Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n
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A81837
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Of peace and contentment of minde. By Peter Du Moulin the sonne. D.D.
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Du Moulin, Peter, 1601-1684.
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1657
(1657)
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Wing D2560; Thomason E1571_1; ESTC R209203
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240,545
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501
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resolution of mutual forbearance Above all things wee must remember that wee are all guilty before God and stand in need of mercy and unlesse wee forgive them that trespasse against us wee pray against ourselves and aske our condemnation every time that wee say the Lords Prayer The meditation of death will conduce much to lay downe hatred To wish one dead is among the vulgar an expression of the greatest hatred If then wee may be satisfied with the death of our enemies we may be sure that all our enemies shal die but wee must be sure also that they may expect of us the like satisfaction The worst wee can doe the one to the other is to bring us to the end which Nature leads us unto As while two little fishes are fighting for a flye the Pyke comes that devoures them both while wee quarrell about small things death is coming which will swallow him that is in the right and him that is in the wrong the victor and the vanquished Looke upon the broyles of the age of our fathers What is become of the long and opiniatre quarrel of the Leagve in which all Christendome was involved death hath decided it It hath cooled the * Titles that the Leagvers assumed Ardent and the Zealous It hath stopt the full careere of hatred assisted with valournd power It will do the like to the quarrels of our dayes Let us not be so hot in our dissensions Death will quench our heat within a few dayes and send us to pleade our causes before our great judge It will goe ill with us if wee appeare in that judgement before wee have made peace with our judge by a true repentance and faith which without charity with our neighbours cannot subsist Why should our hatred be long since our life is short The same consideration will serve to temper the hatred of iniquity which for the most part is a pretence whereby wee cozen ourselves and others to palliate personall hatred If we take Gods cause sincerely in hand we must conforme ourselves to his will and wisedome expecting till he send his messenger which is death to attache the wicked before his judgement Psal 37.8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath Fret not thy selfe in any wise to do evill for evill doers shall be cut off 10. Yet a little while and the wicked shall not be If we hate wickednesse we may be sure that God hates it more yet and he will punish it but in his owne time to satisfie his justice not our fashion Certainly if we hated iniquity in good earnest we would hate it in ourselves Though our enemies be wicked we must love them for Gods sake and because we also are subject to the like infirmities we must love them for our sakes CHAP. XIII Of Envy HEre is one more of the Daughters of Pride and therefore a grandchild of Ignorance and Selfe love She is much like Hatred her elder Sister In this they differ that Hatred is bent against the evill and Envy against the good But to shew herselfe descended from Ignorance she mistakes the false goods for the true For no man will envy the Christian vertues of his neighbours nor the riches of his minde but the goods of fortune which often deserve rather to be called evils Let a man grow in learning holinesse let him be a Saint upon earth let him have Seraphicall raptures no man will envy him for it but let him once get favour at Court let his degree and his rents be augmented presently the arrowes of envy will be shot at him on all sides Indeed great Oratours great Warriours and men eminent in civill prudence are much envied by idle droanes but if you looke to the ground of that envy it is not the vertue and capacity of those brave men that begets it but the fame and credit which they get thereby Think not that Satan envieth God because he is good wise if he did he would endeavour to be so He envieth God because he is Almighty and because he is worshiped by men and Angels whereas himselfe would have all power in heaven and earth and every knee to bow unto him It is not vertue but the reward of vertue that moveth envy If it were in an envious mans power to distribute all the wealth spirituall and temporall which is among men he would not dispute to his enemies the possession of all the vertues but he would keepe to himselfe all the rewards This is the cause of that disposition When an envious man seeth others enjoy wealth he feareth there will not be enough left for him But as for Vertue he is sure that the plenty of it with others will not hinder his owne possession of the like So he doth not envy it For nothing moveth envy but such things as have moved cupidity before Cupidity is for light glittering stuffe and envy keepes pace with cupidity Vertue is a substance too dark and solid for their turne Learne we then to store ourselves with those goods which provoke no envy and which we may possesse no body being the poorer by our riches Envy is a great enemy to tranquillity of the suol It is the rottenness of the bones saith Solomon Prov. 14.30 which is a pregnant character of a passing malignant and corroding passion It hath two unnaturall effects The one that an envious man is afflicted with the prosperity of others the other that he punisheth himselfe The first effect is particular to Envy and herein it doth not enter commons with any other Passion The envious man is sick because his neighbour is well He groweth leane because another growes fat he thinkes that he loseth all that another gets and makes of his neighbours prosperity his adversity He is directly opposite to Christian sympathy and the commandement of the Apostle Rom. 12.15 Rejoyce with them that rejoyce and weepe with them that weepe for he is weeping with them that rejoyce and rejoycing with them that weepe Whereas the Apostle saith that Charity is not envious 1. Cor. 13.4 wee may invert the termes and say that Enuy is not charitable yea of all vices it is most incompatible with charity Envious men are the onely kind of men to whom without forme of justice without breach of charity wee may doe harme since to doe them harme wee need but doe good to their neighbours But it is needlesse to doe harme to an envious man or wish him more harme then he doth to himselfe vexing his mind and drying up his body by a continuall and just punishment This is wisely exprest in the CXII Psalme where after the promise made to the just that his righteousnes endureth for ever and his horne shall be exalted with honoùr the text addeth The wicked shall see it and be grieved he shall gnash with his teeth the desire of the wicked shall perish And it is very probable that in the outward darknes where there is weeping and
