Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	aaron_n	bless_v	breath_n	201	3	9.8725	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93404	Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme. In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.	Smith, Samuel, 1588-1665.	1656 (1656)	Wing S4189A; Thomason E1624_1; ESTC R208959	212,879	567

his loving countenance again towards them Hence we learn that only God favour and loving countenance gives satisfaction to a distressed Soul or a poor soul will count it self most happy in the enjoyment of Gods favour And thus did Aaron and his sonns usually blesse the people Num. 6.6 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you his peace Deu. 28. Thus Moses makes the favour and loving countenance of God the foundation of all happinesse having this they should be blessed with all the blessings of Heaven and of the Earth in Soul and Body Herein David placeth true Blessednesse Ps 32.12 Blessed is the man whose iniquitie is forgiven an● whose sin is covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sin Pardon of sin and reconciliation to God causeth a man to be truly blessed The favour and comfortable presence of God to a poor distressed Soul is as the Sun to the Creature in Summer it quickens all Creatures Man and Beast Trees Plants Herbes and Flower All Creatures are revived and quickned by the Suns presence which in winter time seem to mourn for its absence So whilst we enjoy Gods favour the Soul is filled with joy and comfort whereas if God hide his face and frown upon us the Soul is then cast down Thou turnest thy face from me and I was sore troubled And it must needs be so that the poor Soul will count it most happy in the enjoyment of Gods favour For all the time the Conscience apprehends his displeasure Reas 1 and looks upon God as angry and displeased the Conscience will never cease to vex accuse Esay 57. and torment a man There is no peace to the wicked saith my God and as Job hath it Iob. 15. A dreadfull sound is in his ears Such a Soul sees as it were the Heavens on fire over him and Hel● mouth ready open to receive him Men Angells and Devills Enemies unto him whilst God remains his Enemie Secondly Reas 2 when the wrath of God is once appeased and God reveals himself a reconciled God to the soul then come wee to have bold and free accesse unto him and the Throne of grace then we come boldly to the Throne of grace then we come boldly into his presence and ask any thing at his hands with much assurance to be heard Which whilst we lie in our sins and in an impenitent estate God looks on us his enemies neither can we look to obtain any thing at his hands Seeing that Gods favour Use 1 and loving countenance brings such refreshments unto a distressed soul What condition then are all gracelesse sinners in that abide under his wrath and displeasure for sin 2 Reg. 9.2 As Jehu sometimes said to Jehoram What hast thou to do with peace so what peace what joy what comfort can such have to whom God is not a reconciled God but an angry Judge who is a consuming fire and all wicked and ungodly men are but as stubbble before him Surely all the peace all the joy and rejoycing of such is but as the crackling of Thorns under a pot soon in and soon out they want that which is the ground and cause of true joy and that is Gods countenance Ps 63.3 which is better then life it self the spirit of bondage and fear must needs torment them And howsoever soever they may outface conscience for a time yet God at last will open the Mouth of conscience and when conscience shall speak out Horror and Dread will be ready to overwhelm that soul If a poor condemned Creature were now going to execution what were the thing now to be desired that would yield him comfort and render him happy not gold or silver land or livings would not now to be looked upon but the Princes pardon would be the most welcomest thing in the World This the gracelesse World shall find true one day That howsoever Satan the God of this World hath blinded their eies and their consciences are fast asleep that they neither see their misery nor what it is to lie under Gods displeasure yet the time will come when this poor wretched Creature would give all the world for one smile from this angry God And this lets us see the happy priviledge of the faithful above all the men in the world Use 2 let their outward estat● be what it will let them endure hunger thirst cold nakednesse imprisonment banishment such cannot be miserable that are at peace with God have their sins pardoned and they reconciled unto him Enemies Tyrants Death Devils cannot make such miserable what though thou wantest health peace libertie and those comforts that others enjoy if thou hast that which thousands in the World do want the favourable countenance of God in Christ is that which wil make amends for all That wee may be glad and rejoice all our daies HItherto we have spoke