Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	seek_v	worship_n	worship_v	2,731	5	9.3155	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93740	The great, useful and blessed duty of a contentment, willingness and desire to die set forth upon true and assured grounds, in several discourses on these following scriptures. By Richard Stafford, A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Recommended as more proper and beneficial to be given at funerals than gloves or rings.	Stafford, Richard, 1663-1703.	1700 (1700)	Wing S5119A; ESTC R223444	53,707	69

that perish go on blindly a●… ignorantly for twenty forty or sixty years yea throug●out all their life long in this deceit of being Worshi●…pers of God and yet not doing his will of hearing 〈◊〉 word and not obeying it nor yet doing thereafter whe●… as the Blessedness is to them that hear the word of God a●… keep it Saith David by the Spirit if I regard iniqui●… in my heart the Lord will not hear me Now iniqui●… signifies the thing that is not equal But too many outwa●… Worshippers do not only regard iniquity in their hea●… but also practice it with their hand Nevertheless li●… the Adulterous Woman Who eateth and wipeth her mou●… and saith I have done no wickedness they will not cea●…nor desist to offer up their many and customary Pray●…s unto God as aforetime and as if they had never ●…one any such thing Such may be found amongst the ●umber of those of whom it is written Not every one ●…at saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the king●…m of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which 〈◊〉 in Heaven Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord ●ave we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out ●evils And then will I profess unto them I never knew 〈◊〉 depart from me ye that work iniquity All will not be ●…ved that go to Church or Meetings and then where shall ●…e ungodly and sinner appear for of four sorts of hearers 〈◊〉 the word there is but one that bringeth forth fruit ●…to everlasting life Herein also God is glorified when ●…ey bring forth fruit but he is not glorified when they 〈◊〉 not bring forth fruit or when instead of Bringing ●…rth grapes they bring forth wild grapes ●o ye think that the Papists do glorifie God by their Mass 〈◊〉 Idolatrous Worship or by their ignorant mumbling ●…er their Beads when it is the revealed will of God that ●eople should pray with the Spirit and with the under●…nding also 1 Cor 14. 15. That whole Chapter is a●…inst praying in an unknown Tongue God is a ●…irit and they that worship him must worship him in Spi●…t and in truth This is opposite unto and shuts out all ●…eir pompous outside Worship and carnal ordinances ●…ter the institutions and Commandments of Men. For ●…eir Worship stands in divers Washings and Bowings ●…d carnal ordinances imposed on them who would wil●…gly always remain in their corruption and errour ●…d never let Reformation come among them although ●… Blessed be God many have reformed from their ●…ays Again May it be thought that the Mahometans by going ●…nstantly to their mosque and by their making a great ●…y and howling in their Prayers unto the God of Hea●…n although they are never so earnest in Prayer as they ●…em to be in tone and voice and also by their Wa●…ings before Prayer as the manner of them is where●… common reason would shew them that the inward ●…urifying and cleansing of the heart of the Worshippers is more required by God and more pleasing and acceptable in his sight then the outward washing of the●… Bodies with water And so with all their other rites an● ceremonies customs and manners do they glorifie God ●… when all the mean while they know not nor believ●… on Jesus Christ by whom there is access unto the Fathe● he being the alone mediator between God and Man And so we may run over and conceive in our min●… as to all the Religions Superstitions and ways of Wo●ship used in the World together with that manifo●… Errour and Absurdity that is joyn'd therewith Do tho●… Worshippers glorifie God It would be hard to say so●… For the Father seeketh such to worship him as worship him 〈◊〉 Spirit and in Truth And seeing that so much Errour a●… Folly Ignorance and Vanity is crept in and intermin●led with the several Worships of the World especial●… among those of the Roman-Church and that vast mult●tude of others who do not at all name the name of Chr●… it may be thought as to them that in God's Sight and 〈◊〉 to his Acceptation He that Sacrificeth a Lamb is as if ●…●ut off a Dogs neck He that offereth an Oblation as if he ●…fer'd Swines blood He that burneth Incense as if he bless●… an Idol Which last is the highest degree of provoki●… God that can be So that such Worshippers do rath●… displease than please God they do rather dishonour th●… glorifie him They make God more angry and furth●… off then bring him near or reconcile him unto the W●…shippers But to come home and nearer to our selves even 〈◊〉 us who are called Protestants of the pure Reform'd Chur●… who come yet nearer to the Pattern shew'd to us in 〈◊〉 Gospel than they aforementioned Altho' our Worship 〈◊〉 in some measure Spiritual and True Yet here agai●… a right Faith and a wrong Conversation a good Na●… but evil Doings will not save any of us Nor yet is G●… glorified by the work done or only in the outward co●…ing to the Places of Worship for if People do therein dr●…near to God with their Lips but their Hearts are far fr●… him if they bring only their Bodies to the place but the●… in their Souls do mind other Objects besides the Invisib●… ●od then as the Body without the Spirit is dead so such may be ●ore truly called carca●e Worship than Spiritual Wor●…ip for it is the Worship of a dead Body only or of a ●arcase without the Spirit Acting or being concern'd there●… Saith God Now let them put away their Whoredom ●nd the Carcases of their Kings from me and I will dwell in ●he midst of them for ever Ezek. 43. 9 Lip labour in Pray●r or Worship is properly Whordom for it takes away ●he heart from God the right beloved and places it ●n another wrong beloved and so it is a carkase of Wor●hip for the reason aforeassigned Both which God requires ●o be put away before he will dwell in the midst of us Having abundantly and at large discoursed by what kind of Worship God is not glorified it will easily ●ppear by what Worship he is indeed glorified For if ●…e is not glorified by meer outside Worship as indeed he ●s not it follows that he is glorified by such Worship as is spiritual which denotes inward Worship for if it is performed by the Spirit it must be inward because the Spirit is within and true God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth For the Father seeketh such to worship him and consequently he is glorified thereby so that to Worship God in Spirit and in truth is a part of our glorifying God here on Earth Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the Salvation of God Pal 50. 23. Seeing that they who order their conversation aright will have the Salvation of God shewn unto them it follows hence also that

