Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n
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A73324
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The Christian souldier his combat, conquest, and crowne. Agaynst the three arch-enemies of mankind. The world, the flesh and the devill.
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Turges, Edward.
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1639
(1639)
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STC 24331.5; ESTC S125562
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82,048
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309
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bee unarmed if it bee hee will present one lewd object or Job 31. 1. Deut. 16. 19. other to thy sight to allure thee if it bee thy eare he will make it listen after bad counsel Prov. 17. 14. if the tongue hee will make that a world of mischeefe if the hand hee will make it ready Jam. 3. 5. to act all sorts of mischeefe if the foote hee will make it swift Prov. 13. 4 to shed bloud if a Ship do but spring a little leake at any part of her she will in short time bee over-whelmed If thou dost but leave any part of thy soule ungarded sinne will presently enter in and being once in sinke thee into the nethermost pit of hell Stand therefore and watch when the howre of thy visitation cometh watch and see the kindnesse of Ps 17. the Lord be ready at all assayes to repell these grand and potent enemyes Lastly I will now shew thee being thus armed and prepared how thou must use and put on thy armes and that must bee with prayer praying alwayes with all prayer and Prayer to bee used at the putting on the Armor supplication for all saynts praying unto God that hee would send thee his spirit Prayer is the meanes and the manner how the weapons should bee used It will not bee amisse then to shew the use of prayer First how thou must pray Secondly when thou must pray Thirdly to induce thee the more to it I will shew the power and efficacy of prayer For the first of these how thou must pray and in this How to pray thou art commanded to use three motions Aske and you Math. 7. 7. shall have seeke and you shall find knock and it shall bee openeâ— unto you here is first Gods parâ— to thee secondly thy part to God thy part to God lyes in these words Aske Seeke Knock thus explaned aske with the mouth seeke with the heart knock with the hand First aske with the mouth God created the lippes and doth therefore require the lippes Joakin the Father of the Virgin Mary said cibus potusque erit mihioratio Prayer shall bee meate and drinke to mee If thou wouldst but make prayer to bee foode and meate and drinke to thee thou wouldst find it more excellent nourishment to thy soule then any corporall foode can possibly bee to thy body and as there is difference betwixt the soule and body the one being mortall the other immortall the one corporall the other spirituall Difference betwixt the foode of the body and the soule the one temporary the other eternall so there is a great difference also betwixt the foode of the one and the foode of the other the bodily or corporall foode goes in at thy mouth to nourish thee here in this world but the spirituall foode of the soule which is Prayer doth proceede out of thy mouth to keepe thee not only in this world but to bring thee to heaven in the world to come The Righteous mans prayer is his delight and of prayer Prov. 15. 8 there bee three kinds The first is Prayer meerely Three sorts of prayer mentall The second is Prayer meerely vocall The third is Prayer botâ— mentall and vocall These three sorts of Prayeâ— have reference to the three motions Aske Seeke Knock Prayer meerely vocall is to pray with the tongue without the heart this is that sort which God doth so much abhorre to mumble over a few prayers and yet not know what wee say our selves Appropinquant ore sue labiis suis honorant me cor autem à me procul amovent They come neere unto mee sayth God with theyr Esay 29. â—5 mouth and honour mee with theyr lippes but theyr heart is farre from mee they put that farre from God which he doth most love and that 's the heart Lip labour is nothing worth Lip-service to God abhominable in Gods eye without the heart â—hat makes the lip acceptable here are a sort of people â—hat make their lips theyr owne saying who is Lord over â—s but that 's not the way to â—ome acceptable to God to make theyr prayers to become as sweete smelling incense before him or to become so powerfull as to pull a blessing â—ut of Gods hand if thou desirest therefore to pray aright 〈◊〉 with the mouth seeke with the heart knock with the hand The second kind of Prayer Ps 12. 4. Second sort of prayer is prayer meerely mentall that is meditation to meditate or pray with the heart without the tongue this is allowed by God and approved by him in the practise of all the Prayer mentall by God approved saynts When the children of Israel were passing through the red Sea seeing Pharaoâ— hoast behind them and 〈◊〉 Sea before them murmureâ— agaynst Moses but what diâ— Moses hee cryed unto thâ— Exod. 14. 14. Lord. Cur ad me clamas whâ— cryest thou unto mee Saytâ— God whereas it is not expressed that Moyses sayd any thing at all only it was his inward and ardent prayers to God in the behalfe of the children of Israel pray then with thy heart and pray with thy understanding also and if place and time will admit 1 Cor. 14. 15. pray with thy heart and tongue together The third kind of Prayer is mixt Prayer both mentall and Third kind of Prayer mentall and vocall vocall included in the words Aske Seeke Knock for to aske with the mouth to seeke with the heart and to knock with the hand is that which God so much calls for wee will render sayth the Prophet Hosea the Calves of our lippes Hos 14. 2. that is both the heart and the tongue Thus I have breefely shewed thee what is thy part to God which is to aske and to aske aright now I will shew thee what is Gods part to thee and that is to give Petite vobis dabitur Aske and you shall have do but aske and he will give every one that asketh receiveth and every Math. 7. 8. one that seeketh findeth whatsoever you aske in prayer if Joh. 15. 7. you beleeve you shall receive it what then will this gift bee what is it that thou shalt receive blessings spirituall blessings temporall the gift of God is eternall life through Rom. 6. 23 Jesus Christ our Lord. The second branch or motion of Prayer is thou must Seocnd motion of prayer to seeke with the heart seeke with the heart for the asking of the mouth hath never prevayled without the seeking of the heart but the seeking of the heart hath oftentimes prevayled without the asking of the mouth let not then thy heart goe a wandring after the pleasures of the world when thou art at thy devotions God doth promise to bee found of those that seeke with the heart If thou wilt seeke Deut. 4. 19 him hee will bee found of thee as David instructed his sonne Solomon and agayne those
