Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A19189
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Bee thankfull London and her sisters; or, A sermon of thankfulnesse setting downe the kindnesse of God to vs ... by Robert Abbott ...
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Abbot, Robert, 1588?-1662?
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1626
(1626)
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STC 56; ESTC S100550
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29,366
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42
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to death For man is not Lord ouer the spirit to retaine the Eccles 8. 8. spirit neither hath he power in the day of death And all of vs who haue felt heard seene or vnderstood of the abatements of this noysome euill may say Blessed bee the Lord for this maruellous kindnesse and let all Gods people say Amen It may be you wil aske why we should account this such Ob. a kindnesse seeing he giues it to many that are wicked people and denies it to many whom he dearely loueth I answer that it is neuer the lesse fauour for that If Solu hee giue it vnto wicked men it is because God may shew the riches of his bountifulnesse and patience and long sufferance towards them and if they after their hardnesse and hearts that cannot repent heape vp to themselues Rom. 2. 4 5. wrath against the day of wrath and the declaration of the iust iudgement of God What good haue they by it what good can they haue by it If he deny it vnto good men it is as a father denies a knife to a Childe who knowes not how to vse it To dye of the Plague is better then to escape to such To such to dye is gaine for all Phil. 1. things worke together for their good and so whether they Rom. 8. liue or dye they are the Lords Rom. 14. 8. You haue now so farre as I intended as in a little Map a glimpse of the world of those kindnesses which God hath shewed to vs. Let vs take heede that wee doe not diminish the worth of them Yee know what is said of the Israelites That they despised the good and pleasant land Psal 106. 24. and ye know what they said of Mannah Our soules are Numb 11. 6. dried vp and we can see nothing but this Man and againe Numb 21. 15. Our soule loatheth this light bread But though Israel play the harlot yet let not Iudah sinne and though Israel according to the flesh hath beene vnthankfull yet let not Israel according to the spirit No let vs rather heare our good God speaking vnto vs and saying Haue I beene a wildernesse vnto thee or an vnpleasant land Ier. 2. 31. If you shal aske me What good it wil do vnto vs thus to behold God in his mercifull kindnesses vnto vs Truly they will be excellent meanes to subdue the pride of our hearts and to make vs seruiceable to Gods will The power of God alone doth it not for though Christ manifested his power yet it did no good to them that apprehended him they went backward and fell to the ground at Iohn 18. 6. his very word yet they persisted in their course The iustice of God doth it not for though God brought one Plague after another vpon Pharaoh which made him stoope for the present as many haue done I feare in this Plague yet presently he hardned his heart but if the mercy of God comes it is like the Sunne which thawes hard Ice and the Fire which makes old Wax soft pliable and fit to be wrought vpon Though Iustice follow vs to Hell yet there is blasphemy and gnashing of teeth both which are arguments of pride But Paul knew how forceable an argument this was I beseech you by the mercies of God Rom. 12. 1. Is not my word saith God like an hammer and like fire Ier. 23. 29. The Law which bringeth tidings of Iustice may like a Hammer breake our stony hearts in pieces breake I say before bend but the Gospell bringing the glad tidings of saluation by Christ like fire will melt vs and mould vs anew This will breede the spirit of iudgement as Dauids kindnesse made Saul iudge him more righteous then himselfe and the spirit of burning to clense out Esa 4. 4. and purge away the filth of sinne that the graces of God may be shed into vs or at the least shine from vs and amongst the rest this iust thankfulnesse Well say you I see that God blessed for euer hath beene maruellous kinde vnto me I haue heard and felt many particulars of it and I see that the thought of it is of excellent vse to breake my proud heart and make mee thankfull to God I pray now tell mee wherein must I shew my thankfulnesse to God I answer to giue you a little helpe herein I must first lay downe the root and ground of thankfulnesse and secondly the practise of it As for the root of thankfulnesse It is the loue of God No man will freely and ioyfully acknowledge that all goodnesse in what estate soeuer comes from God alone except we loue God We see ordinarily if men happen to receiue kindnesses from them they loue or desire not to be beholding vnto how they pinch courtesie as wee say and slight them whereas if wee doe receiue them from such as we prize in our affections then euery Mole-hill is a Mountaine and a point from a friend is better then a pound from an enemy Therefore Paul louing Aquila and Priscilla did freely acknowledge their kindnesse Rom. 16. 4. saying They haue for life yea for my life layed downe a necke yea their owne necke vnto whom not onely I giue thankes but all the Churches of the Gentiles So likewise Dauid when he had professed saying I loue the Lord Psal 116. 1 12. he presently sheweth it and saith farther What shall I render vnto the Lord for all his benefits Oh therefore let vs labour to winde vp our hearts from the loue of the world 1 Iohn 2. 15. and the things which are in the world that the loue of the Father may be in vs. And if we desire to be thankfull let vs not giue either God or our soules rest till we haue found this loue in vs in these fiue particulars First in taking any paines and induring any hardnesse for Gods sake As Iacob did thinke seuen yeeres trouble Gen. 29. 20. nothing for Rachel because he loued her and Gods people of old haue indured the losse of Father Mother Houses Lands Wife and Children for Christs sake because they loued him so must we euery day and vpon the Lords day in liuing the life of Iesus and dying for the Lord when he calleth suffer any thing for the Lord if we loue him Secondly in setting our hearts towards him and vpon him for where our Treasure is there will our hearet be also Mat. 6. 21. Of the wicked man the Psalmist saith That God is not in all his thoughts but hee that loues him can thinke of him almost to an extasie As when Dauid saith Oh how I Psal 119. 97. loue thy Law he presently addeth It is my meditation continually so when wee can say That wee loue God our thoughts of him will let in comparison of other things deepe and long yea we will thinke vpon him sometimes in the night season and our soule shall receiue comfort
