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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96435	Abraham's humble intercession for Sodom, and the Lord's gracious concessions in answer thereunto containing sundry meditations upon Gen. XVIII. from ver. XXIII. to the end of the chapter. Wherein many things are spoken of concerning believers drawing near to God, and the efficacy of their prayers; and how they may be princes and prevailers with God, and with what boldness they may come before him, and what ground they may get of him by their prayers, and what sweet communing they have with him. With sundry other things worthy of our most serious thoughts, helping us to be more spiritual and heavenly, which may prepare us for that everlasting communion and fellowship that we hope to arrive at, and come to in a blessed state of glory by Jesus Christ. By Samuel Whiting, Pastor of the Church of Christ at Lyn in N.E. [Three lines of Scripture texts]	Whiting, Samuel, 1597-1679.	1666 (1666)	Wing W2022; ESTC W15363	173,427	374

ABRAHAM'S Humble Intercession for SODOM AND The LORD' 's gracious Concessions in Answer thereunto Containing sundry MEDITATIONS UPON GEN. XVIII from VER XXIII to the end of the Chapter Wherein many things are spoken of concerning Believers drawing near to God and the Efficacy of their Prayers and how they may be Princes and Prevailers with God and with what boldness they may come before him and what ground they may get of him by their Prayers and what sweet communing they have with him With sundry other things worthy of our most serious thoughts helping us to be more Spiritual and Heavenly which may prepare us for that everlasting Communion and Fellowship that we hope to arrive at and come to in a blessed state of Glory by Jesus Christ By SAMVEL WHITING Pastor of the Church of Christ at Lyn in N. E. Jam. 5.16 The effectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much Jam. 2.23 Abraham was called the friend of God Printed and Sold at Cambridge 1666. To the Reader MAny of the Patriarks and other holy men have been highly honoured and commended in Scripture for their several Excellencies Abel for his bounty in the service of God in bringing in his Oblation of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof and it is therefore called A more excellent Sacrifice then Cain 's was Gen. 4.4 with Heb. 11.4 Enoch and Noah for their constant Communion with God and taking their holy Walks and blessed Turns with him in those evil times wherein they lived Gen. 5.22 24. 6.9 Isaac for his Chastity in keeping himself to one wife whom he did so tenderly love Gen. 24.67 Jacob for his Princely Power that he had with God by weeping and supplication and those holy wrestlings that he had with him Gen. 32.24 28. with Hos 12.3 4 Moses for his Zeal and familiarity with the Lord and for his Meekness in his own cause though 〈◊〉 holy fire for God's Exod. 32.19 20. Numbers ●● 7 8. David for Thankfulness and Pr●●●● 〈…〉 The sweet Psalmist of Israel 2 Sam. 23.1 Now though all these were famous Believers and so reported of by God himself Heb. 11. yet above all Abraham is most renowned for his Faith Heb. 11.8 9 10 17 18 19. and in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians that Paul writ And this piece that is the subject of these following Meditations holds out no small part of his Faith and sweet familiarity and Prevailing Power that he had with God in the suits that he put up to him in behalf of those Righteous ones that he thought might be mingled with those vilest of Sinners The main drift of the Discourse is 1. To draw near to God in Prayer in a right manner that a gracious answer may be given in to our Prayers that so we may not pray in vain 2. To discountenance sin by the destruction that God will bring upon sinners both here and in another world without Repentance as we see in Sodoms Example 3. To bear up the heads and hearts of the Lords Righteous ones who live among bad Company that they shall not be burned in their fire but be instrumental to save the worst of sinners at least from temporal destruction as long as they continue with them To put all Believers upon fervent and im … Prayer for the worst of men if any considerable number of Righteous ones be found amongst them 5. To stir up the best to see their own vileness and to be very humble in drawing near to God when we pray to him 6. To meditate of Christ's being the Judge of all the Earth and plead with him to do right as being such a Judge and to consider what our duty is in our several places that must one day stand before this Judge 7. To besiege and beleaguer the Throne of Grace with suit after suit and to go away with all we can from God that is so ready to hear Prayer and to go as far as ever we can or dare in asking and to fear to provoke God then especially when we pray to him and to desire of God that he would not be angry with us nor with our Prayers 8. To go about our ordinary Employments when we have been with God as he allows taking in such Cautions as are duely to be observed 9. To be familiar with God and to commune sweetly with him in Prayer as he does with us in his gracious Answers Now what help may be afforded to these things by the following Treatise is with the Lord to give and with his Servants to pray for A Childe when lifted up upon a Giants shoulders may be carried for above his own strength A withered Hand may be stretched out if Christ say the word Weak things the Lord sometimes chuseth to bring mighty things to pass by If the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon go together what may not a little strength do An Host of three hundred men that lap water with their Pitchers and Lamps what an Army of Midianites may not fall before them I dare not say any thing of the Work nor of the success of the Work being in Gods hand onely shall pray That the blessing of the God of Heaven may go along with it That Christ may smile upon it and as Constantine would stoop so low as to kiss Paphnutius his Eye that he could not see with so that the Lord Jesus would be pleased to condescend so far as to give a sweet kiss of favour to this maimed Work I had not thought that any thing of mine should ever have seen the light more but the short Notes put forth before concerning that awfull Subject of The Last Judgement finding acceptance with some of the Saints here and with some elswhere though so unworthy of such a tremendous Subject yet I have adventured a little before I dye to set forth this as being the words of a dying man and of such an one as expects death daily if so be that such words may sink more deeply And if any Souls may be prevailed with to get nearer God and to have more sweet communings with his Majesty and prevail more through Christs Intercession by their faith in Prayer and thereby declare themselves the true and genuine Children of Abraham and my own heart be carried up more Heaven-ward and Christ-ward by it I have enough and shall judge that I have not lost my labour No words are lost no labour lost that bring us nearer God and nearer Heaven Reader The brief Heads of the following Discourse or at least the principal of them are hinted at in this short Epistle Reade them Learn them Pray for a blessing upon them distill them into the sweet water of the Practice of Godliness We know no more then we do The life of Reading is in the performance of our duty in what we learn Words are but empty sounds except we draw them forth in our lives Printed Books will do little good except

