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
A77486	Brightman redivivus: or The post-humian of-spring of Mr. Thomas Brightman, in IIII. sermons. Viz. [brace] 1. Of the two covenants. 2. The danger of scandals. 3. Gods commission to Christ to preach the Gospell. 4. The saints securitie.	Brightman, Thomas, 1562-1607.; Halsted, John.	1647 (1647)	Wing B4691; Thomason E375_16; ESTC R201349	89,168	128

false Doctrines to arise to seduce many So that the Romish Antichrist arose who challenged the authority of God to himself in abrogating divine Ordinances and making new in binding Conscience in pardoning Sin and in making a God of the Bread and how many follow this worship Now whence is it but that by the just Judgement of God they dash against this Rock which have not received a love of the truth And the same Iudgement of God is among us for when the love of Religion hath long since begun to decay God hath sent such as shall embrace the same in shew onely Hath not this Scandall caused that many who began to professe Religion long since have made yet so small progresse Many that had gone well on are gone backward and few that increasing persevere hence it comes by Gods just judgement that the evill wee see in others we follow as a Banner displayed This is the first Reason of this necessity which teaches that men are farre off from that happinesse they dreaming feyne to themselves while they injoy occasions and liberty of Sin without controlement for then are they carried with the heaviest judgement of God if they had eyes to see it as the Prophets above did bewayle the peoples case in this behalf and such as Christ in justice left the Pharises unto saying Let them alone and the Scripture Hee that is filthy let him bee filthy Dan. 12.10 The second Reason of this necessity is the Depravation of man for it must needs be to wit Mans wicked nature being such as it is confirmed by evill custome As it must needs be that Fire burne and an evill Tree brings evill fruit So it can not be that our corruption should bring forth any thing but evill Not that this depravation was planted in us by our Maker but that wee voluntarily have contracted the same to us in the fall of Adam for if it were in us by Creation it could not bee put off by no meanes nor in no measure As by no meanes the Fire can be made to coole or the Stone to flye and therefore seeing many holy men doe in part put of this Corruption it is apparent it is not Essentiall to mans nature Now the particular Corruptions which in men are the procuring causes and instruments of Scandall are these First a want of the love of God and his Truth Second the want of the Love of our Neighbour Hatred against some private persons love of our estimation profits pleasures honours and in generall the whole corruption of man whereby the tongue is made a Scandall by evill speaking the members of the body by being weapons of iniquity Blindnesse of mind frowardnesse of will perversenesse of affections selfe-love naughty Conscience conceit of ones own wit holinesse and righteousnesse and an aptnesse to receive any evill from another as one body receives infection from another These are the subserving causes to which the Divell insinuates himselfe Vse This consideration doth serve lively to decipher to us the greatnesse of the evill of sinne and naturall Corruption seeing it is a sin and a cause of sin and much woe and misery and in all these takes away all excuse from man as will appeare below The third reason is the finall cause of Scandall which in regard of the Elect is their tryall for it is the will of the Father that the elect be tryed that the chaff may be severed from the wheat that his gold might be purged his power in preserving might shine in our weaknesse and his mercy in our misery And the truth and power of Gods graces might be knowne to be greater while thereby the godly are preserved from the common infection As we admire those constitutions on those receits of Art whereby men living in the midst of an infected ayre and persons are yet free from the infection this consideration affords a double use Vse First It is a singular comfort to the godly in this necessity of so great misery that these Scandals are onely for their tryals and not for their confusion it may be their feet may trip against these blocks so that for a while they may goe slowly forward in the wayes of Piety but they shall never so fall as to depart from God and his truth Math. 24.24 There should be such strange delusions that if it were possible the Elect should be seduced thereby inferring to their endlesse comfort that it is not possible This is the priviledge of Gods children and the staffe of comfort in all miseries Vse Second this may serve to admonish unstable persons as Brownists who if they be the children of God as they perswade themselves they shall not be prejudiced in their Salvation It shall be only for their tryall therefore considering this end why God permits these Scandals it should be an effectuall meanes to strengthen them against them it shall turn to our further praise and glory if we can will and without offence in the midst of a froward and crooked generation And thus much of the Necessity In the fourth place a secret objection offers it self to be satisfied which is this Object That if a necessity be on these Scandals then the Authors thereof are not faulty and this Doctrine may seeme to make men desperate since these cannot be avoided Answ To this Christ answers that this necessity doth not ex●●●pt the Authors of Scandall from bla●● and punishment for there is a double Necessity The first is of Coaction or constraint when by some outward force and not of any internall and voluntary motion one is compelled to the doing of a thing As a stone by force is made to fly upward If such a necessity lay on man as whereby he were made to sin against his will then he were free from all fault But when as this necessity do adde no violence to the will but it is carryed wholly by its owne swing to wickednesse as loving the same this Necessity hath no excuse because it takes not away freedome This is briefly set down but excellently by that learned and judicious writer Doctor Abbot out of Barnard It is a voluntary and miserable free Necessity wherein neither can necessity Note ☞ excuse the Will because it is voluntary nor the will exclude necessity because it is intangled with delight therein Wherein Will takes from man all matter of defence and necessity bereaves him of possibility of amendment of himselfe So that the Will in a strange wise causes this Necessity to her self for there is one way Necessity by the habit of corruption and another way liberty by the free motion of the Will Vse Hence we learne that excuse that men make pleading Necessity is a false plea and unsufficient seeing this Necessity is such as was voluntary and was also contracted and procured by our own default The Philosophers could say That hee that offended by Drunkennesse was worthy of double punishment First for his fault Secondly for his

