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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	wont_a	word_n	work_v	22	3	6.5513	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30574	An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth, & tenth chapters of the prophesy of Hosea being first delivered in several lectures at Michaels Cornhil, London / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the seventh book published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682.	1650 (1650)	Wing B6070B; ESTC R36308	388,238	512

that were said against the strictest way of holiness but now he can be ready to listen to Objections As a man when he was intimate with his friend he could not endure to hear any thing that was said against him but now being estranged from him he can drink in any thing which is said against him Sixthly When the heart is estranged from the Word it wil put off thoughts and through examination of truths it will not search into things as it was wont to do but is willing to put off and shut his eyes and will rather search into any thing that may make against the Truth than that which will work for it I beseech you observe these workings of your hearts Seventhly There will be an engagement in some practice not allowed by the Word Then a man grows further estranged from his Friend when he doth not only refrain coming into his company but he will engage himself into some others that are against him Eighthly It comes to have a slight esteem of what before they thought had great weight in it there was a time when such such things were thought to have very great weight in them but now they are nothing they are of another judgment Just as when a man is estranged from his friend he thought before he had a great deal of excellency in him but now he esteems him not and this is the argument of the estrangement of his heart from him Lastly If men take not heed when they are by these degrees grown to be estranged from the Truth they will at length violently reject the Truths of the Word they will grow to be open enemies to the Truth Men that have bin familiar with Gods Word and Truth and made profession of them and seem'd to love them most by several degrees they have grown to be strangers from them and at length to be enemies to them Apostates have proved to be the most desperate enemies to the truths of God of any in the world take heed therefore of the strangeness of your hearts from the Truths of God lest you afterwards prove to be an enemy to God it 's an evil thing to account the Law of God a strange thing but much more to account it an enemy to us and our hearts to be an enemy to it Isa 5. 24. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble and the flame consumeth the chaff so their root shall be rottenness and their blossom shall go up as dust why because they have cast away the Law of the Lord of Hosts and despised the Word of the holy One of Israel Oh! let us for ever take heed of this and therefore let our prayer be that of the Prophet David in Psal 119. 18 19. Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law And then it follows I am a stranger in the earth hide not thy Commandements from me Lord I account my self a stranger here in the world Oh! let not thy Word be a stranger to me I beseech you observe this Those men and women that account themselves strangers in the world will never account the Law of God a strang thing to them but such men as account themselves to be the inhabitants of the world they will have Gods Law to be a stranger to them Observe it and you shall find this to be a Note When your hearts begin to close with the things of the world you do not meditate in Gods Word so much as you did before nor delight to reade it but now if you can keep your heart from the things of the world to use them as if you used them not then this will be your prayer Lord hide not thy Commandements from me Oh thy Word is sweet unto me as honey and the honey comb One Note more about this They accounted this as a strange thing Men they have a strange way now a daies to estrange the Law from them and themselves from the Law That which their corrupt hearts will not close withal as for a rule of holiness that they will put upon Christ as if Christ had delivered them from it This is a strange way indeed of estranging themselves from Gods Law many men will eestrange themselves from the Law of God by too much familiarity in the world but for people to have this way by their familiarity with Jesus Christ because they come now to know Christ more therefore they should be greater strangers from the Law than they were before this is a strange way of estranging mens hearts from Gods Law The holy Ghost foreseeing such a generation which would be in the times of the Gospel that would boldly assert that whosoever the people of God were bound to under the old Testament yet in the new Testament they have nothing to do with the Law of Moses it is very observable In Malac. 4. 2. 4. the very close of the old Testament even then when there is a Prophesie of Christ to annex the old Testament and the new together saith the text there Vnto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings to you that fear my Name shall Christ arise what then then you shall have nothing to with the Law when Christ arises Mark then in the 4 th vers Remember ye the Law of Moses almost the last words in the old Testament and the Conclusion as if the holy Ghost should say now I have done revealing all my mind about the old Testament and you must never expect any more Prophets nor any further Revelations of my mind till the time of the new Testament but instead of the Prophets you shall have the Sun of righteousness arise Well then I hope they shall never have any thing to do with the Law of Moses more Nay but saith the holy Ghost Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant c. VER 13. They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifice of mine offering THE Jews might object Why how do we account the Law of God a strange thing do not we continue in sacrificing do not we offer our sacrifices to God why do you say we account the Law a strange thing From the connexion therefore this Note may be observed That men may continue in outward profession and performances of duties of Religion and yet the great things of Gods Law may be a strange thing to them They do offer sacrifices still and yet they accounted Gods Law as a strange thing to them Do not think that sufficient that you continue in outward profession of Religion Nay shall I say more I make no qustion but a man may continue in outward duties and yet Apostatize from God so far as to commit the sin against the holy Ghost and that 's evident from the example of the Scribes and Pharisees that Christ charges for commission of the sin against the

