Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	according_a	apostle_n	doctrine_n	2,761	5	5.6844	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85310	Fire from heaven, falling upon the present army and the churches: or, Two words from the Lord to both· Held forth to the understanding of those, that make not flesh their arm, and whose hope the Lord is, that cease from man (a piece of earth) whose breath is in his nostrils. As also to the terror and astonishment of all those, who lean upon the broken staff of Egypt, and trust in horses, and strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and joy in the shadow of men; and cry to themselves, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. / By a man of their councel.	Man of their councel.	1649 (1649)	Wing F954; Thomason E572_12; ESTC R202075	23,108	31

at hand Summer is neer even at the door for the Fig tree putteth forth her green figs and the Vines with the tender Grapes give a good smell every creature hath a sweet smell of God in it God is written in lively characters upon every creature in heaven and earth There is in all these more or less a giving and resigning up to the sweet and gracious dispose of the Lord As the Lord passes before them so are they ashamed and confounded in themselves for when he appeareth who can ●…an●… By which you may know the Day of the Lord draws neer therefore say not it is afar off for it is neer and shall overtake you even ere you are aware and your souls shall be made like the charets of Aminadah A Second WORD TO THE CHURCHES YOu have a name that you live you have the image and representation of God amongst you you assume to your selves the name of the Churches of God Churches of the Gospel of clear light and yet live in the darkness and cloudiness of your own spirits You have made flesh and forms your habitation you have offered upon every mountain and sacrificed under every green tree and bowed to graven images You have in truth so hug'd and embraced the outmost and lowermost dispensations of God as you will not nor durst not leave them for the enjoyment of a pure and naked God You have known Christ after the flesh and have eat and drunk with him in this fleshly way you have seen the miracles that he hath wrought and the wonders he hath done among men and you by him have repented and turned from your own works of righteousness to the righteousness of God as thus held forth unto you And you have had much sweetness and comfort under all these for the Lord hath lived in them Now saith the Lord unto you Behold I go to my Father I withdraw from the creature and ascend into my own glory into my pure self I leave the earth I will abide no more in the Temple I will forsake my dwelling place Note the word God doth sometimes leave his dwelling place I have made my abode and dwelt in Water Bread and Wine in the observation of days in praying fasting reading writing preaching hearing I will now leave them all O then sorrow fills your hearts and you begin to weep and lament seeing the flesh of Christ crucified before you hung between two theeves but his Holy One cannot dye nor see corruption but his flesh is abased shamed disgraced the Lord gives up those garments and vestures wherewith he was clothed to the moth to devour to the enemy to make a prey of and the worldly Christian parts his garments and casts lots for them and rejoyces in the spoil and embalms the body of the Lord with sweet spices though the soul and life is departed from it yea though it be but a meer carcass the spirit of Christ leaving it yet this poor man loves it as much as ever delights and pleases himself in it and Christ being dead and buried you go to his Sepulchre wherein he is layd seeking for him and Mary-like ask the Angels where your Lord is they answer He is not here he is risen why seek ye the living among the dead You go to fasting and prayer and enquire saying Did you see the Lord No say they He is not here He was here for three days but he is risen and gone Then you go from one Church to another from society to society and enquire but he is not here say they he is risen Then you go to the rudiments of the world to elementary things and they give you the same answer saying He was here but he is risen behold the linnen clothes and the napkin in which he lay you may see his grave-clothes his outward garments his several and sundry appearances but he is gone he hath left them all Then you begin to be afraid you know not what to do now you have lost your Lord and there is nothing now remaining to take pleasure in and to enjoy but a few grave-clothes some old cast-off garments no place now to live in but a desolate and forsaken house a habitation for Dragons and a Court for Owls a place which the wilde beasts of the field have made their rest Object But you may object and say We are a Church formed according to the pattern in the Mount according to the Scriptures prescribed by Christ and the Apostles and in obedience to these we walk and abide Answ You are much below even all the visible Churches on earth that pure and primitive order in the Apostles days you have not that pure infallible doctrine to deliver as they had nor that clearness of the Spirit poured down upon you the Holy Ghost not falling upon you in cloven tongues as upon them nor that oneness of minde as to sell all and lay it down at the Apostles or Churches feet you have not so learned Christ you cannot do greater works then ever Christ himself did when he was upon earth and that because Christ is ascended Yours at the best is but an earthly weak erring imperfect Ministry a worldly Sanctuary a Baptism of Water not of the Spirit that which as John said decreases not increases a doctrine which because of the weakness of it cannot go beyond Repentance Faith Hope Baptisms Resurrection of the dead and eternal Judgment with laying on of hands All which are but milk for babes yet you are always contenting and satisfying your selves with such a baby-condition not going in your selves nor suffering without offence those that would nay you will not move a step beyond these but asperse as erroneous and blasphemous all such that pass through hope and faith to sight and enjoyment through the Flesh into the Spirit and it is unseemly to name the word perfection as attainable among you But further were you as perfect and compleat in all things as the Apostles were yet must you with such a Ministry and Church cease and give in for behold a greater then the Apostles and Prophets is here here is one standing among you whom you know and see not as yet that will not own Paul Peter and John in this Apostleship there being no manner of co-parnership in it and that it may appear that the Apostolical Ministry and Doctrine was but to continue its time and age doth Christ himself when upon earth manifest as much to us Matth. 28.20 Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and behold I am with you alway or every day even to the consumption of this age So the Greek reads it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the singular number not in the plural number as in other places where it is used for ever the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Peter bears witness hereto 2 Pet. 3.12 13. Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the

