Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	let_v	pray_v	sick_a	2,056	5	9.3427	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80798	Captivity improved to spiritual purposes. Or spiritual directions, given to prisoners of all sorts whether debtors or malefactors Principally designed for the use of those who are prisoners in those prisons which are under the jurisdiction of the city of London, as Newgate, Ludgate, the Counters, &c. Though also applyable to others under the like circumstances else where. To which are annexed directions to those who have their maintenance and education at the publick charge, as in Christ-Church hospital, or cure, as in St. Bartholomew's and St. Thomas's, or reducement to a more thrifty course of life, as in Bridewel, or have been happily restored to their former sense[ ] as in Bethleem, alias Bedlam.	Cressy, Edmund.	1675 (1675)	Wing C6889A; ESTC R230962	54,833	136

when upon us Of old he gave a miraculous Virtue to the Pool of Belhesdah for the healing of all that were halt or withered or troubled with any other infirmity and in these two Societies he hath by his good providence raised up those charitable Samaritans who have made St. Bartholomews and St. Thomas's a couple of English Bethesdahs where that is done by the blessing of God upon humane means which there was done by the miraculous moving of the waters by an Angel sent from Heaven In all these cures men are the Instruments in the hand of God God the chief and Principal Physician and therefore as they ought to be thankful to men as employed by God for their good so ought they to give the chiefest praise to God the giver of all health and cure And as it is their duty to be thankful to God for his good providence towards them in that he hath put them under not only the possibility but also probability of cure so ought they to depend upon him for the success and that brings me to the next duty which I think proper to recommend to the Patients of these Houses and that is Thirdly That they would cast themselves upon God by the Prayer of Faith and hope for his blessing upon the means used for their recovery For the endeavours of men though never so regular and Lawful are not succesful unless the blessing of God go along with them Except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that buil it except the Lord kept the City the Watchman waketh but in vain Psalm 127. 1. and unless the Lord promote the cure in vain doth the Nurse cherish the Patient or the Chyrurgeon apply his Plaisters or the Physician prescribe Medicines for the success of all this proceeds from God in whose hand are the issues of life and death of health and sickness Our Saviour when he was here on earth put Diseases to flight by the command of his mouth and gave sight to the blind hearing to the deaf Legs to the lame strength to the weak and health to those that are diseased and all this at the bare expence of a word attended with that power which was never wanting to the execution of his holy will and pleasure And now that he is in Heaven his hand is not shortned that he cannot save his power is not less that he cannot heal his compassions are not less propense that he should not pity but he is as ready now as he was then to hear the Prayer of the weak and infirm and to send them health if not in the very same way to as good purposes if not by a visible miracle yet by his effectual and efficacious blessing upon natural means And therefore the Scripture directs Patients to both sorts of cure the spiritual as well as the humane and more ordinary in a place so apposite to the condition of the Patients of these Hospitals as if it were penned on purpose for them St. James 5. 14 15. Is any sick among you Let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him anointing him with oyl in the name of the Lord and the Prayer of Faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him It was a fault in Asa though in the main a very good Prince that in his disease he sought not to the Lord but to the Physicians and the same fault is too common among Christians but would any walk according to the right Gospel Method in these cases Let them make use of humane means because God hath no where promised to heal us by miracle and in the use of the means send up an eye of Faith to God because without his blessing the means will prove ineffectual Fourthly When the poor Patients are cured of their infirmities let them obey that exhortation which our Saviour gave heretofore to the Cripple and the Worshipful Governours of St. Bartholomews have inserted into their Orders Pag. 24. Let them sin no more lest a worse thing come unto them For better is it to be a sickly Saint then a stout sinner an afflicted Christian then a healthy reprobate better to be weak in body then weak in grace more eligible far to be strengthened in the inner man with the aids of Gods Spirit then to be strong to commit wickedness Our days here are few and evil Our bodies brittle and frail subject to many Diseases liable to many frailties but after this life there is a happy state will take place where the righteous will be blessed with endless rest not disturbed by any pains a perpetual health not interrupted by any sickness and perfect strength not abated by any weakness this bliss let them seek in weldoing and for their blessed arrival at such a condition Let them