Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	faith_n	hope_v	1,483	5	7.8841	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77486	Brightman redivivus: or The post-humian of-spring of Mr. Thomas Brightman, in IIII. sermons. Viz. [brace] 1. Of the two covenants. 2. The danger of scandals. 3. Gods commission to Christ to preach the Gospell. 4. The saints securitie.	Brightman, Thomas, 1562-1607.; Halsted, John.	1647 (1647)	Wing B4691; Thomason E375_16; ESTC R201349	89,168	128

1 Thes 1.3 Describing the three common graces of a Christian the Apostle gives to each one their peculiar property or effect giving to Faith a Worke to Love Labour and to Hope Patience ☞ And this Hope every where is made a Badge of a Christian 1 Cor. 1.10 Rom. 8.24 25. Tit. 2.13 14. Yea this is not only a Badge but it is a part of the Christian Armour and that a chiefe one the Helmet of Salvation to cover the head and to beare of the bl●●es Yea also it is compared to an Anchor Heb. 6.18 19. And therefore it had need be of good Mettall and well tempered Now the grounds of Christian Hope are chiefly three First the merits of Christ for as Faith beleeves justification and forgivenesse so Hope beleeves as I may say Salvation and the possession of the Inheritance And in this regard the Apostle hath conjoyned Faith and Hope in one common description For Christ as well purchased Heaven as pardon of Sin so that as Faith beleeves the one so doth Hope the other especially since Sin being taken away nothing can debarre us Heaven Esa 54 9 10. Ier. 31.34 35 36 37 verses The second ground of Hope is the Truth of Gods Promises not only simply in themselves But confirmed with experience of accomplishment of many past concluding thence that seeing the greatest is accomplished the lesse will much more especially these Promises being ratified with an Oath Heb. 6.16 The third ground is the Pledge of the Spirit the earnest and first fruits and a Seale Now any of these are sufficient with men to put away doubting much more with God If Hope be not builded on these grounds as on a Rock the House will fall as the Papists have given experience when the Tempest hath come on them So that hereby is overthrown both the Hope of the Papist as also of the common people For as it is in Faith so with Hope in the Ideot He hopes well but gets naught because both his Faith and Hope are misgrounded Arising of the ignorance of God and himself While not knowing his deserved misery and cursed corrupt estate he takes himselfe to bee wholly Gods workmanship forgetting how the Divell by his finger hath marred the same And so thinke that God cannot but love him and accept his own handy worke and if happily he know and in some sort confesse this yet presently all is stopped with this that God is mercifull not thinking of his justice without satisfaction whereof there is no place for Mercy Simile But whosoever would not have his Hope deceive him hee must have better grounds then this conceit for as he that for some heynous offence is cast in Prison and for the same hath the sentence of Death passed on him Now for him to have not only a pardon for his offence but also a great revenue assigned him He hath need to have all the Kings Seales and large Charters Even so must every true Christian be able to shew his pardon under the broad Seal of the Word and Bloud of Christ and must also know the Conveyance Title Tenure of Heaven and by what service hee holds it before hee can have an assured Hope especially there being great danger in mistaking the Title for if we claime Heaven any other way then that by which it is offered unto us we can never obtaine it As the Apostle doth notably shew Rom. 9.32 Rom. 10.3 Rom. 4.16 Secondly true Christian Hope doth qualifie a man and fit him that while hee holds this in Reversion hee may daily prepare himselfe for it against it fall and therefore look what conditions are injoyned on his part he will be carefull to perform and what the Word prescribes to be in them that hope for Heaven he doth demonstrate to be in himself As 1 Iohn 3.3 He clenses himself continues in Prayer armes himselfe with Patience puts on the Shoes and all the Christian Armour and where his treasure and purchase is there is his heart talke joy and delight and makes him that he cannot settle himselfe on any thing here below he hath casted so of the fruits of Chanaan that he cannot pitch his Tents in the Wildernesse ☞ this is plainly taught in the example of Abraham who forsooke his own Country c. The reason was He looked for a City whose builder was