Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A77990
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Jacobs seed or The generation of seekers. And Davids delight : or The excellent on earth. / By the late reverend preacher of the Gospel Jeremiah Burrough.
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Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.
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1648
(1648)
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Wing B6090; Thomason E1162_1; ESTC R210094
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70,993
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190
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though the performance of this duty was exceeding hazzardable to Daniel yet he would not be deterred from it but every light trifle taketh off our hearts Again it is not in vain for the seed of Jacob to seek the Lord for it is not in vain for wicked men to seek him though they are not able to seek God as they oughâ— The prayer of the wicked is abominable Prov. 15.8 That is not to be understood of the prayer of every man that is unregenerate wickednesse is not so to be taken in that place For we know that God hath regarded the prayers of men unregenerate The prayers and fasting of Niniveh were regarded of God the prayer and fasting of Ahab was regarded of God God hath granted the wicked some mercies he hath looked on them as his creatures Though God seeth enough in their prayers to cast them off yet God hath manifested his regard to them Therefore if it be not in vain for the wicked to seek the Lord much lesse is it in vain for the seed of Jacob to seek him Yea the Lord heareth the cry of the very Ravens and the beasts Psalme 147.9 and Psalme 104.21 27 28. Therefore the people of Niniveh would have the beasts eat nothing that they might cry unto God Jonah 3.7 8. Surely if the brute beasts and the fouls be heard when they cry it is not in vain for the Seed of Jacob to seek God Again it is evident that it is not in vain because the people of God that have been wise and have conversed with God and have known much of the mind of God have given up themselves and all their strength to this duty Now it were a weak part and an idle thing for any one to give up his strength and all his might to that which were vanity and whereby there is no great thing to be obtained It is said of Jehoshaphat 2. Chron. 20.3 that he feared and set himself to seek the Lord. It is translated composuit faciem suam he set his face he gave himself up fully to seek the Lord. They know what they do that give up themselves wholly to seek God Indeed carnall hearts condemn the people of God because they see them so earnest in those things that they think to be vain For it argueth weaknesse in any man to give up himself with all his strength to things that are vanity and have no strength in them Therefore because carnall men look upon the way of Religion as a thing that hath no end they think it foolish for men to be so earnest to give up their strength and their whole souls for it But the Saints of God know what they do when they give themselves up to seek the Lord they know it is not in vain Again this is an evidence that there is much advantage by prayer because men that were wise and holy have so prized the prayers of the Saints and made such high account of them Mark the expression of the Apostle writing to the Saints for their prayers Rom. 15.30 Now I beseech you brethren for the Lord Jesus Christs sake and for the love of the Spirit that you strive together in prayer with me in your hearts to God for me The Apostle Paul so great a man and one that had a mighty spirit in prayer writing to private Christians in the Church of Rome he beseecheth them for the Lords sake and for the love of the Spirit that they strive in prayer for him He knew that there was much to be had this way Yea further God is found of them that sought him not Isaiah 65.1 then surely it is not in vain for the seed of Jacob to seek him yea yet further God when he intends to shew no mercy giveth a streight charge to his people not to pray or he shutteth up their hearts that they are not able to pray This is an argument that prayer is prevalent because when God will not shew mercy he would not have such a precious thing lost and spent in vain Lastly it is not in vain because if it should then a praying heart were not alway a mercy from God but certainly it is Therefore though perhaps you cannot find the thing granted that you pray for yet to have a continuall praying heart know that it is a great mercy from God And those that are spirituall prize more the continuance of a praying heart many times then the granting of the thing they pray for All these put together are full evidences that it is not in vain to seek the Lord. There be many other evidences which I passe by on purpose that I may have as much time as may be for application But now wherein doth it appear that it is not in vain to seek the Lord what doth prayer do First it is not in vain to seek God if there were nothing else in prayer but the right exercise of the faculties of our souls and of our graces this alone were worth our time The graces of our souls must be exercised about somewhat Now prayer serveth for the exercise of all graces Secondly it is not in vain if it were nothing but the performance of our duty as creatures to God There are many people that are weary of prayer because they have not that by it that they expect But know that there are two arguments to prayer the performance of duty and the obtaining of mercy If there were but onely the former that alone should suffice to keep thee praying as long as thou livest Thirdly it were not in vain if it were nothing but the tendering that homage and worship that we ow to God Prayer is not onely a duty but a great part of the worship that God hath in the world While we are worshiping of God it is worth the time Again it is not in vain if there were nothing but this that we come and shew what side we are of that we joyn and side with God against his adversaries and for his people But these are not the things here intended Further it is not in vain because there is no faithfull prayer that ever was made but God accepts of it in heaven There was never one of the seed of Jacob that ever put up a faithfull petition to God but God took it in his hand and read it A King or any superiour when you come with a petition may refuse to take it but God never refuseth to take any petition from a faithfull soul Therefore saith the Psalmist Psal 6.9 The Lord hath heard my supplication the Lord will receive my prayer He will take it and look on it and read it not onely so but he will also accept it and take pleasure in it A Prince may take a petition and look on it and after frown and shew anger in his countenance but God doth not so with the prayers of his people The prayer of the upright is his delight Prov. 15.8 he never reads a
