Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	christian_a	goodness_n	great_a	36	3	2.1273	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01312	A godly and learned sermon, preached before an honourable auditorie the 26. day of Februarie. 1580	Fulke, William, 1538-1589.	1580 (1580)	STC 11434; ESTC S112721	22,921	68

ordreth disposeth al euil which is a per uerting of y t good which cōmeth from God proceedeth from Satan the corruptiō of mans nature so y t he conuerteth y e same alwayes in y e end to his glory the benefite of his elect as we see in y e persecution of y e wicked the infirmities of the godly yet is he by no meanes to be charged as the author cause of sinne euill If this wil not satisfie you but y t you will further vrge me with that questiō of the Maniches whence cōmeth euil seing nothing but good cōmeth from God yet you affirme y t God is the cause of all things I wil answer as I haue learned out of the anciēt writers who wer troubled with y t sect of y e Maniches which affirmed y t there were two beginnings When it pleased y e almightie to shew foorth his infinit power wisdom goodnes in y e creation of things visible and inuisible bodily spiritually it pleased him for y e illustratiō setting forth of y e glorie of his goodnes to ordeine for so they haue taught me to speake y t euil shuld proceed out of y e frewill of his reasonable creatures And this his ordinance is good For although euil be naught and cursed be he y t saith euill is good yet y t there shuld be euill which is Gods ordinance it is excellēt good If this seem strange to any man I wil make it plain by two manifest reasons the first is the excellencie of goodnes can not so well appeare be knowne as by y e comparison of the contrarie which is euill Therefore it is perfect good that euill should be for the manifestation of that which is good we see that in all y e creatures and workes of the world GOD hath ordained that his glorie should shine in contraries As to the intent y t the beutie and glory of light should be seene and knowne to be such as it is he hath ordained darkenesse For if he had created light to be perpetual without any change of darknes how had it ben possible for men although liuing in the light to haue knowne the excellencie of light so should God haue ben defrauded of y e glory of so beutifull profitable and cōfortable a creature Therfore euen as by darknes we learne how to esteeme light and by bitter that which is sweete and euery other thing by his contrarie euen so by the deformitie of euill we are taught howe great is the excellent comlines of that which is good therfore the ordinance of god that there should be euill is perfect good Althtugh this reason be plaine inough yet the second reason is more manifest euen to y e meanest capacities For y t the glorie of gods mercie might appeare in the saluation of his electe and his iustice in the condemnation of the reprobate it was necessarie that there should be euil and so necessary that otherwise there should haue bene no matter for the mercie and iustice of God to worke vppon For if there shoulde haue beene no sinne nor euill wherein shoulde the mercie of GOD in pardoning and forgiuing of sinnes haue bene seene if there should haue beene no transgression howe shoulde the glorie of Gods iustice haue shined in punishment Ye see therefore that God by no means may be compted the author of euill which he hath not created made or wrought but ordeined that it shoulde proceede from the freewil of his reasonable creatures for the illustration of his glorie Let vs therefore tremble at his righteous iudgementes who doth all thinges according to the good pleasure of hys will and hath made the wicked man for the daye of his wrath as Salomon testifieth and yet by no meanes is the cause of his wickednes If any man bee not satisfied with this answere he may enter further into y e vnmeasurable deapthe of Gods iudgement into which he may rather finde an entraunce thē a way out except it bee to his euerlasting destruction for his horrible presumption You haue heard nowe the iustice of God defended againste the Pelagians and Papistes it followeth that I speake some thing to the confutation of the second enemies thereof which are the Atheistes who because they will not bee troubled with such thornie doubtful questions as these are imagine that they haue founde an easie way vnto wisedome and a solutiō for all controuersies of religion when they say in their harts there is no God Against whose impietie madnes the time wil not serue me to spek so much as their wickednes deserueth yet if time wold permit neuer so large a discourse I could say in effect no more against thē then y e prophet Dauid writeth in the 14. Psalme Amar Hanabal The greatest and most doltish foole of all fooles hath said in heart there is no God But what meaneth the prophet so to befoole them when of all other men they are or woulde seeme to bee the finest witted the best learned and most full of all wisedome and knowledge euen because of all other they are most voide of all true wisedome which although they fansie to thē selues that they only haue found yet is there not one among an hundreth that dare acknowledge it A goodly wisedome that they are ashamed to professe and stand in defēce of it for although they nourish that monster in their hearts are bold sometimes to shew foorth the same where they thinke themselues to be the best learned yet is ther not one of them that dare encounter with a Christian Philosopher to mainetaine by reason that which they holde againste all reason they obiecte perhappes you will oppresse them with the authoritie of Gods worde and the holye Scriptures where vnto they giue no credit nay we wil lay the Bible aside and dispure with them out of the great booke euen out of the beutifull theater of the world in whose creation and preseruation if they can not reade written in great capitall letters the almightie power wisedome goodnes and the iustice and mercie of God in the gouernement thereof they are the most blind blockishe and vnsensible of all other creatures And yet they fancie in their frensie that they haue founde out the greatest and the deepest point of wisedome when they are fallen into the greatest absurditie or follie that can be For what can bee more contrary to reason thē to affirme an effect without a cause or to followe their dreames an eternall effect without an eternall cause Therefore the holy Ghost most aptlie exprobrateth vnto them extreme follie because by their monstruous position of denyinge God they take away the fountaine of all knowledge and wisedome that is the cause of all thinges But as the asse yeeldeth to no other reason but to a clubbe so they are more worthie to be knocked downe with a betle then to be confuted with anie reason which