Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
fire_n work_n world_n worm_n 17 3 8.6803 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A54010 Invisible realities, the real Christian's greatest concernment in several sermons on 2 Cor. 4. 18 / by Henry Pendlebury ... Pendlebury, Henry, 1626-1695. 1696 (1696) Wing P1140; ESTC R6886 66,843 144

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

secret Curse in them 2. Their Possessions have a Curse resting on them Prov. 3.33 The Curse of the Lord is in the House of the Wicked These seen things are left to be as Fuel to their Lusts as Food to their Pride and Covetousness and Luxury as Snares to their Souls Now Sirs is it not a foolish thing for Men to set their Eye on nothing but a Babylonish Garment an Achan's Golden Wedg an accursed thing 5thly Seen things are Fuel prepared for Burning combustible Stuff that Dooms-day will make an end of all these things that are now seen are things that must all be burnt up before our Eyes 2 Pet. 3.7 The Heavens and the Earth which are now are reserved unto Fire against the Day of Judgment Ver. 10. The Earth also and the Works that are therein shall be burnt up Thus all these seen things are kept for Fire a Fire is kindling in their Bowels that will turn them into cold Ashes think on this pray a Fire is coming a Fire is coming upon all the Gain of the World a Fire is coming upon all the Glory of the World a Fire is coming upon all the Possessions of the World a Fire is coming upon all the Habitations of the World nothing shall be left nothing saved not a penny of thy Money not a Stick or Stone of thy House not a Foot of thy Land Well this is a fourth thing this Course is a foolish Course for all these seen things are but the Footstool of God the Devils Walk the World's Portion the Subject of God's Curse Fuel for the Fire at Dooms-day and is it not a very poor sorry Business for Men and Women then to look no further than these no further than the Footstool O that Men should so far lose themselves is both sad and strange 5. This is a ruining and an undoing Course many have been undone by it and it 's marked out as a way to Perdition Phil. 3.18 19. For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ whose End is Destruction whose God is their Belly and whose Glory is in their Shame who mind earthly things Here the Apostle shews that there were many who were walking towards Destruction and whose Way would end therein And he doth further particularly name several sorts of them and among the rest you see this sort of Persons are one who mind earthly things who are wise about earthly things Thus minders I pray you take notice of it of earthly things are marked for Destruction that is such as only look after are busy about taken up with and aim at these Presents and Visibles O Sirs this looking at seen things is the losing of the Soul and unseen things for ever It was a Saying that Sir Thomas Moore used There is a Devil called Negotium Business that carrieth more Souls to Hell than all the Devils in Hell besides O this Business this minding of earthly things this looking at seen things undoes thousands Sirs if you could speak with many now in Hell and ask them what was their undoing they would surely tell you it was this O this this was our ruin 1. We were thinking what we should eat and drink and wherewithal we should be clothed when we should have been making provision for our Souls 2. We were plodding for Posterity when we should have been preparing for Eternity 3. We were surveying our Estates when we should have been looking into our Hearts 4. We were casting how to drive on our Bargains to contrive our Business and compass our Ends when we should have been working out our Salvation And these these things were our undoing while we were thus busy early and late about Earth we lost Heaven When we were in the World we minded seen things we loved seen things we were set on seen things and when we came to leave the World God told us we had that which we chose this would be the Language of many a Soul And now Sirs will you take the way that many have met with ruin in that is marked as a way to Destruction This is the first Word by way of Reproof to those who look only at seen things at things which are in sight You see it is a Brutish a Paganish a Faithless a Foolish an Undoing Course Will you continue in such a Course will you follow Pagans and Brutes will you live as Men without Faith and without Knowledg O learn this Lesson this Duty to look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen Secondly Those are to be reproved by this Doctrine who live as if there were no unseen things no Judgment to come no Heaven no Hell nothing but what is seen and what is present My Beloved there are multitudes of these in our Day you shall not meet with many who will say there are no unseen things But as one saith Impurissima profanissima illa vita quam maxima pars hominum sectatur perspicuè indicat quod non sentiant esse vitam post hanc They live just as if they had no more to do than to rant and drink and roar and revel and die and so an End of all for ever or as if they had nothing to do but rake as much as they can of the World together whether by Right or Wrong and then die behind which there is nothing My Friends are any of you of this Make of Persons such as are lying in Wickedness as giving your selves up to Profaneness Pray tell me what have you thought what are you thinking of Have you ever thought or do you ever think in earnest of unseen things or that there are any unseen things that there is any such thing as a Judgment to come or a Hell that the Wicked are to be turned into I say what do you think Are there any unseen things or are there not If you say that there are and be perswaded that there are things out of sight as you are told of and as have been hinted to you from this Subject then how can you dare you live on such a fashion Do you believe that the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming Fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power as you have it 2 Thess 1.7 8 9. Do you believe that the Kings of the Earth and the great Men and the rich Men and the chief Captains and the mighty Men and every Bond-man and every Free-man shall hide themselves in the Dens and in the Rocks of the Mountains and say to the Mountains and Rocks Fall on us and hide us from the Face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb
them chuse whether you will look at them or not now you shall certainly look on them one Day And therefore Sirs it doth surely concern us to take them into our Eye if it were either a Question whether there be any such things or a Question whether you or I should see them then to lay them out of our Eye might be somewhat excusable Ay but Sirs both these are out of all question and therefore questionless it 's a Matter that concerns us This may be another reason why we should look at them unseen things will come in sight other things are questionable if thou be Sick and would have Health it 's questionable whether thou must ever see it again if thou be Poor and would have Wealth if thou be Persecuted and would have Peace it 's questionable whether thou shalt ever see these things many in these and many other cases have never seen that which they have desired to see and many have escaped the seeing of that which they have been unwilling to see and that would have been unwelcome to them as in 2 Kings 22.20 Good Josiah was taken away from seeing the Evil that God would bring upon Jerusalem But here is Sirs no uncertainty in this Case it admits of no Peradventure or may be It is a Question whether e'r thou must have Health or Peace but it 's no question whether thou must die and come to Judgment It 's a Question whether thou must ever see the Good in the Land of the Living thou wouldst see or escape the Evil thou wouldst not see but it 's no question but if thou be a gracious Person thou shalt see the Goodness laid up in Heaven and if thou be graceless and die so thou shalt without question see the Fire and Worm and Wrath prepared in Hell these are sure things And now Sirs if unseen things be thus certain great unavoidable and things that must most surely be seen then is there not a great deal of Reason that we should look at them and keep them ever in our Eye And how sadly do many miscarry in this Matter who only carry those things in their Eye that may and often do never come and lay those things out of their Eye that will most surely come 4. Unseen things are near they are certain they are great they are unavoidable and they are also very near unto us and therefore it doth certainly concern us to look at them This may be another ground suppose some great Matter i' th' World of much Concernment to you tending to your making or undoing while you live were now coming upon you would you not look upon your selves as concerned to look at it no question but you would Now this great seeing of unseen things is not a great way off but at Hand and hard by every one of you As the Apostle saith Rom. 13.12 The Night is far spent the Day is at Hand So I may say to you it 's but as an Hour or two to Day-break to Sun-rise that will inlighten things that are in Darkness O Sirs you and I stand at the Door of these unseen things and if Death do but once open it by any one of its many thousand Keys we shall immediately see that which we have never see Death as I have told you is an unseen thing and it is Ostium invisibilium here will be a beginning of them and O how soon will this be here Is there any more than a few Days a Hand 's breadth of Time a Wind a Breath a Vapor between any of us and this why verily there is no more Job 14.1 Man that is born of a Woman is but of few Days Psal 39.5 Behold thou hast made my Days as a Hand 's breadth and mine Age is as nothing before thee ver●ly every Man at his best State is Vanity Job 7.7 O remember that my Life is Wind. Isa 2.22 Cease from Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils James 4.14 For what is your Life is it not a Vapour that a●peareth for a little Time and then vanisheth away Do you not see many about you dropping away one to day and another to morrow and a third the next Day why all all these go to see things not seen Many Sirs are seeing these things to day who saw them not Yesterday and many shall see them to Morrow who are not yet seeing them to Day and there are but yet a few a very few Days and there shall not be one of us who are here to Day but we shall be landed on the Shore of unseen things to see them for ever and never to see seen things more Pray think of this if unseen things were a great way off a long while too if there were some Ages or Ce turies to go over us e re we should see them why it were something b t alas we know not neither can we say that there is another Year another Week or another Day between us and them when we go out we may see them e're we come in again and when we come in they may follow us at our back and come in sight as we are sitting at our Boards or lying on our Beds shall we not then take them into our Eye and mind them O if we would but weigh the Certainty the Concernment and Propinquity of these things not seen how could we ever lay them out of our Eye 5. Unseen things are eternal 1. They are certain 2. They are momentous 3. They are unavoidable 4. They are near and they are also eternal and unchangable therefore it doth unquestionably concern us to look at them it will be but a while e're they come into sight Ay but when once come into sight they 'l tarry eternally in sight this is the Reason the Apostle lays down here why they looked not at seen but at unseen things For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal Here my Beloved we have the Difference between the seen things of this World and the unseen things of the other World the seen are temporal the unseen are eternal a Difference that puts an infinite Weight upon unseen things and makes them of infinitely more Concernment to us than any than all things that are seen I say 1st The things which are seen are but temporal many have seen Health and Peace and Plenty and Pleasures and Prosperity who are now gone from seeing them and must never see them again And many have seen Want and Labours and Travel a Multiplicity and Variety of Troubles who are also now gone from seeing them and shall never see them more And whatsoever we are now seeing in this World whether of Comforts or Crosses of Peace or Trouble we must see them but a while and shall soon be sailed out of their sight for ever All these seen things are only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a Season as the same word is rendred Heb.