Selected quad for the lemma: glory_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
glory_n	cloud_n	lord_n	tabernacle_n	2,365	5	10.9748	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59893	Sermons preach'd upon several occasions some of which were never before printed / by W. Sherlock.	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1700 (1700)	Wing S3364; ESTC R29357	211,709	562

of the Evening and Adam and his Wife hid themselves from the Presence of the Lord God amongst the Trees of the Garden Which seems to intimate that there was some particular Place in Paradise where God used to meet with them from which they fled and by so doing thought to hide themselves from the Presence of God In the Story of Cain and Abel this seems more plain there was at that time some peculiar Place whither they brought their Offerings to God and therefore where God was supposed peculiarly present to receive their Offerings Gen. 4. 3 4. and in v. 14. Cain complains Behold thou hast driven me out this Day from the Face of the Earth and from thy Face shall I be hid that is from thy Presence as it is expounded ver 16. Cain went out from the Presence of the Lord and dwelt in the Land of Nod. Where it is plain the Presence of the Lord signifies a certain Place where God was so present as he was not in other Places for we can never go out of the Essential Presence of God as the Psalmist witnesses Psalm 139. 6 7 8 9. Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit or whither shall I go from thy Presence If I climb up into Heaven thou art there if I go down into Hell thou art there If I take the Wings of the Morning and remain in the uttermost Parts of the Sea even there also shall thy Hand lead me and thy Right Hand shall hold me and therefore in this Sense the Land of Nod was as much God's Presence as where Abel and Cain dwelt before but Cain went out from the Presence of God into the Land of Nod that is from that place where God dwelt and conversed with them into a Land where he never vouchsafed such a peculiar presence In the History of Abraham Isaack and Iacob we not only learn that in those days they always had their peculiar and appropriate places of worship but that they pitched their Tents and built their Altars either in such places as God directed them to or where God appeared to them and those were the places where God ordinarily Converst with them Thus the Lord appeared unto Abram in the place of Sichem in the Plain of Moreh and there he built an Altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him Genes 12. 6 7. hither he returned again when he came out of Aegypt unto the place of the Altar which he had made there at first and there he called on the Name of the Lord. Genes 13 4. so that the appearance of God to him in this place had made it a standing place of Worship and here God appeared to him again and renewed his Promise to him after the departure of Lot After this by God ' s command Abram removed his Tent and dwelt in the Plain of Mamre and there he built an Altar to the Lord Genes 13. 18. and here God frequently appeared to Abram as we may see in 15 17 18 Chap. Thus when God appeared to Isaack at Beersheba he built an Altar and called upon the Name of the Lord and pitcht his Tent and took up his abode there as in a place where God was present 26 Genes 24 25. Thus as Iacob was going towards Haran being forced to lodge all night in the Field in his Dream he saw a Ladder set upon the Earth and the top reach'd to Heaven and the Angels of God ascended and descended on it and God himself stood above it and renewed his Promise and Covenant to Iacob From hence Iacob concluded that God was peculiarly present in this place how dreadful is this place this is none other but the House of God and this is the Gate of Heaven and therefore he calls the place Bethel and set up the Stone for a Pillar whereon he lay and powred Oil on it and vowed that if he came again in peace to his Fathers House that Stone which he had set up should be God ' s House 28 Gen. and accordingly when he was returned from Padan-Aram God himself commanded him to go up to Bethel and dwell there and to make there an Altar to God who appeared to him when he fled from the Face of his Brother Esau 35 Genes 1. After the Days of the Patriarchs the next instance of this nature is that of Moses to whom God appeared in a burning Bush and said Draw not nigh hither put off thy Shoes from off thy Feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground that is consecrated by the Presence of God to whom we must approach with all external Reverence which pulling off the Shoes was an expression of in those Eastern Countries 3 Exod. 1 c. and a like example we have in Ioshua 5 Chap. 13 14 15. And this is a true Account of the holiness even of the Iewish Tabernacle and Temple There were indeed great Mysteries concealed under Types and Figures but these Types were not the holiness of the place but God's peculiar Presence there When Moses had set up the Tabernacle a Cloud covered the Tent of the Congregation and the Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle 40 Exod. 34. Thus at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple when the Priests were come out of the Holy Place the Cloud filled this House of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to minister because of the Cloud for the Glory of the Lord had filled the House of the Lord 1 Kings 8. 10 11. This was a visible Sign that God had taken possession of this House and would dwell there as Solomon expounds it 12 13 ver Then spake Solomon the Lord said he would dwell in the thick darkness I have surely built Thee a House to dwell in a setled place for Thee to abide in for ever For this reason it is called the House of God his Habitation his Dwelling-place his Gate his Courts and which is the true Interpretation of all this his Presence Let us come before his Presence with thansgiving 95 Psal. 2. that is to his House and Temple where God is present which is therefore called appearing before the Lord as all the Tribes of Israel were commanded to do three times every year at the three solemn Festivals and this appearing before the Lord was their coming up to Ierusalem to worship at the Temple This I hope sufficiently proves that both before and under the Law God who is essentially present in all places was yet so peculiarly present in some places as he was not in others 2. But for the better understanding this we must inquire what this special and peculiar Presence of God is For this seems a great difficulty to some Men that God who is present every where should not be equally present in all places But the Account of this I think is plain and short that though God is present every where he is not equally present in all places to all purposes which is the only possible distinction

