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	scripture_n	write_v	8,544	5	5.9050	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10734	The benefite of affliction. A sermon, first preached, and afterwards enlarged, by Charles Richardson preacher at Saint Katharines neare to the Tower of London	Richardson, Charles, fl. 1612-1617.	1616 (1616)	STC 21013; ESTC S119812	42,110	112

I am bolde to ioyne you all together in the dedication of this Sermon I confesse in it selfe it is not worthy the acceptance of any one of you But seeing it hath pleased God to make you all instruments of much good and comfort vnto mee and I know not whether I shall euer haue opportunity to publish seuerall things in euery one of your names in particular I haue thought good to take this occasion to manifest my thankefull acknowledgement of the kindenesse of you all in generall which hath beene extended not to me onely but to many others of my calling For I may truly giue this testimony of you that you haue all shewed great loue to the faithfull Ministers of God and when any of them haue resorted vnto you you haue according to the Apostles precept Phil 2.29 receiued them with all gladnesse and made much of them The matter of this Sermon is concerning affliction whereof you haue all had your portion more or lesse and therefore the Doctrine contained in it doth fitly appertaine to you all But especially to you my good Ladie Scot whom the Lord hath caused to drinke deeper of this cuppe then many others But as it hath pleased God hitherto to support you with grace and patience so I doubt not but hee will in his good time make a blessed end with you as hee did with Iob Iames 5.11 Psal 90.15 making you glad againe according to the yeares wherein you haue seene euill If these meditatations of mine may minister any comfort vnto you or to any other in the like case I shal thinke my labour well bestowed And thus presuming that you will kindely accept of this my poore seruice which in my sincerest affection I tender vnto you I commend all your Ladiships to God and to the word of his grace who is able to build you further and to giue you an inheritance among them that are sanctified Your Ladiships in all duetifull affection CHARLES RICHARDSON Errata Pag. 7. li. 4. reade diuers tentations pag. 9. li. 17. reade borne pag. 10. li. 18. reade siluer lin 26. reade army pag 11 li. 4 reade were constrained pa. 28. li. 10. reade concerning inward tentations is true also of outward affli●tions pa 35. li. 10. reade strange pa. 40. li. 5. put out And. ●a 41. li. 18. reade broken in pag 45. li. 6. for violent reade godly ibid in marg lege malacia THE BENEFITE of Affliction Psal 119.71 It is good for mee that I haue beene Afflicted that I may learne thy Statutes IF it bee lawfull to make comparisons betweene one part of the holy Scripture and another Psal 119 129 2. Tim. 3.16 which is all most excellent as Dauid saith being inspired by one and the same blessed spirit of God wee may truely say that there is no part more worthy then the booke of Psalmes and in them none more full of heauenly instruction then this Psalme The author whereof is generally agreed vpon to be Dauid whome the Scripture hath stiled The sweete singer of Israel 2 Sam ●3 1. Who as he had a good facultie in the art of diuine Poetry a great dexteritie in penning of Psalms to the glory of God and the edification of his Church so it is euident that he shewed the excellencie of his skill in composing this Psalme being there vnto occasioned and excited by the great afflictions that were vpon him For the Psalme seemeth to haue beene penned in the time of his exile and banishment whereby hee laboureth to confirme his faith by many comfortable meditatiōs of the word of God The matter of the Psalme containeth many instructions and prayers all tending to direct vs in the way of godlynesse The generall proposition of it is this that they that are truely godly are truely blessed and that they are truely godly that are acquainted with the word of God and are carefull to frame their liues according to the directions and rules thereof And therefore he laboureth by many arguments throughout the whole Psalme and especially by his owne example to stirre vp all the children of God both to the continuall meditation and due practise of the word The Psalme as it is the longest of all the rest being diuided into two and twentie seuerall parts so it is more curiously and more artificially penned then any of the rest For first all the parts and diuisions of it are of equall length each of them consisting of eight verses Againe euery diuision in the originall beginneth with an Hebrew letter according to the Alphabet and euery verse in that diuision beginneth with the same letter And last of all Verse 122 there is not any verse in the whole Psalme but one which maketh not some mention of the word of God and hath not some title or other to set out and commend the excellencie of it As it is called the Lawe the Testimonies the Waies the Precepts the Statutes the Commaundements the Iudgements the promise the truth the ordinances the name of God c. Now the reasons why the Prophet is so exquisite in framing of this Psalme is to commend the excellencie of the matter contained in it that so wee may be stirred vp to regard it with greater attention For where the Lord is curious in speaking there should we be most diligent in hearing and learning As also it was no small helpe to the memory for being written in the Hebrew tongue it was to the Iewes in steed of an holy Alphabet which they might learne as our children doe the A.B.C. Now concerning this ninth part of the Psalme wherein this verse that I haue read is contained the Prophet hauing first thankfully acknowledged Gods mercie in dealing gratiously with him Ve s 65. he maketh his petition to be further taught instructed in the knowledge of Gods will Vers 66. Which petition he vrgeth and inforceth with diuerse reasons First because hee had beleeued Gods Commaundement in the end of that verse A second reason is taken from his former vntowardnesse and vntractablenesse that hee had beene like an vnruly beast Vers 67. that would not keep the way without beating Where by the way hee sheweth the benefite that the children of God doe receiue by the crosse Namely that it subdueth the vntamednesse of their nature and maketh them liue in better order After this he repeateth his former acknowledgement of Gods goodnesse Vers 68. and renueth his petition to be taught backing it with another reason in the two next verses And in this verse hee repeateth that which hee said before concerning affliction though in other words It is good for mee that I haue beene afflicted that I may learne thy Statutes Wherein wee are to consider first the person that was afflicted and that is Dauid himselfe It is good for me that I haue beene afflicted Secondly the fruite which hee found in his affliction which is propounded first generally It is good for mee

