Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	church_n	member_n	visible_a	4,197	5	9.3868	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04164	The raging tempest stilled The historie of Christ his passage, with his disciples, over the Sea of Galilee, and the memorable and miraculous occurrents therein. Opened and explaned in weekly lectures (and the doctrines and vses fitly applied to these times, for the direction and comfort of all such as feare Gods iudgements) in the cathedrall and metropoliticall Church of Christ, Canterb.	Jackson, Thomas, d. 1646.	1623 (1623)	STC 14305; ESTC S107445	230,620	359

did arise Then is this societie a shadow or figure of the visible Church By visible and invisible I do not mean two distinct Churches as our Adversaries falsly charge us as if a member of the visible were not also a member of the invisible but I distinguish the divers considerations of the same Church which is visible in respect of profession and use of the Word and Sacraments but invisible in respect of saving grace wherein only elect doe communicate and whose bodies profession is visible but saving grace invisible unknown of us saving in the judgement of charity As all men might know Nathaniel to be an Israelite but to be a true Israelite in whom was no guile that Christ only knew so that many of the invisible lie hid in the visible as a part in the whole which visible Church may be thus described viz. It is a mixed company that professe that doctrine which is according to godlines having the word of God for matters fundamentall purely preached Sacraments for substance sincerely administred And I say this is a mixed company For in such a company may be ludas and many unregenerate and hypocrites in the visible which are not of the invisible Church This Church was shadowed out by Noahs Arke wherein were both cleane and uncleane beasts by a floare having a heape of corne and chaffe mingled together a field wherein wheat and tares grow together a draw-net gathering all sorts of fishes good and bad a wedding wherein are guests that have the wedding garment and that want it by a company wherein are both wise and foolish virgins the one having lampes and oyle the others lampes onely a flocke of sheepe and goats Matth. 25. 32. a great house wherein there are vessels of gold and siluer so also of wood and earth some to honour and some to dishonour And this visible Church is two-fold Vniversall and Particular the Vniversall visible Church is the company of all such as professe the doctrine of godlinesse and enioy the ministerie of the Word and Sacraments wheresoever in the world they be A Particular visible Church is a company professing as before but receiving denomination from the Countrie Kingdome or Citie as the Church of England Scotland Bohemia Corinth Galatia Ephesus Philippi which is the reason why particular visible Churches are so affected with ioy or griefe at one anothers prosperitie or adversitie because in effect they are even the same and as members of the same bodie parts of the whole Thus we have shipped the passengers Now as friends at parting have commonly some loving Charge or other suffer me before they launch forth to give to them and in them to you and us all a double warning viz. Beware of departure from and of division among I say beware of departure and division goe not out fall not out For the first howsoever Iudas the covetous wretch and who afterwards was Traitor be in the company yet let none depart from the ship and forsake the fellowship of Christ and the rest of the disciples for his sake it had been no lesse dāgerous to the bodie of any of them to have gone out of the ship into the sea than it is to the soule of any to depart from a true visible Church where Christ and his Disciples are I doe not deny but for many respects it may be warrantable for a man to depart from one visible Church to become a member of another yea for a time to dwel where no visible Church is but to depart because of some corruptions specially in discipline or manners is the dangerous departure condemned by the Scriptures and the ancient Fathers in Donatists Novatians Catharists and such like Separatists of all whom S. Iohn hath pronounced They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had beene of us they would no doubt haue continued with us neither shall such departers ever satisfie their blind and preposterous zeale There never was nor will be a visible Church in this world without great blemishes faults and corruptions Looke upon the state of the Church from the beginning of the world and you will finde it so yet in all the Scriptures there is no precept rightly understood commanding to depart nor warrantable example of any that have so departed A thing also which the Fathers in their times haue exceedingly declamed against Not that we should sit downe carelesse and not take to heart the corruptions of Church or Common-wealth or as if Magistrates and Ministers by word and sword should not endeuour reformation Indeed the Master said to his servants Let both grow together till the harvest which place the Anabaptists abuse amongst others to proue a toleration and S. Augustines opinion was so at the first as himselfe confesseth and gave his Reason lest professed Heretikes should become dissembling Hypocrites but Luther hath both shortly and soundly expounded the place saying It is not a sentence of approbation but of consolation that we should not endevour reformation but a comfort when we cannot so reforme but still there will be corruptions yet for them not to forsake the fellowship as the manner of some is But these things I have more largely handled and pressed in this place hereto fore from some other Scriptures and because such departure is not now so hot and common as it hath beene I passe it over with this touch and caution in few words given The second charge I give is the same that Ioseph gave to his brethren Beware of division and falling out All division is dangerous be it of Kings Cities or Families as our Saviour saith Every kingdome divided against it selfe shall be brought to desolation and every citie or house divided against it selfe shall not stand but no division so dangerous as that in a ship and specially in a storme what doth that threaten but ship wrack and destrucction to them all Wherefore there is nothing that Sathan more laboureth and wherein he doth more hurt than by causing of divisions and nothing more commanded than peace amitie and unitie Have salt in your selves and have peace one with another The Angels at Christ his comming into the world proclaimed peace and Christ at his going out of the world bequeathed peace My peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you The Apostles still wished Grace and Peace to those Churches to which they wrote and inioyned the Saints If it be possible and as much as lieth in them to liue peaceably with all men yea to follow peace with all men and to striue to keepe the unitie of the Spirit in the bond of peace And here I cannot sufficiently wonder at the Romanists that considering our unite and the great and grievous divisions in the Synagogue of Rome yet the Romanists are not ashamed