one Place neither to the Temple of Ierusalem nor Samaria but it should be free all the World over to erect Houses of Prayer and Worship where God would be as present with them as in the Temple of Ierusalem for there should be an end now put to that Typical State and Typical Worship which was confined to the Temple and the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth and this Spiritual Worship is confined to no one Place but will find God present all the World over which is so far from abrogating all peculiar Places of Worship such as the Temple at Ierusalem and Samaria were that it makes every Church whatever part of the World it be in in a truer Sense the House of God than ever the Temple at Ierusalem was And there is one thing more of great consequence which we learn from this that we now want no new Appearance of God to consecrate a Place for his Worship as it was in the Days of the Patriarchs nor any new Command to appoint us where to build a House for God as it was under the Law Our Saviour has consecrated every part of the World where Christians live to be such Holy Ground as is fit to receive a Temple and House of God and his Promise to be in the midst of the Assemblies of Christians gives us as great an Assurance of a Divine Presence in such Places as if like the Tabernacle and Temple we saw them again filled with a Cloud and a visible Glory Having thus shewn you that God who fills all Places is yet peculiarly present in some Places and what this peculiar Presence is that God is present as the Object of our Worship to hear our Prayers and to receive our Praises and Thanksgivings our Alms and Oblations let us now consider the Exhortation of my Text which is the natural Improvement of this O worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness 1st And here first I observe that the very External Beauty and Ornament of God's House is one Part of Homage which we owe to him The Riches and visible Glory of Solomon's Temple was one of the Wonders of the World a Divine Art and Nature conspired to build a House as fit as Art and Nature could make it to signifie the incommunicable Majesty and Glory of that God who dwelt there And this Nature taught all Mankind the Magnificence of their Temples did not only shew their Devotion but what their Art and what their Riches were And the Primitive Christians when they enjoyed Peace and Plenty under Christian Emperors were so far from thinking this a Piece of Pagan or Iewish Superstition that their first Care was to erect Beautiful and Stately Churches to rival and out-do all the External Glory of Pagan Temples and it was always accounted a great Instance of the Piety of Princes to encourage and promote such Works But you 'll say what is all this to God Can we think that he who has made the World with such unimitable Art and Beauty can be pleas'd with any House we can build for him whatever Art or Riches we bestow on it But this very Objection answers it self For God has made this Beautiful World for his Temple and has chose the most Glorious Part of it for his Throne which shews that though he be an infinite pure Spirit he does not despise an External Glory for thus he must represent his invisible Greatness and Majesty to his Creatures And therefore when he thinks fit to vouchsafe his Presence with us on Earth we must provide the most honourable Reception for him that we can and when we have done all that Art and Nature can do we have so far express'd our Devotion and Reverence for the Divine Presence This Objection lay against the Temple at Ierusalem as well as against Christian Churches and yet David thought it very undecent and a want of a just Reverence for God that he himself should dwell in a House of Cedar and the Ark of God dwell within Curtains 2 Sam. 7. 2. which should be considered by those Men who think all that is bestowed upon Beautifying and Adorning God's House a vain and superfluous Expence when they think no Cost too great to adorn their own 2dly The House of God too must be used as God's House that is must be separated from common Uses and appropriated to the Worship of God It must not be a Place of Trade and Commerce and ordinary Conversation as we learn from our Saviour's Zeal in driving those who sold Oxen and Sheep and Doves and the Changers of Money out of the Temple which he did at two several times the first immediately upon his entrance on his Ministry Ioh 2. 13 14 15 16. the second immediately before his Crucifixion Matth. 21. 12 13. Some learned Men observe that the Place of this Merchandise in the Temple was the Court of the Gentiles and from hence conclude that our Saviour's Zeal was not confined to the Iewish Temple but concerned all Christian Churches to which the Court of the Gentiles bore a greater Analogy but whatever Force there may be in this I think the Reasons our Saviour gives do much better explain his meaning Make not my Father's House a House of Merchandise John 2. 16. and it is written My House shall be called a House of Prayer but ye have made it a Den of Thieves Matth. 21. 13. Which Reasons have no relation to the typical State of the Iewish Temple but equally concern all Places which are the House of God and the House of Prayer that is where God vouchsafes his peculiar Presence to hear our Prayers And indeed when Christ expressed so much Zeal for the House of God when the typical Glory of the Iewish Temple was at an end having received its Accomplishment in his own Person it is a very good Reason to believe that he intended this as a standing Rule for the Religious Use of all Christian Churches and Oratories I am sure the Reason is universal and unanswerable that the House of God which is a House of Prayer ought not to be prophaned by any common Uses 3dly Let us worship in the Beauty of Holiness that is let us resort to the House of God to the House of Prayer there to offer up our Prayers and Thanksgivings to him For if God have a House where he has promised his peculiar Presence to hear our Prayers that is the proper and peculiar Place of Worship The Scripture makes it a very material Circumstance of Worship to approach God's House to enter into his Courts to come into his Presence to own our selves his Servants and Worshippers and without disparaging private Prayers or Closet and Family Devotions there is no reason to think God will own those for his Worshippers who deny him this publick Homage There is no doubt but God knows our Prayers where-ever we make them for he knows our very Thoughts but to hear Prayers