Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	abound_v	grace_n	zion_n	39	3	8.7711	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09365	The whole treatise of the cases of conscience distinguished into three bookes: the first whereof is revised and corrected in sundrie places, and the other two annexed. Taught and deliuered by M. W. Perkins in his holy-day lectures, carefully examined by his owne briefes, and now published together for the common good, by T. Pickering Bachelour of Diuinitie. Whereunto is adioyned a twofold table: one of the heads and number of the questions propounded and resolued; another of the principall texts of Scripture vvhich are either explaned, or vindicated from corrupt interpretation.; Cases of conscience	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Pickering, Thomas, d. 1625.	1606 (1606)	STC 19669; ESTC S114066	314,224	686

which is the cause of this violent distresse And here we are to know by the way that it is an vsuall thing with the parties thus distressed to dissemble and cloake their sinnes and therefore they will alleadge that their trouble ariseth from some euill thoughts from wicked affections and from the corruption of nature whereas commonly men are not distressed in violent manner for euill thoughts affections c. but the violent distresse commeth from so●…e actuall and odious sinne or sinnes done which wound the conscience and are the causes of great distraction of minde and they are many which hauing bin vpon occasion before rehearsed I will not now repeat them Onely this must be remembred that the greater sinns against the third sixt and seuenth commandements are the maine and proper causes of violent distresses and the more secret the sinne is in regard of the practise thereof the greater horror of Conscience it bringeth and open offences doe not giue so deepe a wound vnto it as secret and hidden sinnes Secōdly the particular sinne being known Inquirie must be made as much as possibly may be by signes whether the partie distressed repenteth yea or no. For except he hath repented he cannot be fitted to receiue comfort vnlesse he be first fitted to receiue cōfort he cannot be releeued in Conscience Now if it be found that the partie hath repented then care must be had in the next place that his repentance may be renued for the particular sinne committed Thirdly hauing thus done the comfort must be ministred for the moderating or taking away of the distresse And here remember by the way that the comforts ministred vsually and ordinarily must not goe alone but be mingled and tempered with some terrors of the Law that beeing thereby feared with the consideration of sinne and of the wrath of God due vnto the same the comfort may appeare to be the sweeter The ministring whereof in case of this distresse would not be direct and present but by certaine steppes and degrees except onely in the point of death for then a directer course must be vsed These degrees are two First the partie is to be informed of a possibilitie of pardon that is that his sinnes are pardonable and though in themselues they be great and hainous yet by the mercie of God in Christ they may be remitted Now put the case that the afflicted apprehendeth onely the odiousnesse of his sinnes and the wrath of God due to the same and in this fitte puts off the pardon from himselfe and cannot be perswaded that his sinne may be forgiuen what then is to be done Ans. Then for the effecting of this first degree certaine Grounds are to be laid downe whereupon assurance in that case may be built vp in his heart The first Ground of possibilitie of pardon is That the mercie of God is infinite yea ouer all his works Psal. ●45 9. That the death of Christ is of infinite price merit and value before God That God is much in sparing Isa. 55. 7. That with the Lord is mercie and with him is plenteous redemption Psal. 130. 7. That Christs satisfaction is not onely a price but a counterprice 1. Tim. 2. 6. able to satisfie for the sinnes of all men yea for them that haue sinned against the holy Ghost For that sinne is not therefore vnpardonable because the offence thereof is greater then the merit of Christ but because th● partie offending neither doth nor can applie the merit of Christ vnto himselfe An ancient father vpon Cains wordes My punishment is greater then I can beare saith Thou liest Cain for Gods mercie is greater then the sinnes of all men The mercie of God was very great to Manasses to Salomon to Peter and to many others though they were great offenders The second Ground Men of yeares liuing in the Church of God and knowing the doctrine of saluation shall not be condemned simply for their sinnes but for lying