Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	wing_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	35	3	10.0085	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30241	CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, or, Christs prayer before his passion explicated, and both practically and polemically improved by Anthony Burgess ...	Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.	1656 (1656)	Wing B5651; ESTC R13734	964,431	860

worshippeth that which others doe where he liveth but whether it be God or an Idol that he understands not The Athenians had an Altar dedicated To the unknown God Act. 17.23 and Paul with much zeal doth reprove this their superstition and Idolatry telling them they were out of the way to heaven yea the more devout and zealous a man is for that worship he understandeth not the more swift he runneth in the way to hell so then where ignorance is It 's all one whether Christ or Mahomet be worshiped whether an Image or the true God So truly doth Seneca observe of the common people Eunt qua itur non qua eundem est They do and go not whither they ought but whither they see others before them yea by this means men come to worship the devil in stead of God Oh terrible and heavy aggravation Thou that thinkest thou dost worship God yet by thy ignorance going on in Idolatry dost worship the devils Thus Jeroboam is said to set up calves to the devil 2 Chron. 11.15 the people little thought so and so those that would be at the Idolaters Feasts they did partake of the cup of the Lord and of deuils 1 Cor. 10. Now although it be true that thou art brought up in that Religion where the true God is worshiped yet this is all one to thee who hath no knowledge of God or Christ for if it had been to Moloch to Baal or Ashtaroth had it been to Mahomet or to Images and Idols in every high way thou wouldst have done that as well as this for any true knowledge or understanding thou hast O pray then that God would give thee true knowledge As it is thus for the generality of Gods worship so in more special manner ignorance doth wholly overthrow praier unto God which is more necessary then food or raiment and is a duty to be performed to God every day Now saith the Apostle Heb. 11.1 He that cometh to God must beleeve that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that seek him but how can this be when a man by ignorance is in a confused chaos Oh that ignorant people would attend to this They say they pray yea they hope to be saved by their good praiers when alas thou that knowest nothing of God or Christ canst not pray at all Thou never didst pray acceptably to God all thy life time If a Parrot be taught to say the Lords Praier shall that be accounted a praier and is there not many that pray Gods Name may be hallowed his Kingdom may come and yet understand not at all the sence of their praier Thus in Popery they do sinfully nourish people in their ignorant praiers for seeing their praiers are in Latine it 's all one whether they pray good matter or blasphemy The Apostle 1 Cor. 14. doth expresly argue against praying in an unknown tongue saying for himself He will pray in the spirit and with understanding also What terrour then doth this proclaim ignorant people pray they cannot they do not no not when they pray If that Question should be put to them which Philip put to the Eunuch Vnderstandest thou what thou readest So Understandest thou what thou praiest Were they able to say one word of knowledge to you We may cry out Be astonished O Heavens and the Earth at the ignorance and blindenesse of many people and yet nothing will provoke them to get knowledge 3. We cannot do that great and necessary duty which is the substance of all Gods command viz. to love him with all our heart with all our soul and might neither the consequents of this love which is to desire after him to delight and rejoyce in the light of his countenance without knowledge for what a man knoweth not he cannot love Ignota nulla cupido Let ignorant people by this see the great gulf that is between them and heaven Thou canst not love God nor desire him as long as thou dost not know him so neither can you fear God if you know not his infinite Majesty the greatnesse of his power and his hatred against sinne What makes men so desperately wicked to commit sinne without any fear or trembling They know not God Hence is that frequent expression in Scripture when God saith he will bring such and such punishments Then they shall know that I am God 4. Those that serve God ought to be full of fervency and zeal For all duties without zeal are like a Sacrifice without fire a Bird without wings a Messenger without feet Now all zeal without knowledge is refused by God They have a zeal but not according to knowledge Rom. 10.2 Ignorant people may be very zealous as those that offered their children to Moloch That did cut and lance themselves in calling upon Baal but this fire of zeal was like that of hell calidus and not lucidus hot but not light Vse If Eternal life be to know God then this is eternal death not to know God This is eternal damnation to be ignorant of him It was Gods promise that all should know him from the greatest to the least Jer. 31.34 but how few finde the fruit of this promise How many Families how many persons are there who do all they do to the unknown God yet these hope to be saved yet these say They have a good heart when nothing can be good while ignorance is predominate neither a good faith or good love or good duties or a good heart and as ignorance is damnable of it self so much more when it is where the means of knowledge are where the Sun shineth where the Ministry is instructing Oh what wo and woe again will befall such men SERMON XV. More Reasons of the Necessity of Divine Knowledge And the Causes of Ignorance JOH 17.3 And this is Eternal Life to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent THe Doctrine observed was that without the knowledge of God and Christ there cannot be any eternal life obtained The first ground or reason of this was from those several duties that are required of us towards God which without some knowledge could never be acceptably performed The second ground shall be from those duties we owe to Christ And herein damnable ignorance will farre sooner possesse us then in the former for there are some common notions and dictates about a god which made Tertullian cry out O animam naturaliter Christianam But in respect of Christ we have not the least implanted notion about him so that the doctrine of Christ is far more supernatural then that about God for the hoti quod si Deus is I discovered by natural light but who he is and how to be worshiped this is meerly supernatural but concerning Christ both the quod sit and the quid sit That there is a Christ and what he is are both by divine manifestation So that whatsoever we have of Christ it must only be

