Selected quad for the lemma: blood_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
blood_n	will_n	work_n	work_v	473	4	6.4338	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65304	The one thing necessary Preached in a sermon at Pauls, before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, and the aldermen of the City of London, Aug. 31. 1656. By Thomas Watson, minister of Stephens Walbrook, London.	Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.	1658 (1658)	Wing W1134A; ESTC R220893	27,086	82

by grace too Ephes. 2. 5. There must be ploughing and sowing the ground but yet no crop can be expected without the influence of the Sunne So there must be working but no crop of salvation can be hoped for without the Sun-shine of free grace 'T is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdome Luk. 12. 32. Give why might some say we have wrought hard for it I but Heaven is a donative though you work for it yet it is the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the good pleasure of God to bestow it Still look up to Christs merit it is not your sweat but his blood saves That your working cannot merit salvation is clear {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} 'T is God that works in you to will and to do ver. 13. 'T is not your working but Gods co-working For as the Scrivener guides the childs hand or he cannot write so the spirit of God must afford his auxiliary concurrence or our work stands still how then can any man merit by working when it is God that helps him to work I should now having laid down this Caution re-assume the Exhortation and perswade you to the working out salvation but I must first remove two Objections which lie in the way Object 1. You bid us work out salvation but we have no power to work Answ. 1. 'T is true we have not power I deny that we have libertatem arbitrii * man before conversion is purely passive Therefore the Scripture calls it cor lapideum a heart of stone Ezek. 36. A man in his pure naturals can no more prepare himself to his own converting then the stone can prepare it self to its own softning But yet when God begins to draw we may follow Those dry bones in Ezekiel could not of themselves live but when breath came into them then they lived and stood upon their feet Ezekiel 37. 10. Quest But suppose God hath not dropt in a principle of grace suppose he hath not caused breath to enter Answ. Yet use the means Though you cannot work spiritually yet work physically do what you are able and that for two reasons 1. Because a man by neglecting the means doth destroy himself As a man by not sending to the Physician may be said to be the cause of his own death Secondly God is not wanting to us when we do what we are able Urge the Promise Seek and ye shall find Mat. 7. 7. Put this bond in suit by Prayer you say you have no power but have you not a Promise Act so far as you can Though I dare not say as the Arminian when we do exert and put forth nature God is bound to give grace yet this I say Deus volentibus non deest God is not wanting to them that seek his grace Nay I will say more he denies his grace to none but them that wilfully refuse it * The second Objection is this but to what purpose should I work there 's a decree past if God hath decreed I shall be saved I shall be saved Answ. God decrees salvation in a way of working * Origen in his book against Celsus observes a subtil Argument of some who disputed about Fate and Destiny One gave counsel to his sick friend not to send for the Physician because saith he it is appointed by destiny whether thou shalt recover or not If it be thy destiny to recover then thou needest not the Physician if it be not thy destiny then the Physician will do thee no good The like fallacy doth the Devil use to men he bids them not work if God hath decreed they shall be saved they shall be saved and there is no need of working if he hath not decreed their salvation then their working will do them no good this is an Argument fetched out of the Devils topicks But we say God decrees the end in the use of meanes God did decree that Israel should enter into Canaan but first they must fight with the sonnes of Anak God decreed that Hezekiah should recover out of his sicknesse but let him lay a fig to the boyl Isa. 38. 21. We do not argue thus in other things A man doth not say if God hath decreed I shall have a crop this year I shall have a crop What need I plough or sow or manure the land No he will use the means and expect a Crop Though the blessing of the Lord makes rich Prov. 10. 22. Yet it is as true the diligent hand makes rich Prov. 10. 4. Gods decreeing is carried on by our working And thus having removed these Objections out of the way let me now perswade you to set upon this blessed work the working out your salvation and that my words may the better prevail I shall propound several Arguments by way of Motive to excite you to this work The first Argument or Motive to working is taken from the preciousnesse of the Soul * well may we take pains that we may secure this from danger The soul is a divine sparkle kindled by the breath of God It doth out-ballance the world Mat. 16. 26. If the world be the Book of God as Origen calls it the soul is the Image of God Plato calls the soul a glasse of the Trinity 'T is a bright mirror in which some refracted beams of Gods wisdom and holiness do shine forth the soul is a blossom of eternity {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} God hath made the soul capable of communion with himselfe It would banquer the world to give half the price of a soul How highly did Christ value the soul when he sold himself to buy it * O then what pity is it that this excellent soul this soul for which God called a Councel in heaven when he made it * should miscarry and be undone to all eternity who would not rather work night and day than lose such a soul The Jewel is invaluable the losse irreparable 2. Holy activity and industry doth enoble a Christian * The more excellent any thing is the more active The Sunne is a glorious creature it never stands still but is going his circuit round the world Fire is the purest element and the most active 't is ever sparkling and flaming The Angels are the most noble creatures and the most nimble therefore they are represented by the Cherubims with their wings displayed God himself is actus purissimus as the Schoolmen speak he is a most pure act Homer saith of Agamemnon that he did sometimes resemble Jupiter in feature Pallas in wisdome Mars in valour by holy activity we resemble God who is a most pure act The Phaenix flies with a coronet on its head the industrious Christian wants not a coronet his sweat enobles him his labour is his ensigne of honour Solomon tells us that drowsiness cloaths a man with rags Prov. 23. 21. Infamy is one of