2. The Good, that shall be sought by Prayer; which is GOD Himself.—It is said once and again, They shall go to pray before the Lord, and to SEEK THE LORD OF HOSTS. This is the Good they ask for and seek by Prayer, The Lord of Hosts Himself.—To seek God, as the Expression may perhaps be sometimes used in Scripture, m•y signify no more than seeking the Favour or Mercy of God. And if it be taken so here, praying before the Lord, and seeking the Lord of Hosts, must be looked upon as synonymous Expressions. And it must be confessed to be a common Thing in Scripture, to signify the same Thing repeatedly, by various Expressions of the same Import, for the greater Emphasis.— But certainly that Expression of seeking the Lord, is very commonly used to signify something more than merely, in general, to seek some Mercy of God: It implies, that God Himself is the great Good desired and sought after; that the Blessings pursued are God's gracious Presence, the blessed Manifestations of him, Union and Intercourse with him; or, in short. God's Manifestations and Communications of Himself b• his holy Spirit. Thus the Psalmist desired God, thirsted after Him, and sought Him. Psal. lxiii.1, 2, 8. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek Thee. My Flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and thirsty Land, where no Water is, to see thy Power and thy Glory, so as I have seen Thee in the Sanctuary.—My Soul followeth hard after Thee.—Psal. lxxiii.25. Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? And there is none upon Earth that I desire be sides Thee. The Psalmist earnestly pursued after God▪ his Soul thirsted after Him, he stretched forth his Hand's unto Him, &c. Psal. cxliii.6. And therefore it is in Scripture the peculiar Character of the Saints, that they ⟨p. 7⟩are those that seek God. Psal. xxiv.6. This is the Generation of them that seek HIM. Psal. lxix.32. Your Heart shall live that seek GOD. And in many other Places. If the Expression in the Text be understood agreeable to this Sense, then by seeking the Lord of Hosts, we must understand a seeking, that God who had withdrawn, as it were hid himself, for a long Time, would return to his Church, and grant the Tokens and Fruits of his gracious Presence, and those blessed Communications of his Spirit to his People, and to Mankind on the Earth, which he had often promised, and which his Church had long waited for.
2. The Good, that shall be sought by Prayer; which is GOD Himself.—It is said once and again, They shall go to pray before the Lord, and to SEEK THE LORD OF HOSTS. This is the Good they ask for and seek by Prayer, The Lord of Hosts Himself.—To seek God, as the Expression may perhaps be sometimes used in Scripture, m•y signify no more than seeking the Favour or Mercy of God. And if it be taken so here, praying before the Lord, and seeking the Lord of Hosts, must be look'd upon as synonymous Expressions. And it must be confess'd to be a common Thing in Scripture, to signify the same Thing repeatedly, by various Expressions of the same Import, for the greater Emphasis.— But certainly that Expression of seeking the Lord, is very commonly used to signify something more than meerly, in general, to seek some Mercy of God: It implies, that God Himself is the great Good desired and sought after; that the Blessings pursued are God's gracious Presence, the blessed Manifestations of him, Union and Intercourse with him; or, in short. God's Manifestations and Communica•ions of Himself b• his holy Spirit. Thus the Psalmist desired God, thirsted after Him, and sought Him. Psal. lxiii.1, 2, 8. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek Thee. My Flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and thirsty Land, where no Water is, to see thy Power and thy Glory, so as I have seen Thee in the Sanctuary.—My Soul followeth hard after Thee.—Psal. lxxiii.25. Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? And there is none upon Earth that I desire be sides Thee. The Psalmist earnestly pursued after God▪ his Soul thirsted after Him, he stretched forth his Hand's unto Him, &c. Psal. cxliii.6. And therefore it is in Scripture the peculiar Character of the Saints, that they ⟨p. 7⟩are those that seek God. Psal. xxiv.6. This is the Generation of them that seek HIM. Psal. lxix.32. Your Heart shall live that seek GOD. And in many other Places. If the Expression in the Text be understood agreable to this Sense, then by seeking the Lord of Hosts, we must understand a seeking, that God who had withdrawn, as it were hid himself, for a long Time, would return to his Church, and grant the Tokens and Fruits of his gracious Presence, and those blessed Communications of his Spirit to his People, and to Mankind on the Earth, which he had often promis'd, and which his Church had long waited for.
