinner and peace of conscience is the immediate fruit that followes upon the giving of that sentence m Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith wee have peace with God When God pronounceth the sentence of absolution in the conscience hee doth in the same breath speake peace unto the soule and this he doth by Christ and the Gospell for whensoever God sealeth the pardon of sinne to any it is for Christs sake that he doth it the bloud of Christ first speaks for him before God speake peace unto him and when hee doth speake peace unto him that the voice of God may be discerned from the delusion of Sathan who lulls men asleepe with a false peace there be meanes left for the discovery of it even those meanes by which it is wrought to wit the voice of the Scripture and the voice of a mans owne conscience God first speakes peace in the rule which is the Gospell of peace by laying out a generall description of such qualifications and conditions as have the promise of peace made unto them and the conscience by reflecting upon the rule and a mans owne wayes and comparing them together doth in some measure see that the inward peace which she feels in her selfe is true peace and of a right stampe because the Scripture speakes peace unto her as well as God and she finds in her selfe some ground and warrant whereupon to apply to her selfe the promise of peace But when a man is confidently perswaded that he is at peace with God who was never earnest with God in prayer for the obtaining of it when the Scripture doth not speake peace unto him and yet he flatters himselfe that he shall have peace when he builds castles of peace in the ayre but doth not finde in himselfe such qualifications to which the promise of peace is made that is a signe it is but a vaine confidence and foole-hardie presumption no true peace 3. Concerning the manner how it is wrought it is leisurely and by degrees in the orderly working of this peace the eye of the soule is first inlightned by the Gospel to see that there is a covenant of peace wherein conditions of peace are freely tendered to every soule that will imbrace them and this lets every one see to whom the Gospell is preached that there is a possibility of obtaining peace and so sets open a doore of hope for him Then secondly God comes to hold a treaty with the soule in the ministery of the Word about the termes and conditions of this peace lets her see what sinnes shee must forsake what duties of obedience she must apply her selfe unto if she will have and enjoy this peace And then thirdly God comes to prevail with her by his Spirit and his grace to gaine her consent to the conditions that are required And then lastly hereupon there be articles of agreement drawne betweene God and the soule and a conclusion of peace made up and a covenant of peace actually entred into God now begins to speak peace to the soule and she begins to find and feele peace in her selfe and so continues till either shee fall into new sinnes or meet with new temptations which doe againe disturbe and unsettle this peace which is but weake at first and easily troubled with doubts and feares for howsoever this peace be usually more sensibly felt when a man first begins with purpose of heart to cleave unto God than afterward yet it is more weakly grounded and therefore more easily shaken with temptations it is the long custome of exercise and experience that must more and more establish the heart in the cleare evidence and assurance of it the conscience may be soone daubed over with untempered mortar and quickly stilled with a false peace but a sound peace at least in any eminent degree and measure of it is not so quickly attained unto Superficiall things are done in the halfe of that time that substantiall things are a working a wound or a sore may be quickly skinned over but it requires more time to heale it at the bottome and to work a perfect cure upon it So a false peace is soone at the highest and comes quickly to her full growth like Ionas gourd that comes up in a night and then it is so confident and peremptory that nothing can unsettle or disturb it but sound peace it comes up more leisurely requires longer time before it can grow up to any great height And therefore when men are no sooner stept out of an ill course and begin to look forward to that which is good but presently they are filled with such a measure of peace that they make not the least question of their reconciliation with God nor feare any danger at all of being deceived there is nothing that can trouble or stumble them in that matter this is no good signe of any sound peace There is a generation of men in the world who as at first they take up a peace upon a false imagination of an absolute promise made unto them so they hold it afterward in the same tenure And therefore though they neglect any duty that God requires or fall into any sinne that hee forbids it doth not abate or diminish any thing of their peace but as they tooke it up independently upon any qualification in themselves before they either repented of their sinnes or entred into Covenant with God so breach of Covenant doth nothing trouble or disturbe the same but let such reade their doome in the words of Moses n Deut. 29.19 He that blesseth himself in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk after the stubbornnesse of mine owne heart the Lord will not be mercifull to that man but his wrath and his jealousie shall smoak against him 4. Concerning the fruits and effects of this peace where it is wrought Amongst others there be these three which usually doe accompany it 1. Hee that
