Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	corn_n	hear_v	oil_n	3,037	5	9.7075	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96858	Gnōston tou Theou, k[a]i gnōston tou Christou, or, That which may be knovvn of God by the book of nature; and the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ by the Book of Scripture. Delivered at St Mary's in Oxford, by Edward Wood M.A. late proctor of the University and fellow of Merton Coll. Oxon. Published since his death by his brother A.W. M.A.	Wood, Edward, 1626 or 7-1655.; Wood, Anthony à, 1632-1695.	1656 (1656)	Wing W3387; Thomason E1648_1; ESTC R204118	76,854	234

to the consideration of the Supreame Governour and Mover of all I saith God will heare the Heavens and they shall heare the Earth and the earth shall heare the Corne and the Wine and the oyle and they shall heare Jezreel Hos 2. 21 22. Here is the order and concatenation of Inferiour Causes Jezreel crying unto the corne and the corne unto the earth the earth unto the heavens and both corne earth and heavens crying and leading unto God You know that absurdities will follow in Philosophy upon the allowing a progressus ad infinitum i. e. an endlesse rising up of one Cause above another without a non ultra and resting in one Prime and Originall one which may stay and ease the mind in it's inquiries and porings upon the reasons of things The inconveniences that would follow upon such a position were as I conceive next unto the Light of Nature the maine ground and motive that made the Heathen acknowledge a God and hence it was too as I suppose that though many amongst the Heathens maintained the World to be Eternall yet they acknowledged withall God as the Cause of it As the Sun is the cause of light though light be coëxistent with the Sunne True there were some few amongst them who held that God was not the Cause of the world but Austin very well called this their opinion intollerabilis error a most intollerable senselesse errour as being repugnant to the very Light of Nature and convictions they might have from the very Creatures themselves I might here enter very pertinently upon a discourse against the Eternity of the World but it being a businesse of Philosophy and besides having not had time to weigh and debate the matter in mine owne thoughts I shall omit it What remaines is this that God by way of Causality or by our arguing from the effect to the cause may be known in the Creatures The third way by which we may know God in his Creatures is per viam eminentiae which floweth from the two former for because God hath not those Imperfections in Being and Operation as his Creatures have and because he is the Prime Cause and Mover of all things therefore it will follow that he is the most Perfect Being that he doth Eminently containe whatsoever worth and goodnesse is scattered in his Creatures as we may argue and say that because all light that is in the aire be it little or much proceedeth from the Sunne and therefore the Sunne hath it in a more eminent and excellent degree so likewise may we conclude that since all Power Goodnesse Love and the like issueth from God unto the Creatures therefore God hath these infinitely more excellent in him then the Creatures Therefore we read that in God are riches of grace and treasures of wisdome and the like Ephes 2. 7. Col. 2. 3. In the Creature there is no Goodnesse but what is derivative and participated of God but what is dregg'd and allayd with evill and therefore Finite and Limited But now Goodnesse is Essentiall unto God and therefore as himselfe is Infinite Independent pure without measure and therefore as the Sunne hath for these many yeares together scattered light and influence dayes and yeares upon the world and yet doth still remaine the same Sunne as full of light as ever so likewise though God from the Creation of the world hath not ceased continually to bestow and communicate his riches unto his severall Creatures yet he is still the same God as Rich in Goodnesse as ever Wherefore doubtlesse it will come to passe that by these glimmerings and faint rayes of Goodnesse in the Creatures a meere Naturall man an Heathen may conclude that there is a God in whom such Goodnesse dwelleth more fully and plentifully And so much shall suffice to be spoken concerning the second point and the Doctrinall part of my Text let mee crave your patience now but to winde up all in a word of Application and so I shall conclude This should confute the damned Vse 1 Atheists who either in Speculation or Practice doth deny the Being of that Deity whom these creatures doe so clearly represent and voluntarily hoodwinke himselfe from beholding the footsteps of these Infallible things of God in the Workes which he hath done for so saith the Apostle 2 Pet. 3. 5. This they are willingly ignorant of that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the waters Doubtlesse those men were wilfully blind who when the Glorious Booke of the Creatures is laid wide open before them can yet notwithstanding not read the Authour of them for looke up unto the Heavens thou Atheist and view that Glorious cover which every where attires this Lower world and then tell me is it not a God that thus speadeth out the Heavens like a curtaine are not those glorious bodies the Workes of his hands or thinkest thou that Chance or Fortune could so uniformly for so many thousand yeares together turne about that vast body of the Sunne which so constantly as a bridegroome comes out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a strong man to runne his course Thinkest thou that those Starres thou beholdest were set a running by any kind of Fate or that they throw downe their Influences upon us by any designe of their owne without a guidance of Providence Looke down upon the Earth and tell mee who was it that laid the foundations and the corner stone thereof Who was it that founded it upon the Flouds Could it be brought to passe by Chance or any Confluence of Atomes that this little ball of Earth should hang up in the aire thus Immoveable poys'd by it's owne proper weight and not rather reele to and fro and stagger like a drunken man that the wild Ocean doth not challenge the upper hand of the Earth and overflow the surface of it that even the Raine should so strangely ascend up into the Clouds and there be Bottled up for the use of man and that there should be no meanes even in the joynt Powers of all men to unstop those bottles or command the least drop from them From whence come all these things must thou not of necessity say from some Almighty Power who hangeth the Earth upon nothing and who ruleth the raging of the Sea and madnesse of the waves and who bindeth up the waters in the thick clouds and the cloudes are not rent under them There is not a Creature in the world from the highest Heaven to the lowest earth from whence thou maist not copy out a Lesson of the Eternall power and Godhead and in whom as in a glasse thou maist not see the Invisible things of him clearly reflected unto us from the things that are made The serious contemplation of which cannot but make the most Sottish Atheist cry out with the Prophet O Lord how manifold are all thy workes in wisdome hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy

Invisible things of him and since this Light of ours is further improved by the eye of an understanding soule let us not be as the Psalmist cals them Brutish Men that know not these things As Beasts which commonly looke upon this Palace and no more But when we view these Bodies of ours let us endeavour to see a God who covered us in our Mothers Wombe and who still upholdeth these Mud-wals of clay by the Power of his Word When we walke into the feilds there looke upon the corne the Herbs and the grasse let us meditate upon the God of them who once said let the earth bring forth grasse the herb yeilding flowers and the fruit-tree yeilding fruit after his kind and it did so and if so be God so cloth the grasse of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the Oven shall he not much more cloth thee O thou of little faith When thou lookest up into Heaven meditate upon that God which ordained the Moone and the Stars and which maketh Arcturus Orion and Pleiades and the Chambers of the south When thou viewest any Creature consider whose stamp it beares and whose goodnesse is shewne in the creating and preserving of it Lastly let us be exhorted to study God in his Workes of Providence and in his dispensations towards mankind there are many even amongst us Christians who seeing things happen contrary to their desires and Carnall Reasons as the godly to be dejected and the wicked advanced doe implicitely deny a God or at least wise with the Epicureans think that he sits idle in Heaven without any respect or care had unto Mankind whereas did we not measure the depth of Gods dispensations by our owne shallow carnall reasons we might even in the greatest huddle and confusion of things see a God steering and directing them all to his owne Glory Though then thou seest sinne every where even in the streets to abound know also that there is no evill in the City which the Lord hath not done though thou seest the ungodly to flourish like a green bay-tree and with David art puzled with the consideration of it yet with him enter into the House of God and then thou shalt see the end of these men namely how that there is a God who setteth them in slippery places and who onely feedeth them for the day of slaughter Well then to conclude both in the Workes of Creation and Providence we ought to study God because that in them we may read those invisible things of him both of them are as spectacles unto us to help us in the viewing of this Invisible God and though indeed in Christ and in the Scriptures we may read him farre more distinctly yet so long as wee are in these our Earthly Tabernacles we ought to make use of these Representations of his Majesty till the time come when wee shall not stand in need of these spectacles when this glaste of the Creatures shall vanish in the Generall Conflagration of all things and then we shall behold him face to face and enjoy a most glorious prospect of his Divinity in those new heavens for evermore FINIS 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproofe c. WEE are now to speak concerning the perspicuity and perfection of the Scriptures concerning which I shall be more briefe as I told you because they have been so largely handled already by sundry learned men unto the substance of whose writings there can indeed scarce any thing be added unlesse perhaps farther illustration and a more practicall handling of them the perspicuity of Scripture may be inferred from the use of it here set down by the Apostle it is profitable for Doctrine saith he for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousnesse foure uses are here made mention of in Scripture the two Doctrinall teaching of truth and confuting errours the two last practicall correction of vice and instruction of holy conversation from whence I inferre that since it doth thus teach thus convince it must needs carry with it such a light and evidence of truth that neither its doctrines may be rejected through their obscurity nor its arguments gainsayd for want of cleerenesse and since also it is usefull for Reformation of manners and direction in a holy life needs must its rules for this purpose be so plainely set down that every one concerned in such dutys may be thereby instructed unto holinesse the Scriptures may be termed the first Elements of a Christian a Child may go to schoole unto them for saith the Apostle they are profitable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is as the word implyes for instruction of Children even a Child may spell out the Scriptures what is his duty toward God and his neighbour and doubtlesse if a Child may read and understand the Scriptures they are not so obscure so intricate so perplexed as some conceive them to be in prosecution therefore of this point we shall shew 1. that the Scriptures are in themselves perspicuous 2. That they are more or lesse perspicuous according to the diversity of the subjects entertaining them 3. We shall endeavour to shew some reasons why God hath left some places more obscure then other 1. First that the Scriptures are in themselves perspicuous may appeare by severall texts Ps 19. 8. The commandement of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes they are pure and therefore not alloy'd with any muddinesse or clouded with any obscurity they enlighten the eyes and therefore carry along with them such evident plainenesse that he who is not quite blinded may easily perceive the truth of them So Ps 119. 105. Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my paths it doth that is by its perspicuity and clearenesse both as a lampe and light direct me in all my goings hence also it is that the Scripture is called 2 Pet. 1. 19. A light that shineth in darke places denoting out unto us that the word not only in its own nature is light but also that wheresoever it commeth it dispelleth darknes as the Sun at his appearance forceth away the night the foggs and mists as Solomon a man of the profoundest wisedome that ever lived said that he writ to give subtility to the simple to the young men knowledge and discretion Prov. 1. 4. there is in the Word of God such innate plainenesse and perspicuity that the simplest man may thereby be enlightned the youngest instructed but here when we say the Scriptures are plain and easy to be understood we must distinguish concerning fundamentalls and things necessary to be known and circumstantialls or such things whose exact knowledge is not so necessary unto salvation those matters which belong unto a saving knowledge of God are plainely set down such as are the commandements and the doctrine contained in the Apostles Creed but now there are some things which either relating