Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	fear_v	lord_n	remembrance_n	1,962	5	9.9520	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03339	The doctrine of fasting and praier, and humiliation for sinne Delivered in sundry sermons at the fast appointed by publique authority, in the yeere 1625. By that late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ. Arth. Hildersam.	Hildersam, Arthur, 1563-1632.; Hildersam, Samuel, 1593 or 4-1674.	1633 (1633)	STC 13459; ESTC S104100	106,897	227

hee sent Shemaj●h the Prophet unto them to declare unto them the true cause of that judgement and to bring them to an effectuall sight and sense of their sinne and then not before they humbled themselves and confessed that the Lord was righteous Gods judgements and corrections without the word vse not to worke savingly Indeed they serve 1. to prepare and make the heart fitter to receive and profite by the word 2. to stirre up those sparks and make them to burne which the word had before cast into the heart and were covered as with ashes but without the word they use not to worke savingly But the word even without affliction hath done mighty things this way Ier. 23. 29. Is not my Word like as a fire saith the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces Wouldst thou then have thy heart softned Bring it to this fire if it be as hard as iron it will soften it and make it plyable bring it to this anvile where the hammer smiteth and it wil breake it For first this is ordained and sanctified of God to bee a glasse that will cleerly and evidently discover to us all our spots and deformities as the Apostle teacheth us Iam. 1. 23. Secondly God hath promised to accompany this ordinance of his with the divine power and efficacy of his holy Spirit I will be with you saith our Saviour Mat. 28. 20. unto the end of the world And therefore it is no marvell though it be so mighty this way A likely matter will you say for where have you harder and profaner hearts then such as are daily beaten upon by this hammer I answer First That the hardned and reprobate heart is made the harder by the strokes of this hāmer specially such hearts as once were softned and are growne hard againe even as the Smiths iron is To 〈◊〉 the word is a savour of death unto death 2 Cor. 〈…〉 Secondly The true cause why so many heare us daily and their hearts are never a whit mollified by it is this in many of our hearers the Lord works not with us no alas in these dayes the Lord works with us but in few and if he be not with us if hee worke not with us we can doe nothing When God bad Moses take his rod and smite the rock in Horeb he told him he would stand before him on the rock and then when God stood upon the rock Moses smote the rock and water gushed out of it aboundantly Exod. 17. 5 6. If God had not beene there Moses smiting the rock would have done nothing so is it in this case Thirdly This I say that such as God hath in mercy ordained to give a soft heart unto shall feele their hearts mollified more by this then by any other meanes And if this will not soften thy heart I assure thee nothing will doe it This being so Oh that we who are Gods ministers would more diligently carefully apply our selves to this worke and stir up our selves in our ministry not onely to reprove sinne but to doe it feelingly and conscionably so as may be most effectuall to bring Gods people to sound humiliation for sinne If we would bring them to lament for sinne we must mourne to them our selves as our saviour speaketh Mat. 11. 17. and not by our Epicurisme and riotous lives proclaime unto them that we are far from having humbled soules in our selves for our owne sinnes And O that you that are Gods people would seek for and desire this helpe from us in our ministry to soften your hearts and further you in this worke of humiliation of foule for sinne Certainly you should desire and seek for all good helpes this way When God denounced against his people the heavy judgement of the Babilonish captivity and provokes them to humiliation and repentance for the preventing of it Consider yee saith he ler. 9. 17 18. and call for the mourning women that they may come and send for cunning women that they may come and let them make hast and take up a wailing for us that our eyes may runne down with teares and our eyelids gush out with waters He alludes to the custome they had in funerals and such occasions of mourning to hire certain women that by their skill in singing dolefull songs might increase their heavinesse and make them more apt to mourn But his meaning is to teach them that in such a time as that was wherein they had also just cause to mourne and humble themselves they should use all the best helps they could to provoke themselves unto sorrow And surely we should all learne to doe so in this case seeing humiliation for sinne is so necessary and the ministry of the word is a singular meanes to worke our hearts to it we should therefore desire so far as the good order that God hath established in his Church will permit to heare such as whose ministry is most powerfull and effectuall for the softning of a hard heart The second meane wherein we must use the help of others is the benefit of private admonition and reproofe They that would have their hearts softned to be able to mourne and weepe for sin must not bee unwilling to be admonished and reproved for sin in private by some faithfull friend either Minister or other but count it a great benefit and desire it rather First certainly God hath given authority and a straight charge to all his people to watch one over another and to call upon and admonish and reprove one another Heb. 10. 24. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works 2 Thes. 3. 15. Yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother Levit. 19. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour and not suffer sinne upon him Secondly God hath sanctified and ordained this for a meanes to reclaime poore sinners to bring them to a saving sight and sense of their sinne and keepe them from hardning their hearts in it Matth. 18. 15. If thy brother shall trespasse against thee go and tell him his fault betweene thee and him alone if he shall heare thee thou hast gained thy brother but if not then Verse 16. 17. take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established And if he shall neglect to heare them tell it unto the Church but if he neglect to heare the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen man and a Publicane As if he had said count not his case desperate till this course have been taken with him Thirdly God hath oft blessed this course wonderfully Mel. 3. 16. Then they that feared the Lord spake oft one to another and the Lord hearkned and heard it and a booke of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought

prayer 2. Sam. 24. 16. The Lord repented Him of the evill and said to the Ange●● that destroyed the people it is enough stay now thine hand Is it in the power of man to overcome God to withstand Him when He comes to take vengeance to cause Him to change His mind Yes verily Iacob had tha● power Gen. 32. 26 when the Lord had wrestled with Him and said Let Me go he would not let Him go but Verse 28. as a prince he had power with G●d and p●ev●iled And how did he overcome God th●s By prayer as you may see Hos. 12. 4. He h●d power ●ver the Angell and prevailed he wept 〈◊〉 mad● supplication unt● him Say not those were rare men for all Gods people have this name given them they are all called the Israel of God Gal. 6. 16. and therefore as Princes may prevaile with God this way And no marvell though Gods people may thus prevaile with God for the staying of His hand inte●porall judgements or removing of them from their brethren seeing they are able to prevaile with God even for the pardon of their sinnes which are the causes of those judgements and for the converting and saving of their soules Iam. 5. 15. The prayer of fai●h shall s●ve the sicke and if he have committed sin●●s they shal be forgiven him And 1 Io● 5. 16. If any 〈◊〉 see his bro●●er sinne● sinne which is not ●nto death he shall aske and he shall give him life for them that sinne not 〈◊〉 death The Use this Doctrine serves unto is for Instruction R●proofe Examination First for instruction To teach us what account is to be made of such as are true Israelites And know thou h●st two reasons to mo●e thee to make much of such 1. They are a blessing to the place where they live Esa. 19. 24. Israel shall be a blessing in the midst of the land They are the props and pillars of the Land for their sakes the Land is spared If there had been butten such in Sodom Sodom had beene spared Gen 18. 32. 2. They are able as Princes to prevaile mightily with God by their prayers to stand in the breach and to hold Gods hands they are the chario●s of Israel and the horse●e●● thereof as they are called 2 King 13. 14. Indeed there are but a few such true Israelites which makes the Prophet speake in that manner Psal. 25. 12. What man is he that feareth the Lord But where thou knowest such make much of them Why should not Gods favourit●s be as much honoured as the favourites of the greatest King Get as many such into the towne thou livest in as thou canst They are as L●ts in Sodom Gen. 19. 22. till L●t was gone out of Sodom the Angell could not destroy it Get as many such into thy family as thou canst As David professed he would do Psal. 101. 6. Mi●e eyes shal be upon the faithfull in the land that they may dwell with me Gen. 39. 5. The Lord blessed the Egypti●ns house for Iosephs s●ke Get such friends as these are Psal. 119. 63. I am a companion of all them that feare Thee Vers. 79. Let those that feare Thee turne unto me and those that have knowne thy testimonies I tell thee Paul as great an Apostle as he was knew how to esteeme and make use of such friends Rom. 15. 30. N●w I beseech you brethren for the L●rd Iesus Christs sake and for the l●ve of the spirit that you strive together with me in your pr●yers to God for mee I know I shall offend many of you in speaking so much for such whom above all others you detest most and are ready to shew it upon every occasion And I have wondred much to see the bitter hatred that many who are otherwise civill men beare to such as feare God For think I Psal. 11. 3. and What h●th the righteous done B●t I have found in Gods Booke the true cause of it and that is this that every naturall man hateth God and is an enemy to Him Rom. 5. 10. and that God hath put enmity betweene the seed of the serp●● and the seed of the wom●n Gen. 3. 15. and therefore so long as thou continuest an enemy unto God and one of the serpents seed thou must needs hate all such as truly feare God The good Lord be mercifull to thee and give thee an heart to take notice of thy wretched estate that thou maist repent and come out of it The second Use is for reproofe of three sorts of men I Of them that cannot pray 2. Of them that do not use to pray 3. Of them that will not pray First of them that cannot pray O consider how miserable a man thou art First thou wantest that whereby thou shouldest helpe thy poore brethren in their misery A griefe it is to an honest mind to see his brother in extreme want and misery and he hath nothing to relieve him with Therefore is that commandment given Ephes. 4. 28. Let him labour in some honest calling that be m●y have to give How much more just cause of griefe is this when thou canst not so much as pray for him Secondly thou wantest that whereby thou shouldest keepe off Gods judgements from thy selfe or remove them or yeeld thee comfort in them For my love th●● were mine ●dversaries saith David Psal. 109. 4. but I gave my selfe to prayer That was his chiefe comfort in all his afflictions Thirdly thou wantest that that should give thee comfort in thy present estate For thou canst have no assurance that thou art Gods child or that thou hast any truth of grace in thee if thou cannot not pray The spirit of grace is the spirit of s●pplication Zac. 12. 10. Because ye ●re sonnes saith the Apostle Gal. 4. 6. God hath sent f●rth the spirit of His S●nne into your hearts crying Abb● Father No man is the child of God nor hath the spirit of Christ in him that is not able feelingly and fervently to call God●Father and to pray unto Him Learne therefore to cry earnestly unto God as the Disciples did L●k 11. 1. Lord teach me to pray The second sort that are to be reproved by this Doctrine are such as can but through lazinesse and propha●e negligence do not use to pray Many there be that seldome or never pray it may be in their sicknesse or extreme danger they will but they beare upon them that brand of an hypocrite that Iob spea●eth of 〈◊〉 27. 10. Will he call upon God at all times that is constantly and not by fits and starts onely Many that did once use constantly to pray with their families and in secret have now given it over To whom the Lord will one day say as Esa. 43. 22. Tho● hast not called upon 〈◊〉 O 〈◊〉 but th●●●ast bee●e ●eary of ●e O Is●●●l they that neglect their calling upon God and are 〈◊〉 of prayer are weary of God Ma●y never po●●ed out prayer to God