Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	good_a	lord_n	praise_v	2,545	5	9.3917	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93747	The necessity of keeping still unto the ordinances of religion, prayer, hearing the word, baptism, and the Lord's Supper set forth in a sermon preached in the countrey, on Acts VI.4. : wherein is also laid open, and manifested the errour of those people (commonly call'd Quakers) who do neglect the two latter.	Stafford, Richard, 1663-1703.	1698 (1698)	Wing S5126; ESTC R202451	24,791	32

World and all things therein than God's saying Let it be so which is his Word and it was so As the Word of God did create us at first in a litteral and material sense so the same Word is to make us New Creatures to create us again in a spiritual sense to make us live unto God for ever and ever And in order to that it knows all men and knows what is in man and needs not that any one should testify of him for it knows enough of it self The Commandments Rules and Directions are given in that wise according as Man is Prone Subject and Inclinable unto There are more then a Thousand Instances of this throughout the Book of the Lord. But I will recite one or two Only take heed to thy self and keep thy Soul diligently least thou forget the things which thine Eyes have seen Take heed unto your selves least ye forget the Covenant of the Lord your God Deut. 4. 9 23. The Holy Ghost by giving this double caution in this Chapter doth denote and shew forth what Men are apt and subject unto even to the forgetfulness of the Works of God and of the words of his Law for themselves to live according unto and to obey it and therefore he warns them against it Now the several Acts and Parts of Worship are in a manner Visible and also they put in continual mind both of the works of God and of the words of God And for this reason besides his own Command of Enjoyning them they are to be retained and resorted unto all the days of our Life whilst we are here in the Body O Ephraim What shall I do unto thee O Judah What shall I do unto thee For thy Goodness is as the morning Cloud and as the Earthly Dew it goeth away Hos 6. 4. As it is written Jesus Christ spake thus unto Philip Proving him for he himself knew what he would do John 6. 6. Even so God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ doth here ask the same Question doubly over proving his People or putting them to it for he himself knoweth what he hath to do and would do herein How that when their Goodness is as the morning Cloud and as the Early Dew it passeth away He hath provided that it should be renewed and come and succeed again even by the Ordinances of Religion which himself hath ordained and instituted I have several times thought how that in the long days in the hot and sultry weather when is the scorching Sun How the wisdom of God doth then provide for the Earth For whereas at this time of the Year there is little or no Rain for several weeks together If it were not for that Dew which God doth then send every Night and Early in the Morning what would the Earth come unto The most fruitful Ground would become like the Barren Mountains and the Waste howling Wilderness The Heaven that is over our head would be Brass and the Earth that is under us would be Iron Deut. 28. 23. There would be little or no Grass to be seen But the Sun in its full might and strength would scorch and burn it up But now blessed and ever blessed be our God for it by means of the Dew which commonly tarries on the Earth until the Ninth or Tenth hour in the morning It is refreshed instead of Rain and thus it comes to pass that it is neither barren nor unfruitful The observation is common that in Cloudy weather or when it will Rain that day there is usually less or no foregoing Dew The Knowledge and Wisdom of God seeing that there will not be altogether so much need of it then and accordingly he doth so proportion it out who doth all things in Number Weight and Measure O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all And so even now Thou who upholdest all things by the Word of thy Power In wisdom dost thou govern and dispose of all things throughout the whole World O that when People walk out early in the morning and see the Dew lie as the Small Rain upon the tender Herb and as Showers upon the Grass Every little drop whereof doth more Good and therein is more valuable then so many Pearls would eye and see the Lord therein and Praise the Lord for his Goodness and declare his wonders unto the Children of Men. That they would further make known a Spiritual use and improvement hereof as the whole Face of the Earth unless for this Dew would be like unto a Path or Road which Man or Beast continually goes on or at least it would be barren and unfruitful Even so in like manner Mine own heart and the other hearts of the reasonable Inhabitants of this Earth unless it were for the Dew of the Word and of Prayer would become barren and unfruitful in the work of the Lord and in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ But on the other and better hand the constant Dew of the Word and of Prayer if we do not put them from us but have recourse thereunto for the Lord doth hold them forth and Command the Inhabitants of the Earth to use them and receive the benefit of them If these be sought and had daily If this Knowledge and Godliness which last includes both the Word and Prayer and these things be in you and abound there is Great Emphasis in that Word full measure and running over which teaches us that we should do it still more and more Every Branch that beareth Fruit he purgeth that it may bring forth more Fruit John 15. 