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<DATE>2010-04-29</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A SERMON PREACHED AT THE TOVVER, February 20. 1641.</P>
<P>Being upon the Sabboth Day.</P>
<P>By the Bi&s;hop of Bath and VVells.</P>
<P>London Printed for H.S. 1641.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>A SERMON PREACHED AT THE TOVVER.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 Cor. 12.8.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For this thing I be&s;ought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me, and he &s;aid unto me, my grace is &s;ufficient for thee, for my &s;trength is made perfect in weakne&s;&s;e.</P></Q>
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<P>_THis Ver&s;e it hath dependancy with the Ver&s;e before, through the abundance of Revelations he was exalted above mea|&s;ure, there was given a thorne in the fle&s;h, the me&s;&s;enger of Satan to buffet him, and for this thing he prayed the Lord thrice that it might depart from him: the occa&s;ion
<PB N="2" REF="3">of this prayer was the Thorne in the fle&s;h, and the occa&s;ion of that Thorne, was the me&s;&s;enger of Sa|tan: No Apo&s;tle more greater then he, and none more greatly afflicted, none more gracious, and the danger of that was &s;pirituall pride, the greate&s;t &s;in that the Church of God can fall into: the greater grace, the greater humility ought we to have, and the more humbly to walke with God.</P>
<P>The parts are two:
<LIST>
<ITEM>Fir&s;t, <HI>Pauls</HI> petition to God.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Secondly, Gods an&s;wer to <HI>Paul.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>The petition con&s;i&s;ts of five branches.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Fir&s;t, the cau&s;es of his complaint, no &s;mall mat|ter, but &s;ome great thing, <HI>For this thing.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Secondly, the remedy that he u&s;eth, and that was Prayer.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Thirdly, the earne&s;tne&s;&s;e of his Prayer, not once, or twice, but he did continue his Prayer, <HI>For this thing I prayed three times.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Fourthly, the Phy&s;itian to whom he &s;ought, to the Lord.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Fifthly, the end of his Petition, the thing that he did de&s;ire, that he might be ea&s;ed, <HI>In that it might depart from me.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Secondly, yee have Gods an&s;wer, and therein ob|&s;erve two particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the effect of his an&s;wer, it was a deniall: the Apo&s;tle prayes that this thing that did &s;o trouble him might depart from him, but it would not be.</P>
<P>Secondly, Gods divine aide, God gave him a better thing that he did not pray for, to comfort him again&s;t the things that he did pray for, <HI>And he &s;aid unto me, my grace is &s;ufficient for thee:</HI> Where ob&s;erve
<PB N="3" REF="3">the nature of this divine aide, <HI>My grace.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, the quantity, <HI>It is &s;ufficient for thee.</HI></P>
<P>The third thing is, the rea&s;on of Gods deniall, and his divine aide expre&s;&s;ed in a famous &s;entence, or maxime of divinity, and this is granted from Gods goodne&s;&s;e and mercy, both for his owne glory, and mans good, <HI>For my &s;trength is made perfect in weak|ne&s;&s;e:</HI> The&s;e are all the branches of the Text, of which in order, as time and your patience will give leave, and fir&s;t of <HI>Pauls</HI> complaint, <HI>For this thing I be&s;ought the Lord:</HI> What this thing was in generall, that <HI>Paul</HI> tels you in the ver&s;e before, and hee de|&s;cribes it in two wayes: Fir&s;t, in a figurative &s;peech, in re&s;pect of the great angui&s;h it wrought, and he calls it a Thorne in the fle&s;h&punc; the word in the Origi|nall &s;ignifies a &s;harp &s;tick, or the point of a Speare, which being fa&s;tened into a mans body, puts him to intollerable paine. Secondly, he calls it the angle of Satan: but now two things is