superstitious people who are forward and zealous in their own way of Worship yet they are very slight and negligent in Gods way of Worship little regard that Indeed their own Altars they were accounted great things that way which they appointed themselves they did not care what cost they were at in that way but as for Gods way that was as a strange thing unto them We have seen it very evident and do see it in great part to this day how those that are very zealous in superstitious worship are the most negligent in Gods way of Worship to instance you know in late times what a deal of stir did men make with their own forms of Worship with their own Ceremonies and Waies of Worship which they appointed how zealous were they in them and devout were they in them when they came in publick Congregations to bow and cring and for other Ceremonies that they said were only for the decency of Gods Worship how stiff were they in them that the mouths of the most Godly Ministers must be stop'd if they would not conform to them But even these men would scorn and jeer at strictness in Gods Waies and slight any man that would be consciencious in the Waies of God and they were Rebels that should not yeild to a Ceremony because it was disobedience to Magistracy For men to be consciencious for little things as they thought in Gods Law seemed strange when as they would urge men to obey to the uttermost in little things in their own so in another point that fals out as full and reasonable for the time as in the point of their own Feastivals and Holy daies those that would persecute to the uttermost men that should work but to get bread for their families on a Holy-day yet they could publish Books of Sports for the prophanation of the Lords Day And thus the great things of Gods Law they were strange things but their own things Holy-daies were great matters Surely if it were such a great matter to keep the Festival of Christs Nativity we should have some hint of it from the beginning of Matthew to the end of the Revelations but when God gives not the least hint of any such time And mark it those people that stand most upon such Festivals they stand least upon Gods Sabbaths and indeed you shall have many people which think it a strange thing for men not to have regard to such Festivals Why may not we keep the birth of our Savior Now that you might not think it a strange thing do but consider of this that when God hath set apart any thing for a holy use it is no strange thing but it should be strange in man to venture to imitate God in the things of his Worship to do that in Gods worship which God himself hath done before thus God hath set apart a holy time viz. the Sabbath it is set apart for to solemnize all the work of Redemption both the Nativity of Christ and his Life and Death and Resurrection and Ascention and the coming of the Holy Ghost all the things about mans Redemption I say God hath set the Sabbath apart to that end that we might have a Holy day to keep the remembrance of them Now when God hath set one day apart for man to dare to venture to set another apart this is presumption So because Christ hath set outward Elements and Sacraments to be a remembrance for his body and blood for man to say Christ hath set apart a piece of Bread and Wine why may not I set some other thing apart This you would all say were a great presumption Certainly the presumption is the same in the former Again it is observable in this expression They counted it as a strange thing It is a dangerous thing for men to have their hearts estranged from Gods Law and from the other Spiritual Truths that are in Gods Word from the knowledg of that Law which we have been educated in and that heretofore we have made profession of for thus it was with this people they had been educated in Gods Law and made profession of it and whatsoever God should reveal they would obey but now their hearts were estranged from what they were educated in and made profession of Oh! let men take heed of this for ever You that have had good education you have been brought up in the knowledg of Gods Law you have had gracious principles of Gods Law dropt into you in your youth you have made fair profession of Gods Law of obedience to it take heed now of being estranged from those truths that heretofore have been familiar to you that you have made profession of and therefore take heed of the several degrees of the estrangement of the heart from the Law of God I will but only name them to shew how the hearts of men do grow strangers from Gods Law First It fares with his heart as it doth with a man that grows to be a stranger from his friends A man that hath a familiar friend he doth not estrange himself suddenly but by degrees it may be visit one another less than they were wont to do and yet there is no contention between them but by degrees they grow to be strange and then at length they grow to be very enemies And thus it is with mens hearts when men grow strange from the Word that he was acquainted withal before first he begins to call things in question whether things be so or no and especially those things which most concern the mortifying of sin and the strictness of holiness Secondly He begins upon this or rather I think that 's the first he begins to abate his delight in the truths of God he was wont to take abundance of delight to meditate in the Word Oh how sweet it was when he awaked in the night season he was wont to take a great deal of delight about conferring in Gods Word and when he came into any company but now it is abated that 's the first Secondly he calls those things into question that he was very confident in before whether they be so or no. Thirdly He begins to have some hard thoughts of Gods Word Many men that heretofore did prize the Word and those Truths that were the joy of their hearts yet now they begin to have hard thoughts of them Yea fourthly He begins to wish that those things which are in the Word were otherwise than they are he cannot see enough to perswade him that the things are true but his heart coming to be estranged from the Word he doth desire they were not true as a man that comes to be estranged from another he could wish he were further off from him Fifthly He begins to listen to those things which are against the Word there was a time that he would never regard any things

