Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	forgive_v	lord_n	trespass_n	3,485	5	11.3824	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17330	Ten sermons vpon the first, second, third and fourth verses of the sixt of Matthew containing diuerse necessary and profitable treatises , viz. a preseruative against the poyson of vaine-glory in the 1 & 2, the reward of sincerity in the 3, the vncasing of the hypocrite in the 4, 5 and 6, the reward of hypocrisie in the 7 and 8, an admonition to left-handed Christians in the 9 and 10 : whereunto is annexed another treatise called The anatomie of Belial, set foorth in ten sermons vpon the 12, 13, 14, 15 verses of the 6 chapter of the Prouerbs of Salomon.	Burton, William, d. 1616.	1602 (1602)	STC 4178.5; ESTC S261	267,037	263

perfectly know his owne how much more doth God himselfe search and know them most perfectly and exactly who is all wisedome it selfe Elijah was a sharpe sighted Prophet as any was in all Israel yet he could see no more then himselfe left which stood zealously for the glorie of God and hated Baal but the Lord saw 7000. in Israel which neuer bowed their knees to Baal more then Elijah saw So the Ministers of the word of God may see and shew vs a little corruption but God will find 7000. times more then they can find Dauid was priuie to his owne heart as much as any man and yet he could not see all the sinnes that lurked there and therfore he prayeth against his secret faultes And if our hearts condemne vs sayth Saint Iohn God is greater then our hearts and knoweth all things Therfore when by the light of the word of God shining in our hearts we see more corruption in our selues then we did before let vs thanke God and repent of it for to that end doth the Lord hold forth that candle to discouer vnto vs our hidden corruption and to draw vs to repentance and not to stay there neither but pray against more that we know not of by reason of our ignorance negligence and not to thinke ourselues well when we haue repented that which we know Secondly seeing as this knowledge is conueyed vnto vs of Gods mercie and fauour by the right deuiding of the word of God let vs learne so to take it and embrace it as a mercie and fauour of God who doth thus seeke vs out when we loose ourselues And whosoeuer would be throughly well acquainted with his owne heart let him be a diligent searcher of it by the continuall reading of the Scriptures hearing of Sermons and dayly meditation in that which he readeth and heareth for want wherof the wicked blind Atheists and Epicures and other profane persons which care not for the word of God know no more the deceipt of sinne nor the corruption of their hearts then the bruite beast doth but glorie and reioyce in that which is their vtter shame and how can they repent them of that which they glorie in and that is the leud things of their hearts which for want of the heauenly light they cannot discerne And this is that which Salomon meaneth when he saith the wicked shall die for want of instruction and go astray through his great folly And as for their owne naturall light it is in comparison but meere darknesse and a false light that like a Drapers shop light doth deceiue men with false colours And further let no man be offended with the minister of God who doth but hold forth the glasse which doth shew vnto them the spottes and deformities of their soules Nay rather let vs accompt him the best teacher that commeth nearest our consciences and that a good Sermon that rippetth and tumbleth vp all our hearts And if we go from a Sermon which doth not trouble vs and like a purgation worke strongly in discouering and disturbing our hearts and the sinnes that lurke there then let vs thinke that either we haue dead hard harts or else that the speaker wanted either will skill or courage or that his weapons had no edge and his phisicke no strength But many in steed of making this vse of it do presently thinke that some body hath told the Preacher some tales of them as the proude men of Ierusalem sayd that Ieremy spake as Baruch the son of Neriah had prouoked him against them and do maruel how he came to the knowledge of their thoughts and of their wordes which in secret they haue vttered as the King of Aram maruelled who disclosed his secrets to the King of Israel Now Elisha hauing the spirite of prophesie was able to do it and did it so likewise the Ministers of Christ hauing the light of the word with the direction and power of the Spirit of God can in some measure also disclose vnto vs when we heare them the secrets of our hearts and that we should be out of all doubt for this matter the Apostle telleth vs plainely that this is the powerfull working of the word of God Which sayth he is liuely and mightie in operation and sharper then any two edged sword and entreth through euen to the deuiding asunder of the soule and the spirite and of the ioyntes and of the marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Then as for God himselfe in the next verse he sayth That all things are naked and open vnto his eyes And so much for this first point namely the power of the word of GOD which telleth vs what is in Belials heart Now it will be time to see what remedie may be had against those leud things that breede in the heart whereby we may approue our selues in the sight of God such as need not feare that sudden and irrecouerable vengeance which is to fall vppon the man of Belial And surely whither shall we go for a remedy but vnto him that hath told vs the state of our harts and that is to God himself who doth not only by his word tell vs what we are but also what we ought to be and by what meanes we may be as we should be That which Dauid appointed to redresse the young mans wayes is the onely meane both for young and olde to reforme themselues by and that is the word of God That which discerneth and sheweth vs the diseases of our harts is that which also prescribeth a remedy against the same but the word of God hath shewed vs that leud things are in the heart therefore the word of God also will shew vs how to reforme the heart and is like a skilfull Phisition who both sheweth the disease and the remedy Now the meanes which are prescribed in the word are of two sorts either Restoratiue in regard of the time past or Preseruatiue in regard of the time to come and both of God which the holy Prophet Dauid acknowledgeth when he sayth My soule prayse thou the Lord which forgiueth thee all thy sins and healeth all thine infirmities And the same doth Ieremy also confesse when he saith Heale me ô Lord and I shall be whole saue me and I shall be saued for thou art my praise For the time past forgiuenesse is to be had for the time to come deliuerance from euill To obtaine forgiuenesse of our leudnesse and wickednesse past two things are requisite Repentance and prayer So much doth the words of Peter to Simon Magus import Repent thee of this thy wickednesse saith he pray God that if it be possible the thought of thy hart may be forgiuē thee So our Sauiour Christ also taught vs in that prayer which we therfore call the Lords prayer Forgiue vs our trespasses and deliuer vs from euill That our

