Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	word_n	world_n	1,625	5	4.4299	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87498	The best fee-simple, set forth in a sermon at St Peters in Cornhil, before the gentlemen and citizens born in the county of Nottingham, the 18. day of February, 1657. Being the day of their publique feast. By Marmaduke James, minister of Watton at Stone, in the county of Hertford.	James, Marmaduke.	1658 (1658)	Wing J432; Thomason E955_2*; ESTC R207614	34,420	74

and the holiness of Gods will for ever so also the Word of God witnesseth the several Attributes of God unto the world the book of Genesis is a Testimony of Gods power in making the world of nothing his Justice in drowning the world with water his mercy in saving Noah and his family c. The book of Exodus is a Testimony of that curious and stupendious providence that God exercised over his Church in bringing her out of Egypt through the red sea and that vast howling wilderness into the land of Canaan and so of the rest It is called Testimony in regard of that comfortable or dismal report it shall make for us or against us at the last day Whosoever shall not receive you Mark 6.11 nor hear my words shake off the dust off your feet for a Testimony against them and thus have wee dispatched the first thing propounded What is meant by Testimonies and why so called Wee now come to the second which is the predicate or what is said of these Testimonies that is they are An heritage for ever yet before wee come to that wee may a little take notice of the copulation of these two together in that word taken which some read chosen both the lections being emphatical enough to Davids purpose If the first I have taken thy Testimonies then thus as if David should have said I perceive the Lord hath a minde to give these blessed Testimonies to his Church the greatest gift that ever hee shall bestow except it be the Messiah to come and seeing that the Lord hath a heart to give for my part I am resolved to have a hand to take I have taken thy Testimonies or thus I have chosen thy Testimonies As if hee should say The Lord hath laid before mee two excellent things Here are my Crowns and Kingdoms on the one hand and his Testimonies on the other and if hee would put mee to my choice which I should chuse and which refuse incomparably have I chosen his Testimonies as an heritage for ever An Inheritance This is the highest expression almost that David could use to testifie his respect to these Testimonies hee had been a long time lifting and heaving at an expression but did never hit it till now In his younger time I suppose it was that hee compares it to hony Psal 19. and the hony-comb Sweeter are they also than the honey and the hony-comb hony is a fine thing but money is better money buy will hony and sugar and a hundred things more money answers all things now David goes a little higher and compares it to silver but silver may be drossie Psal 12.6 seven times purified in the fire I but there is a finer thing than silver and that is gold Psal 19.10 why faith hee It is much more to be desired than gold yea than fine gold I but yet there is a finer thing than Gold that is Diamonds Pearls and Rubies They are more precious than Rubies Prov. 3.15 but yet suppose a man hath silver and gold and rubies yet hee may not have all riches there are Cattel Camels Horses Sheep and Oxen these were the ancient riches of the world Psal 119.14 I have rejoyced in the way of thy Commandements above all riches But yet there is one sort of riches that is the sweetest of all riches that is spoil when a souldier overcomes his enemy and hath the pillage of the field or falls into a Garrison and takes the plunder thereof this is of all riches the sweetest for here is a double lust satisfied at once not only Covetousness but Revenge Psal 119.162 Thy Word have I rejoyced in more than in all spoil But yet Sirs suppose a man hath silver and gold and pearls and diamonds and all riches and all spoil Suppose a private man should arrive to an estate of twenty thirty forty fifty thousand pound Pray Sir saith hee can you help mee to a purchase I would fain have an Inheritance Alas these things may be taken from mee in a night I would fain turn my personal into a real estate have an Inheritance settled upon mee to descend to my posterity after mee now David is come to the heighth of what a mortal man could express Thy Testimonies have I taken as mine Inheritance for ever An Inheritance then is that summum totale that dimensum that lot that portion or proportion of estate a man enjoyes in this world whether it be bequeathed by gift or descend by succession this wee call an Inheritance now God who hath given the world to the children of men as an Inheritance hath reserved a special spiritual portion for his people in allusion to which it is called An Inheritance which is no less than heaven and glory and that it might be sure to them hee hath conveyed it all manner of wayes Hee hath decreed it for them In whom wee have obtained an inheritance being predestinated Ephes 1.11 Hee hath bequeathed it to them by will Fear not little Flock Luke 12.32 it is your Fathers will to give you a Kingdom It descends to them by succession and therefore they are said to be born and to be begotten to it That hath begotten us to an inheritance incorruptible 1 Pet. 1.4 5. Hence it is that all the children of God are said to be the first-born there is no yonger brothers in heaven to every son hee alloweth the liberty and the priviledge of primogeniture to the general Assembly and Church of the first-born Heb. 12.22 I Object but some will say What is all this to our purpose wee know indeed that heaven is a glorious inheritance if David had said The kingdom of heaven O Lord the kingdom of thy Glory I have taken for an inheritance that might be easily understood but that hee should say Thy Testimonies are my inheritance that wee cannot understand It is true indeed Answ that heaven is the actual inheritance of Gods people but it is as true that the Word of God is their virtual inheritance these testimonies are the deeds that convey this inheritance and how ordinary is it amongst men to call such the inheritance If one of you come with a breviat to a Lawyer and hee be dissatisfied in any thing Pray Sir saith hee will you show mee the inheritance that is the main deeds that leads to the inheritance and we know that many times these old dusty moth-eaten papers are as much worth as a whole Country Now an inheritance doth but these two things It discovers the estate what quantity of acres the butting and bounding c. It doth convey make over and assure the said Land to such and such a person and to his Heirs after him Just thus doth the Word of God it discovers heaven and glory unto us it is the terrier of the celestial Canaan it holds out all that bliss happiness and glory that is treasured up there for

