Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	affection_n	lord_n	zion_n	24	3	8.7549	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38823	The Gospel treasury opened, or, The holiest of all unvailing discovering yet more the riches of grace and glory to the vessels of mercy unto whom onely it is given to know the mysteries of that kingdom and the excellency of spirit, power, truth above letter, forms, shadows / in several sermons preached at Kensington & elswhere by John Everard ; whereunto is added the mystical divinity of Dionysius the Areopagite spoken of Acts 17:34 with collections out of other divine authors translated by Dr. Everard, never before printed in English.	Everard, John, 1575?-1650?; Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.; Barker, Matthew, 1619-1698.	1657 (1657)	Wing E3531; ESTC R29421	513,595	936

without Perturbation of Spirit and with indifferencie with a weaned affection here is the very Hinge of the business That when thou hast done all and found it true That except the Lord build the City they build in vain And that except the Lord watch the City the watchmen watch in vain Psal. 127. 1 2. and so consequently That when the Lord hath denyed that success thou seekest yet to be content and quiet As seeing him Ordering all in his greatest wisdom Thou art to aim at This viz. To bring thy self to this point to be alike thankful in health and sickness For crosses and disappointments as for successes and blessings as thou esteemest them for all dispensations even crossest may be successes blessings with God though thou esteemest them not so for he may bless thee most when he crosses thee most and contrary he may most curse thee when he most blesses thee as thou thinkest I but Sir by this rule you would not have me pray neither for the one nor the other neither for plenty nor want neither for liberty nor imprisonment or the like Yes by all means I would have you Pray that God would give you that which is best for you and that he would Turn all To the best but not to direct and appoint him what to do Be sure that your prayers be such as become Gods ears to hear for all the prayers of all flesh through the whole world is displeasing to God He hears not if it be for the satisfying of the flesh lusts Na yas I said God may give a blessing and yet not grant the thing thou desirest but the contrary and yet he gives the blessing and he may and doth both hear and grant thy prayers I know i● is your ordinary common speech when you are in some distress and affliction to say such a thing hath befallen you you praise God for it But At that time what doth your heart say does not it desire liberty from it if it do you do but dissemble with God For could you praise God for it in good earnest you would do it as for a thing which you rejoyce in and are glad of At least to be as equally content to have that condition as the contrary There is enough can say blessed be his name for good things and such things as please them but if God take away those things then they cannot as well say Blessed be his name as holy Iob did And as Hezekiah when he had shewed the treasures of the house of the Lord to the Embassadors the Prophet comes and denounces Gods judgement against him Esay 39. 8. and told him that the King of Babylon should come and carry away all those things he answers the word of the Lord is good which thou hast spoken so where is the man that when God causes any to carry away those things which we esteem can say The word of the Lord is good This is that we should labour for for if once we could attain to this that nothing that God did should displease us Then nothing that we do should displease God But alas alas Vain Man would be wise and will needs contend with his Maker for this is that we should do to subscribe and set to our faith and belief that what ever happens and comes to pass Is the best yea better then if it should happen otherwise Until we come to this or so far as we come short of it We are meer Lucifers meer Devils for we are not content with Gods government and we mislike what he doth and we would fain establish if we had power we would have a government not according to Gods will but according to our own But untill we come to this to esteem Gods government to be best we can never quietly submit to it or choose it for so long as we apprehend a thing to be Evil we cannot choose but hate it for it is natural to us To hate and abhor that which hurts us and to love that which does us good Hence it is that the husbandman when he hath bad weather that destroyes his hopes of his crop if he apprehend this to be evil he cannot love him that is the cause of it and so the Mariner if he apprehends that a contrary wind is evil for him how can he love God who is the cause thereof So likewise if a man thinks it an evil to lose his father or mother or wife or children or goods or lands he cannot choose but hate him that is the cause of all this As Iobs wife says to her husband Doest thou still remain in thine integrity Curse God and dye as if she should say doest thou still bless God that curses thee This is a maxime too commonly received among us that where profit is there is piety where God does not bless a man as we count blessing there we think is no piety and where he does there God is well pleased Oh fools and slow of heart to believe Know this That every man must either be a god or else subject and submitting to a God there must needs be One Rule One Standard-measure that must be the rule of all justice so it is in every thing in corn-measures and the like in weights c. In every thing there is a rule a standard to repair to That rules governs and measures all the rest to which all measures must be brought to be regulated and fitted by it must not be this or that mans saying so but come to the rule So in Divinity will you be your own judges or shall it be this mans opinion that mans opinion or rather shall we not say as David Arise O Lord and judge the earth I will not tell thee any more what thou shouldst do or tell thee what is best for thou a●t Lord and judge Thou art Iustice it self and who shall contradict thee I account better of what thou dost then what I do for my wisdom is foolishness in case of honour in case of dishonor in case of good report in case of evil report in case of riches in case of poverty in case of giving children in case of taking away children In giving fair weather or foul ● whatever thou dost that is best Every thing in the world as one saith hath two hands by the ●ne ye may carry it by the other you cannot As to say My brother hath done me an injury by the hand of injury we cannot carry it but we swell and take it in ill part but take it by the hand of Brother my brother hath done me an injury and then you may bear it for though he hath done me an injury yet because He is my brother I ought to bear with him So again My enemy hath done me an injury by the hand of injury you cannot bear it but by the hand of your Enemy you may for from your Enemy you expected no

