Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	pray_v	prayer_n	time_n	3,922	5	4.3812	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81219	The saints thankfull acclamation at Christs resumption of his great power and the initials of his kingdome. Delivered in a sermon at Westminster, before the Honourable House of Commons, upon the day of their solemne thanksgiving unto God, for the great victory given our armie, under the command of the noble Lord Fairfax, at Selby in Yorke-shire and to other the Parliaments forces in Pembrock-shire, April 23d, 1644. By Joseph Caryl preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincolnes-Inne.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1644 (1644)	Wing C787; Thomason E48_1; ESTC R7648	36,302	59

man abuses God everytime he gives him thanks at the best he doth but bungle and make uncomely worke of it The beautifull garment of praise put upon such is as beauty upon a woman without discretion a jewell of gold in a Swines snout Prov. 11. 22. A second consideration importing the fitnesse of the Elders for this duty is their ability for the duty They are most able yea they only are able to performe this duty Without Christ we can doe nothing Beasts and stones can praise God analogically in a manner Hypocrites and prophane men can praise God formally after their manner Elders and Saints only can praise God properly after his manner Praise is worship and worship is the sole worke of Saints yea praise is the most spirituall part of worship it is the spirit of worship the highest and noblest act of worship 't is Heaven-worship Heaven-worke all the worke and worship that is reserved for Heaven It requires more then a state of regeneration even a state of perfection Grace is not sufficient it cals for the strength of glory to praise the Lord. Here we can complaine over our wants and blubber over our sinnes and sufficiently cry over our troubles But how short and low-hearted are we at best in rejoycing over our mercies in singing the loving kindnesse and crying up the glory of our God God will be above our praises when we are above how much is he then above them while we are below And if the Lord be above the praises of the holiest who are below in the state of grace how infinitely is he above their praises who are below in the state of nature Thirdly The Elders are fittest in respect of the Lords acceptation Praise doth not please God brought by every hand The Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Prov. 15. ● the Lord Prayer is sacrifice and so is praise this is so abominable that it is abomination when presented by the wicked From them though never so curiously flourisht in words it is but like the offering of Swines flesh and the Isa 66. 3. cutting off of a doggs necke Some great Princes have forbid all to draw their pictures in colours or cut their statues in stone but some speciall Artists of their own appointment they would not accept this service from any others Grace only hath art enough to limbe out to the life the excellencies of God no creature can do God right but others do him wrong His Saints cannot reach him yet they please him Others doe not only come short of but blot the name of God with the pensil of their most studied praises These things laid together clear the first Reason why praise is the Elders duty they are fittest for this service it becomes them best they are best enabled for it and accepted in it Againe the Elders have most cause to praise the Lord. Second Reason For first their mercies are greater then the mercies of others All creatures have cause to praise the Lord for their being Psal 148. All men have cause to praise the Lord for the excellencie of their being The worst of men have cause to praise God that they are no worse and the most miserable men on earth because they are not more miserable even arrested with the miseries of hell yea some affirm that the most miserable in hel have reason to praise God because their hell is not more miserable All these have cause to blesse God but the Saints have more they have right-handed mercies full-handed mercies greater mercies and better mercies both qualitie and quantitie commends them they have choice mercies and a Benjamins messe Now as where God sows there he looks to reap so where he sows much he looks to reap much and where he sows most he looks to reape most None receive so much mercy as the Elders and none bound to pay so much praise as they Secondly the Elders have prayed and dealt with God most for the obtaining of publike mercies They have often gone forth weeping in daies of humiliation bearing precious seed of prayer and therefore they shall as a priviledge and they ought as a duty come againe with rejoycing bringing their sheaves of praise with them Psal 126. 6. They that sow in teares shall reape in joy that 's the promise of God and they ought to rejoyce when they reape that 's the duty of man The Elders falling upon their faces in praier had wrestled for obtained these mercies and now they fall upon their faces to praise the Lord for these mercies Further the Elders have bin active in their severall stations to serve the providence of God for the procuring of these mercies Prayer makes them industrious They pray as if God were to doe all and they endeavour as if themselves were to doe all They pray as knowing they can doe nothing without God and they labour as knowing that usually God will doe nothing without them This engages them to praise God when they see through his concurrent blessing the fruits of their counsels and watchings when they eate the labours of their hands Lastly none have such cause as they for the vowes of God are upon them Praise is the paiment of vowes Thy Psal 56. 12. vowes are upon me O Lord saith David I will render praises Psal 65. 1. unto thee And againe when he had said Praise waiteth for thee O God in Sion presently followes and unto thee shall the vow be performed Praying daies are vowing-daies and praising-daies are vow-performing-daies Vowes are the dedication of our mercies to God before we receive them and praise is the dedication of our mercies to God after we have received them When Hannah was in bitternesse Sem 1. 10 11 of soule and prayed unto the Lord for a child she vowed a vow and said O Lord of Hosts if thou wilt indeed looke upon the affliction of thy hand-maid and remember me and not forget thine hand-maid but wilt give unto thine hand-maid a man child then I will give him unto the Lord all the dayes of his life Her prayer was heard she hath a sonne In the same Chapter her praise-offering is upon record and the paiment of her vow She brings her child to the High-Priest 1 Sam. 1. 26 27 28. and said O my Lord as thy soule liveth my Lord I am the woman that stood by thee here prayeng unto the Lord For this child I prayed and the Lord hath given me my Petition which I asked of him therefore also I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth The holy Elders may name most of their mercies Samuels that is asked of God yea and vowed to God This causeth them to come with praise-offerings and say in the great Congregation for this mercie we prayed unto the Lord and the Lord hath given us our petition therefore also we have lent this and our selves to the Lord as long as we live Whatsoever good

