workes is counterfeit and hypocrisie the Lord cannot abide it Esay 1. The Lord saith that their sacrifices burnt offerings incense are abhominations that their new Moones Sabaoths solemne feasts solemne dayes and assemblies are a but then and wearisomnesse neyther will he heare their prayers But they must be washed they must be purged the euill of their workes must be taken away they must cease to doe euill they must learne to doe well This was the sinne of Saul he would séeme to be a true worshipper of God offering sacrifice and therein was he diligent enough but hée was slow enough in doing the will of the Lord when hee was commaunded to slay the Amalekites man woman childe beast c. he spared the King and brought of the best of the things to sacrifice with 1 Sam. 15. 21. 22. There be aboundance of Sauls in these dayes Therefore S. Iames teacheth Be ye doers of the word and not hearers onely deceiuing your owne selues Iam. 1. 22. Hee that looketh in the perfect Law of liberty and continueth therein he not being a forgetfull hearer shall be blessed in his deede And the whole second Chapter throughout Therefore Worship without Obedience is flat hypocrisie Againe concerning ciuill honesty or morall life wherein the common Protestant resteth himselfe with contentment is odious in the sight of God without sincere worship For the frame of mans heart is euill continually Gen. 8. 21. how good soeuer he séeme to be to himselfe and others that cannot discerne betwéene naturall and spirituall life but make a confusion of both vnder an outward profession or rather bare name and title All our righteousnes is as a menstrous cloth Esay 64. 6. and Iob saith Who can bring a cleane thing out of filthinesse Iob 144 vaine therefore are the supposed good works of Papists séeing that they worship not God rightly and as vaine are the workes of vaine-glorious worldlings séeing that they worship not God truely Therefore worship and obedience must go together procéeding from a right fountaine that is from an humble and obedient heart purged from hypocrisie by a working faith and vnfeigned repentance from sanctified affections and a good conscience This is onely acceptable to God and those actions obedience that procéed from this fountaine though stayned with many wants and imperfections God accepteth as pure the impurity not being imputed Psal 32. 1. 2. Furthermore there be sundry reasons why that God heareth the godly namely those that worship him sincerely and doe his will First because that they being redéemed from the bondage of sinne are the sonnes of God they haue the spirit of adoption or of ingenuous and frée-borne sonnes by which they both know God acknowledge God to be their God and loue God their Father and consequently call vpon him Prayers procéeding from a prophane heart doe not pierce the heauens but those which come from Gods owne spirit therefore S. Paul saith Ephes 6. 18. Pray alwaies with all manner prayer and supplication in the spirit And Rom. 8. 26. The spirit maketh request for vs with sighes that cannot be expressed Such holy motions and rauishments doth the spirit of God worke in our hearts as that wée are not able to expresse the same in words but with sighes euen as when words faile vs wée vse to declare our mindes by gestures Such prayers come as it were immediately from the spirit with little vse of mans discourse and phantasie and no vse of the tongue Esau prayed with wéeping eyes but with a prophane heart therefore he is not heard The Pharises make long prayers with an hypocriticall heart therefore they are not heard But Moses prayed onely in minde and his desire is heard Exod. 14. 15. Yea the Lord accepted his prayer as much as if he had earnestly cryed therefore the Lord sayd to him Why cryest thou Goe forward with the people So Anna prayed in her heart with submisse and vnperfect words which caused Eli to thinke that shée was drunke 1 Sam. 1. 13. Therefore the Lord heard her And hence it is that the Apostle bids vs pray continually 1 Thes 5. 17. For with the heart minde or spirit a man may pray alway This teacheth vs in praying to pray for the spirit of Prayer Secondly the Lord heareth the godly because they alone being taught by the word and spirit doe pray aright As Rom. 8. 27. He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the meaning of the spirit for hee maketh request for the Saints according to the will of God both teaching them what to pray for and how to pray Which prayers the Lord accepteth as S. Iohn teacheth This is the assurance that wee haue of him that if we aske any thing according to his will hee heareth vs. An example héereof 1 King 3. 