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
A09442	Lectures vpon the three first chapters of the Reuelation: preached in Cambridge anno Dom. 1595. by Master William Perkins, and now published for the benefite of this Church, by Robert Hill Bachelor in Diuinitie. To which is added an excellent sermon, penned at the request of that noble and wise councellor, Ambrose, Earle of Warwicke: in which is proued that Rome is Babylon, and that Babylon is fallen	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Hill, Robert, d. 1623.	1604 (1604)	STC 19731; ESTC S114472	318,460	389

with him in his glory in heauen Ephes. 2. 7. 2. Cor. 6. the Saints shall iudge the world that is shall be witnesses and approuers of Christs sentence not that they shall haue power to giue iudgement but they shall be caught vp first and he giuing sentence they sitting by him shall approue it Secondly he giueth vs this power because he by this inables his in their owne person to ouercome sin the world and their owne corruption By this we see our dignitie euery seruant of God hath power ouer nations ouer the world to rule and breake them in peeces to iudge and condemne them Is this our priuiledge then we had need to take heed of all sinne for we cannot condemne other men of sin and be guiltie of sin our selues For it is a great disgrace for a Iudge to condemne a malefactor of murther or theft and be guiltie himselfe So Christ if we be full of sinne and make no cōscience of it he wil neuer let vs sit to iudge the world with himselfe Then seeing we are Kings Iudges and haue such priuiledges we must looke to our selues Againe this is our comfort in persecution if thou be the child of God thou art a King a Iudge though thou be now poore abused and persecuted yet the time cometh when thou shalt iudge and condemne thy persecutors and be auenged of them And rule the nations as a shepheard ruleth his sheepe that is to gouerne and feed them Iohn 21. Feed my lambes that is feed and rule Hence the Papists gather Peter was the generall Bishop to guide and feed Christs sheepe that is the world but then euery Christian should be a Pope for euery one hath power to rule the nations ouer the whole world but none will say euery one should haue so large authoritie then it is not meant of supremacie Further from this place the Papists gather that Saints be patrons of countries and kingdomes secondly that we may pray to Saints in heauen for say they they haue rule of nations ergo they know them and what they do But they abuse the text for it is not said any Christian shall rule ouer one nation but ouer all indefinitely neither do they rule as Christ but as hauing benefit of his power Again both their collectiōs are bad for by nations here is not meant any country or kingdome but the wicked onely they haue rule ouer not all nations simply but wicked men and vnbeleeuers And I will giue him the morning starre Here is the second benefit promised by Christ to him which ouercometh namely the morning starre with all the benefits which come thereby The morning starre is that starre which riseth before the Sunne some time of the yeare and by heathen men is called Venus which in deed is Christ himselfe Reu. 22. 16. Now Christ is called a star first because he illuminates mens wils and vnderstandings in things belonging to saluation secondly to shew that the prophesie of Balaam Num. 24. is now in the new Testament fulfilled for now Christ hath by his Apostles reuealed himselfe plentifully to all nations Againe he is called the morning starre for speciall resemblance for that starre riseth not at midnight or in the beginning of the night but in the morning in the beginning of the day and then shineth brighter then all the rest So Christ the true morning starre came not in the beginning of the world or in the middest of it but in the latter age he came in the new testament and fulnesse of time and now he reuealeth his will more fully then euer in the old testament 2. Pet. 1. 9. Christ then is called this morning starre for in the old testament they had darknesse and candle light but now Christ shineth out brightly I will giue him Here is a promise of two benefits first perfect illumination and lightning whereby all ignorance shall be dispelled after this life and men shall then so farre know God as mans nature can comprehend The second benefit is the light of glory not onely of knowledge but perfect glory for by fellowship of this glory of Christ we shal be made like Saints and Angels shining starres in the kingdome of heauen Seeing Christ is a starre we see how they be deceiued which liue in sin and ignorance without good conscience in pleasure and securitie and yet they thinke they belong to Christ they haue the true light but such as liue in blindnesse neuer seeking to know Gods will obey him these are in darknesse haue no light in Christ for what fellowship is there betwixt light and darknesse We must follow Peters rule first labour to haue this starre to shine in our hearts which is when we vse meanes to haue the beames of this Sun to shine on vs to get knowledge in the mystery of our saluation by Christ to haue this Sun of righteousnes to lighten our minds and withall to warme and refresh our dead soules as the sun in the spring reuiues all things which seemed dead We must set open the doores of our hearts and entertaine this comfortable light Seeing Christ is the morning starre not that shines in the night but in the morning in the day time we must labor to leade our liues in godlinesse and sobrietie as children of the light Rom. 13. 