Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	aaron_n	according_a	flesh_n	39	3	6.2759	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30364	Spiritual bondage and freedom, or, A treatise containing the substance of several sermons preached on that subject from John VIII, 36 by the late Reverend Mr. Nathanael Ball ...	Ball, Nathanael, 1623-1681.	1683 (1683)	Wing B581; ESTC R20020	203,915	466

as much intend them as the other that his people might not precisely know the very time when their deliverance should be that it should be this year or this day to teach them still to depend upon him for deliverance even when they might think that their deliverance was nearest We must trust God for deliverance but the very time when it shall be we must leave that to him He useth to reserve that in his own breast But to go on 3. In that deliverance God honoured his people Deut. 4. 34. Isa 43. 3 4. He gat them a Name and made them high above all Nations They were a People that all the World did talk of that heard what God had done for them how he had redeemed them and how he had chosen them and how he went before them Well now beloved you see this was an honourable deliverance that God gave to them but this Freedom by Christ is the most honourable Freedom of all God never so honoured himself by any deliverance as by this nor did he ever so honour his promises nor did he ever so honour his people For the first see John 12. 28. for the second Luke 1. 68. to 74. for the third Luke 2. 32. They are so honoured by this that they that partake of this Freedom are said to be made Kings to God Property 4. This Freedom is a Heavenly Freedom They who are interested in it are said to be partakers of the heavenly calling Heb. 3. 1. And they are called the heavenly Jerusalem cap. 12. 22. and Jerusalem which is above Gal. 4. 26. 'T is such an Heavenly Freedom that the very Angels desire to look into this salvation which it brings 1 Pet. 1. 10 11 12. Other Deliverances were earthly or at most the best and greatest of them as I said were but types and shadows of better things but this Freedom is all made up of Heavenliness I shall make out this by Four things a little 1. It is the Sons Freedom 2. The Souls Freedom 3. The Saints Freedom 4. The Scripture-Freedom 1. I say 't is the Sons Freedom that which the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God hath procured 'T is the Son that makes free You have had this largely opened to you Now what an heavenly Freedom must this be that God imployed his own Son in and sent him from Heaven on purpose about it When the Lord would redeem his people out of Egypt he sent Moses and Aaron for that work and they were but Men but when he would give this Freedom he sent one that was more than a Man 'T is true he raised up Christ from amongst the Jews according to the flesh and the humane Nature did not come immediately from God but 't was made of the Seed of David Yea but God was manifested in this flesh and upon this account he is said to come down from Heaven John 3. 13. and to come out from God and to come forth from the Father cap. 16. 27 28. So that in this Freedom beloved there came one from the Throne of God yea one that was God to give it to us 2. 'T is the Souls Freedom the Freedom of the Soul Now you know they must be all heavenly things that can reach that to do it any good In other Deliverances they were the Bodies of men that were set free but in this Christ brings Souls out of Prison and Bondage And indeed herein lies the very main of all the excellency of this Freedom that it is a Freedom for Souls If I should have said nothing else about it but only this That the precious Souls of Men and Women are redeemed by it you must needs have said 't is an excellent Freedom Yea beloved all that I have said or have yet to say or can say runs into this Oh blessed joyful heavenly Freedom by Christ What a thing is this What to bring salvation to Souls to set the Heart Mind Will Understanding Affections Conscience at liberty that when all was bound within with spiritual Chains and Fetters that were Ten thousand times stronger than those that are made of Brass and Iron that when the Soul sat in darkness and in the shadow of death there should be redemption for that that Christ should pity lost and undone souls Oh heavenly heavenly heavenly Freedom Well may I use those words to you here which the Angel used to the Shepherds Luke 2. 10 11. Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savioue which is Christ the Lord. Here 's a Saviour for your Souls Where are your Souls Sirs by Nature What a condition are they in Oh! they are kept the closest Prisoners that ever were in the deepest darkest Dungeon that ever was and this Prison they are cast into for Debt for Theft for Murder for Treason and no Debt like this Debt for 't is the Debt of Sins and Iniquities and no Theft like this Theft for 't is for robbing God of his Glory and no Murder like this Mruder for 't is for destroying your own Souls and no Treason like this Treason for t is against the Crown of Heaven And yet if you will repent and believe the Gospel here 's a Freedom for your Souls out of all this Methinks it should be even with us in the hearing of this as 't is said in Luke 19. 37 38. that we should rejoyce and praise God with a loud voice And if we should not be affected with this Freedom one might think as ver 40. that if we should hold our peace the stones would immediately cry out 3. It is the Saints Freedom Indeed 't is to make sinners free but it is not the Freedom of sinners That is as long as persons are out of Christ they cannot truly call it theirs 'T is the portion and priviledg of the children of God A wicked man may have it but a true Believer hath it The one is under a possibility of it but the other is in possession of it Rom. 5. 2. They have their standing in this Grace They stand upon Gospel-ground Now what a Heavenly Freedom is this that none but Saints enjoy The men of the World may enjoy other Freedoms but one must be in Christ to enjoy this It belongs to the holy Company Eph. 2. 19. Ye are Fellow-Citizens with the Saints Indeed this Freedom doth not find us Saints but it makes us so And therefore hereby you may know whether you have any thing of it Do you think that you are made free by Christ and abide ungodly To be sure you deceive your selves The Lord Christ never redeemed any Soul to leave it where he found it he puts it into a contrary state to that which it had before he found it in darkness but he puts it into Light he found it in Death but he puts it into Life he found it in Wickedness but he puts

