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
A18973	Three sermons vpon Marke, the ninth chapter, 22.23. verses Containing fifteene doctrines, the particulars whereof appeare in the next pages following. / By Robert Cleauer.	Cleaver, Robert, 1561 or 2-ca. 1625.	1611 (1611)	STC 5392; ESTC S118642	34,073	58

strength and food and families and libertie of calling vpon the name of the Lord for this wonderfull fauour of our good God in restraining the diuell his instruments from doing vs mischiefe we should neuer cease to magnifie his glorious name euermore endeuouring to keep our selues in his fauour that so he being with vs and standing for vs we may not neede to feare any of our aduersaries that intend hurt and violence against vs. But if thou canst doe any thing In that this man makes a doubt whether Christ can helpe his child or not and so manifests his infidelitie albeit he was otherwise a godly man this doctrine may be collected hence that Doct. 2. The faithfull tainted with vnbeliefe Gods owne children with their faith haue some mixture of vnbeliefe That this man was a beleeuer may appeare by sundrie circumstances of the text as namely that he came vnto Christ his disciples for helpe and when he found none at their hands did not depraue nor disgrace them but went vnto our Sauiour and that not onely to haue his sonne helped but to haue his owne vnbeliefe cured giuing him this honour to be the author and worker of grace in the hearts of the sonnes of men yet notwithstanding all this he herein manifested his infirmitie that he made question of Christ his power whether he could cast the diuell out of his child or not The scripture is plentifull of testimonies for the confirmation of this point Gen. 12. Gen. 28. 2. Abraham was the father of beleeuers and had a full parswasion in some particulars yet how weake did he shew himselfe when he exposed his wife to euident perill of violating her chastitie by causing her to say that she was his sister that so his life might be spared which otherwise might be endangered as he thought by reason of her beautie as if the Lord could not as well protect him in Gerar and in Egipt as he had done in Canaan and in Mesopotamia Gen. 16. So also in another particular the Lord promised that he should haue a child by Sarah but he had waited long and the promise was not yet fulfilled and now Sarah was altogether vnlikely in the ordinarie course of nature to beare a child in this case what doth Abraham at the perswasion of his wife hee takes Hagar that so Sarah might haue a sonne by her as if God had beene in a straite and knewe not how to bee as good as his word vnles the promise might beare this construction that Sarah should haue a child indeed but by another this was great vnbeliefe in him Dauid likewise had commonly an excellent faith 1. Sam. 24. 26. 9. in so much that when Saul his enemie was in his handes so that hee might haue slaine him and was vrged by his men so to doe or to suffer them to doe it yet hee would in no wise yeeld vnto them to take away Sauls life but resolued to waite vpon the Lord who would take him away in due time either by a naturall or by a violent death and aduance him to the Kingdome in his steede yet after this good resolution he manifested great frailtie and weaknes of faith 1. Sam. 27. 1. for he said in his heart I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul and therevpon he fled vnto the King of Gath and there beeing in perill of his life bewrayed much infidelitie before the king And the like corruption doth our Sauiour oft times reprehend in his Disciples Matth. 8. 26. Luk. 5. Why did you feare ô yee of little faith saith hee and as these particular examples do euidently proue the point in hand so also doth the generall example of the whole Church of which the Prophet Isaiah speaketh thus Isaiah 49. 14. Zion said the Lord hath forsaken mee and my Lord hath forgotten mee if they had affirmed that God had reiected but one member of his Church though it were but one of the meanest as it were the little finger it had beene a great dishonour vnto his Name but that hee should cast off his whole Church was a charge farre more hainous and intollerable and argued a great measure of vnbeliefe in Gods people that either said it or thought it Yet the Lord doth not discourage them for this but rather vseth arguments to confirme and strengthen them Can a woman saith he Vers 15. Verse 15. forget her childe and not haue compassion on the sonne of her wombe though they should forget yet will not I forget thee In which words the Lord telleth them for their comfort that a mother that hath a child sucking on her breasts may sooner forsake it and forget that she hath such an one than he can relinquish them and let his chosen ones slippe out of his minde Reasons Now the reason why the remnants of infidelitie doe still remaine in such as are Gods faithfull seruants are these 1 First because there is in the best a great defect of knowledge as the Apostle witnesseth 1. Cor. 13. 12. and certaine it is that we cānot beleeue more than we know though we may know more than we beleeue and therefore our knowledge being but weake and imperfect our faith cannot be absolute and perfect 2 Secondly there is no other grace of God but is ioyned with imperfections and therefore faith cannot be perfect for if it were it would perfect all the rest of the vertues that are in vs our humilitie would be without any pride our patience without any discontentment our loue without any manner of bitternesse c. 3 Thirdly it is a good prouidence of God that it should be so for otherwise his wonderfull mercie in bearing with vs and his mightie hand in vpholding vs would not so euidently be seene we could not else so easily parceiue how strong the Lord is in fensing vs against dangerous temptations in deliuering vs from violent corruptions in arming vs against boisterous persecutions and in vpholding vs in all manner of tribulations Vse 1. Let this therefore first of all be an instruction vnto vs to teach vs to be more sparing in our censures when we finde defects of faith either in our selues or others The best of Gods seruants as hath beene sufficiently prooued are subiect to many doubtings both concerning the promises of God and concerning his prouidence and therefore when we finde the like in our selues or others let vs not thereupon conclude that we are not of the number of the faithfull for we may haue a true iustifying faith at that very instant when we are full of doubting touching some particular points as may be seene in the examples before alleaged for the confirmation of this doctrine and if God should worke all at once in vs there would be no more imployment for him nor any further vse of the meanes of our saluation Let vs not therefore discourage our hearts as if we had

