Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	covenant_n	lord_n	solicitous_a	24	3	16.0419	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77360	Christ and the covenant the work and way of meditation. : Gods return to the soul, or nation; together with his preventing mercy. : Delivered in ten sermons, (viz.) 1. Christs personal excellencies, the object of our love. 2. Christ crucified, the object of our faith. 3. The new covenant of grace opened. 4. Christ the mediator of the new covenant. 5. The way and spirit of the new covenant, or New Testament. 6. The blood of sprinkling. 7. The sweetness and profitableness of divine meditation. 8. The work and way of this meditation. 9. Gods return to the soul and nation. 10. Preventing mercy. / By W.B.	Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.	1667 (1667)	Wing B4449A; ESTC R225773	165,221	279

Hebrew is they gave the hand under King Solomon they gave their hand by way of Covenant and they gave their hand under King Solomon in a a way of submission So when we enter into Covenant with the Lord we give our hand under God and therefore if you desire to get into Covenant do these things Quest Well but suppose I be in Covenant with God as I hope I am What should I do that I may walk as becometh one that is in Covenant with the great God Answ First of all If you be in Covenant indeed with the Lord then God hath honoured you he hath exalted you and honoured you greatly and if God have honoured you why should not you honour God Now first the more you fall down at the feet of the fulness of Christ in the sense of your own unworthiness inability and insufficiency the more you honour God There is one saith John who is mightier then I whose shooe latchet I am not worthy to unloose 2. The more you cry up those Ordinances and wayes of God that are decryed by the World the more you honour God 3. The more you keep close to God in declining times the more you honour God 4. The more you trust God at a dead lift when all means fails and when a sentence of death is upon all the means the more you honour God 5. The more you serve God contrary to your own disposition and rea●h the services of God over the head of your own dispositions the more you honour God 6. And the more that you do prefer the things of God in time of competition above other things the more you honour God 7. And the more you part with your much for Gods lesser the more you honour God What is Honour Honour is a testimony of anothers Excellency Now when I can part with my much for Gods little his little truths and things I do testifie an excellency in God I say the more you can part with your much for Gods little the more you honour God 8. And the more you do keep close to the Name and Faith of God and Christ even where Satans Throne is the more you honour God Now then hath the Lord honoured you and taken you into Covenant with himself then surely it is your duty for to honour God and by these several particulars you may honour God 2. If the Lord have made and stricken a Covenant with you then Friends give me leave to say to you Why should you be solicitous for your own things If you be in Covenant with the Lord and God in Covenant with you God will take care of your things therefore why should you be solicitous about your owne things God is in Covenant with you he will take care of yours And upon this account in case there be any losse upon the things of God why should you not be as much affected for that losse as for your owne losses For if you be in Covenant with God and God with you Gods things are yours and your things are Gods Gods things are yours Why then should you not be as much touched with the losse of any thing that concerns God as with any thing that concerns your selves Yea Why should not God have the use of all yours God is in Covenant with you and you have the use of Gods things his Wisdome his Power his Mercy Why Because he is in Covenant with you and you are in Covenant with him Why then should not God have the use of your thing also your Name and your Estate and your Body and your Time If you be in Covenant with God and God be in Covenant with you yours are Gods and Gods are yours why should not God have the use of yours as you think to have the use of Gods 3. If God be in Covenant with you and you be in Covenant with God then why should you not live at an higher rate then the best of the Jews did You are in a better Covenant then the Jews were though for substance the same as you heard yet you are in a better Covenant and shall not your lives be better You have a better Mediator and shall not your lives be better You have better Promises and shall not your lives be better Your state now is called Grace to That The Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth comes by Christ John 1. Chap. Look therefore upon the Jews look into the Old Testament and look upon the best of them and think with your selves am I in a better Covenant Oh