Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	advantage_n	fight_v	great_a	1,170	5	3.0086	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36020	A sermon at the funeral of the Lady Elizabeth Alston, wife of Sir Thomas Alston, Knight and Baronet preached in the parish-church of Woodhill in Bedford-shire, Septemb. 10, 1677 / by William Dillingham ...	Dillingham, William, 1617?-1689.	1678 (1678)	Wing D1487; ESTC R10439	20,890	43

the right hand and on the left enticing and alluring us to Sin terrifying and persecuting us to drive us from God and Gooodness And with this Host assaulting us from without do combine a Party within us our mutinous Lusts and Corruptions the Flesh lusting against the Spirit without which all Satan's Attempts upon us would be in vain as we see those against Jesus Christ were because as our Saviour saith Joh. 14.30 The Prince of this World cometh and hath nothing in me No Corruption to side with him no combustible Matter for his Wild-fire to take hold of so that all his Attempts against him were in vain And so would they be against us also were it not for those Bosom-Traitors which harbour in our Breasts those Lusts which war in our Members It is the Tinder within us that makes Satan's fiery Darts and Temptations so dangerous to us These our Enemies are represented unto us as very formidable and dangerous and so they are whether we consider 1. Their Number They are very numerous Legions of Devils and a whole World of wicked Men. But yet if Beelzebub commanded only an Army of Flies though never so numerous and swarming the danger were not so great But add to their Number 2. Their Power and Might They are Angels and how great the natural Power of one single Angel is witness the Camp of the Assyrians 2 Kin. 19.35 where one Angel in one Night made a Carnage of no less than an hundred eighty five thousand Men. Hence it is that Angels are said to excel in Strength Psal 103. 20. And although Satan and his Train be fallen from their Happiness Holiness and extremely debauch'd in their Morals yet their natural Powers do still continue very great and therefore they are called Principalities and Powers and spiritual Wickedness in high Places Eph. 6.12 In high Places surely a great Advantage in Wrestling and no less in Fighting But although our Enemies were never so numerous and never so strong yet if they had no Wisdom to order their Numbers and to manage their Strength they might come to Ruin by their own Weight as we know that great Armies have proved sometimes unweildy and cumbersom to themselves and by frequent Mutinies have in time fretted themselves to nothing But 3. Our Enemies are subtle Enemies managing their Force with exceeding great Policy and Cunning and are wont to prevail more by Sleight than Power The Devil is called the Old Serpent Rev. 12.9 A Serpent subtle by Nature but much more by long Use and Experience and old Serpent He hath many Windings and Turnings many Devices and Stratagems many Wiles and Methods to circumvent us by 4. Our Spiritual Enemies are Cruel and Merciless which makes them still the more dangerous This adds Will to their Power and sets their Subtlety on work to contrive Mischief against us In this respect Satan is said to have been a Murderer from the beginning John 8.44 And called a red Dragon Rev. 12.3 A roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet. 5.8 5. This his Malice to our Souls makes him watchful and restless exceedingly industrious to work us Mischief and to bring Dishonour unto God We see with what indefatigable Industry he prosecuted our Saviour Christ by tempting him again and again by slandering and blaspheming him by crucifying him and even after Death by denying and belying his Resurrection He left no Stone unturn'd that by any means if it had been possible he might have hindred God's Glory and Man's Salvation Thus we see what a dangerous Adversary we have to fight against whom resist stedfast in the Faith for we are not ignorant of his Devices And now 't is high time to bethink our selves wherewith we may oppose him and defend our selves 3. As in other Fightings so in this Christian Combat we are furnish'd with Weapons both for the offensive and defensive Part and those both of them tried and approved 2 Cor. 10.4 5. The Weapons of our Warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong Holds And we have the whole Armour of God which is to be put on by every one of us that we may be able to stand against the Violence and Wiles of the Devil The several Parts whereof we may see described Ephes 6.13 c. Truth Righteousness and Faith the Word of God and Prayer Stand therefore upon your watch having your Loins girt fight the good Fight of Faith quit your selves like Men but be sure you take Christ for your General he is the Captain of our Salvation Heb. 2.10 He hath baffled the Devil and overcome the World therefore be of good Comfort 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God will give us the Victory through Jesus Christ our Lord 1 Cor. 15.57 The Quarrel is ancient as old as Gen. 3.15 Our Enemies are formidable but our Cause is good and God is on our side and so long who shall be against us who can stand against him Not the Gates of Hell the Plots and Power of it nor the Depths of Satan nor all his whole Militia shall be able ever to prevail against the Church of Christ Be thou faithful unto Death and he shall give thee a Crown of Life For those that conquer shall be rewarded as shall be shewed anon So much briefly of the first Metaphor whereby the Life of a Christian is set forth unto us It is a Fight I have fought a good Fight A good Fight it is in respect of the Cause good also in respect of the Nature of the Fight which is to be managed by well-doing and good also in respect of the Success which is Victory and Happiness But I hasten to the next Resemblance of a Christian Life 2. The Christian Life is compared to a Course or Race I have finished my Course A Course of Life is a Phrase in ordinary use with us at this day as Spatium vitae decurrere was with the ancient Romans But it seems in this Place to have been borrowed by the Apostle from the running of a Race used in the Olympick Games by the Grecians called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very word here used by St. Paul To this we may observe him often alluding in his Epistles Heb. 12.1 Let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us laying aside every weight And Phil. 3.14 He saith of himself I press toward the Mark for the Prize of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus where the Expressions of pressing toward the Mark and for the Prize have manifest allusion to the running of a Race Now the Race of a Christian is no other than a careful and consciencious and zealous walking in the ways of God which lead unto Salvation wherein we shall meet with many hindrances 1. The Sin that so easily besets us which is spoken of in Heb. 12.1 Our Corruption within us which hopples and intangles us so that we cannot do the things which we would 2.