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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	according_a	body_n	part_n	2,389	5	4.6934	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47746	The history of sin and heresie attempted, from the first war that they rais'd in heaven through their various successes and progress upon earth to the final victory over them, and their eternal condemnation in hell : in some meditations upon the feast of St. Michael and all angels.	Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.	1698 (1698)	Wing L1135; ESTC R11401	44,933	69

from what is Reveal'd to Us Heb. 2.16 in these Words He took not on Him the Nature of Angels but he took on Him the Seed of Abraham Which argues as if there had been some such Contest at least gives Us leave to think whether it might not be and from such a suppose you see not wholly Unwarrantable I have Endeavour'd to reconcile the common Notion of Lucifer's aspiring to be Equal with God and brought him in arguing for himself as you have heard Thus did he Exalt Himself in his Pride and thought his Arms Invincible Which yet were not proof against the Mighty Argument of Love wielded by St. Michael who stood Victorious in his Constancy on his Contemplation of the vastness of the Nature of Love which can Endure no Limits and when it Gives knows no Reserves whose Glory therefore is Extended by the Greatness of its Condescentions and therefore Infinite Love must find Infinite Condescentions to Exert it self And Man being the Lowest of Rational Beings which only are Capable of Union with God that must needs be the Creature which Infinite Love will choose to Exalt to the Extremity of Almighty Power to make it even one with God that so Love which is God may be All in All may be the First and the Last And in Man Spirit being joyn'd in one Person with a Body compos'd of the Four Inferior Elements God does by this advance into an Union with His own Nature the very lowest of his Creatures Gross Matter it self as far as possibly it can be made Capable That as all things Spring from His Love and from thence do perpetually flow so do they in this Misterious Incarnation for ever Return thither again He is Α. and Ω. the Highest and the Lowest for that he Ascended what is it but that He first Descended into the Lowest parts of the Earth For Descending and Ascending being Relatives they must hold the same Proportion Eph. iv 9.10 and therefore none can Ascend more than first he did Descend Now Jesus who Descended even into Hell is the same also that Ascended far above all Heavens that He might fill all things But such Glory of Love cou'd not arise from God's advancing the Highest Creature because that wou'd not be so great a Condescention and the Supream Angel might perhaps Attribute something of Merit to himself and Despise all below who might think themselves left behind or forgot by the Eternal Providence who yet had the same Original pretences being all brought from out the same Mother Nothing But in this wonderful Oeconomy of the Incarnation all Disparity of Creatures is taken away like that of Stars in the presence of the Sun Eternal Love having Gather'd together in one all things in Christ Eph. i. 10. both which are in the Heavens and which are on the Earth even in Him who by this has made Heaven and Earth into one Family iii. 15. and of whom they both are nam'd And Christ the Head of Both from whom Both being made thus into One the whole Body fitly Joyn'd together iv 16. and compacted by that which every joynt supplieth according to the Effectual working in the Measure of every part maketh Increase of the Body unto the Edifying of it self in Love So that the Glory of Almighty Love shines alone in the many Members of this Great Body that an Angel cannot say to a Man or to a Worm there is no need of you more then the Hand can Despise the Foot or the Eye reject the assistance of the Ear That therefore it is no Dishonor for the Greatest Creature to serve the Least since they are all Members of one Body and United in the Incarnation of God Therefore Michael and his Angels thought it not only Indispensible to Adore the Manhood in God but that it was the Pitch of their Glory the Sum of all possible Bliss to contemplate such Love as was Vnfathomable to the Eternal Increasing of flight of Abstracted and Enlightn'd Spirits And not only this but they Rejoyc'd to be made Ministring Spirits to the meanest of Christ's Members upon the Earth Heb. 1.6 7. And to take their Name of Angels or Messengers from that Office assign'd them even to little Children as you are Instructed from the Gospel for the Day Mat. xviii 2.10 Nay farther they were content to Learn of their Pupils and to be Taught by the Church the Manifold wisdom of God Eph. 3.10 But this Humility of Love Satan Despis'd and instead thereof accused Man before God as unworthy of His Union And both Parties appeal'd to God And what cou'd be the Event when Love was Judge The Accuser of our Brethren was cast down who Accused them before God day and night as you have heard in the Epistle And Michael was Justified who maintain'd the Cause of Love in that Almighty Condescention of it in the Incarnation and Death of Christ They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb says the Epistle that is that High Instance of Love in Defence of which Michael fought did out shine all the pretended Glories of Pride and left the Devil Overthrown Astonish'd and Desperate and in this did appear the Strength and Salvation and Kingdom of our God and the Power of his Christ that is Love in its utmost Condescention which is its Victory and most Noble Glory the Riches and Superabundance of its Grace it 's Natural and Belov'd Conquest And now Rejoyce O ye Heavens ye Angels of His who do His pleasure who have overcome in this Noble Contest and for your Reward feed Eternally on that Unexhaustible Fountain of Love whose Cause you have so truly maintain'd But wo to the Inhabitants of the Earth for the Devil is come down unto you having great wrath and he Deceiveth the whole World and is come to make War with the Remnant which keep the Commandments of God and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ You see the same War is carry'd on by Him upon Earth which He fought in Heaven But before we enter into this Second part of the Battle there is a Proeliminary to be adjusted which will be necessary to the carrying on of this War and that is that we find a Reason why the Devil did not Acquiesce in the Judgment which God gave since we suppose that he Appealed to it as Korah and his Company appealed to God against Moses and Aaron and appear'd with Censers in their hands before the Lord which Cause I have made instance of as a Copy of the Rebellion of Lucifer Towards Satifaction in this difficulty let us first consider the Nature of that Obstinancy which is generally found in Error Non persuadebis etiam si presuaseris is a true and common saying and we read in the Gospel of those who seeing see not and who close their Eyes lest they should see We know that Spight and Malice will provoke that Rage which it knows too strong for it and which will torment it and will