God Heb. 12.19 The like of Moses Heb. 11.27 And this effect is notably taught Heb. 6. at the end Where is shewed that Hope is the Sacred Anchor that pierces in For as in the storme if the Anchor bee so deeply pitched that by the violence of the Tempest it lose not his hold the Ship safely endures the same So a Christian man having this is secured from Stormes and Raines which the Divell and all his forces can raise And therefore Simile Whereas we see many Christians with every light wind so to be tossed in the World as in the deep Sea and float here and there What is the reason but that they want this Anchor which being pitched in Heaven they might stay themselves till the Tyrannie was passed Esa 26.20 This is as a Pent-house to keep off the dashes And thus having cast Anchor let us apply this a little and so draw to shore Vse Seeing these things are so it is necessary that every one have this Anchor ready especially in these troublous times wherein it is not only hard to hold on in an even course but very difficult for a wise Pylot to escape the Rockes and Sands Wherefore my beloved let us strengthen our weake hands and weary knees let us call back this Hope and expectation which may seeme to be almost banished from among men For why are the Profits of this life so greedily sought after why is there no end of heaping up wealth what meane these common fraud and circumventions one of another Whence is that lust of ruling every where there being no care to profit those over whom they are set Why will many be Pastors and will not feed their Sheepe Why doe men at this day measure the Truth Note not in equity of Conscience and sincerity of judgement out of the Word but by their private profits Why have men cast off all care of seeking the Heavenly Inheritance not being heires of those who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises They heare and partly see that the Godly are of all men most miserable this Hope excepted and they thinking this Hope to be a small comfort and succour against so great a misery they chose rather to imbrace things present leaving Hope for Fooles as they thinke But sure it is not for true Christians so to lead their lives as they that have no Hope not to be groveling on the Earth as Sons of the Earth Wee are borne of God and are Citizens of the Heavenly Inheritance we are as strangers not Denizens why should wee bee curious or inquisitive in a strange Countrey why do we imbrace the place of our Exile as our home But we whither we be called in the Morning or at Noone into the Vineyard let us labour stoutly and let us looke for the penny at the end of the day Neither will the Lord deferre our Hope long For loe He comes and his reward is with him and yet a little while and the Lord will come and not stay Heb. 10. at the end Our Fathers dyed in the Faith foure thousand yeares since and received not the Promises but saluted them a farre off Heb. 11. Our race that we have runne is much shorter It shall not need that we should lie so long in the dust before the Creature be perfitly restored and though it should be long yet our dayes are circumscribed in the compasse of a few yeares Wherefore l●t us li●● 〈◊〉 th●ads that hang downe to the Earth let us with great Ioy behold these everlasting Tabernacles If wee shall feed our selves with this Hope surely wee shall abide in the Love of God in all affliction 2 Thes 1.5 6 7. For this Hope will whet our desire and as a Wife looking for her Husband doth prepare her self and will not be entangled in any businesse much lesse set her affection on any other man So the Faithfull Soule longing for Christ will dispose it self for this Hope Simile though it moderate the desire as touching the time yet it quenches not nor snibs the earnestnesse thereof but it cryes out Come Lord Iesus come quickly For he shall appeare to all that look for him in Faith to Salvation But the to wicked Woe to that day when they shall fly to the Mountaines to fall on them and the Rocks to hide them For if the time of his first comming be so terrible as is expressed in the second and third chapters of Malachi How then will they endure the second Now the same Lord IESUS CHRIST our Lord and our God even the Father which hath loved us and hath giver us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good word and worke 2 Thes 2.16 17 verses Glory to GOD alone Jmprimatur JOSEPH CARYL 1646. FINIS LONDON Printed by Thomas Forcet for John Rothwell at the Sun and Fountaine in Pauls Church-yard and Hannah Allen at the Crowne in Popes-head Alley 1647.