onely for some of all sorts but for all of every sort and therefore the Text gives expresse charge that prayers bee made for all in authority not only for some of all sorts as for some Kings some that beare office and authority under them but for all in authority even those that were no better than Wolves and Beares and Lyons to the Church for such were Kings and all in authority in those times they were so many sworne enemies to Christ and his Kingdome and yet prayers and supplications are to be made for them So the Prophet injoynes the Israelites when they were in captivity under the King of Babel to seek the prosperity of the City and to pray for the Kings welfare and the good successe of his government y Ier. 29.7 So Christ enjoynes his Disciples to pray for their enemies and persecutors c. and that from the example of God himselfe who causeth his Sunne to shine and the raine to fall upon the just and unjust z Mat. 5.44 So when the people had revolted and provoked God with a high hand what doth Samuel doth hee cease to pray for them No God forbid that I should sinne against God in ceasing to pray for you a 1 Sam. 12.23 There is not any particular man whom the faithfull are to exclude from the benefit of their prayers Every one is capable of salvation upon such terms as are expressed in the Covenant and it is the duty of every one as to seeke the inlargement of Gods Kingdome so for that end to pray for him that is without that he may be added to it as he is bound to doe good unto all b Gal 6.10 so likewise to pray for them that being one principall meanes and way by which he is enabled to doe them good as he is bound to love his neighbour that is every one as himselfe so likewise hee is bound to pray for him this being one of the best fruits and effects of love that he can shew unto him as there is none but stands in need of his prayers and may receive benefit and advantage by them so none must bee excepted in the making of them Now from all these premises it is plaine and evident that in the duty injoyned by the Apostle the word All is to be taken in a generall sense for all and every one and therefore in all congruity of reason it must be of the same extent and largenesse in the Motive that is used for the inforcing of it because otherwise it would not beare up the waight that is laid upon it it would not reach home nor serve the Apostles purpose and intention it would not be sufficient or available to perswade unto or to further and put on the practise of that precept for which it is brought and this is consonant and agreeable to other places of Scripture where the same truth is asserted and laid downe Let one or two suffice in stead of all the rest c Ezek 33.11 As I live saith the Lord I desire not the death of a sinner but rather that he should turne and live c. Where ye have first the declaration of Gods will and affection to the sonnes of men and then the proofe and confirmation of it God declares himselfe to stand tenderly affected towards the sonnes of men as appeares 1 By the quality of the person to whom hee beares this good will and that is a sinner not only a repenting sinner as some glosse upon it but even of that sinner who for the refusing of mercy offered dyeth and perisheth in his sinne as is plaine by comparing this with another parallel place d Ezek. 18.23 I have no pleasure in the death of him that dyeth c. 2 By the nature of the affection hee expresseth toward him and that is set downe partly by way of negation I have no pleasure in his death or I desire not his death that is antecedently and of himselfe in the primary intention of his Providence towards him for Gods primary intention in sending the Gospell to any is to bring him to salvation and not to seale up and further his condemnation unlesse it bee through his own fault undervaluing the mercy offered and neglecting the helpes and meanes afforded unto him in the same e Bernard ser 5. in natali Domini Deus ex se sumit seminariummi serendi quod judicat condemnat nos eum quodammodo cogimus ut longè aliter de corde ipsius miseratio quam animadversio procedere videatur as Christ tels the Jewes f Iohn 5.34 40. These things I say unto you that ye might be saved but yee will not come unto me that yee might have life c. And partly it is set downe by way of affirmation but rather that he turne from his wickednesse and live hee would have him to live and is willing to give life and salvation to him according to that course of providence that he hath taken for him in and by the new Covenant and that he may live hee would have him to turne away from his wickednes that deprives