Selected quad for the lemma: word_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	unwritten_a	7,040	5	13.0243	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50400	The beauty and order of the creation together with natural and allegorical meditations on the six dayes works of the creation : with the addition of two compendious discourses : I. of the creation of man after the image of God, II. of the creation of angels, with a description of their several properties / by ... Mr. John Maynard ... ; published by William Gearing ...	Maynard, John, 1600-1665.; Gearing, William.	1668 (1668)	Wing M1448; ESTC R14885	107,977	226

Church yet he needed no Books no written Word to do it by witness those two thousand years and more from the beginning of the World till Moses wrote the Holy Text by inspiration of the Holy Ghost and then consider that as after the third Day the Sun was made to give light to the World which before was illightened without a Sun so after many hundred years the Lord placed the Books of Moses and then other Holy Writings as a Sun in the Firmament of his Church to give light unto the same And as after the Sun was made Men had no want of that light which was given without a Sun in the former three Days so you may consider that now the Books of Scripture are written and the light of Gods truth plentifully shining in them there is no need of unwritten Traditions to give light unto us in any way or work of God and therefore conclude that the dotage of the Papists in pleading for unwritten Traditions now we have the written Word is as gross as if a M●n should complain for want of that wandering light of the three first days now when ●he ligh● is fully seated and firmly fixed in the body of the Sun 3. Consider that as one Sun giveth light to the whole World so one Word to the whole Church scattered throughout the World And here see the absurdity of some unsound ones among us who being more than half Papists are not ashamed to condemn the study of those worthy writings of many forreign Divines upon this poor pretence because they lived in other Kingdomes and Common-wealths and so their Doctrine doth not so well suit with our State and Kingdome As if the same Sun could not serve all Nations with light but that we must have one in England and they another in France c. So if the Sun of holy truth do shine in the writings of these holy Men why cannot we see and walk by this light as well as out-landish Men 4. Consider that the light is still like it self that light which was before the Sun is of the same nature with that which now is in the Sun so the truth and word of God is still the same not contrary to it self The light of holy truth which was before the Word written and this which shineth in the holy Scriptures is the same and therefore the Papists are yet more shameless when under pretence of the unwritten Word they thrust upon the Church such idle forgeries as are contrary to the Word written as if light could be contrary to light or darkness might be called light If the light of the written Word doth shew us that marriage is honourable among all Men and therefore not only among the Laity then know it is no beam of this Heavenly light which makes Men think they see much sin and shame in it when it is used by the Ministers of the Word but that it is even a dark vapour of the bottomless Pit and so S. Paul saith it is a Doctrine of Devils If the Word written by its light do shew the worship performed to Images to be gross and shamefull Idolatry then that Doctrine which commendeth this as a special point of devotion and condemneth to the Fire those that refuse it cannot be any beam of light issuing from the Word of God unwritten but rather a dark shadow caused by the Prince of darkness so you may think of many other Popish fopperies The Seas the Trees Grass Herbs c. which were on the third Day appeared to be of the same colour by that light which then was without a Sun as th●● did afterwards by the Sun-light so those thin●● which by the word written are now 〈◊〉 to be white or black lawfull o●●●lawfull did appear so also by the light o●●he Word before it was written 5. Consider also that as the Lord could have given light without a Sun and yet being pleased to make a Sun doth also require that we should see by this Sun so the Lord who could have given us knowledge without a word preached and have taught us immediately by his spirit being pleased to set up the Ministry of the Word and to teach us by it doth req●ire that we should learn and profit by it And therefore we must not think that we may neglect the Word because God can teach us without it we must be taught as God will teach us and not as he can but will not God spake immediately to Saul from Heaven condemning his cruelty against the Church but yet sent him to a Man to learn what he should do The Lord striketh down a sinner with the apprehension of his wrath for sin but sendeth him to Men even to the Preachers of his Word to learn what he ought to do And therefore they who in regard of knowledge despise the preaching of the Word and think it needless may as well despise the Sun in regard of outward light for the eye of the Body and think it may well be spared 6. Again consider that as the Sun in his circuit passeth from East to West so the light of the Word issuing by the special providence of God from the East hath come toward the West It is probably thought that Adam was created in the Eastern parts of the World to whom the Word was at first delivered However it is certain that Ierusalem is Eastward whence the Law did issue and the Gospel proceed unto these Western parts and now toward the end of this great Day of the World this light is bending towards those poor Western Barbarians of America 7. Again as the rising Sun is most looked at being especially welcome after the dark Night and not so much regarded at Noon though then it shineth brighter so the Word Preached is most affected ordinarily by a People at its first coming but afterward● through their great corruption and unthankfulness it seemeth stale unto them although there be an encrease of gifts in the Preacher and the truth shining brighter to them in his Ministery than at the first If you finde this in your selves let your hearts smite you for it and be earnest with God to renew your affections to his Word that you may gather an appeti●e by feeding upon this Heavenly Manna and not like the carnal Israelites begin to loath it and to lust for grosser food because this hath been so common Consider that as any Man well in his wits accounteth it a blessing to have the Sun once in 24. hours so should any one who is wise unto salvation and taught of God account it a blessing to have the word twice in a week although it be the less regarded by earthly spirits because it is ordinary 8. Moreover think with thy self that as he that is stark blind cannot see the light when the Sun shineth most brightly so he that is in natural blindness cannot rightly see the divine vertue and saving excellency of the Word therefore call upon

