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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	heaven_n	lord_n	work_n	9,156	5	5.3243	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20180	Christes miracles deliuered in a sermon. By Arthvr Dent, preacher of the word of God, at South-Shoobery in Essex.	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1608 (1608)	STC 6613; ESTC S113588	17,721	54

very strange and admirable yet because it is vsuall and common it cannot be called a miracle So we may sée the nature and power of some water to turne that which in nature is gold into stone that is knowne to be true by experience yet no man can shew any reason why that water should rather doe it then any other Although this be strange wonderfull yet because it is vsuall and ordinary yet in those waters it is no miracle for euery miracle is a rare worke that commeth to passe not ordinarily but very sildome This worke is called rare either in regard of the thing wrought or in regard of the manner of working it First in respect of the thing wrought as when the Lord sent downe Manna from heauen to féed such a great number of people as the Israelites were this was very rare in regarde of the thing wrought So when the Lord made the Sunne to stay in the element so likewise as we may read when the Lord made the shadow of the Diall to go back Secondly a miracle is rare in regarde of the maner of working it as when the water was turned into bloud it was not a rare thing to sée blond but the manner of working it as namely with a Rod was most rare and was neuer seene before So we do sée that Christs manner of healing the blind man was very rare Therefore a miracle if it be a miracle indéed first it must be a true worke Secondly a rare worke either in regarde of the thing it selfe or in regard of the manner of dooing it Apparantly wrought c. Thirdly a miracle must haue this annexed vnto it for it must not be obscure but apparent I meane not to the reason and iudgement of man but to mans sense that is to some of his senses or to all of them without controuersie or doubting This we shall sée in all true miracles wrought by god to be of this nature namely cleare and euident to mans senses for either men did féele them as the darknesse in Egipt or else they might touch them taste them or smell them When the Lord brought his people of Israel from Egipt all the miracles which hee by his power had wrought among them were most apparent vnto mans sense As namely when they went through the redde Sea there he made the waters to deuide themselues and to stand like mighty mountaines on each side of them in such sort that they did most mauifestly sée and behold the same So likewise they saw when Moses stroke the stony Rock so that thereout gushed water So they saw most euidently the walls of Iericho fall downe and therefore if there be any miracle which is not apparent of itselfe it is no miracle Likewise what workes so euer be done by Satan or any of his Angels if it be not euident and to bee discerned by mans sense hence wee know that it is no miracle Let vs by this property of a-true miracle examine the miracle of the Altar of the Church of Rome for in the Sacrament of the Altar after the Priest hath said a few words as these Hoc est corpus meum they teach that there a strange worke is brought to passe for the substance of the bread which was on the Altar is gone and is changed into the body of Christ if it were so then indéede it were a miracle but if it be a miracle then men may discerne it by one sense or other For let them shew me an instance where the lord wrought any miracle which he did not subiect to the senses of man but in this there is no miracle which may be discerned by the senses for the bread in the iudgment of al the senses seemeth the same that it was before to y e sight it séemeth to be the very same in substance of the same quality and colour that it was of before it hath the same taste it had before to the handling it appeareth the same that it was before and hath the same smelling that it had before there is not any sense that iudgeth now otherwise of it then it did before therfore it can be no true miracle Indéed if before I séeing it to be bread tasting smelling and touching it do iudge it to be bread should now séeing smelling tasting and féeling it perceiue it to be the body of Christ it were a true miracle But séeing to all the senses it appeareth one the same that it was before it cannot be a miracle but they say the outward forme external accident of y e bread yet remaineth but the substance of it is turned into y ● body of Christ which though we cānot perceiue by our senses yet we are to beléeue by faith But how did Christ himselfe deale with Thomas when he doubted of his resurrection he sayd Thrust thy finger into my side and feele whether I haue not flesh bones for a spirit hath not as thou feelest me to haue he taketh away his doubt by the sence of féeling and if this true naturall body of Christ were there in the bread then might we feele it as Thomas did for Christ still retaineth that his true and naturall body although he be now glorified In-so-much therefore that in the bread there is no miracle apparent to the senses there is no miracle at all But this is the difference in Gods Church that before it was common bread ordained and sanctified by the Lord for the nourishment of our bodies but now it is the holy bread appointed and set apart and sanctified by the Lord not so much for the nourishment of our bodies but especially for the confirmation of our faith and the foode of our soules The same also is to be said of the Wine Fourthly I adde Wrought by the sole omnipotent power of God Wherin I note the workers of miracles The Lord himselfe worketh miracles but peculiarlie and properly by his power and not by his wisdom though both be infinite and that a miracle is wrought by the power of GOD I prooue by these reasons First a miracle is a worke of great power farre passing the power of all creatures therefore it must néeds be wrought by the power of the Creator Secondly it is apparent by diuers places of the word of God as Ioel. 2. 21. 30. there the holy Ghost ascribeth the working of miracles to the Lord himselfe I will shew wonders in heauen and earth saith the Lord feare not O land for I will do great things Thirdly the holy Ghost vseth this as an argument to prooue that Iehouah is the Lord and is onely to bee serued Leuit. 26. Deut. 28. Albeit the Magitians of Egipt could worke many admirable wonders by their owne Arte and by the instruction of the Diuill yet they confessed that the workes of Moses were not done by Moses power nor by any actor skill that was in Moses nor yet by naturall causes but by the finger

