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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	peace_n	seek_v	select_v	30	3	16.2180	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60194	A learned commentary or exposition: upon the first chapter of the second Epistle of S. Paul to the Corinthians Being the substance of many sermons formerly preached at Grayes-Inne, London, by that reverend and judicious divine, Richard Sibbs, D.D. Sometimes Master of Catherine-Hall in Cambridge, and preacher to that honourable society. Published for the publick good and benefit of the Church of Christ. By Tho. Manton, B.D. and preacher of the Gospel at Stoake-Newington, near London.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Ashe, Simeon, d. 1662.; Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677.	1655 (1655)	Wing S3738; ESTC R215702	745,441	567

favour and grace of great persons alway And as the favourable aspect of the heavens upon inferiour bodies promiseth good things and men promise themselves from that favour and good so the favour and grace of God enlarge the soul with joy and comfort And there is that measure of joy in those that are in the free favour of God that they will honour God freely to cast themselves upon his mercy And it is with a disesteem of all things in the World besides it is such a joy as works in the soul a base esteem of all things else St. Paul esteemed all drosse in comparison of the knowledge of Christ and the favour of God in Christ. So in Psal. 4. David saith of some There be many that will say who will shew us any good any good it is no matter but saith the Holy Spirit in David Lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon me He goes to prayer he saith not who will shew us any good it is no matter what or how we come by it any earthly good worldly men desire No saith he Lord shew us the light of thy countenance he desires that above all things So he saith Psal. 3. The loving kindnesse of the Lord is better then life it self Life is a sweet thing the sweetest thing in the World but the grace and favour of God is better then that For in this when all comforts fail the Children of God have assurance that neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come nor any thing can separate us from the love of God in Christ which shews it self better then life it self When life fails this favour shall never fail Nothing shall be able to separate us from the favour of God in Christ it is an everlasting favour and therefore everlasting because it is free if it were Originally in us it would fail when we fail but it is an everlasting favour because it is free God hath founded the cause of love to us in himself so much for that Grace be unto you And peace All that I will say of peace in this place is this to shew That True peace issues from Grace It is to be had thence Peace we take here for that sweet peace with God and peace of conscience and likewise peace with all things when all things are peaceable to us when there is a sweet successe in all businesse with a security in a good estate It is a blessed thing when we know that all will be well with us This quiet and peaceable estate issues from grace peace of conscience especially I observe it the rather It hath been the errour of the world to seek peace where it is not to seek peace in Sanctification to seek it in the work of Grace within a man Not to speak of worldly men that seek peace in outward contentments in recreations in friends and the like alas it is a poore peace But I speak of Religious persons that are of a higher straine they have sought peace but not high enough True peace must be selected from Grace the free favour in Christ. This will quiet and still the clamours of an accusing conscience God reconciled in Christ will pacifie the conscience nothing else will do it For if our chief peace were fetched from sanctification as many fetch it thence in error of judgment alas the conscience would be dismaid and alwaies doubt whether it had sanctification enough or no. Indeed sanctication and grace within is required as a qualification to shew that we are not Hypocrites but are in the state and covenant of Grace it is not required as a foundation of comfort but as a qualification of the persons to whom comfort belongs Therefore David and St. Paul and the rest that knew the true power and efficacy of the Gospel they sought for peace in the grace and free favour of God Let us lay it up to put it in practise in the time of dissolution in the time of spiritual conflict in the time when our consciences shall be awakened and perhaps upon the rack and Satan will be busie to trouble our peace that we may shut our eyes to all things below and see God shining on in Christ that we may see the favour of God in Christ by whose death and passion he is reconciled to us and in the Grace and free favour of God in Ghrist we shall see peace enough It is true likewise besides peace of conscience of all other peace peace of successe and peace of state that all creatures and all conditions are peacable to us whence is it It is from Grace for God being reconciled he reconciles all when God himself is ours all is ours when he is turned all is turned with him when he becomes our father in Christ and is at peace with us all