9. 10. Because Salomon prayed not for riches nor for long life nor the life of his enemies but that a wise and vnderstanding heart might be giuen him to iudge the Lords people righteously therefore it pleased the Lord and he granted his prayers Thus our Sauiour Christ prayed Not my will but thy will be done Thirdly the Lord heareth the godly because they are truely penitent and sorrowfull for sinne and therefore come into the presence of God clad with the righteousnesse of Christ Psalm 51. 17. The sacrifice of God is a contrite spirit a contrite and broken heart O Lord wilt thou not despise Psal 28. 7. Praised be the Lord for he hath heard the voyce of mine humble petitions Our Sauiour Christ calleth onely such vnto him Matth. 11. 28. Come vnto mee all yee that are heauy laden and I will ease you For the Lord hath annointed mee to binde vp the broken hearted Esay 61. 1. Therefore the poore Publicane confessing his sinnes with a penitent and sorrowfull spirit is heard before the Pharisée iustifying himselfe by his workes Luke 18. Fourthly the Lord heareth the godly because they pray feruently I am 5. 16. The praier of a righteous man preuaileth much if it be feruent Heereby two things are specially necessary in Prayer First a man must be a righteous man Hée is righteous that by faith is ingraffed into the righteous Iesus Christ and in him bringeth forth fruits of thankefull obedience to God Secondly he must pray feruently that is to say seriously or with earnest desire For this feruency argueth that a man praieth in the spirit which ouercommeth the dulnes and drowsines of the flesh which quencheth and oppresseth the spirit This wée may sée in the heauy and sléepy Disciples Matth. 26. 40. though they had a willingnesse and desire to watch and to pray yet the flesh quelled and dulled the spirit Secondly feruency argueth the necessity of the thing that wée pray for Wée most of all and most earnestly pray for that which wée haue most néede of Thirdly feruency argueth Faith in Gods power that hée is able to helpe and in his goodnesse that hée is willing and ready to helpe For this
wée doe know in common reason that it is against reason to request earnestly a thing of a man that wee know hee is no way able to doe for vs. But it may bée obiected if a man be willing and ready to helpe vs when we haue occasion to vse him accordingly as hée hath formerly promised vs what néede wée be so earnest So God hath promised that hée will helpe vs when wée come vnto him why is feruency then so necessary To the former part or proposition I answer that good manners require so much For otherwise 1. We should séeme rather to aske a thing of him than to intreat him as though for some respects hée were as much beholding vnto vs when there is no such matter 2. Wée should séeme rather to require a thing of him then to desire it 3. We should cause him to thinke that wée haue no great néede of that which wée request Hence it is that the humble beggar which craueth earnestly doth spéede better than hée that asketh carelesly and much better then hée that asketh commandingly To the second part or reddition I answer that we must come vnto God as a poore harmeles beggar comes to a King to craue almes in whose presence we must estéeme our selues as but a flea as Dauid termes himselfe before Saul 1 Sam. 24. 15. Yea as dust and ashes as Abraham termes himselfe approaching néere to the Lord. The Lord will haue vs to call and crye and as it were clamourously to follow after him when he séemes to turne his backe euen as the beggar doth and as the poore widdow in the Gospell did that claue to the vniust Iudge like a Burre till she had her petition granted And this is indéed a speciall fruit of true faith and an euident signe of trust in God For hereby wée acknowledge him to be our onely helpe and none other and therefore we cleaue fast vnto him as being otherwise destitute helplesse and hopelesse This was the continuall practise of Dauid on this manner to pray This was the practise of the Cananitish Woman whose daughter was possessed with a Deuill Matth. 15. 22. which Christ there taketh for a speciall argument of her faith Wherefore was Balaak so earnest with Balaam to come and curse Israell Euen because he was the onely man in his kingdome on whose helpe he relyed and wherin he most trusted I know saith he that he whom thou blessest is blessed and hee whom thou cursest is cursed Num. 22. 