Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A26412
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A fannaticks mite cast into the Kings treasury being a sermon printed to the King because not preach'd before the King / by Henry Adis.
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Adis, Henry.
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1660
(1660)
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Wing A581; ESTC R28080
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68,628
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81
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Wife into his House for so saith the Text v. 18. For Pharaoh called Abraham and said What is this that thou hast done unto me Why didst thou not tell me she was thy Wife Why saidst thou she is my Sister So I might have taken her to me to Wife Though Pharaoh sins I say and that ignorantly too as it is clear he did yet his House must be plagued with great Plagues Whence by the way I would have all to take notice That it is not ignorance that will excuse or shroud neither the meanest nor the greatest of men from the sin-revenging hand of God And secondly That God takes special care for his faithful ones so as that he will not respect persons when they evilly entreat them for so saith the Prophet Psal. 115. 14 15. He suffered no man to do them wrong yea he reproved Kings for their sake saying Touch not mine Anointed and do my Prophets no harm And thus as Abraham was travelling towards the South Countrey whilst he so journed in Gerar the Lord reproved Abimelech also King of Gerar for his sake Gen. 20. For Abraham again said of Sarah his Wife she is my Sister and Abimelech King of Gerar sent and took Sarah v. 2. But God came to Abimelech in a Dreame by night and said unto him Thou art but a dead man a sharp Reproof indeed And he gives him a Reason for his so saying For the Woman saith he which thon hast taken is a mans Wife v. 3. Yet saith the Text Abimelech had not come near her v. 4. And Abimelech said Lord wilt thou stay also a Righteous Nation Said he not she is my Sister and she even she her self said He is my Brother in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this v. 5. And God said unto him in a Dream yea I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart for I also withheld thee from sinning against me therefore suffered I thee not to touch her v. 6. Whence I would note also by the way First That he who is the Searcher of the heart and Tryer of the reins takes a perfect account of the bent of the spirits of the Sons and Daughters of Men And secondly That accordingly he either restrains Souls from sinning against him or else gives persons up to commit sin with greediness for so saith the Text And as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge therefore God gave them up to a reprobate mind Rom. 1. 28. But this is that in the seventh verse that makes the Assertion good Now therefore saith the Lord restore the Man his Wife for he is a Prophet and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live and if thou restore her not know thou that thou shalt surely die thou and all that thou hast The like we may see made good in Achans Family Josh. 7. That when Achan had taken of the accursed things that goodly Babylonish Garment the Silver and the Wedge of Gold the Judgement extended not onely to the punishment of himself but also to his whole Family and all that was his for so saith the Text Josh. 7. 24. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the Son of Zerah and the Silver and the Garment and the Wedge of Gold and his Sons and his Daughters and his Oxen and his Asses and his Sheep and his Tent and all that he had And v. 25. They burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones Now the Lord Christ saith Mat. 18. 16. That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every Truth shall be established and I having proved each Particular in the Assertion by two witnesses at the least That God many times punisheth a People for the misactings of their Governours whether in Church State or particular Families And now lest I make my lines too numerous I shall forbear to lay down any Reasons of the Point but shall proceed to some Uses that may be for our present benefit And seeing it is so That God many times punisheth a People for the misactings of their Governours whether in Church State or particular Families This then may serve for a Use of Exhortation to thee O King to thee and to all Kings Princes and Governours of Nations Pastors and Elders of Congregations and Masters of Families as they tender their own good and the good of those that are under them that they walk before the Lord and go in and out before their People in singleness of heart and in the sincerity of their Souls as in the sight of God having a single-eye to the Glory of God and the good of the Souls that are under their charge carefully watching over all their thoughts words and actions so as that they bring not the Judgements of God upon their people by their misactings and to be often with the Lord in Prayer that so they may have his Direction and Protection in all their Enterprises and Undertakings to the comfort of their own Souls and the Peace Benefit and Well-being of those that are under them And secondly This may also serve for a Uâ—… of Exhortation to all Subjects though they be Pastors or Elders of Congregations and Masters of Families as well as Members of Churches or Children or Servants in particular Families that they be often at the Throne of Grace in the behalf of their Kings Princes and Governours and in special that Englands Subjects be often with the Lord in the behalf of their KING who from his long Exile and Restraint is brought again into this Land of his Nativity which is so full of Licentiousnes Luxury and Lasciviousness Revilings Rendings and Tearings Roarings Rantings and Swearings with those Abominations of Stage-Playes May-games and Pastimes Pride and Prodigality that God in Mercy would be pleased to direct his Heart so as that he be not won either to own or allow of them but to disown diswade and discountenance them And that God would farther strengthen both his Heart and Hand to prosecute that lovely laudable prudent pious Conscientious and Christian that truly Noble and most Heroick Princely PROCLAMATION by Him issued forth at his first coming amongst us again and since by him seconded by another that so England though now even a sink of Abominations may by the good hand of God upon us by his industry become as it shall be once said of Jerusalem to be a Praise of the whole Earth And that God would direct him so to consider of his Holy Things as that he present nothing to God but what is Commanded by God that so God may not only Crown him with a Crown of Gold here but also with that Crown of Glory which shall never fade away And that he be thus found Rendring to the Lord considering the danger of the neglect thereof For Hezekiah rendered not again according to the Benefits bestowed upon him but his heart was lifted up therefore wrath was