here, one that it is Satans vexation, and the other that it did afflict him to the very heart, &s;o that you &s;ee it was no Thi&s;tle, no Bryar, no &s;mall thing that did trouble him here, and becau&s;e the Engli&s;h Tran&s;lation calls it by the name of a Thorne, and becau&s;e we have not a bet|ter word in Engli&s;h to expre&s;&s;e it, I will call it &s;o, but what thing was that, that is the doubt: here I confe&s;&s;e I am fallen among Thornes: Some divines are of opinion that this Thorne was originall concu|pi&s;cence, which <HI>Paul</HI> calls the Law in the fle&s;h: but this is too far fetched, for originall concupi&s;cence is common to all the regenerate: but he here com|plaines of &s;ome evill that happened only to him&s;elf: Secondly, he knew that that could not depart from
<PB N="4" REF="4">him &s;o long as he did live here, but he prayes that this might depart from him, but other Divines take this to be &s;ome bodily di&s;ea&s;e, as a continuall paine in the &s;tomack, as the Gout, or the Stone, or &s;ome malady in the body, but this is very unlikely, be|cau&s;e <HI>Paul</HI> doth no where in any of his Epi&s;tles complaine of any bodily infirmity he had. Second|ly, this had been an impediment for his planting the Go&s;pell in all Countries, which he could not have done if he had had any bodily infirmity: Some under&s;tand it the adver&s;aries he had, as <HI>Hymineus,</HI> and others, e&s;pecially <HI>Alexander</HI> the Copper&s;mith, it is true indeed that this was one of Satans me&s;&s;en|gers, but this was but a Thorne without the fle&s;h: but <HI>Paul</HI> complaines of a Thorne in the fle&s;h, &s;ome affliction that did &s;tick clo&s;e to him: others are of opinion that this was &s;ome evill Angell of Satan that God did permit to vexe the body of <HI>Paul,</HI> as he did to vexe <HI>Iob,</HI> and to buffet with <HI>Paul</HI> as one man would with another, and be&s;towed many a blow upon him: others are of opinion that it was &s;ome lu&s;tfull motions &s;tirred up in the Apo&s;tle, and for this cau&s;e he did keep his body under, for &s;ay they, if it had been any thing el&s;e he would have told us plainly what it had been, but being a thing that hee was a&s;hamed of, he tels us it was a Thorne.</P>
<P>But <HI>Paul</HI> he had the gift of Cha&s;tity, <HI>I would all were as I am,</HI> &s;aith he: 2. If <HI>Paul</HI> had been troubled with that, there was an ea&s;ie remedy which hee gave to others, what &s;hall we &s;ay then? certainly in the judgement of mo&s;t Divines it was &s;ome ter|ror of Satan, &s;ome internall and &s;pirituall affliction
<PB N="5" REF="4">in his &s;oule, and when he &s;aith it was in his fle&s;h, he meanes by his fle&s;h, the outward man, the unrege|nerate part, the unregenerate part of the &s;oule, as <HI>Rom.</HI> 7. although an inward temptation, or afflicti|on in con&s;cience may be truly &s;aid to be in the fle&s;h by way of participation, becau&s;e the fle&s;h by &s;uch a cau&s;e becomes weak and pale: the be&s;t is this, that the Lord did permit Satan to bring to the eare and minde of <HI>Paul</HI> all his per&s;ecutions and wickedne&s;&s;e, God hereby intending to humble him, though Satans policy hereby was to have &s;haken him: but this Thorne is hid &s;o deep in the fle&s;h, that I will &s;earch no farther after it, but content my &s;elfe with that of <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> That he doth profe&s;&s;e he did not know what this Thorne here was: Yee &s;ee then an Apo&s;tle, and &s;uch an Apo&s;tle as <HI>Paul,</HI> and after &s;o many fa|vours he mu&s;t have a Thorn in the fle&s;h, the Church of God in generall, and every childe of God in the Church is &s;aid to be a Lilly among Thornes, <HI>Cant.</HI> 2.2. He is not worthy to be a member of the my|&s;teriall body, upon the glorious head whereof was platted a Crowne of many Thornes, who cannot indure the pricking of one Thorne, &s;ome light af|fliction, if not for his owne &s;ake, yet for our Savi|ours &s;ake: hath our Saviour drunke &s;o deep of the cup, and &s;hall not we be willing to &s;ip after him in the &s;ame cup? If God did not &s;pare his only Son for us that knew not any &s;in, &s;hall we that are his adopted&punc; Sons think to e&s;cape without any &s;courge|ing at all&punc; He whom the Lord hath not cha&s;ti&s;ed, is a ba&s;tard, and no &s;on <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. Give me a man that never was: afflicted with any affliction, &s;aith