12. and if we will not walk in this light it shall be taken from vs and we shall be cast into eternall darknesse Let him which hath an eare Here is the second part of the conclusion but of this often before CHAP. III. VERSE 1. And to the Angell of the Church of Sardis c. THIS is the fift particular commandement to Iohn that he should write an Epistle to that great and famous citie of Sardis The Epistle hath three parts first a Preface secondly body or substance thirdly a conclusion First the Preface sheweth in whose name the Epistle was written to giue it the more authoritie It containeth a liuely description of Christ in his kingly office as he is the soueraigne head of his Church and that in two royalties and priuiledges first in that he hath the seuen spirits secondly the seuen starres For the first I shewed what it meaneth chap. 1. vers 4. namely the holy Ghost who is the author of all grace so that to haue the seuen spirits is as much as to say he had the holy Ghost Ob. All Gods seruants haue the holy Ghost therefore that is no peculiar priuiledge of Christ. Ans. True but not in the same maner for Christ had it two wayes first in regard of his Deitie secondly of his humanitie First as he is God he hath in him the beginning of the holy Ghost for the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and the Sonne Therefore Christ is said to send the holy Ghost and to worke by him and whatsoeuer he doth in the Church he doth it by him and for that cause Christ is said to haue the seuen spirits

Fathers will deliuereth it to his Church to his Prophets and Apostles and they to vs. And his face shone c. For as the Sunne is to the world so is Christ to his Church Now as the Sun performeth two duties to men so doth Christ the first is to giue light and driue away darkenesse to take away the night and bring the day so Christ he is the Sunne of righteousnesse Malach. 3. He giueth the light of knowledge to his seruants he sendeth the light of the word which can dispel darknes and enlighten his people in the knowledge of his will and word Then are we bound to labour aboue al things for knowledge of his will and word First when the day dawneth we set open our doores and windowes to receiue the light and comfort of the same now Christ is in the midst of his Church he sendeth light he shineth clearely being the Sonne of righteousnes then we must open the doores of our hearts and the windows of our soules and consciences to receiue his light and comfort into vs. Seeing Christ giueth light by his word we must in all our life be guided and directed by that light We are pilgrimes going through a vale of misery and darknes Christ is the light he shineth as a blazing torch we must then do all our duties by direction of this light we must in all our wayes haue our eyes fixed in this word which is the sonne of light and direction The action of the Sunne is to warme and comfort dead and cold bodies and to reuiue them as we see in the spring time it reuiues those creatures which before were as dead with cold so Christ giueth not onely light but life he giueth spiritual comfort to bodies frozen for cold he comforts them reuiues them by his spirituall heate and for this is called the Sunne of righteousnesse comforting our cold and frozen hearts in sinne and iniquitie Then we must labour aboue all things to be partakers of this spirituall life and comfort which cometh by the spirituall heate of Christ. As men will in winter go into the Sunne to feele the heate of the beames so must we come out of our sinnes get into the sun-shine of Christ that his beames may streame vpon vs plenteously to haue life conueyed to our benummed and dead consciences We will seeke to haue honour riches preferments and pleasures of this life but Psa. 44. we should desire the Sunne of righteousnesse to shine on vs with the beames of mercy to haue him quicken our dead hearts with the heate of his holy spirit That we may haue this spiritual life we must die our selues ere we cā liue to the Lord we must first be killed ere we be made aliue If we wold liue to God we must suffer the two edged sword to pierce to the heart to cut vp and cut off all our corruptions to suffer it to enter into vs to ransack our rebellious harts and to be thrust to the hilts that so it may diuide betweene the spirit the flesh pare off al the rottē flesh of corruptiō in