Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	earth_n	lord_n	sea_n	8,536	5	6.6658	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66447	Experiments of spiritual life & health and their preservatives in which the weakest child of God may get assurance of his spiritual life and blessedness, and the strongest may finde proportionable discoveries of his Christian growth, and the means of it / by Roger Williams ...	Williams, Roger, 1604?-1683.	1652 (1652)	Wing W2762; ESTC R7812	48,635	62

said that these particulars next following are not discouragements from Christ as if we had no life at all but incouragements to draw neerer to Christ Jesus when we see such virtue proceed out from him to such poor sinners like our selves These particulars then following are as an holy looking glasse to discover to us our souls spots blemishes as also sweet cordial flowers to refresh and incourage our drooping spirits The severall particular trialls of this spirituall health and chearfulnesse I shall bind up as I may so speak into three severall parcells as sometimes we see sweet flowers bound up into sinaller bundles to make up at last one larger bundle or posie in one The three severall sor●…s shall be according to that division of the holy Spirit by Paul to Titus First such as concern holines respecting our communion with God in Christ Iesus 2. Such as concern righteousnesse respecting others 3. Such as concern ●…obriety respecting our private selves and persons First then it is an argument of the strength and healthfub temper of the inner man when our apprehensions of God are always such as bring us to holy wonderment and amazement at the nature of incomprehensible God at his properties and works from the Sun in the Firmament to the poorest Worme at his wonderfull dispensing of his justice and mercy and disposing and ruling all things in Heaven Earth and Seas from the highest Angels in he●…ven to th e lowest Devils in Hell This was Davids temper when he cried out Psal 104 Oh Lord how wonderfull are thy works in wisedome hast thou made them all Also Psal. 8. O Jehovah our Lord how wonderfull is thy Name in all the earth And Psal 139. he brings this wonder nearer to bimself saying I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made As if he would say fearfully and wonderfully bred in the womb fearfully and wonderfully brought forth and we may further say ever since we came thus fearfully and wonderfully into the world fearfully and wonderfully brought up fearfully and wonderfully preserved delivered c. Obj. But may not naturall men and Hypocrites admire the Nature and works of God I answer yes but the wonder which doth possesse a child of God causeth him to cry out with David Psal. 119. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me give me undestanding that I may learn thy statutes T is such a wonder as draweth up the heart unto God with longings to be united unto him to fear his Name to partake of his divine Nature and to be like unto Him in holines and true Righteousnes Obj. The Devills believe and tremble at God I answer to tremble at the word of God is alone the property of Gods Servants Isa. 66 The Devills may wonder and tremble at the just sentence and threatning part of Gods word But Gods children tremble at the commanding part yea at the comforting and promising part of it also least they should depart or fall off from it or loose though but for a time as David the joy and sweetnes of it Secondly it is an Argument of health and spirituall strength when the hallowing the magnifying and glorifying of the name of God is our great work and business in this world unto which all the businesses and works we have in hand in the world beside give way c. Thus Christ Jesus teacheth all his to make it their first request to God that they may hallow or glorifie his name Thus he professeth as it were upon his death bed John 17. that he had done his work that he had glorified his Father upon the earth Hence he professeth at his most solemn Arraignment Joh. 18. for this end was I born and for this end came I into the world that I might bear witness to the truth that is to give his Father the glory of his truth and to destroy the lyes of the devill the father of them who belyeth God in all his holy attributes and works and servants and ordinances and profaneth and dishonoureth his holy name in them all Obj. Hypocrites professe to glorifie God and to say Is●… 66. Let the Lord be glorified I answer No hypocrite can make it his work to glorifie God when it crosseth his own glory No hypocrite can purely and simply out of love to Gods name and glory be content to ●…oose the offer of a kingdom as Moses did when the Lord himself offered it him and as Christ Iesus did when the people offered and would have made him a King by force and the devil proffered him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them Thirdly it is an Argument of strength of Gods grace and Spirit in us when we perform actions of godliness with a single and upright eye unto God himself in secret Frequent and constant delight in private converses argues strong affection to God or men Hypocrites saith Christ Jesus will pray and fast and give alms but with a squint eye of private and sinister self respect to be seen of men c. But Gods children pray and do good and fast in secret regarding no eye but the eye of an heavenly Father who seeing in secret will not fail to reward openly Ob. But may not hypocrites speak and preach against hipocrisie against self love self respect and fleshly and worldly ends in the performance of spirituall duties And is it not possible for Gods children to perform spirituall duties with carnall ends and respects I answer Hypocrites may do this and pretend pure and upright ends for God as Jehn did yet discover they hypocrisie in the very pretence of sinceritie for not content with the Lords eye and approbation Come see my zeal saith he Jonadab which I have for the Lord 2ly Gods children doubtless may look aside and mark who s●…es and hears and rewards in their performances of service unto God But this is either in sins of ignorance as for instance many of Gods dear children perform service to God in preaching as hirelings and conceive themselves not bound although to glorifie Christ Iesus in saving souls to preach without an hire and so in other cases Or 2ly this may be knowingly and discerningly as Paul saith Rom. 7. When I would do good evil is present with me such tempt●…tions come in as water into a ship or as dust and diseases into a sound eye and ●…hen Gods children be never quiet untill such distempers be cleansed and got out again Fourthly it is an Argument of spirituall strength when the Spirit of prayer breatheth forth frequently and constantly and fervently to God in us Hence David prays and cries in the morning at noon and in the evening he riseth at midnight to pray and prevents the d●…wning of the day to pray Thus Daniel is thrice each day on his knees to God and would not be beaten off with the powers and terrors of cruel enemies and lyons Thus the Lord Jesus frequently

