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cause_n	great_a	see_v	speak_v	2,624	5	4.0293	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85659	Nehemiah's teares and prayers for Judah's affliction, and the ruines and repaire of Jerusalem. Delivered in a sermon in the Church of Magarets Westminster, before the Honourable House of Commons upon the day of their monethly humiliation, April 24. 1644. By John Greene Master of Arts, late pastour of Pencomb in the countie of Hereford.	Greene, John, Master of Arts.	1644 (1644)	Wing G1822; Thomason E48_7; ESTC R14498	37,819	46

expedition may not by Gods blessing be a meanes to bring in with advantage what hath beene alreadie given or to preserve what is left if neither of these yet O the comfort that this will one day bring unto your consciences when you can truly say God gave me a great estate and I thank my God with comfort I can speak it and I blesse his Name for it he gave me an heart not to see his cause at any time want what I had to give Let 1 Chron. 29. 6 7 9. me commend a worthy patterne unto you of David and the chiefe of the fathers the captains of thousands and hundreds and it was for Temple work and they offered largely Then the people rejoyced for that they offered willingly because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord and David the King also rejoyced with great joy But it may be here is many an aged a weake a poore man nay women and children that have good hearts to be shooting against Babylon if we could finde a bow and arrow that they were able to deale with yes I can fit you all even the weakest arme in the Congregation I shall commend a bow to you which if used aright 2 Sam. 1. 22. will be as successefull as that bow of Jonathan that turneth not back from the bloud of the slaine from the fat of the mightie it is the bow of prayer the ejaculations of an holy heart shot up to heaven these arrowes have steele heads they will pierce and sticke where they light sharpe and keen in the heart of the enemie they are invisible arrowes the enemie can neither discover nor decline them they will kill in the darke this arrow will find a joynt in 1 King 22. 34. Ahabs armour draw this arrow as Jehu did against Jehoram with 2 King 9. ●4 your full strength and doubt not but it will in Gods time smite our Romish Jehoram at the heart and sinke him in his Chariot and chaire of pride O that when ever our armies are in the field charging the enemie a showre of these arrowes of fervent prayers a volley of this shot might light as thick on the enemies camp as those hailestones at Bethoron we should I doubt not see more slain Josh 10. 11. by this showre of prayer then the sword Reas 4 Are the wals of Jerusalem yet broken downe it may be that which is the first work in repairing ruinous wals was not then done the rubbish of the former decayes not yet removed and this was the peoples reason and part of their complaint there is much Neh. 4 10. rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall I pray you lay this to heart you that desire in any way to be repairers of our breaches do repaires in Church and state move slowly Let me aske is all the rubbish of our Church and State removed God be blessed much is but is there not too much remaining are there no more oaths in our streets in our armies no Achans in our camps that either beare too great affection to some rags of Josh 7. 21. the Babylonish garments of Rome or look more after our shekels of silver and wedges of gold more to the pay then an end of the war and the welfare of Church and State Is there no more drunkennesse in our taverns no falshoods in our shops no whoredomes in our chambers no excesse and vanitie in our attire what means that costlinesse and lightnesse in apparell it may be even on this day of mourning Non est conveniens luctibus ille color Surely sable colours will best suite with sad times when the people mourned upon the hearing of evill tidings No man did put on him Exod. 33. 4. his ornaments or as the Geneva no man put on his best rayment How doe I wish that I might not justly take up that charge of the Prophet against Israel with a little variation and that to the worse The pride of Israel doth testifie to his face too openly Hosea 5. 5. and manifestly declares it selfe in the faces of some what meanes the continuance of paint of spots of nakednesse are not these part of that rubbish which God looks we should remove Let me reason a little with you if any such here is it not better for you to remove them your selves then stay till God in wrath come to remove them if you will not suffer your selves to be cured by admonition God hath a cure for all these which when it comes you cannot put off They say there is white and red paint oh wash them off with teares of repentance lest God bring upon you that in Ier. 30. 5 6. the Prophet a voice of feare and trembling and all faces gather Ioel 2. 2 6. palenesse either through feare or famine and for black spots think a day of blacknesse may come too soone wherein all faces shall gather blacknesse heare Jeremie lamenting this when it came upon Lam 4. 7 8. 5. 10. them Their visage is blacker then a coale even theirs who were purer then the snow and whiter then milke and whence came this he will tell you in the following Chapter Our skin was black like Isai 47. 3. an Oven because of the terrible famine and for this nakednesse of pride one Prophet will tell you that God hath a nakednesse of vengeance and he hath an enemie as in another that shall discover her nakednesse shall take her sons and her daughters shall slay her Ezek. 23. 10. with the sword and execute judgement upon her Much other rubbish and sinks of sin might be discovered in our persons in our families you have Scavingers to cleanse your streets well were it for your citie if there was not more filth in many houses and shops then is cast out into the streets happie would it be if everie master of a familie pardon the word would play the Scavinger in his own house in his own heart that the inside Matth. 23. 26. of the platter might be made cleane also and take we heed lest the want of this besome of reformation bring not upon your houses Isai 14 23. the besome of destruction Reas 5 Lastly are the gates of Jerusalem burnt with fire and so continue it may be the matter which kindled that fire is not yet removed and will ye look that a fire should goe out whilst the fewell remaines that feeds it What kindled the fire in the gates of Jerusalem the Prophet will tell you If ye will not hearken unto me to I●r 17. 27. hallow the Sabbath day and not to beare a burden even entring in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof and it shall devoure the palaces of Jerusalem and it shall not be quenched And if you will goe to a following Chapter of this Book you shall find Nehemiah complaining

