Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	church_n	invisible_a	visible_a	2,612	5	9.5734	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92204	The fiery change: or, Almighty God, his melting and refining of his people, purging out their drosse and drossy metals, making them like unto himself and to his Son who is the pure Word. Wherein is discovered, by the comparison of metals, how the visible church is corrupted, consisting of men of all degrees and conditions and how God hath begun to refine them: which have past in the world a long time for good metal: but now is discovering by fire. / By Robert Read.	Read, Robert, fl. 1653-1656.	1656 (1656)	Wing R440; Thomason E899_3; ESTC R206741	92,260	122

and quake O ye mockers for the day of the Lord is come in which he will not onely search Jerusalem with candles but he will change Jerusalem by fire what can you expect that when the great and dreadfull God who is holy and cannot endure uncleanesse and drosse to be among his people but will consume it by the fire of his anger but to be utterly consumed as these sublunary metalls you can have no other end for the Silver and the Gold the pure metals you ever hated and made no reckoning of but rested and trusted in the shinings of your own base metals not regarding to know God and therefore God will give you up to a reprobate minde Rom. 1.28 let seasonable advice take hold on you What ever you do or suffer get Gold buy Truth dig deep for Silver and let not all the metalls beneath these metalls gain thy heart let them have what luster gilding or shining soever they will deceive thee Jona 3.8 They that trust in lying vanities forsake their own mercy What will become of our Nation if it should neglect so great salvation is there not a deluge of pride hypocrisie idolatry covetousnesse and murmuring now God would be mercifull to us if we would but resigne our selves up to him but we are proud and exalted in the fleshly wisdome being blinde thinking our selves in an excellent good condition giving our selves up to the lusts of our own hearts not caring to see the visions of God in the inward and internall way and so perish through our own carnall understandings in an outward profession Let us be humbled under the mighty hand of God who will exalt us the humble he will teach and those that dread and fear him he will reveal his secrets unto what greater blessednesse can be to any of the sons of men then this to be his schollers Pro. 29.18 and to know his will The teachers of the world are corrupted Psal 25.9 14. and need to be taught themselves for it appeareth they are not as the Apostles were in the primitive time but alienated from their practice having not the inlivening power within them of the spirit whence it comes to passe that living and speaking according to the letter they are by an Artifice of Satan strengthened by the outward profession to oppose strongly from their forme the inward and true spirituall worshiper and so Antichrist comes to be taken for Christ and Christ for Antichrist As the Scriptures are such are the Ministers of it the letter serveth as a shelter or an hiding place for Antichrist to lurke and save himself in where now he is striving for superiority as the Pharisees did in the time of Christ against whom he did chiefly speak but the Spirit is of that pure simple individuall and virgin like holy quality proceeding from the Father of light that it needeth not to be urged either by letter or word being given up wholly to the invisible and internall enjoyment of the life of God which by his inspiration the letter was first monumented to enioy the letter without the spirit is to enjoy the picture and not the person Christ saith you thinke to have eternall life in the Scriptures No you cannot they testifie of me John 5.39 that giveth life to all that do beleeve His ministration is a ministration of reconciliation to salvation and we are to look after no other although there may be excellent pretences Should the men of the world study but half so much for their eternall welfare as they do for their temporall they could not but give strong reasons and gain strong resolutions against their own practices to be in Israel and not an Israelite to be of the visible Church and to have no invisible light and truth this is worth nothing to talk of grace with the mouth and have none in the heart to say they know and do not there sin remaineth Stirre up thy self Joh. 9.14 O worldling ly not still consider what thou art and wherefore thou wast created 1 Joh. 3.20 let not the naturall light that is within condemn thee to perdition and make no further use of any thing wherein others meet with the Lord their God then that thou mightest so really and truly meet him also Let not the outward performances of duties Eccles. 