Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	body_n	divine_a	unite_v	2,443	5	9.2437	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26714	Instructions about heart-work what is to be done on Gods part, and ours, for the cure and keeping of the heart, that we may live in the exercise and growth of grace here, and have a comfortable assurance of glory to eternity / by that eminent Gospel-Minister Mr. Richard Allein, author of Vindiciæ pietatis.	R. A. (Richard Alleine), 1611-1681.	1681 (1681)	Wing A994; ESTC R19556	262,157	306

ye are mine and I am Gods Thus Christs love to Christians causeth him to say to them I am yours and all that I have so Christians love to Christ helps them to say Lord we are thine and all we have are thine not only our sins are thine our infirmities are thine but our Parts and our Possessions our Graces and our Duties yea our Houses and our Lands and our Possessions all are thine Christians we have been call'd together this day to a Communion of Loves and thereby to an Espousal of Interests betwixt Christ and us we have received the Pledges of his love his Bread and his Wine he hath given us to Eat and to Drink as the tokens he hath sent us down from Heaven of his Love I have brought you tokens every one of you from the Lord this day tokens of his love we have received the Pledges of his love and we have returned the Pledges of our love to him our very accepting of Christ's Tokens hath been our returning of our tokens Your communion together to Eat of Christ's Bread and Drink of his Cup provided it hath been in sincerity a Spiritual Eating and a Spiritual Drinking your Eating and Drinking his Body and Blood Christ hath accepted as a token of your loves and this communion of love hath been an Espousal of Interests Christ hath hereby told you Because I love you I will be yours and all that I have in Heaven and Earth you may henceforth call your own I am your own Jesus my Father is your own Father and my God is your own God and mine Inheritance is your own Inheritance and you have said if you have sincerely accepted of Christ we are thine own thine own Flock thine own Inheritance thy Ransom'd ones thy Redeemed ones and thy peculiar People this hath been the up-shot of the Transaction betwixt Christ and you this day the Sealing to this word I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine And as there hath been an interchangeable communion of loves and Espousal of Interest betwixt Christ and Christians so also betwixt Christians and Christians as we have said to our Lord I am thine so we have therein said one to another I am yours and must therefore walk in that tenderness of love in that dearness of affection one to another in that mutual care of each others good in that mutual Sense of each others afflictions in that mutual delight in each others Societies in that mutual helping and counselling and comforting one another and hearty seeking and rejoicing in each others good studying to please each other for his good to Edification fearing to grieve or offend or wrong or fall out with or quarrel one with another counting the Interest of every Christian to be the common Interest of the whole Body that we hereby may prove that we love one another not in Word and in Tongue but Indeed and in Truth This now is the Nature and these are the Fruits of Divine Love it will unite Hearts and unite Interests this will be the Interest of Christians which will flow from the love of Christ that Christ's Interest prosper in the World that the Name of Christ be exalted and be honourable both in themselves and in the World that Christ be loved that Christ be praised that the Word of Christ the Worship of Christ his Sabbaths his Ordinances be exalted in the World that the Glory and Holy Image of Christ his Humility Meekness Lowliness Heavenliness Righteousness Mercy may shine forth in our Faces and in the Faces and Wayes of all his Saints that we may in our particulars and jointly shew forth the Spirit and Life of serious and poweful Religion and Godliness in all manner of Holy Conversation this we should account our Interest with respect to Christ that he may be thus Honour'd and Obeyed and this will be the Interest of Christians with respect to Christians that we may see one another the whole Vineyard flourishing in the Power of Holiness as living and lively Instances of the Grace of God and as far as the Lord see it good may see one another prospering in this World even as our Souls do prosper O Christians espouse this common Interest and do what you can to promote this Interest in the World Love Christ and lift up the Name of Christ love Christ and shew forth the Image of Christ love Christ and Consecrate your Life to Christ determine to know nothing to value nothing to rejoice in nothing but Jesus Christ and him Crucified And then love one another and study to please one another to profit one another for their good to Edification to cast