Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A45790
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Divine contemplations, necessary for these times. By H.I.
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Isaacson, Henry, 1581-1654.
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1648
(1648)
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Wing I1057A; ESTC R222591
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27,531
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74
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beggers we cry at the gate of Gods mercy when all other remedies fail us prayer is onely left us If then we neglect the lifting up of our eyes our hearts our hands to God no marveile if he let loose the reynes of all calamities miseries and afflictions to rush in upon us For the neglect of this duty of prayer the kingdom mourns for neglect of prayer the true worship of God is lost for neglect of prayer we are become a scorn to our neighbours for neglect of prayer the wisdom of our wisemen doth perish Isa 19.14 and the understanding of prudent men is hid for neglect of prayer all vertue and goodnes hath forsaken the land and an inundation of wickednesse hath overflowen it and brought these heavy judgements into it But some may say Object what need these motives exhortations to prayer have we not prayed these seven yeers past have we not spent whole dayes together in this duty yet we finde no ease of our troubles no comfort in our afflictions but rather daily additions to them 'T is true Answ that in these great distractions of Church and common-wealth God hath â—in pleased as it were to hide himself from us and to neglect our prayers But this hath oft times befaln other states and Churches before us How often did David complain of this in his time as we may read in many of his Psalms How long Lord wilt thou hide thy self for ever shall thy wrath burn like fire Psal 89.46 So Psalm 13.1.44.24 88.14 and diverse other places God by the prophets and other his Saints used this metaphore many times in their own cases as Job Job 13.24 Isa 57.17.54.8 Jer. 33 â— Eze. 39 23. Isa 64.7 Wherefore hidest thou thy face and holdest me for thine enemy So God by the Prophet as I hid me and was wroth And In a little wrath I hid my face from thee And in Jeremiah I have hid my face from this city And in the Prophet Ezekiel I hid my face from them And lastly Esay on the behalf of the people Thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us For it is the nature and condition of affliction to perswade those that are under it to think that God is absent from them But the reasons why God seems to be so and not to answer our prayers are these among others 1. It is for sinne committed and impenitency following that God seems to leave us 2. Because the prayers we make in the time when Gods judgements are upon us are not framed aright 3. Lastly God seems to the absent and not to hear and answer our prayers according to our expectation for our own good and for causes best known to himself 1. The whole currant of Scriptures may informe us that God never absents himself or hides his face from any person or nation but for sinne and impenitence Moses in his song setting forth the rebellions idolatry and other sinnes of the Jews saith Deu 32 19.20 When the Lord saw this he abhorred them c. And said I will hide my face from them c. So the prophet Zechariah to king Jeash 2. Chr. 24.20 and the people Why transgresse ye the commandments of the Lord that ye cannot prosper because ye have forsaken the Lord he hath also forsaken you God by the wise man tells the wicked Because I have called and ye have refused Pro. 1.24.25 I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded But ye have set at nought all my counsells and would none of my reproof Pro. 1.27 c. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwinde when distresse and anguish cometh upon you 28. Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but they shall not finde me Isa 1.15 And God by Esay complaining of the the rebellion of Judah saith When you spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when you make many prayers I will not hear you hands are blood So it is in Jeremiah When they fast Jer. 14.12 I will not hear their cry but I will consume them by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence God hides not his face from his friends It is sin and impenitence that is the cause of his absence Esa 64 7.59 2. Thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities saith Esay And your iniquities have separated between you and your God Eze. 39.23 and your sins have hid his face from you And God by the prophet Ezek saith Pro. 28.9 They trespassed against me therefore I hid my face from them He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer shall be abomination Jer. 7.16 We may read that God forbad Jeremiah to pray for the impenitent Jews Pray not thou for this people saith he neither lift up cryes or prayer for them 〈◊〉 neither make intercession to me Jer. 7.16 for I wiâ—â— not hear thee The man that was cured of his blindnesse could thell the Jews We know that God heareth not sinners Joh. 9.31 meaning the unrepentant But if any man be so plunged in the security of sinne that he feel in himself no provocations to true repentance his best way to cure this evil is to consider and weigh with himself that he miserable creature hath to do with an eternall and immortall God that sees and hears all things before whom the Angels nor the heavens are clean Job 4 18.15.15 and that there 's no way to avoid his judgement unlesse he seriously repent and enquire carefully into his forepassed life and if he finde himself polluted with many sinnes he may conclude that there are infinite more in him which he cannot see but Gods alsearching eye doth discover and detest And therefore may reason thus with himself If the whole world should applaud my actions and veile my sinnes with the name of vertue yet can I not escape the just censure and judgement of God I must sooner or latter appear before that alseeing and hearing judge and render an accompt of all my evil words and works Why then blush I not why abstain I not from sinne why do I not endeavour with all care and diligence to amend my life Certainly if thus we would do unfeignedly without hypocrisie and call upon the holy Spirit to put us upon and assist us in that good work we should not fear but that our prayers would be heard so that we should never have cause to repent us of this repentance Another cause that God answers not our prayers II. is We pray not aright Saint James is plain for this Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amisse And we may erre and ask amisse both in the matter and the manner For the matter I. we may ask things not onely
