Selected quad for the lemma: rest_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
rest_n	day_n	lord_n	sanctify_v	3,947	5	10.3418	5	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

as come from that hell originally whervnto they that persist in them must goe eternally And to preserve soe many of them as is possible now they have done pleading for sin against the honour of God and the good of their owne soules we will begin to plead both for God and for them and the happines they may have by this blessed truth of his if they have such harts as may yet be mooved perswaded to embrace the same Vse To which end we now come to our third vse wherin we shall make tender vnto them of such motiues and considerations as may jnduce any hart that is not wholy hardened and sealed vp or seared by Satan to a starke senclesse condition to yeeld both acknowledgment obedience to that which in this behalfe the Lord requireth of them The thing the Lord expecteth is the first fruits of our liues to be his that assoone as we can vndertake any thing we should betake our selves to his service and can we conceit he doth this without right or reason Farre be such jmpious jmmaginations from our harts Let vs pervse seriously some few particulers that may be powerfull and perswaaing with vs herein And first we will begin with those grounds whervpon legally the Lord required them which if we ponder and paralell according to their morall we shall see enough to moue men to doe as God would have them Note then that the first fruits were to be given to these ensuing ends 1. That the Lord might be honoured in this favour and power wherby he gave Isarell that goodly land by giving him his right in the first of every thing The first of all was the Lords right and appropriated to himself by his owne ordinance and decree he that gave it not rob'd God of his due and was guilty of the higest sacriledge that could be committed Yea the Lord was soe absolute herein that all the first should be entyre to himself that if it were not given him Exod. 34.20 yet they might not reserve it to their owne vse as is evident in that instance of the asse which being an vncleane beast it was to be redeemed by a lambe but if the owner aid not redeeme it he might not let it live but must breake the neck of it Now then who seeth not through this shaddow that our first time is the Lords absolute right and that we are theiues to our God if we giue not our selves to him and this fellony we may not jmagine to be easily answered it is no slight matter to be false to the almighty to be a robber of the most high it is not our booke will save vs yet his booke if we wil be ruled by it will shew vs the meanes how to be saved The reproach of being a theife and a robber is great but the punishment is greater he that repent's not sincerely of it will assuredly rue it 2. God will have the first from vs that we might have right to the rest from him Till he have his nothing of all we have is ours when we have given him his right in the first then and not till then he gives vs right to the rest and this is as plaine as the former in the law of Moses in the places forealedged Wherin as we see the great most gracious goodnes of God in providing and caering for our interest that what we have we might holde it from him in a lawfull and comfortable tenure Soe the greater and more heavy is the morall and meaning of this heavenly truth to them who denying the Lord his right doe thereby spoyle their owne by the jmpious neglect of giving the Lord his doe proclaime to all men that nothing they have is theirs Every vngodly man that honours not the Lord with his first is a theife and a vsurper of all he doth posesse and lives vnder the just reproach of a fellon before God and in the danger of that justice due to this offence he is in perpetuall perill every moment hath heavens indignatiō hanging over his head ready at all times to be arrested arraigned cōdemned excecuted by the high posessor of heaven earth the great Lord and owner of all that every man hath who give 's no man title to any thing he hath vnlesse he himselfe first have his due A wicked mans foode rayment riches his whole estate is stolen goods wheresoever he goe's whatsoever he doe's how long or litle soe ever he live's every instant of his life is perilous and may prove the very moment of his eternall death his life is not his owne himself is not his owne he hath no right to the breath he drawe's to the earth he treads on to any thing appertayning to his being all is for feit to the Lord of all for none-payment of these first fruits And herof may we be well assured if we well consider that the Lord would not be soe vnwise as to give vs any thing to serve Satan withall noe he ever gave vs that we might enjoy it to his honour and to our owne advantage Now if he please to give vs harts to give him the first he will graciously continue the same hart in vs to give him the rest also wheras if Satan set in first it is great wonder if he have not the last too for he vseth to holde hard for that which he once hath 3. the Lord will have the first that the rest may be not