Name of God and saith Oh! but God is of another opinion When therefore we find our selves jocund and merry we should consider but is God of the same mind that we are of Many mens rejoycing is so disagreeing to Gods mind as they dare not so much as consult with God or their own consciences to know what God and conscience will tell them concerning their rejoycing the more men can prevail with their own consciences to be silent the more joy they have yea some there are that have so much guiltinese upon their spirits as they can have no joy but at such time when they can take advantage of their own consciences they are fain to take a time when their consciences are asleep or else they can have no joy Now cursed be that joy that cannot stand with a free working of a true enlightened conscience Thirdly Men may be in an outward prosperous condition and yet have little cause to joy in it all outward prosperity may stand with the heavy wrath of God hanging over the sinners head he may be upon the very brink of destruction and yet prosper outwardly outward prosperity may come in wrath the curse of God the poyson of Gods curse may be in the Wine as well as in the Water wicked men that are poor have their Water poysoned and wicked men that are rich and prosperous have their Wine poisoned and what difference is there between drinking poisoned Water and poisoned Wine the swelling of carnal hearts in their prosperity it is a sign that it is poisoned to them Outward prosperity as it may come in wrath so it may stand wi●h wrath and make way to wrath by it the vessels of wrath may be fitted to destruction God many times hath a further reach in suffering wicked men to prosper than they are aware of as Ester when she invited Hamon to a banquet he drew such a connexion that he was honored above all the Nobles in the land and he goes away rejoycing and tells his friends of the great honor that was put upon him but Ester had another design in it than Hamon thought of it was not to honor him but to destroy him So many people whose estates God raises they make other manner of connexions from Gods dealing with them than ever God intended they think God hath blessed them when the truth is God is working their ruin and destruction As a painted face is no argument of a good complexion so a prosperous estate is no argument of a good condition Rejoyce not for Joy Carnal hearts in their joy are set upon jolity their spirits insult and they think of nothing that should moderate their joy so the words import Rejoyce not for joy if you will rejoyce let there not be meer joy but some kind of mixture in it there should be a mixture of reverence and fear in our rejoycing we should rejoyce with trembling here in this world Whatsoever blessings we have from God yet I say we should rejoyce with trembling here remembring first our unworthiness of any good we have there should be that put into our joy Secondly Remember the afflictions of our brethren Thirdly Remember the uncertain and the vanishing nature of all these things we rejoyce in Put these three things alwaies into the Cup of our Joy else it will be too sweet and will clog the stomach Mix the Cup of your Joy with these three Meditations First Your Unworthiness of that Mercy Secondly The Meditation of the Affliction of our Brethren of yours that have done God more service than ever you have done or are like to do Thirdly That Meditation of the Uncertainty of al these things that your hearts are so taken withal These three Ingredients will make a good Mixture that we shall not surfeit with our condition Do not rejoyce that is Let there not be pure Joy But the strength of this expression lies in the other Rejoyce not with joy as other people First Be not taken with the bravery and jolity of other people to think them happy Oh! It 's a fine life to live as they do The jolity of other people that are in a different way from us is many times a great temptation to draw the heart to them because we see they live merrily and bravely But that doth not reach yet to the main scope of the Prophet Rejoyce not with joy as other people Secondly Therefore do not rejoyce as they do in their Idolatrous Festivities Dancing and many waies of jolity that they had in their Idolatrous feasts we must not imitate Idolaters in their Triumphs This was the sin of many in the primitive times because they were come new out of Heathenism they would turn the Heathenish feasts into Christian feasts and Heathenish customs whereby they were wont before to honor their Idol gods into the custom of Christians to honor Christ in the same way and they thought this was very good that whereas before they did honor Idol gods now they thought if they did but turn this to honor Jesus Christ they thought this would be acceptable No this was a great sin and brought a great deal of evil into the Christian world and we do to this day suffer in that way if do tender our respects to God though it be in the same way that Idolaters do to their Idols we think we do well and indeed here 's the original of keeping this time both of your Christmass and New-years-day it is but the changing of them from the keeping of the Heathenish time to the honor of Christ and of the Saints I remember this time two years through meer providence that Scripture came in our way I will take away their solemn feasts And there I shewed how these came instead of the Heathenish times Now saith the holy Ghost here Rejoyce not as other people do do not you imitate them they have their Idolatrous Feasts but do not you as they do We must not take liberty to imitate Heathens and Idolaters in their worship though we think to tender our respects to God thereby Rejoyce not as other people Not as A people for the word other is not in the Hebrew Do not you rejoyce as if you were to continue a people still for you are to be carried captive and not to continue as a people do not you therefore rejoyce as if you were in a setled condition you have brought your selves into such a condition as you are not to look upon your selves as a people Do not Rejoyce no not as a people It 's a miserable spectacle to see those who are ready to be destroyed to be jolly and merry as if there were no such matter It is said of the Dolphin that it sports most when a storm comes So when the storm of Gods wrath is arising upon a people then they are most jolly and merry Again Rejoyce not in that manner as others