be risen with Christ seek those things that are above and set your affections upon them Oh this is a great matter when not only our minde and tongue but our affections are set on things above The Affections are like wings to the bird like fire among the Elements it assimilates and turneth every thing into fire Thus where the beleever affectionately remembers he is not of the world he cryeth out as the Maid ready to be ravished under all inordinate and worldly thoughts What do you come to overwhelm me for He runneth away as Joseph from his Mistresse how can I do this and sinne against God The Apostle speaks in the Name of all Beleevers Phil. 3.20 Our Conversation is in Heaven Thus as the Sunne in Heaven though the Beams of it shine upon Dunghils and noisome Jakes yet it 's not defiled So the Godly though they live in a noisome sinful and wicked world yet they are not stained therewith because their Conversation is in Heaven and as the Bird as long as she soars on high is out of all danger from the snares and gins of the Fowler Thus the Childe of God as long as his thoughts and his affections are kept above and are out of reach they receive no defilement from these things below Oh then let the Beleever remember he is not of this world and this will inflame him it will be a fiery Chariot to carry him up into Heaven But because to be heavenly-minded is a general and particular things do most inform and affect Singularia sunt quae pungunt Let us branch it out in particulars and shew you wherein a Godly man remembring he is not of the world doth expresse his heavenly Conversation and that emptieth it self into these streams First He mortifieth and moderateth his heart and affections even to lawfull things 1 Cor. 7. The time is short Those that marry must be as if they married not Grace doth alter the pallat of Nature so that like old Barzillai they take not that delight which once they had in the comforts of the world Nature is content with few things but Grace with the one necessary thing which is God himself If then thy heart be like a water overrunning the banks and so be muddied stop thy self and remember thou art not of this world and therefore thou darest not over-love or over-desire or go beyond thy bounds Thou hast indeed these mercies but as if thou hadst them not Truly this is an excellent discovery of an heavenly heart when this Ivy doth not so cleave to thee as to consume thee When thou canst so eat drink and enjoy all earthly and worldly Comforts that yet thou do not distemper and disease thy soul Secondly An Heavenly Heart is in these worldly things when they are made but the secondary and the lesse principall They are the Stars not the Sun This our Saviour makes a fundamentall qualification to every Disciple He that loveth Father or Mother more then me is not worthy of me Matth. 10.37 The Godly man therefore hath Christ lying nearest to his heart There must be nothing above him equall to him as David expresseth this predominancy often Whom have I in Heaven but thee And My Soul breaketh for the longing it hath to thee at all times And God was his Portion The Light of his Countenance was better then Life and all Earthly Comfort If therefore thou remembrest thou art not of this world Earthly things shall be admitted only to the Court of the Temple not to thy heart which is the Holy of Holies They are kept at the bottome of the Hill not suffered to come up to the Mount There is no man if not truly regenerated though never so great in parts and expressions of Religion that giveth Christ the better part of his Soul That gives the Superiority to him As in the Sacrifices of old all the fat was to be burnt unto God Oh then awaken thy self in this matter if thou art not of the world then God and Christ are in the uppermost room of thy heart They are more unto thee then ten thousand Creatures To say thou ar● no prophane person no wicked person is a poor and a small matter But art thou one to whom Christ is more then Wealth then honour and all Greatnesse Thirdly The man that remembers he is not of the world dareth not sinne against God to obtain the greatest advantages here below This doth necessarily follow from the former For if once he be so heavenly as to love God and Christ better then all then he will do nothing that he may lose them He will not be so foolish as to take Dirt and to lose Gold Hence those Hearers that had the Cares of the world choaking the good Seed and those Apostates that fell off in Persecution all these did serve Mammon and not God for when it comes to this here is an offer and choice either I must lose God or this worldly advantage If thou wilt take the present world and leave Christ this cannot stand with an Heavenly heart I do not speak of some particular passages for the Flesh sometimes overcometh the Spirit but of an habituall and constant course Therefore it was a full discovery that Moses was not of the world when he chose the Reproaches of Christ rather then all the Treasures of Egypt This an earthly heart would never have done Fourthly The man that remembers he is not of the world desires not neither rejoyceth in worldly things any further then thereby he is made more serviceable to God and instrumental te his glory All these earthly things they are Talents and we are called Stewards Now the Steward looks not upon the money and Rents he receiveth as his he rejoyceth not in them as his own He is to improve all for the best to his Masters use Thus the heavenly Christian doth This Health This Life These parts These Comforts they are none of mine I am but a Steward I must give an account what improvement I have made of them This is a notable discovery of thy heavenlinesse when thou art thus affected Fifthly He that Considers he is not of this world his Heavenly-mindednesse is discovered in that though he be in the midst of all these businesses yet he labours to keep his heart holy and fervent His Shop doth not dead his heart his worldly affairs do not dull the Edge of his Spirit but he can delight in God call him Father be fervent and effectuall in Duties Not but that the most Heavenly man which is findes and complaineth of much deadnesse and dullnesse They can be affected with worldly things but not Heavenly onely they are sensible and complain of this dead heart That as they mourn over a dead Friend a dead Childe so they do over a dead heart onely herein they strive and labour that no worldly thing may any whit abate their Affections to God That they