Selected quad for the lemma: glory_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
glory_n	affliction_n	eternal_a	weight_n	10,184	5	9.3838	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77593	Ton anexichniaston plouton [sic] tou Christou. The unsearchable riches of Christ. Or, Meat for strong men. Milke [for] babes. Held for th in twenty-two sermons from Ephesians 3.8. By Thomas Brookes, preacher of the Word at Margarets New-Fishstreet.; Anexichniastoi ploutoi tou Christou	Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1657 (1657)	Wing B4919; Thomason E841_8	318,122	353

but alasse when the day of Tryall comes upon them when they are put to it they prove but men of poor and impotent spirits and then they roare and complaine and lye downe in the dust suffering crosses and losses to bind them hand and foot and to spoyle them of all their Comforts And now though they have many comforts for one crosse yet one crosse doth so damp and daunt their hearts that joy and comfort flyes away from them and they sit down overwhelmed Certainly this speaks out little of Christ within All Rachels comforts were no comforts because her Children were not This speaks out much weaknesse within Prov. 24. 10. If thou faintest in the day of adversity thy strength is small If thou shrinkest if thou abatest and slackest in the day of adversity thy strength is small Man hath no triall of his strength till he be in trouble faintnesse then discovers weaknesse Afflictions try what sapp we have as hard weather tryes what health we have A weak Christian sinks under a little burden every frowne every sowre word every puffe of wind blowes him downe and makes him sinke under his burden But now a soule strong in grace bears up bravely against all winds and weather That 's a brave Text and worthy to be written in letters of gold that you have in Gen. 49. 23 24. Joseph's Bow abode in strength though the Archers sorely grieved him shot at him and hated him And the armes of his hands were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob The Archers that sorely grieved him were his Barbarous Brethren that sould him his Adulterous Mistresse that Harlot-like hunted for his precious life his injurious Master that without any desert of his imprisoned him the tumultuating Egyptians that were pined with hunger perhaps spake of stoning him and the envious Courtiers and Inchanters spake evilly of him before Pharoah to bring him out of favour All these shot sorely at him The word that is rendred Archers in the Hebrew is Arrow-masters which terme implieth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cunning and skilfulnesse in shooting They were cunning and skilfull to hit the mark and they shot at him as at a mark But yet his Bow abode in strength When God in the midst of weaknesse makes a soul strong that soul will not only face enemies and difficulties but triumph over them Those that are strong in grace seldome want courage or counsell when they are at the worst They alwayes find their hope to be an Anchor at Sea and their faith a Shield upon Land and therefore they triumph in all stormes and dangers They stand firme when they are under the greatest pressures 2 Cor. 11. 23. I labours more abundant In stripes above measure If we perish Christ perisheth with us said Luther in prisons more frequent in deaths often c. And yet he triumphs in 2 Cor. 1. 12. Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in singlenesse and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisedome but by the Grace of God we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-wards Strong Paul rejoyced in his sufferings for Christ and therefore often sings out I Paul a Prisoner of Jesus Christ not I Paul wrapt up in the third Heaven He prefer'd his Crowne of Thornes before a Crowne of gold his Prison raggs above all Royall Robes Fourthly A weak Christian thinks that little to be much that he suffers for Christ In Mat. 19. 27. Then answered Peter and said unto him Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee what shall we have Their worldly case in following Christ was little worse then when they onely Traded in Fishing and yet we have forsaken all and followed thee what shall we have This their All was not worth a speaking of and yet for this they look for some great worldly reward and recompence We have forsaken all A great All sure a few broken Boats and a few tatter'd Weak Christians are like Children they look for a great reward for a little work and torne Nets and a little old Houshold-stuffe and Christ maintain'd them too upon his owne cost and charge and yet say they We have forsaken all and followed thee Neither is it without an Emphasis that they begin with a Behold Behold we have forsaken all as if Christ were greatly beholding to them Let their wills but be crost a little by servants children friends c. Or let them but suffer a little in their Names or Estates c. and presently you shall have them a sighing it out No sorrow like our sorrow no losse to our losse no crosse to