Selected quad for the lemma: evil_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
evil_n	bitter_a	good_a	light_n	2,289	5	8.2364	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A23661	A discourse of divine assistance, and the method thereof shewing what assistance men receive from God in performing the condition of the promise of pardon of sin and eternal life / by W.A.	Allen, William, d. 1686.	1679 (1679)	Wing A1059; ESTC R17227	99,779	333

is need of a Divine Power to work some cure upon the Eye of the mind to discern aright concerning the things of the Gospel David had some sense of this upon his mind when he prayed thus unto God Open thou mine eyes that I may behold the wondrous things of thy Law Psal 119.18 The Disciples had not right notions of things revealed by the Scriptures concerning Christ until our Saviour opened their understandings to understand the Scriptures Luke 24.45 When the Veil is taken away so that men with open face behold the glorious things of the Lord in the Gospel it is by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 Though the hope of the Christians calling and the riches of the glory of Gods inheritance in the Saints are revealed in the Gospel yet S. Paul knew for all that that there was need of having the eyes of the understanding inlightned to know and discern what those are and therefore prayed unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for it in the behalf of the Ephesians c. 1.17 18. And if these Christians after they believed stood in need to have the eyes of their understanding further enlightned by God in order to a more clear and full prospect of the gloriousness of the Hope set before them for the strengthening and encouraging them to persevere and hold out in their obedience to the Gospel then doubtless they much more stood in need of some enlightning by God in this kind to enable them at first to begin to be sincerely obedient In the dark men are apt to mistake one thing for another so before this illumination of the mind by the Spirit of God they are apt to call evil good and good evil to put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter to chuse evil under the notion of good and to refuse good under the notion of evil But when the light of the Law and Gospel are let into the mind by which every thing is discovered and discerned in its true shape and colour then Sin and Vertue appear to be what they are in their own nature sin to be sin indeed and vertue and goodness to be vertue and goodness indeed Then sin appears in the turpitude deformity and malignity of its nature and in its tendency to the ruine of the subject in which it dwells and righteousness vertue and goodness appear in their beauty and usefulness and in their tendency to the happiness of such in whom they dwell For instance Before this illumination men are apt to mistake the doctrine of the grace of God which brings salvation and to think they shall be saved because Christ died for sinners and because they believe he did so especially if they be but now and then troubled in their minds and sorry for their sins and do pray God to pardon them though they still continue in them But when the eyes of their understanding are opened to see things as they are and are represented in the Gospel then they perceive none shall be saved by the death of Christ what ever their belief may be but such as shall be persuaded by the great motives of the Gospel to be reconciled to God by being reconciled to their Duty throwing down the weapons of their rebellion and becoming universally sincerely obedient to his government according to the Laws of Jesus Christ This illumination of the mind by God contributes so much towards mens performing the condition of the promise that the whole of their conversion is sometimes meant in Scripture when but this only is mentioned Heb. 10.32 3. Another part of the Divine Assistance afforded unto men in performing the condition of the promise is the Holy Spirits operation upon the will to assist it in what is proper to it in performing of the condition of the promise For what ever sense there is begot in men of the danger they are in by reason of sin or whatever illumination is wrought in the mind touching the way and method laid down by God of escaping that danger yet until the will be changed and wrought to a firm resotion of complying with the terms on which the promise of pardon and life through Christ is made the work is not done the person is not regenerate nor in a regular capacity of enjoying what is conditionally obtained by Christ and conditionally promised through him Men are not begotten of God nor born of God as the Scripture speaks of some that are they are not begotten by the word of truth nor born again of the immortal seed of the Word until the change be made in the will as well as in the understanding and when ever it is made it is the effect of a divine operation It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure Phil. 2.13 Now in that assistance which is vouchsafed unto men in renewing them in their wills in working in them to will several things are to be considered 1. The Holy Spirit disposeth the Will to be passive in reference to those notices given by the enlightned mind and understanding touching those things which have been discovered to it by the Gospel through the illuminating operation of the Spirit upon it The Will having been accustomed to busie and exercise it self about other objects such as the senses have presented to it things that concern onely this present world and life it will hardly suffer any passage for heavenly and divine things which are strangers to it without some divine operation of the Spirit to incline the will thereto or to open a passage for them Which is done I conceive by suspending the evil influence which the will had upon the understanding in keeping or with-holding it from considering with any seriousness and frequency the things that concern the soul and another life And if the understanding be but at liberty seriously and frequently to consider such things as well as those that concern onely this present life the will then cannot but see and taste them to be better because the mind and judgment in such case cannot but represent them to the will as much better and as things wherein the happiness of our nature is much more concerned than in any than in all the things of this world God in taking off the will from the foresaid bad influence it had upon the considerative faculty takes away the heart of stone the Scripture speaks of For the heart of stone which God said he would take away signifies the inflexible temper of the will and the resistance it makes against the understandings taking those things into serious consideration which tend to persuade the will to alter its purposes and to alter its choice of objects Mens not considering things that concern their souls and another life when yet they can and do consider things that relate to the animal life is justly imputed to the faultiness of their wills they do not consider them because they will not