5.7 Job 34.19 Psal 113.7 serve thine own will to the increase of worldly gain or preferment but serve God with a pure minde and heart-performance which he onely accepteth of Let the poor and mean Yea the servants of men endeavour cheifly that the Lord may be their portion the sin of murmuring is as among all people so especially among people of low degree they murmure because God hath not given them such a portion of the world as oothers because they are impotent or that they are under the cōmand of others many waies is there a murmuring against God learn patience and know that the very worst estate that can be is beyond thy desert and that thy Maker will do with his own as He pleaseth Happy art thou if thou findest within thy self the God of love and infinite mercy anyway to appear if in that thou hast received thou hast seen a hand directing it to thee though it be bitter take it from the Lord as a token of his infinite love rejoyce in thy low condition the Lords eye is over thee and will neverthelesse judge thine oppressour he hath a regard to the poor he will defend them he wil bring them them out of the dust and set them among Princes all that wait upon the Lord shall see his goodnesse in the Land of the Living Let all therefore say that have not to their desire in outward appearance of Gods favour Verily thou O God hidest thy self O God thou Saviour of Israel Lastly whatever thou art that dost draw neer to God in any outward performance meditate with thy self to what end thou dost it and be more neer to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools Eccles 4.17 ● 1. neither be rash with thy mouth to utter a thing before God for he is in Heaven and thou art on earth therefore let thy words be few Eccles 4.17.5.1 Lamentable it is to see how sinfully men present themselves before the Lord in Congregations petitioning for that their hearts are not affected with and promising that they have no intent to perform Consider in your mindes would a mortall man be so served that is in some regall authority and do you think the great God can bear it No if this be your resolved practice he will cast you into utter darknesse that doth thus counterfeit and dissemble with him who seeth the heart you shall never have the light of his countenance here nor that Heaven which you care little for hereafter Behold the day of the Lord is very neer at hand and he cometh as a thief in the night Revel 3.2 Who may abide the day of his coming And who shall endure when he appeareth Mal. 3.2 1 Thess 5.6 for he is like a purging fire and like Fullers sope Watch therefore Luke 12.33 to the 41. read it in the Spirit that being fore-warned you may be fore-armed Finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things pertain to love Phil. 4.8 whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue or if there be any praise think on these things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in Paul or in any of the Saints of God those things do and the God of peace shall be with you FINIS

life Many will say What shall we we not pray when they neither know what God is nor what themselves are such as presume to pray without knowledge do break the command of God in taking his Name in vaine when the heart is not according to the tongue and sound yea when their Company or their Congregation agreeth not for there is the hater and the hated the oppressour and the oppressed the rich that cares not for the poor and the poor that curseth the rich What congregall prayer can there be in this mixture when mens hearts are one aginst the other The rich and the poor goes together but the Lord is the maker of them both he knows their hearts their ends in comming to publike places every sound noise is not a prayer then the Pharisee had been commended for his long one but it is the inward and deep sighings of the heart in the singlenesse thereof and being fervent We are commanded to pray continually and they that make long prayers are condemned being in ostentation as in publike congregations once or twice in a week and have little converse with God all the rest of the week be not deceived God is not mocked Whatsoever ye sow that shall ye reap Decipies alios verbis vultuque benigno Sed mihi jam notus dissimulator eris Be ashamed and stand amazed all ye that are under the great Light that God hath caused to shine forth in this Nation You will say that you are the people of God and that you know him but it appears by your actions that you know him not for a man to know a thing is to know the condition of it as to know a peece of coine To know God is another manner of businesse than the world makes it to know God is to have experience of him and of all his Attributes his Mercy his Love his Goodnesse his long suffering c. To know God in Christ is the true knowledge of him to be in Union and Communion with him to obey him love him and fear him to honour him and glorifie him this the world knoweth not for the world seeks its own Therefore many that do professe that they know God and in their works do deny him are not onely Heathens but they are worse then the heathens Cato for they say If there be a God he ought to be worshipped with a pure minde miserable is the condition of many that think it sufficient to have the bare name of a Christian and say Christ died for me and rose again for me and never felt the power of Christs death killing sin in them nor the vertue of his Resurrrection quickening and raising them to a new life that cannot witnesse a new birth a separation But live in