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	light_n	shine_v	8,667	5	10.0024	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07208	Hearing and doing the ready way to blessednesse with an appendix containing rules of right hearing Gods word. By Henry Mason, parson of S. Andrews Vnder-shaft London.	Mason, Henry, 1573?-1647.	1635 (1635)	STC 17609; ESTC S102307	184,084	830

And first for rules Ludovicus Vives a man renowned as well for piety as learning among other learned workes of his hath published a Treatise which hee calleth Excitationes animi ad Deum that is The liftings up of the soule unto God In this book he prescribeth us rules of meditation and prayer upon every incidentall occasion for example when we awake out of sleep in a morning and finde our selves refreshed by our rest then hee biddeth us think how joyfull and blessed a thing it will be to bee raised up to eternall life after our sleeping in the grave and to pray withall that as God hath raised our bodies from their sleep that wee may do the works of this life so hee would raise up our soules from the sleep of sin that we may do the works of piety and a godly life And when wee are going on a journey then we should think that our life here is a pilgrimage on earth in which we are separated from our owne countrey and our dearest friends that is from heaven and the blessed soules that be there and then wee should pray that God will teach us to live here as pilgrims and strangers that are travelling toward a better countrey and that our conversation may be in heaven while our bodily mansion is on earth And when we see a candle lighted in the evening to be a comfort against the dismall darknesse of the night that then we should think how necessary the knowledge of Gods word is which is a light to our eyes and lanterne to our feete and pray withall that God would keep this candle still shining before us that wee may know how to serve him aright The like rules of good thoughts and prayers he prescribeth us when we put on our clothes when we go out of doores when we sit down to meate when we prepare to bedward and upon other the like occasions leaving us no part of the day nor no occasion of our life without some holy thoughts that may make us like to the Saints that be in heaven This book of Vives and the meditations and prayers contained in it that worthy Martyr M. Bradford hath translated or the greatest part of them into our English tongue and hath presented them to the view of the world in a book of his called Bradfords Meditations and prayers And after him M Henry Bull who hath gathered together many sweete flowers of such like devotion hath also for the benefit of his countrey-men printed these meditations and prayers among the rest There if ye please yee may reade them and I dare say if ye reade them with attention and care you will not think your labour either lost or ill bestowed Besides these books there is one also of late yeares penned by a reverend and learned Prelate of our Church called Occasionall Meditations In it you are directed how on ordinary and triviall occasions yee may raise up your thoughts to heaven-ward But that book I suppose is in the hands of most men and the known worth of the Author will sufficiently commend it to their reading I onely will say thus much that who so shall peruse these books and make use of them accordingly I doubt not but he will finde in them good helps to heaven and great comfort to his soule And so I leave the Rules 2. The examples that I make choise of for this purpose are two 1. Examp. The first of one Pambo an ancient and religious man Of him * Socrat. hist l. 4 c. 18. pag. 660. Rosw de vitis Patrum l. 3. num 164 pag. 524. v. etiam l. 1. c. 3. in vita S. Pelagiae pa. 377. de Nonno Episcopo Socrates reporteth that seeing a light woman finely tricked up and sumptuously adorned that shee might please and allure lovers unto her hee burst out into teares and being asked why he wept he gave these two reasons for it 1. because he saw in what miserable state that woman was in it grieved him that so goodly a creature of Gods making should be in so ready a way to hell and destruction and 2. because said he I do not take so much paines to please my good God as she doth to please sinfull men This example if we wil follow we may make use of it divers wayes for our good namely thus when we see a Porter sweating under his burden that he may earne a poore wages we may check our own dulnesse who are so soone weary of labouring for an eternall Kingdome that we grudge to spend a quarter of an houre in prayer or a whole houre in hearing of Gods word or a day in abstinence and fasting for our sins For what a shame is it that a labouring man should willingly take so much paines for a tester or a shilling when we think so little paines to be overmuch for obtaining of eternall life and the Kingdome of heaven And when we see a Shopkeeper abridge himself of his meate and of his sleep that hee may attend his customers and make gaine of his trading wee may justly blame our selves for our backwardnesse in Gods service and that we cannot abridge our selves in our eating and in our sleeping and in our sporting and in our clothing that wee may bee the fitter and more expedite for good duties and for the Kingdome of God And when we see a man that taketh physick fast aforehand and after the taking of it to content himselfe with a thin supping that the medicine may work the better wee may think every man with himselfe what a foole am I that on the Lords day when God prepareth and giveth me physick for my soule I do so fill my stomach with meate and my head with strong drink as maketh my selfe unfit for Gods service and my praying and hearing and reading unprofitable for my soule And when wee see men and women look thēselves in the glasse every day that they may carie with them no spots or deformity in their faces that may shame them when they goe abroad among men wee should accuse our shamelesse security in matters of our soules and that we doe not examine our consciences and look our soules in the glasse of Gods Law that there bee no deformity in our lives that may shame us before God and his Angels I might make many such applications of Pamboes practice to our selves and gather such collections to shame our selves for our indevotion and want of feeling but out of these there is direction enough for them that are willing to make use of it too much for them who shal despise it 2. Examp. The second example is of a Cook in a Colledge of religious men Of him Climacus a Greek father in the anciēt Church relateth that hee was very devout in serving God and often moved with compunction to mourne for his sins Which Climacus observing importuned him to know by what meanes he had attained to such a degree of sanctitie and holinesse and

