Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	work_n	world_n	wrought_v	42	3	7.7659	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44826	The benefit of a well-ordered conversation as it was delivered in a sermon preached June 24th. 1682. On a day of publick humiliation. As also a funeral discourse upon the three first verses of the third chapter of Isaiah; occasioned by the death of the worshipful Major General Denison; who deceased at Ipswich, Sept. 20. 1682. By Mr. William Hubbard. To which is annexed an Irenicon or a salve for New-England's sore: penned by the said major general; and left behind him as his farewell and last advice to his friends of the Massachusets.	Hubbard, William, 1621 or 2-1704.; Denison, Daniel, 1613-1682. Irenicon.	1684 (1684)	Wing H3208; ESTC W9576	81,919	262

committed any Errors let them be buried with him in his Grave as in a Sepulchre of oblivion The memory of the just shall be blessed who only of all others are ascended out of the reach of Fate and Corruption Vlt. Let all hence learn seeing all sorts of persons are like to be taken away out of this world sooner or later to be ready and prepared for such a change when that time is once come at which we must all go to that place whence we shall not return it will be to no purpose to linger or delay as Lot who was loth to go out of Sodom or to say with Hezekiah we are not ready Death the King of Terrors who holds his assignment more certain than any other Monarchs will have no denial when he comes with his Writ of Habeas Corpus happy will all they be who then have their Quietus est granted them and Sealed in the Court of Conscience Time or rather Providence that orders it is truly said to be the Mother of all things in whose fruitful Womb they are all conceived both persons events and actions that now are upon the stage or ever were or shall hereafter be And what ever is conceived there will surely be brought forth in its appointed season And therefore as the birth of all sorts of persons that are at any time brought forth into the World had their original conception there in thy Book saith David were all my members written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them so also is their death and dissolution written there which shall fall out exactly in the season fore-appointed of the Father who hath all in his own hand And when one Generation is gone off another Generation is coming yet the same stage and when they have acted their part they must all in like manner withdraw and give place to them who are to succeed The Righteous and the Wise and their Works are all in the hand of God as Solomon tells us Eccles 10.1 that is as our Interpreters give the sense of it The persons of the best and most prudent men are not in their own power or at their own disposal but are guided by a Divine Providence and by a secret invisible and unpreventable direction from above by him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will ruling them by his powerful though somtimes secret and invisible Government Our works are transient things and as they come from us seem to vanish away and to be no more they are quickly out of our hands but they are alwayes in Gods hands and written in his book he reserveth them unto the time of Retribution and keepeth an exact Record and Register of them so that no one of them shall be unrewarded Men cannot do to us or dispose of us as they will neither can we dispose of our selves as we please but he who is wisest and knows what is best for us and what uses we are fittest for doth as it pleaseth him order both our persons our times our places our callings our work and our wages as may be most for the glory of his Name whose we are and whom it is our happiness to serve in whatsoever station he shall be pleased to place us in all our care and solicitude should be to be faithful and diligent therein that when our Lord shall come we may be found so doing Hezekiah in his solemn Song of Thanksgiving after his recovery compareth mans life to a Web in the Weavers Loom I have cut off as a Weaver my life Isa 38.12 The Weaver is forced oft times to cut off his Web before it is finished for want of matter to weave it up to the end of the Warp or by some other occasion Frail men too oft cast their designs in a larger and more spacious mould than was ever yet granted to any Mortals and purpose this day what they will do many years hence whereas they should consider the time is short and therefore should so set about inferiour things as not to be hindred in the managing things of the highest nature such as are the concerns of the other World while they are in the Loom of life their care should be to make good stuffs for every mans work shall be tried and nothing but what is perfect will pass for currant in our last account and be accepted of God To build Hay or Stubble upon the true foundation will be to our loss Let our works be such as are wrought in God and then we need never be afraid to give up our account Such they are only that will follow us into the other world and for the sake of such only will they be declared blessed that