him of life for to that end and purpose hee sends his Word and Messengers to convince him of his sinne to terrifie and affright him with it to shame him out of his sinfull courses Againe yee have the proofe and confirmation of all this As I live saith the Lord hee confirmes it with an oath the bare promise of God deserveth credit because it is he that cannot lie which hath promised but when he binds himselfe by oath to make good that promise who can make the least doubt of it And therefore God promiseth with an oath to make his promise the more firme and stable h Hier. to 2. episâ— 46. Ideâ—co jurat ut si non credimus premittenti Deo credamus saltem pro salute juranti God willing more abundantly saith the Apostle to shew to the heires of promise the stablenesse of his counsell hath bound himselfe with an oath c. that by two immutable things wherein it is impossible that God should lie they might have strong consolation i Heb. 6.16 Againe the same truth is confirmed in the new Testament by those two great Apostles the Apostle of the Gentiles and the Apostle of the Jewes S. Paul and S. Peter k Rom. 11.32 God hath shut up all in unbelief that he might have mercy on all Where ye see that misery and mercy are in some sort of equall extent that is though all that bee in misery doe not obtaine mercy yet they are some wayes under mercy those that are made miserable by the breach of the first Covenant are made capable of mercy by vertue of the second Covenant l Bernard ser 1. in purificat Mariae Omnibus offertur in communi posita est Dei misericordia nemo illius expeâ—s est nisi qui renuit See Dr P. ser on
how deeply he tooke it to heart and was grieved for it And againe z Hos 11.8 How shall I give thee up O Ephraim how shall I deliver thee O Israel how shall I make thee as Adma how shall I set thee as Zeboim my heart is turned within me my repentings are rowled together I will not execute the fiercenesse of my wrath I will not returne to destroy Ephraim Hee that goes on so unwillingly to punish that makes so many pauses that is affected with so much tender pitty and compassion that hath so many relenting motions within him before he can gaine a full consent to give way unto it it plainly shews how much and how earnestly he desired the contrary and that he meant sincerely in the offer of it 4. Lastly it is cleare and apparent that Gods meaning is sincere in the generall offer of grace because it is not a bare naked offer that is made but such an offer as is backed and hedged in with a gracious promise of good successe to those that looke after it in the use of those meanes which are appointed by God for the obtaining of it a 2 Chro. 15.2 The Lord is with you while ye are with him If ye seeke him he will be found of you In which words for our present purpose there be three things observable 1. That God is ready and offers himselfe to doe his people good as appears by those words the Lord is with you c. 2. He lets them know the way and means wherein and whereby they may finde this good that he offereth to doe for them and that is by seeking unto him 3. Hee makes an undoubted promise unto them and gives them an assured hope that their seeking shall not want successe answerable to their desires If ye seeke him he will be found of you And againe Aske and ye shall have seeke and ye shall finde knock and it shall be opened for whosoever asketh receiveth whosoever seeketh findeth whosoever knocketh to him it shall be opened b Mat. 7.7 Where ye see the promise is full and speaks home in as large an extent as the meanes is required and is ratified and confirmed by the experience of all those who have used the same Our blessed Saviour goeth yet further and confirmes it by an argument drawn from the lesse to the greater c Luke 11.13 If ye which are evill can give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Ghost to them that desire him d Calv. com in loc Malignos nos reddit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quia dum sibi quisque plus satis addictus est alios praeterit ac negligit atqui hoc vitium superat paternus amor ut homines sui obliti se in filios plusquaÌ„ liberaliter effundant Vnde autem id nisi quia Deus à quo desceÌ„dit omnis paternitas particulam suae bonitatis coruÌ„ cordibus instillat quod si tantuÌ„ ad beneficentiam valent guttulae quid ab ipso mart inexhausto sperandum est an restrictê° esset Deus qui hominuÌ„ corda sic aperit God is more prone and inclinable to doe good to mankinde than earthly parents can be to doe good to their children for they have but a drop of goodnesse in comparison of God in whom there is a whole ocean of bounty and besides that goodnesse which they have it is mingled with much evill whereas God is pure love without any mixture of the contrary in him is pure goodnesse and nothing else hee is light and in him there is no darknesse yea further God stands in nearer relation unto men than parents to their children for children indeed they receive their bodies from their parents in some sort but more from God than from them and their soules they receive wholly from God to say nothing that Christ hath