<PB N="6" REF="5"><HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> and I will pre&s;ently conclude, that that man is not the childe of God, for every childe of God mu&s;t have &s;ome afflictions to humble him, and call him home to God, wherein he mu&s;t rejoyce: Wee mu&s;t not thinke to pa&s;&s;e from the joy of this world, to the joy of the next: no, when the I&s;raelites went out of Aegypt, they did not goe through plea&s;ant Gardens, but the Wilderne&s;&s;e, to Canaan: this was a type that we mu&s;t pa&s;&s;e through afflictions to that Heavenly Canaan: and therefore one that was without afflictions, &s;aid to God, What Lord, am I out of thy favour? am I not worthy to be afflicted? What a Catalogue doth S. <HI>Paul</HI> reckon of his affli|ctions in the eleventh of this Epi&s;tle, <HI>ver.</HI> 23. <HI>In la|bours more abundant, in &s;tripes above mea&s;ure, in pri|&s;on more plentious, in death oft, of the Iews five times received I forty &s;tripes &s;ave one, I was thrice beaten with rods, I was once &s;toned, I &s;uffered thrice &s;hipwrack, night and day I have been in the deepe Sea, in journying I was often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my owne Nation, in perils among the Gentiles, in perils in the City, in perils in the wil|derne&s;&s;e, in perils in the Sea, in perils among fal&s;e brethren, in wearine&s;&s;e and painfulne&s;&s;e, in watching often, in hunger and thri&s;t, in fa&s;ting often:</HI> I am al|mo&s;t out of breath in rehear&s;ing of them, and yet this worthy Apo&s;tle was never out of breath in &s;uf|fering them, all the afflictions of the people of God are but pricks and thornes, they are but loving cor|rections of a mercifull Father, we are troubled on every &s;ide, but not di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, afflicted, but not for|&s;aken, ca&s;t out, but not de&s;troyed: Oh welcome,
<PB N="7" REF="5">thrice welcome the&s;e bitter &s;weets, the&s;e loving cha|&s;ti&s;ements, the&s;e indulgent vi&s;itations, the&s;e plea|&s;ant cro&s;&s;es, the&s;e comfortable calamities, the&s;e whole&s;ome mi&s;eries, the&s;e glorious tryals, the&s;e joy|full temptations, the&s;e honourable reproaches: all light afflictions, which work for us a far exceeding waight of glory, by the&s;e we are humbled, and &s;eek right early to our God, by the&s;e our faith and love is kindled, and Gods graces exerci&s;ed, by the&s;e we are put in remembrance and &s;orrow for our &s;ins, by the&s;e we are made more carefull of future walking with God, by the&s;e we are made fit for the life to come, by the&s;e our de&s;ire is kindled to be with Chri&s;t, nay by the&s;e we are incouraged to imbrace death. I know out of very faithfulne&s;&s;e thou ha&s;t cau&s;ed me to be afflicted, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119. I have been the longer upon the fir&s;t branch, becau&s;e it is the hinge upon which the whole frame of my Text doth turne.</P>
<P>But what did <HI>Paul</HI> when the Thorne that was in the fle&s;h did trouble him, this me&s;&s;enger began to buffet him: he went pre&s;ently to prayer, the only way to draw out any Thorne what&s;oever, <HI>For this thing I prayed:</HI> Is any man afflicted? let him pray: Prayer was <HI>Iobs</HI> remedy, and it was <HI>Davids</HI> practi&s;e, <HI>In my di&s;tre&s;&s;e I called upon thee:</HI> And God him&s;elfe &s;aith, <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 5. <HI>In their afflictions they will &s;eeke mee early:</HI> We make prayer our la&s;t refuge in afflictions, but it ought to be fir&s;t, for God is a very pre&s;ent help in trouble: but will not God heare us except we pray? Fir&s;t, becau&s;e prayer is a matter of wor|&s;hip and &s;ervice of God: the great men of the world
