Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A51205
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A practical discourse concerning the choice benefit of communion with God in his house witnessed unto by the experience of saints as the best improvement of time : being the summe of several sermons on Psal. 84. 10 preach'd in Boston on lecture-dayes / by Joshua Moody.
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Moodey, Joshua, 1633?-1697.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing M2523; ESTC W479532
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54,173
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120
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came not for his mony as formerly he said that he found God had so blest him that he could maintain his Family by his labour and spare a Lecture time too And if others will try in like manner they shall have the like blessing It is said Mony answers all things Eccl. 10. 19. yea but the Blessing of God in the way of serious attending on him in his House will answer mony also will supply that too God hath many secret waies to bless his servants and doth abundantly send in what we lay out for him Our Fathers in this Wilderness experienc'd this they came for the sake of God's House and he soon filled theirs turned the Wilderness into a fruitful Land gave them what they denyed and left behind them for his and the Gospel's sake And while the first love and zeal for Christ and the things of his House were kept up they had much outward prosperity our coldness there has brought thinness and leanness both outward and spiritual upon us This also is the sure way to have all our other good things sanctified to us By the Word and prayer are all our outward blessings sanctified 1. Tim. 4. 5. and without this they are a snare and Trap. If men would observe there is none but loses as much and more than he gains by robbing God of his Time or at least he loses the blessing and what is the outward enjoyment without a Blessing why it is for his hurt rather than for his good and its better to want such things in mercy than to have them in wrath Thus much may serve for the Confirmation of the Doctrine We come now to the Application or Improvement And this word is profitable for Information or Instruction Reproof or Correction Exhortation Direction 1. by way of Information and Instruction 1. See here the Wisdome of God in providing so well for the promoting of his own publique Worship while he orders so much profit to attend the waiters upon him therein hereby obviating the objections that may be made against it that great one especially Mal. 3. 4. what profit is it that we have served God and kept his Ordinance What profit more than Cent. per Cent. profit even a Thousand to one profit and that is great gain indeed The Lord out-bids all that ever the world or the Devil the god of the world can do for his followersReason should teach us to go into his vineyard where we may have the most pleasant work and best wages Did men understand and believe there would be no great difficulty in this matter Saul to weaken David's Interest in the people and draw them off from him intimates that they could not expect much profit or high preferment from the son of Jesse 1. Sam. 22. 7. insinuating that where there is an expectation of the greatest Reward there men would be most like to be found Then God may well expect that we should prefer his House before our own houses Fields Ships or Shops because all of them cannot yield the like profit by more than a Thousand to one Difference He must needs account God not worthy to be believed or Fellowship with him in his House not worthy to be enjoyed that is not perswaded 〈◊〉 pitty any should need to be compell'd there to dwell and to Improve all opportunities of Seeing and Enquiring there Wisdom invites mâ—n to her House Prov. 9. and the foolish one calls upon Simple ones that are going right on to turn in thither the former invites to beasts slain Wines mingled and Table furnished and promises life upon obedience hear and your souls shall live Isa 55. 3. The latter speaks only of water and bread and that stollen and in secret too concealing in the mean time Death and depths of Hell the punishment of deluded fools Mee thinks none need be at a loss at which house to turn in Christ would be no way offended for turning our backs upon his Ordinances if we knew any place where to mend our selves but to leave him for lying vanities makes him angry There is nothing but Atheism and Unbelief that keeps any poor creature from making this his One thing to dwell in the House of God 2. Hence we are further Informed how careful the Lord is of us also of our Good as well as of the promoting his own service in that he does not oblige us to do any service for him nor to spend one day or hour but so as shall be to our own highest advantage No Worship of God shall interfere with our profit He will dispence with his Worship when works of necessity and mercy for our selves or others bespeak our Attendance and he never enjoynâ— it but it is best for us and most for our good 〈◊〉 This is great kindness indeed to poor Creatures that He will not be served but when we shall be profited and has so disposed that it is alwaies for our profit to serve Him If we were rightly affected towards God we should need no more or other Argument than this to bring us to the House of God and oblige us to the most serious attendance viz. that we are about God's work doing Hiâ— service that he will be glorified thereby would be enough to us but the Lord will have us to know that we are then about our own work also and that which most nearly concerns us and will unspeakably advantage us Altho' we must deny our selves and take much pains to serve God if we do it acceptably yet all this while we are working for our selves and the Harvest will be our own and that a Thousand times more than we could have gotten else where You will say when the Beggars that lay by the High-waies and Hedges were invited to the Marriage-feast they were not bidden to their losse no nor they that had Farms and Merchandize neither they never had such Incomes nor made such Bargains as they might have had and made there Let none think it hard that God requires one day in seven for the more immediate service of Himself nay if he should require six of the seven and leave us but one while he gives us the profit of more than a Thousand dayes in one there is no colour for any Complaint The Lord commanded them in the Wilderness to rest on the Sabbath day and gives this as a reason why they should so doe because he had on the sixth day given them the Bread of two dayes Exod. 16. 29. So when he commands us to wait on him in his House on a Lecture-day and by the way do not account that attending on Lectures is 〈◊〉 a free-will offering tho' if it were so God's people should be a willing people and willing in their free-will Offerings but that General Rule of taking all Opportunities of 〈◊〉 and consequently of getting Good is not without its Consideration here and if the Minister be charged to preach in season and out of season 2.