a sword and with a spear and with a shield but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts and so he prevailed This is the Cordial that true Christians must take along with them in their journey to Heaven to keep them from fainting That Father Son and Spirit are all ingaged in the matters of their Salvation And 't is certain that they would not be so fearful and so weak in their work as they are apt to be if they did but know their strength And so this is the first thing that shews After what manner this Freedom is in Christ 'T is in him Personally 2. This Freedom is in Christ abundantly So Paul found it when the Lord had mercy on him 1 Tim. 1. 14. You know the manner of men is when they give others of their good things to give but a little of them it may be rhey have not such a store of their own as to be able to part with much But 't is not so with Christ this Freedom is stor'd up in him he hath Treasures of it 't is much that Christ can do for Souls that place is very full for it Heb. 7. 25. He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him The word in the Greek is as if you should read it He is able to save to the finishing or perfecting of all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatever is in Christ 't is in him abundantly Consider four things and you 'll see 't is thus with him in respect of this Freedom 't is in him plentifully 1. He can save more than ever shall be saved The reason why such multitudes do post and flock to Hell is not because there was not enough in Christ to keep them from it but because they will not be ruled by him they do not follow this Physicians Prescriptions Here upon Earth though the Patient makes the best use that can be of the Physician and follows his Prescriptions and Advice to a tittle and doth all things to the exactest obedience yet many times the Patient dies notwithstanding or he is never the more delivered from the pain and danger of his Disease as it was with the Woman that had the bloody Issue Mark 5. 25 26. And the Disease is so inveterate and malignant that all the skill of the Doctors is not able to cure them or preserve them But here no Soul is lost for want of Skill or Power in the Physician but 't is because they would not do as he would have them they would not submit to his Cure nor accept of his Help they should have found him a Healer if he had found them obedient Psal 81. 11 12. Obj. But you may say If Christ hath such a Power he could have made them obedient if he pleased Ans That 's true he could have done so and so he doth to some he doth make them obedient and willing that he will not only give Advice but they shall take Advice and give up themselves to be wholly at Christ's direction and counsel and where-ever this is wrought in the Soul it is the free Grace and distinguishing Love of God The overcoming of the Will to close with Christ is indeed the breaking forth of God's eternal Election and he will do this in all whom he hath chosen but when God sees that tho men cannot of themselves receive Christ yet they do wickedly and wilfully resist the offers of his Grace and through the pride of their Hearts will not cry to him to make them willing and to bring down the stubbornness and rebellion of their spirits who will dare to blame 〈…〉 if he leave them to themselves 〈…〉 sure as 't is unspeakable Mercy in God to draw some to willingness So 't is a very righteous thing in him to leave others to their wilfulness God is not bound to save any man against his will and whom he pleases he may make willing and whom he pleases he may let alone in their rebellion and so they don't perish because Christ could not save them but because they would not be saved and they manifested that they would not because they always resisted the Holy Ghost Acts 7. 51. Obj. But how doth this consist with that great willingness that is in Christ to save Sinners of which we are so often told that so many Sinners should perish and yet Christ could save them Ans 1. The willingness that is in Christ to save Sinners must especially and principally as I conceive be understood of those kind of Sinners who seek to him out of a sense of their need of his Salvation and of their undone condition without him as appears from Matth. 11. 28. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest As the Lord Jesus in the days of his Flesh did upon all occasions of the coming of the diseased persons to him manifest his great readiness to cure them and he turned away none that offered themselves to him by them he would be prevailed with and by them he would be touched and as many as touched him were made perfectly whole of whatever Disease they had So whoever they be whatever spiritual Plagues they have that do humbly and sensibly offer themselves to Christ as the Physician of their Souls and cry to him Lord Jesus be intreated to cure me of a blind Mind of a hard Heart of the strong Possession that the Devil hath taken hold of me by such a sin and such a sin 't is certain that Jesus Christ doth as I may say stand prepared to help such a Soul and to have mercy upon him and heal him And therefore you must know that Jesus Christ requires this at your hands that you who would have Mercy and Salvation from him should repair to him and come and spread as it were your Wounds before him and implore his help You must not stay away from Christ and keep at a distance from him but go and tell him the misery that your Souls are in and beseech him to shew his skill upon you and this will be the way to get him to be moved with compassion towards you Then you 'll find that he hath a willingness in his heart to do you good and the more importunate you are with him the more hopes you will have to speed with him yea you need not doubt or fear if you do sincerely make out to him for his help but you shall have it you are to believe that you shall And if you do not thus look out for help in Christ but neglect coming to him that is appointed of God to save you as you will certainly perish so tho you shall yet your destruction doth not proceed from a want of willingness in Christ to save you tho I confess this willingness that is in Christ to save even them that shall never be saved is not the same with that which is in him