Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	covenant_n	mount_n	sinai_n	2,601	5	13.1088	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09443	A godly and learned exposition or commentarie vpon the three first chapters of the Reuelation. Preached in Cambridge by that reuerend and judicious diuine, maister William Perkins, Ann. Dom. 1595. First published for the benefit of Gods Church, by Robert Hill, Bachelor of Diuinitie; Lectures upon the three first chapters of the Revelation	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.	1606 (1606)	STC 19732; ESTC S114701	362,972	238

alone on the house toppe Act. 10.11 And so doubtlesse finding Iohn thus imployed this Lords day he reuealed his will vnto him touching the state of the church to the end of the world Hence we learne sundry instructions First whereas Iohn being in a sollitarie Island kept the Saboath wee may obserue that all persons who are seuered from the assemblies of the church as the prisoners and those which are sicke of a dead paluesie or other great diseases As mariners though they bee in the middest of the sea should keepe holie the Lords Saboath by performing such duties as God requireth as prayer confession of sins and thanksgiuing whereby God may be glorified though they cannot come to the publicke ministerie of the word Secondly in that Iohn receiued his vision on the Lords day when hee gaue himselfe to prayer and holie duties Hence ariseth a consolation to Gods church that God draweth neere vnto them that draw neere to him as Iames 4.8 And so let vs humble our selues and draw neere to the Lord by prayer and thanksgiuing and the Lord in mercie will shew himselfe sundry wayes and draw neere vnto vs. The cause why men haue so little tast of Gods mercie and loue towards them is because they do not draw neere vnto him by doing those duties which he requireth at their hands For when men draw backe from God is it not good reason hee should draw backe from them This therfore must stirre vp our harts and moue vs to come often to God by prayer and thanksgiuing for by vse in these duties shall wee get acquaintance with the Lord. Thus much of the circumstances of this vision And I heard behind me a great voyce as it had bene a trumpet First here followeth the parts of this vision which are two The beginning or entrance into it in this verse and part of the twelft Secondly the matter and substance thereof from the twelft verse to the end of the third chapter The entrance into the vision is a preparation whereby the Lord maketh Iohn more fit to apprehend and receiue the things reuealed In which preparation we must obserue first the meanes secondly the parts thereof The meanes whereby God prepareth him is a voyce And I heard a voyce The like manner of preparation hath God vsed in former times when hee intended to make with Adam the couenant of reconciliation in the seed of the woman First he prepared him by a voyce speaking vnto him before he appeared and by this voyce caused him to slie for feare Then hauing rebuked him for his sinnes he made with him this couenant of grace Genes 3. And in mount Synai before the Lord gaue the law hee first came downe in thundering and lightning and with the sound of a trumpet to terrifie the people and then hee vttered his law to Moyses and to his people So when the Lord would instruct Samuel touching the house of Elie he awoke him by a voyce again and againe and then spake plainely vnto him And in all visions vsually and generally the Lord vseth to prepare his seruants by voyces by signes and words that they might bee more fit to receiue such things as hee reuealed This dealing of God with Iohn in preparing him to the worthy receiuing of this vision teacheth vs that wee much more should bee prepared to heare and receiue the will of God for wee come farre short of those excellent gifts of God which were in Iohn who yet must be prepared Our comming to heare Gods word is to learne the same for the increase of knowledge faith and obedience Now the word of God is hard and we dull to learne wee must therefore by all good meanes prepare our selues that our minds and harts may be fit to receiue the same with profit The cause of so little profit after long hearing is want of preparation but hereof we haue entreated alreadie vpon the third verse This voyce is here set out vnto vs three wayes First by the place whence it came Secondly by the qualitie of it Thirdly by the matter and substance which it contained For the place it was vttered from behind him which the Lord obserued to stirre vp ●●re attention in Iohn for vsually men doe more carefully marke those things which come on a sudden behind them than those which are spoken or done directly before their face Secondly for the qualitie of it this voyce was great as is expressed further by a similitude Like the sound of a trumpet that is full of power and maiestie Which also God added vnto it to further attention in Iohn For if it had beene an ordinarie voyce or small hee would not so much haue regarded it but being so sudden so great and full of maiestie it could not but make him verie attentiue Now