Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	able_a	great_a	zion_n	104	3	8.9113	4	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33955	A cordiall for a fainting soule, or, Some essayes for the satisfaction of wounded spirits labouring under severall burthens in which severall cases of conscience most ordinary to Christians, especially in the beginning of their conversion, are resolved : being the summe of fourteen sermons, delivered in so many lectures in a private chappell belonging to Chappell-Field-House in Norwich : with a table annexed, conteining the severall cases of conscience which in the following treatise are spoken to directly or collaterally / preached and now published ... by John Collings.	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1649 (1649)	Wing C5305; ESTC R24775	174,484	300

as every thing that hangeth upon a pin or a peg is as sure as the pin or peg on which it hangeth So that soule that hangs upon the mercy and Free-grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rocky promises of salvation is as sure as the promise c. And thus I think I have sufficiently cleared the first thing that a Christian may have a true saving Faith yea and such a one as shall be strong and certain both in respect of the object and event that yet hath not this sublime act of Faith which is assurance I hasten to a second conclusion and all the rest of my Propositions with respect to a full perswasion that our sins already are actually and formally pardoned 2. Conclus Thy Assurance and perswasion that thy sins are pardoned may be a true perswasion and assurance though but weak or to speak more properly you may have this reflex act of faith and be perswaded that your sins are pardoned and this perswasion may be a true reflex act of faith and yet not constant in degrees Sometimes it may be weaker sometimes stronger I call the weakest perswasion wrought in the soul that its sins are pardoned a reflex act of faith for I doe not think that it is a piece of Faith necessary to the justification of a soule that it should believe that its sinnes are really and actually pardoned though it be a beame of grace that the soule should love and look after more then the world and it is and ought to bee more pretious to a believing soule then all the rocks of gold or mountaines of silver or beds of spices or ten thousand rivers of oyle yet I say I doe not take it to be an act of justifying Faith but of the justifyed soule Now this may be true in the soule though it be sometimes weaker and sometimes stronger That soule that all times is perswaded that its sins are pardoned and actually remitted is not alwayes a like perswaded of it It is a beame of Gods manifestative love which admirs of degrees Now as upon the earth in the day time there is alwayes some light though through some interpositions of clouds the light is not alwayes alike so in Christians that the Lord hath brought to this degree that they doe really believe that their sinnes are pardoned though through the sun-shines of Gods manifestative love upon their soules they for the most part think so yet they are not alwayes alike perswaded of it I doe verily believe that David generally was in this temper and who so peruses his pretious book of Psalmes will finde that he takes the pardon of sinnes for granted yet who so againe peruses the severall Psalms will easily perceive that Davids perswasion was not alwayes alike as any one may see by comparing Psal 6. and Psal 41. vers 11. you shall finde him in some Psalmes altogether singing and praysing and triumphing not a mention of a teare but in others declaring perswasion yet wants expressing confidence yet teares as in that sixth Psalme vers 1. 2 3 4. compared with vers 9. Sometimes the heavens are so cleare to gracious soules that the shinings of grace dazzle their soules so much that nothing will satisfie them but heaven Now Lord let thy servant depart in peace O that now I might dye and be incorporated into glory they are so wrapt into the third heavens that they cannot speak their joy another while it is lower water with their soules the Moones influence is not as it was David I am confident would have beene glad of an errand to have sent him out of the world to heaven Psal 34. But the good man again in the 39 Psalm prayes as heartily for his life as any poore wretch could have done that lay under an apprehension of a past sentence in hell against him 1 Pet. 1. 8. we read of a rejoycing with which believers should rejoyce even with joy unspeakable but there was not such a constant overflowing and full tide of joy alwayes sure It is a sure note that manifestative love hath its degrees and it is from a strong influence of Gods manifestative love to the soule that the soule hath such a perswasion now had I leasure I might at large here tell you at what times commonly the spring-tide of assurance flowes highest and on the contrary what may make the apprehension weaker and at what times it is ordinarily most weak 1. Commonly just upon Gods return after a long desertion and sad expectation the souls assurance is very great and its perswasion very high God turns mid-night into mid-day The soule then brings the Lord Jesus Christ into her mothers house into the chambes of her that conceived her commonly when the husband comes home after a long absence and long expectation more then ordinary