Creation I have chosen the first Words of Holy Scripture as a ground of my Discourse which in brief containeth in it the Story of the Creation In the Words we may take occasion to consider 1. When all things were made In the beginning of time 2. Who made them God 3. The matter whereof they were made Nothing 4. The Forme or Order of the Creation A comely and orderly disposing of the Creatures the Heaven being placed above the Earth in the highes● rank the Earth being seat●d under it 5. The end for which God did create them 6. The effect or thing● created I. When viz. In the beginning of Time God is Eternal before all 〈◊〉 wi●hout all beginning enjoying Himself in infinite All-sufficiency of blessedness and perfection Now before the Creation there could be no time there being nothing but God himself the eternal Iehovah who is not subject to the measure of Time but Time began with the Creation it being the duration or continuance of the Creature so that the beginning of the Creation was the beginning of Time Now as we may consider the Creation conf●s●●ly before there was a distinction of Creatures so also may we consider time it s●lf It is said Verse 2. The Ea●th was with●ut Form and ●●id and darkness was upon the face of the deep c. So that ●i●st there was Created one huge deep confused Mass as a common mat●er out of which all things at least all b●dily substances were afterwards distinctly created So also in the beginning of this confused lump of Creatures there was a beginning of Time but so that Time was in a sort confused too like th●t which was created to which it was coexistent But as the distinction of Creatures began so did the distinction of Time so the Light being the fi●st distinct Creature made the first distinct Day or measure of Time God said let there be Light c. Verse 3 4. And presently it is said Verse 5. The Evening and the Morning were the first Day So that in both respects it may be said that the Creation was in the beginning of Tim● In the beginning of Time confused and not distinctly measured was the Creation of that confused Mass and lump of things not distinctly ordered In the beginning of Time distinctly measured viz. on the first Day of Time was the beginning of the distinct and orderly Creation of things the Light which was the first distinct Creature and the first Day of Time beginning together So we have it Hebr. 1.10 Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the Foundation of the Earth II. Who made all things The Text saith God Here two things are to be considered 1 The Persons in the God-head which did Create 2. The manner of working 1. For the fi●st we must note that all the Persons in the Holy Trinity did create there is no doubt of the Father who as he is the first Person in order of subsisting so is he always the first in order of working The second Person is plainly mentioned Ioh. 1.1 In the begi●ning was the Word c. By him all things were made and without him nothing was made that was made Verse 3. Of the Holy Ghost Moses speaketh in the second Verse of this first Chapter of Genesis And the spirit of God moved upon the Waters or hovered and sate upon them as a Bird upon her Egges by his divine vertue framing the several distinct Creatures out of the common Mass as she by her natural warmth bringeth forth her young ones after her kind with all the distinct parts of their bodies out of the shapeless lump of matter in the Egge according to this sense do the best Expositors take that metaphor so saith the Psalmist in Psal. 104.30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit they are created So that the Father createth by the Son through the vertue of the Holy Ghost And therefore albeit we use to call God the Father the Maker of Heaven and Earth as is expressed in our Creed yet must we not exclude the Son and the Holy Ghost although the Father be first in order of working Thus you see that God made all things as Solomon saith Proverbs 16.4 2. Now we must consider in what manner all things were thus wrought by him 1. Voluntarily of his own free will 2. Without the help or use of any Instruments The Psalmist saith Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he in Heaven and in Earth in the Seas and all deep places Psal. 135.6 Now we see the more excellent any Creature is the more free in its works The Trees and Plants grow up without all liberty by a natural necessity having no sense of that which they do and without any freedome of choice or voluntary manner of doing The sensible creatures Beasts Birds c. As they are of a more excellent nature than the former so they have some shadow of liberty doing that which is pleasing to them and refusing things distastfull yet this is no true and perfect liberty because they have not the light of reason to guide them to liberty or freedome of will in choosing things or refusing But Man at his Creation and the blessed Angels that kep● their first estate have a perfect liberty in their kinds though subordinate to him that gave it yet vo●untarily choosing or refusing according to the Light of their understandings Now then it must needs f●llow that God who is infinite perfection is perfectly and absolutely free in all his works and so in this work of Creation he cannot be imagined to have any to command him he being the supream Commander and absolute Soveraign over all he cannot be conceived to have any need of any thing created and by it to be compelled to make them as some are constrained to work for need who otherwise would be idle sith he is infinitely and absolutely All-sufficient to whose eternal happiness and perfection nothing can be added no not by ten thousand Worlds And as he made all things voluntarily so likewise without the use or help of any Instruments only by his immediate Word So you see all ●long in this Chapter He said let there be light and there was light c. So Psalm 148.5 He commanded and they mere created So that by his spirit the eternal Word he made the World without the use or help of any Instrumen●s III. Of what matter they were made Of nothing In all the artificial works of Men we look to the stuff or matter out of which they were made but here was none God made all things meerly of nothing there was no matter preceding his work It is true there was a common rude unwrought lump of things before the distinct and orderly Creation of things out of which distinct and several Creatures were framed but this also was created by God so that originally all things were created of nothing Iob. 1.3 All things were made by ●im And therefore that thing out of which all other things