them into your hearts As first That such is the vileness of every sin as it seperates the soul from God and puts it under an eternal Curse This one Truth you must get this into your hearts and get it deep into your hearts it will help to unloosen the roots of the thorns and bryars that are there the setled apprehension of this Truth And then secondly This Truth That there is such a breach between God and my soul by sin that all the power in all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth is not able to make up this breach here is a sharp plow-share to get into the heart And then thirdly This Truth that by nature I am full of this sin my heart is full of it all the faculties of my soul are filled with sin that is of such an hainous nature Here is a sharp plow-share to get into the heart And then fourthly That every action that ever I have done in all my life in my unregenerate estate it is nothing else but sin nothing else but sin that hath such a vile nature Yea further That if any sin be pardoned to me it is by vertue of a price paid that is more worth than ten thousand worlds This Truth Now here 's the Gospel as well as the Law for the plowing is but the spiritualness of the Law the Truths of the Law in a Gospel way for you must take notice that the Law as Law accepts of no humiliation for sin it is as it is reveal'd in a Gospel way in a Gospel way it doth tend to humiliation for let men be humbled never so much the Law never accepts of them for their humiliation but the Law in a Gospel way so it comes to humble the soul so as to do it good Now therefore the Consideration of the Truths that the Law requires having reference to the Gospel they serve for the humbling of the soul Now get in these truths and see what they will do in thy Soul you must work them in And let conscience be put on to draw this plow These are as the Plow-share and the working of Conscience is the drawing of this plow while the plow stops as when it meets with a thorn and bryar now a strong Conscience will draw it on and will make the thorns and bryars to be rent up by the roots if the Conscience be put upon with strength to draw these Truths in the soul and though they put you to pain yet you must be content to draw them on in the soul And if these and the like Truths be got into thy soul and thou beest at plow and thy Conscience be drawing This is that I shall say God speed the Plow yea God speed these Truths that Conscience is drawing on in the soul for it may tend to a great deal of good to prepare thee for the seed that may bring forth Righteousness and Mercy to thy soul for ever I confess it is a hard work to be thus plowing Indeed for men and women only to hear Sermons and be talking and conferring of good things these things are pretty easie but to go to plow to plow with such Truths as these are to get up the thorns and bryars by the roots this is a very hard task but we must be willing to do it and to continue plowing as the fallow ground must not only be plowed once but it may be it may stand in need of plowing the second and third time before it may be fit for the seed to be cast in and so it must be with our hearts It may be some of you have got in some Truths and you have been plowing yea but since that time you have had many weeds and thorns grown up and you must to plowing again it may be it is divers yeers ago since you have been thus plowing and your hearts have lain fallow all this while do not think it enough that once you have been humbled but be often plowing up this fallow ground you were as good have the plow get into your hearts though it be sharp as to have the Sword of Gods Justice be upon you We have in these times a wanton generation that have risen up that cannot endure to go to plow they would be doing nothing but taking in the sweet as I told you before in a former Exercise Treading ●ut the Corn. But this plowing they cry out of meerly through a wantonness and tenderness of their spirits a sinful tenderness because they would have nothing but jolity and licentiousness in their hearts and waies yet the Scripture in Luke 9. 62. compares the Ministers of the Gospel to the plow He that puts his haud to the plow and looketh back is not fit for the Kingdom of God not fit to be imployed in the administration of the Gospel Though these men cry out so much of humiliation for sin which is as strange a Generation as ever have risen up that should cry out of that when there 's nothing more humbles for sin than the price that was paid for sin in the blood of Jesus Christ and there is no such sharp plow-share as that If I were to preach one Sermon in all my life for the humbling of men for sin I would take a text that might shew the great price that was paid for it and therein open the breach that sin hath made between God and mans soul But they will not make use of the Gospel neither so much as to be a plow to plow the heart for the work of humiliation Well God hath prospered this work heretofore and notwithstanding al the wantoness of mens spirits this way yet I say still God speed the plow God speed this way of plowing the hearts of men and getting in those Truths that do humble the hearts of men for their sins these were the Truths that God hath blest in former times and there 's none that ever did live to the honor of the Gospel so much for this generation that is come up they talk of the Gospel but they live not to the honor of it the Gospel hath not honor by them nor Jesus Christ hath not honor by them But the former generation of men though in some things they might fail yet certainly God blest them in their way so far as it was according to Truth No mervail though these men bring forth such little fruit of Righteousness it is because they sow among thorns presently they are up at the top and so confident presently in their way their seed is among thorns and therefore it doth not prosper And thus much for this expression about the plowing up of fallow grounds both in reference to general Reformation and Humiliation and concerning mens Souls in particular It follows For it is time to seek the Lord. It is time First Yet you have time to seek the Lord 'T is well for you that you have