6. Vpon this knowledge and confidence was hée so earnest with him Likewise vpon our knowledge acknowledgement and confidence in God are wée earnest with him otherwise our prayers are cold and drousie heartlesse and lippe-labour yea almost saying in our harts with the wicked what profit shall wee haue if we pray to the Almighty A special example of this feruency in Prayer sée Psalme 143. 6. My soule gaspeth to thee as a thirsty land Likewise 2 Chron. 32. 20. Ezechias and Esay pray to heauen against Senacherib and were heard Thus Anna prayed 1 Sam. 1. Thus the faithfull in afflictions pray Psal 123. 2. The Iewes in captiuity are taught by Ieremie to pray after this manner Lamentations 2. 18. 19. O wall of the daughter of Sion let teares runne downe like a riuer day and night In the beginning of the watch powre out thine heart like water before the Lord. Thus the Lord commaundeth them to pray in the day of their visitation Ierem. 29. 12. 13. Then shall they cry vnto mee and I will heare you and yee shall seeke mee and finde mee because ye shall seeke me with all your heart Fiftly the Lord heareth the prayers and supplications of the godly because they are not wauering minded but constantly relie on the promises of GOD in the vse of those lawfull meanes that in his prouidence hée hath appointed for them Therefore that our prayers may bée heard wée must pray First in the spirit Secondly according to Gods will Thirdly in Humility Fourthly with feruency Fiftly with constancy A Godly Prayer to be said at all times eyther in publicke or priuate ALmighty and euerliuing God maker and preseruer of all things in Heauen and in earth and in Iesus Christ our most mercifull and louing Father wee thy poore and vnworthy seruants being desirous to offer vnto thy diuine Maiesty the fruits of our lippes euen an Euening or Morning sacrifice of prayer praise and thanksgiuing do intreat thy fatherly goodnesse so to prepare our sinfull hearts by thy good spirit as that although in much infirmity and weakenesse yet in sincerity and true desire wee may performe this duty in some sort acceptably to thy gratious will For O Lord we humbly confesse here before thy glorious presence that wée are altogether in thy fight a loathsome masse of corruption conceiued in sinne and borne in iniquity all our righteousnes being like a menstruous cloth our mindes full of ignorance our wills full of rebellion our affections earthly and sensuall our consciences full of pollution continually casting vp mire and dirt our liues a sinfull race of iniquity to iniquity growing riper in trespasses and sinnes then we doe in yeares Innumerable are the sinnes of our deceitfull hearts which for want of knowledge of our selues and due examination we passe by without confession without sorrow without repentance amendment Our omission of all good dueties towards thy maiesty towards our brethren and towards our selues is infinite And the sins that we daily commit against our owne knowledges and consciences through presumption and carnall security are without number And yet our Consciences accuse vs and we féele by wofull experience how full of wants imperfections and frailty we are how prone to all euill how backward to all goodnes how doubtfull distrustfull fearefull and vnconstant in euery good action yea our whole spirits soules and bodies are full of vanity and prophanenesse deadnesse dulnesse and drowsinesse in thy worship and seruice And whereas thy goodnesse toward vs is endlesse in pouring plentifully vpon vs all temporall benefits and spirituall blessings Yet such is our vnthankefulnesse as that the one wée spend vpon our lusts and the other wée haue contemned and neglected or in our liues haue not sufficiently expressed the swéete comforts thereof in thy Gospell reuealed vnto vs. But sith O deare Father thou hast taught vs by thine owne word that thou hast loued vs with an euerlasting loue in Christ Iesus before all times and in time hast héeretofore declared and doest yet continually manifest thy grace and mercy towards all thy people and to vs in speciall giuing vs thy word and worshippe in so peaceable and plentifull manner and together with the same all things néedfull both for soule and body we beséech thée also vouchsafe this speciall grace vnto vs euen a liuely féeling of our sinne and misery that on the one side through the sensible apprehension of thy wrath and sharpe punishment remorse and sorrow may constraine our