then how am I ingaged to live better Oh that our lives were more exalted upon this account Why should not our lives be better and we live at a higher Rate 4. If you be in Covenant with the Lord and the Lord in Covenant with you then be sure of this That you be true to God be true to God in the matter of his Worship the Covenant stricken between God and you is a Conjugal Covenant A Woman though she will admit another man into the house with her Husband yet she will not admit him into the bed that is a breach of Covenant Now the Worship of God is the bed wherein Christ doth bed with a Soul and therefore if you look into the Old Testament you shall find that Idolatry is accounted Adultry and Harlotry Why Because they took Idols and men into the bed with God Would you walk then as those that are in Covenant with the Lord away with every thing of mans out of Christs bed Remember it is a conjugal Covenant Whatsoever is of mans coming into the Worship of the Lord which is the Lords bed is against your Covenant When God speaks of a Covenant he saith Thou shalt be for me and I will be for thee Hos 3. Chap. 5. And to conclude all if you be in Covenant with the Lord and the Lord with you indeed go away and walk humbly and be very thankfull When the Lord made a Covenant with Abraham Abraham saith he go thoughout the Land and behold it in the breadth thereof and in the length thereof so say I hath the Lord entered into Covenant with you go into the Land of the Covenant behold the length thereof and the breadth thereof and what God hath promised in that Covenant behold it in the length thereof and the breadth thereof and thus will your heart be affected and raised to thankfulness Thus Davids heart was raised for saith he Lord though thou makest not my house to grow this is my salvation I am in Covenant with thee And so you may say Lord thou makest not my Family to grow I have never a Child this is my salvation I am in Covenant with thee though thou makest not my house to grow but I am poor and my house is pulled down or burnt down this is my salvation the Lord be praised the Lord is in Covenant with me thus do and you shall be thankful And this is

thereof thus they say that Christ did confirme the Covenant by his death onely in a way of witnesse-bearing in a way of Testimony But surely this cannot be it for if Christ did confirme the Covenant by his death he confirmed not the Covenant onely by witnesse-bearing to the truth for so the Apostles might be said to confirme the Covenant for in the 2 Heb. 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him And if our Lord and Saviour should onely confirme the Covenant by his death in a way of witnesse-bearing then the Martyrs that dyed for the Truth should confirme the Covenant by their Death too for they by their death did seal to the Truth and did bear witness to the Truth and so they should be said to confirme the Covenant but far be it from us to think any such thing But Jesus Christ did confirme the Covenant by his death thus By performing the condition of the Covenant and by laying down his blood a price for the mercies and blessings promised in the Covenant He did confirme the Covenant by his death I say by performing the condition of the Covenant If a man be in captivity and he that hath him in captivity promises upon the payment of so much money that he shall be delivered when the money is paid down the Condition is performed Why now Jesus when he dyed he gave himself a ransome for many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and upon this account he is called a Mediator 1 Tim. 2.5 There is one God and one Mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Ransome in the room a Ransome for or in the room of us As the first Adam should have confirmed the Covenant and did not so the second Adam did confirme the Covenant How should the first Adam have confirmed the Covenant Why the first Adam should have confirmed the Covenant by performing the condition thereof So now our Lord and Saviour Christ being the second Adam did confirme the Covenant How by performing the condition of the Covenant Thus he is the Mediator of the New Covenant upon the account of Confirmation 3. He is the Mediator of the New Covenant upon the account of Suretyship by being bound unto God the Father that we shall performe to him by being bound to us that God the Father shall performe to us In the 7th of the Hebrews you shall find he is called our Surety vers 22. By so much was Jesus made a Surety of a better Testament And why so but to shew that where he is Mediator he is Surety You know what a Surety is he is bound for the Debtor to performe Saith Judah unto his Father Jacob Gen. 43.9 when he would have Benjamin down with him to Egypt I 'le be surety for him of my hand shalt thou require him So Christ saith unto the Father I will be Surety for these men and of my hand shalt thou require their performance and saith he to them again I will be