Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	able_a	stand_v	zion_n	24	3	9.0684	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77593	Ton anexichniaston plouton [sic] tou Christou. The unsearchable riches of Christ. Or, Meat for strong men. Milke [for] babes. Held for th in twenty-two sermons from Ephesians 3.8. By Thomas Brookes, preacher of the Word at Margarets New-Fishstreet.; Anexichniastoi ploutoi tou Christou	Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1657 (1657)	Wing B4919; Thomason E841_8	318,122	353

dispossessing of his Son If thou canst believe saith Christ all things are possible And the poore man said with teares Lord I believe helpe my unbelief And presently Christ charged the foule spirit to come out of him c. A believing husband a bel●eving wife a believing Child or a believing servant may bring downe by the actings of faith many a blessing upon their relations Faith hath a happy hand and never but speeds in one kind or another It hath what it would either in money or moneys worth Apollenius saith Sozonem Never askt any thing of God either for himselfe or his friends but he had it And one pointing to Luther said There 's a man can have any thing of God that he will aske And as faith brings downe blessings upon our owne heads Faith hath a kind of Omnipotency in it i●'s able to do all thing● c. and the heads of our friends so it often brings downe wrath upon our enemies There 's nothing contributes so much to our enemies ruine as faith doth I am confident it hath neither been Armies nor Navies nor Parliaments that have had the chief hand in bringing howne the proud and stout enemies of Christ and Zion in this and other Nations but the faith of his despised people One Enemy may stand before Mary Queen of Scots that was Mo●her o King James was wont to say That she feared M● Knockes prayers who was a man of much ●●i●h more then an Army of ten thousand men the face of another but what enemy can stand before the face and power of faith That 's a remarkable Scripture Heb. 11. 33. Who through faith subdued Kingdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained Promises stopped the mouths of Lyons quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weaknesse were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the Armies of Alians Other means were used but that which did the work and struck all dead was faith faith ingages God in every incounter and who can stand before a consuming fire Polybius speaking of Horati●s his keeping of the field against his Enemies Forces saith That his enemies were more afraid of his faith then of his war like strength And truly there is nothing that renders men more dreadfull to an understanding enemy then their faith Oh! 't is brave for men to believe downe the powers of darknesse to believe downe those that war against the Lamb c. No way to get an Enemy downe like this nor no way to keep an Enemy downe like this No way to save a Kingdome like this nor no way to keep a Kingdome like this the Nation is beholding to none so much as to believing soules Oh England England thou hadst long before this been a prey to men that delight in blood had it not been for the faith of the Worme Jacob c. Christians as you would have Christ goe on and doe more and more glorious things for England as you would be Crown'd with the choycest and the chiefest blessings and as you would have vengeance executed upon all that hate that wage war against and persecute Christ and the Saints be mighty in believing Ninthly and lastly Faith is a root Grace and will the branches flourish if the root wither O therefore water this root have an eye to this root If you have a choyce root in any of your Gardens Oh how carefull are you of it you will mind it and water it and look to it c. Well of all graces faith is the root grace and if this dye you will find your graces to languish your hope love fear patience humility joy c. can never out-live your faith these live together and they dye together therefore above all labour to be rich in faith for this is a root grace and if this flourish all other graces will flourish but if this decay all other graces will loose their strength beauty and glory c. And thus much for the fifth Proposition We come now to the sixth Proposition and that is this That no gracious soules doe at all times alike grow and thrive in spirituall riches A Child sometimes shootes up more in a month then he doth at other times in many months and sometimes more And don't Plants and Trees sometimes shoot up more in a week then ●n many c. in a year then he does afterwards in many years So many a Christian thrives more and gets more spirituall riches in one moneth then in many in one year then in many I appeale to your experiences Christians don't you find it so I know you doe To cite Scripture to prove this would be to cast water into the sea and to light Candles to see the Sun at noone Sin and Satan doe sometimes work more violently and more strongly in the soules of Saints then at other times Now when sin and Satan work most and prevaile most then grace thrives least As the life of grace is the death of sin and the growth of grace the decay of sin so the increase of sin is the decay of grace and the strengthning No ships have it all times the same gales of wind c. of sin is the weakning of grace Againe No Saints have at all times alike gales of the spirit of God and therefore they doe not grow in spirituall riches at all times alike A man thrives in spirituall riches as the gales of the spirit of God are upon him and no otherwise When the spirit of the Lord doth blow most sweetly Cant. 4. ult and strongly upon his heart then his graces thrive and flourish most then those beds of spices doe yeeld the most fragrant smell But when the spirit of the Lord doth withdraw and with-hold his influences how does the strength and glory Latimer said of the Spirit That 't is coming and going c. of grace wither and decay The Herb Heliotropium doth turne about and open and shut according to the motion of the Sun so doe the graces of the Saints according to the internall gales motions and operations of the spirit c. Againe No Saints have at all times the like externall advantages and opportunities of growing rich in spiritualls They have not the word it may be in that power and life as formerly or it may be they injoy not the communion of Saints as formerly or if they doe yet perhaps those that have formerly been as fire to warme and inflame them are now become water to coole them and deaden them or it may be they have not those advantages for Closet duties as formerly or it may be the course of nature is changed and if so 't is no wonder that they thrive not in spiritulls as formerly When Children have not as good food and as good lodging and as good looking after as at other times no wonder if they thrive not as at other times When men have not the same advantages and

