Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	free_a	grace_n	justification_n	4,592	5	9.0747	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A69449	The doctrine & directions but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the nevv birth A treatise by way of appendix to the former. By Isaac Ambrose, minister of Christ at Preston in Amounderness in Lancashire.	Ambrose, Isaac, 1604-1664.	1650 (1650)	Wing A2955; ESTC R37037	61,894	74

the Lord Almighty and to resist the work of his Grace now it may be there comes this fear and hand-writing against him and then he cryes These are my sins and these are the Plagues and Judgements threatned against them and therefore why may not I be damned why may not I be plagued Secondly the Lord pursues the soul and discharges that evil upon him which was formerly feared and now his Conscience is all on a flame and he saith to himself O I have sinned and offended a just God and therefore I must be damned and to Hell I must go Now the soul shakes and is driven beyond it self and would utterly faint but that the Lord upholds it with one hand as he beats it down with the other he thinks every thing is against him he thinks the fire burns to consume him and that the ayr will poyson him and that Hell-mouth gapes under him and that Gods wrath hangs over him and if now the Lord should but take away his life that he should tumble down headlong into the bottomless Hell Should any man or Minister perswade the soul in this case to go to Heaven for Mercy it replies in this maner Shall I repair to God O that 's my trouble Is not he that great God whose Justice and Mercy and Patience I have abused And is not he the great God of Heaven and Earth that hath been incensed against me Oh with what a face can I appear before him and with what heart can I look for any mercy from him I have wronged his Justice and can his Justice pardon me I have abused his Mercy and can his Mercy pity me What such a wretch as I am If I had never enjoyed the means of mercy I might have had some plea for my self but Oh I have refused that mercy and have trampled the Blood of Christ under my feet and can I look for any mercy No no I see the wrath of the Lord incensed against me and that 's all I look for SECT. 4. Sorrow for Sin THe next step is Sorrow for Sin concerning which are two questions 1. Whether it be a work of saving grace 2. Whether God work it in all alike To the first I answer There is a double Sorrow one in Preparation the other in Sanctification They differ thus Sorrow in Preparation is when the word of God leaves an impression upon the heart of a man so that the heart of it self is as it were a Patient and onely bears the blow of the Spirit and hence come all those phrases of Scripture as wounded pierced pricked in the passive voyce So that this Sorrow is rather a Sorrow wrought on me then any work coming from any Spiritual ability in me But Sorrow in Sanctification flows from a Spiritual principle of Grace and from that power which the heart hath formerly received from Gods Spirit so that in this a man is a free worker Now both these are saving Sorrows but they differ marvellously many think that every saving work is a sanctifying work which is false Those whom he calleth saith the Apostle them he also justifies and whom he justifies he glorifies You may observe That Glorification in this place implyes Sanctification here and glory hereafter now before Glorification you see there is Justification and Vocation and both these are saving To the second I answer Howsoever this work is the same in all for substance yet in a different maner it is wrought in most Two men are pricked the one with a pin the other with a spear two men are cut the one with a pen-knife the other with a sword so the Lord deals kindely and gently with one soul and roughly with another There is the melting of a thing and the breaking of it with hammers so there is a difference in persons for instance if the person be a scandalous liver and an opposer of God and his Grace Secondly if a man have harbored a filthy heart and continues long in Sin Thirdly if a man have been confident in a formal civil course Fourthly if God purpose by some man to do some extraordinary great work In all these four cases he lays an heavy blow on the heart the Lord will bruise them and rend the kall of their hearts and make them seek to a faithful Minister for direction and to a poor Christian for counsel whom before they despised But if the soul be trained up among godly Parents and live under a soul-saving Ministery the Lord may reform this man and cut him off from his corruptions kindely and break his heart secretly in the apprehension of his Sins and yet the world never see it In both these we have an example in Lydia and the Jaylor Lydia was a sinful woman and God opened her eyes and melted her heart kindely and brought her to a taste of his goodness here and glory hereafter But the Jaylor was an outragious rebellious wretch for when the Apostles were committed to prison he laid them up in stocks and whipped them sore now there was much work to bring this man home when the Apostles were singing Psalms there came an Earthquake which made the prison doors flie open and the prisoners fetters to fall off but yet the Jaylors heart would not shake at last the Lord did shake his heart too and he came trembling and was ready to lay violent hands upon himself because he thought the prisoners had been fled but the Apostles cryed to him Do thy self no harm for we are all here with that he fell down before them and said Men and brethren what shall I do to be saved For Conclusion give me a Christian that God doth please to work upon in this extraordinary maner and to break his heart soundly and to throw him down to purpose though it cost him full dear this man walks ordinarily with more care and conscience and hath more comfort coming to himself and gives more glory unto God Is it so that the soul of a man is thus pierced to the quick and run through by the wrath of the Almighty then let this teach all how to carry themselves towards such as God hath thus dealt withal Are they pierced men O pity them let our souls O let the bowels of commiseration and compassion be let out towards them let us never cease to do good to them to the very uttermost of our powers And to the performance of this Reason and Religion and pity me-thinks should move us Hear the cry Oh saith the poor soul will these and these sins never be pardoned Will this proud heart never be humbled Thus the soul sighs and mourns and says O Lord I see this sin and feel the burthen of it and yet I have not an heart to be humbled for it nor to be freed from it O when will it once be Did you but know this it would make your hearts bleed to hear him Oh! the sword of the Almighty hath pierced