Surety for God the Father and of my hand shall you require his mercies So that thus now he is a Mediator of the New Covenant upon an account of Suretiship upon a threefold account upon the account of Stipulation upon the account of Confirmation upon the account of Suretiship 5. But what are the benefits that we do gain or get by Jesus being the Mediator of the New Covenant Much every way First of all Is it not a great matter that God the Father should be reconciled unto us ●f God be reconciled you are brought neer ●nto him into onenesse with him Union is ●he ground of Communion and Communion is ●he ground of Communication surely therefore it is no small matter Now I say if Jesus be the Mediator of the New Covenant God is reconciled to us 2. If Jesus be the Mediator of the New Covenant then you may go with boldnesse and look the Justice of God in the face with boldnesse for your debt is satisfied So long as a man is in debt he steals by the Prison door in the dark but if his Surety have paid the debt he dares come as you say and whet his knife at the Counter door Now Christ being your Mediator the Mediator of the New Covenant he is your Surety the debt is paid and you may goe with boldnesse and looke Justice in the face and the Devil and all those Serjeants of Hell But thirdly Is it not a great matter for Christ to be your King Priest and Prophet consider it a little If you observe it you shall find that all the blessings that came to the Jews or Israelites in the time of the Old Testament came through these three offices King Priest Prophet why but as a Type to shew that all our spiritual mercies must come through the hand of these three offices in Christ Now if Christ be the Mediator of the New Covenant then he is your King your Priest your Prophet for all these three offices of Christ grow upon the Mediation of Christ For if he be your Mediator then he will be a Prophet a Prophet to declare the mind and the love of the Father to you If he be your Mediator he will be your Priest to satisfie the Fathers anger for you If he be your Mediator he will be a King to subdue all your Enemies for he is a Priest after the Order of Melchesedeck King of Salem Now is it not a great matter to have Christ our King our Priest our Prophet surely it is But 4. Is it not a great matter that all the blessings and mercies of the New Covenant should belong unto you Friends have you duly considered what are the blessings of the New Covenant I 'le tell you briefly They are all those spiritual blessings which you want and complaine for the want of There are seven or eight spiritual blessings that a poor drooping soul doth complaine for the want of Oh saith he I am afraid I am not the Child of God or I fear my sin is not pardoned and I do not find an inward constant frame of Soul to what is good And I am a poor ignorant creature And I have a hard heart And I want the Spirit of the Lord within me And I cannot walk with God as I ought to do And I fear I shall fall away and go to Hell at last Why now in the Covenant of Grace there is supply promised against all ●hese fears Dost thou say I am afraid I am not the Child ●f God Why saith the Lord here in the Co●enant I will be a God unto you and you shall ●e my People There is Adoption for you Heb. Do you say I am afraid my sin is not pardoned then saith the Lord in the Covenant Your sin and iniquity

is not yet written in my heart O make good thy Covenant and write thy Law in my heart And for you that are Saints this Doctrine looks upon you and it saith thus If Christ be the Mediator of the New Covenant and your Mediator that God hath provided for you then go away and be ashamed of your sins and of all your doings the pardon whereof requires such a Mediator and the blood of the Mediator Then shall ye be ashamed saith the Lord When I am pacified towards you If Christ be your Mediator and God be pacified Oh then be you ashamed 2. And to you it speaks thus If the Lord Jesus Christ be the Mediator of this New Covenant your Mediator and mediates for you then why should not you appeare for Christ on Earth upon all occasions Shall Christ interpose with the Father and appeare for you and mediate for you in Heaven upon all occasions and will not you appear for Christ on Earth What Christ appeare for you in Heaven and mediate for you in Heaven and will not you appeare for Christ on Earth Yea unto you it saith Why should not you all goe away with your hearts full of Love and Thankfulnesse both to God the Father and to Jesus Christ If you were going to the Prison for a Debt and a man should meet you and undertake to be your Surety and pay your Debt you would love him as long as you lived Here is the case we were all going to Prison Christ comes undertakes to be our Surety payes our Debt then will you not love Christ the Mediator of the New Covenant Will you not love him and be thankfull to him and to God the Father For though the performance of this Mediation be