Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	kindness_n	lord_n	love_a	1,686	5	9.5041	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

burn me I will thank her So a gracious heart will say If the Lord give me health or sicknesse I will thank him if I have much or little I will thank him if I live or dye I will thank him Ecclesiastical Histories report this of one Servulus who for a long time was grievously afflicted with the Palfie his life was a lingring death whose daily and ordinary speech was God be thanked 3. Blesse God every day wherein he hath kept you from scandall It is our misery that our hearts are so vile but it is Gods mercy that they break not out continually to his dishonor and the offence of brethren that he sets bounds to those waves of our unruly lusts and saith Hitherto and no further Esteem any condition better then a sinfull and choose rather to suffer the worst then sin in the least Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God and who meet with more sorrows then they then enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season And where might he satisfie his lust more to the full then in the Court of a King Socra●● had so vile an esteem of sin that he thought it would be one of the greatest torments in hell to be given up to those sins that men most delighted in Major s●●n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 natus saith Sēneca quam ut sun 〈◊〉 corpor●● mei I am greater and born to greater things then to be a slave or drudge to my body Say to the Tempter as Joseph to his Mistris There is none greater in the house then I and shall I then commit this great wickednesse Or as Nehemiah Shall such a man as I flee Shall such a man as I be drunk or deal unjustly or break my oath These sons of Zerviah are sometimes too hard for us These unruly corruptions sometimes prevail over us Our darling fin like 〈◊〉 daughter comes out with timbrels and dances with many pretty smiles and subtle reasons and sometimes overcomes in and brings us low and troubles us We all run in a race how few get to the goal without a fall by the way There are two things that I desire daily to make the matter not only of my praise but admiration And the first is that God hath preserved from the beginning to this day a little flock of sheep amongst a world of Wolves and Lions and Bears that are set on mischief And the second is that God maintains a little grace in life in the midst of so much corruption that the heart is poysoned with a little faith and a little humility in the midst of so much unbelief and pride The reason why the Church is not wasted is because the Lord is their God why this grace is not overwhelmed and that our corruption breaks not out every moment into most notorious scandall● is because the corruption is ours but the grace is the Lords Hath God kept you therefore any day that your heels have not been tript up Forget not to blesse him for such a mercy A notable example of such a thankful spirit we have in David who by the humble and prudent counsel of Abigail being stayed from imbruing his hands in the blood of Nabal and his family blessed God and her that he was prevented Blessed be the Lord God of Israel saith he to her which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou that hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging my self with mine own hand c. In every affliction forget not to blesse God for this It is mine affliction not my fin What ever the crosse be it might have been worse for it might have been my fin Blesse God that either prevented the temptation as he did for David or assisted in the temptation as he did Joseph who left his garment but kept his chastity and chose rather to suffer then to sin 4. Blesse God not onely for what you have and for what you want but for what you hope to have All is not come that is ●●●mi●ed by the Father all is not come that is merited by the Son nor is all come that 〈◊〉 assured to yon by the Holy Ghost the best i●●et to come Here joy enters into us there we shall enter into joy Here are promises there performances Here is faith there is fruition Here we enjoy God mediately there immediately In heaven there is a Kingdome without cares a throne without a thorn greatnesse of state without corruption of manners a treasure without mo●●s honour without envy joy without ●●ars love without jealousie and dayes without end A devout Pilgrim travelling to Jerusalem and by the way visiting many brave Cities with their rare monuments and meeting with many friendly entertainments would often say I must not stay here this is not Jerusalem So do you in the midst of all the delicates that the world can afford you not onely with variety but plenty say still of every one of them This is not Jerusalem This is not heaven these are but tents and tabernacles all no better then moveables our mansions are in heaven where we shall abide for ever But would you be thankfull 〈◊〉 heaven and do you long to be there ●e truly thankfull then for Jesus Christ It is Christ that makes heaven to be heaven He that cannot be thankfull for Jesus Christ cannot be thankfull for heaven nay would not go to heaven at the last A wicked man at the day of Judgement might he have his choyce would not go to heaven Dives in hell torments when he discoursed with Abraham afar off did not desire to go to Abraham but prayed that Lazarus might come to him he cared more for ●ase then heaven nor did he desire that his five Brethren should go to heaven but that one might be sent to them to testifie to them that they might not come into the place of torment For certainly they that could not endure the presence of Christ with his servants in his ordinances will have no desire to be with him in all his glory In the last place because you may your selves come very far short of what you should do in this great duty of thankfulness declare to others as occasion is offered what the Lord hath done for you that they may blesse God with you It is an argument of an ingenuous spirit to acknowledge the courtefies of a friend non amotis arbitris sed clarè ut audiat hospes not in private but in the presence of others Much more is it an argument of a gracious heart to speak of the loving kindnesse of the Lord before many witnesses that they may be provoked also to blesse God David was of this mind I have not hid thy righteousnesse O Lord within my heart I have declared thy faithfulnesse and thy salvation I have not concealed thy loving kindnesse and thy truth from the great

