Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	law_n	sin_n	transgression_n	3,416	5	11.8881	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93404	Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme. In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.	Smith, Samuel, 1588-1665.	1656 (1656)	Wing S4189A; Thomason E1624_1; ESTC R208959	212,879	567

they may be brought to humiliation for the same this is the sure way to finde comfort in our Ministry Christ tells his Disciples that he would send unto them the Comforter Joh. 16.7 8. and he should rebuke the world of sin and of righteousnesse First of sin unto Condemnation and of righteousness that is the righteousnesse of Christ unto Salvation There is no comfort to be ministred from the Word till men are first convinced of their sins 2 Cor. 7.7 Paul tells the Corinthians that he repented not that he had made them sorrowfull verse 10. and he gives the reason because godly sorrow causeth repentance And the Lord knowes that this is the reason why many a mans Ministry thrives no more in many a Congregation Ministers lay not a good foundation by bringing their people to the sight of their sins and convince not their Consciences of the danger of an unregenerate and impenitent estate The sweet promises of the Gospell are unseasonable when this goes not before What is this but to offer salves to them that know not whether they have sores or no to offer Physick to the whole that see no need of it Note That Ministry that doth not convince the soul of sin● doth seldome humble the soul nor break the heart and so seldome drawes a soul to Christ Seeing it is not possible for any to be truly humbled Use 2 and to seek unto God unlesse they first come to see their sins 1 Ioh. 5. this serves to discover unto us the reason why the greatest part of the world this day lye in wickednesse and go on securely in a course of sin the reason is they were never as yet throughly convinced of their sins I have heard it reported of a certain traveller that travelling in the night being dark forced his horse over a Bridge over a deep River that was lately fallen down and a planck laid over for foot passengers which when he saw in the morning his spirits were so far surprised with the danger that he had escaped that he fell down and dyed O if men did but consider the danger they are in they travell in danger every houre not of water but of fire Hell fire yet they see it not nor fear it not only such whose eyes the Lord hath opened to see the danger they have escaped in comming out of their naturall and sinfull estate these can tell of those great things that God hath done for their souls But since the sight of sin is so necessary to the attaining of godly sorrow and humiliation for sin Quest how may we come truly to see our sins First Ans we must look into the glasse of the Law I had not known sin saith Paul but by the Law And again Ro. 7.7 Ro 3.20 By the Law commeth the knowledge ost sin The Law serves to discover sin and the punishment of sin there we shall see the good omitted and the evill committed the least transgression whereof deserves death Secondly we must look into the glasse of the Gospell and thence take notice of the grace and mercy offered and that high contempt of the same This as our Saviour saith is the condemnation that light is come into the world and that men should love darknesse rather than light O the sins against the Gospell these are the soul-condemning sins for the which we shall have nothing to say for our selves at last Thirdly that we consider the most holy and pure nature of God against whom our sins have bin committed so holy a God that the very heavens themselves are not clear in his sight Iob 4.18 Es 64.6 and the very Angells themselves do cover their faces how much more is man abominable and filthy before him In his sight our best righteousnesse is as amenstruous and polluted cloth the consideration whereof made Job to abhor himselfe and to repent in dust and ashes and Abraham when he was to come into his presence to confesse himselfe to be but dust and ashes And last of all to help to convince us of our misery by reason of sin consider 1. The multitude of the sins of one day then what of a year what of our whole life 2. That all the world is the worse for our sins 3. That many thousands are now in hell for the same sins 4. That Gods wrath burns against sin compared 1. To a Bear robbed of her whelps 2. To an evening Wolf woe to that Lamb he first meets withall 3. To a consuming fire Heb. 12. ●● Our God is a consuming fire The consideration of these particulars may help us to finde out the evills of our own hearts and to humiliation for the same for till we come to the sight of our sins we shall never truly repent us of them nor see the danger of sin how it provokes God to anger and wrath against us Thou hast set our iniquities before thee c. THe Church and people of God having in the former verse confessed that they were consumed by Gods anger and by his wrath they were sore troubled come now to acknowledge the proper cause of all those grievous judgments of God upon them and that was their sins they clear Gods justice and acknow ledge that he was most righteous and that it was their sins that had drawne down his wrath and heavy displeasure against them Hence we may note Doct. 2 what is the principall procuring cause of Gods anger Sin the cause of all judgments upon a people and what it is that drawes down Gods judgments upon a Land and people and so likewise upon particular persons viz. Sin Our open sins and our secret sins against God and against men these provoke the Lord to anger and draw down his judgments upon a Land and People Thus Danie confesseth their misery and captivity was justly inflicted upon them for their sins Dan. 9.5 We have sinned and committed iniquity and have done wickedly by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments verse 8. And again O Lord to us belongeth confusion of face to our Kings to our Princes and to our Fathers because we have sinned against thee they confesse the hand of God was justly upon them for their sins And this is that which the Lord threatneth by Moses Deut. 28.15 verse 21. that if the people would not hearken and obey He would make the Pestilence to cleave unto them untill they were utterly wasted and consumed which the Lord made good unto this people at this time in the Wildernesse This is acknowledged by the lamenting Church when they say Lam. 5.16 The Crown is fallen from our head wo unto us we have sinned Thus the Psalmist reckons up the great things that God had done for this people in the land of Aegypt Ps 78.12 in the field of Zoan gave them Manna from Heaven gave them water out of a Rock verse 32 Quailes to satisfie their lust yet