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	hate_v	hatred_n	1,155	5	10.0548	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58850	The method and means to a true spiritual life consisting of three parts, agreeable to the auncient [sic] way / by the late Reverend Matthew Scrivener ... ; cleared from modern abuses, and render'd more easie and practicall.	Scrivener, Matthew.	1688 (1688)	Wing S2118; ESTC R32133	179,257	416

finde great glorie ascribed unto it and set at the Right-hand of the very chiefest For what is more commended or extolled by the Holy Fathers of old than Virginitie And yet by Saint Austine Humilitie is preferred before it And Humilitie is but one branch of the main bodie of Repentance which therefore must much more excell the other And the same have many devout Hermites said as Palladius relates 11. Lastly How soure and severe soever acts of Repentance may at a distance doe appear to a naturall eye in the midst of its clouds and darknesse light doth spring out and when the greatest agonies for sin and the wounds of a Conscience stung with it smart most sorely there may arise this true ground of consolation that even this repentance as bitter as it may seem is a notable instance of Gods favour for God doth not give such singular gifts but to his beloved and chosen ones and that under his apparent frowns against a Sinner repenting are hidden reall smiles of love to such penitents ' to whome if he had not a speciall favour he would have suffered him with the throng of the world to passe without any remorse or means of readoption holinesse and happinesse but repentance proves the contrarie Which may both support the wearied minde in the midst of crushing sorrowes and excite the secure to undergoe this easie Yoke of Christ all things considered and reduce the fugitive Shulamite the straying Sheep unto the Chief Shepheard of our Soules Christ Jesus SECT VI. That this Purgative Repentance must be generall of all sins and perpetuall 1. AS God looks upon sin and as sin looks against God so must every one that is borne of God in this as other things resemble his heavenly Father There is no fin but God hateth there is no Sinner but hateth and opposeth God there is no sin but fighteth against our Soules woundeth defaceth and defileth the same there is therefore no Christian but ought to hate all sin as David may be understood when Psalm 139. he saith Doe not I hate them O Lord that hate thee and am not I grieved O Lord with them that rise up against thee I hate them with a perfect hatred even as though they were mine enemies So that he not only submitteth to but afterward demandeth a search to be made in his heart whether any kinde of iniquity lurketh there perhaps unbeknown to him which ought to be expelled 3. Learned Masters of Christian doctrine tell us that God cannot forgive absolutely one sin and leave another unpardoned and much lesse can a man denie one sin and embrace another no more than a Fornicatour can cease to be such in disliking one whorish Woman and choosing another Nor may he be said to repent that he hath abused his bodie by such unrighteous practices but that haply he had to doe with such a person so is it with the Sinner that forsaketh not wholly but changes his sin As if he hath in his young and wanton dayes lived luxuriously and prodigally and in his declining strength and yeers should begin as the Prodigall to be in want or ayme at the raising of a Family and leaving an ample Patrimonie to his Posterity and so take up basely now sparing as he spent basely formerly he may flatter himselfe and sometimes like a notable Convert and mortified person condemn his youthfull follies and mad exorbitancies and moreover speciously blesse God that he sees his errour past and securely blesse himselfe in his late wisdome and abstinences but all in vain yea more perniciously than before if he turnes pinchingly abstemious denying himselfe many things after the manner of true Asceticks and renouncers of the world and all this out of a new espoused vice Covetousnesse which infatuates his judgement so far as that he flattereth himselfe in his own eyes as it is Psalm 36. till his iniquity be found to be hatefull or Till his abominable sin be found out 3. For God who abhorreth commutations of Vertue for Vice much more abhorreth commutation of one Vice for another Whence it is that Saint James so expresly affirmeth Cap. 2. v. 10 11. Whosoever keepeth the whole Law and yet offends in one point is guilty of all For he that said Doe not committ Adultery said allso Doe not kill Disobedience Rebellion or but contempt of Gods commands is seen in one sin as well as in another And though all stains or spots upon the Face or Clothes be not of the same colour yet as they are stains and defilements are they to be equally cleansed And it is all a case whether a man be wounded with a Knife or a Sword or bruised with a blunter Weapon to his no lesse danger All Vertues are linked together in prudence faith the morall Philosopher for as much as without prudence men must needs offend even in doing good things And all sins are founded and grounded upon folly even those which carrie along with them a pretense and shew of witt and cunning all sin being errour and all errour proceeding from ignorance affected or involuntarie And all sins being managed by disobedience against God a man cannot heartily and sincerely apply himselfe to obey God in any one point unlesse he beareth about him a disposition to fulfill the will of God in all things commanded by God. 4. And this Rule extendeth it selfe likewise to our dutie towards our Neighbour whome having seen and not having seen God if we love not we deceive our selves as St. John teacheth us 1 Epist 4. 20. He that useth despitefully the Image of his Prince sheweth his malice against his Prince himselfe And no cheating or violence doth a man out of covetousnesse and desire of revenge offer to his Brother but for shame or fear or inability he would use to his Father allso yea to God himselfe This doth appear by profane blasphemous and outragious speeches often used against his God as the malice of a bitter spirit and tongue when the hands cannot reach him For I cannot but think that a man covetously bent to any great degree would if it were possible couzen God of what he hath as well as his Neighbour and tear from him by violence what may serve his turne as he sticketh not to doe from his poor and weak Brother when he is in the power of his hands But no man is made innocent from impotencie of offending And no man acquiescing in any one fault or Vice unrepented of can pronounce himselfe clean from any or hope to obtain pardon for any one 5. Again as Repentance cleansing us must extend to all manner of sins so that no man can deserve the name of a true penitent who is angerly inclined and not covetously or lustfully given and not a Drunkard or Proud and not unjust or a zealous censurer of profanenesse and deboistnesse and yet worldly or contumacious against Just Autority so must the same repentance be generall as to time allso that is