except God did giue them repentance and work a strange alteration God deliuer me out of their handes and giue them better minds if it be his will It were a strange alteration to see some that now bring Bibles to the Church and turne to places after the Preacher one day to be instruments to burne so many Bibles as they can come by It were strange to see such as are now most attentiue in hearing the preacher and most kind in giuing him entertainment one day to throw a faggot at his head or to be a witnesse against his doctrine or to helpe to burne him Well such times haue bene and such times may come again for our sinnes and then shall the approued be knowne as the Apostle speaketh and hypocrites with their light and chaffie profession shall then be discouered blowne away with the wind Many now would answer as Hazael did to the Prophet if any should say to them as the Prophet said to him I weepe saith the Prophet to remember what thou shalt do to the children of Israel when thou art king of Aram how thou shalt burne their cities and put their young men to the sword and dash their infants in peeces and rent their women with child What said Hazael is thy seruant a dogge that I should do this great thing So would many answere now no doubt Are we dogges that we should so vse God seruants c No doubt of it in King Edwards daies he that should haue warned some persons of such things that were hearers of those reuerend Martyrs and Bishops Hooper Latimer Ridley Cranmer other faithfull Ministers D. Taylor Bradford and others they would haue bene at defiance with thē yet for al that they when time serued stood foorth to accuse these godly Fathers to persecute them to death that a man wold litle haue thought of be actors in such ttagedies Wel God blesse vs all my brethren keep vs in his holy feare and make vs vpright harted constant in the profession of religiō for I do feare greatly else that if euer time should serue which God for his mercies sake forbid if it be his will too too many would play Hazaels part though they make a faire shew now and stand at open defiance for such matters Well let no man bragge of his own strength that he will do this and he will not do that for manie good men euen sincere Christians may promise and vowe a standing for the truth with Peter and because they rely vppon their owne strength may fall with Peter but I trust God will giue them mercie and repentance to rise againe with Peter but as for hypocrites and time-seruers whose hearts are best knowne vnto God out of question they will then shew themselues in their colours Let them now pretend with Iudas neuer so much care for the poore or loue to Christ they will one day proue theeues to the poore and traytors to Christ as Iudas did and if they once fall with Iudas let them take heed that they hang not themselues with Iudas for betraying and persecuting innocent bloud For it is not the approbation of the Elders that will iustifie Iudas nor his officious kisse that will couer him nor the law of the land that will warrant him nor the siluer bribe that will enrich him nor the praise of men that wil comfort him nor his forced restitution that wil restore him nor his constrained confession that will conuert him nor his faithlesse repentance that will saue him when his money his friends his owne tongue and heart hand conscience as a thousand witnesses and God himselfe shall be against him God grant that all counterfeits and hypocrites and dissemblers in religion may in time take heede by his example There be many both honest and godly religious Christans whose desire is with all their harts to please God by doing those things which his word requireth of them And these for the loue that they beare vnto the truth and their hatred that they carry against wickednesse are by an odious name called Puritanes and if they fall at any time through occasion as oftētimes they do through some infirmity against their wils then are they condemned as hypocrites but most vniustly For though all our actions smell of hypocrisie as maister Bradford well perceiued when he desired the Lord to forgiue him all his hypocrisies and confessed a little before his death that all his prayers and all his best seruing of God were but hypocrisie meaning in comparison of that sinceritie that is required of euerie Christian yet notwithstanding are none to be tearmed hypocrites which fall by occasion through infirmitie and are onely stained with the dust of it and infected with the contagion thereof as men that draw in one and the same aire with hypocrites but onely such are to be counted for hypocrites which make a shew of that which they are not nor meane to be but with their tongues can hold men cunningly with a faire tale of religion and godlinesse while their hearts are resolued to practise all kind of mischiefe and iniquitie of such I speake and not of simple harted and well meaning Christians who haue no doubt their faults as well as other men though they make not an art of sinning as hypocrites do This secret hypocrisie of Gods children doth not a litle trouble many of them neither can many be perswaded but that all that they do is done in hypocrisie as maister Bradford writing to one of his friends in most of his letters condemneth himselfe for a painted hypocrite and being thus troubled in their tender consciences they are still afraide of that woe that our Sauiour Christ pronounceth against hypocrites But for the comforting of such tender consciences whose feare is euer that they shall not deale vprightly and sincerely inough in Gods sight we are to distinguish of hypocrisie for some hypocrisie respecteth men onely seeking only praise of men and not of God and some hypocrie there is that respecteth God also yea most of all and that stealeth in this fort vpon vs. A Christian that feareth God goeth in priuate by himselfe to call vpon God by prayer Now in his priuate prayer somtime his mind is drawne away into a nūber of by-thoughts and wandering imaginations insomuch as he oftentimes thinkes least of God when he calleth vpon him neither is throughly moued with an inward desire of obtaining those things that he prayeth for nor with a hartie loathing of those sins that he prayeth against then commeth Sathan and suggesteth thus Surely thou art an hypocrite for thou hast not prayed with all thy heart nor with all thy soule nor with all thy might Againe sometime the Christian soule prayeth earnestly with great feeling and groning of spirite and hath his mind wholy intent and bent vpon God that he is euen rauished as it were in prayer thinking of nothing but heauenly things when