advantages faile yet this doth not an increase of Grace whereby is increased our assurance As St. Paul teaches Rom. 6.22 That being the Servants of Righteousnesse they had this fruit to wit an increase of holinesse So Rom. 5.5 Hope makes not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad That is the sense of the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit for by him as a most certain pawne or witnesse that we are beloved of God and how good he is and Fatherly affected So that wee see by what meanes this sense of Gods Love is brought into our Hearts even by the Holy Spirit Vse And therefore a second duty to every one that would cherish this sense of the love of God in him is that he cherish the Spirit who is the Author and preserver hereof But we shall not need to seeke other meanes for the effecting of this then those the Apostle delivers in this place For if there shall be a continuall Meditation of our Righteousnesse purchased by Christ If there shall be a serious Meditation of those good things wherewith God rewards the Servant calling on his name If also our hearts shall be throughly enflamed with a constant expectation of that felicity laid up in Heaven for the Faithfull What can be wanting to us for the preserving a lively sense of this Love we speake of See how loftily the Apostle vaunted himselfe in the confidence of never loosing the sense of this Love bearing himselfe only on these grounds and props Rom. 8.33 Who shall seperate us from the love of God in Christ c. Now what can be more renowned and Honourable what more to be desired then that fraile and weake man should bee stronger and more powerfull then Life then Death then the Divel then Sin and all the terrours of Hell and yet St Paul doth witnesse that the sense of this Love alone did put this Noble heart and Victorious Spirit into him And every godly man truely fearing God hath experience of this in himselfe This is that admirable and wonderfull power which carries men violently through glory and Ignominy through good report and bad through fire and torments that they might Magnify the name of their God whose unspeakable love they feele in their hearts 2 Cor. 5.14 The Love of God constrains us 2 Cor. 4.8 9 10. For when they have Gods favour they stand not much on it that the World is against them For say the wicked spoyle their goods thirst after their bloud yet what need they bee discouraged in heart when they know that these light afflictions shall be recompenced with so great reward as is shewed 2 Cor 4.15.16 17. Wherefore let us get to our selves this most strong Bulwarke against all the force of Satan and his adherents Let us endeavour to Sanctity that being made richer in Graces we may have a more plentifull assurance and deeper stampe Imprinted in our hearts which none hath ever tasted or shall no not with the least sipping that sets not himselfe unfainedly to this taske and makes Conscience to proceed and increase in the same course having a pure heart a true tongue and clean hands But alas if these things be so who can sufficiently bewayle these our dayes wherein men shew that they are so farre from preserving themselves in the love of God that they are set to cast themselves out of the same while some seeke above all to preserve themselves in the love of the World and so the love of God cannot be in them They being carryed away so with the Pleasures Honours and profits of the World as they desire no other Others go on in the open breach of all Gods Lawes grieving the Spirit of God provoking him to his face and moving him to turne his Love into Anger Is not the love of many waxed cold and doth not the fayling of this love in men shew that God begins to withdraw his Love which was the beginning of the other What meanes that deadnesse of mens hearts what meanes either a generall neglect of all meanes Simile or a formall outward use of them which never entring into the heart can no more strengthen the life of it then the meate that is taken into the mouth and goes no further can nourish the body O then let us awake and hold fast our Bridegroome Let us entreat him and endeavour our selves in his way then he will enrich us with his Graces take us into his secret Cabinet and Seale up to and in our Soules the Charter of eternall life O how should this make us pray with David O that my feete were so directed c. O how should Christ and his Truth bee in our hearts to dye and to live how should we sigh and contend for it Who would loose his Evidence Take heed of Sin if thou cherish it it will so eate out the letters of thy Evidence that thou shalt not be able to read them and so weaken thy title and tenure in the Heavenly Inheritance that when the Earthly shall faile thou wilt not know what shall become on thee Arise then by unfained repentance from thy Sins and never give over till by thy Teares thou hast so washed out all the Spots as that the letters of thy Evidence may be cleared and that the Starre which was so darkned may so cleerely shine and directly conduct thee not as it did the wise men to Christ in the Manger but to Christ in glory at the right hand of the Father whither thou shalt alway bee admitted not to offer gifts as they did But to be filled with all pvrfection of happinesse Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hitherto of preserving our selves in the love of God the last furtherance thereunto is here set down to wit Christian Hope It is described by three things First from a property or effect namely Wayting Secondly from the object or thing wayted for the Mercy of Christ called the Grace of Christ 2 Cor. 13. at the end as also the fruit thereof Eternall Life which often is called Hope Thirdly from the end Eternall Life So that the sense of all is Wayting for Eternall Life through the Mercy of Christ Where at the first is discovered that impudent devise and falshood of the Popish Church touching their double justification the first whereof they avouch to be of Grace but that at least of Grace and workes whereas here it is expressed That a Christian justified waytes for Mercy But leaving them to their blindnesse Note let us see what may concerne our selves This Wayting here expressed is a lively property of true Christian Hope in part common to it with Faith For Faith and Hope have both the same grounds the same causes the like effects and therefore as he that Beleeves makes not hast so neither doth he that Hopes So that To Hope Waite Expect and Trust are put all for one in the old Testament Lament 3.40 41. and