in their sinnes Vpon this ground I say that men distressed must be grieued not so much for committing of sinne as for lying and continuing in sinnes committed A third Ground It pleaseth God many times to leaue men to themselues and to suffer them to commit some sinne that woundeth conscience It is true and cannot be denied But we must withall remember that sinnes committed doe not vtterly take away grace but rather make it the more to shine and shew it selfe For God in mercie turneth all things euen sinne it selfe to the good of them that be his and therefore sinne committed cannot either waste or extinguish grace receiued but by diuine dispensation serueth to amplifie and inlarge the same so as where sinne aboundeth there grace aboundeth much more Rom. 5. 20. And the Lord saide to Paul beeing in great extremitie 2. Cor. 12. 9. My grace is sufficient for thee for my power is made perfect through weakenes Hence it appeareth that the grace of God is not vtterly lost but appeareth liuely in the time of distresse The fourth Ground is this The promises of God touching remission of sinnes and life eternall in respect of beleeuers are generall and in regard of all and euery man indefinite that is they doe not define or exclude any person or any sinner or any time onely they admit one exception of finall impenitencie Here a question may be mooued How long he that ministreth comfort must stand vpon the possibilitie of pardon I answer vntill he hath brought the partie distressed to some measure of true repentance and this beeing done then he is to proceede to the second degree of comfort The Second degree of comfort is to teach that the sinne or sinnes of the partie distressed are indeede pardoned But it may be asked vpon what signes may this comfort be applyed I answer vpon these two First if the partie distressed confesse that he or shee is heartily grieued that by their sinne or sinnes they haue offended so louing and so mercifull a God Secondly if they professe that they desire with all their heart to be reconciled vnto God in Christ and at least doe desire to repent for their sinnes and withall doe carrie in heart a purpose to sinne no more but in all things as much as in them lieth to performe new obedience vnto god Luc. 15. 11. c. Now for the better enforcing of this comfort some textes of Scripture fitting this purpose must be rehearsed a● for example Matth. 9. 12 13. I came not to call the righteous that is to say those that iudge themselues righteous but sinners that is those which are grieued because in their owne conscience they are vile and hainous offenders to repentance Againe Matth 11. 28. Come vnto me all ye that are wearie and heauie laden and I will refresh you And Christ saith it was the end of his cōming to preach deliuerance to the captiues and to set at libertie them that are bruised Luk. 4. 18. To

named vnlesse the naming of them tend to the reproouing further condemning of them much lesse may they be represented for the causing of mirth and pastime For naming is farre lesse then representing which is the reall acting of the vice Indeed Magistrates Ministers may name them but their naming must be to punish and reforme them not otherwise Againe it is vnseemely that a man should put on the person behauiour and habite of a woman as it is also for a woman to put on the person behauiour and habite of a man though it be but for an houre The law of God forbiddes both Deut. 22. 3. And that law for equitie is not meerely iudiciall but morall Nay it is the law of nature and common honesty Here also the dauncing vsed in these daies is to be reprooued namely the mixed dauncing of men and weomen in number measure specially after solemne feasts with many lascivious gestures accompanying the same which cannot nor ought to be iustified but condemned For it is no better then the very bellowes of lust and vncleanes yea the cause of much euill It is condemned in the daughter of Herodias dauncing before Herod Mark 6. 22. And in the Israelites that sat downe to eat and drinke and rose vp to play that is to daunce We read indeed of a kind of dauncing commended in Scripture that Moses Aaron and Miriam vsed at the redde sea Exod. 15. 20. And David before the Arke 1. Sam. 18. And the daughters of Israel when Dauid gotte the victorie of Goliah 2. Sam. 6. 14. But this dauncing was of another kind For it was not mixt but single men together and women apart by themselues They vsed not in their dauncing wanton gestures and amorous songs but the Psalmes of praise and thanksgiuing The cause of their dauncing was spirituall ioy and the end of it was praise and thanksgiuing It may be alleadged that Ecclesiastes saith There is a time of mourning and a time of dauncing Eccl. 3. And Dauid saith Thou hast turned my ioy into dauncing Psal. 30. 