day of the Lord wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved c. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness Peter though an Apostle and Minister of the Churches and to the world yet he expected a more glorious Church and Ministry for you must not understand by heavens and elements is here meant those visible to us as if they should be burnt up or heavens and earth to be that which you behold and live in but Churches and Ministry Doctrines and teachings of and by men Yea John will lead you to the knowledge of this Rev. 21.3 22 23. Behold the tabernacle of God is with men and God himself shall be with them c. And I saw no temple therein for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it He is a weake man and a weak Christian that is under the Ministry of the Apostles that hath any man to teach him or is under any teaching of God by men And my dear friends and brethren let me tell you without offence that you are not under the second Covenant but under a Covenant of the outward man under the Compact of the Letter untill you cease teaching one another and preaching one to the other but are taught of God onely So runs the terms of that Covenant observe it Hebr. 8.10 11. In that Covenant when persons are under it they shall not say one to another brother know the Lord this is the voice of the Lord that is not This the Lord saith that man saith this is truth that is error No in this Covenant you shall know God perfectly fully and clearly O strange doctrine and horrid blasphemy will some of you my brothren say but I will bear with the fruits of your darkness And now I am to deliver to you First a word of terror and judgment and secondly of counsel and advice First Terror and Judgement I am to tell you the Lord hath cursed the Figtree he hath caused your gifts to wither you tree yeelds no more fruit your root is without sap your teachings without life your ministrations affording no peace either I say none at all but dejection and casting down or else peace temporary because of the uncertainty of your doctrine peace mixed with enmity and breakings out and a love with feare when perfect love casts out fear for fear hath torment A Saint and yet a sinner when he that is horn of God sinneth not You shall call in this old Church-way and not be heard cry and the Lord will turn from you you shall sly at the rebuke of one though you are a thousand at the rebuke of five shall ye slye untill you be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain and as an Ensigne on a hill The Sun shall go down over the Prophets and the day shall be dark over them Emptiness and a shadow shall be written upon all that you 〈◊〉 This Sun and Moon of yours shall be ashamed when the Lord shall reign in mount Zion The Lord is sending leanness among you and a famine not of bread and a thirst not of water but of hearing the Word of the Lord and you shall wander from Sea to Sea from Church to Church from Society to Society from Preacher to Preacher from man to man from brother to brother from doctrine to doctrine and shall not finde the Lord you your selves shall shortly see this fulfilled upon you you shal burn your books and writings you shal see this mountain of yours forsaken and thus judgement shall follow you and a fire shall be kindled among you and burn you up And the Lord to make out tokens of his indignation against you how he hath left you as you have left him and his glory hath in these our daies visibly discovered it by a giving you up to the weakness and folly of your own hearts which hath produced and effected in you the betraying and shedding innocent blood even the blood of those whom you formerly honoured strengthning the hands of their oppressors adding affliction to affliction which the spirit of God calleth cruelty In the day that the strangers carried away captive his even Jacobs forces and foreigners entred into his even the righteous gates and casts lots upon them even thou wast as one of them thou stood'st in the cross-waies to cut off those that did escape But the day of the Lord is near as thou hast done shall it be done to thee the reward shall return upon thine owne head this innocent blood have you shed even you or most of you that call your selves the Churches of God As I do not own their boasting in or gathering to themselves an arm of flesh and by a warlike way to endeavour to free themselves and establish righteousness in the Land So I cannot but testifie against the bloody unchristian-like thoughts and actions that hath been manifested in you to them And who should have thought that no sooner could liberty be given you which once were so enslaved and captived in and for the practise of your Religion that for so doing you daily suffered or in continual leopardy I say that you should seek to enslave and embondage others whom you professedly honour as righteous some to God and others of them to men save in this action But sweet and good is the hand of the Lord in this that he might thereby make a discovery of you to the World Now I shall shew you a few Reasons of the judgements of the Lord thus falling upon you 1. Because the Temple of the Lord not the Lord is your glory Every thing that God welleth in you fall down to and so fall down to Angels Saints Men Ordinances Ministers and Officers when these at the best are but Gods habitation garments of the earth and decaying vestures wherewith God cloathes himself You are satisfied that you are a Church member that you are of such and such a Congregation that you have such a Pastor that you have submitted to such an Ordinance or Ordinances O this doth tickle you I know it when I walked among you Nay it further appeares by those mean and low thoughts you have of those that are not of your Order some of you can hardly pray with them others not own them as brethren and the rest charging them with disobedience in not walking up to those withered dead and decayed things that you seek to keep alive Now as long as you remain under these dispensations the Lord in and under these should only be your glory 1 Cor. 1.31 He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Object But some of you will say Though indeed we are under all these administrations yet we glory not in them if we may be said to know our own hearts we are commanded so to do by God and we dare not sleight any injunction from the Lord. Answ I know it is here you stick