Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	according_a	lord_n	zion_n	42	3	9.3302	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27153	The journal or diary of a thankful Christian presented in some meditations upon Numb. 33:2 / by J.B., Master of Arts, and Minister of the Gospel at Barnstone in Essex.	Beadle, John, d. 1667.; Fuller, John, b. 1640 or 41.	1656 (1656)	Wing B1557; ESTC R20752	111,367	248

totalis of all our comforts The Grecians set the summa totalis of their bills of accompt in the top of the page as we do in the bottome Christ and riches Christ and honors Christ and liberty is the totall sum of all we enjoy Let us make Jesus Christ our Generalissimo Commander in chief Primate Supreme All in all set him above all 1. Above all comforts and outward contents Like those brave Germane Ladies in a fiege who when the Emperor at the surrender of the Town gave them liberty to carry with them what they could but excepted the men who were to stand to his mercy left all their gold and silver with their rich jewels and took up their Husbands and carryed them out with them Let us leave all so we may enjoy Christ Let Ziba have all saith Mephibosheth to David so that the King return Let the men of the world have all the wealth though we be impoverished let them have all the honour and friends though we be disgraced and forsaken so Jesus Christ may rule in us and rejoyce over us and be all in all to us 2. Set Jesus Christ above all the men and means of any good Men are apt to make idols of such as have been instruments of their outward peace and happinesse Christ will admit of no corrivals he will be all or none When Tiberius the Emperour of Rome sent to the Senate and required that the Image of Christ might be set up in the Capitoll they returned this answer from their Priests that if he were set up all the other Images of their gods must down if Jesus Christ be set up all our Idols must fall our Dagons will fall before the Ark. 3. Set Jesus Christ above all your duties parts gifts and abilities Your selfishnesse proves often your greatest prejudice Like the viper in Paul's bundle of sticks which he brought in to make a fire and warm his fingers with would sting you to death did not God in mercy prevent the mischief If you compose your selves with such sparks you shall lie down in sorrow if God be not more gracious to you In all your duties therefore it is best to do as Joa● did when he had won Rabbuh he sent to David to take the Crown and good reason for all the men and means the money and ammunition were David's So here all your sufficiency is from Christ you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you Let him therefore go away with the Crown Be not like proud Haman whom nothing could content but the royall apparell the royall horse and crown Christ will part with any thing to you but his crown but his glory take heed of usurping that What part or member of the body soever is used in getting the victory by the consent of all the head is crowned However you speed let Christ have the crown When Caesar and Bibulus were Consuls Caesar did all Bibulus did nothing being over-awed by Caesar whereupon the Wits of Rome would in jest subscribe their Letters Julio Caesare consulibus Do you so if through the grace of Christ you can bear afflictions patiently perform duties fruitfully pray with heart confesse with sorrow beg with life hear with fruit say we can do all things by Jesus Christ assisting us ● Observe how all good things are 〈◊〉 upon you continued to you by the Promise certainly All providences to a gr●cious heart are but as so many fulfillings of promises Carnall men have nothing but by common providence but whatever this man hath he enjoys by speciall promise so that his peace is the peace of promise his liberty the liberty of promise his deliverance the deliverance of promise Labour therefore to see every comfort you have 〈◊〉 in your Journal conveyed to you in and by a promise Thus did Joshua who when the people were setled in the Land of 〈◊〉 told them that they knew in their 〈◊〉 and souls that not one thing had failed of all the good things which the Lord their God had spake concerning them all was come to passe It is good to observe how Gods judgements are executed upon transgressors according to his Word and to say as Jehu did when the fiercenesse of Gods wrath was poured out upon Ahab and Ji●●hel This is the burthen that the Lord laid upon him and this is the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah the Tishbit● When we see Ad●lt●rers brought to shame and a morsel of ●●●ad say This is according to the Word of th● Lord who hath said Whoremongers 〈◊〉 adulterers God will judge When ye see swearers and blasphemers and perjured persons punished with a stroke from heaven say This day is this Scripture fulfilled in our eyes God will not hold them guiltlesse that take his name ●vain But it is far more comfortable to see all good things bestowed according to a promise and to be able to say as David Thou hast dealt well with thy servant O Lord according to thy Word So did Solomon when he sate upon the throne of his Father David Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who hath fulfilled with his hand that which he spake with his mouth And again in the same prayer The Lord hath performed his word that he hath spoken for I am risen up in the room of my Father David and am set on the throne of Israel as the Lord hath promised We talk much of Providences and indeed we are apt to make Providences to serve our turns as Jonah though a Prophet and a good man when he was sent to Nineveh and not willing to go upon that Embassage but to Joppa and finding a ship going to Tarshish Oh surely thought he here 's a providence God would have me now go rather to Tarshish so providence leads me and indeed this is a great part of the Religion of our time here was a providence and there was a providence yea a continned series of providentiall actings but no man asks Where is the Precept requiring or the Promise encouraging He that walks by common providence without a speciall Precept to guide him or singular Promise to comfort him walks by a dark 〈◊〉 and will finde that his successes will prove but pitfalls in the conclusion and will ●●ll short of an happy issue according to that saying Careat successibus opto Quisquis ab eventu facta notanda putat But let every wise man observe how his successefull proceedings are fruits of a Promise So did the Virgin Mary God hath holpen his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our Forefathers Abraham and his seed for ever So did Zachariah God hath raised up for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 born of salvation in the house of his servant David as he spake by the mouth of his holy 〈◊〉 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hands of all that hate

