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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
order_n	church_n	people_n	power_n	2,379	5	4.8524	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41317	The Failing & perishing of good men a matter of great & sore lamentation : held forth in a sermon preach'd the 26 of June 1662, being the day before the internment of that eminent and faithful gospel-preacher, Mr. John Sympson.		1663 (1663)	Wing F93A; ESTC R40573	25,149	50

and teach to rule I say not as Lords over your consciences but according to the blessed direction of Scripture-Canons that so you may be able to bless God in the words of Ezra cap. 9.8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God to leave us a Remnant to escape and to give us a Nail in his holy Place that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage All I desire which I am sure I shal have is your acceptance of this my love in the Lord. I can't say that I do here present unto you the same Sermon verbatim that you heard preacht For besides those necessary distinctions that must be put between the Tongue and the Pen I hàve superadded some things for the perfecting this Discourse which I think you will not judge useless or needless when you shall have read it When ought of Truth is presented unto you take heed of looking too much upon the hand that brings it or upon the dress in which it comes not upon the hand because then if the instrument that presents it be accounted unworthy Truth will be despised He that presents you with this following discourse is a very unworthy instrument as unworthy as you can imagine him to be though blessed be God how vile soever he be in other mens eyes he desires to be more vile in his own But yet I hope you have learnt with the holy Prophet to be content to be fed though it be by a Raven it 's no matter who brings truth so God sends it though withall I would here give you this caution Take heed of going out of Gods way for feeding I conclude that that man that resolves to go to Rome to learn the Articles of the Christian Faith hath met with some bad counsel Keep in thy way and have thy Touchstone alwayes ready and then with the Goldsmith when ought is presented unto thee first try it and if it prove right and sound take it and bless God for it and mind not the person that brings it but take heed of going out of thy shop for it may be whilst thou art trading in other mens shops thine own may be robbed Again Mind not the dress in which Truth comes Many have such critical stomachs that plain wholesome fare will not down with them notwithstanding times are hard and bread dear yet they must have food in such a dress or else they are not pleased they 'le be ready to slight such food as the Countrey people would be glad of with all their heart I dare not invite one such person to my little Feast and that because I fear there 's not one bit will please him I am plain and cannot be otherwise I dare say the following discourse is wholesome if therefore wholesom food will please thee eat and much good may do thee As to this particular I would only beg you To look back and consider those many exhortations you had from that blessed man Mr. Cradock to keep close to the plainness and simplicity of the Gospel To close My dearly beloved you are a people greatly blest of God with respect to the means of Grace your constant helps for above these twenty years have been glorious helps your Auxiliary helps which you have had in abundance have been glorious helps Considering one thing with another I think I may say and not sin you have enjoyed the Cream of the world Surely Friends God expects great things from you expects you should be eminent Christians Eminent 1. In thankfulness the high praises of God should be in your mouths for that he hath dealt so bountifully with you 2. Eminent in fruitfulness Unfruitsulness under such means soon fits the soul for cursing and burning Isa 5. Mat. 3.10 Heb. 6 7 8. 3. Entinent in faithfulness and that 1. in respect to sincerity Phil. 1.10 You should not do things to be seen of men but as alwayes under Gods eye 2. In respact of constancy Rev. 2.10 Be faithful unto the death and I will give thee a Crown of Life The Sermons thou hast heard and the Servants of Christ that have preacht unto thee will all witness against thee if thou shalt turn Apost ate Consider these things and do accordingly and it will be well with you now better anon and best of all at last Vale. The perishing and failing of good men a matter of great and sore lamentation Joh. 11.35 Jesus wept AS every thing is beautiful in its season so words when spoken in due season are like apples of gold in pictures of silver And therefore it is the great work of a Preacher to consider the state of the people to whom he preaches so to prepare his work before hand as that he may hit the mark knock the nail on the head The Preacher sought out acceptable words now generally those words are most acceptable to and best received by the hearers especially intelligent hearers that are suited to their present condition Good words may be vain words in a preachers mouth and they are evermore so when they are either inconsistant to the argument in hand or else altogether unsuitable to the capacity and state of the hearers I considering therefore the secret hand of God upon this Congregation in taking away that eminent Servant of Christ Mr. John Sympson thought it incumbent upon me to speak something at this time that might be suitable to the present dispensation of God towards you and in my meditations this Scripture was cast in Jesus wept The occasion of this text is known unto you in the begining of this Chapter you read that Lazarus was sick and the news thereof immediatly sent to Jesus who notwithstanding he dearly loved him yet as the sequel of the story acquaints you he doth not presently go up to Bethany to visit sick Lazarus but maketh a stay for several days the reason whereof is at hand viz. That a sentence of death might pass upon beloved Lazarus and he be laid in the grave and a stone rouled upon him and all this in order to the manifestation of the glory and power of Christ in his resurrection It is good here to note that as Christ here dealt with Lazarus so he doth often deal with his beloved Spouse his Church on earth the Church she is sick lieth languishing and nigh to death report hereof is made to Christ in heaven and he is desired to come and visit his sick Spouse Christ though he loves his Spouse with a dear immutable love yet he seemeth to turn a deaf ear upon this request and carrieth it as if he did not mind Zions concernments as if he cared not how she was abused and trampled on by this wicked persecuting world but the reason as above lieth here that so a sentence of death might pass upon the Church and upon all her concerns and glory and all this in order to the manifestation of Christs