Bee Thankfull LONDON AND HER SISTERS OR A SERMON of Thankfulnesse Setting downe the kindnesse of God to vs the dutie of Thankfulnesse the way to it and the practise of it Applyed in particular to these times By ROBERT ABBOTT Preacher of Gods Word at Cranebrooke in KENT PSAL. 50. 15. Call vpon mee in the day of trouble so will I deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie mee LONDON Printed for Philemon Stephens and Christopher Meredith and are to be sold at their shop at the golden Lyon in Pauls Church-yard 1626. TO THE RIGHT Worshipfull worshipfull and dearely beloued his friends kindred and acquaintance within the Citie of LONDON ROBERT ABBOTT wisheth due Thankfulnesse to God for his vnspeakable MERCIES THough I liue a farre off from you yet God knowes that I haue not beene vnmindfull of you in my daily prayers to God which was the best good which I could doe vnto you And when I heard that God did beginne to shine in loue vpon the City againe God knowes that I was not vnmindefull to bee thankfull to him that is the sole Author of it I thought not that enough therefore as before I had spent many dayes in fasting and prayer for our selues in body so did I resolue hauing that blessed liberty to spende one day in fasting prayer and thanksgiuing for you what good it wrought vpon my owne people and those of your body who heard me I am not worthy to know but what good I aymed at my conscience is priuy to what my desire is to do more I consider how louingly I haue beene intertained of many of you when I was assistant to a Reuerend Diuine amongst you who is now with God I consider Master Haiward of Wool-Church that I haue many brethren sisters and kins-folke who haue fellowship with you whose soules I tenderly affect In which respects though as it is wittily said some more Learned and godly men are Fathers Nurses and murtherers to their owne Children in begetting kissing and burying the fruits of their owne braines yet am I still aduenturous to shew others what God hath giuen me vnworthy wretch to bring forth and to say vnto you Behold I and my child I haue not trimmed it with ornaments and laces of Aegypt nor sweetned it with the Frankincense and myrrhe of the Christian Synagouge but as God hath sent it with the lawe of God written in the fore-head hands feete and heart of it so send I it vnto you desiring God to make this seruice acceptable and profitable vnto you And so I rest Yours to be vsed in the Lord ROBERT ABBOTT From my Studie this fifteenth of Nouember 1625. Be thankefull London OR A SERMON Setting downe the duty of thankfulnesse the way to it and the practise of it preached vpon PSAL. 31. 21. Blessed be the Lord for hee hath shewed his maruellous kindnesse towards me in a strong City WHEN God purposeth to plague a people who haue not beene wise to obserue the day of their visitation and by faith and conuersion Ier 15. 2. to hide themselues such as are appointed vnto death must vnto death such as for the sword to the sword such as for the famine to the famine and such as for the captiuity to the captiuity In which respect when we who now liue do perceiue that though wee haue beene chasiened sore yet wee haue not Psal 118. 18. beene deliuered vnto death and that neither Plague nor Sword nor Famine nor Captiuity nor any other noysome euill hath so farre preuailed ouer vs but that we may still praise God after the manner of the liuing then how can we resolue lesse with our selues then this I shall not dye but liue and declare the works of the Lord Or Psal 118. 17. what can we say lesse then this to others Praise yee Psal 34. 3. the Lord with me and let vs magnifie his Name together True it is that ordinarily the iniuries that are done vnto vs are written in Marble and the benefits that are shewed vnto vs are written in Sand and as the Aire in the Mat. 26. 69 70. High Priests Hall did after a sort infect Peter and was an occasion to his soone and sudden denying of his Master so euery blast of new fauours doth through our corruption infect vs with vnthankfulnesse and blow away the memory of the former mercies which haue beene shewed vnto vs. Hence it is that God expostulateth with his people Heare O Heauens and hearken O earth for I haue nourished Esa 1. 2. and brought vp children but they haue rebelled against me And that Christ cryeth out against the vnthankfull Luke 17. 17. Leapers Where are the nine Hence it is that God is as it were driuen to put his people in minde of the fauours which he hath done vnto them saying Surely I brought thee vp out of the Land of Egypt and redeemed thee out of the house of seruants and I haue sent before thee Moses Aron Mic. 6. 4 5. and Myriam O my people remember now what Balack King of Moab had deuised and what Balaam the sonne of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal Yea hence is it that good Moses did take such paines with Gods Deut. 6. 12. people to presse them not to forget the Lord which Deut. 8. 10. 11. brought them out of the Land of Aegypt but to blesse him for the good Land which he had giuen them And at that time when hee saw them tardy in their duty of thankfulnesse to God by corrupting themselues towards him by their vice how roundly doth hee take them vp saying Doe ye so reward the Lord O foolish people and vnwise Deut. 32. 6. is not he thy Father that hath bought thee yea hee hath made thee and proportioned thee All which courses doe manifest vnto vs our pronenesse to vnthankfulnesse yea and our practice of it also for what are we better then other people Yea and that we stand in neede of continuall prouoking to the good duty of thankfulnesse that wee may practise it to the assuring of our hearts that greater Plagues then that which we haue had doe not awaite vs. Therefore is it that I haue chosen this good example of Dauid to quicken you to this duty at this time who in the inioyment of some great deliuerance from some great trouble in some great City cryed out with a thankefull heart Blessed bee Psal 31. 21. the Lord for he hath shewed maruellous great kindnesse towards me in a strong City The Psalme where you reade these words is spent in the practise of a threesold duty namely Prayer Praise and Exhortation In his Prayer first he sueth for himselfe and secondly against his enemies For himselfe hee prayes to God that he would deliuer him out of his troubles as from the hands of his enemies and from them that persecute him Vers 1 15 16 17 and that he would make his Face to shine vpon