Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	harden_v	pharaoh_n	plague_n	2,988	5	10.1557	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68105	The way to well-doing. Or A sermon of faith and good vvorkes Preached in the chappell of Buntingford, in the county of Hartford, at the beginning of their publike lecture. By Iohn Gore, rector of Wenden-lofts in Essex.	Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex.; Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex, Summer sermon. aut; Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex. Winter sermon. aut	1638 (1638)	STC 12087; ESTC S116024	20,619	38

a devill might doe much upon earth but he could doe nothing in heaven therefore say they shew us a signe from Heaven and we will beleeve So here to prevent all misconceites Elias prayed and procures a judgement from heaven and that a convincing a cutting judgement for you must know that the people at that time left off to worship the true God and fell to worship Baall the Sunne the Moone and all the Hoast of Heaven trusting no doubt that these gods of theirs would by their influence so moysten and fatten the earth that they should not need to be beholding to God for any raine now quoth Eliah here is a judgement to try yours gods withall goe to the gods that ye have served let them helpe now or never if they can doe any thing they can send a showre of rayne if not why doe ye serve them I say it was a convincing judgement Eliah did it on purpose to let them see the vilenesse of their Idolatry what base what impotent what unworthy gods they served that could not helpe their clyents to a droppe of raine In like manner whatsoever a man makes his god besides the true one I meane puts his trust in for helpe in time of neede shall at length so deceive him and so befoole him that hee shall bee forced to confesse as these people did in the end The Lord he is God The Lord hee is God 2. Because it was a just and a fitting punishment this people were guilty of spirituall barrennesse and God plagued them with temporall barrennesse No Nation under heaven was so husbanded and manured of God so watered with the dewes of heaven I meane with the meanes of grace and salvation as they were and yet none more unfruitfull in every good worke Now therefore Eliah fits them with a judgement sutable and agreeable to their sinne he prayes to God that it might not raine that so their lands might be answerable to their lives and their foyles become as barren as their soules Thus it pleaseth God many times to pay men in their owne coyne to come home to them in their owne kinde and to fit his punishments according to their sinnes That as they that sinne in their goods by misgetting miskeeping and mispending them are many times punished in their goods by losses and crosses by fire by water c. And as they that sinne in their children by misloving or misnurturing them are oft times punished in their children as David was in Absolom and Adonijah so they that sinne in their lands it is just with God to punish them in their lands Solomon tels us Prov. 21. 4. that the plowing of a wicked man is sinne That is strange the husbandry and tillage of the ground is generally held to be one of the most honest the most innocent the most harmelesse callings in the world and so it is of it selfe and yet wee see when a wicked man takes the plow in hand when a man goes to his plow with an ill minde and an ill conscience his very plowing addes to his sinnes And it is just with God that that land which is plowed sinfully should thrive accordingly and become as bad and as barren as the owner A fruitfull land doth God make barren for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein 3. Because it was a sensible and a palpable judgement As God Almighty told Caine Gen. 4. 7. that hee should be cursed from the earth The Lord knew that Caine cared not to be cursed from heaven and to be banished from the presence of God and branded for a Reprobate but to bee cursed from the earth to be cursed in earthly things hee being a tiller of the earth that would goe nearest to his heart of any judgement Even such is the disposition of every man of the earth as David termes earthly minded men they doe not value nor care to be cursed from heaven to be excommunicated out of the favour of God and out of the blessed company of all faithfull people which censure of excommunication if it be rightly carryed with a Clave non erante as the Schoolemen speake when there is no errour committed in the use of the keyes is one of the greatest punishments under heaven But carnall men are not sensible of this and therefore God will punish them in that wherein they are sensible in their wives and children in their corne and cattell c. in such things as are neerest and dearest to them as when David slung his stone at Goliah if hee had strucke him upon any part of his harnesse hee had never felt the blow but striking him as hee did in the forehead which was naked and tender that sunke him presently so it is with carnall men for spirituall judgements they are harnessed their hearts are hardned their consciences are seared they have as the Apostle speakes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a horny hoofe as it were growne over their hearts that makes them insensible of any spirituall blow that can light upon them Therefore Almighty God knowing in what part they lie naked in what kinde they are tenderly affected namely in their affection to earthly things strikes them there plagues them in that and that sinkes them like Nabal whose heart dyed within him like a stone As we see in Exodus how Pharaoh and the Egyptians hardned their heart and out stood all the plagues of Egypt till God plagued them in their children and that broke their hearts So beleeve it they that care not for spirituall punishments for the losse of Gods favour the losse of heaven the losse and perill of their owne soules God will finde a time to punish them in that which they doe and shall care for in their corne in their substance in that which is neerest and dearest to them As he did these Israelies here because they were not sensible of the want of grace God punisht them with that would make them sensible with the want of raine that when they had plowed and sowne their land and bestowed all their care and cost all should be in vaine for want of moisture to refresh the earth These or the like reasons I suppose might moove Eliah to pray and procure this kinde of judgement By the way if any man desire to know the reason why God is not thus marveilous in the Ministers of the Gospell as hee was in Eliah and those other Prophets of the Law why wee that are his Evangelicall Prophets cannot doe such wonders in our dayes as they did in theirs Answer though that same donum miraculorum the gift of Miracles be ceased in the Church now that the Gospell hath taken roote as Husbandmen when they transplant a tree at first they set props and stayes to shore it up but after it hath taken root they take away the staies and let it grow by the ordinary influence of the heavens I say though the gift of working wonders be ceased yet miracles wonders