in your Lot together to rejoice together with them that rejoice to grieve with them that suffer to live together in love forbearing one another forgiving one another comforting one another even as you your selves would be Loved forgiven and comforted of God This now is the nature and the fruit of Divine Love it unites Interests but Self-love sinful Self-love divides Interests and so those that seek the things of Self their carual things seek not the things of Christ 3. Sinful Self-love hath a root remaining in the best Hearts even of the regenerate though in Conversion Self hath lost the Domlnion and be cast down from the Throne yet is there a secret Tabernacle a corner in the Heart where it fortifies it Self and is still aspiring to recover the Throne it hath lost the Dominion yet it retains in some degree an Interest in the affection and by this affection it hath the advantage of us and often recovers too great a Command again How great a Power sinful Self-love hath still in us the experience of Chistians sadly proves for the clearing whereof consider yet again more distinctly that there is as hath been already hinted a threefold Self-love and accordingly a threefold Self-seeking 1. There is a loving or seeking our selves in conjunction with God and in subordination to him This is a loving or seeking Self spiritually a loving or seeking of Self as Christians as the Servants of God and Members of Christ as cloathed with the Image and devoted to the service and aspiring to the Salvation of God This Self-loving and Self-seeking is our duty and our excellency the Interest of Self spiritual and the Interest of God are a conjunct Interest only the Interest of Self is lower and subordinate to the Interest of God When we thus seek our selves our Spiritual and Eternal good we are therein most effectually seeking God we cannot more effectually seek God than in seeking our own Salvation Those that seek Glory Honour and Immortality for themselves do therein seek the Glory and Honour of the Immortal God thereby declaring that they prize and value the Lord as their chief nay the only good He that neglecting these lower things doth seeek God as his onely happiness doth therein take the Crown off the head of all his Idols and set it where it

you may be upon the getting hand whilest they are abating be you for abounding let there be an adding daily to you be not satisfied with the grace you have with the duties you do but let your eye be upon adding daily to your store whilest others add sin to sin guilt to guilt let it be in your hea●s to add grace to grace fruit to fruit Consider what is lacking in you and follow after a supply follow after it by your earnest desires follow after it by diligent labour and endeavours and follow after it by uncessant and importunate prayer unto the God of all grace that he would cause all grace to abound towards you and in you that having all-sufficiency in all things you may abound to every good work Brethren it will be a mercy if these words may have such fruit upon you as to set your hearts upon getting and adding daily to your grace and good fruits and then a considering how you may most effectually improve accordingly I pray receive the Exhortation in the name of the Lord I beseech you forget it not ponder your paths consider what is lacking what is lacking within to set your outward man a going what is lacking without in your goings that need a supply Consider what you would have God do more for you than yet is done consider what you would do more for God than you have done in what particulars you fail and wherein you would be especially helped forward Consider and desire desire and labour labour and pray that the Lord would fill up what ever is wanting in you and then I shall be bold to assure you in the words of the Apostle Phi● 4.19 My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ to whom be praise for ever Amen Doctr. The great care that lies upon every man in the World is to keep his heart There are many cares that lie daily upon us we have our Estates and our Names and our Families and our Bodies to take care of but our great care must be of our Hearts 1 What is meant by Heart This is sometimes taken for the principal part of the body of man sometimes for the soul of man so Jer. 17.9 The heart is deceitful and wicked that is the soul is deceitful Sometimes for the will and affections of the soul so 1 Chron. 