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A41140
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XXIX sermons on severall texts of Scripture preached by William Fenner.
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Fenner, William, 1600-1640.
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1657
(1657)
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Wing F710; ESTC R27369
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363,835
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406
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and am overtaken with my infirmities yet I thank God he hath sanctified my heart For I think of God and of Christ and I oft call upon his name and let my thoughts runne on good things God and heaven are many times in my mind and I am sorry when I do amisse and the Lord hath blest me with a large portion of outward things Besides I see these and these signs of grace in me and therefore I think my case to be haphy And thus securely they live and so they go on and so they dye and so go to hell and perish for ever and ever Here is the misery of it many think of God and of Christ of death and of their last account of heaven of hell of faith and repentance of leaving sinne of crucifying their lusts and practising of holiness Now men think that their thinking of these things is a part of their discharge when indeed they are Additions to and pieces of their talents which increase their judgements God casts in a though of repentance holinesse of the remembrance of death and last account Dost thou find thy heart never the better and holier by them Then know it is only Gods haunting of thy heart and Gods calling upon thee and Gods inviting thee unto repentance to leave thy sinnes to come out of thy deadnesse and formality to prepare for thy death and judgement and therefore I say if thy heart now think not so if thy heart do not repent beleeve and grow more zealous and thou art not drawn the neerer to God I say then that the more of these good thoughts that thou hast had the greater thy doom will be if thou hast had ten thousands of them if they have been only Gods haunting of thy heart think thou then now of grace of God of thy poor soul which is not bettered by them nor made holy then know they are pieces of thy talent and it doth make thy torments in hell the greater Secondly thou hast good thoughts but the question is whether they be fleeting or abiding thoughts Many think of God of grace of heaven of the word of God and when they hear a Sermon they will think of God but these thoughts though they come into their minds yet they go away presently they are in and out at an instant in a trice they passe away and are gone Beloved there are two kinds of vain thoughts 1. vain because the substance and matter of them is vain and so all worldly thoughts are vain 2. or else for their want of durance and lasting and so are all thoughts of heaven of God and grace and of Christ if they vanish away they are all vain thoughts though they seem otherwise Hear what God saith Gen. 6. 5 God saw that the wickednesse of man was great upon the earth and all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart were only evill continually all the imaginations great is the emphasis of this word all all the thoughts yea all universally are only evill continually But you will say unto me Doth not a wicked man think that there is a God why that is a good thought doth not he think that this God is to be observed and worshipped why this is a good thought doth he not think that sin is to be forsaken that is a good thought doth he not think of heaven and of Christ how then are their thoughts only evil and that continually I answer Because all the thoughts of a wicked mans heart are vain that is vanishing thoughts not vain for the matter which sometimes may be good and Holy but vain because they soon vanish away thoughts that come and carry â—ot that leave no impression in their hearts behind them these are all vain thoughts according to that of the Apostle The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain 1 Cor. 3. 20. Beloved in a godly mans heart when a good thought comes it abides and dwells a good while in him and when it goes away it leaves a good impression behind it it leaves a sweet smell and favour in the heart after it is gone it s made more holy and sanctified by it When a good thought comes into a godly mans heart it leaves the print of it behind when a wicked man hath a good thought he â—osseth it up and down and suffers it not to stay but presently puts it away let a thought of the world come in and he can give it entertainment for seven days yea for seven years yea all his life he sets his heart as a wide gate open to receive them and to entertain them but if a thought of God or of repentance of holinesse and salvation come into his mind he is tyred out with it and it soon vanisheth away therefore so long as thy thoughts are thus vain though for the matter good if thou hast never so many of them yet if they abide not but thou thinkest and unthinkest them again if they come and give thy Soul a jog and so away the more I say thou hast of them though thou hast many millions the greater will be thy doom at the last day Thirdly Thou thinkest of God but the question is whether thy good thoughts be studied or accidental thoughts A wicked man that runs gadding in his thoughts here and there over the whole world upon this and that and I know not what in the midst of a lottery of thoughts he cannot chuse but stumble upon some good he thinks on God he thinks on Christ he thinks on Heaven but it is by the by-gone these thoughts of his are not naturall but if he think of the world of his pleasures of his outward delights and contentments these thoughts arise naturally out of his heart they are his own Now it may be a thought of God comes by the way But a godly man not only thinks of God but he stadies how to think of God it is his continuall endeavour to bring his mind to be fixed upon God it is his whole care to have good thoughts to dwell habitually in him There is an excellent phrase used to set it forth Malac. 3. 16. They that feared the Lord spake one unto another and the Lord hearkned and heard it and a book of remembrance was written before him of all them that feared the Lord and thought upon his Name Where I pray you to mark that thinking upon Gods Name and the fear of God are joyned together for thinking on God comes from the fear of God a godly man thinks upon God and fears him he thinks that God is alwayes with him in every place and he trembles before him he thinks God beholds all his thoughts and affections and trembles at him he thinks as he walks up and down in his way as he he is imployed in his calling as he is performing of any duty of Religion that Gods eye is upon him and beholds him and therefore he fears to offend
