Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
lord_n hand_n zeal_n zealous_a 66 3 9.1488 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A12982 The doctrine and vse of repentance necessarie to be practised and vsed of all who looke to sing the song of Moses, and the song of the lambe beyond the glassie sea: Reuel.15.23. Preached in sundrie sermons in the parish church of Alhallowes Bredstreete in London: by Rich. Stock; Doctrine and use of repentance. Stock, Richard, 1569?-1626. 1610 (1610) STC 23275; ESTC S106168 171,388 390

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

zealous of good workes That is the ende why God gaue so great a price as the blood of his owne sonne that we might be a peculiar people zealous vnto him Then they that know this in liew of that mercie will grow zealous and think that they cannot be too zealous for him that hath paid so great a price for them Vse 1. Now by this truth for the vse of it we may first condemne our age as that which promiseth or performeth little repentance because there is so little zeale amongst vs for seeing repentance bringeth forth zeale where there is little zeale there is little repentance and where no zeale there no repentance And that I may iustly challenge our age of want of this zeale appeareth thus because it is growne to that in our times that nothing is so much condemned as the zeale here spoken of Zeale for any thing and any person saue for God and his truth is reputed commendable and in any course saue in the way of pietie They are commended who are zealous so their prince and his crowne and accounted good subiects so they who are zealous for their captaine and his honour and esteemed good souldiers so they who are zealous for their father and master and his credit and are reckoned good sonnes or seruants but if they bee zealous for God and his glorie or seruice they shall be reuiled and derided yea Papists if they be deuout and zealous in their superstitious vanities are commended of many and yet Protestants if they bee zealous and forward in the way of truth and godlines they are scorned and mocked as Isaac was of Ismael euen of those who liue in the same kingdome citie Church and house The people condemne thir Minister as too zealous and on the contrarie the Minister the people as too forward so the master the father the husband condemne the seruant the child and the wife and these againe the other How may wee thinke then that they are zealous themselues verily if they were they would not condemne zeale in others nay they could not For though a man in his hypocrisie may condemne that euill in another which he allowes in himselfe yet can hee not condemne the good hee is indued withall for good cannot but reloyce and delite in her like Therfore to prooue these voide of zeale we neede no further proofe or euidence then their condemning of zeale in others When then we haue so many condemners of zeale wee must needs haue many voide of zeale Few we haue who can say as Iehu when he met with Iehonadab saying vnto him when he took him vp into his chariot 2. King 10.15.16 Is thy heart vpright as mine is towards thine then giue me thy hand and come and see the zeale that I haue for the Lord of hosts Few I say that can take others into their houses chambers and companie and shew them how zealous they are for God and his glorie in reading and conferring of the scripture in prayer and other practise of pietie nay they can rather shew them how zealous and feruent they are for their pleasure and profit for themselues and their owne states But the zeale for the Lord of hosts they condemne in others and therfore cannot haue it in themselues and so cannot haue true repentance Vse 2. 2. By this may euery one trie whether they haue repentance or not euen whether they haue fire or no by this heate If they be not cold nor luke-warme but striue to bee hot and zealous in Gods seruice and in the way of piety respecting rather what God calleth for then fearing what men condemne Obiect But there may well be zeale without repentance neither is al zeale good for there is a bad as well as a good zeale how will zeale prooue it then Answ I answere it is true that as the sea water and the raine water agree in the matter yet they differ by diuers qualities and properties as sweet and salt thicke and thin light and heauie So a good zeale and bad are both affections but they differ in many seueral things And first as the Moralist speaketh of other affections that they are so farre good as they are guided by wisdome and kept within the bounds limited by it and on the contrarie they are euill when they passe those bounds So in this zeale it is so farre good as it is gouerned by true knowledge and faith and so far bad as it is depriued of this As the Apostle Paul saith of the Iewes Rom. 10.2 I beare them witnes that they haue the zeale of God but not according to knowledge that is their zeale was not ruled by reason nor grounded vpon the word of God but according to their owne fancie teaching vs thereby what is good and what is bad zeale Zeale is then euill and bad when it will not be nor is ruled by true knowledge that is not subiect to the word but by custome tradition our own affections and wils and of this may be said as before Rom. 10.2 that such haue zeale but not according to knowledge and they may be prayed for as Christ prayed for the Iewes Luke 23.34 Father forgiue them for they know not what they doe And this zeale argueth no repentance but that which is according to knowledge submitted to the word of God is good and wil prooue a man to haue repentance Againe zeale consisteth of two affections loue and sorrow loue for the glorie of God and his seruice sorrow when it is not performed May wee compare spirituall things with earthly things wheresoeuer there is this loue it is speedie for the compassing of that it desireth Therefore wee reade when Shechim loued Dinah Iacobs daughter Genes 34.19 he was speedie in compassing that by which he might obtaine her though the thing was very sore and grieuous which he was to doe so where there is this affection in the heart of man it maketh a man forward and speedie to procure the glorie of God and to accomplish his seruice Secondly loue hath another propertie wheresoeuer it is notwithstanding all difficulties discouragements or dangers yet will that man goe forward for the procuring of that hee loueth and dreadeth not for any feare or discouragement so he may obtaine the thing hee affecteth So it is said of Iacob he serued seuen yeeres for Rachel and being deceiued by her father in giuing vnto him Leah in stead of Rachel hee was content to serue seuen yeeres more Gen. 29 20. and yet those yeeres seemed vnto him but a few daies hauing borne the cold of the winter the heate of the summer the chilling of the Moone and the burning of the Sunne the dangers both by night and day and all this was because he loued her So if there be this loue of God in men it will neuer shrinke for all difficulties that may be he that hath it will not faint nor be hindred with
