Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	abhor_v	time_n	zion_n	25	3	8.4769	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62128	XXXVI sermons viz. XVI ad aulam, VI ad clerum, VI ad magistratum, VIII ad populum : with a large preface / by the right reverend father in God, Robert Sanderson, late lord bishop of Lincoln ; whereunto is now added the life of the reverend and learned author, written by Isaac Walton.	Sanderson, Robert, 1587-1663.; Walton, Izaak, 1593-1683.	1686 (1686)	Wing S638; ESTC R31805	1,064,866	813

so to part withal especially if the having thereof be visibly so much greater advantage or convenience to me than the parting therewith could be loss or inconvenience to him that I should be as ready to pleasure him with mine were my case his as I am now desirous he should pleasure me with his If all this be done and meant by me bonâ fide and that I am willing withal to make him a valuable compensation to the full for whatsoever loss or inconvenience he shall sustain thereby and according to the worth of the thing my desire is thus far regular In this manner Abraham desired of Ephron the Hittite a spare portion in one end of his field for a burying-place for Sarah when as being a stranger he had no possession among them wherein to bury his dead Gen. 23. 26. But if I should desire to have that from him which probably is as useful and expedient for him as it can be for me or which he taketh some pleasure or content in or is very unwilling howsoever though for no great reason perhaps but for his minds sake only to part withal or which if it were mine own case I should be loth to forego to another that should in the like kind desire it from me If yet when all this appeareth to me I persist in my former desire notwithstanding and thirst after it still this is an uncharitable and so an inordinate desire in me Ahabs desire was such After he saw Naboths heart so set upon his ancient inheritance that he would not part with it upon any terms For he had given him a flat denial and rejected all Motions for an alienation with an Absit the Lord forbid it me that I should part with the Inheritance of my Ancestors yet he must have it tho nothing will content him without it That for the Object 27. Secondly For the Act or more imediate Effect of the Desire If I desire any thing that is my neighbours with a moderate and sober desire so as I can set my heart at rest fall out as it will and compose my affections to an indifferent temper whether I obtain my desire or no If I may have it well and good if not no great harm done I am but where I was my desire is also thus far regular and hindreth not but that I may be well enough content notwithstanding 28. But if my desire raise mud and perturbations in me and breed troubled and confused thoughts so as to disquiet me in my sleep distract me in my devotions disturb me that I cannot walk in the ways of my Calling or perform the common offices of life with any chearfulness or any other way distemper the calm tranquility of my mind and soul then is my desire so far forth ān inordinate and covetous desire and inconsistent with true Contentation And such again was Ahabs When he could not have his longing Nec manus nec pes He could neither eat nor drink nor sleep nor enjoy any thing he had nor do any thing he should for thinking of it nothing but lowre and tumble and fret for grief and despight have it he must or he should never be well 29. There are thousands that would loth be reputed Covetous yet have a grudging of his disease and it is an evil disease For tell me to close a little with thee thou that scornest the name of Covetous whence is it that thou either pinest away with envy at the Greatness of thy neighbours or repinest with murmuring at the scantness of thy own portion These are parlous symptoms Why art thou ever and anon maundering that his Farm is better than thine his Meadows greener than thine his Corn ranker than thine his cattle fatter than thine his Ware-house fuller than thine his Office gainfuller than thine his service better rewarded than thine his trading quicker than thine and I know not how many things more Quodque capella aliena gerat distentius uber Tabescas Must thine eyes needs be evil towards him because the hand of God hath been good to him Tolle quod tuum vade Take that is thine and go thy way and rest quiet with it Be thankful to him that gave it it was more I ween then he owed thee and in Gods name make the best of it Spartam quam nactus es hanc orna But do not desire that inordinately which thou canst not compass honestly and which if dishonestly gotten thou shouldest have little joy of when thou hadst it Say thy lot be not all out as thou couldst wish indeed what mans almost is so yet take comfort in it onward till better come Better may come when God seeth thee fit for better but fit thou art not so long as thou art not contented with what thou hast 30. Lastly for the consequents or remoter effects of the Desire Desire looketh ever at the end carrying the mind and thoughts thither with some eagerness and therefore stirreth endeavour in the use of such means as are likely to bring men to the desired end the soonest and so putteth them upon Action Whence commonly such as the desire is such is the endeavour also and that both for Quantity and Quality According to the strength of the desire is the bent also of the endeavour and according as the Desire is qualified Morally qualified I mean that is either good or bad the endeavour also is conditioned much what like it If then I can so bound my desire of something which another hath as to resolve and hold not at any hand to attempt the obtaining thereof by any other than by fair and warrantable and conscionable means my desire is also thus far a regular and lawful desire So David though he could not but desire the accomplishment of Gods gracious promise of advancing him to the Kingdom which was not his yet otherwise than in Gods designation but anothers yet when he was urged by his followers to lay hold of a fair opportunity which as they thought God had put into his hand for the effecting thereof his soul did so much abhor the very mention of such a fact that at two several times he would not so much as take the advice into the least deliberation but rejected it with an Absit too Shall I lay these hands upon the Lords Anointed God forbid No saith he I will not do it for a Kingdom Such wicked facts I leave for wicked men to act God can and will I know in his due time make good his own promise without my sin I shall be content to wait his leisure and to remain in the sad condition I am now in till it shall please him to bring me out of it rather than clog my conscience with the guilt of such a horrid crime 31. But if my desire shall prompt me to that resolution so common in the World rem si possis rectè si non quocunque modo rem I would

