Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	holy_a	read_v	scripture_n	8,342	5	5.9261	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10817	The day of hearing: or, six lectvres vpon the latter part of the thirde chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrewes of the time and meanes that God hath appointed for man to come to the knowledge of his truth, that they may be saved from his wrath. The summary pointes of every one of which lectures are set downe immediately after the Epistle dedicatory. Herevnto is adioyned a sermon against fleshly lusts, & against certaine mischevious May-games which are the fruit thereof. By H.R. Master of Artes, and now, minister of the word.; Day of hearing: or, six lectures upon the latter part of the thirde chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrewes.	Roberts, Huw, b. 1558 or 9.	1600 (1600)	STC 21089; ESTC S102956	70,687	163

a humane hardening or the hardening of God and the the hardening of man and yet the one of these doeth not harden without the other for God hardeneth not Pharaohs heart but that Pharaohs owne will is the cause of it his hardening proceedeth not from any other but frō himselfe And therefore the scripture saith that Pharaoh harde●ed his heart Neither for al that E●od 9. 34. doeth Pharaoh harden his owne heart but God doeth it iudicially or according to his secret iudgements for the kings heart is in the hand of the ●ord Pro. 21. 1. But when it is said that God hardeneth the heart we must not so vnderstand it as if God should make that hard which before was softe and tender or of it selfe was not hard For the truth is that all men are borne with a hard heart and darke vnderstanding even with a heart of stone like the Adamant of the which wee haue heard already And for this cause the Lord saith by his Prophet I will take away the sto●●● 〈◊〉 36. 26. heart o●● of your bodie and I will giue you an heart of flesh God therefore is saide to harden the heart when as he denieth his grace and the fire of his holy spirite to mol●●fie and soften that which is naturally hard even as when the heat of the fire is denied to the softening of the hard and vntempered waxe This is called of some a pr●vatiue hardening because God detaineth his grace from men for iust causes which are not knowne to vs. Beside this God hardeneth after an other manner when he doeth not only suffer the heart to remaine in that hardnesle and obduration which it hath by nature but doeth also externally harden it more and more by his ministers For as we may see in 〈◊〉 Pharaoh was made more obstinate hard-hearted by the ministery of Moses and Aaron then he was before hee had heard ●hese men And in these daies we haue too much expetience hereof by seeing vngodly men to become the more froward and malicious the more that they heare Gods worde and are taught by his ministers This is Gods iudicial hardening of the heart whereby in his iust iudgementes hee punisheth the former sinnes of men and for this purpose he commandeth his ministers as it is written Make the heart of this people ●at make their eares heavie Isa 10. shut their eies least they see with their eies and heare with their eares and vnderstande with their hearts and convert that I might heale thē Here we see how and wherefore God hardeneth the heart Now the humane hardening or the hardening attributed to man himselfe is that which the text that we handle warneth vs to beware of if yee heare his voice harden not your hearts This hardening of the hart is nothing else but a voluntary purpose and intent of man to continue in sinne and not to follow nor obey the doctrine of Gods everlasting trueth howsoeuer it be preached vnto him as hereof we haue examples in king Saule in Iudas in Iuhan the Aposta●● and others ' but specially in Pharach whom the scriptures do set before vs as a notable paterne of a disobedient and hard-hearted man After this maner thhrefore the Israelies in the wildernesle hardened their heartes by grudging and bitter strining against Moses when they wanted water notwithstanding they had the word of the Lord among them This is it Exod. 17. which the Apostle putteth vs in minde of when he saith harden not your hearts as in the p●ov●●ation And this is the hardening wherewith man hardeneth his heart even his own perverse will and purpose of sinning wherin he persisteth and so becōmeth the minister of death perdition to his own soule Now the cause of all hardening of the heart is sin and the custome of sinning For Moses saith Phiraoh sinned againe and hardened his hearte Exod. 9. 34. There Pharaohs sinne goeth before the hardening of his heart VVherefore consider how fearefull and dangerous the custome of sinne is it bringeth hardnesse of hearte which denyeth obedience to the worde of God and despiseth his holy ministery and so groweth to fulnesse of sinne the wages whereof is death eternall Let the consideration Rom. 6. 23. of these thinges cause you with feare reverence to hear the Gospel of your salvation and before you come to heare it bee careful as the Apostle exhorteth to cast away euery thing that presseth downe and the sinne that Heb. 12. 1. hangeth so fast on that whē the Lord speaketh by the mouth of his mess●gers you may haue cares to hear hearts to vnderstād be in a readmes to heare his voice to say with Samuel speake Lord for thy servāt heareth Here 1. Sam. 3. 10 we see that as there was a voice hard so there was a readines to hear it Here ●od did speak here man was prepared to heare him But this exāple of obediēce preparatiō to heare the Gospell which is more glorious speaketh better thinges then the law is too rare in our age For most men and women though they resort to church and to Christian congregations are yet in the time of divine exercise of the word of God more ready to speake then to heare They are more ready to pray by themselues and to offer vp a sacrifice of their owne superstition then either to heare reading or preaching of the holy scriptures or to consent with one mind to the common praters of the whole church if the time so require yea and some are not content to be thus farre superstitious but wil also giue themselues to read on some praier booke when God speaketh to them out of his booke of life Such blinde devotion of men and private repeating of words out of due time and place must needes be a sacrifice not accepted but reiected of God For it cannot be the fruit of faith because you haue not so learned Christ and whatsoever saith the Apostle is not of faith is sinne Rom. 14. 13 Marke a speciall doctrine of that famous preacher Salomon touching this point take heede to thy foote when thou enterest into the house Eccl. 4. 7. of God and be wore neere to heare then to giue the sacrifice of fooles for they know not that they d●● evill If they know not that they do evil then they do it of ignorance But it is evil saith he and we are taught that Christians must abstaine not onely from evill it selfe but from al appe●●●nce of evill Yet because nothing is so 1. Thess 5. 22. evill but if it be commonly vsed seemeth to be good and men will needs defend it so to be as in this case some are wont to say that when they giue themselues to pray privatly in the church they doe it that they may be the better prepared to serue God But as the Apostle saith to the Corinthians which came disorderedly to the receiving of the