Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	death_n	life_n	reconcile_v	2,136	5	9.4765	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54652	A caveat against covetousness occasioned by some scandalous and pernicious fruit of it, in one amongst us, whose heart went after it / written for admonition to others, by Charles Phelpes.	Phelpes, Charles.	1668 (1668)	Wing P1974; ESTC R13348	74,727	85

of the word he goeth his way hates the light and cometh not continually to it and then forgets what manner of man he was now he may think himself to be in a good condition and free from that which the glass discover'd him to be guilty of Jam. 1. 23. 24. Joh. 3. 20. But this is required of us in the light and strength of his grace to flee from it as from the face of a serpent And indeed this admonition thus doubled is seldom or never used but here in admonishing of this way of iniquity and elsewhere in admonishing of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisie and which prepares men for it as Math. 16. 6. Mark 8 15. Possibly to denote this sin to be more abundant sinful and dangerous as may be after shewn that we may avoid it And so take heed and beware of it that is 1. Of this affection and lust of the flesh and so of the root of it the wisdom of the flesh and leaven of the pharisees abstain from this fleshly lust 1 Pet. 2. 11. Otherwise it will harm us and break forth into practise For can a man carry fire in his bosom and not be burnt Our Savior here doth not simply warn of this mans covetous desire as vented forth but of the root of it to instruct us to take heed to our selves that our hearts be not defiled and overcharged herewith obey it not in the lust see it be ye kept or preserved from inclination to it in your hearts and so have no fellowship with it ask not counsel at this stock or the root of it cease from thine own wisdom seek not thy direction and guidance from this in any matter Pro. 23. 4. Psal 119. 36. Eph. 5. 3-5 11. Yea flee from it 1 Tim. 6. 9-11 Hasten from it with that eagerness and diligence as the covetous man is pursuing it haste escape from it for your life as those that know the end thereof is everlasting death And hate it Exod. 18. 21. Pro. 28. 16. Abhor it not as an ordinary enemy but as an implacable and irreconciliable one and therefore so deal with it mortifie it put it to death Rom. 8. 13. Col. 3. 5 Yea look upon it as enmity it self against God that can never be reconciled 2. And let your conversation in all your actings towards God and men be without it Heb. 13. 5. Take heed and beware of exercising your selves in covetous practises 2 Pet. 2. 14. And from these we shall more easily abstain and lay apart the superfluity of naughtiness as it flowes forth and shoots out it 's superfluous branches if this filthyness in the root affection and lust of it be abstained from Jam. 1. 21. 3. In this admonition as thus doubled may be signified a readiness and inclination even in those that hear the word and are disciples of Christ to have their hearts inclined hereto hence this with other lusts called their members on the earth and they so oft admonished of it Eph. 5. 3-5 Col. 3. 5. And as this may be intimated to us in the admonition as thus prest upon them that even believers have sin dwelling in them and the lust and affections thereof to be crucified and abstained from in the name of the Lord so also it may shew unto us one reason of our need to recieve and drink down this admonition for if we had not the root of it in us or might not be defiled herewith then there were no need to take heed and beware of it But we shall add other demonstrations 3. We now come to give some demonstrations that those that hear the word and are disciples of Christ need to be admonished of this iniquity and to shew wherefore they need it Demonstration 1. Such need to be warned of and to beware of this iniquity because when the heart goes after it it deprives and bereaves the soul of good as Eccles 4. 8. And that both of getting good and doing good 1. This covetousness gone after deprives the foul of getting good when a price is put into the hand of such an one as is inclined thereto he is so prevailed over by this affection and lust that he hath no heart thereto And that 1. sometimes it hath such dominion over a man that it causes him to neglect or not come to and wait at the posts of Wisdoms doors when he is invited thereto by Wisdoms servants then like those in the Parable they begin to make excuse one hath bought a peice of ground and he must needs go see it there was a necessity for this this must be done or otherwise he might be blamed of idleness and carelesness by others And another had bought five yoke of oxen and these are to be proved and a third had married a wife and therefore he could not come he must now take care for the things of the world and provide for the charge that usually follows such a condition that he may have for his wife and children and to lay up for them Luk. 14. 16 20. See how this lust pursued and followed led the professed Church to reason Mal. 3. 14. 15. They said it was vain to serve God to frequent the assemblies of his people to speak often one to another of the name of the Lord or to hear it spoken of Compare it with ver 16. and what profit is it that we have kept his observations though great is the gain of godliness yet because it appeared not so but now the times were evil they might expose themselves to the hatred of men and come to loose all for they that wrought wickedness were set up therefore though they had kept his observations yet now because it stands not with their outward advantage they are thus reasoning with unprofitable talk and so how many are there now that have gladly heard the gospel of our salvation who because of their love to this present world and lest they should loose all have turned away their eares from the truth and forsaken the assemblies of God's peculiar people and are turned to fables and vain things that cannot profit which is lamentable to consider Ezek. 19. 12. 14. Math. 19. 21 22. Heb. 10. 25. Or 2. Though this iniquity have not such dominion over them as quite to withdraw them from the assemblies of Gods people but that they whose hearts are inclined thereto come and sit before him as his people yet this covetousness withholds good things from them and bereaves the soul of good and that 1. Somtimes by minding the things here below and having been unsober in their exercise about them the outward man is so unfitted and they so surprized with sleepiness and heaviness that they hear little or nothing that is spoken either their thoughtfulness and carefulness about what they shall eat what they shall drink and wherewith they shall be cloathed or how they shall increase and heap up more for themselves hinders them so that their