signifieth two things First it signifieth the infinite knowledge of God whereby all things lye open to his eye-sight neither is there any thing hid from him no not the most secret intention of the spirit and he is therefore called in Gréeke Kardiognostos a Searcher of the heart Psal 139. 1. 2. 3. Secondly it signifieth the loue and fauour of God whereby hée doth not onely know but acknowledge approoue and grant the prayers of the godly whether they be vocall or the desires and sighes of the heart Contrarily not to heare is to forsake men and leaue them to themselues to disallow not to accept to deny and not to regard their prayers and desires Sinners Are all men vnregenerate whereof some are brutish some ciuill some outwardly religious As for the regenerate though they sinne yet they doe not commit sinne 1 Iohn 3. 8. 9. that is to say sinne doth not raigne in them Rom. 6. 12. Sinne raigneth when men obey it in their lusts That God heareth not sinners it is euident Prou. 28. 9. Hee that turneth away his eare from hearing the Law euen his prayers are abhominable Here is a lesson for them that come to heare the Word in a statute pace Esay saith When you shall stretch out your hands I will hide mine eyes from you and though you make many prayers yet I will not heare you Esay 1. 15. Zachary saith As hee cryed and they would not heare so they cryed and I would not heare saith the Lord Zach. 7. 13. As we are dead dull and drowsie in the worship and seruice of God and vnthankfull to him for his benefits mispending the same on our lusts euen so in affliction and trouble the Lord will be also heauy and slow of hearing Are you come to inquire of me saith the Lord as true as I liue when I am asked I will not answer Ezech. 20. 3. Here is a lesson for them that neuer offer to the Lord prayer praise and thanksgiuing for all the good things that they hold of him inioy by him and daily receiue from him And Dauid goeth further Psal 66. 16. If I incline my heart vnto wickednesse the Lord will not heare mee Héere is a lesson for hypocrites that babble much and pray little comming néere to the Lord with their lippes but kéepe their hearts from him There be sundry reasons why the Lord heareth not sinners First because they are not the Sons of God but the seruants of sinne and therefore haue they not the spirit of Sons whereby they might call God Father but the spirit of feare not of Sonne-like feare which proceedeth of loue and reuerence but of seruile and slauish feare whereby they rather auoide the presence of God as of an inexorable Iudge and are then most quiet in minde and least troubled in Conscience when they haue the least to doe with him and when they thinke speake and heare the least of him Héerein euidently shewing themselues to be sonnes of sinfull Adam who knowing himselfe guilty shrouded himselfe in the thicket from the presence of the Lord. This is the cause why sinners hate the Church where God speaketh vnto them and they should speake vnto God and contrarily loue the Tauerne Ale-house and vaine company euen a filthy polluted Conscience wherein the worme beginneth to gnaw vpon euery occasion This is the cause why they so hate yea persecute with deadly hatred the most godly Preachers euen because they take them to be their greatest tormentors saying in their spirits as Ahab said to Elias Hast thou found me O mine enemy 1. Kin. 21. 20. Art thou hee that troublest all Israell 1 King 18. 17. And as Amaziah said of Amos The land is not able to beare his words Amos 7. 10. And as Ahab spoke of Micah to Iehoshaphat There is one Micah the sonne of Imlah by whom we may aske counsell of the Lord but I hate him for hee neuer prophesieth good vnto mee but euill 1 King 22. 