Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	apostle_n	day_n	week_n	1,368	5	10.0170	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41657	The surest & safest way of thriving, or, A conviction of that grand mistake in many, that what is given to the poor, is a loss to their estate : which is so directly contrary as to the experiences of the charitable : so to the testimony of God's spirit in divers places of Scripture ... by Thomas Gouge ...	Gouge, Thomas, 1605-1681.	1673 (1673)	Wing G1377; ESTC R14065	59,429	70

my bosome with increase And hath my Saviour for my encouragement promised Luk. 6. 36. That if I give unto the poor it shall be given to me again good measure pressed down and shaken together running over Then certainly there is no such compendious way to thrive and prosper in the world as by my liberality to the poor 2. Prefer Heaven and the things thereof before this earth and earthly things Though the temporal reward which I have so much insisted on be a great encouragement yet the greatest encouragement is the spiritual and eternal reward that the Lord hath promised And that this may be the more prevailing encouragement learn to esteem and prize things spiritual and eternal above all things that are but temporal Suppose it should so fall out that you should never receive in kind what you bestow yet count those temporal things put off at the best rate which you receive in things spiritual and eternal Value grace and glory above all the treasures of the earth and count your selves to grow rich men according to your abounding in grace and your evidences for glory And esteem it an unthristy Saving and holding in where you have an opportunity to improve in your inner man by expending of your outward substance Till Heaven be valued above earth this great Argument encouraging to Acts of bounty and mercy will lose its efficacy When God says Cast thy bread upon the waters for thou shalt find it again after many dayes the Worldling will be ready to demand But how shall I find it in what way shall it be returned me Shall I have bread for bread or money for my bread or houses or Lands for my money probably thou may'st But suppose not so yet it shall be better than so thou shalt have in grace what thou partest with in bread or money thou shalt reap in Heaven what thou sowest on the waters I but the worlding will reply I do not mean to part with my bread or my money so No I know thou dost not but the reason is because thou lovest this earth more than Heaven Thou sayest Will Grace feed me Will Grace cloath me Can I keep my self and my Family Can we live and be maintained and preserved from poverty and beggery here by hopes of glory hereafter Go fool and learn better what God is and what his everlasting mercy is let the lasting treasures the durable riches be more priz'd and valued by thee and this will stop thy mouth and silence thine heart from such vain reasonings Thou wilt never again say I cannot spare my bread or my money when by spending it for God thou seest thou makest him thy debter who will pay it thee again in spiritual and eternal good things if once thou account these to be better than thy bread or thy money But till thou art come to be settled in this Judgement and belief both that the good things of God are infinitely better than the good things of this earth and that what thou sowest in the earth thou shalt certainly reap in Heaven till thou comest in good earnest to be of this mind God's poor are like to be but little the better for thee 'T is this beloved that will effectually do it will open your hearts and open your hands in bounty and liberality for God when you come to be rooted in the practical belief of this principle upon which the practice of all Religion stands and is upheld in the world That Heaven is better than Earth if this other be added to it That what is sincerely laid out for God in the Earth shall certainly be repayed in Heaven besides that return which the Lord here in this world oftentimes makes to the charitable 2. For the Means tending to help you for the better managing of it take these following 1. Either follow the Example of the Primitive Saints in setting apart something every Lords Day out of the former weeks gettings Or 2. Devote unto God a certain portion of thy yearly incomes for charitable uses That the former way of setting apart something every Lords Day for the relief of the poor was the practice of the Primitive Christians is clear from that of the Apostle to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 16. 1 2. Now concerning the Collection for the Saints as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia even so do ye Vpon the first day of the week which is the Lords Day let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him This way and course concerns such in special who live upon their daily labours But to such Gentlemen and others who live upon their Rents and Offices and to such Merchants and Citizens who once a year cast up their accounts I would commend the latter way of devoting unto God a certain portion of their yearly income by Rent or otherwise and then separating it from the rest to account it a sacred stock for the poor not to be imployed to any other use All men naturally through the corruption that is in them are hard-hearted and close-handed very unwilling to part with any thing considerable upon sudden occasions for charitable uses But having aforehand set apart something their ears hearts and hands are open to every charitable motion and very ready and forward are they the more liberally to contribute thereunto of what is laid by rejoycing that they have met with so good an object of Charity As for the quota pars what proportion every one ought to set apart out of his yearly income for good uses I do not find it particularly set down in the Word of God and therefore dare not positively determine the same and the rather because there are so many circumstances which alter the case that no certain rule can be given but shall leave it to the discretion and ingenuity of the prudent Christian. But though the Scripture doth not determine the exact proportion to be set apart for good works yet doth it command us to give out proportionably to what God hath given unto us to open our hands wide to the necessities of the poor to be rich in good works and the like Yea the Scripture doth commend unto us the examples of very bountiful Christians as of Dorcas who is said to be full of good works and alms-deeds which she did Act. 9. 36. And of Cornelius who is said to give much alms Act. 10. 2. And of the Macedonians who are said to give to their power yea and beyond their power 2 Cor. 8. 3. It likewse commendeth unto us the example of Iacob who in testimony of his thankfulness unto God for what he should bestow upon him vowed the tenth thereof unto God for pious and charitable uses as Gen. 28. 20 22. And Jacob vowed a vow unto God saying Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee These examples are left upon record for our imitation for as the Apostle speaketh