not be wanting in their constant supplication to God the only giver of temporal and eternal life of health here and of everlasting Salvation hereafter And I have endeavoured to assist their Devotions by two Prayers the one to be used by them during the time that they are actually under their infirmities the other after that they are cured of them and the latter of these is transcribed word for word out of the Orders and Ordinances of the Worshipful Hospital of St. Bartholomews A Prayer O Holy Father we desire in all humility to acknowledge the Justice of thy correcting hand upon us in those pains and infirmities which we endure we are not worthy of life much less of health and strength and therefore teach us to submit to thy corrections with all Christian patience and resignation Let the weakness of our bodies prove the health of our Souls and while our outward man perisheth Let our inward man be renewed day by day and grant we beseech thee that these light afflictions which are but for a moment may work for us a far more exceeding weight of Glory Have mercy upon us thou Son of David and as here on earth thou didst give eyes to the blind and eares to the deaf and Legs to the lame strength to the weak and health to the sick so now that thou art in Heaven let us find thy power great to heal our Diseases and to relieve our infirmities and give thy blessing to the means used for our recovery However we beseech thee ô Gracious God prepare us for thy self by all thy mercies and by all our afflictions and at last bring us to that happy state where there is health and no sickness rest and no pain everlasting life with no death to follow it let this be our blessed Lot and let this be our happy Portion in eternal enjoyment of God and in our everlasting Communion with the Father and with the Spirit and with the Son who when he was on earth taught us to Pray saying Our Father c. A Thanksgiving unto Almighty God to be said by

they shall give a very dreadful account for all those mercies that they have abused here and therefore very little reason have they that are righteous to murmur at those afflictions which shall so soon end or to envy to the wicked those mercies for which they must give so sad a reckoning Secondly When good men suffer under that Imprisonment which is the result rather of their misfortune then their 〈◊〉 they have little reason to complain as if they suffered more then they did deserve for how innocent soever we may be before men there is no man but is guilty before God He that punisheth a man of upright intentions and just purposes meerly because he cannot pay the Debt which he hath contracted and which he desires if he could to satisfie is cruel and unmerciful and as he hath shown Iudgment without mercy so there is a time coming wherein he shall want the mercy himself which he denied to others and as he hath shown no mercy to others so in his Case also mercy shall rejoyce against Iudgment St. Iam. 2. 13. But whatsoever may be said of the prosecutor God is not unjust to punish those that are sinners against him by the hands of those that are more sinful then themselves nay very frequent it is for God to correct the sins of those that belong to him by the hands of those that are more unrighteous than they Thus the sins of Israel are punished by the Caldeans of David by Saul of Ioseph by his wicked Brethren and in these cases they that afflict shall bear their sin because they have used severity to those that have not deserved it at their hands but those that are afflicted have no reason to repine at the Justice of God as if he were unrighteous to make use of wicked men as his Rod and his Scourge and the Instruments of his displeasure against them for their particular transgressions committed against him Thirdly Another consideration to allay the impatience of such mens spirits may be this that those very miseries which they groan under are sent by God with designs of love and mercy the afflictions of their Bodies are sent as Physick to their Souls and the sufferings of one as improvements of the other To this import are those many assertions in Scripture that all things work together for good to them that love God Rom. 8. 28. That our light afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory 2 Cor. 4. 17. and while our outward man perisheth our inward man is renewed day by day ver 16. of the same Chapter And therefore it would be spiritual prudence to convert our murmurings into spiritual cautions and holy diligence how we may improve all our sufferings to so great and to so spiritual purposes which if we should do we shall have no reason to grieve that we have suffered so much but much reason to rejoyce that these our sufferings have proved unto us so happy an opportunity of enhancing our Crown of glory Thirdly A third duty which I shall direct such Prisoners to is to pray to God for an happy deliverance out of their troubles but with the reserve of a quiet submission unto his Will if he shall see the continuance under their afflictions more fit for them Both parts of this duty are recommended in the example of our Saviour before cited When he was to dye he prayed for the averting of that bitter Cup but when he perceived that God had determined otherwise concerning it he declares his desire to submit rather to the Will of God than choose his own Prayer is a proper remedy against all sorts of afflictions If any man be afflicted let him pray James 5. 