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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	people_n	read_v	scripture_n	3,073	5	5.7739	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34193	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John Conant.; Sermons. Selections	Conant, John, 1608-1693.; Williams, John, 1636?-1709.	1693 (1693)	Wing C5684; ESTC R1559	241,275	626

light that it shine not in upon us to our conviction humiliation and conversion but he makes him shuttings to do it of our own darkness prejudices false Principles and corrupt Affections I now proceed to the third Objection taken from Matth. 11.25 where God himself is said to hide the Mysteries of his Gospel from the wise and prudent Before I say any thing to this Objection I must premise That God in this matter as in other things hath a Prerogative which he makes use of and according to which he acts where and when he sees good He being the Supream Lord of Heaven and Earth as our Saviour styles him in the place whence this Objection is taken may dispose of the knowledge of the Mysteries of his Kingdom as he pleaseth freely vouchsafing it to some and withholding it from others For what can restrain him but that he may do with his own as he pleaseth Matth. 20.15 as in the person of the Householder he argues This good pleasure of God is it into which our Saviour expresly resolveth his hiding the Mysteries of the Gospel from the wise and prudent Matth. 11.26 Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes even so father for so it seemed good in thy sight So then reserving unto God his Prerogative I answer That yet however God's hiding the Mysteries of the Gospel from men may very much and in many cases though not universally be resolved into the sins of men For whereas there are chiefly three ways by which God may be said to hide the Mysteries of the Gospel from men namely by denying to them or removing from them the means of knowledge or by with-holding the effectual influences and operation of his Spirit to accompany the means or by permitting Satan to blind them upon consideration of the matter we shall find That the sins of men have frequently very much to do therein and contribute much towards it though even here the good pleasure of God must also be acknowlegded who permits it so to be and doth not powerfully interpose to hinder it as he might do if he saw good 1. If God deny the Gospel to men 't is often through their thrusting it away and keeping it off from themselves when 't is approaching towards them How often do men oppose themselves against it How often do men decline the light and chuse to live in places of darkness where there are no means or as good as no means of knowledge So if God remove the Gospel from a People is it not most commonly not only for their own sin but by their sin that 't is removed God for their unfruitfulness and unthankfulness for their manifold sins against the Gospel most righteously gives them up to be active and instrumental themselves in putting out the light and sending the Gospel far away from themselves 2. If God continuing the Gospel and the means of grace to a People with-hold the powerful influences and co-operation of his Spirit what is this in effect but a leaving them to themselves suffering their lusts prejudices love of sin and hatred of holiness so far to prevail in them as to shut and bar up the Soul and forcibly to keep out the light or so far to weaken the influences and impressions of it as nothing to purpose is done upon them 3. If God hide the Mysteries of his Kingdom from them by giving them up to Satan to be blinded and deluded by him the thing is still upon the matter one and the same for as hath been at large shewed Satan effects his purpose much by their own sin and makes use of their Corruptions as the Weapons of his warfare against the Soul to keep it under the power of darkness Now to apply what hath been spoken VSE 1. This gives us a true account of the reason of several Practises of the Church of Rome As 1st Of their vilifying and disparaging the Holy Scriptures as defective and imperfect as obscure and uncertain and no better than a Nose of wax that may be turned any way at pleasure that may be moulded and shaped to every man's fancy as one of that Party wickedly and and profanely reproacheth it In short Their making the word written insufficient to inform us touching the matters of our belief and practise and to lead us in the way to Heaven without the help and supplement of Human Traditions 2. Of their refusing to bring their Doctrines Worship and Practises to the Test and Touchstone of the Holy Scriptures alone and of their setting up another pretended Infallible Judge of Controversies not admitting the Scriptures to be the common Umpire and Determiner of them 3. Of their shutting up the Book of the Holy Scriptures and forbidding it to be read by the People so taking away from them the key of Knowledge What 's the reason of these their ungodly and abominable Practises but this He that doth evil hateth the light and cometh not to it lest his deeds should be reproved Their Principles are unsound and rotten wicked and abominable their Doctrine false their Worship Idolatrous their Usages vain and superstitious and therefore they hate the light of the Scriptures that discovers their Errors Cheats and Juglings therefore they decline the light and run away from it they defame and reproach it they shut it up and imprison it they do what they can to extinguish it and keep men in darkness wheresoever they have power to do it But blessed be God that we are not yet brought into bondage by them they have not yet prevailed to deprive us of the light of the Gospel we have free access to the Holy Scriptures the Bible lies open before us in our Mother-tongue O! may we never by our unthankfulness our not improving the mercies we enjoy and our other sins so far provoke God as that he should suffer the Land of our Nativity to be again overspread with that worse than Egyptian darkness VSE 2. This discovers the true reason why many that frequent Publick Ordinances love and affect such Preaching only as comes not too near the Conscience meddles not with their spiritual estate toucheth not their own particular darling and beloved sins A smooth and general Discourse that descends not to the concernments of their own Souls or it may be a serious and smart Sermon that reproves the sins of the Age or the sins of some particular Persons known to them those sins which they thomselves are not guilty of all this they can hear with much patience and perhaps with some delight Mar. 6.20 as Herod is said to have heard John Baptist gladly But if any man shall lay open and set before them the great evil of their own sins the unsoundness of their spiritual Estate while they continue in them the extream danger of their present condition the absolute and indispensable necessity of Regeneration of sincere and universal Repentance of sound Conversion

