Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	work_n	work_v	wrath_n	250	3	7.3746	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93061	The hypocrites ladder, or looking-glasse. Or A discourse of the dangerous and destructive nature of hypocrisie, the reigning and provoking sin of this age. Wherein is shewed how far the hypocrite, or formal professor may go towards heaven, yet utterly perish, by three ladders of sixty steps of his ascending. Together with a looking-glass, clearly discovering that lurking sin of hypocrisie. As also another glass to try sincerity of grace by. / By Jo. Sheffeild minister of the word at Swithins London.	Sheffeild, John, d. 1680.	1657 (1657)	Wing S3063; Thomason E1570_1	172,287	360

love and patience of hope c. 1 Faith is the first watering grace humility plants faith waters sincerity gives the increase perseverance crowns and a working faith is a watering faith It is a principal member and holds the head to get more nourishment to it self first then conveyes to all the fellow-members other holy graces Faith begins to work so soon as it begins to bee works in desires longings pantings hungrings thirstings when it is yet weak but as it gets more strength it undertakes greater works it works first may bee on a threat then on a promise some single promise afterwards upon all the bundle of the promises then upon commands then upon all duties at last it is able to indure all trials 1 A working faith works upon Christ and works it self into him as the Cony works into the Rock 2 It works upon the promise as a strong stomach on wholesome meat concocts it and getteth strength from it 3 It works upon corruption as Aqua-fortis upon iron to eat it asunder or as a Corrosive on corrupt flesh to consume it 4 It works against temptation as the Pioner works for his life to countermine such as would blow him up 5 It works and tugs at a duty as a Mariner at Sea who hath his hand on the Rudder and his eye fixed on heaven 6 Against Satan it works as a hardy Souldier that stands in the breach and will dye in the place rather than give ground 7 It may bee said to work with God as Jacob did it wrestles strives intreats holds his hold and will not let go without a blessing and when all other emergent works are out of hand it hath one constant business to pursue which as the good huswifes work is never at an end to work up the work of his salvation with fear and trembling So that a true Phil. 2. 12. faith is alway accompanied with and may bee said to bee perfected by works Jam. 2. 22. That it may bee said to every true beleever as to the Church of Thyatira I Rev. 2. 19. know thy works and charity and service and faith and patience and thy works again and the last to bee more than the first This is the lively faith the lasting faith To beleeve is a work Joh. 6. 29. But the faith of hypocrites is a dead liveless imaginary faith Those are the Solifidians and Nullifidians who are the Nullioperists Many think faith hath an easie and idle life of it a Ladies life neither to toyl or spin yet to bee cloathed above Solomon in all his glory with the rich robes of Christs righteousness or the life of an Vsurer who whether hee sleep or wake his profit comes tumbling in and hee hath no more to do but to tell and take it as if faith had nothing to do but to tell the promises accept a Saviour receive a pardon challenge a priviledge and wait for the Rent-day of full payment as if it were to wash his steps in butter anoint his head with oyl and swim in the Rivers and floods and brooks of honey and butter Job 20. 17. Those deeps of the love of God and the blood of the Lamb but these are much mistaken This is the wages not the work of faith the Holy-day work as I may say and not the work-day business Faith hath business for both hands Active and Passive work as well as Applicative Faith is a stout Champion therefore the Lord sets it as David did Vriah in the face and front of sharpest encounters It is sent into the soul as the soul into the body to animate move and guide it or as the Labourer into the Vineyard to work there It must purifie the heart Act. 15. 9. as well as pacifie it Sanctifie Act. 26. 18. as well as justifie Rom. 5. 1. It must fight the fight of faith 1 Tim. 6. 12. Conquer the victory of faith 1 Joh. 5. 4. It must pray the prayer of faith Jam. 5. 15. It must obey The obedience of faith Rom. 1. 5. and 16. 26. It must bee a shield to quench fiery darts Eph. 6. 16. as well as a hand to receive Christs bounty It must bee a Breast-plate 1 Thess 5. 8. It must endure trials The trial of your faith 1 Pet. 1. 7. wee are to live by faith Heb. 10. 