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	soul_n	union_n	7,440	5	9.4929	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63783	Truth will out a sermon preached on the 20th of June, 1683, upon the discovery of the new plot / by a presbyter of the Church of England.	Presbyter of the Church of England.	1683 (1683)	Wing T3167; ESTC R29563	25,780	36

2. Suppose thou canst not be satisfied in their godliness yet the gifts of the Spirit of God that are in them should cause some kind of closing common gifts are of a middle nature between nature and grace as the spirits of men are neither of the same nature with the soul nor of the body but between both and serve to unite the soul and body together which otherwise are of natures very different The common gifts that men who are not yet sanctified have may and should cause some union between the godly and them while they live in this world so far as to be useful one to another in what God hath given them The second joyning Consideration Let us consider how far we can agree WE differ thus and thus but what do we agree in do we not agree in things enough wherein we may all the dayes of our lives spend all the strength we have in glorifying God together Many men are of such spirits as they love to be altogether busied about their brethrens differences their discourse their pens and all their wayes are about these and that not to heal them but rather to widen them You shall 〈◊〉 hear them speak of or meddle with their agreements their ●●●ength is not bent to heighten and strengthen them if at 〈◊〉 time they do take notice of their agreements it is to ●●ke advantage of them to render their disagreements the ●ore odious or to strengthen themselves in what they ●●ffer from them they desire to get in men and to get from ●●em only to serve their own turns upon them this is an ●vil spirit No marvel therefore though some be so loth to ●iscover to them how near they can come to them Pliny tells us of Apelles that drawing the face of Antiochus the King who had but one eye that he might hide this deformity he devised to paint him turning his visage a little away so he shewed but the one side of his face and from him says Pliny came the invention first of concealing the defects and blemishes of the Visage But the Painters of our time are quite in another way if there be any deformity or defect on any side they will be sure to paint that side in all the lineaments of it that must be set forth fully to the View of all men yea if it may be made to look more ugly and monstrous then it is all the skill they have shall be improved to do it But my Beloved this ought not to be God doth not so with us he takes notice of the good of his Children but conceals their evil There was but one good word in Sarahs speech to Abraham Gen. 18.12 she called him Lord the speech otherwise was a speech of unbelief yet the Holy Ghost speaking afterwards of her in reference to that speech 1. Pet. 3.6 conceals all the evil and mentions only that reverend title s●● gave to her Husband commending her for it Thus should we do had we peacable hearts thus we would do All the good of our Brethren we would improve to the uttermost and what is evil so far as with a good Concience we might and no farther we would conceal When I shall see this temper in mens Spirits I shall hope there will be peace The third joyning Consideration Let us consider of mans Temper Spirits Temptations Education Years Gifts THere must be a due consideration of all these and we must indulge something to them all This would allay much strife as we read Numb 31.23 Every thing that may abide the fire ye shall make go thorough the fire and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go thorough the water We must deal with every man according to his temper Some men are by their complexions of a more harsh and rugged temper then others Consider what is the best way of dealing with such in the main they are faithful and useful they will joyn with you there and spend their lives for you if the harshness of their natures cause some excrescencies unpleasing carriages consider their tempers though no evil in them is to be justified yet deal tenderly with them indulge them what lawfully you may Some mens spirits though upright to God and you yet they have a fervor in them that is not qualified with that wisdom meekness humility as they ought do not presently take these advantages against them that they in their heat may perhaps give you do not fly upon them as if those unjustifiable expressions that come from them came from a spirit of malignity You know the man and the manner of his communication pass by weaknesses accept of uprightness Some mens temptations are very strong it may be their hearts are pressed with disappointments it may be they are pricked with the want of many comforts you have they have family-temptations and personal temptations that you are free from you do not know what you might do if you were under the like temptations Bless God that you are delivered from them but do not add to your brethrens affliction by taking advantages against them but according to the rule of the Apostle Gal. 6.1 If a man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness considering thy self lest thou also be tempted Bear ye one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ Consider their education some all their days have lived in wicked families they never were acquainted with the society of the Saints with that way of Godliness that have the most strictness and power in it You must not deal with them for all things you see amiss in them in the same way you would deal with such who have had godly education who have had acquaintance with the most strict and powerful wayes of godliness but now manifest a spirit against them Consider mens years old age looks for respect and justly especially such as have gone thorough the brunt and suffered much for your good though some infirmities should break forth that are incident to old age we must cover and pass by what we can not forgetting that reverent respect that is due to the heary head found in the way of godliness Consider mens gifts it may be they are not able to rise to your height to understand what you do thank God for your strength but be not angry with your brother because he is weaker This was one of the arguments for peace that Constantine in that forementioned Letter of his to Alexander and Arius used we are not in all things like minded neither have we all the same nature and gift ingrafted in us The fourth joyning Consideration What we get by contention will never quit cost A Merchant thinks it an ill venture if when he casts up his accounts he finds the charge of his voyage rises to more then his incomes If thou hast so much command of thy spirit if thou canst so far overcome thy passions

