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
A95609	A Scripture-map of the wildernesse of sin, and vvay to Canaan. Or The sinners way to the saints rest. Wherein the close bewildring sleights of sin, wiles of the Devill, and windings of the heart, as also the various bewildrings of lost sinners, yea, even of saints, before, in, and after conversion; the necessity of leaning upon Christ alone for salvation, with directions therein: as also, the evident and eminent danger of false guides, false wayes, false leaning-stocks, are plainly, and practically discovered. Being the summe of LXIV lecture sermons preached at Sudbury in Suffolk, on Cantic. 8.5. / By Faithful Teate, M.A. minister of the Gospel.	Teate, Faithful, b. 1621.	1655 (1655)	Wing T615; Thomason E839_1; ESTC R203761	372,945	489

above sixteen hundred yeares agoe shall save so many as expect salvation by it now And thus doe poor hearts often reason themselves from trusting in Christ Ah! how witty was the woman of Samaria in cavilling against Christ Ioh. 4.11.12.15 Her wit had almost fool'd her for ever and as we speak of some that they will save their jest though they lose their friend this over-wise woman had in making her jests almost unhappily lost her Saviour but Christ would not so lose her Secondly 2. Emnity against God Our Unregenerate or carnall mind it s not onely foolishnesse and so not able to receive the things of God but also Emnity against God Rom. 8.7 therefore saith Paul is it not subject to the Law of God neither can it be Now what is the great Gospel-Law why This is his Commandement that we should believe on the Lord Jesus 1 Joh. 3 23. To this Commandement the Carnall mind neither is nor can be subject Lean upon the Lord Jesus Tell mee what say your Carnall minds unto this Commandement It is obvious to every observant eye that there is not any Commandement of the Law that is more repugnant to Carnall reason then this Law of the Gospel and Carnall reason unto it Aristotle and the other heathen Philosophers could hit upon an Ens entium a being of beings and that was somewhat like the first Commandement and upon a Deus est colendus and that is somewhat like the second Command They also could account vowes and oaths sacred c. and that was something like the third Commandement they had some superstitious feasts in semblance of the fourth and as for the second Table of Commandements Honor Parents kill not whore not steal not lie not they could all with open mouth declaim in that Language and as for Covetousnesse much could they inveigh against it although the more spirituall part of there was too sublime for them But as for this Commandement they were so far from finding it out themselves and the best of them despisingly called the Christians Credentes as if their faith were their absurdity wheras God calls all such unreasonable or absurd that have not Faith 2 Thes 3.2 And thus they made a mock at Jesus and that was the very Object of their despightfull and Opprobrious Opposition which wee know to bee the onely way of our salvation viz. Leaning upon the Beloved Thus their Wisdome made them mockers and their mocking made their Bonds of unbeliefe so strong as God threatneth Isa 28.22 that nothing was found a more very Enemy to primitive Christianity than that self-taught Reason and Heathenish Philosophy So then it is not onely the foolishnesse of our heats but the wisdom of our hearts also that flyes in the very face of Gospell-truth and cryes out as Joh. 3.4 How can these things be Therefore the spirit saith not that the World through foolishnesse knew not God But after that the World through wisdom knew not God it pleased God that by the foolishnesse of preaching to save them that believe 1 Cor. 1.21 Whence it is evident that as there is nothing that sets it selfe more directly against the Knowledge of Christ then the Carnall Worldly Naturall mans wisdom so neither doth that wisdom oppose any thing more then believing in Christ and therefore it accounts the preaching of faith foolishnesse What saith Carnall Reason will you take hold on the Lord with unwashed hands stay stay till your hands be cleansed and then 't is more likely that Christ will suffer you to lean upon him Yea but what can purifie the heart but faith And I will lean upon Christ not because I am holy and like him but that I may be holy and pure as he is pure and believe and rest upon him that I may be sanctified by him such should the language of faith be CHAP. XXII Containeth next the danger of leaning to our own Wills Righteousnesse Long-lives Self-Will SEcond leaning to our Carnall Wills must needs hinder us from leaning upon the Lord Jesus See Isa 30.15 The Lord the holy One of Israel said In returning and Rest you shall be saved this is the voice of Gods spirit to them but what 's the frame of their spirits towards him But yee would not But yee said no but we will do so and so ver 16. They cast aside the stay that the Lord tenders them and this is the Reason they lean to their own Wills Thus did those Brethren in iniquity Simeon and Levi they had no advice from their Father or Word from the Lord to lean unto in that Cruelty but saith the text Gen. 49.6 In their self-Will they digged down a Wall Now it must needs be that leaning to our own wills must hinder from leaning upon Christ upon a twofold account 2. Evid 1. Because the selfe-Will leans unto the dictates of self-reason First Suppose the truth of the former viz. that leaning upon our self-Wisdom is an hindrance and you must conclude this also Because the Will doth necessarily lean to what the Counsell of the understanding leads it to So that whatever carnall reason represents to the Will as fit to be Confided in be it Sin or Self or Satan or the World that the Will cleaves unto So that if the light that be in thee be darknesse if the very understanding be a blind guide what shall keep up the blind Will from falling into the ditch Lean not to thine own Understanding Now how do wee lean to the Understanding but by the Will When Eve perceived this and that of the forbidden tree then she desires it to make her wise Gen. 3.6 her Reason leave upon the Serpents Counsell and her desire hangs upon the dictates of her reason if the Intellect did not say to the Will that stollen waters are the sweetest the Robber would never have so much Will to steal and so little to live by labour If the Worldling did not think it better to gather treasure to himself hee would be richer towards God In all cases where the Will closeth the Understanding I judge approveth either that it is good though it be evill or at least as we say pro hic nunc good for thee at this time thus Abraham thought a lye was a good shift although he knew in it selfe it was evill to save his life ad the Lord saith Isa 5.20 That they cal evil good and good evil and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter wherein I suppose he relates to the acts of the Will closing with this and refusing that accepting this as good and sweet and rejecting that as Evil and bitter and the reason is that in the middle of the Verse viz. they put light for darknesse and darknesse for light which must be judg'd the act of the Understanding When the dark and corrupt Reason mistakes an Evil and calls it good as nothing is more frequent with the unconverted then the Will followes it though it

