Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	ceremonial_a	law_n	moral_a	5,536	5	9.9611	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12184	An exposition of the third chapter of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians also two sermons of Christian watchfulnesse. The first upon Luke 12 37. The second upon Revel. 16.15. An exposition of part of the second chapter of the Epistle to the Philipp. A sermon upon Mal. 4. 2.3. By the late reverend divine Richard Sibbes, D.D. master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher at Grayes-Inne.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1639 (1639)	STC 22493; ESTC S117268	126,511	278

of abundance and he may live in the world though not to the world which is a dutie easily spoken of yet not easily performed neither was it easily wrought in our Apostle who being a persecutor of the Church was powerfully altered and changed from Heaven and thus doth God deale with his children whom hee doth first cast downe and afflict that they may finde by experience that these outward things can stand us in no stead it may be hee suffers them to fall into some grievous scandalous sinne that they might see the bodie of sinne that lies in them and seeing no good nor help in themselves their desires are stirred up to the imbracing of some better thing wherein they may finde comfort then doth God reveale Christ to us to whom he will have us to flie and say Lord what wilt thou have mee to doe So as this power of changing our selves is not in our selves but it is an almightie power If we thinke therefore that wee are selfe-lovers goe to God present thy selfe in the meanes and then our eyes shall be opened to see and discerne good and evill For God hath promised to annex his spirit to the use of the meanes if that wee in obedience submit our selves to them VERS 8. Yea doubtlesse and I count all things but losse THe words containe a kinde of correction as if in few words he had said All things whatsoever I formerly boasted in nay my very priviledges I count them not onely dung but I doe count them to be losse to me nay I have suffered the losse of them all in comparison and for Christ my ●ord Yea I desire to expresse the earnest intention of my affections by my desire to win him to know h●m to be found in him and to formable to his death In generall observe The Apostles resolution and zeale his assured certainty his large heart being not able to expresse his affection but by many words viz. his love of Christ and hate of all outward things whatsoever Therefore we also in maine fundamentall points must be resolute carrying a full saile as in the truth of the thing there is a certainty so in us there must be an assured perswasion thereof For even from these uncertaine irresolute hearts comes Apostacie men being not grounded are carried about with every winde of doctrine and hence also comes different measures of grace in Christians some say with Paul Doubtlesse others are of doubting hearts But the end of the word is to settle us Ephes. 4.13 And though it be never so true yet if we not beleeve it though the foundation be sure yet if we not build on it the tru hand force of it is not good unto us In the second place f●om the Apostles example We are to learne in fundamentall truthes to be zealous The Apostle speaking of any thing that ●e●kes competition with Christ for value how doth he vilisie it that he hath not words sufficient to e●pr●sse his fervent hatred thereof For zeale is such an affection as causes a constant hatred against any thing that opposes that which we intirely love even such a hatred as will cause us not to indure to heare of it And God therefore promiseth Ephraim he shall so abhorre Idols as he shall not have to doe with them And indeed a jealous God and a zealous heart doe well agree when wee have to doe with any one that opposes God in his ●ruth we are not to be cold but to be zealously affected In the third place Wee are to learne to bee large hearted in expressing our affection wee beare to the truth and therefore we are to bee ashamed of our shortnesse of breath in speaking or meditating of Gods honour and glory and his truth But particularly from our Apostles esteeme wee may learne That Gods children have sanctified and regenerate thoughts and esteemes For with new soules they have new eyes new senses new affections and judgements what they saw before to be gaine they see now to be losse Beasts we know conceive not of mens matters neither doe weake simple men of state matters that which weake silly men admire the Apostle scornes and contemnes Moses accounted of the afflictions with the children of God more than of the pleasure of Egypt We may observe this as a marke to know our estates by what is high in thy esteeme is honour riches pleasure or the like thou art not yet throughly sanctified for if thou wert thou wouldst have a sanctified judgement But some may say did Paul esteem all things to be losse yea his good workes I answer good workes in their own nature are good but weighing them with Christ as Paul did they are also drosse and dung Secondly it teaches us that wee are not righteous or justified by any workes ceremoniall or morall either before or after our conversion The Papists alledge works as meritorious we contrarily doe disclaime them As to that purpose I say they you meane ceremoniall works we say no we meane also morall For Paul was unblameable as concerning the works of the law and yet counts them dung O say they St. Paul meaned those works before his conversion and not those after his conversion I answer yes all things in respect of Christ I doe now account them as drosse and losse To prove this the fuller If nothing after conversion bee perfect then cannot they intitle us to heaven but all our best works in state of regeneration are imperfect to prove this See the examples of David a man after Gods owne heart Psal. 143.2 None righteous in thy sight and who can say his heart is cleane And Esay 64.6 Wee are all as an uncleane thing and all our righteousnesse as filthie ragges O but Bellarmine sayes the Prophet speakes this in the person of the wicked I hope he will not put the Prophet into that number for he saith wee and our and our righteousnesse not our ill deeds and all our righteousnesse Nay of himselfe in particular Esay saith as much in Esay 6.5 And besides the wicked doe not use to pray as the whole Chapter is to that end And Daniel also includes himselfe in his confession Dan. 9.20 And to prove this by reason We know that weake and corrupt principles must needs produce imperfect effects now the principles of all our motions are evilly affected our understandings memomories affections all are corrupt and weake Corruptions make combates in all parts of the soule and body in whatsoever therefore we doe there is flesh and spirit and their owne Authours agree hereunto as Ferus and Catharen a Cardinall of their owne sayes there is donatajustitia and inhaerens When the question is what we must leane to it must be onely on Christ and his righteousnesse wherewith from him we are indowed And a Pope of theirs Adrian the fourth saith that all our righteousnesse is as the reed of Egypt which will not onely faile us if we rest on it but will pierce our