to the first part of this verse and that is their Petition Now follows the second part of the verse and that is their Reason taken from the end Doct. 5 for the which they crave the feeling of Gods love Gods mercies should provoke to cheerfulnesse in his service and favour again towards them viz. That we may be glad and rejoice all our daies Hence we may observe what is the true use that is to bee made of Gods mercy of his favour and love viz. to make us more joyfull and cheerfull in his service to honour God and to set forth his praise If the Lord would bee so gratious unto them as to Return again and to fill them with his mercy they will not hide such a mercy as that unfaithfull servant that hid his Masters Talent in a Napkin but they will put it out to the most advantage of their Master It should make them more cheerfull in his service and to serve the Lord with gladnesse all their daies As a covetous man puts out his money for his own advantage So will every godly Christian put forth the Lords gifts for his advantage And indeed this is that that God promiseth unto his people as the wages of their service and as a fruit of their seeking of him Esay 65.13 My servants shall rejoice and yee shall be ashamed My servants shall sing for joy of heart and yee shall howl for vexation of spirit as if the Lord had only intailed this joy to his chosen ones it is limited unto them Ps 40.16 Pro. 29.6 Let them that seek the Lord rejoice The righteous shall sing and rejoice And of the Churches returning out of Captivity it is said Ps 126.6 They went weeping and bearing good seed but they return with joy and bring their sheaves with them And this did the Lord make good to his Church and people here in the Wildernesse How soever he chastised them for their sins their infidelity and murmuring against Moses and Aaron for the which his wrath brake out against them and

a tale that is told 10 The dayes of our yeares are three-score yeares and ten and if by reason of strength they be foure-scere yeares yet is their strength labour and sorrow for it is soone cut off and we flee away 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger even according to thy feare so is thy wrath 12 So teach us to number our dayes that we may apply our hearts unto wisedome 13 Returne O Lord how long And let it repent thee concerning thy Servants 14 O Satisfie us early with thy mercy that we may rejoyce and be glad all our dayes 15 Make us glad according to the dayes wherein thou hast afflicted us and the yeares wherein we have seene evill 16 Let thy worke appeare unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish thou the worke of our hands upon us yea the worke of our hands establish thou it MOSES His PRAYER Or An Exposition of the Nintieth PSALM A Prayer of Moses the man of God A Word spoken in due time saith Solomon is like unto Apples of Gold Prov. 25.11 and pictures of Silver And hence it is that the Doctrine of Humiliation doth best sute with the times of Humiliation and the Doctrine of Mans Mortality those times wherein that of the Apostle of the Church of Corinth is true to us That many are sick and many are weak 1 Cor. 11.30 and many are taken away by death God having shaken the rod of his Anger and displeasure of late over this Land and Nation with unwonted diseases and suddain deaths of many that the learned Physitian cannot find out the Cause much lesse is able to prescribe a remedy The Consideration whereof hath set me upon this portion of Scripture at this time The Psalm you hear is a Prayer The Author and inditer of it is the Holy Ghost The Pen-man or Instrument that wrote it was Moses the man of God The Sum of it is nothing else but a pitifull complaint of Moses and the people of Israel The Argument of the Psalm of their wofull estate and condition in the which they now were in the wilderness by the heavie hand of God upon them for their sins whereby they were miserably wasted consumed And withall a humble sute petition that they make unto God that he would in mercy be intreated to spare them and be gratious unto them The Psalm hath in it 2. general parts 1. A Preface 2. The Psalm it self In the Preface we have 1. The person Moses 2. His praise The man of God 3. His practice he prayeth 4. The time when when the Church was in great affliction and distresse In the Psalm it selfe wee have three particulars 1. An acknowledgement of Gods goodnesse and mercy to their Forefathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob and to their posterity in protecting them from their Enemies and that in many dangers Even for his own names sake and his mercifull Covenant sake unto them v. 1 2. 