the blood of the Lamb. off this burden that sinks the soule even as low as hell Faith must make a Plaister of the blood of Christ and apply it to the soule or the soule will dye under its guilt There 's nothing below this can doe it faith's application of the blood of Christ takes off the guilt and turnes the storme to a calme Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Againe Suppose that the power and prevalency of sin hinders the soules sweet communion with God so that the Much lesse th●n can the Papists purga tories watchings whipings c. or St. Francis his kissing or licking of Leper's sores which wil● cleanse the ●retting Leprosie of sin c. A touch of ●aith cureth the woman as well as a f●ll hold 'T is the exercise of the graces of the spirit by which we mortifie the deeds of the flesh Rom. 8. 13. It is not our strong resolutions or purposes that will be able to over-master these e●emies A ●oul-sore will run till it be indeed healed though we say it shall not soule cannot sport it selfe and joy and delight it selfe in God as in the dayes of old it cannot see God smiling stroaking and speaking kindly as in former dayes Now there 's nothing in all the world that can ease the soule of this burden of sin below the exercise of grace Oh saith such a poore soule I pray Sir and yet I sin I resolve against sin and yet I sin I combate against sin and yet I am carried Captive by sin I have left no outward means unattempted and yet after all my sins are too hard for me after all my sweating striving and weeping I am carried downe the streame There 's nothing now but the actings of faith upon a crucified Christ that will take off this burden from the soule of man Now you must make use of your graces to draw virtue from Christ now faith must touch the hem of Christs garment or thou wilt never be healed 'T is just with a soule in this case as it was with the ponre widow Luke 8. 43. to 49. that had a bloody issue she leaves no means unattempted whereby she might be cured she runs from one Physitian to another till she had spent all that she was worth till she had brought a noble to nine-pence and now sayes she If I could but touch the hem of his Garment I should be whole Hereupon she crowds through the crowd to come to Christ and being got behind him she touches the hem of his garment and immediately she was made whole The cure being thus wrought Christ uncrownes himselfe to crowne her faith And he said unto her daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole goe in peace He doth not say woman thy trembling hath made thee whole or woman thy sweating and struggling in a crowd to come to me hath made thee whole or woman thy falling downe and abasing thy selfe though she did all this but woman thy faith hath made thee whole Ah Christians 't is not your trembling or your falling downe or your sweating in this and that service that will stop the bloody issue of your sins but believing in Christ 'T is sad to consider how few Professors in these dayes have attain'd the right way of mortifying of sin they usually goe out against their sins in the strength of their owne purposes prayers and resolutions c. and scarce look so high as a crucified Christ they mind not the exercise of their faith upon Christ and therefore it 's a righteous thing with Christ that after all they should be carried captive by their sins Nothing eats out sin like the actings of grace nothing weakers and wasts the strength of sin like the exercise of grace Oh did men believe more in Christ sin would dye more did they believe the threatnings more sin would dye more did they believe the Promises more sin would dye more did they believe reigning with Christ more sin would dye more He that hath 1 John 3. 3. this hope purifies himselfe even as Christ is pure Againe Suppose that the soule be followed with black dismall fiery temptations there 's nothing now in all the world that can Divinely strengthen and fence the soule against these Luther said I am without set upon by all the world and within by the Devi●l all his Angels and yet by the exercise of grace he became victorious over them all c. temptations but the exercise of grace the improvement of grace 'T is true you are to hear read pray meditate c. but all these without the exercise of grace in them will never make you victorious over Satans temptations Nothing puts Satan to it like the exercise of grace 'T is said of Satan that he should say to a holy man who was much in the exercise of grace Tu me semper vincis Thou doest alwayes overcome me Ephes 6. 16. Above all take the shield of faith whereby ye may be able to quench the fiery darts of the Devil Whatsoever piece of Armour you neglect be sure that you neglect not the Shield of faith The Greek word that 's here rendred a Shield comes from another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 word that signifies a doore or a gate to note that as a doore or a gate doth secure our bodies so will the shield of faith secure our soules against the fiery darts of the Devill Above all take the shield of faith whereby ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the Devil The Apostle alludes to the custome of the Scythians who used to dip the heads of their Arrowes or Darts in the gall of Aspes and Vipers the venomous heat of which like a fire in their flesh kill'd the wounded with torments the likest hell of any other But the Souldiers then had generally Shields of raw neats leather as * Polebius and Vigetius c. severall Writers testifie and when the fiery darts lighted upon them they were presently quencht So these fiery darts of Satan when they light upon the shield of faith they are presently quenched and there is no other way to doe it till the Lord draw out a mans faith to act upon the Promises and upon Christ these fiery darts will not be quencht Againe Suppose that the world the smiling world or the frowning world the tempting world or the persecuting world Faith is a better Engineer then Daedalus and yet he mide wings with which he made an escape over the high walls within which he was imprisoned This world is the soules prison yet faith is such an Engineer that it can make wings for the soule to fly out c. should lye as a heavy stone or burden upon your hearts as it doth upon the hearts of thousands in these dayes witnesse their attempting any thing to get the favours honours and riches of this