Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	day_n	night_n	utter_v	1,344	5	10.6230	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62877	True old light exalted above pretended new light, or, Treatise of Jesus Christ as He is the light which enlightens every one that comes into the world : against the sense both of the Quakers, Arminians, and other assertors of universal grace, whose light is proved to be darkness / delivered in nine sermons, by John Tombes, B.D., and commended to publick view by Mr. Richard Baxter.	Tombes, John, 1603?-1676.	1660 (1660)	Wing T1824; ESTC R21431	110,239	95

traditions Sure there are so many footsteps of their rites in their customes of their writings in their Poets and Historians and Philosophers works There are such relations of their Philosophers travail into AEgypt besides this that the most understanding people were such as did trade with Phenicians and AEgyptians next neighbours to Israel as may give us cause to think that the cream of that knowledge they had was not from a light within them for then why should not other people as well as they have attained to it but from a light without them darted directly on Israel but from them yeelding some strictures of light and glimpses to the Greekes Italians and other people Sect. 4. The light without the written word which was in the Gentiles in the utmost extent of it was imperfect However what the Scripture makes deducible from other meanes then the Scripture or it or experience proved that the most barbarous people attained to we may safely ascribe to this natural light Of these things 1. It is certain the being of God his eternal power and Godhead might be and was known by the things which God created as the Apostle Rom. 1. 19 20. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in or to them for God hath shewed it unto them For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead Psal. 19. 1. The Heavens declare the glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handywork 2. Gods providence ordering and disposing all the motions of the creatures with incomprehensible wisdome for the benefit of the universe might be discerned from the admirable and usefull and constant order motion influx properties and operations the creatures have Psal. 19. 2 3 4. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night sheweth knowledge There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard Their line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world Act. 14. 16 17. Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own way nevertheless he left not himself without witness in that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness From Gods creating and providing for man not only the holy Psalmist Psal. 139. 6 c. Psal. 104. and elsewhere but even Philosophers among the Gentiles have taken occasion to magnifie the divine wisdome power and goodness And yet the most witty people knew not distinctly who this God was but did ignorantly worship him under this title of the unknown God as Paul sayes of the Athenians Act. 17. 23. 3. They did or might know that God was invisible Rom. 1. 20. That he was a Spirit Aristolle terms him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an intelligence or minde Deus est animus said the Latin Poet That he knew and judged thoughts and discerned the most hidden things was known by them as their accusing or excusing themselves by their own consciences between themselves apart from others shewed Rom. 2. 15. And yet when they knew God they glorified him not as God but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkned professing themselves wise they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and to four footed beasts and creeping things Rom. 1. 21 22 23. 4. They did or might know that God was to be worshipped Aristotle in his Topicks saith To dispute whether God and parents deserve honour deserves punishment All nations saith Tully l. 1. Tusc. quaest acknowledge a Deity and divine worship and yet they understood not that God that made the world and all things therein seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not in Temples made with hands neither is worshipped with mens hands as though he needed any thing seeing he giveth to all things life and breath and all things Acts 17. 24 25. 5. They knew that God was to be pacified by prayer and sacrifice and vowes and obedient mindes and repentance and executing of judgement as may be discerned by their carriage Jonah 1. and 3. Chapters yet knew not any thing of the great sacrifice which God had prepared to take away sin for ever and they often applied themselves to pacifie the Devil even by humane sacrifice instead of seeking peace from the true God 6. They did or might know the low condition of man in comparison of God as the Psalmist saith of himself Psal. 8. 3 4. When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers the moon and the starres which thou hast ordained what is man that thou art mindefuil of him and the son of man that thou visitest him And infer the absolute soveraignty of God as the Apostle doth Rom. 9. 20. Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus And as he doth conclude Rom. 11. 6. For of him and through him and for him are all things to whom be glory for ever And yet men have complained of their hard destiny and imagined God a debtour to them and that God should fulfill their pleasures as well as they do his will and self-exalring under the name of magnanimity was by Aristotle made a vertue vapouring a mans excellency 7. They might and should have known that parents are to be honoured wives to be cherished children to be nurtured justice to be administred yet many thought they might neglect parents commands to please their companions and deny them maintenance to keep an undue and rash vow and put away wives for light causes and expose their children and violate right to gain preferment and greatness 8. The Apostle tells us Rom. 2. 14 15. For when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law these having not the law are a law unto themselves which shew the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness or witnessing with them and their thoughts the mean while or between themselves accusing or excusing one another which proves that there was some sense of sin and duty in the most barbarous people and accordingly there was and is some kinde of government and administration of justice among them Some sins as of murther adultery robbery perjury breach of faith and trust parricide and some other sins have been judged to be horrible evils which they durst not commit Abimelech Gen. 20. 5. durst not use Sarah when he knew she was Abrahams wife and yet he thought he should have been innocent if she had been but his sister Either by instinct of nature or by tradition from Adam adultery was judged a horrible crime when simple fornication sodomy and other uncleanness were reckoned as no faults by the Gentiles which knew not God 1 Thes. 4. 5. Parricide was counted such a

