Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	hear_v	lord_n	soul_n	7,256	5	5.1453	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25856	Humble praise, offered up in the publick solemnity, June the 28th 1660 being a day of thanksgiving for His Majesties happy restauration / by T.A. ...	T. A. (Thomas Arnold)	1660 (1660)	Wing A3733; ESTC R10901	16,494	29

prostration lying on the face constantly used by the Turks unto this day Again 5. Pious souls are frequent in holy duties The Observ Turks fill their Mosques or Temples seven times a day in their Cities to our shame The Papists justly upbraid us with negligence and lukewarmness A fervent spirit a heart hot in love gadly Rom. 12. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in most Copies and 't is rejected for this mistaken sence that Christians must be time-servers Psal 55. 17 22 29 92 14. embraces every opportunity to discover it self At evening morning and at noonday will * I pray said holy David They that be fat shall eat and worship When we serve our selves of the creatures we should remember to serve the Creator Corpulent bodies have left issue and are soonest barren but fat souls in old age are most fruitful but what 's the duty 6. Prayer is a daily exercise of Gods people most useful in times of danger and distress 't was that which first drove man to God when En●sh Gen. 4. 2● signifying calamitous man was born then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. It 's a flower that springs from the miry pit of affliction The Israelites pressures made them groan thus God tels Moses I have seen their affliction and Psal 69. 1. 2. 130. 1. Hos 5. 15. heard their cry God 〈◊〉 makes the day of evil for this end he calls it a seasonable an acceptable time when he is near and promises help and deliverance Christ withdrew his invisible support from Peter to have his Prayer and when the earthen Vessel was sinking and the waters coming in upon his soul this divine air and holy breath bubled forth Lord save me I perish We conclude this remembring Christ to Thomas Thou hast seen the evil day and hast prayed but blessed are they that live in this air and frequent this duty in their best and happiest dayes In the midst of thy comforts thou hast cause enough to come to God by Prayer And now have we made way to the last Observation the most proper subject for this day Daniels praise And the truth hence is 7. The molestations of Gods people do not Observ obstruct his praise this is evident in Iob a perfect Iob. 1. 21. man very great in grace and goods in an hour he hears of the loss of cattel servants children and all he rents his mantle and looks upon himself stript as naked as when he was born and yet cryes out Blessed be the name of the Lord. The next witness is David a man beloved of Psal 42. God born to a Kingdom accustomed to holy solemnities and joyful feasts stript of all his comforts banisht from Gods worship so dear to him pierc't with the Adversaries reproach that cryed where 's thy God yet in this condition he stirs up his soul to an exercise of praise We have likewise the testimony of Paul and Silas who received Acts 16. 25. many stripes were cast into Prison and there set in the stocks yet at midnight the dead time of the night they sang praise to God To confirm this truth We have three Arguments from the remains of comfort four from the fruit of sanctified trouble And lastly the command of God God seldom takes all thou maist find necessaries abiding Now Arg. 1 Ingratitude under the enjoyment of necessaries is very unchristian But God affords thee necessaries If thou dost doubt this compare thy comforts with Gods servants in former ages We cannot find that they eat any flesh before the flood when they lived so long and divers learned men conclude the contrary and with good reason See Iacobs condition an heir of the blessing Gen. 28. thou canst not have a worse lodging the blew heavens are his Canopy the earth his bed and the stones his pillow and here he indented with God and conditioned to serve him during life for bread to eat and rament to put on Is Elijah's repast 1 King 19. 6. beyond thy reach a cake baken on the coals and a curse of water Canst thou not entertain thy friend as well as the old Propht a man of quality who called back the young prophet and it 's like set the best before him for it was a dear banquet to the young man it cost him his life and what was it but bread and water Hast thou not a handful of parched corn to eat nor a draught of water 1 Kin. 13. 19. to drink Hagars refreshment which Christ values and sayes it shall be rewarded therefore thankfully received But to leave times and places so remote 'T is true we have a good Land wherein more perish by wantonness then want with meat In licitis perimus the workmanship of God our bodies are destroyed rather then with hunger The Peasantry in France the mountaneers in Scotland and the wilde Who live by trifoyl or honysuckle-grass eaten raw with a little of their butter Irish would make the meanest amongst us thankful But we 'l imagine the want of necessaries for 't is possible though rare and yet conclude thou hast life and thence reason to the praise of God The enjoyment of the greatest temporal mercy will render ingenious Christians grateful Arg. 2 But natural life is the greatest temporal mercy Ergo This we have from Christs own mouth when he rebukes their needless care for accommodations Luk. 12. 23. The life is more then meat and the body is more then rayment life is the capacity the end and sum of all other comforts 'T is the first and the last we willingly redeem it when endangered with the loss of our substance we spare not skin flesh or limb to preserve life lancings and Iob 2. 4. cutting cures we undergo to save it Life in Scripture is called a prey which is alwayes taken after the fight in victory with joy and shouting See how this mercy is prized by a hopeless offender pardoned at the place of execution But a godly soul may lose his living and life too what remains beyond this to the praise of God An. His Grace Arg. 3 Where true Grace is there is the greatest cause of thankfulness But the children of God have true grace they have the immortal seed the divine nature the spirit of Christ and the life of God therefore must needs be thankful This Paul speaks home to Having saith he access into this Grace wherein we stand we rejoyce in hope Rom. 5. 2. 3. of the glory of God and glory in tribulations Oh Christian what cause hast thou to be thankful couldst thou understand thine estate thy portion We tell you of Crowns and Kingdoms to raise an apprehension which yet never comes near it We read of a City paved with Gold walled with Rev. 21. precious Stones twelve Gates twelve intire Nihil in intellectu quod non fuit prius in sensu Pearls because the soul is

