Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	faith_n	grace_n	temperance_n	1,784	5	11.4380	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81235	Correction, instruction or, a treatise of afflictions: first conceived by way of private meditations: afterward digested into certain sermons, preach'd at Aldermanbury. And now published for the help and comfort of humble suffering Christians. By Tho. Case, M.A. sometimes student of Ch. Ch. Oxon. now preacher of the Gospel in London.	Case, Thomas, 1598-1682.	1652 (1652)	Wing C824; Thomason E1329_1; ESTC R209098	113,561	301

single them out to encounter with unparalleld affliction so on the other side it is an incentive to compassion to them that are free to consider that they are liable to the same temptations therfore should measure out the same compassions to their suffering brethren that they would expect in the same tryals not knowing how soon the cup of trembling may be put into their own hand to be sure insensibleness of other mens miseries will hasten it They put far away the evil day Amos 6.3 4 5 6 they lie upon beds of Ivory c. eat Lambs out of he flock and Calves out of the stall c. drink wine in bowls c. i. e. they give themselves up to all maoner of sensuality and thereby drown the sense of their brethrens miseries they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph they lay not the affliction of the Church to heart it never cost them an hours sleep they abated nothing of all their sensual excesses they never turn aside to shed one tear over bleeding Sion in secret what follows why saith God therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive Verse 7. and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed as if God should have said As I live because you have not pityed your brethren in captivity you your selves shall be led away captive and the next turn shall be yours and there you shall learn by experience what it is to be plundred and what it is to lie in chains what it is to have cruel Taskmasters set over you what it is to want bread you shall banquet it no more you shall feel by sense what you would not feel by sympathy And therefore Christians set your hearts to the afflictions of the Church and people of God it is the great duty which the times call for and I am afraid God is now visiting England and London for the neglect of this duty We are verily guilty concerning our brethren in Germany in Ireland in England and Scotland c. in that we saw the anguish of their souls when they besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us We have not grieved their sorrows nor wept their tears nor sigh'd their groans nor bled their blood and therefore may fear lest God should say unto us also even unto us With the next that go into captivity they shall go into captivity with the next that are plundered and spoyled London shall be plunder'd and spoyl'd with the next that shall be imprison'd you shall be taken prisoners with the next that shall be slain with the sword you shall be slain with the sword you wives shall be made widows and your children shall be made fatherless and your dwellings shall cast you out and be left desolate And therefore let us look to it and know in this our day the things of our peace before they be hid from our eyes Shew compassion that you may not need compassion or if you need it you may finde it In like manner set your hearts to the other Lessons which God teacheth by his chastisements Prize Creature-comforts more and surfeit upon them less be more thankful and less sensual especially prize a Gospel while ye have a Gospel prize it by its worth Amos 8. ● that you may not prize it by the want prize it that you may keep it lest you prize it one day when you cannot recover it that 's a dreadful word They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord Hosea 5.6 but they shall not FIND Him Amos 8.11 And I wil send a famine not of bread nor a thirst of water but of hearing the Word of the Lord c. and they shall run to and fro Verse 12 to seek the Word of the Lord and Shall not FIND IT Study self-denyal meekness of spirit labor to discover the hidden corruptions of your own hearts be still digging in that dunghill you will finde it a bottomless pit The heart is deceitful above all things Jer. 17.9 and desperately wicked who can know it I the Lord search the heart Oh entreat the Lord to discover your hearts to you Study Scripture-evidence for your interest in Christ rest not in any evidence which you will not venture your souls upon if you were to dye this moment Labor to maintain sweet communion with God to be able to say with the Apostle and to say truly Our communion is with the Father 1 Joh. 1.3 and with his Son Jesus Christ Make God your choyce and not your necessity and labor to maintain such constant converse with him that when you dye you may change your place onely but not your company Live up in the exercise of your grace add to your faith vertue to vertue knowledg and to knowledg temperance 2 Pet. 1.5 6 and to temperance godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity Be adding one grace to another and one degree of grace to another and one exercise of grace to another exercise of grace that you may not put God to add affliction to affliction and sorrow to sorrow while others are adding sin to sin drunkenness to thirst do you add grace to grace Be stedfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord c. Acquaint your selves with God Iob 22.21 and good shall come thereby Study to know God more and love him better This is Life eternal c. Joh. 17.3 Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord. Hosea 6.3 Minde I beseech you while you are in your strength and peace that one thing necessary there is but one thing necessary Hoc age there be many may-be's but one must-be O take heed of industrious folly and dis-spirit not your selves in the pursuit of trifles minde your work Redeem the time the days are evil O that Christians would study the worth of time value a day say of every HOUR yea of every moment This is TIME Redeem time while you have it redeem time while time may do you good Evil days are coming wherein you will say I have no pleasure in them Yea the days are evil evil with sin evil with sorrow redeem the time to do good to receive good that neither you may be the worse for the times nor the times for you Happy shall that man be call'd who contributeth not to the heap of the God-provoking abominations nor receiveth impressions from the hypocrisie and prevarication of the present generation Study the sufferings of Jesus Christ Resolve with Paul to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified A due contemplation of the Cross wil heighten Christs Love and lessen your own suffrings And labor to get your conversation in Heaven Looking for and hastening to or as the word signifies * 2 Pet. 3 12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. hasting the

