Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A62092
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Submission to the will of God in times of affliction asserted, in a sermon from I Sam. 3. 18 / by a Reverend Divine.
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Sylvester, Matthew, 1636 or 7-1708.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing S6332A; ESTC R41
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15,126
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41
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and Patience together 2 Pet. 1.6 To Temperance Patience And 1 Cor. 7.30 And they that weep as tho they wept not and they that rejoyce as tho they rejoyced not If we rejoice as tho we rejoyced not we shall weep as tho we wept not Otherwise to be crossed in a small matter breedeth great Vexation 3. It cureth our distrustful Fears and Cares Carking Solicitude cometh from want of Resignation We would be our own Carvers and take God's Work out of his Hand not daring to rely upon his Providence and Promise nor to submit to the Event as he shall dispose it for us Whereas if you could refer your selves to God and attend upon the Issues of his Holy Government you would find this carking both needless and fruitless What need we trouble our selves about what God will do for us or needlessly take a Burden upon our selves of which God is willing to ease us God hath a prospect of all future Contingencies at once which we have not And is faithful to dispose of them for his own Glory and our Good Could we believe this and depend upon this it would ease us of many troublesome Thoughts Prov. 16.3 Commit thy Way unto the Lord and thy Thoughts shall be established And Psal 112.7 His Heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. 4. It would prevent Repinings and Murmurings at God's Dispensations because it is not according to our Mind For we are not to sit Judges of God's Actions or to like and dislike the Disposals of his Providence at our Will and Pleasure The Words for Murmerers and Complainers Jude 16. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blamers of their Lot and Portion because they set up another Scheme and Model of Providence in their own Minds and have not resigned up themselves to the Will of God You should count that Good which God doth for his Will is the Supream Rule and Reason of all Things 5. That we may go on cheerfully in our Duty whether of our general or our particular Calling Let us mind the work God hath given us to do and let God take care of the Success 1 Chron. 19.13 Be of good Courage and let us behave our selves valiently for our People and for the Cities of our God And let the Lord do what is Good in his Sight A Christian should take more care what he should do than what shall become of him he can never be comfortable in the work of his Calling nor have a quiet frame of Spirit till he can refer all things to God but will still be distracted with anxious and dubious Thoughts Luke 12.29 Neither be ye of doubtful Mind In the Margin 'T is Be not in careful Suspence 'T is a Blessed Frame of Spirit to be eased of those tumultuous and unquiet Thoughts which will haunt us in our Calling So for our general Calling Make sure of Heaven and refer other things to God Mat. 6.33 First seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these Things shall be added unto you 6. To breed a Godly Resolution in us in all Sufferings tho we know not the Event as the Three Children Dan. 3.16 17. We are not careful to answer thee in this matter Our God is able to deliver us But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up USE Use is To perswade us to this Resignation of our Wills to the Will of God and to put our selves as a Dye in the Hands of his Providence that the Cast may fall as God pleaseth I know 't is difficult to bring our selves to such an aequanimity and we shall find distrusts when means fail And 't is hard to perswade Men against present sense that t is good to be Poor and Sick and Imprisoned and Afflicted and to be deprived of dear Relations That Poverty is good that we may not be proud that Diseases are good that we may learn Patience Trouble good that we may have often recourse to God Frowns of the World good that we may have more humble familiarity with God that Breaches upon near Relations are good that we might more intirely seek our happiness in God That if God had not taken away our Comforts they might have taken us away from him If we had not met with some outward and worldly Loss we might have lost our Souls that the lessening of our Estate might occasion the diminishing of our Lusts Surely these things should not be strange to them that know what a God they serve and measure all things by their chief Good and supream Happiness Let me press you to two things 1. Mortification and weanedness from the World is necessary There is no talking of referring all things to God while worldly Affections reign in us If once your chief care be for Heavenly Things you will soon be contented with a moderate supply of Earthly Things Carnal Affections are vehement and must have satisfaction A Man that savoureth the things of the Flesh will think himself undone when his Relations Pleasure Honour and Plenty are taken away but a gracious Heart that 's weaned from the World sees enough in God's Favour to make up the loss of these things 2. Believe the particularity of his Providence which reacheth to all things especially to those who have a care of his Glory and seek his Kingdom Justin Martyr telleth us That it is the Opinion of some Philosophers That God hath a care of the Universe but not of the Kinds and Species of all things much less of the Individuals that is of Me or Thee If this were true we were left to our own Providence this would destroy all Prayer and Praise Love and Trust No! all things are subject to his Providence He upholdeth all things by the Word of his Power Heb. 1.3 All things are subject to his Providence and supported by the same Word by which they were created He holdeth all things in his Almighty grasp Job 6.9 That he would let loose his Hand and cut me off God could easily do it All Creatures are at his finding Matth. 10.29 A Sparrow shall not fall to the ground without your Heavenly Father The least of the Creatures doth not die casually they cannot kill a Sparrow more than God's Providence seeth fit to permit and order Now we may reason as the Apostle Doth God take care of Sparrows and Oxen 1 Cor. 9.9 ye are of more value than many Sparrows much more Believers in Christ The Hairs of your Head are numbred Matth. 10.30 31. God hath the knowledg and care and over-ruling of the least things that belong to you or shall befal you They are the Kernel of Man-kind the First-fruits of his Creatures for whose sake the World is continued and without whom it would be brought to an end In a Family Children are much more cared for than Dogs and Swine 1 Tim. 4.10 God who is the Saviour of all Men especially of those that believe The Lord's Portion is his People God careth for them in a peculiar manner heareth their Prayers how despicable soever they are in the World Psal 34.6 This poor Man cryed unto the Lord and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his Troubles He careth for all things wherein they are concerned Job 1.10 Hast thou not made an Hedg about him and about all that he hath on every side Providence doth so guard them and every thing that is theirs that without God's permission Satan or his Instruments cannot touch them He observeth their Tears Fears Haltings Wandrings Psal 56.9 Thou tellest all my Wandrings put thou my Tears in thy Bottle are they not in thy Book Now this is a mighty relief to Faith can we be backward to trust him who hath such a particular care over us our Persons Name Estate and Relations FINIS
