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	weight_n	work_v	4,568	5	7.4857	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85371	Jacob raised: or, The means of making a nation happy both in spiritual and temporal priviledges. Presented in a sermon preached before the Right Honorable House of Peeres in the Abby Church at Westminster, at the late solemne monthly fast, Decemb. 30. 1646. / By Willam [sic] Goode, B.D. and Pastor of Denton in Norfolk. Published by order of the House of Peeres.	Goode, William, b. 1599 or 1600.	1647 (1647)	Wing G1094; Thomason E369_3; ESTC R201278	27,277	38

for us is our Father as well as our Physitian and he is the tenderest Father in the world and therefore he will neither keep us longer in Physick nor put any more Ingredients of bitternes in it than will be for our health but will let us see at length All things shall work together for our good Rom. 8. 28. Absolon sent twice to Joab to come and speak with him and he would not at length he sent his servants to set Joabs corn on fire and so compelled him to come unto him 2 Sam. 14. 30. When gentle means will not prevaile God surprizeth our greatest comforts and draws our afflictions to a greater height and length that he may compell us to come to him and draw out our soules in prayer with that fervencie and constancie that he may hear and deliver us Isa. 26. 16. Eighthly Wharever the afflictions of Gods people are yet their condition is most comfortable of any other in the world and that appears in three things 1. They may be filii sub ira children under wrath but not filii irae sons of wrath For nothing shall separate them from the love of Christ Not tribulation nor distresse nor persecution nor famine nor sword Rom. 8. 35. The Righteous are like mount Sion that shall never be removed But that shall ever be made good to them 1 Pet. 1. 5. They shall be kept by the power of God unto salvation 2. Whatever they want in the world yet they ever enjoy the best comforts such as issue from the speciall love and favour of God in Christ Jesus Pardon of sin peace of conscience and joy of believing which is unspeakable and glorious 1 Pet. 1. 8. These are better then any comforts of the world When all the Stars in the Firmament shine it is but Night but the shining of one Sun makes it Day Gods favour makes it Day when all the Creature-contentments enjoyed together make but a Night of comfort And hence it was that Habacuck said Although the Fig-tree shall not blossome neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olive shall fail and the Fields yield no meat the Flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no Heard in the stall Yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Hab. 3. 17 18. 3. The more bitternesse they meet with here the more sweetnesse to eternity Such may be our afflictions as may cause us to pay the debt of Death the sooner yet this shall be our advantage We shall hereby sooner rest from our labours and be in possession of perfect blessednesse the reward of Gods Free-grace And therefore every godly man may say of his Persecutors as Socrates of Anitus and Melitus They may kill me but they cannot hurt me The time will come when I shall be the happier for all my trials As Sampson when he went down to the vineyards of Timnath he slew a Lion a work of labour and danger but when he returned again weary and faint he found honey in the dead Lion to refresh and comfort him The undergoing of sore afflictions is like the killing of a Lion but when we return by death we shall find honey in the dead Lion much sweeter consolations for all the sorrows our afflictions have brought upon us Augustine having a friend that suffered much by slander he comforted him with this He that willingly adds to thy defamation here doth unwillingly adde to thy eternal glory hereafter As St. Paul tels us 2 Cor. 4. 17. Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Thus much of the first Proposition I come now to the second When there is no meanes visible or if visible not effectual for our recovery then we ought to apply our selves to God to work deliverance for us So Amos here All effectual means of recovery for this people lying out of sight he enquires of God how their restauration shall be compassed and seeks to him to raise them Thus Jehosaphat 2 Chron. 20. 12. When that great army of Moabites and Ammonites came against Jerusalem which he thought himself no way able to resist he saith We know not what to do but our eyes are upon thee And he and all the inhabitants of Judah set themselves to seek the Lord When the Prodigal Luk. 15. had no means left of supply but was ready to starve he then resolves I will go to my father Thus the Prophet Hoseah directs the people in distresse Hos. 5. 13. when God had said He would teare and none should deliver when Ahab and King Jared could afford no help Come saith the Prophet let us return unto the Lord he hath torne and he will heale The Reasons of this Point are First Because Gods people are never so small but God can raise them Is there any thing too hard for the Lord Gen. 18. 14. Though no salvation can be had from the hills or from the multitude of the mountains yet the Lord is the salvation of Israel Jer. 3. 23. God is the Lord of hosts and all the creatures in the world are but souldiers in that army which he commands and therefore there is no power raised against his people can be so great but he is able presently to suppresse it He can command an army of Stars to vanquish his peoples enemies as he did Sisera and his host Judg. 5. Or an army of Fire to defend them as he did for Elisha 2 King 6. 17. If they be in want of necessary food if the heavens be like brasse and the earth like iron yet he can rain down bread upon them as he did upon Israel He can instantly turn the greatest famine into plenty as in Samaria when one day the women did eat their children for want of bread the very next day two measures of Barley were sold for a shekel 2 King 7. 18. Secondly Because God hath made many comfortable promises to a people in such a condition to invite them to seek his help Psal. 50. 15. Call upon me in the day of thy trouble and I will deliver thee Psal. 34. 19. Many are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord delivereth them out of all Jer. 30. 17. Alas for that day is great so as none is like unto it even the day of Jacobs troubles but he shall be saved out of it But it may be objected What if God have decreed to bring desolating and destroying judgements upon a people Zeph. 2. 3. can any application to God divert those Whatever God decreeth against a Nation where he hath a People yet four things God will not fail to give to his own children that rightly seek his favour 1. Spiritual peace with himself Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me 2. Spiritual

