Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A03609
|
The soules implantation into the naturall olive. By T.H.; Soules implantation
|
Hooker, Thomas, 1586-1647.
|
1640
(1640)
|
STC 13732; ESTC S104198
|
169,253
|
375
|
except it be humbled and broken so those knotty proud hearts of yours must be planed and hewed before you will rest upon God for mercy or yeeld obedience to him How farre God breaketh and humbleth we will shew afterward 2. Those reproved who dislike brokennesse of heart in others 2. This may fall heavie upon the brave Spirits and boone Gallants of the world that are not able to see and approve this brokennesse of heart in others they count it a womanish and weake kinde of disposition and make a mocke of this humility of heart and when God hath wounded and humbled a poore sinner they tread upon him and follow him with desperate disgraces reproaches and discouragements I need not mention their language in this case I wish wee were freed from them What say they And are you one of these broken hearts and tender consciences Take heed how you sinne for if you doe you must weepe out your eyes and mope out your dayes in a corner even for ever Good Lord is it possible that ever there should rest such inhumane desperate divellish prophannesse in the heart of any man upon earth Let mee presse a passage or two to this end that such as are guiltie of this sinne may take notice of it as there are too many of them in this age This argues a man almost forsaken of God and I had almost said reserved to everlasting destruction There is no greater token that God never purposeth any good to that man Consider that place in Psal 69.23 24 25 26 27 28. The holy Prophet makes many fearful imprecations as though he would pluck justice from heaven Let their eyes be darkened that they see not and make their loynes continually to shake Poure out thine indignation upon them and let thy wrathfull anger take hold upon them Oh what a strange passage is this that a man that was inward with God should rend the heavens to pull downe vengeance thence for such men Who are all these Surely they were some Divels incarnate and no men that Gods Prophet would pray against Let their habitation bee desolate and no man to dwell in their tents Why what 's the matter For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten and they talke to the griefe of those whom thou hast wounded Lord saith he adde iniquitie to their iniquity and let them not come into thy righteousnesse You that are guilty of this consider it Me-thinkes it might make the soule of a sinful man to shake at the hearing of it When God hath wounded the heart and awakened the conscience and the Lord hath spoken bitter things to his heart wilt thou grieve those that God hath smitten It is an argument of a man whom God hath devoted to destruction Were a mans eyes opened and his conscience awakened it would make him tremble Thou that hast bin an enemy to the Saints of God and because the Saints of God cry mightily and dare not doe as they have done to joyne with thee in thy wicked courses wilt thou I say reproach them and lay more burthen upon them and say What you have had Sermons enow Now you are wounded and you must mourne and you must be holy The God of heaven hath spoken this by his holy Prophet David who knew those wicked wretches Though I know none such it may be for the while yet no question there be such in the Congregation He that now makes a mocke of contrition shall breake for ever and he that will not now be broken shall have the wrath of God to burne in his heart for ever in hell The Lord in mercy breake the hearts of such men and make them to say Good Lord is this the brand of a reprobate and what shall my name be blotted out of the booke of life I have persecuted such and such a man and such a woman the Lord grieved him and I grieved him too His was the sorrow but mine was the sin and shall bee my shame for ever for ought I know Another passage is Deu. 25.17 18 19. When the people of Israel came from Egypt Amalek tooke advantage against them when they were weake Remember saith the Text what Amalek did unto thee by the way when you came forth of Egypt How hee smote thee when thou wert faint and weary Therefore it shall be when the Lord thy God shall give thee rest from all thine enemies that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven And 1 Sam. 15.2.3 seventy yeares after the Lord remembred that For the Text saith I remember what Amalek did to Israel how hee laid wait for him in the way when he came out of Egypt Now therefore goe and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have both infants and sucklings and oxen and the like What this Amalek did even so doe these wicked men When a poore soule is humbled and will forsake his sinnes and his wicked wayes and he groweth faint and feeble-hearted and wonderfull heavie burthened wilt thou now turne Amalek Wilt thou kill him that is now burthened under the heavie wrath of God and wilt thou now raile upon him Curse Amalek I will remember him saith God Take heed lest God remember thee and root out thee and thy posteritie from under heaven Nay the Lord himselfe and all the Saints doe rejoyce in the ruine and destruction of an ungodly wretch as in the example of Doeg Psalme 52.3 4 5. Thou lovest evill more than good and lying rather then to speake righteousnesse Selah Thou lovest all devouring words O thou false tongue God shall likewise destroy thee for ever hee shall take thee away and plucke thee out of thy dwelling place Selah Thou lovest grieving words Well God will serve thee in thy kind and when thou art in hell the righteous shall rejoyce over thee and say Lord this is he that grieved the hearts of such as were humbled this is he that had a proud herrt and scorned to be humbled and therefore shall everlastingly de damned The Divels themselves will rejoyce in thy torments and say What are you become like to us This is the man that scorned to bee humbled and to have his heart broken what is hee come downe to hell now The hearts of the damned shall be enlarged to glory in thy confusion Indeed if a poore soule feele any weight of sin upon him then all the Towne is up in armes against him Oh see your sinne and goe and breake your hearts for this sinne Dislike not in others what yourselves are bound to be and to doe This of the first Use 2. Vse 2 To get comfort begin in sorrow It is a word of direction and instruction how to get this grace at the hands of God goe Gods way and goe the ready way If ever thou wilt receive grace from God doe that which God doth as Hosea 2.14 Behold I will allure her and bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably
chap. 3.16 When I heard my belly trembled my lips quivered at the voyce rottennesse entred into my bones and I trembled my selfe that I might rest in the day of trouble When wee teach joy in God amidst great calamities we teach not an Atheisticall Cyclopicall contempt of the judgements of God God forbid but to take off the edge sharpnesse of afflictions by the exercises of humiliation Even reckoning makes long friends which is true of God and his people If wee would judge our selves 1 Cor. 11.31 we should not be judged Thirdly be much and often in the dutie of prayer the Prophets course in this chapter vers 1. A prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet upon Sigionoth No stream of joy will run in a dry yeare but that which springs up from the mountaine of heaven If wee make our moane to our Father in heaven and get a comfortable answer from him that is comfort that will sticke by us and stay with us when wee have most need of it Joh. 16.24 Aske that your joy may be full Fourthly because Beggars must not be chusers nor may the holy One of Israel be limited therefore resolve to wait the Lords leasure till he have mercy upon you Psal 123.1 2. with Hab. 2.1 I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say unto me and what I shall answer when I am reproved Stay with God in his good wayes at last there will be a vision of comfort Hastinesse of spirit loseth many a comfortable returne of prayer He that beleeveth Isai 28.16 must not make haste Fifthly in seeing iniquity abound which thou canst not helpe and redresse yet be not senselesse but moane thy selfe the evill times before God by fasting and prayer Thus our Prophet made his moane Chap. 1.2 3 4. O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not heare even cry out unto thee of violence and thou wilt not save why doest thou shew mee iniquitie c. They that mourned for the abominations of Jerusalem in the time of peace were marked in the foreheads in the time of trouble and desolation Ezek. 9.4 None shall have the victorie over sinne and the sad effects of it but hee that holds up the quarrell against it though in present he get but little ground both in himselfe and others Lastly in seeing the oppression of men which Solomon said Eccles 7.7 is apt to make a wise man mad look up to God complain to him and referre to him the righting of all iniuries So did our Prophet ch 1.12 Art thou not from everlasting O Lord my God mine holy One we shall not die O Lord thou hast ordained them for judgement and O mightie God thou hast established them for correction They are mighty but God is mightier than they and will pay them one day for all the desolations they have made on earth Downe shall come tumbling one day both the Chaire and Tower of Babylon and the whore that was drunken with the bloud of Saints Rev. 17.6 and of the Martyrs of Jesus Now they lay whole countries waste and desolate to establish their idolatrie and superstition The fig-tree blossomes not neither is fruit in the vines c. yet both these Churches in their miseries have cause to rejoyce in the God of their salvation and we for them If we ply him well in prayer we may yet see them reap in joy after their sowing in teares and as much rejoyce with Sion as ever we mourned for Sion And in the mean time Psal 73.1 at the very worst Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart Ob. All this while you discourse of temporals which it may be easie to want and yet rejoyce still in the Lord but what say you to persecution to the broken heart to the terrors of God in the soule and other spirituall evils how can we now rejoyce in the Lord or joy in the God of our salvation Answ None of these may banish all ioy from the heart of a poore beleever Prov. 15.33 Before honour saith Solomon goeth humility and before consolation humiliation They that sow in teares shall reape in joy Psal 120.5 We will open this Text something largely and therein satisfie the objection the more fully It is to be understood 1. Of the Church in generall The common estate of Gods Church in this world is to bee under the Crosse and the end of that is the Crowne of ioy and glory A good issue there is of all the Saints trials So in this Psalme the Jewish Church had been seventy yeares in the hard captivitie of Babylon They hanged up their harpes at the willowes Psal 137.1 2 3. they wept at the remembrance of Sion their enemies flouted them and required songs in their heavinesse too grievous to last alwayes their God raiseth up a Cyrus for them who shall send them home to their own countrey and not send them empty but with great riches and encouragements and sooner or later the Church shall be rid of all tyrants and persecuters Antichrist Gog and Magog and every enemy 2. Of the particular members of the Church Each childe of God which is now under hatches and often forc'd to water his plants shall one day receive of the Lord double for all his sorrow and perplexitie as in instances First in the act of conversion unto God there is much fear sorrow both by the law condemning and especially by the Gospel aggravating sin to the height of heynousnesse The Christian is wearie heavie laden Mat. 5.3 4 11 28. poore in spirit mournfull ready to despaire But here Christ comprehends him and gives him faith to lay hold on his merit whereby hee is blessed and comfortable Math. 5.3 4. and godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation 2 Cor. 7.10 Secondly in the holy acts of renewing our repentance for example before a Sacrament in time of calamitie at the worke of the Ministery awaking and summoning the heart to make peace with God againe for relapses this costeth the Christian some paines and trouble of conscience and sometimes he is very low brought but all is for setling a stronger and firmer peace in his soule Psal 30.5 11. After a storme Christ ever brings a great calme into the heart Thirdly in mourning for the abhominations of the times This takes away the comfort that others have to the world-ward and macerates a Christian with vexing grieving sighing praying fasting but will procure the marke of deliverance in the evill day Ezek. 9.4 and joy with the Church and children of God for whom somtimes he vexed his righteous soule Esay 66.10 11. And saith our Saviour Ye shall weep Joh. 16.20 33. the world rejoyce but your sorrow shall be turned into joy in me you shal have peace Fourthly in enduring the afflictions of the Gospel or of the world shame