Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	aaron_n	bring_v	see_v	15	3	2.8752	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26847	A posing question, put by the wise man, viz. Solomon, to the wisest men concerning making a judgment of the temporal conditions : wherein you have the ignorance of man (in knowing, what is good, or evil, for man in this life) discovered, together, with the mistakes that flow from it : and the great question resolved, viz. whether the knowledg of, what is good for a man in this life, be so hid from man, that no man can attain it / preached at the weekly lecture at Upton ... by Benjamin Baxter ...	Baxter, Benjamin, Preacher of the Gospel.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1662 (1662)	Wing B1172A; ESTC R39509	142,945	270

us as our Daily Bread It is strange yet it is true These Thorns will bear Grapes and these Thistles will bear Figgs And there is a Day when the Saints of God shall say They could not have been without such and such Afflictions and that It was good for them that they were Afflicted Some Trees there are whose Root is Bitter yet their Fruit Sweet A natural Eye seeth no Good in them and tastes no Sweetness And indeed the Spiritual man doth not always at present discern what Advantage cometh by them We must know those Creatures that we look upon as Venemous and Noxious are yet useful for some Ends and some Respects Thus even Toads c. The skilful Apothecary knoweth how to make Vipers and Scorpions Medicinal Enquire of the Saints of God and they will tell you from their own Experience What good Afflictions have done them and that they were Chastned for their Profit Heb. 12. 10. Afflictions seem to be but dry Rods yet like Aaron's Rod they have found them bringing forth both Blossomes and Fruit. 3. Some say Afflictions are bitter and burthensom to Nature and therefore conclude they are not good for a man in this Life We shall a little examine this to see whether there be Truth in it The Premises are granted That they are Bitter and Grievous to Flesh and Blood and the Apostle grants it Heb. 12. 11. But the Consequence is denied That what is Bitter and Grievous to Flesh and Blood is therefore Evil for a man in this Life And therefore we are to distinguish between what is Toothsom and what is Wholsom Between things that are Pleasingly and Profitably good Things may be Profitably good for us that are not Pleasingly good Those things are sometimes most Wholsom that are least Toothsom There be sweet and honied Poysons that Destroy And there be bitter and distastful Medicines that do Cure We know Wormwood is a Bitter hearb and yet Wholesom and Useful for Man Some things may be sweet in the Mouth that yet are bitter in the Stomack Heb. 12. 11. The Apostle saith of Afflictions though they are Grievous yet they bring forth the quiet fruit of Righteousness Here is the Difference between the Evils of Sin and of Affliction The Evils of Sin they are Sweet in the Mouth but bitter afterwards but the Evils of Affliction are bitter in the Mouth but sweet in the Close Afflictions indeed are bitter but oftentimes the bitternesse ariseth from our own Spirits When our Taste is Vitiated some things seem to be Bitter to us that otherwise would not be so It 's our Spirits that many times Imbitter our Condition and make our Chain much Heavier than other waies it would be There are many Afflict themselves when they are under an Affliction As it is with a Bird when it is gotten into a Room or Chamber it might do well if it sate still till the Doors and Casements were opened but till then with flying against the Walls it doth but hurt and bruise it self To close up this Physitians do observe we are most apt to Surfeit of those things that are most Sweet and Luscious And we find Solomon the Wisest of Men prefers bitter things before Sweet Eccles 7. 3. Sorrow is better than Laughter Ver. 4. It is better to go to the House of Mourning than to the House of Feasting 4. Some say That Afflictions are the Effects and Fruits of Sin And therefore not Good for a man in this Life We shall a little Examine this Ground It is true That Afflictions were at first Fruits of Sin But we must make a Difference between what they were at First and what Jesus Christ hath made them to His People now It is true they were at first the products of Sin but to the People of God they are now Changed and Altered We must Distinguish between what is Sinfully Evil and Penally Evil. What is Sinfully Evil is Unchangeably Evil but Afflictions are but Penally Evil and may be made good We must know As there is a Regeneration of Persons so of Things To him that is Born again All is Born again As his Outward Comforts are born again so all his Outward Afflictions It is true the Evils of Afflictions were first Conceived in the womb of Sin and Sin brought them Forth but there is the womb of the Covenant and of the Promise where they are New-formed and out of which those things that were Punishments come forth Priviledges and what was Loss comes forth Gain We read Rom. 5. 