13. and as God hath made it our duty to pray so he hath made it his particular style that he is a God learning prayer And if he be attentive to any prayers more than others he is so to the prayers of the afflicted This is more than once asserted in the 102. Psalm He will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer ver 17. He hath looked down from the height of his Sanctuary from Heaven did the Lord behold the Earth to hear the groanings of the Prisoners to loose those that are appointed to dye ver 19. 20. Our poverty is the time of our destitution from men and though the rich hath many friends the poor is forsaken of his Neighbours but that which discommends us to men most potently recommends us to God who in divers places of Scripture hath made it his most peculiar stile that he is a Father to the Fatherless a Husband to the Widow adjutor in opportunitatibus a ready help in time of trouble and therefore it is not only our duty that we should but our priviledge and advantage that we may cast our care upon him who careth for us 1 Pet. 5. 7. Among all these duties it is not only allowable but very commendable for those that are Prisoners to endeavour their liberty by all just and prudent methods such as are receiving such supplies as they can get from their more wealthy friends accepting of such contributions as they may have from the charity of merciful and well minded men the offering of such compositions as the meanness of their circumstances will enable them to make and such honest methods as these For our endeavours are very consistent with Gods Providence and our diligence with his blessing and so far is our dependence upon God from discouraging our industry that it is rather proper to promote it for God hears not the prayers of the Lazy but sends an answer to our Petitions in his blessing upon our Diligence But above all things we must be careful that our streights prove not our temptations that our trouble put us not upon any indirect courses to deliver us from it for he that thus endeavours to draw his foot out of the snare doth but by fluttering intangle himself the faster and change not his trouble but his Prosecutour and as man hath been his adversary hitherto so makes God to be so for the time to come and discharges himself from the first rank of men to whom I designed these directions and hath placed himself into the second that of ungodly Debtors And so men may be upon a double account either First with reference to the beginning of their troubles when they fall into these streights by their own profuseness or prodigality or Luxury or negligence or ill husbandry or secondly with reference to the means that they use to extricate themselves out of their troubles as fraudulent compositions or unrighteous arts or unjust concealment of that estate with which they might pay their Debts or any other such ungodly Methods as these The Directions suitable to such as these may be First That they would not appropriate to themselves any of those promises which the Scripture give

a brand in the hand some the lash and publick whippings but those are violations of the Eighth Commandment and both of them place men in the Number of those Thieves of whom St. Paul hath said expresly that they shall not enter into the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 10. He that shall kill a man in his heat and passion is counted here not guilty of Murder but Manflaughter but both these are violations of the sixth Commandment and both make us liable to the judgment to come Nay more that very passion which we make the alleviation of our crimes here is counted Murder in the the sight of God For so our Saviour expresly asserts Math. 5. 21. 22. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time Thou shalt not kill and whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say unto his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Councel but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of Hell-fire Where we see different degrees of causeless anger have different degrees of punishment but all of them are violations of that Commandment Thou shalt do no murder and all punishable more or less in the judgment to come And as for those that are acquitted here let them examine whether they are clear before God and if of that crime whether of others as great perchance and as crying in the account of God And to them who escape with life and liberty as well as to others is appliable that of our Saviour unless ye repent ye shall all likewise perish My second exhortation to such is that for the time to come they would endeavour to live without offence in the sight of God and man New mercies require new acknowledgments and we have no way of shewing our gratitude to God but by doing things that are pleasing in his sight God hath granted them life let them improve it to his honour they have had the pardon of the King let them seek forgiveness of God also they have dishonoured themselves and their profession let them endeavour to adorn the Gospel for the time to come by a more spotless conversation Let them heartily repent of all their publick and private crimes against God and against men that when they come to dye they may be fitter to dye than they were when they were Tried for their Lives and for this among other