Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	father_n	jacob_n	joseph_n	2,306	5	9.7122	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30566	Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest by Jeremiah Burroughes.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.	1659 (1659)	Wing B6060; Wing B6072_v1; ESTC R207640	299,082	422

to Christ First For the Rules that we may observe them aright in coming to Christ and come to Christ in a right way I speak to those whose Hearts are about coming to Jesus Christ their hearts are stirring after Christ and they are setting upon all the means to come to him RULE I. First Though God requires that thou shouldest seek Christ in all his ordinances in the performance of all Duties yet it must be thy great care not to rest in the means that lead to Christ before thou comest to enjoy Christ himself This is the great mistake in the world that those things that are the means to lead to Christ they rest in though indeed they have not Christ As now for instance to come to hear the word I suppose if I aske you why you come you will say you come that you might find Christ there yet how many people rest in this meerly that they do hear the word they hear Sermons and scarce ever cal this into question have I met with Jesus Christ in the word to day have I found Jesus Christ there this their Hearts are not so much troubled about but they come meerly to hear the word it 's a good thing But now they Rest in the means that lead to Christ before they are got thither As if a man were a going a journey to such a place about such business and he satisfies himself in this I am going on my way but have I got the thing I go for We are to know that Prayer the word the Sacraments are all but as means to bring us to Christ now what a foolish thing is this to satisfie our selves that we are in the way going to the thing but have we the thing that we journey for Jesus Christ is the thing that we seek for have we him The wise Merchant had the Field I but he saw that there was a Pearl in the field and then he went and sold all that he might have the Pearl The field is the Preaching of the word and other ordinances in these ordinances is the Pearl now that which we should look for in the ordinances is the pearl and so use the field but only for the Pearls sake So that this is the way that we should take to come to Christ that is in the use of all duties and all ordinances to look at Christ that we would have by them and be sure to pass through the ordinances til we get hold on him whom our Soul loveth most people in the world they stick in the ordinances themselves and have got no hold on Christ but meerly spend all in duties and ordinances that they wil do God requires of them to pray and they wil pray and God requires of them to hear the word and they will hear the word I but they do not consider that there is somthing beyond Prayer and beyond the word Have I got to Jesus Christ in Prayer have I got to Jesus Christ in the word And that is a good signe when the hearts of sinners are satisfied with nothing with no ordinances except they find Jesus Christ in those ordinances be sure to go through the ordinances unto Christ RULE II. Secondly In your seeking after Christ be sure that you rather pitch your eye and your heart upon the person of Christ himself then upon the good things that come from Christ that is the way to pitch your eye and your heart upon Christ himself rather then upon the good things that come from Christ for coming to Christ and being in him is only as being married to him Now the party that marries he looks more upon the person then upon the portion he looks upon the excellency of the person so should the Soul in coming to Christ look upon him as the only great mediatour of the Covenant as the only reconciler of God and man as the only person in whom all our good happiness and glory lies Labor to see an excellency in Christ himself as wel as to come to Christ There are many souls that would come to Christ why because they think there is no mercy but in Christ and they would be loath to go to Hel and therefore they cry to God for mercy in Christ I but they see not any excellency in Christ but thou must look upon the excellencies of Christ and look through the ordinances unto union with Christ look after union with the person of Christ himself and see an excellency and beauty in the very person of Jesus Christ to be able to say I see the glory of the Father in him and my Soul makes after him to have union with him RULE III. Thirdly In thy coming be sure of this to come with thy whole soule that is do not come to Christ only as one meanes of help for you and thinking it is Good to make use of al means we can and Christ I see to be as likely a means as any other No but come to Christ as the only means so as to cast thy whole soul upon him not to hang upon any thing else and so to give out as it were an arme to him and yet to have somewhat else to rest upon if that fail As we come to a friend sometimes and desire somewhat of him but how so as we would make a friend other where that if that fail we may have two strings to our bow but we must come to Christ and lay the ful weight upon him alone the ful soul upon him We must come to Christ not as if we were over some deep pit and here is one thing to rest upon that is strong enough that if we would lay weight upon that is alone we might be safe Wel but there is another thing that is a rotten thing now we are loth to venture upon the strong the sound not knowing it to be so but we lay a part upon the rotten and part upon the sound by this perhaps we may come to fal and perish because the ful weight was not laid upon that that was sound So here the Lord propounds his son as an alsufficient redeemer for us in whom there is righteousness and salvation and requires of those that come to his Son that they shal come with their whol souls and lay the whol weight of their soules upon him for life and salvation and al their good and happiness Now if they think to have two strings to their bow they would have Christ but they would have the world too and their own wayes too upon this a Thousand to one but they miscarry It was an excellent speech of Joseph sending for his father Jacob in Genesis 45.20 Joseph sent to have his father Jacob brought to him now there was many things that Jacob had regard to before but now saith he regard not the stuff for the good of all the Land of Egypt is yours So when the Lord doth cal any poor sinner to come to him the Lord

