Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	according_a	know_v	way_n	2,112	5	4.8664	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78206	The only refuge of a troubled soul in time of trouble & affliction, or, The sweet and soul-ravishing mystery of the apple-tree; explained and laid open, in two discourses fron Cant. 2. 3, for the comfort and encouragement of the true believer, in the midst of the worst and sorest afflictions which can (possibly) befal him in this world, and the awakening the most secure sinner, who is yet a stranger to the said mystery. ; Publish'd at the earnest and importunate request of several godly persons, who heard the same preached By J. Barry, an unworthy Minist. of the Gospel.	Barry, James.	1700 (1700)	Wing B970; ESTC R223490	61,710	175

but into Heaven it self now to appear in the Presence of God for us Heb. 9.24 And there are three Ends for which he so appears First That he might represent his Members Spotless and Blameless in the Virtue and Merit of that Obedience which he himself as their Representative perform'd on Earth to answer the Demand of the Law It is on the Account hereof that the Spouse of Christ viz. the Church of true Believers is by Christ himself styl'd and accounted all fair and Spotless Thou art all fair my Love there is no Spot in thee Ephes 4.7 Cant. 4.7 That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having Spot or Wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be Holy and without Blemish Ephes 5.27 And ye are compleat in him c. Colos 2.10 Secondly That he might enter on the Possession of the purchased Inheritance which he himself purchased for his Members Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his Glory Luke 24.26 And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also Jo. 14.3 The Believers Life and Crown are in the Hands and Keeping of Christ to be secur'd for them till they arrive at Heaven where he is Which is the Earnest of our Inheritance until the Redemption of the purchased Possession unto the Praise of his Glory Ephes 1.14 And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus Ephes 2.6 This is a Mercy and an Inestimable Priviledge given by God to the Elect that the Life of their Souls and all the Glory and Blessedness whereto God elected them in Christ his Son is deposited by God the Father in the Hands of Christ who will never fail or betray them On which Account it is that the condition of the poorest and weakest Believer living is in a better and infinitely safer State than the first Adam and his Posterity were in before the Fall The Reason whereof is this viz the Life and Salvation of the first Adam and his Children depended on the Obedience of a Mutable Agent who might and did fall and come short in fulfilling the condition of that Covenant of Works under which they Acted for Life But the Life and Salvation of the Elect is now secur'd in Christ God-Man who can as soon cease to be what he is as he can forget or neglect or suffer the poorest and weakest of those committed to him by the Father to perish And is not this a most sweet Fruit And I give unto them Eternal Life and they shall never perish c. Jo. 10.28 And this is the Fathers Will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should loose nothing but should raise it up at the last Day Jo. 6.39 Thirdly That he might enter on the Great and Necessary Work of Intercession which leads to the Sixth Particular comprehended in the general term Works Sixthly The Intercession of Christ is most sweet to the true Believer There are six things in it which makes it so First The Propriety the Believer hath in it yea even the meanest and weakest Believer hath as real a Propriety therein as the strongest Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh Intercession for us Rom. 8.34 My little Children these things write I unto you that ye sin not and if any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous 1 Jo. 2.1 Secondly Whatevever Christ Prays for he most certainly obtains it of this he had Experience when on the Earth before he had Actually discharg'd the Debt which he took on him for the Elect. And Jesus lift up his Eyes and said Father I thank thee that thou hast heard me And I knew that thou hearest me always Jo. 11.41 42. Who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up Prayers and Supplications with strong Cryings and Tears unto him that was able to save him from Death and was heard in that he feared Heb. 5.7 But now seeing all Righteousness is by him fulfilled according to what he undertook and he in the Merit thereof not only Ascended from Earth to Heaven but even sat at the Father's Right Hand what is it that the Father can deny him especially when what he prays for is before in the Heart and Promise of God his Father to grant him and that in a way of Recompence for the faithful Discharge of the Trust reposed in him by his Father Psal 2.8 Esa 53.12 There are some poor trembling Believers who when they need such or such a Mercy and