Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	ghost_n	sin_n	sin_v	2,468	5	10.3762	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09364	The first part of The cases of conscience Wherein specially, three maine questions concerning man, simply considered in himselfe, are propounded and resolued, according to the word of God. Taught and deliuered, by M. William Perkins in his Holy-day lectures, by himselfe revised before his death, and now published for the benefit of the Church.; Cases of conscience. Part 1	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Pickering, Thomas, d. 1625.	1604 (1604)	STC 19668; ESTC S114413	95,900	200

vpon an erronious perswasion of Gods mercie and of his owne future repentance this is the sinne of most men The second is when a man sinneth wilfully in contempt of the law of God this is called by Moses a sinne with a high hand the punishment thereof was by present death to be cut off from among the people The third when a man sinneth not onely wilfully and contemptuously but of set malice spight against God himselfe and Christ Iesus And by this we may conceiue what is the sinne against the holy Ghost which is not euery sinne of presumption or against knowledge and conscience but such a kind of presumptuous offence in which true religion is renounced and that of set purpose and resolued malice against the very Maiestie of God himselfe and Christ. Heb. 10. 29. Now follow other differences of sinne in regard of the obiect thereof which is the Law In respect of the Law sinne is twofold either of commission or of omission I say in respect of the Law because God hath reuealed in his Law two sorts of precepts the one wherein some good thing is commanded to be done as to loue God with all our hearts and our neighbour as our selues the other wherein some euill is forbidden to be done as the making of a grauen Image the taking of the name of God in vaine c. Now a sinne of commission is when a man doth any thing that is flatly forbidden in the Law and word of God as when one man kills another contrarie to the Law which saith Thou shalt not kill A sinne of Omission is when a man leaueth vnperformed some dutie which the Law requireth as for example the preseruing of his neighbours life or good estate when it lieth in his power so to doe These also are truly sinnes and by them as well as by the other men shall be tried in the last iudgement Sinnes of Omission haue three degrees First when a man doth nothing at all but omits the dutie commanded both in whole and in part as when hauing opportunitie and abilitie he doth not mooue so much as one finger for the sauing of his neighbours life Secondly when a man performes the dutie inioyned but failes both in the manner and measure thereof Thus the heathen men failed in doing good workes in that the things which they did for substance and matter were good and commendable beeing done vpon ciuill and honest respects and referred to common good yet in truth their actions were no better then sinnes of omission in as much as they issued from corrupted fountaines hearts void of faith and aimed not at the maine end and scope of all humane actions the honour and glorie of God Thirdly when a man doth things in a right manner but faileth in the measure thereof And thus the children of God doe sinne in all the duties of the law For they doe the good things the law commandeth as loue God and their neighbour but they cannot attaine to that measure of loue which the law requireth And thus the best men liuing doe sinne in euery good worke they doe so as if God should enter into iudgement deale with them in the rigour of his iustice and examine them by the strict rule of the Law he might iustly condemne them euen for their best actions And in this regard when we pray daily for the pardon of our sinnes the best workes we doe must come in the number of them because we faile if not in substance and manner yet at the least in the measure of goodnes that ought to be in the doing of them We must also haue care to repent vs euen of these our sinnes of Omission as well as of the other of Commission because by leauing vndone our dutie we doe ofter offend then by sinnes committed and the least omission is enough to condemne vs i● it should be exacted at our hands The next differēce of Sinnes may be this Some are Crying sinnes some are sinnes of Toleration Crying sinnes I call those which are so hainous and in their kind so grieuous that they hasten Gods iudgements and call downe for speedie vēgeance vpon the sinner Of this kind there are sundrie exāples in the Scriptures principally foure First Cains sinne in murthering his innocent brother Abel whereof it was saide The voice of thy brothers blood crieth vnto me from the earth The next is the sinne of Sodome and Gomorrha which was pride fulnes of bread abundance of idlenesse vnmercifull dealing with the poore and all manner of vncleannesse Ezech 16. and of this the Lord said that the crie of Sodome and Gomorrha was great and their sinnes exceeding grieuous The third is the sinne of Oppressiō indured by the Israelites in Egypt at the hand of Pharao and his task-masters The fourth is mercilesse Iniustice in wrongful withholding and detaining the labourers hire Now they are called Crying sinnes for these causes First because they are now come to their full measure height beyond which God will not suffer them to passe without due punishment Againe the Lord takes more notice and inquires further into them thē into others by reason that they exceede and are most eminent where they be committed Thirdly they call for present helpe to the afflicted and wronged and consequently for speedie exequution of vengeance vpon the authors and committers of them And lastly because God is wont to giue eare vn to the cries of those that endure so heauie measure at the hands of others and accordingly to helpe them and reward the other with deserued punishment Next vnto these are sinnes of Toleration lesser then the former which though in themselues they deserue death yet God in his mercie shewes his patience and long sufferance vpon the committers thereof either deferring the temporall punishment or pardoning both temporall and eternall to his Elect. Such a sinne was the ignorance of the Gentiles before Christs comming which God deferred to punnish and as we may say winked at it More especially there be three sorts of sinnes of Toleration the first is Originall sinne or concupiscence in the regenerate after regeneration for it is not in our conuersion quite abolished but remaines more or lesse molesting and tempting vs till death And yet if we carrie a constant purpose not to sinne and indeauour our selues to resist all tentations this concupiscence of ours shall not be imputed vnto vs nor we condemned for it And to this purpose the holy Apostle saith There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ. Yet saith he not There is nothing worthie condemnation in them for Originall sinne remaines till death truly deseruing damnation though it be not imputed The second kind of sinnes of Toleration are vnknowne and hidden sinnes in the regenerate For who can tell how of the offendeth saith Dauid When a man that is the child of God shall examine his heart and humble himselfe euen for