Hypocritical Pride and Ostentation I have Endeavour'd to Trace this Pride from its first Rise in Heaven and shewn its Progress upon Earth and that it is the Mother and Nurse of all the Heresies in the Church And as it was the first Sin so is it a Principal Ingredient in all our Sins The Jews had a saying that there was a Grain of the Golden Calf in all their after Judgments And we may truly say that there is a Spice of the first Sin that is Pride in all our Sins and Delusions And if we search Impartially we shall find it This Corrupts both our Practice and our Principles and hinders us as much to Work as to Believe aright The Devil is Equally Concern'd against Both. And let me here Instance in two Particulars which have Rais'd Great Contest in the World The First is the Dispute about Grace The Devil knowing our Weakness and that we are not able of our selves to help our selves has endeavour'd to Disarm us of the assistance of God's Grace without which we are not able so much as to think a good Thought by this Suggestion of Pride That we have strength enough of our own to Perform all that is Requir'd of us and therefore need ask no Assistance of extraordinary Grace That there is no other Grace given to Man but that Reason with which God Endows Each Man and therefore which is Natural to him That nothing Supernatural is to be Expected in this World That it is a Tempting of God to Ask for or Expect any such thing That it Hinders our own Endeavours while we look for Supernatural Assistance And other such like Arguments as these Pelagius our Country-Man was a Great General upon this Head of the War And he has not a Few or Inconsiderable Part of this Nation and elsewhere of his Followers The Libertines every where are Inlisted under his Banner And they think themselves no mean Men. They Command Wit and Raillery and Mighty Numbers They call it a Reflection upon God to say that He has not made Man Perfect and with sufficient Powers to Perform what God has Requir'd of him But they forget that Man is Fallen from that State in which God at first did Create him and therefore as a Man who has Lam'd himself he needs more Help then his own Leggs But besides this suppose Man in his utmost Perfection is it any Reflection upon the Power Goodness or Wisdom of God to make him still Dependent upon God and to need the Assistance of His Grace as the Earth do's the Influence of the Sun and yet the Earth is Perfect in its Kind Man in his Fallen Estate has Powers still left him to Begg and sue to God for His Assistance and to Attend those Means of Grace which he has Commanded the Prayers and Sacraments of His Church which whosoever do's Sincerely and Diligently God has given them His Promise to Bestow His Grace upon them sufficient for their Need. And they who will not be at this Pains but Trust to the Plea of the Vn-profitable servant that they serve a severe Master who Reaps where he did not Sow and Exacts more than he gave them Abilities to Perform will with him who Hid his Talent be Condemn'd out of their own Mouths because that Consideration if it were true shou'd make them Double their Diligence and not Neglect those Means which their Lord has Appointed They are loath to Share with Him the Glory of their Salvation they wou'd do all themselves But He will not Share with them He will have all the Whole Glory of it for to Him only it does Appertain And they whose Pride will not suffer them to submit Absolutely and without Reserve to Him must have their Portion with those who Rebel against Him The other snare of the Devil which I mention'd is the Dispute about Faith and Works which has made a Great Bustle in the World and this is near of Kin to the last for some are Perswaded to Lean wholly upon their own Works and to esteem of Faith only as an Empty Notion and mere Imagination of no Vertue or Efficacy at all That there is no Trust in any other tho' in Christ Himself That we shall be Reckon'd with only according to the Works that we have done and not according to what we Believe Another has done for Us which can no ways be Imputed unto Us. Others again are Tempted wholly to Neglect Works and Lean all upon Faith They think the Doctrine of Works to be Great Arrogance and Pride in Assuming to our selves the merit of our Salvation which is Due only to God That because He ought to have the whole Glory therefore we ought not to Intermix any of our Works at all but to Live only by Faith in Him That our Righteousness is Filthy Raggs and therefore cannot be Accepted by Him nor are worthy to be Accepted And Therefore can Add or Help nothing no not in the least Tittle to our Salvation But on the Contrary that we ought to Renounce them and Divest our selves wholly of them and Trust to God's Mercy without them which they suppose has no Consideration at all of them But Justifies the Elect without any Respect to them And therefore Loves the Saints in all their Sins That they are not the less Beloved while wallowing in their Sins because Gods Love is Free and without Regard to our Performances That therefore there ought to be no Sorrow for Sin that this is contrary to a true Godly Frame This the Antimonians who are set up on High now in London have Preach'd and Printed in their Books Particularly the Famous Dr. Crisp Nay they go farther they make neither Faith nor Works necessary for that they say wou'd hinder the Freedom of God's Love and make it Conditional which they Abhor to think and to depend upon any thing that is in Us to do They call Faith therefore only an Eccho of the Soul answering to the Call of God and saying I come without any Change in the Man But that the Soul which has not that Eccho is not the less safe For they Resolve all into the Absolute Decree of God without Respect either to Faith or Works on our Part. This is the Plea of Lucifer for himself that he was Over-Rul'd in Heaven by Absolute Power without Respect to Justice for that he had Merit beyond many of those Angels who Stood tho' he and others Better than they Fell. And the same Argument is taken up by many of His Followers at this Day who have Bewildred their Understandings in the Intricate Mazes of Absolute Decrees Un-Conditionate Election and Reprobation so as to Confound themselves and stop their Endeavours from working out their own Salvation as they are Commanded The Anti-Nomians say that Christ has wrought All for us so that we need not Work And that to offer to Add our Works to His is Presumption and an Under-Valuing of His as if His were not