Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	commandment_n	lust_n	sin_n	4,348	5	5.8570	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81240	Eliah's abatement: or, Corruption in the saints. Discovered and distinguished in a sermon, preached at Chatham in Kent, at the Funeral of that faithful minister of the Gospel, Mr. Gaulter Roswell, M.a. late preacher there. / By Tho. Case, M.A. and rector of Giles in the Fields.	Case, Thomas, 1598-1682.	1658 (1658)	Wing C828; Thomason E1882_1; ESTC R209895	50,345	165

the heart is more offended at the Law because it crosseth corruption then at corruption because it crosseth the Law it is more then infirmity Gracious souls justify the Law but condemn their lusts Rom. 7.12 Verse 14. the Law is holy and the Commandement is holy and just and good all the fault they find is with themselves I am carnal sold under sin they have good thoughts of the law it is good it is spiritual but they cannot find any word bad enough for themselves I am a wretch c. this is infirmity indeed It is good when men study to bring up their hearts to the Rule not labour to bring down the Rule to their hearts Gods children would feign have their lives as strait as the Law Psa 119.5 Oh that my wayes were directed to keep thy Satutes carnal people would willingly have the Law as crooked as their lives Ezek. 18. The wayes of the Lord are not equall This is an hard saying Joh. 6. who can bear it Lastly Seventh note when Corruption gets ground and growes more impetuous and head-strong from time to time it is then more then infirmity when sin fortifieth it self and can make resistance against whatsoever doth oppose it it is Reigning sin sin then in the foul is as Rex in Regno as a King in his Kingdome strengthening and securing its throne against all opposition Corruption in the Saints is upon the losing-hand infirmities will grow more and more infirm as distempers in the body when a man is upon recovery Object Then are not my corruptions infirmities will some poore soule be ready to object for they grow stronger and stronger and not weaker and weaker my sinful passions and distempers get ground of me I do not get ground of my passions Answ To this I answer I. It is not usuall for them that lye under the power and command of their lusts to make such complaints they of whom lust and corruption gets ground seldome say so they study apologies ut supra not aggravations Such poor Christians therefore that thus object against themselves are not easily to be believed 2. It is true Satan may roare most when he is cast out the last pangs of dying beasts are strongest and so it may be with a dying lust But observe a few things 1. Many times the poor believer saies his corruptions grow when onely indeed he growes more sensible of his corruptions when light groweth and grace groweth and corruption growes more burdensom this doubting Souls call the groweth of corruption the new Convert complains he hath more corruption then ever when onely he sees corruption more then ever and is more sensible of corruption then ever Witness this that the poor Soul is more impatient now of the least corruption then formerly it was of the grossest acts this is certain the more burdensome corruption groweth the more ground it loseth 2. Doth thy displacency against corruption grow Dost thou hate thy corruptions more then ever thy self for them Whilst thou saiest corruption growes dost thou dislike thy corruptions more then ever Christian thou gettest ground of corruption corruption doth not get ground of thee A Tyrant may grow more oppressive and more impetuous but he growes more burdensom and more intollerable Why all this while he is upon the losing hand he loseth ground in the hearts of the people Let him think himself never so secure he is upon the declining hand he is afalling So it is with sin the more it is hated the weaker it groweth Thirdly Doth thy watchfulness grow Thou grow more vigilant more jealous of thine own heart More afraid of thy self Dost stand at a greater distance from temptation shunning the appearances and occasions of sin Corruption gets no ground of thee but thou of Corruption Fourthly Doth thy opposition grow As corruption and temptation growes stronger in thy apprehension dost thou make stronger resistances dost thou fortifie more against temptation Dost pray more and more fervently Art thou more and more active in the dutie of mortification Corruption i● a looser Fifthly Doth Christ grow more precious to thee Dost thou see more need of Christ More beauty and excellency in Christ not onely for pardon of sin but for power against sin Not only for justification but for sanctification Not onely as a fountain of happiness but as a fountain of holiness And dost thou go out in his strength against thy corruptions labouring with the Apostle to know the power of his Resurrection 〈◊〉 3.10 and the fellowship of his sufferings that thou mayest be conformable to him Fear not Christian thy God and the God of thy fathers hath given thee treasure in thy ack Care concupiscit adversus spiritum si non spiritus adersus carnem faciunt adul●●e ium ●ug ● Gal. 1.5 7. It is a blessed thing when corruption drawes out grace when as the flesh lusteth against the spirit the spirit lusteth against the flesh Behold whilst thou mournest and complainest that corruption gets ground the truth is Grace gets ground of Corruption Sence of corruption is a grace and displicency against corruption is a grace and watchfulness is a grace and opposition against sin is a grace and precious thoughts of Christ a grace Now if corruption be an occasion to exert these graces it is grace that gets ground of corruption and not corruption of grace A second general Caution A second general Caution Take heed of making the Saints infirmities your encouragements in sin For first They are not for our imitation but our admonition Ut sup use 1. make not the infirmities of the godly Cur non ego Salvian patrons of your wickedness Say not in your hearts why not I Why may not I be drunk as well as Noah And commit adultery as well as David 2. There is no such folly in nature was there ever any so sottish as to imitate other mens deformities in nature or misfortunes in the world Did ye ever hear of any man so mad as to put out his eyes because another man was blind Or to throw away his riches because other men are poor Was ever any man yet heard to say And why may not I sit upon the dungh-hil as well as Job Or lye at the rich mans door begging as well as Lazarus Why may not I dwell in the wilderness as well as John the Baptist And not have whereon to lay my head as well as our Saviour Alas Alas that this folly should onely befal the sons of men onely in spirituals in soul-concernments This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation 3. There be in the Saints of God things more worthy of imitation then their infirmities There was meekness in Moses patience in Job holiness in David zeal for God in Elijah c. In a word there are Graces in Gods children as well as corruptions Oh! how much more noble and excellent is it to imitate the Saints in