more Sweetness in one hour's Fellowship with God in his House than in all the pleasures of sin for a whole Life-time See what plentiful Provision the Lord makes and invites us to there Isa 25. â— fat and marrowed things and wine upon the lees No Cook dresses such meat no Tavern sells such drink The Lord in his House makes such provision as abundantly exceeds what is to be found in any other and those that seriously attend there do find abundant satisfaction therein Psal 36. 8. And as for matter of Honour none like that which God puts â—pon them who honour him as all diligent conscientious waiters upon him in his House eminently do It is their glory to come near him and behold his Glory and there as in the Context ver 11. he gives glory and that is true Honour indeed It is the Honour and Glory of Angels to be waiting upon God in his upper House of Glory of Men to wait upon him in his lower house of the vissble Church where we may both see speak of and partake in his Glory To be admitted unto near approaches to God in his House is a greater Honour dignity than to be admitted to stand before converse with the greatest Potentates upon earth If then account themselvs much honour'd by the Company of great men much more Honour is it to be in the Company and dwell in the House of the Great God And that which commends the good things of God's House to â—â— above all other is that they are soul-Blessings soul-profit soul-pleasures c. Now as much as the Soul is better than all the world so much does soul-profit exceed all other profits whatsoever A little soul-good is infinitly better than a great deal of worldly good and consequently soul-loss is the worst loss Suppose you should gain a little worldly profit or pleasure while you might have been at a Sermon yet you lose soul-profit pleasure the while then your loss exceeds your gain Suppose you should be filling your purse by the one you are thinning your souls by the other you get bodily refreshment comfort c but you lose soul-benefit and souls-pining will not be recompensed by your estates-thriveing Isa 55. 3. hear and your souls shall live work toyl labour and your bodies may live tho' possibly they mayn't neither but hear and your souls shall certainly assuredly everlastingly live If men would but consider that they have souls and thereupon study the worth of them til they find the preference of their souls to their bodies they would then prefer soul-enrichments in God's House above all worldly profit or pleasure in their own but while men are carnal sensual and bruitish minding only their bodies and those things that do concern their bodies this Argument will neither be understood by them nor be prevalent with them Oh pray the Father of spirits the God that hath made us these souls that he would also make us to know what our souls be and what is the Concernment of our souls above all other Considerations in the world then we should realize that the enlightning of the soul converting of the soul restoring of the soul Satisfying the hungerings and thristings of the soul strengthening us with strength in our soul communion with the dearly beloved of our souls and making our souls to rejoyce in Him the universal prosperity of our souls and Salvation of our souls at last all which good things are to be attained in God's House are the Best of all blessings and consequently the attending on God there the most profitable and delightful of all duties and by many Thousand degrees eligible before all other Imployment whatsoever More particularly these that follow are some of those things to be gotten in the House of God that are a Thousand times better than what are to be had else where e. g. 1. Here is the word of God the powerful enlightening converting sanctifying saving word of God to be heard and the efficacy of it to be felt and experienced the Word preached which is the wisdome of God and the power of God to salvation Rom 1. 16. 1. Cor. 1. 18. 24. The Word by which blind eies are enlightened deaf ears opened dead souls quickned unconverted ones converted unbelievers brought to the Faith of Christ Act. 26 18 Dayes of being in the House of God are dayes of power in which God is wont by his Word to speak to the Hearts of poor needy waiters upon him and makes sinners a willing people Psal 110. 3. Here David met with that Word which was more worth to him thaâ— Thousands of silver and Gold and more sweet than the Honey and the Honey comb Psal 19. 10. with 119. 103. He that brings his Heart not his body only as many do to the House of God and laies it under the droppings of God's Word there he by so doing laies himself in the way of Light and Life and puts his soul under the Influence of an Ordinance appointed by God for the conveying of all spiritual good to him it being the Lord's way to do all by his Word If any of you come to the House of God on a Sabbath day and there God meet with you and bring your souls within the Net of the Gospel and save you then you will say it was the best way of spending Time that ever you met with If the Lord shall please to draw you off from your worldly Occasions and allure you into his House upon a Lecture-day and there speak to your Hearts and by his Spirit work upon you for your souls everlasting Good you will then be as so many living Monuments of the Truth of this Doctrine you will have the Witness in your selves and be able to set your seals to the experienced verity thereof 2. Here is the best Company to be had and such as is a Thousand Times better than what you will meet with else where And Company is a very attracting thing for the sake of good-fellowship falsly so called is many an hour and many a good day in God's House lost whereas here is that which is truly and deservedly called Good-fellowship Here God Father Son and Spirit are to be seen and Conversed with the Vision of and Fellowship with God are the great things here to be enjoyed It s â—â—ue God may be seen and conversed with elswhere but not in that manner and measure as here nor at all savingly by those that may but will not wait upon him here They have seen his goings in the Sanctuary Psal 68. 24. and so may we the sight of that Beauty which David there desired Psal 27. 4. is free for us also This is eminently a Place of drawing near to God and if you engage your hearts to draw â—ear to him there he will there meet you and bless you Exod. 20. 24. Now if you can fare so well in the House of God as to get a light of him