only ours but sanctifyed to vs also that the right we have in it and the vse we have of it may both be seasoned and sweetened to vs when we have first given God that which is Gods And without a vse sanctifyed what is or can any thing be to vs Beasts that want reason have a naturall vse of earthly comforts Pagans that want religion have a civill vse of that which they have now there is no difference betweene their tenure and ours but this wherin we exceede them that we have both the naturall and civill sanctifyed vnto vs. It is theirs in that state wherin sin left it with the whole curse of sin vpon it It is ours as Christ Iesus hath purifyed it and made it holy to vs. So all is poysoned to him that is in Gods debt for this due and to him that hath discharged it to his best ability all is blessed If the first fruits be holy saith the apostle soe is the lumpe if they be not Ro. 11.16 the lumpe cannot be Tye these two motives together and see how strong they are to binde vs to the obedience of this instruction if we have no right at all then we steale all we have if no sanctifyed vse all we steale is envenomed to vs soe that first we are theives to God in vsing what we have no right in and next we are murderers of our selves in the vnsanctifyed estate of that we vse Now what mighty and vnmatchable misery is it for

a man to live by stealing all he eate's and to dye in eating all he steale's Let vs thinke on these motives which are the substance of those jnducements which the ceremoniall law did but shaddow We now proceede to presse a few other which may yet more move vs if we ponder them as we ought either in the benefit that come's by the obedience of this truth or the evill that issue 's from the neglect thereof I pray you note bath 1. First if we did give the Lord our first doe but thinke what a world of sin we might save which is committed and continued in by millions till we doe give our selves to God Did we throughly know the danger of one sin even the least we can be guilty of we would doe much to prevent it seing that everlasting pordition is due to it but here is a course that would spare a multitude nay all our trangressions for from the time we are the Lords he reckon's no sin to vs but account's vs righteous and accept's vs blamelesse in his beloved Now to avoyd sin with the dishonor it brings to God with the damnation it brings to vs yea to others too by our example who would not rēder the Lord his right most freely let him have his owne frō vs that Satā might never have us as his owne frō God Assuredly he that coulde ever conceive the Lords damage his owne disadvantage by sin what glory God wants what greife it is to his spirit what provocation it is to his patience how jniurious to his goodnes and favour how abusiue to his long suffering loving kindenes would never deny himself to the Lord from the first day he did vnderstand how he might acceptablely yeeld himself vnto him what a siranger should Satan be in vs what a familiar would God be to vs if we begin betimes with him 2. Consider that as we might save much sin soe this were also the only way to have much grace The more early any thing begins to be good the more goodnes is hoped from it the sooner any man sett's himself towards beaven the more heavenly must he needes be Oh what a most happy thing is it when grace begins to grow betimes in vs then is the Lord much honoured by vs then are men much bettered by vs then are we fitter for all duty then are we more safe from sin the cōtagion of sinners then are we more able to worke out our salvation and more sure to posesse the same A mans life is a heaven vpon earth when his graces are well growne in him his affection his conversation cannot but be in heaven such a man may be bolde with his God at all times and Satan can have no hope to prevaile against him whē it cometh soe to passe with a man in good as it did with him in evill in whome the divell had beene from a childe he was the more hardly cast out soe the more easily is he kept out and hardly nay never shall he possibly enter to posesse that person who of a childe and from the first hath beene gracious What have we in this worlde to doe or to busy our selves most about but to get that grace that may further vs to glory and what better way to get much then to fall to worke assoone as is possible 3. Consider that the Lord never gave any man a time of grace that would dare to set God a time to come for it The man that shal be soe jmpious and jmpudent as to prescribe and lymit the Lord at what time he will come never hath hart to come at all Is it not good reason that when we neglect yea and despise too so great salvation as is tendered nay commanded to vs in our tender yeares that he whome we have denyed in his time of grace should deny vs in our time of sin especially considering that he hath power to confine vs to the instant of his call but it is intollerable jmpiety in vs to bounde him to ours Shall God waite vpon the diuell and accept vs at that houre when our sin will let vs come we having cast of his day houre of mercy before How reade we in the scriptures for this what finde we