Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	great_a	part_n	time_n	2,743	4	3.3144	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42839	Mary's choice, or, The choice of the truly godly person opened, and justified, in a sermon preached at the funeral of Mrs. Anne Petter, late wife of the Reverend Mr. John Petter, Pastor of the Church at Hever in Kent, April 26, 1658 by John Glascock ...	Glascock, John, d. 1661.	1659 (1659)	Wing G842; ESTC R6625	73,413	87

with any thing on this side God and the things of God in our choice we are not sure if we were the greatest Oracles of worldly wisdome that can be found on earth to obtain what we make choice of Art thou a fond admirer of a great estate and thereupon dost bend all thy wits to compasse it sparing no pains in the seeking riches when thou hast used thy utmost skill and diligence to get a great estate in spight of thy heart thou maist dye under Beggars bush This Solomon observed in his time and any wise man may make the like observation in our time Eccl. 9. 11. Riches are not alwaies to men of understanding Deut. 8. 18. It is God that giveth power to whom he please to get wealth And it might be added by the warrant of other Scriptures to keep it when they have got it Again doth thy soul thirst after the favour of great ones without the help of God this can never be compassed by the greatest wisdome and diligence that any ambitious person can possibly use Eccl. 9. 11. Solomon tells us That favour is not to men of skill They who are most skilful to discover the temper and accordingly to humour those whose favour they are greedy of are most probable to obtain their favour but be they never so skilful they often misse their mark Psal 75. Promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South but God is the Judge he putteth down one and setteth up another The hearts of all are in Gods hands and it is he alone that can incline them towards us or turn them from us Now what hath been said concerning mans inability to obtain worldly wealth or favour may as truly be asserted concerning al other temporal good things whatsoever Now this being so let us learn wisdome from the sad experience of others disappointments who misplace their choice to choose that which is most worthy our choice and most certain to be enjoyed if chosen viz. an interest in Gods favour with all the glorious benefits of both worlds that flow from it whereas if we choose other things of lesse worth it will be our sad lot to fare as those who affect marriages with those above their rank or unwilling otherwise to comply with them they fret and grieve themselves into deadly consumptions and leave their names behind them under the severe censures of observes for their notorious weaknesse and proud folly Arg. 3 Suppose God should suffer some few worldlings to obtain those worldly comforts that they have chosen and all their days hunted after with hottest chase imaginable although the things they obtain are in themselves the good and comfortable blessings of God they may be as far from such happinesse as such things are capable of affording as they were before Eccl. 3. 12. I know that there is no good in them that is the things of this world but for a man to rejoice and to do good in his life and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour it is the gift of God and if so then not in the power of any one in the world without the help and blessing of God What is a rich mans condition better then a poor mans if he do not use it do good with it and take comfort in it But this is manifest by common experience that many such persons have as little or lesse comfort of their estates then those who have not the hundredth part of such an estate and the like may be said of all worldly blessings One cannot choose but stand and wonder what some persons ail to look so sadly and live so discontentedly as they do from one years end to another when if we observe their worldly portion one can scarce find any pleasant thing that God withholds from them many times 't is only the want of some small matter that their extravagant fancies fix upon which is so inconsiderable in it self that they are ashamed to own it as the ground of their dissatifaction with their condition 1 King 21. 4 6. Ahab seems as if he would make a dye of it surely some great matter is the cause of it but the story tells us it was only because Naboth denied him his little Vineyard when himself as is probable had more and far better of his own Peter Martyr upon this place cites an Epistle of Ambrose to a friend of his in which he makes a comparison between Naboth and Ahab and pronounceth poor Naboth in a better condition then rich Ahab because he was comfortable in the enjoyment of his little and Ahab sinfully and sottishly discontented notwithstanding his great abundance A great many strangely fancy that if they could but scrue up their estates to such an height as they propound to themselves or get into the favour of some that are great in the world none in the world should live more comfortably then themselves but alas many times they weare out their bodies stretch and torment their consciences and cannot be masters of their designs and if at any time they obtain what they eagerly seek they never meet with one half or hundred part of comfort in such a condition as they promised to themselves And therefore I seriously offer to their consideration that Scripture Eccl. 5. 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver and he that loveth abundance with encrease this also is vanity The like is true of all worldly enjoyments And therefore if God tels worldly men that they shall never obtain comfortable satisfaction in their greatest abundance it is the vainest thing in the world for them to think to prove God a Lyar which is black blasphemy in the least to imagine Arg. 4 If thou makest any other choice it will certainly provoke the fearful and just indignation of Jesus Christ against thee Luke 14. 14. Christ speaking of the recompence of the righteous at the Resurrection one who sits by cries out by way of admiration v. 15. Blessed are they who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God As if he had said in other words I choose the happy condition of Christs people above all things in the world besides But Christ presently for the discovering of his unsoundnesse propounds the Parable of the Guests who were invited to partake of those things he seemed to admire and choose and then we read v. 18 19 20. that all made their excuses as if they would not go to Hell without some seeming good reasons One had a great Farm to look after another a new bargain a third a wife all which they preferred before the things of Christs Kingdom Well how did Christ take this at their hands I answer His indignation flamed out against them V. 21. We read he was angry and if you desire to know how great his anger was v. 24. it is said The persons who preferred the things of this world before