last great Idoll of the world how do men gape after it whence comes it It comes neyther from the East nor from the West nor from the South sayth the Psalmist but why did hee leave out the North Ps 75. 6 to shew that much might bee done by endeavour by use of meanes but for all that God would have one place to come in at seeke then after God for in having him thou hast all things I will now shew thee the third motion or particular of prayer and that is thou must knock with the hand as much The third motion of prayer is to knock with the hand Jam. 4. 5. as one should say doe as you say as thou sayst well so thou must doe well shew thy faith by thy workes let thy Religion shine through thy life and conversation Bee not like those that pray and practise not God will certaynely abhor such because their hands are embrued in blood If that a subject Esay 1. 15. should offer up a Petition to the king having his hands bloodâ—ly dyed in the blood of his sonne dost thou thinke that hee would accept of it by no meanes hee would surely bee so farre from acceptance that hee would make him feele the severity of law And thus it is if thou shouldst offer up thy prayers to the King of Kings with thy hands embrued in the bloud of his sonne the Lord of life still crucifying Heb. 6. him afresh by thy sinnes which are as so many speares thrust into his pretious side doest thou thinke hee would accept of it I trow not knock then with a Religious hand if ever thou desirest Math. 7. 8. God to open unto thee Aske and thou shalt bee sure of temporall things seeke and God wil give thee spiritual blessings so knock and hee will give thee eternall lifeâ— that is hee will open the gates of heaven and give thee everlasting happinesse more then thy heart can wish or thy tongue desire Now these three motions Aske Seeke Knock being put together make up that third kind of prayer which I have heretofore discover'd already But before I passe any further mee thinks I heare thee whisper this Objection Object which not only thou but many thousands object unto themselves viz. that there were some that did knock and yet they were not opened unto Luke 13. 24. Luk. 13. 24. To this I answer Answer they did not knock with a Religious hand not with the hand of faith they had no oyle in their Lamps It is not enough to say well but to do well not to have Religion only at the tongues end but to have it truly in the practise of it those had Lampes but no oyle Religion Math. 25. 1. without practise and that 's the Reason they were excluded they are not Nominals but Reals that are admitted into Gods Grammar There are some that shal knock and say Lord Lord have wee not prophesyed in thy name and in thy name cast out Devils Math. 7. 23 and in thy name done many wonderful things some agayne shall knock alowde and call strongly to the Lord saying Lord Lord open unto us Orationis instantia est pulsatio Luk. 13. 25 Prayer is indeed a spirituall knocking and this prayer of these damned ones was a well compacted one if it had come from beleevers for First thing they desired was Res optima the opening of heaven and prayer is able to doe it prayer is an excellent picklock thus did Eliah and the Theife on the Crosse open heaven Secondly theyr Prayer was modus optimus a Prayer of unity they all beganne to say and it was a prayer of fervency they were hot in the pursuite like the children of Israel in extremity they cry aloud to the Lord for releife there 's the unity of their prayer Thirdly it was scopus optimus the best object on which they could fasten themselves they go to the Fountayne-head they ingeminate the word Lord Lord and it is that word where all good men beginne their prayers Prayer is called a Conference with God if it hath not relation to God it hath not the definition of prayer they of Rome pray to Saynts and Angels but it is most sure that if it bee not Domine it cannot bee Domina if hee that cals out Lord Lord shall not enter then hee that prayes to my Lady wil hardly find admission therefore this prayer of theirs was well terminated and in that regard a good prayer But what of all this here 's goodly blossoms but no fruite at all these things are seemingly good but all these will not serve the turne that which doth follow poysoned all the rest which may bee reduced into these 4 heads First it was Oratio extorta the feare of Iudgment brought them to it in this life God often called unto them but they would not heare they thought as too many do that a Lord have mercy upon mee at their death would have done it but now to their ruine they behold hell open to receive them heaven shut upon them they there for cry out Lord Lord open c. Secondly it was Oratio hypocritica it had all forme but not the least power of Godlinesse in it a Godly man cals Lord and Piety doth ingeminate the word but these damned creatures could not say with David my Lord and my God but this prayer of theirs as it was verball so not cordiall as verball not reall they had despised Christ in this life they would not have him but Barrabas not his saving grace but their owne vile affections and now when their workes as fruits of their faith should have pleaded for them now it is that they belch out hypocriticall expressions for the obtayning of that which their owne incredulity had in this life forfayred Thirdly it was Oratio arrogans a most saucy arrogant Prayer what did they thinke that God would bee pleased with sounds they cry aloude unto God it is true if a man bee deafe wee stretch out our throates unto him but what presumption was this to call out thus unto God who is nigh unto all them that seeke Ps 34. 18. him hoc non est â—rare omnipotentem sed derogare but there is a worse thing in it then all this they came cloathed with their sinnes before him whose pure eyes can endure no uncleanesse they did dye in their sinnes and filthinesse and then were past washing or cleansing it was therefore Opus audaciae an audacious prayer Fourthly it was Oratio intempestiva an unseasonable Prayer when the gate is shut one minute is too late momentum est unde pendet aeternitas there is a moment of time whereon depends eternity but that must bee in this life for God heares prayers only in a time accepted here is the place and here is the time too hereafter is neyther place nor time serò levavit dives oculos prayer is a grace of the way not of the