Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	key_n	open_v	shut_v	4,249	5	9.3501	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09999	The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in fiue sermons vpon I Thess. 5.17. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670.	1629 (1629)	STC 20251; ESTC S105990	87,396	182

ought not to bee refused if it be receiued with thanksgiuing for it is sanctified by prayer So that if you take common blessings euery day and doe not seeke them at the Lords hands before you take them they are not sanctified vnto you you haue not a lawfull vse of them you haue no right vnto them Besides my beloued It is that which the Lord commands in every thing Make your requests knowne in every thing that is vvhensoever you need any thing make your requests knowne so in every thing giue thankes And therfore the least we can doe vvhen vve have received and do need so many mercies is to give thankes and to seek to him so often from day to day Moreover doe not our hearts need it are they not ready to goe out of order are they not ready to contract hardnesse are they not ready to goe from the Lord and to bee hardned from Gods feare Therefore this duty is needfull in that regard to compose them and bring them backe againe into order More ouer doe not the sinnes we commit daily put a necessity vpon vs of doing this that they may be forgiuen and done away and that wee may be reconciled to God againe Therefore do not thinke that it is an arbitrary thing to call vpon God twice a day because there is no particular expresse command for if you consider these places that I haue named and the reasons wee shall see there is a necessitie lyes vpon vs to doe it So much shall serue for that I come novv to make some vse of this that hath beene deliuered First in that such prayers as the Lord accepts are an expression of holy desires such desires as rise from the regenerate part of a man Hence then we see that all natural men are in a miserable condition when times of extreamitie come and when the day of death comes when there is no helpe in the world but seeking to the Lord when all the creatures forsake them and are not able to helpe them and there is no way to goe to the Lord but by prayer if prayer bee an effect and fruit of the regenerate part of a man a carnal man is not able to helpe himselfe hee is in a miserable condition Therefore let men consider this that put all off to times of extreamitie Put the case thou hast warning enough at such a time Put the case thou hast the vse of thy vnderstanding yet thou art not able to doe any good without this For if there be not grace in the heart thou art not able to make a spirituall prayer to the Lord that the Lord accepts Therefore take heede of deferring and putting off Labour to bee regenerate to haue your hearts renewed while you haue time and if thou bee not able to call vpon God in the time of health how wilt thou doe it when thy wits and thy spirit are spent and lost and in the times of sicknes and extreamity therfore let that be considered which we do but touch by the way briefly Secondly if the Lord command this if it bee the command of God Pray continually Then take heed of neglecting this duty rather bee exhorted to be frequent and servent in it to continue therein and watch there to with all perseuerance It is a common fault amongst vs either wee are ready to omit it or to come to it vnwillingly or else we performe it in a carelesse and negligent manner not considering what a command lyeth vpon the sonnes of men to performe it constantly and conscionably I beseech you consider this that it is a priviledge purchased by the blood of Iesus Christ Christ dyed for this end it cost him the shedding of his blood That wee through him might haue entrance to the throne of grace and will you let such a priviledge as this lie still If you doe so farre as is in you you cause his blood to be shed in vaine for if you neglect the priviledges gotten by that blood so farre you neglect the blood that procured them but to neglect this duty is to neglect that Besides if wee aske you the reason why you abstaine from other sins why you steale not why you commit not adulterie and murther The reason that you giue i●… because the Lord hath commanded you Hath not the Lord commanded you to pray constantly at all times If you make conscience of one commandemēt why doe you not of another consider Daniel in this case Dan. 6. hee would not omit a constant course of prayer he did it 3. times a dayes that was his ordinary custome If he would not omit it to spare his life if he would not omit it in such a case of danger as that why will you omit it for businesse for a little aduantage for a little gaine for a little wealth or pelie or pompe or pleasure or whatsoever may draw you from that duty doe but consider what an vnreasonable and how vnequall a thing it is that when the Lord giues vs meate and drinke and cloathes from day to day when he giues vs sleepe euerie night when hee prouides for vs such comforts as wee haue neede of as there is not the least creature that doth vs any service but as farre as he sets it a worke to doe that service for vs to forget him and not to giue him thankes and not to ask these things at his hands not to seeke vnto him but to liue as without God in the world as we do when we neglect this duty I say it is a profession of living without God in the world wee are strangers to him it is open rebellion against him Therefore take heed of omitting it take heed of neglecting it Besides all this wee should doe it for our owne sakes if wee consider what vse we haue of this duty for our selues Is it not the key that openeth all Gods treasures when heaven was shut vp was not this the key that opened when the wombes were shut vp was not this it that opened you know Eliah prayed for raine so wee may say for every other blessing All Gods treasures are lockt vp to those that doe not call vpon his name this opens the doore to them all whatsoever they be that we haue occasion to vse this is effectuall it doth it better then any thing besides If a man be sicke I will be bold to say it a faithfull prayer is more able to heale his disease then the best medicine The prayer of faith shall heale the sicke Iam 5. you know the woman that had the bloody issue when she had spent al vpon Phisitians and could doe no good Then shee comes to Christ and offered faithfull prayer to him that did it when so many years phisick could not do it beloued if there be a Prince or a great man whose mindwe would haue turned towards vs a faithfull prayer will doe it sooner then the