thirst more presently prayed him saying Master giue me of that water that I may thirst no more nor come hither to draw vnderstanding and dreaming of materiall water such as shee daily needed for the bodie So doe many men now for when wee talke of the desire of spirituall riches they will talke of earthly and whereas they should desire those things that concerne the spirit all their desire is for the world how should there bee true grace in these men how should they haue any assurance that they haue repented when they are like vnto those in the Gospell that were inuited vnto the kings feast who had their seuerall excuses that they might absent themselues Luke 14. One said that he had taken a farme and he must goe and see it another had bought a yoke of oxen and hee must goe and prooue them and another had married a wife and he could not come So many a man saith my profits let mee that I cannot come to heare the word of God and my pleasures carrie mee another way Some other againe will say when I haue done seeking the world when I haue ouercome such a businesse another time or another yeere will I come to heare the word O miserable estate where is that loue and desire and that longing after the word which is required in all repentants Ambrose saith If I should offer thee gold thou wilt not say I wil come to morow but this day thou wilt take it no man will deferre no man will excuse Redemptio anima promittitur nemo festinas Ambrose But the redemption of the soule is proffered and promised and no man hasteneth How truly may that speech of the Father be spoken of our times for earthly things no man wil take time til to morrow but greedily they will seeke for them and not stay till they bee offered them But for spirituall things most mens states are weake and like men readie to breake they are taking order for two three foure and sixe moneths and then are they as farre from any good sufficiencie or further then they were before But to conclude if true repentance bring forth desire of these spirituall and heauenly things as their condition is fearefull who haue it not so is theirs happie and comfortable who vnfainedly find it in their hearts for it doth certainely seale vp vnto them their true conuersion and new birth by which they are liuing creatures in Christ here through his grace and shall liue with him in glorie through his merits in the life to come The sixth signe and fruit of repentance is zeale The sixth fruit and effect of repentance is zeale yea what zeale This zeale is opposite to luke-warmenesse contrary to cold it is heate He is cold which is prophane an enemie to pietie and the workes of holines He is luke-warme that hath some phansie or loue to good things some righteousnesse in the outward act or some common or cursorie inclination therwith contenting himselfe as iudging his case to be as good as the best and can endure to go no further He is hot or zealous who is feruent for the glorie worship of God and the works of pietie is sorrowful when he seeth the defect of thē in himself or others Our point then to be noted is this Zeale is the sixth signe and fruite of true repentance True repentance bringeth foorth zeale that is maketh men zealous for God and his worship zealous of pietie and good workes not to do them carelesly and negligently but it maketh them do though with great labour and cost yea danger and hazard those things which they see they ought to doe This is manifest in this place as also in many other As in the Reuelation Christ saith to the Church of Laodicea Reuel 3.19 Be zealous therefore and amend noting that where zeale is there will also bee repentance and amendment of life Did not Dauids repentance bring forth this zeale 2. Sam. 24.24 when he would be at cost with God to procure his worship and would not offer a burnt offering vnto the Lord that should cost him nothing for whereas if he would hee might haue offered a free offering vnto him yet he would not receiue it for nothing but would giue the price thereof Acts 19.18.19 So may we see this zeale in those men that were conuerted by the preaching of the Gospel at Ephesus they were enforced to take their bookes which were of a great price and to burne them that thereby they might glorifie God by spoyling of those things which were before the cause of his dishonor The like may be said of Paul and Peter Marie and other repentants who haue had this zeale as is at large recorded in the Scripture and how in reason should it be otherwise Reason 1. 1. Because the true repentant is Gods and chosen to life honor and happinesse which this thing namely that he is repentant doth manifest vnto him Then may wee allude to that which Dauid saith in defence of his dancing before the Arke in his zeale when he was derided by Michol giuing the reason why he did it because saith he 2. Sam. 6.21 The Lord hath chosen me rather then thy father and all his house So in this case if he for an earthly kingdome was so zealous for God how much more ought those so to be that are chosen to a heauenly kingdome Reason 2. 2. Because he is regenerate made again and if the first creation required as much as Dauid saith Psal 100.2.3 Serue the Lord with gladnes and he addeth the reason Because he hath made vs not we our selues much more doth this second The more excellent the one is than the other the more zeale is required for the one than for the other Bernard compareth them thus Qui primò secie secundò refecit in primo dedit me mihi in secundo dedit se mihi cui debeo me propter me debeo plusquam me propter se Bernard de diligendo Deo He that made mee first did secondly remake me in the first he gaue me my selfe in the second he gaue me himselfe to whom I owe my selfe for my selfe I owe more then my selfe for that hee gaue me himselfe He that is first set vp by a man ought to bee maruellous careful as it were zealous for him how much more he that being a bankrupte and many pounds worse than nothing is discharged of all and set vp againe So is it in this for men by sinne are worse than nothing and being as it were set vp by God againe what zeale for the Lord ought they to haue c. Reason 3. 3. Because he being redeemed knoweth the price of his redemption how deere it cost God and Christ and why they paied so deere for him Namely as Paul to Titus saith Titus 2.14 That the redeemed might bee a peculiar people to God