Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	aaron_n	abraham_n	moses_n	22	3	6.3057	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04164	The raging tempest stilled The historie of Christ his passage, with his disciples, over the Sea of Galilee, and the memorable and miraculous occurrents therein. Opened and explaned in weekly lectures (and the doctrines and vses fitly applied to these times, for the direction and comfort of all such as feare Gods iudgements) in the cathedrall and metropoliticall Church of Christ, Canterb.	Jackson, Thomas, d. 1646.	1623 (1623)	STC 14305; ESTC S107445	230,620	359

on his face and praying out of the dust with great constancie he prayed three times with submissive obedience Not my will but thine be done and with great charitie for ever and anon he visited his Disciples and gave them good counsell and comfort and what was it he thus begged Take oh take away this cap and he was heard in that which he feared the storme was calmed an Angell sent and comforted him Oh man see in thy Saviour what it is to be a sinner If the righteous and deare Sonne of God having no sinne but by imputation was so affrighted with the terrors of death how would death distract with the terrors of it impenitent sinners if God did open their eyes and let them see it in the looking-glasse of the Law clothed with the red robe of Gods fiery indignation gaping with great Iron teeth ready to devoure having in the forehead written Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the booke of the law to doe them and having the keyes of hell and the bottomlesse pit in his hand Thus we have seene death in the looking-glasse of Nature and it appeareth fearefull for therein the bodie perisheth We have seene it in the looking-glasse of Fortune therein it appeareth more fearefull for therein bodie and all the good things of this world perish We have lastly seene it in the looking-glasse of the Law and therein it appeareth most fearefull for therein bodie and soule perish for ever The fourth and last glasse is the glasse of the Gospell wherein through the death of Christ the nature of it is changed of a foe it is become a friend and from a curse and punishment of sinne is become a blessing from the doore of Hell it is become the portall of Heaven Christ hath spoiled principalities and powers and triumphed openly over them on the Crosse yea and hath pursued Death into the grave his Castle and there conquered him the sorrowes of death being loosed whereof it was impossible that he should be held and so hath performed what he anciently threatned O death I will be thy plagues oh grave I will be thy destruction which made the Apostle in the name of all the faithfull so to triumph O death where is thy sting ô grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the law but thanks be to God who giveth victory through Iesus Christ our Lord I am the resurrection and the life he that beleeveth in me shall live though he die He that beleeveth is passed from death to life and shall not come into judgement Now then there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus and Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord Loe these are the comforts of the Gospell against death which all the faithfull have enjoyed from the beginning of the world though more plentifully revealed in these last dayes And hence it is that where-ever death is beheld through the glasse of the Gospell it is seene and spoken of with abundance of joy and comfort and as the nature so the name of it is changed God called Abrahams death a going to his fathers and the death of Isaak Iacob Aaron and Moses is called a gathering to their fathers Ioshuah calleth his dying the going the way of all the earth And David useth the same words Moses and Elias talking on Thabor of Christs death call it so too they talked of his departure Yea Christ called it his departing out of this world to his Father and Simeon prayed the Lord to let him depart in peace It is but a taste but a sight Lazarus death is called a sleepe Ioh. 11. Paul calleth his death a loosing as out of prison S. Peter calleth his a laying downe of his Tabernacle Thus comfortably doe the Scriptures phrase death for the incouragement of all mortall men who must die oh get into Christ and feare not death no more than thou wouldest feare to lie downe and sleep or to put off an old garment or to goe out of prison or of a rotten Cottage that thou maist dwell in a Palace a Paradise Oh death is not now terrible but desirable as S. Paul said I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ And againe Wee sigh desiring to be clothed on with our house which is from heaven Oh welcome death which to all Gods children through Christ is the end of hunger thirst sorrow care sicknesse ache paine temptations sin and all evills and the beginning of all good without end Whereof some of the learned Fathers have written most large and excellent Treatises If then these Disciples had beheld death in the glasse of the Gospel had had a strong Faith they would never have given it so harsh comfortlesse a title as calling it a perishing but as you have heard a sleeping going and gathering to fathers departing laying downe of Tabernacle c. and if their Faith had beene strong they would have said as the three children did to Nabuchadonozer O King our God whom we serve is able to deliver us Winds and Seas what meane yee to rage Our Master whom we serve is able to save vs whether he sleepe or wake but howsoever we feare not death be it sudden or looked for violent or naturall by sea or land by water or fire for if we die we shall goe to heaven and then shall we know misery no more To conclude these disciples call and pray to Christ for helpe but withall they doe their duties The Euangelist saith They did toile in rowing in another storme and so doubtlesse did they in this The heathen Mariners in Ionah as they did cry upon their gods so they cast their wares into the sea to lighten the ship and did even dig and delve or furrow the sea with their Ores if possibly they might have brought it to the land But herein appeareth a great deale of our folly that as most pray not at all so many pray only Lord save us and doe nothing else whereas God would have every one in such a storme to set to his hands to helpe to cast out the lading of the ship and lighten it What is it that ladeth the ship of the Church and endangereth it in a storme It is sinne which is heavier than sand or lead or any ballast It was too heavie for David to beare Psal 38. 4. It made the Sonne of God sweat Luke 22. 44. Yea made God himselfe complaine That hee was pressed as a Cart with sheaves Amos 2. 13. Oh Ministers Magistrates all Christian men and women set to your hands Over the boord with sinne in your selves and in others Were it not madnesse for Mariners in a storme to take in more lading And

