Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	evil_a	fruit_n	tree_n	3,899	5	10.3735	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10839	Oberuations diuine and morall For the furthering of knowledg, and vertue. By Iohn Robbinson.	Robinson, John, 1575?-1625.	1625 (1625)	STC 21112; ESTC S110698	206,536	336

Tongues in an Expositour judgment in things That Translation is most exact which agreeth best with the Originall word for word so far as the idiom or proprietie of the Language will bear so as for words or phrases in the Originall proper or common simple or figurative perspicuous or doubtfull words and phrases of the same sort proper or common and so of the rest be put and retained in the version lest the Interpreter bring his own Commentarie for the Scriptures Text. On the contrarie the Commentarie is best which shews most clearly the sense scope and meaning of the Text in what words soever As the Law-maker best knows the meaning of the Law and how it is to be expounded so for the exposition of the Holy Scriptures the Spirit of God as the Authour thereof is first and most to be consulted with by faithfull and earnest prayer from a good conscience that God may fulfill his promise made of giving his holy Spirit to them that ask it and of revealing his secrets to them that fear him And so some speciall Instruments of renuing the Gospels light in the former Age have professed that they learned more this way by prayer then by much studie otherwise There is in a Scripture but one proper and immediate sense others are rather collections from it relations unto it or illustrations of it then immediate senses The literall sense is to be followed as being most naturall what may be and not to be refused if it may stand without danger without blasphemie and according to other Scriptures And here it must be noted that Christ and his Apostles in expounding Moses and the Prophets did not onely infallibly expresse their conceptions and meanings but the meaning of the Spirit speaking in them and that by reason of their more plentifull measure of the same Spirit and experience withall in some particulars as I conceav further then the Prophets themselvs understood albeit they alwaies knew the immediate drift of the Spirit and meaning of the things which they spake and were not as the Pythonists or other the like Instruments of the Divell uttering Oracles which they themselvs understood not The Lawyers have a rule and the same competent to the matter whereof they treat that Laws of fauour are to be extended as largely as may be but odious Laws as they speak as much straitned and confined within the narrowest bounds of interpretation But all Gods Laws and Instructions must in honour of the Lawgiver be expounded in the largest sense that they can beare that so they may reach as far and binde as fast as may be This the infinitenesse of his wisdom challengeth in directing us of his authority in commanding us of his mercy in promiseing and justice in threatning Which by so interpreting and applying his word we acknowledg and honour as is meet And as they are blame-worthy who out of a scrupulous fear lest they should ad to the Scriptures allow them no further meaning then the words expresse so is their sin greater and full of presumption who shorten and straiten the Scriptures instruction to that which is expressed in so many words that they may make room thereby for their own devises A Scripture commandeth promiseth or threatneth whatsoever is contained in it though not expressed And that is contained in it which can truly and iustly be gathered from it though by never so many consequences or inferences though the fewer the lesse dangerous by reason of our weaknesse of discourse Particular words and phrases more obscure are to be interpreted according to the scope mind of the speaker the Holy Ghost in the place which is both in time and excellencie before the thing spoken and that for which the Spirit speaketh as it doth in the place neither is the Scripture profitable except the scope be first found And to hang upon a word phrase or sentence in a Text without looking to the main drift is if any other the character of an hereticall disposition With this that other most necessarie rule hath affinitie namely that the words are to be understood according to the subject matter the words of Law and Gospel according to the different nature of Law and Gospel the words of an Historie Historically of a Sacrament Sacramentally and mystically and accordingly notes of universalitie according to the extent of the matter or person spoken of As we oft finde out learn mens meaning by some of their companie of such as are about them which we could not learn of themselvs so may we gather the meaning of a Scripture otherwise hard to be understood by marking the things which accompanie it and which are above and below as the Iews use to speak and Christians with them Like as the Lamps in the Golden Candlestick did one help anothers light so doth one place of Holy Scripture anothers And though a thing found in one place if in one indeed be as true binde as strongly as if it were a thousand times written yet so to insist upon any one place in a difference as to neglect others is the high-way to error and to loose the right sense by breaking the Scriptures golden chain whose links are all fastened together And as one place must be expounded by another so must the more brief and obscure by the more plain and larg and not the contrarie crosse way for that were not to lighten the darknesse of a Text but to darken its light according to that of the Father The fewer must be understood according to the more and one saying must rather be taken according to all then against all Touching precepts affirmative and negative First They are usually either kept or broken together He who doth not what he should do commonly doth what he should not do If a man be drawn away from God he is easily ensnared by his own lust On the contrarie he that doth his dutie faithfully hath as it were a Supersedeas from the Lord against the temptations of sin and Satan The way not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh is to walk in the Spirit Secondly The receaved rule that affirmative precepts binde alwayes but not to alwayes as negatives do is true being rightly understood We are to take no time for doing evill and but some time for the doing of the best good to wit as we have opportunitie and abilitie Thirdly In the prohibition of an evill we must ever understand the command of the opposite vertue and so on the contrarie He that saith expresly Thou shalt not kill means also as well Thou shalt preserv thy neighbours life Lastly There is both more vertue more vice practised in affirmatives then in negatives It is more good to do good then not to do evill and more evill to do evill then not to do good though both the tree that brings forth evill fruit and that brings forth no fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire The

