Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	jesus_n	patience_n	temperance_n	1,484	5	11.2902	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B06752	Man's terrene-refuge sleighted: and the excellency of celestiall concernments briefly asserted, / by Ric. Warde Gent. and directed to his worthy friend in a letter.	Ward, Richard, 1601 or 2-1684.	1651 (1651)	Wing W803; ESTC R186250	53,007	162

he macerates himself through his own distemper the preaching of th● Word the performance of Prayer o● the administration of any Divine Ordinance to him is little available A Lecture to a distracted I had a● most said to a dead man is attended with as much efficacy ‖ Prov. 15.13 For through a vexatious sorrow of hea●● the spirit is broken saies the w●● man and so long as that continu● as it were disjointed and in piec● it 's altogether improbable that should receive an impression of goo● and bring forth fruit proportionably Now herein I would not be ●●staken for it is not a Godly pentential sorrow that I speak of but a petulent vexatious trouble that brings such a discomposure and barrenness with it in respect of Good For by the first it must be confessed that the spirit becomes more maleable and of a more Divine and affable Temper whereby the seed of the Word may take deeper root and produce fruits answerably In this case though the spirit may seem to be broken yet no otherwise then the superficies of the earth is when the Husband-man intends to cast in grain And as that by the influence of seasonable distilling showers is again compacted and consolidated without any prejudice to the crop so a Christians spirit when softned with a pious sorrow through the sunshine of divine dispensations becomes more firmly cemented and more fruitful then ever being then in a better capacity to conform and yield obedience to the Apostles rule in * 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7 8. adding to Faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to patience Godlinesse and to Godlinesse brotherly Kindnesse and to brotherly Kindnesse Charity and those in whom these things are and abound shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Apostle observes Thus having cleared my sense in this partticular I shall wade further towards the discovery of those inconveniences that attend discontent And as I said before it workes an indisposition to Good so it also layes Men open and leaves them lyable to much evil it 's deplorable to think how many through the violence of that passion have wilfully contracted the spanne of their life by an untimely death and made themselves more miserable by their distemper then the Almighty ha● done by crosses Alas how apt ● that destroying enemy of Mankin● Satan who watcheth every o● casion and attends every oportu●ty to advance his kingdome of da●nesse to seize upon a discontent spirit as being then most likely work its overthrow either by aggravation of its misery or some other insinuating suggestions And on the other hand How do those insnaring subtilties and deceitful allurements of the world make it their advantage to encounter a spirit in distraction as then supposing it to have cast off the protection of the meek spirit of patience the best armour against such assaults Nor will a third dangerous enemy the flesh be idle at such a time but fly out into rebellion and leavy war against the Law of the mind and so subject it to the law of sinne Thus we see what a conspiracy of evil Instruments there is to destroy poor souls that are involved in this malady Oh! then what a madnesse is it for contemptible clay to contend with the Potter that can fashion and mould it as he pleaseth Oh! What a senceles thing is it for a man to torment himself and harraze his own soul with the vexatious thoughts of those evils that are beyond all remedy He that spurnnes against pikes of Iron can in reason expect to gain nothing but wounds He that willingly runs against a rock not only dashes the vessel in pieces but loses all the fraught for he that entertaines or gives way to discontent not only torments the body but also casts the soules welfare into extremity of hazard What will not a man do in the midst of this passion He 'le create quarrels with men and sometimes with those of neerest Relation to him without any colour of cause and so both betray his folly and run himself into a guilt of grosse enormities And which is more sad he 'le not stick to quarrel and contend with God himself if any thing be presented contrary to his liking or offer to thwart his humour What an hanious crime was it in that discont ented Prophet so vainly and furiously to contest with his Maker about such a trivial thing as a withered Gourd And it could not but afflict good Jacob more then the sterility of his wife to hear her queratously cry out ‖ Gen. 30.1 Give me children or else I die as though Providence were confined either to grant her desire or accomplish her ruine The latter is often true if the first be inordinately sought after or unseasonably sued for and this is very observeable that those who are excessively given up to the bent of their own wills When they see it disproportionable to the Will of the most High do not only meet with grievous Troubles from within themselves but for the most part heavy Judgements from God and thus it was with the murmuring and repining Israelites who because they had not every thing they desired esteemed slightly of what they had and because they were not exactly humoured became wilfully ingrateful and therefore were justly pursued with multiplyed judgements What a detestable humour was that in Ahab who within the confines of all Israel could not sind matter enough to feed his hungry desire nor satisfy his discontented craving mind unlesse he might enjoy Naboths poor Vineyard What an high contempt of the Almighties Munificence and bounty was this that he could not content himselfe with a Kingdome but labour with so much vehemency to gratifie his corrupt pleasure with such an inconsiderable trifle And to proceed yet further discontent is the mother of disorder it devides and subdevides not onely the senses but the faculties and sets them at an irreconcileable distance and enmity one with another and through this fewd and opposition they debilitate and weaken each other whereby that naturall and inherent life and vigour whence there should proceed lively and perfect Issues being thus decayed produceth little but obliquities and effect of decrepit nature Moreover he that is perplext i● mind seldome acts any thing that either pleaseth himself or another those actions and carriages that ●● late to his own particular are for the most part looked upon with an evil eye as carrying along with them direful troubles doubts and disquieting Molestations and so being discomposed and out of frame it cannot be expected that those actings which refer to others should be any waies proportioned to their desires or suited to their pleasures But alas this is not the worst although bad enough to be opposed both to ones own and others advantage for he that discontentedly troubles himself for outward things either in respect of their miscarryage