Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	cast_v	devil_n	fast_v	3,166	5	10.2336	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56705	A sermon preached before the Queen, at White-Hall, April VIII, MDCXCII being the fast-day appointed by Her Majesty, to implore God's blessing on Their Majesties persons, and the prosperity of their arms both at land and sea / by ... Symon, Lord Bishop of Ely.	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.	1692 (1692)	Wing P853; ESTC R22928	20,377	38

Wind in Fights at Sea or some such like single event hath sometimes ravished Victory from those who had it just in their hands There are innumerable instances in Story of such sudden Contingencies as have utterly defeated the fairest hopes We have one in the first Lesson for this Days Morning Prayer where we read how three Nations that were combined against Jehosaphat by a mistake of a Party of them who were laid in ambush fell upon one another and were utterly destroyed by their own hands 2 Chron. XX. 22 23. Which is to be ascribed to the secret interposition of the Divine Power which governs all things both great and small And by very little things produces very great alterations The skill and prudence of those that Command in Battles may do much the Courage of the Soldiers is of great moment the strength and number of Ships is very considerable But as one of the Heathens speaks one single chance that is in the Christian Language one turn of the Divine Providence can do more than them all Thus far then Blessed be God we are in the right the very appointment of such an Assembly as this being a publick acknowledgment which their Majesties make that there is a mind to use the words of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato an eternal mind which is the King of Heaven and Earth governing and ordering all things every where And our meeting together at this time being a solemn Recognition of that Supreme Authority and Providence of his Whereby we declare our sense of humane weakness though never so well armed and bravely appointed And disclaiming all confidence in the arm of flesh testify to the World that we hope not for Salvation from thence but from the living God whose favour is at all times to be most humbly implored but then especially when not only Men but the Wind and the Seas Storms and Tempests nay all other things may rise up against us And we ought further to consider that II. Our Fasting and Prayers being an acknowledgment likewise of the Obedience we owe to Almighty God in all things there can be nothing of more dangerous Consequence than to persist in our Rebellion against him after we have made such open Confessions of his Supremacy and of our dependance on him and the need in which we stand of his favour and help Upon which account we ought to take care that these Religious Addresses to him be attended with such a Reformation as I have now mentioned before we venture to engage with our Enemies That so we may have no more Enemies than they to oppose us But we may be in peace with Heaven when Men make War upon us For he is in a bad condition who hath a great many Enemies to deal with all at one time And he in a worse who carries a secret Enemy along with him in his Armies as all those do who go in their sins to sight with their Opposers And thence it follows that none are in so dangerous a condition as those who have God for their Enemy Who threatens to wound the head of his Enemies of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses LXVIII Psal 21. But never are they in more danger than when by their Prayer and Fasting the Devil is not cast out but they still resolutely persist in their Disobedience Before we blow the Trumpet then of War against our Enemies we ought in all reason to proclaim War against our Sins It is our highest interest to call up all the Forces of our Souls if I may so speak to encounter these and tread them down under our Feet before we take the confidence to look our other Foes who are not so deadly in the Face There is a peculiar Precept of God by Moses belonging to this matter which ought to be often pondered XXIII Deut. 9. When the host goeth forth against thine Enemies then keep thee from every wicked thing III. By which means we shall be disposed to manage all other Wars after a Christian manner We shall not commit any injustice or violence when we go to redress it nor exercise Cruelty when we take in hand to punish it We shall never be guilty of that of which we complain but fight like those that hate fighting We shall love even our bitterest Enemies and wish we could conquer them by that weapon rather than any other But if that cannot be we shall be able however which is the next thing considerable IV. To place a good hope in God that he will take our part and send us Auxiliaries from Heaven when men rise up against us The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong c. as the wise man observes IX Eccles II. but time and chance happeneth to them all It is God only as you have heard that can make opportunities favourable to us and cause things to fall out advantageously on our side yea make little means bring mighty things to pass And we may hope he will do so when in all our ways we acknowledge him and live as becomes those who believe that let us devise what we please it is the LORD who directs and orders the success XVI Prov. 9. XX. 24. V. And then to him we shall not fail to give all the praise and ascribe nothing to our selves as that admirable Prince David doth who after all his wonderful atchievements makes the most humble acknowledgments to God in the last of those Psalms now read XLIV 1 2. c. Blessed be the LORD my strength which teaches my hands to war and my singers to sight My goodness and my fortress my high towre and my deliverer my shield observe how many words he uses to express his sense that he owed all to God and he in whom I trust Who subdueth my people under me LORD what is man that thou takest knowledge of him Or the Son of man that thou makest account of him Man is like to vanity his days are as a shadow that passeth away As if he had said LORD what am I what is the best or greatest of men that such things should be effected by them as the subduing so many people as have submitted unto me Alas we are but vanity a mere shaddow and what can a whole Army of shadows do without the power of God Unto which I must and do ascribe intirely all the victories which have been won over great and strong Nations by such a feeble creature as I am And thus Jonathan a Friend of David's speaks to his Armour-bearer 1 Sam. XIV 6. Let us go over unto the Garrison of these uncircumcised it may be the LORD will work by us For there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few VI. With him therefore if we can make friendship by abandoning all his Enemies it is visible that this good hope in God will inspire us with true Valour and make us fear nothing inordinately no