38. Walk by it 2 Cor. 5. 7. Receive Christ by it to dwell and rule in us Eph. 3. 17. Resist Satan by this mainly that hee may not get into us or rule over us 1 Pet. 5. 9. Such a faith hath somewhat to do This faith no hypocrite can have His workless faith is a worthless faith The dead faith in the soul is like the dead flye in the boxe of ointment mars the whole Eccles 10. 1. like the Mare mortuum or dead Sea kills every thing that comes near it like the dead first born in the Egyptians houses filled the whole house with mourning Ex. 12. 29. 30. In a word like a dead image of Christ in stone or wood which though an ignorant Papist may adore an understanding Protestant will cast out of doors and abolish 2 Love is the second Nutritive grace and Labour is his Character Love is the glory of the soul and Labour the glory of Love But an unsound Professor wants both hee may have faith but hee wants love hee dreams hee loves God but hee hath no labour in his love It costs him little The spirit of love is ever the spirit of a sound minde and sincere Christian 2 Tim. 1. 9. Faith is a great strengthner but love much more faith makes the first union love the next and the last and most perfect Faith receives Christ Love roots and grounds in him Eph. 3. 17. Grows up to him in all things Eph. 4. 15. Faith makes the contract Love the consummation and the consummation is above any contract Faith Hope and Charity are the three principal Graces but Love is the principal of the three Faiths chief work is to work by love Faith and hope are onely for this life faith for present hope for Gal. 5. 6. the future Love is both for present and future this life and that to come Faith is an Evangelical grace Love an Angelical the work of faith is our work the work of love is Angels Love crowns the soul in heaven Eph. 1. 4. Love crowns the duty on earth Faith is a great uniting grace but Love a far greater Faith unites us to Christ but Love unites him to us and us to him reciprocally Faith unites but two Love unites all Faith us to the head onely Love to the head and to all the members Eph. 1. 15. Your faith in Christ and love to all the Saints Love is the union of Christians yea of Angels yea of the blessed Trinity Faith is a self-saving grace Love the world-saver Self-faith is best faith Hast thou faith have it to thy self Self-love is worst love have love one to

mingles the blood of his sacrifice with the blood of Christ I have had Peace-offerings to day therefore I am absolved my duties have made mee whole nay his mouth runs over commonly and a Trumpet must bee sounded in Gods ear O God I thank thee I am not thus and thus yea it may bee the next man hee meets hee must bee told of it Come see my zeal The godly man is content to bee seen in secret and to bee in Occulto Judaeus a Jew within and is as humble after a duty as after a sin unprofitable servant that I am not to mee but to thy Name bee the glory Not I but the grace of God with mee The 1 Cor. 15. 10. Gleanings of Christs Intercession is better than all my Vintage I need that High Priest to take away the iniquities of my holy things as well as to cover Exod. 28. 38 my foulest miscarriages If the Lord should bate mee all my other sins and reckon onely for my duties woe to mee Hee hath learned with Luther to bee Cave etiam a bonis operibus afraid not onely of his evill deeds but his good deeds also with Paul not onely to part with his unrighteousness but his righteousness also The Duty Gift Phil 3. 8 9. Grace or Revelation that puffs thee up doth thee hurt that under and after which thou art most humble is best performed It is never so well said one as when Moses face shines and hee not aware of it But an hypocrite loseth the comfort of his duties by applauding himself and for making a holy perfume to smell to hee is cut off Exod. 30. 38. It fares with an hypocrite priding himself in his duties and looking for a reward for them as with that Souldier who cast himself into the Sea to take up Alexanders faln Crown and putting it on his own head while hee presented it to him or with the Amalekites who 2 Sam. 1. 15 4. 12. brought David Sauls Crown or Baanah and Rechab who brought Ishbosheths head they all expected great thanks and rewards but lost their lives Hee that will save his life shall lose it and hee that will bee saved by his duties will bee lost and undone by them Wee must neither make the Creed a prayer nor a prayer our Creed We read Lev. 16. 24. that the Priests were to wash after their sacrifice as well as before and wee need the blood of Christ to wash our prayers and tears as well as our sins Say none but Christ Wee read again Lev. 16. 