A09965:620
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant…Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant…
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant and lively description of spiritual death and life. III. The doctrine of self-denial. IV. Upon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, John Preston, Doctor of Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty; master of Emanuel College, and sometime preacher of Lincolns Inn.Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant and lively description of spirituall death and life. III. The doctrine of selfe-deniall. IV. Vpon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Doctor of Divinitie, chaplaine in ordinarie to his Majestie; master of Emanuel Colledge, and sometime preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by Thomas for Michael Sparke, 1633
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1Thirdly, we must ask it in time, in due season: so the promise is true, Knock and it shall be opened to you; but you know the foolish Virgins knocked and it was not opened to them; what was the reason of it? because they asked when the time was past; for there is a certain acceptable time when the Lord will be found:2 and when that opportunity is past, he is found no more. It is true, that this life is the time of grace, but God in his secret counsel hath appointed a certain time to every man, which is the acceptable time, the day of grace; therefore he saith unto them, This day if you will hear: this day if you will come and seek unto me, if you will pray unto me, I will hear you: when it's past, the Lord suffers not the doors to stand open always, his ears are not always open: therefore that condition must be carefully remembered, you must ask in time; It is a condition that should be carefully thought on by us. For, for the most part, we fly to prayer as Joab did to the Altar, he went not ⟨p. 327⟩to it for devotion (for then he would have done it before) but when he was in distress, when he was in extremity, then he fled to it, and therefore you know what success he had by it, it saved not his life. So we go not to prayer for devotion, that is, out of love to God, to do him that service; but (for the most part) we do it out of self love, when we are in extremity or distress, we pass the acceptable times he requires, and we go to him in a time of our own: For there is Gods time, and there is our own time; Gods time is to come to him when we may do him service in our youth, in our strength in the flower of our graces: Our time is to go to him when we need him: Will not a friend say (when we never come to him, but when we have extreme need of him) why do you come now? you were not wont to visit me before, this is not out of love to me: Even the very same answer the Lord giveth;3 Go to your Idols (saith he) those that you served in the time of peace, and see if they can help you.
1Thirdly, we must aske it in time, in due season: so the promise is true, Knock and it shall be opened to you; but you know the foolish Virgins knockt and it was not opened to thē; what was the reason of it? because they askt when the time was past; for there is a certaine acceptable time when the Lord will be found: