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A64968
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A present for such as have been sick and are recovered, or, A discourse concerning the good which comes out of the evil of affliction being several sermons preached after his being raised from a bed of languishing / by Nathanael Vincent.
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Vincent, Nathanael, 1639?-1697.
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1693
(1693)
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Wing V417; ESTC R27040
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62,262
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136
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better things of Eternity All this may be well matter of great delight The more you love the Word the greater will be your Peace and you will hold on in the best ways without offence or stumbling Psal 119. 165. Great Peace have they that love thy Law and nothing shall offend them 4. You have truly learned the Word of God when you keep it both in Heart and Life Not to keep it in the Life is a scandalous contempt of the Word not to keep it in the Heart though there be a specious form and shew of Religion is but demure and abominable Hypocrisie If the Word be in your Hearts how will it as nourishing Food well concocted there make you strong in Spirit It will make your Hearts both clean and comfortable and as a powerful Antidote expel Sins Poyson Psal 119. 11. Thy Word have I hid in my Heart that I might not Sin against Thee Let not Sin but the Word Reign in your Mortal Body that none of the Members of it may be defiled and debased in wicked Works and Services Prize all the Ordinances and Institutions of the Word of God neglect none be negligent in none The more these are prized and used the greater Reason you will see to persist in the use of them for the greater spiritual Benefit will sensibly be reaped That Noble Pair had learned the Word indeed of whom it was said Luk. 1. 6. And they were both righteous before God walking in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless 5. You have truly learned the Word of God when your care is to commend it and to adorn it in all things The more this Word is in your Mouths the more Edifying will your Discourse be Speak much of this Word and for it nay if you speak much of it as it is you will speak for it for the Word will commend it self Mind those Injunctions Eph. 4. 29. Let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your Mouths but that which is good to the use of Edifying and which may administer Grace to the hearers And Deut. 6. 6 7. These Words which I command thee this day shall be in thy Heart and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy House and when thou walkest by the way when thou liest down and when thou risest up How can it be said the Word has been entertained in your Hearts if you are not ready to commend it that it may have a Room in the Hearts of others And let not your Commendation of the Word be verbal onely but real Let your Conversations ever become the Gospel Live suirably to such a pure Holy and Heavenly Word and walk worthy of God who by this Word has called you to his Kingdom and Glorâ— â— Thes 2. â—â— 6. You have truly learned the Word of God when you do every things by its Direction not onely your Duty towards God but your Duty towards Man In all your ways God is to be eyed and acknowledged that by his Word your Paths may be directed Prov. 3. 6. Trade must be managed by the Word and the rules of Truth and Justice and Equity laid down there this is the way to grow Rich with a Blessing and without the Addition of Sorrow A Family must be order'd by this Word and all the Members of Families and the Governours of them must learn their Relative Duties from the Word of God Recreations must be regulated hereby else there may quickly be a forgetting of God an excessive delight in them and too great an expence of precious time Nothing can be well done if the Word be not regarded in the doing of it and nothing can be ill done or miscarry under the Words Conduct 7. You have truly learned the Word of God if you never depart from it Persevering in Obedience will prove you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 indeed Disciples Joh. 8. 31. Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him if ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples indeed This shews the Lord himself has been your Teacher and is teaching you still and strengthning you together Psal 119. 33. Teach me O Lord the way of thy Statutes and I shall keep it to the end And V. 102. he says I have not departed from thy Judgments for thou hast taught me Stick unto his Testimonies and cleave unto the Lord with such a Resolution as neither Mammon Sin nor Satan may ever shake You can never change your Lord or his Service but you must change infinitely for the worse therefore be stedfast unmoveable always abounding in his work Though the Mountains depart and the Hills be removed yet do you abide with God and stand fast in the Faith unto the Death that you may receive the Promised Crown of Life and wear it for evermore FINIS ERRATA PAge 49. line 16. for broken read troden p. 53. l. 9. f. in r. as p. 56. l. 29. f. the r. yet p. 64. l. 16. f. diligent r. vigilant p. 76. l. 17. f. undenied r. underived p. 77. l. 12. f. Tabb r. Fable Books Printed for and sold by Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers Chappel A Body of practical Divinity consisting of above 176 Sermons on the lesser Catechism composed by the Reverend Assembly of Divines at Westminster with a Supplement of some Sermons on several Texts of Scripture by Tho. Watson formerly Minister of St. Stephens Walbrook Printed from his own hand writing recommended by several Ministers to Masters of Families and others Synodicon in Gallia Reformata or the Acts Decrees Decisions Canons of the Reformed Churches in France Being 1. A most faithful and impartial History of the rise growth perfection and decay of the Reformation in that Kingdom with its fatal Catastrophe upon the revocation of the Edict at Nants in the year 1685. 2. The Confession of Faith and Discipline of those Churches 3. A Collection of Speeches Letters Sacred Politicks Cases of Conscience and Controversies in Divinity determined and resolved by those Grave Assemblies 4. Many excellent expedients for preventing and healing Schisms in the Churches and for re-uniting the dismembred Body of divided Protestants 5. The Laws Government and Maintenance of the Colledges Universities and Ministers together with their Exercise of Discipline upon delinquent Ministers and Church Members 6. A Record of very many illustrious Events of Divine Providence relating to those Churches The whole collected and composed out of the Original Manuscript Acts of those renowned Synods a work never before extant in any Language in two Vol. by John Quick c. Fol. The Sure Mercies of David Or a Second Part of Heart-treasure Wherein is contained the sum and substance of Gospel-mercies purchased by Christ and Promised in the Covenant of Grace together with the several ways how they are made sure to all the Heirs of Promise and how they are to be improved for the Saints Fort and Defence Settlement and Incouragement in shaking and backsliding times By O. Heywood Closet-prayer a Christian Duty Or a Treatise upon Mat. 6. 6. By O. Heywood Baptismal Bonds renewed Being some Meditations upon Psal 50. 5. By O. H. M. A. Meetness for Heaven promoted in some brief Meditations upon Colos 1. 12. Discovering the nature and necessity of habitual and actual Meetness for Heaven here in all that hope for Heaven hereafter By O. H. An Epistolary Discourse on the great assistances to a Christians Faith and for a more Intire Rest and Assurance in the highest Trials and Adventures thereof With a Second Part upon the Present Times and these rare Vicissitudes of Providence in the Publick State of Britain in this Age. To which an Appendix is added in the Close By R. Fleming A Discourse of Earthquakes as they are Supernatural and Premonitory Signs to a Nation with a respect to what hath occurred in this Year 1692. And some special Reflections thereon As also on that Security and Assurance of Mind which is attainable in the Light and Power of Religion under the greatest Surprizals and Terrors of Sense With some Enquiry upon the Grounds both of our Fears and Hopes as to the publick State of the Church of Christ in this Day By the Author of the Fulfilling of the Scriptures The Confirming Work of Religion Or its Great Things made plain by their Primary Evidences and Demonstrations Whereby the meanest in the Church may soon be made able to render a Rational account of their Faith Written by R. Fleming Author of the Fulfilling of the Scriptures A Defence of Mr. M. H's Brief Enquiry into the Nature of Schism and the Vindication of it With Reflections upon a Pamphlet called the Review c. And a Brief Historical Account of Non-conformity from the Reformation to this Present Time England's Alarm Being an account of God's most Considerable Dispensations of Mercy and Judgment towards these Kingdoms for Fourteen Years last past And also of the several sorts of Sins and Sinners therein Especially the Murmurers against the Present Government With an Earnest Call to speedy Humiliation Supplication and Reformation as the Chief Means of Prospering their Majesties Counsels and Preparations Dedicated to the King and Queen A Sermon Preached at the Funeral of the Reverend Mr. Thomas Shewell Master of Arts and Minister of the Gospel in Coventry Who went up well into the Pulpit Jan. 15. and having Prayed and Named the Text Rom. 5. 12. was seised by an Apoplexy and dyed within a few Hours By William Tongue Minister of the Gospel The Good of Early Obedience By M. Mead. A Practical Expos on the 130. Psalm The Grace and Duty of being Spiritual Minded The Declaration of the Glorious Mistory of the Person of Christ These three by J. Owen D. D. Redemption of Time the Duty and Wisdom of Christians in evil days By S. Wade Minister at Hamersmith The Vanity of Man being a Discourse fitted for Funeral occasions By S. Shaw Several Discourses concerning the actual Providence of God in three Parts Above one hundred Sermons on the Canticles These two by the Reverend John Collings D. D. of Norwich FINIS
beneficial to him because in the School of Affliction he learnt God's Statutes better he learned to prize them for in the following verse he preferred them before thousands of gold and silver And thus looking upon them as an invaluable Treasure here is an intimation that he kept them with a conscientious and affectionate care and diligence I raise two Doctrines from the words The one is That Saints are afflicted for their good The other is That the Rod of God is a means to make his Word to be the better learned Doct. I. I begin with the first of these Doctrines That Saints are afflicted for their good they are the better and happier for being chastened Job 5. 17. Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty Chastening is despised if it be lookt upon only as a misery which has so great a tendency to promote our happiness Jam. 5. 