Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	offer_v	sacrifice_n	thanksgiving_n	3,189	5	10.9292	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29528	The saints solemne covenant vvith their God as it was opened in a sermon preached at Beccles in the countie of Suffolk, at the taking of the Nationall Covenant there, by the ministers and other officers of that division / by Ioh. Brinsley ...	Brinsley, John, 1600-1665.	1644 (1644)	Wing B4728; ESTC R19027	25,595	42

the merit of his death and obedience for the pardon of all their sins the acceptation of their persons the salvation of their souls Having thus layed their hands upon this Sacrifice now are they to make a Covenant with God a Covenant of obedience And thus may they be said to Covenant By and Over Sacrifice 2 And as Over so with Sacrifice As over this Propitiatory so with Gratulatory Sacrifice Such a Sacrifice it is the Psalmist calleth for from this Covenanting people in the fourteenth Verse of this Psalme Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most high And call upon mee in the day of trouble Verse 15. These are Evangelicall Sacrifices more worth then all the Sacrifices of the Law Prayers and Prayses And these Sacrifices must they offer up that will make a Covenant with God so making a Covenant with Sacrifice But my promise was not to give way to doctrinall Enlargements The service of the day calleth for Application which let it be directed only by way of Exhortation whereof Take these three Branches 1 That wee would all of us strike such a Covenant with our God 2 That having struck this Covenant wee would be mindfull of it 3 That being mindfull of it wee would be faithfull in it Begin with the first which putteh us all upon this act of Covenanting As many of us as desire to be owned of God as his people let us strike a Covenant a solemne Covenant with him This is that which the Prophet Ieremy saith of the children of Israel and the children of Iuda returning out of captivitie should doe and excite one an other to doe it Ier. 50. Come shall they say and let us joyne our selves to the Lord in a perpetuall Covenant that shall not be forgotten And this in the feare of God let all of us here present this day doe and encourage one another to do it Come let us joyne our selves unto the Lord in a perpetuall Covenant that shall not be forgotten Obiect Why but happily you may say what needs this Exhortation to a people that are in Covenant with God already This work is not now to doe we have all of us done it alreadie We have given up our names and wee have given up our selves unto the Lord This we have done in Baptisme and this wee have done in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper both Seals of this Covenant Thus are we a people in Covenant with God alreadie Answ. And were not the children of Israel and the children of Juda so They were a people in Covenant with God before and in their captivity being the seed of Abraham and carrying the seal of the Covenāt in their flesh Yet for all that wee finde them there taking up thoughts and resolutions of ioyning themselves to the Lord in a Covenant and that by renewing the same Covenant A practice frequent amongst the people of God in the old Testament Many instances wee meet with holding forth to us presidents for this practice the renewing of Covenant This we find the people of God doing upon divers occasions Specially in these two cases In case of Defection Affliction 1 In case of Defection when by falling away from God they had broken this Covenant Secondly In case of Affliction when having broken his Covenant the Judgements of God were out against them either present or imminent feared or felt In these cases we shall see them ordinarily applying themselves to this Remedie the renewing of Covenant Take but two instances for both the first of Asah the second of Hezekiah both obvious The former 2 Chron. 15. There you shall finde King Asah and his people making a solemne Covenant with God Verse 12. And they entred into a Covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers withall their heart and with all their soul c. This they did and upon what occasion did they it Why at that time they stood guiltie of a great Defection so you have it Verse 3. Now for a long time Israel hath bin without the true God and without a teaching Priest and without Law A wonderfull defection And behold Affliction following it great Affliction great Distraction great vexation so it follows Verse 5. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in but great vexations were upon the inhabitants of the Countries Such was their condition In this condition what course take they Why they apply themselves to this as the most sovereigne remedie They entred into a Covenant to seek the Lord their God c. The like did Hezekiah as you may see in the 29 chapter of the same Book Now it is in mine heart to make a Covenant saith Hezekiah Verse 10. Not a Personall but a Nationall Covenant And what occasioned it Why first the Kingdome at that time lay under the guilt of a great Defection The Worship of God had been neglected the Temple ruinous and polluted So you have it in the 6 and 7 Verses of that Chapter Our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evill in the eyes of the Lord our God and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs Also they have shut up the doores of the Porch and put out the Lamps and have not burnt Incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel Thus was the Temple-worship neglected the place unfrequented nay polluted In the fifth Verse of the Chapter Hezekiah calls for the Levits requiring them to sanctifie themselves and to sanctifie the house of the Lord and to carry forth the filthinesse out of the holy place Lying under this great Defection they were also under great Affliction So it followeth Verse 8 9. Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem and he hath delivered them unto trouble to astonishment and unto hissing For loe our Father have falne by the sword and our sonnes and our daughters and our wives are in Captivity for this Such was their present condition And hereupon it is that that worthy Reformer betakes himselfe and his people to this course the renewing of Covenant Now it is in my heart to make a Covenant c. To these instances if need were I might adde that other in the days of Nehemiah The people were generally guiltie of a great Defection So much the Levits in their names confesse and acknowledge Nehem. 9. 34 35. Wee have done wickedly Neither have our Kings nor our Princes our Priests nor our Fathers kept thy Law c. For they have not served thee in their Kingdom and in thy great goodnesse that thou gavest them and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them That Defection was followed with great Affliction so you have in the Verses following Behold we are servants this day and for the land that thou gavest