20. That there was to bee a more solemn sanctifying and reconciling of the holy place the Tabernacle the Altar c. All which were reputed holy and might bee looked upon as what should cleanse and reconcile them so do wee need the blood of Christ to reconcile our Altar Tabernacle and Sabbath-services which wee are apt to think are of a reconciling and cleansing nature To conclude as Irenaeus said As it were better for a man to bee the most ignorant person in the world to know nothing in matters of Philosophy or in any controversie of Divinity so hee know Christ crucified rather than to have all knowledge and to bee ignorant of him So it were better for a man to have no duties or righteousness at all and have nothing but sense of sin and worthlesness and to flye to Christ with the Publican or with the Theef on the Cross than to have all duties and righteousness whatsoever without any sense of sin at all and to bee thereby kept from Christ CHAP. VI. How the Hypocrite fails most in point of true and saving Graces THirdly Hee is wanting in the choysest of Graces which are four 1 Preparative 2 Fundamental and Radical 3 Nutritive or Conservative 4 Consummative and perfective or crowning Graces There were four things wanting in the three bad grounds which had the good seed but fell short in fruit which answer to these four kindes of grace viz. a Plough Root Moysture and Sun The good ground had all The high-way ground wanted nothing but a Plough not Root Moysture or Sun had it been taken in well broken up and kept from the Passengers treading on and the birds picking up it might have proved good ground Sodome if it had been so dealt with might have proved as good ground as Capernaum The stony ground wanted not a Plough it was broken up Matth. 11. 23. deep enough it wanted no Sun neither it had too much it wanted Root within and Moysture from above and a good stone gatherer The Thorny ground wanted not the Plough nor Root nor Moysture onely wanted the Sun which the Thorns kept from the Corn that it could not ripen And as in a building there are four things to bee done or all labour is lost 1 Removing the Rubbish 2 Digging deep to lay the foundation 3 The Structure upon the foundation so laid 4 The Roof to keep all dry So it is in the Christian Fabrick 1 Rubbish must bee removed by preparatory Grace 2 The foundation must bee laid in fundamental Graces 3 The structure raised by conservative Graces 4 The roof set up and covered by consummative Graces 1 Hypocrites want the first Grace or Preparations to Grace The way of the Lord is to bee prepared The Law is to go before to remove Rubbish the rough wayes are to bee made smooth the hills to bee levelled the crooked made strait and then all flesh shall see the salvation of God Luke 3. 4 5. The Plough must go before the Seeds-man or all is cast away The Lord prepares the heart opens the heart breaks up the fallow ground by strong convictions deep humiliations whereby the Lords Husbandmen plough upon the heart of their hearers and make long furrows Then is the seed sown in tears Then is the word received in much assurance when in much affliction 1 Thess 1. 5 6. Thus were Johns hearers brought in being warned to flye from the wrath to come Mat. 3. 10. Thus were Peters hearers brought in Act. 2 37. They were pricked in their hearts and cryed out what shall wee do Thus the Jaylor Act. 16. 30. Sirs what must I do to bee saved Thus Paul himself was stricken down and cryed Lord Act. 9. 6 what wilt thou have mee to do These held out These brought down to hell at first are lifted up to heaven and into heaven at last As the Ball the harder it is stricken down to the ground the higher it rebounds God gives to such whom hee intends to use as principal engines and battering peeces against Satans Kingdome a full charge and gives fire and there is a hideous noyse and smoak but these are tryed peeces Though I confess some may dye and perish in these where there is not the following as some Peeces fall all a peeces in the first charge It is not the Plough alone makes fruitful the seed must follow Therefore rest not here It is