tokens of love and passages of love are discerned betwixt him and the wife of his bosome Christ comes in then to make amends for his frowns and lowrings with the sweetest kisses and imbraces Mid-winter is turned into a Mid-sommer this you shall finde constantly in Davids Psalmes and so on the contrary when the soule is under desertions if there bee left yet a perswasion that though God doth hide his face yet hee doth not hide his heart yet it is but a weak and just living perswasion 2. And commonly at greatest distresse God comes in with strongest perswasions and fullest assurance as when the Christian is cal'd to Martyrdom or cal'd to dye or cal'd to do any great services that it distrusts its own strength and is ready to feare of faint that nothing but the most reviving quick and hot cordiall water can keep the soule cleane and able to undergoe that great and extraordinary service that God cals for at his hands ordinarily now at such times the Lord is pleased to come in with a fulnesse into the soul It was but yesterday you heard by my Reverend Brother that ordinarily God comes in with sighes which are evidences to sence when the soule is in greatest streights and we shall finde that Gods promise made to Abraham was often renewed to him and to Isaac and to Iacob but the diligent Reader shall observe that God pickt out that time or those times when he called his Saints to some hard work in doing of which their hearts might sink concerning the Lords promise The originall promise was in Gen. 12. 7. it was renewed to him chap. 13. v. 15. when he was to goe out of the land he scarce knew whither and leave it to others to possesse and to Isaac when he went to Gerar Gen. 26. 4. and to Iacob going down to Egypt Gen. 46. 4. At such times the children of God are to doe double work and had need of double strength and so a double subsistence when Eliah was to go in the strength of his meat forty dayes he had need eat a good meale the Angel therefore twice admonished him to arise and eat 1 Kings

yet at all times the soule may not be able to say this promise of Heaven and glory and happinesse belongs to me Psal 77. 7 8 9. Holy Asaph in a dark day with his soule may say Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Is his mercy cleane gone for ever Doth his promise faile for evermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies The reason lies not that the soule doubts of the truth of God in his promises at all no it verily thinketh that if it had fulfilled the conditions of the promises the promises would remaine to its soule as stedfast as Mount Sion but it cannot see that It looks upon its sinnes in a multiplying glasse and upon its repentance in a diminishing glasse Every mountaine of good in its selfe now seemes a Mole-hill and every Mole-hill of sinnes seemeth a Mountaine unto it Thence it is that in the soules dark day of afflictions in the soule or in a dark day of afflictions to the body the soules faith is weakned it is ready to look upon its great affliction as an evidence that it wanteth that interest in God which it should have to apply promises It sayes with Gideon Iudg. 6. 13. when the promise saith like the Angel The Lord is with thee it answers O my Lord if the Lord be with me why then is all this beâ—alne me and where be all his mercies no the Lord hath forsaken me and delivered me to the hand of Satan now the soule must not take a judgement of its faith from hence but appeale abanima perturbata ad animam quietam to a calm day in the soule again Lastly In dark times the truly beleeving soule though it can give no reason for it may not be able to rest and apply the most absolute peculiar promises as its peculiar portion this I shall fully make out by considering what is requisite to be in the soule that shall appropriate any promise to it selfe as its portion upon which it will live in which and upon which it will dwell The Eleventh SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith I Am still treating concerning those doubts and weaknesses which may and often doe consist with true saving faith in a gracious soule My last Proposition I left imperfect it was as you may remember this That a gracious soule may truly rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ and upon his promises for eternall life and yet not be able at all times fully and truely to appropriate and peculiarize all the promises to its self This I shewed in foure Propositions premising first a distinction of promises and secondly a distinction of times my last Proposition was this That in dark times a truly gracious soule may not be able to rest upon and apply the most absolute free promises for salvation so far as to say These promises are my portion To make out this I told you I would shew you what things are requisite to be in the soule that shall appropriate any promise to it selfe as its particular portion whiâ—h is the work at which I then stopt and which I have now to take up for here is the busines with troubled spirits tell them of large absolute free promises as say they here are jewels in boxes but these belong not to us they are not our portion and from hence further they conclude that they have not any true faith because they have not for the present a particular full power to apply these promises as plaisters to their wounded soules and rest upon them but yet I shall shew you the