Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	earthquake_n	lord_n	wind_n	4,960	5	10.8107	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10038	The godly mans inquisition lately deliuered in two sermons before the right honourable Henry, Lord Montague, late lord high treasurer, priuie counsellor, &c. other gentlemen of worship, at Kimolton on their annuall feast day. By R. Preston, Preacher of Gods word.	Preston, Richard, d. ca. 1624.	1622 (1622)	STC 20285; ESTC S111971	37,702	74

seek with the eye of faith and obedience SEcondly as we must seeke GOD in his owne house so with a spirituall eye as he himselfe is a spirituall substance flesh and bloud cannot see him though they seeke him we can neuer finde him by the eyes of naturall senses but of faith and obedience Gods spiritualtie cannot be pierced with the eye of flesh which seeth nothing but that which is finite materiall visible and circumscriptible as God is not nay if the soule of a man a finite spirit cannot be seene with the bodily eye much lesse the God of spirits who is infinite and of such puritie as the Angels are not able to behold S. Iohn saith No man hath seene God at any time and S. Paul saith God dwelleth in light not to be attained to whom no man hath seene neither can see and therefore concerning the outward sight whereby curious and ignorant men would be glad to see God hardly thinking there is any God when none in this sort can be seene the truth is God cannot be seene Neither are we able to see and finde God by the eye of our mind whilest we are here as it is corrupted the reason is this because all our knowledge is by formes and fashions conceiued in our minde and for the most part floweth from the outward senses but God as hath beene said cannot be perceiued by our senses No man euer saw the glorie of the Lord viz. his Essence and diuine Maiestie no not Moses himselfe neither could he see him expressly with the eye of his minde But thus farre we see the Lord after an obscure fashion we see his loue and mercy and kindnesse to vs in the reuelation of his sonne Christ in his beneuolent gifts of grace in the remission of sinnes iustification sanctification c. But at the last day we shall see him fully in his brightnesse and beautie euen as he is 1 Cor. 13.12 Now we know him in part sayth Paul but then we shall know as we are knowne Grosse are those old Heretiques Vse the Anthropemorphites that gaue to God an humane forme c. The Scriptures speaking after our capacitie giue vnto him the parts of man as feete hands face c. And whereas they alledge some apparitions and visions which the Fathers had as Abraham of three going to destroy Sodome as Lot of two c. I answere that God appeared vnto them not in his nature but in such a forme as pleased him Many saw Sed quod voluntas elegit non quod natura formauit What his will chose not what his nature formed Men saw him when he would in such formes as he would not in his diuine nature wherein he lay hid euen then when he was seene Grosse likewise and ridiculous are our common conceits of God Ignorant people suppose him to be a man in shape and passion like themselues The Epicure who thought there was no happinesse vnder the Sunne but in carnall pleasure imagined God to be of the same sensuall humour and deemed that freedome from busines was his chiefest felicitie And Dauid sayth in the Psalme that the vngodly person who runnes to all manner of excesse ioyning with the theefe and partaking with the adulterer Psal 50.18.21 and opening his mouth with the slanderer thinkes God like himselfe and generally our priuate thoughts touching God are not so holy so reuerent so diuine so full of respect as they ought to be Therefore if we would see the backe parts of the Lord then we must pray to him to open the eyes of our mides to cleere them with the grace of vnderstanding that we may see him now not as he is in his eternall being for that cannot be but as he hath reuealed himselfe mercifully and graciously vnto vs in all his spirituall endowments of grace This is the second thing required in our seeking the Lord namely to seeke him not with the eye of sense or nature but with the eye of grace enlightened and cleered Thirdly seeke God by his meanes Thirdly we must seeke God by his owne light and meanes first by the word in Precepts and Promises This is a Lanthorne to our feete and a light to our pathes by which God may be discerned whom the darknesse of the world cannot comprehend We reade that when God appeared to Eliah before him went a mightie strong winde 1 King 19.11 c. which rent the mountaines but the Lord was not in the wind After the wind came came an earth-quake and after it a fire but the Lord was in neither but then at last of all came a still and soft voice and in that the Lord was And that was it which most affected Eliahs heart for as the Story sayth When Eliah heard it he couered his face with a mantell and went out Whereby the Lord would teach vs that as in the first deliuery of the Law the instrument which God taught them by was a voice he purposely forbearing to present himselfe to their eies in a visible shape least they should stick too much vpon outward shewes so they likewise in following times should trust especially to the same meanes which God as it were by his owne mouth hath sanctified vnto them at the beginning namely a voyce The nature of man rather affects that which offereth it selfe to the eye then the naked and bare instruction of the eare and therefore all counterfeit Religions are full of beautie Images signes and bodily representations wherewith the world is bewitched But the instrument that brings vs to the Lord is his owne word the Lord thought it fitter to informe Moses by the care then to giue him his desire in presenting himselfe to his eye so he doth still hold the same course and hath ordained the sense of hearing to be as it were the pipe by which the sauing knowledge of his will may be conueyed downe into the heart And as for those who will not be instructed by hearing Vse they are sonnes of wrath past all hope of God 's louing presence there is no course though in mans reason neuer so little that is able to recouer them Let it admonish vs if we desire to know God to prepare our eares to the meanes of knowledge Remember what Salomon hath said that it is but the sacrifice of fooles Eccl. 4.17 which all those performe who come into the house of God and are not neare and readie to heare thus much of the word teaching vs that a man desirous to know in some sort or to conceiue the maiestie of God is instructed more largely by the eare then by outward and visible representments A second meanes to seeke God are such signes of his presence as he hath made choice of to reueale his grace in In the old testament beleeuers must seeke him in sacrifices and ceremonies and therein he gaue them gracious answeres The Arke of the Couenant was called the face of God and the seeking of