We shall first shew what it is not 1. It is not a serving God in those works of his providence he gives us to be exercised in here under the Sun and diligence therein though in so doing we may be serving our Covetous inclination Yet we are not forbidden to exercise our selves in any honest Trade Way or Imployment though in all our conversations to beware of this iniquity God appointed to man some exercise to be exercised in while he was in the state of innocency namely to dress and to keep the Garden Gen. 2. 15. And hath since given a travel to men to be exercised in Exod. 20. 9. Eccl. 3. 10. And warnes of idleness and slothfulness and shews the evil nature and fruit of it Yea and there are commandments given by the Lord Jesus to the believers that if any would not work neither should they cat c. Rom. 12. 11. 2 Thes 3. 10. Tit. 3. 14. Yea and the Apostles and their fellow-laborers did worke and so make themselves an ensample to the beleivers to follow them 1 Cor. 4. 11. 12. 2 Thess 3. 7-9 And not onely is such instruction and example given to the believers in general but to the Elders of the Church of Ephesus how that so labouring as the apostle had done they ought to support the weak c. Acts 20. 28-25 Yea our blessed Savior hath given us an example who was not onely the reputed Son of a Carpenter but a Carpenter also Mark 6. 3. Luk. 2. 51. 2. Nor is it a desiring of him those things that are needful for our chearful seeking after and glorifying him in order thereto we may desire such meat drink cloaths and such a prospering the work of our hands as may conduce to our hallowing of his name and to such an end he hath instructed us in that doctrine of right prayer to say Give us day by day our daily bread Phil. 4. 6. Though yet in such desire also Covetousness is to be watcht against in the light of the Lord and we to be submitted to God and his infinite wisdome and faithfulness who knows what is most conducible to such an end better than we do and therefore are we willed by the mercies of God to present our bodies to him to be ordered by him as he sees good and taught to pray Thy will be done c. Give us this day our daily bread Math. 6. 10 11. Phil. 4. 5 6 7. Pro. 30. 8 9. 3. Nor is it all coveting that we are admonished of or of all that which is so called we are instructed to Covet earnestly the best gifts 1 Cor. 12. 31. and 14. 39. There are also the lusts of the spirit effected by spirit in the Testimony of Jesus in the spirit of the believer and so the spirit lusteth against the flesh Gal. 5. 17. The new spirit and heart of the hearty believer from the discovery and beholding of the excellency and comliness of Christ his love and loveliness and having tasted of his graciousness as a new born babe desires the sincere milk of the word it earnestly desires more to know Christ win him and be found in him to be conformed to him and clothed on with the fruit of his righteousness it pants after and thirsteth for God even the living God and longs and lusts for him to see further his glory and power in the Sanctuary in his Son and in the assemblies of his hidden ones even as those that cannot be satisfied without wisdom they while walking in the spirit seek it as men seek silver this the one thing they desire and for which they have counted and do count all other things as loss and dung in comparison thereof and in persuing after it and to the promoting of it nothing they suffer moves them nor count they their lives dear to themselves that they may more know and be made partakers of Christ Oh that we were filled more with these lusts of the spirit and were more coveting those excellent things that durable riches and righteousness in Christ Psal 27. 4. and 42. 1 2. and 63. 1-8 Pro. 2. 2-6 and 8. 18. Gal. 5. 16 17. Phil. 3. 8-10 But the Covetousness here admonished of is An affection and lust of the flesh in which a man doth love this world and the things thereof and not content with Gods provision allowance and gift doth greedily desire after more of it that he may be rich in or toward himself 1. I say it is an affection and lust of the flesh as distinguished from and opposed to the lusts of the spirit as before and so to shew unto us whence it springs namely from the flesh the carnal minde or wisdom of the flesh which is sometimes called Covetousness and so opposed to Gods testimonies which is the wisdom from above to shew the nature of it and that it is the source and fountain of this corrupt affection and lust Psal 119. 36. For from this corrupt fountain this iniquity proceeds even from that wisdom which is not from above it descends not or comes not down from the Father of light but ascends out of our hearts and is earthly affecting and lusting after and leading us to love minde and savour earthly things sensual leading us to judge according to outward appearance and to look upon and mind seen things which are temporal and to live by sight or sense as opposed to the living by faith and Devilish as being that which we received from him and are therein like to him leading us to aspire after an equality with God and to have a selfe-sufficiency in our own hands and to that end to worship and serve Satan the god of this world who beautifies and commends the things thereof Jam. 3. 15. Thus our Savior saith From within out of the heart of men namely out of that corrupt understanding and judgment that is in him as of him received from and poisoned by Satan and strengthened by the principles and spirit of this world proceed evil thoughts of God and of our selves and of the things of this world as if blessedness did consist in them and in our possessing abundance of them and thence proceeds Covetousness Mark 7. 21 22. This carnal mind is enmity against God he saith not it hath enmity in it nor onely that it is an enemy to him for then there might possibly be a reconciling of it that notwithstanding but it is enmity it self made up and composed of nothing else so as it can never be reconciled it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be it may be purged out and destroyed but can never be reformed Rom. 8. 7. It would perswade us there is no God Psal 14. 1. Or that he is not able or faithful to give unto us in his way what we stand in need of and that though he hath manifested his love to us in Christ and given him for a standing witness of it that we might when we