Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	pray_v	spirit_n	supplication_n	6,826	5	11.2274	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16531	The vnbeliefe of St. Thomas the Apostle laid open for the comfort of all that desire to belieue. Whereunto is added a comfortable treatise for all that are afflicted in soule or body. The first armeth vs against despaire in the houre of death; the second against impatience vnder the crosse. By Nicholas Bound, Doctor in Diuinitie.	Bownd, Nicholas, d. 1613.; Bownd, Nicholas, d. 1613. Treatise ful of consolation. aut	1628 (1628)	STC 3442; ESTC S113890	68,060	212

said vnto him So shall thy seede be and Abraham beleeued the Lord. And the Apostle commendeth this faith in him so much the more because he considered not his own body Rom. 4.1 which was now dead that is voide of strength and vigour to get children beeing almost an hundred yeare old neither the deadnes of Saras wombe who was both aged and barren Both which if he had looked vnto he could haue had no sight or feeling of that that was promised for they were directly against it But he gaue this glorie to God vers 2●● that he was fully assured that he that had promised it was able to doe it and so aboue hope he beleeued vnder hope that he should be the father of many nations according to that which was spoken vnto him So shall thy seede be And so he beleeued that which he neither had nor could haue any present sight or feeling of Thus both Abraham and Sarah beleeued that which they could haue no feeling of in themselues and so must all the sonnes of Abraham and daughters of Sarah And thus to doe is not onely faith but the greatest faith For if they could haue seen how this might haue beene done and haue felt such strēgth in their bodies that they might perceiue it very likely by the course of nature then it had beene no great matter to beleeue it nay it had beene great infidelitie not to beleeue it So for vs to beleeue the promises of God when we may see and feele how they may be performed that is a matter of no moment but when all things go against them we haue no sight or feeling at all in our selues of that that is said vnto vs then to beleeue God and to giue this glory vnto him that he is able to performe it is a matter of great faith And therefore here it is said of Abraham not onely that he beleeued but that he was not weake in faith vers 1● that is very strong and constant in faith So that the Spirit of God commendeth this in him as an high degree of faith that he beleeued without sight or feeling to shew vs that faith is so many times seuered from feeling that it is thē the strongest when we constantly beleeue that which we neither see nor feele but waite vpon God for them both And this is that which was in our Sauiour Christ also who though he did alwaies put his trust in his father and was sure that he loued him and his faith this way was as pretious and pure as gold yet it did most of all shew it selfe in his full strength when he came to suffer vpon the crosse when it was so many waies assaulted that contrary to all sense and feeling he remained constant and so ouercame to succour all those that shall be oppressed with the temptations of vnbeleefe because they haue no feeling For when things did lie so heauie vpon him he beeing then to beare all our sinnes and corruptions and in them to appeare before God his father and to answer for them yea to satisfie his wrath by induring the full punishment of them first of all it is written of him that he began to waxe sorowfull ●ath 26.37 and grieuously troubled in his minde and this griefe was so deadly that he was not able to containe it in himselfe but did bewray it with most lamentable words vnto his Disciples that he might haue comfort from them saying vers 38. My soule is very heauie vnto the death tarie ye here and watch with me and then because his grief was not asswaged 39. he fell vpon his face downe to the ground and praied saying O my father if it be possible let this cuppe passe from me And thus he praied the second and third time And that it might appeare what vncomfortable striuing he had in himselfe all this while not onely with death but with the fearefull iudgement of his angrie father it is further added that he fell into a great agonie Luk. 22. ● and distraction of minde whereby all his bodie was distempered so that for anguish his sweate was like drops of blood trickling downe to the cold ground And at the last when he was vpon the crosse he was further assaulted with temptations from the speeches of men euen his enemies which reuiled him ●ath 27.39 wagging their heads and casting out many opprobrious speeches against him 40. saying If thou be the sonne of God come downe from the crosse he trusted in God let him deliuer him if he will haue him for he saide I am the sonne of God Whereby his discomforts and discouragements for our sakes were so increased that at the last he brast forth into these most lamentable words 46. and as the Euangelist saith straining as it were all the parts of his bodie and powers of his spirit hee cried with a loud voice My God my God why hast thou forsaken me All this while what present sight and feeling could he haue of Gods fauour when as not onely all things outwardly did shew but his words also did abundantly declare that inwardly he felt the contrarie Therefore his faith was now the greatest as it was meete it should be to incounter and ouercome so many and great temptations when as contrarie to all these things which he saw and felt he not only praied most earnestly vnto his father and continued therein praying three times the same words with such feruencie of spirit that beeing vpon the cold ground he sweat water and blood and he praied in faith Heb. 5.7 For when he did offer vp those praiers and supplications with strong crying and teares vnto him Luk. 22.4 that was able to saue him frō death he was heard in the thing which he feared and God sent an Angel vnto him from heauen to comfort him Whereby he came to this resolution of minde that he quietly submitted himselfe in these his sufferings vnto the will of his father saying Abba father Mark 14. all things are possible vnto thee take away this cup from me neuerthelesse not that I will but that thou wilt be done And beeing now at the point of death in the middest of all his sufferings and in the height of his temptations that it might appeare that he had ouercome all ●●k 23.46 he cried out with a loud voice straining himselfe to the vttermost when life was almost out of his weake and painfull bodie Father into thine hands I commend my spirit and when he thus had saide he gaue vp the ghost quietly died Which wordes of his beeing vttered with great zeale did shew the excellencie and perfection of his faith especially if we consider in what case he was then and so his faith was the greatest when he had the least feeling And thus no doubt the seruants of God in their seuerall afflictions of body and mind and otherwise are in measure made like