12. Sin entred into the World and Death by Sin We see Death came in by Sin Death which is the King of Fears and so its Attendants with it viz. all Miseries and Afflictions whatsoever Thus at first they were conceived in and came forth of the womb of Sin but the Covenant and Promise have changed and altered them it turneth Miseries into Mercies and Punishments into Priviledges and Evil into Good 1 Cor. 3. 22. All is yours saith the Apostle to Believers and among other things he names Death where he makes Death one of the Believer's Priviledges put into the Believer's Charter And the same Apostle Phil. 1. 21. saith To him to Die was Gain Death in respect of its first Birth was Losse but being born again it becomes Gain And as Death which is the King of Fears and so the chief of Evils so likewise all other Evils are Gain to a believer Rom. 8. 28. All things work together for Good to them that love God Thus we have examined the Grounds that those go upon in making this Judgment of an Afflicted Condition That it is Evil for a Man in this Life I shall Conclude with these Queries 1. Who knows or can say that That is Evil for a man in this Life that God inflicts upon the best in this Life We often find the cup of Gall and Wormwood going round about the Saints Tables We usually find it the Diet-drink with which God doth Physick his Dearest Children With the same Sword wherewith He destroyeth his Enemies He sometimes wounds his Friends and all this for their Good We find the Godly ones of Judah were carried Captives to Babylon as well as others they lost their Houses Estates were taken out of the Land of their Nativity and carried into a strange Land And yet the Lord saith of them Jer. 24. 5. That he had sent them into Captivity for their Good 2. Who knows or can say that that is Evil for man in this Life that may be consistent with Happinesse An Afflicted Man may yet in this Life be a happy Man As Man at his best Estate is but Vanity so there are that in their worst Estate may be Happy A Man may be Great and Rich and yet Miserable And a Man may be Poor and Afflicted and yet Happy Job 5. 17. Behold Happy is the Man whom God Correcteth It seems to be a strange thing and therefore a BEHOLD is put to it A

way of Instruction So His hiding His Face from his People teacheth them these things 1. Where their strength lyeth That in His Light they see Light That He is the Fountain of Comfort and that the happiness of lower Spirits lieth in Him who is the Chief of Spirits How know you that the Branch of the Tree hath nourishment from the Root Pluck it away from the Tree and it suddenly withereth Let but the Nurse leave the child to it self and it quickly falleth 2. It teacheth men to prize God more and to long the more after Him As in the Nothern parts where the Sun is long absent people will get upon the tops of the Mountains to espie and discover its arising and happy is he that can first see it For this end God sometimes hides His Face that his People may with more longing look after the breakings forth of the Light of His Countenance 3. By way of Prevention So God hideth His Face 1. To prevent pride and to keep His People humble 2. To keep them from trusting in habits of Grace 4. By way of Probation So by this God tryeth his concerning two things 1. Whether they can love a hiding God 2. Whether they can walk dutifully when God walketh strangely Isa 8. 17. I will waite upon Him that hideth his face from the House of Jacob. He resolved to walk dutifully though God walked strangely Thus you see that Gods hiding his Face from His people may be for Good 2. A second thing that many look upon as Evil for them is God's suspending and deferring Answers to their Prayers Of this the Godly have complained in Scripture That they did Cry and God did not Hear And yet let me tell you this may be for Good 1. To make His people to be more earnest Suitors at the Throne of Grace As we read of the Blind man in the Gospel when he cryed to Christ to have mercy on him and being rebuked he cryed the more earnestly 2. To make the Mercy the more welcome when it cometh