the Country nor Pietie in Church nor Learning in both nor beautie especially amongst Women nor Riches amongst any defend men from this evill Spirit possessing men when emulation hath first leavened the minde of the envious For even for his honestie and unblameable integritie did Aristides of Athens finde his name enter'd into the list of them who were to be banished for ten yeers and demanding a reason thereof from the Writer He answered I cannot tell who this Aristides is but this I like not that he should be so esteemed for Justice And a more horrible instance than that is given in Church-history of the mischief of Maliciousnesse in Nicephorus an Old Monk and Sapritius a young Professour who being had in greater esteem than the other gave unwillingly such great offence to him that he could not endure him and would admitt of no humiliation or reconciliation till the Spirit of Grace wholly deserting him when both were called to martyrdome the young man suffered cheerfully and constantly but the Old envious Father denied Christ So that most truely as well as Divinely said Solomon Proverbs 27. 4. Wrath is cruell and Anger is outragious but whoe is able to stand before envie A reason whereof may be that complaint of holy David Psalm 55. If it had been an open Enemy that had done this I could have borne it c. Anger and wrath are acts of open hostilitie and may better be either opposed or declined than the dark Plotts and privie wounds which Envie giveth to its Enemie and which declares its monstrousnesse and unnaturallnesse to its Friend who indulging to himselfe that Vice like the Vulture in the Fable preyeth upon the Liver and nothing commendable in it is to be found but what Saint Basil acutely observeth saying Envye is good for nothing but to mischief the owner 5. Against this Evill the remedie may be First to consider the absolute Master God All-mighty is of his own and that all things we enjoy are more properly Gods than ours who have the use of them And that to repine at the happinesse or prosperitie of another is to call in question Gods Wisdome and Justice in ordering his Familie and setting some of his Servants in higher places and giving them greater Offices than to others without which the world could not be well administer'd or subsist And the envious Spirit should consider that if the quite contrary were appointed and thou who enviest anothers greatnesse in Riches Honour or Prosperity in the world wert such the envious eye might as justly dart its spitefull arrow against thee as thou doest against him and so never would there be quiet and content in the world Let that righteous Document therefore here take place Doe as thou wouldst be done to and envie no more than thou wouldst be envied in the like cases 6. Secondly Learne to seek the honour of God and to preferre that above all things in the world and become like to that communicative nature of God who giveth to all men yea to all things liberally and grudgeth not If that which is bestowed upon another went out of thy store and thou wert lesse great because another was greater than thee or thou loosedst so much of thy beautie as another is fairer than thou art or thou wert the leaner because another was fatt and fairer If there were fear that Gods Fountain would be so exhausted by the affluence another enjoyeth from him that there remained not sufficient for thee then like hungrie Currs feeding greedily at the same Carcase men might worrey one another or if what was given to any but our selves were lost to God then murmuring and envying might be more tolerable but 't is far otherwise the Universall Good and Giver is not diminished or impoverished by the plentie of another more than of thee And so the Nation is no lesse Learned when another excells than when thou And the Kingdome is as honourable and strong and prosperous and happie when another is in place and power and flourishes as much and possibly more than when thou excepting personall imperfections and infirmities to which thou art as subject as another and much more art to be suspected of future personall failings and errours as thou more vehemently aymest at great things and covetest an evill covetousnesse to thy selfe For seldome is it seen that he who most passionately strives for great Places Commands Dignities or Riches uses them as he ought to doe when he attains them But as it happened to the lusting Israelites Psal 106. 15. He gave them their request but sent leannesse into their soules God filleth some mens Bellies and Purses but leannesse and emptinesse afflicteth their Soules And what a bad exchange is that and how much more to be pittied than envied 7. On the other side Thirdly consider we what benefits in singular manner matter and measure God may have dealt to us which he denies to others objects of our envie and a stay and stop will necessarily be put to that Distemper Are not trueth humilitie quiet and tranquillitie allmost proper to Persons of low Spheres and mean Fortunes and Innocencie much better observ'd in contemning than courting the world to be preferred before those tempting opportunities of transgressing by fullnesse and Power While the weak eyes of the envious are dazled at the lustre of others if they could reflect upon themselves and duely weigh all circumstances they may finde cause to blesse themselves in the solider part of happinesse above the envied and therein to acquiesce cashiering such an ignoble Passion 8. Fourthly If men thorowly consider'd the chief Authour of Envie in a man and that the Devill is he who both gives force and findes materialls for this Sin to work by he would hate it as the pit of Hell and the Prince of darknesse himselfe For St. Basil that great Philosopher as well as Divine supposing what Poets and naturall Philosophers deliver of the malice or mischievousnesse of an envious Eye doubteth not to affirme that it proceeds from the influence of the Devill who tempereth his Poison with the raies of the eye of the Spirit embittered with Envie shot at the envied Person to his ruine divers times Unlesse therefore men resolve to preferre the Devill before Christ as he that is more serviceable to the lusts of men dreadfull should this notorious Vice appear to all good Christians 9. But we not having so learn'd Christ nor Christ having so taught us but rather often inclucated by Precept and by Example led us to that heavenly Vertue Charitie let that as comprehending many if not all meanes of purging out this old Leaven of Malice as the Apostle speakes be the last argument now to be used to that end Charitie saith St. Paul is the very bond of perfection Coloss 3. 14. Charitie or love fulfilleth the Law. Rom. 13. 8. and ver 10. Love worketh no evill to his Neighbour And to the Corinthians 1 Epist Chap. 13. 4 5 6. Charitie