are in love with sacriledge God therefore to clear his justice sometimes severely punisheth and brings low his own people that it may appeare how he hateth sin though in those whom he loveth best Amos 3. 2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth and therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities If David make the enemies of God to blaspheme the sword shall never depart from his house 2 Sam. 12. 14. He continueth and increaseth his judgements untill his people confesse both the hainousnesse of their sins and his justice in their affliction Hoseah 5. 14. Thirdly for the glory of his Mercy Extremity of pain makes us prize a little ease and extremity of want to admire a little plenty In time of prosperity we make little account of rich mercies and no mercies are so great then as will draw us to any considerable thankfulnesse Then we do by Mercies as men do by Rivers these bring us up the choisest commodities both of our own and other Nations and we return by them again our dung and garbage and such things as are noysome to our selves and others But whenever we are deprived of those we account but ordinary mercies we learn to value them at a high rate Darius being vanquished by Alexander and in his flight being in extremity of thirst drank water out of a puddle that was mixed with much blood of slain souldiers and said it was the sweetest drink that ever he tasted in his life And the Prodigal Luk. 15. that regarded not all the dainties of his fathers house while he was in it when he was brought to live upon husks and was ready to perish for hunger did highly prize the dry bread he remembred to be amongst his fathers plenty And as we learn by our wants to prize mercies so to give God the glory of all our supplies As Mariners at sea when they are overtaken with such a storm as breaks all their tackling and makes all their anchors come home and drives their ship which way it pleaseth If then they be carried into a safe harbour must needs give all the praise to God Hence it is that God usually either prevents us with his blessings and gives them before we have used any means for them or else if he set us to seek them le ts us see all our endeavours too weak to accomplish them till his apparent hand of providence bring them in that so when we receive them we may say with David Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy name do we give all the praise Fourthly for the manifestation of the power and excellency of that Grace which he gives unto his children The preciousnesse and stability of Faith the beauty of Patience and sincerity of Obedience are never so much seen as in the deepest conflicts with the greatest troubles The Devil did accuse Job of hypocrisie Job 1. 8. 11. That he served God only for wealth and outward prosperity But when all those miseries were brought upon him for his trial which amounted to the losse of all his comforts he confuted the Devils accusation and his faith obedience and patience appeared invincible It made Elijah his faith glorious when in contestation with Baals Priests 1 King 18. 38. he not only trusted God to send fire from heaven to consume his offering but to consume it then when he had powred 4 barrels of water upon it and filled the trench with water So the graces of the Saints then become glorious when they continue to act highly for God in the midst of the deepest waters of affliction Iustin Martyr acknowledged his conversion from being a Philosopher to become a Christian was occasioned by the invincible faith and courage that he saw in the Martyrs under all the torments they were put to suffer Abrahams faith Davids thankfulnesse Moses meeknesse Calebs integrity Pauls zeal Ioshua's courage had never been so perspicuous nor had God ever had so much honour by their graces if he had not put them upon those hard encounters and conflicts which he did Thus you see the truth of this Point cleared God for his own glory suffers his people many times to be so small as they can find no means effectual for their recovery And so I come to application And the first Use of this point is That if the people of God who are as dear to him as the apple of his eye may sometimes be under such troubles and miseries as seem inextricable How inevitable and intolerable shall those miseries be which God shall make to be the portion of the wicked Here is just matter of trembling for all wicked men If the anger of God against such as he intends for ever to make blessed may be so great as to bring them under such wants and straits as they can see no way out of What will be the fruit of his fiery indignation against such as are his enemies appointed to drink the dregs of his wrath for ever If so great judgements begin at the house of God 1 Pet. 4. 17. what shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel If Stone and Gout and Strangury and Sword and Famine and Pestilence the worst of plagues this world hath may fall upon the Righteous what unconceiveable torments must those be which God reserves for the punishment of the Wicked What little cause have wicked men to joy in all their worldly pleasures and contentments when it is their certain portion to suffer the worst of miseries to eternity Who would rejoyce to eat of the most exquisite banquet that can be made if he knew that when the reckoning came in nothing would pay the shot but his own blood Wicked men may escape those common miseries of Poverty or disgrace or sword or pestilence which Gods children here sometimes endure yet shall they never escape those unspeakable plagues which shall be the just reward of impenitent sinners As Elijah saith He that escapes the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay and he that escapes the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay Elisha his sword it was his prophesie of those judgements that at length should inevitably fall upon the wicked who though they may escape the sword of men here yet they shall never escape the sword of Gods eternal wrath hereafter A second use we should make of this is seriously to examine and repent of those sinnes that cause God thus to make his own people small But of this afterward more seasonably in the second Proposition Thirdly If such may be the state of Gods people to be very low and small whom yet God intends to deliver and to preserve to his own heavenly kingdome Then let us learn to take patiently Gods dispensations towards us in these times Though Ireland remain yet in a most sad and almost forlorn condition though at home the Sword be not sheathed nor the Pestilence ceased and new fears of famine