Scriptures that I have mentioned 1. That souls that have Christ and are converted may from thence be sure that they are elected but yet that it doth not hence follow that souls that are yet Christless and unconverted as yet are reprobated But yet Againe so much I presume the second Scripture speaks that no soul can come to say I am not reprobate I know I am not but by being able to say Christ is in me although another soule may not say because Christ is not in me therefore I am a Reprobate Christ is in me therefore I am no Reprobate that Scripture concludes undoubtedly true Christ is not in me therefore I am a Reprobate that Scripture concludes not neither can it so conclude for it is a lie sinners in hell may say we are all Reprobates therefore Christ is not in us sinners upon Earth may not say Christ is not in us therefore we are all Reprobates for though Christ be not in you to day who can or dare say but that God may convert you to morrow I shall illustrate the whole of this 2. Simile by a similitude obvious to you You have in your Town an hundred shifts by a Benefactors will to be dealt forth to an hundred poor men and women whom the Trustees shall choose out of all the poor They are chosen before the Dole which is to be at twice and in two severall places some to be distributed in the fore-noon at one place of concourse some in the after-noon at another the man or woman that receives in the forenoon may rest assured that he or she was elected or chosen because they have received but he that stands by and receives not cannot rest assured or be sure that he is not elected because although he receives not then yet he may in the afternoon Sinners that are timously converted may be sure they were elected because they have received the gift of God But sinners that are yet unconverted I grant they have abundant reason to question whether they be elected or no and a great deal of reaon to fear lest God should call them Reprobate silver but they cannot be sure they may not conclude that they are Reprobate because God may at the eleventh hour send them into the Vineyard Though hee that receives not in the forenoon may fear he is not chosen yet he may not conclude so as to neglect to wait in the afternoon it may be he may then receive Unconverted ones have reason to fear that they are unelected ones and let this to purpose humble them but let them not so wretchedly conclude as to despair and so as to neglect the afternoones dole yea surely they should be the more humbly solicitous because there is but one part of the day to deal in and if that be over and Christ the gift of God not received they may then conclude they were reprobated but whilst they are yet on this side Hell let them return to God for who knows but God may return to them and leave a blessing behind him Jon. 3.9 So then my conclusion is that whatever thy Conversation hath been it is not for thee to conclude if now thine heart be in any measure inclined towards God that thou art a Reprobate onely let prophane and impenitent ones know that I speak to poor distracted Consciences this day Your arguments are such as these Object 1 1. The greatness of your sins in themselves Oh sai'st thou Never were such great sins committed by any elect therefore I am a Reprobate Ans I do seriously believe that if Davids murther with Adultery and Peters deniall had been committed by thee thou wouldst have thought as I believe they did that they were the greatest sins in the world yea greater than those very sins that thou arguest thy reprobation from But this is no argument for they were the elect of God Object 2 2. Oh! but my sin hath been against light of Conscience against profession of God against vowes and Covenants c. my sins admit of all manner of aggravations therefore I am a reprobate Ans Read the entire stories of David and Peter and if thou maist not unfeignedly judge that if thou hadst been the aggravator of their sins as thou art of thine own thou wouldest have spoken as bitter things of their sins as thou now dost of thine own and found as sad circumstances whereby to heighten them supposing them thine then I had almost said be disconsolate still Thirdly Oh but mine whole Conversation hath been a very Object 3 trade of sinning I have done evills over and over again and again even as I could with both hands greedily even unto this end of my dayes and now I am just agoing out of the world and therefore I am a Reprobate Ans I confesse this is very sad indeed but yet I must say Here is not enough in the premises whence to infer the conclusion For the Thiefe Luk. 23. was a Thiefe to his dying day whose whole trade was to sin he lived upon it and no question used both hands in it delighted in it and which is sad 't is said that both the Thieves at first reviled Christ and cast the blasphemous reproaches of the wicked multitude into Christs teeth Mat. 27.44 And this was the very day that the Thiefe that was saved went to be hanged so Mark 15.32 And yet this Thiefe presently falls a reproving the other condemning himselfe justifying Christ praying unto Christ believing in Christ and saith Christ unto him Verily this day thou shalt be with me in Paradice Luk. 23.39 40 41 42 43. Therefore he was Elected and therefore thou canst not hence conclude that thou art a Reprobate as opposite to Elect for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometimes to be taken for one that is as yet unsound though he may be elect But to close this I pray you who are the reprobates that I am now speaking to even such as I could wish the most of you that hear me this day were if they be not already such even such as Job was Chap. 27.2 The almighty hath taken away my judgement saith he that is God hath rejected me he will have nothing at all to doe with me and yet ver 3.4 5. he saith againe All the while my breath is in me my tongue shall not utter deceit nor my lips speake wickedly I will hold mine integrity until I die My brethren they are such among you that fear the Lord and obey the voyce of his servants that walk in this darknesse and see no light Isa 50.10 I remember once I was in discourse with a poore woman whose whole complaint against her selfe was in conclusion this that she was a Reprobate I perceived much good in the womans spirit yet this was at the end of all I asked her why she concluded so hardly against God and her selfe that whatever God had done as to others whose mercy to others she was wrapt up in the