Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	work_n	world_n	worship_n	30	3	6.4441	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13752	Thrēnoikos The house of mourning; furnished with directions for preparations to meditations of consolations at the houre of death. Delivered in XLVII. sermons, preached at the funeralls of divers faithfull servants of Christ. By Daniel Featly, Martin Day Richard Sibbs Thomas Taylor Doctors in Divinitie. And other reverend divines.	H. W., fl. 1640.; Featley, Daniel, 1582-1645.	1640 (1640)	STC 24049; ESTC S114382	805,020	906

excellencies diminished by all his sufferings you see Christ in the dayes of his flesh he cast divells out of men and they obeyed him The divells were subject unto him when he conversed among men in the body nay on the Crosse he saved the Thiefe that confessed him in the sight of all his enemies when he was a crucified Christ at that instant he triumphed on the very crosse and saved a sinner that beleeved at that time to shew that he was as mightie on the Crosse as he is now at the right hand of the Father Now I say is not Christs glory a whit diminished in his abasement why should our beleefe bee abated for all the scorne and despite of the world that is cast upon the profession of the faith of Christ Now briefly some application of this and so to take in the rest without amplification because the time is past It should teach us in all disquiet to know what course is to bee taken every one will say I rest upon God there is sufficient in him to make me happy But how shall I come to have interest in God The well is deepe where is the bucket what is the meanes to relieve my soule and to supply my wants Beleeve in me saith Christ let the soule looke on Christ immediatly as the Mediator betweene God and us this is that I should have spoken of and a word of exhortation to the purpose You will say what is it to beleeve in Christ. The first thing that is done in this is receiving Christ upon Gods offer of him God offers Christ in all his offices as King Priest and Prophet as a Lord and Saviour to the Church and hee would have men take whole Christ or no part of him Now if the soule answer to this offer of God he shall be my Lord to rule me my Prophet to instruct me my Saviour upon whom my soule shall rest for salvation this is the answer of the soule to God this is the receiving Now you must know there must be a right propounding and a right apprehending of Christ. You must know first what it is to receive Christ as a Prophet as one that will instruct us in the truths that are contrarie to naturall principles in the corrupt understanding of man he will leade you now in the way of the Wildernesse in by pathes in crooked rough wayes he will teach you to deny your selves The first rule that he gives is for a man to deny himselfe as if he should say that is the first worke hee died to pull downe all the old frame and to set it up againe For what is the understanding of man but a frame of false principles for the naturall minde of man it is nothing but a habit a heape a pile of false principles that every man perisheth by the delusion of his owne understanding now the first worke of Christ is to dissolve this frame and to blot out these rules wherby men walke when they are led by sence and naturall reason and observation of the world now these must all be taken away and a man must resolve all now into the authority of Christs speaking A word of Christ is enough against a thousand examples in the world and against a thousand reasons of a mans owne corrupt heart This is to receive Christ as a Prophet when I will not walke by the rules of my deluded reason and corrupt minde after which I was carried before but the Word of Christ shall carry mee in all things here is obedience of faith in matter of Doctrine And so to receive Christ as a King would you know what a King he is hee is a holy King whose lawes are all right the Law of Faith is a righteous Law and the obedience of Faith must be obedience to righteousnesse that is righteous obedience wherein a man labours more and more to perfit holines in the feare of God Hence comes all that care to mortifie corruptions and to frame the inward man to conforme to those rules that are taught by Christ as a Prophet the soule receiving Christ as a King gives it self to obey all the rules and directions that Christ in his Word as a Prophet hath left and this it doth in faith that is looking upon his authoritie that hath commanded it for that is properly an act of faith when things are done upon this ground upon the authoritie of him that hath revealed it I beleeve it to bee his will because hee hath revealed it and it is my dutie because it is his will Thus the soule resolves all to Christ as a Prophet and a King And then it rests on him as a Priest and comforts it selfe in Spirit now for a man when he wants comfort hee must not seperate the offices of Christ and say I will rest on Christ as a Priest these are errours and delusions Shall a man be saved by a halfe Faith by a peece of Faith To looke on Christ in one office and to thinke to bee saved onely by that without concurring and concomitating in the other offices Beloved as Christ is intire in all his offices so the faith of a beleever is intire looking upon all his offices therefore wee must receive him as King Priest and Prophet that hee may be wisedome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption that he may bee all to the beleeving soule for present and for future happinesse else if Christ bee not all he will be nothing men must not please themselves to looke upon one office of Christ and to neglect all the rest When this is done come to the maine matter the soule is beaten off as when a man is in a Boate getting to land after shipwracke there comes a storme and beats him backe againe when he thinkes hee is even at the shore but still hee takes hold on the Boate and keepes his eye upon the shore So the soule when it comes to this to be beate off againe still it keepes the shore in its sight and directs it selfe towards Christ that should bee the end and ayme of all a mans indeavours the true object of faith I beseech you consider this point But a man will say though I be carefull to receive him I speake of weake Christians or of strong Christians that are weakened by temptations Alas what hope have I in Christ Christ is in heaven and I am upon the earth Did Christ when he was upon the earth so tender the trouble of his servants at that time as that when hee himselfe was to suffer yet he tooke care to comfort them be not you troubled but beleeve in me As if hee should say though I bee exposed to a world of trouble and at this time my soule is heavy unto death yet be not troubled was he so carefull when he was in his owne troubles on earth to comfort them and will he not now be so in heaven when hee is in blessednesse