both of the Father and the Son may be sealed to your souls by his holy Spirit Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be ye kind one to another tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ sake hath forgiven you That ye may be united and carried together in the bonds and arms of that last-born 1 Cor. 13.13 but never dying Grace to your heavenly Country where her twin-sisters Faith and Hope shall cease but that of Love abide for ever Which is the hearty Prayer of him that is your most humble and faithful Servant and Countryman in the work of the Gospel M. I. PSALM 119.111 Thy Testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart THis Psalm is the most excellent Psalm of David excellent for the length of it consisting of so many Octonaries or parts as there are letters in the Hebrew Alphabet excellent for the matter of it all the parts of verses thereof conspiring with one consent to set out the dignity of the Law of God And indeed there seems to have been all divine frames upon Davids heart when he writ this Psalm Sometimes we find him in such raptures as if he was already set down in glory sometimes prostrate upon the earth in humble and penitential confessions of sin and deprecations against them sometimes wee finde him upon his legs looking backward and forward forward telling us what hee would do for time to come Having sworn I will perform it Psal 119.106 that I will keep thy righteous Judgments backward telling us what hee had done in times past to which this verse is to be referred Thy Testimonies have I taken c. These words contain Davids profession of that high esteem hee had of Gods testimonies and the reason thereof the profession in the former part of the verse Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever the reason in the latter part of the verse for they are the rejoycing of my heart The first of these which is Davids profession my purpose is to open to you as the doctrinal part the other in the application of our discourse The first which is Davids profession is one intire proposition in which wee have as in every proposition these two things considerable First the subject or matter treated of which is in the word Testimonies set forth by their relation unto God Thy Testimonies The second is the predicate or that which is spoken of that subject that is the word Heritage set forth by its duration An heritage for ever And first of the first This word Testimonies is that that is sometimes called The Word of the Lord The Way of the Lord Psal 139.9 The Will of the Lord sometimes Psal 143.10 Psal 119.1 The Law of the Lord The Commandements of the Lord sometimes The Fear of the Lord The Statutes of the Lord Psal 119.6 Psal 19.9 The Judgments of the Lord sometimes Psal 119.8 The Testimonies of the Lord. And it is observable Psal 119.13 that though there be an hundred threescore and sixteen verses in this Psalm yet there is not above two of them wherein one of these nine words is not named Some one may say Object What 's the reason that David should use so many words to express one and the same thing Frustrà fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora saith the Philosopher Truly Sirs I know not what better answer to give Answ than that it is the property of Love to give several Epithets to the object beloved thus when Christ was in love with his Spouse Thou art Cant. 5.2 saith hee my fair One my Love my Dove my undefiled Cant. 6.1 10. terrible as an Army with banners Thou art my fair One I but what if shee be fair if shee be not chast Thou art my undefiled but what if shee be fair and chast if shee be a scold a vexsome I but thou art my Dove without all gall without all bitterness but what if she be a Dove if she have never so much meekness if that arise only from flegmacy and baseness of temper that shee is sola socordia innocens no shee is full of spirit life and majesty shee is terrible as an Army with banners Thus as Christ delights himself with various titles to set forth the several excellencies of his Church so it is with David his heart is so in love with these Testimonies that hee knowes not what to call them Statutes Lawes Commandements Judgments c. Sometimes when hee considers of them in regard of the Author the great God from whence they came thus hee calls them The Word of the Lord The Way of the Lord The Will of the Lord when hee considers the divine soveraignty that they have over all Gods rational Creatures Angels and Men thus hee calls them The Law of the Lord the Commandements of the Lord when hee considers that great respect and reverence that a gracious heart yields unto them thus hee calls them The fear of the Lord when hee considers their stability and duration as those things which God hath ratified for ever thus they are called The Statutes of the Lord when hee considers that great decision and determination that they shall make at the last day concerning the quick and the dead thus hee calls them The Judgments of the Lord and last of all considering that testification that these make concerning God and man as I shall shew you by and by thus they are called The Testimonies of the Lord Thy Testimonies have I taken c. It is observable that David delights more in this word than in any of the rest and by these Testimonies is meant the Word of God at large but more strictly the Moral Law or the Law of the Ten Commandements You know when God gave the Law he writ it upon two Tables of stone and those two Tables are called Exod. 31.18 The Tables of the Testimony Then God took those Tables of stone and put them into an Ark Exod. 25.22 and that was called The Ark of the Testimony Then God took that Ark and put that Ark into a Tabernacle Num. 1.50 and that Tabernacle was called The Tabernacle of the Testimony so that this was so famous a Testimony that it calls every thing Testimony that toucheth it and gives a denomination to every thing that comes nigh unto it and it may be well called a Testimony Because it was delivered with a Witness when God came down upon Mount Sinai Exod 20.29 the mountain smoked and the earth trembled and there was great thundering and lightening and the sound of the trumpet and hundred of thousands of people that fled from it saying Let us not come near him lest wee die It may well be called the Testimonie Because as it testifies the perfection