Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	evil_a	good_a	tree_n	33,809	5	11.7409	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47152	Immediate revelation, or, Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God revealed in man and revealing the knowledge of God and the things of his kingdom immediately : or, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit of promise, the spirit of prophecy poured forth and inspiring man and induing him with power from on high ... not ceased, but remaining a standing and perpetual ordinance in the Church of Christ and being of indispensible necessity as to the whole body in general ... / writ by George Keith, prisoner of the truth in the Tolbooth of Aberdein, the 29th of the third moneth, 1665.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1668 (1668)	Wing K175; ESTC R28754	117,830	152

love and mercy of God is apprehended is not the natural man which is utterly incapable thereof but the dead spiritual man that is a little rev●…ved through the living touch and manifestation But the judgement and wrath of God that is revealed as a flaming fire is more able to grapple and fight with the darkness and can keep its place longest in the heart in this state yea it is the judgement which is first brought forth into victory over transgression and the Prince of it and then the mercy shineth forth in great sweetness ●…eauty brightness and majesty and rejoyceth over the judgement and turneth its severity and rigor into the greatest meekness and gentleness after all the contrary is expelled wrought out and destroyed and then doth the light of the glory of God shine in an unspeakable brightness in the purified soul as a permanent and abiding object so as to dwell and tabernacle therein to rest upon the soul and abide in it and heir the Kingdome of righteousness peace and joy is witnissed to be of an everlasting and unchangeable continuance and the glory of the Lord so to be arisen as it goeth down no more this is the day that hath no night that is endlesse and everlasting 5. Fifthly By immediate revelation its being of necessary continuance in the true Church or among the true Saints we understand not only immediate supernatural operations ' and influences of the spirit of God in and upon the mind and understanding of man which the Schoolmen call revelations ex parte subjecti i. e. upon the part of the subject to assist and inable or elevate the minde to know and understand savingly but also such inward manifestations and appearances and illuminations and influences as are the very immediate objects of our mind which hath real sensations and feelings of them as aforesaid in themselves without the need of words or any other thing by way of object to represent them which the Schoolmen call revelations ex parte objesti i. e. upon the part of the object so that a real object or objects are immediately by the Lord set before the mind of man which he seeth and perceiveth when they are presented and when not as my outward eye seeth when it is light or dark or what is presented in the light and when it is presented and when it is taken away out of my sight that which is given from Gods spirit unto mans mind upon the part of the subject by way of any help or assistance to enable it to know and understand the things of God as they are presented under in or by or through the scriptures the Schoolmen call it medium incognitum assentiendi an unknown midst of knowing or assenting it helps me to know but I know not it self in it self it is not the very object say they of my knowledge and if it be not the very immediate object of my knowledge it is not known but a hid unknown thing and so according to them the help of Gods spirit his influence his concurrence coeoperation his motion and praemotion his lightnings and quicknings and breathings and all his other communications and working and works in mans mind are things wholy sealed hid shut up vailed from and unknown to the mind in whom they are it hath no immediate feeling or perception of them or immediate knowledge of them more then a tree that grows in the field and is influenced with the light and warmth of the Sun and watered with the rain and dew from heaven but the tree having only the light of vegetation but not the life of sensation knows not what influenceth or watereth it sees not that glorious heavens that so bountifully powreth down its influences on it nor hath it any sensible taste or relish of the water that falls on it wch it drinks in for its nourishment and so knows not to speak properly when it is watered and when not when the Sun goes down and when it rises Thus it is with the Saints according to the Schoolmen and national teachers who because they want the spiritual sences themselves therefore they deny that the things of God as aforesaid are objective that is to say sensible or perceiveable in themselves Hence it is that in the ignorance blindness and insensibleness of their minds the query us so much How know you that you have the spi●…it of God how know you when he moves you to speak pray or give