28.9 here it is taken for the whole soul and this command keep thy heart is the same with that in Deut. 4.9 keep thy soul diligently What is the Soul Most men know not what and none of us know perfectly what a Soul is It is our inward and invisible substance which gives life to our bodies it is an essential and the most excellent part of us That hath most of the nature and image of God in it It is our immortal part that hath life in it and gives life to the body and never dies Our Reasons and Wills whereby we differ from Brutes these are the essential faculties of our souls The Soul is that in which our capacity lies of the highest blessedness and the extremity of misery The blessedness of the Soul is the highest blessedness The Body as such is capable of no greater happiness than a Beast is capable of onely the pleasures of sense the Soul is capable of spiritual and eternal pleasures the torments of the Soul are most exquisite and intolerable torments the burning of the Body is nothing in comparison of the wrath of God burning in the Soul The excellency of the Soul above the body you may guess at by considering what the Body is when the Soul is departed What a gastly thing what a stinking and rotten Carkass doth the most beautiful Body become when it is dead and the Soul is departed It was this the Soul of Man that was the great prize that Christ had in his eye when he died to redeem us he died to redeem souls especially to recover that blessed immortality that our Souls had lost the natural immortality they had not lost That is a great part of our misery that sin left us immortal Creatures such of whose misery there shall never be an end It was not our natural immortality that Christ died to recover that was not lost but our blessed immortality This invisible immortal most excellent part of Man his Soul this is it which we are to understand by Heart Keep thy heart that is keep thy soul 2. What it is to keep the heart 1. There is somewhat that is supposed to the keeping of our souls and that is the recovering them out of their lost state The Devil hath the keeping of Sinners souls whilest they are sinners and the first work they are to do in order to the keeping their souls is to get them back out of the Devils hands That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil 1 Tim. 2.26 Here I shall shew you these three things 1. The Souls of all men naturally are lost 2. Mens souls are not so lost here but that they are recoverable 3. This must be mans first care to recover their lost souls 1. The souls of all men naturally are lost souls It may be said of every sinner as the father of the prodigal said of him Luke 15.32 This my son was lost Fathers you may say of every child you have whilst they are in their natural state this my son is lost this my child is a lost child yea and you may say the same of your selves whilest in your sins mine own soul is a lost soul and whether you will say it or no we must say to every one of you fathers and children that are yet in your sins you are lost souls As Christ came himself so he hath sent us in his name to seek and to save them that are lost Luke 16.10 What is it to be lost Why it is the same as to be damned to be damned persons signifies to be lost and to be lost in this spiritual sense is to be damned So that word 2. Cor. 4.3 If the Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are l●st to them that be damned that is in a state of damnation and in the way to actual and everlasting damnation O tremble sinners tremble all you that are yet in your sins what will you tremble at if not at being damned the word calls every man of you that are not in Christ Reprobates from God 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates Is Christ in thee Art thou a convert to Christ No Then thou art a reprobate from God thou art a damned lost soul live and die in this estate thou art in at present and thou art eternally lost What mean you sinners that you are so much at ease so much at rest in your state of sin Is it nothing to be damned Is it nothing to be Reprobates O think what it will be

come and make a Saint of thee Hath Sin made a very Devil of thee and art not thou willing that Christ should make thee a Saint What wouldst thou do in Heaven if thou wilt not be made a Saint or dost thou think thou mayest continue a Devil whilest thou livest on the earth and yet at last be a Saint in Heaven What say you sinners There be some it may be of you that have made a mock at holiness that have despised the saints that are on earth and made them the objects of your scorn rather than your desire but speaks man art thou yet willing that Christ should come this day and make thee a saint Wilt thou that he should humble thee and bring thee to repentance Wilt thou that he should wash thee and bring thee to holiness Wouldst thou who camest hither an ignorant sinner an hardned sinner an impenitent sinner be glad at thine heart if thou mayst r turn an enlightned a convinced yea a converted sinner a beleiver a sincere christian Wouldst thou carry home another heart than thou broughtst hither a new heart transformed and changed into the image of him that created thee or art thou content to go home as thou camest such an ignorant hardned polluted creature as thou camest hither If thou be heartily willing of such a change as this that is a great part of thy cure Art thou willing to be cured willing to be cleansed Then bring forth that leprous soul