Mar. 7. 21. makes evil reasonings thoughts and folly to come from within out of the heart of man he surely makes mens hearts void of light till they be enlightened with his light And when James Chap. 1. 14 15. makes every mans sin the issue of his own lust as every good gift from the Father of lights who of his own will begets us again with the word of truth Jam. 1. 17 18. he intimates there 's not light in us to avoid sin till the Father of lights begets us again with the word of truth Sect. 4. Vacuity of light without Christ enlightening is proved from Gen. 6. 5. 8. 21. Job 14. 4. 15. 14. 25. 4 5 6. 11 12. Psal. 51. 5. Jer. 10. 14. 17. 9. and experience To these Texts in the new Testament I shall adde more out of the old As first the words Gen. 6. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination or the whole imagination or frame of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually or every day which speech is with little alteration repeated Gen. 8. 21. the imagination of mans heart is evil from his youth which speech is not a censure only of the Giants that werein the old world but of all men even from the youth of man without any exception of any and therefore is from their generation Nor is it to be conceived to be an excess of speech expressing more then was true for Gen. 6. 5. it is given as a reason of the great wickedness of man and Gods intended severe punishment and set down as the object of Gods view on his inquisition in the later to set out the greatness of his patience by the greatness of mans sinfulness to which ends those speeches had been impertinent if they were understood as expressing more then was true For then they had not expressed a true inquisition or a just reason of a severe judgement which is alwayes to be expressed as befits a Judge whose judgement is according to naked truth Rom. 2. 2. not with Rhetorical amplifications after the manner of Oratours or a right reason of Gods patience if the provocation were not as great as the words intimate Now this being supposed true we may hence argue thus If every imagination or the whole imagination or frame of the thoughts of mans heart be only evil continually or every day from his youth or childehood then every man till he be enlightened by Christ wants light to guide him in the knowledge of his duty and the way of salvation for if the thoughts be not right the actions are not right nor the light sufficient if men stumble and fall it is an argument they want light but such is the imagination of mans heart as the Texts do express Therefore every man that cometh into the world wants light to rectifie his thoughts about the things of God And that this pravity of mens imaginations is an hereditary and not meerly voluntary or an acquired disease by use custome or imitation the speech of Job doth intimate Job 14. 4. where to deprecate Gods bringing him into judgement with him in a bemoaning plight he thus speaketh Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one Wherein Job expresseth that it is no marvel that all mens lives are so short and so full of trouble because all being unclean naturally none by natural generation can beget a clean childe And if all are unclean morally as they come into the world then all are void of light for that 's a chief part of moral uncleanness till Christ enlighten them The same is confirmed by other passages in the Book of Job as Chap. 15. 14. What is man that he should be clean and he which is born of a woman that he should be righteous Job 25. 4 5 6. How can he be clean that is born of a woman Iob 11. 12. Vain man would be wise though man be born like a wild Asses colt Which speeches do plainly assert mans uncleanness and unrighteousness and ignorance as he is born into the world by natural generation To which may be adjoyned that speech of David concerning himself Psal. 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me which is not likely to be meant of any special sin of his mother of whom no such thing is related nor is it likely that he would mention it to her reproach nor would it be pertinent to his confession of his own sin nor is likely to be an Hyperbole or excess of speech as Psal. 58. 3. Joh. 9. 34. For those Hyperbolical expressions are descriptions of a man notoriously and openly ungodly in the course of his life whereas David however he sinned in the matter of Urijah yet in respect of the constant course of his life was a man after Gods own heart and therefore it seemes to me to note his original corruption by natural conception as the cause of his great enormity in the matter of Urijah and to aggravate his sin as springing from himself Now of such corruption want of light to guide us in our way to happiness is a chief part That which the Prophet Jeremiah speaks Jer. 10. 14. Every man is brutish in his knowledge and Jer. 17. 9. The heart is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked or incurably sick who can know it do express such a destitution of light truth and rectitude as shew that the heart of man is very evil Which being spoken of men universally as they are unchanged can be well imputed to no other reason or cause then the derivation of sinfull corruption to all mankinde by natural generation To all which allegations from Scripture experience addes abundant confirmation sith the ignorance unteachableness frowardness untractableness of persons especially in duties of Religion and the worship of God untill by Catechizing Preaching Discipline Government and other meanes whereby the wildeness of mens spirits is tamed they be brought to some sense and conformity to their duty And even then when by such meanes the hearts and lives of men are somewhat fashioned yet upon every new provocation of fear or hope they quickly draw back from any good course and embrace any errour unless by the Ministery of the word help of Government and work of Gods Spirit they be strengthened do fully shew that of themselves persons want light to guide them and power to uphold themselves in any thing that is good but on the contrary are prone to receive impressions and ro hatch devices of sin and errour till Christ do enlighten them Sect. 5. Every man needs enlightening by Christ by reason of the many evils consequent on sin As for the second reason of mans needing light from Christ by reason of the evils consequent on our natural darkness which are not to be removed but by Christs enlightening it is in like manner manifest by

