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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51842	One hundred and ninety sermons on the hundred and nineteenth Psalm preached by the late reverend and learned Thomas Manton, D.D. ; with a perfect alphabetical table directing to the principal matters contained therein.	Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677.; White, Robert, 1645-1703.; Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1681 (1681)	Wing M526A; ESTC R225740	2,212,336	1,308

patience continue in well doing and then we may lift up our Souls to it Our Reward is sure The second Point Is from the incident weakness because of the delay of help Mine eyes fail for thy word He had his eyes fixed upon the Promise till they were quite wearied II. DOCT. Though his People wait for him yet God may so long delay and suspend the performance of the Promises till they count it an hopeless business First Suspend The Reasons are these 1. Not because he is unwilling to give but because he will have us better prepared to receive Psal. 10. 17. Thou wilt prepare their heart thou wilt cause thine ear to hear We understand it usually of preparing the heart for Prayer to ask the mercy but it is also meant of preparing the heart to receive the mercy 2 Chron. 20. 35. The high places were not taken away because the people had not yet prepared their heart to the God of their fathers They were not fit to have a thorow Reformation accomplished in their days The Baker watcheth when the Oven is hot and then puts in the Bread At another time it went on roundly for God had prepared the People 2 Chron. 29. 36. When we are in a posture mercy will not be long a coming Heaven the great mercy is not given us till prepared as Heaven is prepared for us so we for it Rom. 9. 23. That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory And Col. 1. 12. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light So other mercies our unpreparedness lieth as a block in the way and hindreth the free passage of God's mercy to us till he send his work before him c. Is. 40. 10. Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him Behold his reward is with him and his work before him 2. To awaken fervency of Prayer and that the Blessing may be the more earnestly sought after and highly valued A thing easily come by doth not stir up such a desire after it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We despise easie gotten Favors but that which is long and earnestly sought is the dearer to us Therefore the Lord to commend his Favors to us and to set a price upon them will have us pray much and long 1 Sam. 1. 27. For this child I prayed and the Lord hath given me the petition which I asked of him 3. God doth it to prove and exercise our Faith Many of his servants have gone to the Grave and his Promises not yet accomplished and yet have gone to the Grave in hope Heb. 11. 13. These all dyed in the faith not having received the promises that is things promised But having seen them afar off were persuaded of them and embraced them Then is Faith tryed when we can wait for the fulfilling of the Promises when we have no present enjoyment and know not when we shall have yea likely never to see it in our days The Patriarchs lived and dyed Believers Delay and non enjoyment did not break their hearts nor could Death it self extinguish their Faith Death might bereave them of their Friends and their temporal Estate and all their earthly comforts but of Faith it could not 4. That Patience may have its perfect work It is marvellous Patience that can yet wait for the Word when it will yield us the expected comfort though our eyes fail in waiting Then is the greatest discovery of its perfection when difficulties are many hope long delayed It hath but a part of its work before to still the mind under lesser or shorter evils The perfection of a thing is never discovered till it be put to a full tryal Patience is seen in waiting as well as suffering To bear a little while is but the imperfect work of Patience some lesser degree of it as to know a letter or two in the Book is but an imperfect kind of reading but to bear much and long that 's the perfect work To lift up some heavy thing from the ground argueth some strength but to carry it for an hour or all day is a more perfect thing 5. God delayeth the accomplishment of his Promises because many times the frame of his Providence requireth it All God's works have their appointed hour and time and God will not disturb the order of causes or work sooner or later but as the beautiful frame of his Providence doth permit John 2. 4. Woman what have I to do with thee mine hour is not yet come Our time wherein we would have him work and his time wherein he will work are often very different For he will not manifest his help when it will please us best but when his glory in working may be best seen John 7. 6. My time is not yet come but your time is always ready II. The other Branch is That God may delay so long till they be disheartned and give it over as an hopeless business David saith His eyes failed for the word When a man is disappointed of the things he looketh for then his eyes are said to fail So the captive Iews complained Lam. 4. 17. As for us our eyes have yet failed for our vain help in our watching we have waited for a Nation that could not save us 1. God may delay so long till his Enemies wax high and proud as if above the reach of all evil and God had forgotten them or approved their ways Psal. 50. 21. I kept silence and thou thoughtest I was altogether like thy self So long till all their fears are over Job 21. 9. Their houses are safe from fear neither is the rod of God upon them And their oppressions are multiplied Psal. 10. 5 6. His ways are always grievous for he hath said in his heart I shall not be moved 2. God may delay so long till a Land be wasted by sundry successive common Judgments that light upon good and bad Ier. 12. 4. After the complaint of the prosperity of the wicked the Prophet subjoineth How long shall the land mourn and the herbs of the field wither When they relent not the Land may fare the worse for them and the Godly among the rest suffer in these general Calamities God may plague the Nation with Dearth and Famine Plague and Pestilence War and Sword Fire and Burning And all this while no ceasing of their iniquities or oppressions 3. God may delay so long till his People be strangely perplexed and know not what to make of his Providence They wonder how his Justice can endure it Jer. 12. 1. Righteous art thou O Lord when I plead with thee yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper wherefore are all they happy that 〈◊〉 treacherously Hab. 1. 12 13. Art thou not from everlasting O Lord my God