faln into hell if I had not faln into ●in Onesimus therefore departed saith St. Paul to Philemon that thou mightest receive him an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an eternall So it is in the Originall And thus if our sins were heavy Gods mercies would be weighty and worth the recounting Were our fins often in our eyes Gods praises would not be long out of our mouths We that see we have deserved nothing would be thankfull for every thing and rather then his mercies should be forgotten would keep some remembrances by us of Gods goodnesse to us who is every day mindfull of us 2. Remember oftne your low and poor condition It is little peradventure that y●● ha●● but was it not lesse God commands his people this duty Remember that thou wast a ser●ant in the land of Aegypt This they were enjoyned to do when they came yearly to offer up their basket of first-fruits to the Lord. Thus they must say A Syrian ready to perish was my Father and he went down into Aegypt and ●ojourned there with a few c. 〈◊〉 King of Sicily who was by birth but a Potters Son would alwayes be served at his Table with earthen vessels that he might ever be mindful of his low mean condition at first Jacob did so With my staff I came over this Jordan His condition was low when the earth was his bed a stone his pillow and the heaven his canopie over his head he is thankfull for this because he forg●t not his low estate He that well remembers what he once wanted will not forget to be thankful for what at present he enjoys Humility is a good spur to thankfulness I have read of two garments in Scripture of excellent use First the garment of humility Be 〈◊〉 with humility saith Peter and the garment of praise Christ is said to appoint to them that mourn in Zion the garment of praise for the spirit of heavynesse The under garment is commonly plain and of lesse worth but the upper is very costly Let humility be like the first It is no matter how vile we be in our own eyes but let praise be the upper garment Be ye rooted and built up in Christ faith the Apostle and established in the faith abounding therein with thanksgiving He that is rich in faith and low in humility will make his upper garment costly will be abundant in praises 3. Labour to understand a mercy aright Endevour to discern the height and breadth of a providence weigh every benefit bestowed skilfully The reason why the Israelites remembred not the multitude of Gods mercies was saith the Psalmist because they understood not his wonders in Aegypt Moses told them that they had seen all that the Lord had done before their eyes in the Land of Aegypt unto Pharaoh and unto all his servants and unto all the land The great temptations which thine eyes have seen the signes and th●se great miracles And yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to bear unto this day It is true they had eyes and ears but they wanted an understanding heart to perceive and discern God in all Hence it comes to passe that as a proud man will not be mindfull so an ignorant man cannot remember God and be thankfull It is good therefore not onely to remember our low and sinfull estate that we may be humble but to understand the loving kindnesse of the Lord that we may record his favours The reason why the Disciples forg●t what Christ had done done and therefore mistook him when he had them take ●eed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadduces was they did not understand the miracles of the five loaves amongst the five thousand nor the seven loaves amongst the foure thousand nor how many baskets they took up They did not well understand nor seriously consider the mighty power of his divine nature by which he did all that You shall do well therefore to understand a mercy fully in all the causes circumstances manner and means of working Sometimes he works without means and then his works are miraculous sometimes by weak means and then his works are wonderfull sometimes by contrary means so that losses enrich us divisions unites us and our routing in battle makes us conquerors and then his works are glorious Hence the Lord commanded his people to understand why he gave them that good Land to possesse it not for their righteousnesse for they were a stiffe-necked people but for his Name sake and for the wickednesse of those Nations which were driven out before them It is not an easie matter for men to hit right o● the true reason of Gods dispensations of mercy or judgement Hence Samuel advised the people of Israel to consider that is to weigh ponder wel in their hearts what great things God had done for them Now we all know things that are not known and therefore lightly valued are soon forgotten when matters that are looked at as things of price and worth are laid up very carefully It is good therefore when our thoughts dwell upon mercies Omnis festinatio caca swift passengers cannot be serious observers a transient thought is too mean for a standing mercy one mercy enjoyed deserves more serious thoughts then a million of miseries do one hearty tear our mercies are from God our calamities from our selves Understand this well and consider this seriously you cannot be unmindful of the loving kindnesse of the Lord. 4. Would you write down the great things of God in a book that you might never forget them Take speciall notice of the actings of God in the wayes of his gracious providence whilest they are new and fresh in memory together with the workings of your hearts whilest they are so considered Oh! what vows covenants purposes resolutions are made and entertained then Omne novum valde mutat saith Scaliger New things fresh mercies make a wonderful change upon mens spirits for the present Omnia subita videntur majora saith Cicero All sudden and unexpected passages seem very great at first fight and work very much upon the heart Observe then what joy what thankfulnesse what meltings what resolutions And what you doe doe quickly strike while the iron is hot Qui tard● fecit diu noluit saith Seneca He that is slack in his performances was but unwilling in his resolutions Oh! remember your first love when you were newly converted and brought home to God how zealous lively active forward and savoury were you in the wayes of God So much the Lord tells his people by the Prophet Hosea that at their restitution and Gods reconciliation with them they should sing at in the dayes of their youth as they did when they came out of Aegypt Then sang Moses and Aaron A converted condition is a singing condition God takes special notice of this I remember thee saith the