to extinguish that light which distrubeth their quiet Rom. 1 18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies forcibly unjustly to withhold They hold the truth in unrighteousness Gr they imprison the Truth and will not suffer it to do its office But saving Teaching is sweet and delightful because it is suitable to the renewed part to which it comes in with fresh succors to relieve and fortifie it against the assaults of opposite corruption I say it is always sweet in that respect but never more sweet then in affliction the bitterness of adversity giving a more delicate rellish unto the Word by healing the distempers of the spiritual palate and then the Soul cryeth out with Jeremy in the prison Thy Words were sound and I did eat them and thy Word was unto me the joy and the rejoycing of my heart Jerem. 15.16 6. And lastly 6 Property Abiding Divine Teaching is an abiding Teaching The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you 1 Joh. 2.27 Notional knowledg where it is no more is flitting and inconsistent and leaveth the Soul dubious and uncertain Observe how the Apostle S. James expresseth it speaking of the meer notional hearer Jam. 1.24 He beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what man he was Observe he doth not onely forget what he heard but he forgets what he was The glass whether Word or Affliction discovered to him his spots shewed him his pride his covetousness the impurity of heart and life c. but he goeth away and forgetteth what manner he was he forgets the Word he forgets the Rod and what both Word and Rod discovered to him together with the resolutions and promises made to God in both A godly man may forget the Word a gracious heart may have a bad memory but he will not so easily forget himself he doth not forget his spots and that keeps him in continual work to wash and PURGE himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit Remembering mine affliction and my misery Lam. 3.20 the wormwood and the gall My Soul hath them STILL IN REMEMBRANCE and is humbled in me The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways Iam. 1.8 Humane Teaching beget at best but opinion not faith the Word implieth one that is distracted and divided in his thoughts floating betwixt two contrary Opinions There be notions contradicting notions and principles fighting against principles and such knowledg is not abiding knowledg this unfixedness in principles produceth instability in practice if a man be double-minded in his principles he will be unstable in all his ways none are so constant in the profession of any truth as they that are fully convinced and assured of it none so stable in their conversation as they that are rooted and stablished in the present Truth This is the effect of Gods Teaching it keeps the judgment steady and the heart stable Teach me O Lord Ps 119.33 the way of thy Statutes and I will keep it unto the end He dares promise Perseverance if God will undertake Instruction and accordingly he made good his promise upon this very account I have not departed from thy Judgments for thou hast taught me Observe it He doth not say I will keep thy Statutes but he can say and that many years after I have kept thy Statutes Many will say in their affliction I will keep thy Statutes promise fair if God will but deliver them but how few can say with David I have kept I have not departed from thy Judgments Of old time saith God I have broken thy yoke and burst thy bonds and thou saidst I WILL NOT transgress Jer. 2.20 when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest playing the harlot Good words in trouble but poor performance out of trouble no sooner out of affliction but they fall again to their old trade of spiritual Adultery against God no sooner their old hearts and their old temptations meet but they close and embrace one another they started aside like a broken bow I but David was taught of God and therfore he is as careful to make good his vows as to make good vows I will pay thee my vows which my lips have uttered Psal 66 and my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble The after part of Davids life was much more severe and exact then the former I have not departed from thy Judgments for thou hast taught me These are the properties of Divine Teachings but lest I should lay a snare before the blinde and make the heart sad which God would not have made sad I must of necessity lay in a few brief Cantions When we say God teacheth 1. Inwardly 2. Clearly 3. Experimentally 4. Powerfully 5. Sweetly 6. Abidingly It is not so to be understood Cantions First 1. God teacheth not all at first As if God taught All at first viz. either All Truths or All of any truth God doth not teach all his Lessons at the first entrance into the School of Affliction at least not usually for we dare not limit God The fruit of Affliction is not gathered presently No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous Heb. 12.11 nevertheless afterward it yeeldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby Teaching is the fruit of affliction and fruit is not gathered presently it must have a ripening time And therefore O thou discouraged Soul say not God doth not teach thee at all if he do not teach thee all at once The entrance of thy Word giveth light God lets in light by degrees Usually God teacheth his children as we teach ours now a little and then a little Isa 28.10 somewhat this week and more next week somewhat by this affliction and more by the next affliction and more by a third c. It is not to be despised if God discover to the Soul the need of divine Teaching and engage the heart in holy desires and longings after it so that the afflicted Soul can say in sincerity My Soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times Ps 119.20 Secondly 2 Caution nor all Alike When we say that God teacheth whom he chasteneth and teacheth them thus and thus it is not to be understood as if he taught All alike God hath several Forms in the School of Affliction as well as in the School of the Word There be fathers for experience 1 Ioh. 2.12 young men for strength and babes for the truth and being of Grace And therefore if God have not taught thee so much as another say not here again he hath not taught me at all As one Star differeth from another in glory so also is the School of Christ it is free grace thou art a star though thou art not a star of the first or second magnitude that God hath let in some divine light though not so