Selected quad for the lemma: opinion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
opinion_n	body_n	life_n	soul_n	2,369	5	5.5545	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15575	Abels offering. Or The earely, and most accepted sacrifice of a Christian Shewing how soone every soule is bounde to begin, & betake himself, not only to the true, but also to the timely service of God. A sermon preached at Hamburg in November 1617. and now published at the instant entreaty of a godly Christian. By Iohn Wing (then) pastor to the English church, there.	Wing, John, of Flushing, Zealand.	1621 (1621)	STC 25842; ESTC S120118	48,552	80

was given in writing Abel you see is carefull to bring his first and I nothing doubt but Adam his father did it before him as we noted before But here it way be enquired wherefore these things were offred in those times and among all the Jewes to the time of Christ and are not soe now among vs were they proper to their worship We answer they were soe as the Iewish people were a people peculiar to God and he taught them his minde after such a manner as never any nation but they had it to wit by shaddowes types and ceremonies such as were to endure for a season and to dye when once Iesus Christ the Lord of life did appeare and had fulfilled this law of Iewish rites which perished and became frustrate in Gods purpose assoone as his consummatum est was out of his mouth But if these Mosacaill rites were shaddowes what was the substance what was the truth and signification of these types and ceremonyes and of these first fruites and first borne in particuler We answer Heb. 10.1 all men must know that the whole ceremoniall law was a type or shaddow the apoctle tells vs soe in the generall every ceremonie therein did some way respect Christ who is the end of this law hath abolished the same one way or other Christ was aymed at in each offering Now for the matter meant and signifyed by these first fruits and first borne they also had their reference to the Lord Iesus who is entituled 1. Cor. 15 1● both the first fruits of them that sleepe and the first borne of every creature Yet not to him only though principally had they their totall relation as if nothing else at all were to be shaddowed by these things but as to him to wit to Christ they were strictly and properly assigned soe in a larger sence and vse the perpetuall morality of this law was that our choysest and cheife our first and best the prime and principall not of our fruits or of our beast but of our lives of our selves should be given to the service of our God That assoone as he pleaseth to enlarge and encrease the abilityes of our bodyes and facultyes of our soules that we can once discerne betweene good and evill and are able to put a difference betweene these in our opinion and practise we should incontinently and forth-with betake our selves to worship and obey the Lord and from that time proceede in the same during all our dayes But it is further noted here in the text that Abells sacrifice was Of the fatt of his flock Fatt in scriptures hath divers references and accordingly divers sences as the nature of things to which it is referred doth require It retayneth his naturall signification when it is referred to naturall things we read of Fatnesse attributed to the earth to oyle Gen. 27.28 cap. 45.18 to wine the best of which God doth call the fattest and the fattest of any thing is the best as the fattest land the best land and soe of the rest And soe we account the fattest beast the best especially being young too as these first-borne were But when fattnes is affirmed of things spirituall or things naturall considered spiritually it carieth contrary sences and signifies both the best and the worst For we finde David where he would shew a most sinfull hart to say it is a hart as fat as brawne and the Prophet Isaiah Psal 119.20 Is 6. Mat. 23.14.15 Psal 36.2 Psal 92. ●0 and Christ after him when they speake of a hart given over of God say thus make the hart of this people fatt On the other side the most abundant and best blessings pertayning to the solacing of the saints are called the fatnes of thy house and those godly and well-growne christians who have eaten and fed freely of those divine delicates and by the benefit of them are come to some good measure of ability in good things are sayd to be fatt and flourishing But with this mysticall sence or vse of the word we meddle not in our text it is taken most properly for fat beasts the fat of his flock that is the best there So that the summe of all that is sayd here of Abells offring is this that he being made partaker of true grace and guided by God to shew it in the fruits therof doth by faith offer vnto God such a sacrifice as was now required namely the first among all the first the very best of the flock he did attend I say now required for after-ward God commanded and expected more but as yet there was no temple or tabernacle no high preist nor any Levite no fire from heaven at least that burnt continually nor many other things which came in in succeeding times some when the Arke and tabernacle was erected more when the Temple was builded and all other things set in order according to Gods prescription touching each particuler Note Howbeit Abel in the meane time doth his best and offers to his vtmost power what his present state and the present time may permit shewing therby that true grace will doe what it can though it cannot doe all it would or should in the seruice of God others may doe more in times places which afforde more meanes but sincerity will shew it self in the most that may be done for the time being though we enjoy but litle meanes or few helpes to further vs yet a sounde hart will make some honest shift to doe something that may be pleasing to God This is worth noteing by the way because it meete's fitly with their fearefull jmpiety who let all religion and piety alone because they cannot doe all like to miserable and desperate bankrupts who because they are not able to give every man all will pay nothing at all to any mā which deceit who could endure Nay learne to doe better of good Abell and all Gods saints who lived in the first times doe something the most and best thou canst and the Lord will accept thee according to the willing minde thou hast to goe as farre as weake meanes will further thee Note A man doth not more manifest weake grace in not doing Gods worke compleatly then he doth evidēce true grace in doing what he is able to doe conscionably The Lord regarde's men according to his meanes and their mindes in his service They that offred vprightly before the preisthood was ordered were as acceptable to God and some of them had as much and all of them had as true grace as any that sacrificed after Note A wise christian may employ much grace vpon litle meanes and I thinke the least meanes that ever the Lord doth give may exercise the most grace the best of vs have if we play the good husbands set it well a work But this is by the way let vs now make toward the mayne thing Heb. 11.4 we meane to handle in this offring of Abel