EXPERIMENTS OF Spiritual Life Health And their PRESERVATIVES In which the weakest Child of God may get Assurance of his Spirituall Life and Blessednesse And the Strongest may finde proportionable Discoveries of his Christian Growth and the means of it By Roger Williams of Providence in New-England London Printed in the Second Month 1652. To the truly Honorable the Lady Vane the Younger Madam YOur favourable and Christian respects to me both of former and latter date your Godly and Christian Letters to me so many thousand miles distant in America And your many gracious Demonstrations of an humble and Christian Spirit breathing in you are a three fold Cord which have drawn these lines into your presence While I have sometimes mused how to express a Christian gratitude I am at last perswaded to crave your Ladyships acceptance of these poore Experiments of each true Christians personall union and communion with the Father of Spirits It is true I have been sometimes prest to engage in controversies but I can really and uprightly say my Witnes is on high how harsh and dolesul the touch of those strings are especially against such Worthies both in old and new-England in whom I joyfully before the world acknowledge in many heavenly respects a lively character and Image of the Son of God This broken piece is a breath of a still and gentle voice none but the God of this world and the men of this world can I lightly at this turne expect my opposites At other times I have been drawne to consider of the little flock of Jesus his Army his body his building that for these many hundred years have been scattered routed and laid wast and desolate At present I onely examine who are the personall and particular Sheep of Jesus Christ his Souldiers his living materials though scattered divided and not compos'd and ordred at their souls desire I confess Madam it was but a private and sudden discourse sent in private to my poor Companion and Yoak-fellow occasioned by a sudden sickness threatning death into which and from which it pleased the Lord most graciously to cast and raise her The forme and stile I know will seem to this refined age too rude and barbarous And the truth is the most of it was penn'd and writ so as seldom or never such discourses were in the thickest of the naked Indians of America in their very wild houses and by their barbarous fires when the Lord was pleased this last year more then ordinarily to dispose of my abode and travell amongst them And yet is the Language plaine it is the liker Christs Is the composure rude such was his outward Beauty Are the tryals seemingly too close such is the two edged Sword of his most holy Spirit which pierceth between the very Soul and Spirit and bringeth every thought into the obedience of Christ Jesus Amongst the many Crowns of mercy Madam which it hath pleased the Father of mercies to crowne your soul with as David speaks of his Psal. 103. there are two which justly challenge and your Ladiship I know doth humbly acknowledge them to be the fairest The first That he himselfe most high most holy who makes his common choice the poor Jam. 2. and chooseth few Lords few Knights few Ladies few wise few noble few mighty hath freely chosen you Madam in so gracious and blessed a measure to desire to feare his Name A second That for your dearest Companion and Guide in this vale of tears amongst the famous Worthies of this age he hath graciously guided you to such a blessed choice of such an Husband on earth who beares so bright an Image of your Husband in the Heavens and in whose most holy and gracious hand he hath been such a mercifull and faithfull Instrument for both the freedoms both of the outward and inner man I doe humbly acknowledge that upon an absolute account all is mercy and yet I am also humbly confident that in a respect as he graciously remembred his old friend Abraham and tels us of a speciall love he yet bears the Jewes for Abrahams sake even so he hath graciously vouchsafed at this present an honorable remembrance to the NAMES of some of his more eminent former friends and witnesses How hath he ●…rowned the memory of those his 2 zealous Servants in K. Henry the 8th his days * with a most eminent and blessed succession of such names and spirits at this day and in a gracious remembrance of his love to that blessed daughter and witnesse of his the Lady Vane in Q. Maries dayes how hath it pleased his wisedom and goodnesse to remember and to honour that Name both in your Ladiship and so many otherways with so many loving kindnesses at this day My humble cry Madam to the Lord shall never cease those all those your many obligations of both temporall and eternall mercies may like chaines of Adamant draw and bind your precious Soul more and more to resolve by his grace assisting to make his name great who hath made your so and so to love his Name his Son his Spirit his Truth his Children that others at the Torch of your exemplary meeknesse and fear of God may light and kindle theirs That your Souls-eye more and more brightly may see him who is invisible and may so experimentally resent those invisible and internal Honors pleasures and profits that are in him that in comparison thereof the visible and worldly may be accounted by you but dreams of shadows c. That your great desire may be a likenesse of so high and holy and so dear a Saviour and as in other excellencies so in that especially of a desire of saving others your Children Kindred Servants Friends yea Enemies that neither the pleasing calme of prosperity nor the dreadfull storms of changes may quench or dampe that holy fire of your Souls love in Life and Death to Him whom your Ladyship hath so much infinite cause to love but never yet saw in whom and for ever I desire to be Your HONOURS unfeinedly faithfull R. W. To every truly Christian Reader AS it is in the Earthly so it is in the Heavenly Marriage of a poor Sinner to his Maker There useth first to passe a private kindling of Love and a private consent and pomise which sometimes are long before the open solemnity and the publik●… profession of a Married life together This is my present designe not to controvert the matters of publike Order and Worship but to present some poor Experiments of those Personall excellencies of each true beleeving soule and spirit The Holy Spirit in Isaiah tels us of Ballances wherein the most High weighs the Hills and Mountains As also in Solomon of Ballances wherein hee weighs the very Spirits even of men whose way is right in their owne eyes And in John 14. he commands us to try the Spirits pretending to come from Christ Jesus whether they be of God or no There