Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	lord_n	name_n	write_v	5,698	5	5.8489	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09981	A liveles life: or, Mans spirituall death in sinne Wherein is both learnedly and profitably handled these foure doctrines the spirituall death in sinne. The doctrine of humiliation. Mercy to be found in Christ. Continuance in sinne, dangerous. Being the substance of severall sermons upon Ephes. 2. 1,2,3. And you hath he quickned, who were dead in trespasses and sins, &c. Whereunto is annexed a profitable sermon at Lincolnes Inne, on Gen. XXII. XIV. Delivered by that late faithful preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes-Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1633 (1633)	STC 20235; ESTC S122552	73,904	134

yet commonly the father loves all alike so God although they had better gifts than we will grant our prayers as soone as he did theirs But some man will here bee ready to make a question and askeme what I would have him doe for the Church now he is but a singleman and therefore is unable to doe much himselfe alone I answer Though thou canst not doe much yet these things thou mayest doe and therefore 1. Pray for it God delights to bee called upon for else his hand is not taken notice of but then we see his hand and acknowledge it when wee see him granting our desires So that the strength of a land lyes in Christians and their strength lyes in their prayers as Sampsons strength did in his haire Oftentimes prayer is more available than fighting Moses prayer in the mountaine did more than Ioshuahs fighting in the vallies If Noah Daniel and Iob stood before me saith God Ezek. 14. 20. they should not prevaile which sheweth that if any thing could have prevailed their prayer would So also Luther attributes all to prayer as may be seene in divers of his Treatises Now this prayer which I urge unto you must 1. Not onely be small expressions of the mind but now God lookes for strong cryes and long continuance in prayer Moses prayed all day Christ which had lesse need than we have prayed all night Daniel three weekes therefore wee that have more wants and needs ought to bee the more fervent 2. Our prayers must be Spirituall not out of selfe-love as to desire the safety of the Church that so under it we may lead a safe and quiet life but out of meere respect to God and love to his Church 3. It must be a prayer of faith so the Apostle saith Iam. 5. 15 16. The prayer of faith shall save the sicke c. And a little after The effectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much Now there is no man righteous without faith so according to their faith Christ still yeelded to them 4. Pray with constancy and fervency it is not for a snatch and away that is pleasing to God but a constant performance of duty which hee accepteth 5. It must bee the prayer of a righteous man Therefore Micah 2. the Prophets sought unto God in the time of trouble but prevailed not because they were not righteous for it is said there vers 7. Doe not my words doe good to him that walketh uprightly 6. It must be with humilitie and that consists First in confessing how unworthy we are to obtaine any thing at the hands of God Secondly how unable to helpe our selves and therefore to have our eyes onely towards God Another way to doe good to Gods Church is to be more zealous seeke unto God extraordinarily The cause of the destruction of a Land is chiefly the sinnes of the godly When they grow cold and dead and lose their first love then God as Rev. 2. will remove the Candlesticke from among them and take away his Gospell Indeed the carnalnesse of dead men their prophanenesse in contemning of Gods Saints and his Gospel c. hasten Gods Judgements on a Land but chiefly the Luke-warmnesse of Professors doe it when Israel as Hosea saith is as a cake halfe baked Let us therefore rectifie our lives renew our repentance quicken our zeale else shall wee be guiltie of the destruction of Gods Church by our sinnes 3 A third meanes to doe good to Gods Church is to stirre up others to take to heart the miseries of the Church to pray to renew their repentance It would be good if Ministers would bee as Beacons to give warning to others and to set them on fire Thus the old Christians did as it were make an armie manu facta against God by joyning together in prayer This is a blessed action to stirre up others thus they did in the Prophet Malachies time Mal. 3.16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one unto another see the issue of all and the Lord harkened and heard it and a booke of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his Name So Zach. 8. 21. there they did so And the Inhabitants of the Citie shall goe one to another saying Let us goe speedily to pray before the Lord and to seeke the Lord of hoasts I will goe also Let us therefore as the Apostle exhorts Heb. 10. 24. consider one another to provoke our selves to this good worke of fasting and prayer for the Church let us marke who is a likely man to joyne with us and not let him passe 4 A fourth meanes to doe good to the Church is to doe it in due time Jerusalem had a time to seeke God if then shee would have sought shee might have beene saved And Christ complaines Luk. 19. 41 42. saying If thou hadst knowne even thou in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes And so before Christ the Prophets of old complained of the people as Ier. 8. 7. Yea the Storke in the heaven knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their comming but my people know not the judgement of the Lord. The time to seeke unto the Lord is now Some Judgements are sudden and have no fore-runners as the Gunpowder-treason in such God lookes not that wee should meet him by repentance because we know them not Others use lingring such as send feare and rumours before them as are those mentioned by the Prophet Ezek. 22. 30 31. there God expects we should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before him and so meet him with repentance to stop the judgement 5 The fifth meanes to doe good to the Church is this Let us doe it with continuance It may be while the newes is fresh wee will bee fervent in prayer but often the newes altereth and sometimes it happens to be good and then wee leave off But this must not be wee must bee constant in this dutie to the very uttermost end of all there may be ebbs and flowings but it is the last issue which brings all therefore let us continue in this dutie of fasting and praying that wee may trie that last issue of al. It is the common fashion to make the afflictions of the Church onely a wonder of nine dayes This was the Jewes fault Ier. 34. 10 11. When they heard of their enemies for a while they would pray But although the newes bee good yet still continue as the importunate widow did to the Judge and your importunitie will move God Set therefore to it and continue in it Pray for Ierusalem let those prosper that love her peace Psalm 122. 6. Mourne apart every familie apart It is not enough to heare this and to let the Ministers voyce be to

