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
A86504	A sermon, preached before the Right Honourable, Thomas Foote, Lord Maior, and the right worshipfull the aldermen, sheriffs, and severall companies of the City of London. Vpon the generall day of thanksgiving, October the 8. 1650. at Christ-Church, London. / By Doctor Nathanael Homes, teacher of the Church at Mary Staynings, London.	Homes, Nathanael, 1599-1678.	1650 (1650)	Wing H2576; Thomason E614_4; ESTC R202565	34,476	51

extoll'd by Book-polititians for Majestie and likeness to the rule of God But it hath so long degenerated into Arrogancie and Tyranny that it is now disgracing it self out of the world Democracie hath been sometimes despised where and while it hath been eclipsed by the seeming-splendor of Lord-ensnaring and people-vassal ging Royalty But what it wants in Majesty is richly made up in true Liberty and secure Safety The people loving the Governmen of the People as before described love themselves But Kings loving themselves and their Court-creatures they drained and suck'd out the life and blood and spirits of the State The Peoples misery and poverty as was their Maxime was their security to do what they list The time is now at hand to dethrone Monarchie and to raise Democracie according to our Text of the Honour to be given to the Holy-people compared with Dan. 7.27 Read it wisely The KINGDOM and DOMINION and the GREATNESSE of the Kingdom UNDER the WHOLE HEAVEN shall be given to the PEOPLE of the SAINTS You see then our Text and that of Daniel speakes fairely for a Democracie that is holy and our Times begin to ecchoe distinctly to it as we shall see more after in the Antitypicall consideration of the termes of our Doctrine and Text. 3 Word is Praise ye the Lord or as 't is in the Hebrew HALLELU-JAH which is as I may say the Heavenly prick-song of the times signified in the Revelation to our present time and downward When had we cause more to praise Jah or Jehovah then now When did he more manifest himself as such then now by that time we have reckoned up the many things of this daies memorial And the duty is like the desert It doth not onely sound of what we must do but savours of much sweetness in the doing and so a motive as well as a Command to praise For Praise is a preparation to prayer He that is not in tune to pray let him first play the praludium of praise he shall soon finde his heart before bed-ridden sick spiritually to come to his life and strength So it appeares by Davids Psalmes often For praise is a great heart-melter a Convincer of sin in regard of the unkindness of it and so an admirer of divine mercy as Jacob Lord I am lesse then the least of all thy mercies For Praise is an owning of the returnes of our prayers We know our prayers againe when we see them acted and effected and make us Eccho to God acts as David Away from me ye workers of iniquity the Lord hath heard me Psal 6 What shall I render to the Lord Psal 116 for all his benefit Therefore praise also is a quieter of discontent a composer of our spirits an allayer of the mutinies of the affections Psal 73. Psal 77. It is the intent and event of Gods deliverances and the acceptable glorifying of him Psal 50. v. 15. v. 23. And t is a great tryer of the actions that is in judgment and Conscience well done for which a Saint can cordially give praise Therefore praise we for the thing done for eyes to see cause of praise and for hearts willing to give thankes And whiles we praise we loose no time to procure at the Throne of Grace Praise is as well a potencie and prevayling to get as a pledge we have received As well a Petition as an accquittance So in the story of Iehosaphat who whiles he praised 2 Chron. 20.22 c. obtained the victory of an Army of enemies Therefore doubt not but that this daies praise shall have the fruit of Petitions Therefore to all these seven let the foot of the song be Therefore praise therefore praise c. 4 Word is Performance Psal 136.3 c. O give thankes unto the Lord of HOSTS who alone doth GREAT WONDERS for his mercy indures for ever c. Who remembred us in our LOW ESTATE for his mercy indureth for ever And REDEEMED us from our ENEMIES for his mercy indureth for ever Need I speak to this Text The day is a plain and compleat commentary 5 Word is according to his Promise Not onely great things are done for us but with the great seale of Gods truth that he heares when we do pray and doth as he speaks So that in what we have heard and seen and injoy being the issue of promises all is not done till THIS world be done Gods Promises are of an unknown worth a rich improvement and of endless incomes of Reversions Promises are like the sunne that casts its beames at first rising from East to West Yea they are like to fountainous streames the further they runne the more they are augmented till they disburded themselves into the Ocean This is a great mystery I had the first hint of it many yeeres since from learned and religious Calvin Promises have never an end of all in them till Saints attaine the perfect end of all So that as all the promises and performances of the Old Testament did first devolve themselves on the great period of Christs incarnation so next they reach to and rest upon Christs exaltation of his Kingdome on earth among his Holy-people as they are anewly promised or commented upon in the New Men may not yet say of the grand promises of the generall good of the Holy-people Now such a promise is fullfilled and now such a promise is fullfilled unless they mean fullfilled so as not yet fully fullfilled What ever is done till the full perfection of all things come is but an Epocha Intervall or Stage of the progresse of promises and their severall Gesses Promises in their effectuall movings are like the movings of the Sea the latter wave is the greater and the outwarder circle the wider We now wonder at the greatness of mercies present But he is immense that acts Now are but dawnings to the sunne hereafter rising 2 Pet. 1.19 The Holy-people are now honoured But shall be more and more So it followes in the two words behinde namely Honour and such honour with addition to ALL his Saints 6 Word is honour God will honour them whom the world all along till now have most vilified He will make them glorious before men whom as Paul faith men have made the off-scowring of all things Now it is not onely a matter of conscience towards God but of credit among men to be a Saint And shall not such praise Yea they must they do they will Rev. 5.9 c The four Beasts and the four and twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb c. And they sung a NEW song saying Thou art worthy c. for thou wast stain and hast redeemed us c out of every nation and hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall REIGN on the EARTH And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand

to them they fall they surely fall they fully fall before the authority power and prayers of the holy people of Parliament Army magistrats ministers Churches and all saints And with great reproach as well as ruine to them that fall In Ireland about Dublin neere 19000. fall and fly before about 4000. of ours In England in the North neere 31000. Scotts invading us under Hamilton fall and fly before about 8000. of ours In Scotland as this day remembers 11000. of ours encounter with 22000. of the Scots some of themselves since confesse they were more and 6000. of ours thereabout do the worke to give that numerous Host of Scotts the totall Rout. Many glorious circumstances there are of this last overthrow but because I have been long and would not prevent my reverend Brother that is to follow I will speake but of one maine one and that in the way of a case of conscience as the nature of it requires The Scottish enemie wee cannot but say merited this their overthrow by invading us and that without warning of us A case of Conscience whether the overthrow of the Scots be the return of prayers and declaration of Gods mind against their unrighteous dealing or onely a casual event refusing also to give us any satisfaction though both these were desired They used the meanes to bring it upon themselves by severall fierce on-sets upon us they strikeing the first blow They yet further pursue and seeke after their ruine by a furious march after us netreating many miles I name not particulars because so excellently set down in the Narrative before the Act for this dayes praise And last of all we must say they prayed for this their ruine implicitly and interpretatively as the event proves For they invoked God in prayer making therein their appeale to God to determin between them and us as we did we confesse make the like appeale to him Behold then and lay all together according to their sinne fore-going in wronging our Nation according to their following ohstinacy in their sinne in refusing to give satisfaction and according to their prayers in the concluding that God would take part with the right and oppose the wrong doer hath God dealt with them and answered them by their ruine But now siince they say in their letters from Edenborough Castle to our Generall t is but an event of casuall happ no declaration of the mind of God against them But mark now in answer to that but these 5. things First Their and their partyes the Scotified in England opinion of providences following upon prayer made in relation to those providences First when the Scots Kirk party prayed that Hamilton might not prosper it seems now it was only because hee came against us not with their consent as Leven did this last time and Hamilton did not prosper they cryed it up mightily with many iterations that his overthrow was the returne of prayer and of their prayers we are sure it was of ours who then prayed and were heard which with other the like instances of our praying and Gods answering above farr what human meanes could effect as in this last overthrow of the Scots makes us with confidence of faith plead divine custome that providences ushered in by prayer pardon the phrase are Gods gratious returnes of such prayers Yea and we have learned we truly speak our experience of our selvs that when God doth not answer our prayers so as we are apt to choose we look upon the insuing providences of God as a distinct returne of our prayers that then that and that only and no more is good for us Secondly when the Scots immediatly afore their first on-set upon us about Mussleborough had had a day of prayer they did ere they close undertake as it were to prophesie so confident were they of the return of their prayers that their men should go forth and only stand still and we should fall before them and to further encourage them diverse of their Ministers came with them to the fight of which we had most certain intelligence by spies or prisoners taken in that fight or otherwise Thirdly when we were another time retreated on this side Mussleborough a party of them comming thither and finding us gone they then made great bost in their prayers and of their prayers that had sent the Sectaries packing as our men returning thither upon them neer found them at it to a great terrour on them to a suddaine flight but could not so quickly and cleanly carry away al but that our men knew this passage I now mention and wrote it up to us Fourthly when they made their long march after us retreating to Haddinton and thence to Dunbarre then in many expressions openly to our Scouts as they met they did infinitly boast of their hoped successes as the returne no doubt of their prayers the Kirk party contrary to the opinion of the old souldiery Jehu-like putting on to fight concluding as they sayd that now they had us in a Cornish pound And last of all let us not forget the voyce of som of our neighbours Scottified ministers at home which is but the eccho to the Scotts who upon our retreat to Dunbarr gave thanks publikly as the return of their prayers and the Scots prayers that our Army was brought to this passe of retreate to that effect or intent Which will be further expounded by one of the hearers of those morning excercises saying to a very godly Freind thus Lo you now Mr. you see now what it is for your Army to go against the prayers of Gods people you prospered indeed against the enimie at home and in Ireland because Gods peoples prayers were not against you But in going against the Scotts you go against Godly mens prayers and therefore you see what it comes to To that effect hee 2. This Case in the substance of the Appeale I intend it and extend it not further as to debauch Persons or performances is the same with the case of Elijah and Baals Priests appealing to God in a way of Prayer which usually was conjoyned with Sacrifice Luke 1. The difference only is but in the degree of the signe of Answer that was a Miracle above Nature and our deliverance was in a marvell many wayes above Nature as we shall see presently Baal Priests were convinced God had determined against them So that we reade not of any apologie they could make for themselves when they were put to death for their imposture 1. Kings 18. And truely if Heathens had looked on us and the Scots thus solemnly appealing and God thus manifestly answering and yet we not agreeing that it was a manifest determination of the minde of God those Heathens doubtlesse would either conclude that our God were no God or else that we had no Religion in us This will be plainer in the next particular 3. T is mightily considerable to our Case in hand that God hath a singular