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
A46743	A practical exposition of the historical prophesie of Jonah delivering sundry brief notes in a cursory way concerning the mind of the Holy Ghost in the several passages. Imprimatur. June 5. 1665.	Jemmat, William, 1596?-1678.	1666 (1666)	Wing J550B; ESTC R217032	159,232	228

Master And this is the fruit of Gods fatherly chastisement to the faithful that they learn his statutes and when they are corrected they are instructed out of his Law Psal 94.12 This is all the fruit Esa 27.9 Jonah now will go and do his Errand But this is wanting in the wicked still stubborn 4. Among a Company of wicked men it may be enemies of God and Religion Jonah here is amidst a number of Infidels and see what a profession he makes of his faith the true God is avowed and they led to the acknowledgement of him and afterward they offer sacrifice to him 1 Pet. 3.15 1 Tim. 6.12 13. This also is our duty Give a reason of the hope that is in thee witness a good Confession And this among other Articles I believe in the God of Heaven that made the Sea and dry Land Remember Christians Use and own God openly and against all discouragements or amidst all tokens of wrath fear him as Jonah here professeth and remember what are the effects of fearing God and that fear is put for the whole worship of God Mal. 3.16 they that feared the Lord spake often one to another which may well be because no part of his worship may be void of an holy fear and reverence toward the God of Heaven serve the Lord with fear Psal 2.11 Heb. 12 28. and rejoyce with trembling serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear pray with an awful regard of his great Majesty tremble at his word Phil. 2.12 And all must work out their salvation with fear and trembling Now from Jonahs Confession of his fault before the Mariners we learn It must be the humility and modesty of Christians Note Confess faults one to another to confess their faults one to another so is the Commandment Jam. 5.16 confess you faults one to another and pray one for another Not only confess to God as in the serious exercises of Repentance but to men whom it concerns to know what evil we have done as here it behoved Jonah to declare what fault he had committed which caused this Tempest God hath pointed him out for a Malefactor and he must acknowledge wherein So this Confession must be twofold 1. Publick if the offence hath been publick and scandalous when the whole Congregation hath been offended the whole Congregation must receive satifaction namely by an open testifying of shame and sorrow So the incestuous Corinthian had punishment inflicted on him by many 2 Cor. 2.6 so should our scandalous members be served that by the shame they may be brought to repentance and their souls saved that the Venom of the bad example may be stopt and go no farther that the mouths of Idolaters may be stopt and they not occasioned to blaspheme that others may fear and not do the like that the Plaister may be as wide as the wound that the love of the Congregation may be gained to the offendor and their prayers and a Brotherly converse together 2. Private if the offence hath been private It shall suffice in such a case that the party offending acknowledge the fault he hath made and the party offended ought to accept of his confession Luke 17.3 4. Take heed to your selves if thy Brother trespass against thee rebuke him if he repent forgive him And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day come again to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgive him So in the fift Petition of the Lords Prayer Forgive us as we forgive and our Saviours Exposition Mat. 6.14 15. If ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you but if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses Object It were a shame to come to Confession Answ 1. It is a Duty 2. There is a Prophesie that Converts in the New Testament should be ashamed and confounded for their sins Ezek. 16.61 and 20.43 3. This prophesie is fulfilled in Rom. 6.21 What fruit had ye in those things whereof ye are now ashamed 4. There ought to be that humility and modesty in true Christians as to take their shame and blame home to them saying Dan. 9.7 8. To us belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face 5. We have an example of Gods own directing of Delinquents to Confession before the party offended Job 42.7 8 ● Jobs friends had gone awry in rebuking him and therefore they must go and humble themselves before him gain his prayers for them and so be fully reconciled to God and him Hear Christians Use and learn of Jonah to confess your faults one to another Though it be against the Haire and against thy Credit yet be contented Go in Gods way and that is the course to set all at rights as here Jonah though for a while cast into the Sea yet after a while he recovered well enough Numbers learn by the failings of godly men to offend and go astray as they did but learn thou to confess and mourn and amend as they did there they are set for an example and not in the other Non cadendi exemplum c. That we should not lust after evil things as they lusted 1 Cor. 10.6 And that we should take off the offence that hath been given to Children Servants Neighbours Ministers It was a rare example of the worthy Knight Sir A. Cope in prayers with the Family to confess his own personal sins and failings A matter of shame but withall may work much upon the hearers to be like-minded and follow the good example every one in his own private Devotions For the third Then were they exceedingly afraid They were afraid before because of the Tempest and of their danger thereby but now they fear none because they know more fully how the case standeth they know the true God distinctly they know him the cause of this tempest and danger they see an offender discovered in an extraordinary manner they see he is a just God and bears not with sin in his own servant and will see more of him shortly when he sends a calm at Jonahs casting forth and they escape through his mercy Note Stand in awe of Gods judgments The more discoveries we have of God in his Mercy and Justice the more we should be stricken with fear toward him fear to offend him care to please him be the better for his tempests and terrible works among us and by his cords of Love and Bounty be held the closer to him in Duty Job 37 23 24 Touching the Almighty we cannot find him out he is excellent in power and in judgment and in plenty of justice he will not afflict Men do therefore fear him be respecteth not any that are wise of heart see also Jer. 5.21 22 23 24. Use Then worse then Barbarians are those Christians who in all the terrible storms and shakings of the times live securely and fear nothing