I am who shall deliver me from the bodie of this death and good reason for these spirituall evils of errour in judgement hardnesse of heart securitie seared conscience and the like they leade us the assured way to damnation as it is said in the words following whose end is damnation Contrarily outward crosses being sanctified to us they bring us to heaven as it is 1 Cor. 11.32 Wee are chastened of the Lord that we should not bee condemned with the world For those crosses are occasions of good affections purging the heart from deadnesse and fleshly trust they draw us to God and therefore spirituall danger is the proper object of pitie It is otherwise with us wee lament Christian bloud-shed but how many soules are carried into error dayly turned to Poperie and no remorse no pitie There is great need thereof both in the Magistrate and the Minister that they should bee moved to provide remedies against such mischiefes And let us be farre from envying such as are in ill courses let their outward pompe be never so great rather lament their miserie alas poore soules how are they hurried nay doe willingly runne to destruction while they are blinded with those idle shewes of vanitie But much more miserable is their estate that draw on others to mischiefe that are brethren in evill what other end can they looke for but to bee as tares bound up and cast into the depth of hell being guiltie of as many mens deathes as they are of ill examples in their passed life But for our selves let not our soules come into their secrets le ts mourne at the lewdnesse of some and the danger of all and to this end let us consider duly of the afflictions of Ioseph taking heed of sensualitie which as Hosea saith taketh away the heart Hos. 4.11 Moses saw the miserie of his brethren and pitied them so should we consider of the danger of Popery of Schisme and rebellion and this will breake our hearts and cause us with Ieremie to mourne in secret for the sins of the times Ier. 13.17 VERS 18. They are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ. IN these and the following words is a description of these in ordinate walkers which the Apostle speaketh of they are described by their disposition First outwardly that they are enemies to Christs death Then inwardly their bellie is their God they glorie in their shame and they minde earthly things Then by their end which is damnation They are pointed out and described to us to the end wee might take notice of them by the Crosse is not meant the signe of the crosse as the Papists fondly imagine but Christs death on the crosse whereby was made satisfaction and redemption and reconciliation The enemies of this crosse are first such as added thereto the ceremoniall obedience to the law and their owne satisfactorie workes Secondly such as are carnall denying the power of Christs crucifying in not crucifying their affections Thirdly such as could not indure of suffer for the testmonie of Christs crucifying and therefoe to avoid persecution they pressed circumcision with Christ and so were enemies to his crosse Gal. 6.12 Such were the enemies thereof then and such have wee now of the Papists let them brag never so much of their esteeme and reverence they give to the signe thereof while they seem to kisse it they betray it Iudas like For while they teach merits satisfaction in purgatory indulgences the like they make the crosse of Christ of none effect whic his onely and wholly sufficient in it selfe And whereas they say they doe adde they take nothing from the sufficiencie of Christ I answer circumcision was added here by these who are notwithstanding condemned for as to joyne poyson with wholesome meate takes away the nourishment of the meate so if we be circūcised Christ shall profitus nothing and grace is no grace where there is merit Rom. 11.6 Againe consider the equitie thereof in naturall reason can it be thought likely that God should become man to doe any thing which lies in the power of man to patch up and make good or else its unsufficient shall finite corrupt man be able to make an infinite worke perfect no God will not give his glorie to another and will he part with his glorie in this great worke which propounds his glorie as the maine end thereof Ephes. the 1.6 and 12. verses Fourthly there are another sort of enemies such as cast not themselves on the merits of Christs crosse those whose consciences were never convict of sinne abundance there are who glorie in their proud presumptious swaggering courses shewing that they are either blinde or starke mad they wilfully runne to perditiō they wil not heare nor be controuled Others that see their fore-passed life how wicked it hath bin they are so far from casting themselves on Christs merits as they despair grow more more obstinate therein even to their own destruction either by not seeing the merits of Christ or through want of confidence on thē though they see his righteousnesse to be above their sins and some are so detestably wicked as because they see no salve for them they run desperatly into a custome of sin continue therin to their death As we would desite to avoid this fearfull estate and condition so let us take heed of custome of sinning for that wil make us senselesse and will move God to give us over And therefore let us take heed that we receive no the grace of God in vaine it being so freely proffered to us And to this end know that so far as we suffer our lusts to over rule us we not crucifie them so far we are enemies For while we know and consider Christ as crucified for our sins it will make us if we have any grace think of sin as of a thing that deserves to be crucified and hate that that caused the death of our deere Savious for they were the cruell tormenters of Christ. And if we embrace Christ we shal have the same affectiō to sin that Christ had for Christ wil not lodg but in a hart humbled for sin And the estate of those men is miserable that are so farre from crucifying lusts as they thrust themselves upon all occasions of temptation and sinne and esteeme them as their onely enemies that tell them of their unchristian courses Surely however they may daube for a time yet their outward profession will never administer sound comfort to them but they shall finde bitternesse at their latter end There are yet another sort of enemies namely such as will indure nothing for Christ who notwithstanding bore his crosse and bids us take up our crosse of reproach for religion some will indure any paine travaile danger and watchings for riches or ambition but dare not speake a word or appeare in Christs cause are not these enemies Shall Christ out of his love come from heaven to the basest