Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	faith_n	heart_n	word_n	1,656	5	4.6276	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95348	Theophosoi [sic] theophiloi: God's fearers are God's favourites, or, An encouragement to fear God in the worst times delivered in several sermons / by ... Nath. Tucker ...	Tucker, Nath.; Kentish, Richard.; Whitfield, Thomas.	1662 (1662)	Wing T3209A; ESTC R42917	82,402	157

vale of Siddim slimy and slippery full of Lime-pits and pitfals snares stumbling-blocks laid on purpose to maim and to mischief our souls But now he that truly fears God comes off without great hurt he keepeth his heart with all diligence he watcheth the very thoughts and motions of his heart he will not suffer vain thoughts to lodge there but labours to wash it from all filthiness that so he may perfect holiness in the fear of God This fear of God weeds hypocrisie out of the heart pride arrogancie and every secret way of iniquity Job was a man fearing God and therefore he durst not once to think lustfully upon a maid this was that which made him to refrain contemplative wickedness Job 31.1 And then 3. As this holy fear of God cleanseth the Head and the Heart so it cleanseth the Hands too it keeps the Life and Conversation pure Prov. 3.7 saith Solomon there Fear the Lord and depart from evil The fear of the Lord is to depart from evil that Beloved is the definition of the fear of God Eschewing of evil is not onely put as an effect of the fear of God as when 't is said of Job Chap. 1.1 that man was perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed evil but it is put I say in the very definition it self of the fear of God 't is the nature of this fear of God to depart from evil not onely from habitual and inward but likewise from outward and practical evil from publike as well as from private and secret evil See what Jehoshaphat saith in his charge unto his Judges when they were going their Circuit 2 Chron. 19.7 Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you take heed and do it for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God nor respect of persons nor taking of gifts q. d. This fear of God if it be upon you if it be radicated and rooted in your hearts will teach you to forbear Bribery and iniquity with your hands It was the fear of God Beloved that reined in Joseph from condescending to the wicked motion of his wanton Mistress though he might have committed that folly and the world have been never the wiser I can proceed no further at present in the tryal of this holy fear of God Examine your selves by what hath been said If with those godly ones here in my Text you are men and women truly fearing the Lord then this fear of God hath had this cleansing influence upon you and hath cleansed your Heads Hearts and Hands Secondly As this holy fear of God cleanseth the Head Heart and Hand from sin so doth it no less frame the heart to the doing of duty and that 1. towards God 2. towards men For as you heard before the fear of God is a very extensive and comprehensive grace it includes the whole duty of man not onely his Negative duty what he ought not to do but his Positive duty too what he ought to do In the first place then this holy fear of God frames the heart to the performance of its duty towards God And here I shall instance onely in two duties 1. It perswades the heart to believe God and his Word The Scripture noteth this expresly of the Patriarch Noah Heb. 11.7 By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet moved with fear prepared an ark c. Moved with fear what is that i. e. with a reverent fear of that God that spake unto him Noah's heart being touched with the true fear of God believed God even in those things which were not as yet seen he believed those forewarnings of God concerning the judgment he purposed to bring upon the world and accordingly prepared an Ark whereby he saved his houshold and condemned the wicked world Thus the Israclites possest with this filial fear believed God and his servant Moses You may see this clearly Ezod 14.31 And the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses Pray observe it well the people feared the Lord c. As Faith may be and is the ground of holy Fear so holy Fear may sometimes draw forth acts of Faith it will make a man tremble as much at the Threats of his Word as at the Strokes of his Hand And then 2. As it frames the heart to a believing of God and his Word so likewise to an obeying of God and his Word the holy obedience of his revealed will Psal 103.17 18. saith David there But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto childrens children to such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them He describes you see them that fear God to be such as keep his Covenant and remember his Commandments to do them A soul truly fearing God is afraid to disobey God his heart with David's will stand in awe of Gods Word And hence 't is that in Scripture sometimes you finde the fearing of God and keeping of his Commandments sometimes fearing God and working righteousness joyned together The former you may see Psal 119.63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts Of them that fear thee and keep thy precepts a man cannot fear God but he must observe his precepts So again Eccles 12.13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man The connexion of these two shews us that the fear of God is a principle of obedience they that fear him will keep his commandments yea they do so in an Evangelical way though they cannot attain unto yet they wish well to exact and accurate obedience The later you shall finde Acts 10.35 But in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him A man fearing God will be active and doing he will be working righteousness and that which is good And thus have you briefly heard to what particular duties this Fear frames the heart towards God I am to shew you in the next place how and in what duties it draws the heart in reference to Man The Fear of God hath a double bond in it a bond of Obedience to God and a bond of Love to Men. Well then in the first place the true fear of God is ever joyned with love unto our brethren The Apostle puts so much of Religion or of the fear of God for they are both one in the love to our brethren as that in one place he makes it all Religion yea the very definition of the fear of God Jam. 1.27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this To visit the fatherless in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world This is Religion and pure Religion i.e. This is a great branch and part of Religion 't is a

