Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	abundance_n	peace_n	zion_n	29	3	8.7394	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66610	Totum hominis, or, The whole duty of a Christian, consisting in faith and good life abridged in certain sermons expounding Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians, Epist. 2, Chap. 1, Vers. 11, 12 / by the late reverend and worthy Mr. Samuel Wales ...	Wales, Samuel.; Wharton, Philip Wharton, Baron, 1613-1696.; Wharton, Thomas, Sir.	1681 (1681)	Wing W296; ESTC R41158	76,673	232

consequently the greater faith the more peace holiness strength comfort in afflictions who seeth not how needful it is that every Christian do chiefly and above all things desire the accomplishment of saith This discovers Vse 1 and reproves a great fault in some Christians who travel and take pains to increase knowledge sorrow for sin zeal to subdue and root out hypocrisie evil thoughts and lusts while the care of growing in Faith lies neglected or is superficially prosecuted fecondarily attended Alas do you not see my brethren I speak to such whom this point concerns that this is to begin at a wrong end as if a man should take Physick or apply Medicines for Stomach Eyes Legs Armes and be careless of the Vital Parts as the Heart and Liver or look well to the branches of a Plant and neglect the root Assure your selves the hand of Satan is in this matter who like a most subtil enemy when he cannot keep you now quickned with the life of God from seeking grace and working that which is good labors that you may seek and work preposterously and so without success or comfort doing any thing rather than that which chiefly and above all things should be done Wherefore Secondly Vse 2 let my counsel be acceptable to you as you labor to excel in every gvace so bend and apply your principal endeavours hither that you may flourish and a bound in this Cardinal Grace this Queen-Mother of graces which gives life to all other vertues and duties if ever you have tasted the sweetness and known the worth of Faith stir up your selves with an holy contention to aspire after a plenitude of Faith Why are we so shaken and disquieted when troubles yea rumors of troubles come so faint-hearted or dead in afflictions so oppressed sometimes with fears or fruitless pensiveness so burthned or distracted with want of this or that earthly blessing so weak in love to God in resisting our lusts in holy duties Why is there not as indeed there should such a light of heavenly joy and sanctity in our lives as might make the men of the world stand wondring at the glory of Christianity is it not want of this great faith this strong faith the Scripture commends Let us trace our own hearts and search the matter impartially and we shall find it to be so We all desire strong bodies strong houses firm evidences and Writings for money or land and shall we content our selues with a weak and wavering faith which will be dasht out of countenance with every doubt not labour for that stedfast and grounded assurance which will minister strong consolation It s a shame for us to be babes in faith who have so long enjoyed the means of faith We are now nearer our salvation than when we first believed and therefore should lay faster hold upon eternal life Little do we know what need we shall have of the strongest saith before we die Suppose we should be freed from outward trials the Devil will sift and winnow us and when that time comes the best of us shall find all the faith we have gotten little enough Besides oh the benefit of a manly and grown faith It s the crown and glory of a Christianity before Men and Angels it brings a man to know and enjoy a Heaven upon earth works for him wonderful things and incredible to reason fills the heart with such triumphant and glorious joy in tribulations as prophane men in all their wealth and prosperity never feel nor can possibly attain makes him conquer by suffering Wouldst thou gladly be broken-hearted humble patient heavenly minded Let faith have her perfect work and thou shalt be all these and more Gods yoke shall be sweet and easie to thee thy corruptions like Davids enemies shall fall under thy feet thou shalt chase and put to flight armies of temptations and lead about the roaring Lion in Triumph thou shalt behold God more neer and see him more clearly than many others when thou art weak thou shalt be strong when thou art poor thou shalt abound in darkness thou shalt see light and in the shadow of death find life eternal What could we want if we wanted not Faith how happy might we be if we were rich in Faith My exhortation therefore and earnest suit unto all Gods people is and shall be that they would not only strive to ferret insidelity out of their hearts and confirm Faith but seek and reach after the most excellent and eminent degree of Faith a powerful and victorious Faith carrying them far above the World in all conditions and labour by often chewing particular promises and meditation of their glorious hopes by praying earnestly with the Apostles Lord increase our faith by constant hanging upon the breasts of the Ministry coming to the word of faith with an eager appetite receiving it with application by keeping in memory and revolving the experience they have had of Gods Faithfulness and Mercy by fellowship with strong and experienced Christians exercising Faith in all occurrents and such like holy meanes labor I sy that the small grain of Faith which God hath sown in the soil of their Souls may grow up to a tall Tree whose height reacheth unto Heaven full of fair leaves nnd savoury Fruits yielding shade and shelter to many Blessed is he that heareth and keepeth for he provideth well for his Soul he shall sing when others sorrow stand when others stagger or fall the Lord shall reveal to him the abundance of peace and truth The Lord give us understanding in all things and perswade our hearts to the things which belong to our peace Thirdly I gather hence Vse 3 that Gods word doth warrant Christians to prize prefer respect Faith before all other Gifts which I note to let you see a difference betwixt Apostolical and Apostatical doctrine the spirit of Paul and the spirit of Papists for they depress the dignity of saith and extol charity and the works of charity far above it They teach that the Scripture when it hath to deal with men faithful and regenerate calls not for faith any longer but urgeth good workes they teach that true righteousness consisteth principally in charity that charity onely is the forme and Queen of vertues even of faith as if one should say the form of justice is temperance an habit distinct from it or motion the form of the spirits in our bodies prosound learning indeed by some of their own men disliked they teach that faith doth out only dispose us unto justification make us meet to receive grace and obtain Christs merits but charity alone sufficeth it to justification charity will purge away sin and deliver from the guilt of death eternal Who can endure to see the Daughter lift up above the Mother to hear the hand honoured above the heart But that such Divinity should come from Papists we shall think it less strange if we do but remember two things 1. That the Roman Synagogue

