Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n
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A47646
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Sermons preached by Dr. Robert Leighton, late archbishop of Glasgow published at the desire of his friends, after his death, from his papers written with his own hand.
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Leighton, Robert, 1611-1684.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing L1031; ESTC R29941
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164,938
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342
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unto God the Father Revel 1. 6. They are a chosen generation a royal priesthood 1 Pet. 2. 9. how despicable soever to the World This is their dignity The Lord is their crown and diadem he subdues their Lust and makes them Kings over their own Affections and more than â—onquerors over all Troubles and Persecutions whereas carnal Men are continually hurried like Slaves unto base employments still kept toyling in the ignoble service of their own Lusts. They think indeed it is their Liberty but that 's a baseness of Spirit that complies so well with so Vile and Servile a condition And whereas they judge the godly to be the refuse and dross of the Earth and the proper objects of Contempt this is because this their Crown though most glorious is invisible to the Eye of Nature The Lord is a Crown If they knew what this is they would see enough in it to countervail their outward meanness and the reproaches the World casts on them as the Apostle St. Peter hath it 1 Ep. cap. 4. 14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the spirit of Glory and of God resteth on you He is their Crown And observe how this Crown is opposed to that blasted glory and fading Crown of pride spoken of in the former verses Who is there that sees not in daily Experience the Vanity and Inconstancy of worldly glory and yet how few are there that wean themselves from it and learn to disdain it Still men dote upon that which is not upon a shadow a nothing But would you have a Glory that fadeth not a Garland that cannot wither make the Lord your Crown and your Glory and if he be so glory in him and in nothing else Let not the wise man glory c. but let c. Jer. 9. 23. You that are Noble aspire to this Crown as being so far above your perishing Honours and bounded Powers and you that are outwardly meaner and lower see how little cause you have to complain of your condition seeing you are not debarred from this best and greatest honour And that you may discern it aright what it is know that it consists in the renovation of God's Image within you which is in Holiness and Righteousness So the Lord becomes your Crown in the Kingdom of Grace and by this you may discover whether or no you have attained it if you can yet delight to wallow in the puddle and pleasures of Sin you are far from this royal condition but if you find your Soul possessed with the love of Holiness and that you are trampling upon prophane delights this may perswade you that God hath enabled you and crowned you with his Grace and will crown you with Glory Again try it by this if the Lord is become your Crown and your Glory you will glory in him and in nothing else Though you be Wise you will not glory in your Wisdom nor in Strength nor in Riches nor Honours though you had them all but if you glory you will glory in the Lord. And withal your highest joy will be to see the advancement of his Glory and if you can to be any way serviceable to the advancing of it And a spirit of Judgment c. Both to these that sit in Judgment and to the People for Justice is the strongest Base and Establishment of Authority and withal the influence of it is most sweet and comfortable to these that are under Authority and where it is wanting that order and relation of Superiours and Inferiours which God hath appointed in the Societies of Men for their good tends exceedingly to the damage of both And therefore where God intendeth to continue the Peace and Welfare of a People he is liberal in pouring out much of this Spirit of Judgment on these that sit in Judgment On the contrary it is for a heavy punishment when he withdraws his Spirit from Rulers and leaves them wholly to the Corruption and Vanity of their own Spirits That sit in Judgment To all that are in place of Authority and Judicature from the Supream to the lowest Magistrate for this concerns them all for they be all raised in their Subordination and several places above the people for the benefit and good of the people as the Stars that be set so high yet are placed there to be useful and beneficial to the Inferiour World Now this Spirit of Judgment comprehends in it both due Wisdom and Prudence for the trial and right judging of affairs and for the discerning betwixt sound and perverse Counsel and withal a judgment practically good that cannot be byass'd from the straight line of Equity and Justice by any sinister respect Now seeing the Spirit of Judgment is from the Lord yea he is this Spirit it ought to perswade those that sit in Judgment to entreat and pray for this and to depend upon it and beware of Self-confidence Trust in the Lord saith Solomon and lean not to thine own understanding if you do it will prove but a broken Reed And as they that sit in Judgment should intreat his Spirit by Prayer so generally all must share with them in this duty and make supplication for all that are in Authority over them especially in extraordinary times Truly we have matter of thankfulness that the Lord hath in some measure inclined the Royal Heart of our Sovereign to the desires of his People and ought still to pray That the Lord would give the King his Judgments And then as the Psalmist adds The Mountains shall bring peace to the people and the little Hills by righteousness Psal. 72. 3. And for this end let all that wish the publick yea their own good pray much for abundance of this Spirit of Judgment to be conferred on them your eyes and expectations are upon them If you would enjoy the Lamp you must pour in Oyl This Spirit indeed you cannot pour upon them but if you pour out many Prayers you may draw it from above he will give it who here promises to be a Spirit of Judgment And strength Observe the way to be powerful and successful against Foreign Enemies is To have Religion and Justice flourishing at home and truly if it please our God to answer the desires of his People at this time it may so unite the affection and strength of the two Kingdoms the Lord of Hosts being their strength as to make them a Terror to their Enemies whereas they were become a scorn and derision to them For your particular Labour to make the Lord your Glory to have Christ made unto you as the Apostle speaks both wisdom and righteousness and sanctification which are the glory and beauty of the Soul and redemption from your Spiritual Enemies draw strength from him to fight and prevail against them till after the short Combat of this life you obtain the Crown and dwell in his presence where you shall fear no more assaults neither of Sin nor
