Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	aaron_n	apostle_n	moses_n	17	3	6.2349	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85783	The Christian in compleat armour. Or, A treatise of the saints war against the Devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickednesse, and chiefe designe he hath against the saints. A magazin open'd: from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual armes for the battel, help't on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon, together with the happy issue of the whole warre. The first part. / By William Gurnall, Minister of the Gospel in Lavenham. Imprimatur, Edmund Calamy.	Gurnall, William, 1617-1679.	1655 (1655)	Wing G2251; Thomason E824_1; ESTC R207679	343,381	430

undertaken to beare thy losse yea to pay thee a hundred fold and thou shalt not stay for it till another world Again thou ought'st not to feare flesh Our Saviour Mat. 10. thrice in the compasse of sixe verses commands us not to feare man if thy heart quailes at him how wilt thou behave thy self in the list against Satan whose little finger is heavier then mans loines The Romanes had arma praelusoria weapons rebated or cudgels which they were tried at before they came to the sharp If thou canst not beare a bruise in thy flesh from mans cudgel and blunt weapon what wilt thou do when thou shalt have Satans sword in thy side God counts himself reproached when his children feare a sorry man therefore we are bid Sanctifie the Lord and not to feare their feare Now if thou wouldest not feare man who is but flesh Labour First to mortifie thy own flesh Flesh only feares flesh when the soule degenerates into carnal desires and delights no wonder he falls into carnal feares Have a care Christian thou bring'st not thy self into bondage perhaps thy heart feeds on the applause of men this will make thee afraid to be evil spoken of as those who shuffled with Christ John 12.42 owning him in private when they durst not confesse him openly for they loved the praise of men David saith the mouth of the wicked is an open Sepulchre and in this grave hath many a Saints name been buried but if this fleshly desire were mortified thou would'st not passe to be judg'd by man and so of all carnal affections Some meat you observe is aguish if thou settest thy heart on any thing that is carnal wife childe estate c. these will incline thee to a base feare of man who may be Gods messenger to afflict thee in these Secondly set faith against flesh Faith fixeth the heart and a fixed heart is not readily afraid Physicians tell us we are never so subject to receive infection as when the spirits are low and therefore the antidotes they give are all cordials When the spirit is low through unbelief every threatening from man makes sad impression Let thy faith take but a deep draught of the Promises and thy courage will rise Fourthly comfort thy self Christian with this that as thou art fl●sh so thy heavenly Father knows it and considers thee for it First in point of affliction Psal 103.14 He knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are but dust Not like some unskilful Emperick who hath but one receipt for all strong or weak young or old but as a wise Physician considers his Patient and then writes his bill men and devils are but Gods Apothecaries they make not our physick but give what God prescribes Balaam loved Bal●ks see well enough but could not go an hairs breadth beyond Gods Commission Indeed God is not so choice with the wicked Isa 27.7 Hath he smitten him as he smote those that smote h●m In a Saints cup the poison of the affliction is corrected not so in the wickeds and therefore what is medicine to the one is ruine to the other Secondly in duty he knows you are but flesh and therefore pities and accepts thy weak service yea he makes apologies for thee The Spirit is willing saith Christ but the flesh is weak Thirdly in temptations he considers thou art flesh and proportions the temptation to so weak a nature 't is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such a temptation as is common to man a moderate temptation as in the margin fitted for so fraile a creature Whenever the Christian begins to faint under the weight of it God makes as much haste to his succour as a tender mother would to her swooning childe therefore he is said to be nigh to revive such lest their spirits should faile SECT III. The second thing follows The conjuncture of the Saints enemies We have not to do with naked man but with man led on by Satan not with flesh and blood but Principalities and Powers acting in them There are two sorts of men the Christian wrestles with good men and bad Satan strikes in with both First the Christian wrestles with good men Many a sharp conflict there hath been betwixt Saint and Saint scuffling in the dark through mis-understanding of the truth and each other Abraham and Lot at strife Aaron and Miriam justled with Moses for the wall till God interposed and ended the quarrel by his immediate stroak on Miriam The Apostles even in the presence of their Master were at high words contesting who should be greatest Now in these Civil wars among Saints Satan is the great kindle-coale though little seen because like Ahab he fights in a disguise playing first on one side and then on the other aggravating every petty injury and thereupon provoking to wrath and revenge therefore the Apostle dehorting from anger useth this argument Give no place to the devil as if he had said Fall not out among your selves except you long for the devils company who is the true souldier of fortune as the common phrase is living by his sword and therefore hastes thither where there is any hope of war Gregory compares the Saints in their sad differences to two cocks which Satan the Master of the pit sets on fighting in hope when kill'd to sup with them at night Solomon saith Prov. 18.6 The mouth of the contentious man calls for stroakes Indeed we by our mutual strifes give the devil a staffe to beat us with he cannot well work without fire and therefore blows up these coales of contention which he useth as his forge to heat our spirits into wrath and then we are malleable easily hammer'd as he pleaseth Contention puts the soul into disorder and inter arma silent leges The Law of grace acts not freely when the Spirit is in a commotion Meek Moses provok't speaks unadvisedly Me thinks this if nothing else will should sound a retreat to our unhappy differences that this Joab hath a hand in them he sets this evil spirit betwixt brethren and what folly is it for us to bite and devoure one another to make hell sport we are prone to mistake our heat for zeal whereas commonly in strifes between Saints it is a fire-ship sent in by Satan to break their unity and order wherein while they stand they are an Armado invincible and Satan knows he hath no other way but this to shatter them when the Christians language which should be one begins to be confounded they are then neare a scattering 't is time for God to part his children when they cannot live in peace together Secondly the Christian wrestles with wicked men Because you are not of the world saith Christ the world hates you The Saints nature and life are Antipodes to the world fire and water heaven and hell may assoon be reconciled as they with it The Heretick is his enemy for truths sake the prophane for holinesse to both the Christian is an abomination