way of Consectary That all such as are void of the holy spiritual and reverential fear of God are no better then graceless and irreligious persons And hence 't is that in Scripture you finde this often made the Note or Character of a childe of Belial That there is no fear of God before his eyes Abraham looks upon Gerar as a place or people that was destitute of all goodness as a place wherein he could not be safe upon this account because the fear of God was not amongst them Gen. 20.11 where he saith Because I thought Surely the fear of God is not in this place and they will slay me for my wifes sake Thus David describes the whole man Psal 36.1 There is no fear of God before his eyes They have no impediment in the way of their lust who have once cast off the fear of God As they are unready to do or say any thing that is good so are they ready to do or say any thing that is evil As they can easily restrain themselves from duty so have they no restraint upon them from iniquity This Abraham knew and so he could not think himself secure there The profession I confess of some wicked men may say that they fear God but their transgressions or trade of sin saith that there is no such matter We may interpret this text of the wicked mans saying thus three ways Some say it with their mouthes and are not ashamed to utter their defiance against the fear of God 2. All wicked men yea the most modest of them say it in their hearts they are inwardly enemies to the fear of God And very many in the third place say it in their lives Now all these saith David are wicked men if once the fear of God be cast off all wickedness is let in at the same door at which the fear of the Lord goes out any sin or abomination may enter Nay you shall finde yet further that after a large enumeration of other abominations found in mens hearts and lives the Spirit of God names the want of this holy fear of God as the mother and cursed root of them all You may see this in Mal. 3.5 What are not men yea what wo●nt they be when once they are destitute of the fear of God Sorcerers Adulterers Swearers Oppressors and what not The judge spoken of Luke 18.2 is therefore termed unjust because he feared not God There was in a city a judge which feared not God Wanting the fear of God what should keep him from injustice So again Rom. 3.11 12 13 and the following verses There is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God they are all gone out of the way they are together become unprofitable there is none that doth good no not one Their throat is an open sepulchre with their tongues they have used deceit c. Now mark the conclusion in the 18 verse There is no fear of God before their eyes This brings up the rere as it were as to entertain the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom Prov. 1.7 The word here used for beginning signifieth not onely the beginning but the top the chief the head and highest perfection of a thing now as the fear of God is both first and last the beginning and end of holiness so to cast off the fear of God is the beginning and ending of all wickedness the upshot of all wickedness a man that hath cast off the fear of God is desperately wicked But you will say Are there any people so barbarous is there any person so brutish that feareth not God Beloved I confess there is nothing more natural then to stand in awe of a Deity Hence it is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God in the Greek tongue hath his name from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fear as some derive it and sometime the Scripture useth the word fear or terrour for God as you heard in the morning and the reason is because of the fear that is confessedly due unto him But that all fear not the true God or that they do not fear him with a holy spiritual and filial fear and so consequently are none of his is more then evident I shall clear these things unto you distinctly 1. All men fear not the true God but something else which they substitute and set up in the room place and stead of God Some fear idols and devils 1 Cor. 10.20 some the Queen of heaven Jer. 44.17 Some fear disgrace so Saul 1 Sam. 15.30 some danger and displeasure of great ones as Pilate who feared if he released Christ according to his conscience Cesar would pull his Purple over the ears and kick him off the bench Some fear the loss of goods as the rich young man who went away sorrowful when he was required to sell all that he had Some fear the loss of their liberty as those who forsook Paul the prisoner and were ashamed of his chain 2 Tim. 4.16 where Paul saith At my first answer no man stood with me but all men forsook me And then some again fear the loss of life shrinking in the shoulder when call'd to bear the cross of Christ Thus I say men fear any thing besides what they should fear I mean God the proper object of this and of our other affections Well then 't is clear you see that all men fear not the true God that God who is alone to be feared And the second is as evident Those that profess to fear the true God how few of them are there to be found who fear him in truth who fear him with this noly filial and spiritual fear which is the fear I now speak of If so what means the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen which we hear what mean the Oaths Drunkenness the Sabbath-breaking the Uncleanness the Pride that we see and hear to be amongst us Beloved if the true fear of God were amongst us all do you think that these vices could rule and reign amongst us as they do Doubtless they could not these sins are inconsistent and incompatible with a true and holy fear Alas how little of this reverential fear of God is there in the hearts of most men The Psalmist in the fore-mentioned 36 Psalm in the beginning of it makes this good both in respect of evil to be avoided and of good to be performed My minde gives me saith he and I am verily perswaded having taken some observation of the wicked mans way that there is no fear of God in his heart The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart that there is no fear of God before his eyes But what is the ground of this perswasion may it not be a rash and uncharitable censure that David passeth upon him No saith he I will prove what I say both from his thoughts words and actions 1. From his Thoughts He makes no scruple or conscience at all of evil thoughts he