Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	cloud_n	earth_n	rain_n	2,189	5	9.5355	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20226	A sermon of Gods prouidence Very godly and profitable: preached at South-shoobery in Essex, by Arthur Dent, Minister of Gods word.; Platforme, made for the proofe of Gods providence	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1609 (1609)	STC 6647; ESTC S116580	16,828	48

regarded vs not The Periapatetickes and other sort of Philosophers broched another opinion teaching that those things which are aboue the Heauens are mooued guided and gouerned by God himself but those things that are vnder the circle of the Moone are gouerned partly by chance and fortune partly by the counsailes and deuises of men partly by a brutish or senceles force of nature There is a third opinion of the Stoicks which is that all things are ruled by fate or destiny that is by a secret order and linke of causes in which chaine all things are so surely tied that both God himselfe and man are straighted within those bounds This was a very dainty opinion in the iudgement of the Poets who to excuse the weakenes of their God Iupiter fained that he wept for that he was so hindered by the force of destiny that he could not set Sarpedo at liberty The fourth opinion is Platoes who graunteth that God by his prouidence ruleth all things in generall which afterward God cōmiteth to petty Gods halfe Gods and diuells who haue the charge and care of particular things From these foure opinions spring all other whatsoeuer touching Gods prouidence and there is no one opinion which may not easily be reduced to one of these But some of vs euen of vs Christians flying one danger run into another for that they dare not deny that God by his prouidēce ruleth al things yet will they not graunt that by it hée gouerneth euery particular thing least they should thereby be driuen as they think to some absurdities thus whilst they would auoide absurditie they commit impiety and fal away from the truth most dangerously But farre bee this frō your heart Right worshipful and that it may neuer possesse you auoid the cause that worketh it in them which is ignorance of the word of God and for that God in great mercy hath kindled in your heart a desire of knowledge quench not that godly desire in you but pursue hotly with hearty and feruent prayer after knowledge and you shall finde it and if you shall finde it you shal●certainely know that there will no absurdity be inforced vpon any doctrine grounded vpon Gods word that you néed not feare this doctrine as they do I wil first discourse breifly of the truth of it and wil proue that God gouerneth by his prouidence al things generally and euery particular thing particularly then wil I answere to al those chiefe obiections which are brought against it and by which some vaine men think to make the doctrine absurde To the first For that this argument hath béene diuersly handled and men haue béene very curious in discoursing thereof espetially since what way soeuer they winde themselues many absurdities doe séeme to follow them it wil be best I thinke for me to kéepe me in the high beaten way least séeking by-wayes I wander out of the way I meane to discourse so of this doctrine as I am taught in the word of God then diligently to remooue al those things whatsoeuer they be not beséeming the most pure nature of God which in the iudgmēt of man shal séeme hereof to follow But if my ignorance were so great that I could not remooue these inconueniences yet notwithstanding are you all Christians bound to receiue with all humilitie this true doctrine to blame me not the doctrine if I be not able to cleare it o●●●l those things which in the iudgement of man may séeme absurd And although it is not my purpose to examine all that Philosophers others say against the gouerning of euery thing by the prouidenc● of God yet in my minde all that they cā say against it may by this one argument be easily ouerthrowne If he be a God which they all confesse though they would deny it yet may it easily bée prooued against them he is a most perfect thing but y ● which is most perfect hath nothing perfecter then it selfe neither can we imagine any thing to be more perfect then that which of it selfe is truly absolutely most perfect therfore there is nothing neither can we imagine any thing to be more perfect then God herevpon I infer if God did not gouerne al things in general euerie thing in particular we might well imagine that there was some-thing more perfect then God euen such a deity which had charge and care of euery particular thing but it is shewed y ● no such deity or Godhead cā be imagined It is false therefore that they herevpon would infe 〈…〉 that God by his prouidence ruleth no● euery particuler thing the contrary is true which we teach for else surely that God which they dreame of to liue idly and at case to haue no care of any thing as they babble is not in truth a God but as Tully somtime said of their maister Epicurus so say I of them that they in words acknowledge a God but in truth deny y ● there is any But leauing Philosophers let vs sée what the Scripture teacheth vs the first place I will vse for y ● proofe of this doctrine I take out of the Epistle to the Hebrues the 1. Chapt. verse 3. where it is said of the sonne of God that Hee beareth vp that is mooueth and gouerneth all things by his mightie worde hee that graunteth that he ruleth al things excepteth no one thing from his gouernment We may then well conclude out of this place of God that God gouerneth all and euerie thing But least I should leaue any starting hole for the aduersary to winde out at let vs further sée what the Scriptur● teacheth vs of the gouerning of euery particular thing by Gods prouidence Neither will I heape vp many places but content my selfe with a fewe examples out of which the truth of this doctrine may be gathered And thus I do endeuour to prooue it briefly All the creatures of God are either indued with y ● gift of frée choise or else want this liberty of choise they that haue it are Angels both good and euill and men also both good and euill they that want this liberty of choyse are all other liuing things created by God also those his creatures which haue no life and yet of all these creatures God hath a speciall care so as he disposeth of euery one of them according to his pleasure The booke of Iob and the Psalmes do very often handle this argument so that if I should gather out of them all their proofes I should write out almost their whole bookes yet some I will bring and leaue the rest for you to gather hoping it wil be a means to bring you to the often reading of them In the 147. Psalme the Prophet saith thus of God hat he couereth the Heauen with cloudes and prepareth raine for the earth and maketh the grasse to grow vppon the Mountaines But the cloudes the raine and the grasse are things without soule

life and yet by his wonderfull prouidence he driueth and ruleth at his pleasure the cloudes in the ayre he sendeth the raine downe vpon the earth and he maketh the grasse to grow In the 148. Psalme the Prophet saith that fire and haile snow and vapours stormie windes doe execute his worde and what is it to execute the word of God but to bee ruled and gouerned by his word it is to be at his beck and pleasure Againe in the 135. Psalme it is said that whatsoeuer pleased ●he Lord that did hee in Heauen and in earth in the Sea and all the depthes hee bringeth vp the Clowdes from the endes of the earth and maketh the lightnings with the raine hee draweth ●●rth the windes out of his treasures 〈…〉 d Christ our Sauiour in the ●●●● Math. biddeth vs learne how the Lil●ies of the field doe growe they labour ●ot neither spin and a little afterward ●e telleth vs that God doth cloath the grasse of the field these ●ew places ●rooue that God hath a prouident ●are ●o kéepe and gouerne euen his lifelesse creatures not onely generally but also particularly as cloudes raine windes crasse fire haile snow vapours lillies and such like the like prouident care he hath for other of his creatures whome hee hath indued with ●●fe and sence but not with rea●on and that liberty of choyce whereof I spake before Wes read in the 147. Psalme that GOD giueth to beasts their foode and to the young Rauen●●hat cric and in the 104. Psalme verse 14. the Prophet saith that GOD causeth grasse to growe for the Cattell ●nd afterward in the 27. verse he saith that all beasts foules and fishes waite vpon thee O Lord that thou maist giue them foode in due season Thou giuest it to them and they gather it thou 〈…〉 penest thy hand and they are fille● with good thinges This also our Sauiour Christ affirmeth in the 6. of 〈…〉 th●w saying behold the sowles of 〈…〉 heauen for they sowe not neither reap 〈…〉 no● carry into the barnes yet y●● Heauenly good Father feedeth