Jer. iii. 14, 15. right hand and the left, presented to the charge of their A SERMON FOUND IN THE STUDY OF BISHOP ANDREWS.* MATT. vii. 7, 8. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be For whosoever asketh," &c. opened unto you. 1. As all the creatures of God, which attain their highest perfection by process of time, are in their first beginning raw; so man, in the end of his race the perfectest, is at his entrance thereunto the weakest, and thereby longer enforced to continue a subject for other men's compassion to work upon voluntarily, without any other persuader, besides their own secret inclination, moving them to repay to the common stock of humanity such help, as they know that themselves before must needs have borrowed; the state and condition of all flesh being herein alike. It cometh hereby to pass, that although there be in us, when we enter into this present world, no conceit or apprehension of our own misery, and for a long time after no ability, as much as to crave help or succour at other men's hands; yet through his most good and gracious providence, which feedeth the young, even of feathered fowls and ravens (whose natural significations of their necessities are therefore termed in Scripture "prayers and invocations" which God doth hear), we amongst them whom he values at a far higher rate than millions of brute creatures, do find by perpetual experience, daily occasions given unto every of us, religiously to acknowledge with the Prophet David, "Thou, O Lord, from our birth hast been Psal. * [Published by I. Walton, 1678. 8vo.] xxii. 9. Psal. 1. 15. Prov. xxiii. 26. merciful unto us, we have tasted thy goodness, hanging even at our mothers' breasts." That God, which during infancy preserveth us without our knowledge, teacheth us at years of discretion how to use our own abilities for procurement of our own good. 2. "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For whosoever doth ask, shall receive; whosoever doth seek, shall find; the door unto every one which knocks shall be opened." In which words we are first, commanded to ask, seek, and knock: secondly, promised grace answerable unto every of these endeavours; asking, we shall have; seeking, we shall find; knocking, it shall be opened unto us: thirdly, this grace is particularly warranted, because it is generally here averred, that no man asking, seeking, and knocking, shall fail of that whereunto his serious desire tendeth. i. Of asking or praying I shall not need to tell you, either at whose hands we must seek our aid, or to put you in mind that our hearts are those golden censers from which the fume of this sacred incense must ascend. For concerning the one, you know who it is which hath said, "Call upon me;" and of the other, we may very well think, that if any where, surely first and most of all in our prayers, God doth make his continual claim, "Fili, da mihi cor tuum," Son, let me never fail in this duty to have thy heart. 3. Against invocation of any other than God alone, if all arguments else should fail, the number whereof is both great and forcible, yet this very bar and single challenge might suffice; that whereas God hath in Scripture delivered us so many patterns for imitation when we pray, yea, framed ready to our hands in a manner all, for suits and supplications, which our condition of life on earth may at any time need, there is not one, no not one to be found directed unto Angels, Saints, or any, saving God alone. So that, if in such cases as this we hold it safest to be led by the best examples that have gone before, when we see what Noah, what Abraham, what Moses, what David, what Daniel, and the rest did; what Form of Prayer Christ himself likewise taught his Church, and what his blessed Apostles did practise; who can doubt but the way for us to pray so as we may undoubtedly be accepted, is by conforming our prayers to theirs, whose supplications we know were acceptable? 4. Whoso cometh unto God with a gift, must bring with him a cheerful heart, because he loveth hilarem datorem, a liberal and frank affection in giving. Devotion and fervency addeth unto prayers the same that alacrity doth unto gifts; it putteth vigour and life in them. xv. 22, Luke Prayer proceedeth from want, which being seriously laid to heart, maketh suppliants always importunate; which importunity our Saviour Christ did not only tolerate in the woman of Canaan, but also invite and exhort thereunto, as Matt. the parable of the wicked Judge sheweth. Our fervency &c. sheweth us sincerely affected towards that we crave: but xviii. that which must make us capable thereof, is an humble spirit; for God doth load with his grace the lowly, when the proud he sendeth empty away: and therefore to the end that [i. 53.j all generations of the world might know how much it standeth them upon to beware of all lofty and vain conceits when we offer up our supplications before him, he hath in the Gospel both delivered this caveat, and left it by a special chosen parable exemplified. The Pharisee and Publican having presented themselves in one and the same place, the Temple of [xviii. God, for performance of one and the same duty, the duty of prayer, did notwithstanding, in that respect only, so far differ the one from the other, that our Lord's own verdict of them remaineth (as you know) on record, They departed home, the sinful Publican, through humility of prayer, just; the just Pharisee, through pride, sinful. So much better doth he accept of a contrite peccavi, than of an arrogant Deo gratias. 10-14.] 5. Asking is very easy," if that were all God did require : but because there were means which his providence hath appointed for our attainment unto that which we have from him, and those means now and then intricated, such as require deliberation, study, and intention of wit; therefore he which emboldeneth to ask, doth after invocation exact inquisition; a work of difficulty. The baits of sin every where open, ready always to offer themselves; whereas that which is precious, being hid, is not had but by being sought. "Præmia non ad magna prævenitur nisi per magnos la- Bernard. bores;" Straightness and roughness are qualities incident unto every good and perfect way. What booteth it to others that we wish them well, and do nothing for them? As little ourselves it must needs avail, if we pray and seek not. To trust to labour without prayer, it argueth impiety and profaneness; it maketh light of the providence of God: and although it be not the intent of a religious mind; yet it is the fault of those men whose religion wanteth light of mature judgment to direct it, when we join with our prayer slothfulness and neglect of convenient labour. He which hath said, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask"-hath in like sort commanded also to seek wisdom, to search for underxvi. 16.] standing as for treasure. To them which did only crave a seat in the Kingdom of Christ, his answer, as you know, in the [Matt. Gospel was this; To sit at my right hand and left hand in xx. 23.] the seat of glory is not a matter of common gratuity, but of divine assignment from God. He liked better of him which [xix. 16, enquired, "Lord, what shall I do that I may be saved?" and therefore him he directed the right and ready way, "Keep the commandments." [Jam. i. 5.] Prov. 17.] 6. I noted before unto you certain special qualities belonging unto you that "ask :" in them that "seek" there are the like: which we may observe it is with many as with them of 2 Tim. whom the Apostle speaketh, they "are alway learning, and iii. 7. never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." "Ex [Acts ii. 7.] [Matt. vi. 2.] [Cant. iii. 1.] amore non quærunt," saith Bernard; they seek because they |