forbear to confess multitudes of offences that know themselves And who can chuse but seek thy Face that ever saw thy Face and that know thee In their affliction they will seek me early He that Prays not till affliction comes and forces him to it is very slothful but he that Prays not in affliction is altogether senseless Certainly they that at this time are not more than ordinary fervent in Prayer or do not at least desire and strive to be so cannot well think that there is any Spiritual life within them Sure it is high time to stir up our selves to Prayers and Tears all may bear arms in that kind of Service weak Women may be strong in Prayer and those Tears wherein they usually abound upon other occasions cannot be so well spent as this way Let them not run out in howlings and impatience but bring them by bewailing sins private as well as publick to quench this publick Fire and ye Men yea ye Men of courage account it no disparagement thus to weep we read often of David's Tears which was no stain to his valour That cloud that hangs over us which the frequent vapors of our Sins have made except it dissolve and fall down again in these sweet showers of Godly Tears is certainly reserved to be the matter of a dreadful storm be instant every one in secret for the averting of this wrath and let us now again unite the crys of our hearts for this purpose to our compassionate God in the Name and Mediation of his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Job XXXIV 31 32. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born Chastisement I will not offend any more That which I see not Teach thou me If I have done iniquity I will do no more THE great Sin and the great Misery of Man is the forgetting of God and the great End and Use of his Works and of his Word is to teach us the right Remembrance and Consideration of Him in all Estates These words do particularly instruct us in the application of our thoughts towards him in the time of Affliction The shortness and the various signification of the words used in the Original gives occasion to some other Readings and another sence of them But this we have in our Translation being not only very profitable but very congruous both to the words of the primitive Text and to the contexture of the Discourse I shall keep to it without dividing your thoughts by the mentioning of any other Neither will I lead you so far about as to speak of the great dispute of this Book and the question about which it is held He that speaks here though the youngest of the Company yet as a wise and calm spirited Man closes all with a discourse of excellent Temper and full of grave useful Instructions amongst which this is one Surely it is meet to be said or spoke to God This speaking to God though it may be vocal yet it is not necessarily nor chiefly so but is always mainly and may often be only mental without this the words of the mouth how well chosen and well exprest so ever they be are to God of no account or signification at all But if the heart speak even when there is not a word in the mouth its that he hearkens to and regards that speech tho'made by a voice that none hears but he and is a Language that none understands but He. But it is a rare unfrequented thing this Communing of the heart with God speaking its thoughts to him concerning it self and concerning him and his dealing with it and the purposes and intentions it hath towards him which is the speech here recommended and is that Divine exercise of Meditation and Soliloquy of the Soul with it self and with God hearkening what the Lord God speaks to us within us and our hearts ecchoing and resounding his words as Ps. 27. 8 9. And opening to him our thoughts of them and of our selves though they stand open and he sees them all even when we tell him not of them yet because he loves us he loves to hear them of our own speaking Let me hear thy voice for it is sweet as a Father delights in the little stammering lisping Language of his beloved Child And if the reflex affection of Children be in us we will love also to speak with our Father and to tell him all our mind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to be often with him in the entertainments of our secret thoughts But the most of Men are little within either they wear out their hours in vain discourse with others or possibly vainer discourses with themselves even those that are not of the worst sort and possibly that have their times of secret Prayer yet do not so delight to think of God and to speak with him as they do to be conversant in other Affairs and Companies and Discourses in which there is a great deal of froth and emptiness Men think by talking of many things to be refresht and yet when they have done find that it is nothing and that they had much better have been alone or have said nothing Our Thoughts and Speeches in most things run to waste yea are defiled as water spilt on the Ground is both lost cannot be gathered up again and it is polluted mingled with dust but no word spoke to God from the serious Sense of a holy Heart is lost he receives it and returns it into our bosom with advantage a Soul that delights to speak to him will find that he also delights to speak to it And this Communication certainly is the sweetest and happiest choice to speak little with Men and much with God One short word such as this here spoke to God in a darted thought eases the heart more when it is afflicted then the largest Discourses and Complainings to the greatest and powerfullest of Men or the kindest and most friendly It gives not only ease but joy to say to God I have sinned yet I am thine or as here I have born Chastisement I will no more offend The time of affliction is peculiarly a time of speaking to God and such speech as this is peculiarly befitting such a time And this is one great recommendation of affliction that it is a time of wiser and more sober thoughts a time of the returning of the mind inwards and upwards A high place Fullness and Pleasure draws the mind more outwards great light and white Colours disgregate the sight of the eye and the very thoughts of the mind too And Men find that the night is a fitter Season for deep thoughts It s better says Solomon to go to the House of Mourning then to the House of Feasting Those blacks made the mind more serious 'T is a rare thing to find much Retirement unto God much Humility and Brokenness of Spirit true Purity and Spiritualness of heart in the affluences and great prosperities of the