is one body and one spirit ye are called in one hope one Lord one faith one baptisme one God and Father of all Here you have seven Ones together in two or three lines It is very much that the Spirit of God should joyn so close together seven Ones surely it is to be a strong argument for us to unite First one Body The meanest member yet it is in the body Is it comely for the body of Christ to be rent and torn any reference to Christ might perswade unity but union with Christ as the members with the body what heart can stand against the strength of this What can cause one member to tear and rend another but madness 2. One Spirit 1 Cor. 12.11 that one and the self same spirit he does not only say The same spirit but The self same spirit and as if that not enough he adds One to the self same and that yet not enough he says That one all this is in ss the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The repeating the Article hath a great elegancy in it And is not this one Spirit the Spirit of love and meekness What does a froward contentious spirit do in thee who professest thy self to be a Christian What says Cyprian does the fierceness of Wolves madness of Dogs the deadly poyson of Serpents the bloudy rage of Beasts in a Christians breast 3. Called in one hope Are not you heirs joynt heirs of the same Kingdom and do you contend as if one belonged to the kingdom of light and the other to the kingdom of darkness 4. One Lord. You serve the same Lord and Master Is it for the credit of a Master that his servants are always wrangling and fighting one with another Is it not a tedious thing in a family that the servants can never agree Mark how ill the Lord takes this Mat. 24.49 50 51. that evil servant who begins to smite his fellow-servants provokes his Lord against him so as to come upon him with such severity as to cut him asunder and to appoint his portion with the hypocrites 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he will dichotomize him divide him in two he by his smiting his fellow-servants makes divisions but his Lord will divide him It may be he pretends that his fellow-servants do not do their duty as they ought as if he were more careful of the honour of his Lord then others who are of a different way from him 5. One Faith What though we agree not together in some things of lesser moment yet we agree in one faith Why should we not then keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace The agreement in the faith one would think should swallow up all other disagreements We should rather bless God for keeping men sound in the faith then contend with them for lesser mistakes When the Pharisees Acts 23.9 understood that Paul agreed with them in that great doctrine of the Resurrection they presently overlook his other differences saying We find no evil in this man Master Calvin in his Epistle to our Countreymen at Frankford fled for their lives in witness to the truth yet miserably jarring and contending one against another there to the scandall of all the Churches of God in those Parts begins his Epistle thus This doth grievously torment me it is extremely absurd that dissentions should arise among brethren Exiles fled from their countrey for the same faith and for that cause which alone in this your scattering ought to be to you as a holy band to keep you fast bound together Their contentions were about Church-worship 6. One Baptism We are baptized into Christs death and is not that to shew that we should be dead to all those things in the world that cause strife and contention among men Our Baptism is our badg our livery it furthers somewhat the unity of servants that they wear all one livery 7. One God Though there be three Persons in the Divine Nature and every Person is God yet there is but one God here is an union infinitly beyond all unions that any creature can be capable of themystery of this union is revealed to us to make us in love with union Our interest in this one God is such a conjunction as nothing can be more Josephs brethren Gen. 50.17 looked upon this as having very great power in it to make up all breaches to heal all old grudges After their Father was dead their consciences misgave them for what they had done to Joseph they were afraid old matters would break forth and that Joseph would turn their enemy now how do they seek to unite Josephs heart to them We pray thee say they forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy Father and the Text says Joseph wept when they spake unto him Oh this was a heart-breaking speech to Joseph The servants of the God of my Father Shall my heart ever be estranged from the servants of the God of my Father The Lord forbid Their offence indeed was great but their God is my God and he was my Fathers God this argument had more in it to draw Josephs heart to them then if they had said We are your brethren we came from the same loyns you did True that is something but the servants of the God of thy Father is much more Let us look upon all the godly though thy have many weaknesses though they have not carried themselves towards us as they ought yet they are the servants yea the children of our God and of our fathers God let this draw our hearts to them If they be one with us in their interest in one God let them be one with us in the affections of our heart to love them delight in them and rejoyce in communion with them One God and Father Mal. 2.10 Have we not all one Father hath not one God Created us Is it seemly that one mans children should be always contending quarrelling and mischieving on another do you think this is pleasing to your Father It follows in that of Ephes 4. who is above all and through all and in you all You have enough in your Father to satisfie your souls for ever whatsoever you want other wayes he is above all he that is so glorious and blessed infinitly above all things hath put honour enough upon you that he is your Father why will you contend and quarrell about trifles He hath absolute authority to dispose of all things as he pleaseth let not the different administrations of his to some in one kind to some in another be matter for you to contend about And he worketh in all You will say If indeed we could see God in such if we could see grace and holiness in them our hearts would close with them but we see not this 1. Take heed thou dost not reject any from being thy brother whom Jesus Christ at the great day will own for his and God the Father will call Child