8. Secondly the Lord heareth not sinners because they do not pray aright yea their petitions are full of rebellion and derogatory to Gods Maiesty Therefore euen as the Prince throweth a wicked petition from him and casteth the petitioner into prison and it may be punisheth him with death as King Salomon did Adonijah for asking Abisag to wife so the Lord dealeth with those petitioners as Dauid saith let euen their prayer be turned into sinne So that the Lords answer to such requests is like the answer of Salomon to Bathsheba concerning Adonijah God do so to mee and more also if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his owne life Now the wicked cannot pray rightly because they know not the Lord nor his wayes what pleaseth what displeaseth him And the reason hereof is because they despite the word of the Lord. The wicked know well what they would haue of God but they cannot abide to know what God would haue of them Gods benefits they loue but faith and obedience they loue not Thirdly the Lord heareth not sinners because they aske temporall things to consume them on their lusts and spirituall gifts many desire to glorifie themselues therewith Therefore saith Salomon the scorner seeketh wisedome and findeth it not Prou. 14 6. And S. Iames saith yee aske and receiue not because you aske amisse that you may consume it on your lusts Ye Adulterers and Adulteresses know ye not that the amity of the world is enmity with God and whosoeuer will make himselfe a friend of the world is an enemy of God Iames 4. 3. 4. Euen as the Adulterous wife asketh gold siluer iewels costly apparell c. of her husband that she may bestow them on her louers so do all wicked men euen all the men of this world aske and desire of God all good things for the sustenance of their bodies and maintenance of their persons onely to chéere and delight their flesh therewith to adorne and beautifie their persons therewith but not to glorifie God with the same Heerein they make vse of God to serue their owne turnes of him as it is now a common practise of these wretched times for one man to loue another onely for the vse that may be made of him for his owne gaine And as it is the practise of rouing whoremongers to marry a woman that is old or of base parentage because shee is rich that with her goods they may maintaine their Strumpets Euen such is the dealings of sinners with God They seeme to draw néere vnto God but it is with flattering and dissembling hearts for their heart goeth a whooring after his benefites to set their whole affections thereon to mispend the same vpon their bodily lusts without feare The wicked héerein are like Abimelech the King of Gerar that gaue kind intertainment to Abraham Gen. 20. and to Isaak Gen. 26. for their supposed sisters sake because they were faire and beautifull to looke vpon so the wicked make a shew of praising and thanking God
THE Blinde-Mans Sermon OR Confutation of the blinde Pharises By THOMAS GRANGER Preacher of the Word at Botterwike nere Boston in Lincolnshire LONDON Printed by T. S. for Thomas Pauier and are to besold at his shop in Iuie-Lane 1616. TO THE WORshipful and my very good friend Mr. Charles Leuenthorpe Student in Christs Colledge in Cambridge SIR the duty that I owe vnto you on the one side and the consideration of your worthinesse on the other moued me first to send this small present vnto you desiring thereby to exhibite some testimony of my sincere affection towards you in the good opinion that I haue of you for your good choise and hope of your happy proceeding therein Trusting in the Lord that as you haue deuoted your selfe to Learning and intend to consecrate your selfe to the Church of God so the Lord will blesse you in all your studies and make you a powerfull instrument in the building and maintaining of his kingdome Your Worships in the Lord to command THOMAS GRANCER THE BLINDE-MANS Sermon IOHN 9. 31. Now wee know that God heareth not sinners but if any be a worshipper of God and doth his will him hee heareth THese are the words of one that was borne blinde to whom our Sauiour Christ had restored his sight And hée was occasioned héer eunto by the enuious and ignorant Pharisées who said in the verse 24. that they knew Christ to be a sinner And in the vers 29. that they knew not whence hée was that is whether his doctrine and miracles were of God or of Sathan In the verse 30. he closely reproueth their ignorance by way of admiration Doubtlesse this is a maruellous thing that you know not whence hee is c. Now in this verse hée goeth forward teaching them and prouing vnto them that Christ is not a sinner and that he is of God That Christ is not a sinner he proueth in this verse and thus he argueth God heareth not sinners But God hath heard this man Therefore this man is not a sinner The Assumption namely that GOD hath heard him he proueth in the vers 32. his argument being drawne from the effect of Gods power in him namely the wonderfull Miracle that hée wrought in restoring him to his sight which he amplifieth by the comparison of all times Since