Selected quad for the lemma: order_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
order_n	ability_n	according_a	act_n	30	3	5.3757	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93757	Six several sermons preached on Isaiah, 38. I. Wherein that great duty of setting our body and soul in order, for we shall die, is at large opened and explained Wherein also many divine truths are made known relating to the same matter; and now published, because of the exceeding importance and concernment of this subject unto all people whatsoever.	Stafford, Richard, 1663-1703.	1696 (1696)	Wing S5135; ESTC R230779	115,810	178

ever have or shall sleep in the Dust of the Earth hereby it may be certainly gathered that he will both say something unto them and also do something for them And what is that Even to raise up their Bones again from thence and to perform that in a Literal Sence of all the Generations and Persons of Mankind of all Countreys which he hath said in the Thirty-seventh Chapter of Ezekiel from the fourth to the four●e●nth Verse for when all the Men and Women of all Generations from the beginning of the World unto the end thereof and of all Countreys and places throughout the habitable parts of the Earth shall be raised up again all together and as they shall live and stand upon their feet even those very same feet which they had gathered up into the Bed when they severally yielded up the Ghost they will make an exceeding Great Army as it is there said in vers 10. And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your Graves O my People and brought you out of your Graves and shall put my Spirit in you and ye shall live and I shall place you in your own Land the meaning of which last Speech is That as Judas went unto his own place so God will make but two distinctions and place them severally in their own Land even in the good Land as there is of both sorts of these beyond the Grave as well as on this side of it according as their own Works or Deeds done in the Body have been good or evil Then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it saith the Lord Ezek. 37. 13 14. This again confirms what was aforesaid for this speaking and performing both is surely visiting according to the true nature and end thereof And such of ye who shall hear or read these lines who also shall be ranked in amongst that exceeding great Army are my Witnesses and some of ye perhaps may remember when ye shall indeed see it performed before your Eyes as the Lord hath spoken that in this Book or Treatise of mine according to the Knowledge and Understanding which God had given and opened unto me his Creature I did rightly and according to Truth explain even in the most large and comprehensive sence as afore-mentioned those words of dying Joseph God shall surely visit you Seeing then that these Bones it is a certain truth which we now carry about us in the Body and shall be la●d in the Grave and God himself shall carry or rather raise them up f●om thence as also this whole Body of ours shall be raised incorruptible and set in order again after that Death hath disordered it The inference from all this is natural and necessary that there must be also some Act of our own according to the Ability and Power put into our Hand to answer this Act of God's namely that we set this House of our Body in order before for we shall die and be raised again Remember it for a constant Rule as there is expected our working together with the Grace of God so still and all along there must be some Act of our own according to the Grace he hath already given us and according to the Power and Ability put into our Hands to answer with God's Act on us Creatures As when Jesus saith I go to prepare a place for you John 14. 2. to this we must endeavour by the Grace given us to prepare our selves in the mean while for that place even that we may be meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light Even so it is here in our present matter though it hath been here declared God will set our Bodies in order in the Resurrection and future State as he did set them in order in his first Creation and Workmanship of them For this Body was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the Earth that is in our Mothers Womb thine Eyes did see my Substance yet b●ing u●pe●fect and in thy Book all my Members were written which in continuan●e were fashioned Observe here is an Orderly Work and Procedure by that God who is the Go● of Order and not of Confusion so I say again to this first and last Act of God's o●● these Bodies of ours if we would indeed obtain and have part in the bl●ssed Resurrection it is required and expected of us that acc●rding to what lieth in our power though we cannot make one hair white or black nor yet add one Cub●t to our Stature we should also in the mean while s●t our Bodies in order also even that we may keep ●●em from Filth and Pollution from Unruliness and Diso●der But some will say how must we keep or set these Bodies in order This the Scripture teacheth For this is the Will of God even your Sanctification that ye should abstain from Fornication that every one of you should know how to possess his Vessel in Sanctification and Honour 1 Thes 4. 3. By Vessel is meant his Body according to that other Scripture for we have this Treasure in Earthen V●ssels But here it is said Possess his Vessel Perhaps it is not in our Trade nor yet in our Power to make Vessels for that belongeth to the Potter neither can he make them unless he hath Clay brought ready to his hand for Creation is the incommunicable Attribute of the Deity and all Mens making is only fashioning changing or altering by bringing it into such a Form or Figure for they must have some pre-existent matter to work upon and there is no such thing as simple making in all the labour under the Sun which is done by the Children of Men but in this instance of possessing our Vessel though we do not know how to make it yet we may know how to keep this our Vessel sweet and clean And so we may know how to keep and set these Bodies of ours in such order like as we put Clothes on to Preserve them from cold and as we put Victuals in them to keep them from hunger and famishing Even so may any one resrain any longer from yielding his M●mbers Servants to Vncleanness and to Iniquity unto Iniquity But that henceforth they yield their Members to Righ●●ousness unto Holiness Rom. 6. 19. The Apostle goes on to add in vers 22. But now being made free from sin and become the Servants of God ye have your fruit unto Holiness and your end everlasting life From hence we learn that to set these Bodies of ours in order is to keep and preserve them from sin for hereby we shall with them serve God And what is the blessed consequent of all Ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the ●nd everlasting life This teaches and instructs in two things First That this doing and thus setting them in order is the way for God to set them in order in the Resurrection in the day of Judgment and the future Eternal State