of thine lay it at the feet of Christ and speak to him as the leper did Mat. 8.2 Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean As vile a state as this soul of mine is in as deadly as my diseases are as very a Leper as my soul is become yet Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean Let Christ hear such a word from thee Lord help me Lord heal me if thou wilt thou canst And then there is hope that thou maiest hear the same words from Christ as that poor Leper did I will be thou clean And immediately his Leprosie was cleansed 2. Take Christs medicines To what purpose is it that the physitian comes to a sick man and prescribes to him and adviseth him to what will recover him if he will not take what he prescribeth Christ hath medicines to recover sick souls but his medicines must be taken or they will not recover them Christs medicines are 1. His bloud His bloud is purging and cleansing bloud Heb. 9 14. 1 Joh. 1.7 Therefore he is said to wash us in his bloud By the bloud of Christ is meant the same with the death of Christ There is vertue in the death of Christ to destroy the life of sin Our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed Rom. 6.6 It is the body of sin that must be first laid at The inward pravity of our natures our original corruption Christs physick must be firstly applyed to the root and fountain of our disease those sinful natures those depraved habits and sinful dispositions within you must be changed The inward enmity must be slain and there is nothing will do that but the bloud of a crucified Iesus That is the soveraign medicine that must help and heal you But how must this medicine the bloud of Christ be taken 1. Christ himself must be taken Christ offers himself to you to be yours and you must accept of him for your own Your hearts must by faith consent unto Christ to put your selves into his hands to put your life into his hands expecting and depending upon him trusting your selves with him for your recovery It is Christ alone with whom I lay up all mine hopes upon whose sufficiency and faithfulness I will venture my soul If I die I le die under his hand and if I live I look for life only from him Put your selves thus into the hands of Christ and take Christ into your hearts Take him as your own he gives himself to you to be your own Christ offers to every sinner among you I will be thine own thine own Jesus thine own Saviour if thou be willing to have me Take him at his word Since he says to thee I will be thine own if thou wilt let thy heart lay hold on this blessed word and say content Lord since thou wilt thou shalt be mine own I accept thee with all my heart Now if Christ be once yours his bloud shall be yours his death shall be yours and all the benefits of his death Whereas nothing of Christ can be yours nor any fruit of his death if he be not first yours Let Christ be once imbraced by you and if there be any purging or cleansing or sin-killing ver ue in his bloud your sins shall be purged away If all that the bloud of Christ can do for thee will recover thee thou shalt be recovered 2. You must have frequent recourse to the bloud of Christ by renewed acts of faith Look up to this crucified Jesus Cast thy polluted soul into the fountain of his bloud Zach. 13.1 He is a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness His bloud is the fountain cast thy soul into it You are come into the bloud of sprinkling Heb. 12.24 Christians are so and they may freely lay hold on it for their cleansing 1. Believe that there is such vertue in him to cleanse thy soul Say with the woman Mat. 9.21 If I may but touch him I shall be made whole 2. Believe that it is free for the● Thou mayst come with boldness to him Christ would have thee to be bold with him and to lay thine help upon him Believe that it is free for thee to lay hold on the bloud of Christ and 3. Come and lay hold upon it Lean upon him for his help and trust him for it 4. Lift up a prayer to him Lord here is a polluted dying soul that is even lost and choaked up in the mud and mire of my sins there is no help for me but I must die and perish in them if thou wilt not look upon me and save me In thy bowels I have hope in thy bloud I have hope and that is all the hope I have O sprinkle me with thy bloud wash me in thy bloud and my soul shall live Wherefore Lord didst thou die Wherefore didst thou shed that precious bloud Was it not for the recovery of lost souls for the cleansing of polluted souls Is not my poor soul one of the number of those for whom Christ died Have not I as great need of of thee as any Is it not thou thy self that hast brought this my soul to thy door crying for thine help Lord Jesus hear let some drops of that bloud some of the vertue of thy death be shed abroad upon my sinful heart and it shall live My sins must die Lord or my soul will never recover I must get this lust destroyed this enmity slain this proud and hard and stubborn