11. Behold we count them happy which endure Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy Both these passages have Behold prefixed to them they seem Paradoxes to carnal reason but if the Eye of the Understanding be opened to look into the matter it will be perceived that Affliction and Happiness are not disparata which never meet in the same subject the Saints are the more blessed the more they are corrected That passage may be called a Threatning because Affliction is a punishment of Iniquity and also a Promise because Correction ends in Amendment Psal 89. 30 31 32 33. If his Childrrn forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments If they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments then will I visit their Transgression with a Rod and their Iniquity with Stripes Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail In the handling of this Doctrine I shall First Demonstrate the Truth of it by several Arguments Secondly I shall specifie what that good is which accrews to the Saints by Affliction Thirdly Conclude with the Application In the first place I am to demonstrate that Saints are afflicted for their good The Arguments demonstrating this are these 1. Afflictions are of God's own sending whose goodness is manifested in the sending of them The Afflictions which the Saints feel are ordered in Heaven for them Job regards not so much the malice of Satan nor the injustice and violence of Man in that sore Calamity which so suddenly fell upon him but his Eye looks as high as God in it Job 1. 21. The Lord has taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord Well may he be blessed for the Lord ceases not to be good to his People when he takes a Rod into his hand to beat them Afflictions in Scripture are compared to Waters and these Waters come out of Paradise and savour of it Give me leave to search the Springs of these Waters and trace them to the Fountain head and upon due search it will be found that they flow from the truest love the wisest care the greatest faithfulness 1. The Saints Afflictions flow from the truest love Heb. 12. 6. Whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourgeth every Son whom he receives Now Tokens of Love are to be reckoned among the good things not the evil The Lord chastens his Children whom he delights in that he may make them more lovely and his delight in them may be the greater Indeed in Nature 't is otherwise The same Fountain cannot at the same place send forth sweet Water and bitter Jam. 3. 11. Yet certain it is that all the sweetnesses and bitternesses of a Christian come from one and the same Fountain the Everlasting Love of God in Christ Jesus 2. The Saints Afflictions flow from the wisest care God cares for his People and bids them cast all their care upon him 1 Pet. 5. 7. Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you When Nebuchadnezzar's countenance was full of rage and the three Children were threatned with a fiery Furnace seven times heated they were confident of God's care and had said and stood to it We are not careful to answer thee but be it known to thee we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the Golden Image thou hast set up Dan. 3. 16 18. God's care of them was great in this extreme peril And he cares for all his Saints their life their health their comforts are precious in his Eyes and they shall not be toucht but when necessity and conveniency calls for it 3. The Saints Afflictions slow from the greatest faithfulness The Church in the very depths of trouble cries out Great is thy faithfulness Jer. 3. 23. I know O Lord says the Psalmist that thy Judgments are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me Psal 119. 75. The Physicians faithfulness appears in giving very bitter Potions which are a means to save the Patients life Sharp Afflictions are often necessary to recever the health of the Soul divine faithfulness is manifested in this method of recovery This faithfulness of God debates with the Rod when it shoots forth lest it should be too heavy and rather make an end of than mend his Children Isa 27. 8. In measure when it shooteth forth thou wilt debate with it he stayeth his rough Wind in the day of the East Wind For if both these Winds should blow together the Saints might not be able to stand against them That is the first Argument to prove the goodness of Affliction it is of God's sending and in sending of it his love and care and faithfulness is manifested 2. Afflictions are sent with a design that afflicted Saints may be benefited He does not afflict willingly nor grieve the Children of Men The Lord sees they have need of it and therefore they are in heaviness But when Affliction is as it were plowing upon the backs of the Saints and long and deep furrows are made the Lord at that very time is sowing both light and grace and joy and how plentiful will the Harvest be Psal 97. 11. Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright in heart Heb. 12. 11. Chastening does yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them who are exercised thereby Earthly Parents are oftentimes transported with passion and act after their own humour and pleasure in correcting of their Children and then their Children are rather provoked to anger and discouraged than amended But hereby it most evidently appears 't is good for the Saints that they are afflicted because their Father who is the Father of Spirits does chastize his Children for their profit that is their spiritual profit and advantage that they may be partakers of his holiness Heb. 12. 10. And the truth is we are never more profited than when we are most sanctified 3. The Afflictions of the Saints are dispensed to them through