Selected quad for the lemma: word_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	faith_n	hear_v	preach_n	3,029	5	10.8817	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17322	[Dauids euidenece [sic], or, The assurance of Gods loue declared in seuen sermons.]	Burton, William, d. 1616.	1592 (1592)	STC 4170; ESTC S118394	78,154	178

in the world to teach vs that it is impossible for vs to make right vse of troubles and to beare our selues in prosperitie and aduersitie as we ought vntill we become schollers to the word of God and submit our selues vnto the same Nowe as the word of God is the meanes of this comfortable assurance so is it not alwayes effectual to worke this assurance vnto vs except we vse it as it should be vsed of vs some think it sufficient to haue it in their house like the talēt hid in the napkin Some thinke it enough to heare it read at church or to reade it thē selues at home some thinke it necessary to be preached and expounded but not materiall whether they come at the preaching or no like Micah who thought himself safe whē he had a leuite in his house some thinke it sufficient if they heare it but they wilbe at their choise whether to beléeue it or no some giue credit vnto it thinking it to be true hold that to be sufficient when they come neither reuerently nor hūbly prepared vnto it but will be at libertie to descant vpon it and to censure both preaching and preacher at their pleasure like the proud cauilling auditors of Ezechiell which talked iested against him when they were amongst them selues and made as much accompt of his preaching as of a fidlers song Some think it sufficient if they heare it once a yeare once a moneth or once a quarter some thinke it sufficient if the word sound in a Church it is no matter out of whose mouth it come whether the speaker haue a calling or no calling but the parish Clarke and the parish Priest is all one to them But if they haue a Preacher then all is cocke sure on their side then they must néedes be sure of Gods loue Some againe thinke the plaine and bare word of God not sufficient to work this cōfortable assurance without a mixture of Rhetorick Philosophy Schoole-trickes Poetrie profane writers Gréeke Latin and merrie iests c. as they that crie Prophecie of new wine and strong drinke and if they haue these things clattering about their eares then they go away from y e church as full as a bladder filled with wind And some againe hold opiniō that if the preacher stand neuer so litle aboue his hower at any time it is inough to marre all that went before And some thinke that if there be any mention made of Gods iudgements against their sinnes it is inough to driue them to despaire and so quite from the exercises And many post off all hearing of the word or vsing any holy exercises of religion vntil they be stricken with age or sickenesse like the foolish Uirgins which put off all to the last cast Now all these would be assured of Gods fauour when affliction doth assaile thē yea thinke themselues sure of it howsoeuer the world shall go with them but they all deceiue them selues First they which thinke the bare reading of it to be sufficient but the expounding applying thereof to be a néedlesse thing they deceiue them selues for as reading is a good and holy meanes for the confirmation of faith and the consolation of the inward man so without the opening of the word applying of the same this comfortable assurance of Gods louing fauour is not ordinarily wrought whereby the soule is brought to rest in the bed of peace For proofe whereof we are to listen to the voyce of God himself which is the best iudge in this behalfe Iob both handleth the case and determineth the case very plainly A man is stricken with sorow vpon his bed and the grife of his bones is sore So that his life causeth him to abhorre bread and his soule daintie meate His flesh fayleth that it cannot be seene and his bones clatter So that he draweth to the graue and his life to the buriers meanig that his afflictiō both of body soule is so extreme that by meanes thereof he is brought to deaths doore Now sée what must comfort this man If there be a messenger or an interpreter one of a thousand to declare vnto man his righteousnesse Then wil God haue mercie vpon him and will say deliuer him that he go not downe to the pit for I haue receiued a reconciliation Then shall his flesh be as fresh as a childs and shall returne as in the dayes of his youth He shall pray vnto God and he will be fauourable vnto him and he shall see his face with ioy c. These are great things and therefore Iob saith that he that should do them must be a messenger he must be sent of God he must be an interpreter of the will of God a rare man one of a thousand therefore a blind reader is not sufficiēt for these things The Eunuch was reading the prophet Esay by him selfe but he knew not what he read vntill Philip expounded it vnto him after that he beléeued he was baptized he went on his way reioycing The Iaylour was in his desperate dumps and but in a mad mood when for feare he went about to kil himself but after Paule had preached vnto him the word of the Lord he beléeued in Christ and reioyced that he and his beléeued in God for then had he the assurance of Gods fauour in Christ Iesus which he had not before to shew vs how necessarie the preaching of the word is for the working of this assurance To this agréeth also the Apostle S. Paule for saith he We being iustified by fayth in Christ haue peace with God but this faith is wrought by hearing hearing by the preaching of the word of God All which do teach vs that if we would haue the assurance of Gods louing fauour in our troubles and on our death bed we must frequent the preaching of the word of God not because God cannot worke faith without the meanes of preaching but because in his singular wisedome mercy he hath appointed this means and promised a blessing to his own appointment and to none else This meanes being neglected the comfort is abated and the assurance is hazarded our faith is weakened and the deuil aduantaged against vs. And this may appeare to be true by the parable of the worldlings which preferred their oxen farmes their ploughs and their families before y e feast of the word not denying it to be good but they had businesse to do and they could not intend it and therefore in the end were shut quite out from the feast of Gods louing fauour This may further be séene in the confession of the Church and Spouse of Christ which Salomon hath recorded in his booke of Songs the fift Chapter My beloued saith the Church knocked and called saying Open vnto me my sister my loue my doue my vndefiled for