gave her time to repent but she repented not Thirdly the Lord doth not deliver till the time of extremity that we may know the vanity of the creature And see that they are but as reeds that are empty as for example when a man is brought to some great straight and sees that men will forsake him in it as the Lord will cause them to doe when he will bring a man to a streight indeed for then he will shew him that there is no helpe in man as when a man that is sicke and so farre gone that no physicke will doe him good but all Physicians have left him or when a man hath some great businesse in hand and nothing that he hath will effect it and so likewise a man at Sea when hee is in such a tempest that neither rowing nor any thing else will doe him good then when men are in such cases they come to see the vanity of the creature and that all outward meanes will start aside like a broken bow for a broken bow being drawne but a little will hold but if it bee drawne up to the head then it breakes in the hand of him that handles it Even so when the creature is put to it then the vanity of them is seene and that they are but as hollow reeds that are empty and so not bee trusted to Now we must adde to this that as the Lord will not deliver till then yet then he will doe it and of that you must make no doubt because the Lord will make good his promises and bee just for he is abundant in truth he will make good all that he hath said and that in abundance Now if the Lord will helpe and yet not till a man come to extremity why then hee must helpe or not at all and so he should faile them that trust unto him when as one man will not faile another that trusteth him for that were treachery so to doe why then much lesse will the Lord faile thee if thou rely upon him if thy heart can tell thee thou dost intirely rest upon him it is impossible hee should faile thee And therefore hee must helpe thee at the last cast or else not at all and untill thou art so farre gone thou art not come unto the Mount for Abraham was three dayes in going the journey and the Lord might have revealed it before if hee would but hee did not till he came to the mount And therefore doe not say now is the extremity and yet the Lord doth not helpe mee when thou art but in the way for thou art not yet come to the brow of the hill thou art not at the utmost part of the Mount The Use of it is to teach us not to make too much haste for deliverance in the time of distresse but to wait upon the Lord yea depend upon his providence when we seeme to be without helpe If we looke upon the Creature yet then are wee to depend upon the Lord so as never to say there is no helpe but on the contrary to say I will trust in him though he kill me for so did Abraham here he was to kill his Sonne and yet he had hope So let us though there were a thing that would bee our utter undoing if it should come on us yet if it doe come thou oughtest to hope because it is the Lords manner to bring his people to extremities as here to Abraham and the like hee did to Peter when he came to him on the waters for he might have holpen him before he beganne to sinke if he would but hee did first let him sinke a little and then he holpe him So when the people were at the Red Sea and had no gap to goe out at then the Lord holpe them by making a way thorow the Sea In like manner he did to Iacob when hee was returning home from his father in law Laban hee suffered Esau to come out against him with foure hundred men before hee holpe him and who would have thought that Esau's mind should have beene so suddenly turned But when Iacob was brought to a streight then the Lord turned all another way And the like he did with David in the time of his distresse he let him alone till the waters were like to goe over him but when his feet had almost slipt in regard of his outward and inward troubles for he was at the very going downe to the grave then the Lord brought his feet out of the Net and set him at liberty and tooke him out of the waters that he was not drowned and therefore still trust in the Lord and labour that thy faith faile thee not whatsoever thy straights be for that was Peters fault when hee was on the water for if he had sunke being hee had the Lords word hee should have beene safe enough and therefore had no cause to doubt and so wee should learne to doe in all our streights still to beleeve which if we doe wee shall finde the Lord very exceeding ready to helpe beyond all that we can be able to aske or thinke See this in an example or two how the Lord comes betwixt the cup and the lip as it were betwixt the very lifting up of the hand to the stroke and as in the Text so also when the Shunamite had by the command of the Prophet left her land because of the Famine that was to come when the seven yeeres were done for shee trusted the Prophet and therefore did not say Alas what shall I doe for my lands againe but did goe and when shee returned and was gone to the King for her lands againe at that very instant was the King talking with Elishaes servant about the great workes of the Prophet who then told the King of this woman and her sonne confirming that which Gehezi had said and Gehezi being present to helpe to speake for the woman and then shee had not onely her lands restored her but the fruits of it also for the whole time of her absence So likewise when Mordecayes destruction was plotted by Haman and so neare brought to passe that there could be no hope of helpe on any side yet then when Mordecay was asleepe in the night and had made no plots at all for his safety then the Lord brought it to passe for that night the King could not sleepe then hee must needs call for a booke and then that above all other bookes that should bee brought and in that booke that very place to bee turned to of the treason against the King and Mordecayes truth and faithfulnesse in discovering the same and that this should be done at the very extremity when a day or two after would have done him no good it is worth the considering therefore never doubt feare not but trust to the Lord in any streight for though hee doth not worke miracles now yet he workes wonders and is able to doe