Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	seed_n	sow_v	word_n	3,227	5	5.0642	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39249	The Christian hearer's first lesson a sermon preached at St. Mary's Church in Nottingham on Thursday, Octob. the 4th, 1694 : the first day of a lecture preached there weekly by the ministers of that town and country : publish'd to satisfie the desire of some of the auditors / by Clem Elis ...	Ellis, Clement, 1630-1700.	1694 (1694)	Wing E551; ESTC R20476	18,619	32

work of Man our Necks are too stiff to bend our Wills too sturdy to yield vicious Habits and Customs too deeply rooted to be plucked up fashionable Sins too impudent to be put out of countenance our Lusts too rebellious and imperious to be subdued and tamed by Mens reasonings and perswasions The strong man armed that hath got the possession will be too strong for all men and will keep the possession he hath gotten in spight of all that can be done till the Man who is God too come upon him and disarm him The strong bolds of Satan within us will not be cast down by the little Batteries of Mens Tongues And though we that are Ministers must never hold our Peace but lift up our Voices like Trumpets though we must not cease to cry aloud though we spare not but shout till these earthen Vessels of ours crack and fall in pieces the walls of this cursed Jericho will not be so blown down None but He whose Voice shaketh the Heavens and the Earth can rend the stony Hearts of Sinners Which is the last thing to be now shewn viz. 4. That the efficacy of all is of God only Whoever planteth or watereth God giveth the encrease All are as good as nothing and labour in vain without him 'T is true indeed it hath pleased God to make use of the Ministry of Men in the building of his Church and to make them workers together with and under Himself and their great business it is to beseech us not to receive this Grace of God in vain 2 Cor. vi 1. He hath put his Words into their mouth and his Seed into their hands they are made his Seeds-men and go forth to sow by his command but still the Seed it self and all the prolifick vertue of it the skill and activity of the Sowers the goodness of the Ground the Warmth and the Rain the Growth and Harvest are all of him Who must soften the Highway's-side Who must add depth of Earth to the Stony Ground Who must root up the Thorns and the Bryars Who must fright away the devouring Birds It is God alone the Father of Spirits that can create a right Spirit within us restrain our Thoughts from wandering abroad and the Devil's Temptations from entring in and prevailing It is he only that can empty our Hearts of Cares and the love of Riches and the Pleasures of this Life which choke the good Seed He it is that can make the Heart good and honest and prepare and enable it with due attention and affection to receive and with serious meditation to cherish the Seed sown and with constancy of resolution to bring any Fruit to perfection Though Ministers are sent to invite us to Christ yet hath Christ himself told us Joh. vi 44. saying Mo man can come to me except the Eather draw him It is God as St. Paul saith 2 Cor. ii 14. that maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge in every place He that by the foolishness of preaching saveth them that believe 1 Cor. 1.21 He opened Lydia's heart to attend to the things which were spoken of Paul Acts xvi 14. St. Paul saith He laboured more abundantly than they all yet he adds Not I but the Grace of God that was with me 1 Cor. xv 10. Indeed our Blessed Saviour had sent forth his Apostles to a very unhopeful work sending the Lambs to convert the Wolves a few poor contemptible Men to make Disciples all Nations had he not promised himself to be with them Matth. xxviii And the greatest encouragement that St. Paul had to abide preaching the Gospel in such a Town as Corinth lay in those words of Christ Act. xviii 8. I am with thee and I have much people in this City and therefore fear not He had prepared the Hearts of the People as the Books to be written in and then he made use of St. Paul's Tongue as the Pen of a ready Writer and this Writer was God himself I saith he Heb. viii 10. will put my laws in their mind and write them in their hearts Therefore saith the Apostle to these Corinthians 2 Cor. iii. 3. Ye are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministred by us written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God Who shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ 2 Cor. iv 6. Indeed to give light to our dark minds and to keep the God of this World from blinding them is the work of him alone who at first brought light out of darkness He alone can make us new Creatures that is Christians who breath'd into our Dust the Breath of Life and made us Men. With what Treasures then soever it hath pleased God to instruct any of us that we may dispense them unto you yet still both you and we must know that we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us 2 Cor. iv 7. I have held you I fear too long in the illustration of so plain a Truth I shall therefore conclude this part of my Discourse with those words of St. Augustine upon St. John's Gospel God gave the Encrease not by them but by himself This is a work which is above not only the meanness of Man but the height of Angels nor doth it at all belong to any other but to him who is the Husbandman that is the ever blessed TRINITY The Doctrine thus cleared II. For the help of such as may need it I will point at some of the Uses we should make of it And truly methinks they lye very obvious both to Preachers and Hearers We are this day by the good Providence of God entering upon an Exercise wherein our whole design and business is to minister as God shall enable us to the good of your Souls Far be it from us to beguile you with enticing words with fair speeches to deceive the simple or with feigned words to make merchandise of you Expect not to have your Heads filled with airy Notions or your Curiosity fed with fine Speculations and fear as little to have your Minds perplexed with doubtful Disputations least of all let any Jealousie possess you that you shall be entertain'd with splenetick and virulent Invectives against Men and Parties these things become not us nor will they profit you We seek not yours for our selves but you for God and I doubt not but I may say it in the Name of all my Brethren who are engaged on this Service of your Faith That we preach not our selves but Christ Jesus the Lord and our selves your Servants for Jesus sake That we have no ambition to exercise a dominion over any Man's Faith but earnestly desire may GOD of his Goodness make us so happy to be helpers of your Joy 'T is God's Honour and your Happiness and both these in the reviving of