request to you is That you will own this vindication of his great faithfulness and integrity among you and give it a room in your houses and in your hearts Surely you have the most right to this dedication of any people in the world in the service of whose faith he spent his Estate and Himself to boot Accept it as a Testimony of my dear and deserved respect to the Dead and of my tender affection to the living And the Lord add his own blessing That the fruit of these poor labours may be abundant by many Thanks-givings to the glory of God So Prayeth Your very faithful and affectionate friend and servant in the Gospel THO. CASE ELIAH'S ABATEMENT Or CORRUPTION In the SAINTS James 5.17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not upon the earth c. And he prayed again and the Heaven gave rain THe words are a demonstration or evidence of the power and efficacy of prayer That prayer rightly managed cannot want success The instance is taken from Elias of what prevalency his prayers were with God the influences of the Heavens were bound up in his prayers It raineth not and raineth as Elias will He prayed earnestly Vir iste potuit quod voluit and it rained not c. And he prayed again and the Heavens gave rain Elias might some one say Yea He indeed might do much with God a mighty Prophet a man of eminent holiness and of high acquaintance with God a Favourite of Heaven à Secretioribus one of Gods privy Counsellours as it were no wonder if his prayers were of such potency with the Almighty But I am no Elias but a poor sinful creature pressed down with a double weight a body of flesh and a body of sin and shall the prayers of such a weak sinful wretch as I am find access to or acceptance with the Holy God To obviate this objection and to remove this discouragement out of the minds of poor sinners sensible of their own unworthiness the Holy Ghost addeth a clause or note of minoration or abatement to Elias his Name whereby he gives us to understand that Elias was not heard so much for his Sanctity as for his Sincerity not for his own merit but for the gracious respect which God beareth to the prayers of his people He was indeed full of grace highly favoured with the Lord but he was neither God nor Angel he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but a man Elias was a man And a man he was not exempt from the Common Law of humane frailty He had his infirmities as well as other of the Saints of God he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of like passions with us like unto us in all things sin it self not excepted Hereupon inferring that infirmities in the meanest of Gods Saints shal no more prejudice the acceptance and success of their prayers with God then they did in Elias himself Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not c. And he prayed again and the Heavens gave showers Subject to like passions as we are The word passion doth sometimes signify onely the affections and motions of the mind implanted in natures which in themselves are neither morally good or evil but as they are set upon their objects and are acted upon them in a regular or irregular manner Sometime Passions signify sinful infirmities sinful perturbations of the mind And sometime passion is taken more strictly for the special affection of anger and wrath In this place it may very well be extended to all in my discourse I shall manage it specially in the two latter references and in the doctrinal part more largely as importing sinful perturbations in the application to our present occasion to the particular passion of anger First I shall handle it in the larger signification of sinful perturbations which without injury to this holy Prophet we may understand are ascribed to him by the Holy Ghost in this place and that first because Elias is here called a Man and secondly because level'd with the rest of the sons and daughters of men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of like passions with us The same minoration and abatement which Saint Paul useth to restrain the superstitious Lystrians Act. 14. from vers 11. to vers 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from giving himself and Barnabas divine worship saying Sirs why do ye these things we also are men of like passions with you And so this instance in the Text joined with this parallel of the Apostles men of eminent holiness will warrant this general Observation The best of Gods Saints and Servants have not onely their natural but their sinful infirmities and perturbations This sad truth is of that universal experience that it would be as impossible as it is needless to make an induction of particulars I shall onely therefore adde this Aggravation to make the observation more impressive sc that The greatest passions and infirmities which the Saints have discovered have been in those very things wherein they have been most celebrated for the eminence of their graces Abraham his eminence above other Saints was in the grace of Faith Whence he is called the father of the faithful as much above other believers in faith as the father is above the rest of the Family in dignity and honour He is set forth as the standard and exemplar to all the Children of promise and yet his eminent infirmity was infidelity he stumbled twice upon the threshold of unbelief notwithstanding God had priviledged him with a promise of his special presence and protection Say I pray thee Gen. 12.13 and 20.2 Thou art my sister And Isaac the son not of his loins more then of his infirmities halt's upon the same foot in the like temptation Gen. 26.7 Moses the Man of God Numb 12.7 8. honoured above all other mortals with the beatifical vision on this side glory yet even Him we finde miscarrying through unbelief when upon the promise of God to give flesh to the people his faith was so low that it could rise no higher then second causes 2 King 7.1 2. Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them not much better under that temptation then sometime Ahabs Nobleman who because he could not see provision enough on earth to accomplish the prophesie of plenty in Samaria under such an extreme exigence as it was then reduced unto thought there was not enough in Heaven If the Lord should open windows in Heaven might this thing be David to whom God gave once this honourable testimony A man after mine own heart Yet afterward left a double blot upon his name Adultery and Murder first he polluted Vriahs bed and afterward stained his hands in Vriahs blood Ye have heard Jam. 5.11 saith the Apostle of the patience of Job Yea and we