and Goodness when you cannot depend upon his Conduct and Government 2. It cometh from Humility 'T is a great act of Humility to be content to be at God's finding especially in such a proud Creature as Man who would be as a God to himself providing for himself both as to the avoiding Evil and obtaining Good Witness our first Parents who greedily nibled at that Bait Gen. 18.20 Behold the Man is become as one of us a smart Irrision But the humble Man is content to be dealt withal as the Lord pleaseth and wholly submitteth to his Will and waiting for the Issues of God's Providence as he is pleased to dispense them But more plainly there are two Properties in Humility They that are of an humble and lowly Spirit they think not great things of themselves nor seek great things for themselves They have not high thoughts of themselves 't is Self-conceit that establisheth Self-will We think our selves wiser and better than we are or that we deserve more and can do more for our selves otherwise we would stoop to God and let him chuse our Inheritance for us Prescribing to God always argues ascribing to our selves We take too much upon us when we wield our own Fortune without dependance upon God or submission to him So again They that will stand to God's Allowance do not seek great things for themselves It may be God may bestow great things upon them here in the World as he did upon David and Abraham but this was not their aim When God's Will goeth with ours for Wealth Riches and Honour then we may take it sweetly out of the hands of his Providence and use it for his Glory but when we seek Meat for our Lusts and peremptorily fix our carnal Desires and would set God a Task to comply withal it is the greatest pride imaginable meerly to set their Hearts and Wills to be Rich and Great 1 Tim. 6.9 You despise God if you think to do it without him and undertake a Task too hard for you yea provoke him to disappoint you But if you think to do it by God you would make him to serve with your Sins or to maintain your Lusts therefore nothing is left but to be content to be at God's finding and let his Will interpose before you express any Will of your own 3. It cometh from Mortification and deadness to the World and weanedness from the Comforts of it or an indifferency of mind to all future worldly Events For as long as there remaineth in us an over-eager desire of any good that we want or of any thing that we would fain have or be in the World and the Heart runneth out inordinately and impetuously upon it we can never resign up our selves to the Will of God As Rachel Gen. 30.1 Give me Children or else I die Words of impatiency and fixedness of Will on a particular worldly Comfort The motions of Lust are rapid and vehement as Jam. 4.2 3. Ye lust and have not ye kill and desire to have and cannot obtain ye fight and war and have not because ye ask amiss that ye may consume it upon your lusts See how eager Men are to have what they love or to pursue after those things which are a satisfaction to their Lusts First There was Coveting and that bred Envyings and Emulations and those Emulations bred Fighting and Warring which made way for Bloodshed and Destruction and then they would draw God into the Quarrel and his Providence must laequey on their carnal Humors but all in vain and therefore 't is good not to be too eager to have what we love for this is the way to be either denied or to have it with a Curse usually Men are passionate because they would not have the Flesh want its Contentment But the Rule is not my Will but thine be done The mortified Heart what-ever it wanteth or desireth it leaveth to God A Christian should be positive in nothing but his Duty There is a fixed Resolution becometh us if God will deliver well but if not we will patiently bear his pleasure When Jonah's Goard is blasted nothing will please him but Death Desires pettishly solicited and finally crossed and disappointed breed Vexation and over-valued Comforts will soon breed our Trouble Jonah 4.8 Dost thou well to be angry because of the Gourd And he said I do well to be Angry And he requested for himself that he might die Therefore we must sit loose from the Creature that we may entirely refer all to God 3. The Fruits or excellent Advantages we have thereby 1. It breedeth a Contentation in every Condition wherein God hath set us though it be not so pleasing to us yet it is that which God appoints be we Rich or be we Poor Solitary or full of Company of Friends and Relations Phil. 4.12 I know both how to be abased and how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and suffer need They never quarrel with God's Government but take their Lot as they find it And be their way to Heaven fair or foul smooth or cragged up-hill or down-hill yet they go on in their Journey Surely 't is the duty of Christians to be contented with what God will have us to be Heb. 13.5 Be content with such things as you have We must not resign our selves to God in Name and Pretence but in Deed and Reality and when our Resignation is tried it must be verified Now the Reality is tried when the Will of God is declared by the Event Many resign themselves to God with an hope that God will not take them at their word but that is falshood and hypocrisy if God taketh any thing from them they are troubled but the true Resignation breedeth a willingness to resign our Comforts when God calleth for them be they never so dear to us 2. It causeth us to sit loose from the Creature A being fixed or cleaving or holding to any State or Condition in the World or any Comfort of ours be it never so aimable pleasant or suitable to our desires leaveth no room for Submission or Resignation to the Will of God For so far as your Souls are bound up with any Creature so far you are in danger of denying or not consenting to his Sovereignty and Authority over us 'T is a Death to many to think of a Change or Divorce from that State in which they are But a sober mortifyed Christian holdeth all his Comforts at God's Will and Pleasure and is ready to resign them when God calleth for them As David speaketh of carrying his Life in his Hands so should we all Worldly Things as ready to give them up if the Will of the Lord be so Otherwise we make a Snare for our selves and the over-valued natural Comfort is a Door open to let in trouble to the Soul 'T is our Affection causeth our Affliction The Apostle coupleth Temperance