not meant of all things simply for then they should have been omniscient they should have known the day and hour in which the Son of man cometh whereas Christ saith the Father only knowes it Mar. 13. 32. but of all those things concerning the Father and the Son of whom the Hereticks pretended a deeper knowledge then the Apostles had Now these things being premised this Text is against the Quakers not for them for it asserts not a light in every man but only in those in whom the anointing was nor a teaching of that anointing by peculiar immediate revelation but by the Apostles preaching which is the same with the doctrine of the Scriptures and so proves the Quakers not of God who hear not the Apostles are not guided by the Scriptures but by a peculiar light within them falsely ascribed to the anointing of the Spirit of God and teach other doctrine then what is received from the Apostles and so is a warning to us that we should not hear them and justifies the Preachers who preach the doctrine which the Apostles delivered and shews those only to have the anointing and to be rightly taught by it who receive their doctrine which is in the Scriptures Sect. 3. The opinions of Gods obligation to the user of natural abilities well and of universal calling are errours pernicious It remains that I should say something of the other opinions mentioned Serm. 5. concerning the certainty of Gods communicating that which shall be of saving import to every man that useth his natural abilities faithfully and carefully and universal calling by that which is termed objective grace For though my purpose was only to examine the Quakers opinion about a light in every man yet sith these two opinions do come very near the Quakers opinion and did either beget it at first or do much serve to confirme it and are the high way to the opinion of the Gentiles salvation who lived vertuously though the Gospel were not taught them by any Preachers sent to them and of those who hold that every man may be saved in his own Religion if he live honestly which tends to make Christs coming in the flesh unnecessary Christian Religion and the preaching of the Gospel more then is simply necessary to salvaiion which quencheth zeal in propagating the Gospel professing of Christ resormation of Religion and suffering for the Christian doctrine and fills the Land with luke warm Neutralists meer Moralists and Atheists I shall briefly examine them The opinion of Gods engagement to him that useth faithfully and carefully natural abilities doth suppose 1. That there may be if there never were a faithfull and carefull use of natural abilities by every person of mankinde under heaven This use is to be conceived to be for the finding out of the knowledge of the true God his will and counsel and the observing them Now this cannot be conceived to be in any who hath not a heart to be subject to God if he might know his will and to worship him if he could understand how he should do it and doth carefully study to finde out these and enquires diligently after them But the Scripture tells us Vers. 1. that the minding of the flesh is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God Rom. 8. 7 8. Now all they are supposed to be in the flesh who are not in the Spirit Vers. 9. those two members comprehending all men Now no man is in the Spirit who is not in Christ Vers. 9 10. and he that hath only natural abilities is not in Christ till a man believes in him he is not in Christ Therefore no man that hath only natural abilities hath a heart to be subject to God if he might know his will nor to worship him if he could understand how to do it nor will carefully study to finde out these and enquire diligently after them and therefore the supposition of a faithfull and carefull use of natural abilities by every or any person of mankinde to come to God is a supposition of an impossibility as the state of mankinde now is To this Argument may be added that our Lord Christ tells us Mat. 7. 16 17 18. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit Which speech though it be understood of the most diminute impossibility that is a moral impossibility only yet in that sense it will evince that none of those men who have only natural abilities by which they can never be made any other then corrupt trees have or can have an inclination to use faithfully or carefully their natural abilities for God but only for themselves so that if they do at any time enquire after God it is by reason of some kinde of preventing work of God not by any application of themselves faithfully and carefully to seek after God I omit the Arguments which I have used Serm. 4 th and 6 th before to prove destitution of spiritual light and imperfection of natural light to guide us to God which prove that it is vainly supposed that any man much less every man either will or can in his meer natural estate use his natural abilities faithfully and carefully to seek after God 2. It is supposed that he that doth thus use his natural abilities shall receive from God yet further that which shall be of saving import and consequence For quicker dispatch I omit the search both into what a man must do that he may be said to have thus used his natural abilities and what that is of saving import and consequence which he shall receive and say that if it were supposed a man did use his natural abilities thus yet there is no assurance that he shall receive from God that which is of saving consequence which I prove thus 1. If those Jewes and Gentiles who have used as well as they could their natural abilities have not received from God that which is of saving import and consequence then there is no assurance given of every mans receiving from God that which is of saving import and consequence who shall faithfully and carefully use his natural abilities of reason and conscience But the antecedent is true Therefore also the consequent The consequence is of it self manifest and the antecedent is proved by instances The young man mentioned Mar. 10. 20. that observed all the Commandments from his youth insomuch that it is said Christ loved him Vers. 21. And that he was not far from the kingdome of God And Israel that followed after the law of righteousness but attained it not Rom. 9. 30. used as well as they could their natural abilities and yet received not that which was of saving