Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	deny_v	teach_v	ungodliness_n	4,302	5	11.7286	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77762	The great doctrines of the gospel of Christ owned, believed and asserted in several declarations or sermons preached in London, by sundry servants of Christ of the society of Christian Quakers.	Budd, Thomas, 1648-1699.	1694 (1694)	Wing B5358A; ESTC R227790	110,751	214

remembrance of thy Name I am travelling through the Wilderness of this World this is the place of my Pilgrimage I am here in a strange Land I am passing through this Wilderness this Country that is earthly but I desire a better Country that is an heavenly Lord I am coming to thee and to be with thee and to enjoy fulness of Felicity with thee That which I have now is but an earnest and fore-taste of Heaven that divine Refreshment which I have now from thy Presence O Lord it is very sweet unto my Soul that followeth hard after thee and even faints and longs for thy Salvation Lord my Soul is satisfied as with Marrow and Fatness when thou drawest nigh to me and liftest up the Light of thy Countenance upon me this puts Gladness into my Heart more than in the time that worldly Men have their Corn and Wine encreased But what is all this in comparison of Heaven and the full Fruition of thee and that fulness of Joy and Rivers of Pleasures at thy right Hand for evermore I would not diminish those divine and spiritual Enjoyments and sweet refreshing Consolations which the Lord is pleased many times to vouchsafe to his People here they have large Enjoyments of the Lord's Presence and sweet Communion with him but all this is but a fore-taste and earnest of what is to come Therefore setting our Affections on things above is to be exercising our Faith our Hope and Meditations upon that Felicity which we shall enjoy after this Life I would not have any set their Imaginations on work so as to form Ideas in their Minds what sort of place Heaven is for those thoughts and conceptions that will profit you the Spirit of the Lord must give them to you and so help you to contemplate and meditate upon the joy and Glory of Heaven If ever you have any real benefit and advantage by the Exercise of your Thoughts it must be through the help and assistance of the Holy Spirit you can have no profitable Meditation concerning God and Christ and Heaven and Judgment to come except the Spirit of the Lord doth work in your Hearts and form your Thoughts and excite your desires and raise your affections to a spiritual and lively Exercise Friends you must labour to come to a Holy silence and stilness in your waiting upon the Lord and to deny your selves and take up the Cross of Christ and give up your selves intirely to the leadings of his Spirit and suppress the natural workings and actings of your own Spirits and let every Thought and Imagination be brought into subjection and into a Holy Captivity to the Lord Jesus Christ in your Meditations on God and Heaven and Glory in the VVorld to come these Thoughts must be given you by the Spirit of God you must form and frame and work them together with the Spirit The Life of a true Christian is to live above to have his conversation in Heaven and to look beyond all present Enjoyments unto that which is to come unto fruitions that are future and Everlasting The Apostle according to the VVisdom given him of God hath given us an excellent definition of Faith Hebr. 11.1 Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen Hope looks to that which is future which is not presently enjoyed Rom. 8.24 saith th● Apostle We are saved by Hope but Hope th● is seen is not Hope for what a Man seeth w● doth he yet hope for it But if we hope for th● we see not then do we with patience wait f● it If any one say that this Doctrine drawes 〈◊〉 from the present enjoyment from the gift o● God in our selves to look to that which is beyond the grave I say it doth not Tru● hope centers you in that which is the prese●● measure and confirms and establishes you i● it it is the present measure that worketh tru● hope in us a present measure of the gift o● God of the Grace and Spirit of God the effec● of Grace cannot lead us from Grace therefor● it is great weakness for any thus to argue 〈◊〉 am afraid my meditation will carry me from m● present measure I tell thee the Thoughts an● meditations that work in the Heart of a tru● Christian that carry him beyond present enjoyments to those that are future will no● hinder the present measure of Grace received Let me add this one word further the mistery that hath been told us the Mystery that hath been hid from Ages and Generations which is Christ in us who is the hope of glory may we not say Christ in us is our glory and Christ in us is our Enjoyment VVe may say if we are true Believers Christ in me is Joy and Sweetness to my Soul and delight and satisfaction to my Soul beyond all the transient Joys and pleasures of this VVorld If I had the possession of them and were Master of them Christ within affords me that ●atisfaction and content that peace and joy that surpasseth all worldly Pleasures Christ within us is our hope of Glory but the present measure of Christ within is not our full possession of Glory I own it that Christ and his Grace is in every Saint and Grace is Glory begun it is the earnest and first Fruits of Glory The Apostle calls Christ within the Hope of Glory not the full possession of it Christ within leads us to that which is beyond the Grave and beyond Time which is to be enjoyed in a glorious Eternity The Apostle Paul tells us Tit. 2.11 12 13. The grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men teaching us that denying Vngodliness and worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works When is the time of the appearance of this blessed Hope At the glorious appearing of the great God who is both God and Man and our Saviour When is that At the Resurrection of the Dead when all Nations shall stand before the Son of Man the Good and Bad the Just and the Unjust together What this glorious Appearing will be i● beyond the power and ability of any Man t● demonstrate but there is one thing I shal● mention which will make it a most glorious Appearing that all the unjust Judgments that have been passed against just Men against the Saints and People of God shall be reversed this will be very glorious and God will then before Men and Angels justify his righteous and faithful Servants that have been unjustly condemned by Popes Bishops and general Councils and Synods Thus our blessed Lord himself was unjustly condemned and charged with Blasphemy as you may read in the Evangelist Mark 14.62 The High-priest

