Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	heart_n	seed_n	word_n	3,985	5	5.0296	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67066	The leper, and the leper's house, cleansed being, an exposition upon some part of the XIVth chapter of Leviticus; the mystery of which is explained and applied to the state and condition of a sinner's becoming a saint. With profitable uses and applications. As also, what chapter may be applied to, as to the cleansing or destroying of any particular church of Christ, in and under the time of the gospel. Divided into ten parts. Written for the information of those which seldom concern themselves about the types and shadows of the Old Testament: very useful for all people. By Thomas Worden, author of, The types unvailed.	Worden, Thomas.	1695 (1695)	Wing W3578; ESTC R218033	86,936	103

Churches of Christ in general and every Christian in particular to give the whole Honour of their spiritual Cure to Christ alone have a care of thrusting him out of his Work by thrusting in of any thing into it or by employing of any one else about this Work which is only proper to him there is no Man ought to take this Honour upon him but he that is called of God as Aaron was Aaron was ●ut a Typical Healer to the Church of the Jews it 's true he was a visible Healer of their Plagues Pestilence Sins and Sufferings which they were subject unto but still the principal Healer was Christ in the Person of Aaron Oh! take not away this Honour from Jesus Christ either by not making use of him or by making use of others for help in opposition to him which is worst of all For he will not give his Glory to another nor his Praise to Graven Images Isa 42. 8. Christ is the Head of his Church and who should the Members make use of for Healing if not him as 〈◊〉 once said John 6. 68. Lord to whom shall we go for thou hast the Words of eternal Life Christ is the good Shepherd John 10. 11. and unto whom should the Sheep repair for Help but to the●r S●epherd Christ is the good Physician and unto whom should his ●●ick Pa●ients have recourse unto for Health and Healing if not to him In a word He is that Sun of Righteousness which carrieth that Healing in his Wings which makes the feeblest of his People to grow up as Fat as the Calves of the Stall Mal. 4. 2. Thus having viewed the Healer of the leprous House which was the Priest we next come to consider what was to be done by the Priest in order to the Healing of the House First He was to scrape off that part of the Wall in the House which was infected with the Leprosie Ver. 41. He shall cause the House to be scraped within round about This Action of the Levitical Priest doth livelily Type out the Work of Christ who is our Gospel High-Priest in the cleansing of his Gospel Spiritual-houses we need not doubt but the levitical Priest had his Instruments and other Means to use in the cleansing of the leprous House So Jesus Christ he hath also his Instruments and Means to use in the cleansing of his leprous Churches no doubt but the Levitical Priest had his Levites to assist him in scraping off the infected Plaister of the House so hath Jesus Christ his Ministers to work by in the scraping off the Pollution of his Churches Hence they are called Work-men 2 Tim. 2. 15. and Labourers such as labour in the Word and Doctrine 1 Tim. 5. 1● even such by whose Labours they present Men perfect in Christ Jesus Col. 2. 28. Secondly The Means which Christ useth in cleansing of his Churches is the Preaching of the Word with the Power of the Holy Ghost working with it John 15. 3. Now are ye clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you By this it is that Christ scrapes his Churches clean from that leprous Filth which is apt to cleave unto them by this it was which h● healed his diseased Church in the Wilderness from those frequent Rebellions which so often broke out amongst them Psal 107. 20. He sent his Word and healed them and delivered them from their Destruction By this it was which he healed by scraping his People in Babylon from that Uncleanness which they went away Foul and Filthy withal from their own Land He sent his Word and Prophets to them to scrape them clean of that Defilement Ezek. 3. 11. ●o get thee to them of the Captivity unto the Children of thy People and speak unto them and tell them thus saith the Lord God Whether they will hear or whether they will forbear So Ezek. 36. 