by doing the Errand thou wouldest dishonor thy self and I should go for a false Prophet Note God hath strange prayers put up sometimes at the Throne of Grace even by his own people in their passion they sometimes come before him in a tumultuating fashion Our rule is to pray without wrath 1 Tim. 2.8 and many good limitations there are for the ordering of our prayers Use 1 Consider Christians and order your prayers aright as for the matter so also for the manner of them Vent no passions before the great God of heaven It will be ill-favoured prayer which is so conceived and uttered And it must be a Divine patience that will bear with such a suppliant And let a Christian that observes his weaknesses learn hereby to pray for his prayers not only for his Sins Wants Dangers other evils but even his prayers O Lord hear O Lord forgive O Lord hearken and do Dan. 9.19 There is an iniquity that cleaves to our holy things which needs to be pardoned Christ is our High Priest to take them away and we need his intercession for that purpose Prayer is so far from being meritorious that without mercy it should not be accepted But come we to the matter of Jonahs prayer Take my life from me for it is better for me to dye then to live so Elias would needs dye in all the haste for the wickedness of Israel for the persecution of Jezabel 1 King 19.4 Elias cause was better then Jonahs who only stood upon his own Credit and Gods truth in the message delivered yet Eliah is reproved for it ver 9. What doest thou here Elias and here Doest thou well to be angry Note Sinful to desire death how It is sinful to desire death according to our own passionate humors and may justly be reproved There be Cases wherein it is lawful to desire Death as for example when we see God calling us out of the world when the Martyrs saw the truth of God lying at the stake when the Congregation of the faithful is in danger if betrayed when an eminent Minister or Brother is to be rescued as Aquila and Priscilla laid down their necks for Paul and we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren But for irksomeness of living or in any corrupt way whatsoever to desire death is utterly faulty and deserves to be reproved Why Our life is the gift of God vouchsafed for special uses which he hath appointed that he may be glorifyed in us both living and dying Phil. 1.20 And therefore it may not be foregone till he please to take us off from our station Rightly Paul who in one respect desired to dye but in another respect desired to live ver 21.22 23 24. Take heed Christians and suppress all such way-ward Use 1 and hasty humors of desiring to dye Ye may be dead before ye are aware And some have desired to dye who were glad afterward that they were alive And why should ye dye before ye have done your work Or why are ye so shie of suffering according to the will of God It comes to pass sometimes that those desire death in their own way who have basely and treacherously avoided death in the way of God nice and fine while they get their own ends but otherwise fool-hardy Use 2 Take heed and to thy power use life well while thou hast it in a Christian way say It is better for thee to live then to dye during life there is much good to be done for the service and glory of God The living the living he shall praise thee Esa 38.19 Spoken in opposition to the state of the dead from whom all occasion of praising God is cut off ver 18. So in Psal 115.17 18. Take heed it may be in death thou wilt wish for more time to live or that thou hadst done more work for God or gotten more hold of his love or were grown more fit to dye Such cases have been and such may be again Walk in fear and while thou dost live live to some purpose Ver. 4.5 Then said the Lord Doest thou well to be angry So Jonah went out of the City and sate on the East-side of the City and there made him a Booth and sate under it in the shadow till he might see what would become of the City In these two Verses we have two things to be considered 1. Gods gentle chiding of Jonah Doest thou well to be angry 2. Jonahs expectation of the Event To see what would become of the City For the former we may well admire the gentleness and goodness of God toward his froward servant God doth not fall foul upon Jonah for his rash anger nor take away his life as he had desired nor throw him into the sea again which he could easily have done But debates the matter calmly with him to bring him to a sight of his Errour and set him into his right way again Note Teaching us how to treat with offending Brethren Children or Servants not wreak our displeasure in a furious manner but so deal with them as they may best recollect themselves and take notice of their failings for amendment It is a foolish zeal which so reproves as withall it seeks not the Parties reformation And now we speak of zeal we must remember that Jonah in his passion had a zeal of God after a fashion being jealous lest his truth and glory should suffer by the sparing of Nineve and himself accounted a false Prophet Our zeal for God sometimes hath much mixture Note both of self ends and self-seeking and of excess in the venting of it Sometimes we have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge as Rom. 10. ● Take heed and watch over this hot affection neither let it be dampened on the one side nor too much inflamed in the other Beware lest God have cause to chide for the excess saying Doest thou well to be angry So of good meanings A man may mean well and yet make great faults Jonah meant well when he was exceedingly displeased and angry Saul meant well when he kept the best of the cattel for sacrifice Note Uzzah meant well when he stayed the Ark from falling Take heed nothing is more deceitful then mans judgment of his actions in the things of God In all points we should look to the will of God and the rule which he hath given in his word Doest thou well to be angry He saith not positively Thou sinnest in being so angry but puts him upon his own better thoughts and would draw from him his own confession as if he had said If I should make thy self judge yet upon a serious consideration thou wouldest find thine errour that thy mind is as the raging sea all in a tumult L●cha weigh well within thy self whether there be not a foul fault in this thine anger So the expostulation is far more emphatical and urging then a plain affirmation though a chiding Doest