Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	word_n	work_n	write_v	1,255	4	5.1353	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60972	Davvnings of light wherein the true interest of reformation is opened in generall, and in particular, in this kingdome for the establishment of weaker judgements, and many other things impartially hinted, to a further discovery of truth and light in many of our present controversies : with some maximes of reformation / by John Saltmarsh ...	Saltmarsh, John, d. 1647.	1646 (1646)	Wing S477; ESTC R40634	39,746	130

Reformation hath in this age of ours even that visible interest which is undeniable and apparant but yet with this caution that I do not lay these open as affirming any unquestionable necessary successe but as probable und deducible a successe as ever age had because I know there may be withdrawings and retirings in God respectively to a particular State and Church and yet his Church have a fair and eminent interest both there and elswhere in other States and Kingdoms for as a Nation is not dead in the funerals of a few persons nor an house ruined in the falling of a pillar or tyle no more is the Church which is a catholike invisible spirituall body by any particular declination in such a City or State or Nation though I must affirm this That there is a most clear visible powerfull and mighty interest which Reformation hath in the Christian world and this Kingdom at this time and if it succeed not here I can accuse no want of supernaturall naturall or political interest for we are able enough in these but I must accuse some speciall sinnes that have done it which have separ●ted betwixt us and our God and have withheld good things from us and made our God refuse to shew us the pattern and his will for here are conditionals implied If the h●●●se of Israel sh●●● be ashamed of their iniquities I will shew them the form of the ●●●●e and ag●●● If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or no At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdome to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it If that Nation against whom I have pronounced turne from their evil I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them Severall secrets in the Interest 1. The Interest in Christ THis Interest is laid up in Christ from all eternity and here we may rise into most spirituall apprehensions concerning it for though God causes the Interest to beam forth into the things below yet it is in Christ like light in the body of the Sun God doth so dispence himself into Christ that there is not any thing of God stowes beside him but all in him and through him All things that the Father hath are mine for Christ as he was the Word was With God in the beginning and was God without him was not any thing made that was made in him was life in these expressions the Spirit lets us see how God made himselfe over to Christ And further He was the image of the invisible God he is before all things and by him all things consist and he is the head of the body the Church who is the beginning being also the b●●ghtnesse of his glory And the Scripture opens this mysterie further yet God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself and in him the fulnesse of the Godhead dwels bodily and when Christ that eternal Word came to apply the Interest neerer the creature He grew up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground yet the Lord possessed him in the beginning of his way before his Works of old he Was by him as one brought up with him The holy Spirit holds out the mysterie of laying up the Interest in Christ yet more and writes to the Church to comfort her in the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of ●hrist in whom are hid all the treasures But if we would see a further glimpse of this interest sweetly opened by Christ himselfe let us heighten our meditations upon these Scriptures where Christ discourses with his Father implying the spirituall interest all the way All mine are thine and thine are mine and I am glorified in the● and as thou Father art in me I in thee that they also may be one in us and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them I in them and thou in me that they may be made p●rfect in one So as now God being thus in Christ and the Church adopted so near to that infinite Unity of God in Christ the Interest is unchangeably and eternally preserved and to t●e all fast with the heavenly cordage of love God holds our himself in ●ovena●t in an everl●sting C●venant And thus it hath pleased the Father that in him should all f●lnesse dwell and all our Interest should be treasured in him even to that of grace and glory that our life should be hid with Christ in God II. The Spiritual Interest in Allegory THat we may discern the Interest more nearly it is conveyed to us on the scene of Allegories for God being invisible in himself and more immediate approaches makes himself appeare through such expressions as the●e Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion I sate down under his shadow with great delight The Name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run unto it and are safe under the shadow of his wings will I make my refuge Come my people enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment Walk about Sion go round about her tell the thereof mark ye well her bulwarks consider her palaces My beloved hath a vineyard c. he fenced it and built a tower in the midst And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place O my Dove thou art in the clifts of the rocks in the secret places of the stairs Thus God hides his interest in these Allegories Clefts in Rocks and secret places and chambers and wings and shadowes and bulwarks and palaces and towers and fences and pavilions and the secrets of his presence for God is so indistant and present with his that they are safe in the midst of dangers and he holds these invisible Sanctuaries over them Lo he goeth by me and I see him not he passeth on also but I per●eive him not Thus said Job when his sight was dim with affliction that he could not see into the Interest beyond the creature III. The Recipients of the Spirituall Interests THose things which are of neerest capacity to the receiving of the Interest are first the Covenant or eternall Paction and ingagement wherby God stands bound of his meer free grace to his Church or people and by this interceding act he and his people are brought together The next is the Scriptures of God or the Word whereby the interest is propagated being the power of God unto salvation The other is the Church of God which is the Fountain sealed the garden enclosed wherein all the sweets fragrancies of grace breath forth IV. The Recipients of the Interest THe Prophetical truths in the Prophets and the Revelation of John are