give any mony and bee at any cost and pains to purchase them as Magus was to Act. 8. 18 19 get the Holy Ghost and the gifts of it SECT 3. Contains five steps more 11 Hee may go yet further Grow up in time to bee an experienced Christian in a great degree and measure Here is a high step indeed The highest some think that an hypocrite may go The Apostle describes it thus Heb. 6. 4. a trying and shaking Scripture that hath made many an Oak and Cedar to shake They have been enlightned have tasted of the heavenly gift been made partakers of the Holy Ghost have tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the world to come yet fall as the unripe figs fall off the Tree Here are five high steps 1 To have been much enlightned with the knowledge of the Scriptures and mysteries of ungodliness to see his own misery by nature and hope of help by Christ 2 To have tasted this word taste implies experience of the heavenly gift of illumination conviction humiliation sins bitterness promises sweetness graces amiableness and the mysteries of godliness 3 To have tasted also the good word of God to bee cast down by it gladded by it stung by it healed by it to like it to commend it to preach it to beleeve it 4 To have tasted the Powers of the world to come to have known the Terrror 2 Cor. 5. 11. Psal 90. 11. of the Lord and the powers of his wrath to bee amazed with the apprehensions of Hell Judgement and Eternity and again to have felt for a time the joyes of heaven and the felicity of the blessed hee hath travelled all the Regions of Hell and Heaven and seen the pains of the damned and hath passed the Suburbs into the very gates of heaven and seen the glory of the blessed and hee hath tasted the power of both to bee terrified or comforted 5 And all this by the help of the Holy Ghost whereof hee is made a partaker in these common gifts though in a more extraordinary manner yet hee falls at last Oh Lucifer what a fall was thine Oh hypocrites what a fall will this bee Bee not high minded but fear Many sad examples in this kinde our Land and this Age hath afforded never so many never so sad As it befell the Spies they had viewed the Land of Canaan Num. 13. they had been in it gone al● over it tasted the fruit shewed others of the clusters thereof they could discourse of the Land could commend it tell their own experiences yet this was all the part they had in it they never inherited it 12 Hee may come to bee very sensible of his spiritual misery and cry out how great his sin is how insupportable Gods wrath is hee cryes out of Gods hard dealing with him hee thinks himself the unhappiest of men and concludes there is no misery like that of being cast off by God as Saul 1 Sam. 28. 15. yea hee may in this case bee willing to run and ride to hear inquire and take any course for ease go with his flocks and herds to seek God Hos 5. 6. As Saul went from duty to duty to one Prophet to another Prophet hee tried Visions tried Dreams tried the Prophets tried all but could get no comfort yea when hee seeth his case is thus hee sheds many a salt tear and makes a bitter lamentation as Esau did Heb. 12. 17. as having his heart broken under sense of wrath not under sorrow for sin and yet hee perisheth His tears come too late or they are extorted not kindly penitential tears flowing from a heart full of contrition and detestation of sin The hard marble sometimes wee see standeth on drops and is all wet with tears but it is against some weather they are onely outward tears the marble is nothing softned when it weeps they are cold tears they are soon dried off again by change of weather such are the tears of hypocrites 13 Hee may have some remoter relation to Christ and interest in him as hee conceives by vocation imployment and adherence as the branch to the Vine where there is no real insition ingraffing incorporating into Christ no lively union with him seen in our shooting into him growing up into him Eph. 4. 15. and bearing of fruit according to such an union Hell is full of such branches they are cast into the fire Joh. 15. 2 6. Hee is to Christ as a branch or twig stuck into the bark of a tree but not put into the pith and bowels of it is not bound to gether closed that there may bee a coalition and may become one together These may bee green a while but shortly wither or as the Missletow or Ivy to to the Oak there they are and both are greener than the natural branches of the tree in Winter but have a root of their own bear no fruit nor timber at length are torn away But the soul that desireth sound peace must not satisfie himself in this that hee is one of the children of the Kingdome Matth. 8. 12. but one of the children of the King and bee able to produce an Authentick pedigree by the new birth and new life or hee may with those Priests who could not shew their Pedigree by a lineal and unquestioned descent from Aaron the High Priest bee debarred from the priviledge of holy things Ezra 2. 