taken their nature upon him which much strengthens that neare relation that is betweene God and them and therefore from all these the argument strongly concludes If yee which are evill can give good gifts much more your heavenly Father c for God never injoynes the meanes to bee used but with assurance of the end to such as walke answerable to them and use them aright because every such precept as requires meanes to bee used hath a promise annexed unto it and therefore saith one * W. W. in his Sermon of redemption of time upon Ephes 5.16 pag. 32. Who so ever lives under the preaching of the Gospell hath this priviledge annexed to the outward teaching that if hee will but strive and pray to God to give him strength to repent c. GOD will upon his promise heare his prayer and assist him For if God should not meane sincerely in the promise which he makes hee should but delude his people and dally with them nay it makes God a lyar as learned Zanchy observes e Zanch. de nat Dei l. 5 c. 2. An non hac ratione Deum in animo tuo perstringis mendacii qui tibi verbo quidem dicat te velle servare c interim tamen licet tu velis in Christum credere et ita servari ipse tamen nolit if he promise that which hee hath no minde or meaning to give which is farre from the nature and goodnesse of the holy GOD who as hee loves plaine and sincere dealing in others so hee will not be a stranger to it himselfe for it is contrary to the oath that hee hath sworne * Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord I desire not the death of a sinner but rather that hee should returne and live Now shall wee thinke that Gods intentions are not serious when himselfe doth not onely avow them to bee so but also ratifie and confirme it with a solemne oath Besides what can be more contrary to those passionate and patheticall expressions which God himselfe useth when he layeth forth the truth of his desires for the welfare of his people f Deut. 5.29 O that there were such an heart in this people to feare me and to keepe all my commandements alwayes that it might goe well with them and their children for ever and againe g Psal 81.13 O that my people would have hearkened to me and that Israel would have walked in my wayes then would I soone have humbled their enemies and turned mine hand against their adversaries What can there be else but meere deceit and dissimulation in these patheticall wishes when God makes shew of such earnest desire that his people were thus and thus that they might bee capable of further happinesse if he had no minde or meaning upon any condition to make them happy And therefore it followes undeniably from all these grounds that when God offers life and salvation to all those to whom the Gospell is preached there is in him a reall purpose and intention of giving the same if they
ex torrente rapido nec semper casuâ—o cito hauriendum est but draw out betimes that which he hath need of before it be too late before all be spent and the rather because no man knowes how full this vessell of time is how many of his dayes are yet contained in it it may be his last day is even running out when he least thinks of it When Lots wife looked back towards Sodome little did she think that the vessell of her time had beene then running out her last that her death had beene so neere that this should have beene her last looke and yet so it proved she looked back towards Sodome and she never lived to looke forward any more but was turned into a pillar of salt even in that very moment while her face was towards Sodome q Gen. 19.26 The Deere in the Forrest little thinks himselfe to be aymed at when the arrow is in the bow and ready to be dispatched at him and yet immediately after hee feeles the deadly wound in his side Even so it is with the sonnes of men their last day is running out when they dreame of many dayes yet to come The rich foole in the Gospell promiseth to himselfe many yeares of pleasure even then when he had not so much as one night more to live And therefore little reason there is why thou shouldst delay the time and in a matter of so great importance as concerns the everlasting welfare of thy soule to put it off from this day to another seeing thou knowest not whether this be thy last day or whether thou shalt live till that other day come 4. And yet there is one passage more that hath some waight in it to quicken thy dulnesse and hasten thy endevors without further delay to looke after the things that concern thy peace because if this day of grace be once ended there never comes a new day for the finding of mercy this is the day of salvation and if grace and mercy be not sought and obtained within the compasse of this day it is lost for ever as hath beene shewed before r Catul. Epig. 5. Soles occidere et redite possuÌ„t Nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux Nox est perpetuo una dormienda The Sunne sets and riseth againe that which one day yeelds not another day may bring forth but if this day of grace and the day of life be once ended it can never be recalled there is an everlasting night of darknesse that comes after it there is