know not what they shall do without it dare not beg the Mercy they want The Mercy is so great and they themselves so every way unworthy they think it great Presumption to seek or pray for it Let such turn their Eye off from staring and poring on their own Unworthiness keeping it fixt on the Incomprehensible Merit and Worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ and then let them keep back from God's Throne of Grace and give way to Discouragement if they can 'T is Christ's Worthiness not the Believers Qualifications that prevails with God Oh! poor distressed fainting Soul who art even swallow'd up of that Gulph of Sinfulness Distraction Deadness and Heart Hardness whereof thou complainest Consider and remember for thine Encouragement that when thou findest thy self unable to pray there is one at God's Right Hand praying for thee whom God the Father knows not how to deny or throw off So prevalent with him is that Efficacious Intercession of his own Son who was Consecrated thy High Priest by God's own Sacred Oath The Lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedech Psal 110.4 And having such an High Undertaker for thee with God so my part I cannot conceive what should discourage or drive thee back from Wrestling with God till Jacob like thou overcome him This is the Use that God himself would have the weakest Believer make of that great High Priest Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we might obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of need Heb. 4.16 Thirdly There is there can be no Case or Condition so desperate or wretched in respect either of Sin or of Affliction out of which Christ by his Intercession cannot rescue and save the temp●ed fallen and deserted Believer Let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is Mercy and with him there is plenteous Redemption and he shall Redeem Israel from all his Iniquities Psal 130.7 8. The Lord preserveth the simple I was brought low and he helped me Psal 116.6 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of Temptations c. 2 Pet. 2.9 There hath no Temptation

gives that honourable Title of Mediator to any but the Son of God Secondly None was ever found by the Wisdom of God who was capable of such an high Office and that for two Reasons First Because the Mediator who must come in between God and sinners must be God as well as Man Now it is most certain that neither the Virgin Mary nor any other of the Saints of whom Papists make use as Mediators are God Secondly Because none of the Creatures to be Redeem'd were able to encounter with the Death and Miseries through which the Mediator was to go in making up the Breach between God and the Elect. Neither Virgin Mary nor any other Saint shed their Blood on the Account of Ransoming sinners I have trodden the wine press alone and of the people there was none with me Esa 63.3 And I looked and there was none to help and I wondred that there was none to uphold therefore mine own Arm brought Salvation unto me and my fury it upheld me ver 5. Is Christ divided was Paul Crucified for you c. 1 Cor. 1.13 This Work of bearing sin as a Surety for sinners was for unconceiveably great that I am very bold in affirming that had the Virgin Mary that Capital Idol of the Romish Synagogue with all the other Saints whom the Papists joyn with her as Coadjutors or fellow Helpers to make her Mediation and Intercession in Heaven the more successful joyn'd with her in lying under the weight of the sins of God's Elect It would have sunk her and them to into the nethermost Hell yea and all the Angels of Heaven had they been under that Load It never yet belonged to any to be a Mediator of Intercession but to him that was a Mediator of Redemption These two constitutive Parts of a compleat Mediator must never be parted they are both in Christ and in none other in Heaven or Earth Esa 53.12 with the Scriptures already Quoted To which I add a third Reason viz. Because neither Virgin Mary nor any other Saints or Angels were ever nominated or appointed to that High and most Sacred Office by God the Father This is Christ's Right excluding all others and that by the Priviledge of his Birth I will declare the Decree the Lord hath said unto me thou art my Son this day have I Begotten thee Ask of me and I will give thee c. Psal 2.7 8. to this great Office he was Anointed and set apart by the declared Will and sacred Oath of him who cannot lie or change The Lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a Priest forever after the Order of Melchizedech Psal 110.4 Neither of these things can be said of the Virgin Mary or any meer Creature without horrid Lying and Blasphemy against the Glorious and ever Blessed Trinity Branch the second Learn hence how near akin to Popery such be who notwithstanding they declare against Popery lay the stress of their Hope of obtaining any Mercy on their own worse than Threadbare Performances Such Persons sacrifice to their own drag Hab. 1.16 Their own deep Humiliations their Prayers