things let them pray in this or such like address to God A PRAYER O LORD our God we acknowledge before thee our manifold transgressions the sins of our hearts the sins of our Lips the sins of our Lives our unclean thoughts our filthy discourses all our unrighteous actions we are here Prisoners in one place but very different is the Lot which thy Providence hath assigned to us such of us O Lord whose days thou hast measured out to the oppressour give us grace to repent of those sins which have caused this punishment and the less mercy we find with men the more let us find with God As many of us as have found thy mercy in our Lives and Liberties give us grace to be sensible of thy mercies and to live closer with our God who hath delivered our feet from falling and our soul from the snare and our life from the Grave Let the shame we endure make us truly sensible of those sins that have caused it and however we have had disgrace here let us not be confounded when we stand in judgment make us mindful of thy eternal judgment and prepare us for it that when we come to die we may be fitter to die and fitter to give an account to God Lead us O Lord by thy councel guide us by thy grace give repentance and pardon here and bring us to thy glory hereafter through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ In whose c. CHAP. IV. Considerations suited to the condition of Malefactors as are actually under the sentence of condemnation for death WHat hath been already written in this discourse is designed to prevent if possible mens wretched arrival at the height of wickedness and by such considerations as the nature of the subject would suggest to stop their carier in wickedness before they proceed from lesser crimes to those that are Capital But there always was and always will be a generation ●f men that are reprobates to every good work that have their consciences seared with a hot Iron that turn a deaf ear against all good Counsel and harden their hearts against all good advice and as for these seeing milder Methods will do no good upon them necessity enforces to practice those that are more severe God says nay which is more swears that he does not delight in the death of a sinner but that he should turn from his wicked way and live but yet it is consistent both with his Justice and mercy to make death the Portion of such as by their wickedness pursue it and to make Perdition the inheritance of those that by the obstinacy and perverseness of their way unavoidably run upon it And the same method is very consistent with the rules of Justice and mercy among men Nay very often it is that severity upon offenders is mercy to the innocent and compassion to the wicked is cruelty to the just for the slackening of Justice encreases the number of Malefactors and if severe laws were not made and executed against Malefactors honest men would not be safe but the Nation would be soon overrun with Robbers and Murderers and all sorts of evil doers for as Solomon observed long ago Because Sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore it is that the heart of the Sons of men is thoroughly set in them to do evil Eccl. 8. 11. Righteous therefore and just it is that the wages of sin should be death death eternal by the Law of God and death temporal by the Laws of God and man but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord But to what acts of Faith and repentance to direct the Malefactor that he may lay hold of that eternal life will require much Spiritual skill and prudence The Right Reverend Bishop Taylour and the Learned Doctor Hammond and some others have written diverse things very accurately towards the Lessening of that esteem which some men have of the efficacy of a death-bed repentance If I should here lay down their opinions in express terms as they have delivered them in all probability I should drive those whom I now write to into utter despair but if I should endeavour to assert and maintain the contrary those surriving Malefactors into whose hands this Book shall come would in all likelyhood make use of it as a further encouragement to delay their repentance to the hour of death Seeing therefore it is hard to Minister to the comfort of some without giving occasion to the Presumption of others I

our bowels may be thought to be grievous there their worm shall never dye if the smart of the whip be tormenting there it is said that the wicked shall be delivered up to the tormentours and their torment shall never end I know there are dispersed up and down in the Gospel many more sweet and ravishing motives to repentance then these are The Love of Christ ought to constrain us the Grace of the Gospel ought to invite us the promises of it are with enough to encourage us to obedience and men of ingenuous spirits men who will act like men will be drawn by these cords of Love by these cords of a man as the Prophet calls them and they will follow God But the same Gospel hath more rough Arguments then these for men of more rough tempers and where we meet with obdurate sinners as knowing the terrours of the Lord We ought to perswade them We ought to tell them That vengeance is his and he will repay it That tribulation and anguish indignation and wrath shall be the Portion of every soul of man that worketh evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile That God will consume the wicked