And as sorrow attended them all the time of their witnessing so death attends the accomplishment of it And when they shall have finished their Testimonie the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomelesse pit shall make warre against them and evercome them and kill them v. 7. As we have learned the length of their daies from Ezekiels Kalender so we may learne the kind of their death from Ezekiels vision his dry bones Chap. 37. can speake as well as heare v. 4. and tell you that to die is sometimes to be in great distresse in captivity and under the power of mercilesse men This is to die daily to be in deaths often As to live in sinne so to live in sorrow is to be dead while we live Yet this death cannot swallow up these dead but shall it self be swallow'd up in victory The grave had no victory at all over them and death had but a short one The people shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves v. 9. And after three daies and a halfe the spirit of life from God entred into them and they stood upon their feet v. 11 Christ arose the third day His witnesses arise after three dayes and a halfe All the servants of Christ shall enter into their Masters joy and these eminent ones are admitted in the letter within halfe a degree of their Masters priviledge As in Scripture language imminent dangers are a death so eminent deliverances are a resurrection What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead Rom. 11. 15. And because the justice and goodnesse of God will not be satisfied with the bare reparation of his oppressed servants for their wrongs and a putting of them in statu quo But he will give them an addition of double honour in every land where they have been put to shame Therefore these witnesses shall not only arise but they shall ascend Christ will make them what they were and more They ascended up to Heaven in a cloud and their enemies beheld them v. 12. Great changes produce great effects The blessing of God upon his people portends a curse to his enemies That act of mercy which raiseth Sion ruines Babylon Every advancement of the truth is the downfall of error No sooner doe these witnesses ascend But the same houre there was a great earthquake and the tenth part of the City fell v. 13. And so great is the fall thereof that presently the seventh Angell sounds This sound produces a second effect great voices v. 15. And there were great voices in Heaven saying c. These voices have a double sound in them First The sound of faith and holy confidence in God Secondly The voice of joy and thankfulnesse unto God The voice of faith is so confident as if it spake from the dictates of sense and saw yea enjoyed all in these beginnings as already done The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall raigne for ever and ever v. 15. This heightn'd faith brings forth joy as its immediate issue joy is the fruit of faith This joy brings forth praise to God praise is the Reuben of joy its first-borne the beginning Prov. 27. 16. of its strength the excellency of its dignity Joy cannot be silent it is the ointment in the Saints right-hand which bewrayeth it selfe in perfuming the Name of God in making his Name like an ointment powred out The Saints were so full of holy joy that they could not keepe their seates And the foure and twenty Elders which sate before God on their seates fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying We give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty c. The studies of the learned both Antient and Moderne have been very great and their conceptions as various about the meaning of this prophecy All that I shall say is That I beleeve the providence of God is now about to open and give the unerring interpretation of it The actions of these times are now a making and will shortly make a full exposition of this Scripture I am sure the businesse of this day will be as a Comment upon that part of it read unto you For though we should not now hit the very nick of time about that I will not strive which the Spirit of God aimes at in this solemne Hallelujah of these Elders Yet this duty becomes the Elders at all or any of those times wherein they behold the Lord God Almighty taking to himselfe his great power and raigning The generall subject of these words is the praise of God about which they hold out foure things distinctly Division of the text considerable First the persons who performe this duty of praise to God 2ly The manner in which they praise God 3ly The notions under which they praise God 4ly The grounds or reasons for which they praise God 1 The persons are described in those words And the foure and twenty Elders which sate upon their seates This description of the persons hath three things observable First the number of the persons Four and twenty 2ly Their State or Qualitie they were Elders 3ly Their posture or condition They sate upon seats before God 2. In the manner of their praising God we may note two things 1. Their praises were very humble and devout They fell upon their faces and worshipped 2. Their praises were vocall and explicit They spake out Saying we give thee thanks 3. The Notions under which they praise God are two 1. His omnipotency O Lord God Almighty 2ly His eternity Which art and wast and art to come 4. The grounds or reasons moving them to this duty of praising God are likewise two First the assuming of his power Thou hast taken to thee thy great power 2ly The setling of his kingdome And hast raigned And the four and twenty Elders By these Elders we may Explication of the text understand all the faithfull people of God especially their chiefes and leaders godly Magistrates and godly Ministers going before stirring them up and directing them to magnifie the name of the Lord. Among the Saints some are Elders by Office many in regard of Age all in regard of that reall gravity and dignity which spirituall wisdom and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prov. 16. ●1 holinesse casts upon them Wisdome and holinesse are the gray-haires of young-men The hoary head is a crowne of Glory when it is found in the way of righteousnesse And the wayes of righteousnesse are a crowne of glorie upon the greenest head These Elders are numbred foure and twenty either first in allusion to that distribution of the Levites who attended the service of God or of the people attending the service of the King each being cast into twenty foure divisions 1 Chron. ch 24. Chap. 25. Chap. 26. Chap. 27. From whence Mr Brightman concludes thus Seeing therefore the whole Bright in Apoc c. 4. v. 4. company of the children