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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	church_n	part_n	visible_a	4,373	5	9.1099	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26659	The church triumphant, or, A comfortable treatise of the amplitude and largeness of the kingdom of Christ wherein is proved by Scriptures and reason, that the number of the damned is inferiour to that of the elect / by Joseph Alford ...	Alford, Joseph.	1649 (1649)	Wing A921; ESTC R22399	57,799	139

feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of God because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and a good understanding have all they that keep his Commandments With this fear as with salt the Lord doth season their hearts and preserve from corruption even whilest they are ignorant of him those that he purposeth to call into his kingdom This inchoation of their liberty is afterwards perfected in the time of their vocation by the preaching of the Gospel and by Faith C. I have received full satisfaction and I hope hereafter that both my self and others will give greater credit to the Oracles of God then to the perverse opinions and interpretations of men M. Now that we may conclude this digression I say that wheresoever or whensoever such are found in that moment of time they have attained to this Sanctuary this propitious year of Jubilee Onely as it is written Let us call upon the name of the Lord and we shall not be disappointed Also Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall escape Joel 2. Also The name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous flyeth unto it and is safe Prov. 18. To this tower this sanctuary the Lord himself beckneth the poor the miserable the wretched the desperate sinners in this sweet invitation Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will ease you These are the wayes the secrets of holy state and the Divine Policies which our King useth for the Instanration of his kingdom And if the kingdoms of the earth are enlarged by such artifice how much more shall we think the kingdom of Heaven to be dilated which is far more capacious more firm and more easie of access C. Truly I suppose it will infinitely exceed the kingdom or rather the dungeon of the Devil even as much as there are more who wish and desire ease impunity Honour and Salvation then who are in love with labours punishments servitude ignominy and death eternal and certainly but few men will precipitate themselves into these calamities when they may with such facility redeem themselves from the fear of them And although a small industry onely seemeth necessarie to the prevention of these endles torments yet we see but few men that contend to get to this refuge this most pleasant Citie and what should be the cause of this slackness this dulness this indiligence is to me altogether unknown M. The cause is manifest First that which I named before to wit that the new reason of state which our King maketh use of in the administration of his affairs deceaveth those that with the judgement of men seek after this citie as gloriously visible and conspicuous Secondly the Church is congregated and constituted out of this holy Sanctuary by the preaching of the word and the administration of the Sacrament and these being concealed from the greater part of the World by this means this citie for a long time was kept hid and so little taken notice of that it was scarce discernable who were the true Citizens But as soon as the glad tidings of the Gospel have arrived then we see them flock to this citie as in the time of Christ and his Apostles For when Christ himself had said that the kingdom of God was at hand and after that he had exhorted men to bring forth fruit worthie of repentance he then called them all unto him with that joyful summons Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you ease Of this joyful invitation this liberal year the Prophet Isaiah foretold when speaking in the Person of Christ he saith I am endued with the Spirit of the Lord Jehovah hath Anointed me and sent me to declare joyful tidings to heal them of broken Spirits and to give liberty to them that are in bondage sight to the blind to deliver the oppressed out of their streights and to preach the joyful year of the Lord. The Apostles also those faithful Embassadours of Christ did invite all mortal men to this great benefit this most blessed kingdom Old things are past away behold all things are become new and all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself in Christ Jesus and hath given to us the ministerie of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation Now then we are embassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled to God for he hath made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him But shortly after false Apostles and counterfeit Embassadours brought in humane traditions and began to lay upon mens shoulders the burthen and heavy yoak of the Law which things did deject not erect mens minds did terrifie them not allure them did wound them not heal them from whence 〈◊〉 came to pass that few made their approach to this kingdom or if they drew near they soon returned and departed For the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not propagated and advanced by the sword but by preaching by the energie of the Spirit by good example patience charitie meekness justice temperance constancy goodness faith lenity long-suffering and all those blessed and peaceable fruits of the true Spirit of God So our Lord himself so his Disciples propagated the truth and sowed the Heavenly Doctrine of Christ in mens hearts For our Lord as Hilarie told Constantinus Augustus did rather teach than exact a knowledge and confession of himself and giving Authority to his precepts by the frequent attestation of miracles he despised a will that was any other way compelled to acknowledge him And full of truth are these words for nothing so free as the judgement in Religion For Religion flourisheth by sound reason and strong perswasion not by fear and threatnings It is defended preserved by dying not by killing by patience not by cruelty by justice not by butchery by faith not by fraud rotten policy For he that will establish Religion by imperious ordinances force doth not seek to defend it but to violate and pollute it But because we see the night approaching Caelius unless you have ought to interpose I shall descend to such places of Scripture as seem to favour this my opinion of the amplitude of the kingdome of God C. I have not the least doubt remaining and I earnestly intreat you before the night prevent us to hasten to those proofs as the chief end of our meeting M. In the first place therefore weigh diligently that magnificent promise of God made to Abraham so often repeated and inculcated God promiseth and confirmeth his promise with an oath that he will make his seed as the dust of the earth so that if a man can number the dust of the earth then

