Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	body_n	life_n	nourish_v	4,030	5	9.9493	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78180	The regenerate mans growth in grace. Shewing, that regeneration of necessitie requireth augmentation in grace. With the motives to move us to grow, signes to know whether we have grown; the lets that hinder our growth; and helps to further our growth. / Preached at a sermon at Lancaster, upon a day of humiliation, by N.B. minister thereof.	Barnett, Nehemiah, b. 1614 or 15.	1646 (1646)	Wing B875; Thomason E1165_1; ESTC R210099	23,846	95

better to be unborne then to die without grace and he that growes not in grace never obtaines a blessing of God in this life nor let him looke to dwell with him in the life of glory Then grow in grace IN this Chapter our Apostle Peter seemes to have met with some in his time Coherence that doubted of the day of Judgement saying Where is the promise of his comming To vers 4. Therefore he produceth arguments to assure us of the certainty of Christs comming to Judgement To vers 8. Proclaiming the perdition of ungodly men at that day and therefore warnes us to hasten our repentance and that because the day of the Lord will come as a thiefe in the night vers 10. In which day we must looke for the heavens to be dissolved the elements consumed and the earth burned seeing we are in expectation of these things he exhorts to be diligent that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse vers 14. Now to prevent us from falling away he warnes us that we be not led by the errours of the wicked and so fall from our owne stedfastnesse vers 17. And to this end prescribes us a preservative from falling into Apostacy in these words But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to him be glory both now and for ever Let us first enquire 1 What is meant by grace here 2 What it is to grow in grace 3 Who is a subject fit for growth Of these in their order 1 Grace is either taken for the love and favour of God Grace is twofold either active or pasive whereby we are accepted of him in Christ and so it 's Active 2 Or for the gifts wrought in us by Gods spirit so it 's Passive The former is gratia acta grace begun The later is gratia aucta grace increased which is the grace here commended The several acceptations of grace in Scripture for brevities sake I omit but if it be the grace that hath reference to God it should note the grace of Election which St. Paul saith was according to his purpose and grace 2 Tim. 1.9 If it hath reference to us it implies the gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon us by God in this sense See John 1.16 of his fulnesse we receive grace for grace Or that which hath reference to the future estate of glory in which sense See 1 Pet. 1.13 Now our Apostle looks not at the first acceptation of grace which is of Election because it is without life and cannot grow nor at the last because we cannot get to glory unlesse we have grown for the life of glory is past growth but it hath reference to the middle which is the gifts of the Spirit as renovation by his Spirit redemption by his Sonne in sending him out of his bosome to disclose his secrets unto us which are of two sorts 1. Such as have respect to the esse and bene esse of a Christian as those cardinall graces faith and repentance love and obedience 2. Such as have respect ad ornatum to the decking of a Christian as good wit memory and good invention questionlesse the Apostle meanes we should grow in all grace but especiall in the best 2. What it is to grow in grace As the body may grow in stature till it be taller So the soule may grow in grace till it become holier For there is a quickning life of the soule whereby it grows in goodnesse as well as there is a naturall life of the body whereby it growes in talnesse You know what it is for a childe to grow when his foode is well disgested his members thereby nourished his spirits augmented his strength increased and his whole proportion of body enlarged you 'le say that childe growes So it is with the soule when Gods word which is the soules foode is well disgested so that the soule thereby is nourished his desires more enlarged his affections more quickned the life of grace more augmented you may call this a growing Christian When his faith is more and more strengthned his charitie more and more enflamed When his conscience is more obedient and his obedience more conscionable When he labours for more holinesse here that he might have more happinesse hereafter and strives to get more grace that he might have more glory This is to grow in grace 3. Who is a subject fit for growth He must be such a one as is neither in the state of unregeneracy nor yet in the state of glory 1. Not an unregenerate man because he hath no spirituall life in him whereby he may be said to grow 2. Not a glorified man for he is come to the perfection of his growth and cannot be said to grow 3. It must be one in a middle estate A regenerate man such a one that hath shaken off his corruption Such a one as is ascending higher to some perfection increasing both the multitude and measure of his grace Such a one as is travelling in the way of glory yet not got to glory So that when the Apostle bids us grow in grace I conceive the subject fit for growth must be a regenerate man such as to whom Saint Paul writes Eph. 3.