63. They must not content themselves to bee of the outer Court Rev. 11. but of the inner Temple nor to bee children of the Kingdome but of the Family yea of the Bride-chamber not to bee servants but sons The servant may bee cast out of the house the son abideth ever Joh. 8. 35. nor to bee Friends or Kinsmen to the Bridegroom but to have a propriety a Contract and Covenant-propriety and interest in the Bridegroom Hee that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom And shee that hath the Bridegroom is the Bride Rest not till thou canst say I am my beloveds and my ●eloved is mine And as Christ gloried in saying I and my Father are one Joh. 10. 30. one essentially So do thou when thou canst say Christ and I are one conjugally As hee said The living Father sent mee and I live by the Father Joh. 6. 57. So rest not till thou canst say The living Son of God who quickneth whom hee will hath enlivened mee and I live not but Christ liveth in mee and the life I live in the flesh is by faith of the Son of God who loved mee and gave himself for mee Gal. 2. 20. 14 Hee may do many remarkable services in the Church yea for the Church hee may preach profitably and powerfully Matth. 7. 22. Phil. 1. 15. hee may bee as the silver Trumpet call the Assembly Num. 10. 2. to God and not go himself bee a Bridge to others to pass over the water and lake of hell yet himself stand in it a door to let others

the light of a candle shall shine any more at all in thee but utter darkness extream torments and eternal misery But thus may an hypocrite dye the Psalmist tells us Psal 73. 3. 4. As hee hath no trouble in his life hee hath no bands in his death Death seems rather bound than hee and death more afraid of him than hee of it How often do wee hear such men say Welcome God welcome by the grace of God I have resolved my self I am fit for death I am sure of heaven and so hee sets it down in his Will and then hee must needs dye a blessed death a peaceable and comfortable death hee dyed like a Lamb. And as was said of Abner is said of him 2 Sam. 3. 33 34. Dyed Abner as a fool thy hands were not bound nor thy feet put into setters Thou hadst no trouble of conscience but didst depart in peace Wicked Nabal departed thus hee dyed as a stone no fear no horror but a fair Course as you should see And wee say commonly they dye as Lambs when as wee may say with Jeremy rather They are made drunke they Jer. 51. 39 40. rejoyce and sleep a perpetual sleep and I will bring them down like Lambs to the slaughter They leap into the midst of hell with as much confidence as that Roman leaped into the midst of the Gulph armed at all points in his bravery M. Curtius and gallantry Hee goes out as Haman to a Banket and it proves his fatal day of Execution hee expects with the Baker at this Lottery to draw preferment and hee draws death Many a wicked man goeth Judg. 11. 34 35 to his long home with as much joy as Jepthe to his own house after all his labour and hazard expecting rest honour comfort and goes home with mirth and musick and just at the Threshold his daughter and darling sin meets him in the face and gives him a sad welcome home at fight whereof hee is stricken dead and there is an end of all his musick As the Syrians were lead blinde-fold by the Prophet and 2 King 6. 18 19 20. knew not whether till hee had delivered them into the hands of the King they fought against Then were their eyes opened so are many by security betrayed into the hands of their deadly enemy Satan and their eyes never opened till they are in the jaws of hell Isa 57. 2. The godly man is said to enter into peace at death Then his peace begins The wicked may depart in but not into peace but into pain he dyes in peace and his peace dyes with him They muffle their consciences as condemned Malefactors when led to execution use to muffle their faces as if there were more hurt and danger in seeing and forethinking than feeling the stroak of death or pains of hell CHAP. XV. The third Ladder SECT 1. Contains the five first steps HEre wee shall joyn a third Ladder to the former two whereby the Hypocrite shall bee raised not onely to the height of Hamans Gallows fifty Esth 7. 9. Cubits high but to the height of that vast and massy Image of gold erected in the Plain of Dura which was sixty Dan. 3. 1. Cubits high yea I perceive by further enquiry and pursuit after the Hypocrite I might make the sixty Rounds I promised at first sixscore as David when required to bring an hundred foreskins 1 Sam. 18. 