are at peace besides so that all conditions all estates all creatures they work for our good It is from hence when God is turned all are turned with him He being the God of the creature that sustaines and upholds the creature in whom the creature hath his being and working he must needs therefore turn it for the good of them that are in covenant with him All that are joyned in covenant with him he fills them with peace because they are in Grace with him This should stir up our hearts above all things in the world to pray for Grace to get Grace to empty our selves of self-confidence that we may be vessels for Grace to make Grace our plea to magnifie the Grace of God We must never look in this world for a peace altogether absolute that is reserved for heaven our peace here is a troubled peace God will have a distinction between heaven and earth But when our peace is interrupted when the waters are come into our souls what must be our course when we would have peace go to Grace go to the free promise of Grace in Christ. Grace and Peace From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The spring of Grace and peace are here mentioned After the Preface he comes to the Argument which he intends and begins with blessing One part of the scope of this blessed Apostle is to avoid the scandall of his sufferings for he was a man of sorrows if ever man was next Christ who was a true man of sorrow the blessed Apostle was a man of miseries and sorrow Now weake shallow Christians thought him to be a man diserted of God they thought it was impossible for God to regard a man so forlorn so despicable as this man was What doth he before he comes to other matters he wipes away this imputation and cleers this scandal You lay my crosses and sufferings and disgraces in the world to my shame it is your weakness that which you account my shame is a matter of praise I am so farre from being disheartned or discouraged from what I suffer that Blessed be God the Father of

look that he should deliver us not onely our persons but the State wherein we live let us pray to God that he would do so and praise God for his former deliverance Again this is another motive the praising of God for formet deliverances it invites him to bestow new blessings Upon what ground doth the Husband-man bestow more seed upon that which hath yielded most in time past Will any man sowe in the barren wildernesse where it is lost No but where he looks to reap most and hath done formerly Where he sees a soil that is fruitfull he will sowe it the more and where the heart is a barren wildernesse that it yields nothing back again he takes that away that he gave before You know there is a debt in giving there must be a returning of thanksgiving alway and kindnesse requires kindnesse there is an obligation And where benefits are taken and men are thankfull that is the way to get more to be thankfull for that we have For God minds his own glory above all things and he will especially be bountifull to those from whom he sees he hath most glory therefore alway those that have been richest in grace and in comfort they were most in thankfulnesse as we see in David a man after Gods own heart and in diverse others Let this incourage us First if we be not thankfull it stops the current of benefits Secondly if we be thankfull God will give us more mercies and deliverances when we praise him in our hearts in our lives in our bounty to others in reall thankfulnesse when we are ready to good works then he is ready to bestow new still Again to stir us up to this duty of praising God for our selves and others Consider it is the beginning of heaven upon earth what a happinesse is it that when our persons cannot go to heaven till we die till our bodies be raised yet we can send our Ambassadors we can send our prayers and thanksgivings to heaven and God accepts them as if we came in our own persons Let your conversation be in heaven saith the Apostle How is that by praising God much I pray what is the imployment of heaven of the Angells and blessed Spirits They praise God continually for the work of Creation and for the work of Redemption that is their especiall task in heaven Our duty is to be much this way in praising God Self-love forceth prayer oft-times but to praise God comes from a more heavenly affection Again do but consider that no creature in the world is unthankful but divells onely and divellish men and good men onely so far as they are corrupt and hold correspondencie with their corruptions for every creature praiseth God in his kind set the divell aside who is full of envy and pride and malice against God therefore except we will be like the Divells let us be thankfull God hath made all creatures to praise him and to serve us that we may praise him and when they praise him shall we blaspheme him May not the swearer think with himself every creature blesseth God even the senselesse creatures and shall I dishonour God by my tongue which should be my glory to glorifie him shall I blaspheme him and be like to the divel shall I be more base then the senselesse creatures What glory hath God by many men that live in the Church that blaspheme God and their whole life is a witnesse against God as the whole life of a Christian after he is in the state of Grace is a witnesse