die in the Lord. These are the only ground of that hope which makes Christians not to be ashamed I have not so lived said one of the Antients that I am ashamed to die Another amongst our Modern Divines with a little alteration repeated the words I have not so learned Christ as to be afraid to die The two great works of a Christian are Faith and Repentance By the one we receive life from God and a principle of new obedience by the other we return all unto God again by love and an holy life Those that are clear in either of these for they are both inseparable twins and companions in the state of the new life need never be afraid to appear before their Judge You that are Souldiers know the last Enemy you have to conflict with is death which you can never overcome but by Faith in him who overcame both death and him that hath the power of Death that is the Devil And that Faith which is sincere will alwayes work by love and manifest it self by the fruits of Repentance and exercise of a good Conscience This was the ground of Paul's rejoycing the testimony of a good Conscience which made him so careful to maintain a Conscience void of offence both toward God and man the thought of this will be the best preservative against the corruption and temptation of this evil World Turpe quid ausurus te sine teste time This will be the murus aheneus which none of our infernal Enemies will ever be able to scale This is the only Armour of proof which none of the Adversaries Darts will ever be able to enter He that hath not the Breast-plate of Righteousness as well as the shield of Faith will never be able to stand in the last conflict There is nothing more scandalous to the Christian Name than the timorousness of its Professors when they come to die Is it not a shame and dishonour to him whose followers they pretend to be or really are that meer Heathens should out-do them in that point Some of them could say Dulce decorum est pro patria mori The Souldier takes his life in his hand and the Mariner places it in the Planks of

withdrawn Heaven it self would be a less glorious Orb compared with what now it is even so would the sphere of this lower World be far less desirable if it were not enlightened with some radiant Lamps much brighter than others so far do some Stars excel others in Glory The Saints compared with the rest of the World are as the Salt of the Earth the Lights of the Firmament the Pillars and Shields of the Earth They are the Salt of the Earth that keep others sweet and preserve the World from Putrefaction Some mens Souls as one saith well serve only for Salt to keep their bodies from stinking and corrupting which they presently do as well as their names as soon as their Souls are expired but the righteous and the wise are a sweet Savour both living and dead and their memory shall be blessed Their very lips are as a tree of life and as well-springs of living water that reveive the Spirits of those they converse with They are the choice and excellent ones upon the Earth and keep up the honour of others where they live They are the lights of the World that enlighten others by the light of their wisdom and refresh them by the lustre of their holiness Every particular Christian may have light enough for himself in his own Family As a Torch or Candle end that may suffice to guid himself in his own station and family but these are as Stars in the firmament of Heaven that give light to the whole Orb of Church or State where they are placed They are as the Pillars that bear up the Fabrick and support the whole Building every particular person may be of use to fill up the sides of the building or as Artifice to adorn the outward surface thereof but they are of far more choice and excellent use that serve as Pillars to bear up the weight of the whole work without which all would presently fall to the ground As hapned in Ely's and Saul's time when the Earth and the Inhabitants thereof were dissolved for want of some to bear up the Pillars of it And so likewise are they as Shields of the Earth as the Chariots and Horse-men thereof to defend it the common People without Leaders are but as sheep without a Shepherd ready to be devoured by every Enemy that appears As may be seen by the Kingdom of Judah which flourished and prospered well all the dayes of Jehoiadah but presently after his decease a small company of the Assyrians destroy an huge Host of them when like an headless Multitude they come to engage with a small Army of their Adversaries Such Princes as was Joash destitute both of wisdom and courage like the Bramble as soon as the Oak under which it grew up was removed was blasted by every Storm that surrounds him This made Solomon conclude that wisdom is better than Riches or them weapons of War when a poor man by his wisdom can save and deliver the City from out of the hand of a Mighty King that encamped against it Thus Wise men are not only the stay and staff the safety and security of a People but they are the Honour and Ornament of their Countrey like the Jewel of the King which though of Gold yet receives all its lustre and beauty there-from