Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	abraham_n	call_v	james_n	848	5	8.5798	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94069	The saints communion with God, and Gods communion with them in ordinances. As it was delivered in severall sermons / by that faithfull servant of Christ, Mr. William Strong, late minister at Westminster.	Strong, William, d. 1654.	1655 (1655)	Wing S6006; Thomason E1693_2; ESTC R209425	55,425	233

that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a darke place until the day dawn the day star arise in your hearts They think that all these morning starrs must away as soone as ever Jesus Christ hath risen as a Sun in the Heart of the Saints 3. Others they are such as take up their rest in Ordinances and conclude the goodnesse of their estate by Ordinances because they have the enjoyment of Ordinances therefore they thinke they have the enjoyment of God 4. Others neither rest in nor yet rest from Ordinances and these are persons indeede that are like to meet with a blessing when they come to God when these come to worship him they are made welcome to him and they shall be blessed by him such a spirit is fit for Ordinances and such a spirit shall receive much blessing by Ordinances The propositions that lie in the words are these 1. Doct. 1 One of the principall ends which God aimes at in the setting up of his publique Ordinances is that he may have Communion with his Saints and that his Saints may have communion with him 2. The times of a Saints Communion with God Doct. 2 and Gods Communion with them are times of blessing and times of benediction Communion times are blessed times and they are blessing times Blessednes is out of the reach of the whole Creation one Creature cannot make another blessed nay all the creatures cannot make one creature blessed Man is fallen too low for his fellow creature to advance him He is too sore for the whole creation to make him a plaster T is impossible for the whole creation to make any part of amends to man for the wrong that he did himselfe creatures cannot take off that curse which they lye under themselves how then can they give the blessing that 's wanting to others nothing is in working above what 't is in being the world in being is poore and beggerly therefore it can never make us rich Hos 2.21 I will heare the heavens they shall heare the earth c. The heavens they cry to God the earth that cries to the heavens the creatures they cry to the earth still we are led up the Stairs by one creature to another till wee have past through them all to God himselfe and therein indeed doth our blessedness lie creatures want a blessednesse for themselves how can they give a blessedness unto us 3. Doctrine that might bee raised from the words viz. That the foundation of all the blessednesse of man is the will of God I will meet them and blesse them But 't is the first of these I shall speake of viz. Doct. That one of the principall ends which God aimes at in the setting up of his publique Ordinances is that he may have communion with the Saints and that his Saints might have communion with him Every man while he lives here is at a distance from God there 's a twofold distance that is between God and the creatures First a distance in point of Reconciliation 2 ly a distance in point of communion there 's a Naturall distance as we are creatures and a morall distance as we are sinners I shall premise three things 1. The Scripture holds forth such a state 2. The Communion that the Saints have with God it is with all the persons in the Trinity 3. That this Communion in this life is chiefly in Ordinances First Position Position 1 That the Scripture holds forth such a state of Communion between God and his people such as is between the Bride and the Bridegroome in the Bride-chamber 'T is true I confesse all godlines is a mystery 1 Tim. 3.16 Great is the mystery of godlinesse but yet in this there are some mysteries greater then others Observe there is such an intimacy spoken of 1 Joh. 1.3 Our fellowship is with the Father with his sonne Iesus Christ Then the Saints have a fellowship with the Father and with Christ yet notwithstanding som of them have a more peculiar fellowship with God then others 'T is true whosoever he be that is taken into union is taken into communion too all the Saints having a communion with themselves have a communion with Christ also for they doe all meet as one with him as lines in the center yet there are some Saints in this life have a more peculiat communion with the Lord then others Numb 12.8 c. If there be a Prophet saith God I will speake to him in a dreame in a vision but my servant Mos●s 't is no so with him I will speake to him mouth to mouth as a man to his friend and the similitude of God shall hee behold He shall have such discoveries of God as ordinary Saints have not hee shall have such communion with God as ordinary beleevers have not Now this communion of God with the Saints will appeare to be a very great and glorious intimacy and familiarity if you looke to the severall denominations that are given to them in the Scripture all of them imply a very great familiarity As 1. They are called his friends Abraham was called the friend of God Jam. 2.23 I have not called you servants but I have called you friends John 15.16 And as Jesus Christ calls them friends so they call him friend too Cant. 5.6 This is my beloved this is my friend O daughters of Ierusalem What is a friend truly it is as a mans owne selfe Deut. 13.6 thy friend which is as thine owne soule Then friendship speaks high familiarity Austin speakes of himselfe concerning a friend of his when he died he professed he was put into a great streight whether hee himselfe should be willing to live or willing to die hee was unwilling to live because one halfe of himselfe was dead yet he was not willing to die because his friend did partly live in him though he were dead 2. He doth call the Church the Bride the Lambs wife There is the same resemblance between Christ his Church as between man wife Now you know husband and wife become one flesh so that this matrimoniall union is but a shaddow and resemblance of the glorious union that is betwixt Christ and his Church there is a great deale of intimacy betwixt man his wife therefore she is called Deut. 13.6 the wise of his bosome now what is the bosome 't is the seate of secrecy and the seat of intimacy For this cause the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be in the bo●●●e of the Father Iohn 1.18 as one that is acquainted with all his secrets and as one that enjoyes the most intimate familiarity with the Father So thou art the wife of the bosome of Christ This I think to be the meaning of that Lu. 16.23 It is said Lazarus died and was carried into Abrahams bosom Dives when he dyed was in hell torments surely then the other was in heaven why is it called Abrahams bosome it is a

