Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	faith_n	hope_n	2,425	5	7.9570	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32726	A treatise of divine providence I. In general, II. In particular, as relating to the church of God in the world / by ... Mr. Steph. Charnocke ...	Charnock, Stephen, 1628-1680.	1680 (1680)	Wing C3712; ESTC R13224	166,401	418

said to be evil then the fire which refines the gold and prepares it for a Prince's use If there were not such evils what ground could you have to exercise patience what Heroick acts of faith could you put forth without difficulties how could you believe against hope if you had not sometimes something to contradict your hopes And if a good man should have a confluence of that which the ignorant and pedantical world calls happiness he might undervalue the pleasures of a better life deface the beauty of his own Soul and withdraw his love from the most gratifying as well as the most glorious object unto that which is not worth the least grain of his affection 3. Future glory The great enquiry at the day of Christ's appearing will be how good men bare their sufferings what improvements they had and the greater their purity by them the greater will be their praise and honour 1 Pet. 1.7 That the tryal of your faith viz. by manifold Temptations may be found to praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ For a good improvement by them they will have a Publick praise from God's mouth and a Crown of Honour set upon their heads Providence sends even light afflictions as so many Artificers to make the Crown more Massy and more bright 2 Cor. 4.17 Works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory They are at work about a good man's Crown while they make him smart They prepare him for heaven and make it more grateful to him when he comes to possess it A Christian carriage in them prepares for greater degrees of Glory Every stroke doth but more beautifie the Crown 6. Sufferings of good men for the Truth highly glorifies the Providence of God This is a matter of glory and honour 1 Pet. 4.16 If any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorifie God on this behalf They thereby bear a Testimony to the highest Act of Providence that God ever exercised even the redemption of the world by the blood of his Son And the Church which is the highest object of his Providence in the world takes the deeper root and springs up the higher the foundation of it was laid in the blood of Christ and the growth of it is furthered by the blood of Martyrs The carriage of the righteous in them makes the Truth they profess more valued It enhanceth the excellency of Religion and manifests it to be more amiable for its beauty than for its dowry since they see it desirable by the sufferers not only without worldly enjoyments but with the sharpest miseries This consideration hath wrought upon many to embrace the Religion of the Sufferers If it reaches as far as death they are but dispatched to their Fathers house and the day of their death is the day of their Coronation and what evil is there in all this To conclude this Argument is stronger upon the infallible righteousness of God's nature for a day of Reckoning after this life than against Providence T is a more rational conclusion That God will have a time to justifie the righteousness and wisdom of his Providential Government and repair the honour of the righteous oppressed by the injustice of the wicked And indeed unless there be a retribution in another world the question is unanswerable and all the reason in the world knows not how to salve the Holiness and Righteousness of God in his Providential Dispensations in this life since we see here Goodness unrewarded and debased to the dunghill Vice glorying in impunity and ranting to the firmament We cannot see how it can consist with the nature of God's Wisdom Righteousness and Holiness if there were not another life wherein God will manifest his Righteousness in the punishing sin and rewarding goodness For it is impossible that a God of Infinite Justice should leave sin unpunished and Grace unrewarded here or hereafter The Scripture gives us so full an account of a future state that may satisfie all Christians in this business The wicked rich man is in his Purple and Lazarus in his rags yet Abraham's Bosom is prepared for the one and an endless Hell for the other Jeremy resolves the case in his dispute with God about it Jer. 12.3 Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter They are but fattening for the knife of Justice and the day will come when they shall be consum'd like the fat of Lambs in the Sacrifice which shall wholly evaporate into smoke so the Psalmist resolves it in Psal 37.20 a Psalm written for the present case God laughs at their security in a way of mockery Psal 37.13 The Lord shall laugh at him for he sees that his day is coming God's day for the justification of his proceedings in the world and the wicked man's day for his own destruction wherein they shall all be destroyed together Psal 37.38 The whole mass of them in one bundle Who then will charge God with unequal distributions at that day which is appointed for the clearing up of his righteousness which is here maskt in the world who can be fond of the State of the wicked Who would be ●ond of a dead mans condition because he lies in State whose Soul may be condemned whilst his body with a pompous solemnity is carried to the Grave and both body and Soul joyned together at the resurrection adjudged to eternal misery Q. 2. What hath been said in this will also answer another Question Why God doth not immediately punish notorious offenders since the best governments in the world are such as call the violaters of the Law to a speedy account to keep up the honour of Justice Thus the Epicures charge God with neglects of providence because if he doth punish wicked men it is later then is fit and just because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the Sons of men is fully set in them to do evil Eccles 8.11 Delay of Justice is an encouragement to Sin Answ 1. This is an argument for Gods patience none against his providence Should he make such quick work what would become of the world Could it have held out to this day If God had instantly taken revenge upon those that thus disparage his providence the framer of such an objection had not been alive No man is so perfectly good but he might fall under the revenging stroke of his sword if he pleased to draw it Suffer God to evidence his patience here since after the winding up of the World he will have no time to manifest it God doth indeed sometimes send the sharp arrow of some judgment upon a notorious offender to let him understand that he hath not forgotten how to govern but he doth not alwaies do so that his patience may be gloryfied in bearing with his rebellious Creature 2. God is just in that wherein the

