A39682:224
A Saint Indeed
A saint indeed: or The great work of a Christian, opened and pressed; from Prov. 4. 23 Being a seasonable and proper expedient for the recovery of the much decayed power of godliness, among the professors of these times. By John Flavell M. of the Gospel.
London: printed by W.R., 1668
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.
A man that is praying (saith Bernard) should behave himself as if he were entering into the Court of Heaven, where he sees the Lord upon his throne, surrounded with ten thousand of his Angels, and Saints ministering unto him. When thou comest from a duty, in which thy heart hath been toying and wandering, thou mayest say, verily God was in this place, and I knew it not. Suppose all the impertinences and vanities which have past through thine heart in a duty were written out, ⟨p. 110⟩and interlined with thy petitions, couldst thou have the face to present it to God? should thy tongue but utter all the thoughts of thy heart in prayer, would not men abhor thee? why, thy thoughts are vocal to God, Psal. 139. 2. If thou wert petitioning the King for thy life, would it not provoke him▪ to see thee playing with thy b•ndstrings, or catching every fly that lights upon thy clothes whilst thou art speaking to him about such serious matters? O think sadly upon that Scripture, Psal. 87. 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assemblies of his Saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are round about him. Why did God descend in thunderings and lightnings, and dark clouds upon Sinai, Exo. 19. 16▪ 18. Why did the mountains smoke under him? the people quake and tremble round about him, yea Moses himself not exempted, but to teach the people that great truth, Heb. 12. 28. 29. Let us have grace; whereby we may serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire: present God thus before thee, and thy vain heart will quickly be reduced, to a more serious frame.
A man that is praying (saith Bernard) should behave himself as if he were entring into the Court of Heaven, where he sees the Lord upon his throne, surrounded with ten thousand of his Angels, and Saints ministring unto him. When thou comest from a duty, in which thy heart hath been toying and wandring, thou mayest say, verily God was in this place, and I knew it not. Suppose all the impertinencies and vaities which have past through thine heart in a duty were written out,