desire for God heareth no prayer that is not made in faith And againe He will fulfil the desire of them that feare him Christ hath pronounced Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse And againe To him that is athirst I will give to drinke of the well of life freely Hereunto I subscribe as unto the undoubted truth of God and Tenet of our Church which hath taught us thus to pray O God mercifull Father that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart nor the desire of such as be sorrowfull Whereupon I inferre this comfort for the refreshing of any wearied soule Doest thou see thy sins many great and grievous whereby thou knowest thou hast offended God and standest guilty and liable to all his curses and punishments in this life and the life to come Though in strength of faith thou canst not say Christ hath redeemed me from the curse of the Law Christ hath by his obedience reconciled me unto God and all my sinnes are forgiven only thou hopest thy sins are pardonable and thou desirest unfainedly that God would pardon them and be reconciled c. Be of good comfort here is the bud and seed of faith and in Gods acceptation true faith and thou shalt have thy desire And for confirmation hereof marke these two things First the true desire of Grace as Faith and Repentance is a sanctified desire a sanctified affectiō Now where the Spirit of God once beginneth to sanctifie he doth sanctifie throughout the minde memory and will as well as affections and he that is sanctified doth beleeve and is iustified Secondly this holy desire is a plaine evidence and fruit of the Spirit which stirreth up fighes and grones These desires cannot proceed from the flesh For that which is from the flesh is flesh and being from the Spirit it is an infallible argument that Christ dwelleth in us as Saint Iohn saith Hereby we know that Christ dwelleth in us even by his Spirit which he hath given us And doth Christ dwell in us Then surely we have faith For he dwelleth in the heart by faith Oh then be of good comfort humbled soule these holy motions and desires may assure thee thou art truly sanctified thou hast the Spirit of God thou hast a true faith though very little weake and feeble But me thinketh upon the delivery of this doctrine I see both the Wicked to lift up head set up bristles saying Nay if good desires will serve the turne we are well and shall be saved for I am sure we have enow of them and the Godly yet still to be of a deject countenance saying Alas what wicked man is there in the world but hath sometimes good desires I answer It is true that God sometimes bestoweth common gifts on the Reprobate and so in the judgement of man they goe often farre in the way of salvation but never any Reprobate ever had or shall have the least measure of justifying and saving faith that is only of Gods Elect and of such as are ordained to salvation And therefore all the fleshly desires of the Reprobate may be discerned from this true spirituall desire of the Elect. First by the continuance of it for the desires of the Reprobate are but like a flash of lightning sudden motions arising from hearing of the Word or some heavie judgement of God that lieth on them as Herod heard Iohn Baptist gladly and did many things and had doubtlesse many good motions but all like the mornings dew if he be pleased with the dancing of a wanton Damsell he will cut off the Baptists head When the plague is on Pharaoh hee will send for Moses and Aaron and crie Pray pray but no sooner the plague removed but he is worse than before But the true desire abideth and increaseth as the light unto a perfect day Againe true faith is of an active and operative nature according to the measure of it it will work He that hath the true desire of peace and reconciliation with God by the merits of Christ it will make him use the meanes whereby the same is procured he that doth truly desire forgivenesse of sins and Gods favour will hate his sinnes and whatsoever he knoweth doth offend God The wicked cannot doe so Herod reverenced Iohn and heard him gladly but his heart was still set on Herodias and boiled in filthy incestuous lust Balaam would fain die the death of the righteous but careth not for their lives nor will use the meanes whereby such a blessed death is procured but his heart is still set upon the wages of ungodlinesse If then thou hast but the fore-named desire but thou feelest it powerfull within thee to worke more and more an hatred of thy sinnes and of all the meanes and occasions thereof and to use carefully the meanes which God hath appointed for the increase of faith and holinesse assuredly thou hast received the good seed of faith into thy heart and thou hast the bud which will in good time blossome knit and beare Thus that I have declared the least measure of saving faith let me for their further comfort that have it deduce a few most sweet conclusions The first is this The least and weakest true faith doth as perfectly justifie as the greatest and strongest The poore weake beleeving man that prayed Christ to helpe his unbeleefe was as perfectly justified as Abraham that was so strong in faith that he staggered not The Reason hereof is because faith doth not justifie in respect of it selfe as it is a gift or action or vertue inherent in us for then as it is more or lesse stronger or weaker so should we be more or lesse justified but faith doth justifie as it is the instrument whereby we apprehend and receive the object The object or matter of our justice is Christ and Christ is not received more or lesse according to the measure or degree of faith but Christ is either wholly received or refused and he that hath whole Christ hath his righteousnesse which is so perfect being the righteousnesse of God as cannot receive any augmentation or increase So that justification consisteth not in the strength and quantity but in the truth and quality of our faith God hath a touchstone to trie our faith 1 Pet. 1. 7. but not weights to weigh with regardeth the goodnesse not greatnesse heartinesse but not heavinesse The dimme and weake sighted were as well cured by beholding of the brazen Serpent as the cleare and strong the old poore sicke weake and palsie trembling hand may receive a precious pearle or a peece of gold as well as the young steddie and strong Oh what a comfort may this be to such as mourne and are grieved for the weaknesse of their faith that howsoever God may make a great difference and they may