the world began it was neuer heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was borne blind The greatnes of the Miracle appeareth héerein that being borne blind he had no eyes therfore it must néeds follow that hée made him new eyes and hée that can make eyes can also create a man which none can doe except God alone and hée to whom God giueth power to doe it The Proposition is a doctrine which he first confirmeth by the ground that is the common knowledge and consent of all men in the first words We know Secondly he illustrateth the same by the contrary But if any man be a worshipper of God and doth his will him hee heareth Heerein therefore thrée things are to be handled First the ground of the Doctrine Secondly the Doctrine it selfe Thirdly the illustration thereof I. Wee know Which is as much as if hée had said all men learned and vnlearned Iew and Gentile euen all men by the light of Nature know that God heareth not sinners And héerein we are to obserue that whereas he saith wee hée alludeth to that proud and ignorant spéech of theirs in the verse 24. closely deriding their ignorance As if hée had said you Pharises that are puft vp with pride and vaine-glory whose hearts Satan hath filled with couetousnes whose minds the poyson of blacke enuy hath blinded whose iudgments worldly lusts haue corrupted that you neyther will nor can discern the truth nor iudge righteous iudgment you know this man to be a sinner Because this man conuinceth you of open rebellion against GOD laying open the foule corruptions of your hearts which with your subtle delusions of Almes Fasting and Prayer you kéepe secret and close within your selues from the eyes of the poore Commons and because he glorifieth not your persons neither any whit respecteth you in the sight of the people which would be honoured and called Rabbi of euery man but contrarily reprooueth your pride couetousnesse cruelty in deuouring widdowes houses and hypocrisie whereby you thinke your selues greatly disgraced therfore are you incensed in malice enuy and hatred against him deuising plotting against him séeking to insnare and intangle him in his spéeches if by any meanes colour or pretence you might bring him within the compasse of treason or danger of Law Hence it is that euen contrary to your owne knowledge you say that you know him to be a sinner But I that haue béene afflicted euer since I was borne that haue euer till now borne this heauy crosse of blindnesse now at length haue obtained mercy that not onely bodily eyes should be giuen mée to behold this comfortable light of the Sun but the eyes of my mind should be opened to behold the son of God I and such as I euen we know that this man is not a sinner whatsoeuer it pleaseth you to know and iudge of him Héere wée obseruc and sée a poore and vnlearned man teaching the learned Pharises profest Doctors of the Law and Prophets and yet are they so ignorant in both as that a common man must teach them yea they are so dull as that they cannot learne which maketh the man to maruell at them Surely indéede it is a maruellous thing that plaine simple and vnlearned men should teach learned Clerks the wise and prudent yet so it is for the Gospell is a Mystery it is all wonder for it is not grounded on any principle in nature therfore it is as great a wonder also that any man should beléeue it but that it should be rather to the Iew a stumbling block to the Gentiles foolishnes In Mat. 11. Our Sauiour Christ had preached the Gospel to thrée great populous cities Corazim Bethsaida and Capernaum whereof Capernaum was euen lifted vp to Heauen with the wealth pompe and pride of this world In this city there were many rich Merchants that had knowledge enough by their traffique to encrease their substance In it were learned men and great Schollers In it were prudent and politicke gouernours yet for all this when Christ preached the Gospell among them there is none that repenteth none that beléeueth none that vnderstandech They flockt about him to heare newes for so his doctrine was accounted and to sée wonders and when they had sufficed themselues with nouelties there is no more repenting beléeuing remorse for sinne than if they had béene at a play but they returned backe againe like the Dog to his vomit and the Sow to her wallowing in the mire Héereupon hee declareth the causes héereof by way of thanksgiuing for the instruction of his Disciples then present ver 25. I thanke thee O Father