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	faith_n	2,836	5	4.6389	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86493	Of the nature of faith. A sermon, / by Barten Holyday, Doctor of Divinity.	Holyday, Barton, 1593-1661.	1654 (1654)	Wing H2532; Thomason E809_17; ESTC R207573	12,893	37

like into which those external sacrifices were changed by Christ are all offered only unto God And indeed even in those first sacrifices the end being to unite man unto God ut sancta societate illi adhaereamus as S. Austin speaks there was not onely the external part but also the inward that with which it was offered the affection of which the outward was but a sign Without which mind God told them by his Prophet Isaiah He that kills an Oxe is as if he slew a man he that sacrifices a Lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck he that offers an oblation as if he offered swine's blood he that burns incense as if he blessed an idol Non sacrificia sunt quae sanctificant sed gratia offerentis sayes Irenaeus The holiness is not in the sacrifice but in the sacrificer It is not said that God had respect to Abel's sacrifice but to Abel and his sacrifice to signifie as some think that God looked first upon his faith and afterwards on his sacrifice Indeed the very Heathen understand this Divinity Plato tells us that the Athenians having with excessive sacrifices implored Jupiter Ammon in a war against the Lacedemonians yet receiving the overthrow sent Embassadors to expostulate the business with their God who was shrewdly shent by them and asked how chance he failed them in this their enterprise to whom their God excused himself by a reply that indeed he acknowledged their Altars were better dressed then the Lacedemonians but that nothing was dressed but their Altars or that their Altars were better dressed then their mindes The minde then being required in a true sacrifice you may view the sacrifices of Cain and Abel who according to the instructions they had from Adam bring their sacrifices from their own professions at the end of days Gen. 4.3 that is in processe of time Which some think to have been at the yeer's end then indeed men were wont solemnly to sacrifice to God in thankfulnesse having gathered in their fruits So did the Law of Moses afterwards command Exodus 23.16 which order was observed from the beginning by the Fathers and as the Philosopher in his Morals tells us it was observed even amongst the Gentiles But with the sacrifice of old there was besides a Thankfulnesse to God a yearly remembrance also of their sinnes Hebr. 10.3 and a hope of the forgivenesse of them by Christ to come the Legall sacrifices being insufficient Hebr. 10.1 2. Now some more particularly think these brothers offered these sacrifices by the hand of their Father Adam who was High Priest as afterwards ordinarily the first-born in families were Priests until Moses and that he offered their gifts upon an altar Cain being an Husbandman brought of the fruit of the ground and Abel being a Shepherd brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof These were their sacrifices but Abel offered the more excellent sacrifice this was the difference of the sacrifice That it was better it may partly appear from the sacrifice it self for whereas it is onely said Gen. 4.3 Cain's was of the fruit of the ground the holy Ghost more accurately Gen 4.4 describes Abels to have been of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof Which was even according to the minde of God to whom the first born were the most acceptable offering and such as afterwards he prescribed by Moses And as for the offering of the fat that likewise was as acceptable whether by that be signified the fattest of his flock or whether he brought the fat and burnt it to the Lord as God did afterwards command by Moses figuratively implying that the hardnesse of the heart is to be consum'd by the fireof the Spirit as some devoutly conceive though without doubt it properly signifies the excellency of the sacrifice and but in an after-sense want of sense and unbelief Again that Abel's sacrifice was the better it may appear from Gods approbation of it it being said that God had respect to Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect God had respect to Abel's offering 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 respexit which signifies to look upon a thing with intentiveness and approbation and so with delight so that God delighted in Abels sacrifice which pleasure of the Lord is somtimes call'd seeing so God is said to have respect or to see Abels offering and sometimes it is called smelling as it is said of Noah's first sacrifice after the flood The Lord smelled a sweet savour Gen. 8.21 So in 1 Sam. 26.19 When it is said Let the Lord accept an offering the Margin from the Original renders it Let him smell an offering Lastly that it was better God testified no doubt by some outward signe for otherwise how could Cain have known that God accepted not his offering and so fall into into discontent And this sign as Saint Jerome in his Hebraical Traditions tells us was no other then Fire sent down upon the sacrifice of Abel which it consumed leaving Cain's untouched According to which sense Theodosian renders it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God fir'd Abel and his sacrifice And this is most probable since God did afterwards in that manner declare his delight and acceptance of other mens sacrifices As of the sacrifice at Aarons consecration Levit. 9.24 Of Gideons likewise Judg. 6. v. 21. Of Davids 1. Chron. 21.26 Of Solomons 2 Chron. 7.1 Of Eliahs also 1 Kings 18.38 Nay the Heathens false Deity the Devil by divine permissiō did thus deal by the sacrifices offered amongst them Solinus telling us A litato numine fit incendium They brought the sacrifice and the God brought the fire which was according to a permitted imitation of Gods work who testified his favourable acceptance of a sacrifice by turning it to ashes so prayes the Church for Davids offering according to the Original Psal 20.3 Thus we see that Abel's was the more excellent sacrifice but now we must know why it vvas the more excellent we see the difference now vvee must see the cause of the difference and the Apostle tells us it was Faith by Faith If the Apostle had not here staid our enquiry vvee might have embraced the fine conjecture of Josephus a conjecture seemly though not found He vvill have the diversity to arise from the diversity of their professions Abel's sacrifice being taken out of his flock a sacrifice provided to his hand in the simplicity of nature but Cain's being a sacrifice from the fruit of the earth vvhich he did dresse vvith much care and covetousnesse forcing it by art unto abundance and so a sacrifice of guilt and violence But this caus does as much differ from the true cause as Cain's sacrifice differed frō Abel's it does as much differ though not as odiously the fruits of the earth being a sacrifice afterwards also as appears Lev. 23.14 but Cains was vvithout faith as Abel's the more excellent being offer'd by