way that it is so it appears by the Psalme that Christ especially is meant the text saith I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the middest of the congregation will I praise thee It is the promise of Christ to declare the name of his father to his Church and people and in the middest of the congregation he shall praise God Mark it in Heb. 2.12 the Apostle applies it to the saints joyned together saying I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the middest of the Church will I sing praise unto thee This was after Christ had been in the flesh yet the Apostle applies this to the Church in the middest of the Church will I sing praise unto thee This they gather hence that Christ he delights in being with his people when they are joyntly together because of the solemne worship of God that is tendered to God by them and he joynes with them in it as a delightfull work as they are together to praise God Christ is praising him as they worship Christ is worshiping Now every saint of God hath the spirit of Christ in him and so he delights in the society of the saints on this ground because there is worshiping of God and God is praised solemnly among them If there be any in the world wherein God hath solemne worship it cannot but grieve a gracious heart that he is not with them his heart is with them he delights to be with them especially in such a work as that it grieves him that he cannot be there It is a note of an Interpreter that I have met with upon Isaiah 6. where the Angles cry Holy holy holy Lord of Hosts the Prophet cryes Woe unto me for I am undone c. saith he upon this ground because he could not joyn with those blessed creatures and so magnifie and praise and worship God that he through his sinfulnesse was not able to joyn with them he cryes Woe is me I am undone So when any gracious heart doth but hear that there is a people in the world that are precious ones the excellent on earth that joyn in the worship of God and honour God in his own way and enjoy communion with God and I cannot joyn with them woe to me that there should be any let or hinderance that I cannot come and joyn with them for my heart is there my delight is in the saints when they are joyntly together because Gods solemne worship is there But thirdly my delight is in the saints joyntly in regard of the wonderfull delight God hath in them A gracious heart must needs delight in them because God himself takes so much delight in them but especially when they are joyntly together There are speciall expressions in Scripture of Gods taking delight in the sains joyntly as in Zephany Zeph. 3.17 the Lord thy God in the middest of thee is mighty he will save he will rejoyce over thee with joy he will rest in his love he will joy over thee with singing What expressions are here of Gods delighting in his people The Lord thy God will rejoyce he will rejoyce over thee with joy he will love he will rest in his love and joy and joy over thee with singing And in Isaiah you shall find that the Church is called Hephzebah Gods delight it is a wondrous delight that God hath in his saints There are wonderfull expressions in Scripture for the manifesting of Gods delight even to admiration especially in the Church joyntly together They are such expressions as we could not think or invent as namely that he calls his people his portion his pleasant portion Deut. 32.9 God calls them his inheritance the lot of his inheritance Jer. 12.7 he calls them the dearly beloved of his soul Exod. 19.5 he calls them his peculiar treasure God hath treasures in the world the creatures that are called the good treasures of the Lord Deut. 28. but this people are called his peculiar treasure there is a particularity There is another kind of excellency in the people of Gods delight then in all other creatures they are his common treasure but his people are his peculiar treasure God calls them his glory The house of his glory Isa 46.13 The crown of his glory Isa 60.7 he calls them the Throne of his glory Isa 62.3 in severall places that I cannot stand on His glory the House of his glory the Crown of his glory the Throne of his glory He calls them the royall Diadem he calls them his ornament an ornament set in Majesty and glory There are these expressions and more I might name of Gods delighting in his people Therefore if God delight in them and finde satisfaction much more ' should we Christ speaks of his Church O my sister my spouse my heart is ravished with thee It is a strange expression for Christ himself to be ravished with his people It is an expression beseeming the Church to have said so to Christ but for Christ to say so to the Church it is wonderfull And again My love my dove my undefiled one Cant. 2. and at that very time when the Church was in a state of security that Christ should call her his love his dove his undefiled all to expresse the abundance of delight in his people Well if God have such delight in them much more should the saints Again if we consider further the presence of God among his people it is another argument why the saints of God should take so much delight in other saints especially when they are joyned together because God is present there The Lord is here is the name of all their assemblies The Lord dwells and hath his tabernacle in Sion It is a strange expression concerning the presence of God in that he makes his people his habitation As the people of God call God their habitation so God calls his Church his habitation God dwels in Sion Ps 90. Would you not delight to keep house with God Where Gods people are God keeps house and we should long to have it our own house and not come as strangers A man may come as a stranger and take a bit and be refreshed in a family but it is not his house But now Gods people when they go tootthers of the saints they see God there and they have that house for their house It is called as I told you the house of his glory that house that God desires to dwell in he hath a mighty love to that house to dwell among his people In Psal 132. there are many great and excellent expressions For the Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation Psal 132.13 14. God desires Zion what is Zion but onely his saints and people joyned together Zion was a type of the Church so now all the saints of God together are Zion Now God hath a desire to this habitation God dwels in the high and holy place the highest heaven is Gods habitation