Gods Spirit print them in our hearts Gods words written with Ink will not profit except they be also written with the Spirit of the Living God They are the blessed ones that know and do Joh. 13.17 and they ever know most that practise most A good understanding have all they that do his Commandments Psal 111.10 As for Brain-knowledge it may puff a man up and so bring him down low to destruction it may raise him high that he may have the deeper fall into Hell it may swell him like a bladder and when the bladder breaks then like an unskilful Swimmer he drowns It addes more fuell to Hell fire and causeth him except he do his Lords will to be beaten with many stripes Luke 12.47 What good have the Devils by all their knowledge they know enough of the will of God but do not any thing of it and this heats the Furnace for them and time will come that many a wicked man will wish that he had never known so much because he hath done so little for it is but Oyl to the flame Brimstone to the fire to make them burn more fiercely One word more and I have done If this Discourse of a Subject of this nature may be available for the Salvation of many or of any I shall have cause to bless God for ever and shall with more comfort lay down my head and rest in the Grave as in a perfumed Bed through Christ who hath sweetned it by his Buriall till the Resurrection at the last day Thine in the Lord Jesus Samuel Whiting ABRAHAM's Humble Intercession for SODOM And the LORD 's gracious Concessions in Answer thereunto Containing sundry MEDITATIONS UPON GEN. XVIII from Ver. 23. to the end of the Chapter Ver. 23. And Abraham drew near and said Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the City wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner to slay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should be as the wicked that be far from thee shall not the Judge of all the earth do right 26 And the LORD said If I finde in Sodom fifty righteous within the City then I will spare all the place for their sakes 27 And Abraham answered and said Behold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD which am but dust and ashes 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous wilt thou destroy all the City for lack of five And be said If I finde there fourty and five I will not destroy it 29 And he spake unto him yet again and said Peradventure there shall be fourty found there And he said I will not do it for fourties sake 30 And he said unto him Oh let not the Lord be angry and I will speak Peradventure there shall thirty be found there And he said I will not do it if I finde thirty there 31 And he said B●hold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord Peradventure there shall be twenty found there And he said I will not destroy it for twenties sakes 32 And he said Oh let not the Lord be angry and I will speak yet but this once Peradventure ten shall be found there And he said I will not destroy it for tens sake 33 And the LORD went his way as soon as he had left communing with Abraham and Abraham returned unto his place Verse 23. And Abraham drew near and said Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked IN these words to the end of the Chapter we have 1. The Prayer of Abraham in behalf of Sodom and the rest of the Cities that God destroyed with Fire and Brimstone from Heaven 2. Gods Answer that he gave to the several Petitions he put up to him in their behalf 3. The Issue of all which is set forth in the last Verse of the Chapter In the first part we have 1. What Abraham did He drew near the Text sayes ver 23.2 What he said and therein we have these things considerable 1. His desire that these sinners might be spared if it were possible or at least the righteous among them might not be destroyed with the wicked ver 23 25. 2. The Arguments that he useth to prevail with God that the righteous and the wicked may not be alike 1. Taken from the strangeness of the act Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked as if he should say This would be strange Lord and thou wouldst go out of thy wonted way so to do The 2. is taken from the vehemency of his wish that such a thing may never be which he repeats twice That be far from thee That be far from thee The 3. is taken from his honour as being Judge of all the earth and therefore for his Name must needs do right Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ver 25. 3. We have his wise insinuating himself into the Lord 1. By going from step to step and seeking to gain ground of the Lord going from fifty to five and forty and from five and forty to forty and from forty to thirty and from thirty to twenty and from twenty to ten 2. By humbling and abasing himself before the Lord ver 27. Behold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord which am but dust and ashes 3. By desiring the Lord not to be angry with him for being so bold with him ver 30. 4. By his undauntedness in his Suit ver 31. Behold I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord. 5. By his modest request at last in speaking but once more mixed with an holy fear of displeasing him ver 32. Oh let not my Lord be angry and I will speak but this once All this concerns the first part viz. Abraham's Prayer In the second part scil Gods Answer we have 1. The grace and favour of God towards him 1. In that he never denied him in any one of his Requests but granted all from fifty to ten So that if there had been but ten righteous in the place it had been spared 2. In that Abraham left off petitioning before the Lord left off granting wherein the exceeding greatness of his grace shewed it self The truth is we have done sooner in asking then God has in giving our desires are scant when his heart is large our requests are short when his hand is long we might have more could we ask more we spare to speak and therefore we lose much of what we might carry away with us from such a Bountiful Almner as God is In the last part we have 1. Gods leaving Abraham 2. Abraham's departing to his place 3. A Description of Prayer and Gods Answer He communes with us and we with Him Doct. I. THat Believers in praying to God draw near to him Heb. 7.19