<PB N="8" REF="6">will not be&s;tow favours without they be petitioned, and &s;hall the great God without our prayers? Se|condly, becau&s;e our prayers &s;hewes our confidence in God: a Father can be&s;tow mercies upon his Son without asking, but he will not, becau&s;e he takes delight to heare him &s;ue to him.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But Gods will is immutable, how can we alter it, what need we pray?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is a &s;ure rule, things that are not contrary, work together, Prayer is as it were the midwife to deliver Gods decree, Chri&s;t knew before hee did pray, that tho&s;e things that he did pray for &s;hould be granted, yet he prayes for it: but as our prayers mu&s;t be fervent, &s;o they mu&s;t be frequent, <HI>For this thing I prayed thrice,</HI> a medicine mu&s;t be often ap|plyed, or it will not work the cure, he prayed thrice, here is a certain number for an uncertain, as thrice happy, that is very happy, &s;o I prayed thrice, that is often, <HI>Ye ask and receive not, becau&s;e ye ask ami&s;&s;e:</HI> Goe then, and pray againe, and then often praying thou &s;halt finde out the error of thy prayer: if God deny thee at the fir&s;t, and &s;econd, give not over, peradventure Heaven gate is therefore &s;hut, that thou mai&s;t bounce the longer, and lowder, and there|fore give not over knocking, untill that God bee opening: great ble&s;&s;ings are obtained with earne&s;t|ne&s;&s;e: The unrighteous judge did yeeld at la&s;t to the importunate prayer of the widdow: And &s;hall not the Judge of all the world yeeld to the importunate prayer of his &s;ervants: <HI>The kingdome of heaven &s;uf|fers violence, and the violent take it by force:</HI> What force? Of prayer. Unto whom? Unto the Lord.
<PB N="9" REF="6">That is the fourth branch, <HI>For this thing I prayed thrice unto the Lord,</HI> Wee have neither precept nor practi&s;e in all the Canonicall Scripture to pray unto any other, but only unto the Lord in heaven, or in earth: <HI>Whom have I in heaven but thee, P&s;al.</HI> 37. But the Papi&s;ts, they are not of <HI>Davids</HI> Religion, for they have Saints, S. <HI>Benedict,</HI> S. <HI>Francis,</HI> and a thou&s;and more: He mu&s;t be a <HI>Bookers</HI> Arithmati|tion that can reckon up all the names of the &s;everall Saints that they call upon in their danger: That Courtlike argument of the Papi&s;ts, that we cannot goe to the King with a Petition without Ma&s;ter of Reque&s;ts, doth not de&s;erve a Scholler-like an&s;wer, for God is every where pre&s;ent, and he need no other Ma: of Reque&s;t but Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Then come to the la&s;t, that is, the end of his Petition, <HI>Depart from me:</HI> Afflictions in them&s;elves are not plea&s;ing, but con|trary to our nature, and therefore not to be de&s;ired: but when God &s;ends them wee are to beare them with comfort, wee take them willingly, but wee would not have them &s;tay with us, but when they have done their work, we would have them goe, but if this me&s;&s;enger of Satan doe not &s;traight waies depart from us, they &s;hall not make us depart from God.</P>
<P><HI>He did elect us before the world was made, Ephe.</HI> 1. And here by the way the Romi&s;h Schoolmen doth not handle this grace at large, becau&s;e it makes a|gain&s;t their proud doctrine of Ju&s;tification by good workes: Some under&s;tand this grace, which if a man have, he is &s;afe from the hurt of any affliction, it is true, this grace of God is fir&s;t meant, but it is
<PB N="10" REF="7">not the onely grace: &s;econdly, there is the grace of God within us, all the gifts of Gods Spirit, which is rightly and truly called Grace of God, the love and favour of God towards us: now of this of grace God doth the Apo&s;tle &s;peak here in my Text: <HI>We are kept by the power of God to Salvation,</HI> by the power of God, what is that? the power of Grace. And again&s;t what? Again&s;t all afflictions what&s;oever, This Grace is S. <HI>Pauls</HI> token. 