Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	church_n	mourn_v	zion_n	19	3	8.6585	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43579	Israel's lamentation after the Lord, or, A discourse, wherein every well-wisher to Zion is excited, and directed how to lament after the Lord with prayers and tears, to maintain the ordinances of God, or God's presence with his ordinances amongst us being some meditations upon 1 Sam. 7.2.	Heywood, Oliver, 1629-1702.	1683 (1683)	Wing H1768; ESTC R22352	67,400	163

and preaching 2. God thinks good sometimes to abscond and hide these tokens of his presence from a professing people 3. This with drawing may be continued a long time 2 Chron. 13.3 so in Babylon Zoch 1.13 in latter days Hos 3.4 4. God takes particular notice of the duration of his Churches affliction in Egypt 400. years so Rev. 11.11 5. Peoples Priviledges may be long removed before they be kindly sensible of their loss long before they recover themselves 6. When Gods Ordinances are but privately dispensed it 's a great loss to the body of a People such as need them most have then least of them 7. Continuance in sin prolongs deliverance and absence of the Ark or Ordinances is an occasion of continuing in sin Men do withdraw their hearts from God that 's sinful God withdraws helps from them that 's poenal men repent not ordinarily without helps God denies helps and is just therein 8. Attendance on Ordinances raiseth the envy of wicked men this hath been the quarrel from the daies of Cain and Abel successively to this day Gen. 4.5 Exod. 9.1 Ezra 4.12 13. Gal. 4.29 Esther 3.8 Dan. 3.12 6.13 9. One stirring active Instrument for God may by God's blessing promote Repentance and Reformation amongst a people Oh what hurt may one sinner do So what good may one useful man do when God stirs up their hearts Samuel sets things a working so Ezra 5.1 2. Hag. 5.12 10. When God designs a Reformation and Restitution of his Ordinances he orders an harmonious concurrence of providences for that end The accomplishment of God's threats affright awaken Samuel comes in the nick of time speaks words upon the wheel God moves things go on apace 2 Chron. 29.36 31.21 These I pass briefly and pass on to the main Point from the last clause of the verse And all the House of Israel lamented after the Lord. They did not lament so much under their pressing burdens grievous oppressions by the Philistins but after the Lord i. e. for the Ark of the Lord and the Lord of the Ark for the recovery of God's gracious presence and the visible tokens thereof lachrymis deplorarunt summam miseriam Religionis Reipublicae they bitterly lamented the calamities of Church and State Religion and Polity This say Interpreters is an admirable place by reason of the general Conversion and Repentance of the whole People we have scarce the like in all the Scripture except Acts 2. From the words then results this Doctrine That when God's Ark is long obscured or Ordinances obstructed it becomes God's Israel or professing People to lament after the Lord. Serious lamenting after God is well becoming those whom God afflicts in the loss of Priviledges The Text presents to us 1. The Persons lamenting God's peculiar People these only love and mind God's presence when the Lords and Cities of the Philistins are weary of him and send him away yea and the Bethshemites though a city of the Levites belonging to the Church of God through their ill management of matters send to get a release yet Gods Israel will look after their God 2. Here 's the object they lament after not peace plenty victory over enemies but after the Lord Jehovah is the object of their affections 't is him they love and long for communion with Psal 63.1 2. O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my soul thirsteth for thee to see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the Sanctuary 3. Here 's the Universality of these all Israel the whole house of Israel come they that had wofully degenerated and were gone after their Idols what a wonderful act of Gods power and soveraignty was this upon their spirits by this he manifests that he is the true God and that Samuel was his Servant the like see in Elijahs prayer preaching Sacrifice and success of all 1. Kin. 18.21 37 39. 4. Here 's the manner and nature of the Peoples repentance they lamented after the Lord which is a very comprehensive word and I shall open it anon In prosecuting this point I shall proceed in this method 1. Shew how ordinances are obstructed obscured 2. What 's implyed in lamenting after the Lord. 3. How and why Gods Israel thus lament 4. Answer an objection So make application 1. What is it for ordinances to be either 1. Obstructed or 2. obscured both which may be a great affliction to Gods People and oft occasion a lamentation 1. For Ordinances to be obstructed is a prevention of the liberty of dispensation of them and suppression of its dispensers by imprisonment banishment inhibition or suspension as in Ahab's daies Jezabel cut off the prophets of the Lord the rest werehid by fifty in a Cave and fed with bread and water 1 Kin. 18.4 yea such scarcity was there at that day that Elijah thought he was left alone 1 Kin. 19.10 Such as were left were latent and had indeed their lives not liberties to proclaim the Word or to celebrate God's Ordinances openly It 's true Truth seeks not corners yet publishers of Truth may be driven into corners God's Candles may be put under a Bushel the Church's pleasant things may be taken away Sabbaths and solemn Assemblies may be forgotten in Zion and the waies of Zion mourn Lam. 1.4 7. The Church complains Psal 74.9 We see not our signs there is no more any Prophet The Church may flee into a wilderness of obscurity and persecution her witnesses may be slain by a natural or civil death some time or other these prophecies have an accomplishment Jeremah and Ezekiel may both have their mouths stopped by their brethren and God himself may be a little Sanctuary to such as want the open Sanctuary-priviledges Ezek. 11.15 16. Gospel-course may be stopped obstructed so that Paul is putting believers on to pray for him that the word of the Lord may have free course 2 Thes 3.1 intimating that it had met with a stop by what by mens rage or the Devils subtilty or both 1 Thes 2.16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles and v. 18. Satan hindred us Some times the Devil stirs up men to obstruct the course of the Gospel The histories of the Church in all ages will offer their Service to bear witness to this truth that liberty of Ordinances is sometimes infringed and so the Ark is retired into private for where God hath a people they must and will worship God and attend his Institutions if they cannot do it openly they act more privately as Christs Disciples frequently met in houses in the night the doors being shut and that for fear of the Jews Joh. 20.19 And it may be that word in Isa 8.16 refers to such a day Bind up the Testimony seal the Law among my Disciples 2. The Ark Ordinances may somtimes be obscured as well as obstructed this refers to the Purity as the former to the liberty of God's Appointments The light may