Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A11077
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The onely remedy that can cure a people, when all other remedies faile. By F. Rous.
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Rous, Francis, 1579-1659.
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1627
(1627)
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STC 21346; ESTC S106124
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62,668
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256
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the glory in the destruction of their enemies So as God was glorified in raising vp their Lownesse so is hee also glorified while by their Lownesse hee takes downe the Height and Pride of the enemie For the weakness of those who ouercome giues away the glory of ouercomming from themselues vnto God who by weaknesse ouercometh power This God plainely sheweth to bee a way by which hee workes out his glory in that storie of Gideon For as long as Gideons armie had in it the strength of a multitude the multitude was a hinderance to this glorie For so the victorie might haue been taken from God and giuen to men because they were many Therfore he findes fault with his armie as being vnfit for his glorie while there was any such number in it as might possibly take away the glorie of the victorie from God to it selfe Therfore he saith The people that are with thee are too many for me to giue the Midianites into their hands Iudg. 7. lest Israel vaunt themselues against me saying Mine own hand hath saued me Wherefore God pares his armie and makes it fit for his glory by many diminutions neuer leauing vntill hee brought it to so few hundreds that there was left no ground of glorying in it self but that hee who glorieth must needes glorie in the Lord. The Israelites were kept downe by the Egyptians in most cruell slauery and bondage for they made the Israelites to serue with rigour Exod. 7. 13. 2. 23. so that they sighed and cried by reason of their bondage And when they did but speake for libertie their burdens were encreased and that so heauily that they were in meere despaire and deadnesse of heart so that when Moses told them of freedome they hearkned not vnto Moses for Exod. 6. 9. anguish of Spirit and for cruell bondage But for this hopelesse and distressed Nation which had no helpe nor hope in it selfe did God glorifie his power vpon the pride of Pharaoh and the strength of Egypt So that for the victorie which God alone gaineth vpon the Egyptians for Israel but without out Israel Iethro duely glorifies him Exod. 18. 11. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods for in the thing wherein they delt proudly he was aboue them God that taketh down the proude when there is no helpe in man to bring them downe getteth to himselfe the glorie of their abasing It were infinite and endlesse to produce the patternes and presidents of this kinde of working by which God workes out his glory When Kingdomes and Empires are at the greatest then GOD takes them downe commonly by low and contemptible meanes And so euen at the height of the Romane Empire that Empire was taken down by the Northren people whom they in contempt did account and call Barbarians And if it please him so can he take down the present pride of the Romane Empire which I especially place in that man of sinne who is the veriest Emperour of Rome surmounting the other in his owne opinion and in the opinion of his Disciples as much as the Sun excelleth the Moone in glorie And therefore most blasphemously this title is ascribed to him The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords But let vs remember that God himselfe saith All the Tyees of the Forrest shal know Ezek. 17. 24. that I the Lord haue brought downe the high Tree haue exalted the low Tree haue dryed vp the greene Tree and haue made the dry Tree to flourish I the Lord haue spoken and haue done it Wherfore let Israel trust and hope in the Lord euen hope against hope that though they bee humbled euen to the earth and Pharaoh mount vp with his pride to heauen and against heauen saying who is the Lord yet the Lord will bring Israel out of Egypt and will triumph ouer Egypt and Pharaoh with a mightie power and out-stretched arme So shall Israel say Thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power thy right hand O Lord Exod. 15. 6. â— hath dashed in pieces the Enemy And in the greatnesse of thine excellency thou hast ouerthrowne them that rose vp against thee Yea much people in Heauen shall say Alleluia Saluation and Glory and Honour and Power Reu. 19. 1. 2. vnto the Lord our God for true and righteous are his iudgements for he hath iudged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath auenged the blood of his seruants at her hand And surely great glory must needs arise vnto God both from heauen earth when God by his Church being low and little iudgeth the great Whore Little and weake things when they produce great effects it plainely appeares that they haue borrowed power from elsewhere and from whom can the creature borrow power but of the Creator the fountain of power whose weakness that is whose least power being added to the creature 1. Cor. 1. 25 is stronger than men euen than all the strength of men God and three hundred are able to ouercome an Host Iudg. 6. 7. that are like Grashoppers for multitude yea God and Israel onely by walking about a towne and fighting with no other weapons but Trumpets of Rams hornes can make the strength of Iericho to fall before them God and a woman euen Deborah can iudge Israel and deliuer them from a King that hath nine hundred chariots of Iron But when by weakenesse God ouercommeth strength it cannot bee the strength of weakenesse that ouercommeth but the strength of God Therefore all glorying here also is excluded from man and referred vnto God And accordingly Deborah rightly giues God the glory saying Iudg. 5. 13. The Lord made mee haue dominion ouer the Mighty Secondly God suffers his Church to bee low and weake before hee exalt it in regard of Man And first we may take notice that in the lownesse of the Church God hath an eye and leuells as it were at the very enemies of the Church which are indeed his owne enemies For by the lownesse weaknesse of the Church Iudg. 4. 7. hee drawes out these enemies vnto a full and finall ouerthrow Hee encourageth and hardneth them to a full aduenture in a warre against God that God may fully bee auenged of them and fully triumph ouer them The Lord knoweth that the distressed estate of the Church doth engage their enemies in great and full prosecutions of them that so comming forth with their whole forces to ouerthrow the Church their whole forces may bee ouerthrowne The Lord himselfe sheweth vs this his dispensation For hee professeth that therefore hee brought Israel into straites betweene the Mountaines and the Red Sea because Pharaoh will say Exod. 14. they are intangled in the Land the wildernesse hath shut them in And I will harden Pharaohs heart saith the Lord that hee shall follow after them and I will bee honoured vpon Pharaoh and vpon all his host When the men of Israel haue
