Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A09758
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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.
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Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609.
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1603
(1603)
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STC 20025; ESTC S119192
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16,552
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48
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in the sight of God then that other which iustified himselfe So was it opened to S. Steuen He was brought out to be stoned But when he came forth the very stones could not knocke him so hard as his praier knockt heauen gate wheÌ„ as he said Lord Iesus let me in Lord Iesus receiue my spirit Therefore the gate was opened vnto him He saw the heauen opened and Iesus standing at the right hand of God where he within a while after should sit himselfe So was it opened to king Dauid He knockt very imperiously not like a petitioner but like a commander Lift vp your heads O ye gates and be ye lift vp ye euerlasting dores that the King of glorie may come in Open vnto me the gate of the righteous that I may enter in and praise the Lord. And when the gate was opened as he was entring in he pointed to it and said This is the gate of the righteous the iust shall enter into it So was it opened to S. Paul He was cast downe into the very lowest dungeon All the chaines of darknes and euen hell it selfe could not haue held him faster then that dungeon did Yet at midnight when he praied knockt suddenly all the prison dores flew open yea all the dores of heauen likewise stood open and that which is most maruelous of all they stood so wide open that not onely S. Paul himselfe went in but also Stephanas the iayler and his whole houshold whome he at that time conuerted and baptized did enter in with him So that all all eternall things are ours and nothing nothing can preuaile against vs if we knocke as we ought Not the brasen gates of hell to shut vs in nor the golden gates of heauen to shut vs out For Christ hath said here Knocke and it shall be opened vnto you Thus much for the second part what God for our praier will performe to vs in these words And it shall be giuen you and you shall find and it shall be opened vnto you Now then my deere brethren giue me leaue I beseech you to speake vnto you me I say that am the seruant of God and your seruant for God as Naman the Syrians seruants said vnto him Father say they if the prophet had commaunded thee a great thing wouldst thou not haue done it how much more then when he saieth vnto thee Wash and be cleane Brethren say I if he that is more then a prophet had commanded you a great thing would you not haue done it how much more then when he saieth vnto you Wash and be cleane Aske and it shall be giuen you He desires to be desired And he ha's not his owne will except we haue ours But we may haue what we will for asking God doeth aske no more of vs but only that we would vouchsafe to aske him Doe no more saies he but aske and haue Doe no more but seeke and finde Doe no more but knocke and enter in O how easily yet howe powerfully doeth praier worke It ouercommeth all beastes The Leuiathan the strength of all Gods creatures was so subdued by praier that whereas otherwise he might haue beene a gulfe to swallowe vp Ionas quicke and for euer to deuoure him he became a shippe to saue him It ouercommeth all men Iacob giueth Ioseph one portion aboue his brethren which he got of the Amorites by his sword and by his bowe But the Chaldee Paraphrast translates it By my praier and by my supplication Which translation prooueth that praier is the sword and supplication is the bowe of a Christian wherewith he subdueth all his enemies It ouercommeth the deuill himselfe Praier and fasting are the cheifest meanes to cast him out If we resist him by praier he will flie from vs. Yea the most silly beast in all the forrest is not so much affrighted and amazed when a lyon roareth as this cowardly beast the deuill is daunted and terrified when a Christian prayeth What shall I say more It ouercommeth him that cannot be ouercome making the virgins son stoupe downe and condescend vnto vs. I pray thee let me goe saies he to one that wrestled with him all the night long by praier If thou wilt be a suter to God God will be a suter to thee If thou wilt pray vnto God God will pray vnto thee I pray thee saies he let me goe But what doeth Israel answer I will not let thee goe except thou blesse me No will It is not belike now as God will but as man will God is taken captiue by praier and become a prisoner to man and stands at his curtesie who saies I will not let thee goe except thou blesse me And that which is more then all this if more may be praier ouercommeth God not onely beeing well pleased as he was with Israel when any child may deale with him but also beeing displeased as he was with the Israelites when no man may come neere him when his wrath burneth as fire when he thunders from heauen and teares the clouds in peeces cleaues the rockes asunder and shakes sand and sea togither and makes the whole earth in a trembling fitte of feare flie away from him Yet if some Moses doe but stand vp in the gap and pray all this omnipotent power shall come to nothing god