by it wee appeare righteous before God This is the summary of the Gospell This is the onely comfort of the faithfull That being justifyed by faith wee have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 5.1 Without that persuasion all the moral precepts and all the reasons of Philosophy cannot set the mind at rest much lesse the riches honours pleasures and pastimes of this world for who can have peace with himselfe while he is in dissention with God And who can have peace with God but by the mediation of his beloved sonne Jesus there being no other name under heaven by which wee must be saved The chiefe impediment of the tranquillity of minde being the remorse for sinne against God and the apprehension of this just and terrible threatning Cursed is he that continueth not in all the words of Gods law to doe them Whosoever embraceth the merit of Jesus Christ by faith is fenced against all the threatnings of the law and all the accusations of his conscience For to them he will answere As Gods threatnings are just so are his promises now he hath promist that if wee judge our selves wee shall not be judged of the Lord. 1. Cor. 11.31 That he that heareth the word of the sonne of God and beleeveth on him that sent him hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is past from death to life Joh. 5.24 That the blood of Jesus Christ the sonne of God clenseth us from all sin 1. Joh. 1.7 That he hath blotted out the hand writing of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to his crosse Col. 2.14 Wherefore these threatnings that God will bring every work to judgement and that even for one idle word account must be given reach not to those evill workes of which beleivers have repented and embraced the remission by faith in Jesus Christ Those threatenings of judgement doe not reach me since I have already past judgemont upon myselfe by a serious contrition and have received my Absolution by the merit of him that was judged and condemed for me If account must be given for my sinnes Christ must give it who charged himselfe with them But that account is discharged My sins are put out of Gods score The curse of the law to a soule that beleeveth in Christ as I doe is a handwriting taken out of the way a Bond torne and nailed to the crosse of Christ God is too just to make use of a bond vacated to proceed against me the merit of his Sonne which he received in payment for me is of too great value to leave me in danger to be sued for the debts which he hath payd for himself was arrested by Death the Sergeant of Gods justice and put in that jayle whence there is no comming out till one hath payd the utmost farthing and being come out of that jayle by his resurrection he hath made it manifest that he hath payd the whole debt which he was bound for in our behalfe unto Gods justice What though my sins be great yet are they lesse then the merit of Jesus Christ No sinne is so great that it ought to take away the confidence in Gods promises No sinne is so great that it may damme a soule beaten downe with contrition but together raised by faith and washt in the blood of the sonne of God Indeed the remembrance of my sins must be bitter unto me yet that bitternes must be drowned in the joy of my salvation my repentance must be a step not a hinderance to my confidence So I will say to God every day with a contrite heart Forgive us our trespasses And at the same time I will remember that I make that prayer unto our Father which is in heaven who commands me to call him Father to assure me that he will spare me as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him Mal. 3.17 to stile him heavenly father to whom the kingdome and the power and the glory belongeth to lift up my hope to that celestial glory which he fully possesseth and which he will impart to his children in their measure I will walke before God with humility and feare thinking on my sins past and my present weakenes and sinfulnes but together I will goe in the strength of the Lord and make mention of his righteousnes The righteousnes of God that frighteth sinners comforteth me and his justice is all mercy to me For the infinite merit of his Sonne being mine he is now gracious unto me in his justice Hereby the peace and assurance which I enjoy through faith is advanced to a joy of heaven upon earth and to this song of triumph Isa 61.10 I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord my soule shall be joyfull in my God for he hath cloathed me with the garments of salvation he hath covered me with the robe of righteousnes as a bridegroome decks himselfe with ornaments and as a bride adornes herselfe with her jewells This is the peace and contentment of the faithful soule that feeleth and relisheth her blessed reconcilation made with God through Jesus Christ For he that hath peace with God hath peace also with himselfe And the love of God powerfully growing in his heart by the consideration of the bounty of God whose sweetnes wee may taste though not conceive his greatnes breeds there together the peace of God which passeth all understanding banisheth tumultuous and unlawfull affections and brings the lawfull under its obedience so that all the affections of the regenerate soule meete in one and make but one which is the love of God as many brookes that lose their names in a great River When the love of God brings not that great peace to the soule and the absolute empire over the passions it is because love is as yet imperfect and the cause of that imperfection is the deficiency of faith which doth not yet embrace aright the reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ and faith is deficient when it is not maintained by good workes her food without which it pines away and falls into a shaking palsie and when that foundation is shaking all that is built upon it cannot but be tottering This then must be our first and earnest taske to make our selves sure of our peace with God by a lively faith whereby our hearts may be purified from evill workes and made fertile to all fruits of holinesse For hereby we shall have peace with our selves and shall be masters at home Hereby also wee shall have peace with Gods creatures receiving temporall blessings as testimonies of Gods reconciliation with us and in every bit of bread wee shall taste his love Prosperity and adversity will prove equally good unto us being dispensed by his fatherly care If God multiply our afflictions it will be onely to multiply our deliverances He will never put us to the tryal but to refine our faith weane