of God which is nothing else but his power By this argument doth Christ prooue that his miracles were not done by the power of Belzebub If I by the finger of God cast out Diuils by whom doe your children cast them out Lastly this may also appeare by the consideration of the meanes which the Lord vseth in working of miracles As the shadow of Peter to cure diseases Can any mans shadow cure another No but the Lord would haue that this meanes should shew that the things were wrought by his power So the Handkercher of Paul did cure diseases not that there were any such vertue in it but that it came from the Lord So also did the hem of Christs garment is there any power in the hem of a mans garment to cure diseases Surely no but the Lord vseth that meanes to teach vs thereby that his power onely doth worke it Here then we must acknowledge that miracles are wrought only by the Lord and serue greatly to the aduancing of his glory Lastly we must consider that a miracle is contrary to the instinct of Nature Nature had neuer any such inclination as to bring to passe any miracle as when the water stood on two parts nature had a desire to make the waters runne when as then the waters stoode it was contrarie to nature The vse The vse that we must make hereof is to giue to God that which is his owne that wee should acknowledge him to be the sole author and worker of miracles that either haue béene or shall be in the world If thou giue them to Satan then doest thou constitute him instéed of the Lord himselfe Art thou the Lords then know that neither Sathan nor any creature is able to worke any miracle against thée If thou be his rather then his name should be dishonoured by thée hee will worke miraculously for thy good and preseruation Further this serueth to ratifie our faith in the power of God The Diuill is his seruant whether he will or not he can do nothing but that which the Lord willeth And hereby we hold that our bodies shall be raised againe at the last day For God is able to worke all miracles although there be neither bone skin nor flesh left yet hee is able to ioyne flesh to flesh sinew to sinew and raise vs vp againe with the same bodies we had before The second part of this Sermon Now remaineth some-thing to be spoken more plainely and particularly of miracles For as in all other things so also in miracles the Lord vseth diuerse and sundry wayes of working For eyther himselfe alone and of himselfe alone or else he vseth some creature in the working of the same As in the creation of the world hee vsed not any thing out of himselfe but in himselfe by himselfe and of himselfe alone he created all things of nothing So likewise in the working of some miracles it pleaseth him not to admit the vse of any creature whatsoeuer As when hée stayed the sunne in the firmament hee did it of himselfe without the helpe of any other So also he turned back the shadow of the Dyall of Azah by himselfe alone without the vse of any other But neuerthelesse in working some miracles he vseth meanes but especially man for the meanes thereof As in all the myracles wrought in Egipt the Lord did worke them indéed but by the hand of Moses and Aaron He deuided the redde Sea so that Israel passed through on drye foote but it was done by Moses So also hee wrought many miracles in the wildernesse before the Isralites but by the hands of Moses and Aaron So some miracles were done by Judges some by Elizaeus and others of the Prophets So also God wrought miracles afterward not only by his sonne but also by the hands of the Apostles So that it is a true point of religion to holde that the Lord in working of miracles doth oftentimes vse the meanes of man therin In this doctrine wee are to take héede of these two dangerous points First that we derogate nothing from the Maiestie of God although hee vse meanes in the working of many miracles Secondly that we do not magnifie the Creature which the Lord vseth aboue that which is conuenient Into which many haue fallen heretofore For the auoyding therefore of them it is necessary to hold these two points of Religion first to beléeue and know that the omnipotent power of God cannot be communicated to any creature For the Lord saith as of his wisedome iustice and mercy so also of his power I will not giue my glory to another We are therefore to hold that the power of God cannot beséeme any creature whatsoeuer no though it bee an Angell of Heauen Secondly that wee must know remember and constantly beléeue that albeit the power of GOD could be communicated to any creature either in heauen or in earth yet that there is no creature capeable thereof no creature is able to beare it This is euident in the example of Peter before whome when CHRIST had wrought a miracle and hee had séene some small sight of his glory he sayd Depart from mee Lord for I am a sinfull man If Peter could not abide the glimmering of his glory and if it brought his sinnes to memory insomuch that hee thought himselfe vnworthy of his presence how much more vnable had hee béene to bears the weight thereof But may some say if this bee so why then doth the Lord vse meanes in working of miracles why doth hee vse men Prophets Apostles yea and those also which haue no iustifying faith and also other creatures I answer the Lord vseth them not because he stands in néed of them for he can worke all things of himselfe neither vseth he them that men should ascribe lesse to him and more to the creatures which he vseth but for to teach vs these thrée things First to teach vs how his Maiestie doth approoue the meanes whereby things are brought to passe for if the Lord vseth meanes when as they be of lesse vse much more wil he approoue when the meanes are vsed which haue some power to bring things to passe This then is the first cause why the Lord vseth meanes to shew that he would haue vs kept maintained and liue in this world but so as by vsing such meanes as his Maiestie shall appoint Therefore no man ought to neglect and contemne the meanes least hee oppose himselfe against the Lord Secondly the Lord vseth creatures in working miracles to support and vphold mans weaknesse who is not able to looke on his Maiestie when hee worketh himselfe This is plaine in the example of the Israelites Exod. 19. when they came to Mount Sinai to heare the Lord there was such thunder and lightning and the sound of a Trumpet excéeding lowd and the Mount all of a smoake because the Lord came downe by fire they were so bereft of their sences and were so afraide that afterward they