but one fountaine that can wash away sin even that fountaine which is set open for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in and as the old saying is Å¿ In ideÌ„ flumen bis non descendimus there is none that descends twice into it there is but one pitched field wherein salvation is to be won and if one error happen in that battell as the proverbe saith t In praelio non licet bis peccare It leaves no place for a second error to be committed 3 In regard of the danger which doth accompany this delay Delay breeds danger in all other matters but most of all in this of greatest waight and importance thou makest little or nothing of a day nay the neglect of those things that concerne thy peace though it be for dayes weekes months yeares c. it never troubles thee but Christ here lets thee see in the example of Jerusalem what an infinite prejudice it may be to thine everlasting happinesse to neglect the looking after these things though it were no more than for one day u Cart com in lo. Si eo ipso die resipuisset quo Christus urbeÌ„ ingressus est haec sententia lata noÌ„ fuisset quod quia neglexit in posteruÌ„ nullus misericordiae locus ex quo liquet quantuÌ„ interest resipiscentiam non dico in annum sed in dieÌ„ differre If Jerusalem had received Christ even now at length at least in this day when he came unto her the fatall sentence of ruine and destruction had not gone out against her but because shee neglected him and would not take notice of him in this her day therefore her destruction is sealed up against her and she never finds another day for the obtaining of mercy so that it cannot be without certaine danger for thee or any else to delay and put off the laying forth of thy selfe upon those designes which doe so nearely concerne thy peace and that in regard of the uncertainty of the day and meanes of grace the uncertainty of the future day of thy life and the time to come upon which thou dependest and the uncertainty of those good motions and gracious helps which hitherto thou hast had experience of 1. There is an uncertainty in regard of the day and meanes of grace there is no man that hath a patent of it When Christ exhorted the Jewes while they had the light to walk in it x Iohn 12.35 hee gives them plainly to understand that the having of the light it was not an inheritance setled upon them for perpetuity but onely a grant passed upon condition of their obedience so long onely to be continued upon them and enjoyed by them as they should continue to walke answerable to it but if once they should come to grow weary of the light as in time they did then this light should be taken away from them and together with it life and salvation for if the candlestick be removed hee that walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks will not stay behinde and what will it availe thee then to looke after the food of thy soule when there is a famine of the word when thou maiest wander from sea to sea and run to and fro even from the North unto the East in seeking the word of the Lord and shalt not finde it y Amos 8.11 12 What will it availe thee then to apply thy selfe to the worke for which thou camest into the world when the light is gone and z Iohn 12.35 such a night of darknesse come upon thee that none can worke a Musc co in loc Qui in intinere sunt vesperi ubi animadvertunt imminere noctem parum adhuc superesse dieâ— ne tenebris nocturnis comprehendantur studi osiùs promovent nec ullas moras nectunt quo civitateÌ„ ingredi valeant antequaÌ„ nox cuncta occupet impedire non possunt ne nox invalescat hactenus tameÌ„ commodis suis consulere possunt ut donec lucem habent ambulantes in civitateÌ„ se recipiant c. hac itaque similitudine admonemur etipsi quid nobis sit facieÌ„dum q. l. utimini commoditate praesenti ad vestram utilitatem donec illiê° est copia c. Now thou hast the light but it is uncertaine how long it will continue now thou hast the word of the Gospel but it is uncertaine how long thou shalt enjoy it
not to be had every where nor is it to be found any where but onely in this place in the house of God Pharaoh supplied the wants of his people in the yeares of famine but it was from Iosephs store-house all the provision was laid up there that from thence it might bee transmitted to his people So God speaks peace to his people that are in trouble and supplies their wants with the blessing of peace but that blessing is laid up for them in Zion in the House of God that from thence it may bee transmitted unto theÌ„ c Psal 128.5 The Lord shall blesse thee out of Zion and the reason is because the meanes whereby this peace is wrought the publike Ordinance of God is erected and set up there d Jsa 57.19 I create the fruit of the lips to bee peace that is the Word preached for as the Gospell is a Gospell of peace e Gualt com in loc Creabo fructum labiâ—ruÌ„ id est praedicationem Evangelii per quam pax annuÌ„ciabitur longinquis propinquis id est Iudaeis simul et gentibus so the preaching of it is a preaching of peace as hath beene shewed 2 Seeke it in the right way that is in the way of obedience in following the minde and