Indeed there is not such a suitableness between the Angelical nature mans as there is between one man another and therefore he cannot make his approaches so familiarly to us as man can do to man and here as in other things he is Gods Ape you know this very reason was given why the Israelites desired God might not speak to them but Moses and God liked the motion They have well said saith God I will raise up a Prophet from the midst of them like unto thee Thus Satan he useth the Ministery of men like our selves by which as he becomes more familiar so he is lesse suspected while Joab-like he gets another to do his errand Now 't is not any will serve his turne for this employment he is very choice in his instruments he pitcheth on 't is not every souldier is fit for an Ambassage to treat with an enemy to betray a town and the like Satan considers who can do his work to his greatest advantage and in this he is unlike God who is not at all choice in his instruments because he needs none and is able to do as well with one as another but Satans power being finite he must patch up the defect of the Lions skin with the Foxes Now the persons Satan aimes at for his instruments are chiefly of foure sorts First persons of place and power Secondly persons of parts and policie Thirdly persons of holinesse or at least reputed so Fourthly persons of relation and interest First Satan makes choice of persons of place and power These are either in the Common-wealth or Church if he can he will secure the Throne and the Pulpit as the two Forts that command the whole line First men of power in the Common-wealth 't is his old trick to be tampering with such A Prince a Ruler may stand for a thousand therefore saith Paul to Elymas when he would have turned the Deputy from the faith O full of all subtilty thou child of the devil Asts 13.8 As if he had said you have learn't this of your father the devil to haunt the Courts of Princes winde into the favour of great ones There it a double policy Satan hath in gaining such to his side First none have such advantage to draw others to their way corrupt the Captan and 't is hard if he bring not off his troop with him When the Princes men of renown in their tribes stood up with Corah presently a multitude are drawn into the conspiracy Let Jeroboam set up idolatry and Israel is soon in a snare it 's said the people willingly walked after his Commandment Hos 5.11 Secondly should the sin stay at Court and the infection go no further yet the sin of such a one though a good man may cost a whole Kingdom dear 1 Chron. 21.1 Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number the people He owed Israel a spite and he payes them home in their Kings sin which drop't in a fearful plague upon their heads Secondly such as are in place and office in the Church No such way to infect the whole town as to poison the Cistern at which they draw their water who shall perswade Ahab that he may go to Ramoth-Gilead and fall Satan can tell I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of his Prophets 2 Kings 22.21 How shall the profane be hardened in their sins let the Preacher sowe pillows under their elbowes and cry peace peace and it 's done How may the worship of God come to be neglected let Hophni and Phineas be but scandalous in their lives and many both good and bad will abhor the sacrifice of the Lord. Secondly he employeth persons of parts and policy if any hath more pregnancy of wit and depth of reason then other he is the man Satan looks upon for his service and so far he prevails that very few of this rank are found among Christs disciples Not many wise Indeed God will not have his Kingdome either in the heart or in the world maintained by carnal policy 't is a Gospel-command that we walk in godly simplicity sine plicis though the Serpent can shrink up into his folds and appear what he is not yet it doth not become the Saints to juggle or shuffle with God or men and truly when any of them have made use of the Serpents subtilty it hath not followed their hand Jacob got the blessing by a wile but he might have had it cheaper with plain dealing Abraham and Sarah both dissemble to Abimelech God discovers their sin and reproves them for it by the mouth of an Heathen Asa out of State-policy joynes league with Syria yea pawns the vessels of the Sanctuary and all for help and what comes of all this Herein thou hast done foolishly saith God from henceforth thou shalt have wars Sinful policy shall not long thrive in the Saints hands well but Satan will not out of his way he enquires for the subtilest-pated men a Balaam Achitoph●l Haman Sanballat men admired for their counsel and deep plots these are for his turne A wicked cause needs a smooth Oratour bad ware a pleasing Chapman as in particular his instruments he useth to seduce and corrupt the mindes of men are commonly subtile-pated men such that if it were possible should deceive the very elect This made the Apostle so jealous of the Corinthians whom he had espoused to Christ lest as Eve by the Serpent so their minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ He must be a cunning devil indeed that can draw off the Spouses love from her beloved yet there is such a witchery in Satans instruments that many have been brought to flie on the face of those truths and ordinances yea Christ himself to whom they have seemed espoused formerly Now in three particulars this sort of Satans instruments shew their Masters subtilty First in aspersing the good name of the sincere messengers of Christ Satans old trick to raise his credit upon the ruined reputation of Christs faithful servants Thus he taught Corah Dathan and Abiram to charge Moses and Aaron Ye take too much upon you seeing all the Congregation is holy they would make the people believe that it was the pride of their heart to claim a monopoly to themselves as if none but Aaron and his fraternity were holy enough to offer incense and by this subtile practice they seduced for a while in a manner the whole Congregation to their side So the lying Prophets that were Satans Knights of the post to Ahab fell foul on good Micaiah Our Saviour himself was no better handled by the Pharisees and their Confederates and Paul the chief of the Apostles his Ministery undermined and his reputation blasted by false teachers as if he had been some weak sorry Preacher His bodily presence is weak say they and his speech contemptible and is this your admired man Secondly in covering their impostures and errours with