and stirring up the spirits of his people working even immediately by himself casting out the interest of Antichristianisme and Prelaecie and placeing his owne there as at this day we experience in the late opening of heaven and radiation upon this Kingdom when the Prelaecy was at highest and interweaving it self into Popery and fastening its interest at the very foot of the Chair in Rome How the increated Interest works to be discerned below THis increated interest of the Gospel lying thus in the counsels wisdom and power of God it comes abroad sometimes on the Wheele of some omnipotency when God hath a purpose to undo or dissolve the gatherings and strong holds the wisdom of the world and to exalt himself to the eyes of his people and his enemies Wonderfull things did he in the land of Egypt in the field of Zoan And here we may rise into this enquiry How God may be discerned in such a work though best by the Spirit which searches the deep things of God First God in making any clear discovery of this interest must assume such Agents as may not seem to stand in the way of his omnipotency I mean by casting any shadow upon it but they must be such as he may be seen in even to a carnall eye as the Magitians of Egypt who could then only discern God but his finger neither in the judgement of Lice of this nature were those things he made use on as Moses rod and Aarons both blossoming with miracles al●ke the Waters of Jordan rams horns lamps and pitchers a sling and a pible stone the jaw bone of an Asse clay and spittle handkerchiefs and shadows a Gideon or poorest family in Manasseh and he the poorest in his fathers house and thus the Gospel had its rise and increase God choosing the base things the weak things and foolish things fishermen and Women and laying aside whatsoever might exalt it self so as not many wise men after the flesh nor many mighty nor many noble were called Nay in the great and finall work for his Church his very word which he cals in the name of the world the foolishnesse of preaching shall be acted by that omnipotency as all the power of ●abylon seems only to fall at the noise of that I dispute not here what other concomitant God may annex yet the Word carries the reputation and it is most reasonable in this way of the Lords working that God should overthrow them by that which they in their own wisdome reputed but foolishnes The Interest suffers no change from the creature NOw this interest is only and entire in God and the Designe works only below for compleating the body of Christ and this body is made up of all nations and kindreds and though in some nations where the Gospel is God may not equally dispence successe or advancement to it but may often in his own wisdom let the interest seem to dye out as in our own Kingdom and that of Scotland he hath formerly done and in that of Ireland of late yet even then we must look at the designe of Reformation as it is in God and not in the creature and not think so far below such a glorious businesse as if the perishing or wasting in any particular had put any stop to the work of God as if any thing of the world had power to disorder the uniformity of such a work and should put God about but we must know that God hath fully and from eternity made up the glory of this businesse and though there may be unevennesse on the worldly side of it yet on the heavenly side of it there is none as in former interruptions not only when God dwelt in curtains and in a Temple made with hands but after when he took up a more spirituall habitation in his people for even then their Churches were scattered abroad throughout the Regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles here the Spirit hints to us how God sometimes locks up or layes up his interest in some remainder as here in the Apostles when the rest were scattered the word it self was hid in the root of Jesse and the branch the tree in the vision had a stump left in the earth and God had seven thousand unknown to the Prophet which had not bowed to Baal and the woman which he lodged in the wildernesse to whom he gave the wings of an Eagle My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes God hath divers ends in making overtures of light and withdrawing it in Gods work there is nothing lost nor in vain and when the wisdom of man is not able to make any thing of disadvantages the wisdom of God can Christ is the same yesterday and to day and for ever nor in him is any variablenesse or shadow of change I shall here for a further advancement to this make a discovery of such secret principles as if clearly discussed might prove of powerfull advantage to some present and succeeding controversies A right stating of the Churches Interest of great concernment to some present Controversies IF the Churches Interest hath been alwayes below I speak now of the period from Christ then this saves the birth of a new Ministery or Ordinances and all this may stand good viz. Of receiving them out of mysticall Babylon as the Jews did the golden vessels then it would be discussed whether any such way of arguing did strengthen that of a necessary visibility and whether it did as fully advance the Attributes of God viz. his omnipotencie c. and equally comply with the revealed designe of God in his word of alwayes preserving a Church and whether the defection or ap●●tacie and the slaying of the witnesses could stand with such a Church-nterest and how the temple of God on which Antichrist sits her golden cups or jewels may be in the Spirits sense the true Church or Ordinances in bondage or only a counterfeiting or resembling and what the Tabernacle of God coming down may imply whether such a continued inter●st or no and whether the Scriptures themselves being the Ark of Gods revealed will be not the conservatory of the Interest in such intervals and whether th●● hur●h or Scriptures be the fitter Subjects according to Gods method and rule of working for preserving and propagating such an interest And if the Church hath alwayes had an interest whether this interest hath been alwayes the same from the first because some do so quarrell that and call it a going to Moses from Christ a seeking for Gospel to the Law and indeed if some stronger labours were of this nature in full not in broken Treatises then as yet we have seen they might heale many an objection about our Ministery and Ordinances which for want of it some may think lie too open and here might be opened the severall