seeing Christ is so carefull to prepare Iohns mind with attention and diligence to receiue the things which should bee told him This teacheth vs that when we come to heare Gods word we must vse all meanes of attention for if it were needfull to Iohn then is it farre more necessarie for vs who are farre inferiour to him in all gifts of vnderstanding and memorie And here also is another cause of small profit and little liking of Gods word namely want of attention in the heart Wee must therefore like godly Lydia Act. 16. stirre vp our dull and heauie spirits and with all diligence marke the things wee heare And here we must take heed of two enemies to attention the first are by-thoughts as when the body indeed is present but the mind wandereth from the word and is wholly possessed with thoughts of pleasure or other worldly affaires For these bee thornes in the ground of our hearts which choke the good seede of the word Many will complaine they cannot marke and remember that which is taught now the cause is in themselues their wandering thoughts which hinder both vnderstanding and memorie for the mind conceiuing other matters cannot obserue how one point dependeth on another much lesse remember them afterward The second enemie to attention is dulnesse and heauinesse in body soule a common fault in many hearers which sheweth it selfe by drowsinesse and sleepinesse in the time of preaching when they ought to stirre vp their bodies and hearts to all attention If a man should bee dull and heauie when his prince is speaking vnto him of some weightie matter that is for his good it would bee taken for a part of contempt and disloyaltie towards his maiestie What disloyaltie then is this vnto the king of kings that we should bee dull and heauy when himselfe vouchsafeth to speake vnto vs out of his word the mysteries of our saluation And surely among other things this drowsinesse is one cause of small profit by the ministerie of the word And therefore if wee would encrease in knowledge and in the gifts of grace vnto saluation we must prepare our selues before we come and in hearing

himselfe from such a● teach otherwise than hee had giuen direct on and consent not vnto the wholesome words of our Lord Iesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godlinesse being puffed vp and knowing nothing This then must be our carefull practise wee haue by Gods mercie true religion among vs which wee must maintaine with zeale and if any bring in other doctrine wee must reiect it and shew forth detestation to him that bringeth it not bidding him God speed 2. Iohn 10. Wee must rather loose our liues than suffer the truth of God to be defaced Thirdly that which Christ laieth to the charge of this church may in sundry respects be charged vpon our churches and congregations at this day namely want of zeale against sinne and seueritie against sinners for though the gouernours of our Church repell the heresies of Poperie Anabaptists and familie of Loue and suppresse all doctrines that race the foundation which are commendable things yet in the middest of our congregations bee abundance of Atheists who by deed and conuersation denie Christ Iesus for many know nothing in the matters of religion and moe be profane who both thinke and speake most basely of religion and of the teachers and professours thereof Yea wee haue flat epicures permitted to liue in our church such as make their bellie their God who giue themselues wholly vnto eating drinking sports and delights without all regard either of the generall duties of Christianitie or of the particular duties of their calling Wee haue also among vs many cruell and mercilesse persons that in their affaires abound in the practises of fraud wrong vsurie and oppression whose treading is vpon the poore in the pride of their couetousnesse wherby also they eate the flesh of God● people and flea off their skin from them and breake their bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot and as flesh within the cauldron Mich. 3.6 And yet all these because they submit themselues to the ciuile authoritie are permitted without controlment to be partakers of the priuiledges of Gods Church euen to the receiuing of the seales of Gods couenant being themselues flat enemies to the grace of God Yea many of these are greatly countenanced and graced for wisedome and reputation when as such as feare God and make conscience of their wayes are counted vile All which as it argueth exceeding want of zeale in seueritie against sinne so it cannot chuse but prouoke the Lord to come against vs in iudgement as hee did against this Church The meanes whereby this euill is to bee reformed doth follow afterward III. point The reason or confirmation of the former reproofe whereby the Lord would mooue this Church to detest these false teachers is taken from the effect of their doctrine and it is layed downe in this similitude As Balaam the false Prophet taught Balac to put a stumbling blocke before the children of Israell to cause them to eat of things sacrificed to Idols and to commit fornication so this Church maintained among them Nicholaitans who taught