Merchants look for the greatest return by that Ship that is longest abroad God keeps a mercy the longer in his Hands to enrich it the more and to send it forth as a Bride adorned for her Husband One cluster of grapes when ripe is better then many when they are green and sowre Abraham waited long for a Son but it was that his Son might be the greater Blessing to him 3. This is that some look upon as evil for them in this life Gods denying them their particular suits God is pleased sometimes not only to delay His Answers to our Requests but also to deny them and yet this may be for good God alwayes heareth his people and answers them for their profit though He doth not alwayes answer them according to their wills As the Physitian hears the Patient's request Non ad voluntatem sed ad sanitatem He respects not so much the Patient's will as his health The Patient calleth for drink but the Physitian gives him a Sirup or a Julip which is better We many times like the Sons of Zebedee ask we know not what Instead of bread we sometimes ask stones God hears to our profit and Answers though not alwayes according to our wills Upon this account Abrahams request on the behalf of Ishmael and Moses request to enter into the Land of Canaan were denyed Yet they were heard in another thing and their requests granted in another way 4. This is another thing that men look upon as evil for them Gods depriving them of many dear comforts as when He takes away a Wife out of our bosoms or breaks an Olive branch off from about our tables c. This is lookt upon by us as evil and yet it may be for good 1. It may be to make us to live more to Him and to lean more on Him and to seek for that in Him which we sought in the creature God sometimes pulleth away our worldly stayes and props to make us depend more on Him in whom our strength and comfort lieth 2. He sometimes takes away our comforts to return them better as he did Jobs Gods pulling down is sometimes for this end to build up better To make that of Marble that before was but of Brick He sometimes takes a comfort out of our hands to deliver it again to us with Interest and Advantage 5. Some look upon this as Evil Gods exercising them with many sad and sore Afflictions And some of the Grounds that they go upon are these 1. That Afflictions are Arguments of Divine Wrath. 2. That they are Useless 3. That they are Bitter and Burthensom to Nature 4. That they are the Fruits of Sin We shall Examine these Grounds on which many go in making such a Judgment of an Afflicted Condition 1. Say some Afflictions are Arguments of Divine Wrath and Divine Hatred and therefore not good for man in this Life since such as upon whom Afflictions fall are as it were marked out by God as the Objects of His hatred Now let us a little examine this and search whether it be so and upon serious and strict Examination we shall find It is an Error being contrary to scripture-Scripture-Truth Eccles 9. 1. They who say so condemn the generation of the Just we finding that most precious Saints whom God tendred as the Apple of his Eye have seen and felt great Afflictions Noah who found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord yet saw a World drowned Job of whom God gives a most high Character for his Piety and Uprightness was stript of all to a Shoo-latchet David a man after Gods own Heart was bred up in the School of Affliction Yea Jesus Christ himself who was the Beloved Son yet was Vir Dolorum A man of Sorrows You shall find that to some the Scripture makes Afflictions to be Arguments of Divine Love Prov. 3. 12. Whom the Lord loveth he Correcteth as a Father doth his Son in whom he delighteth And Jesus Christ speaketh of them as Arguments of Love Rev. 3. 19. As many as I love I Rebuke and Chasten It is true God delights not in Afflicting but he loves His Children and that Love moves Him as a Father to Correct and Afflict them for their Good He were a cruel Father that would suffer his Child to die for want of a little Physick So that it is a grosse Mistake to think that Afflictions are always the Wounds of an Enemy But of this more shall be spoken afterwards 2. Some have this Conceit That an Afflicted condition is an Useless condition and therefore not good for a man in this Life They look upon Afflictions as things that a man may be very well without We shall a little examine whether this be true or no. Many indeed say concerning Afflictions as those did concerning Nazareth Can any Good come out of Nazareth So Can any good come out of Afflictions We must know That Afflictions are as necessary for