Lazarus his extremity nor of the Churches But of the opportunity to give them greater ground of Faith and encouragement to trust him The Churches Faith is Gods Glory He that hath many things to trust to is in suspence which he should take hold of But when there is but one left with what greediness will he clasp about that God cuts down worldly props that we might make him our stay How will the Church in extremity recollect all the deliverances of it in former ages and put them up in pleas to God for a renewal of his wonted kindness and new successions of deliverance whereby God gets the glory of his former work and his Church the present comfort in renewing fiducial acts upon him How doth Jehosaphat put God in mind of his gracious assistance acted some ages before when he was in a straight by the Invasion of a powerful Army 2 Chron. 20.7 Art not thou our God that didst drive out the Inhabitants of this Land before thy people Israel v. 12. We know not what to do but our eyes are upon thee Never are the Churches eyes so fixed upon God never Gods eyes so fixed upon the Church as in times of their distress Then there is a sweet Communion with and recounting of all their former friendships The Church then throws it self wholly upon G●d Its prosperity is but like a troubled Sea its distress is the time of its rest So As● when assaulted by a million of men under Zerah the Ethiopian how doth he throw himself and the whole weight of his concerns upon the hands of God and makes his Cause Gods 2 Chron. 14.11 Help us O Lord our God for we rest on thee oh Lord thou art our God let not man prevail against thee And there is an encouragement also in the deliverance for future Faith It gives a ground for future Faith from the riches of the present experience In such distresses there is the highest experience of God and hope is the fruit of experience How apt are we to believe God in other straits when we have had assistance like they that dream'd come unexpectedly upon us God overthrew Pharaoh's Host in the red Sea when they were upon the heels of the affrighted Israelites and ready to crush them but God gave them to be meat to the people inhabiting the Wilderness * Psal 74.14 as a standing excellent dish to feed their hopes for all future deliverances upon their trust in God And indeed that deliverance was an earnest of their perpetual security by special Providence in any succeeding trouble And God often gives them a particular charge to remember that deliverance with a practical remembrance to still their Fear and support their Faith Deut. 7.18 Thou shalt not be affraid of them but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh and to all the Egyptians He would have them remember it as a Covenant-mercy what the Lord thy God did thy God in Covenant not what the Lord did barely by an arm of Power but what he did by a vastness of affection and as a God of truth and firmness in his Covenant 3. In fitting them by the extremity for a holy reception of the Mercy intended God keeps up the distress of his Church to expel self-confidence Trust in earthly things are the great checks of Gods Kindness We hardly forsake this temper till we are forsaken by all those things we confide in Times of extremity make us more humble and humility like the Plow sits us for the seed of mercy The Gardners digging up the clods is but to prepare the earth for the receiving and nourishing some excellent Plants he intends to put into its Womb. There is a certain set time for Gods great actions He lets the powers of darkness have their hour and God will take his hour Psal 102.13 Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come He hath a set time for the discovery of his mercy and he will not stay a jot beyond it What is this time v. 9 c. When they eat ashes like Bread and mingle their drink with weeping When they are most humbled and when the servants of God have most affection to the Church When their humble and ardent affections are strong even to the ruine and rubbish of it when they have a mighty desire and longing for the reparation of it as the Jews in Captivity had for the very dust of the Temple ver 14. For thy Servants take pleasure in her Stones and favour the dust thereof For there notes it to be a reason why the set time was judged by them to be come That is Gods set time when the Church is most believing most humble most affectionate to Gods interest in it and most sincere Without Faith we are not fit to desire mercy without humility we are not fit to receive it without affection we are not fit to value it without sincerity we are not fit to improve it Times of extremity contribute to the growth and exercise of those qualifications 4. In securing them against future Streights For Gods disappointing Enemies when they think themselves sure of all is the highest discouragement to them and those of the like temper to renew the like attempts but if they do it is an evidence they shall meet with the like success 'T is the highest vexation to see their projects diverted when they have lighted their match and are ready to give fire Men may better take notice how God loves his people when he apprehends their adversaries in the very Pinnacle of their Pride and flings them down from the Mount of their hopes It doth not only dash the present designs but dishearten future attempts The Egyptians after their overthrow at the red Sea never attempted to disturb them in their journey in the Wilderness It was a Bridle to all their enemies except Amaleck upon whose Country they travelled in the Wilderness when it was the interest of State in all those Nations to rout that swarm of People that must have some Seat to dwell in and every Nation might justly fear to be dispossessed by them yet we read of no League among those Nations bordering upon the Wilderness such a terror did God strike into them by that relief he gave his People in their extremity at the red Sea whereby he provided for their future security in their whole Journey It was this melted the hearts of the Gibeonites one of the Nations of Canaan and brought them to a submission to Joshua as the sentiment of all their Neighbors Josh 9.9 We are come because of the name of the Lord thy God for we have heard the fame of him and all that he did in Egypt And for this and other reasons it may be that the times before the Churches last deliverance shall be sharper than any before which our Saviour intimates Mat. 24.21 For then there shall be