most Holy Precise and Religious kind of Life by the Dream of a Night Vision or by a Voice speaking unto him in his Sleep that such an Acquaintance of his naming him by his Name was really damned Now he that had this Vision was an outward Worshipper Religious at the common Rate Standard or Measure as it goes ordinarily in the World with the Generality and Multitude But the other Person whilst he lived was more religious and strict than People usu●lly are And if such an one should be really damned for his defects and comings short in matters of universal and inward Religion how should this quicken and exhort others and my self as yet living to the utmost preciseness and circumspect walking in all things For if I may so express it a little preciseness and circumspect walking in all things is much better and beyond the utmost and greatest preciseness and circumspect walking only in some things as the manner of too many is who seem to be Religious But if such an one whom the World accounted very Religious should perish Good God! What will become of us who are not Religious perhaps to the tenth degree as he was This should indeed stir us up so to run that we may obtain as we do desire it and foolish are they who do not endeavour all that they can after it to be in all things what God commandeth us very circumspect and to abound in all Holy Conversation and Godliness as is possible for Mortal Creatures whilst in the Flesh and in this Life to be For truly if we consider throughly the great displeasure God Almighty hath to Sin as is set forth in 2 Pet. 2. 4 5 6. He spared not the Angels that sinned And how that for one single Act of Disobedience he entailed a Curse on Adam and all his Posterity Of six hundred thousand of his own People whom he had brought out of the Land of Egypt there were but two only which went into the promised Land and Moses himself who before had so often stood in the gap between an enraged God and a provoking People yet He was not admitted into the promised Land of Canaan because he had provoked his Spirit and spoke unadvisedly with his Lips hereupon misgiving and fearful thoughts have arose in my Mind that if Moses such a precious Servant of God unto whom there arose not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses whom the Lord knew face to face Deut. 34. 10. yet if this very Man so familiar with and beloved of God was not admitted to enter into the promised Land for but one unadvised Speech of his Lips much more may I a sinful Creature and so may others also tremble and fear that after I have done all to get into Heaven which is the promised Land yet I may not be admitted there for really my self have and it is well if ye have not also done many more and worse things than to let fall one unadvised Speech of our Lips I have been guilty of an Omission of Duty which as I sensibly perceived at the very time did shut Heaven against me although at the very same time I went to Worship the Lord in the Congregation when at the very same time He commanded and directed me to give forth Testimonies of his Law and Truth unto the Rulers and chief of the People who were then met together in another Congregation for outward Worship But through my neglect and failure herein I had smitings of Conscience and Revelations of his Wrath against me in that manner as here spoken of Have a care of Sins of Omission for 't is these which shut Heaven against us as may be seen from the latter end of the twenty-fifth Chapter of Matthew Truly after all the things we have done in order to God throughout all this our Life after all our Prayers and hearing the Word preached after all our Acts of Publick Family and Private Worship and whatever we have done pertaining to Religion or what is c●mmonly called good Works yet it is possible and to be feared that we may perish and miscarry for all throughout Eternity Where the Psalmist Prays by the Spirit Remember all thy Offerings and accept thy burnt Sacrifice Selah The Lord fulfil all thy Petitions Psalm 20. 3 5. Thereby is shewn forth and made known unto us that if the Lord should not remember nor accept nor fulfil as we are to strive earnestly with him in Prayer on this behalf and so it is of whatever we have done as pertaining to God and Religion it will not stand in stead nor avail to the saving of the Soul What shall we do then the safest way and rule is that as Christ our Saviour saith after ye have done all things that are commanded say that we are unprofitable Servants We have done only what was our Duty to do So in the Name of God let us do all things whatever we can instantly continually and diligently remember all these three Adverbs for to find Acceptance with our God and to get to Heaven and to say after we have done all this we deserve to be rejected by him and to be cast into Hell My Life for yours I will venture my immortal Soul upon this Point It shall never go one Jot the worse with us for thus speaking For after that the disobedient and Prodigal Child had said Father I have sinned against Heaven and am no more worthy to be called thy Son ye● the Father said unto his Servants bring forth the best Robe and put it on him and put a Ring on his Hand to di●tinguish him from and to put him into a Condi●ion above hired Servants and Shoes on his Feet It is no absurdity and contradiction in things pertaining to God though it may seem as a Paradox and strange Doctrine to the Proud Self-justifying and Ignorant P●arisee to acknowledge and confess for so doth the Church in Isa 64. 6. that our Works are not meet for God's Acceptance and yet God will accept of them washed over with the Blood and covered with the Righteousness of his Son It is a great matter and very desirable but withal it is somewhat difficult to hit upon because that so many miss thereof Who seek to enter in and shall not be able Luke 13. 24. for to please and find Acceptance with Almighty God For we are not to think now as we shall see and know at last that either the much speaking of the Heathen nor yet the Superstition of the Jew nor yet the M●mbling of the Papist over his Beads although all these do therein seek to please God will receive any thing from the Lord as to future Good and Salvation God looks and hath more respect unto the quality than the quantity of our Services how good they are and not so much to the length and number of Words And so it is of all meer formal Prayers Lip-labour when the Heart is far from God with all the