nothing but thunder and lightening from heaven to peale these wicked wretches to perdition They that were bidaē were not worthy saith Christ And againe The dore was shut against them that were not prepared for the bridegrome at the instant of his comming and though at their owne time they came afterwarde with much jntreaty yet it could not be opened but they were banished thence and abandoned to hell Pre. 1.24.25.26 Zach. 7.13 And yet againe by the prophets Because I have called and you have refused therefore shall yee cry and not be heard So that you see God sett's noe time to him that setts God any nothing remayne's to such but disdayne from heaven damnation in hell 4. Consider that what extraordinary honour God ever intended to himself by any man or men whome he would make instruments of the same he meant to make all such persons gracious betime Doe but ponder it well in the first Adam in the second In the first all mankinde might have beene happy and God mightily honoured through all generations now to bring this about Adam shal be righteous from his first being and honour the Lord from the time of his creation In the second Adam all the elect shal be happy through him the glory of Gods infinite favour shall shyne vpon them to furnish him for this wonderfull worke he sanctifyed himself before he was borne and after in our infancy and soe throughout all ages of our life during the dayes he lived Indeede he attayned not our olde age I will not take vpon me peremptorily to determine why but it may be it was to shew that olde age doth not easily attayne him that soe these presumptuous olde fooles might be the more terrefyed and daunted from dareing to be so audacious as they have beene Did the Lord ever glorify himself in that man or glorify that man with himself that refusing to come when God called came when himself would name one instance if it be possible Noe he will sanctify all such as shal be glorious to him in earth or glorious with him in heaven I say he will sanctify all such in his purpose before time and in his practise in such time as wherin they shall come when he shall call be it more early as Ieremiah Iosiah John Baptist or more late as Abraham and such other as we have named before He gave them harts to attend his time not one of them ever dared to reject that and to cause the Lord to attend theirs These few inducements I hope shall draw and enforce vs to the Lord whose we are and whose all our dayes are and all our abilityes both of body and soule from him we have them in mercy if he have them not from vs againe in duty it had beene better for vs we had never beene borne Lay these holy considerations to hart offer not to presume vpon grace in thine owne time it is presumptuous sin to doe soe that man is extraordinarily gracelesse that dare's presume of grace in extraordinary time They that come to crave more then common kindnes of vs must be more then common freinds vnto vs litle reason hath God to be more then vsually good to them who have beene grossly evill to him as all they are who render him not his right in their first dayes If we would be the Lords for ever let vs ever resolve to be soe at the first Dearely beloved take these things into deliberatiō let them lodge in our harts rest and rooste in our myndes that soe the Lord our God may take vs into his favour and compassion Olde yonge middle-age all ages have this in good remembrance for it is a truth that make's vs happy if we hearken to it miserable if we doe not To the aged I say yet not I but the Lord looke backward see how much of your glasse is out and forward how litle remayneth to run and run apace to the living God to be received before all be gone and no hope be left thinke that voyce of God spoken to you 1. Pet. 4.2.3 It is sufficient that we have spent the time past after the lusts of the flesh c therevpon hasten towards heaven with all expedition it may be the Lord may take that litle time that is left and receiue you into everlasting habitations To the younge I say also Remember thy Creator thy redeemer too in the dayes of thy youth and jmagine that other voyce of heaven spokē to you for it is now time to a wake Ro. 13.11 c it is great reason that the flowre of your abilityes should be the Lords from whome you had them and to whome your account must be made for them In a word I say to you all and to every one of you Doe but thinke 1. how farre it is to heaven seing we must goe from sin to grace that we may goe thence to glory 2. how hard it is to finde the way because flesh blood cānot shew it then 3 how hard to enter goe on because the gate is so straight the enemy soe strong we soe weake wearied out with sin cōtinually clogging vs. And soe I end with that speech in Iob If thou wilt seeke vnto God early Job 8.3.6.7 and make thy supplication to the almighty if thou be pure and vpright surely he would now awake vnto thee and make the habitation of thy righteousnes prosperous and though thy begining be but small yet thy latter end should greatly encrease And that thus we may be and thus doe Let all sorts vncessantly seeke his face for ever Glory be to God on high