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3. This is the mo&s;t precious jewell of a Chri&s;tian, and as the &s;oule is the life of the body, this is the life of the &s;oule, this &s;tirs up to good, and re&s;traines from evill, this keeps from pride in pro&s;perity, and &s;upports in affliction, this makes all our weak indeavours acceptable with God, and without this all our be&s;t actions is but &s;in: it is not the grace of the body, that is but vani|ty, it is not the grace of the world, the grace of the world is not able to keep a man from one poore lit|tle fit of an Ague, and when a man lies upon his death-bed, and Satan begins to tempt, and his con|&s;cience begins to trouble, then what good will all the grace of the world doe a man: but by this grace of God we are equall to the Angels, but without this grace we are wor&s;e then Toades, of Serpents: Nay, wor&s;e then the very devils of hell, and there|fore let us pray for this grace of God, that no man, nor creatures, nor devils can take away, but it con|tinues for ever: whom God loveth, he loveth to the end.</P>
<P>The &s;econd divine Aide God gave the Apo&s;tle, was the quantity of this grace, <HI>My grace is &s;ufficient for thee:</HI> &s;ufficient, it walks between two extreames;
<PB N="11" REF="7">abundance and want, and where there is &s;ufficient, there is neither too much, nor too little: and here we may admire the wi&s;dome of God, he is a free agent, the Sun &s;hines according to his naturall ability, but God giveth every one grace according to the mea|&s;ure of Chri&s;t, what is that? according to the plea|&s;ure of his own will: For God is an ever-flowing fountaine, an Ocean of grace, there is grace enough for you, and me, and for as many worlds as God can make: Wherefore let us not murmure again&s;t God, becau&s;e we have not that abundance of grace that the Apo&s;tles and others have had, they had the &s;howers of grace, we will be content with the dew of grace, they had the full &s;heaves, but we will bee glad of the gleanings, they had their full banquets, but we &s;hall think our &s;elves happy if we can have but the crums, and if we have grace, we &s;hall have glory: for it is with grace, as with Manna, he that gathered much had not over: and he that gathered little had no lack, and &s;o every grace is &s;ufficient as it is effectuall, and this doth ari&s;e from the power of God, and not from mans free will: He doth not &s;ay my grace is &s;ufficient with thee, but <HI>My grace is &s;ufficient for thee,</HI> and therefore we mu&s;t take heed we doe not part &s;takes between Gods grace, and mans free will, for it is he alone that gives us both to will and to doe according to his good plea&s;ure, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2. And therefore let us not be covetous, give me this &s;ufficiency from grace, for if we have grace enough, vve have enough: Give me the man that can truly &s;ay he hath enough: he &s;aith vvhen hee hath a hou&s;e, Oh that I had a little land, and &s;o as
<PB N="12" REF="8">the world growes upon him, his de&s;ires grow up|on the world, &s;o that every yeare, nay, every day, every houre he thinkes of another enough: but if a man have grace enough, hee hath all enough, this makes a penny &s;eeme to be as begge as a &s;hilling, a pri&s;on as a country, and this grace is &s;ufficient a|gain&s;t all the a&s;&s;aults of the world, the fle&s;h, and the devill, and again&s;t all afflictions: and although God could keepe us from afflictions, yet he will not, for if there were no conflict, there will be no victory, but in the end grace hath alwayes the upper hand, and in all the&s;e things we are more than conque|rers: be not then di&s;maid O Chri&s;tian &s;oule, who|ever thou art under &s;ome heavy affliction: what would&s;t thou be better than <HI>Paul?</HI> behold, the A|po&s;tle &s;uffered and de&s;paired not, nay behold, Chri&s;t him&s;elfe was tempted, and afflicted that hee might &s;uccour us when we are tempted and afflicted: Oh then behold Chri&s;t with a &s;ure comfort and a lively faith, and he will &s;uccour us in all our affli|ons, that neither fle&s;h, world, nor devill &s;hall be a|ble to &s;eparate us from the love of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord.</P>
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<PB REF="8">
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