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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	see_v	speak_v	write_v	2,745	5	4.9771	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90384	The fear of God: vvhat it is, and exhorted to as one of the great lessons God calls upon men to learn by his great dispensations in the last days. In a sermon preached unto the Church of Christ meeting in Petty France London, the tenth day of the sixth month. Anno 1656. By the faithful servant of Christ John Pendarves a little before his death.	Pendarves, John, 1622-1656.	1657 (1657)	Wing P1137; Thomason E907_3; ESTC R3183	20,112	38

The Fear of God VVhat it is And EXHORTED TO As one of the Great Lessons God calls upon men to learn by his great Dispensations in the last days In a Sermon Preached unto the Church of Christ meeting in Petty France London the Tenth day of the Sixth Month. Anno 1656. By that faithful Servant of Christ John Pendarves a little before his Death LONDON Printed by R. I. for Livewell Chapman and are to be sold at the Crown in Popes-head Alley 1657. TO THE Church of God WHICH He hath purchased with his own Bloud meeting at ABINGDON Precious and Beloved THis Sermon is especially commended to your view as being those which I judge have most right unto it because of that near relation which was between you and the Author of it a taste of whose savoury spirit you may here behold near his Death which you have often heard and seen in his Life it is doubtless a losse yea a very great losse as to Sion in general so especially to you in particular to have such a painful Labourer taken out of the Vineyard but I hope you have learned as in other things so in this to say a Act. 21.14 the Will of the Lord be done this is our comfort that God b Mal. 2.15 hath a residue of the Spirit and hee will never want Instruments to doe his work by if he take away Moses hee will raise up a c Josh 1.1 2. Joshua and if he take away an Elijah he will d 2 King 2.9 double his Spirit upon some Elisha and who knows but God may take away such tall Cedars that some low Shrubs may grow up and be active for God in their generation Surely every such Dispensation as it is a spectacle of our Mortality so it loudly calls us to our duty to e Joh. 9.4 work whiles it is day that with Paul wee may have f 2 Tim. 4 7. fought our fight before we shall finish our course and with David g Acts 13.36 we may serve our generation by the Will of God before we fall asleep As touching the Work it self which you are here presented with it treats concerning the fear of God a Subject which I desire may be as profitable as it is seasonable in this our day wherein though Gods Judgements h Isa 26.9 have been abroad in the earth yet the inhabitants of the World will not learn Righteousness i Psa 36.1 and the transgressions of the wicked doe plainly declare that there is no fear of God before their eyes and if wee look into the Lives of Professors we have cause to fear that there is but little of this filial fear to be found among them which should cause them to k Psa 4.4 stand in awe and not sin and too many there are that profess to fear God that yet fear not to sin against him but how much soever this being neglected yet it appears to bee our duty and that which God calls for from us by vertue of his Supremacy over us If I bee a father where is mine honour and if I be a master where is my fear saith the Lord of Hosts Malachy 1.6 but I shall not Expatiate upon this point but referre you to the Discourse it self for further information concerning which the Reader is to bee further premonished that this Sermon being not intended by the Author for the Press nor his Notes left behind him neither being alive to correct it it may want somewhat of that lustre which otherwise might have attended it yet however to satisfie the desire of some godly Friends as also for the general profit it is here presented to Publick view as fully as it could be taken out of one Short-hand Copy written from his mouth and I desire that the l Deut. 33.16 blessing of him that dwelt in the Bush may goe along with it that the fear of God may hereby be wrought where it is not and increased where it is that those that fear not God may be made to fear him and those that doe fear God may fear him more and more And now Dear Brethren I shall leave it with you as the words of your dying Pastor not doubting but it will be of weight upon your spirits and some satisfaction to you to read his Works when you cannot hear his words this only I shall adde as my desire to you and of you that you would not only read the words but doe the works that his words may be read in your works and your Lives may bee as so many Volumes of his Labours that as on Earth you were his joy so in Heaven you may bee his Crown and as hee is gone before you may follow after and at last meet together and sit down together in the Kingdome of Glory to which place and portion that you with my self may have a safe Conduct is the ardent desire and prayer of Yours in our Head Christ JOHN COX The Fear of God Opened and exhorted too from Revel 15. the former part of the fourth verse Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy name BEfore I come to speak more particularly to these words I shall offer something in a more general way in relation to this Book of the Revelations which wee finde commended especially to the Churches of Christ as you may see in Chap. 1. vers 11. What thou seest write in a Book and send it to the seven Churches c. You may take notice of the way and order wherein the Spirit of God walked in the discovery of Truth to the Saints under the Gospel and it is worthy your observation how that first the Spirit of Jesus Christ being poured out upon the Apostles did in the first place by them instruct the people to whom they preached touching those foundation truthes as I may so call them which did especially set forth Gospel-faith and you may observe how the Wisdome of God is very glorious in this way and method wherein the Lord did lead forth the Apostles those Primitive Preachers of the Gospel and those that were under the conduct of the Apostles in their days First The Lord made known to them the Doctrine of Grace in order to their beleeving in the Lord Jesus Christ And then Secondly They were instructed in the Doctrine of Baptisme and after this Thirdly They were gathered into Church Order to waite upon God for further discoveries of truth Fourthly After God had by the Apostles and others in their days set the Churches of Christ in order then Jesus Christ sends this Book of the Revelation to them and I finde it not given to them till then and doubtless that confusion that over-spread that part of the World called Christendome hath sprung very much from those that have preached truth in that they did not first lay down those foundations truths of Faith and Order And though I would not ascribe over much to order yet you

