Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	christian_a	day_n	sabbath_n	12,184	5	9.9778	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76748	The grand triall of true conversion. Or, Sanctifying grace appearing and acting first and chiefly in the thoughts. A treatise wherein these two mysteries are opened. 1. The mystery of iniquity working in mans thoughts by corrupt nature. II. The mystery of holiness working in the thoughts of sanctified persons. Together with precious preservatives against evill thoughts. / By John Bisco, minister of the gospel in Thomas Southwarke.	Bisco, John, d. 1679.; S. S. Man in the moone discovering a word of knavery under the sunne.	1655 (1655)	Wing B2987; Wing S147B; Thomason E1620_1; Thomason E1620_2; ESTC R209672	192,198	465

wonderfull Psal 107. last works that God doth for the sons of men and to draw forth Divine meditations out of all Divine dispensations The mercies of God doe raise and occasion thankfull obedient Thoughts in their hearts 2 Gracious hearts doe extract humble meek submitting Thoughts out of 2 Sam. 16. 11. all sufferings crosses losses and reproaches that befall them What precious praisefull and contented Thoughts did Job raise out of his sufferings But Job Chap. 1. 2. carnall men extract Thoughts of discontent murmuring and complaint out of their sufferings 3 Grace teacheth the Saints to draw forth and distill holy spirituall and profitable Thoughts out of all Creatures that are presented to their eyes When they look up to the Heavens their hearts are raised to think of the infinite glory wisedome and power of God 2 When they see the Sun they think of the Sun of righteousnesse and his plenitude 3 When they behold fruitfull Trees they think of the Trees of righteousnesse that bring forth their fruit in due Psal 1. season 4 When they see springs of water they are drawne to think of the well of lives and water of life 5 When they look upon their daily bread they think of the bread of life 6 When they behold the grasse and flowers of the field they take occasion to consider the brevity and uncertainty of mans life 4 Sanctified persons doe strive to spiritualize all earthly sensible things in their Thoughts They make their fancy serviceable to them in spiritualls When fancy shall present earthly honours pleasures profits to their Thoughts they take advantage thereby to raise their hearts higher and to think thus with themselves What is this to the true honour to those enduring riches of glory and those Rivers of purest pleasures prepared in heaven A sanctified heart will make every Creature a ladder to heaven by extracting heavenly Thoughts It turnes earthly things into heavenly Meditations Here is a large field for our imagination to walk in with much spirituall gaine If a feast be so refreshing what is the continuall feast of a good conscience Pro. 15. 15. What are the spirituall revivements of the Gospel If the meeting of friends be so comfortable what will the meeting together of the Saints in heaven be If a dark Dungeon be so loathsome what is the eternall Dungeon of darknesse While we are in the body the soule hath not onely a necessary but a holy use of the fancy and of sensible things whereupon our imagination worketh What is the use of the Sacraments but to help our soules by our senses and our faith by imagination Sometimes the ministring of some excellent Thought from what we heare or see proves a great advantage of spirituall good to our soules Herein the power of sanctifying grace appears it makes our hearts fruitfull in these heavenly extractions All objects accidents ordinary occurencies and opportunities doe occasion holy usefull thoughts in sanctified soules 11 Renewing Grace inables us to discerne the various times and seasons of holy Thoughts and wisely to suite them thereunto Good Thoughts are then the fruits of Grace when they are seasonable and suitable to all occasions offered by God The dew of sanctifying Grace falling upon us doth sweetly season and soften our hearts and puts them into a true spirituall temper and then our Thoughts are active and addrest with holy affections to apply themselves to the condition of the times and variety of occasions offered for the advancement of Gods glory and the advantage of our owne soules As 1 In sad sorrowfull Times if Gods judgements be threatned out of the word or executed from heaven upon the Nation or place where we dwell When the Church wears her mourning Garment when iniquity blasphemy errors and damnable doctrines doe overflow throughout the Nation in such black and dismal days the thoughts of sanctified hearts are suited and sorted answerably they then willingly entertain Thoughts of sorrow and sadnesse trouble and trembling horrour and humiliation 2 In good and gladsome times when mercy and salvation are wisely and seasonably proclaimed out of the word of life when Divine truth hath a free passage spreads and prospers when the Churches of Christ are in peace and purity c. they are then full of lightsome joyfull and thankfull Thoughts But the Thoughts of formall Professors though they are fill'd with gladnesse or sadnesse according to the increase or decrease of their earthly comforts yet they are not much wrought upon by spirituall occurrences and occasions either by Nationall mercies or judgements either by the prospering of the Churches Cause and truth of Christ or by the abounding of error iniquity in the places where they dwell so they may be free from suffering in their owne persons and outward comforts and their private temporall felicity be not endangered by publick judgements their Thoughts continue dull and formall without any extraordinary impression 3 Grace formeth and frameth our thoughts suitable to that holy spirituall rest that we keep upon the Lords Day which is our Christian Sabbath This is a maine triall of the sanctification of our hearts sincerity of our thoughts when we doe carefully and cheerfully entertain and observe the holy Sabboth with a seasonable suitable frame of sanctified Thoughts 1 The sabbath-Sabbath-day is as it were the Fayre-day of the soul wherein it should furnish it selfe with new spirituall strength with more knowledge grace and comfort in Gods Ordinances 2 It is the spirituall Feast-day wherein our thoughts should feed and feast upon those glorious joyes heavenly pleasures and happy rest which never shall end upon the precious Promises of the Gospel Upon this holy resting day our Thoughts should be raised up to that rest of eternity that our soules and bodies shall enter into when we shall fully rest from all our labours troubles temptations and turmoiles when we shall sin no more and sorrow no more This is to spiritualize the Sabbath when our Thoughts doe solace and satiate themselves in God our Resting-place and in the Resting-place promised by God Sanctified persons doe not onely cease from doing their owne wayes and Isa 58. 13. seeking their owne wills and speaking a vaine word on that day but also in some good measure they make it the very delight of their hearts and the constant work of their thoughts to consecrate the Christian Sabbath as glorious to the Lord. They doe not onely give rest to their bodies from worldly businesse and servile works of their calling but also they empty their hearts and disburden their Thoughts of all earthly cares that so they may wholly attend and entertaine the holy motions of Gods spirit and spend their Thoughts in holy extraordinary meditations suiting the holy Feast-day of their soules I grant that the holiest men living come short of that height of thought-holinesse and uprightnesse that the Royall Law requires But 1 It is the purpose bent and longing desire of their

hearts to keep the Lords day holy in all their Thoughts their aime is to order every Thought according to the Law of the Christian Sabbath 2 They cry unto God to fill and sanctifie their Thoughts 3 They doe earnestly endeavour after that holy heavenly frame of Thoughts that is sutable to the Lords holy day 4 They have a fore-vigilancy and an after sorrow if at any time they be turned awry from this Thought-holinesse by company or their owne corruption they are much grieved for it they repent and seek unto God to pardon their sins past and to possesse their hearts with more conscience care and circumspection for time to come But formall Professors though they may on the Lords day abstain from their servile labours from their ordinary sins and vanities and may outwardly and customarily perform Religious duties and may have some good thoughts sutable to the bare solemnity of the time yet they cannot possibly make the Sabbath the delight of their hearts as is required they cannot keep a Sabboth in Isa 58. 13. their thoughts by holy heavenly meditations sutable to the spiritual rest of that day they cannot separate their thoughts from earthly affaires and sensuall contentments they cannot keep them off from week-dayes businesses nor keep them in to Divine meditations on the Lords day The best of unregenerate men cannot endure an entire and exact keeping of the Sabbath it is not a Jubilee to their hearts and the joy of their Thoughts 12 Grace teacheth us to fill up the vacuities or empty places of our Time with holy thoughts and heavenly meditations For the clearing up of this truth take knowledge of these foure things 1 The whole time of a Christians life is a time of doing the will of God There is no time for idle irregular thoughts or actions there is no time for sinning no time for the mind to stand idle 2 There be certain pauses and cessation times wherein we sit down and are not employed in body or mind as at