glorious power in her resurrection that he may appear to be the great God that can raise deliverance out of the dust appear for his people when there is none shut up or left After Lazarus had been in the grave four days Christ he comes up to Bethany and the sisters of Lazarus viz. Martha and Mary they come out to meet Jesus first Martha she cometh ver 20. and she saith Lord if thou hadst been here my brother had not died ver 21. After this comes Mary vers 32. and she falls down at Christs feet saying Lord if thou hadst been here my brother had not died When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her he groaned in the Spirit and was troubled and said Where have ye laid him They say unto him Lord come and see Jesus wept There is very much wrapt up in the bowels of this little Text The text opened Here we may take notice of the humanity of Christ it appears by Christs weeping that he is perfect man as well as perfect God That Christ wept is to be referred not to his Divinity but to his Humanity and so we shall find that Christ was subject as to this so to all natural infirmities as hunger thirst weariness c. which may comfort the Saints that groan under natural as well as sinful infirmities and that from the reason why Christ was made in all things like unto his brethren namely That he might be a merciful High-priest Hebr. 2.17 18. And though Christ be now in glory yet he is touched with the feeling of the infirmities of his people here on earth Hebr. 4.15 so touched as that he cannot but have compassion on them under all their pressures and grievances whatsoever Do'st thou then groan under natural weaknesses and infirmities Go boldly to the throne of grace which is the use the Apostle makes of this doctrin Heb. 4.16 and spread thy weaknesses and infirmities before the Lord and thou maiest in faith expect grace to help in this need that Christ should enable thee to bear up under these weaknesses until mortality shall have put on immortality But to come to the thing I intend and that is the occasion of Christs weeping which was the death of Lazarus a good man whence I shal observe and prosecute this Doctrine Doctr. That it is a Christ like frame of spirit to be deeply affected with and to mourn over the death of such as are truly gracious Here 's Lazarus a good man in his grave and Christ he weeps over him you have a weeping Christ over a dead Lazarus When old Jacob an eminent person was buryed it 's said Gen. 50 10 That they mourned with a great and sore lamentation and that for 7 dayes together And so when Moses that eminent servant of the Lord that brought the children of Israel out of Egypt very neer to the good Land died and was buried by a secret hand it 's said the children of Israel mourned for him 30 days Deut. 34.8 M●●●eerly beloved you have lost a Moses one that was valiant for God in former times when the people of God in England were coming out of Egypt he hath been an eminent leader to the saints in their wilderness state and God did often take him to the top of Pisgah and gave him their glorious visions and that not onely of heavenly Canaan but also of that glorious land of rest and righteousness that the Saints shall injoy in this world when the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be advanced upon the top of all mountains and the Kingdomes of this world become the Kingdomes of the Lord and of his Christ of which things he hath often spoke unto you in much life and power Now that such a Moses should be taken off in the Wilderness while the people of God are yet short of this good Land is matter of great humiliation Likewise you find the same spirit in those Christians Acts 20. that Paul the great Apostle of the Gentiles did there take his farewel of saying ver 25. And now behold I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God shall see my face no more It 's said 37 38 verses And they all wept sore and fell on Pauls neck and kissed him Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake that they should see his face no more David also is exceedingly affected in this kind Psal 12.1 Help Lord for the godly man ceaseth for the faithful fail from among the children of men And so the Church Micah 7. Wo is me for I am as when they have gathered the summer-fruits as the grape-gleanings of the Vintage there is no cluster in me The good man is perished out of the earth and there is none upright among men c. And the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 57. vers 1. laments and bemoans the spiritual security of the children of Israel exprest by this That they did not observe take notice neither were they affected with the perishing taking away of the righteous and the merciful man and chargeth upon them this senceless and stupid frame of heart as their great and common sin Now by all this it appears that it is both the duty and property of a Christian such an one as hath been baptized into the spirit of Jesus to be deeply affected with the death of such as are truly gratious especially when they are eminent for use and service to Christ and his people Reas We shall now give you the reasons why it is so and cannot be otherwise but that gracious persons must needs be affected with and mourn over the death of good men First Because every stroke in this kind puts a serious heart in mind of its mortality tells us that we are dying mortall creatures and that 's a very serious consideration to every awakened soul The living the living will lay it to heart saith Solomon Eccle. 7.2 The stroke of death upon others tells us that dye we must and how soon the Lord knows and O happy thrice happy is that person that can dye wel We are ready to say blessed is the rich man and the honourable man and the professing man the man that can speak wel and pray well and live well but above all say I blessed is the person that dyes well Now such strokes as these puts a serious soul in mind of dying Ther 's none present knows who may dye next may go to the grave next That 's the First but then 2 It springs from that Simpathy that is both in nature and in grace first in nature when God takes away a husband a father a child c. this cuts deep and affects much Abraham he mourns over beloved Sarah David over Absolon though a rebellious son To be stupid and not to mind the hand of God when he smites our near and dear relations doth declare that we do not onely want