33. Thus saith the Lord In the Day that I shall have cleansed you from all your Iniquities I will cause you to dwell in the Cities And by the same Means it was which our Lord endeavoured to cleanse the seven Churches of Asia as Ephesus from their coldness of Love to him Perga●os of its unsound Doctrine Thyatra of its Neglect in Discipline Sardis of its spiritual Deadness and Laodicea of its Lukewarmness he sent his Word to them all by his Servant John to cleanse them from their spiritual Leprosies and Pollution Rev. 1. 4 5 Verses Secondly But if the use of this means will not do Christ will use other means that shall and that is Affliction If the Word will not scrape the ●●od shall rake until Christ hath fetch'd off the Rust from his People the Rod sometimes eff●cts and brings to pass what the Word doth not the Word may and doth shew Men their Duty but it 's the Rod which drives Men to it many a Man which hath leapt over the Word yet at last hath been fetcht back again by the Rod Afflictions if sanctifyed are as necessary for the People of God as Physick is for a diseased Body they are purging Means in order to a healthful Constitution David found much good by his Afflictions Psal 119. 71. Afflictions makes way for the entrance of the Word into the Affections which have lain for some Years as lifeless upon the Heart as Seed upon the Ground that wants Rain Joseph's Brethren who sinfully sold him into Egypt lay under the unrepented Gilt of that Sin for twenty Years together until the Rod of Affliction awakened it in their Consciences Gen. 42. 21. So we come to the Application 1st Vse This then should teach the Churches of God great Thankfulness to him who hath made such gracious Provision against their spiritual Maladies he might have suffered you all to have perished in your Pollutions and Defilements and have took as great Satisfaction in the glorifying of his Justice in your final Destruction as in magnifying of the Riches of his Grace and Mercy in your Recovery Oh! but on the other Hand what cause have we all to adore the Riches of boundless Grace with a thankful Admiration that a Fountain of Mercy is sound out and set wide open for the worst of Lepers and leprous Churches to Wash in and be Clean Are you liable to the Leprosie of Pride Passion Lukewarmness Errours Earthly-mindedness Doth a Spirit of Discord Backbiting and Envy break forth amongst you Lo here is the Word and Ordinances of the Gospel in Place to scrape and cleanse off all this from you which if attended with a divine Blessing it is a quick and powerful Means sharper than a two-edged Sword to divide asunder the Joynts and Marrow the Soul and Spirit and is a Discerner of the Thoughts of the Heart Heb. 4. 12. And you have heard if this Means will not do rather than God will suffer his People to Perish and Rot in their Corruption he will use his Rod of Correction to set home his Word of Instruction upon their Souls

own way every one for his Gain from his quarter Hence it is that though we read of so much Corruption breaking forth upon the Seven Churches of Asia yet the Ground and Cause of it in some Measure was charged upon the Ministers of those Churches which were called the Angels of the same when Ministers are given up to an idle lazy Life to be remiss in nothing more than in and about their Duty to God and the Souls of their People no wonder if their Hearers do decline and wither as to the Spirit Life and Power of Godliness under their Hands Ministers are called Physicians and you know when a Physician grows careless and negligent in his Office towards his Patient no wonder if the Body of such a Patient abounds with corrupting Humours and the Malignity of their old Distempers returns back upon them again He that reads the Conversation of Israel's Pastors Isa 56. 10 11 12. need not wonder at Israel's Corruption which is exprest in Isa 1. 4 5 6. Secondly A second Ground of the Churches Corruption ariseth from the earthly-mindedness of their Ministers when Ministers through Covetousness shall make Merchandize of the Souls of their Hearers and set their everlasting Happiness to sale to fill their Treasures with worldly Gain I mean when they shall mind more their own worldly Wealth than their Peoples spiritual Health this opens a Door to let in bad Diseases upon their People it is a very rare thing to find a Minister greedy of the Churches Wealth in worldly things and the People to grow spiritually Wealthy under such a Minister Thirdly A third Ground ariseth from the Debauchery and bad Lives of Ministers this excludes the Presence of God and his Blessing from their Labours and leaves a Curse in the room of it such a Minister may Preach until he hath preach'd out his Heart before he shall do any good upon his People Jer. 23. 