shall not be able though he be neuer so angrie to enter vpon the breach but praier shall haue the victorie get the conquest of him Wherefore beloued once againe I say let vs alwaies intrench our selues within this inuincible bulwark of praier Our whole life alas as we haue made it by sinne is most miserable There is no man aliue if he had knowne before he was borne what miseries would haue befallen him in this life but would haue wished I warrant you with all his heart that that which was the wombe of his birth had bin the tombe for his buriall But in all the calamities of this life our onely comfort is praier In all the afflictions of this life our onely fortresse is praier Praier whereby we are oftentimes in spirit with the Apostle rapt vp into the third heauen where we that are otherwise but wormes walke with the angels and euen continually talke with God Hence it is that holy men and women in former time could neuer haue enough of this exercise Nazianzen in his Epitaph for his sister Gorgonia writeth that shee was so giuen to praier that her knees seemed to cleaue to the earth to growe to the very ground by reason of continuance in praier Gregorie in his Dialogues writeth that his aunt Trasilla being dead was fouÌ„d to haue her elbowes as hard as horne Which hardnes she got by leaning to a deske at which she vsed to pray Eusebius in his historie writeth that Iames the brother of our Lord had knees as hard as cammells knees benummed bereiued of all sense and feeling by reason of continuall kneeling in prayer Hierom in the life of Paul the Eremite writeth that he was found dead kneeling vpon his knees holding vp his hands lifting vp his eies So that the very dead corps seemed yet to liue and by a kind of religious gesture to pray still vnto God O how happie and how blessed was that soule without the body when as that bodie without the soule was so deuout O that we may be that we may be likewise so happy and so blessed as this holy man was that we may depart hence in such sort as he did that is in such sort as Christ did who died in prayer saying Father into thy handes I commend my spirit that our lord when he coÌ„meth may find vs so doing that when we shall lie vpon our death bed gasping for breath readie to giue vp the ghost then the precious soule of euerie one of vs redeemed with the precious blood of Christ may passe away in a prayer in a secret and sweet prayer may passe I say out of Adam's body into Abram's bosome Through the tender mercies of Iesus Christ to whom with the father and the holy ghost be all honour and glorie power and praise dignitie and dominion now euermore Amen Finis Gloriosa in deum pietas honoribus regiis immobile est fundamentum Cyrillus ad Theodos. de recta fide a 2.17 b 1.14 c Eccles. 4.12 d 64.7 e Vt accenditur desideria Martial Epist. ad Tolos f Quo à nobis evidius desideratur eo de nobis suavius laetatur g Psal. 22.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Septuagint h Psal. 9.9 i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l Stro. l. 4. m Esa. 38.14 n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 o 62 6. p Num. 22.4 q Ose. 14.2 r Cant. 4.16 s Psal. 119.131 t Num. 20.8 u Can. 8.13 x Aut per porticus deambulo aut de faenore cogito in dialog aduersus Lucifer Ipso in tempore quo eleuare mentem paramus insertis manibus cogitationibus ad terrena plerumque denicimur Ambr. de Fuga sicuti c. 1 citante August contra Iul. l. 2. y Iob. 1.20 z Esa. 29.13 a 1. Cor. 14.15 b Deut. 4.29 c Ierem. 29.13 d Medullatum sacrificium Psal. 66.15 e 4. Psal. f Inueni cor meum 1. Sam. 7.27 g Ecclesiasticus 18.22 h Psal. 11.1 h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 k Esa. 1.15 l Lam. 3.41 m Psal 241.3 n 1. Tim. 2.8 o Cant. 3.6 p Cant. 5.5 q r Exod. 17.5 s Iam. 5.17 t 4.3 u Aut praeter verbum peris 〈◊〉 propter venâ—um non â—â—tis x Aures eius in precious eprum Ps. 34.16 y Iosua 10.14 z Exod. 8.13 a Psal. 17.6 b Gen. 8.21 c Non addâ—m 〈◊〉 vt 〈◊〉 vos d Iudg. 10.16 e 2. Sam 12.13 f 2. Reg. 10.6 g Cant. 3.1 q Quaeite quod quaeritis sed non vbi quaeritis i Math. 11.29 k Prou. 2.5 l Esay 55.6 m Esay 65.1 n Math. 8.8 o Luk. 23.42 p Luk. 11.9 q 2. Chron. 1 1â— r Luk. 〈◊〉 En quà m negare nollet qui sibi etiam neganti qualiter extorqueretur ostendit t Luk. 16.20 u Act. 3.2 x Psal. 44.23 y Psal. 12.5 z Luk. 18.13 a Act. 7.56 b Psal. 118.19 c Act. 16 26. e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 f Etiam cadaver mortui officioso gestu precabatur
you First we must aske with the mouth Ioakim the virgin Maries father going to the wildernes to pray said thus Prayer shal be my meate and drink Whereby it is euident that as meate and drink the naturall food of the bodie must go in at the mouth so on the other side prayer the spirituall food of the soule must go out of the mouth Which is the reason why Pythagoras willed his schollers to pray aloud Not that he thought that God could not otherwise heare but to teach vs as Clemens noteth that as our dealing with men must be as in the sight of God so our prayer to God must be as in the hearing of men Ezechias king of the Iewes witnesseth of himselfe that praying in his sicknes he chattered like a young swallowe Nowe we knowe by that prouerb which forbiddeth to keepe swallows vnder the same roofe where we keepe our selues that no bird is so troublesome for chattering as the swallow is His meaning then was this that as a yong swallow openeth her