Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	life_n	light_n	shine_v	1,813	5	9.0770	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30213	The water of life, or, A discourse shewing the richness and glory of the grace and spirit of the gospel, as set forth in Scripture by this term, The water of life by John Bunyan.	Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.	1688 (1688)	Wing B5607; ESTC R633	41,387	126

Water of Life but I shall proceed no further upon this but will come to that which remains Secondly As this River of Water of Life is said to be PURE so 't is said to be clear He shewed me a pure River of Water of Life CLEAR This term has also its particular signification and therefore ought to be heeded 1. Clear is set in opposition to dark therefore some are said to be clear as the Sun. And again The Light shall not be clear nor dark In both these places CLEAR is to be taken for light day-light Sun-light for indeed it is never day nor Sun-shine with the Soul until the streams of this River of Water of Life come gliding to our doors into our Houses into our Hearts Hence the beginning of Conversion is called Illumination yea the coming of this River of Water of Life unto us is called the day-spring from on high thorow the tender Mercy of our God. 'T is also called the dawning of the day And hence again these men unto whom this River of Water of life comes not are said to be dark darkness Ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye light in the Lord. Wherefore this Water is like Jonathan's honey it hath a faculty to open the Eyes to make them that sit in darkness see a great light The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light the Spirit that enlighteneth and giveth the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This River casteth Beams where it goes like the Beams of the Sun it shines it casts out Rays of Glory unto those that drink thereof The streams of this Grace were they that overtook Saul when he was going to Damascus they were the Waters of this Flood that compassed him round about And if you will believe him he faith this Light from Heaven was a great light a light above the brightness of the Sun a light that did by the glory of it make dark to him all the things in the World. 2. Clear is set in opposition to that which is not pleasing For to be clear is to be pleasant Hence 't is said truly the Light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the Eyes to behold the clear Sun. I read of Rivers that looked red as blood that stank like the blood of a dead man but this is no such River I read of Rivers whose streams are like streams of Brimstone fiery streams streams of burning Pitch but this is none of them There is a River besides all these clear and pleasant The streams whereof shall make glad the City of God. These are the Waters that the Doves love to sit by because by the clearness of these streams they can see their pretty selves as in a Glass These be the streams where the Doves wash their Eyes and by which they solace themselves and take great content These streams are instead as I said of a Looking-glass their clearness presents us with an opportunity of seeing our own Features As in fair Waters a man may see the body of the Sun and of the Moon and of the Stars and the very body of Heaven so he that stands upon the Bank of this River and that washeth his Eyes with this Water may see the Son of God the Stars of God the Glory of God and the habitation that God has prepared for his People And are not these pleasant sights is not this excellent Water has not this River pleasant streams 3. Clear is set in opposition to dirty Water and muddiness I read of some Waters that are fouled with the Feet of Beasts and with the feet of Men yea and deep Waters too Yea saith God to some ye have drunken of the deep Waters And have fouled the residue with your feet and again As for my Flock they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet These Waters are Doctrines contained in the Text muddied and dirtied by the false glosses and sluttish opinions of erroneous Judgments of which the poor Sheep have been made to drink And verily this is apparent enough by the very colour and hue of those poor Souls for tho the truth of God was in them yet the very stain of Tradition and Superstition might be also seen in their Scales For as the Fish of the River receive by being there the changeable colours of the Waters so Professors what Doctrine they hear and drink do look like that If their Doctrines are muddy their Notions are muddy if their Doctrines are bloody their Notions and Tempers are bloody but if their Doctrines are clear so are their Notions for their Doctrine has given them a clear understanding of things Now here we have a River of Water of Life that is clear clear without dirt and mud Clear without the humane Inventions and muddy Conceptions of unsanctified and uninstructed Judgments yea here you have a River the streams whereof lie open to all in the Church so that they need not those instruments of Conveyance that are foul and that use to make Water stink if they receive it to bring it to them that have need 4. By clear we sometimes understand purgation or that a thing has purged it self or is purged from those Soils and Imputations of evil wherewith sometimes they have been charged Then shalt thou be CLEAR from this thy Oath or how shall we clear our selves Something of this sence may be in the Text for if men are not afraid to charge God with folly which is intimated by That thou mightest be clear when thou art Judged will they think you be afraid to impute evil to his word and Grace and Spirit no verily they are bold enough at this work Nay more than this even from the Foundation of the World men have cast slanders upon and imputed base things unto the blessed Grace of the Gospel But not to look so far back Paul was one of the Pipes thorow which God conveyed this Grace to the World and what was he counted for his so doing but a pestilent fellow and a mover of Sedition throughout the whole World But behold no imputation can stick on the Grace of God not stick long for that like Honey will purge it self of what Filth is put into it and of all bad imputations of evil men Springs and Rivers are of a self-purging quality Now here we have to do with a River a River of Water of Life but a River more slandered then ever did Naman the Syrian slander the Waters of Israel in preferring those of Abana and Pharpar Rivers of Damascus beyond them But behold now at last when all the World have done what they can