the old nature and the old man of sin remaining still Deale plainely with your selves ye sons of men for the case doth require it do not lose your precious time here and say I hope to go to Heaven whereas you know not what heaven is neither are you fit for it for heaven is a Condition rather then a Local place and the heavenly condition stands not in outward things as to satisfie the flesh neither is it found any otherwise then in the Crosse here in this World but it doth appear in us by Peace of conscience and joying in the Holy Spirit of God being perfectly assured and having a firme testimony of our Resurrection being Adopted and made the Sons of God 1 John 1.3 and having fellowship with the Father and the Son Deceive not your selves but strive to enter in at the strait gate Go not the broad way of the Worlds profession but the strait and narrow way of the Crosse Deny your selves your own works your own righteousnesse and whatsoever pleaseth and agreeth with your own wills and wait at Wisdoms gate examining your selves whether you be not that that cleaves to the pure Metall and makes it the worse whether you are not the corrupt matter of Silver and not Silver it self if you be the corrupt matter if you be the drosse you must be purged out you must be spewed out if you come to the porch onely and go no further if you come not to the Holy of Holies you were better not come neer at all Psal 119.119 for the Lord will take away the wicked like drosse The Lord will not have to do with such corrupt impure and unclean matter Prov. 25.4 Take the drosse from the silver and there will proceed a vessell fit for the refiner when the Almighty God hath purged and purified the silver and ejected and cast out the drosse then there is a vessell for himself a temple for himself to dwell in for the Lords delight is in his Saints and among them and silver is as his Word is when it is refined Meddle not nor have to do with the most Holy and pure God upon any account living in your own wisdome wills and lust for it had been better for Cain that he had offered no Sacrifice then to account the best too good for God and to offer the worst better not to come to any Table then to the Table of the Devils the end of all Religion is to bring soules to God not to make a greater separation by it from God You were once a far off but now ye are made nigh by the Blood of Christ that onely brings us neer to God draw neer through his Blood and he will draw neer to us look to your hearts and to the issues of all exercises not what the exercise is but to what it tendeth for it is either life or death If you serve God in the flesh you shall have corruption and death for your reward if you live to the flesh you shall die but if through the Spirit you mortifie the deeds of the flesh you shall live God accepteth no sacrifice done in the flesh but as he is a Spirit most holy so he must be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth which was the Legacy Christ Jesus left with his Disciples when he left them We cannot come to the Lord with anything of our own to be acceped of him but what we come to him with must be his he heareth nothing but his own Spirit and that he wil not deny What saith Christ In vain do they worship me c. The Lord Esay 1. saith What have I to do with your Sacrifices and in the same first of Esaiah I hate your new Moons and your appointed feasts they are a burden unto me I am weary to bear them All the devices of men all their art all their invention proceeding onely from them in drawing neer to to God is nothing worth for it cannot but differ from the will of God in Gods worship the more of mans wisdom the lesse of Gods respect the more plainer and simplier we worship him the more hope of acceptance The ordinances of man or of any Churches

if they differ in the least from the will of God must be cast out For not onely humane reason but divine reason not sanctified can may or ought to have any power in the ordering placing or disposing of any worship of God The will of God onely is the reason of his own worship and mans reason can be no ground for such a structure which his art and science defileth as separate from the will of God Non vox sed votum non musica cordula sed cor Non clamans sed amans clamat in aure Dei Much might be said concerning the drosse that is among the pure metall In plain termes the corruption the filth and the uncleannesse that is among professing people that professe to be the people of God and are civilized exceedingly that to the eyes of the World are almost spotless but when God comes to try by fire then will their filth and drosse appear Prov. 7.3 Solomon saith As the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold so the Lord tryeth the hearts The outward visible actions of professours that is so much accompanied with outward decency in the behaviour keeps off the inward purity that the soule should be exercised in in the sight of God Curisity in duties outwardly done in the sight of man hinders the inward integrity invisibly to be done with God Therefore it is that the exercise of Religion which should cure and eject our drosse by an addition of more filth and