vnto Christ whē as hauing nothing that by any sight or feeling inward or outward might minister vnto thē any cōfort and therefore in such cases they are greatly discouraged and cast downe in themselues yet they holde out constantly in them to the end then the more like they are vnto Christ in his sufferings the more like shall they be vnto him in his glory For then is their faith the greatest when in this forlone estate of theirs as it may seeme they can pray vnto God as Christ did and seeke for all helpe and comfort from him and neuer leaue praying till God heare them as Christ continued in his prayer till an Angel was sent vnto him And in the meane time whatsoeuer becomes of them they with a quiet and meeke spirit resigne vp themselues wholly to his blessed will being contented whatsoeuer they desire that not their owne but Gods will may take place as Christ did when he said Father not mine but thy will be done And if they doe so that that affliction present of what nature and kind soeuer shall make an end of thē they can quietly and peaceably commend their soules and bodies euen themselues wholly liuing and dying into his blessed hands as Christ did also vpon the crosse when he was readie to giue vp the ghost beeing perswaded that nothing euer perished that was commited vnto his custodie according as he saith himselfe Those that thou gauest me ●oh 17.12 haue I kept and none of them is lost but the child of perdition that the Scripture might be fulfilled If we can thus doe though all this while we haue no feeling of any present comfort yet it may be truly said vnto vs as it was to the woman of Canaan who with many discouragements and without all sight or feeling of any fauour frō him pursued our Sauiour Christ with her prayers and would not giue ouer or take any repulse O woman great is thy faith and O man Math. 15 2● great is thy faith that doest thus whosoeuer thou art And we haue a worthy example of the truth of this in one of the Martyrs of our owne country and in the memory of mā as it is largely set out by M. Foxe in his laborious worke of the Acts and Monuments of the Church The effect of which storie shortly is this M. Robert Glouer of Couentry gentl. and Master of Artes in Cambridge was in the raigne of Q. Mary with many the seruants of God by the malicious practises of the Papists apprehended brought before the Bishop of the Diocesse for his faith and religion and after examination he was sent to prison where he receiued great comfort from the Lord from time to time as his afflictions did increase so did the comforts of the Lord abound till at the last by the permission of God for his further triall and comfort the Deuill did greatly assault him in prison by the consideration of his vnworthines to be counted in the number of those that should suffer for Christs sake which temptation of the enemie though he did constantly resist at the first yet after that he was condemned to death by the Bishop and was at the point to be deliuered out of this world it so happened that two or three daies before the time of his burning his heart being lumpish and destitute of all spirituall consolation and feeling of gods fauour he felt in himselfe no aptnes or willingnes but rather an heauines and dulnes of spirit full of much discomfort to beare that bitter crosse of Martyrdome readie now to be laid vpon him Whereupon he fearing himselfe least the Lord had vtterly withdrawn his woonted fauour from him made his moane to one M. Austen Bernher a minister a familiar friend of his signifying vnto him how earnestly he had praied day and night vnto the Lord and yet could receiue no motion nor sense of any comfort from him Vnto whome the said Austen answering againe willed and desired him patiently to wait the Lords pleasure and howsoeuer his present feeling was yet seeing his cause was iust and true he exhorted him constantly to sticke to the same and play the man nothing misdoubting but the Lord in time would visit him and satisfie his desire with plentie of consolation Whereof he saide he was right certen and sure and therefore desired him whensoeuer any such feeling of Gods heauenly mercies should begin to touch his heart that then he would shew some signification thereof whereby he might witnesse with him the same and so departed from him The next day when the time came of his martyrdome as he was going to the place and was now come to the sight of the stake although all the night before praying earnestly to God for strength and courage hee could finde none neither had any sight or taste of the fauour of God in himselfe sodenly he was so mightily replenished with Gods holy comfort heauenly ioyes that he could not smother it in himselfe but cried out clapping his hands to Austen and saying on this wise Austen he is come he is come c. and that with such ioy and alacritie as one seeming rather to be risen from some deadly daunger to libertie of life then one passing out of this world by any pains of death Here we see that great was his faith when he was willing to giue his bodie to be burnt for the testimonie of Christ and was now going to the stake to that ende though he had no feeling of Gods fauour then by any ioyes that he felt in himselfe He could neuer haue suffered thus for the truth if he had no faith if then he had died in this case without the sense of any speciall comfort he must needs haue died in the faith of Christ for which he did suffer and so hee should haue had faith yea very great faith not onely liuing but dying without any sense or feeling But I will come vnto an other example which though it be far more ancient in time yet is better knowne vnto vs as being recorded in the holy Scripture The patience of Iob as it is set downe as a patterne and cōmended to all men to follow so none can doubt of his faith also but that it was very great When he is thus nūbred among the faithfullest men that haue liued vpon the face of the earth Whē the land sinneth against me by committing a trespase Ezec. 14.13 then will I strech out mine hand vpon it and though these three men Noah Daniel and Iob were among them they should deliuer but their owne soules by their righteousnesse saith the Lord God When all that misery came vpō him that we read of in the Scripture as that in one day he lost seauen thousand sheepe Iob 1.3 three thousand camels fiue hundred yoake of oxen fiue hundred shee asses and all his sonnes and daughters died a violent death after a strange manner and in his owne