thanks how know you that that refreshment and joy and comfort which you say is given you from the spirit is true and not a delusion of Sathan And when we answer that we know the spirit of the Lord in his shinings warmings quicknings waterings and refreshings from and by himself in his own immediate manifestation in our hearts minds and spirits which have a seeing hearing smelling tasting and feelling of him in the divine seed and birth which hath all these sensations in it that are infallible whereby we know that it is he and not another the spiritual sences can discern betwixt good and evil both in root and branch fountain and streams principle and action the good spirit from the evil and the influence and work of the good ●…om the influence and work of the evil as the natural eye can 〈◊〉 betwixt light and darkness white and black or the natural ear betwixt sounds pleasant and unpleasant or the natural ta●… betwixt sweet and bitter or the feeling betwixt hard and soft rough and smooth And as all the natural sences are infallible and cannot erre when the organ is sound and he medium fit and suitable and the object duly proposed so is it as touching the spiritual sences which are also infallible touching their objects when they are duly proposed through a fit medium upon or unto a sound organ Now the Organ is the civine feed and birth aforesaid which if nothing of the evil and contrary Nature lye too near to hurt it will do its office and discover the things proposed most clearly and distinctly the medium or midst is that pure heavenly Air breath or spirit which proceedeth from the Lord in which his pure light shines forth into a most perfect manifestation of what is proposed wherein also the pure heavenly and divine voice or sound of the spirit of God which doth wonderfully and unspeakably refresh quicken and comfort it formed and conveyed into the spiritual ear and all the objects whither of the spiritual sight or hearing or tasting or feeling or ●…elling are proposed and presented by the Lord himself in the seed who is also the most noble and glorious object and doth give an objective manifestation of himself to be seen heard and tasted of in such a manner as is inutterable and never entred into mans heart to conceive but God hath revealed it unto us by his spirit Now these who deny objective manifestations revelations and proposals will not receive this answer nor can

can have no true nor infallible assurance of Gods love and favour That there is such a thing attainable to every Believer and necessary for him to know as to his comfortable walking with God the Scriptures manifestly declare and it 's generally acknowledged it 's to become to and sought after and therefore I shall not insist on the proveing of it being granted only the way how it is attained that is it I plead for That it is only by the Immediate Revelation of the Spirit of Christ Justifying the man in his heart He is near that Iustifyeth saith the Prophet so near that he is in him and justifieth him in his conscience and without this man can never have true assurance till God justifieth him mans justification or words only spoke without can do nothing Rom. 8. 16. The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirits that we are the children of God Not the words of Scripture or the words of the Spirit spoke to or in other men what is that to me but the Spirit it self witnesseth this and he that believeth hath this witness in himself witnessing in him 1 Phil. 5. 10. And saith Paul 2 Cor. 1. 21. Now he which stablisheth us with you is Christ and hath appointed us is God who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts Lo how he makes it a common Priviledge to him and them and this is that which stablisheth setleth confirmeth stayeth the mind and giveth it peace and removeth all doubtings begeteth in it a full assurance of Faith according to Heb. 10. 22. and Heb. 6. 11. It 's called The full assurance of hope and Col. 2. 2. all riches of the full assurance of understanding And this was the fruit of Pauls preaching 1 Thes. 1. 5. For our Gospel came not unto you in word only but also in power and in the holy Ghost and in much assurance and Ephes. 1. 13. In whom viz. in Christ when ye had believed for it should be so Translated Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of Promise So blessed are they who receave this Seal and what are all Scripture words without this Seal but a blank and this Seal is the Seal of the holy Spirit of Promise sealing in mans heart that he is beloved justified and approved of God and it can make him cry with assurance that it is so Abba Father And this will yet further appear that its only by Revelation that a man can be assured of his state by the immediate manifestation of his state to him in the Light of Jesus Christ by examining the other grounds which men make for this assurance when they have shut out of doors that which can give it and gives it as is proved by the Scriptures Testimony a man say they can be assured of his state before God if he be Justified by certain Signes Characters and