one and the same motion causeth the dung to stincke horribly and the ointment to smell most sweetely So that afflictions are like the red Sea wherein the Aegyptians were drowned and the Israelites saued Vse 2 Secondly it serueth to comfort all Gods children in the middest of the greatest afflictions that can befall them It is the infirmitie and weaknes of our nature to thinke that affliction is a token of Gods anger and that if any extraordinary crosse doe befall vs we presently feare that God hath forsaken vs. But as we heard already though God afflict vs with many and heauie crosses yet we are neuer the lesse deare vnto him neyther doth hee loue vs any whit the lesse An Heathen man that neuer had experience of the loue of God to his children had yet a glimmering of the trueth of this point a Seneca Dc diuin Prouid Dost thou not see saith he that fathers loue their children farre otherwise then mothers doe They would haue their children stirred vp betimes to vndergoe labor toile cause them to sweat yea somtimes to weepe But mothers desire to cherish them in their bosoms to keep them in couert shelter they would neuer haue them weepe they would neuer haue them sad they would neuer haue them take paines In like maner saith he God hath a fatherly affection towards good men and loueth them not effeminately but manfully and exerciseth them with labors with sorrows with losses that so they may gather true strength and hardnesse So that the greater that our afflictions are the better may wee be perswaded of the loue of God yea the more comfort we may take in them For God hauing promised 1 Cor. 10 13 that Hee will not suffer vs to be tempted aboue that wee are able we may assure our selues that God seeth wee haue strength to beare them or else he would not put vs to encounter with thē When a Captain hath a piece of seruice weighty and full of danger hee will not send a coward or a white-liuered fellow about it but hee maketh choice of those that are stoutest and of whose valour and courage hee hath had most experience and to them he committeth the charge of that busines So dealeth the Lord with vs. In his great wisedome and mercie hee proportioneth his afflictions according to that measure of strength which hee seeth in vs. When a Physition hath to deale with a Patient that is of a strong constitution hee ministreth to him strong purgations But if hee be weake and feeble hee prescribeth for him milder potions In like manner our heauenly Physition maketh the cup of our affl ctions more bitter or more milde as hee knoweth hee hath giuen vs ability to beare the same And so long as hee strengtheneth vs by his glorious power wee neede not care what crosses wee meete withall for wee may be sure they shall not hurt vs. For as so many riuers which daily do runne into the Sea Sen. de diuina Prouid and such aboundance of raine that falleth continually into it from the Cloudes and such a multitude of fountaines that spring from the middle of the earth doe not change no nor any whit abate or diminish the salt sauour thereof so the violence and force of afflictions doth not alter the minde of a violent man but he abideth in his estate and whatsoeuer befalleth hee bringeth it into his owne colour And on the contrarie side there is no greater cause of discomfort then when wee are altogether free from aiflictions And therfore one calleth a secure life which is not subiect to crosses the dead Sea affirming that when a man hath nothing to stirre him vp and pricke him forward nothing to trie the constancie and firmenesse of his minde Non est tranquilitas malicia est Seneca epist 68. but lieth bur●ed in idlenesse it is not tranquility but a dead calme Againe this is no small argument of comfort that God beholdeth vs in all our troubles and afflictions as it is said of the people of Israel Exod. 2.25 when they groand vnder the bondage of Pharao that God looked on them and had respect vnto them Though they might thinke in regard of the miserable slauery which they indured that God had quite forgotten them and his promise made to them and their fathers yet it was otherwise his eye did still behold them Neithet doth the Lord looke vpon vs as an idle beholder or as one that taketh pleasure to see our misery but with compassion and a tender regard As hee saith in the former case Exod 3.7 I haue surely seene the trouble of my people which are in Aegypt and haue heard their cry because of their taske-maisters 8. and I know their sorrowes Therfore I am come downe to deliuer them c. 9. And loe the crie of the children of Israel is come vnto me and I haue also seene the oppression wherewith the Aegyptians oppresse them Where we see that the Lord taketh to heart the afflictions of his children Iudg. 10 19 zach 2.8 And his verie soule is grieued for their miserie and it goeth as neare him Psalme 56.8 as if a man should touch the apple of his eye He regardeth their sighs and groans Malac. 3.16 and their teares hee putteth in his bottell hee registreth their words and complaints Exod. 2 23 There is a Booke of remembrance written for them that feare him and all their cries come vp to him It is true that the Lord somtimes seemeth to forget neglect his children in the time of trouble As our Sauior Christ being in the ship with his Disciples was asleepe till the ship was couered with waues and they were all like to perish Iohn 11 6 When he heard that Lazarus his friend whom hee loued was sicke he did not presently goe to visite him to cōfort his sisters but abode stil two dayes in the place where he was so as Lazarus was dead buried before he came there But when hee hath sufficiently tryed humbled them he returneth speedily comforteth thē and so disposeth of their afflictions as hee alwayes enableth them to get the victory For Orig. de prin lib 3. cap. 2. as they that had the ouersight of the wrastlings and combates among the Heathen did not suffer the combatants to begin the conflict hand ouer head nor arme them confusedly all alike but making diligent examination as they saw mens bodies and ages they were carefull to match like with like and to furnish them with weapons fitte for them In like sort the prouidence of God disposeth and ordereth after a most equal maner all those that descend into the conflicts of this life so as one encountreth with the flesh another with pouerty another with sickenes another with infamy another with persecution and putteth vpon euery one of thē diuers kinds of armor and furnisheth them with greater or lesser strength as