Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	church_n	invisible_a	visible_a	3,670	5	9.2967	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02493	The vanitie of the eye first beganne for the comfort of a gentlewoman bereaved of her sight, and since vpon occasion enlarged & published for the common good. By George Hakewill Master of Arts, and fellow of Exeter Coll. in Oxford.	Hakewill, George, 1578-1649.	1615 (1615)	STC 12622; ESTC S103636	52,423	194

clearing of some controversies then afoot in his time then out of any curiositie of seeing the person of our Saviour CAP 25. That the popish religion consists more in e●e service then the reformed OVR adversaries indeede place a greate and maine part of their superstitious worship in the eie-service in the magnifike pompous fabrick and furniture of their Churches and attiring their Priests in gazing vpon their dumb ceremonies which with very multitude as leaues cover the fruits in beholding the daily elevatiō of their Idoll in the masse for the greatest part hear nothing lastly in fixing their eies vpō pictures and images giuing them the Titles of remembrances for the learned books for the laity And surely I am perswaded that it may very cleerely bee shewed out of the historie of the Church that images never came to bee of that vse in that request which now they are before the preaching of the Gospell grew so cold that the Idoll Priests not able to suffice their auditorie in hearing were forced to set vp and the people content to receaue those Idols for the satisfying of their minds by seeing But S. Paul was of an other iudgem●nt in this case as we may see in the third chapter of his Epistle to the Galathians where hee affirmeth that Christ was described the originall word is painted forth before their eies and among them crucified which was not as some Priests haue sottishly vrged in mine hearing anie corporall crucifix or picture vpō a woodden table or glass-window with materiall colours but a liuelie demonstration in the evidence of the spirit as may be gathered by the words themselues besides the drift of the place and besides all this they haue framed to themselues insteed of an invisible head in heaven a visible head here on earth as if the not seeing of a thing tooke away the not being or working of it and those glorious titles which are given either to the invisible triumphant Church aboue or the militant truly consisting of the elect heere below they for the most part attribute to a visible congregation of the Pope and his Cardinals in their consistory or to the assembly of an oecum●nicall Councell CAP. 26. That the sight of the creature helpeth vs little in the knowledge of God LAstly for the sight of the creatures frame of the visible world as S. Paul sheweth in the first to the Romans it shal rather serue for the inexcusablenesse condemnation of those that bel●eue not thē for the furtherance of the salvation of them that beleeue neither to speake a trueth is the sight of the creature so much availeable to the knowledge of the creator as the vnderstanding of its depending from him and working by him which notwithstāding is rather gotten by hearing then by seeing to grant all that may bee reasonably required in this case yet stil on the other side must it necessaryly bee yeelded vnto that in al the articles of Christian religion howbeit some of thē may be prooved by conclusions drawn from the sight the words of our Savior to Thomas ought to prevaìle with all true harted christians blessed are they that haue not seene haue beleeved it being then most acceptable to God to yeeld our cōsent in beleeving when the experience of sense and the reach of reason most faile vs and vvhen they serue vs best not to assent so much for their sakes of which we haue vse only as men as for our faiths sake alone which properly belongeth to vs as christians There are ●aith S. Augustin in the beginning of his book of the faith of invisible things wh● think Christiā religiō rather to be scorxed thē to be held because in it nothing is demonstrated which may be seene but the faith of thinges which are not seene is cōmanded but for vs we know that we ought to beleeue many temporall things which wee see not that hereafter we may be coūted worthy to be admitted to the sight of eternall things vvhich wee nowe beleeue whence it is that men vtterly void of the sense of seeing bring with them mindes for the most part better prepar'd to religious exercises then the commō sort remember more and practise it better CAP. 27. That the eie of the sense failing that of the vnderstanding spirit waxe more cleare SO ordained it is in a manner by God and nature that as vvhen one eie is deprived of sight the other sees better then it did before or as Iohn Baptist decreasing Christ increased and as the house of David waxed stronger stronger the house of Saule waxed weaker weaker so when the eie of the outward sense growes dull dim the intellectuall eie of reason and the spirituall eie of faith grow more fresh and cleare betweene which three I finde the like proportion as between the life of man in his mothers wōb the world and the kingdome of heaven Thus wee see Paules blindnes in the eies of his sense and the opening of the eies of his vnderstanding to haue happened in a manner at the same instant and in the Ecclesiastical story Paphnutius cōforts Maximus his friend with this speech that the mortal light of their bodyly eie beein extinguished they had gaine● a fuller● fruition of heavenly and immortall brightnes And in the gospell we read not of any on whome our Saviour wrought so many miracles as vpon the blinde in restoring their sight which must needes argue in thē an extraordinary strength of faith the vertue and effect of his vvorking being ever proportioned to the beleefe of those on whom hee wrought To which we may from thence be the more casilie induced to grant assent for that amonge all those blinde men which the scripture names and commends to our consideratiō we finde none of them branded with any notorious vice but on the contrarie many of them of excellent vertue renowned in their ages and commended to posterity as Eli and Sampson both types of Christ Abiiah though blind yet counted worthy to be one of Gods seers Isaac and Iacob both chiefe patri arches and pillars of Gods chosen people of whom the one though he knew not his sonnes when hee blessed them yet in the manner of blessing hee deserved to knowe them by his blindnesse beeing occasioned the effecting of Gods purpose in the preferring of Iacob before Esau and the other having laid his hands athwart vpon his two Nephews Manasses Ephraim would not remoue them according to the advise and desire of their Father Ioseph but fixed thē according to the guidaunce of that light which directed him from within and whē he could hardly see vvith the eies of his body his sons which stoode before him yet with the eies of his minde did hee foresee and foretel what should become of each of them and their issue for many generations ensuing To these may be added out of the new Testament the blind Bartim●●us