want of this doth not null our faith and is not alwayes a negation of it I conceive there are three things that are requisite to be found in the soule that shall be able to apply any particular promise to its selfe as its portion 1. A cleare understanding of the Promise 2. A cleare understanding of its own condition 3. A mighty and particular working of the Spirit of God upon the soule inabling the souâ—e to make such particular application First There must be a cleare understanding of the Promise the promise must appear to the soule as a salve having a full efficacie and vertue in it for the healing of its sore otherwise the soule can never apply it now it may possibly be that thy non-application of the promise may proceed from thy not understanding the vertue or misunderstanding the intent and end and power and efficacie of the promise possibly thou mayest understand the promise to be made particular when it is propounded generall and such have I my selfe sometimes met with that being under afflictions of spirit when I have propounded a promise to them as a salve fit for their sore they have evaded that way Ah! but that promise was made to the Iewes or to such or to such a particular person it was a plaister spread for anothers wound and what have I to doe to lay hold on it Or it was not made for such a sinner as I am not for a backslider not for such an hard hearted wretch as I am c. and with such cavils have stood at a distance from the promise crying It is not meet that the childrens bread should be given to dogs or perhaps their non-application may proceed from a misunderstanding of the matter of the promises Now for this thou must cleare up thy understanding in the nature of the promise both in respect of the persons to whom it is made and in respect of the matter of the promise and for the more cleare and full understanding of the promise I shall give a rule or two The first is remarkable I find it in a reverend Author which I shall deliver in his words with a little limitation thus Generall promises for spirituall mercies are alwayes to be applyed particularly and particular promises for spirituall and temporall mercies are to be applyed generally I call those generall promises which are either made to Gods people in generall or concerning spirituall things in generall as for example God had made a generall promise to any that should pray toward his Temple 1 King 8. 37. 40. Iehosaphat being after in distresse 1 King 8. 3â— 40. applyed this generall promise to his owne particular condition 1 Chron. 20. 8. 10. 1 Chron. 20 8. 10. And without question it was from a particular faith in this generall promise that Daniel prayed with his windowes open towards Hierusalâ—m Dan. 6. 10. Dan. 6. 10. and so for those promises which are made to the people of God for spirituall mercies in generall Psa 84. 11. such is that promise Psal 84. 11. He will give grace and glory and no good thing will be with-hold from them that live uprightly ought to be applyed for any spirituall good thing Iam. 1. 12. or particular dispensation of grace So the Apostle Iames 1. 12. would have the

as crimson they shall be as wooll But now the Christian not clearly understanding the nature and vertue of these promises cannot make a particular application of them to its soule it stands off and cannot make a particular application Alas saith the Christian these are made upon condition of a wearinesse and an heavy load of hungring and thirsting of comming of washing and cleansing of putting away the evil of my doings of ceasing to do evil and learning to do well Hard sayings Who can heare them I cannot get my heart to hunger and thirst I cannot get my heart to be weary and heavy laden A Leopard can as well cleanse himselfe of spots and an Ethiopian as well wash away the blacknesse of his skin as I can wash my black soule c. One that hath no legs can as well walk to Rome as I can come to Christ But know Christian thy particular applying faith here is hindered by a meer misunderstanding of the promise for though those promises require conditions yet they require not conditions to he fulfilled in thy strength but those required conditions are as well parts and branches of the free covenant of Grace as those promises which thou desirest to apply therefore you shall find promises for the fulfilling those conditions in thy soul God requires a wearines of sin and a loathing of sin and a sorrow for sin as a condition Mat. 11. 29. Is 55 1 3. God promiseth to give this self abhorring frame of Spirit and to work this loathing in his peoples soules Ezek. 6 9 20 43. 36. chap. 31. Zach. 12. 10. God requires washing and cleansing as a condition Isa 1 16. â—7 18. He hath promised to work this in the soule Christ tels Peter he would do it â—oh 13. 8. And David prayes that God would do it for him Psal â—1 2. 7. which prayer was grounded upon a promise and this washing is attributed to God as the working of his spirit Isa 4. 4. v. When the Lord shall â—ave washed away the filth of the daughteâ—s of Sion and shalt have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgement and the spirit of burning God requires turning and comming and learning and leaving sin as a condition but he hath promised to fulfill these Hosea 14. 8. but he hath said none can come unlesse the Father draw him Ioh. 6. 44. and the Spouse without question grounding her prayer on a promise saith draw me Cant. 1. 