Non contristor quòd recepisti ago gratias quòd dedisti Thus did Iob when all was taken from him he blessed the Name of the Lord still and to his Wife tempting him to impatience gave a sharp but withal a most reasonable and religious answer Thou speakest like a foolish woman Shall we receive good things at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil also As who say shall we make earnest suit to him when we would borrow and be offended with him when we are called on to pay again We account him and so he is an ill and unthankful debtor from whom the lender cannot ask his own but he shall be like to lose a friend by it And yet how impatiently oftentimes do we take it at our Lords hand when he requireth from us but some small part of that which he hath so freely and so long lent us 21. Try thy self then Brother by these and the like signs and accordingly judge what progress thou hast made in this so high and useful a part of Christian learning 1. If thou scornest to gain by any unlawful or unworthy means 2. If thy desires and cares for the things of this life be regular and moderate 3. If thou canst find in thy heart to take thy portion and to bestow thereof for thine own comfort 4. And to dispense though but the superfluities for the charitable relief of thy poor Neighbour 5. If thou canst want what thou desirest without murmuring 6. And lose what thou possessest without impatience then mayest thou with some confidence say with our Apostle in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content But if any one of these particular signs be wholly wanting in thee thou art then but a truant in this learning and it will concern thee to set so much the harder to it and to apply thy self more seriously and diligently to this study hereafter than hitherto thou hast done 22. Wherein for the better guiding of those that are desirous of this Learning either to make entrance thereinto if they be yet altogether to learn which may be the case of some of us or to proceed farther therein if they be already entred as the best-skilled of us all had need to do for so long as we are in the flesh and live in the world the lusts both of flesh and world will mingle with our best Graces and hinder them from growing to a fulness of perfection I shall crave leave towards the close of this discourse to commend to the consideration and practice of all whether Novices or Proficients in this Art of Contentation some useful Rules that may serve as so many helps for their better attaining to some reasonable abilities therein The general means for the obtaining of this as of every other particular grace we all know are fervent Prayer and the sincere love of God and goodness Which because they are general we will not now particularly insist upon it shall suffice without farther opening barely to have mentioned them 23. But for the more special means the first thing to be done is to labour for a true and lively faith For Faith is the very basis the foundation whereupon our hearts and all our hearts-contents must rest the whole frame of our contentment rising higher or lower weaker or stronger in proportion to that foundation And this Faith as to our present purpose hath a double Object as before was touched to wit the Goodness of God and the Truth of God His Goodness in the dispensation of his special providence for the present and his Truth in the performance of his Temporal Promises for the future First then labour to have thy heart throughly perswaded of the goodness of God towards thee That he is thy Father and that whether he frown upon thee or correct thee or howsoever otherwise he seem to deal with thee he still beareth a Fatherly Affection towards thee That what he giveth thee he giveth in love because he seeth it best for thee to have it and what he denieth thee he denieth in love because he seeth it best for thee to want it A sick man in the extremity of his distemper desireth some of those that are about him and sit at his bed-side as they love him to give him a draught of cold water to allay his thirst but cannot obtain it from his dearest Wife that lieth in his Bosome nor from his nearest Friend that loveth him as his own soul. They consider that if they should satisfie his desire they should destroy his life they will therefore rather urge him and even compel him to take what the Doctor hath prescribed how unpleasant and distasteful soever it may seem unto him And then if pain and the impotency of his desire will but permit him the use of his reason he yieldeth to their perswasions for then he considereth that all this is done out of their love to him and for his good both when he is denied what he most desireth and when he is pressed to take what he vehemently abhorreth Perswade thy self in like sort of all the Lords dealings with thee If at any time he do not answer thee in the desire of thy heart conclude there is either some unworthiness in thy person or some inordinacy in thy desire or some unfitness or unseasonableness in the thing desired something or other not right on thy part but be sure not to impute it to any defect of love in him 24. And as thou art stedfastly to believe his goodness and love in ordering all things in such sort as he doth for the Present so oughtest thou with like stedfastness to rest upon his truth and faithfulness for the making good of all those gracious Promises that he hath made in his Word concerning thy temporal provision and preservation for the future Only understand those promises rightly with their due conditions and limitations and in that sence wherein he intended them when he made them and then never doubt the performance For say in good sooth art thou able to charge him with any breach of promise hitherto Hast thou ever found that he hath dealt unfaithfully with thee Or didst thou ever hear that he hath dealt unfaithfully with any other There is no want of Power in him that he should not be as big as his word there is no want of love in him that he should not be as good as his word He is not as man that he should repent or as the Son of man that he should call back his word There is no lightness or inconstancy in him that there should be Yea and Nay in his Promises but they are all Yea and Amen Thy heart can tell thee thou hast often broken Vow and Promise with him and dealt unfaithfully in his Covenant but do not offer him that indignity in addition to all thy other injuries as to measure him by thy self