here who can sufficiently bewayle the blindnesse of men that when their eyes are opened to see that multitudes is no good proofe of a truth and sound Doctrine yet cannot see that it is as deceitfull and insufficient for life and manners yea more deceiveable Because more may see the truth then have grace to practice it that if it hold not in truth of Doctrine it will much more fayle for practice of life as if Treason were naught in one or two yet allowable in a multitude as if one piece of counterfeit silver should be rejected and a thousand of them go for Currant And thus we have seene the misery of the World through Scandals given consider it in Offences taken whence through the great corruption of man not a few evils arise For as was shewed wicked men are offended at the Law many at the Gospell for the Crosse through divisions whence many pretend they know not what Religion to be of many because they hate the godly are offended at their courses they traduce the persons calumniate their actions and make others offended at it Thus Caine was offended at Abels acceptance Esau at Iacobs simplicity the brethren of Ioseph at their fathers love wicked Iudas at good Maries fact the Covetous is offended at the liberall the filthy at the cleane the sluggish Magistrate at the diligent the idle Minister at the diligent Whence comes a new increase of miseries the band of love is broken twixt those of the same place envie repining secret undermining takes place and which is the misery of all while some build diligently others negligently some with good stuffe silver gold others with hay and stubble When will the building be finished and what manner of one will it bee But let us apply this Vse The use of this is First for every one to looke to himself and watch over his own wayes both words and workes for are all these matter of offence and cause of so great woe as hath been shewed O then how carefull should men be of what they say what they do and before whom For be a man never so poore and base thou art threatned this fearfull Woe if thou Scandalize him 1 Cor. 8. Saint Paul shewes two fearfull evils that came of Scandals that makes God so to punish them First the endangering the soule and salvation of man Second the trespasse against the bloud of Christ Now what can be more wicked and unbeseeming Christian profession then to cast away a soule and to cause the least drop of Christs bloud to fall to the ground O the fearfull state of blasphemers prophane talkers loose-livers masters of disorder actors of wickednesse Oh with what feare and trembling should our Salvation be wrought forth Saint Paul on this consideration cryed out that if his brother should be Scandalized through his eating of flesh he would not do it while the World stood Lo love and the care of Paul The second use to all Magistrates and Governours to looke carefully to redresse these evils O how shall they deserve of the Church and Common-wealth For if Christ hath avouched that the World becomes miserable through Scandals ☞ then how much shall they engage their Country unto them if by their meanes these evils be removed then shall they truly bee called gracious Benefactors Thinke it not enough if you can escape the Woe denounced against them that write grievous Lawes If you cannot escape the Woe that comes of Scandals which are rise through your default How doth the Brownists and Anabaptists traduce our Church and draw multitudes after them they all running on the Rock of Scandall in the Church For the many abuses of the Ministry in the entrance and execution of the same Whence they call into question the state of our Church and for personall abuses condemne the sacred Function Now how happy a thing were it that these things were removed that we might have no unsufficient idle or dissolute Ministers who offer strange fire and come before the Lord in their sinnes Such as God himselfe wishes that the Church dores might be shut against Malach. 10. The third use is to the godly to mourne for these to Pray and with patience to wait till the Lord may clense all sorts and degrees that we may be a Holy people and one edifie another in our most holy Faith Fourth here is discovered a two-fold Corruption in man First a great pronenesse and inclination to sin for otherwise there could come no great hurt to others of evill Example but by reason of corrupt nature which as tinder takes the least sparkle of fire and is kindled with the least motion sin being as some herbe or weeds that if but one slip be set in a Garden it will run over it all The second corruption is a great aversion and hatred of good for else how could it be that the good examples of Gods Saints before us should be Scandals to us whereas they are in themselves and ought to be to others great inducements to good and furtherance to godlinesse by their example But that mans corrupt nature is so froward and doth loath good and the meanes thereof It must needs be that offences come Hitherto hath beene spoken of the conclusion or last part of our Sermon reason now followes the second by which the view and sight of our evill will appeare more fully We heard before how heavy a thing a Scandall is and what the misery ensuing was Which had been more tollerable if there had been any way open to escape for evils are then much qualified when there is any refuge for them or avoidance of them But if all meanes of escaping be excluded and all wayes intercepted then a light evill becomes sore As Esay 24.24 Feare pit and snare Amos 5.19 Amos 9.12 Now this doth happen to the Scandals to which above and beyond their own unmeasurable weight there is added as pressing down the burden of Necessity It must needs be Object But whence comes this necessity Ans There is a threefold reason of it The first is from the revenging hand of God for it must needs be that God be just and his justice doth require that his sacred truth and infinite mercy in Christ being offered to the World are contemned and scorned he should suffer Scandals to arise every where wherewith they that would not embrace the truth sincerely being deluded might be carryed away to destruction that those that have loved error and sinne might perish in their own snares and in the fire themselves had made This is manifest 2 Thes 2.11 Examples of this we have in Rehoboam and Jeroboam 2 King 12.15 The like Amos 7.10 And most plainly 1 King 22. Of Ahab who refusing the true Prophets God permitted the Divell to bee a lying Spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets to seduce him This is one reason of Mahometisme and Popery For when the world began to loath the true God he permitted these