vs for when we are killed to our selues discouraged in regard of our own sins we are most fit to be made aliue to God A body which is almost dead for cold is the most capable of heate and when we are thus cast downe in regard of our sins then we must labor to haue the comfortable beames of Christ to shine in our hearts to warme and to quicken vs and his fauourable countenance to shine on vs which if we haue though we haue neither honour riches nor preferment yet we haue enough and if we want that heate all things else are nothing The third worke or action of the sun is to discouer all things In the night nothing appeareth all haue one forme but when the Sunne cometh with his light all things appeare and a man may in the beames see the very motes so Christ the chiefe sunne seeth all things and he will discouer all nothing so secret which is hid from him nothing so close which his eye seeth not he knoweth and he can and will discouer all mens actions yea their secret thoughts Seeing Christ knoweth all our thoughts so as he can make thē manifest and open note that though we may liue so as men cannot iudge of our hypocrisie yet Christ seeth our dealings as the sunne is manifest to our eye so our actions are cleare to his eye This should make vs take heed to all our waies and workes that we do or thinke nothing but as in his presence for we cannot blind his eyes but he seeth it euen as clearely as we see the light of the sunne If men of occupations would consider this that all their actions are cleare to Christ they would not commit so much crueltie and iniustice there would not be so many sins practised of vs dayly as there are And when I saw him I fel at his feet as dead In these seuenteenth eighteenth verses Iohn proceeds to describe our sauior Christ as God gaue him a vision by other arguments that is by his actions The first action is contained in these seuenteenth and 18. verses which is a confirmation of S. Iohn being greatly afraid and this confirmation is the whole matter and substance of these two verses In this note two things first the occasion secondly the meanes The occasion mouing Christ to confirme S. Iohn in the second part of the seuenteenth verse the meanes in the end of the seuenteenth verse in the eighteenth The occasion was an exceeding feare of death which made Iohn as dead as appeareth by Christs comforting of him In this feare note 3 things first the cause secondly the effect of it thirdly the kind of feare The cause in these words And when I saw him c. which was the appearance of Christ to Iohn in his maiestie and glory which made Iohn exceedingly feare S. Iohn seeing the maiestie and glory of Christ he is exceedingly afraid and astonished as a dead mā We all by nature since the fall of Adam are fearefull sinners Before he fell he walked talked with God face to face but after his fall he fled and hid himselfe he could not brooke his presence because he had sinned and since his fall mans frailtie and weaknes is such that he cannot abide the presence and maiestie of God but as Manoah Iudg. 13. 22. seeing an Angell of God said We shall surely die because we haue seene God shewing that the presence of God of his maiestie is terrible to sinfull man euen so it is with all men Now seeing we haue lost our first estate we must labor continually to haue the image of Satan abolished in vs and the image of God daily renewed we must become new creatures seeke aboue all things to haue our former fellowship with God which we lost in Adam for in this fellowship with God

their iourney and shall we be so carefull to helpe men in temporall light and not much more carefull to helpe them in light toward the kingdome of God Let then all ignorant and loose liuers as there be many among vs let them now begin to shine for they stand in the place of good lights they be in the candlesticke they must cease from ignorance and loosenesse of life and beginne to burne and cast light as good candles both by doctrine and good example If a man should bring a candle in a sticke to vs and we shold go about to light it twice or thrice and it would not take light we would in anger cast it downe so Christ if he vse meanes to light these ignorant and loose-liuing persons many times if they refuse to be lighted he in his displeasure will cast them downe out of the candlesticke and not suffer them to take the place of a good candle but rather tread and stampe them vnder foote In the Church of God there be many ignorant persons many which continue in their ignorance rebellion and so continue in sin but a small number of good blazing lamps Many hold the place of good lights but are darke dimme and giue no light let these feare Gods iudgements Would any be true candles burning and blazing lights let them first get knowledge in the word and will of God furnish and replenish their hearts with knowledge and after practise the same faithfully in obedience in leading a godly life shining to other in holy example exhorting