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being rooted and grounded in love Now the Apostles injunction being cleared hence this proposition may be raised That Regeneration requires an augmentation of grace The Proposition Or more briefly A Regenerate man must needs be a growing man A Christian newly Regenerate is like a child newly borne that desires to sucke the breasts of his mother and receives that wholesome nourishment that thereby he may increase in strength and stature therefore Saint Peter wisheth us as new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the word that we may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 And the Prophet David Psal 92.13 14. Tels us that the trees that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God They shall still bring forth fruit in old age and shall be fat and flourishing Where there is no fruit to be found there is no growth to be expected and there is no Symptome of a Christian growth without fruits The tree is for the fruit and but for the fruit there had beene no tree When there is no hope of fruit we cut it downe and make it serve for fewell Men doe delight to plant trees in their orchards for delight as for shade in hot summer seasons But God delights to see no such trees in his Orchard such that beare nothing but greene leaves or glorious blossomes I meane such as satisfie themselves with Hypocriticall shewes and fruitlesse formallities But if we be growing trees we be fruitfull let us shew our Faith by our fruits and let the grapes of piety clusters of equity and fruitfull branches of sobriety testifie eternally internally externally to God to our own conscience

come we covenant with God to deale with our sinnes as our sinnes dealt with our Saviour they crucified him and put him to death So wee should crucifie and put them to death but if we doe neglect this forget our covenant following our former sinnes returning like a dogge to his vomit again we proclaime our selves perjur'd persons I have read a story to this purpose that when the Pagan beheld Christians receiving the Sacrament and beheld with what reverence and with what devotion they demeaned themselves in that holy businesse he was inquisitive what that action meant and being answered by one of them that after God had emptied their hearts of pride envy coveteousnesse contention c. He did now enter in himselfe with a purpose to dwell there Then he was silent for the present but following them home and observing them that were communicants for two daies and when he saw them fall to quarrell one with another to uncleanesse and drunkennesse he past this censure upon them with exclamation I confesse your Religion may be good your devotion good your profession good but your hospitality is starke nought are you so unhospitable that you would not suffer your God to dwell two daies in your hearts in these words Apud quos ne Deus quidem biduo comorari permittitur This is the shame of Christians this is the disparagement of grace and these are the lets that hinder our growth We will prescribe you now some helpes to further your growth Help 1 The first is Praier and I may well begin with it for it is a speciall helpe to all graces it is that Clavis Coeli which opens the treasure-house of Gods graces it is that Nuncius Dei that fetcheth grace to the soule Prayer procures it a being in us and like the former and latter raine makes it grow in us if thou wouldest grow continually take the Apostles advice and pray continually 1 Thes 5.17 this course Monica Saint Austines mother tooke she went twice a day to the Church and kneeling down upon her knees poured forth many teares from her eyes not begging gold or silver of God but that hee would be pleas'd to poure his grace upon her sonne and convert him to the true faith and thus must we doe otherwise in vaine may we expect that blessing of grace for which we doe not so much as begge if thou lack grace aske of of God Jam. 1.5 that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth none and it shall be given him Dare vult deus S. Aug sed non dat nisi petenti ne det non capienti God is willing to give but he will not give but to him that askes least he offer his blessing to him that is not willing to receive it it is a generall rule Petite et dabitur vobis aske and have without asking no having Help 2 The second is a good desire which is the spirituall appetite of the soule that man-childe that hath a good appetite or stomacke is like to prove a growing childe So it is with the regenerate man finding his wants and emptinesse of grace hath a continuall desire of more grace and labours to increase that which he hath received he considers with himselfe how farre short he comes of what he might have obtained and what others have obtained or if the best of us shall compare our selves with those of Gods servants who are mentioned in holy Scripture for our imitation we shall finde our selves come so short of them that we may doubt of our selves whether we have any grace at all How short are we of Moses for meeknesse how farre short doe we come of Nehemiah in zeale for Gods worship how short of Job in patience in the time of his affliction and thus comparing our selves with Gods Saints we shall finde we come so short of them that it will stirre up our desires and whet our appetites it makes us presse harder towards the mark And study what course to take that we may fill up those vertues that are wanting in us that we might increase those Talents that God hath bestowed upon us that wee might get more graines of grace unto that little which we have received and when the Lord shall perceive our desires to be thus sharpned it will be a good argument to move the Lord to bestow more grace upon us for he loves to feede the hungry and give drinke to the thirstie Boetius saith Quod unicuique viro bono incerto est quaedam cupiditas boni That in every good man there is a fervent desire of more good and what good can any man desire rather then grace Non dormientibus sed vigilantibus It falls not to the sluggards share but those that are desirers of it Therefore he that desires not grace deserves not glory Help 3 As good diet is a good helpe to further the growth of the body so is the good word of God that spirituall foode a good helpe to further the growth of the soule The best foode is Christ that bread of life that water of life that word of life nay life it selfe If you remaine in me saith our Saviour yee shall bring forth much fruit This word is offered unto us in the Word and Sacrament for what sinne soever the Word discovereth to us we must run to Christ for strength to overcome it what obedience the Word commands we must fly to Christ for power to perform it what affliction soever we are burdened with we must hasten to Christ and seek to be reconciled to God in and through him so that come crosses come tribulation or persecution yet our hungry soules shall fully feede on Christ that true bread of life Ignatius As Ignatius Bish of Antioch Saint Peters successour who was by the King of Assyria commanded to be torne in peeces by wilde beasts and being led to the place of torment uttered this golden sentence Nihil moror visibiium nec invisibilium modo Jesum Christum acquiram I care neither for things visible nor yet for things invisible onely this is my care that I may attaine Jesus Christ and with him everlasting Salvation And when the Beasts were let loose upon him these were his last words as saith Saint Hierome I am Gods corne and the teeth of these wilde Beasts must grind me to peeces that I may bee pure bread and sine manchet for Jesus Christs table in heaven The Saints of God did so hunger after Christ the spirituall food that before they would loose that they would loose life it selfe they did not care what course fare their bodies were fed with so that Christ the food of their soules might not be taken away they did not care how their bodies were us'd so that God would spare their soules and he that feeds on this living bread which came downe from Heaven cannot chuse but grow Out of this strong Judges 14.14 came sweetnesse The Lion of Juda yeelds

honey such as never came out of any earthly hive he is both Victor and Victus Conquerer for us and food to us and who gives this food to us but he that gave himselfe for us and dranke to us the cup of the New-Testament in his owne blood his blood and wounds doth nourish our soules like the Pelican rather then her yong-ones shall perish feedes them with her owne blood so that in the Sacrament we eate not onely Panem Domini but Panem Dominum not onely the bread of the Lord but the bread the Lord. Hence it may be called Viaticum animae the food that nourishes our soules in it's voyage to heaven God grant that we may never want this food to nourish our hunger starved soules It may be deare in regard of the preciousnesse of it but not deare in regard of the price wee pay nothing for it but faith and love * John 6.34 Let us all pray with the Disciples Lord evermore give us this bread Why should our soules be starved while there is bread enough in our fathers house * Luk. 15.17 Why should we fast while we may feast why should wee stand at a stay while we have plenty of growing food Let us Christians be like travellers that passe from towne to towne till they come to their home so we from grace to grace till we come to Heaven Help 4 The last is a good disgestion when the naturall food is conveied into the stomacke and there well concocted by naturall heate and is made fit to be dispersed into the other members and parts of the body for the strengthening of them so the Word of God must be disgested in the soule must be shewed by meditation and pondring the word in our hearts suffering our thoughts to dwell on it some good while then it proves wholsome nourishment to our weake and hungry soules Your comming to heare doth manifest a desire to have your soules fed Now you know a childe that receiveth food in his mouth and also in his stomack and doth not retaine it there but casts it up speedily againe doth not disgest it and that childs strength cannot be augmented nor growth increased So if you receive the Word into your eares and let it fall againe speedily and not retaine it in your hearts and there disgest it by meditation your soules cannot be strengthened and cannot grow at all We must remember that God doth not require our bare bodily presence at the Church or at any of his ordinances but we must bring our soules to Church as well as our bodies wee may be present with body but absent in minde our minde must be set on what is delivered we must heare as it is the Word of God and not of man as it is the onely meanes appointed for the planting of grace in our hearts as it is a powerfull meanes to beate downe sinne in us and build us up in the new man and to change our barrennesse into fruitfulnesse Thus if we would disgest the Word of God the God of Heavens would not faile to give his blessing to it To make it powerfull to Salvation to every one of our soules causing us daily to bring foorth more fruit of good living to the honour and praise of his holy name We must know that the Word of God is full of spirituall sap and heavenly moisture which is of a fruitfull and growing nature now we might bee growing Christians if we were not slothfull let us be no longer sluggards to our owne soules But practise the policy of the painfull Bee to lodge the sweet honey of Gods Word in the hive of our hearts against the day of dissolution If we had any love to grace we would labour after the meanes of grace we see what paines the voluptuous man takes to pursue his pleasures we see what labour the ambitious man takes to attain to more honours we see what care the coveteous man takes to obtaine riches and why should not we that are Christians and somewhat illuminated with Gods word use the like paines care and diligence to increase the goods of our soules and labour to get a higher degree of this spirituall promotion and strive to enjoy a fuller fruition of heavenly pleasures There is no commodity so profitable no dignity so honourable no felicity so delightfull as to be fruitfull in good works and to abound more and more in the vertues of the inward man and the grace of Gods blessed Spirit Therefore good Christians if ever you desire to be accounted good Scholers in Christs Schoole if ever you will visit the universitie of glory if ever you purpose to be placed in the Paradice of God himselfe Grow then in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to him be glory both now and for evermore Amen FINIS Imprimatur CHARLES HERLE