2. They make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1. 8. Who saith Herein is my Father Glorified that ye bear much Fruit so shall ye be my Disciples John 15. 8. But as without the Dew or Rain there would be no Fruit or Grass so without hearing or reading the Word and Prayer there would be no Fruit brought forth unto God And if God is Glorified when his reasonable Creatures bring forth Fruit then by the Rule of Contraries he is dishonoured when they bring forth no Fruit or when he fails and is disappointed in his Expectation When I looked that it should bring forth Grapes and it brought forth Wild Grapes And what is the consequent of all Poor Creatures the greatest loss will redound to themselves at the last altho' now they do not throughly consider thereof And now go to I will tell you what I will do to my Vineyard it shall be trodden down it shall not be Pruned nor digged but there shall come up Briars and Thorns I will also command the Clouds that they Rain no Rain upon it For the Earth which drinketh in the Rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth Blessing from God But that which beareth Thorns and Briars is rejected and is

nigh unto Cursing whose end is to be burned Heb. 6. 7 8. As the Earth drinketh in the Rain so Almighty God doth require of the Inhabitants thereof that they should drink in hear and receive his word Preached And he having in his Eternal Providence opened a Door in this place where we now are he doth require of the Inhabitants of this Town and Neighbourhood to come for to hear the same And I declare to them all that he will call them to an Account for their refusal or neglect to do the same I warn them beforehand that then the false Surmises and Reproaches of some concerning the Minister nor yet will the vain and frivolous excuses of others avail as to that God with whom we have all do As to those false Surmises and Reproaches they might do as He did in reference to Hannah whom he first supposed drunken and afterwards enquired further and then he understood and said The Lord grant thy Petition So they might come to my self immediately to be throughly satisfied of their present mis-understandings And let their own Consciences try bear Witness and Judge by hearing of the same whither the Way of God is not taught here in Truth There is a very near resemblance and similitude to the Word preached unto the reasonable Inhabitants thereof and to the Rain or Dew descending upon the Earth for as the Rain makes the Earth fruitful so the Word preached if it is drinked in as the Earth drinketh in the Rain if it is mixed with Faith in them that hear it will make men and women meet and prepared for God and meet to receive a Blessing from God My Doctrine shall drop as the Rain my Speech shall distil as the Dew as the small Rain upon the tender Herb and as the Showers upon the Grass Deut. 32. 2. Otherwise the manifold Solicitations and Objects of this World would be apt to scorch and make us fade away even in our good ways But that the Doctrine and Speech of the Word like Rain Dew small Rain and Showers whereby also is to be seen that the Word should not be only preached once and away but day after day and Sabbath after Sabbath for there is a daily succession of Dew or of Rain small Rain or Showers to do most good and then it is when the Word is constantly preached and constantly attended unto and received in then it renders the Vineyard meet for our God If his Word falls upon the Dust of the Wilderness it is Jaremiah's Phrase or upon stony and dry places Mat. 13. 