to excite them to rejoyce in his praise and giving him thanks Of their sounding for a Fast you read II. Joel 15. Blow the Trumpet in Sion sanctific a fast call a solemn assembly gather the people c. And in the like terms the Psalmist proclaims a Festival LXXXI Ps 3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon in the time appointed on our solemn feast day For this was a statute for Israel c. The like you read XCVIII Ps 6. And thus my Text and the following words are to be understood if we will follow the interpretation of the best of the Hebrews who vouch it to be the sense of the Eldest times For if blowing the trumpets here were not for a Religions purpose how could the effect of it be God's remembring them so as to save them from their Eemies Could the bare sounding with them procure such a blessing Without doubt there was something more in it to which God makes such a gracious promise And therefore though Moses speaks here of blowing an alarm because it concern'd the Souldiery yet the Hebrews understand thereby the calling all together unto a Fast that they might humble themselves before God and seek his face i. e. his favour when they were forced to betake themselves to their Arms and appeal to Heaven for the deciding by this means the controversie between them and their Enemies And then in the beginning of the next verse when he adds in the day of your gladness ye shall blow with the Trumpets some of them understand that Clause of their thanksgiving to God for Victory over their Enemies Which was as reasonable as their sounding upon their other solemn days and in the beginning of their months and over their burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of their peace-offerings which are there likewise mentioned As they were to blow with the trumpets proclaim a Fast that is when they went to War So they were to blow with them again when the War was happily ended that is proclaim their thankfulness to God for giving them such success as they desired This exposition I shall follow which makes these words you see an injunction to the Israelites for solemn fasting before they took in hand so weighty an Affair as making War upon their Enemies For which end we are now here assembled and I pray God we may perform this duty according to the full intent and meaning of this Injunction For then we may hope God will remember us in the day of Battle and Crown our Arms with such success against our injurious Neighbours as he promised to the Israelites against their Enemies Now by solemn fasting you all know is meant the setting some day a part for this purpose which was always of two sorts One private which pious people enjoyned themselves of their own accord with respect either 2 ●am 12. 16. IX Dan. 3. to their own particular or to the common concerns of both which we have examples in Scripture The other was Publick enjoyned by the supreme Authority and those either stated and ordinary at certain times of the year of which we find only one enjoyned by God in XVI Lev. but four more enjoyned by the Elders during their Captivity in Babylon VIII Zech. 19. or extraordinary and unfixed in time of some imminent danger or great distress of which we have many examples Tertul. de Jesui● not only in Scripture but also in Ecclesiastical Story XX. Judg. 26. 2 Chron. XX. 3. VIII Ezra Of such a Publick Fast and of this latter sort my Text speaks For the blowing with the trumpets signified the calling all the people together as appears by the place before named in the Prophet Joel V. 16. Gather the people sanctifie the congregation assemble the elders gather the children and those that suck the breasts c. All were to appear before God to Implore his Compassion by their Cryes and Tears I say before God because they were to be gathered together at the Tabernacle while it was standing and afterwards at the Temple Which is the reason of that expression XXXVI Jerem. 9. Proclaim a fast before the Lord to all the people of Jerusalem That is at the Temple where his Majesty dwelt and where they came together for Religious Worship And accordingly he bids Baruch v. 6. to go and read the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the Lords house upon the fasting day After which example we are all here now assembled before the Lord in the place of his Worship and Service And that we may understand what our business is I shall as briefly as I can shew you First what the Scripture means by fasting before the Lord and consequently what will obtain his Blessing upon our Forces Secondly how fit and necessary it is at such a time as this to imploy our selves in this holy duty I. Now the word Fasting in its ordinary signification imports no more than abstinence from all sorts of Food for such a time as was appointed to that purpose But being designed for a religious end they used it no doubt as a Token and a sort of Confession that they were not worthy of the common supports and comforts of life not so much as of a bit of Bread and consequently not worthy to live They intended also thereby to afflict their Soul as the Scripture speaks to put themselves if not to trouble and pain yet into a state of Sadness and Mourning as a just chastisement for their sinful pleasures For which reason the Jews understand by solemn fasting a great deal more than it literally expresses viz. not only abstinence from all manner of refreshment by so much as washing their Faces or any thing of that Nature but putting on sackcloath next their Skin on some great occasions especially lying in Ashes rending their Garments and such like acts of Humiliation But we shall be very much mistaken if we think this was the whole business of a fasting day to deny themselves the comforts and refreshments of Nature There was something more and more excellent in it and that which was properly the worship of God which were abstinence from food is not And therefore II. The intention of such a day was to make solemn addresses to the Almighty by Prayer and Supplication which is frequently joyned with fasting and when any blessing was obtained never separated from it I could direct you to a multitude of places both in the Old Testament and the New and the Apocryphal Books * XII Tobit 4. IV. Judith 9. 10. c. VI. Judith 21. also to this purpose but a few may suffice In the Chapter now read for the first Lesson 2 Chron. XX. 3. you find that when news was brought to Jehosephat of an invasion by a great multitude of several Nations He feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah This was so much the business of such a day that