for God and a praising of him his whole life is a thanksgiving so the whole life of wicked and carelesse creatures is a dishonour of God it is a witness against God There are none but divells divellish-minded men but they praise God even the very dumbe creatures Let us labour to have a part in that blessed musick and harmonie to praise God if we do not praise God here we shall never do it in heaven But we must remember by the way that this thankfulnesse it must be a fruitful thanksgiving As for us to pray to God to blesse us and then to do nothing it is a barren prayer so to thank God and then to do nothing it is a barren thanksgiving Our deeds have words our deeds have a voyce to God they speak they pray there is a kind of prayer a kind of thanks in our works Works pray to God they have a kind of crie to God both ill works and good works and if good works have a crie to God in prayer they will have a voice in thanksgiving this fruitful this real thanks is that which God stands upon And therefore it is alway joyned with a study how to improve the things that we thank God for to the best advantage If we thank God for health and recovery and deliverance we will labour to improve it to Gods glorie if we be thankful to God for riches for peace we will improve that to grow in grace to do good to others There is never a thankful heart but it studies to improve that which it is thankful for really that God may have the Glory and it the comfort and benefit by it or else it is but a lip-labour but a lost labour Let us shame our selves and condemne our selves for our unthankfulnesse and that will be done by comparing our carriage to men with our carriage to God If so be that a man do us a little courtesie how are we confounded if we have not returned some thanks and yet notwithstanding from God we have all that we have all that we are all that we hope to have and yet how many benefits do we devoure and do not re turn God thanks This disproportion will shame the best Christian that he is not so quick in his devotion to God to be thankful there as he is sensible of small kindnesses done by men this is a good way to make us more thankful And now when we come to the Sacrament let us blesse God The Eucharist is a thanksgiving where there are many there should be thanksgiving where there is a communion there is many and thanksgiving should be especially of many met together to thank God for Christ and for the good we have by him for if many joyned together in praise for St. Paul that was but a Minister that was but an instrument to set out the praise and the Doctrine of Christ much more should we be thankfull to God for Christ himself which is the gift of all gifts and for which he gives us all other gifts if he give us him can he deny us any thing If we be thankful for the health of our bodies as indeed we should if we be thankful for the peace of our humours much more should we be thankful for the peace of our consciences when our soules are set in tune when God and we are friends when the soul by

comforted then it is most terrible at the hour of death we should have most comfort if we had any wisdom when earthly comforts shall be taken from us and at the day of judgment then an ill conscience look where it will it hath matter of terrour If it look up there is the Judge armed with vengeance if it look beneath there is hell ready to swallow it if it look on the one side there is the divell accusing and helping conscience if it look round about there is heaven and earth and all on a fire and within there is a hell where shall the sinner and ungodly appear If the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the sinner and ungodly appear at that time O let us labour to have a good conscience and to exercise the reflect power of conscience in this world that is let us examine our selves admonish our selves judge our selves condemn our selves do all in our selves Let us keep court at home first let us keep the assizes there and then we shall have comfort at the great assizes Therefore God out of his love hath put conscience into the soule that we might keep a court at home Let conscience therefore do its worst now let it accuse let it judge and when it hath judged let it smite us and do execution upon us that having judged our selves we may not be condemned with the world If we suffer not conscience to have its full work now it will have it one day a sleepy conscience will not alway sleep if we do not suffer conscience to awake here it will awaken in hell where there is no remedy Therefore give conscience leave to speak what it will perhaps it will tell thee a tale in thine ear which thou wouldest be loath to hear it will pursue thee with terrours like a blood-hound and will not suffer thee to rest therefore as a bankrupt thou art loath to look in thy books because there is nothing but matter of terrour This is but a folly for at the last conscience will do its duty it will awaken either here or in hell Therefore we are to hope the best of them that have their consciences opened here there is hope that they will make their peace with God that they will agree with their adversary while they are in the way If thou suffer conscience to be sleepy and drowsie till it be awaked in hell wo unto thee for then thy estate is determined