that That hee dispense faithfully wisely Who saith the Lord in that 12. Luke 42. is a faithfull and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his houshold c. Gods stewards yee see must in their dispensations bee faithfull and wise First they must be faithfull Fidelitie appeares in this when they have a right End and a right rule to walke by What is the End and rule of a faithfull steward in all his dispensations in the house of his Master His Masters credit and his Masters will His masters honour and his Masters command So it must be in the house of God If wee would bee faithfull in our places let Gods glory be our end and his Word our rule That is let a man consider what God in his Word commands him in such a place in such a qualification having such indowments such parts such abilities and let him dispense these by that rule according to that command to the glory of God that gave them him Thus was Moses a faithfull steward faithfull as a servant in all the house of God so the Apostle saith of him Heb. 3. 5. His Masters glory was his end and therefore when once hee saw his Master dishonoured by Idolatrie hee could not then containe himselfe but his Anger waxed hot though hee was the meekest man upon earth And his Masters will was his rule therefore hee came downe from the mountaine with the Tables in his hand that it might appeare what he made his guide and direction in all his cariage amongst the people and wee shall find that in all the doubts of the people either in matter of Command or punishment hee alwayes sought direction from God Hee is no faithfull servant that doth not doe this Secondly As hee must be a faithfull steward in dispensing so hee must be wise in his dispensing too What is the wisdome of Gods stewards Not the wisdome drawne from the writings of Machivile or the wisdome of the World or of the flesh for that is enmitie against God not drawne from the rules that politicians walke by But that wisdome that is drawne out of the Scriptures the word of God The word of God saith the Apostle is able to make the man of God wise to salvation this is the wisedome that Gods servants must expresse and manifest in dispensing of their gifts they must be made wise by the Word they must seeke wisedome from the Word the rule of Wisedome from the Examples in the Word of those that were guided by the spirit of Wisedome if they would be wise stewards They must compare the precepts of the Word and the practise of the Saints together see what God commandeth in such a place in such a condition see what Gods servants that are gone before have done in such a condition Marke how Abraham and Iob and others of Gods Saints have imployed their wealth and authority it was for the releeving of the poore for the furtherance of Gods glory for the ease of those that were opprest Marke how Nehemiah bestirred himselfe for the sanctifying of the Sabbath for the furtherance of Gods worship Marke againe how S. Paul as a Minister watched against the wolves and how hee spends himselfe to the uttermost for the Church of God Marke how Abraham as a master of a familie governed his familie teaching and commanding his children and his houshold to walke in the way of the Lord Marke how other of Gods servants have imployed their gifts As Sampson all his strength for the Church and so Solomon all his wisedome and whatsoever gift any of them had they acknowledged that the talents that were committed to them were for God and for the service of his Church for the furtherance of his glory in the particular places that hee had set them in I say if men would be wise stewards they must doe thus But I cannot stand upon this lest I bee prevented in that which I most intend in that that followeth Yee have heard who is the Steward It is Every one that hath received any abilitie from God to doe him seruice God expects that he should imploy that abilitie in his service Wee come now in the second place to consider the reckoning which every man must make the account that every man must give of his stewardship And that as yee haue heard is the second point of Doctrine that offers it selfe to us out of the first part of the Text viz. That all Gods stewards must give a reckoning one time or other unto God As every man in the world is Gods steward so every steward must give an account In opening of this I will shew yee two things First I will shew yee what time of Reckoning God hath with his stewards Secondly I will shew yee why God judiciously proceedeth in this manner called a reckoning or an account For the first There are two times of reckoning that God will have with his stewards The first in this life The second after death First hee calleth them to account in this life while they live on the earth and that two wayes By his Word Rodde First by his Word hastning every man to an Account by the Gospell and the Doctrine of repentance This course God himselfe tooke with Adam called him to account for his cariage in the garden Adam saith he where art thou who told thee that thou wert naked hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat Afterwards when God sent his Prophets into the world they tooke the same course so Elijah when hee came to Ahab hast thou killed and also taken possession as if hee should have said know that God hath found out thy sinne and now calleth thee to a reckoning So Iohn Baptist when hee came to the Pharisees and those hard-hearted sinners hee calleth them to a reckoning oh generation of vipers who hath warned yee to flee from the wrath to come So Peter called those three thousand soules in the 2. Acts to a reckoning for crucifying of Christ him saith hee who is the Lord of life yee have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slaine And because there are many that like the Adder stop their eares at the voyce of the Charmer and if God speake but in his Word they passe it by as Elihu in Iob saith God speakes once yea twice yet man perceiveth it not therefore when the Word doth not prevaile God calleth them to a reckoning by his rodde Micha 6. 9. Heare the Rodde and him that appointeth it that is God hath appointed scourges and afflictions for men to awake them to hearken to the voyce that calleth them to a reckoning Now afflictions are outward or inward corporall or spirituall God sometimes calleth men to an account by corporall afflictions Hee smiteth man as he saith with paines upon his bed and the multitude of his