Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	faith_n	heart_n	purify_v	2,568	5	11.6551	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46743	A practical exposition of the historical prophesie of Jonah delivering sundry brief notes in a cursory way concerning the mind of the Holy Ghost in the several passages. Imprimatur. June 5. 1665.	Jemmat, William, 1596?-1678.	1666 (1666)	Wing J550B; ESTC R217032	159,232	228

1 Cor. 15 55. or separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ Again O death where is thy sting O grave whe●e is thy victory Which is seen sometimes of them that said heretofore There is but a step between me and death between me and hell All which makes against the vain confidence of idle Use 1 Christians who presume to know Gods mercy toward them without any doubting A thing which divers godly and serious men have not yet obtained and sometimes fear they shall never obtain Here we will examine a little the fears of the one Godly mens fears are hopeful and the hopes of the other For the fears of the godly 1. The Lord orders all their fears and tenderness of spirit to their greatest good as here the fear of these Ninevites first they are affrighted with the horror of a suddain overthrow and this fear works them to repentance that they shall escape the denounced overthrow So still generally it is the Lords method in bringing souls home to himself first out of security to convince them of a bad estate and so let them repent and seek after God let them be sick and see their need of a Physician let them be pricked at heart and ask what they must do to be saved and Did ye see him whom my soul loveth can ye give me any sure mark of my being in Christ can this or that stand with the truth of grace I am afraid I am not right in the main I doubt that all this while I do but deceive my own soul Of which tenderness the Lord makes this use to bring forth judgement to victory He will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax his power is manifested in his peoples weakness and his grace shall be sufficient for them 2. The fears of godly men put them into cares about the means of grace and about such a course of religiousness as they may make their calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 So pray and so read and so hear and so receive Sacraments and walk so strictly and orderly as God may please to shew them his salvation Psal 50.23 Timor facit consiliatives Fear makes men Clients so to secure their Estates by repairing to their learned Counsel so here for the estate of the soul And a discreet man newly recovered out of great sickness narrowly observes his diet and so gets more health perhaps then a stronger man so here and this is the phrase of working out salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2.12 3. This kind of fear hath the promise of blessedness Prov 28 14. Blessed is the man that feareth alway namely with a Childlike and holy fear fear to offend care to please and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. The tenderness of such is the heart of flesh Ezek. 11.19 which the Lord by Covenant said he would give his people and he will be their God and they shall be his people he will forgive their sins and remember their iniquity no more and will so put his fear into them that they shall never depart from him But if carnal persons have any fears concerning their spiritual estate it never works in such a manner all passeth away in flashes Be rid of them as soon as ye can and be merry while ye may away with this melancholy and be jovial For the hopes of idle and vain Christans Wicked mens hopes are fearful who doubt not a whit of Gods love to them I say thus 1. They are disgraced by the subject that is the persons in whom they are loose and vain persons None but the godly have the right hope which will last in a sad houre Pro. 14.32 the righteous hath hope in his death Such at worst are prisoners of hope Zech 9.12 Ever since they were converted they have been in an hopeful condition For others their hope shall perish it shall be as the spiders web or as the giving up of the ghost Profane persons and hypocrites never went upon a good foundation and so all their building lies in the dust 2. True hope is grounded in faith and in reconcilation with God thereby We hope well because we know whom we beleeve and he is the hope of Israel Jer. 17 13. the Saviour thereof in the time of need So we are saved by hope Rom. 8.24 But this is skipped over by these persons A general hope of mercy shall serve the turne 3. True hope ariseth out of regeneration and dwells in the new creature 1 Pet. 1.3 God begets us again to a lively hope But numbers have all their hope from the first birth beleeve in God ever since they can remember never do bred since they were born Pitie he should live who doubts of his salvation which is too fine and easie to be good Jonahs gourd sprung up in a night and withered in a night The like we may say of these Mushromes 4. True hope yeelds the benefit of strong consolation in foul weather that lies upon the soul Heb. 6.18 19. it is an anchor sure and stedfast By hope we have seen him to live who was about to dye David had fainted but that hope held him up by the chinne Ps 27.13 I had fainted but that I hoped to see the goodnesse of the Lord in the land of the living But the heart of an hypocrite 1 Sam. 25. when brought into great danger dyes in him as Nabals The house built on the sand when the windes and stormes came fell quickly and great was the fall thereof 5. True hope fs cleanly wherever it comes both as to the heart and life 1 Joh. 3.3 Every one that hath this hope purifieth himself even as God is pure It is of the same nature with the mother Acts 15.9 26 18. which is Faith and purifies the heart Hope is neither sloven nor slut but so is the hope of many expect much at the hands of God but live in their sins which is against all reason as if a man should stand for preferme●t yet lives so as to be uncapable Use 2 Christians be perswaded so to order your course as ye may grow up to some comfortable assurance of Gods love to your soules that though ye get not the full assurance of faith yet ye may have much assurance or if not much yet some assurance Do all that may help your faith against your feares and that your hope in God may be cherished which ye will find to be very good when you come to lie on your death-bed or be cast into great affliction to say 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed c. There be some that should think of the great change by conversion Some have not yet repented nor made their peace with God and may well think that it is they who must repent and not God Repentance notes a change in the creature Jan. 1 17. not the Creator With

