Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	bring_v	fruit_n	hew_v	3,413	5	12.3365	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B20532	Five lessons for a Christian to learne, or, The summe of severall sermons setting out 1. the state of the elect by nature, 2. the way of their restauration and redemption by Jesus Christ, 3. the great duty of the saints, to leane upon Christ by faith in every condition, 4. the saints duty of self-denyall, or the way to desirable beauty, 5. the right way to true peace, discovering where the troubled Christian may find peace, and the nature of true peace / by John Collings ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1650 (1650)	Wing C5317; ESTC R23459	197,792	578

preached repentance as well because The axe was laid to the root of the tree and whatsoever tree brought not forth good fruit should be hewn down and cast into the fire as because The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand I dare not learne contrary to Christ and the Baptists Coppy I will preach Mercy and Judgment The Law and the Gospell go well together let me not be accursed for separating what God hath joyned But Lastly I conceive Wee cannot call any Repentance saving Repentance til the worke of conversion be wrought fully in our souls Nay I make a question whether any man without the grace of Assurance can properly call his Repentance saving Repentance till he comes in Heaven And for my owne part I am full in the Negative But I have digressed too farre to convince some who I feare are not so willing to suffer the word of conviction as I to speake it We left the Spouse in the second wildernesse The wildernesse of sorrow 't is time we now return to her and comfort her and shew you how she comes out of that leaning upon her Beloved Here now the beloved Soule is mourning like a Turtle and crying O wh●● shall I doe to be saved I am lost oh how shall I finde the way out of this wildernesse O my sins pull me back I cannot set a step forward Sin trips up my heeles The Devill tels me I am his and my sins beare witnesse to his words Now she that is not the Spouse of Christ sinkes in these mighty wateres she sinkes to hell in dispaire is quite lost if once she comes into them But he that said not one of those whom his father had given him should perish seeing the poore soule like Peter Mat. 14. 30. that thought to have trode upon those waters sinking in them and crying Lord save me or else I perish when he sees such a poore soules ship in which he is though he seemes to sleepe tost in these bitter waves when the tempest ariseth and hearing the soule in this Agony crying out Master save me or else I perish now he begins to arise and stretch out his shoulder for the soule to leane upon speakes and rebukes the winds and calmes the busie tempests when the Whale of sorrow hath sallowed up these Jonahs ●nd they are in the bottome of the Sea in the Whales belly they cry their God heares and causeth the Whale to vomit them out on the dry land Me thinks that voice of Jonah is the voice of every penitent soule Jonah 2. The soule cries by reason of her affliction unto the Lord and the Lord heares her out of the belly of hell she cryes and he heares her voice for he hath cast her into this deep into the midst of the Seas and the flouds compasse her about and all the billowes and the waves past over her Then the soule saith I am cast out of the Lords sight yet I will looke againe towards his holy Temple The waters compasse her about even to the soule the depths closed round about her the weeds were wrapt about her head she went downe to the bottome of the mountaines the earth with her barres was about her yet her Lord her God brings up her life from corruption when her soule faints within her she remembers the Lord and her prayers come unto him even into his holy place And when the soule is in this wildernesse in the deeps of sorrow then her Beloved doth throw her his shoulder of supporting grace to lean upon that she saith as David Psal 94. 17 18. Unlesse the Lord had been my help my soul had almost dwelt in silence when I said my foot slippeth thy mercy Lord held me up When the soule cryes I am drowned Then the Lords mercy holds her up No saith God thou art not drowned here is a cord of mercy for thee to lay hold upon and I will draw thee out by it Here is my hand be still O ye waves this soule is mine When the soule is burthened with sins laden with the sense of them and in the sad apprehension of them cryes out my burthen is too great for me to beare I sinke I sinke under it then Christ looks out of the heavens and sayes Cast thy burthen upon the Lord man and he shall sustaine thee or Psal 55. 22. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you Mat. 11. 29. The supporting grace of God is the Anchor of the soule which staies the Ship of the soule when a tempest of sorrow arises the waves beat upon it Now this Anchor hath two flukes The first is her Beloveds mercies and merits The second is her Beloveds promises When she is in this sad wildernesse of sorrow her Beloved gives her a staffe of merits and mercy and free grace to leane upon and a clue of promises to lead her out of this Labyrinth and the mercies and merits of her Beloved have two hooks both which take fast hold to stay her soule 1. The fulnesse of them 2. The freenesse of them First the fulnesse of them The soule cries out O I am damned Christ suggests to her But didst thou never heare of one that came to save those which were in their owne apprehension damned I deserve to dye everlastingly saith the soule oh but did not he dye for thee that deserved to live everlastingly saith Christ I deserve infinite torments saith the soule Oh! but are not ●hy Christs mercies infinite mercies saith God Thy mercy held me up My sinnes have cryed up to heaven saith the soule O but my mercies are above the heavens saith Christ Psal 108. 5. My sins are more in number than the haires of my head saith the soul but my mercies saith Christ are more in number than the sand which lyes on the Sea shore Psal 139. 17 18. My sins have abounded saith the soule but my grace hath much more abounded saith Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 5. 20. O but my heart is as hard as Iron and the face of my sinnes like Brasse saith the soule but that God that made the Leviathan is as strong as the Leviathan He esteemes Iron as straw and Brasse as rotten wood My sinnes are many saith the soule but were their name Legion saith Christ I could cast them out O but I am an old sinner I have a mountaine of sinnes But my mercies are from everlasting saith Christ so are not thy sinnes and I came to levell Mountaines Luke 3. 4. The more old thou art the more glory shall my free grace have all the world shall see I doe not pardon thee for any service thou canst or wilt doe me thou must ere long lye downe in the grave Thus the soule in this wildernesse of sorrow leanes upon the fulnesse of Gods mercies But secondly there must be freenesse as well as fulnesse or else what hath the soule to doe with Christ O saith the soule I