of it will be a barren repentance Now thy repentance may be fruitful it may force theeto make thy peace with God dost thou think it will alway be thus with thee Thou besottest thy conscience with sensualitie and sayest Go thy way and come another time as he said to St. Paul I will tell thee this peace will prove a tempest in the end Conscience of all things in the world deserves the greatest reverence more then any Monarch in the world for it is above all men it is next unto God and yet what do many men regard the honour 〈◊〉 their friends more then conscience that inward friend that shall accompany them to heaven that will go with them to death and to judgement and make them lift up their heads with joy when other friends cannot help them but must needs leave them in death Now for a man to follow the humours of men to follow the multitude and to stain conscience what a foolish wretch is he though such men think themselves never so wise it is the greatest folly in the world to stain conscience to please any man because conscience is above all men Again those that follow their own humours their own dispositions and are carried away with their own lusts it is a folly and madnesse for the time will come that that which their covetous base lust hath carried them to that shall be taken away as honours riches pleasures which is the fuel of that lust which makes them now neglect conscience all shall be taken away in sicknesse or in the time of despair when conscience shall be awaked Now what folly is it to please thy own lust which thou should'st mortifie and subdue and to displease conscience thy best friend and then when thy lust is fully satisfied all that hath been fuel to it that hath fed it shall be taken away at the hour of death or some special judgement and conscience shall be awaked and shall torment thee for giving liberty to thy base lusts and to thy self And those eyes of thy soul that thy offence delighted to shut up there shall some punishment come either in this life or in that to come that shall open those eyes As Adams eyes were opened after his sin why were they not open before he had such a strong desire to the apple he did not regard them but his punishment afterward opened those eyes which his inordinate desire shut So it shall be with every sinner therefore regard no man in the world more then thy conscience Regard nothing no pleasure no profit more then conscience reverence it more then any thing in the world Happie is that man that carries with him a good conscience that can witnesse that he hath said nor done nothing that may vex or grieve conscience if it be otherwise whatsoever a man gains he loseth in conscience and there is no comparison between those two One crack one flaw in conscience will prove more disadvantagious then the rest will be profitable Thou must cast up the rest again they are sweet bits downward but they shall be gravel in the belly We think when we have gained any thing when we have done any thing we shall hear no more of it as David said to Joab when he set him to make away Uriah Let not this trouble thee So let not this ill gain let not this ill speech or this ill carriage trouble thee thou shalt hear no more of this We take order to stop and silence conscience thinking never to hear more of it oh but remember conscience will have its work and the longer we defer the witnesse and work of conscience the more it will terrifie and accuse us afterward Therefore of all men be they never so great they are most miserable that follow their wills and their lusts most that never have any outward check or inward check of conscience but drown it with sensual pleasures As Charles the 9 th who at night when conscience hath the fittest time to work a man being retired then he would have his singing boyes after he had betreyed them in that horrible Massacre after which he never had peace and quiet And as Saul sent for Davids Harpe when the evil spirit was upon him So wicked men they look for forreign helps but it will not be for the greatest men with their forreign helps are most miserable The reason is because the more they sink in rebellion and sin against conscience the more they sink in terrours it shall be the

book comforts against sin comforts against trouble outward and inward and all but till the Comforter come till God send his holy Spirit we shall not make use of them Therefore let us labour to have more communion with God before we come to hear the Word and after we have heard it let us have communion with God again that he would seal whatsoever is spoken to our soules and make it effectual to us Therefore we must learn to give the just due to the Ordinance of God and not to idolize it to make it the means of comfort not to make it the chief Comforter but the Spirit of God by it What is Paul or Apollo what are we but Ministers of faith and by consequent Ministers and helpers of comfort but not the authors of comfort Oh if I had such and such here I should do well I should be so and so Alas all is to no purpose unlesse thou hast the Holy Ghost the Spirit of God that can help by weak means Therefore we must not tie comfort and joy to this or that means but in all means look to the ground of comfort and the spring of all the Holy Ghost The reason why men do nor profit more