together Thirdly for the order why Patience first and before Consolation Five in all somewhat of each 11. The former Title is the God of Patience Which may be understood either Formaliter or Causaliter either subjectively or effectively as they use to distinguish Or if these School-terms be too obscure then in plain terms thus either of Gods patience or Ours That is to say either of that patience which God useth towards us or of that patience which God by his grace and holy Spirit worketh in us Of Gods patience and long-suffering to us-ward besides pregnant testimony of Scripture we have daily and plentiful experience How slowly he proceedeth to Vengeance being so unworthily provoked how he beareth with our Infirmities Infirmities yea and Negligences too yea and yet higher our very Presumptions and Rebellions how he spreadeth out his hand all the day long waiting day after day year after year for our conversion and amendment that he may have mercy upon us And even thus understood Subjectivè the Text would bear a fair construction and not altogether impertinent to the Apostles scope It might at least intimate to us this that finding so much patience from him it would well become us also to shew some patience to our brethren But yet I conceive it more proper here to understand it effectivè of that Patience which is indeed from God as the Cause but yet in us as the Subject Even as a little after Verse 13. he is called the God of Hope because it is he that maketh us to abound in Hope as the reason is there expressed And as here in the Text he is stiled the God of Consolation for no other reason but that it is he that putteth comfort and chearfulness into our hearts 12. It giveth us clearly to see what we are of our selves and without God nothing but heat and impatience ready to vex our selves and to fly in the faces of our brethren for every trifle You have need of Patience saith the Apostle Heb. 10. We have indeed God help us 1. We live here in a vale of misery where we meet with a thousand petty crosses and vexations quotidianarum molestiarum minutiae in the common road of our lives poor things in themselves and as rationally considered very trifles and Vanity yet able to bring Vexation upon our impatient spirits we had need of patience to digest them 2. We are beset surrounded with a world of temptations assaulting us within and without and on every side and on every turn we had need of Patience to withstand them 3. We are exposed to manifold Injuries Obloquies and Sufferings many times without cause it may be sometimes for a good cause we had need of Patience to bear them 4. We have many rich and precious Promises made us in the Word of Grace of Glory of Outward things of some of which we find as yet but slender performance and of other some but that we are sure the anchor of our hope is so well fixt that it cannot fail no visible probability of their future performance we had need of patience to expect them 5. We have many good duties required to be done of us in our Christian Callings and in our particular vocations for the honour of God and the service of our brethren we had need of patience to go through with them 6. We have to converse with men of different Spirits and Tempers some hot fiery and furious others flat fullen and sluggish some unruly some ignorant some proud and scornful some peevish and obstinate some toyish fickle and humorous all subject to passions and infirmities in one kind or other we had need of patience to frame our conversations to the weaknesses of our brethren and to tolerate what we cannot remedy that by helping to bear each others burdens we may so fulfil the Law of Christ. 13. Great need we have of Patience you see and my Text letteth us see where we have to serve our need God is the God of patience in him and from him it is to be had but not elsewhere Whenever then we find our selves ready to fret at any cross occurent to revenge every injury to rage at every light provocation to droop at the delay of any promise to slugg in our own performances to skew at the infirmities of others take we notice first of the impatience of our own spirits and condemn it then hie we to the fountain of grace there beg for patience and meekness and he that is the God of patience will not deny it us That is the former Title the God of Patience 14. The other is The God of Consolation And the reason is for this can be understood no otherwise than Effective because sound comfort is from God alone I even I am he that comforteth you saith he himself Isa. 51. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me saith David Psal. 23. And the Prophets often The Lord shall comfort Sion The Holy Ghost is therefore called as by his proper Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Comforter Yea perhaps as one among many others or allowing the Greek Article his Emphasis as the chiefest of all the rest which hindereth not but there may be other Comforters besides though haply of less Excellency If there were no more in it but so and the whole allegation should be granted it should be enough in wisdom to make us overlook all them that we might partake of his comforts as the best But in truth the Scriptures so speak of God not as the chiefest but as the only Comforter admitting no partnership in this prerogative Blessed be God c. The Father of Mercies and the God of Consolation 15. May we not then seek for comfort may some say nay do we not sometimes find comfort in Friends Riches Reputation and such other regular pleasures and delights as the creatures afford Verily under God we may always and do sometimes reap comfort from the creatures But those Comforts issue still from him as from the first and only sufficient cause Who is pleased to make use of his Creatures as his instruments either for comfort correction or destruction as seemeth good in his own Eyes When they do supply us with any comfort it is but as the conduit-pipes which serve the offices in a great house with water which yet springeth not from them but is only by them conveyed thither from the foundation or spring-head Set them onc● against God or do but take them without God you may as soon squeeze water out of a flint-stone or suck nourishment out of a dry breast as gain a drop of comfort from any of the Creatures Those supposed comforts that men seek for or think they have sometimes found in the Creatures are but titular and imaginary not substantial and real Comforts And such however we esteem of them onward they will appear to be at the last for they will certainly fail us in the Evil day