let not these discourage knowing this for our comfort that these failings where they are not allowed but bewailed and striven against they are not properly a breach of this Covenant The Covenant that Gods Saints are under being in Christ it is not a Covenant of Works but a Covenant of Grace In the first Covenant the condition of our parts was an exact and perfect obedience so as the least failing the least deviation or swerving from the Rule was a breach of that Covenāt But this Covenant it is established upon better promises and better conditions the Lord herein requiring from us not Exactnesse but Truth Sincerity Uprightnesse Walk before me and be upright So as every failing every straying from the Rule is not a Breach of Covenant so long as the heart is upright with God not allowing it self in any known evill any sinfull Commission or Omission These are the breaches of this Covenant when the heart shall sit loose from God taking in any sinfull lusts to give entertainment to them And this take we heed of How ever there may be and will be many slips many failings in our course yet take heed of sins against Light against Conscience Take heed of letting in and setting up any sinfull lust in our hearts against the Convictions of the Word This were indeed to deal falsly with God in his Covenant A Crime which the Church washeth her hands of Psal. 44. All this is come upon us yet have we not dealt falsly in thy Covenant At that time the Church lay under great pressures great afflictions All this is come upon us All these evils these sufferings Yet she professeth her integrity She had not dealt falsly in the Covenant What is that The next words explaine it Our heart is not turned back neither have our steps declined from thy way This it is to deal falsly in the Covenant When a mans heart is turned back and thereupon his steps decline from the way of Gods Commandements so as hee walketh on in any sinfull way O my Brethren let it not be layed to the charge of any of us that we should thus deal falsly in the Covenant of our God And therefore though perfest wee cannot be yet labour we to be upright and sincere Let not our hearts be turned back from our God but let us walke before him in the constant and conscionable endeavour of an universall obedience Thus remembring and keeping our Covenant with God now be we assured that God will remember his Covenant with us He remembreth his Covenant for ever saith the Psalmist in that 105 Psalme which Text if we compare with the forenamed place 1 Chron. 16. where the former part of this Psalme is recorded and from whence it is taken wee may take notice of an observable difference in the reading of this passage In the Psalme the words run in the third person as spoken of God He remembreth In the Chronicles you have them in the second person as spoken to his People Remember yee Put them together they will afford us this usefull observation That if we Remember our Covenant with God God will remember his Covenant with us And because he Remembreth his Covenant for ever therefore let us Remember it for ever Herein God for his part will not be forgetfull unfaithfull It is the first branch of Solomons prayer at the Dedication of the Temple O Lord God of Israel there is no God like unto thee c. which keepest covenant and mercy to thy servants that walke before thee with all their hearts Marke it Though there may be many slips and failings in the walkings of Gods people their foot may often tread awry yet walking before God with all their hearts in uprightnesse and sincerity the Lord will keep Covenant with them and shew mercy to them in pardoning their sins accepting their services healing their infirmities supplying their wants performing unto them all the conditions of the Covenant on his part What he hath spoken with his mouth he will performe it with his hand as it followeth in the next Verse And therefore let all our care and solicitude be how to performe the Conditions on our part How we may keep close to God and walk before him Walk before me and be upright This is that which wee have bound our selves to by Baptisme and confirmed in the Lords Supper And this is one main thing which wee are now to engage our selves unto in this Covenant which wee are now to enter So much you shall finde in the Close of it the last Article which you may observe to be set forth in a different Character as I conceive it purposely to set a note of observation upon it the summe whereof is Personal Reformation the Reformation of our owne Hearts Lives Families Now every of us in the fear of God have a speciall eye upon this looking upon it in the first place though here set last beginning our practice where the Covenant ends as it is the Rule of Genesis and Analysis Every one beginning at and with himself each one indeavouring as the words of the Article run to goe before another in the example of a reall Reformation Having practised upon our selves first our owne Hearts Lives Families Then be we as we may all of us in our places and according to the opportunities offered us subservient unto the Publick indevouring to promote the great work of a Publick Reformation of what is amisse in Church or State which wee are to doe all of us by our Prayers those that have abilities by their Purses those which are called to it by their Counsels Magistrates by their Authority Ministers by their Doctrine People by their Obedience This doe we for the generall Withall having an eye to the severall particulars contained in this Covenant which may any wayes conduce unto that great and blessed end the establishment of the true Religion of God amongst us with the restoring and setling of a true peace and happinesse both in Church and State And to that end let mee direct your eyes to three or foure particulars of great consequence tending directly to that end You find them altogether in foure words of the second Article where we engage our selves to endeavour the extirpation as of Popery and Prelacy two things obvious to every eye so of Vsurpation Heresie Schisme Profaneness Foure words of great importance Happily some of you do not so cleerly understand the meaning of some of them Give mee leave to touch upon them a little that you may both know them and your duty concerning them 1 Superstition Wil-worship when men shall worship God by ways and meanes of their owne devising establishing their owne Traditions Teaching for Doctrines the commandments of men Introducing humane Inventions into the Room of Divine Ordinance making them either Pars or Medium a Part or Means of Divine Worship Teaching or practizing the fear of God by the precepts of