Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	david_n	hand_n	saul_n	2,591	5	9.7819	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10018	Sermons preached before his Maiestie; and vpon other speciall occasions viz. 1 The pillar and ground of truth. 2 The new life. 3 A sensible demonstration of the Deity. 4 Exact walking. 5 Samuels support of sorrowfull sinners. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston Dr. in Diuinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Ball, Thomas, 1589 or 90-1659.	1630 (1630)	STC 20270; ESTC S120145	80,456	162

so men are taught by nature and sense to expedite themselves out of an evill when they are in it but the greatest point of faith and wisdome is to foresee forecast evill to come and to prevent it Saul when he was in a strait he could seeke to the Lord but then he would not answer him neither by Prophet nor by Vrim nor Thummim Ioab when hee was in extremitie and had no other refuge he could fly to the hornes of the Altar as men use to flye to prayer in sickenesse in danger and extremitie but then it was too late Esau when the blessing was past helpe and recoverie he could seek it with teares But why did they doe it no sooner while it was yet time Certainely it proceeds from a secret Atheisme and Vnbeleefe to which wee are too subject which makes us not to be moved with any forewarnings till we feele the evill it selfe upon us And therefore it is said here Terrible things are done to us that we looked not for Death is a terrible thing yet because it s apprehended as a thing afar off who considereth the shortnesse of his life while its time to make sure his calling and election that his soule may not depend upon uncertainties Hell is a terrible thing to consider that the Soule is immortall and that there is another place to live in for ever and yet who considers this in time and takes it to heart Outward Calamities that befall a Church or a State or a particular Person are terrible but who considers them in time to prevent them This is and ever hath beene the nature of man in all times wee thinke we will doe it modò modò but still wee are put off therefore let us not as those in Amos Put the evill day farre from us and draw neere to the seate of iniquity for those two commonly goe together lest it befall us that Salomon speakes of As the Oxe to the slaughter and the Bird to the snare so we be led to destruction and consider it not till a dart strike through our liver but let us doe somewhat in time and not deferre and put off for the verie delay brings mischiefe When the blow comes as I say every man feares but before we care not but wee do as those who because the hand of the Dyal proceeds insensibly consider not how the houre passeth till the stroke of the Bell giveth notice It is a wise and true saying Extremum stillicidium clepsydram non exhaurit ultimus ictus quercum non caedit It is not the last sand that doth exhaust the houre-glasse nor is it the last stroke that doth overthrow the oake that is it is not the next immediate cause that brings evill upon us as men commonly thinke but it is the precedent acts neglects and decayes that were long before that blow came upon us And who knowes whether we be not now upon the very Tropicks and turnings of Times and yet as it s sayd of old age there is no man that is so old that thinkes he may not live a yeare longer so we are never brought to so low an ebbe but we are apt to thinke we shall hold out yet a yeare and a yeare longer So that as the Lapwing fals before the Traveller and draweth him a little and a little further till at length hee bee quite drawne away from her nest so wee are quite drawne off from doing the things which might prevent those evils that are to come and so terrible things are done to us which wee looked not for The ground of all is partly because wee live by sense not not by faith which wee are all subject unto more or lesse by which we think our present condition shall continue whatsoever it be if we be in affliction wee thinke that shall alwaies continue and if we be in prosperitie wee thinke as those in Esay 56. tomorrow shall be as to day and much more abundant that is an observable place saith the Prophet there is an evill neere unto you and the reason is the Watchmen are blinde they are dumbe dogges they cannot barke c. but looke to their own way every one and yet saith hee my people say Come bring wine wee will fill our selves with strong drinke to morrow shal be as to day and much more abundant I say this is naturall to us Besides another ground of it is because wee see dangers come and goe and passe away and yet the blowes come not upon us and therfore we are apt to doe as that foole that because hee saw the river sliding away standeth upon the shoare and hopeth at length that all wil be past that he may go over dry shod and considereth not that there is a succession of waters which will continue it so wee consider not that God hath an army of sorrows when he hath afflicted us seven times yet he addeth seven times more and if yet we continue obstinate hee can doe it seven times more till at length his wrath swell and grow over the banks and carry all away before it That expression you have in the Prophecy of Nahum Partly it is againe because God is not seene because God is forgotten in the world the creatures which should be as a glasse to help us to see him more clearely they become as thick clouds to hide God from us we look upon the wall of the creatures but we look not upon him that stands behinde it who changeth times and seasons as he doth the weather So that our wisest conjecture of him is as uncertaine as the prognostication is of the raine snow and wind wee are ready to compute future things as wee compute daies and yeares and forget that God that is the disposer of these and so grow bold and carelesse But David thought not so Psal. 31 My times are in thy hands O Lord As if hee should say They are not in the hands of Saul nor in the hands of Doeg nor in any of mine enemies hands to do me hurt nor in the hands of my greatest friend to doe mee good but my times are in thy hands for so thou disposest of them as it pleaseth thee And therefore let us be exhorted to reckon it our greatest wisedome to foresee the greatest danger to come while it is yet afar off Fire may bee giuen to a traine of Gun-powder a great way from the place to which the blow is intended therefore it was a wise observation amongst the Romanes that when Hannibal was besieging Siguntium a City confederate of their Allies which was farre enough from Rome they thought every blow was given to it that hee was even then beating upon the wals of the Capitoll therefore they tooke no lesse care to preuent the danger in such a distance than if it had already seized vpon them So no doubt when the enemy is assaulting the Churches afar off he is even then striking at the roote of this Church