our crosse c. Whereas soules strong in grace suffer much and yet count that much but little A soule strong in grace can suffer much and yet make nothing of it I am heartily angry saith Luther who suffered very much with those that speak of my sufferings which if compared with that which Christ suffered for me are not once to be mentioned in the same day c. Fifthly Those that are weak in Grace dwell more upon what may discourage them in the wayes of Grace and Holinesse then they doe upon what may incourage them They dwell more upon their sins then upon a Saviour more upon their misery then upon free grace and mercy more upon that which may feed their feares then upon that that may strengthen their faith more upon the Crosse then upon the Crowne more upon those that are against them then those that are for them Isa 51. 12 13. I even I am he that comforteth you Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall dye and of the Son of man which shall be made as grasse and forgettest the Lord thy maker that hath stretched forth the Heavens and laid the foundations of the Earth and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the Oppressor as if he were ready to destroy and where is the fury of the Oppressor This same is intimated Rom. 4. 19 20. Abraham being not weak in faith he considered not his owne body being dead nor yet the deadnesse of Sarahs womb Mark being not weak in faith Soules weak in faith are very apt to dwell upon discouragements but strong Christians look above all discouragements He considered not The Greek is He cared not for his owne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 body he did not mind that but in the 20 verse He considered him that had promised Soules strong in grace dwell more upon their incouragements to holinesse and beleeving then upon their discouragements He considered him that had promised He had an eye fixed upon the faithfulnesse of God and the Sufficiency and Almightinesse of God and this bore up his heart above all discouragements So in 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory while we look not mark they are

upon the promise and the promiser that gave glory to God All the honour and glory that God hath from beleevers in this life is from the actings of their grace 'T was Abrahams acting of faith that was his high honouring of God Christians I would intreat this favour of you that you would be often in the meditation of this truth viz. That all the honour that God hath from beleevers in this life is from the actings and the exercise of their Graces When thou goest to prayer then thinke thus with thy selfe is it so that all the honour that God It is reported in the life of Luther that when he pra●ed it was Tan●a reverentia ut si Deo tanta fiducta ut si amico c. Jonah 2. u●t shall have from my soule in prayer will be from the actings of grace in prayer oh then what cause have I to stirre up my selfe to lay hold on God and to blow up all those sparkes of grace that be in me As a body without a soule much wood without fire a bullet in a Gun without powder so are words in prayer without the Spirit without the exercise of the graces of the Spirit Jonah acted his faith when he was in the belly of hell and Daniel acted faith when he was in the Lyons den Dan. 6. 23. and the Theife acted faith when he was on the Crosse and Jeremiah acted faith when he was in the Dungeon and Job So did the Publican he prayed much though he spake little or a●io brevis penetrat coelum The hottest springs send forth their waters by ebullitions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Augustin cryes out against them that did not profit by afflictions perdidistis utilitatem calamitatis August de Civit. l. 2. c. 33. acted faith when he was on the dunghill and David acted faith when he was in his greatest distresse and so did Moses in Exod. 14. And you know the issue of all was much glory to God and much good to them his heart will never be long a stranger to joy and peace who is much in the exercise and actings of grace Ninthly Because the more Grace is improved the more afflictions and tribulations will be lessened and sweetend to us 2 Cor. 4. 16 17. Though our outward man decreases yet our inward man is renewed day by day or day and day When Peter Martyr was dying he said My body is weake but my minde is well well for the present and will be better for ever hereafter This is the Godly mans Motto for Afflictions there is Glory for light afflictions a weight of glory for momentary afflictions eternall Glory so in the 10 and 11 Chapters of the Hebrewes Oh friends if your graces were more exercised and improved afflictions would be more sweete this would turne the Crosse into a Crowne this would turne bitter into sweete and long winter nights into summer dayes It would make every condition to be a Paradise to you c. Tenthly If Grace be not exercised and improved the soule Saints should be like a Seraphim beset all over with eyes and lights as Bassarion said T●e fearefull Ha●e they say sleepeth with her eyes