the Majestie of God as rebellious to his commands as unthankfull for his mercies as impenitent for all our offences as the Jews or any Nation under heaven and therefore are deservedly under as great judgements as they were What course is then to be taken by us to appease the wrath of an angry God justly conceived against us Certainly none other but the means which hath been ever applied in the like case which is Prayer We being in the same condition why should we not apply the same remedy Who can tell if God will turn and repent Jon. 3 9. and turn away from his fierce anger that wee perish not God is the same that he ever was and proclaimed himself The Lord The Lord God mercifull and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodnesse and truth If wee turn to him by serious repentance and by Prayer qualified with zeal faith confidence and perseverance conforming our wills unto his onely waving all worth and merits in our selves and our prayers and acknowledging our own unworthynesse and trusting in the merits of our blessed Saviour Christ Jesus onely with full resolution to amend our lives for the future he will say to us as he hath done before Jeâ— 18 7. At what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation and concerning a Kingdom 8 to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it If that Nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them Let us therefore humble our selves and that speedily Zep. 2.1 It was the Prophets counsel to Judah Gather your selves together yea gather together O nation not desired 2. Before the decree bring forth before the day passe as the chaffe before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you before the day of the Lords anger come upon you Pacifie the Lords wrath before it break out It 's kindled already we know but if it once break out into flame and that a fierce one â—am 4 11. who can quench it The Lord saith the Prophet hath powred out his fierce anger and hath kindled a fire in Zion and it hath devoured the foundations thereof If the foundations be destroyed the superstructure must needs fail that is an universall destruction must needs follow That we may in time prevent this let us pray to God in the first place to give us grace to pray aright and then to give a blessing even that wee pray for his favour and the light of his countenance and then wee shall enjoy our hearts desire Let us pray and say Da pacem domine in diebus nostris peace here and hereafter peace of conscience peace with God and man let the judgement of warre cease in this land and Da nobis domine panem quotidianum our daily bread food and sustenance remove the judgements of famine and pestilence Lord from us and continue us in health give such things as will stand with thy good pleasure to give us Give us the Bread of life Jo. 6.35 even Christ Jesus that so we may serve thee joyfully here in the Kingdome of grace and raigne with thee eternally in the Kingdome of glory Ne deficias in oratione August Deus quod concessurus est si differt uon aufert Nemo gratis orat Omnis oratio modo seria sit semper fructuosa erit Faint not in Prayer God doth onely deferre not deprive us of that he intends to give us No man prayeth in vain Every Prayer alwayes returns with fruit so it be serious PRAYERS FOR THE TIMES For Peace O Almighty God and most mercifull Father who by thy Son Jesus Christ hast valued Peace at so high a rate that thou hast stiled the lovers and procurers thereof the Children of thee O God the last Legacy of thy Sonne to his disciples being Peace and thou thy self being also pleased to be intituled the God of Peace it being one of the fruits of God the holy Spirit behold we beseech thee thy poor and wretched people deprived of this unvaluable blessing and miserably afflicted with a raging intestine Warre Wee confesse O Lord that this judgement is justly befalne us for our manifold and grievous sins among which our unthankfulnes for and not making true use of so happy a peace which we so long enjoyed is not the least And now O Lord in that neither thy promises could allure us nor thy threats and menaces terrifie us nor thy judgements upon our neighbouring and other Nations forewarne us of what might come upon us but that our rebellions transcend all former presidents thou hast suffered thy whole displeasure to arise against us and caused us as instruments of thy wrath to execute thy vengeance upon our selves according to that in the Prophet Isa 19. â— They shall fight every one against his brother and every one against his neighbour and city against city And we have felt the curses threatned in thy law against rebellious sinners to have taken hold upon us Deut. 28.31 Thine oxa shall be slain before thine eyes and thou shalt not eat thereof Thine asse shall be violently taken from before thy face and shall not be restored to thee Thou shalt beget sonnes and daughters 41. but thou shalt not enjoy them all these curset shall come upon thee with many more there threatned till thou be destroyed 45. because thou hast not hearkned to the voice of the Lord thy God O Lord wee cannot but confesse that thou art just and thy judgments upright yet we humby beseech thee not to look upon us as sinners but as thy Children Correct us as a mercifull Father to amend us not as a severe judge utterly to consume us but stop we pray thee this issue of blood in the land before all the veines of it be empty and the whole Nation faint and perish Thou art our onely refuge therefore we flee to thee to releeve us And Lord we pray with thy servant David that if thou hast determined yet further to humble us for our rebellions and backslidings thou wouldst chastise us thy self 2. Sa. 24.14 Let us fall into thy hands for thy mercies are great and let us not fall into the hand of man for the mercies of the wicked are cruel Pro. 10.12 Lord we are ready to sinke under this heavy judgement If therefore it may stand with thy good pleasure remove it from us Psal 68.30 Suppresse those that are instrument in it Scatter the people that delight in warre Psal 35.5 Dissipate and frustrare their counsels Let them be as chaffe before the winde and let the Angel of the Lord chase them that are implacable enemies to peace Unite O Lord the mindes and affections of the Nation and let them be all as one Man Suffer not the hearts of those that are brethren 1 Cor. 6.15 and members of one body whereof Christ Jesus is the head to