congregation The Psalmist exhorteth to this duty very much Sing unto the Lord sing Psalms unto hi● 〈◊〉 ye of all his wondrous works It was the Psalmist his practice Come and hear all ye that 〈◊〉 God and I will declare unto you what God hath d●●e for my soul Moses the servant of the Lord did so He told Jethro his Father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Aegyptians for Israels sake and all the travell that had come upon them by the way and how the Lord delivered them Which occasioned much prayse unto God from a Midianite who said Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Aegyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh c. Christ himself commanded the man whom he delivered from the legion of Devils that he should goe home to his friends and tell them how great things the Lord had done for him and had compassion on him And indeed to return thanks unto God for all his mercies is so great a debt that we alone cannot pay unlesse God give us time and no lesse then eternity is enough And therefore we had need make collection of praises from friends that the summe may be made up the more full The Psalmist goes to all the creatures both in heaven and earth and makes a collection Heavens Angels saith he Sun Moon and Stars Kings and all people young men and maids old men and babes praise the name of the Lord. Comemmoration Sermons which are in use in Colledges and some other places are excellent And as there may be good use made of them divers wayes so this way especially that all may be provoked to blesse God for their Benefactors It is observable that to beg prayers is the common complement of friends at their p●●ting and Ora pro nobis is the conclusion of all our Letters but we seldome beg praises When do we say I beseech you blesse God for me and with me for such a late deliverance for such successe in mine endevours for such comfort in my relations c. As if we served an hard Master as if God had been a barren heath or a wildernesse to our souls as if his service had no profit Whereas there is no Matter like the Lord no service like his whose very work is wages CHAP. VII An use of Exhortation wherein Christians are perswaded to keep such a Journall or Diary AND thus far shall suffice to have been spoken of the manner how such a Journall should be used For the application of all I shall onely 〈◊〉 such as have not been acquainted with this duty to set upon this work Indeed there is a latitude in Christianity and the wayes of God that all do not reach I have have an end of all perfection saith the Psalmist but thy commandement is exceeding large When things are come to their perfection to their flower they quickly fade 〈◊〉 a Lute string if wound up to the highest it breaks but the course of holinesse and way of righteousnesse have large limits and boundaries that many come not at There are sins that some seldome confesse as Sacramentall sins Sacramentall ignorance Sacramentall unbelief impenitency uncharitablenesse c. There are some things they seldome pray for Where is the man who with Agur prayes Lord give me no riches We often in prayer presse the promise but how few at any time presse the seal wherein God is come under the power of law under the power of his own law wherein all his wisdome power faithfulnesse goodnesse and mercy is under the power of his owne law yea so far engaged that he cannot go back And yet how few urge the seal and enter a suit with the Lord There are some duties we seldome or never perform Where is the man that makes conscience of private fasting and ●rayer that shuts himself up in his closet and wr●stles with God in secret that his Fat●●r that seeth in secret may reward him openly To conclude how few are there that keep a Diary by them of all Gods gracious dealings with them Now that I may perswade such Christians at least as have any abilities and opportunities to enter upon this duty I shall doe these two things 1. Give some directions that may be as advantages to further this service 2. Give some arguments that may encourage and provoke thereunto and so conclude 1. Therefore often remember your sinfull estate when you were in a naturall estate and therefore in the 〈◊〉 of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity God commanded his people so to do Remember and forget not ●ow th●n provokedst the Lord thy God in the wildernesse c. This charge the Apostle lays upon the Ephestans Remember that you being in times past Gentil●s in the flesh that at that time ye were without Christ ●liens from the Common-wealth of Israel and st●angers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world God promised that his people should do so You shal remember your wayes and your doings wherewith you have been defiled and you shall loath your selves Paul did so he oftentimes makes mention of his sinfull condition before his conversion he is not ashamed to declare it before King Agrippa I thought verily with my self that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth which thing I also did in Jerusalem for many of the Saints I shut up in ●●ison and when they were put to death I gave my voyce against them and I punished them oft in every Synagogue c. So much he telleth the Corinthians I am not worthy to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the Church of God The like he declares to Timothy I was a blasphe●●● a persecuter and injurious Yea he was more then an ordinary sinner in his owne eyes Jesus Christ saith he came into the world to save sinner's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof I am thief● or primus the first as it is in the originall He was primus the first non ordine sed excellentia not in order of ●ime but in the excesse of wickednesse for 〈…〉 every sin hath his 〈◊〉 So did Joseph 's Brethren when he dealt roughly with them and God lookt so mercifully on them as to afflict them for their ●in They said one to another we are very guilty con●●●●ing our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear And how have those old bruises and fins of youth being sadly and seriously remembred caused much brokennesse and tendernesse much care and watchfulnesse in some all their days Them●s●●eles told his friends when being banished out of his Countrey and most honorably entertained by the King of Persia Per●eram nis● periissem I had been undone if I had not been thus distressed So may many a gracious soul say I had