open oh how watchfull then should a Christian be may be easily surprised conquered and vanquished by a tempting Devill and an intising world when the sword is in the scabbard the traveller is easily surprised and when the Guard is asleepe the Citie is quickly conquered The strongest creature the Lyon and the wisest creature the Serpent if they be dormant are as easily surprised as the weakest wormes so the strongest and wisest Saints if their graces be asleepe if they be onely in the habit and not in exercise they may be as easily surprised and vanquished as the weakest Christians in all the world as you may see in David Solomon Sampson Peter Every enemy insults over him that hath lost the use of his weapons c. Eleventhly We must improve our Graces because decayes in Grace are very great losses to us By decaying in grace wee come to loose our strength our best strength our spirituall Spirituall losses are hardly recovered a man may easi●y run dow●e the hill but he cannot so easily get up Philosophers say that the way from the habit to the privation is easier then the way from the privation to the habit As a man may soon put an inst●ument out of tu●e but not so soon put in againe 1 Cor. 2. 14. Jer. 13. 23. James 1. 17. Eph. 2. 1 2 3. strength our strength to doe for God our strength to waite on God and walke with God our strength to bare for God our strength to suffer for God by decaying in Grace we come to loose that Joy that 's unspeakeable and full of Glory and that comfort and peace that passes understanding and to loose the sence of that favour that 's better then life Now our faith will be turned into feare our dansing into mourning our rejoycing into sighing and when O Christian thou beginnest to fall and to decay who knowes how farre thou mayst fall how much thy graces may be impaired and how long it may be before thy Sunne rise when once 't is sett therefore you had need to exercise and improve your Graces Twelfthly and lastly You are to improve your Graces because soules truly gratious have a power to doe good I doe not say that a man in his naturall estate though Arminians doe hath power in himselfe to doe supernaturall acts as to beleeve in God to love God and the like c. for I thinke a Toad may as well spitt cordialls as a naturall man doe supernaturall actions nor I doe not say that all the Grace wee have is not from God nor that man in his naturall estate is not dead God-ward and Christ-ward and holynesse-ward and heaven-ward But this I say that soules truly gratious have a power to doe good 'T is sad to think how many professors doe excuse their negligence by pretending an Inability to doe good or by When Charles Largius had excited Lipsius to the study of tru● wisedom my mind is to it said Li●sius and then he fa●s to ●ishing what said Langius ●rt thou pur●osing when ●hou shouldest be doing Just Lip de Constan l. 2. 5. sitting downe discouraged as having in their hands no power at all what can we doe say they If the Lord doe not breath upon us as at first conversion we can doe nothing I thinke in my very Conscience that this is one reason of much of that slightnesse neglect and omission of duties that is among professors in these dayes So that God may complaine as he doth in the 64 of Isa 7. There is no man that stirreth up himselfe to take hold of mee they are as men asleepe that sit still and doe nothing But certainly they that are truly united to Christ are not acted as dead stocks as if every time and moment of their acting God-wards and

not doting upon their discouragements upon things that are seen but upon things that are not seene The things which are seen are temporall but the things which are not seen are eternall An eye fixt upon incouragements makes heavy afflictions light long afflictions short and bitter afflictions sweet Those blessed Martyrs found it so that were cast out all night in a cold frosty night and were to be burnt the next day who thus comforted themselves The winter is sharpe but Paradise is sweet here we shiver for cold but the bosome of Abraham will make amends for all Weak Christians have eyes to behold their discouragements but none to see their incouragements they look more upon their corruption then upon their sanctification Upon their disobedience then their obedience upon their distrust then upon their faith upon the old man then upon the new and this keeps them low and weak in spirituals it causes a leannesse in their soules Sixthly The zeale of weake Christians usually out-strips their wisedome and knowledge Weak Christians are very Zealous but not according to knowledge Rom. 10. 