Concerning the Gentleman whose Funeral Obsequies were lately celebrated amongst us not to say more than is convenient to prevent emulation in them that are surviving His Parts and Abi●ities were well known amongst those with whom he lived and might justly place him among the first three having indeed many natural Advantages above others for the more easie attaining of skill in every science It may without flattery be said of him as the great Orator D. H. said of Hugo de groot of Holland Natura qua prius Nevorea c●tis illi matêr fuit Nature which is Nutrix obstetrisque omnibus yet acquaints many of her Off-spring with hard labour and study and great pains to search and beat out things and some are forced to break their teeth before they can break the shell and come at the Kernel while she is more propitious to others as her Favourites that by the strength of their reason and quickness of their parts can see through every thing at the first dash as the genuine Children of their first Father who could at the first view discern the intrinsical being of things and creatures and accordingly impose suitable Names upon each while others must own that with great sums i. e. much labour and skill they have purchased that skill as the Captain of the Castle in Jerusalem speaks His Military skill some years before his death advanced him to the Conduct and Command of the whole which he was able to have managed with great exactness yet was he not inferiour in other Sciences And as a good Souldier of Christ Jesus he had attained to no small confidence in his last conflicts with the King of Terrors being not afraid to look Death in the face in cold blood but with great composedness of mind received the last Summons For though he was followed with tormenting pain of the Stone or Strangury that pursued him to the last he neither expressed impatience under those grinding pains nor want of confidence or comfort from his first seizure yea such was his earnest desire to be discharged from his Warfare that he could not be perswaded to say Amen to the earnest desires of his best and nearest friends for recovery from his present sickness or for continuance of life any longer As was said of Frederick the Palsgrave of the Rhine who told his Friends that came about his sick-bed He had lived long enough for them on earth it was now time for him to live to himself in Heaven So having fought the good fight run his Race and finished his course he quietly resigned up his spirit to God that gave it Blessed are they that die in the Lord for they rest from their Labour and their works follow them His last thoughts and endeavours were for the good of the publick as may be seen by the Irenicon now lately found amongst his Papers which it is thought would be too much ingratitude to withhold from the view of all any longer If after his death he should meet with that which is common to other men of wisdom and worth in the world to be traduced and hardly censured it would be no wonder Sore eyes cannot bear the light Men of corrupt minds and manners are most forward to oppose the truth and its assertors to say he was without infirmities was to say he was not a Man for there is no just man that sinneth not yet as they say of natural Phisitians their Errors are buried in the Church yard though their Cures are written with the beams of the Sun if he as a Physitian of the state in course had any skill above others let none envy him the honour thereof if he ever

finishing work about which we are not altogether alike minded yet no need to pull down the building Some scruples and doubts may remain for the resolution of the next Age Cum Elias venerit solvet nodos this having been highly honoured with the discovery or clearer manifestation of many hidden truths should we particularly enquire into notions or things wherein we differ we shall find out discords divisions debates animosities to be causless and unreasonable Sinful and unchristian For Example The one affirmeth no Church Act can pass without the consent of the Elders viz. Ordinarily the other to affirm the major vote of the Brethren is concussiive and makes a Church Act though the Elders consent not I demand what damage hath any Church sustained by any Elderships acting according to the first opinion if it be said some proceeding may have been hindred thereby And may it not be better that proceedings be forborn when the Guides and Rulers dissent with whom doubtless diverse of the fraternity will concur And doth not former and latter experience shew that the dissent of many less considerable persons do much enervate proceedings in Churches where matters should be carried on sweetly by moral suasion not despoticatly by imperious determinations but so we may lose the truth You may preserve it in your own heads but not beat it into others A Pastor who is called to Baptize as well as to Preach believes his office obliges him to Baptize in a Latitude larger than your opinion and may have the judgment of a Synod concurring with his own shall it be a grief to you that he acts according to his own faith What cause have you to be offended He is fully