Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A87543
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The liberty of prayer asserted, and garded [sic] from licentiousness by a minister of the Church of England.
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Jenks, Benjamin, 1646-1724.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing J619A; ESTC R43659
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107,332
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222
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that are about Him And none of his Kindness to us must ever tempt us to forget our Distance and Grow upon Him as if he were but Such a one as our selves Ignorant people think basely of God in the form of an Old man sitting in his Chair to which Bungling Conceit the Popish Painters have lent their Help daring so to Picture Him that is Invisible and Incomprehensible And answerable to the Opinion conceived of God uses to be the Worship paid to him When men think Low and Slightly of God they can be as Rude and Saucy with him and divulge their Inward Contempt in their Carriage Abroad Presenting no Oblations but what more Affront than Honour him As if they came not to Adore and Pray but to Vaunt and Huff to Shew or Divert themselves to Scandalize their Neighbours and Sadden the hearts of some and make a Game for others To cast their Dirt and Scorn upon Holy things in their Yawning or Sleeping over them or Laughing the while and Playing with them And by their Countenance and Gesture and Actions shewing no more Concern in the Worship of God than if it were an idle Gambol or the most Trivial business They will observe and Revere a frail man that shall Dye but make even nothing of the Almighty Everliving God who Awes the World with a Look and will make his Despisers discern to their eternal Cost between them that Honoured and them that so Vilified Him Christians that behave themselves Rude and Vnmannerly in their Worship shall be condemned in Judgment by the Turks who are said to be so Curious in this point they think it will Spoil all their Prayers if they but Scratch the head with a Finger while they are upon them The dreadful Judge of Quick and Dead is not to be treated after the rate of an ordinary man They that have such a Clownish Familiarity have never the more but the less Friendship with God The Prayer that Puffs up serves but to do us hurt When we are Proud of our Prayers which are indeed but Acknowledgments of Indigence and Guilt and Offices of Humiliation and Repentance we quite mistake their Design and shall as much fail too of their Success And instead of Drawing nigh to God He will See us afar off 'T is his Grace to take even our Best in good part at our hands which is but a mean Present for the most High and to imploy sinful Worms in his Service who Humbles himself to Behold even the things that are in Heaven and hath the highest Angels ambitious to Attend upon His Throne And if we use to Applaud ourselves Principibus placuisse viris to fit the Humour of Great men How much more should we rejoyce to be Acceptable to Him in whose Favour is Life Who unless we hold Back what is in our Power to Give will not Despise us that it is no Better when he sees we Have no Better But he will not endure that Proud Scorners and rude Lubbers should come to his Face only to Pollute his Ordinances but will cast their wretched Offerings as Dirt in their Faces especially when they are called by his Name and pretend to be a People Nigh to Him And yet he could not be worse Served by any that are Afar off but his Name is more Dreadful among the Heathen Tho Religion then is not to be Gawdy yet we must not strip it so Naked under pretence of Spirituality that it appear in no Decent Garb Nor make Irreverence and a Worship without any Becoming Circumstances the distinguishing Note of a Godly man For that is the way to bring all our Religion under a just Suspicion when we carry towards the great Adorable Object of it as if we had no Awe of Him nor Regard or Love to Him Cursed is he that doth the Work of the Lord so Negligently At his Peril it is who meddles not with the Worship of God but to Expose and Blaspheme it and Wo be to that man whose very Oblations are the highest Provocations SECT IV. Of Praying without taking care of our Living THE Blessed God who Lacketh nothing stands not in such Need of men's Services as to accept the Present that is all Soiled with Filthy Hands When he accepts nothing indeed from us but only to do us a Kindness and makes us much more Beholden to Him to take Notice of our Offering than ever we can Oblige Him with the Service He will Abhor even our Holy things if we Abhor his Holy Ways Therefore when we are off our Knees the Apostle cautions us to take heed how we Walk 1 Pet. 1.17 If ye Call upon the Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work Pass the time of your Sojourning here in Fear All the Religion of wicked men is upon their Knees without looking to their Steps They may sometimes shew Devout in their Prayers who yet are most Profligate in their Lives and use their Offices only as a Cloak for their Sins and to Compound with the Divine Justice for Going on still in their Trespasses Depositing their Pageant-like Piety in the Church Pref. to Caus of Decay of Christ Pi. only to make a Shew with on Holidays But such as are so Rotten and corrupt at Heart and quite out in the very Drift and tenour of their Life must not think to put off the Holy Jealous God with a parcel of Good Words and Demure Looks and fine Postures He will scorn all the Prayers of such as cast off his Fear and disregard his Holy Word They shall cry in vain for his Help that neglect their honest Endeavors to Help themselves They that Trust in the Lord and do no Good but presume that Christ will Save them against his own Gospel are a sort of Worshippers that are like to find as little Success in their Praying as God finds Integrity and Piety in their Walking Their Carnal Living spoils all their Spiritual Worshipping They shall find small Wellcome with Him when they love to be most Vnlike Him When they cannot abide his Friends And love none so well as the Worst of his Enemies Nay can Blasphemously Swear elsewhere as fast by the Name of their Maker as they Bow mannerly at Church to the Name of their Saviour And when they take on them to Pray the Lord to have Mercy upon them for Taking his Name in Vain and to Incline their Hearts to keep that Law and yet are so far from Minding what they Say that presently after in the accustomed manner they fall Foul upon Him and make nothing of it to Play with that tremendous Name as their Bable O how Vain are their Oblations What Abomination is their Incense Yea what Iniquity even their Solemn Meeting As good they Slew a Man as Kill'd an Ox or Cut off a Dogs neck as Sacrific'd a Lamb. Isa 66.3 If any man be a Worshipper of God and do his Will him he Heareth Joh. 9.31 The only