Marks for if he be a true believer that his Faith is the true Faith the living Faith and not the false dead Faith This say they he can know by his Love to God by his meekness his patience his courage his righteousness his love to his Neighbours but now seeing there are semblances of all these a counterfeit love doth to God and Man meekness patience c. For the Hippocrite who has nothing of the true Love Patience Meekness c. Yet he hath a likeliness of them and will proceed as far in the outward actions of Devotion Charity Equity c. As the other that is the true believer yea and even according to their own confession he may go beyond him and so whereas they say the Tree is kno●…n by its Fruits and it is so but by what are the Fruits known two men may be found doing the same outward work which has the same outward appearance and yet the one a meet Hippocrite the other a sincere Christian then by what can their works or fruits be judged It 's true some works are so manifestly evil as Cursing Swearing Drunkenness Lying Stealing Killing Whoreing that they are readily known by all to be such and that which makes them known is the Light of Christ in their hearts but now these works which carry in them an appearance to be good and yet are not good but dead works empty without Life though they have a fair show yet they are rottenness within as it s reported of some Aples that have a very pleasant colour but are poyson within how shall man judge of these now he who has Life in himself the birth begotten of God he has a Spiritual sence and discerning whereby he can savour smell and taste of the works the fruits of the good tree for they have a good favour a living spiritual savour they smell and taste of the Tree of Life on which they grow hence they are called living works and these in the Light which reveals them and makes all manifest or seen to be good And the works have but the appearance they are also seen and discerned to be such and being evil they cast an evil favour by which in the Light which begets the discerning they are felt and he can have no union with them nor with the tree on which they grow and this man discerneth in the manifestation of the Light both his own and his neighbours works of what nature they are by the casting and smelling of the fruit the Tree is known both in himself and his neighbour and this is a great Mystery and hard to be received with such who have not got that taste and discerning begot in them of the Lord which tasteth words and works as the mouth tasteth meat but hereto I give my testimony that there is such a thing and I do witness it in my measure and so I confess there are Signes and Characters of a mans state the fruits infallibly manifest the tree but the fruits cannot be certainly and infallibly known but in and by the Light which reveals them and begets a tast to discern them this is it which enters into the Kirnel and pierces thorow the outward appearance and searches what is in the Centre and brings to light the hidden things of Dishonesty and discovers the ravening Wolf in the Sheeps cloathing whether in a mans self or his neighbour And this further makes it the more impossible for a Man without Revelation to know his state especially according to our Advessaries Principle for whereas Christ said Whereby shall ye know that ye love me if ye keep my Commandements Now they say that is impossible we must break them every day in thought word and deed and we must remain in a necessity of sinning while we remain in the body and this Principle takes every wicked prophane wretch to cover his wickedness O sayes he the Children of God have their infirmities David fell in Murther and Adultery Noah into Darkness Peter denied his Master c. and the common Swearer Drunkard Whoremonger Backbiter

Cheater Worldling say This is my infirmity and the best have their infirmities I have a good heart and am sincere for all this and I approve not my doings and I may have true faith for all this and be in a Justified condition Now passing this Decept of theirs which their Teachers have caused them to drink in I shall only at this time use it so far against them as to demonstrate all their signes and marks come short to give them assurance for now according to their own Confession their keeping the Commandments cannot be a Sign to them for they cannot come up to keep them and their evil works are many and much more than their good how then shall the good Tree be found by its fruits seeing the good Tree cannot bring forth evil fruits and how shall the good in this mixture be known from the evil and this yet increases the difficulty in the point of Tryal that not the quantity or the measure is to be looked into of goodness or grace in Man but the quantity kind or nature and it 's true that it is so Now where there is so much of the evil and so little of the good like a dust of Gold a little grain in a dunghill of evil whose nature is to hide the good how can it appear or be infallibly known but by the Revelation of the Light of Christ which searches ●…ll the depths of Heaven and Hell and indeed in