impurity in that which should speak purity and life it doth kill and brings death The shining beames of Gods most pure and holy Spirit shining in us causeth our actions and duties through that most pure Light to be living and become a living Sacrifice acceptable to God But duties done visibly and audibly Rom. 12 1● onely in the body the minde and will being carried on to the satisfaction of the outward spectacle resting in the forme custom use and manner woundeth and slayeth the spirituall and invisible part where the receptacle should be for the living Sacrifice For men to go about to make themselves like God in their own wills doth derogate from the nature of obedience and doth manifest that they are the sons of emnity but yeelding themselves up submitting unto embracing that which is crosse to their wills desiring to be ruled and guided by that good counsell which is of God maketh the purest sacrifice It pleased God by these comparisons of metals to discover what his people are and how they are different in purity from himself which is most pure and holy let therefore all men that live in a profession not stand upon the purity of it for the Whore sits upon waters there is many baptisms of water but the baptisme of fire is that that God will purifie his people withall and that that hath quenched this many yeers Mat. 3. must now be dried up by the fire of the Lord and it will burn up all and dry up all For our God is a consuming fire Experience this ye that are called godly you cannot be God-like which is the Old language untill the Lord God hath consumed all flesh within you and there be nothing in you but the Lord God All in All. Thirdly God saith that Israel is Brasse and Tin and Iron and Lead What Israel was and what England is by these comparisons of metals the Lord will make known to us These severall metals are of severall natures and qualities some by art counterfeiting the richer metals of Gold and Silver which are figures of Himself and of his word These metals are very apt to rust and to receive and embrace the same and so are accounted drossy metals yet very vsefull as to the World ordained by the great Creatour in their severall kndes for severall necessitous negotiations in the world They have their breeding and their generation in the earth and being from thence and thereout they must passe through a strong blowing fire before they come to perfection and be fit to officiate the use service and the end the great Creatour made them for as to the use of the world wherein is seen a great deal of the glory of God in the excellency of his creation in the various qualities of them as doth also appear in all other things created by God How is Israel Brasse and Tin and Iron and Lead wherein and in what are they such metals The people of Israel here named are thus in divers respects First They are Brasse in their men of power Rulers Governours Magistrates Justices and Arbiters Secondly They are Tin in their Prophets Teachers Guides and Ministers Thirdly They are Iron in the people of Trafficke Commerce Trade and merchandise and in them that exercise to the support of the Nation Fourthly They are Lead in the poor and mean in people of low degree First see what Brasse is and how it may be said that Rulers Governours c. May be as brasse Brasse is a compound metall made and contrived of Copper and Calamy which metall so composed hath a lustre like gold by its mixture and the more usefull for it's mixture So are those that are called to high places of Government they are not barely naturalists onely men as borne simply themselves naturally But there is a mixture composed with other ingredients in them of natural endowments fit for their places of learning experience knowledge understanding and rightly to censure as also to execute as to the World the things matters and causes that are under their dispensation and their determination and herein as brasse hath a lustre like gold so have the Governours c. a lustre beyond other men Hence it is that there is and hath been at all times an honour and a respect given unto them being the greatest instruments under the arme of God for the peace the welfare and the good of people in the Nations under them I have said You are Gods and you are all Psal 82.6 the children of the most High Christians have had at all times respect to their governours for Gods sake they are set up of God By me kings reign c. Rom. 13.1 There is no power but of God wherefore resist not the powers they that doe shall receive to themselves judgement But whence is the complaint that the Lord makes that Israels Rulers are Brasse something is the matter God Almighty expecteth that they should not onely doe and execute the common and ordinary businesse as to the World but that they should stand up like men in the cause of God to distribute justice impartially and as in his stead to curb and punish the evil doers and to defend and preserve those that do well encouraging others also to live in their wayes that they should be as nursing fathers and nursing mothers Esa 49.23 they should defend the innocent and acquit him and execute justice on the nocent The cause why the Lord complaineth