Selected quad for the lemma: glory_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
glory_n	exceed_v	glorious_a	ministration_n	2,427	5	13.0061	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09990	The nevv covenant, or the saints portion A treatise vnfolding the all-sufficiencie of God, and mans uprightnes, and the covenant of grace. delivered in fourteene sermons vpon Gen. 17. 1. 2. Wherevnto are adioyned foure sermons vpon Eccles. 9.1. 2. 11. 12. By the late faithfull and worthie minister of Iesus Christ Iohn Preston. Dr. in Divinitie, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiestie, maister of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670.	1629 (1629)	STC 20241; ESTC S101919	353,487	626

man lookes vpon the Author of this Couenant he heares no more but the Law and what it requires he lookes vpon God as a hard Master as an enemy againe he lookes vpon his Law as a hard and cruell Law as a heauy yoke as an vnsupportable bondage and therefore he hates i● and wishes there were no such law he runs from it as a Bond-slaue runnes from his master as far as it is in his power This is that which is said Gal. 4. Hagar gendreth to bondage that is the Couenant of workes it begets bond-men and slaues and not sonnes and freemen and likewise that Heb. 12. 18. saith the Apostle You are not come to Mount Sinai to the burning of fire to clouds to darknesse and tempest to the sound of a Trumpet so that Moses himselfe did quake and tremble That is when a man lookes vpon this Couenant of workes it causeth in him a feare and an enmitie that is the 2. difference The third is That it is a ministration of death as it is called 2 Cor. 3. a ministration of death that is it propounds a curse to all those that doe not keepe it and it shewes no meanes to auoyd it and therefore a man is affected to it and to God the Author of it as one is to an enemy that seekes his destruction and therefore the ministratiō of it is said to be the ministratiō of death The reason of all this is not because there is any ill in the Law it is a ministration of the letter it begets feare emity it is a ministratiō of death I say this ariseth not frō hence that the Law of God is a cruell deadly Law for the Law is good but it ariseth from the weaknes and the infirmity of the flesh As for example if you would take a Pot●ers vessell and dash it against a firme wall the reason why the wall is the destruction of the vessell is not any infirmity or weaknesse in the wall for it is the excellencie and vertue of the wall to bee hard it should bee so but it is the weaknesse and fragility and brit●lenesse of the Vessell and thence comes it to bee broken asu●der and so in this case the reason why this Law or Couenant of workes is a ministration of death and of enmity is not because there is any imperfection in the Law it ariseth rather from the perfection of it but is from the weaknesse of the flesh that is not able to keepe the Law it is the excellencie of the Law that it is so perfect that a man is not able to keepe it and so it ariseth from the weaknesse and in●irmity of the flesh that is not able to obserue this Law Now on the other side as this is the Couenant of workes so you shall finde that the Couenant of grace First is a ministration of the Spirit and not of the letter Secondly a ministration of loue not of enmity of freedome not of bondage it is a ministration of righteousnesse as it is there called the ministration of righteousnesse for if the ministration of condemnation were glorious much more shall the ministration of righteonsnesse exceed in glory Thirdly a ministration of life and iustification and not a ministration of death and condemnation The ground of this and how it is thus we shall shew shew you by expressing to you he order how these depend and follow one vpon the other when a man hath looked vpon the Couenant of workes and sees death in it sees a strict Law that hee is not able to keepe then come● the Couenant of grace and shewes to him a righteousnesse to satisfie this Law that himselfe neuer wrought shewes him a way of obtaining pardon and remission for the sinnes that hee hath committed against this Law by the death and satisfaction of another when he sees this hee sees withall the goodnesse and mercie of GOD giuing this to him for his saluation out of his free grace and mercie when he sees this the opinion of a sinner is changed marke I say his opinion his disposition and affection is altered he lookes not vpon God now as vpon a hard and cruell Master but he lookes vpon him now as a God exceeding full of mercy and compassion whence this followes that his heart melts towards the Lord it relents it comes to be a soft heart that is easie and tractable it is not haled now to the Commandement but out of an ingenuity and willingnesse he comes and serues the LORD with alac●ity and cheerefuln●sse this disposition is wrought vpon him because now hee sees another way his apprehension is altered euen as a seruant when it is reuealed to him that he is a sonne and that those hard taskes that are laid on him are the best way to leade him to happinesse they are but rules of direction for his owne wealth and for his owne aduantage he doth them now with all willingnesse the case is altered hee lookes not now vpon the Law of GOD as an enemy or as a hard bondage but he lookes vpon all the Law of God as a wholsome and profitable rule of direction that hee is willing to keepe for his owne comfort now when the heart is thus softned then the Spirit of God is sent into his heart and writes th● Law of GOD in his inward parts as you shall see if you compare these two places together Heb. 8. 8 9 10. Behold saith the Lord I will make a new Couenant and this is the Testament that I will make with the House of Israel After those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Lawes into their mindes and in their hearts will I write them and I will be their God and they shall be my people If you compare it with that 2 Cor. 3. 2 3. You are our Epistle written in our hearts which is vnderstood and read of all men in that you are manifest to bee the Epistle of Christ manifested by vs and written not with inke but with the Spirit of the liuing God not in Tables of stone but in the fleshy Tables of the heart The meaning of it is this when the heart is once softned God sends his Spirit to write his Lawes in the heart which Me●aphor will bee expressed to you in these three things First the meaning of it is this looke what there is in the outward Law as it is written and laid before you there shall be a disposition put into their heart that shall answer it in all things there shall be a writing within answerable to the writing without that euen as you see in a seale when you haue put the seale vpon the wax and take it away againe you finde in the wax the same impression that was vpon the seale you shall see in it stampe answering to stampe character to character print to print so it is in the hearts of the faithfull after they are once thus sof●ned the Spirit of