from the very beginning of revenges that his wrath will begin to burn against them here and will reach against them everlastingly hereafter If the Present sufferings of offenders raise up in them such thoughts as these are they have then a very useful effect upon them The very end of Punishment is that the wicked may see and hear and feel and be sensible of that hand of God that is stretched out against them and do no more wickedly And if this be the effect of such punishments as in this Chapter have been described they have reason to rejoyce That these chastisements which are not for the present Joyous but grievous have begun to bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness that these corrections which are in the Flesh have any way contributed to the saving of the Spirit in the day of the Lord Jesus and that these afflictions which are but for a moment have begun to work in them that fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom that Godly sorrow which is naturally productive of that repentance which is never to be repented of and that reformation of life which if persevered in to the end will entitle them to a far more exceeding weight of Glory And when these motions begin to work in them it is their duty and it is their interest to pray to God for that Spirit that may further convince them of sin and of righteousness and of Iudgment and our Heavenly Father hath promised that he will not deny his Spirit to them that ask it and if they lack Wisdom to direct them in that way with which as yet they are very much unacquainted Let them ask of God who giveth to all men Liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given them And because that of themselves as of themselves they are they are not sufficient to think any thing that is good much less to do it and much less still to preserve in doing Let them implore the Grace of God which is ready at hand to all those that by Faith and Prayer and sincere endeavours seek after it Let them ask and it shall be given Let them seek and they shall find Let them knock and God will open to them Let them draw nigh to God in sincere purposes of repentance and he will draw nigh to them in his grace and mercy and will enable them to cleanse their hands though they have been sinners and to purify their hearts though they have been double minded and to assist them in such supplications as these I have here subjoyned this ensuing Prayer A PRAYER O LORD our God we beseech thee look down upon us poor and miserable sinners who now groan under the weight of our sins and the punishment of them We desire to submit to thy providence in all things and to ackowledg that thou art just and righteous in those evils which thou sendest upon us and thou hast but recompenced upon us the fruits of our doings we have misused our liberty thou hast punished us with thraldom We have sinned in pride and the haughtiness of our hearts and thou hast brought us to shame and disgrace We have sinned by riot and excess by sloth and wantonness and thou hast exercised us with slavery and drudgery and hast made us to serve under Egyptian Task-masters We beseech thee O Lord of thy mercy to teach us how to discern our sin in our punishment to learn repentance and obedience by the things that we suffer and to humble 〈…〉 selves under thy mighty hand that thou mayest deliver us in thy due time However thou dealest with us now cast us not from thy presence hereafter howsoever thou exercises us with shame at present make us not then in our perdition to be a spectacle to the World and to Angels and to Men But let the sense of thy wrath at present instruct us in thy fear and withdraw us from the errour of our ways that our Soul may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Give us thy spirit O God further to convince us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment and to guide our feet into the way everlasting Give us thy wisdom to direct our steps and to lead us into those paths which as yet we are very much acquainted with Grant us thy grace to enable us to do those things which thou requirest of us As thou hast given us a heart to will what is good so of thy good pleasure give us strength to do and to persevere in well doing And whensoever of thy goodness it shall please to deliver us from this miserable condition wherein we are grant that we may return from the folly of the wicked to the wisdom of the just Let the time past of our Lives suffice us to have fulfilled the lusts of the flesh and for the time to come teach us to live more soberly and righteously and godly than hitherto we have done that we may adorn the Gospel as much by our repentance as we have dishonoured it by our looseness that we may break off our sins by repentance that we may work with our hands the thing that is good that we may commit our selves to thee well-doing that we may provide for the things that are honest in the sight of God and men that we may serve thee in this world and be happy in another and all this we beg of thee and what else thou shall see needful for us in the name and mediation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ In whose name and words we further pray Our Father c. CHAP. III. Directions for those that are tried and cast for their lives but have them spared by the mercy of the King or the Bench. FRom these that in Law are counted lesser