2. From the third ver to the 12 there is a Narration in the which is set down the common frailty and mortality of mankind And this he doth 1. Generally from ver 3. to the 7. wherein Moses compares mans life to a watch in the Night to a Flood to Sleep to Grasse c. 2. In particular that their estate was far worse then the Common estate of the rest of mankind for whereas the life of man ordinarily is 70. years or 80. yeares their life was far shorter by reason of Gods Judgements upon them for their sins they were suddainly wasted and consumed 3. An humble Supplication of Moses and the people unto the Lord that he would in mercy turn away his Judgement and return again unto them in mercy and grant them gracious deliverance and his former favour Concerning the occasion of this Psalm The occasion of the Psalm It is like that it was penned by Moses when as the spyes returned from searching the Land of Canaan Numb 14. In the thirtieth of Numbers wee may see how the Lord commanded Moses to send twelve men of the heads of the tribes of Israel to search the Land of Canaan They return after forty daies and bring of the first fruits of the Land Now all of them Josuah and Caleb excepted discourage the people telling them that their Cities were strong and their walls high and that there were the Sons of Anak of the generation of Gyants and that these would devour them Onely Joshua and Caleb incourage the people to set upon that Land The people hearing this they murmured against Moses and Aaron exceedingly wishing that they had dyed in Aegypt Now the Lord hearing of the murmuring of the people was angry and told Moses that of all them that had seen his Miracles in Aegypt upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians and at the red Sea there should not one of them come into the Land of Canaan But that great multitude even six hundred thousand that came out of Aegypt that were above the age of twenty years Ioshua and Caleb excepted should perish in the Wildernesse as Numb 14.37 This being the occasion of this Psalm Wee may first note Doct. 1 what a grievous thing it is in the sight of God for those that have had experience of Gods mercy in former times to call his power into question and to despair of his mercy for future times This people had many times experience of Gods power his goodnesse and mercy in many great deliverances As in their deliverance from Pharaoh and the Aegyptians at the red Sea How did the Lord there fight for this people when Pharach and his Host pursued them when the Sea was before them the Egyptians behind the Mountains on each hand of them that they could see no means left them to escape Yet how did the Salvation of the Lord appear in their deliverance Besides hee had given them much experience of his mercy and goodnesse in the Wildernesse giving them Manna from Heaven and water out of a Rock c. And now after all this to doubt of his providence and to call his Covenant in question and to make God a lyer in that they would not believe that he would or was able to bring them into the promised land was such a sin as the Lord did punish most severely as we may read Numb 14. and 1 Cor. 10. Now this calling of Gods power and goodnesse into question by such as have had experience thereof must needs be a hainous sin Because God is so highly provoked by this sin See Psalm 78. Reas 1 Psal 78 the whole Psalm there the holy Ghost reckons up a large Catalogue of those mercies and deliverances he had bestowed upon this people Marvelous things did he in the fight of their Fathers in the Land of Egypt in the field of Zoan He divided the Sea and caused them to passe through He led them in

sorrow shall be turned into joy and your hearts-shall rejoyce It is true affliction and the pangs of repentance do sometimes so dazzle the eyes of the godly that their priviledges are sometimes hid from them There is a seed-time for peace and a seed-time for joy which many times proves sharp and bitter Light is sowen for the righteous The time of repentance and godly sorrow is this seed-time which howsoever the godly sow in tears yet they shall doubtlesse come again with joy and bring their sheaves with them Worldly sorrow is comfortlesse that separates from God But godly sorrow causeth repentance unto life and brings peace at last in as much as it drawes us neer to God This also lets us see the misery of many thousands in the world Use 2 and what enemies they are to their own peace and comfort that hoodwink themselves and labour for nothing more then to keep sorrow from their hearts they will not be brought to see the foulnesse of their sins but labour to smother the checks of their owne consciences that when either by the Ministry of the Word or by some sharp affliction they have had their sins discovered and their consciences awakened fall to sports and pastimes and merry company and drink away care and to put away these melancholick thoughts as they call them out of their heads and use all means possibly to thrust out of their minds the thoughts of sin that they may not be troubled like a man in a burning Feaver that drinks cold water which at last doth but increase his fit Alas what cold comfort is this to a distressed conscience whereas