Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	find_v	king_n	law_n	2,835	5	4.8368	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27044	A sermon preached at the funeral of that faithful minister of Christ, Mr. John Corbet with his true and exemplary character / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1680 (1680)	Wing B1416; ESTC R17576	26,901	40

own satisfaction and sincerity yet so lively were his apprehensions of the greatness of his approaching change and the weight of an everlasting state and what it is to enter upon another world that he was not without such fears as in our frail condition here poor mortals that are near death are lyable to And indeed fear signifieth a belief of the word of God and the life to come much more than dull insensibility But he signified his belief both by fear and hope and strong assurance XII He had the comfort of sensible growth in grace He easily perceived a notable increase of his faith and holiness and heavenliness and humility and contempt of worldly vanity especially of late years and under his affliction as the fruit of Gods correcting-rod I have truly given you the description of the man according to my familiar knowledge I shall yet review the similitude of his case with this of Paul described in my Text. I. Paul was accused by envious contentious Teachers And so was he Though I never heard any one person else speak evil of him as is said They that upbraided not Paul with his former persecution nor had any crime to charge him with yet accused his Ministry As they said of Daniel We shall find no fault against him except it be concerning the law of his God His Preaching and Writings though all for peace were the matter of his accusations The Bishop blamed him for Preaching even when the King had licensed him And a nameless Writer published a bloody Invective against his pacificatory-Pacificatory-book called The Interest of England as if it had been written to raise a War The enemies of Peace were his enemies II. He took boasting to be inexpedient as Paul did And when he was silenced as unworthy to be suffered in the Ministry he once offered a modest defence to the Bishop and wrote a short and peaceable account of his judgment about the sin of Schism in his own Vindication III. He had though not the Extasie of Paul yet great knowledge of things Divine and Heavenly to have been the matter of his glory IV. The heavenly Paradise was the place of his hopes where he daily studied to lay up his treasure which had his chiefest thoughts and care V. He found by experience that an immortal soul is not so tyed to this body of flesh but that it can get above it and all its interest and pleasure and live on the hopes of unseen glory VI. As he knew the incapacity of mortals to have formal and adequate conceptions of the state of the heavenly Paradise and separated souls so he submitted to Gods-concealing Will and lived on the measure of Gospel-revelation VII He knew the danger of being exalted above measure by occasion of holy Knowledge and how apt man is to be so puffed up VIII God himself saved him from that danger by his humbling wholesome sharper remedy IX A Thorn in the flesh was Gods remedy to keep him in a serious humble frame Three great Stones were found in his bladder and one small one in a corrupted Kidney And how painful a thorn these were for many years it is easie to conjecture X. Satan was permitted to try him as Job not only by the pain of his flesh but also by reproaches as aforesaid and by casting him out of his Ministry as unworthy to preach the Gospel of Christ unless he would say swear and do all that was by men imposed and the rest of those afflictions which are contained in such an ejected impoverished calumniated state are described in the late and former experience of may such XI Though I never heard him pray against poverty or reproach yet for the liberty of his Ministry he did that he might preach that Gospel of Salvation And pain forced him to have recourse to God for deliverance from the thorn in his flesh And if Christ and Paul prayed thrice with earnestness no wonder if continued pain made him continue his suit to God XII As Christ was heard in the thing which he feared and yet must drink that cup and Paul instead of the departing of the one was promised sufficient grace and the manifesting of Gods strength in his pain and weakness so it pleased not God to take away the Thorn from our dear Brothers flesh but he did better for him and gave him his supporting help and an increase of grace and shewed his own strength in all his weakness and also hastened his final deliverance beyond expectation And now he is past all at rest with Christ and all the blessed We see not them but they see God and God feeth us and is preparing us for the same felicity And if it be by the same means and we must bear the Cross and feel the Thorn it will be wholesome and short and good is the will and work of God Lord let me not account ease honour or life dear to me that I may finish my course with joy and the Ministry received of the Lord and come in season and peace to thee And is not this Providence of God and this example of our deceased friend of use to us Yes no doubt of manifold use I. It is of great use to all the Land to good and bad to observe Gods threatning in the removal of his servants O how many excellent Christians and faithful Ministers of Christ have been taken hence within a few months The same week we hear of four or five more besides our brother and some of them the most excellent useful men And is it not time 1. To repent of our neglect of such helps as God is now removing 2 And to be presently awakened to use them better before the rest be taken away Alas poor Souls what a case are you in if you dye or the word be taken from you before you are regenerated and prepared for a better life It is not so much their loss and hurt as yours which Satan endeavoureth in silencing so many hundred such And it is your heavy punishment more than theirs which God inflicteth by their death O speedily repent before that death have stopt the mouths which call'd you to repentance And it should awaken the best to prepare for death and for publick suffering It seems there is some great evil to come when God thus takes away the best Yea if it should be a forerunner of a better state yet all save two of the old stock that dishonoured God in the Wilderness must fall and it was by bloody Wars a dreadful means that Joshua and the new generation were to possess the Land of promise II. It is of use to us unworthy Ministers of Christ who yet survive 1. It calleth loudly to us to work while it is day for our night is near when we cannot work Death will shortly silence us all more effectually than men have done Do Gods work prudently do it patiently peaceably and in as much concord and true obedience as you can