Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	earth_n	heaven_n	militant_a	4,766	5	11.7120	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09506	Gods visitation in a sermon preached at Leicester, at an ordinary visitation. By T.P.	Pestell, Thomas, 1584?-1659?	1630 (1630)	STC 19788; ESTC S107478	22,551	46

meets this consultation Make your calling and election sure and this to be done in Gods methode inquire after one calling first and not beginne at the wrong end Hearken to that crie of the spirit within thy soule the kingdome of Heauen is within you and not too fondly spend the time in searching those roules of Gods predestination and take heede of sinking thy soule toward a despaire in his mercie or to a selfe condemnation for the Spirit of God speaking peace darest thou still proclaime a warre or if God haue no bill against thee shall thy timerous conscience bee framing vaine and carnall answeres Doth not God aske by way of indignation where is the bill of thy mothers diuorce or to which of my creditours haue I sould thee Esa 50.1 If so then what shall I answere answere God in obedience all the creatures preach this answer there is in all a correspondencie The corne and wine and oyle heare vs and the Earth heares them and the Heauens heare it but all heare him euen the most vnruly creatures are our rule the stormy winde and tempest obeying his voice So we his voice without in his Word and his voice too within by his spirit speaking to our hearts not then drowne those motions or bury them in company and wine and worldly cares or pleasures least so we quench grieue or doe despight to the spirit of grace and obey him actually not in professorie religion onely but walke in light and bring forth fruites worthy amendment of life Lastly quid retribuam what answere but a gratefull admiration as hee that spake after a full apprehension O Lord what is man that thou dost so visit him This sacrifice as hee counts it an honour so 't is all we can offer all we can offer him on earth and when all things here haue end endlesse thanks shall haue their begining in Heauen As that church in triumph there all those Angels and all those Virgins Prophets Apostles Martyrs with their lowd clarious and Trumpets and Harpes of gold and iuory strike nothing sing nothing but Halleluiah So we that are parts of the Church militant should exact our voices and ioyne in full Chorus We praise thee GOD we acknowledge c. Heauen and Earth shall thus be full of his glory 2. GODS second Visitation is in iudgement and for sin generall When we finde him cōming forth of his treasury his storehouse of plagues warre famine wild-beasts pestilence and particular of crosses sickenesse losse But 't is the great visitation here chiefely meant in the day of iudgement For Iob was vnder temporall calamitie now already at the pronouncing of this text yet as we are viatores in our way to take notice of this especially as it reaches his seruants his choisest though with limitation with that distinction euer ad correctionem non ad ruinam and yet they fall hi●●e in the morning saith Iob in the night saith Dauid nay visiteth him euery morning and trieth him euery moment Iob 7.18 For is there not a swarme an hydra and wheele of troubles in our whole life per caput circa saliunt latus saith he when rose the Sunne so faire but ere his fall some cloudes haue seiz'd on them if not on him some griefe some nay many many perturbations enough I 'le warrant thee for I haue Gods owne testimony Enough for the day is the euill thereof Vpon this visitation when it drops when it fals when it powers on vs. What shall we doe why first debate stand and consider as Iob if all should goe Naked came I out of my mothers wombe and naked must I returne Is it the height the depth of any grieuous affliction What is it more then that of my Sauiour O but he was more then man is it more then theirs in Heb. 11. rackt sawen asunder c. Hast thou yet resisted to bloud or is it come to the fiery triall And then in affliction at least after it aske thy soule is it not good for thee * Heb. 11.2 as the Apostle speakes of strangers may not a man this way too receiue angels vnawares as * Gen. 28.16 Iacob on his iourney at Bethel when hee wak'd and said surely God is in this place so God is in this visitation and I was not aware I tooke at first no notice of his fatherly corrections which are indeede his compassions and consolations thy rod and thy staffe comfort me Psa 23. But now I feele his comming to visite mee is like his visiting the earth which he visites and enriches Psal 65. like a Phisitians visiting an hospitall to cure for if I am sure it is the hand of my God I am sure also that it is in Loue for God is Loue 't is his essence immutable No reason then his visitation should prooue to an irreligious sadnesse or a melancholy a deiection a iealousie a diffidence So long as the worke is his though hee purge or cut so hee giue me not ouer so he cast me not out of his hands so I heare not that voyce which is more dreadfull then ten thousand thunders Depart from me c. Thus farre I am to debate what am I to answere in affliction Surely the best answere is no answere at all Tacui Domine and my soule kept silence not as vnaffected remorcelesse but as subdued by faith repentance obedience working me to a blessed patience captiuating and bringing into subiection euery exorbitant euery wilde and wandring imagination Once haue I spoken saith holy Iob but I will no more or if my heart will vent I haue formes and moldes ready wherein to cast my words that of Elie It is the Lord c. and Dauid Behold here am I. Let him doe vnto me as it seemes good in his owne eyes and I will confesse too to his glory the fruite and the roote I finde that thou O Lord of very faithfulnesse hast caused me to be troubled Psal 119. and thy visitation hath preseru'd my Spirit Iob 10.12 And to draw this into practise in each particular affliction for euery one is Gods embassadour and none to be dismiss'd vnanswered The application is a world of matter which I cannot looke at now onely for that I finde my selfe in a Seminary in a Colledge of Diuines I may haue the liberty the recreation too to make for you and my selfe one particular application For wee my brethren that are or should bee pars indocili melior grege if your pulse beate like mine are certainely so much infected with no worldly calamitie as when saeuit malignum ignobile vulgus as when we finde our selues disgrac'd counted the scumme of those that are indeede the fcumme of the world When all we can say or doe which way soeuer wee frame our doctrine or conuersation it is as water spilt vpon the ground For though we pipe vnto them they will not dance though wee mourne they will not weepe Let a mans behauiour be like