5 6. I wish that the hearts of none who shall hear or read this be that Dust of the Wilderness or stony and dry places then it may seem lost and ineffectual not for want of Worth and Excellency in it self for it is the same Rain that falls there as that which falls upon good ground but the Incapacity is in the Subject It doth not profit not being mixed with Faith in them that hear it Or they suffer it to run off again as Useless Water They do not drink it in as the Earth drinks in the Rain O that some of ye here present would drink in this Sermon Take my word for it if ye would drink it in it would abide longer with ye and do ye more good than that drink which perisheth in the Draught or that strong drink which if immoderately taken in shall be bitter to them that drink it Not so much as to those Qualms of Conscience or Head-Ach which do quickly ensue thereupon But the worst Bitterness will be in the End when they must taste the Bitterness of Death and thence be called to Judgment to receive a due Reward for the Sin and Evil of their Drunkenness in the days of their flesh I would have ye drink that in not one drop further then barely for Thirst and necessary Refreshment But if ye would taste and drink in some of those words as are written by God's blessing and improvement thereon it may become in ye a well of water springing up unto Eternal Life John 4. 14. In a dry Summer that is good and convenient ground which lies next to a River or Brook or Fountains which are perpetually running and springing and when there are apt Floodgates and Instruments to let the water over the ground and drain it again This supplies and makes up from beneath for the Dew and Rain which comes from above And so it is convenient in dwelling houses to keep water always by one Even so we should be always furnished unto which the word Preached doth help us with the like Spiritual Water as it descends from above in the Dew and Rain of the Ordinances And when we have drank it in we should not let it run through but stop and keep it there that it may be turned and converted into our own Moisture For the word is nigh thee even in thine heart See to it well that by Pondering and Remembrance of what thou hearest or readest These words that I Command thee thou shalt lay up in thy heart That it may become as it were a repository of gracious Words and Divine Truths Which like Pools or Rivers of Water will refresh and supply thy need at any time For they drank of that Spiritual Rock that followed them in the Margent there it is went with them and that Rock was Christ 1 Cor. 10. 4. So that it is to have Christ who is the word formed within them that he may follow and go with them whithersoever they go or wheresoever they are This will be yet a more lasting and abiding thing then the Early Dew or the descending Rain for that is not always But to have the Spiritual Rock following us or going with us this is at Midday and Afternoon and at those times when there will be no Rain The word is not nor can be well Preached always but this supplies and helps for that in the Intervals and spaces of time between it even to have a Spiritual drink always within us and to have a Spiritual Rock following and going with us which Rock is Christ out of which we may draw and drink at any time whensoever w● will As one of the Antients said Nothing is so worthy of God as the Salvation of Mankind So it is a most wonderful thing to consider how he hath consulted contrived and provided all things for it In his word especially and also in his other doings and dispensations towards the Children of Men. Happy thrice happy and only happy are those his Servants and Creatures who know that is not all but also comply therewith That as deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy Water Spouts Psal 42. 7. So one ordinance doth follow another and one thing is appendant connected and succeeds another and all to that great end to bring about the common Salvation of Mankind as if God would never let us alone until he hath brought us unto Heaven

On the one hand he is wanting in no means to set us forward and then again he is not wanting in any thing to keep us on continually a-going Yea he hath ordained further that we should here on Earth live the life of Heaven before we come to Heaven Blessed are they that dwell in thy House they will be still praising thee Psal 84. 4. And he hath ordered things in that manner that we may be always a doing the work of God And whereas here some would be apt to think that this would breed Tiresomness he hath again so ordered the matter by those Ordinances of Religion and Worship which he hath instituted that they who herein wait on the Lord should renew their strength they shall mount with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint Isa 40. 31. For whereas a scoffing Ishmael and the men of this world do imagine or say We do not like this kind of work which is never done but our God through his most gracious and bountiful Nature and Doings hath so provided that his Servants shall not be weary in his Work and have a good will therein signified by that Phrase of Running And if at any time there should be any weariness because they are here in the Body and in this Flesh then they shall renew their strength for He giveth Power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength As he doth that so where he sees any thing is wanting or necessary he makes it up and supplies it So it is in the ●forecited place of Hosea where he sees before-hand their failing and Declination that their Goodness