their Fastings their Almsdeeeds something of their own Qualifications must claim the Honor of procuring the favor and kindness God shews them or at least be brought in collaterally with Christ's Merits as the procuring Cause of the Mercy they receive How do these kind of Professors extol and and advance the Honour and Dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ These instead of running to shelter themselves under the shadow of this Appletree viz. The Righteousness and Satisfaction of Christ They run to the false covering of their own Qualifications ascribing their success unto them not to Christ How little differing from downright Papists are these Esa 30.1 Oh! how hard a thing is self-denial for a Man to do duty and not to trust to it For a Christian to be all in Christ and nothing in himself in the point of Merit and Trust to obtain the good he wants These are as great strangers to the Grace of the Gospel and will in the end be found as far from the Kingdom of Heaven as those Papists from whom they think they separate being no better than those foolish Virgins in Mat. 25. who for want of the Oyl of Grace in their Hearts were shut out of Heaven He that is a Christian in Truth as he devolves the whole concerns of his Life and Salvation on the Lord Jesus Christ to be secured by him alone and in his own way so he ascribes the Praise of every Blessing he receives for Soul and Body to Christ the Son of God not excluding God the Father and the Holy Ghost such a Soul knows it to be high Sacriledge to ascribe any part of the Praise of his Salvation to any but God Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name give Glory for thy Mercy and for thy Truths sake Psal 115.1 For my Names sake will I defer mine Anger and for my Praise will I refrain for thee that I cut thee not off Esa 48.9 Not for your sakes doo I this saith the Lord God be it known unt●● you be ashamed and confounded for your own ways O house of Israel Ezek. 36.32 To which I will only add that of our Saviour So likewise ye when ye have done all these things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty to do Luke 17.10 In the Scriptures now Quoted it is most plain and conspicuous to any who are not either judicially or wilfully blind that all occasion is taken away from saved sinners of ever boasting of any worth or goodness of their own in the sight of a Holy God Ephes 2.9 Branch 3d. See and learn hence what little Cause or Reason any true Believers have to be dismay'd or discouraged at any Difficulties which lies in their way of Duty to God He who sits by Faith and humble Dependence under the shadow of this Almighty Redeemer and All-sufficient Saviour needs not fear tho' all the World were up in Arms against him For most certain it is the Word of God and rooted Experience assures me of it that Christ will either blast and confound all the crafty Pollicy and Strength of the Believers Enemies that they shall not be able to touch him so as to spoil him or else he will endue the Believer with an Heroick Spirit of Fortitude and heavenly Courage whereby he shall be enabled to suffer patiently and constantly for the Cause of God which is unspeakably better and every way more eligible to that Believer who would give an Evidence of his Faith in and his Love to the Person and Cause of his Beloved Jesus I even I am he that comforteth you who art thou that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die and the Son of man that shall be made as the grass Esa 51.12 Fear not for I have Redeemed thee I have called thee

and Comfort to poor fainting desponding Souls Esa 50.4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary c. The Spirit of God by Solomon tells us that a word fitly spoken is like Apples of gold in Pictures of silver Prov. 25.11 Here we are to understand that a word in due time and place and pertinent to the purpose As beyond all dispute it is Amiable and Ravishing to the Eye to behold so orient and dazling a sight as Apples of Gold drawn to the Life in Pictures of Silver So undoubtedly a word of Counsel and Comfort brought Home to the Conscience of a doubting wounded Sinner ravisheth and gladdeth the broken Heart As cold water to a thirsty Soul so is good news from a far Country Prov. 25 25. When the word suited to a poor tempted Souls Distress is brought home in the nick of time as we say Oh! how sweet is it then Thirdly A third thing which bespeaks the Word of Christ sweet to a real Believer is the Holy Ghost his Efficiency and quickening Power accompanying the same what we say of corporal Bread Rayment Physick Drink c. what can they avail to comfort and nourish the Body without the Spirit of God bless and sanctifie their use to the end for which they are appointed The same may be truly said of the Word and Sacraments c. what can they avail for the Souls good if the Efficiency and quickning Influence of the Spirit of God go not along with their use It is for want of this quickening Virtue of the Spirit of God that so many Sermons