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	see_v	3,520	5	4.1982	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30272	Characters of a godly man both as more and less grown in grace / by Daniel Burgess.	Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713.	1691 (1691)	Wing B5697; ESTC R23829	60,242	145

fourth Season is when a Soul is called to undertake some extraordinary Service for God Before Abraham was called to the extremity of Self-denial in offering up his Isaac he was certified that God wou'd be his exceeding great reward Before Steven was stoned he saw the Heavens opened and his Advocate standing at God's right hand Before our Saviour himself was Crucified he was Transfigured He did shine in glory before he was clothed with shame The fifth Season is when a Soul hath done some eminent service and extraordinarily held its integrity After that Abraham had in his admirably prompt intention offered up his Son he received that transcendent testimony Now I know that thou fearest God And after that Job had made his Patience to be heard of though not without sore fits of Impatience immixed the Lord accepted the face of Job gave him twice as much as before and proclaimed it that none of his Friends had spoken the thing that was right like unto Job Job 42. The sixth Season is when the Soul is taking leave of the Body Then when Flesh and Heart faileth the God of all consolations oft pleaseth to be most sensibly the Strength and the Portion and the Joy of his Children Making them then most sure that they have a building of God an house made without hands Eternal in the Heavens when the earthly House of their Tabernacle is dissolving Thus doth he who is Master of his own Consolations and may and doth dispose of his own as he pleaseth both for the Measure and the Season thus doth he oftentimes dispose of them And hereof the gracious Man is no negligent observer Let it still be remembred that God will use a liberty and arbitrarily dispense the sweet Assurance we speak of And it is not for us to prescribe to him either Times or Means in which he shall necessarily give it to us But as it hath been said of special Seasons so it must be affirmed of these following Duties ordinarily God doth in them give the sense of his Love and the moderate Assurance of his Eternal Good-will unto Believers I would make no such Comparisons between Duties as should be lessening of the worth and weight of any But I may be allow'd to say thus much I suppose Look as some Sins do above ordinary so grieve the holy Spirit that he refuseth to comfort such as do commit them so do some Duties above ordinary please and delight Him insomuch that he useth not to let it be very long before he doth pacifie and comfort the Believers who do duly perform them And of this sort are the Duties which I shall propose First The religious use of our Gospel Sacraments Unto the scarcity whereof I do very much impute the notorious scarcity of Assurance in these our days In which we have many that never in their lives spake to this purpose unto themselves Come I perceive that without some Assurance my Religion cannot be my Delight And it horribly reproacheth God to be served without greatest Delight And men will unavoidably be prejudiced against all inward and spiritual service of him by the sight of my sad and drooping life My Children and Servants and Neighbours will be hardned in Irreligion while they see my Religion to be for the present not at all Joyous but Grievous I have learned that Baptism and the Lord's Supper were ordained for the very purpose to BEGET and PROMOTE assurance of God's grace Wherefore by the help of his grace this day and hour I will BEGIN and I will PERSEVERE in the use of them for this blessed benefit Beloved Readers stop here and before you read on take to task your selves The discreet and gracious Man knows the Holy Ghost is the Sealer and Comforter of God's Children But he himself in his Scriptures hath named Sacraments by the name of Seals Rom. 4.11 And testified that Abraham received his Old Testament Baptism for a greater ground of Assurance of the righteousness he had by Faith As also that the Old Testament Lord's Supper was for the Church's further Assurance that the destroying Angel should not smite them And accordingly we see that the New Testament Circumcision when duly considered and improved is blessed to ensure believing Souls of the divine Promises The Baptized Eunuch found it so and went his way rejoycing Act. 8.39 And the New Testament Passover is sweetly blessed to remove fear of the destroying Angel It appears so Act. 2.46 For continuing in breaking of holy Bread the Primitive Christians eat their common meat with gladness of heart praising God Not to repeat all that is foresaid this remember In the WORD God woes us but by his Minister in the SACRAMENTS he woes us also by his Son 's very Picture In the WORD he speaks in General He that believes shall be saved in the SACRAMENTS he is more particular Son or Daughter be of good chear thy sins are forgiven thee And in the use of these Sacraments it is that he useth so to speak not in the carnal spiritless use of them but in that use which is declared in our foregoing Mark. An use in the neglect whereof I think it not safe to Pray for Assurance but full as wicked as it wou'd be to Pray that Faith may come in the resolved neglect of Hearing the Word In short who knoweth not many Christians that have come to the study and practical improvement of the Sacraments with a Hell of Fears in their Souls and have e're long received a Heaven of Joys in the room of those banished Fears For the most part gracious Souls be wiser but some Babes will object and do so that it is a sin for them to come to the Lord's Table until they have Assurance And a great deal of pains it costeth to teach some of them these plain Truths 1. The Faith that qualifies for the Lord's Supper is not higher than that of Acceptation of Christ on the Gospel-terms and Reliance upon God's truth for making it good When a Soul hath this he is spiritually Alive and as soon as he is so he may and he ought to feed on this spiritual food for strength and growth 2. It is not indispensably necessary to ones right unto the Lord's Table that he should have a certain or assured Knowledge that this Faith it self in him be true and that he is in Christ It is enough if God's Word may be believed if his heart condemn him not though it cannot fully absolve him and rid him of his scruples 1 Joh. 3.20 True he ought to Examine himself for how else should a man Condemn or Justifie himself But if upon Examination an enlightned heart finds it self weary of sin Desirous to be rid of it in Christ's own Method Pleased that Christ promiseth rest and relief unto such burthened Souls as his and Resolved to wait in the use of all means to have that promise made good unto him what then Truly these things being so he ought to