Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
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A54078
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Where is the wise? Where is the Scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdome of this world? Cor. I, 20.
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Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.
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1660
(1660)
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Wing P1221; ESTC R33050
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8,688
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10
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to it And he that knows this in any measure will not wonder at the distress and misery of such for want of God's presence and at their cryings out after the Spring of their Life even as the Hart brayeth after the water brooks though they should have fulness of all outward things yea and also fulness of knowledge in things of Religion even concerning all conditions and estates The thing that I wanted in my great misery it was not outward knowledge it was not experience of God's mercy and goodness but this I wanted the issuings forth of his fresh Life and livingly to know where to wait for it and livingly to know it when it appeared for it was still near me all the time of my darkness and did preserve me and appear unto me but I livingly knew it not but thought I would be wiser then others For I saw many deceived and so I would not own it in such a way as it then appeared in me least I also should be deceived like others but waited for such an appearance as could not be questioned by the fleshly Wisdom And be that waits for that and so despise the day of small things cannot but refuse the little seed and so it being not received into his earth it can never grow up in him into a great Tree whereby the Glory of the Kingdom will be hid from him and be shut out of it when others enter into and sit down in it Therefore he that will be Wise let him become a Fool that be may be Wise Let him receive that for his Light his King his Guide which mans wisdom never did nor never will own He that ever looks to injoy the Comforter let him receive the Reprover the Convincer of sin and wait for his Law of judging him throughout the whole course of his sinful State and Nature passing along with him through the whole condemnation until he arrive with him at the justification of the Life which the fleshly wisdom nor any of his knowledge of the things of God as they are held in the fleshly part must ever arrive with him at Hath not God made foolish the Wisdom of this World The Wisdom of this World is precious in the Eye of the World and the Wisdom of God in his poor weak despised earthen Vessels is still foolishness with them but the Lord so orders it as he still justifies his despised Wisdom in his despised Vessels and makes the Wisdom of the World appear foolish to all the single and upright-hearted who thirst after and wait for the Revelation of his Truth Now two ways especially the Lord makes the solly of this Worlds Wisdom appear First In that by all their Wisdom they cannot find out the true knowledge of God v. 21. The World by Wisdom knew not God though there be an exceeding desire kindled in them to know God though they take all the ways that heart can imagine to attain their desires though they study and meditate never so hard though they get never so many Arts Languages nay though they read the very Scriptures never so diligently though they labour in the very fire yet what they get what they gather what they understand what they comprehend by this Wisdom it is all but very vanity Hab. 2.13 it reaches not the Immortal it nourishes not the Immortal it satisfies not the Soul it refreshes not the seed but only feeds and pleases the earthly part the earthly understanding the earthly mind the earthly desires and affections even the man's Part the man's Spirit the man's Nature which though elevated and raised never so high is still but earth Secondly In that all their Wisdom cannot reach them to come down to to submit to to come into God's way of having their Wisdom crucified and that raised up in them which might receive the Truth This they can never learn in the fleshly Wisdom They may indeed come thus far even to see that there is no way of entrance but by death and so seek death that they may enter into the Life but they cannot find it The seed of Jacob in his seeking misses not but this Seeker never finds to this Asker it is never given and to this Knocker it is never opened and that is it which makes this Wisdom in every appearance in every sort of Profession and Sect of Professors so rage at the seed of Jacob even because it finds it self still shut out of the Life into which an entrance is administred to the seed And how can that which would fain have the Kingdom but rage against that which takes the inheritance from it how can every sort of Professors but strive to slay the heir that the inheritance might be theirs Were it not for the living Seed and the living Power and Vertue which breaks forth in them and among them the Religion and Worship of the first birth might pass for currant but this is it which darkens the Glory of all Professions and Professors upon the earth even that living thing which God hath begotten in his people and his living presence with it and blessing upon it at this all the zealous Sacrificers Teachers and Professors out of the Life rage and are mad and would break the cords and bands wherewith this strives to bind them unto God's Altar Now look over all Ages could the Wise Heathens stoop to God's dispensation to the Jews was it not foolishness and abomination to them or could the Wise Jews stoop to the Law within to the Word in the Heart although directed thereto by Moses Deut. 30.14 to learn there to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with their God Mic. 6.8 Could they wait there to have their Hearts circumcised by that Word of power and so to be washed and made clean Nay were they not drowned in their outward Sacrifices Temple Incence New-Moons and Sabbaths and such kind of observations and could not heat the Truth of the Lord as it was delivered by Moses nor as it was opened by the Prophets Isa 1.11 So that this People seeking to know the Lord from the Letter by this Wisdom could never come to the knowledge of him but the place of his Light and Wisdom was hid from them Again When Christ came and the Kingdom was preached and the everlasting way of Redemption and Salvation made manifest could the Wise Eye in the Greeks or the Wise Eye in the Jews see it did not the Greeks shut themselves out by a Wisdom above the Letter as they thought and the Jews by a knowledge and Wisdom which they had gathered out of the Letter How wise were they from the Letter to reason against the King of Life This man cannot be of God for he is a breaker of his Sabbath He is a Nazarite and can any good thing come out of Nazareth He saith the Son of man must be lifted up but we read that Christ abideth for ever He is against Gods Temple