are Preached and so few sinners really Converted It is for want of this quickning Efficacy of the Spirit that so many Ordinances of Religion are attended and enjoy'd by thousands of Professors without any sensible or visible Growth in Grace The Word of God is like a well made Knife or Razor tho' never so keen and sharp yet without a living Agent they can neither Cut nor Shave So the Word of God neither the Law can awaken convince or wound the Conscience for sin Nor yet the Gospel Heal or Comfort a Soul in Distress without the Energy and quickening Efficacy of the Spirit of God There are two sorts of People who hereby appear to be in a woful Condition First such as frequently hear and read the Word Receive Sacraments and go the Round in all external Acts of Religious Duties and yet without any motion of spiritual Life from the Spirit of God in their Souls These are like blind Horses in a Mill going round all day long alway treading in the same Tract not seeing or considering where they are or what they are doing These keep to the Form in a Customary way but heed not the inward Power which is that which renders all Acts of Religious Worship both pleasing and acceptable to God and which proves the Soul to be in Reality a living Member of Christ's Mystical Body Esa 29.13 2 Tim. 3.5 Rev. 3.17 Secondly There be others who in pretence of internal Motion and Power in the Soul from the Spirit who to avoid the Damning Formality of the others now mention'd will not only neglect but even slight the Word and Ordinances reflecting on the Word as a dead Letter and the Holy Institutions of Christ in his Churches as carnal poor empty and beggarly Elements Some of these are Seekers in plain English Quakers who are always learning But never come to the knowledge of the Truth 2 Tim. 3.6.7 Others are super-ordinanced who have gotten above all ordinary Means These in their own Conceits at least are so near Perfection that they need not the use of outward Ordinances These are gotten in outward Shew and Profession above Ordinances but never yet were they acquainted with true Piety Both these sorts are under the powerful working of an Infernal Spirit of Delusion which feeds their Souls with Chymerical Whimsies and Enthusiastical Dreams instead of the Doctrin which is according to Godliness These wretched Extreams are to be carefully shunn'd and avoided as the as the Paths which lead to Hell and Eternal Ruin The sure way hereto is to keep within sight and hearing of the Shepherds Tents Cant. 1.8 Be●are of false Teachers and avoid the Doctrin which hath not God's Word for its Foundation Esa 8.20 In hearing and reading and all other Ordinances of Religious Worship see that the outward Form and the inward Power be not separated Those things which God hath joyned together must not be put asunder Esa 59.21 Mat. 19.6 That great Man Augustin us'd to call the Word of God Creating Words Verba Div●na saith he sunt verba creativa And that on the account of the quickening Energy and Power that goes along with them This is a Truth which hath been acknowledged ●s well by Enemies as by Friends to the Truth Jo. 7.46 The Officers answered never Man spake like this Man Luke 24.32 And they said one to another did not our Hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the Scriptures He that brags of the Word of God and is a Stranger to the Power thereof in his own Soul he is an hypocritical Formalist He who boasts of the Power of the Spirit within and holds not the Form of sound Words indited by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost to be a Rule of Faith and Holy Life he is a deluded Enthusiast From both these Extreams the Care and Faithfulness of the Great Shepherd will keep all who are given him by the Father Thirdly The Works of Christ are all sweet to the true Believer By Works here I intend the Works of his Mediatorial Undertaking Among the gods there is none like unto thee O Lord neither are there any works like unto thy Works Psal 86.8 Besides the Works of Creation and Providence which are common to the whole Trinity there are Works which are Peculiar to Christ as Mediator I will reduce them to six Heads First His Work of Incarnation or his Assuming the Human Nature into Unity with his Sacred Godhead This is the Mystery of all other Mysteries and of this the Temple and Tabernacle of old were shadowy Types To this Mystery that in Prov 8.31 had reference even before Christ came in the Flesh yea before the Birth of Time it self if I may so speak rejoycing in the habitable Parts of his Earth c. The then intended Union between the Godhead and our Flesh is in that Scripture pointed at and this is chiefly intended by John Jo. 1.14 And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us c. And by Paul in 1 Tim. 3. last And without controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness God was manifested in the flesh c. There are three things especially which bespeak the Incarnation of Christ to be sweet and delightful to the true Believer