17. of Philistims found it no hard matter to make them two hundred and brought them in full tale to Saul 1 The Hypocrite may come home to the Prophet or Minister or send for him to come to him to entertain some private conference with him in his exigency and to take advice of him what hee had best do fain hee would have a word of peace and comfort from God in his distress But the mean time hee cares not to hear of sin or judgement or duty but hee hopes that God will fetch him off now hee is in straits and hee will take it mighty kindely from him See examples in Jer. 21. 1 2. Zedekiah sent to Jeremy saying Inquire I pray thee of the Lord for us for Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon maketh war against us if so bee that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works that hee may go up from us The like Jer. 37. 17. The King takes him aside secretly and asketh if hee had any word from the Lord for him hee told him hee had and what it was The like again Jer. 38. 14 15 16 c. Ezek. 20. 1 2. 2 Hee may propose many cases and put forth as profitable questions as any man alive What question so necessary and weighty as that of the young man Matth. 19. 16. and of the Lawyer Luke 10. 23. What shall I do to inherit eternal life This is the Primum Quaerendum and Vnum Necessarium yet one may have his thoughts and much discourse about it and miss it The humbled Jayler asked this question and was saved This proud young Act. 16. 30. man asked also and was not saved The one was a curious Questionist the other a broken-hearted Penitent the one inquired the way to Sion with his face and heart both thitherward the other inquired the way to Heaven with his face thither indeed but his heart Mammonward This young man came not yet to interrupt our Saviour with an idle question as hee Luke 13. 23. or to tempt Christ with any captious question as they Matth. 19. 3. or with ensnaring questions to puzzle him if they could Matth. 22. 16 17. or to trouble him so much as to make answer about frivolous questions as washing of hands and cups c. But the question and matter hee discoursed of was the most material point hee could have fallen upon with him who was best able to answer it had his heart been right 3 An Hypocrite may of his own accord make free and full and open and particular confession of all his sins and own the shame and apply the threats and take upon him the guilt and tumble under the judgements of God pursuing and overtaking him for his sins Hee may cast off all regard to fear and shame hee may have no sense and respect to pleasure reputation and esteem or credit with men hee hath no eye to profit ease or advantage but saith Let All go I am dead to them all sin as sin and wrath as wrath onely terrifie him and hee seeks no comfort Thus it was with Judas after his foul sin His soul was Mat. 27. 3 4. heavy even to death yea to very despair hee cryes out My sin is ever before mee My sin my sin lyes at the door My sin Gen. 4. 13. Job 20. 14. 2 Sam. 13. 13. is greater than I can bear My sin is turned into the gall of Aspes it lyes down and riseth up with mee And I whither shall I cause my shame to go

of God in them Lev. 10. 3. 3 And with a serious self-recollection and examination after Luke 24 32. As the Disciples asked each other If they did not feel their hearts burn within them while Christ opened to them the Scriptures 8 Study to keep down high and swelling thoughts and dwell much in thy own heart to keep thee humble Tecum habita noris quam sit tibi curta supellex Reflect upon former miscarriages or defects and as Schollars that aim at a progress Look back upon former exercises to correct and amend the weaknesses in them Let thy profiting daily bee seen to thy self and others none take hurt that 1 Tim. 4. 15. are looking forward and going on It is the Carters Proverb Cart never overthrows going up hill Fear descents and declinings And study thy present wants and pray Lord make mee to know how fraile I am The horse wee say were a dangerous creature if hee knew his own Psal 39. 4. strength man is a more dangerous no danger in an humble knowing thy own weakness In te st as non st as said holy Austin when thou standest in thy own strength thou staggerest and when thou risest in thy own strength thou risest to take a fall And let the forwardness and higher growth of others lately thy equals or juniors if not shame yet provoke thee to a holy emulation and ambition to out-strip both thy selfe and them as Paul who when time was had profited in the Jewish Religion above all Gal. 1. 19. his equals and after in the Christian Religion 2 Cor. 11. 5. hee came behinde none of the chiefest Apostles but could say in truth 1 Cor. 15. 10. Hee had laboured more than they all 9 Seek to get a heavenly heart and pray much for such a heart that thou mayest even rejoyce in the Lord alwayes and account it thy meat and drinke to bee Phil. 4 4. Jo. 4. 