this word pure is set in opposition to that which is hurtful and destructive I am pure from the blood of all men that is I have hurt no body The Wisdom that is from above is first pure 't is not hurtful Do you count them pure with the wicked balances how can that be since they are hurtful Now take pure in this sence here and then it intimates that the Grace of God and the Doctrine of Grace is not a hurtful thing It is not as Wine of an intoxicating nature If a man be filled with it 't will do him no harm The best of the things that are of this World are some way hurtful Honey is hurtful Wine is hurtful Silver and Gold are hurtful but Grace is not hurtful Never did man yet catch harm by the enjoyment and fullness of the Grace of God. There is no fear of Excess or of surfeiting here Grace makes no man proud no man wanton no man haughty no man careless or negligent as to his duty that is incumbent upon him either from God or Man No Grace keeps a man low in his own Eyes humble self-denying penitent watchful savory in good things charitable and makes him kindly affectionated to the brethren pitiful and courteous to all men True there are men in the World that abuse the Grace of God as some are said to turn it into wantonness and into lasciviousness But this is not because Grace has any such tendancy or for that it worketh any such effect but because such men are themselves empty of Grace and have only done as Death and Hell hath done with wisdom heard the Fame thereof with their Ears 'T is a dangerous thing for a man to have the notions of Grace while his heart is yoid of the Spirit and holy Principles of Grace for such a man can do no other than abuse the Grace of God. Alas what can be expected of him that has nothing in him to teach him to manage that knowledge of Grace which he has but his Flesh his Lusts and lustful Passions Can these teach him to manage his knowledge well Will they not rather put him upon all tricks evasions irreligious consequences and conclusions such as will serve to cherish Sin What Judas did with Christ that a graceless man will do with Grace even make it a stalking horse to his fleshly and vile designs and rather than fail betray both it and the profession of it to the greatest Enemies it has in the World. And here I may say tho Grace is pure and not hurtful at all yet one altogether carnal sinful and graceless having to do with the Doctrine of it by the force of HIS Lusts which tamper with it he will unavoidably bring himself into the highest ruines thereby An unwary man may destroy himself by the best of things not because there is in such things an aptness to destroy but because of the abuse and misuse of them Some know the way of Life the Water of Life by knowledge that is naked and speculative only and it had been better for such if they had not known than to know and turn from what they know then to know and make that knowledge subservient to their Lusts. Some receive the Rain of God and the droppings o his Clouds because they continually sit under the means of his Grace But alas they receive it as Stones receive Showers or as Dung-hills receive the Rain They either abide as hard Stones still or else return nothing to Heaven for his mercy but as the Dung-hills do a company of stinking Fumes These are they that drink in the Rain that comes often upon them and that instead of bringing forth Herbs meet for the dresser bring forth Briars and Thorns and these are they who are nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned Fourthly By this word pure I understand sometimes the chiefest good the highest good There are many things that may be called good but none of them are good as Grace is good All things indeed are pure that is all Creatures in themselves are good and serviceable to man but they are not so good as Grace There is a Generation that are pure that are good in their own Eyes There are good Men good Consciences good Works good Days good Angels c. but none so good as Grace for 't is Grace that has made them so Grace this Water of Life therefore is good superlatively good good in the highest degree for that it makes all things good and preserveth them good And whatever it be that this Water of Life washeth not 't is evil and given to the Curse as the Prophet intimates where he saith But the miry places thereof and the Marshes thereof shall not be healed they shall be given to salt But who understands this who believes it It s goodness is kept close from the Fowls of the Air Men most men are ignorant of the goodness of it nor do they care to enquire after the enjoyment of this pure this good Water of Life The reason is because tho it is good in it self good in the highest degree and that which makes all things good yet it is not such a good as is suited to a Carnal Appetite There is good and there is suitable good now suitable good is of two sorts either such as is Spiritual or such as is Temporal That which is Spiritual is desired only of them that are Spiritual for Temporal good will satisfie a Carnal Mind Now Grace is a Spiritual good this River of Grace is the goodness of Spiritual good 'T is the Original Life of all the Grace in our Souls No marvel then if it be so little set by of those that are carnally minded Hay will serve a Horse and Mire will serve a Sow so things of this Life suit best with the men of this World for their Appetite is gross and carnal and they savour not the things that be of the Spirit of God. The natural man receiveth not the things that be of the Spirit of God The things that be of this River of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned This is the River of OYL which the Prophet speaks of the River of Spirit Were it a River of Gold and Silver there would be old fishing on the Banks thereof But it is a River that runs like Oyl saith the Lord God. This Rock pours us out Rivers of Oyl fresh Oyl soft Oyl sweet Oyl the Oyl of Joy the Oyl of Gladness Oyl to anoint the head withal Oyl to make the Face to shine Oyl by which thou wilt be made able to honour both God and Man in some good measure as becomes thee I might have enlarged upon this head and have shewed you many more particulars wherein this term of pure might serve for the better setting forth of the Excellency of this