must know it is not without infinite wisdome in God which dispenseth his Truths in such an order to the Sons of men And though I would not hold you long in the Preface yet I would speak a little further to this because I see many in this day at a great loss for want of observing the order of truth that God hath layed down in his Word some are very much troubled about Baptisme before they are really setled upon Jesus Christ and some are very much busying themselves about the matters of Worship before they close with Christ the foundation and so having not closed with Jesus Christ they build as men without a foundation Others againe when they come to be instructed in matters of Faith are apt to minde other Ordinances that are further off as Breaking of Bread whereas the order of Jesus Christ in the Gospel is that the very next thing after beleeving is to be Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus which persons not observing but missing the true way of God they are tossed to and fro and know not where to fix not taking notice of the due order wherein the Lord lays down truth in his blessed Word And possibly some also may be under the temptation of neglecting those truthes which concerne the foundation in matters of Faith and Order nay it is frequently so seen of many of whom I desire to speak tenderly supposing they do it weakly that they are busying themselves in the understanding of the highest discoveries of God in this Book of the Revelations and yet are not setled upon the foundation of the Gospel nor brought into the order of it and therefore as to many that are soaring high in these things I desire they would consider whether they have not unadvisedly leaped over those foundation truthes which they should have minded in their going on to those glorious Truths revealed in the Revelation I will not say God is tied up to this order but yet I say this is the way God would have his people waite upon him in and God bringing his people out of Babylon will I doubt not lead them to observe truth in that order wherein it was laid down in the first dispensation of the Gospel And therefore I being now to speak unto a Church of Christ already planted in the Faith and order of the Gospel I hope none will bee offended at my making choyce of a portion of Scripture in this Book of the Revelations if any be I may make my Apology from the eleventh verse of the first Chapter which holds forth unto us that this Book with the things therein revealed is sent unto the Churches I Jesus have sent mine Angel to testifie these things in the Churches and hee that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches which you have severall times repeated in the second and third Chapters of this Book so that you see the things held forth in this Book are such as the Churches of Christ are specially to hearken unto because Christ hath in a special manner commended these things to the Churches And let me adde that this Book hath a glorious blessing annexed to the reading and hearing of it and the keeping those things which are written therein you have not such a Blessing annexed to every Book as to this and oh that it were not the Sin of many Churches that they are so backward in looking into the things written in this Book of the Revelations when as God sends it especially and particularly unto them And indeed I judge it is a matter of duty especially for the Angels Messengers and Pastors of Churches to be diligently searching into in order to the finding out of those Truths that are written therein and according to the measure of the gift of Christ to hold them forth to the Churches for truly I grieve to think how much Church-members are unacquainted with many things written therein as what the Beast is what is his Mark and the Number of his Name when as such dreadful Judgements are pronounced against such as worship the Beast or his Image or receive his Mark in their fore-heads or in their hands yet alas how few Members in Churches are there that labour to bee informed in these things surely hee that knows not of a danger where it is and how it lies is in danger of falling into it unawares But to come to my Text in this fifteenth Chapter you read of a Victory obtained over the Beast and not only so but over his Image Mark and the number of his Name by a Party standing on the Sea of Glass having the Harps of God vers 2. their Song follows and they sang the Song of Moses the Servant of God and the Song of the Lamb saying Great and marvellous are thy Works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy ways thou King of Saints who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy name Before I come to the words themselves I would in a general way lay down something for your information from the Context that which I suppose will bee the great inquiry upon the view of this Scripture is what the Beast is and who they are that get the victory over him his Mark and Image and therefore I shall briefly hint something concerning this Beast and the conquering Party that shall prevail over him That which to me is the best help to discover the Beast his Mark and Image especially the Beast what he is are the several qualifications of those which get the victory over him you may partly know the Beast by his opposites those which rejoyce at the overcoming of him now who they are that have had and maintained a controversie with this Beast you may see described in the second third and fourth verses of this Chapter and their frames and qualifications may be judged by several Characters given to them 1 They are a People attained to some measure of purity therefore set forth standing upon a Sea of Glass 2 They are a People bent to praise God for his great Works they have the Harps of God and they sing c. They are a people that dare not slight Gods great Works if God bring them out of Egypt they have it much upon their hearts and they sing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb like those in Exod. 15. and you know upon what account it was that Moses sang that Song it was when Gods Israel was brought out of Egypts bondage and the Egyptians destroyed whence it appears 3 That these are a people seriously minding of and much affected with Gods wonderful Works in their deliverance from Spiritual Egyptian bondage and therefore they cry out Great and marvellous are thy Works Lord God Almighty 4 They are a People that ascribe all to God and give him the praise of all his Works I suppose all will grant that the great Works God is to doe in the