perswaded in his own mind to the Lord he baptizeth and for the Lord he doth it whose Minister he is but your Guide Overseer and Ruler and who art thou that judgest another mans servant to his own Master let him stand or fall were the case doubtful which I determine not the rule is favores sunt ampliendoe better two admitted to whom it doth not belong then one denyed whose right it is I cannot imagine the enlargment of the visible kingdom of Christ can be any matter of offence to any Christian especially to those that do pretend to be the sole asserters of his kingly Government For Council None of us say their determinations do bind the particular Churches juridice some say they do oblige directive and for order in foro exteriore all yeilds they are useful for light and help what need we here contend Have they gone beyond their Teachers allowed by all When they do we may dispute the point in the mean time let us not charge them that they take too much upon them nor quarrel and rent and divide and make our selves uncapable of accepting any good counsel upon a conceited possibility that in time we may be damaged by them By the same reason we may decline the most necessary supports of humane society which at some times and in some places have degenerated or have been perverted from their primitive and natural instituon whether Councils be an Ordinance Institution of God as some Reverend learned from Acts 15. conclude or founded upon Reason and other Scriptures in the multitude of Councellours there is safety and from the light of nature which in case allows us to use the best and utmost help we need not contest about seeing we all accord from one or all these grounds they may be very necessary and useful to preserve Truth and Peace in the Churches and for that end I suppose all sober men will in all doctrinal determinations acknowledg in them a greater obliging power than in the judgment of the ablest man and in composing of differences as much as they allow to Arbitrators in civil cases otherwise I see not the necessity nor much usefulness in them For the Association of Churches commended to us by the last Synod not accepted by many for fear of introducing Prelacy or something as bad nor yet practized by any and while the matters do stand why do we contend Let not fear and jealousie precipitate our damage nor debar us from a useful and in case necessary helps and supports we cannot forget what the Holy Ghost saith Wo be to him that is alone I cannot see that a particular Ecclesiastical Body hath less need of combining or associating with other Churches than a civil Society or a natural body I mean a man each of which are fitted and furnished in their several capacities with organs and abilities Ad bene beatque vivendum and Originally and naturally depend upon no other of their kind to exert their faculties and put forth their operations for that end yet necessity hath enforced them to associate with their like for their mutual support Yet it is possible for diverse civil bodies to remain separate and following their Laws and Manners to flourish in wealth and peace And for many sober well meaning men to live in the neighbourhood and observing the dictates of their own reason which God hath given them for their guide to live in peace and freedom without submitting themselves to the common reason of others combined in a body politick this though possible yet we chuse to commend civil Order and Goverment reserving to our selves those natural powers by liberties which God and Nature hath betrusted us with as men And why may not particular Congregations of a vicinity whose concernments are the same associate themselves upon the same grounds reserving themselves what is necessary for a single Congregation The particularities and just boundaries I undertake not to define By this I hope we are on all hands convinced there is no just cause of our distempers and divisions my preparative having wrought so well makes me hopful of the cure I hast to the particular medicins appropriate to the forementioned malady 1. The fear of God a Catholicon for all distempers especially for this it is the beginning of wisdom it hath the promises of protection preservation and deliverance from evil and of all blessing and good no good shall be lacking to them that fear him They that have awful apprehensions of Gods Omnipotency omniscience and soveraignty and acknowledge him as their Father Master and Lord dare not brawle with their Brethren quarrel with their School-fellows beat their fellow-servants in his sight and presence dare not before the eyes of his glorious Majestie who is a jealous God set themselves upon his Judgment Seat and pass their Sentences upon those that must stand and fall to their own Master but would pardon those whom he forgives and embrace those whom he entertains A Stranger observing our actings would conclude as he did there is no fear of God in this place or at least we have not right conceptions of him notwithstanding our pretentions doubtless if the fear of God possess our hearts our divisions will cease our hearts be allayed our actions more