thee so much as from his son in one regard that is thou hast not such a dreadful apprehension of Gods withdrawing from thee as Christ had for Christ would never have cryed out else My God My God why hast thou forsaken mee This was a real thing Christ did not speak at uncertainties he did feel a withdrawing of the influence sweetness and comfort of the Lord though stil he had union with him by Nature and he was his Father as before but the Human Nature did not feel the influence of the Grace and sweetness and the shine of the Favor of God as at other times and therefore he cries out My God My God why hast thou forsaken me Exercise thy Faith upon Christ as one that was in spiritual desertions It is true perhaps that Christ did not come to determin himself that he was utterly forsaken as thou dost but Christ was apprehensive of Gods withdrawing himself and therefore this may bring ease and Rest unto thy Soul and the rather because that his being so forsaken it was to Sanctifie thy being forsaken it was to take away the curse of those desertions that thou hast in thy self Such desertions as are in any afflictions materially they are a curse they are such things as in their own Nature are a curse Christ being so forsaken by the Father doth take away the curse that is in spiritual desertions and there is no such way for the soul that is in spiritual desertions as to look up to Christ and to consider that Christ was forsaken for my sake Christ was forsaken for mee that I might not be eternally forsaken So there is these three things in looking up to Christ as forsaken First thou seest that the Lord that is the beloved son of God was forsaken forsaken by God Secondly here thou maist see the merit of this that it was to sanctifie thy forsaking that thy forsaking might not be a curse to thee Thirdly It was that thou mightest not be eternally forsaken by God so that by exercising of thy Faith thus upon him thou maist get a great deal of Rest and ease unto thy soul A carnal Heart when he finds this terror of spirit he runs to his company Musick good chear and business of the world but a gracious Heart runs to Christ and goes to him that was thus forsaken of the Lord for him Secondly If thou beest under the burden of spiritual desertions then look up to Christ as being such a Mediator as is ful of Grace and goodness there being such a fulness of the Grace of God in him as makes him a sufficient object for the Faith of adherence when he cannot be unto me an object of the Faith of evidence I say we are to exercise Faith upon Christ when we are under this Burden of spiritual desertions thus we are to look upon Christ as being the fulness of the Godhead of all the treasure of Grace and goodness having so much of the Grace and mercy of God in him as shal make him a fit object of the Faith of adherence though he is not now to me an object of the Faith of evidence Quest You will say What is the meaning of that I mean by the Faith of evidence that I am able to say that Christ is mine and I have an argument to perswade my conscience that he is mine that is the Faith of evidence but yet there is enough in Christ to draw forth the Soul to Re●t upon him from the Faith of adherence that is thus Though I cannot draw arguments to rely upon Christ as mine yet I wil cleave to him and adhere to him I know there is no help but here and therefore here I will cleave and cling here now is the Faith of adherence Now because there is so much Grace in it therefore Christ may be a great object of thy Faith of adherence when thou canst not see him to be an object of the Faith of evidence and that is a way to help the Soul in time of spiritual desertion When many poor souls are under spiritual afflictions and desertions they think of no other Faith to rest upon Christ but barely upon the faith of evidence and when they have evidence to their Souls that Christ is theirs and that from some fruits of Grace in them then they rely upon him but now learn that there is such a Faith the Faith of adherence and Christ may appear to a Soul as a fit object to the Soul for the Faith of adherence when he cannot be to it an object of the Faith of evidence Thirdly Another help to the Soul that is under spiritual desertions is this the soul in this case is to exercise Faith upon Christ as an advocate that is at the right hand of the Father to plead the cause of his people That Scripture you have often named to you in 1 John 2.1 If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Christ is at the right hand of the Father as an advocate for you as we shewed when we spake of the Rest of the soul from the guilt of sin So now when thou hast not the sense of the Love of God to thee exercise thy Faith upon Christ that he is at the right Hand of the Father to plead for poor sinners In Jer. 50.34 Saith the Text there Their Redeemer is strong the Lord of Hostes is his name he shall throughly plead their cause that he may give Rest to the Land It is true this is meant literally of an outward Rest unto the people of God to deliver them from the Captivity of Babilon and here is a promise that the redeemer is strong and the Lord of hosts that he shall throughly plead their cause they were carried into Babilon and they were scorned and contemned and despised and they said where is their Lord of hosts Now here is a promise that their redeemer will come and that he shal throughly plead their cause and give them rest in their land and disquiet the inhabitants of Babilon This promise we are to make use of in regard of our outward troubles at this day in regard of our adversaries and though the Lord let them prevaile somtimes yet the Lord hath shewed himself at hand to plead his cause and no question he hath throughly pleaded the cause of his people when the adversaries began to lift up their hands against them when they insulted in regard of the late blow that God gave us the Lord hath begun already to give them a blow and I hope we shal hear further of it But now that which is true here literally is true spiritually the Lord wil redeem them from spiritual captivity and this redeemer is the Lord of hosts he will give them rest he is at the right hand of the Father throughly to plead the cause of his poor Servants when accusation comes up to the Father against the Soul then the Lord Christ stands at the right hand