practice in his danger godly exercise and close walking with God 6. His reward twofold 1. Evil from his Adversaries who cast him into the Lions den 2. Good from God and the King who preserved and promoted him 7. And lastly his great End accomplished Gods honour is advanced and established by the Kings decree The Text is fairly translated He that will make no strife shall find none here allowing onely variety of terms to several Translators The Text opened shews us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 godliness in several parts with their harmonious dependance 1. Constancy but to be constant and faithful there 's required severity and strength of spirit this he wants not for 2. Here 's his secrecy He goes into his house Some reservations are inconsistent with honesty but here 's no unhandsom shift or treacherous concealment for 3. Behold his faith looking through his opened window to Jerusalem and the Temple And is he not over confident is not this presumption no for 4. See his humility he is upon his knees Though a complement doth not alwayes declare humility yet many acts do a habit for this 5. Observe his frequency in duty three times a day but are his addresses according to the divine will Yes witness 6. His piety his service is holy consisting of these two parts Prayer and Praise But is he as thankful now as formerly when in greatest state doth not his danger shorten this part no 7. Lastly His alacrity and equanimity is seen in serving and praising God now as he did aforetime Now because Wisdoms words are sweet to the soul and variety makes a feast let us touch every flower in the Text and taste the hony that our eyes may be inlightned The writing was signed so we read and Tremelius Exeratum illud scriptum esset 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. Statutum decretum cum cognovisset that learned Jew and divers other Translators with us The Septuagint of great authority in the new Testament read it the Decree was established all to one sence and Daniel knew it or had taken full knowledge of it yet he adventures to his devotions hence note 1. The greatest dangers and difficulties cannot terrifie a godly soul from his duty Here are three good witnesses near at hand and his companions who will Dan. 3. not give Gods glory to another nor his praise to graven Images but will rather offer themselves a burnt sacrifice then he shall want a service and this is from 1. The law of God his enemies had got a law against him which he will rather satisfie with his blood then deny God his bodily service It 's safer to obey God then man Princes have great power in their commands upon the command of Jacob and Abner the young men sport away their lives to please their Generals It 's said the Grand Signeur to entertain an Ambassadour commanded one of his Train to ride in full career over a steep cliff into the Sea and then asked the Ambassador how many such servants his Master had Our Lord hath many such servants we have Daniel Paul and many Worthies more 2. Their Heb. 11. Rev. 6. love likewise doth move them thereunto this is strong as death it crops the fairest flowers in their prime it brings strength and beauty to dust and ashes in amorous persons of both sexes The wives of dead heathens have contended urging before the judges their love and loyalty that they might burn with the bodies of their deceased husbands and is spiritual love less powerful surely no. Paul counted not his life dear for Christs sake and Peters love at last constrained Acts 20. 24. him to follow his Master in the like death though a sadder spectacle being crucified with his head down-ward and 3. The sence of Gods love to them makes them thus valiant Stephen resigned his soul to this revelation Acts 7. The goodship fears neither storms nor tempests if it hath Sea room enough Gods love is not onely a Fountain but an Ocean and Paul concludes that neither depths nor death can separate a godly soul Rom. 8. ult there from Therefore let us be incouraged to zeal and Christian valor what thou wantest in comfortable experiences make up in faith Christ is the Captain of our salvation Heb. 2. 11. and we his Souldiers and what makes souldiers adventerers in a field-fight or storm not so much their present pay and maintenance as the Generals promise of Victory Honour Booty and Preferment therefore Heb. 3. 12. this caution is added Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God If we believe not Gods promises we shall be terrified with the hardships of his service Yet Daniel is wise and retires himself Obser 2 Whence note Gods servans are serious and secret in his service The rule of Christ would lead us not Mat. 6. 6. onely into the House and Chamber but closet Vain-glory in Religion is an undoubted sign of hypocrisie Men do their best before those from whom they expect their reward Jehu will boast of his zeal and shew it to the world he hath therefore the better acceptance with men and the less with God The Pharisees in their religious duties had this aim to be seen of men and they had their expected reward Let 's present an instance 't is better then a Play or May-pole Here 's one stands in the corners of the streets or Mat. 6. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In quibus fere habentur hominum conventus B●za rather angles turnings and cross wayes to be seen four ways 't is the forum or market where the greatest concourse of people is The people flock about him and thus admrie see what a holy man he is what a devout look he hath what markes of mortification are in his face Look 〈◊〉 his * A Plate of Brass upon his brows with the Dialogue inscribed Frontlet he hath the Law and fear of God before his eyes what a demure posture he stands in no butter shall melt in his mouth for he fasts behold his religious habit his large Philacteries on the Hemme and borders of his Garment Hence was a superstitious respect for the Hemme of the Garment there 's holiness to the Lord and many divine sentences wrought take notice of his patience and canstancy he hath stood here a great while he makes long and many prayers From this observation the people are alarum'd away with a Trumpet sounding a call why what 's the matter O there 's a merciful man doing his alms and 't is pitty but the world should know how good a man he is what a bountiful alms is here this is a noble Benefactor his charity declares that his ability is great a great man and a good man this is a Rabbi indeed And this is their usual course in their Synagogues ever sabbath in the midst of their service after the