Selected quad for the lemma: world_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	light_a	light_n	shine_v	1,940	5	9.1283	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97256	The people's impartiall, and compassionate monitor; about hearing of sermons: or, The worlds preachers and proselites lively painted out, for a person of quality; upon occasion of hearing two famous divines, whose transcendent wit, oratorie, and elegancie, made many at their wits end with admiration! Being a rare discovery to vndeceive the deceiver. / By R. Younge of Roxwell in Essex.	Younge, Richard.	1657 (1657)	Wing Y171; Thomason E1583_1; ESTC R208949	45,797	44

and destroying Not to water a plant when it is dry is to kill it And the fire is as well put out by the subtraction of fewel as by powring water upon it Section 17. Nor are these Non-preachers more guilty of the people blood then the people are of their own for all that forsake their faithful Pastors whom Christ hath placed over them to follow these mountebanks are in the sight of God wilful murtherers of their own souls For as when God had given the children of Israel Sampson to deliver them out of the hands of the Philistims that so much oppressed them they spared not to betray him themselves and to deliver him bound into their oppressers hands Judg. 15. when yet he was the onely deliverer that God had appointed them or as Jephtha was rejected of his brethren and yet the Lord appointed and intended no other to save and deliver them but him 〈◊〉 as Christ albeit he came to his own yet they received him not but disdainfully refused him and yet the Lord decreed him to bee the onely Saviour of his people and that by no other means or name under heaven we should look for salvation but by the Name of JESUS Acts 4.12 So they reject and persecute their faithful Pastor whom God hath set over them and sent to be their deliverer from the thraldom of sin and Satan and probably resolved to save them by him and none else Yea they will hear honour applaud and reward these men-pleasers these soul-murtherers while in the mean time Christs faithful messengers shall meet with nothing from them but contempt hatred base language and blows But fools as they are the case will be strangely altered for come they once to a sence and sight of their sad condition as when they lie gasping at their last hour they will wish O that I had now but the opportunity to converse with such a Minister As Saul sleighted Samuel while hee lived but would sain have heard and advised with him when he was dead He saith Solomon that rebuketh a man shall finde more favour at the length then he which flattereth with his tongue Prov. 28.23 a point well worth these mens minding And the same touching the cause of their dislike as observe I pray you Manna we know had no fault but that it was too good and too frequent onely the Israelites liked it not and indeed the pulse of Egypt had been fitter for their course stomachs and so is poetry Roman history c. sweeter unto these mens ears which are so grosse of hearing But where lies the fault Look into thy self that heavenly bread was unspeakably delicious it tasted like wafers of honey and yet even this Angels food is contemned He that is full despiseth the honey comb and no lesse sweet is the Gospel not onely the Fathers of the Old Testament but the Angels desired to look into the glorious mysteries of it and yet thou art cloied this supernatural food is too light the bread-corn of humane reason and profound discourse will better content thee But little do'st thou think what a damnable sin this is and what it will cost thee another day if thou continuest in the same mind For this is the condemnation none like this that light is come into the world and men loved darknesse rather then light because their deeds were evil Joh. 3.19 And so on the contrary This is life eternal to know thee the onely true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Joh. 17.3 Section 18. But the misery is there is no perswading these men that they are ignorant of God or of Christ What they ignorant persons when they are the onely lovers of wit and knowledg which makes them frequent these witty preachers nor can they endure your dull drones To which I answer This wit in Scripture language and in Gods account is foolishnesse 1 Cor. 2.14 and enmity against the wisdom of God Rom. 8.7 So that as wise Solomon speaks there is more hope of a fools becoming wise then of these mens that are wise in their own conceit Prov. 26.12 And as love and lust are not all one so a witty and a wise-man is not all one The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdome and to depart from evil is understanding Job 28.28 And hereby saith Saint John is it known that we know God if wee keep his commandements 1 Joh. 2.3 But he that saith I know him and yet keepeth not his commandements is a lier and there is no truth in him ver 4. He onely is wise that is wise for his own soul If they were wise saith Saint Bernard they would fore-see the torments of hell and prevent them Alas one spark of spiritual experimental and saving knowledg guided by the fear of God is more worth then all secular wisedom and learning Mat. 16.16 17. Rom. 8.15 16. Psal 111.10 Luk. 24.45 Joh. 15.15 But this wisdome descendeth from above and keepeth a man from every evil way Prov. 2.12 and God onely is the giver of it and he gives it to none but his children the godly Psal 25.14 Luk. 24.45 Mark 4.34 Gen. 18.17 Prov. 1 7. It is not so much scientia capitis as conscientia cordis that knows Christ and our selves Whence Solomon saith Give thine heart to wisdom Prov. 2.10 and Let wisdome enter into thine heart Prov. 4.4 The natural man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2.14 and indeed if they are spiritually discerned how should they discern them that have not the spirit Obj. You seem to condemn all that frequent these witty Preachers do you think none of their hearers good nor wise Answ To this I will make a three-fold answer the first shall be in the words of our Saviour Christ and of Saint John They are of the world saith Saint John therefore speak they of the world and the world heareth them Wee are of God he that knoweth God heareth us he that is not of God heareth us not Hereby know wee the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error 1 Joh. 4.5 6. And again Hee that is of God heareth Gods words Yee therefore hear them not because yee are not of God Joh. 8.47 Every one that is of the truth saies our Saviour heareth my voice Job 18.37 Christs sheep know not the voice of a stranger neither will they hear or follow strangers or hirelings because they care not for the sheep But as they know Christs voice so him onely will they follow and fly from a stranger as you have it Joh. 10.3 4 5 13 14 27. Now if we would know whether a Minister comes in Christs name or in his own whether hee be of God or of the world wee need no better note then to observe what his hearers are For usually if the Church of such a preacher should be searched as Jehu and Jehonadab did the house of Ball