us his mercies and blessings And that thus the blessed man doth enjoy God I take it to be plain when it is said in the Gospel Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Mat. 5.8 For to see God includeth two things to enjoy him and to live in his presence in his glory That it signifieth to enjoy him appeareth by the custome of Scripture phrase In which to see good is to enjoy it Psal 34.12 and to see good dayes is to enjoy good dayes 1 Pet. 3.10 and to see corruption is to partake of it Psal 16.10 and to see death is to suffer death Iohn 8.51 and Heb. 11.5 and not to see good or evill when it commeth is as much as not to partake of it Ier. 17.6 8. And if in the Scripture phrase to see good and to see evill and to see death and to see corruption bee to partake of them and when the speech is of that which is good to enjoy them then I doe but speak according to the phrase of Scripture if I say that to see God in that place of the Gospell is to enjoy him and so to see and enjoy him is the Blessed mans portion And therefore I say in the first place that Blessednesse doth consist in the fruition of God B. Secondly I say that this fruition belonging to the blessed man is the immediate fruition of God For understanding hereof wee must note that there is a two-fold enjoying of God the one mediate and the other immediate Mediately we are said to enjoy God when hee communicateth himselfe unto us by secondary meanes and by interposition of the creature between him and us as namely when he feedeth us by meate and drink lightneth us by the sun instructeth us by his word strengtheneth us in grace by the Sacrament When thus God communicateth his blessings unto us as he still doth in this life then we are said to enjoy him mediately Secondly we are said to enjoy God immediately when he communicateth himselfe unto us without any other thing between And thus wee are said to enjoy God immediately two wayes 1. In respect of presence and 2. In respect of influence In respect of presence our enjoying of God is said to be immediate when wee live with him in the place of his residence and where his honour dwelleth and that is in heaven above as Solomon saith to God Heare thou in heaven thy dwelling place 1 Kings 8.30 39 43 49. For while wee live here in this world wee are said to be absent from the Lord because we are out of the place of his dwelling 2 Cor. 5.6 But when once we have left this world and are gone to heaven then we are said to be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5.8 And then saith the Apostle Wee shall ever be with the Lord. 1 Thes 4.17 And from hence it is that the wicked are said to bee punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power 2 Thes 1.9 and that of the godly it is said Thou wilt shew me the path of life for in thy presence is fulnesse of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 and that where Christ is there shall his disciples be also Ioh. 14.2 3. and that they follow the Lamb whither soever he goeth Apoc. 14.4 Which speeches doe prove that the Saints in heaven do enjoy God in another manner then they here did while they lived in the flesh namely that in heaven they enjoy him in his palace in the place of his proper dwelling without separation or distance of place which is found in all them which enjoy God most nearely in this world And this also as before I said is implyed in that saying of the Gospell Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God For this to be meant or intimated by the seeing of God in this place may clearly be gathered from other places of Scripture in which it is said that now we see in a glasse but then wee shall see face to face 1 Cor. 13.12 and in which we are said in this life to walk by faith and not by sight 2 Cor. 5.7 He meaneth that here wee are led by an inevident and obscure kinde of knowledge for so the Learned define faith to be agreeably to that of the Apostle Faith is the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 but in heaven we shall walk or live by sight having there the immediate and open view of Gods face in Glory In heaven then where all they that are the blessed of God shall bee there men enjoy God immediately in respect of presence Secondly they enjoy him immediately in respect of influence For there God communicateth himself unto them by immediate vertue received from himselfe without the use of any meanes This is signified by that in the Revelation where S. Iohn speaking of the Great City the holy Ierusalem he saith of it And I saw no Temple therein for the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it And the City had no need of the sun neither of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof Apoc. 21.22 23. Where 1. when he saith I saw no Temple in it he giveth us to understand that in heaven there will bee no use of the outward meanes of salvation For if there be no Temple then there are no priests nor no preaching nor no Sacraments nor no solemn assemblies for where there is need of these there there is use of a Temple also In this world where we are absent from the Lord these things are necessary and by them God communicates himselfe to his servants But in the life to come prophecying shall faile and the use of tongues shall cease and the meanes of knowledge and instruction shall vanish away as the Apostle speaketh 1 Cor. 13.8 2. When hee saith that this City had no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine in it he implyeth that the outward meanes of our naturall life should cease Here in this world the sun giveth us light by day and the moon by night and here meate and drink do nourish us and clothes keep us warm but in heaven there will be no neede nor no use of such things The children of this world marry and are given in mariage but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain the world to come and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in mariage neither die they any more Luke 20.34 By all which wee learn that all natural meanes now used for preservation of mans life shall then be at an end 3. When S. Iohn saith There shall be no Temple in it for the Lord God and the Lamb are the Temple of it and againe There is no neede of the sun c. for the glory of God doth shine in it and