2. For I beare them record that they They were very zealous but not true Zelors have a zeale of God but not according to knowledge They are very peevish and pettish and censorious but they want wisedome and knowledge to mannage their zeale to Gods glory and their brethrens good Such zeale had those two Rabbins that set upon Charles the Fifth to perswade him to David Rab●nita and Shilomoh Mol●h● Alsted Chr. ●26 turne Jew as judging their Religion to be the onely Religion in the world and for which they were put to a cruell death in the year 1530. A great zeale they had to the winning over of him to Judaisme but this zeale was their ruine Zeale without knowledge is as wild-fire in a fooles hand 't is like the Devil in the Demoniack that sometimes cast him into the fire and sometimes into the water So the Disciples of Christ Josephus in ●he 1● 12 Chapters of his Book tells you of some that imposed this name of Zelote upon them●elves as if they were zealous for the honour and service of God and under this pretence committed all ●iots and imaginable wick e●nesse 'T were well if we had no such Monsters among us in these dayes were weak in their light and furious in their zeale Luke 9. 54. Let fire come downe from Heaven and consume them say they But mark what Christ saith vers 55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of That is you know not what spirit acts you you think that you are acted by such a spirit as Elias of old was acted by but you erre saith Christ You have a zeale but not according to knowledge therefore 't is a humaine affection and not a Divine motion Zeale is like fire in the Chimney 't is one of the best servants but out of the Chimney 't is one of the worst Masters Zeale kept by knowledge and wisedome in its proper place is a choyce servant to Christ and Saints But zeale not bounded by wisedome and knowledge is the high-way to undoe all and to make a hell for many at once Weak Christians are usually most zealous about Circumstances and things that have least of God and Christ and the power of holinesse in them and most cold about substances as wofull experience doth evidence in these dayes Zeale ordered by wisedome feeds upon the faults of offendors not on their persons It spends it selfe and it 's greatest heat principally upon those things that concerne a mans selfe 'T is most exercised about substantials Titus 2. 14. But that which is rash is most exercised about circumstantials Gal. 1. 14. Paul was in the dayes of his ignorance very zealous for the Traditions of his fathers c. Seventhly Among all Saints the weakest Saints act most like carnall sinners No Saint so like a sinner as a weak Saint 1 Cor. 3. 1 2 3 4 5. And I Brethren could not speake unto you as unto spirituall but as unto carnall even as unto Babes in Christ I have fed you with milke and not with meat for hitherto ye were not able to bear it neither yet now are ye able for are ye not yet carnall for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions are ye not carnall and walke as men for while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo are ye not carnall They were advanced but very little above the imperfections and passions and sins of meer men of such which had nothing of the Spirit in them c. Doe wicked men quarrell with their Teachers as shallow triviall Teachers when themselves are in fault as being not capable of more Mysterious matter So did these Babes here Doe wicked In many things weak Christians are carnall mens Apes men impute their not profiting to the Minister as he that having a thorne in his foot complaines of the roughnesse of the way as the cause of his limping when as it was the thorn and not the roughnesse of the way that hurt him Or as she that being struck with a suddaine blindnesse bid open the window when as it was not the want of light but want of sight that troubled her So did these Babes in the Text lay the fault of their non-proficiency upon their Teachers when the fault was wholly in themselves Now he calls them Carnall partly because the flesh was strong in them and partly because they followed and relished the things of the flesh and partly because they did in their actions resemble carnall men Doe carnall and wicked men cry up one good man and cry downe another Doe they lift up one and abase another So did they Are wicked men full of envy strife and divisions So were they And these overflowings of the Gall and Spleen come from a fullnesse of bad humours from that abundance of carnality that was in them But now soules strong in grace are higher then carnall men as Saul was higher then the people by head and shoulders Soules strong in grace have their feet where carnall mens heads are Prov. 15. 24. The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from hell beneath Soules that are strong in grace doe act rather like Angels then like carnall men they doe as much resemble the father of Spirits as carnall men doe the father of Lyes Eighthly Soules weake in Grace are easily drawne aside out of the wayes of holinesse You know a man that hath but a little bodily strength is easily thrust out of the way so it is with soules weak in grace 1 John 3. 7. Little Children let no man deceive you he that doth righteousnesse is righteous even as he is righteous Saith the Apostle Little Children let no man deceive you Many in these dayes under pretences of high and glorious injoyments of God neglect and despise righteousnesse and holinesse crying up Visions