abundantly sufficent to evidence the truth in hand and to encourage and provoke us in imitation of those Worthies to a more ready and conscientious practice of this great duty so essential to Christianity so well pleasing to God so creditable to our profession so beneficial not only in order to our eternal happiness but our present gain comfort and prosperity here on earth The Point being thus proved by Scriptures and Examples Come we now to the Reasons for the further confirmation thereof 1. Reason May be taken from the goodness and bounty of God which is such that he will not suffer any work of Charity shewed to any of his Ministers or Children to pass away unrewarded without a full recompence Whereupon saith David Psal. 62. 12. Vnto thee O Lord belongeth mercy for thou rendrest to every man according his work Though God doth not render a reward to any man for his work done yet doth he render to every man according to his work Yea God doth alwaies exceed in his remunerations to give evidence of his grace and bounty God will not be in any mans debt long but what he hath dis-bursed upon his account he will speedily return into his bosome with advantage 2. Reason 2. May be taken from the faithfulness and righteousness of God who having in his word graciously promised abundantly to recompence and reward our beneficence his faithfulness and righteousness ingageth him to make good what he hath promised So that he cannot but be as good as his word Men may be forward in promising but slow in performing but with God who is the true and faithful one dictum et factum saying and doing are both alike All his promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Iesus Heb. 6. 10. saith the Apostle God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shewed towards his name in that ye have Ministred to the Saints and do Minister Here the Apostle argueth a certainty of reward to those who minister any thing to the Saints from the righteousness of God even because he is righteous and therefore will not fail to do what he hath promised He is not unrighteous to FORGET that is he will righteously remember and Gods remembring signifies the same as recompencing as he will remember sinners by recompencing their evil ways upon their own heads so he will remember his Saints by returning the good that they have done into their own bosomes The more to assure us of such kind of remembrance from God the holy Ghost mentioneth certain books or roles of remembrance written before God wherein the merciful deeds of his servants are recorded So that it is no more possible that such as are charitably benign and helpful to the poor Ministers and people of God should lose their reward than that God himself should cease to be righteous or be forgetful of his word 3. Reason May be taken from several metaphorical expressions used in Scripture by which Alms-giving is represented to us all which imply not onely a certain return but that with increase as SOWING and LENDING and that upon Usury 1. We find it set forth in Scripture by SOWING 2 Cor 9. 6. He which soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully This proverbiall speech the Apostle applyeth to the dispersing of almes Now as Husbandmen who sow their corn with a liberal hand do usually reap a crop answerably thereunto In like manner such Christians as shall sow their feed of charity with an open plentifull hand shall reap accordingly a plentiful crop they shall find their seed sowen come up with increase yielding thirty if not sixty or an hundred fold here besides eternal life hereafter It may be thou mayst not presently reap the fruit of thy seed and what wonder Who is there that sowes who expects to reap the same day The Husbandman waiteth for his harvest wait thou on the Lord and doubt not but an harvest will come that will pay thee both for thy sowing and thy waiting 2. The second Metaphor whereby alms-giving is set-forth in Scripture is LENDING and that upon use Pro. 19. 17. He that hath pitty on the poor lendeth unto the Lord and that which he hath given will he pay him again Men that lend to men receive their own with increase what they lay up lies dead and possibly the Thief may break in and steal it away but what they lend if to sure hands comes in with advantage How rich do some Usurers grow by this trade of lending And though it be a Paradox that GIVING is a richer trade than Lending even upon use yet 't is a certain truth for this giving is lending and he that lends to the Lord will find a greater income at the years end then he that lends to the best of men Therefore as one well saith Eleemosyna non est divitiarum dispendium sed dite scendi potius compendium quaestusque omnium uberrimus Giving to the poor is not the way to wast our wealth but the art of thriving and the most compendious course to attain unto riches Though our alms-deeds seem as the seed sown to perish and rot yet believing what we see not we shall assuredly see what we believe and find even here such a fruitful increase as we shall conclude that Giving to charitable uses is the surest and safest way of getting and thriving in the world Thus have you the truth of the point confirmed by Scriptures Examples and Reasons Come we now to the application 1. Vse of Reproof of all unmerciful men who notwithstanding the many charges God hath laid upon us to be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate to draw forth our souls to the hungry to open our bowels to the needy and the manifold encouragements he hath given us in his word hereto yet do shut up their bowels of compassion from them refusing to afford them any succour or relief Surely such have no love to Christ for who can say he loves the Lord Jesus Christ in truth and sincerity when he suffers his Ministers members to want necessaries even food and rayment Is this thy love to Christ to suffer him to starve It is evident thou lovest thy money more than Christ and so commest under that fearful Anathema 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha These two words though both denoing a curse are of two several languages The former word Anathema is a Greek word signifying accursed So it is used Rom. 9. 3. Gal. 1. 8. The latter is a Syriack word as Beza observeth in his Annotations on 1 Cor. 16. 22. yet frequently used by the Iews it signifieth Our Lord cometh Maran is Our Lord and atha cometh intimating that such as were under this curse were to expect no mercy but to look for the dreadful coming of Christ to take vengeance of them So that as St.