Where is the Wise Where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this World Hath not God made foolish the Wisdome of this World 1 Cor. 1.20 THese have always been the Enemies and opposers of Truth and Setters up of false Images thereof in all ages The Wise the Learned the great Disputants To these Truth hath still been mean and contemptible their Eye hath still overlooked it and their imaginatious have still out-run it finding out somewhat else in the stead thereof for which they have been still able and vigorous to contend and against the Truth it self And indeed how can the Wise Eye see that how can the learned Eye acknowledge that which comes quite out of the way of it's knowledge and learning even in a path that it is not at all acquainted with Wisdom is justified of her Children Those that are wise to Salvation those that are learned in the Spirit those that can dispute in the power of the life and demonstration of the Spirit these know her habitation and her out goings and can own her in every age and in every dispensation and coming forth but the Wise and Learned of this World are shut out of this wisdom and in all their searches after Truth cannot find her and if at any time they do find and tast somewhat of her yet they cannot keep her but the Wisdom and Learning and Strength of the earthly part in them soon betrayes and makes a prey of the simplicity that is in Christ and of his pure Gospel which cannot be comprehended nor will take up a dwelling place with this wisdom but brings it to nothing tramples upon it and keeps it down for ever where it abides Three sorts of Enemies of the Wise the Learned the great Disputants Truth hath always had First Of such as have denyed the true form of knowledge and worship Secondly Of such as have owned the form but withstood the power Thirdly Of such as have had a tast of the power but afterward erred from it and so held that which once they had a true tast of in the unrighteous part and likewise added to it by their own imaginations When Israel was in Aegypt that poor illiterate company of Brick-makers in bondage under that wise people the Egyptians withal their wisdom could not own their God or their worship but their God was an unknown Being to all that wisdom Exod. 5.2 and his worship and sacrifice the abomination of their Eyes Exod. 8.26 and Jannes and Jambres with other wise Magitians withstood the appearance of God and Pharoah and his people with their wisdom thought to have kept God's Israel from multiplying Exod. 1.10 and to have held Israel still under their servitude after the Lord was risen to stretch out his Arm for their deliverance Exod 5.8 9 And how did all the wise Nations still watch to make a prey of God's Jerusalem How did they count the Towers How often did they think to divide the spoyl Iudg. 5.28 Isai 33.18 How did Senacharib and Rabshâ—ka make her their own And when the Lord did at any time give Jacob for a spoyl and Israel to the Robbers how did they think to keep her under for ever The wise Assyrian the Moabite the Ammonite the Edomite the Philistim the Amalekite the wise Babylonian or Chaldean thought to keep her under as Pharoah had done even till their wisedome and knowledge perverted them also Isai 47.10 and the Prince of Tire who was wiser then Daniel Ezek. 28.3 he also could insult over Ierusalem and rejoyce at her downfal and captivity chap. 26.2 But to come closer Come to Israel it self That people by all the wisdome it could gather from the Law by all the experiences it had had of God's power by all the faith that was wrought in them upon deliverances yet had not Eyes to see nor Ears to hear nor Hearts to perceive but were a people that did always err in their Hearts and did not understand the way of Truth and Peace The Prophets among them were still Fools yea the Spiritual man mad Hos 9 7. The Priests were generally ignorant of the Lord for though they had the Ark of his presence his Tabernacle his Temple Altar Sacrifices Worship c. yet they did not know where he was nor did inquire after him but contented themselves with a form of knowledge and worship And they that handled the Law knew not him who gave the Law and was the sole true interpreter of the Law but the Pastors transgressed against him and the Prophets prophecied by another Spirit Ier. 2.8 They were wise and did abound in their own meanings guestings and gathered knowledge but they knew not the Truth no nor of the Let er according to the Law and according to that Light which God sometimes caused to shine among them from his Prophets Hence it was that that people with their Rulers their Teachers their Priests their Prophets were generally enemies to the Prophets whom God raised up hating persecuting imprisoning stoning them c. The Prophets of God that spake his Truth in his Wisdom in his Life in Power in the demonstration of his Spirit they could not away with these were Fools with them these were mad-men with them 2 Kings 9.11 Ier. 29.26 these were poor illiterate Herdsmen and Plowmen they had learned men that were brought up at the Schools of the Prophets that could Prophecy Divine things sweet things that could open the Law learnedly these Prophets and these Priests the Rulers cherished and the people loved Ier. 5.31 and 23.26 27. Ezek 13.3 c. Yea among that people such as had had a tast of the Truth as Corah Dathan and Abiram might have for surely it was not a small matter that could so lift them up to oppose Moses and Aaron in that manner and to stand out the contest with them even in the Lord's presence Numb 16.18 but an apprehension of God's being on their side from some appearance of his to them and as Balaam had whose Eyes were opened to see the beauty of the Tents of Iacob yet these through the prevalency of the fleshly lusts and wisdome become enemies and try always to prevail over Israel even over the Truth and over the Power The Apostle Jude compares such to the Angels that kept not their first Estate The Angels that fell had a place and standing once in truth but they kept it not they abode not in the truth but fell from it and so became Devils enemies to the truth from which they fell So those that fall from the truth from the power from the living vertue whereof they once tasted from the true wisdome which once appeared to them and began to season and savour them in their fallen wisdome they become the greatest enemies the greatest accusers the greatest opposers and the stiffest maintainers of a false Image of that Truth which they once had some knowledge of and some unity with Thus it was in the