5. He hath required turning as a condition Ezek. 33. 11. Ier. 3. 14. but he hath promised to work this in the soule Mat. 4. 6. and upon this the Church prayes Ier. 31. 18. Turn thou me and I shall be turned So that this is a certaine rule God requires no condition of a promise which he hath not promised to fulfill in us And whatsoever spirituall action is anywhere required of us as a duty he hath somewhere promised to bestow upon us as a dispensation of free Grace Therefore I would have the soule in such a condition when it stumbles at the condition of a promise seek out those promises where God promiseth to fulfill those conditions in it and particularly apply them and rely upon God for making them good and direct its prayers accordingly So I have done with the first thing required in the Soule for the particular application of the promises viz. a cleare understanding of the promises for which I have given three Rules Now in regard that at all times there may be in a true beleeving soule a clear understanding of the promises I conclude there may be true faith in the soule that at all times cannot make a particular Application But I hasten to The second thing which is requisite in that soule that doth truly rely or that can particularly apply the promises and that is a cleare understanding of its own condition for how can I truly and particularly apply a promise to the wound of my Soule when I do not understand truly what wound my soule hath Now a true believing soule may have a very false estimate of its own condition Thus had David and Asaph and the Church they thought they were cast off Psal 43. 2. Psal 44. 9. Psal 60. 1. Psal 7â— 1. 77 7 89 38. Now if I think that a part of my body is gangrened I will never apply Physick to it because I know it is in vaine so so long as the Soule conceives that its condition is irrecoverable its sins unpardonable that applying promises to it is but applying warm clothes to a dead man it will never apply Now such a temper may be in the beleeving Soule occasioned by the violent temptations of Sathan by dark clouds of melancholy or the like it apprehends its sinns nor pardonable or at least not pardonable as yet to the soule O! sayes the soule I have sinned against the holy Ghost what good will it do to me to apply promises I am dammed It is a temptation which Sathan ordinarily first or last troubles beleeving soules with I have answered that case of Conscience particularly and therefore shall not enter into a particular discourse of it now Now till the soule be brought so farr truly to understand its own condition that its wounds are curable and to cry unto God for the healing and cure of them it cannot be expected that it should particularly apply any Promises as plâ—isters for the healing and in regard I say that there may be some misjudging of the soules true estate in a gracious soule there may also be a want of this peculiar faith It is true it is given by all sober Divines as the least degree of Faith to beleeve that my sins are pardonable and to run and fly and cry unto God for a pardon of them but yet through the distemperature of the soule even this thing that the soules sins are pardonable which is generally beleeved and is the soules foundation upon which ground it humbles it self and cries and prayes may not be beleeved by the soule that yet hath true Faith or at least beleeved very darkly and with a great deale of doubting The third and last thing which I will instance in which must be found in that soule that shall particularly apply a generall promise as its particular portion is a constant wonderfull working of the powerfull Spirit of God upon the soule For let a soule never so truly understand its own condition and never so truly understand the vertue of the promise and never so fully conceive that the promises have an adequate proportionable vertue for the healing of its particular wounds yet unlesse the spirit of God by a wonderfull powerfull worke of grace doth lay the salve upon the sore and apply the promise unto the soule it cannot be done as it is with a man that hath lost his hands or the use of them and suppose him to have a sorein his back let him never so truly understand the

of the water of life freely with many such more not as if man could fulfill these conditions in the soule and prepare his owne heart No we abhorre that Popish doctrine though some falsly charge us with it But because Christ wil fulfill them before he bestowes those higher degrees of mercy and favour upon them he will make the soul hunger and thirst before hee will let it know it shall live Is 55 1. and give it power to come unto him Mat. 11. 9. hee will make the soule weary and heavie laden with sin before he will give the soule power to rely upon him comfortably for salvation â—zek 11. 