the midest of Much of a contrary Nature in man Much Filth and Deceipt and Corruption yet the Light I say will discover the little grain of sincerity the small mustard Seed and without this Man has no comfort till that he know that there is somewhat that is sincere and honest in him and this breathes and cries to God for Deliverance from that of a contrary Nature That he would slay it with the Sword of his mouth and raise it up unto Dominion and Victory over all And it 's only God who searches every thing in Man's heart that can discover it to him for he cannot himself of himself know it but the Lord he searcheth the Heart and tryeth the Reins and sheweth to man his thoughts and every motion of his mind of what nature quality and principle they are and so it 's manifest that one uncertain f●…llible and dubious way this is for a Man to know his State by Marks and Signs when he is not come to the immediate Manifestation and Revelation of the Light of Christ in his heart in this to read his evidences and examine them No more can they tell a Man his State without this than a Sun-Dyal can tell the hours of the day when the Sun shines not upon it with his beams and this comparison some of themselves have made and whatever that assurance be they can gather without Immediate Revelation it 's not the assurance of Faith and so at best it 's but conjecture this will easily appear from their own very Principles and some of them has seen it and granted it for were it no assurance of Faith then it should have the Revealed Word of God for its object either by Scripture or Immediately spoken from the mouth of the Lord This they grant That Faith can have no other formal object Now according to their own way they affirm this assurance is but to be gathered by consequence as in such an Argument or Silogisme Whosoever firmly and truly believeeth in Christ and loveth him c. is Justified But I am such saith he therefore I am such Now the Proposition of this Argument being sound in Scripture I grant it and shall let it pass for a true Foundation at this time though as is above demonstrated the Scripture Words in themselves be not a sufficient Foundation But what warrant have they for the Faith of the Assumption Vi●… I believe I love Christ no Scripture in all the Bible speaks this particularly to any man and they acknowledge it and that this assumption has not the Word of God for it's object but Dictamen Conscientie The testimony of Man 's own Heart and Conscience that he sincerely believes and loves God And now according to that true Principle and granted by themselves the Conclusion alwayes followeth the weaker premises as one link in the Chain being weak weakens the whole Chain it followeth That this Conclusion must follow the certainty of the Assumption and it being but the testimony of a Man 's own Conscience for to this at last he must return how many arguments soever he makes and not the Testimony of the Word and Spirit of God in his Conscience for this they have shut out of Doores as is said wherefore the Conclusion also which is the assurance a Man has of his State by the practical silogysm as is called by them is but the assurance of Faith not Divine but Humane That is an Assurance leaning upon Man's own Testimony of himself and not upon the Testimony of God's Word and so it 's not the Assurance of Faith the Scripture speaks off which has its object the Word of God And this as is said some of themselves ingenuously have confessed and affirmed That an assurance of Faith is only attainable by special Revelation And as for my self I can truly say it I was put upon the Rack as it were with the Doctrine of the Natural Teachers when I set about to examine my State for the signs they gave me of my State was as obscure and dark to me as my State it self and how then could I by them know it And thus I am sure it has been and is with many others and what shall we render unto the Lord who has spoken in our hearts saying Be of good comfort I am at peace with you your sins are forgiven I am well pleased with you in my beloved Son and has caused his Light to shine forth in our hearts which Reveals our State unto us and pointeth unto us the infallible Signs and Characters of it and the love of God is Immediately felt and this knowledge of it is beyond all Signes and Characters of it and what a blessed Priviledge do they robe themselves of which they might attain unto who cry out All Revelation is Ceased for if it be Ceased then can Men neither know God Scripture or Himself Argument 14. And hereby only Man can also know the true Church in general and the Members and Ministers thereof in particular the true Church has alwayes been a Mistery un●…o the World the Men of this World for it standeth in another Principle The true Church is in God 1 Thes. 1. 1. This is the Principle it standeth in and every Member thereof they are his hidden ones they are as dead Men unto the World being Crucified to it and it to them for said Paul Coloss. 3. 3. Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God And as Christ is so are they in this World being