these words is this that The way to haue a sinne forgiuen is to aggrauate it not to extenuate it Samuel here you see when hee goes about to comfort the people he aggrauates the sinne but withall aggrauates Gods mercies and so comforteth them so that the best way to haue a sinne forgiuen is to confesse it to the vtmost First it puts a man into such a disposition as God hath promised forgiuenesse vnto for then we come to see the vilenesse of our selues that wee cannot stand vpon our owne bottome but are empty of all and without God must perish and so are drawne from our selues and all in vs to rest no more vpon our selues but vpon God alone Secondly besides the more particularly sinne is confessed the more glory ariseth to God and shame to our selues And againe it strengthneth vs against sinne another time a full confession of any sinne is a great preseruatiue against it when a man hath looked round about any sinne and considered all the particulars of it it shuts vp all waies to the sinne whereas otherwise when men confesse by halues they liue in some way of sinning The vse is to teach you not to extenuate your sins but to confesse them to the vtmost and this you had need bee exhorted vnto for I doe not know a duty more hard than this though you may thinke it easie men are loth to confesse their sinnes because men are loth to leaue their sinnes till they meane to leaue it they extenuate it if men will keepe any reseruation and are not willing perfectly to forgoe all they will not confesse them fully Againe men want light to see sin fully for we see sin in the circumstances of it no further than wee haue light lent vs from the Holy Ghost as the light is brighter and brighter in the house the more clearely doe we discerne the lest motes so here Againe thirdly there is a selfe-loue in euery one and therefore while we looke on sinne as our owne we are ready to fauour it as Iuda whilest hee looked on the adultery as in his daughter he iudged it worthy of death hee would haue her burnt but when it came to be his owne sinne then the case was altered so Dauid would haue had the man put to death that tooke his neighbours sheepe but when it came and proued to be his owne case God was faine to take a great deale of paines to humble him and to make him confesse it and therefore aggrauate your sinnes in your confessions saying I haue had these and these meanes I haue sinned against the great light againe and againe and brake the couenant that I haue made with God and know that this way you cannot exceed If our hearts condemne vs God is greater than our hearts let vs take a man that apprehends his sinne most fully yet God conceiues more fully of it so as we in our thoughts cannot reach to what hee seeth sinne to bee and herein you had need take paines and search diligently for many sinnes that are great sinnes will appeare at the first to be but small ones as this sinne of theirs they thought it but a small matter at the first it was but chusing of a King that was not any where forbidden and yet Samuel tels them that therein they had first cast away the Lord secondly they cast away Samuel and the Lord in him thirdly they had put trust in Kings And so Dauids numbring of the people seemes to be but a small thing a thing not in it selfe vnlawfull for a King to see what strength hee hath to encounter an enemy but Dauid hee knew his owne heart he knew his owne ends then he cries out he had done exceeding foolishly know this therefore that this yee ought to doe and that the more ye see sinne abound the more ye will see grace abound and so you will loue the more and prize Christ the more and bee more humble and content with any condition Againe obserue One sinne makes much way for another This sinne of theirs had well nigh drawne them to a departing from the Lord now were they in the high way to slip from the Lord quite away The reasons are first because euery act intends the habit of sinne as when any thing is acted it increaseth the habit with which it is acted as euery act of grace strengtheneth the habit of grace so sinne makes the flesh to rise aboue the spirit to get it vnder and so at last to get the victory Because euery sinne weakneth that grace which should resist it as in a disease there is not onely a thing contrary with which health is to wrastle but something also which weakneth the strength by which health should resist and so doth sinne especially great sins seaze vpon the strength takes away the rectitude of iudgement by which we should resist if it be a great sinne it workes as a great disease which seazeth vpon the principal part and therefore is often little felt a small sinne is as a small wound which wee may easily feele because all else is in health but a great sinne is as a blow vpon the head which amazeth vs. Againe committing a great sinne discourageth us from comming to God for pardon and makes vs bold to goe on and seeing wee are ouer shooes we are willing to goe on and be ouer boots too Aster commission of a great sinne God giueth Satanleaue to take possession of a man as Satan got possession of Saul by his enuy at Dauid an euill spirit as is said fell vpon him and he would haue killed Dauid and so Iudas after his resolution to betray his Master the Deuill entred into him and would not suffer him to continue there but to hang himselfe and therefore take heed of falling into sinne for then ye are tanquam in pracipitio so as you cannot stay your selues as in a quicke-sand you sinke deeper and deeper and therefore deale with sinne as you would deale with poison which a man will not let alone to lye long in his body but he will take an antidote against it as soone as he can Another point we may obserue is this that Discouragement and too much feare are great meanes of our departure from God Feare not turne not aside from following the Lord c. There are many things which keepe vs off from comming to God first our strong lusts not willing to giue ouer all nor yet to doe all Secondly our deferring of repentance we can doe it as well hereafter but the greatest hinderance of all other is that which wee haue now named Many will say indeed to enioy the fauour of God is a comfortable thing and to haue assurance of our sinnes being forgiuen but I haue little hope of this I haue such a nature and I haue fallen often and haue so much hardnesse of heart as God will neuer receiue mee