unworthy to be called or accounted our brethren in Christ who hearing of our afflictions would not afford us the help of their prayers Now this is a rule in the royal Law urged also by Christ himself whatsoever ye would that men should do to you do ye even so to them and that which is now their lot may be ours e're long we are subject to the same things they suffer Suppose we were out of all reach of gun-shot yet we are commanded to put our selves in their room and to be affected towards them as if their case were ours as if their afflictions were our own proper burden First then Vse 1 what manner of Christians are those who if they pray at all pray only for themselves many alas too many are of this mind may but they sit and walk in the warm Sun of prosperity sleep in a whole skin line themselves well with wordly wealth suck in the commodities of a fruitful and peaceable land let who will take thought for distressed Churches distressed Christians they will leave that to them who have little else to do To apply this somewhat more particularly We cannot be ignorant how diverse as dear to God as the best of us are at this day afflicted some pinched and pressed with penury some imprisoned some banished We have heard with our ears our neighbours have told us how some are spoiled of their goods houses children synagogues liberty of worshipping God purely their temple-songs turned into howlings some kept in sore bondage by hard cruel Lords mourning continually and drinking their own tears in abundance by reason of the oppression of the enemy and the avenger some given to be meat to the sword of the furious and sulphurous sons of Babylon who now is grieved for these breaches of Ioseph who lays them to heart the telling or hearing of these things may prove a pang of pity in us for the present but who cries earnestly to God for them who can say his soul bleeds in secret for Zions wounds and thirsts after the peace of her children as if they were his own natural parents and brethren that their miseries lie heavy upon his spirit that he bears them in his heart when he comes to God in prayer give me the man give me the man that I may pronounce him the blessed of the Lord yea one of 10000 who cannot take and find that contentment which otherwise he might and could in his own good fare quiet habitation commodious lodging sweet children to whom the best outward comforts are less pleasant and often sawced with sorrowful sighs because it goes not well with the people and Saints of the Most high Well we may here learn to judge of our selves if our houses our hearts afford no prayers for poor afflicted Christians Zeph. 3.18 if we be not sorrowful for the solemn assembly if the reproach of it be not a burden to us we are as far from a truly Christian disposition as they that are furthest dead lumps in the womb of the Church void of the spirit of Christ unworthy to be reckoned in the mystical body of Christ Secondly Vse 2 let us therefore make conscience of this duty let us never cease to commend unto the Lord his afflicted flock his peeled and persecuted people We ought to lay down our lives for them if God should call us thereunto and shall we be backward to lend them our prayers Is it likely we would spend our blood to do them good for whom we will not spend a few tears a little breath a few hearty desires and affectionate suits which we may do without hurt If the Jews in captivity must pray for the peace of heathenish Babylon how much more should the Israel of God for Jerusalem the City of God Is not the Christian Church the Spouse of Christ If we can see Christs own Spouse despightfully used trampled upon wounded and not be troubled not speak a good word for her how dare we say the love of Christ dwelleth in us The Lord no dobut hath just reasons within himself why as yet he sendeth not inlargement and deliverance to his Church but this freeth not them from blame who seeming and calling themselves the Churches chidren pray not at all or very coldly for the prosperity of their mother Nay I will say boldly this denying to help the Church against the enemy though they never conspired with the enemy makes them guilty in Gods sight of the Churches desolation as sure as he that looks on while a true man is rob'd and murthered and calls not for aid is accessary to the murther Wherefore let us now begin if hitherto we have been supine and careless and continue to be importunate petitioners for the faithful in misery oh let us double our importunity if it be possible giving the Lord no rest till he arise have mercy on Zion and stablish Jerusalem till he tread down her enemies as straw is trodden for the dunghil and raise up Carpenters which may fray and cast down the horns that have scattered Judah Zech. 1.21 that there may be no more a pricking briar to the house of Israel nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them that they may be no more a prey to the heathen but dwell safely and none may make them afraid Let us often set before our eyes their rueful condition think how many good things they want which we enjoy and how little worthy we are to enjoy what they want labour to be affected with a tender sense of their miseries that our hearts melting in compassion may send forth many zealous prayers the fruit and benefit whereof they whom we never knew never saw shall undoubtedly feel and reap in one kind or other The fourth point in order Interpretation is the ob●ect of Paul's invocation the Author of the blessings which are afterwards begged thus discribed our God that is the true God who generally is the God of the whole world The Lord of all the earth Zeck 6.5 the God of the Spirits of all flesh peculiarly of his own people Whence let us observe omitting all others only this Instruction The Lord is in special sort the God of the faithful Doctrine The godly and true believers have God to be theirs in a special manner He is my God my Fathers God Exod. 15.2 saith Moses this God is our God for ever and ever saith the Psalmist O Lord thou art my God saith the Prophet in the name of the Church The Lord my God shall come saith Zachary My God shall supply all your needs saith the Apostle And many such places there are through out the Scriptures For First Reason 1 he hath selected them out of the world and separated them from other people to be his peculiar people and embraceth them with such a love as he extendeth not to all Secondly Reason 2 he hath confirmed them to himself by making with them a