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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
rest_n	call_v	day_n	rest_v	3,348	5	9.4726	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61848	Heavenly treasure, or, Mans chiefest good wherein the several workings of the heart about, and in pursuance of its chiefest good are solidly and judiciously discovered / by William Strong.	Strong, William, d. 1654.; Sedgwick, Obadiah, 1600?-1658. Elisha his lamentation upon the sudden translation of Elijah.	1656 (1656)	Wing S6004; ESTC R25154	135,945	535

dear Childe my Father my Father As David once about Absolom my Son my Son So Elisha here for Elijah my Father my Father Ah my Father my Father Oh I have lost a Father my Father such a Father The Chaldee Interpreter renders it Rabbi Rabbi my Master my Master But in the Hebrew it is Abba Abba my Father my Father 2. The publique loss The Charet of Israel and the horsemen thereof As if he had said one of the best instrumental helps and safeties that all Israel enjoyed is now taken away O the staff and the stay is broken What the Charet and the Horsemen are to an Army or to a State and what the loss of them is unto a State That was the life and that was the loss of this Prophet Elijah unto all Israel There are two Propositions onely which I would briefly discourse upon from this Text at this time and with respect to this sad occasion 1. That even the most eminently Faithfull and Zealous Prophets of God may be and shall be taken away from a people 2. That the loss of any one eminently Faithful and Zealous Prophet of God should affect the hearts of people with exceeding Grief and Lamentation I begin with the first of these 1. Proposition That even the most eminently Faithfull and Zealous Prophets of God may be and shall be taken away from a people The Prophets or Ministers of God they are of different parts and gifts and they are of different Spirits and they are of different Use and Service Put them in comparison one with another some are as Stars of the first Magnitude and others of a lesser Magnitude some are as the Cedars and others are but as ordinary trees Some are more richly As Elijah Paul Calvin and Luther and plentifully endowed and furnished others are not so they are lower by the head some are vigorously active and are raised up and laid out for the general Advantages and Managements of Religion yet others are not so though all be Builders yet all of them are not Master-builders They differ much in their Gifts in their Graces in their Services Gifts will free from Indiscretion Grace from hell but nothing from death in their Usefulness Nevertheless they must all agree in this they must all dye they must all be taken away Here in the text Elijah was taken away and what was he he was a Prophet and in some sense more then a Prophet He was a Prophet of the highest rate most eminent for faithfulness and zeal that was his excellency Noah was eminent for uprightness and Moses for meekness and Job for patience and Solomon for wisdom and Joshua for prowess and Josiah for tenderness and Elisha for Miracles and Elijah for zeal and courage and faithfulness All the false Prophets were nothing to him nor Jezabel the Queen nor Ahab the King and although in his opinion he was left alone to sustain the cause of God yet he alone continued faithfull and zealous Nevertheless this holy and excellent man of God is taken away and suddenly and in a very needfull time Zach. 1. 5. Your Fathers where are they And the Prophets do they live for ever No no they do not live for ever Nor yet many times very long You may finde them for a while in the Study and for a while in the Pulpit and after a little while you may finde them in their graves The Reasons of this Divine 4. Reasons why God takes away his most faithful prophets dispensation besides many other are these 1. Because even the most faithful Prophets of God are Stewards but for a time of them as well as of others it must be said Ye shall be no longer Stewards they have their determined work and their allotted time for that work their reward shall be measured by eternity But their work and their life are measured by time so much work for so much time and then their Master calls them home In Scripture you read that they are sometimes called 2 Cor. 5. 20. Ambassadors who are choice persons sent abroad by a special Commission and when they have finished their Legation or Treaty then must they return back unto their Prince the Prophets or Ministers of God are the Ambassadors of God in a special manner Authorized to treat with sinners to be reconciled perhaps sinners will hearken unto them and conclude upon terms of saving agreement perhaps they will not These have but their time to hearken and they have but their time to offer and perswade and when that is expired the Lord calls them home Again you finde them 1 Cor. 3. 9. sometimes called labourers and workmen the labourer goes forth in the morning and he does his days work which when he hath finished then he comes home and takes his Rest Thus it is and thus it shall be with the best of Gods Prophets and Ministers who are also called the Messengers of God and must return unto him an answer what they have done and how they have sped 2. There is a day of recompence for them their reward is with the Lord they are imployed by a good Master and as there are the works of faithful servants for them to do so there is the reward of a faithful master for them to receive there is a Prophets work here and a Prophets reward hereafter Christs cals it our Masters joy and Paul calls it a Crown of Righteousness the faithfull and laborious Ministers of God though despised and injured by men on earth yet they are loved and encouraged by Christ and as they are a means to save others so they themselves shall be saved and shall shine as the stars for ever and ever they shall be with the Lord for ever they shall be everlastingly blessed And therefore they must die they must away else they cannot take possession of the inheritance reserved for them nor of the Crown laid up for them indeed in this life they have the assured hopes of eternal blessedness and the first fruits and some tasts but the ful perfect possession and fruition comes not to them nor to any in this life that comes only after death and therefore Paul desires to be dissolved and so to be with Christ 3. The Lord doth this to punish the ingratitude of people who do despise and disgrace and despightfully use his servants the Prophets injuriously handle them and there is no man that will plead for them and right them Of all the men in the world the faithful Prophets of God do the most good to others and finde the worst reception from them Jesus Christ chargeth this unworthy dealing upon Jerusalem Mat. 23. 37. O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee And Stephen chargeth it upon them Act. 7. 52. Which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted And Paul complains in 1 Cor. 4. 13. We are made as the filth of the