his Enemies but all in vain so long as he continues an Enemy to God by wicked works For at that time Ahaz sent to the Kings of Assyria to help him v. 16. To whom Ahaz gave gifts out of the Lords House and out of the Princes Houses but they helped him not v. 21. but distressed him v. 20. Whence we may further note That whilst men continue wicked their Blessings become Curses and their hoped for helps hindrances And thus whilst Ahaz is under the sin-revenging hand of God the saying of the Prophet Isaiah is in him made good Isaiah 1. 5. Why should ye be smitten any more ye will revolt yet more and more For with our first Parents in the Garden Gen. 3. 8. Ahaz runs surther from his God and returneth not to him that smote him And with the fierce dog earnestly snaps at the stone that is thrown at him little considering the hand that threw it And thus whilst men are quarrelling at second causes they loose both the Benefit and the Blessing of Gods chastising hand And therefore cannot with David that man after Gods own heart say as once he did Psal. 119. 67 71. It was good for him that he was afflicted for before he was afflicted he went astray but now saith he I have kept thy word Thus whilst David is making a Right improvement of Gods chastising hand upon him he is made sensible of Gods faithfulness towards him which causeth him thankfully to acknowledge the same and to say v. 57. I know O Lord that thy Judgements are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me He now sees the dealings of God herein towards him to be such as that he makes that Sanctified use of it as once Moses the servant of the Lord required of Israel Deut. 8. 5. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart that as a Father chasteneth his Son so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee And so saith our Apostle Heb. 12. 5 c. My son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth Men lie under the Chastising hand of God as Wax and Clay in the heat of the Sun whose heat so Mollifieth the Wax as that it becomes plyable and fit for the Impression of the Seal Whilst the Clay though before soft yet is thereby hardened made stiff and so brittle that it will rather break than in the least conform to the Seal And thus it fares with King Ahaz he grows worse and worse for in the time of this distress did he Trespass yet more and more saith the Text 2 Cor. 28. vers. 22. For he Sacrificed to the Gods of Damaskus which smote him and he said Because the Gods of the Kings of Syriah helped them Therefore will I Sacrifice to them that they may help me vers. 23. Thus whilst men forsake the true God they trust on them which by nature are no Gods And so become as senseless and as sottish as they For they that make them are like unto them And so are all they that put their trust in them Psal. 115. 8. And as if these mis-actings of his were not enough to make him and his People sufficiently Miserable he Crowns as it were all his former Evlls with this tripple Crown of Abominations First he cut in pieces the vessels of the Lords House Secondly he shut up the Doors of the Lords House And Thirdly he sets up a false worship in every Corner of Jerusalem to burn incense unto other Gods v. 24 25. Thus whilst men relinquish their knowledge of the true God they are given up to blindness of Eyes and hardness of Heart To commit all Abominations with greediness for so saith our Apostle Rom. 1. 28 29. And as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them up to a reprobate mind to do those things which were not convenient being filled with all unrighteousness c. And thus whilst Ahaz is committing sin with greedilness Ahaz is made partaker of its wages for the wages of sin is death Rom. 6. 23. And seeing Ahaz will thus forget God in his life time God at length will deprive him of a possibility of remembring him at all for in death there is no remembring of thee And who shall give thee Thanks in the Pit Psal. 6. 5. Ahaz being thus deprived of life Hezekiah now cometh to succeed his Father in the Crown and Government And seeing the several mis-actings of his Father and the sad Consequences that attended both him and his People thereupon is not willing to heir his Fathers punishments And therefore wlll not act in his Fathers sins but makes an evident Manifestation of his experimental knowledge of them and also of his utter Detestation to them together with a Publick Declaration of the intentions of his heart for a thorow Reformation throughout his whole Realm for he gathered the Priests and the Levites together into the Eaststreet Chap. 29. v. 4. and said v. 6. Our Fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the Habitation of the Lord and turned their backs v. 7. Also they have shut up the Doors of the Portch and put out the Lamps and have not burnt Incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the Holy Place unto the God of Israel Wherefore saith he v. 8. The Wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem and he hath delivered them to trouble to astonishment and to hissing as ye see with your eyes for saith he v. 9. Our Fathers have fallen by the Sword and our Sons and our Daughters and our Wives are in Captivity for this And now it is in mine heart to make a Covenant with the Lord God of Israel that his fierce wrath may turn away from us vers. 10. Therefore he calls upon the Levites and the Priests to be active in the Work and not to be negligent in the places God had set them in verse 11. A glorious Reformation is likely to succeed when a Prince not out of Custome but out of Conscience shall begin the Work and the more likely it is to prosper when his zeal thereunto shall thus cause him to provoke them who indeed should have first stirred him up to the Work And in this Reformarion the first work that he enters upon is the opening and Repairing the Door of the Lords House and to cause the Levites to sanctifie themselves and to sanctifie the House of God and to carry forth the filthiness out of the holy Place v. 3 4 5. the direct way to a happy Reformation and as ready a way to have with God a Reconciliation for if the iniquity of our holy things be not done away what will it avail us though we thrive never so well in our secular affairs for saith our Saviour Mat. 16. 26. For what is a man profited if he