is his greatest glory he will not give that to any other None shall share with him in his Spouses love he is a jealous Saviour The Spouse leanes upon her Beloved not Beloveds Thus I have done with my use of reproofe The next use is for examination here may every one try himselfe whether he be the Spouse of the Lord Jesus Christ or no Even by what hath been already said I will reduce it all to three heads First Examine thy selfe whether thou beest out of the wildernesse of sinne yea or no. Secondly Whether thou wert or art in any other wildernesse yea or no. Thirdly What was or is thy demeanour in these wildernesses thou hast been or art in and how hast thou come or dost thou come out Examine whether thou beest not in the wildernesse of sinne yea or no It was given as the Character of the Spouse to come out of this wildernesse O but how shall I know that will the soule say I will name two or three notes by which thou mayst suspect thy selfe as from probabilities 1. The wildernesse it is an incult place a place where the soyle was never tilled it is hard almost as a milstone the over-growne Trees were never pruned the unruly boughs never lopt the bushes never cut or stubbed dost thou find thy heart in such a condition that it is as hard as ever neither judgement breaks it nor mercy melts it the fallow ground of it is not plowed nor the seed of righteousnesse sowne in it Thy unruly lusts are not tamed thy life is as much overgrowne with sinne as ever it was thy sinnes were never yet cut off from the body of thy life O friend suspect thy selfe Thou mayest justly feare yea and know too that thou art not the Spouse of Christ thou art in the wildernesse in thy naturall estate Secondly The wildernesse is a barren place it brings forth no corne for the sickle no wholsome fruit no grapes for mans pallat for can a man gather grapes of thistles or figgs of thornes No pastures wholsome for the beasts The fire hath devoured the pastures of the wildernesse Joel 1. 19. And God complained that Nineveh was dry like a wildernesse Zeph. 2. 13. Art thou a barren and unfruitfull creature that dost nothing for God thy heart is a barren heart no seeds of good are sown there thy tongue is a barren tongue no good words come out thence thy whole soule a barren soule not a good action upon the record of thy life Indeed no soule can be barren the soule is of a working nature but sinfull works are unfruitfull workes in the Apostles language The unfruitfull workes of darknesse and what fruits had ye of those things whereof you are now ashamed Gods Spouse is a fruitfull creature Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering c. A barren soule is alwayes a wildernesse-soule Those that are borne of God bring forth fruits unto God Thirdly thou mayest know whether thou beest in the wildernesse or no by the company thou delightest in It is a knowne rule Noscitur ex socio qui non dignoscitur ex se He that is a wildernesse-creature loves wildernesse-company the Wolves and Beares and Foxes but he that is out keeps the company of men dost thou love the wildernesse-company the swinish drunkard the politike Fox the malitious Lyon the venomous lyer and slanderer the lascivious wanton more than the Children of God Oh suspect thy selfe By this we know saith John that we are translated from death to life if we love the Brethren Lazarus when he was raised from the grave we do not read he went to keep the dead men company againe those that God hath raised from the death of their sins live amongst living men and delight in living mens company Thus examine whether thou beest come out of the wildernesse of sin or no. Secondly As comming out of the wildernesse is a signe of the child of God so being in the wildernesse is likewise a note whereby thou mayest know thy selfe Gods Spouse comes out of one wildernesse into another out of the wildernesse of sinne into the wildernesse of sorrow and out of that to their Saviour Wouldest thou know whether thou art found or no Examine whether thou wert lost or no Wouldest thou know whether ever thou wert a beleever examine whether ever thou wert a penitent or not This is Gods ordinary way thence he complaines of his people that they would not repent that they might beleeve in him Dos thou find God in another manner of working in thy soule blesse God for it and if thy title be good to heaven which will be knowne by thy walking with God beleeve me God hath used thee kindly heaven hath cost thee cheaper then it costs many a poore soule and walke humbly before God because he hath not humbled thee under his mighty hand as he hath done many another poore creatures And though I would not condemne those that plead their title to heaven this way for feare I should condemne the generation of the righteous yet beleeve me I should suspect it in my owne cause They that goe out weeping and carry precious seed shall returne rejoycing and bring their sheaves with them 2. Examine thy selfe What other wildernesses thou meetest with Afflictions temptations c. I would not give this as an infallible marke yet God sayes whom he loves he chasteneth and scourgeth every child whom he receiveth and thence the Father drew out his Conclusion Unicum Deus habuit filium sine peccato nullum sine flagello God had one Sonne without sinne but none without a rod. But I know even the wicked sometimes begin their hell upon the earth and though I would suspect my selfe if I met with no afflictions yet I would not be glad to have a life full of crosses and afflictions my best evidence for heaven I rather named this for a preface to the next note 3. Examine how thou carriest thy selfe in the wildernesse there is a different carriage betwixt the child of God and the child of the Devill in afflictions the one sinkes into the grave with despaire the other lifts up his head to Sion with hope the one is prest to death under crosses the other above all crosses Cain cries my punishment is too heavy for me to beare Job cries though he should kill me yet I will trust in him The Reprobate cryes Who is the Lord that I should wait for him The Saint sayes I will patiently wait for the Lords Salvation the wicked man dyes the Saint leanes the eyes of the sinners faile that day but the Saints look up to Sion from whence comes their helpe that day 4. Examine How thou hast come out of thy wildernesse of thine owne strength or leaning Canst thou say That God knew thee in the wildernesse in the land of great drought Hos 13. 5. If thou thinkest thou camest out alone thou art there stil What