berest Dauid of his life and so it is with swaggerers and drunkards and such like hellish persons when they haue no enemies to fall out with they drawe their weapons on their friends and many times murder their owne companions which is an euident demonstration of the cruell affection that is in Sathans members euen towards the bodies of men 2 Againe this may be another reason of the point that Sathan carrieth a deadly malice against all the creatures Mark 5. as we may see in his desire to enter into the swine and therefore much more vnto mankind and that not onely against the Image of God renewed by the spirit of Christ but euen against those remnants thereof that are remaining in the nature of man whence it is that he is so violent against their bodies and seekes to torture them as well as their soules as carrying some stampe and impression of Gods workemanship in them This point serueth Vse First for the iust reproofe and condemnation of their follie and madnesse that will vpon any occasion haue recourse vnto Sathan or to any meanes of his inuention either for the relieuing of their estate or the easing of their bodies or the helping of their children or the like howsoeuer such doe in word professe that they esteeme of the diuell as of an vtter enemie vnto mankinde yet indeed they shew the quite contrarie viz. that they rather iudge him to be a friend than a foe for they will runne from God and from their deerest friends to seeke vnto him and preferre his seruice before the seruice of any whosoeuer he be Many will serue the Lord hollowly and their maisters vntrustily but the diuell in good earnest and without hypocrisie wholy applying themselues to fulfill the lusts of the flesh they imagine that there is too much rigour in Gods lawe and too much seueritie in mens dealings and that Sathan is the best and kindest maister of all others he will giue them full libertie to breake the Sabbath to be drunken to be wanton and lasciuious to filsh and steale and to doe any thing else whereunto their sinfull nature leadeth them they may haue any indulgence at his hands without checke or controulement and hence it commeth to passe that he hath such troupes of followers and that almost all the world are his seruants and vassals But these men doe little consider in the meane while what a cruell tyrant and mortall aduersarie he is vnto them yea euen to their bodies Obiect How can that be will some say seeing that such doe liue merily and enrich themselues in the world and come to places of great preferment If to take the courses before named be to serue the diuel surely for ought we can see he seemes to be a kinder maister than he is taken for Answer 5 Nay he is a cruell tyrant notwithstanding all this and that to the very outward man for that we may giue instance in some particulars when Sathan giues libertie to any one to take his swing in swilling and drinking doth he not by that meanes ouerthrow his estate craze his braine blemish his name and fill his body full of noy some diseases and doth not the diuell then take a scourge as it were into his hand wherewith he payeth them home that are giuen ouer to that inordinate course of life So when he giues allowance vnto men to follow their couetous humour doe they not pinch their bellies and depriue themselues o●t times of necessarie foode doe they not restraine their eyes from sleepe in the night and vexe themselues with many painefull cares as what if such a chest should be broken open what if theeues should get into such a chamber what if my seruants should be vnfaithfull at home What if they should not looke well to my cattle abroad with a thousand such troublesome thoughts which doe breake off their rest and impaire their hearts and by degrees drawe dangerous diseases vpon them it would be too much to particularize in pleasures of diuers kinds in gaming in ambition such like wherein when the diuell hath once intangled men he doth keepe them as it were in Bridewell But grant for the time that he is kinde vnto sinfull persons in letting them haue their fill of iniquitie yet he is withall craftie and seeketh to ouer-reach them by subtiltie for he knoweth that his power is limited so that he cannot doe what he would and therefore he laboureth by drawing men vnto such courses as are displeasing vnto the Lord to put them ouer into his hand who as he well knowes both can and will plague and punish them either in body or in soule or in both so that by presenting before their eyes the benefits that they shall reape by sinne he doth but offer vnto them a sugred cuppe which hath deadly poyson in the bottome of it or a goodly faire baite which hath a dangerous hooke in the midsts of it His dealing herein may not vnfitly be compared vnto the counsell which that false prophet Balaam gaue vnto Balac king of Moab who knowing that he could not preuaile against the Israelites so long as they continued in Gods fauour but though hee cursed them yet the Lord would blesse them Numb 24. Reuel 2. 14. hee aduiseth that King if euer hee meant to doe them a mischiefe to vse them kindly and friendlie to bidde them to their wake when they offered sacrifice to their filthie Idoll and there to make them good cheere and withall to offer vnto them some of their fairest women that so beeing drawen to sinne against God hee might execute some iudgement vpon them and this diuellish counsell was that indeed which caused Gods people to taste of his indignation In the same manner doth Satan beguile the sonnes of men hee cannot bring vpon them that miserie and mischiefe that hee desireth and therefore hee stirreth men vp to prouoke the Lord by their pride and voluptuousnes and worldlines or some such like corruptions and then hauing made warre betwixt the Lord and them hee stands by and clappes his hands to see him smiting and plaguing them for their offences Vse 2. Secondly considering that Satan is such a cruell enemie vnto vs it should teach vs to giue vnto the Lorde the honour and praise of our preseruation that notwithstanding wee haue so many thousand mightie and craftie and malicious aduersaries yet wee liue in safetie and doe enioy innumerable blessings of God to our great comfort that albeit the diuell comes neer vs yet he cannot hurt vs and though this rauenous wolfe be euen in the middest of the flocke yet hee cannot spoyle so much as one lambe among them and that howsoeuer there bee multitudes of his Adherents that haue a deadly quarrell against pietie and against the vpholders and maintainers thereof so that no Lyon is more greedie of his prey then they are of the blood of Gods seruants yet wee enioy our health and