Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	concern_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	94	3	8.8044	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46526	Compunction or pricking of heart with the time, meanes, nature, necessity, and order of it, and of conversion; with motives, directions, signes, and means of cure of the wounded in heart, with other consequent or concomitant duties, especially self-deniall, all of them gathered from the text, Acts 2.37. and fitted, preached, and applied to his hearers at Dantzick in Pruse-land, in ann. 1641. and partly 1642. Being the sum of 80. sermons. With a post-script concerning these times, and the sutableness of this text and argument to the same, and to the calling of the Jews. By R.J. doctor of divinity.	R. J.	1648 (1648)	Wing J27; ESTC R213600	381,196	433

to do and that in all fear and distrust of our selves and in all humility even because it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure Phil. 2 12 13. Neither must we trust to the strength of our own resolutions to do well And strength of our own resolutions purposes and promises or purposes and promises of our own though we intend therein never so well and do not of purpose make semblance of what we mean not No Peter did so before he had experience of his own weaknesse and so many others who in their sicknesse danger or otherwise do vow and resolve to become new men c. In all these we must take God along with us and Christ We must take God along with us doing all in his power and strength or otherwise we shall find our strength to be weaknesse Thus Paul Phil. 4.13 I can do all things yea and suffer all things through Christ which strengtheneth me This he saith who yet of himself was not sufficient so much as to thinke any thing as of himself 2 Cor. 3.5 When we thus deny our own strength and trust not to it we may be weak in our selves but yet never so strong in the Lord Eph. 6.10 as then So Paul found it 2. Cor. 12.10 For when we trust to our own strength God denieth us his and so we trust to a staffe of reed as many professing strong resolutions to become Martyrs and not to deny Christ or his truth have fouly failed and that because they denied not their own strength But when in any thing we undertake or resolve upon we deny our own strength and do all in Christs God will not be wanting to us In such case and in such case only Let the weak say I am strong Joel 3.10 3. Our own Righteousnesse and Holiness 3. Is it any righteousnesse or holinesse of ours which we have either from the Law in which Paul was unblameable or from the Gospel Phil. 3.6 2 Pet. 2.10 so far as through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ any of us have escaped the pollutions of the world and so are of civill conversation and life in the world Oh learn we to disclaim all in the sight and acknowledgement both of the perfection of that righteousnesse which is in Christ and which is needfull for us and of the inward pollutions of our souls hearts thoughts and affections boyling there and of secret pride opinion of merit and of hypocrisie and selfe-deceit raigning there which we must not stand upon as the Pharisaicall Jewes of old Be we far from the pride and hypocrisie of the Jewes of old who in regard of some legall righteousness of theirs as it might appear to their own eyes and to the eies of the world could say though otherwise they were incredulous Idolaters and vile hypocrites as God himself doth charge them Stand by thy self come not neer to me for I am holier then thou and of latter times Isai 65.2 3 4 5. Yea let us beware of the like pride hypocrisie and vain glory of the Pharisees in Christs time set out in the Parable of the Pharisee and Publican Luke 18 10 11 12. God I thanke thee saith he that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this Publican I fast twice in the week I give tithes of that I possesse Ah take heed These being ignorant of Gods righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousnesse have not by self-deniall submitted themselves unto the righteousnesse of God Rom. 10.3 If these Jewes in my text had still stood upon such termes with God when had they been converted we could not have expected such words savouring of so much self-deniall from them Men and brethren what shall we do and as many amongst ourselves No we should rather have heard what we may now daily hear I hope I am no contemner of holy things I reverence Gods sanctuary come to Church hear divine service diligently and carry my selfe there devoutly am uncovered Thus did not these Jewes in the Text bow at the very mention of the name of Iesus my Saviour and honour the Altar the prime place of his holiness and honour all which I see others proud Pharisees as they are ●rofanely to neglect I wrong no man I am no adulterer extortioner or unjust person c. Thus they would put the Pharisee from them whilest they keep him close in their own bosoms and think to avoid him by chargeing others with him If Paul had persisted thus to do who once stood much upon himself that he was circumcised nor Paul of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin an Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the Law a Pharisee concerning zeal persecuting the Church touching the righteousness which is of the Law blameless Gal. 1.13 14 15 16. I say when had he been converted having been especially so exceedingly zealous in his Religion as many are now in their own way of formality and of the traditions of his fathers But when it pleased God to call him by his grace and to reveal his son in him hee conferred no longer with flesh and blood he accounted all losse to him for Christ yea dung that he might win Christ and be found in him not having saith he mine own righteousnesse which is of the Law lo his self-deniall but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God by faith Phil. 3.7 8 9. And this is that righteousnesse unto which these Jewes in my Text whilest they deny themselves are directed vers 38. as also the jaylor Acts 16.30 31. Let us then with the holiest otherwise of men next to Jesus Christ denie our own righteousnesse not stand to plead our civill life our morall righteousness our formall service and strict observation of outward duties traditions or injunctions of men Let us with Paul renounce all these nor Isaiah and with the holy Prophet Isaiah Isai 64.5 6. truly and from the heart confesse with him who puts himself into the number We are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags Whereas saith he Thou O God meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh righteousness those that remember thee in thy waies The humble Publicans confession will better become us Luke 18.13 14. who standing a far off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven but smote upon his breast saying God be mercifull to me a sinner The rather let us look to this nor the Publican because Publicans and harlots as being sooner convinced of their sins and unrighteousnesse go into the kingdom of God before proud Pharises and justitiaries Matth. 21.31 32. These beleeved John when those others beleeved him not who came unto him in the way of righteousnesse and when they had seen it repented not afterward