Luke 11. 8. Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth And things promised being asked and at length obtained are the more valued 4. That if we yet continue our Faith and heartily believe God upon his Word it is a great encouragement in waiting for the thing promised for to believe is a Qualification There are in the Word of God Promises that we may believe and then Promises because we do believe Promises to invite Faith and Hope and then Promises because we believe in God and hope in his Word Promises for Faith and to Faith As for instance God hath promised to be a Defence unto his People Zech. 2. 5. I the Lord will be unto her a wall of fire round about her and will be the glory in the midst of her Now see how David pleadeth Psal. 57. 1. Be merciful unto me O God be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in thee yea in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast When once we believe then we have a claim Isa. 26. 3. Thou keepest him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee Trust giveth us a fresh Claim or new Interest Psal. 86. 2. Oh thou my God save thy servant that trusteth in thee God will not disappoint a trusting Soul An ingenuous Man will not fail his Friend if he rely on him We count this the strongest Bond we lay upon another to be faithful and mindful of us I trust you that you will do this for me How much more will God do so 1. For his own Honour to shew himself faithful willing and able to succour his People in their Distresses This is the Reproch cast upon the Worshippers of Idols That they call upon those things which cannot help them nor relieve them in their Straits Iudges 10. 14. Go to the gods whom ye have chosen let them deliver you in the day of tribulation When you trust God the Honour of his Godhead lieth at stake by Trust you own him for a God Ionah 1. 5. Then the mariners were afraid and cried every man upon his God By making good your trust he sheweth himself to be a God that they do not seek to a vain help 2. With a condescension to his People Nothing goeth so near their hearts as a disappointment of their Hope in God This will mightily damp their Spirits when God spits in their Faces and seemeth to reject their Prayers Psal. 25. 2. Oh my God I trust in thee let me not be ashamed yea let none of them that wait on thee be ashamed but let them be ashamed which transgress without a cause To have Hopes fail which were invited and drawn forth by Promises is a great Temptation 3. With respect to their Enemies who will be sure to cast this in their teeth if the God in whom they trusted should not send help from his Holy place You will find God's servants often mocked for their trust Psal. 22. 18. He trusted in the Lord let him now deliver him seeing he delighted in him Christ himself was not free from the lash of profane tongues he was mocked for his dependence on his Father Mat. 27. 43. He trusted in God let him deliver him now if he will have him The World counts Faith but a Fancy now if God should deny the things promised to his People it would seem to countenance the slanders of their Enemies Wherefore do the Children of God expose themselves to difficulties and all manner of hard usages but because of their hope in God 1 Tim. 4. 10. Therefore we suffer reproch because we trust in the living God for that reason because they look for great things from God therefore God hath a great respect for them that trust in him 5. This Trust must be pleaded in Prayer 1. Because Prayer is one of the Means by which God hath decreed to fulfil his Promises and therefore we must obtain Mercies in his own appointed way God saith I will do thus and thus for you Ezek. 36. 37. But I will be enquired after by the house of Israel for this very thing God will do it but Prayer must give a lift he will be sought to Ier. 29. 11 12. I know the thoughts which I think towards you saith the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end that is such an end as your selves hope for and desire then shall ye call upon me and go and pray to me and I will hearken unto you that is you must address and set your selves seriously to this Work When the Promise is urged by the Believer it will be performed by God So when Daniel understood by the Books and Writings of the Prophets that the time was come wherein God had promised to deliver his People then he falleth a praying in a serious manner Dan. 9. 3. When God hath a mind to work then he sets the Spirit of Prayer awork for he will have all things accomplished in his own way 2. Because he hath put this Office upon his People that they are to be his Remembrancers at the Throne of Grace Isa. 62. 6. Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence it is in the margin Ye that are the Lords remembrancers whose Office it is to be constantly minding God and solliciting him in the behalf of his Church Publick Remembrancers are the Officers of his Church but every Christian is a private Remembrancer to put God in mind of his Promise Not that God is subject to forgetfulness as Man is who hath need of such Minders but he will be sought and sollicited for the performance of his gracious Promises We have an Advocate in Heaven but there are Remembrancers upon Earth We come as David here Remember thy word unto thy servants on which thou hast caused us to hope 6. We are the more encouraged Because God that made the Promise doth also give the Faith for he pleadeth two things the Grant of the Promise and the Gift of Faith Reasons 1. God would not deceive us Would he raise a Confidence to disappoint us in such a case we might say as the Prophet Ieremiah chap. 20. 7. Thou hast deceived me and I was deceived the words seem to intrench upon the Honour of God In the general I answer They were spoken by the Prophet in a Passion Others soften them by another Rendring and Interpretation Thou hast perswaded me and I was perswaded that is to undertake the Prophetical Office of which I was nothing forward of my self but averse thereunto yet found it more troublesom than I expected But put it with a supposition If I be deceived thou hast deceived me there is nothing inconvenient God had told him he would make him as a Brazen Wall God had raised a Faith and