Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	aaron_n	apostle_n	moses_n	43	3	5.9219	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20180	Christes miracles deliuered in a sermon. By Arthvr Dent, preacher of the word of God, at South-Shoobery in Essex.	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1608 (1608)	STC 6613; ESTC S113588	17,721	54

of God which is nothing else but his power By this argument doth Christ prooue that his miracles were not done by the power of Belzebub If I by the finger of God cast out Diuils by whom doe your children cast them out Lastly this may also appeare by the consideration of the meanes which the Lord vseth in working of miracles As the shadow of Peter to cure diseases Can any mans shadow cure another No but the Lord would haue that this meanes should shew that the things were wrought by his power So the Handkercher of Paul did cure diseases not that there were any such vertue in it but that it came from the Lord So also did the hem of Christs garment is there any power in the hem of a mans garment to cure diseases Surely no but the Lord vseth that meanes to teach vs thereby that his power onely doth worke it Here then we must acknowledge that miracles are wrought only by the Lord and serue greatly to the aduancing of his glory Lastly we must consider that a miracle is contrary to the instinct of Nature Nature had neuer any such inclination as to bring to passe any miracle as when the water stood on two parts nature had a desire to make the waters runne when as then the waters stoode it was contrarie to nature The vse The vse that we must make hereof is to giue to God that which is his owne that wee should acknowledge him to be the sole author and worker of miracles that either haue béene or shall be in the world If thou giue them to Satan then doest thou constitute him instéed of the Lord himselfe Art thou the Lords then know that neither Sathan nor any creature is able to worke any miracle against thée If thou be his rather then his name should be dishonoured by thée hee will worke miraculously for thy good and preseruation Further this serueth to ratifie our faith in the power of God The Diuill is his seruant whether he will or not he can do nothing but that which the Lord willeth And hereby we hold that our bodies shall be raised againe at the last day For God is able to worke all miracles although there be neither bone skin nor flesh left yet hee is able to ioyne flesh to flesh sinew to sinew and raise vs vp againe with the same bodies we had before The second part of this Sermon Now remaineth some-thing to be spoken more plainely and particularly of miracles For as in all other things so also in miracles the Lord vseth diuerse and sundry wayes of working For eyther himselfe alone and of himselfe alone or else he vseth some creature in the working of the same As in the creation of the world hee vsed not any thing out of himselfe but in himselfe by himselfe and of himselfe alone he created all things of nothing So likewise in the working of some miracles it pleaseth him not to admit the vse of any creature whatsoeuer As when hée stayed the sunne in the firmament hee did it of himselfe without the helpe of any other So also he turned back the shadow of the Dyall of Azah by himselfe alone without the vse of any other But neuerthelesse in working some miracles he vseth meanes but especially man for the meanes thereof As in all the myracles wrought in Egipt the Lord did worke them indéed but by the hand of Moses and Aaron He deuided the redde Sea so that Israel passed through on drye foote but it was done by Moses So also hee wrought many miracles in the wildernesse before the Isralites but by the hands of Moses and Aaron So some miracles were done by Judges some by Elizaeus and others of the Prophets So also God wrought miracles afterward not only by his sonne but also by the hands of the Apostles So that it is a true point of religion to holde that the Lord in working of miracles doth oftentimes vse the meanes of man therin In this doctrine wee are to take héede of these two dangerous points First that we derogate nothing from the Maiestie of God although hee vse meanes in the working of many miracles Secondly that we do not magnifie the Creature which the Lord vseth aboue that which is conuenient Into which many haue fallen heretofore For the auoyding therefore of them it is necessary to hold these two points of Religion first to beléeue and know that the omnipotent power of God cannot be communicated to any creature For the Lord saith as of his wisedome iustice and mercy so also of his power I will not giue my glory to another We are therefore to hold that the power of God cannot beséeme any creature whatsoeuer no though it bee an Angell of Heauen Secondly that wee must know remember and constantly beléeue that albeit the power of GOD could be communicated to any creature either in heauen or in earth yet that there is no creature capeable thereof no creature is able to beare it This is euident in the example of Peter before whome when CHRIST had wrought a miracle and hee had séene some small sight of his glory he sayd Depart from mee Lord for I am a sinfull man If Peter could not abide the glimmering of his glory and if it brought his sinnes to memory insomuch that hee thought himselfe vnworthy of his presence how much more vnable had hee béene to bears the weight thereof But may some say if this bee so why then doth the Lord vse meanes in working of miracles why doth hee vse men Prophets Apostles yea and those also which haue no iustifying faith and also other creatures I answer the Lord vseth them not because he stands in néed of them for he can worke all things of himselfe neither vseth he them that men should ascribe lesse to him and more to the creatures which he vseth but for to teach vs these thrée things First to teach vs how his Maiestie doth approoue the meanes whereby things are brought to passe for if the Lord vseth meanes when as they be of lesse vse much more wil he approoue when the meanes are vsed which haue some power to bring things to passe This then is the first cause why the Lord vseth meanes to shew that he would haue vs kept maintained and liue in this world but so as by vsing such meanes as his Maiestie shall appoint Therefore no man ought to neglect and contemne the meanes least hee oppose himselfe against the Lord Secondly the Lord vseth creatures in working miracles to support and vphold mans weaknesse who is not able to looke on his Maiestie when hee worketh himselfe This is plaine in the example of the Israelites Exod. 19. when they came to Mount Sinai to heare the Lord there was such thunder and lightning and the sound of a Trumpet excéeding lowd and the Mount all of a smoake because the Lord came downe by fire they were so bereft of their sences and were so afraide that afterward they