and you shall be there for ten dayes it was not so long as Sathan would haue had it it may be he would haue had it ten and ten too nor againe it was not so short as they would haue had it but God sets downe the time betweene them both and therefore we must rest vpon him and thinke that many times there is great reason why we should be deferred when wee aske things at his hands and you shall finde hee deferres for one of these causes for the most part Sometimes for the tryall of our faith as wee see he deferred to grant to the woman of Canaan although he did meane to grant her request yet he deferred long that hee might put her to the triall and you see shee was no looser by it but when she held out in her prayers she had her request granted to the full Sometimes he deferres to grant it that wee may be more humbled as you know Paul prayed earnestly but God tolde him that he would deferre him because he needed more humility so he deferred to grant the request that the men of Beniamin put vp to him when the cause was iust and God intended to helpe them yet they fell before their enemies twice though they fa●…ed and prayed his end was as we see in the text that they might be more humbled that their hearts might be more broken that they might be more fitted to receiue it Againe sometimes God deferrs that we might bee more able to vse those blessings that hee meanes to bestow vpon vs so hee deferred to raise Ioseph to preferment so he deferred to bring David to the Kingdome that those afflictions that they indured might the better fit them to enioy so great prosperity as he had provided for them afterwards And lastly he deferrs that he might set a higher price vpon his blessings that hee might inhaunce the price of them as the fisher drawes away the bait that the fish might follow it the more so God withholds blessings that we might haue a greater edge set vpon our desires that we might pray harder for them that we might prize them more when wee haue obtained them Now as he doth thus for the time and as we are often deceived in the time in taking delayes for denialls so likewise wee are often deceived in the measure many times God grants the things that wee would haue but because wee haue not so large a measure as we expect therefore we thinke we haue not it at all and that the Lord hath denied vs our prayers when indeede he hath not for a lesser measure many times may serue as well as a greater as God saith to Paul my grace is sufficient for thee though the temptation doe abide vpon vs if there be sufficient grace to keepe vs in a continuall conflict and warre against it if there be sufficient grace to obtaine pardon to vphold and to comfort vs in it it is sufficient it may bring vs to heaven we haue a deliverance from it even when wee seeme not to be delivered though we haue not so full a victory as we would haue yet that grace may be sufficient You shall see this almost in all the things we haue occasion to request at Gods hands that a lesser measure may serue as well as a greater Take it first in outward things A little wealth may serue as well as great revenues as in Psal. 38. 16. A little that the righteous hath is as much as great revenues to the wicked because a little when God shall fill it with his blessings it shall serue the turne as well but if a man hath great revenues and God blowes vpon them and leaues an emptinesse in them if a man haue great revenues if he haue great outward comforts yet if there be an emptinesse if there be a vanity in them if they be as the husk without the graine as the shell without the kernell as they are often though there be a great bulke and they seeme very fit to comfort vs yet they will doe vs little good whereas a little on the other side will doe much good for in this case it is as it was with Manna those that had little yet they had sufficient and those that gathered over yet they had never a whit ●…he more that is for their vse and comfort you know the little that Daniel had it nourished and strengthened him as much as the great portion of the Kings meat that others had and therefore a little in this kinde may serue as well as much And so likewise a little grace may be so vsed and improved that it may inable you to doe much it may preserue you from sinning against God as well as a great measure for the confirmation of this looke to Rev. 3. 8. which is a notable place for this purpose it is said there to the Church of Philladelphia thou hast a little strength they had but a little strength and yet you see there what that little strength did thou hast but a little strength and yet thou hast kept my word and hast not denied my name there were but two things for them to doe to keepe his word and to be kept from running out to the denial of his name and other sinnes now the little strength they had was sufficient for these ends so that we see hee findes no fault with that Church other Churches that had more strength it may bee they fell into greater sinne●… but this is a rule which is true you will finde it true in all observation through the Scriptures that sometimes those that haue great grace yet they may fall into great sinnes that they may be subiect to some strong prevailing lust as David you know had great grace and yet we see hee was subiect to great sinnes together with it And againe a man may haue but a little grace and yet that little grace may bee so ordered and husbanded and improved that that little grace may keepe him from sinne more then the other this must bee warily vnderstood not but that great grace enables a man to doe greater workes then the other it enables a man in the ordinary course to resist greater temptations more then lesse grace but yet I say for our comfort that though a man haue but a little strength yet a●… it is said there in the same place Rev. 3. in that little strength I haue set a doore open to thee it opened the doore of heaven wide enough so that no man could shut it And as we say for grace so like wise for gifts smaller gifts meaner gifts may serue the turne many times as well as greater gifts for you know a little finger a small hand may serue to thread a needle as well as a greater and it may be will doe it better for in the Church there are varieties of operations and variety of functions