it was lawfull to eat things sacrificed to Idols at Idols feasts and to commit fornication The first part of this similitude is in the end of this 14 verse Which taught Balac to put a stumbling blocke c. The second part is in the 15 verse Touching the doctrine of Balaam we are to obserue three points First What a stumbling blocke or an offence is Secondly what it is to cast or put a stumbling blocke Thirdly by what meanes king Balac did cast a stumbling block before the children of Israell For the first a stumbling block is properly any thing as wood or stone or such like that is cast in a mans way to hinder him in his gate and to cause him to trip or fall And by rese●blance in this place an offence is any thing that causeth a man to sinne against God and so to slip or fall or to go out of his way that leadeth to life Further an offence is twofold either giuen or taken An offence giuen is any speech or deed whereby a man is prouoked to sinne and so was Peter an offence vnto Christ though he tooke it not Mat. 16.23 An offence taken is when any man taketh occasion to fall and sinne by that which is well done by others so were the Pharisies offended at the sacred preaching of our Sauiour Christ. II. point The casting or putting of a stumbling blocke or giuing an offence is the doing or saying of any thing whereby a man is occasioned to sinne and this is done either about things euill in themselues or in things indifferent Things euill are such as Gods word forbiddeth and they are twofold either persuasions or examples Bad persuasions are false doctrine and euill counsell Bad example is also a giuing of offence because it doth embolden euill men in their sinne and draw the godly to euill Againe in things indifferent as meate drinke apparrell c. may offence be giuen when as they are vsed vnseasonably not in fit time and place and before fit persons And of this Paule speaketh saying If I knew my eating did offend my brother I would eat no flesh while the world standeth The offence here spoken of was an offence giuē in euil things for it was an euill act done by Balaam and accordingly receiued and taken of the Israelits for he vsed outward prouocations to allure them vnto sinne III. point The meanes whereby king Balac did cast a stumbling blocke before the children of Israell is set downe in the end of the verse by prouoking them to eat of things sacrificed to Idols and to commit fornication That we may vnderstand this fully read Numbers 25. The summe of the historie is this When Balaam had assayed sundry wayes to curse the children of Israell and could not he gaue Balac counsell to vse meanes to cause them to sinne At his counsell Balac sent foorth the most beautifull women in his kingdome into the campe of Israell to entise them to the seruice of their idols and to banquet with them at their idoll feasts that so they might draw them to fornication whereunto the Israelites condescended and so sinned against God Thus much of the meaning of the words First here obserue a speciall property of false teachers namely to cast offences before men to cause them to fall in the way that leadeth to saluation By this Christ intendeth to make knowne vnto this Church the false doctrine of Balaam Paule in his Epistles calleth the doctrin of the gospell a truth according to godlinesse because the intent of the gospell is to lead men to true godlinesse On the contrarie the doctrine of Antichrist is called the mysterie of iniquitie because the scope thereof is to draw men to all iniquitie and abhomination Here then wee haue a rule whereby wee may iudge betweene true doctrine and false euen by looking into the end and scope thereof if it ayme at true

their sinnes till hee carry their soules to hell A good meaning will not serue the turne God requires true zeale in well-doing Vers. 20. Behold I stand at the doore and knocke If any man heare my voyce and open the doore I will come in vnto him and will suppe with him and hee with me Heere Christ to keepe his Church from despaire ministers vnto them the signes and tokens of his loue and fauour and before the same sets downe this note of attention Beholde hereby intending to make them more attentiuely to marke the tokens of his loue that plainly seeing the same they might not doubt thereof Heereby in generall wee are taught that if wee would arme our selues against desperation and distrust in any distresse wee must both often and seriously consider and marke the tokens of Gods loue vnto vs and that will fortifie our faith Read Psal. 23 In euery Verse saue the last hee sets downe tokens of Gods loue and fauour towards him and then in the last concludeth thus Without doubt kindesse mercie shall follow mee all the dayes of my life and I shall remaine a long season in the house of the Lord. Our hearts are naturally filled with doubting which will bewray it selfe in any distresse But to preuent and cut off all hurt that may come therby let vs marke the good dealing of our God towards vs and obserue the tokens of his loue and mercie in his ordinarie prouidence and these will notably strengthen vs against distrust And surely no person is so full of despaire but if hee could looke backe into the mercies of God from the beginning of his dayes and lay them to his heart they would minister comfort vnto him in regard of his loue and fauour at that instant More particularly Christ ministring comfort vnto this Church doth expresse his meaning by a borrowed speach comparing euery man vnto an house his heart vnto a doore whereby entrance is made and himselfe vnto a guest or stranger desiring to come and enter in not so much to find courtesie as to shew fauour and kindnesse In the words of this verse there bee two signes of his loue set downe First a heartie desire of their conuersion which hee earnestly seeketh Secondly a promise of mutuall fellowship after their conuersion The first in these wordes Behold I stand at the doore and knock In this desire Christ expresseth two things First that this Church if wee regard the greatest part thereof had no true fellowship with Christ nor Christ with them for hee stands at the doore of their hearts which were closed vp against him This may seeme strange but the case is euident for though they had in them many good things as knowledge of Gods will and did professe the Gospel and were partakers of the signes and seales of the Couenant of grace yet they were tainted with this notorious sinne of Luke-warmnesse which closed vp the doore of their heart against Christ and barred him out Here then we are carefully to obserue that a man may haue in him many good things and yet by liuing in one sin we be quite cut off from all true fellowship with Christ. Iudas had many excellent gifts he forsooke all and folowed Christ he preached the Gospel and administred the Sacraments and yet by couetousnes the doore of his heart was quite barred against Christ. So Herode reuerenced Iohn and heard him gladly and did many things at his instruction Mark 6.20 yet by the sinne of Incest his heart was so closed that he had no fellowship with Christ. And so it is with vs It is good that wee know the will of God and approue the same and professe the Gospel and also receiue the Seales of the Couenant But yet for all these our case may be such as wee shall haue no true fellowshippe with Christ. For if wee nourish though but one sinne and liue therein that will make a separation betweene Christ and vs bee the sinne what it will as couetousnesse adulterie prophanenesse or such like Heereby then all that desire to haue true fellowshippe with Christ are to be warned to purge their liues from all sinne so as their hearts bee not taynted with nourishing any one sinne for euen one sinne w●●●●soeuer it bee is a strong barre 〈◊〉 will keepe Christ from comming into vs. Secondly whereas hee saith I haue stood at the doore for so the wordes are Heere hee speaketh to this Church as hee vsed to speake by his old Prophets As by Ieremie I haue sent vnto you all my Prophets rysing early euery day and sending them And by Esay I haue spread out my handes all the day vnto a rebellious people which walked in a way that was not good euen after their owne imaginations So heere I haue stood at the doore That is long euen till night as the word supping importeth Hereby Christ would signifie his great pacience in waiting for the conuersion of this people of Loadicea In iustice hee might long agone haue cast them to the pit of destruction for their sinnes and yet in mercie he waiteth for their conuersion and complaines that he hath waited long Here then we haue iust occasion to take a view of Gods patience in wayting for the conuersion of a sinner And that which hee saith to this Church hee may as iustly say vnto vs for hee hath stood very long at our doores euen 36. yeares and vpward and yet still continueth knocking so as he may iustly complaine of his long waiting Let vs then here learne to know the day of our visitation which is then to any people when Christ stands at their doores and knockes and vnto vs this day is present Wee haue the ministerie of the Gospell and therefore we must be perswaded that this is the time of our visitation and hereupon learne the dutie which Christ teacheth the Iewes namely Acknowledg the day of our visitation which if we doe not wee must looke for like vengeance which fell vpon the Iewes because they regarded not when God sent his owne Sonne from his bosome to knocke at the dore of their hearts And knocke Heere is a further signification of his desire of their conuersion Wherein we may behold his great vnspeakable mercie towards this Church and in them towards all other his Children This Church had bard out Christ by their sinnes and yet he pursues them he knockes hee vseth meanes to enter for 〈◊〉 good and vouchsafes them mercy 〈◊〉 then when they refuse it Thus when Adam had sinned and fled and hid himselfe did the Lord seek him in the garden make with him the couenant of grace And therefore it is truely sayd in Isay The Lord is found of them that neuer sought him Luk. 15.4.5 Christ fetcheth the lost sheepe that was gone astray All which shew and set out vnto vs the vnspeakable greatnesse of Gods mercie in Christ vnto miserable man who then shewes mercie vnto him when he