1● And the Lord saith in Ieremie O daughter Sion thou shalt got forth with the daunce of them that reioyce Ier. 31. 4. I answer first these places speake of the sacred dauncing before named and not of the dauncing of our times Secondly I say that these places speake not of dauncing properly but of reioycing signified by dauncing that is to say a heartie reioycing or merrie-making Besides that the Prophet Ieremie speaks by way of comparison as if he should say Then shall the Virgin reioyce as men are woont to doe in the duin●● And it is sometimes the vse of the Scripture to expresse things lawfull by a comparison drawne from things vnlawfull as in the Parables of the vnrighteous Iudge the vniust Steward and the theefe in the night The third Conclusion We may not make recreations of Gods iudgements or of the punishments of sinne The Law of God forbiddes vs to lay a stumbling blocke before the blind to cause him to fall though it be not done in earnest but in sport Leuit. 19. 14. Vpon the same ground we are not to sport our selues with the follie of the naturall foole For that is the blindnes of his minde and the iudgement of God vpon him I know it hath beene the vse of great men to keepe fooles in their houses And I dare not condemne the fact For they may doe it to set before their cies a daily spectacle of Gods iudgement and to consider how God in like sort might haue dealt with them And this vse is Christian. Neuerthelesse to place a speciall recreation in the follie of such persons and to keepe them onely for this ende it is not laudable When Dauid fained himselfe to be madde before Achish the King of Gath marke what the Heathen King could say Haue I neede of madde men that ye haue brought this fellow to play the madde man in my presence Shall he come into my house 1. Sam. 21. 15. Againe the Bayting of the Beare and Cockefights are no meete recreations The baiting of the Bull hath his vse and therefore it is commanded by ciuill authoritie and so haue not these And the Antipathie and crueltie which one beast sheweth to another is the fruit of our rebellion against God and should rather mooue vs to mourne then to reioyce The Second answer to the former Question is this Games may be deuided into three sorts Games of wit or industry games of hazard and a mixture of both Games of wit or industrie are such as are ordered by the skil and industry of man Of this sort are Shooting in the long bow Shooting in the caleeuer Running Wrastling Fensing Musicke the games of Chests and draughts the Philosophers game and such like These and all of this kind wherein the industry of the mind body hath the chiefest stroke are very commendable and not to be disliked Games of hazard are those in which hazard onely beares the sway and orders the game and not witte wherein also there is as we say chance yea meere chance in regard of vs. Of this kind is Dicing and sundry games at the Tables Cardes Now games that are of meere-hazard by the consent of godly Divines are vnlawfull The reasons are these First games of meere hazard are indeede lo●s and the vse of a lot is an act of religiō in which we referre vnto God the determination of things of moment that can no other way be determined For in the vse of a lotte there be foure things The first is a casuall act done by vs as the casting of the Die The second is the applying of this acte to the determination of some particular controversie the ending whereof maintaines peace order and loue among men The third is confession that God is a soueraigne iudge to end and determine things that can no other way be determined The fourth is supplication that Go● would by the disposition of the lotte when it is cast determine the euent All these actions are infolded in the vse of a lotte and they are expressed Act. 1. ver 24. 25. 26. Now then seeing the vse of a lotte is a solemne act of religiō it may not be applied to sporting as I haue shewed in the first conclusion Secondly such games are not recreations but rather matter of stirring vp troblesome passions as feare sorrow c. and so they distemper the body and mind Thirdly covetousnes is commonly the ground of them all Wherevpon it is that men vsually play for mony And for these causes such plaies by the consent of learned Divines are vnlawfull The third kind of plaies are mixt which stand partly of hazard and partly of witte in which hazard beginnes the game and skil gets the victorie and that which is defectiue by reason of hazard is corrected by witte To this kind are referred some games at the cards and tables Now the common opinion of learned Divines is