still he kept himselfe to the promise In the molestation and annoiance of houses by spirits two things are to be remembred First men must not consort together and abide there where it is certenly knowne that the Lord hath giuen the Deuill power and libertie least in so doing they tempt the Lord. Our Sauiour Christ did not of his owne priuate motion and will betake himselfe into the wildernes but by the direction of the holy Ghost Math. 4. 1. Paul in like manner did not of his owne head goe to Ierusalem but vpon the motion of the Spirit Act. 20. 22. In the light of these examples men are taught not to cast themselues into any places of apparent danger much lesse to frequēt those which God hath deliuered vp into the power of Satan And this condemneth the rash and headie conceits of some persons who vpon confidence of their owne strength doe put thē selues into needlesse dangers hauing neither extraordinarie calling from God nor any sufficient warrant out of his word If it be asked what mē are to doe in this case I answer First that they ought rather to flie to God by praier and to draw neere vnto him in their hearts and he in mercle will draw neere vnto them Secondarily that which we doe in meates and drinkes is also to be done in the houses and places where we dwell And what is that we must sanctifie them to our vse by the word and praier Noah at Gods commandement went into the Arke abode in it and came out againe and when he came forth of it into the earth afterward it is said of him that he built an Altar gaue thankes to God for his deliuerance and praied the Lord to vouchsafe him the vse of the earth as he had before Though Abraham had a promise of the land of Canaan to him and his posteritie for euer yet he went not out of his countrey toward it till the Lord commanded him and when he was come thither he built an Altar for the worship and seruice of God The like he did afterward at Bethel And many yeres after did Iacob offer sacrifice vnto God in the same Bethel when he came to dwell there And for this very ende in the law by a speciall ordinance the first frutes of the haruest were offered to sanctifie the rest of the corne And somuch touching the second distresse The Third kind of trouble of mind is that which ariseth of the Tentation of Blasphemie which in regard of the vilenes and vglinesse thereof is not amisse tearmed by some the foule Tentation And it is when a man is troubled in his minde with blasphemous cogitations and thoughts directly against the Maiestie of God the father the sonne and the holy Ghost As for example to thinke that God is not iust mercifull that he accepteth mens persons that he hath not knowledge of things that are done here below or at least that he doth not regard them that God cannot doe this or that that he is iniurious to some men and partiall to others c. These and such like blasphemous thoughts there be which are not fit to be vttered amōgst men forasmuch as they are most horrible and execrable as any can be conceiued That we may the better know this Temptation let it be considered what are the forerunners thereof and by what meanes it takes place in the heart possessed of it Sometimes it commeth meerely and onely of the suggestion of the Deuill which troubleth the phantasie euen of those which are in that regard innocent and casteth into their hearts impure and vngodly thoughts Sometimes againe it comes vpon men by an euill custome when as they willingly lend their eares to leude and cursed speeches that immediatly tend to the dishonour of God or the wilfull abuse of his word his iudgements and mercies and vpon the hearing either giue their applause and approbation though not expressely or doe not hinder or stay them as much as in them lieth Otherwhiles it creepes into the heart of man by degrees when he beginnes to waxe cold in Gods seruice to make little conscience of those duties that immediatly concerne his worship consequently inures himselfe to the taking of the name of God in vaine by often and eauselesse swearing for swearing cursing c. By these and such like meanes is this foule and horrible tentation conuaied into the minde of man Now the danger of it whether it ariseth frō these or any other causes is exceeding grieuous specially to those that haue begun to chuse the way of truth and to applie their hearts to serue God and to feare his name For it bringeth forth strange and fearefull effects as namely desperation manifold horrors troubles of mind yea diuers persons haue hereupon bin astonished in such sort that they haue bin mooued to make dispatch of thēselues being in their own iudgement no better then the very firebrands of hell Now for the Curing of this wōderfull trouble distraction of Conscience two things are to be done to wit Inquirie must be made into the next causes whence this Tentation should arise and after that the Remedie is to be applied For the first Inquitie must be made whether the present distresse had his beginning from the thoughts of a mans owne minde or from the suggestion of the Deuill For this is in all likelyhood the next way to minister Comfort to the afflicted partie It may be saide How shall a man discerne the thoughts that are from the Deuill from his owne thoughts Ans. He shall know them by sundrie notes First by the entrance of them into the mind For those that come from the Deuill come speedily as lightning into a house and they are after a sort forced into the minde by violence so as the partie cannot auoid them and they come into the minde againe and againe yea a thousand times in a day so as by their often comming they weaken the memorie dull the senses wearie and confound the braine These are thoughts that come from the Deuill and by him are conuaied from without into the minde of man And if such cogitations were from a mans owne selfe they would not come with so great vehemencie and celeritie but with leisure and they would rise with more moderation and lesse violence Yea further the frequent vse of them would not produce so many and so fearefull effects as it doth Secondly such thoughts may be discerned to come from the Deuil by this signe because they are against the very light of nature against naturall knowledge reason cōscience For they are most wicked and deuillish fastning vpon God things that are most vile and monstrous whereas commonly the thoughts that arise frō our owne corrupt nature are not against the light of nature though they be most corrupt The third signe is that at the first conceiuing of them the partie is smitten with an extraordinarie feare his flesh is