or Leprosie repair to the Priests I know some men from hence would authorise private Confession or rather confusion for with such foolish and impious Allegories they indeavour to obscure the Doctrine of Christ it was an argument of Divine power and an evident testimonie of the obedience of Christ who came not to destroy but to fulfil the Law for it was expresly said in the Law that the Priest should judge of the leper The Lord also commanded the rich Man to sell all his goods and give them to the poor and to follow him that saying very much troubled him and made him sad yet perhaps he afterwarwards put it in execution And if he did not he ought to have done it in obedience to the command of so good and gratious a Master it will be sufficient for us to have such a preparation of mind that if the welfare of our brethren and the glorie of the Lord require it to part with all things yea life it self but this being a singular injunction and commanded onely to one man doth not bind the generality of men so that they should neglect their estates or impend all their wealth upon the poor any more than they are bound to sacrifice their sons because God commanded Abraham to such an obedience and therefore because our Lord said unto the Jews that many are called but few are chosen we must not generally extend and stretch these words to all times and persons C. You mean if I understand you right that those sayings were meant of the Jews of those times and solely to be appropriated unto them of whom many by the Prophets and afterwards many were called by the Lord himself but few were chosen namely Apostles Disciples and some Women as the Holy Scriptures do witness these were the little flock to whom Christ did Minister that consolation in Luke saying Fear not little flock for it is the will of your Father to give you a Kingdom this is that remnant of which Paul in the 11 to the Rom. saith Even so then there is at this time a Remnant according to the election of grace these are that seed of whom also Isaiah speaketh Except the Lord of Sabboth had left us a seed we had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrha In all which places the paucity of the Jews of those times which should be saved is not obscurely signified M. You take my meaning right and you have very aptly connumerated those places of Scripture Those that do detort that saying of our Saviour should observe that all those parables in the 20 21 and 22. Chapters in Matthew do contain the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles In confirmation of this truth weigh those words in the first similitude in the 20 Chapter they murmured against the good man of the house saying These last have wrought but one hour and thou hast made them equal unto us which have born the burthen and the heat of the day And it is manifest that after the resurrection of Christ these Jews did make complaints and when Paul and the rest of the Apostles preached the Gospel to them that were without they held it an unjust thing that the Gentiles should be made equal to them the ancient and Holy people of God this is plain to be seen both in the Acts of the Apostles and also in the Epistle to the Romanes In the same parable also these words Take what is thine and go thy way do clearly imply the rejection of the Jews and what is more manifest than that convertible Text Those that are last shall be first and those that are first shall be last Who I pray are those last made first but the Gentiles alienated from the Common-wealth of Israel and now preferred before the Jews and who are those first made last but the Jews for a time rejected till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in Then also those Israelites shall be saved as we have shewed before Moreover the Parable of the 21 Chapter cannot admit of doubt and that in the 22. Chapter is so perspicuous that if in the first there possibly were any doubt to be raised yet this would easily remove and dissolve it especially when the same sentence Many are called few are chosen is found also in the conclusion of that parable Now that this similitude was by our Lord appropriated to the Jews who can make a question when he observes these words The wedding is ready but they which were bidden are not worthy Go ye therefore into the high wayes and as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage This is the same which our Lord commanded to his Disciples Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures Mark the last Chapter This Paul and Barnabas testifie in the Acts It was necessarie that the word of God should first have been spoken to you but seeing ye put it from you and judge your selves unwo●thie of everlasting life See we turn to the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded us Now compare this of Paul with that of our Saviour and you will find that one egge is not more like another Christ saith They that were invited were not worthi● Paul saith You judge your selves unworthie Christ saith Go out into the high waies Paul saith We go out unto the Gentiles for thus hath the Lord Commanded But let us rise to dinner there is an importunate creditour must also have some satisfaction That which remaineth which indeed is the most important matter we will difer until the afternoon M. THe serenity of the air my Caelius and this pleasant face of heaven doe even invite us to forsake the house With your allowance therefore we will repair to yonder summer-house and spin out our discourse C. It is most agreeable Maynardus for I prefer the benefit of your conversation before all sublunary contentments It is now your part to proceed and as the gravitie of the matter doth require I shall lend you a very attentive ear M. I will proceed conditionally that you will interpose when you doubt of any thing spoken C. I shall most willingly M. Then First I will declare the first rise and beginning of that opinion concerning the paucitie of the Elect. Secondly I will prove by plain and solid arguments the amplitude and Largeness of the CHURCH TRIUMPHANT In the beginning as by the subtle malice of the Devil death got an enterance into the World so by his artifice and emulation this envious and narrow Opinion hath been advanced and disseminated for this father of lies this enemy of mankind saw and collected by indubitable signs that the Church of God was established in mercy as upon an unremoveable foundation and that by degrees God would settle his heavenly Kingdom which should consist of infinite multitudes of Citizens therefore hath he endeavoured and doth still contrive by a thousand deceits temptations and trecheries to coarctate