despise it we ascend not nor set our feet aright on those six steps ascending up to the Throne of Grace Peace and Rest truly and lively explained in this book to wit 1. Condemnation 2. Annihilation 3. Abdication 4. Indifferency 5. Conformity 6. Union or Deiformity the very Throne it self and compared by the Author as you shall find in this book to the six steps leading up to Solomons Glorious Throne Where are the men now who desire to climb these steps but generally all men account them mighty difficult and painful and therefore decline them men rather descend them then seek to ascend how low and how poorly do most men yea most Professors live how bound up to the world they live altogether unto pleasures or profits and to themselves not unto the Lord and yet t is certain He that will be my disciple must deny himself and take up his Cross Actions not forced or compulsotory but free and voluntary few now seek the glory of God or the good of others but mind themselves love themselves provide for themselves so that they are rivetted into and fastened unto the earth Is this to live by faith to live to Christ Can such men say I dye daily with the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. or I am crucified to the world and the world unto me or can they justifie that they live not but Christ liveth in them or can they plead that they have crucified the old man with the affections and lusts thereof have these men abstained though it may be from outward fleshly lusts yet not from those spiritual wickednesses in high places which also war against the soul O for shame is this to live as Christ lived and to do as ●e did Who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him who judgeth righteously And even hereunto are ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an ensample that we should follow his steps 1 Pet. 2. 21 23. Those Primitive Christians those precious jewels of God whose souls are bound up in the bundle of life they counted all but as loss and dross and dung to gain the knowledge of Christ and him crucified they in the first place sought the Kingdom of heaven and its righteousness they took the Kingdom of heaven by violence and these violent ones took it by force Oh admirably active and passive men of whom the world was not worthy they were afflicted persecuted tormented who counted it their joy to suffer for Christ they went to their Rest through the Cross rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name Those were they that counted not anything no not their lives too dear for Christ and yet in all their sufferings went off Conquerours these found that pearl slighted all and parted with all to get this pearl Behold here is the faith and patience of the Saints Rev. 13. 9. And of this Author we may say he was one that sought after wisdom and found it for he knew the merchandize of it to be better then the merchandize of silver and the gain thereof then fine gold Prov. 1. 4. and 8. And he would often say that he desired to be acquainted with men who had experience of Christ rather then men of notions or speculations that desired to act more then to talk and he did in his publick preaching averr it that though they were never so mean poor and despised by the world yet if they were but acquainted with such experimentall truths as these they were more welcome to him then so many Princes and Potentates and we hope his labours of the like stamp will find the like welcom with such as are experienced and practised in these spiritual truths And to such Auditors he desired to preach to and be acquainted with that he might confirm them in the grace of God We may say here of him and of such high-raised truths as the Prophet Isaiah Isa. 28. 9 10. Whom shall we teach knowledge and whom shall we make to understand doctrine those that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts for precept must be upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line here a little and there a little And such was the counsel of the Author when any came to him either ignorant or full of literal knowledge who usually are full of questions yet are also very ignorant saith he as to Self-denial Annihilation and Resignation which his discerning spirit soon perceived in reasoning with them sometimes alledging to them that of Pythagoras that when any Scholler came to enter himself under him he would enjoyn them to ask no question in three years so that he might teach them as he found them able to receive and at three years end they might then ask him any question but then they had none to ask for he had satisfied all their doubts Or suppose said he there were before you as much meat as you could eat in a moneth if I should enjoyn you to eat it all at a meal or two instead of nourishing it would destroy you whereas if I gave you a moneth to eat it taking your meals orderly and digesting them it would do you much good nourish refresh and strengthen And a narrow-mouthed vessel which holds much in the continent you may fill it with precious liquor and so preserve it if you pour it in as it can receive but if ye pour in too fast ye spil and spoil that which hereafter may support your life Nor do we put young Schollers to learn Latin or Greek at the first entrance but we instil learning by degrees as they are able to suck in and receive with these and such like expressions would he perswade them to wait with patience till God were pleased to reveal and the same counsel do we give to all who cannot be satisfied presently with these things but let them read ponder and wait and those that hunger and thirst shall be filled And truly they are but as St. Iohn and Ieremy say One of a City and two of a Tribe that shall come to Zion who can attain this salvation few there be that enter into this strait gate For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction and many there be that go in thereat but strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life and few there be that finde it And in reading these Sermons you may observe the Author cuts his way clear between First the meer Rationalist who will square out God according to his own reason or else he is no God and herein also including the Formalist and Secondly the Familist who saith he lives above Ordinances and so hath quite left all Religion and by degrees hath turned licencious Ranter which are the main points now in agitation and the two great rocks against which so many either against the one or the