the rootes of the Trees none but the tree that beares good fruite shall escape hewing downe and casting into the fire But the righteousnesse of outward workes is neither true nor lasting without a seed and nature of Righteousnesse Therefore to make the fruite truely and continually good the tree must be made good For the good tree only beareth good fruit and ceaseth not to beare it Wherefore as the roote of sinfulnesse must be pulled vp so a roote of Righteousnesse must bee planted As the old man must be put off the new man must be put on Eph. 4. 22. 23. This New man is borne of the spirit as the old man is borne of the flesh Joh. 3. 6. For that which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that which is borne of the spirit is spirit And if that which is borne of the spirit be in vs then haue wee in vs a roote of Righteousnesse For the fruite of the spirit is in all goodnesse Eph. 5. 6. and righteousnesse and truth This is the roote of the tree planted by the riuer side Psal. 1. 3. that bringeth forth his fruite in his season his leafe also shall not wither but whatsoeuer he doth shall prosper This is the seed that falls into good ground yea it makes the ground good into which it falls Heb. 6. 7. so that it bringeth forth hearbs meet for them by whom it is dressed and receiueth blessing from God And indeed no wonder if it receiue blessing from God and turn away the curses of God for when the hart of man is thus made good ground fruitfull earth and a good tree by the vertue of Gods spirit the heart of Man is according to the Heart of God And from this harmonie agreement issue all blessings and blessednesse There is friendship betweene God and man when face answereth to face the face of mans soule to the face of God to whose Image it was first created and after the fall it must bee renewed Prov. 27. 19. Then will God delight to dwell among vs hee will walke with vs hee will bee a Father to vs 2 Cor. 6. 17. and wee shall bee his sonnes and daughters saith the Lord Almighty Deut. 28. 12. 13. The Lord shall open to thee his good treasure the heauen to giue the raine vnto thy land in his season and to blesse all the worke of thine hand And thou shalt lend vnto many Nations and shalt not borrow And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the taile and thou shalt bee aboue only and not beneath if that thou hearken to the Commandements of the Lord thy God to obserue and doe them Infinite is the blessednesse and infinite are the blessings which follow this new creature and Image of God And places of Scripture are almost endlesse that expresse them Briefly and for a summe Godlinesse is profitable vnto all things 1 Tim. 4. 8. hauing promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come Now what shall I inferre hereupon yea let God himselfe make the inference by his blessed Apostle Hauing therefore these promises 2 Cor. 7. 1. dearely beloued let vs cleanse our selues from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse in the feare of God Let vs put on the New Creature and walke by that rule for as many as walke by that Gal. 6. 1â—â— rule peace shall be vpon them Peace betweene God and vs peace betweene vs and our owne soules and peace betweene vs and the Creatures 10. Hauing thus put on The Crown of repentance is a Couenant with God the glorious and blessed Image of God in our repentance from dead workes and the body of sinne let vs crown and consummate this happy worke with a Couenant For thus did the ancient Conuerts they bound vp their Repentance in a Couenant that entring into a Couenant with God God might enter into a Couenant with them and so the knot of Happinesse Loue might bee knit and made sure betweene God and Man The heart of man is very deceitfull and backsliding and it is not enough to put it into the way of agreement with God but being there it must be bound by strong resolutions yea those resolutions haue beene bound with an oath And thus our will binding it selfe to the will of God by a settled resolution and vow it continues the closer and more vnseparable since as soone as temptation commeth it dasheth it selfe in pieces against the Rocke of this Couenant The heart being as it were hardned and steeled with Resolution is in vaine assaulted and the Billow of temptation flying against it non frangit sed frangitur the Billow is broken but the house or the heart falls not because it is become rocky being firmely built on the Rocke Christ Iesus Yea Sathan seeing the soule settled and resolued to resist him flyes away and remoues his engines to places and persons of lesse resistance But on the other side God seeing the heart bent and resolued and bound to a constant seruice of God hee meetes it with a constant loue and the kisse of perfect peace is betweene them I might bring forth diuers examples of Couenants There was a Couenant vnder Moses Deut. 20. 12. vnder Ioshua vnder Iosiah Iosh. 24. vnder Ezra Ezra 10. but I especially propose the Couenant of 2 King 23. 3. Asa because it was the patterne of a perfect Couenant and a happy successe And because I wish the later I propose the former This Couenant is thus described There came a Prophet and spake vnto Asa 2 Chron. 15 and all Iudah and Beniamin Hee told them of the miseries of those which were without the true God a teaching Priest and without law That forsaking God they were forsaken of God And in those times there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in but great vexations were vpon all the Inhabitants of the Countries And Nation was destroyed of Nation and Citie of Citie for God did vexe them with all aduersitie On the other side The Lord is with them while they bee with him and if they seeke him hee will bee found of them Yea being vexed for their sinnes when in their trouble they did turne vnto the Lord God of Israel and sought him hee was found of them Thereupon the Prophet inferreth Bee yee strong therefore and let not your hands bee weake for your worke shall be rewarded And Asa indeed grew strong for the Scripture saith Hee tooke courage and put away the abhominable Idols out of Iudah and Beniamin he renewed the Altar of the Lord and offered a great sacrifice to God And to binde vp this new obedience and to make it sure by setting a seale to it They entred into a Couenant to seeke the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soule This Couenant they binde with a high