taken up with the works of darkness 2. They are swallowed up with the fellowship and Communion with sinners those that are Gods professed Enemies are their bosom-bosom-friends the darling delights of their Souls are in the Society of those in whom God takes no pleasure nor no delight 3. They take up their fellowship and Communion with this world James 4.4 know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the Enemy of God they make up their Heaven upon Earth there are three things wherein they go out to the world 1. They let out their choicest love 2. They lay out their choicest paines 3. They Anchor their greatest hopes upon the world Now those that are taken up with the fellowship and Communion with this world at what a distance do they stand from Communion and fellowship with God Creatures hath their hearts God hath them not 4. They are swallowed up in Communion and fellowship with false foundations this is a certain rule that look whatsoever the foundation is that we build our souls upon that 's it with which wee have Communion Job 8.14 15. He shall lean upon his house but it shall not stand c. Those hopes that it hath that it shal go well with him to all Eternity these are called his house he rests upon them and hee hath Communion with them Houses 1. They are dwelling places a man lives in his house 2. They are hiding places in the time of a storm men retire to their houses for shelter 3. They are resting places 4. They are places that when once they are built men will keep them if they can from falling down Now sinners are swallowed up in Communion and fellowship with those false bottomed hopes that they have laid their soules upon they rest in those houses that they make to themselves though their hopes bee but like Spiders webs yet they lean upon their houses 5. They are swallowed up in fellowship and Communion with the very Devil himself 1 Joh. 5.19 we know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in wickedness In the Greek 't is thus and the whole world lies in that wicked one the Devil and they maintain Communion together the evil spirits haunt their Spirits The Devil in Scripture is said to have all those Acts of worship performed to him by sinners that Christ is said to have performed to him by Saints hath Jesus Christ his Ministers the Devil hath his Ministers also Ministers of Satan transforming themselves into Angels of light hath Christ his Churches so hath the Devil which is call-the Synagogue of Sathan hath Christ his Ordinances and Altars so hath the Devil too he hath his Table and his Communicants you cannot bee partakers of the Lords Table and the Table of Devils Argu. 4 The fourth Argument to prove that unregenerate men can have no fellowship and Communion with God in Ordinances because they live under a Legal Covenant Evangelical Communion is not bottomed upon Legal Covenants In Conversion there is a double change 1. A change of a mans nature and that is wrought within him 2. A change of a mans state and that is wrought upon him Every unregenerate man is under the first Covenant which admits of no Communion with God since it is broken There are five things wee lost in our fall 1. Our holy Image and became vile hence 2. Our Son-ship and became slaves 3. Our friendship and became Enemies 4. Our Communion and became strangers 5. Our glory and became miserable Now 't is impossible till sinners be translated from a broken Covenant of works that was made with them in Adam to a Covenant of grace that is made in Christ that ever they should come up to Communion with God you must know this that Communion with God is no Legal dispensation and therefore every person that is duly under the Law cannot enjoy Communion with God Having premised these I come to those four partioulars I laid down viz. to give you the grounds the properties the Acts and the ends of the Communion First For the Grounds of all the fellowship and Communion that the Saints have with God in Ordinances and they are five for this Communion ariseth 1. From his electing love 2. From the Covenant-state wherein believers stand 3. From our union with Jesus Christ 4. From our Interest in the Spirit 5. Our conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ Ground 1 I. Ground of our Communion with God is his Electing love that 's the foundation of all our blessednesse and the onely spring of all our mercies which without Gods Electing love no mercy would be a mercy to us and with it no misery will make us miserable The Lord hath chosen you unto three great ends in subordination one to the other he hath chosen you to salvation to reconciliation and to communion Psal 4.3 The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himselfe God hath picked and culled every Godly man out of the world and set him aside For what for himselfe for himselfe what 's that It doth not only note for spirituall service but for the highest priviledges he hath set the godly man apart for these two ends First for the enjoyment of communion with him on earth Secondly for the fruition of blessednesse with him in heaven The Lord hath set c. 1. Consider who is it that hath done it It 's God that hath set him apart 2. What hath he done He hath set him apart put him distinct from all the world 3. Who is it that is thus set apart It is the man that is godly 4. What is the end of this action for which this man is set apart He is set apart for God 'T is the choycest duty that belongs to us to set our selves apart for God and 't is one of the choicest mercies of God to set us apart for himselfe The Lord doth separate to himselfe for imployment and for fellowship he will employ that man and he will have communion with that man The Angels they are of all creatures taken to speciall communion with God they behold the face of God the Father which is in Heaven It was excellently expressed by Tertullian the Saints in this life are the men that are the Lords attendants setting the Lord alwaies before them and standing alwaies before him waiting upon him Zech. 3.7 Thus saith the Lord if thou wilt walk in my waies c. I will give thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mah-lechim Walks that is places to walk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●en hagnomedim ha-elleh inter stantes illos among these that stand by Who be they The meaning is conceived to be this the Angels they alwaies stand before God thousand thousands compasse his Throne now when the Lord speaks of taking a people into intimate familiarity with himselfe he saith he will give them walkes or Galleries to walk in among the