the fauour of God in pleasing him and in enioying of him and therefore when he reckons that his life consists therein he doth exceeding diligently whatsoeuer worke tends to him and to his glory This is the third effect that arriseth from sincerity and perfection of heart A fourth effect is this a heart that is entire and vpright and perfect with GOD you shall finde thus disposed hee s●ffers euery grace to haue his perfect worke that is a signe the heart is sound and entire and perfect when the graces of God are not restrained when they are not dammed and barred vp but are suff●red to haue their perfect worke as it is said of patience you shall see that expression Iam. 1. Let patience haue her perfect worke Re●oyce saith the Apostle there when you fall into t●oubles of diu●r● sorts reioyce knowing that the 〈◊〉 of your faith brings forth patience and let patience haue her perfect worke that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing Where you see that this is put downe as an effect that ariseth from perfectnesse and integrity of heart when we suffer the graces of God as patience in particular to haue their perfect worke Now patience is said to haue its perfect worke when it endures all kinde of tryals for that is the scope of the Apostle Reioyce saith the Apostle when you fall into tryals of diners sorts that is tryals that concerne you in soule in body in name and in state tryals of euery sort and euery kinde if patience be perfect and it will be perfect if it be in a heart that is perfect and entire it will haue a perfect worke it will make vs stay no where So that beloued patience hath then its perfect worke when it will suffer any thing be it death be it disgrace bee it imprisonment or pouerty be it losse of friends be it what it will be afflictions of any kinde name all sorts of trouble that you can deuise if patience haue a perfect worke it will beare all of them When the heart is sound beloued then this grace or any other hath a perfect worke therefore you see men whose hearts are not sound nature will stand some where a man perhaps will beare many things for Religion but if it come to death there he shrinkes a man will endure much but if it come to disgrace to discredit to losse of reputation there his patience hath not a perfect worke and therefore he giues ouer As patience must haue a perfect worke which is seene in suffering so likewise it is seene in doing So you see that expression Heb. 17. 1. Seeing we haue such a cloud of witnesses saith the Apostle let vs runne the race with patience that is set before vs. The meaning of it is this saith he if patience haue a perfect worke it will carry you through the whole race to the iournies end but if otherwise a man will runne so far or so farre but when he meetes with such a rubbe with such a barre by the way there hee will make a stand when he comes to thick way or to thornie way or to rough way there hee will not runne and why because patience hath not a perfect worke Therefore saith he runne with patience the race that is set before you So beloued a mans heart is then entire when euery grace I instance now in this hath his perfect worke If you obiect But you see sometimes patience euen in the best of the Saints hath not a perfect worke but is sometimes interrupted I answer it is true you see it was so in Iob though he were a man of an vpright heart God beares that witnesse to him hee was a iust man one that feared God and likewise this grace was perfect in him as that witnesse is giuen him Iam. 5. 11. You know the patience of Iob yet notwithstanding this it seemed to be interrupted it seemed not to haue its perfect worke Beloued to this I answer that it did not rise from the hollownesse of his heart or the imperfection of the grace but it ariseth many times from some other impediment some other accident from some distemper that may arise in the soule that sometime or other may hinder euen a perfect grace from hauing a perfect worke as you see in the workes of nature there may be a perfect Spring and yet sometimes it may be hindered from running by some outward impediment it may some way or other be dammed vp so it may be a perfect Drug fit and apt enough to worke and yet some impediment there may bee that may hinder it and choake it and dead the vertue of it for a time but it is but for a fit ordinarily and in ordinary course euery grace will haue its perfect worke and as I say of patience so likewise you see in all other graces to giue you another instance the same the Apostle giues there of faith faith when it ariseth when it dwels in a heart that is entire that is perfect it hath a perfect worke when it is otherwise it workes but imperfectly and but by halues I will giue you an experiment of it you shall see two notable examples of it one in Amaziah 2 Chron. 25. you shall finde there what worke faith had in him you see in the 8 9 10. Verses Amaziah was to goe to warre against the Edomites he hyred 100000. of Israel that was halfe his Armie to goe and assist him in the battell there comes a Prophet from the LORD and tels him Amaziah know this the Lord is not with Israel and therefore seperate these men and send them home if thou doe not thou shalt fall before the enemy for in the Lord there is power to helpe or to cast downe Amaziah beleeued the Prophet so that you see faith had a great worke in him but saith hee I am not able to hyre any more That is no matter said the Prophet goe with those thou hast and hee was content to doe so hee went on to the Battell and in the next verse hee was encouraged to goe on it was a great worke of faith to send backe halfe his Armie and to goe on so much encouraged notwithstanding yet after in the same Chapter you shall finde though faith went thus farre in him and carried him through so difficult a case yet it had not its perfect worke for immediately after hee had ouercome the Edomites hee set vp their Gods and a Prophet comes and tels him Amaziah art thou so foolish to set vp the Gods of the Edomites that were not able to deliuer their owne people Saith the Text hee would not hearken to the Prophet but bade him cease and the Prophet ceased So you see faith had a worke in him and a great worke but heerein he had an vnsound heart as it is said Verse 2. hee walked before the LORD in the way of his Fathers but not with a