of it There are two sorts of treasures the Holy Ghost in the Scripture speaks of God hath his treasures Men have their treasures First God hath his treasures and they are of four sorts First Thesauri naturae there are the treasures of nature which we read of in Job 38. 22. Hast thou entred into the treasures of the snow or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail And the Lord when he speaks of the blessings of nature in Deut. 28. 12. saith he will open his good treasure the heaven to give rain c. and ler. 10. 13. he bringeth the wind out of his treasures these are the treasures of nature that are Gods treasures Secondly Recondita providentiae there are the treasures of providence in Psal 17. 14. he speaks it of wicked men These are the ungodly and they prosper in the world they have their portion in this life whose bellies thou fillest with thy hid treasure What be those treasures with which God is said to fill ungodly mens bellies Interpreters do observe that there are some wicked men in this life that have not only the common benefits of nature with the rest of this World that God causes the Sun to shine and the rain to fall upon them but he doth afford them ezquisitas quasdam divitias some peculiar and choice mercies of this world and doth in Providence order it so that of all the honours in the world many ungodly men shall have the highest of all the powers in the world many ungodly men shal have the greatest the dainties of providence the Lord many times affords them to those who have their portion in this world but remember the text saith He fils their bellies with treasures t is but to satisfie their senses it never fils their souls their souls be empty of grace when their bellies be filled with treasures how many ungodly wretches have the quintessence of all things all the Lords treasure yet so t is ordered Thirdly Thesauri gratiae the treasures of grace Col. 2. 3. In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge It is said of Christ in him are hid c. Whose are they Why they are his treasures that hid the● there the Lord hid these treasures He is made to us of God wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption the treasures of wisdom and grace are laid up in Jesus Christ as in a common treasury but they be Gods treasures 4. Thesauri vindictionis there are yet treasures of vengeance treasures of wrath Deut. 32. 34. Are not these things laid up by me sealed up among my treasures Many an ungodly man and wicked woman goes along ten years twenty years together and as they treasure up sin I treasure up wrath and vengeance is mine and I will repay it their feet shall slide in due time the mean time I wil forget none of their works they are sealed up by me among my treasures these are Gods treasures the Scripture speaks of Secondly men have their treasures also and that which a man makes his chief good wherein he doth place his happiness that by which the comfort of his life comes in that is a mans treasure you shall see it exprest in other words but the thing is one in Luk 16. 25. Abraham is brought in there speaking to Dives in hell Son remember in thy life time thou hadst thy good things that which Christ here cals your treasure there Abraham cals thy good things and in Psal 17. 14. they have their portion in this life that which in this place is called a mans treasure that is there called their portion but the thing is the same and here give me leave to note the great difference between godly men and the men of the world the men of the world are all for great provision in the way but care not what portion they have at end but a godly man is quite contrary he will be content with small provision but it is not a small portion will content him a little in the passage but he must have a large portion So that which a man pitches upon as his chief good by which the main comfort of his life comes in these are his good things that is his portion his treasure but only thus far for the opening of the phrase Let us now come to open the Doctrine to you Every man hath in this life a treasure his own treasure This I shall explain by clearing four several propositions all which are included in the Doctrine First every man hath some chief good which his soul is set upon and which as its center it tends unto I say every man there 's not a person of you but you have some chief good to which your souls do bend and upon which they center wherein you place your happiness which if you could attain perfectly your souls would be at rest This is that which David speaks of Psal 116. 7. Return unto thy rest oh my soul Why what was the rest of his soul truly the rest of his soul was his chief good and wil you see what that was in the 73. Psalm Whom have I in heaven but thee and I desire none on earth in comparison of thee if a man have a chief good it must either be on earth or in heaven but saith David God is my chief good whether in heaven or in earth and that 's the reason why he cals God the Rest of his soul and for this cause he tels you all the tendency of his soul went after God My soul is athirst for God the living God many such expressions you have to let you see that God was his chief good and until the soul attain its chief good it is never at rest but is in perpetuo motu in a continual tendency thereto But on the other side take a poor carnal wretch that never knew any thing above the creature because the creature is his chief good and that not to be had in perfection so that he cannot attain to his full desires therefore his soul is continually restless see him described Psal 59. 6. to ver 14. ungodly men are said like a dog to run about the city and like a dog to grudge and not be satisfied what is the meaning of it you know how many wearisom labours this creature takes and all is for meat and yet many times altogether in vain now ungodly men in the pursuit of the things of this life are compared to dogs how many circles do they take this way and that way but many times altogether in vain for they are never satisfied and when they are not satisfied they grudge so that you see sometimes the dog when he hath eaten casts up his meat and afterwards turns to his vomit again here t is brought in only to this purpose to let you see how restless their souls are because they seek good in them But there is one Scripture very remarkable 1 Sam. 25.