no man ordinarily desires to seem but good Now if it be a thing so desireable even by their testimonie who want goodnes to appear good how much more to be so in deed what is the emptie shadow to the solid body To shut up this Head As the shadow follows the body so doth the name and fame of good true goodnes with equally-mynded men And in stead of a thousand compasses of devise which men fetch about to obteyn the name of good and vertuous this one short and right-on way of being good indeed would serv the turn for the procureing it from all indifferent and wise judges The most compendious way to this honour is that in truth a man be as he would be accounted sayth the Heathen how much more ought Christians who are perswaded of Gods providence in ordering this and all his other blessings upon themselvs and others thus both to say and think and proceed accordingly And look what recompence of honour or other reward this playn and homely uprightnes which of all other vertues Laudatur alget is denyed from men God who seeth and loveth it will plenteously supply Blessed are the perfit in way who walk in the Law of Iehovah To chuse the right way of Gods law first and then to walk uprightly in it is to be guided by Gods own spirit to heaven CHAP. LII Of Sin and punishment from God WHatsoever swarveth from the law of God written in the table of the heart or of stone whether in our nature or actions eyther in the not being of that which should be or being of that which should not be which two are alwayes joyned together in originall sin and oftens in actuall is sin and evill yea the greatest yea the onely evill indeed Sin is worse then the divell as having made him evill whom God made good yea then all punishments yea then hell it self which God prepared and made and is therefore good to punish sin and sinners by And accordingly it was godlily sayd of one that if sin and hell were set before him the one on the one side and the other on the other that he must needs go through the one of them he would rayther enter upon hell then sin But blessed be God who will assuredly keep them from hell whose hearts are so set to keep themselvs from sin by his grace This sin is incident onely to reasonable creatures God the creator being above sin and unreasonable creatures beneath it For the disorders in bruit beasts they are not sin in them to whom there is no law but punishments of mans sin against God who hath subjected them to vanitie thereby to testifie how greatly he is offended at mans for whom at first he made them and all other creatures in a more excellent state The case of children is otherwise as being reasonable creatures made after Gods image in Adam and having the law written in their hearts as a subject capable both of good and evill which bruits are not Although sin be onely in reasonable creatures yet is it a most unreasonable thing otherwise it were not sin save as it crosses true reason eyther by lust against reason or shew of reason against truth So for particular enormities the more unreasonable the more sinfull as lusts against nature adulterie in a maryed person pryde in a mean prodigalitie in a needy covetousnes in him that abounds in riches prophanenes in a preacher and so of all other vices All sins save that first of Adam and mens very last are both sins in themselvs and effects of former sin and causes of latter and that not onely by Gods just though severe judgment in punishing one by another but oft times also by a kinde of naturall and necessarie coherence and affinitie Sometimes one sin brings on an other by provoking unto it as rash anger unto strife sometimes to back it as Peters denying of Christ did his after forswearing him sometimes to conceal it as all other evils draw on lying and theft murther many times sometimes to mainteyn it as pride doth covetousnes and oppression and sometimes to countenance it that it be not disgraced as Herods rash oath drew after it the beheading of Iohn the Baptist And of these commonly a lesser draws on a greater as lesser sticks set the greater on fire So also by those degrees of iniquitie do men proceed in one and the same particular enormitie in which as in a chayn drawing from heaven to hell each link moveth his next from the one and smaller end to the other greater First there is in a man concupiscence by which he is drawn away from God unto whom he ought to cleave with the whole heart And having once let goe his hold on him the true and unchangeable good he is forthwith seazed by some appearing and counterfeyt good and thereby entised as the byrd by falling on the ground is taken in the s●are from which whilst she held aloft she was free Vpon this inveigled affection and deceaved judgment thereby comes consent of will to have or do the thing which is evill called by the Apostle the conception of lust which that it may bring forth sin in outward act and exequution wants nothing but opportunitie This sin perfited by a continued course therein without repentance brings forth death unavoydably He therefore that begins to do evill or to forsake that which is good in the affection of his heart is like him that puts his feet into a pit and lets the hold of his hands go and without Gods gratious hand catching hold of him can never stay till he come to the bottom of the pit of perdition And no marvayl of this progresse in evill seeing everie sin how small soever in degree hath joyned with it the contempt of God As therefore the safest way against the flame is to quench the spark by which it may be kindled so against this fire of hell to quench betymes the spark of concupiscence and lust This is done partly by withdrawing from it the occasions and incitements of and unto sin which are as fewell for nourishing it as if it be the lust of anger and revenge not to give ear to words of provocation but to be as a deaf man that hear● not If of uncleanenes not to look upon a mayd If of drunckennes or excesse that way not to look upon the wine when it is red c. The second help is by smothering the corruption in the beginning which as fire if it have no vent goes out but getting passage breaks out into a flame Lastly as water fires contrarie quencheth it so do the spirituall means of grace as prayer meditation upon Gods word and the like quench by degrees the sparks of sin and fire of hell The greatnes of the sin is not alwayes to be esteemed by the thing done For as much crookednes may be found in a small line so may