is as the Morning Cloud and as as the Early Dew it passeth away How is this to be remedied O Ephraim what shall I do unto thee O Judah what shall I do unto thee Here God asks Questions of his Creatures as if Himself were at a Loss or a stand God here speaks after the manner of men It is much Lord that thou shouldest ask such a Question for thou thy self knowest better than Ephraim or Judah or all the Reasonable Inhabitants of the Earth what thou shalt do unto them and what is proper unto them in such a case or condition Seeing that their Goodness is as the Morning Cloud and as the Early Dew it passeth away God hath provided an help meet and Remedy for that for a Repair of that Breach even the Preaching and Hearing of his Word which is one Principal Ordinance of Religion Hereby intimating that if that will will not do nothing will do but it will do And that this was in the mind of God and that it was the very thing which he would do unto them and he thought of when he asked the foregoing Question is manifest by the words immediately following Therefore here comes the Reason and Cause for it have I hewed them by my Prophets I have slain them by the words of my mouth and thy Judgments are as the Light that goeth forth Hos 6. 5. Where by the way Judgments may be understood for his Commandments according as David doth so call them in the 119th Psalm or rather for his Temporal Judgments on the Earth and then the sense is to this purpose That to help remedy and provide against their Goodness being as the Morning Cloud and as the Early Dew it passeth away God hath adapted the Preaching of his Word signified by his hewing them by his Prophets who were the Persons and Instruments employed therein and also his Judgments abroad in the Earth that the Inhabitants thereof may learn Righteousness For God would have and so would do any thing that the Goodness of his people might continue and not pass away Though here again that Goodness which is as the Morning Cloud and as the Early Dew it goeth away is better than no Goodness at all as some Dew is better than none for this Dew if it is repeated and succeeds daily will do good Therefore have I hewed them by my Prophets I have slain them by the words of my mouth Here observe the manner of the Holy Ghost expressing it God hath made a thorough Work of it I have hewed I have slain For there is a manifest Diversity between that Authoritative and Powerful Preaching of those Prophets and the flat and insipid Discourses of our modern Scribes and Declaimers or of Ignorant and Unfaithful Teachers Christ taught as one having Authority and not as the Scribes As to this the Rule is certain That amongst all that great deal of Preaching which is now abroad in this Nation that is the best Preaching and most from God which hath in it most Authority Power and Liveliness for his Word is a Lively Word and so it will approve it self to the Consciences of the Hearers where it is understood and managed aright In the work of Man's Conversion and Salvation the Word and the Preaching thereof are before Prayer For how shall they Pray for what they have not known or for what they have not heard Now in order to bring God and the things pertaining to his Kingdom to their Knowledge as to which hearing or reading is an outward Gate letting in thereto both the Word and the Preaching or speaking thereof is not only requisite but absolutely and simply necessary And therefore by the way it would be a good method in the Education of Children to instruct them with some Principles of the Knowledge of God and of the Doctrine of Christ and of the things contained in the Scripture according as their tender Years will bear as the small Rain upon the tender Grass Before they are taught to say Prayers meerly by rote or at least to ingraft into them some inward sense and understanding of their own what they say therein In those of Riper Years Knowledge and Understanding should go before Action or otherwise it will be blind and signify nothing or not much Some having constanly used a Course of Devotion confine themselves barely to that as such is all the Religion or more properly superstition of the Papists as also of many Formalists of the National Church Which Devotion or Prayer is but a means to somewhat more even for Grace and Strength to the keeping the Commandments of God and to confirm all the words of his Law to do them as to which Preaching doth instruct and exhort unto which they should still press forward But in no wise as the manner of them is to neglect the needful thing and principal End of that only for adhering to a parcel of outward and customary Prayers for so I phrase it not to vilify or contemn the Ordinance of Prayer in no wise far be it from me But only to express it according as it is by them used and made As also to let ye see on one hand how the Wisdom of God hath appointed these two Ordinances of Preaching and Prayer towards the help and