other times We have our vacations our leisure-times wherein we are not busied in the work of our Calling or in Religious duties as prayer reading c. 3 At such times commonly we have our worst Thoughts Our minds are never wors imployed then when we are out of employment Our vacant times are our most dangerous times for then vain earthly exorbitant Thoughts doe most break in upon us and most strongly prevaile These are the times wherein sinfull thoughts and Satanicall injections doe most intrude and throng in upon us 4 Grace coming into our soules begets a holy care and constant endeavour to fill up these empty times with heavenly and profitable Thoughts It is a maine duty in our exact walking and a speciall act of true wisedome to redeem these vacant times from vanity and iniquity Ephes 5. 15 16. See that yee walke circumspectly not as fooles but as wise redeeming the time because the dayes are evill These empty spare times are opportunities Col 4 5. for holy spirituall Thoughts Therefore it must be our wisedome 1 To redeem these vacant Times from sin Satan and the world that have so often enslaved them and have filled them up with loose prophane Thoughts 2 It must be our continuall care to fill up our leisure spare times with sanctified meditations Spirituall things that really conduce to the service of God and most neerly concern us in respect of our eternall estates are enough to fill up all our Thoughts in our vacant seasons if every houre had the length of a day They that doe not wisely redeem their leisure times and spend them in Divine profitable meditations are the greatest spentriffs and wasters in the world for time once past can never be recalled opportunity being lost can never be regained 13 Sanctifying Grace teacheth us to spend our solitary times in holy precious and profitable Thoughts 1 In our solitary seasons when we are alone by our selves withdrawne from all company we have the fittest freest opportunities for Divine meditations and thought-conversings with God 2 At such times we are in greatest danger to be beset and assaulted with vaine foolish noysome Thoughts from the flesh within us and with Satanicall injections from without therefore Grace being implanted in our soules doth quicken us to a constant practice of these three Rules which are of precious consequence 1 It teacheth us to single out some special Divine profitable matter whereon to fix our Thoughts all the while we are alone that thereby 1 We may prevent and avoid the ordinary intrusion of idle impure Thoughts and impertinent wandrings 2 That we may not be guilty of wofull trifling out and wasting our precious time 3 That we may keep our minds and all the powers of the soule in holy action and imployment that our Thoughts may not grate and grind one another and so wast themselves in a barren melancholly Whensoever we are alone we have a fit opportunity to reflect upon our selves to commune with our owne hearts to enter into serious Thoughts of expostulation and examination concerning our spirituall estates Oh my soule how stands the case with thee in respect of thine eternall estate What assurance hast thou of propriety in Christ Jesus of thy pardon by his blood of thy new-birth by his Spirit What growth doest thou find in grace What weakning of sin what strengthning of graces doest thou find since the receiving of the Lords Supper What hast thou gained by such a Sermon What victory hast thou obtained over that particular sin which most assaulteth thee How hast thou served God in and with thy house 2 In our alone times we must consider what speciall sins doe most fight against our soules and interrupt our peace and cry unto God with extraordinary intention of spirit for mortifying Grace 3 We have now fit opportunity to fall into praisefull admiring Thoughts of God his superabundant grace and mercy wisdome and all-sufficiency c. or into some other holy meditation 4 After we have spent some time in heavenly meditation we may busie our Thoughts about some lawfull affaires of our Calling 2 Grace teacheth us to withstand 2d Rule and repell with all godly jealousie and care two dangerous evills 1 Thoughts of pleasures from our youthfull sins and unregenerate time which at such solitary seasons are ready to make re-entry and return into our soules and doe strive with much eagernesse being assisted with the Devills craft to re-insnare and pollute us with sensuall filth and folly and renewed guiltinesse It is a provoking sin to Ne redeamus in corde in Aegyptum hoc enim monet Apostolas Rom. 6. 21. quem ergo fructum c. Augustin think of old defilements with new delight this is to return into Aegypt in our hearts In this case Grace makes us exceeding fearfull and vigilant least the Devil transforming himselfe should delude us in the glory of an Angel and by the flashes of his