that they are not more cheared and lift up with the Ministery of the Word which is a Word of reconciliation and of joy and comfort it is because they are more careful in the use of means then in going to God for his Spirit to blesse the means Now these must go together a care of using the means and a care to pray to him that he would give us wisdome and strength and blessed successe in the use of all means Then if we would joyn religiously and conscionably these two together the use of all means conscionably and in the use of all to lift up our hearts to God to blesse them we should find a wondrous successe upon the Ministery and all other good means likewise So much for that I go on to the last clause of the Chapter For by faith ye stand Why doth the Apostle vary the word we have not dominion over your faith but are helpers of your joy whereas the consequence it seems might run thus we do not domineer over your faith but are helpers of your faith he puts joy instead of faith and afterward he brings in faith again for by faith ye stand This is one main reason because joy riseth from faith therefore he names it in stead of faith for the Holy Ghost is not curious of words but when the same Spirit wroks both he names that which he thinks will fittest suit the purpose Faith breeds joy How is that Because faith first of all doth shew to us the freedome from that that is the cause of all discomfort whatsoever it takes away all that may discourage For it takes away the fear of damnation for our sins it shewes our reconciliation in Jesus Christ. Faith shewes liberty and deliverance and so discovering deliverance by a Mediator it works joy Is not a prisoner joyful when he is set at liberty Then likewise faith discovers to us the face of God shining to us in Jesus Christ it shewes not only deliverance but favour It shewes us the ground of all the righteousnesse and obedience of our Saviour whereby we are delivered and brought into favour Now from this comes peace from the knowledge of our deliverance and acceptance with God founded upon the obedience of God-man a Saviour there comes in peace and peace breeds joy because faith discovers all these the ground of reconciliation with God in Jesus Christ and thereupon peace therefore it causeth joy For this is the pedigree and descent of joy as the Apostle hath it Rom. 14. The Kingdome of God is in righteousnesse and peace and joy There must be righteousnesse first of a Mediatur to satisfie the wrath of God and procure his favour From righteousnesse comes peace peace with God peace of conscience From peace comes joy there is no joy without peace no peace without righteousnesse And this whole pedigree of joy as it were is excellently set down Rom. 5. Being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and have accesse to the throne of grace by which grace we stand and not only so but rejoyce So there is justification by the righteousnesse of Christ and thereupon peace with God and from peace boldnesse and accesse to God and thereupon joy So we see how faith brings in joy because it shewes the spring of joy whence it comes it shewes peace and peace riseth from reconciliation and reconciliation from righteousnesse of Christ Mediator whereupon we are delivered from all that we may fear and set in a state of true joy God being our friend When God is reconciled all is reconciled all is ours have we not cause of joy then Therefore the Apostle saith Rom. 15. The God of peace fill you full of joy in believing shewing that faith is the cause of all spiritual joy And the same you have in 1 Pet. 1. 8. In whom ye rejoyced after ye believed with joy unspeakable and glorious In whom after ye believed that is in Christ you rejoyced with joy unspeakable and glorious And therefore you see the Apostle might well substitute joy in stead of faith because it springs and riseth from faith in Jesus Christ the Mediatour Hereupon we may come to make this Use of tryal how we may know whether our joy be good or no. Among many other evidences this is one that spiritual joy is good if it spring from the Word of faith If it spring from the Ordinance of God unfolded in the Word shewing us the ground of believing For he that truly joyes can shew the ground of his joy Herein joy differs from presumption from presumptuous swelling conceits true joy that is not the joy of an hypocrite it doth shew from whence it comes it riseth from grounds out of divine truth Then again this joy doth more immediately spring from faith in the Word from assurance that God is ours and that Christ is ours that God is at peace with us and that we are at peace with him it ariseth from peace that is wrought by faith Then again this joy if it be sound it is such a joy as S. Peter saith is an unspeakable and glorious joy joy arising from the Word of God and from faith and peace it is above discouragement because we have in the Word of God matter of joy above all discouragements and all allurements whatsoever It is a joy above the joy of riches or pleasures or profits why because the Word shewes matter of joy above all these The Prophet David rejoyced in the Word of God above Gold and Silver as one that had gotten great spoyles you see how oft he repeats it Psal. 119. It was sweeter to him then the honey and the honey-comb Psal.