owne glory and to the saluation of his children So God turned Adams fall to the manifesting of hi● owne glory and to Adams good for by thi● meanes had Adam experiēce of Gods grea● and infinite mercy and might say By this 〈◊〉 know that thou fauorest me because tho● forgauest me and didst not suffer the deuil to triumph against me so all the slippes and falles of Gods children are turned to their good in as much as by them they are made more fearefull of sinne and more watchfull ouer their wayes as the child is fearefull of the candle when he hath once burnt his finger in y e flame And S. Paule telleth vs from God that all things shall fall out for the good yea for the best to them that loue God Now of this point we may make a very holy vse It serueth first to confirme and vphold our faith in the prouidence of God and not to feare the endeuours of the wicked because we sée that God doth still dispose of thē to our good if we be his children Againe this may stand vs in good stead when our affe●tions begin to boyle in a burning desire of reuenge against our enemies would we be reuenged of thē The best way to be reuenged of our enemies is to pitie their case and to make that profite of them which Dauid did of his that is still to looke to God in thē thē shall we be sure to be no loosers but gayners by them whither they will or no. But here some may demaund and say Doth God vse to handle his beloued so or may a man be sure of Gods fauour being beset with so many enemies and ouerwhelmed with such heapes of troubles especially sinne being the cause wherewith God is prouoked to anger To which we may answere that sinne indéede is the cause of all our troubles but yet whatsoeuer the Lord layeth vpon his children here it is not a punishmēt of their sinne for that was discharged by the hellish suffrings of the Lord Iesus Christ but it is a fatherly correction frō which we are no more fréed by the death of Christ then we are fréed from our naturall death And it is layed vpon vs by our heauēly father for two principall causes first to preuent sinne which we might fall into as presumption contempt vnthankefulnesse forgetfulnesse of God and many moe Secondly they are layed vpon vs as Phisicke to cure and heale sinnes which we are already fallen into and this is that which Dauid confesseth when he saith before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keepe thy word and therefore he saith It was good for him to be afflicted that he might learne the statutes of the Lord. And in both these endes of our afflictions the Lordes purpose is to stay vs that we runne not with the wicked world headlong to damnatiō whom he hath geuen ouer to them selues So that troubles and enemies are sent to vs the children of God as Phisicke and therewith all he sends a priuate messenger to tell vs that he loueth vs for all that it is because he loueth vs to that end y t we may be assured y t he loueth vs that messenger is his spirite of adoptiō which certifieth our spirites that we are the children of God And this being once made sure then all is sure But now the question is by what ordinarie meanes the spirite of adoption doth conuay this certificate of Gods fauour vnto the harts of Gods children in their afflictions for as God doth assure his children of his louing fauour in Christ Iesus so he doth it by ordinarie meanes which meanes being not vsed or neglected this assurance faileth and falleth from vs and nothing remaineth but either a bare fācie flotting in the aire in stead of a sure faith builded on a firme foundation and when trouble comes an impatient spirite to beare vp the burdē and when death comes a heape of sorrow and a heauie waight of despaire to presse downe to y e lowest hells The meanes then by which the spirite of God doth worke this assuraunce in the harts of the godly is the preaching of the Gospell which is called glad tidings because it makes the harts of the faithfull to become ioyfull and glad And S Paule to put vs out of doubt that the spirite worketh not without the word of God calleth the word the sword of the spirite to teach vs that howsoeuer the spirite of God must beate downe Sathan and cut downe infidelitie impatiencie despaire presumption and all our vnrulie affectiōs and howsoeuer it worketh faith patience ioy strēgth courage c. yet all this it effecteth ●and bringeth to passe by the meanes of the word of God preached read heard marked and meditated vpō for as the word without the spirite is but dead to the hearer so the spirite of God without the opening of Gods wil in hi● word doth not ordinarily giue this comfortable assurance of Gods loue Aske the Prophet Dauid himselfe who had this comfortable assuraunce of Gods fauour in affliction aske him I say how he came be it or how i● came to him and he will tell vs that by th● word of God he came vnto it for so he saith Except thy law had bene my delight I had perished in my affliction for therein he foū● many gracious promises of his God both for the punishing of his enemies for the defending and rewarding of himselfe and all Gods seruaunts for the forgiuenesse of his sinnes which were the cause of all his troubles and therefore the promise of God he chalengeth at Gods hand Remēber thy promise made to thy seruant wherein thou hast caused me to trust vpon this promise of God he resteth and stayeth himself It is my comfort in my trouble for thy promise hath quickned me And when he looked into this booke of God the storehouse of his promises there he found also how necessarie affliction was for him he found the causes thereof and what vse to make of all his enemies so through the inward working of the spirite of sanctification he behaued himselfe at all times accordingly and therefore when he saith it was good for him that he was afflicted he addeth that he might learne the statutes of the Lord to shew that the godly doe not know how good their afflictions be vntil they haue learned the statutes of the Lord. And therefore at another time he said that he was much moued at the prosperitie of the wicked and had much a do to kéepe himselfe in an innocent and vpright life hearing seeing the wicked so farre out of square vntill he went into the house of God and when he came into that schoole once he was taught by the word and the spirite of God what vse to make of all and then he saw how wisely and iustly the Lord ordereth all things