which cleavs to your very best actions for sins of omission c. No you may bee good morall honest hypocrites but none of these graces grow in the gardens of your hearts you have a form of godliness but you deny the power of it and are reprobate to every good work 2 Tim. 3.5 Titus 1.16 Yea have you not strange conceits and base thoughts of the best men do you not deeply censure and condemn the generation of the just and think the worse of a man for having a tender conscience do you not envy hate scoffe at nick-name rail on and slander the people of God and misconstrue their actions and intentions watch for their haulting c. Do you not with Festus account zeal madness and religion foolishness with Micholl Yea you hate zeal and devotion so invetterately that you can in no wise bear with it in others And does not all this prove thee wicked though righteous enough in thine own eyes But Section 20. Thirdly and lastly there needs no more to prove them ignorant then their rejecting to hear the Word plainly preached chusing rather to hear a lecture of Philosophie read As it 's strange to consider how grosly men err in judging of things that take not the Word for their rule whereof some instances Such shall think they do God service in murthering his Children and Prophets John 16.2 And so did the Powder Traitors intending to blow up the whole State They think to bee saved by Christ though they do nothing but blaspheme him and take up arms against him They will say they love God and Christ and yet hate all that any way resemble him They will boast of a strong faith and yet fall short of the devills in beleeving Jam. 2.19 The Jews accused Christ for keeping company with sinners when they should have blamed themselvs for not keeping company with Christ. God hath given mee my reward says Leah because I gave my maid unto my husband shee rejoiced when shee should have repented Gen. 30.18 And the like of Saul Blessed are yee of the Lord says hee when the Ziphims told him where David had hid himself his intent being to murther him 1 Sam. 23.21 And like to this is that of Micha who thought the Lord could not choose but bee good unto him seeing hee had got a Levite into his house Judg. 17.13 In like manner what is the cause of these mens preferring these preachers but their ignorance of Gods Word they do not in the least perceive the things of the Spirit they are spiritually blind and so not able to judge of preaching or Preachers Being like shell-fish that cannot smell or the Camelion which hath no tast and withall so improvident touching their souls that they will rather take dross for gold then try it in the furnace whence it is they resemble Alchidas who was enamored on the Picture of Cupid or Zerxes who fell so far in love with a Plane-tree which happened in his way that hee tarried by it a whole day causing the boughs to bee adorned with chains of gold bracelets and spangles yielding thereto great reverence But did they tread in the steps of all wise and good Christians who have the mind of Christ 1 Cor. 2.16 or acquainted with Gods Word and judg of things and persons as they are and not as they seem whose testimony onely is of credit they would bee so far from applauding the men that they would not vouchsafe to hear their sermons Now if any shall yet make question of their ignorance do but ask them a reason of the hope that is in them as every one that professeth himself a Christian should be able and ready to yeeld 1 Pet. 3.15 they can no more tell you then the wind can tell which last blew off my hat All experimentall divinity is greek to them bee they never so great lovers of wit Indeed to speak against the truth their tongues will run like the wheels of a clock when the spring is broken but they are neither able nor willing to speak a word for it Now if these things be so then they whom they hear and honor have small cause to rejoice therein Nor have the other whom they shun and hate any cause to be discouraged thereby because to carnal and fleshly men that preaching which saves souls is foolishness devotion idleness the Prophets mad-men Paul a babbler And untill they be cured of their prejudice which God onely by his prerogative can do nothing that can be said will serve Wisdom saith our Saviour is justified of her children that is the faithful Mat. 11.19 intimating that such wisdom as is justified by wicked men is not wisdom indeed Take we then our Saviours counsel and seek to justifie our judgments to the children of wisdom of whom wisdom is justified and not to fools by whom she is daily crucified And tread in his steps who rejected the commendations and approbation of such Luk. 4.35 41. and Saint Paul Act. 16.17 18. True as the Church of Laodicea could flatter her self with an opinion that she was rich and had need of nothing when yet she was wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked Rev. 3.17 Or as the young man in the Gospel could brag that he had kept all the commandements from his youth Mat. 19.20 And that cackling Pharisee Luk. 18.11 12. could tell Christ that hee was not like other men so there is no perswading these men but they are wise and good enough and no wonder for they slumber and suppose themselvs good Christians their faith is but a dream their hope but a dream their charity but a dream their obedience but a dream their whole religion but a dream and so their assurance of salvation is but a dream They have Regeneration in conceit repentance and righteousness in conceit they serve God well in conceit do the works of piety and charity in cenceit and they shall go to heaven onely in conceit or in a dream and never awake until they feel themselvs really in the burning lake And indeed do but take away from mens minds vain opinions flattering hopes false valuations imaginations and the like you will leave the mindes of most men and women but poor shrunken things full of melancholy indisposition and unpleasing to themselvs Which could never be if Satan the Prince of darknesse and of this world did not so blind their minds that the light of the glorious Gospel shines not unto them as it is 2 Cor. 4.4 And would they but lend the Gospel an ear where it is powerfully preached they would at least be so wise as to get better assurance then onely to think themselvs good enough since pure and naked supposals never brought any one to eternal life Neither is there any other means to be used whereby it is to be had Onely the skill is to perswade the simple as to be wise and solid is the portion but of a few to beware of hearing