the● And in the ●0 of Math. Are not 〈…〉 Sparrowes sold for ● farthing and o 〈…〉 them shall not fall on the ground wit●●ut your Father meaning God by the ●ew places you may sée it sufficien● prooued that GOD hath a prouide● care of euery particular creature v● on whom he hath not bestowed the 〈…〉 liberty of choise whether they ha●● not life or haue life sence and w●● reason Now as for those creatures 〈…〉 whom God hath giuen that gift of fr●● choise which I said were Angels an● m●n some do thinke that God in tru●● hath a speciall prouident care ou●● man whom he made after his owne 〈…〉 image and likenesse but not ouer other creatures which opinion how false 〈…〉 is you may easily gather out of that 〈…〉 haue already written Others do mak● this to be the difference betwéene man 〈◊〉 man that God taketh a special care of ●he godly but casteth away all care of ●he wicked but the word of God doth manifestly ouerthrow this opinion In the 5. of Mathew Christ our Sauiour teacheth vs that our heauenly Father maketh the Sun to rise on the euil and on the good and sendeth raigne on the iust and vniust And Paul in his first Epistle to Timothy the 4. chapter saith ●hat God is Sauiour of all men specially of those that beleeue wherof I gather ●hat God hath a speciall care of those ●hat are his but yet not so as that hee ●aueth y ● wicked to be ruled by chance ●nd fortune for if God haue a care of ●hose things creatures y ● the wicked ●o●●esse as of their cattell grasse and ●orne and such like surely hee proui●eth also for them the owners matters of th●se creatures neither can he 〈…〉 prouident and carefull for the god● but hee must also gouerne and rule ●e wicked according to the pleasure of 〈…〉 diuine power For as a Prince ●nd Generall of an Armie is not ●nely carefull for the Troupes and companies of Soldiers that bee in his host but also for mumtion vittaile necessary for them that hè may haue his army so furnished that it may be a terror to the enemy and may kéepe them amongst whome he lyeth incamped in such dutifull obedience that they may bee ready to doe whatso●uer his Captaines and officers command them so can it not be that God doth prouide for his Church but he most also moderate and gouerne all those things without which his Church cannot be here vpon the earth Such things as appertaine to the nourishment cloathing safe and quie 〈…〉 harboring of the members of th 〈…〉 Church They therefore who ar 〈…〉 not of the true Church are yet for th 〈…〉 benefit of Gods Church to be ruled 〈…〉 his prouidence so are the Patriarch 〈…〉 said to haue found fauor in the eye 〈…〉 of infidels for that the Lord did ru 〈…〉 and mooue the hearts of infidels whic 〈…〉 way it pleased him Now how God ruleth not one 〈…〉 euery particular man but also all th 〈…〉 seuerall actions of men is prooued 〈…〉 〈…〉 t which is in the 16. of the Pro●●rbs commit thy workes vnto the ●ord thy thoughts shal be directed ●nd by that also which is in the 4. of 〈…〉 es goe to now yee that say to day 〈…〉 tomorrow wee will goe into such a Citie and continue there a yeare and ●uy and sel and get gaine aud yet yee ●annot tell what shall bee tomorrow for what is your life it is euen a vapour it appeareth for a little time and afterward vanisheth away for that wee ought to say if the Lord will and if wee liue wee will doe this or that Thus Iames speaking of the act●●ns 〈◊〉 doings of men affirmeth that God ●●leth them all so that without his ●ill wée can doe nothing no not so ●uch as passe from one place to ano●her and Paul confesseth that he was ●●ten hindred and staid by God that ●e could not goe to those Churches hée ●●rposed vntill hee had his iourney ●●anted him by the will of God God ●●erefore ruleth al the seuerall actions 〈…〉 ll men I wil vse onely two exam 〈…〉 to illustrate and make plain this ●●st true doctrine y ● God gouerneth the seuerall actions of all men 〈…〉 good and bad In the history of Iose 〈…〉 many things to this purpose are to 〈…〉 found The end of that history w 〈…〉 that which Ioseph spake of Genesi 〈…〉 you thought euill against mee saith 〈…〉 to his brethren but God disposed it 〈…〉 good In this history these men 〈…〉 their seuerall actions are to be way 〈…〉 First father Iacob then the breth 〈…〉 of Ioseph Ioseph himselfe the Ish 〈…〉 clites to whom he was sold that 〈…〉 huswife his mistris Putiphars w 〈…〉 Pharao and his seruants the acti 〈…〉 of ●ll these persons are diuers 〈…〉 different one from another so 〈…〉 them were laudable