the only way is to flie unto God to confesse sin and by true repentance and godly sorrow to lay the soul low at the footstool of the throne of grace with David and to beg for mercy O fill us with thy mercy WE have felt thy anger justly upon us for our sins q.d. so as thou hast justly turned away thy savour and shewed thy heavy displeasure against us Yet we beseech thee be a reconciled God unto us again and according to the extremity of our misery fill us with thy mercy Hence we-learn Doct. 2 Before we be filled with ●nercy we must feel our misery That before we can be filled with Gods mercy we must have a lively sense of our own misery Moses and the people here confesse their sins and the exceeding misery they had plunged themselves into by reason of sin and then they beg for mercy and cry and call for mercy and that for no small quantity but for abundant store of it Fill us with thy mercy Before we be filled with mercy we must feel our misery When Adam had sinned how did the Lord bring him into a capacitie of mercy and deliverance but by bringing him to see into what a bottomlesse gulph of misery he had plunged himselfe into Gen. 3.9 Adam where art thou And again Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee thou shoulde●● not eat And this is the direction the Lord gives to his Prophet Es 58. Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations And this Doctrine is taught by our Saviour himselfe in that Sermon of his upon the Mount Mat. 5.4 Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted And Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse c. where our Saviour tells us that none can be satisfied with Gods mercies in Christ but the hungry and thirsty souls Look we upon all those godly converts mentioned in the Scriptures David Peter Mary Magdalen those poor Jewes that had imbrued their hands in the blood of the Lord Jesus and see how sensible they were of their sins and misery by reason of sin before they were filled with Gods mercy in the assurance of the pardon of their sins David he sits weladaying night and day and waters his couch with tears Peter weeps bitterly Mary Magdalen washeth the feet of Christ with tears the Jewes cry out Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved In a word all of them in some measure have had their hearts broken have felt the terrours of the Lord and their consciences touched with the apprehension of Gods wrath and have tasted of the bitternesse of sin before they have tasted of the mercies of God in Christ for the pardon of them This wounding of the heart and terrour of conscience for sin Reas 1 though it be no grace yet it makes way for grace in the soul as one saith though it wash not the hands yet it puts off the gloves It is as the needle that makes way for the third God first gives the spirit of bondage which is the spirit of fear and then gives a spirit of adoption which gives boldnesse and comfort when the threats of the Law have had their proper work upon the conscience to convince of sin unto condemnation then the sweet promises of the Gospell will prove seasonable to the humble soul to convince them of Christs righteousnesse to salvation Secondly Reas 2 that herein and hereby the Lord may make his children come to know the price and worth of mercy which the Lord will do to those upon whom he intends to bestow mercy How welcome will a pardon be to a condemned person that lookes every day for execution O how pretious will the least drop of Christs blood be to a wounded soul that pants and breaths under the heat of Gods wrath for sin No chased Hart doth more earnestly covet the soyle then such a distressed soul for Christ Besides Reas 3 Luk. 1.53 all the promises of mercy are made to such and such only He filleth the hungry with good things but sends the rich emptie away Luk. 5.31 The whole needs not a Physician but those that are sick Joh. 7.37 Matth. 5.5 6. This lets us see the reason Use 1 why most men have no more sense nor feeling of Gods mercy or else have but small tast of it the reason is they never yet felt the weight and burthen of their sins they were never truly humbled for their exceeding misery they never felt their extream need of Gods mercy and the blood of Christ to save their souls they did never truly hunger and thirst after it but like the Laodicean Church thought themselves well enough Rev. 3.17 and needed nothing but knew not that they are miserable and poor and blinde and naked Would you be filled with Gods mercy would you drink your fill of the water of life then you must hunger and thirst after it and finde your extream need of mercy beg mercy at Gods hand with tears Men hunger and thirst after the things of this life because they feel the want of them but they thirst not after mercy because they feel no want of mercy their stomachs are so cloyed with the love of the world with the profits pleasures and the delights of the flesh that they have