Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	forgive_v	pray_v	trespass_n	3,167	5	11.1087	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77764	A discourse concerning the qualifications of prayer By J. Buerdsell, M.A. late fellow of Brase-nose College. Oxon.	Buerdsell, James, 1669 or 70-1700.	1700 (1700)	Wing B5362C; ESTC R229486	12,922	19

Reigns and to whose Eyes all things are naked and open as if Omniscience could be impos'd on by Pretences or a Religious Pageantry was tantamount to Solid Virtue and Piety or saying of Lord Lord would excuse for the not doing the Will of our Father which is in Heaven So that tell we are free from all known and wilful Sin 't is no purpose to make any Supplication to God He will not hear will not regard our Prayers They are like unhallowed Fire offer'd to Him and are an abomination in his sight for of him who is not resolv'd to part with his Sins the very Prayers are sinful That Duty which draws other nigher to God cast him at a greater distance from him That Ordinance which sanctifies others serves only to aggravate his deplorable State and to render his Condition more insufferable But neither on the other hand is he less criminal if he does not Pray at all For he is not excus'd from this Duty by being unqualify'd for it but he becomes guilty not only of those Sins which are the hindrances of his Devotion but of that Inability to Devotion which they have caus'd and so hard are his Circumstances that he is likely to suffer not only for making his Duty impossible by sinning but even for not discharging it while it is thus impossible And this justly enough too because this Impossibility was wlfully superinduc'd an act of his own choice and free election and for which he has none to blame besides himself and his own wild Passions So that while his Case continues thus he is on all accounts unqualify'd for Prayer and yet is guilty too if he does not pray till by hearty Repentance he has freed himself from his Sins So indispensibly necessary is Purity from Sin to prepare us for Prayer But as there are different kind of Sins so is there the greatest necessity that we should be innocent of those Sins which are most oppos'd to the Spirit of Prayer for they are not all of them equally destructive of it But these are malice ill will or hatred of our Brother Now as these Vices commence two manner of ways either by Injuring our Brother or by receiving an Injury from him so we may be suppos'd in either Case to be guilty of them and therefore on all Regards unqualify'd for Prayer if we do not contribute our utmost towards the suppressing of them As for Instance If I have injur'd my Brother and given him any umbrage to hate me I am in a great measure guilty of the Sin and therefore am unqualify'd for Prayer if I do not endeavour a speedy Reconcilement with him For if my Gift is before the Altar and I there remember that my Brother has ought against me any just cause of complaining that I have injur'd him I am oblig'd to leave my Gift before the Altar and go and first be reconciled to my Brother So on the other hand when we are injur'd by our Brother we are guilty of the Malicc and the Sin lies at our door and so our Prayers become ineffectual if we express an eager Desire to revenge our selves if we shew an Aversion and Vnwillingness to forgive him if we neglect his Proposals of Peace and Accommodation For how can we expect that God should pardon our Sins of the blackest Character if we will not forgive our Fellow-servant the least Offence And has not our Blessed Lord taught us that we cannot pray to God to forgive us our Trespasses unless we forgive them that trespass against us And as often as we use this sacred Prayer of our Saviour's if we do not forgive those who have offended us from the bottom of our Hearts we desire that God would not forgive us that He would remember and revenge our Sins against Him as we purpose to revenge those which our Brother has committed against us So that in effect we turn the best Prayer that ever was into Sin and use the Words of our Saviour who spake as never man spake to our own Damnation So that Purity from Sin especially from Malice Hatred or Ill-will is the first Qualification in order to prepare us for Prayer The Second preparatory Qulafication for Prayer is a Consideration of the Nature of our own Wants and of the Manner by which God has promis'd to supply them that we may know what to pray for and what Method to take to have our Prayers answer'd And in taking an Estimate of our own Wants we are to consider our selves as Creatures whose chief Interest depends on a future State whose greatest Necessities are those which regard the Soul As to what concerns this Life we are to resign that over to our heavenly Father's good Providence with a Father not my Will but thine be done But as to spiritual Wants concerning these we are to sue with the greatest and most unconditionate Importunity and a pious Violence is to be done to Heaven till we find our selves successful in what we pray for But then Secondly we must reflect on the Terms on which God has undertaken to assist these Wants and to resolve to comply with them are they never so uneasy Thus do we ask for a Pardon for Sins we know the Terms on which this must be granted are provided we repent and forsake them We are therefore to resolve to set our selves about this Repentance and Amendment before we pray for the Pardon Thus because Grace and Virtue cannot be compast without the use of good and wise endeavours we are to resolve on these before we petition for those For the Promises of God tho' infallible in regard to any Grace ought nevertheless to encourage us to travel with more Ardour and Fidelity to merit the Effects of them And if we ask after this manner it shall be given us for every one who asketh in this wise receiveth The Third Qualification prepatory to Prayer is Faith or a Trust in God that he will grant us what we pray for according to our Saviour's Promise All things whatsoever ye ask in Prayer believing ye shall receive Now we may be said to be qualify'd with this Grace when sensible of our own Wants we commend our selves to God by Prayer relying on his Divine Goodness and Power that he will give us what we sue for that is as was before hinted if we are careful of performing the Conditions on which he stipulated to give if we ask for Pardon for Sins in reforming them for virtuous Endowments in industriously seeking after them for the Assistance of God's Spirit in concurring with it and making good use of it for Health or Ease or any other prosperous Turns of Providence and outward things with a due Submission to God's will join'd with the use of lawful Means to attain them For to trust that God will hear us without these is not Faith but an unwarrantable Confidence not Hope but presumption Fourth Qualification preparatory for Prayer is a good Intention to use