mouth and neuer leaues yawning vnto the damme till shee she be satisfied so he opened his mouth and as the Prophet Esay saies kept no silence neuer left asking gaue the lord no rest vntil he had mercy vpon him Balack king of the Moabites speaketh thus Shall this multitude licke vp all that are round about vs as a calfe licketh vp the grasse of the field Nowe we knowe that a calfe licketh vp the grasse of the fielde with his mouth The thing then which he feared was this least the Israelites should licke vp that is ouercome and destroy him and all his with the asking of their mouthes with their praiers to God which are called the calues of the lipps euen as a calfe licketh vp the grasse of the field The Church wisheth the southerne winde would blow that her spices might slowe forth The southerne winde is the milde comfortable spirit of God The spices are the praiers the sweete odours of the Saints So that we wish the southerne winde would blowe vpon vs that our spices might flowe forth when as we wish the holy Ghost would worke vpon vs that our praiers might flowe forth That as God breatheth in his spirit into vs by the inspiration of grace so we might breath out our spirit vnto God by the respiration of praier According to that of the prophet I opened my mouth and drewe in breath I drewe in breath ther 's inspiration I opened my mouth ther 's respiration So that they which neuer open their mouthes to aske are dumbe fishes which haue liues and breath not or else dead idols which haue mouths and speake not Whereas in trueth euery one that hath an eare to heare ought to heare and so euery one that hath a mouth to speake ought to speake Speake vnto the rocke saies God to Moses when the children of Israel wanted water in the wildernesse And after the same manner when we want the water of comfort in the wildernesse of this world we must aske it of God we must speake for it vnto the rocke Christ Iesus For it was his onely request he made to his spouse when he tooke his very last farewell of her vpon earth Let me heare thy voice As if Christ should say thus to his Church My dearest now I am readie to ascend vp vnto my father Howbeit in the meane while I will not leaue you comfortlesse But though I shall be absent from you in bodie yet I will be present with you in spirit alwaies beholding your order of seruice and hearing your praier vnto me Therefore let vs not hereafter be strange to one another but let tokens of louing kindnesse passe continually betwixt vs. I will send downe to you my spirit like tongues of fire Send you vp to me your praier like pillars of smoake And in case you want any thing at any time doe no more but let me heare your voice let me by a praier as by a letter from you vnderstand it and you shall haue it Aske and it shall be giuen you Yet it is not enough for vs to aske with the mouth we must also seeke with the heart For seeking with the heart hath oftentimes preuailed without the asking of the mouth But asking with the mouth could neuer yet obtaine any thing of God without the seeking of the heart Therefore Hierom findeth himselfe greatly grieued that now and then in praier time his mouth his mind went not both together My minde saies he is wandring or walking in this or that gallery or else telling or counting this or that summe of monie or diuers other waies misled and seduced This is satans subtilty to be then most busie in tempting of vs when we are most busie in praying to God As when two goe to law with one another the plaintife will doe what he can to hinder the defendant that the iudge may not heare what he is able to say in his own cause in like sort the deuill the common plaintife the cōmon accuser of all mankind when he seeth vs vpon our knees pleading for our selues by prayer and seeking fauour and pittie of God the iudge of all then doth he most interrupt and disturbe vs. And euen as the furies are described to haue snakes and serpents vpon their heades in stead of haire so sathan distracts our mindes and makes vs like furies putting pestilent and noysome cogitations into our heades in stead of deuout and holy affections Which is the cause why Iob before he fell downe vpon the ground to pray did shaue his head did shaue and cut off all idle and earthly thoughts which are nothing els but snakes and serpents suggested by that old serpent the deuill For blessed Iob knew right well it was vnpossible God should heare him if he heard not himselfe No no saies God I will neuer heare such a people because this people drawes neare to me with their mouthes honour me with their lippes but their hearts are farre from me What then saies the Apostle I will pray with my breath or with my mouth yea and I wil pray also with my vnderstanding or with my heart Seeing indeede fiue wordes though they were no more comming from a well disposed and a faithfull heart are a thousand times better thē ten thousand words which are neuer at all vttered but muttered onely and mumbled vp in the mouth Gods promise to his people is this You shall seeke me and you shall finde me because you shall seeke me with your whole heart Gods performance of his promise is this You haue sought me and you haue found me because you haue sought me with your whole heart Therefore when thou seekest seeke with thy heart when thou praiest enter into thy chamber Thy lippes are but the chamber dore So that when thou hast opened the dore of thy lips then thou must