The Godly Mans Journey to Heaven, Treatise 2 · Meditation 20
20. Our strongest God whom nothing can bind, whom all men and diuels cannot bind; is heartily contented to be bound by the prayers of his owne.
CAnst thou possibly, ô my soule, lend with my eares, my heart also; vntounto that inhibition serued by the Lord thy God against his seruant Moses: Exodous 32. 10.Let me alone that my wrath may waxe hot, and not be prouoked (lifting vp thy voice like a trumpet) to crie wirh some speciall admiration; yea, with some singular ioy. O the incomparable honour, ô wonderfull happinesse, ô the admirable force and valour! ô that soule which God hath so mercifully inriched with that blessed spirit of sauing prayer well grounded, sharply pointed, and strongly feathered.Iud 14. 15. 16. Sampson was a strong man and could do much. Goliah was a mightie man who could defie and affray many.2. Sam. 17. Dauid had sundrie worthies by whom rare things were effected: yea, there were seuen hundred in Beniamin all left handed,2. Sam. 23. who could sling stones at a haires breadth and not faile.Iudg. 20. Alwayes true sauing prayer is stronger then all these, and can do, yea, and doth that which neuer one of these seuerally, neuer all these iointly durst hauehave attēpted to do. But am I able to cleare this, ô my soule? this by Gods grace I shall cleare, yea cleare vntounto the sensible: for cannot true prayer (as these words spoken by our God vntounto Moses ioyned with that which is found in other Scriptures testifie) bind that great and onelyonly strong God of heauen, whom barres of brasse, bands of iron, and cords seuen times folded cannot bind possibly. Yea, cannot true sauing prayer loose that God of heauen with all his creatures, whom no power in hell, nor in earth can loose. Prayer can bind the God of heauen, when his hands is armed against man for sinne, when he is clothed with hot wrath to consume man for sinne, making him to cast his armour from him, and louingly to embrace these whom he threaned to destroy. Prayer can loose the God of heauen with all his creatures when he appeares to be enclosed within the heauens, forgetting the miseries and afflictions of his owne, and suffering his enemies to triumph ouer them.Gen. 19. 22. Cannot Lot by prayer bind his God so, that he must say to him by his Angel. Hast thee, saue thee there, for I can do nothing till thou come thither. And cannot Iacob tye his God so to him, that the Lord must say to him. Let me go for the morning appeareth, Gen. 32▪ 26.and that Iacob can answer, I will not let thee go except thou blesse me. Yea confesseth not our God himselfe afore hand here to be obliged to suffer himselfe to be bound by that prayer which Moses was yet to make to him,1. King. 17. 18. when he will say to him; Let me alone? Cannot Eliah by prayer loose the heauens, and bring raine from them, as by prayer he had bound them before? Cannot Elisaeus loose the heauens,2. King. 1. and bring downe fire from them? Cannot Ezekiah in the day of his strait, loose the God of heauen by his prayer, making him to loose an Angel, to slay in one night an hundred fourescore and fiue thousand of his aduersaries?Esay 37. 36. 37. 38. and thereafter to loose the hands of Adramilech and Sharisher to slay Senecherib their owne father, who had opened his mouth to blaspheme the liuing God, and intended the ouerthrow of his people? Oh, ô my soule, when shall the secure professours of this age, mockers of praier, get grace to weigh that aright which is written, Gen. 18. 2. King. 4. Abraham is praying to his God, euen for Sodome and Gomorrha; alwayes ceassed not Abraham to pray for them, before his God ceassed to answer him graciously while he was praying for them, and to grant all that he had craued: yea, wants not that poore widdow emptie vessels to receiue and to keepe oyle into, before our gracious God want, oyle to poure into them. Oh, my soule, if we were sensible of his excellencie and force of this gift of prayer, that so we might: learne in time, delighting our selues in it, to exercise our selues about it continually. It is that hand of the Christian which is able to reach from the earth to the heauens, and to take euerie manner of good gift out of the Lords treasurie. It is one of these keyes of the house of Dauid, whereby we open the doores of the heauenly Palace, and go in to take a view of that glorious mansion prepared for vsus. It is that trustie messenger which goeth with speed from our soules, saluting no creature by the way, and entreth straight before the merciemercy seate in heauen, reporting to the Lord all our griefes, and desires, and reporting backe a fauorable strengthening and comforting answer vntounto vsus. Yea, prayer is to thee, ô my soule, that fierce chariot of Eliah▪ whereby thou art made to mount vp to the third heauen, and to hauehave thy conuersation there with God, who onelyonly teacheth thee to pray and to whom thou prayest onelyonly vntounto. The sense hereof moued Cyprian to say:Cypr. Orationes nostrae arma coelestia sunt, munimenta spiritualia, & tela diuina. Our prayers are our heauēly weapons, our spirituall defenses, and diuine darts whereby we are made able to fight, to stand, and to persue in the day of need. I charge thee therefore, ô my soule, whensoeuer thou goest to prayer, that thou forget not to to draw vp this sute amongst others vntounto God. O Lord my God let it please thy Maiestie, for the sonne of thy loues sake, to poure downe from day to day, a greater measure of that blessed and sweetest spirit of true prayer vponupon me, with some greater measure of the knowledge of thy will, greater zeale of thy glorie and louelove of thy children, and with all these a greater measure of faith and of holinesse, to the end that my prayer being sharply pointed with a zeale to thy glorie, and louelove to thy children, and strongly feathered, on the one side with faith, and one the other with holinesse; I may be able to draw and transcend the cloudes, and percing these heauen of heauens, to enter in before thy Maiestie prouing the first to accept of them for his sake in whose name they are drawne vp to thee and then proue able to binde thy blessed Maiestie, and to loose thy blessed Maiestie, with all thy creatures aboue me, about me, and beneath me as thy glorie, as thy childrens, and my owne need for thy glorie craues; and as the pride, insolencie, and crueltie of thine and their aduersaries for thee requires.