counsell of Christ and walking according to the rule of the Gospel * August to 10. li. 50. Homilâ—ar homil 17. Charitas cum fide ipsa te perducet ad pacem veram pacem plenam pacem solidam paceÌ„ securam pacem ubi nulla pestis nullus hostis ipsa pax est finis omniuÌ„ desideriorum bonorum for the blessing of peace is promised to such onely as walke according to this rule f Gal. 6.16 Piety and religion is the way to true peace and therefore the Apostle joynes them both together to shew that one cannot bee had or enjoyed without the other No peace without holinesse g Heb. 12.14 follow peace with all men and holinesse without which no man shall ever see God While Adam kept his garment of innocency and righteousnesse hee injoyed perfect peace both with God and himselfe and all creatures but when he cast away that he made ship wracke of his peace peace will not dwell but in the habitation of righteousnesse The Angels sing first glory to God and then peace on earth h Luc. 2.14 to signifie that Gods glory must bee provided for before there will bee peace on earth God hath made large promises of much peace but it is to such as love his law i Psa 119.165 All sinne is an enemy to peace it was sinne that brake the first league of peace that ever was concluded betwixt heaven and earth and while that takes place it will not give way to any new agreement nor suffer any new Articles of peace to be drawn between God and man Sinne it is a Schismaticke that secretly undermines this blessing of peace nay it is a rebell that openly breakes out against the peace and therefore no marvell though it banish peace where it findes entertainment Had Zimri peace which slew his Master k 2 King 9.31 when h Ieoram asked Iehu Is it peace he had this answer returned what peace l Aug to 10. de temp serm 166. Pax cum bonis praecepta Dei servantibus custodienda est non cum iniquis et sceleratis qui pacem inter se habent in peccatis suis c. Pax cum bonis et bellum cum vitus semper habendum est mala siquidem implorum hominum odio habenda sunt so long as the whoredomes of thy mother Iezabel remaine and her witchcrafts are yet in great number m 2 King 9.22 Implying that while a man gives himselfe leave and liberty to live in any knowne sin and will not bee reclaimed in vaine doth he expect and looke for peace for what agreement can there be betweene light and darknesse what concord or peace betweene Christ and Belial 3 Seeke it of the right owner aske it of God by prayer hee onely is the fountaine of true peace and prayer is the Bucket that draws it from him therefore the Psalmist injoynes prayer to bee used as a meanes for obtaining peace upon Jerusalem n Psa 122.6 Pray for the peace of Ierusalem God creates the fruit of the lips to be peace as hath beene shewed and that is not onely the preaching of the Gospel but also as others interpret it o Corne. à Lapid com in loc Dedi Iudaeis in Babylone c. pro fructu mercede orationis suae pacem Vide Hugon de Sanct. Car. Adam Sasbout in loc confession of sinnes and fervent prayer for these are also the fruit of the lips pardon and peace they goe together and as confession of sinnes and earnest prayer to God is a meanes of obtaining pardon and forgivenesse so also is it the way to get peace These are the channels in which the streames of peace runne and the Conduits in which they are conveyed and therefore hee that would obtaine peace hee must addresse himselfe to the Throne of grace and have recourse unto God for it and that not onely in times of trouble when feare and danger drives him to God but also in times of peace and prosperity that it may the better appeare that hee seekes unto God not onely out of necessitie as being compelled with his owne wants but rather out of a desire of entring into a Covenant of peace and reconciliation with him for hee that will have no acquaintance with God while all is well with him hath little reason to expect and looke for peace from him when things goe ill with him Prayer indeed is the key that opens and unlocks the doore of that rich storehouse of grace wherein all blessings are contained and so makes way for peace which is one of the chiefest of them but yet it must bee so qualified that it may finde acceptance with God and amongst other qualifications there are two mentioned in Scripture the first by David p Psal 32.6 Therfore shall every good man make his prayer unto thee in a time when thou maist be found his prayer must be seasonable he must seek for peace in Gods time whiles hee offers conditions of peace the other by the Apostles q Jam. 5.16 The prayer of the righteous availeth much if it be fervent for him that would set an edge of fervency upon his prayer when he makes request for peace it will be requisite and necessary to know the worth of those things that belong to his peace for as in bodily cures the remedy must be knowne before it can bee used or applyed even so it is here the worth of peace must be knowne before it can raise up in the soule a desire sutable to the excellency of it and therefore Christ here bewayles the want of this knowledge in Jerusalem saying Oh if thou hadst knowne