and instructing them that so shining foorth clearely and chearefully Christ standing in the middest of the lights may like and allow of them For vnlesse we shine thus in this candlesticke to wit the Church of God where we haue our places we shall neuer haue light nor ioy in the kingdome of heauen but if we do we shall then shine as the Sunne cleare and faire for euermore Golden candlestickes That is made of gold so called for two causes The Church of God is compared to a candlesticke of gold first because as gold is most excellent of all mettals so the Church of God is the most excellent of all societies and companies of men All companies and societies of men in the familie towne citie kingdome commonweales they be all the ordinance of God and excellent in their kinds but the Church of God is aboue all these it is most excellent no societie cometh neare it first because in the Church there is saluation to be had and obtained but in none of these societies of men it is to be had as they be societies of men but as they be Churches or true members of the Church 2 It is a most excellent societie because this is the end of all other societies they be all ordained to maintaine this as the chiefe and this euen the Church of God is the end of them all 3 The Church it beautifieth and adorneth all other societies because herein is their honour and preferment in that they be either Churches or members of the true Church Seeing the Church is the chiefe and most excellent societie in this world we must aboue all things haue speciall care to become members of this societie Men haue care and labour to become members of those townes which be in corporations and haue freedomes aboue other then much more should we labour to be members of that societie which is most excellent to be true members of the Church of God Seeing this is the chiefe societie and all referred to maintaine the Church of God it must be our speciall care to maintaine that Church euery man in his calling as the King Prince and Magistrates the Ministers in their callings yea euery man in his particular calling must seeke to preserue this societie Seeing this societie adorneth the other giueth them their beautie we should labour to bring all societies to this Men in families must seeke to make their familie a Church or a member of the true Church they which rule a towne to make it a true member of the Church and to make it an ecclesiasticall societie so Kings to make their kingdome a Church member ber of the Catholike Church because al other societies without the Church are but as places without light and without the candlesticke to hold vp and without this light they be in darknesse and the shadow of death It is compared to a golden stick because it is most precious to God none so deare none so neare to God as this societie of the Church Christ therfore to expresse how deare it is saith it is a seale to his hand and a signe on his right arme Can. 8. 6. Zachary cals the Church the apple of Gods eye shewing it is most deare in Gods sight as precious as the apple of the eye which is most tender to vs. Psal. 45. it is compared to the Queene in a vesture of gold nay no societie is so precious and deare to Christ as this seeing he hath shed his owne heart blood euen the blood of God to redeeme his Church In the middest of the seuen golden candlestickes Christ is in the midst of them that is he is present with his Church continually in all times he hath continuall care of it to gather his Church and being gathered to preserue it and defend it from all her enemies Seeing Christ is in the midst of his Church present to gather and defend it then the supremacy of the Church of Rome whereby they will haue one head of all the Churches on earth is needlesse for Christ is present gathering and defending his Church at all times then there needeth no generall Vicar In the presence of a king they of a commission cease though they were assigned before and if any should be so impudent as to take on him the office of a king in his presence all men would condemne him so though Christ had giuen this office to the Pope yet seeing he is present at all times in his Church to gather and defend it the generall gouernement of the Pope is needlesse and it is extreame arrogancy to take on him the office of Christ in his presence Seeing Christ is in the middest of his Church we must do as Enoch Gen. 5. 22. walke with or before Christ when we take any thing in hand do any thing in word or deed we must do all in Christs presence We must do all we do that we may haue approbation of Christ for he is in the midst of his Church to looke to it to defend it he seeth what we do therefore do all that he may like of it and approue it That we may do so we must haue direction for that we do out of his word and if we be able to walke before Christ we shall be able to do many duties to him and be vnblameable in this wicked world The second argument whereby Christ is described is his