that Counsel that is here given to the Church of the Thessalonians Prove all things Try all things prove Men's Ways prove Men's Words prove Men's Doctrines prove Men's Principles I question not but you are such an understanding People that I need not say much to you I hope you are come to that exercise of Mind that you will take care not to be led aside not to be prevailed upon by the fair Speeches of any but that you make it your business rightly to come to know how to prove all things that offer themselves to your Consideration which I told you are of a religious Concern and are such things wherein the Salvation of our Souls are concerned That which we must come to prove things by is that which I have next to mention among you this a Man cannot do except it be given him from above We cannot prove things as we ought we cannot try things nor search into things except we know a receiving something from above A Man can receive nothing except it be given to him by God from above You and I have not that Knowledge that Ability that Understanding to Prove all things and hold fast that which is good until I receive the Gift of God I cannot do it And as it hath been often told you God hath been pleased to give so much of his Grace and of his good Spirit as he hath seen good but some have not received this heavenly Gift But some may ask me What I mean by receiving it By receiving I mean when this good Gift is given and bestowed upon Men they are joyned to it and made one with it As it hath pleased God to give to every one of us a measure of his Grace and Spirit There are diverse Names it is but one and the same thing if we have received the Gift from above let us keep to it and abide in it then as we abide in this Gift in this good Spirit then are we in a State and Condition to prove all things It is a true saying of the Apostle 1 Cor. 2.14 The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned You see your Calling Brethren how that not many wise Men after the Flesh not many Mighty not many Noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the World to confound the Wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base things of the World and things which are despised hath God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to nought the things that are The Apostle speaking to the Church of Corinth saith Hath not God made foolish the Wisdom of this World for after that in the Wisdom of God the World by Wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the foolishness of Preaching to save them that believe for the Jews require a Sign and the Greeks seek after Wisdom but we preach Christ Crucified to the Jews a Stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God If any saith the Apostle would be wise let him become a Fool that he may be wise Let us lay aside all our own Parts and Wisdom and come to the Gift of God in our own Souls and to the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation teaching us that denying Vngodliness and worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Friends my Charity is such I am so persuaded of you all I am satisfied that God hath been so merciful to you all as to enlighten your Minds and open your Understandings that you are among a seeking People walking towards Sion with your Faces thitherward I do not question but you may meet with many things which may sometimes put you in doubt and make you to question your Condition that you do not well know what to do yet in the midst of all your Troubles there there is something in your own Souls and Consciences that will not let you be quiet till you come to be in some measure like those the Apostle exhorts to Prove all things and hold fast that which is good It is good for all Christian People to be examining themselves in reference to Religious matters that do concern the Salvation of their Souls I count those that are seeking Men and Women to be in this holy Exercise the Grace of God which is in their Hearts will put them upon it as it is in Dan. 12.4 They shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased But it is fallen out in our Days that Iniquity doth abound and Wickedness encreaseth That which I have further to mention is this That you will be sure to keep to the Gift of God and when you come to know what is good that you hold it fast when you are upon searching or trying any Man's Doctrine if it be sound hold it fast if it be not sound meddle not with it But some may put this Question How shall we be further satisfied We may be discomposed in our Minds and possibly be in a maze and in great straits that we cannot keep so close to the Gift of God as we ought to do Is there nothing els● that may be assistant and helpful to us I answer yes God hath been pleased to afford us another Help the Holy Scriptures The Bereans they did search the Scriptures whether those things were so You that are a seeking enquiring People examine and prove all things according to the Gift of God which is given to you and see whether any Doctrine that is preached to you be according to the Holy Scriptures If any Man preach any other Doctrine the Apostle passeth a severe Sentence against them 1 Gal. 7.8 There be some that trouble you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ but though we or an Angel from Heaven preach another Gospel to you than that which we have preached let him be accursed It is the Lord 's great and abundant Mercy that he hath graciously vouchsafed the Holy Scriptures of Truth to be preserved through all Ages and to be translated and turned into their own Language when we are in doubt or at a loss we may go to the Law and the Testimony there it no contrariety between the Lord 's Teaching and the Holy Scriptures Therefore let us prove Men's Sayings and be not like many in our Days that take things upon Trust It is good to be striving as much as in us lies to prove every thing wherein the Salvation of our Souls is concerned and to hold fast that which is good This ought to be our Care and there is a great deal required after we have examined and proved and found out what is good there are many things to hinder us and turn us out of the