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The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole duty of prayer. Delivered in…The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in…
The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole duty of prayer. Delivered in five sermons upon I Thess. 5.17. By the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, Master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in fiue sermons vpon I Thess. 5.17. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by W. Jones, 1629London: printed by W. Iones, 1629
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.
First, remember, fervency, if it be right, it must be a fruit of faith: for there is a fervency, 1that co•es not from faith, but from a […] fear of […], when a […] i• indeed […] •wine ⟨p. 119⟩2that is pin•ed, which, you know, will cry exceeding loud, not because it looks for help, but because it is pinched: so any creature, or man naturally will use importunity, when he wants any thing, he will be earnest in his requests; such fervency the Lord regards not, because there is no more but a mere expression of natural desires, there is no holiness in it, there is no fire of the spirit, but, when this is added to it, that there is, not only a sense of the thing we want, but also a hope of mercy, a ground to believe that I shall have the thing granted, and, out of this ground, I am earnest and importunate; now earnestness is a fruit of faith. When Jesus Christ lived upon earth, when men came and cried earnestly unto him, and were exceeding importunate, some to be healed of their diseases, some to have devils cast out, &c. we see, his answer was still to them, be it to thee, (how?) not according to their importunity, and fervency, but according to their faith: as if he should say, I heed not, I regard not all this clamour, and earnestness, if they be only expressions of such wants, if they be only in the sense of such need, and no more; but if they proceed from faith, and that faith set you a work to call upon me, Be it unto th• according to that. For indeed, these two things make up fervency in prayer, sense of need, and hope of mercy, when a man hath faith, and hope to increase his fervency; and it ariseth from that ground, as well as out of the other, (not that I exclude the other, for it is a very great help, and ⟨p. 120⟩that which puts sticks on the fire, as it were, to make our fervency the more) I say from sense of our need, when we consider seriously what want we have, and then add this hope, and faith, when these two shall set you a work, this fervency is a fruit of faith. This is one caution that must be remembered.