Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	darkness_n	glory_n	shine_v	2,497	5	9.0823	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09411	An exposition of the Symbole or Creed of the Apostles according to the tenour of the Scriptures, and the consent of orthodoxe Fathers of the Church. By William Perkins.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.	1595 (1595)	STC 19703; ESTC S120654	454,343	561

vaine for men to busie themselues about such things Ans. But we must know that as God hath appointed all things to come to passe in his eternall and vnchangeable counsell so in the same decree he hath together set downe the means waies whereby he will haue the same things brought to passe for these two must neuer be seuered the thing to be done the means whereby it is done VVe may read in the Acts in Pauls daungerous voyage towards Rome an Angel of the Lord told Paul that God had giuen him all that sayled with him in the ship nowe the souldiers and marriners hearing this might reason thus with thēselues Seeing God hath decreed to saue vs all we may doe what we will there is no danger for we shall all come to land aliue but marke what Paul saith except these abide in the ship ye cannot be safe where we may see as it was the eternall counsell of God to saue Paul all that were with him so he decreed to saue all by this particular meanes of their aboad in the ship King Ezechias was restored to his health receiued from God a promise that he should haue 15. yeares added to his daies the promise was confirmed by signe nowe what doth he cast off all means no but as he was prescribed so he applieth a bunch of drie figges to his sore and vseth still his ordinarie dyet Therefore it is grosse ignorance madnes in men to reason so against Gods decree God in his vnchangeable counsell hath decreed set down all things how they shal be therefore I will vse no means but liue as I list nay rather we must say the contrarie because God hath decreed this thing or that to be done therfore I wil vse the means which God hath appointed to bring the same to passe Now followes the Creation which is nothing else but a worke of the blessed Trinitie forming framing his creatures which were not before that of nothing The points to be knowne concerning the creation are many The first is the thing by which God did begin finish the creatiō And we must vnderstande that at the first God made all things without any instrument or meanes not as men do which bring to passe their busines by seruants helps but only by his word commandement as the Psalmist saith He commanded and all things were made In the beginning God said Let their be light there was light by the same meanes was the creatiō of euery creature following The very power of the word and cōmandement of God was such as by it that thing was made had a being which before was not It may be demanded what word this was by which God is said to make all things Ans. The word of God in scripture is taken 3. waies for the substantiall word for the soūding or written word for the operatiue or powerful word The substātial word is the secōd person begottē of the substāce of the father Nowe howsoeuer it be true that God the father did create al things by his word that is by his Sōne yet doth it not seeme to be true that by these words God said let there be this or that that the Sōne is m●nt For that word vvhich God gaue out in the creation vvas in time vvheras the Sōne is the vvord of the father before all times and againe it is a vvord common to the three persons equally vvhereas the Sō is the vvord of the father onely Furthermore it is not like that it was any soūding word stāding of letters syllables vttered to the creatures after the vsuall maner of mē that was the cause of thē it remains therfore that all things were made by the operatiue vvord vvhich is nothing but the pleasure vvil appointmēt of God is more povverful to bring a thing to passe then all the meanes in the vvorld beside For Gods vvilling of any thing is his effecting doing of it And this is prooued by Dauid vvhen he saith He spake the word and they were made he cōmanded and they were created Hence vve must take out a speciall lesson needefull to be learned of euery man Looke vvhat povver God vsed shevved in making the creatures vvhen they vvere not the same povver he both can vvil shevv forth in recreating redeeming sinful mē by the pretious blood of Christ. By his vvord he created mans heart when it vvas not he can vvill as easily create in any of such a nevv heart specially vvhē vve vse the good means appointed for that end As vvhen Christ said to dead Lazarus Lazarus come forth he arose came forth of his graue though boūd hād foot so vvhē the Lord speaks to our dead hearts by his vvord spirit vve shal rise forth of the graues of our sinnes corruptions In the creatiō of the great vvorld God said let there be light presently darknes gaue place the same he cā do to the little vvorld that is to man We are by nature darknes let God but speake to our blind vnderstādings our ignorāce shal depart vve shal be inlightned vvith the knovvledge of the true God and of his vvil as Paul saith God that cōmaunded the light to shine out of darknes is he which hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knovvledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ. Secondly God made all creatures without motion labour or defatigation for his very bidding of the worke to be done was the doing of it And this thing no creature can doe but God onely though vnto Adam labour was without paine before the fall Thirdly the matter the first beginning of all creatures was nothing that is all things were made when as there was nothing whereof they might be made as Paul saith God calleth those things vvhich be not as though they were And indeed in the first creation al things must be made either of the essence of God or of nothing but a creature can not be made of the essence of God for it hath no parts it is not divisible and God made all things that were made out of himselfe or his owne essence the conclusion then is that the framing of the creatures in the beginning was not of any matter but of nothing This must teach us to humble our selves Many there be that stande upon their ancestours but let them here looke whence they came first namely as Abraham saith of himselfe of dust and ashes And what was this dust and ashes made of Surely of nothing wherefore every mans first beginning is of nothing Well then such men as are caried away with their pedigree and descent if they looke well into it they shall finde small cause to boast or bragge And this cōsideration of our first beginning must moue vs to true