19. He will take away the heart of stone out of the soule and give it an heart of flesh before he will give it power to walk in his statutes and keep his ordinances and do them before he will let it know that he is its God and that it is Gods chosen vessell And thus I have shewed you the distinction of promises and what we shall conclude from hence for our purpose I will shew you by and by when I have done with the distinction of times which I come to The Soule hath its winter and summer 2 Distinction its cloudy and black dayes and its lightsome and glaring dayes First it hath its lightsome summer Sun shine dayes when it is not conscious 1. Of any great sinne committed against knowledge such as Tertullian calls Peccata devorantia salutem Sinnes that swallow up heaven and salvation in the soule 2. When it hath no naturall distempers of body no cloudy melancholy vapours for the soule being to act through the body doth something suffer by it and as it is with a man that looks at the reflection of his face in a glasse if there be a wetnesse or dust upon the glasse he cannot see clearly So the soule if there be a mist or dust of melancholy oppresses the body the soule cannot see and act clearly Or 3. When the body is not under some harsh affliction for the soule sympathiâ—eth with the body and in its acting through the organs of it shewes the affection that it hath with the bodies sufferings and so also there are black and dark dayes for as it is summer time with the soule and day-light when it is not sad and darkned with desertion and when the body is not oppressed with melancholly or affliction or persecution So on the contrary it is winter and a dark time with the soule when the soule hath sinned some great sinne for which the soule looks up trembling to God and looks upon him as an angry revengefull God or when the body is heavy and oppressed with melancholy vapours stopping the passages of the soule or under heavy and grievous affliction that it is born down even to a back-breaking under them even as it is with a fountaine that runs through Conduit-pipes of lead c. or wood into any house if the fountaine be dirty and muddy in it self dirty water comes into the house or if the Conduit-pipes through which it passeth be dirty and tainted the water bringeth the pollution and tang of bitternesse c. that was in the pipe into the house otherwise if both the fountaine be cleare and sweet and the Conduit-pipes be not stopped nor tainted nor dirty then ã€ˆâ—Šã€‰ water runs sweetly into the place to which the Pipes lead it So it is with the soule that is the fountaine that runs into acts but through the Conduit-pipes of the body if the pipes be stopt or oppressed or muddy or cleare such is the actings of the soule And thus I have shewed you the distinctions both of times and promises now I shall conclude the truth of this proposition in some four or five Conclusions First of all Particular promises must not be expected to be peculiarized we may not expect that those promises which were made to the people of the Jewes in particular should be made good to us because they had promises to be delivered out of Babylon and Egypt at such a prefixt time it were madnesse in us to beleeve that the Church of God should be now delivered just after 70. years or 400. years and so likewise what promises were made to any particular persons amongst the Jewes as for any now to apply that promise made to Hezekiah I will adde to thy life 15. years I think we have a rule here in Land That if an inheritance be intailed by name it cannot be translated to any other these promises were entail'd by name these thou canst not nay oughtst not to apply they are not a portion by thy father design'd for thee Secondly It may possibly be that in some times thou mayest not be able to appropriate the temporall promises that God hath made to his children amongst which thou art included 1. In the darke time of want and penury to beleeve for bread to eate when I see none like to come O it is hard feeding upon Scripture leaves I shewed you this the last day 't is nothing to doe it or at least to think we doe it in times of prosperity Habakuks faith Hab. 3. 17. was an hard faith though it were a strong and precious one 2. In the dark time of desertions It is hard as I shall shew you by and by to apply those promises that are of neerest concernment to our salvation much more those which are at so remote a distance 3. In a time when melancholy dark cloudy vapours of the body cast a wist before the soules eye and will not give it leave to act clearly 4. In a time when the soule hath sinned thou mayest not fully rely and be so confident as before To peculiarize these promises I shewed you the ground of this before because though God hath promised that his Saints shall never eternally fall out of his favour yet he hath and will punish his Saints for sinne with the substraction of temporall favors as I shewed you before in the case of David and I take that to be an old Antinomian errour instead of a new truth That God doth not with temporall afflictions correctively punish his best servants for sin Lastly It doth not argue a nullity of faith and true saving faith at any time not to be able to appropriate outward temporall promises for although it is our duty to rely and depend upon all the promises yet if wee through infirmity be not able to rely upon these I conceive it doth not null the verity of our faith salvation being not the thing promised in these Thirdly For those that are conditionall promises in dark times the soule may not be able clearly and fully to apply them rest upon them and particularly apply them and yet at the same time truly dwell and rest upon them What spirituall promises are made conditionally in Scripture I have shewed you before now it may possibly be that even these though of great concernment to the soule

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