Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	north_n	pole_n	south_n	3,753	5	10.5697	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19499	A mirrour of mercie or The prodigals conuersion briefely, and learnedly expounded, and full of comfortable consolations for all penitent sinners. By William Cooper, minister of Gods word, and B. of Galloway.	Cowper, William, 1568-1619.	1615 (1615)	STC 5928; ESTC S119161	51,916	283

may liue and let no iniquity haue dominion ouer me When he had gathered all This is also a point of the cursed corruption of our nature● that when God is best vnto man then man is worst and most vnthankfull to his God For this the Lord complained on the Israelites That as they encreased they sinned As Pharao when the plague was vpon him spake and looked somewhat like a penitent man but beeing releeued of it like iron taken out of the fire returned to his wonted hardnesse so naturall men when they are pinched and straited with pouerty sickenesse or any other sort of affliction they make then some shew of godlinesse but when God changes there estate and giues them prosperitie and health it becomes their ruine the prosperity of fooles destroies them and their table becomes a snare vnto them as is daily seene by lamentable experience for then are the hearts of men most empty of thankfulnesse and their mouths most filled with the blasphemies of Gods name when their tables and their stomacks are most replenished with Gods benefits most like this forlorne sonne who then went away from his father when his father was most beneficiall to him and had giuen him his portion He tooke his iourney into a farre Countrey We haue here first to consider what is this far country and next how this Prodigall childe went vnto it This country is said to be farre not in regard of the distance of place the Lord measures the earth in his fist and no part of it is farther from the Lord then an other Dauid knewe this and therfore said he Where away shall I slie from the presence of of the Lord. Ionas at the first considered it not in the darkened cogitations of his minde hee tooke his iourney from Ioppe to Tarsus thinking so to flie from the presence of the Lord but hee found himselfe deceiued for euen in the Sea did God erect a tribunall for iudgement and made him there to finde the presence of the Lord where he looked least for it Cain also went out from the presence of the Lord but goe where he would God sate in his conscience This farre country then is to be estimate by the distance of man his will and assections from the Lord this is Longinqua regio dissimilitudinis for then is a man farthest from God when hee is most vnlike vnto God so the Lord himselfe expounds it What iniquity haue your Fathers found in mee that they are gone farre from me walking after vanity and are become vaine And the Apostle to the Ephesians comparing their former estate by nature with that which now they were renewed by grace he saith Yee which once were farre off are now made neere by the bloud of Iesus Christ. Whereof we see it is sin that makes vs to bee farre from the Lord grace againe that bringeth vs neere vnto him Otherwise Satan is not neerer the Lord in the aire then in the helles and the wicked no neerer the Lord in the Temple then in the tents of wickednesse so no longinquity nor distance of place maketh men further from him The superstition of will-worshippers bindes the Lord to particular places at the pleasure of their conception but it is not so Locus non facit sanctos sed operatio sancta locum sanctificat nos peccauit angelus in Caelo peccauit Adam in Paradiso si locus hominem beare possit nec homo nec angelus dignitate sua corruissent It is not the place which sanctifies men but men by holy exercises sanctifie both the place and themselues the Angels sinned in heauen Adam sinned in Paradise if the place might haue blessed the creature neither man nor Angell should haue fallen from their dignity To this purpose Gregorie Nyssen disputing the question whether pilgrimage to Ierusalem sanctifie a man or not answered it doth not Many reasons he giueth among which this is one Loci mutatione ad deum non acceditur sed vbi locorum fueris ad te veniet dom●nus si modo tale in venerit animae tuae diuerrium vt possit in te inhabitare dominus By the change of place men come not vnto God but in what place soeuer thou bee God shall come vnto thee if so be the harbour of thy soule bee such that God may dwell in it And it beeing obiected vnto him that himselfe had iournied to Ierusalem hee answereth and telleth them how and vpon what occasion not to acquire any sanctity by so doing but that at the will of the Emperour Theodose and vpon his charges hee went to reforme the Churches of Arabia and thereafter composed a scisme that had entered in Ierusalems Church but wherewithall he protests Nec hoc itinere imminuta est fides nostra nec aucta That by this iourney neither was his faith empaired nor augmented For I beleeued said he the incarnation of Christ before I saw Bethleem and the resurrection of Christ before the sight of the sepulchre his ascention also before that I saw the mount of Oliues To returne then this countrey farre from God is not to be estimate by the eleuation of the Pole or our distance from it which way the distance of people from people are measured on earth but by the disposition of our harts as they are in similitude with God so are wee accounted farre or neere vnto the Lord and hereby shall wee try it Things that are farre off were they neuer so precious and excellent either else we see them not at all or then they seeme farre lesse to vs then they are The Sunne is many times more then the earth yet doe we account it lesse then our selues The reason is that it is farre from vs when men trauaile so farre to the South that the North pole in there sight comes neere to the earth at length the sight thereof is intercepted from them by the earth it is a sure argument they are farre from it euen so whē men esteeme the incomprehensible maiesty of God who by infinite degrees surmounts the beuty of the Sunne to bee but small in their eies or when in their imagination they drawe down the Lord to assilate or compare him to any thing in earth or when in their affections the earth coms in betweene their soules and the sight of the Lord and the loue of the earth preuailes it is an argument such miserable soules are farre from the Lord. Looke then if your eies bee set to behold him and if yee can say with the Prophet Dauid I set the Lord alwaies in my sight looke how your affections account of him Is he your light your life your ioy your portion is the delight of your soule vppon him is againe the power of his vertue effectuall in you that as the sunne ascending brings a florishing spring so by it ye