34. doing his work Work never goes on well till wee take delight in our employments neither do men thrive in their Callings till they take a kinde of felicity in them Set thy affections on things above especially get that pitch of spirit as Col. 3. 2. Psal 37. 4. Psal 73. 28. to delight in the Lord to say It is good for mee to draw nigh to God The warme wings of the Hen makes the drooping Chicking to thrive and battle The comfort of Gods presence makes all grace to thrive The joy of the Lord is the Christians Neh. 8. 10. strength it is said it is the strength of his heart of his graces of his duties as well as of his joy and comfort When the poor Israelitish servant saw hee was well used and could not tell where to mend himself for a Master hee would not change but offered his ears to bee bored so will it bee with us Seek to get a love and Exod. 21. 5 6. liking to thy Master and to his work and thou wilt never repent thee of it 10 Lastly to name no more Bee much in Prayer and pray the Lord himself to bee thy keeper to keep thee as the Apple of his eye and to give thee a heart Psal 17. 8. Prov. 7. 2. to keep his Commandements as the Apple of thine eye Beg of him according to his gracious promise to Circumcise thy heart to put his fear in thy heart that thou mayest never depart from him and that hee Deut. 30. 6. Jer. 32. 39 40. will not depart from thee to do thee good While Moses his hands were lifted up Israel prevailed Amalek when they hung Exod. 17. 11. down and if you note you shall finde then have many been intangled and overcome by error worldliness impiety and Apostacy when they have restrained and intermitted prayer before God Urge the Lord with the like Arguments that Joshua and Sampson sometimes used When Israel accustomed to continual victories came to receive a foyl from the men of Ai Joshua falls on Josh 7. 6. 7 8 9. his face cries out Alas Lord What will become of us And what will become of thy great Name Would to God wee had never come over Jordan Wee fear now the Canaanites will gather head and cut off our name from off the earth c. q. d. Wee reckoned our selves now in sight and as good as in possession of Canaan now to meet with such a disaster it amazeth and breaketh our hearts So mayest thou say Lord shall all my profession end and break off thus Would to God I had never gone so far or ever been a Professor at all rather than not to hold out Lord what is become of all my former hopes and thy wonted helps But for thy Name and Honours sake I urge and importune thee I have no greater Argument then to say What wilt thou doe unto thy great Name Lord who shall lose more I or thou Whose Name will have more dishonour Thine or mine If my name were blotted and blotted out from under heaven it were no great matter but I would bee loath to live to see the day when thy Name should receive the least blot or blemish by my means Or with Sampson say Shall I after such a deliverance and victory over the uncircumcised now perish with thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised again hee throws away his Jaw-bone which was the instrument of his victory and falls to prayer and the Lord cleaves a hollow in the Jaw-bone and a spring breaks out whereof hee drinks and recovers himselfe and to make the Well more memorable hee calls it Enhakkore as if hee should say Here is the fruit of prayer Here is the Well of prayer Judg. 15. 18 19. So mayest thou say Lord I have by thy help overcome some of these uncircumcised and now shall I fall under their hand or shall I after such experiences and encouragements dye of a spiritual thirst I shall not in despondence cast away my profession and faith as hee did his Jaw-bone but I will to prayer as he did and I may have an Enhakkore too a Well to quench the thirst of him that called on the Lord. All my fresh springs Psal 87. 7. are in thee and so both digged Wells at first and opened when stopped as the Philistims had stopped the Wells that Abrahams servants digged Gen. 26. 18. Prayer is that which opens them and makes them flow CHAP. XIX The Conclusion with an Use of Comfort HAving now gone through the maine Vses of the point I shall close up with an Vse of Comfort that our Sun may not set in a cloud and our Ark bee left in the deep tossed with the waves of a long continued Deluge but resting on Gen. 8. 6. the mountains and wee will uncover the top to let in a little light of comfort from heaven upon a perplexed soule And if I should bee the shorter herein you need not marvel for the Text hath not