bloud another way and I am perswaded was Gods house on these dayes of Humiliation more moistened with unfained teares of penitents our fields and dwellings would not be soaked and watered with so much bloud of the slain they are the expressions of Esay Isai 34. 7. Ezek. 32. 6. and Ezekiel full of awakening terrour if you please to read them and the Lord bring it to your hearts Vse 2 And let me intreat you to make use of your teares of Compassion for the miseries of this land to draw from you teares of Humiliation for the sins of this land How melting are many of us at the reading of some dolefull and lamentable relation which yet can read over and over the sad storie of their owne and the kingdoms sins without shedding a teare whensoever then your hearts are affected to expresse teares of compassion ●et them help to draw out teares of Humiliation do for this as those that coming for water to a Pump out of order first cast in water to fetch up water let your soules take in teares of compassion that they may be the apter to issue forth teares of Humiliation And surely I feare we have all cause to be more abundant in these of Humiliation if for no other sin but this our want of teares of reall compassion for those former 2 King 8. miseries the Church hath long endured remember what fetcht teares from that man of God when he lookt on Hazael it was not for any thing at the present done all runs in the future the evill that thou wilt do their strong holds thou wilt set on fire and yet could 〈…〉 have thoughts of this in his heart without teares in his 〈…〉 were then our teares of compassion for Germanie and Ireland wherein we have heard all these and worse have beene done their strong holds have been set on fire their young men have been slaine with the sword their infants have been dashed in pieces and their women with childe ripped up and many more unheard of cruelties have we read these with drie eyes with unrelenting hearts O labour we to see what great cause we have that our tears of Humiliation should be many if for no other reason but this because our teares of compassion have been so few That you may have both pray unto the Lord to give unto you tendernesse of affection a tender skin will bleed at the touch of a needles point Be Rom 1●●0 15 kindly affectioned one towards another with brotherly love weep with them that weep beg also broken hearts and wounded soules ● 1. 9. 1. a wound in the heart will usually bleed at the eye if the heart be full of bowels of pitie within like full vessels a small touch or shake will Fo●s 〈◊〉 est ●or ●●●punctum do●ens Cornel à l●p in ●oc ubi 〈…〉 make them run over without water in the head and heart will have a fountaine of teares in the eyes We upon such dayes as these offer as we think much to God offer our lips in prayer our eares in hearing our persons and presence in attendance of almost a whole day in his house and service but would you know why the Lord hath not hitherto so fully manifested his acceptance of these offerings in giving us what we have desired nay seem'd by withholding that to reject the other let me tell you I am afraid there hath been too little of that offered which I am sure the Lord will not refuse what that is David upon his owne experience will tell you The sacrifices of God ●re a broken spirit sacrifices in the plurall Psal ●1 17. because this in stead of all and all without this nothing and he goes on a broken and a contrite heart O Lord thou wilt not despise We of this land may truly complaine with the Prophet with some small variation We have seen the breaches of our Kingdome Isai 22. 9. that they are many breaches in our counsels in our armies in our affections in our estates I am perswaded all our breaches yet remaine great because our hearts are so little broken for those great sins that made them take we heed then lest the with-holding our teares of compassion from our brethrens distresses doe not close Gods bowels of compassion towards our selves and lest our land shedding so few teares for sin loose not yet much more bloud as the just punishment of our impenitencie and want of Humiliation for sinne Observ 5. But did Nehemiah rest in his teares for the afflictions of the people and the ruines of Jerusalem was his pitie only verball like that mercie rejected by the Apostle when to a brother or sister naked and destitute of daily food one shall say unto him Depart in Iam. 2. 15 16. peace be you warmed and filled and yet give them not those things which are needfull for the bodie had they only a returne of good words from Nehemiah I am sorrie to heare of your affliction and reproach that your wals yet remain broken downe and your gates burnt with fire but be of good comfort build your wals repaire your gates I wish it were in my power to relieve you and further the work No Nehemiahs heart was so really affected with their miseries and ruines as it put him upon the use of those means which if any would prevail for redresse of their miseries and these are two Fasting and Prayer such as never failed when used aright For incouragement to the first I might commend unto you the confidence that Gods people in all exigents placed in this and their Fasting comfortable successe that of Jehoshaphat set the enemies to kill one another that of Esther changed the heart of the King and reversed 2 Chron. 20. E●ther 4. 5. a bloudie decree neere execution Ezra more trusted to this for a Ezr. 8. 21 22 23 1 King 21. 27 28 29. 2 Chron. 12. 7 9 1● 14. safe convoy then to a band of the Kings souldiers Ahabs hypocriticall fast put off the judgement to his sons dayes Rehoboam and his princes halfe humiliation as I may call it brought same deliverance Shishak King of Egypt had onely power to plunder him of his treasures not altogether to destroy him our owne comfortable experience since our last fast blessed be our God will speake though we be silent And pitie it is that so powerfull a remedie through our miscarriage in it should loose its power that our monethly use of it should make it like the same Physick often used uneffectuall to us Give me leave therefore in few words to give you the principall heads of the doctrine of fasting and because in this I may deliver nothing which is not knowne to the most here present these may please whilst I speake it may be to some for information to suffer their thoughts to goe along with me in a way of examination remembring Joh. 13. 17. that of Christ If