smoaking fl●x Let the comparisons be well marked and can the meeknesse of Christ towards poore sinners be more lively expressed How tender a plant is a reed yea at the strongest how doth it yeeld and bow with every puffe of wind but much more when it is bruised how easie a thing is it then to snap it asunder How weake is that sparke of fire which in fl●x doth but cause smoake Now whereas it is said he will not break the one nor quench the other his meaning is he will no●ish and cherish them strengthen the one and kindle the other Againe He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength Christ was sent to binde up the broken hearted The Lord upholdeth all that fall and raiseth up all them that be bowed downe Christ hath called Come to mee all yee that travell and are heavie loaden and I will refresh you hath promised that he will cast away none that come unto him yea that hee will give them eternall life and none shall be able to plucke them out of his hand Indeed Christ gave great commendation to such as have had great faith as to the Centurion Verily I say unto you that I have not found so great faith no not in Israel and to the woman of Canaan hee said O woman great is thy faith But yet in all ages God hath witnessed his loving acceptance of small and weake faith and of the first beginnings of Conversion How weake a faith was that in the Ninivites Who can tell if God will returne and repent yet God did repent and spare them What a weake faith had the Leper Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me cleane he received him and did make him cleane How weake that fathers faith who could scarce tell whether he beleeved or no and ceased to pray for his sonne and prayed for himselfe Lord helpe mine unbeleefe and he both helped his unbeleefe and cured his sonne Our Saviour did but heare a young man make profession of the practise of outward and civill righteousnesse All these I have observed from my youth and the Text saith he looked upon him and loved him And when he heard a Scribe utter but one good speech That to love God with all the heart is above all sacrifices he said unto him that he was not farre from the kingdome of heaven Oh now should the Apostles faith have shone bright as a lampe but the tempest had almost blowne it out that it did but smoake yet Christ quencheth it not he reproveth but accepteth of it He arose and rebuked the winds and seas These and many such Scriptures both Positive and Exemplarie of prophesie and promise are written for the comfort of all such as have but little weake and feeble faith and we had need to have them in remembrance for Satan is very skilfull in the Scriptures and hath them readie to assault weake ones with all as Faith is the evidence of things which are not seene And we are Gods house if we hold fast the reioycing of the hope firme unto the end and Faith is the anchor of the soule both sure and stedfast Doth not S. Iames bid every one that prayeth to pray in faith without wavering or doubting How canst thou thinke thou hast faith or make account that ever God will heare thee when thine heart is so full of wavering doubting Oh quench this fiery dart and say Avoid Satan it is true thou hast presented unto me a strong faith which I doe strive after but the Apostles had but a little weake faith yet were not rejected and Satan thou shalt never bee able to quench that little sparke which God hath kindled in my soule nor destroy that little graine of mustard-seed which is sowen in the furrowes of mine heart Lastly note that Christ said His Disciples had but little faith and surely as yet they had but little knowledge little honour little wealth and little of any thing that was esteemed and accounted of in the world being but poore Fisher-men Tole-gatherers and men of meane condition as Amos a great Prophet was before but an Herdman God many times bringeth greatest things to passe by weakest meanes Passing by the noble mightie rich and wise of the world and chusing the foolish weake and base and despised things of the world that no flesh may glory in it selfe To which purpose S. Augustine hath an excellent saying If God had chosen Kings to bee his Disciples they would have said We are chosen for our power If Orators for our eloquence I● Philosophers for our wisdome If Senators for our dignitie If rich men for our wealth Wherefore he called Fishermen and Publicans Follow me you poore ignorant and simple you that have little or nothing worthy esteeme or admiration in your selves that you may be all in me Even so still the Lord many times passeth by such as are of great knowledge learning and wisdome of high degree in Schooles of eminent Bloud and Families by birth and calleth farre meaner men in these respects by whom he is most powerfull in the ministery of the Word So for the Church of God Christ told Iohns Disciples The poore receive the Gospell And God hath chosen the poore of the world that they may bee rich in faith and heires of the Kingdome This is it was intended in the parable where the great men that had their Farmes Oxen and Merchandise to follow were rejected and the poore maimed halt and blinde who lay in the Streets and Lanes of the Citie and High-wayes and Hedges were compelled to come in And this is it which the chiefe Priests and Pharises objected to the officers Doe any of the Rulers or Pharisies beleeve in him But this people that knoweth not the Law is cursed Indeed it is not said no wise no noble no mightie are chosen for Abraham Isaac Iacob Moses David Solomon Nicodemus Lazarus of Bethaniah Ioseph of Arimathea the two Centurions the Proconsull and many others were some of them noble some wise some mightie c. But as Andrew said of the loaves What are these amongst so many to the end that wee should not looke upon Gods people and servants with a carnall eye wherein they may seeme base and contemptible but behold them with a spirituall eye as they are in Christ and so most glorious And thus much for the first part in the performing of the calme viz. The reprehension of his disciples for their excessive feare and defective faith It followeth Then he arose Christ having stilled the greater and more dangerous tempest in the affections of his disciples and settled their soules in peace and tranquillity patience and comfort hee now proceedeth to still the roaring winds and raging seas which hee doth by powerfull and angry reprehension Wherein two things