upon them how great a Mercy then is it and ought it to be acknowledged if God be pleased to give any Man a soft and tender Heart an humble and teachable Spirit if there be a Willingness to attend to wholsom Counsels a Willingness to be instructed to be admonished and when need is to be reproved if God be pleased so to frame a Man's Heart and so to break and take down his Spirit as that he can take Admonitions and Reproofs in good part as that he can receive them patiently and thankfully as that he can say with David Psal 141.5 Let the Righteous smite me it shall be a Kindness let him reprove me it shall be an excellent Oil which shall not break my Head 'T is certainly matter of great Thankfulness if God be pleased to give any Man such a Frame of Heart such a Temper of Spirit If it be thus with you if Counsels Admonitions and Reproofs upon just Occasions are welcome and acceptable to you if you cannot only submit to them patiently but gladly and thankfully entertain them and bless God for them Consider God might have given you up to as great a measure of Obstinacy and Perverseness as that of the most obdurate and refractory Person in the World that scorns to be admonished that hates Instruction and is ready to fly in the Face of any Man that shall reprove him Your Spirit might have risen and tumultuated within you as impetuously your Corruption might have boiled up and run over as violently against any Man that should endeavour to make you sensible of your Sin as his that is most impatient of Reproof or of whatever else might conduce to the Good of his Soul Say therefore to your self Who maketh thee to differ from another Hast thou not the same natural Corruption that the very worst the most obstinate Sinners have And who is it that restrains that Corruption in thee and keeps it from breaking out in the most fierce and violent Opposition against Reproof and Christian Admonition but he that hath placed the Sand for the bound of the Sea by a perpetual Decree that it cannot pass it and though the Waves thereof toss themselves yet can they not prevail though they roar Jer. 5.22 yet can they not pass over it as the Prophet speaks Vse 3. If wicked Men that have long gone on in a Course of Sin may come at length to that degree of Obstinacy and hardness of Heart as that no Admonitions or Reproofs no Calls or Invitations to Repentance no Warnings of approaching Judgments will work upon them then let all impenitent Sinners take heed how they still persevere in their evil Ways lest by degrees they come to this woful Estate that nothing that can be said to them will move them at all or do them any Good will rouze them up or awaken them to Repentance This is a most lamentable Condition a most fearful Estate an Estate to be trembled at And yet in this fearful Estate will your Perseverance in your evil Ways at length end Wherefore let me intreat you to endeavour to break off your Sins by Righteousness as Daniel counselled Nebuchadnezzar to do Dan. 4.27 to break off your Sins speedily while there is any sense of Sin any little Tenderness of Conscience yet remaining before your Heart be so hardned as that you be past feeling before your Conscience comes to be seared as with an hot Iron 2 Tim. 4.2 as the Apostle speaks before you be given up to a reprobate Mind Rom. 1.28 as again the same Apostle speaks Now to the end we may never be thus given up let us endeavour to be always ready and willing to hear whatsoever God shall be pleased to speak whoever be the Instruments by whom he speaks to us Let us endeavour to have both our Ears and our Hearts open to take in and receive whatsoever Counsels Admonitions Reproofs or Warnings shall be given us from him And here let us consider 1. That 't is a thing most pleasing and acceptable to God when a Man is not regardless of what he speaks but seriously minds it takes it to Heart and is affected with it To this Man will I look Isa 66.2 saith he even to him that is poor and of a contrite Spirit and that trembleth at my Word A most remarkable Instance of the gracious Respect that God hath to this Frame of Spirit is that which is recorded in 2 Kings 22. There we find that when Shaphan the Scribe had read the Book of the Law that had been found in the House of the Lord before Josiah the King and all the Curses and Threatnings contained therein as we may suppose Josiah took it so to Heart that he rent his Clothes and sent immediately to enquire of the Lord for himself for the People and for all Judah concerning the Words of the Book For said he Ver. 11 12 13. great is the Wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us because our Fathers have not hearkned to the Words of this Book to do according to all that is written therein concerning us So deeply was Josiah affected with what God had threatned against that People for their Sins But now how did God take it at his Hands that he was thus affected This you may see in the Answer which Huldah the Prophetess of whom he enquired returned him at ver 18 19 20. where she having assured that People that whatsoever Evils God had threatned should certainly come upon them she adds with reference to Josiah a very gracious Answer from the Lord But to the King of Judah which sent you to enquire of the Lord thus shall ye say to him saith she Thus saith the Lord God of Israel As touching the VVords which thou hast heard because thine Heart was tender and thou hast humbled thy self before the Lord when thou heardest what I spake against this Place and against the Inhabitants thereof that they should become a Desolation and a Curse and hast rent thy Clothes and wept before me I also have heard thee saith the Lord Behold therefore I will gather thee unto thy Fathers and thou shalt be gathered into thy Grave in Peace and thine Eyes shall not see all the Evil which I will bring upon this Place 2. Consider that to stop a Man's Ears and to harden a Man's Heart against such Counsels Admonitions and Warnings as God is pleased to give him is a thing highly displeasing to him as from the Scriptures afore-cited appears I now go on to the third Particular in my Text the Course which God was further pleased to take with Manasseh in order to his reclaiming when gracious Calls and Invitations to Repentance and Warnings of approaching Judgments would not prevail The Lord brought upon them the Captains of the Host of the King of Assyria which took Manasseh among the Thorns and bound him with Fetters and carried him to Babylon Whence we may observe