stature tovvards a perfect Man in Christ Jesus Do vve in course and succession of time become more God like and more Christ-like and do vve make further proficiency and further attainments in the Christian-Life Do vve grovv in grace and knovvledge And 〈◊〉 vve become Wiser and Better Are vve meet for Heaven And are vve sure that if God should take avva● any of us this moment to have an entrance and admission therein Let none be too selfconceited or consider● herein for the Lord may reject such confidences Ye● still I do hereby exhort people to use the utmost mea● endeavour and diligence that ye may become meet f● Heaven and never to give over nor yet stand still i● this same good vvork Not as though you had already a● tained or were already perfect but ye are still to pre● tovvards the mark of the high calling of God in Chri● Jesus To be still Travailing and making on in the vva● tovvards Sion Although as it often happens in our journeying to places vvhich vve vvere never at before vv● may Err and vvander But here seek out of the Boo● of the Lord and attend unto what things are opene● and alledged from thence and thus enquire and g● into the right vvay again as soon as ever ye ca● and so order the business that hovvever ye go about or athvvart yet in process of time ye may be neare● advanced unto the Haven and place vvhere ye would b●… And thus ye may ask and examine your selves upon th● finishing part of your Work If it is finished and ye are ready expect then that God will call for ye Now would it be with fear or contentedness of mind if God should hurry thee away this very moment into the unknown and invisible World Behold I have told you before Suppose novv thou art finishing thy course hovv it vvould be vvith thee even with thee if thy course was actually finished and thou wert to Behold Man no more with the inhabitants of the World That is on this Earth and in this state of things This is the Sum and Requiring of all Religion if we vvould be such in the midst of and ●hroughout all our Life as we think and purpose we ●ould do upon a dying Bed or as we shall wish we ●ad done when we are actually in the state of the dead For we shall than be sensible and reflect and Remember Luke 16. 25. All one yea much more than we do now Hope we have which entreth into that within the vail And ●o we should have continually such Thoughts and such 〈◊〉 Mind which entreth within the vail of these outward and visible things into and amongst such things that are not seen We should step forth into the other World a● thought before we are actually entred therein indeed ●nd have our Conversation in Heaven before our Souls are admitted there We should be no otherwise employed about present things then as we are in an inn for then our thoughts are taken up Wholly and Principally about the Place we are journeying unto And so this Earth is but a through fare which we are just to pass through before we come to Heaven or Hell Again as we apptoach nearer to the end of our journey and to the finishing of our Work See that ye walk circumspectly Yea with what exactness and care should we go through with it having continued thought and Remembrance of mind that each of us severally are ●o glorify God on the Earth and to finish the Work which he gave me to do The same should be our labour and endeavour accordingly This is certain that Idleness Sloth or to live in pleasure or sensuality as to which the inspired Apostle ●ruly saith The Widow that liveth in pleasure is Dead while she liveth Which also is applicable unto all other people who do so or who are lovers of pleasures more than ●overs of God Nor yet to live so as to snort out our days 〈◊〉 say and testify again all this is not a glorifying God on the Earth nor yet a finishing the Work which he gave ●s to do The reason whereof is manifest because all this or the like is for no real and good end or purpose But God gave us this life that we should live unto him who hath Created us To understand and seek after the Lord To fear God and keep his Commandments and do good and so shalt thou dwell in the land Psal 37. 3 To serve our Generation as I do this day in Publishing these and many other words of truth which would be profitable unto them if they would receive them to be imployed in doing the will of our Heavenly Father that whenever he cometh and calleth for us by Death he may find us so doing Blessed are those Servants whom when the Lord cometh he shall find so doing Who are sure to be about that Work which God gave them on this Earth for to do and finish So that they are either finishing it or they have it actually finished And than they may make this comfortable return when they come to the end of their course as the forerunner● did even Jesus who shewed us the way and left us an example that we should follow his steps I have glorified thee on the Earth I have finished the Work which thou gavest me to do Blessed are those Servants of the Lord God whom when he calleth for by Death he shall find either to be upon the finishing I mean who are trimming their Lamps Mat. 25. 7. For the wise Virgins had got their Oyl long before or rather who shall then have actually finished the Work which he gave them on this Earth for to do Blessed is he that Readeth and they that hear the words of this Prophecy and keep those things that are written therein for the time is at hand Rev. 1. 3. Which may be understood as to those things also which are truly opened and alledged from thence To God only wise be Glory through Jesus Christ for ever Amen