chief good therefore the soul breaths no other breath My soul pants after God gasps after God breaths after God saith David Psal 42. 1. In this the soul lives this is the breathing place of the soul Lastly here only is animae requies the rest of the soul Return unto thy rest oh my soul Psal 116. 7. Now it is only the chief good that the soul rests in this is only the object of fruition the soul is restless until it come to this but it is ever moving towards it these be the reasons why the heart of man must of necessity be where the treasure is But now the next thing is how is the heart of man carried after its treasure doth it always go after it that the heart is where the chief good is continually how is it carried after it Here give me leave to lay down six Conclusions which are of marvellous great use and great truths every one of them I shall but name them though they need a great deal of explication First the heart goeth after the treasure continually the soul of man is always active never idle and what 's the reason of all its motions truly t is well observed by the Schools that Summum bonnum est omnium operationum origo The chief good is the reason of all the motions of the soul the soul moves continually after it now from thence all motions do arise Eccles 2. 23. he speaks there of a covetous rich man whose chief good is his wealth there is his treasure his heart takes no rest at night saith he his bo●i● that is necessitated to take rest but his heart is restless because still it is carried after its treasure and therefore day and night is never at rest always moving what is the reason because still it is carried after the treasure continually Secondly The heart goes after the treasure infinitely unsatiably that where a mans treasure and chief good is there the heart is never satisfied but it is going out after it without measure those that place it here below you know the expression Habbak 1. 15. they imarge their defires as hell and can never be satisfied true the chief good indeed gives measure to all subordinate things but it is without measure it self so that he that hath a treasure his heart is infinitely carried after it whether it be below or above he is never satisfied oh the infi●i●e dis-satisfaction in the soul that hath once set the Lord and chosen him for his chief good he is always growing gasping crying mourning walking after God Thirdly a mans treasure or chief good the heart takes fast hold of and possesses it for his own pray observe it there be other things indeed that the heart looks upon as other mens goods but his chief good he possesses as his own t is his own t is his treasure so observe Iob 8. 15. the place I cited before he shall not only lean upon his house but hold fast his house the Text saith take ●ow a poor covetous wretch whose money is his treasure an ambitious man his honor is his treasure take a poor proud woman and vanity in apparel is her treasure Let the judgements of God be denounced and the Ministers of God strive to take off the men they hold it fast and will not let it go they will contend for it and look upon them as the worst enemies in the world that labour to pull it from them pray observe it for in this way the heart goes out to the treasure he holds it fast and this is the true cause why conversion is a work of Almighty power because as Prosper well observes Summum bonum nemo perdit nisi volens no man loses his chief good but by his will therefore he that shall change a mans chief good must change his will which all the Angels in Heaven cannot do till God change his will he never lets go his chief good and this is the marriage of the soul that which is a mans treasure it is his marriage t is an Almighty power must break that band men are said to be married to sin upon that account Rom. 7. 5. purely because it is a mans treasure thus the heart goeth out to it the heart holds it fast take another man that makes God his Treasure and spiritual things God in Christ and what then why come temptation the man holds his treasure come desertion the man holds his treasure look to Heman Psal 88. I am free among the dead like those that lie in the grave whom thou remembrest no more yet saith he My God I cry day and night ●is God is his treasure if he lose that he is undone take God from me and I am undone or else you can never undo me the soul holds it fast he stays upon his God and leans upon his beloved this is another way how the heart goeth out to the treasure it holds it fast Fourthly if at any time the heart be shaken to its treasure and chief good it returns again shake it while you will thither it will return again take an unregenerate man and his beloved sin shakes him many times his knees shake and his bowels tremble within him yet after this the man returns to his vomit again still he returns to his treasure as the unclean spirit that goes out of the man returns so a man returns to his treasure again and so a godly man let him be by temptations shaken off from God yet notwithstanding for all that the soul returns to God again that as when you throw a bowl it may seem to run strait for a time but after the force that was put upon it is spent the biass takes it and carries it another way so it is here whiles the violence of temptation lasts the soul seems to be carried away from God but the biass of the soul takes it and carries it to the chief good again so that a godly man though his soul be shaken from God never so much hath a principle within him that reduces him again I will return to my former Husband Hos 2. 17. Somewhat will bring about the soul again as by that ordinary similitude As the needle toucht with the loadstane will come about again to its own posture so it s with the soul that hath the true touch from heaven Fifthly the change of a mans chief good is a godly mans first change t is his great change it is his chief change the great change to destruction what is that they have forsaken me as the chief good Jer. 2. 13. and digged to themselves broken Cisterns Now to return to God again is the first and chief change and that 's another reason why conversion is a work of Almighty power Who is able to exalt God in the soul as the chief good none but himself the Sctipture speaks frequently of exalting God and of the Lords exalting himself exalt thy self in thy own strength and