wearie but we are faultie herein For with what affection doe we beleeue the communion of Saints when we our selues are as drie fountaines that doe scarse convey a drop of refreshing to others The last meanes is praier whereby Gods Church procureth Gods blessings for the seuerall members thereof and they againe for the whole And herein lies a principall point of the communion of Saints which ministreth notable comfort to euery Christiā heart For hence we may reason thus I am indeede a member of the Catholike Church of God and therefore though my owne prayers be weake yet my comfort is this I knowe that I am partaker of all the good praiers of all the people of God dispersed ouer the face of the whole earth my fellowe members and of all the blessings which God bestowes on them This will make us in all our troubles to say with Elisha Feare not for they that be with vs are more then they that be with them When the people of Israel had sinned in worshipping the golden calfe the wrath of the Lord was kindled made a breach into them as canon shott against a wall but Moses the seruant of God stood in the breach before the Lord to turne away his wrath least hee shoulde destroy them And the prayer of Moses was so effectuall that the Lord said Let me alone as though Moses by praier had held the hand of God that he could not punish the people And some think that Stevens praier for his enemies when he was stoned was a meanes of Pauls conuersion And surely though the●e were no other reason yet this were sufficient to mooue a man to imbrace Christian religion considering that being a member of the Church hee hath parte in all the praiers of the saintes through the world and of the blessings of God that come thereby The third part of this communion is in temporall things as goods and riches whereby I meane no anabaptisticall communion but that which was used in the primitiue Church when they had all things common in respect of use and some solde their goods and possessions and parted them to all men as euery one had neede And by their example we are taught to be content to employ those goods which God hath bestowed on us for the good of our fellow members within the compasse of our callings and to our abilitie beyond our ability if need require Paul saith Do good to all but specially to thē which are of the houshold of faith The communion of the liuing with the deade standes in two things the one is that the saintes departed in the Church Triumphant doe in generall pray for the Church Militant vpon earth de●iring the finall deliuerance of all their fellow members from all their miseries And therefore in the Apocalyps they crie on this manner How long Lord holy and true doest not thou iudge and avenge our bloode on them that dwell on the earth I say in generall because they pray not for the particular conditions and persons of men upon earth considering they neither know nor se nor heare us neither can they tell what things are done upon earth The second is that the godly on earth doe in heart and affection converse with them in heauen desiring continually to be dissolued and to be with Christ. Now whereas the Papists do further inlarge this communion auouching that the Saintes in heauen make intercession to Christ for us and impart their merits vnto us that we againe for that cause are to invocate them to do unto them religious worship we dissent from being resolued that these things are but inventions of mans braine wanting warrant of the word Lastly to conclude a question may be demanded how any one of us may particularly know and be assured in our selues that we haue part in this communion of Saints Ans. S. Iohn opens this point to the full when he saieth If vvee say that we have fellowship vvith him and yet vvalke in darkenesse vve lye but if wee walke in the light as hee is light then we haue fellowship one with another and the bloode of Christ purgeth vs from all our sinnes In which wordes hee makes knowledge of Gods will ioyned with obedience to be an infallible marke of one that is in the communion as on the contrarie ignorance of Gods will or disobedience or both to be tokens of one that hath neither fellowship with Christ or with the true members of Christ. And therefore to end this point if we would haue fellowship with Christ let us learn to know what sin is to fli● frō the same as frō the bane of our soules to make conscience of euery euil way The duties to be learned by rhe communion of the saints are manifold And first of all if we do beleeue the fellowship which all the faithfull haue with Christ with themselues and be resolued that we haue part therein then must we separate and withdrawe our selues from all ungodly and unlawfull societies of men in the world whatsoeuer they be Vnlawfull societies are manifold but I will only touch one which euery where annoieth religion and hindreth greatly this communion of saints that is when men ioyne them selues in company to passe away the time in drinking gaming c. Behold a large fellowship which beareth sway in all places there is almost no towne but there is at the least one knot of such companions he that will not be combined vvith such loose mates he is thought to be a man of no good nature he is foisted forth of euery company he is no body if a man will yeeld to run riot with them in the mispending of his time goods he is thought to be the best fellow in the world But vvhat is done in this societie and hovv do these cupcompanions spend their time surely the greatest part of day night is usually spent in swearing gaming drinking surfetting revelling railing on the ministers of the vvord such as professe religion to omit the enormities vvhich they procure unto themselues hereby this behauiour spreads it selfe like a canker ouer euery place it defiles both tovvne and cuntry But vve that looke for comfort by the communion of saints must not cast in our lotte vvith such a vvicked generation but separate our selues from them For undoubtedly their societie is not of God but of the deuill and they that are of this societie can not be of the holie communion of saints and surely except the Magistrate by the sword or the Church by the power of the kaies doe pull downe such fellowship the holy societie of Gods Church and people must needes decay Excommunication is a censure ordained of God for this end to banish them from this heauenly communion of the members of Christ that liue inordinately and haue communion with men in the workes of darkenesse Secondly by this we are taught that