Clefts of the Rocks in the Secret place of the Stairs Cant. 2.14 In such Retirements he uses most freely to Impart Himself And there should we cast and covet to Meet Him whom our Souls Love And not think it any hard Put upon us but the most sweet and blessed Advantage to leave even the best and Dearest Company to go to God our Exceeding Joy What care I for Chatting with Friends on earth said Bishop Hall shut up in the Tower when I may talk familiarly with the God of Heaven As our Saviour gave a discharge even to his own Disciples Mat. 26.36 Tarry ye here while I go and Pray yonder So get sometimes out of the Crowd and Hurry of worldly Avocations and distractions that thou maist find a full Vacation and happy Freedom to wait upon thy God And when so taken up with Him in Secret bethink thy self what main Grievance it is thou hast to make thy moan of What especial Favour thou hast to Beg What Sin that lieth hardest upon thy Conscience to be Pardoned What noisom Corruption to be Healed What most Wanted Grace or Good thing to be Desired And there tell all as having the fairest Opportunity to be Bold And put on hard as one that will not be Denied Abraham Retired into his Grove Isaac to the Field Jacob Wrestled with God upon the Way Elijah Prayed under the Juniper-Tree Jeremiah in the Dungeon Daniel in the Lions Den Jonah in the Whales Belly Our Saviour in the Garden and often in the Mount St. Peter on the House-Top No matter what is the Place so it minister to our Devotion and help us indeed to Draw nigh to God Which is not to be done with the Body and shifting of Places but in the Elevation of the Heart and Fervor of Affections Non Passibus sed Precibus itur ad Deum Aug. Prayer is the Messenger that doth our Errand there where Flesh cannot come And wherever a man is or however taken up even in the midst of his Worldly occasions His Soul may fly out and steal away to God Or send up Secret Ejaculations that shall pierce the Heavens and find as sure a Conveyance as if they had bounded from the Temple However then we should be Glad to to go into the House of the Lord when Opportunity serves Yet when we have a Motion to Prayer any where we must not withhold it for want of a Better Place from whence to send it up CHAP. V. The Liberty of Prayer as to the Persons Praying SECT I. The Liberty that All Sorts have to Pray EVery one that is Godly shall Pray unto thee ô Lord. Psal 32.6 No Godly man but will do it And all manner of Persons as they have Need So they are Allowed to do it Only the Priest of old entred the Holy Place Now he that hath Loved and Redeemed us and wash'd us from our Sins in his own Blood hath made us all Kings and Priests unto God Rev. 1.6 God is no Respecter of Persons The Poorest shall have as fair and full a Hearing with Him as the Biggest man in the World Tho he be the most High yet the Lowest are not beneath his Notice If they are Low in their own eyes and Poor in Spirit as well as of Low Estate and Poor in the World They are indeed the Nearer to his Acceptance Who hath Respect unto the Lowly And to this man will Look that is Poor and of a Contrite Spirit and Trembles at his Word Isa 66.2 This Poor man cried and the Lord Heard him and saved him out of all his Troubles Psal 34.6 From the Height of his Sanctuary he looks down even upon the most Abject wretches on Earth Even such as are Rejected of men and just ready to be Thrust out as not fit to Live in the World To hear the groaning of the Prisoner To loose those that are Appointed to death Psal 102.20 He will Regard the Prayer of the Destitute and not despise their Prayer v. 17. The Lord sees not as man sees To Regard men according to their Garb and Dresses but according to their Faith and Graces Yea according to their Cries and Necessities And even that Abjection and Beggary for which others Overlook and Scorn them is the very Motive of God's Inclining to them and taking Notice of them Do thou for me O God the Lord for thy Names sake because thy mercy is good Deliver thou me For I am Poor and Needy Psal 109.21 For the Oppression of the Poor for the Sighing of the Needy now will I arise saith the Lord I will set him at Liberty Psal 12.5 Tho God that hath Chosen the Poor of this World is not Fond of a man only for this reason because he is Poor For there may not be more Wicked men than many Poor men Yea such as are fain to Beg their Bread of Men may yet be none of Gods Beggars and so none of his Favourites This not for their Bodily wretchedness but for their Souls Ungodliness because matters are not so Ill with their Bodies but they are Worse with their Souls Yet caeteris paribus No Poor man shall be ever the less Welcome with God for his Poverty but be as soon Heard and as much Respected by Him as His Excellency or His Highness the most Eminent and Mighty who look to be Observed of all and that every one else must be Silent when they Speak Such are often too High to be God's Humble Servants Like the Wicked Psal 10.4 Who thrô the Pride of his Countenance will not Seek after God Tho there is none so Rich and well-provided but they stand in continual need of God's Alms And they that abound in the World 's Good must yet beg of him their Daily Bread and have need of all men to Pray hard That they may not be put off with their Portion in this Life and be Tormented when Lazarus shall be Comforted Let not the Rich man rejoice so much in his Riches as that he may go to God to save him from the Danger of them And let him not Pray the Less but the More That thrô so many Temptations he may get Safe into the Kingdom of God Let not any Nobles Gentlemen or Ladies ever fear it will Debase their Dignity to Cringe to Him that has far greater than any Kings or Queens on Earth for his daily Attendants If they are too Goodly to be Godly they will be too High to be Saved Prayer is Man well Drest Herb. The finest Creature is best Adorned when most Humbled And when the Knees are Bowed the Mouth Confessing the Hands Smiting the Eyes Blubbered the Cheeks bedewed Nothing in the sight of Heaven is more Becoming and Recommending Ephraim was heard so Bemoaning himself And presently it follows Is Ephraim my dear Son is be a pleasant Child For since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still I will surely have mercy on him saith the Lord. Jer. 31.18 19 20.