Christs the Contrivance is God the Fathers God the Father did contrive this Covenant and God the Father did send Christ this Mediator I have given thee for a Covenant saith the Father and saith Christ Lo I come to do Thy Will. Friends it was the will of God the Father that Jesus should be the Mediator of this New Covenant Oh the freenesse of the Grace of God the Father He was the person offended and yet that He himself should find out such a Mediator of such a Covenant what Grace is here Now therefore blessed be God the Father for this Mediator let us all say and blessed be this Mediator JESVS who hath mediated us into this New Covenant Goe away I say you that are Saints with your hearts full of Love both unto God the Father who hath contrived this Mediation and unto JESVS who hath performed this Mediation And now let your hearts be confirmed let your Hope be confirmed let your Love be confirmed let your Joy be confirmed let your Thankfulnesse be confirmed let your Graces be confirmed A confirmed Covenant calls for confirmed Christians I have done I cannot say whom we should love most and be thankful most unto the Father or the Son but this I say love the Father with all your heart and be thankful to him in reference to his Contrivance love the Son with all your heart and be thankful to him in reference to his Performance for JESVS is the Mediator of the New Covenant And thus I have done with the second Doctrine namely that Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant The third follows and that is That now in these Gospel times we are not come to Moses the Mediator of the Old but unto Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament The Way and Spirit of the New Covenant or New Testament SERM. V. Hebr. 12.24 And to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant c. Doctr. 3. THe Third Observation follows which is this That in these Gospel-times we are not come to Moses the Mediator of the Old but unto Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant or the New Testament The latter part of the Doctrine you have in the words of the Text and the former part in the Con●ext for saith the Apostle Ye are not come unto the Mount that might be touched to Mount Sinai But ye ●re come unto Mount Sion and ye are come unto Jesus ●he Mediator of the New Covenant So that now in ●hese Gospel-times we are not come to Moses the ●ediator of the Old Covenant but to Jesus the ●ediator of the New Testament For the opening and prosecuting whereof First We must inquire What is here meant by ●oming unto Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant in opposition to Moses the Mediator of the Old Covenant Secondly Whether it be possible for a man tha● doth profess Christ the Mediator of the New Covenant to have recourse unto Moses the Mediator of the Old Covenant or the Old Testament That is Whether a Man may possibly be Legal and Mosaical in these Gospel-times Thirdly When so Fourthly The Danger of it and Fifthly What we should do that we may stand clea● from Moses the Mediator of the Old Covenant an● come fully off unto Jesus the Mediator of the New That we may walk wi●h a Gospel not a Legal Spirit and be found in a Gospel not a Legal Way in these Gospel-times First of all If you ask What is here meant by coming unto Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant in opposition to Moses I answer in the general It doth signifie and note out that Evangelical and Gospel-state that we are now brought unto by Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament in opposition to the Legal state tha● they were in in the dayes and times of the Old Testament But because this is general and commo● unto that which goes before therefore you must kno● more particularly That a Man is said to come unto Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament in opposition to Moses when now in these Gospel-times upon all occasion● he hath recourse unto Jesus as in the times of th● Old Testament upon all occasions they had recour● unto Moses As now for Example In the times of the Old Testament they came 〈◊〉 Moses for the Law under God and they receiv● the Law from his mouth What saith Moses was the saying then So now in these times of the Gospel we are to have recourse unto Jesus and to receive the Law at his mouth What saith Jesus And therefore saith our Saviour It hath been said unto you Thou shalt not kill and Thou shalt not commit Adultery But I say unto you and I say unto you Why What because as the Socinians would Christ made any addition to the Law No but because now as for other Reasons we are to receive the Law from his mouth from the mouth of Jesus And as in the times of the Old Testament they had recourse to Moses for their Church and their Church State He it was that did give the Tabernacle under God and the way of the Tabernacle So now in the times of the New Testament we are to have recourse to Jesus What saith Jesus to a Church-way Not What