14 32. I have seen also in the Prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing they commit Adultery and walk in Lies they strengthen also the Hands of Evil-doers that none doth return from his Wickedness they are all unto me as Sodom and the Inhabitants of Gomorrah Ver. 32. They cause my People to err by their Lies and by their Lightness yet I sent them not nor commanded them therefore they shall not profit this People at all saith the Lord. Fourthly A fourth Ground ariseth from the Superstitiousness of a Minister when the blind Zeal of a Minister shall incline him to a greater eagerness to promote the Superstition of the Church than faithfully to promote the pure Institutions of Christ woe to that People which lives under the Charge of such a Man Matt. 15. 8 9. Ye Hypocrites well did Esaias Prophesie of you saying This People draweth nigh unto me with their Mouth and honour me with their Lips but their Heart is far from me but in vain they do Worship me teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. Secondly The Reasons are also drawn from the Churches themselves that there is so much Corruption amongst them First of all It ariseth from their Negligence in not exercising of their Faith in the hearing of the Word Heb. 4. 2. For unto us the Gospel was preached as well as unto them but the Word preached did not profit them not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it Secondly It ariseth from a Peoples not receiving the Truth in the Love of it when a People shall rather hear the Word to please their Fancy than to feed their Faith when they shall hear more to get Head-notions than warm Affections or to grow in Gifts rather than to grow in Grace let such beware of that fearful Judgment spoken of in 2 Thess 2. 10 11 12. Because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved and for this cause God shall send them strong Delusions that they should believe a Lie that they all might be damned who believe not the Truth but had pleasure in Vnrighteousness Mark There was a receiving of the Truth but not to a right end many there are and but too too many which are sick of this Disease viz. To hear much and read much to increase their Parts but not their Piety to be admired of Men rather than to be approved of God but when Men from a Spirit of Vain-glory attend the Ministry of the Word but not aiming at the Glory of God wonder not if such Mens Knowledge prove at last like the Wilderness-manna to the Israelites when ●athered and unlawfully kept Exod. 16. 20. It bred Worms and stank So woful have been the Effects of an unsanctifying hearing of the Word upon some Men. Thirdly It ariseth from the Peoples Unfruitfulness under the Word which they hear this was Israel's Sin which greatly increased their Corruption even the same Means which was sent to soften them turned to their hardning through their unfruitfulness under it Isa 5. 1 2. My Beloved had a Vineyard in a very fruitful Hill and he looked for Grapes and it brought forth wild Grapes But what was the Issue of this Read Isa 6. 9 10. Go and tell this People hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the Heart of this People fat and their Ears heavy shut their Eyes lest they should see with their Eyes and hear with their Ears and understand with their Hearts and convert and be healed Thus having given you the Grounds and Reasons whence it is that the spiritual Houses of Christ are so subject to their Defilement and Corruption in this Life we next come to the Application of the Point 1st Vse This serves then in the first place to inform us of the Duty both of the Ministers and Hearers First Of the Ministers who under Christ are the Owners of his spiritual Houses or Churches Would you know what his Duty was that was the Owner of the Levitical House when the Plague of Leprosie broke forth in it Read Lev. 14. 35. He was to go to the Priest and tell the Priest that it seemed to him that there is as it were a Plague in the House so in like manner ought every Pastor or Minister to do even by Prayer Fasting and true Humiliation to acquaint Jesus Christ the great High-Priest with the leprous Distemper which is broken forth in his Churches This is the Advice which the Spirit of God gave the Old Testament-churches as a means to cure them of their Pollution and Defilement Joel 2. 16 17 18. Gather the People sanctifie the Congregation assemble the Elders gather the Children and those that suck the Breast let the Bridegroom go forth of his Chamber and the Bride out of her Closet let the Priests and Ministers of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar and let them say Spare thy People O Lord and give not thy Heritage to reproach then will the Lord be jealous for his Land and pity his