hearts my desire is the health of your souls though my meat seem soure yet my mind is the will of God Thou man or woman that canst not abide so much preaching but standest upon thorns whilst it is preaching Too much of one thing you say is good for nothing You do as much as say you will not have God with you you will have a little of God but you will have more of your pleasures Is this your desire your delights Know then whosoever thou art that hast an ill will to God and his Ordinances and wilt not have the gospel in the purity of it thou shalt have thy desires Thou sayest depart Preaching and so it shall thou shalt have thy desires When thou shalt hear the trumpets sound and when thine eares shall tingle with the sound of war then depart for ever you that are weary of God get you down to hell for ever Fulfill your base lusts then will God say for I have fed you on earth this twenty thirty forty fifty nay sixty years and upwards and my mild Word could not rule you nor prevaile with you and therefore now get you to hell and there remain for ever Think thus with your selves will God serve me thus yea that he will for he hath prepared a place for the proudest Kings Princes Monarchs Captains c that are or ever were in the world if they will not be ruled nor guided by God and his word See Isa 30. 33. the Text doth as good as say he delighteth to make bonfires about their ears And must this be the way to glorifie God But some may say Surely Kings and Monarchs are exempted they need not fear that such torments shall come upon them To this I answer that God will say unto them Raign there if thou wilt and then they shall know that there is a King that laughs at their destruction Take notice of this I beseech you and reason thus with your own soules I he a good son that cannot abide the presence of his own father is she a good wife that cannot abide the company of her husband and is he a good Christian that cannot endure the company of Christ in his ordinances This may serve to rebuke Gods people for their neglect You see the gospel is going Christ is departing he is going to seek better entertainment But I marvaile you give no better attendance I pray hearken what I say and have to say stand up and hear and the Lord give you grace to beleeve I will deal plainly with you as sure as God is God God is going from England Shall I tell you what God told me nay I must tell you on pain of my life Will you give eare and believe me I am a poor Ambassador sent from God to do his message unto you and although I be ow yet my message is from above and He that sent me is great and from above and oh that He would grant that this my message might be believed What if I should tell you what God told me yesternight THE SACRIFICE OF THE FAITHFUL OR A TREATISE shewing the nature property and efficacy of Zealous Prayer Together with some Motives to Prayer and Helps against discouragements in Prayer By WILLIAM FENNER Minister of the Gospel Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Lecturer of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford A DISCOURSE OF The nature of Prevalent Prayer Together with some helps against discouragements in Prayer LAMENT 3. 57. Thou drewest neare in the day that I called upon thee thou saidst fear not THis Book of the Lamentations doth plainely shew what miseries and distresses sin is the cause of As in this people of the Jews who because of their Idolatries their contempt of Gods Ordinances their slighting and misusing the Prophets c. Had their Cities taken their Temple burned their liberties confiscated themselves carried captive out of their own countrey and deprived of the ordinances of their God and the signs of his presence before they were rebellious but now they sought God a long time they prayed but God would not hear Insomuch that many poor soules amongst them were discouraged and almost ready to despaire That had not the Lord put in some inklings of hope they had utterly fainted Now whilst these poore soules were praying and crying and groaning and now ready to give over for discouragement that God will not heare them presently the Lord flings in comfort and beckens to their hearts not to be discouraged but to pray on and feare not Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee thou saidst fear not the words containe in them three properties of effectuall prayer First the unsatiablenesse of it All the prayers of this people though they had been of many yeares yet they counted them as the prayers of one day in the day that I called upon thee They account all their thousands of supplications and praiers as one suite never had they done their praiers till God did heare them Secondly the sensiblenesse of it whereby it is able to know whether God doe heare it or no Thou drewest neare in the day that I called upon thee Thirdly the supplyes it hath against dangers and discouragements God flings in comfort into their hearts giving them inklings of hope to support them against their discouragements thou saidst fear not From the first of these observe That an effectual prayer is an unsatiable prayer A man that praies effectually sets down this in himself as his first conclusion never to cease nor to give over praying till he speed This the first and prime thing that a godly heart looks at as David in his prayers He begins in this manner Heare my cry O God attend unto my prayer Psal 61. 1. So Give eare unto my prayer O God and hide not thy self from my supplications Psal 55. 1. Heare my voyce O God in my prayer Psal 64. 1. As if he should say Lord now I come to call upon thee now that I come to thee to begge these and these graces that my soule wants I beseech thee to heare me for I am resolved never to give over my suit never to give thee rest but for to continue my prayers and supplications til thou give a gratious answer to my soul and heare me This is the first and prime thing that the soule looks after it being the very end of prayer to be heard it is not with prayer as with Oratory for in Oratory a man may use all the perswasive arguments that the wit of man 〈…〉 and speak as cuttingly and as perswasively as may be and yet th◠heart may be so intractable as not to be perswaded it is not so with prayer The end of prayer is to prevaile with God Beloved there is difference between the end and office of prayer the office of prayer is to pray the end of prayer is to prevaile There is many a man