of the word Neh. 8.8 They read the book of the Law and gave the sense A thing needful to be done because of some obscuritie Act. 8. as the Eunuch said How can I understand without an interpreter and Paul was sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes and to turn them from darknesse to light Act. 26.18 3. Application for the several uses of instruction exhortation reprehension consolation confutation and other occasions of Gods people as their case doth require 1 Cor. 14.3 2 Tim. 3.16 Mercy to whom mercy belongeth and judgment to whom judgment A steward in a great mans house giveth every one his portion and so doth the Minister in the house of God Use 1 Now if this be so appointed of God away with all those cavils and exceptions which are brought against preaching as in the preachers plea. The world is no changeling but still accounts it the foolishnesse of preaching even the wise part of the world where grace is wanting Oh a dry barren ordinance to be so much attended Use 2 and none but simple soules do so regard it Make much of good preaching Take heed Christians and duly stoop to this Ordinance of God Remember it is his Ordinance and therefore ought to be embraced with reverence and affection and improved to the ends and purposes which he hath appointed to get sound knowledge to get faith to be wrought to repentance and conversion to be able to pray acceptably to walk in faith and obedience and so be accepted of God and saved Rom. 10 13 17. Thence the need of preparation before ye come to preaching Eccles. 5.1 Act. 10.33 1 Pet. ● 1 2. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God Be all present before God to hear the things that shall be spoken Lay aside all naughtinesse and as new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the word to grow thereby And thence the taxing of those that behave not themselves well at preaching Ezek. 33.30 31 32. And a blessing on those that hear Luke 11.28 so as to believe and obey Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it And God esteemes it a great mercy that he sends Preachers among a people therefore so should they esteem it or if they want the mercy pray for it Amos 2.11 and Mat. 19.38 The preaching that I bid thee All of us are bound up within certain laws and conditions in preaching that we may not preach at adventure Note Preachers limited in preaching or what seemes good to our selves and They that are faithful hold themselves close to what the Lord appoints them to preach I have received of the Lord that which I have delivered unto you 1 Cor. 11.23 Faithful Ministers dare not deliver for doctrins the commandements of men dare not make sad the heart of the righteous nor make glad the heart of the wicked dare not keep back any of the counsel of God dare not corrupt or adulterate the Ordinances dare not seek their own things but the things of Jesus Christ and generally they preach as those that must give an account and think with themselves What good would it do souls to be comforted unlesse indeed they repent and believe the Gospel 1. A tryal of preachers who are true and who are false Use 1 If they speak not according to this word Esa 8.20 it is because there is no light in them Though they pretend visions and revelations they are not right Though they come in a mortified garb and with a great show of sanctity beware of them Though they urge the authority of Fathers and other Ancients yet look to your selves They are deceivers take heed of them The Lord now tryes you whether ye will cleave fast to the Lord your God Still your course must be to the law and to the testimony Use 2 2. If the Lord bid us preach thus and thus then your faith stands not in the authority of man but of God True ye have such and such lessons by the hands of men to direct you what to beleeve and obey but first and chiefly ye have them from God who sets the men on worke Ye have them from God at the second hand The Prophets were Preachers of old time but the word of the Lord came to Jonah and to the rest of them Afterwards the Apostles preached but taught the nations ta observe and do what God commanded them Mat. 28.20 2 Tim. 1.13 After them the Evangelists and other good Teachers held fast the forme of wholsom words as they had received them from God And now adayes whoever beleeve and obey according to this word do follow God himself speaking by his Ministers as when an Embassador follows his instructions the King his Master is regarded or neglected Comfort by a sacrament is Sound comfort because we deliver what God delivered to us or comfort by promises applyed because God promised and in Christ all the promises are yea and amen Use 3 3 If it be so see how ye ought to entertain the preachers and preaching of the word namely as messages and messengers sent from God So to do was the commendation of the Galatians and Thessalonians Gal. 4.14 1. Thes 2 13. and would be your commendation People make an ill account when they go to hear a Sermon and look no higher then the Preacher thence they receive so litle good as they do still remaining secure impenitent unbeleeving unreformed The only way to get good by all your hearing were to hear as from the great God of heaven The preaching is by man but he delivers what God bids him to deliver Therefore fear attend believe obey be afraid to forget or neglect the instructions if ye do ye despise not man but God and who are we that ye murmure against us your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord. Ver. 3.4 So Jonah arose and went unto Nineve according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineve was an exceeding great City of three days journey And Jonah began to enter into the City a days journey and he cryed and said Yet forty days and Nineve shall be overthrown Here is Jonahs obedience the last and truest note of his repentance Before we had his confession his faith his prayer his thanks●iving and vowing but now we have the perfection of all his obedience Now what he promised freely he performeth faithfully now he lays aside all his carnal reasonings and sets to do according to the word of the Lord. So still Note Obedience the highest act of repentance without obedience all other are but shews of repentance Ahab and Judas are said to have repented but no obedience followed nor others who are hypocrites Approve thou thy sincerity by bringing forth fruits meet for repentance not leaves but fruits Mat. 3 8. not shows but substance Jonah arose and went unto Nineve This is that which he said chap. 2.9 I will pay