own private and particular cause of joy should not be thought on but laid aside when it goes not well with Jerusalem and Sion as it was with the Wife of Phinehas as in divers examples Phinehas his Wife who for grief to hear that the Ark of God was seized on by the Philistims fell in labour and would not be comforted in a son which she bare she set not her heart to that neither did she regard it But to shew what she most laid to heart she named the childe Ichabod that is Where is the glory or There is no glory saying The glory is departed from Israel for the Ark of God is taken and so she died 1 Sam. 4.20.21 22. Nehemiah The like we see in that worthy Nehemiah Neh. 1.3 4. who understanding the misery of Jerusalem though he himself was in great favour with Artaxerxes the King and that it was well with himself yet sate down and wept and mourned certain days and prayed before the God of heaven on the behalf of his distressed brethren The like I might shew in Abraham interceding for Sodom Abraham and specially for Lot and in all likelihood not sleeping the night before Gen. 18. Ezekiel Moses Paul Joshua Josh 7 5 6 9. So in Ezekiel and the mourners Ezek. 9.4 8. In Moses and Paul of whom before And in Joshua and the Elders sorrowfully complaining in fear the enemies should environ them round and cut off their name from the earth so that God should not have a Church on earth to serve and honour him And thus by Gods blessing and mercy the care of our dread Soveraign Our own Land at this time and of this our Nation hath shewed it self concerning the distressed estate of Gods Church and people in Ireland not onely by and in the monthly exercise of prayer not sparing either Prayers fasting and supplication for them to draw down a blessing from God upon them and themselves but by supplies made both of money Money or munition and men who to represse those Popish and Romish Rebels and inhumane monsters have hazarded their lives Lives for Ireland yea many of them for the publick good and peace of that Church and people and re-establishing of the true Religion among them and securing it to our selves have already spent their best blood and lost their lives and as we see it in nature Thus in the humane Body the hand will expose it self to save the head and the whole body yea in Nature and in the Vniverse the water and fire will forsake their own proper motion and nature fire will descend and water ascend rather then there be any discontinuity or vacuity in the whole Yea every creature is ordained of God to be serviceable to the more superiour and not for it self alone The Earth is for the corn wine and oyle and these for Gods people Birds beasts bees are fruitfull not for themselves but for us men neither is every man born for himself but for others also and for the more publick good of State and Church Every good man is a common good and of a publick spirit for the good of many This makes such an one a Man among men one of a thousand Let us thus conceive as of the naturalnesse and necessity so of the excellency of this publick spirit Private interests to be denyed for publick persons Example in the Galatians once that so for the publick good of many especially of those that are good and publick persons we may be content to deny our selves in our own particular interests as the Galatians were once so affected to Paul that to have done him good or that it had been possible they would have plucked out their own eys and have given them to him they had him in such love and estimation in Priscilla and Aquila Gal. 4.15 as also had Priscilla and Aquila who for Pauls sake laid down their own necks Rom. 16.4 so ingaging in acknowledgment of thankfulnesse not onely him but also all the Churches of the Gentiles whose Apostle he was However as the need of such requires in an high estimation of them as publick good things and profitable to many let us be willing so far to deny our selves for them as in our wealth and that is but duty to contribute to them and communicate to them in all good things or in all our goods Gal. 1.6 and afford them double honour 1 Tim. 5.17 and in our names by answering for them in our lives if need be by speaking or pleading for them as did Queen Esther Thus to do namely to subordinate a mans self to the more publick and generall good of the Church Signes of self-denyal gathered from the four generall things named cause and people of God is an evident expression of one that denies himself truely as is also the practice of those other things formerly mentioned as Greater care to gain a mans own soul then the world High estimation of Christ of his excellency fulness and All-sufficiency with a true sence of a mans own emptiness worthlessness folly especially an high estimation of Christ with a mean conceit of our selves impotency wretchedness basenesse or in want of the sence of these with a true desire to know the worst by a mans own self as in Eli 1 Sam. 3.17 18. Job 34.32 and Psal 139.23 and by being well-affected to the means of discovery of him to himself and not willingly and willfully ignorant of what may debase him and advance Christ and respect to Gods glory Lastly Subordination of a mans self and all unto Gods will and glory of a mans wealth liberty name yea life rather then deny God in his truth glory worship as wee see in Daniel Dan. 6.10 and in the holy Martyrs of Jesus Christ not being ashamed to confess Christ and to advance Gods glory in any company or upon any occasion The conclusion of this point of self-deniall But now it may seem high time to leave this discourse of self-deniall in this place where it is not so directly and by way of precept taught as gathered and presupposed in these who were so savingly touched by the word and driven out of themselves so as to cry out Men and brethren what shall we do But as I have said the uncertainty of my long abode with you and of having occasion more purposely to handle the argument together with the exceeding great usefulness and profit as I hope of the duty have drawn me on to be so large This if it seem to be prolixity shall be recompenced with brevity in the dispatch of the third and last observation concerning the qualification of those whom God doth save with which all shall be finished CHAP. XXXVII SECT 1. Shewing thirdly that such as God converteth and saveth must be willing and pliable to Gods will and ready to submit to him in matter of 1. Salvation 2. Religion and