Selected quad for the lemma: evil_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
evil_n	darkness_n	good_a	sweet_a	3,257	5	8.2420	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77608	Heaven on earth or a serious discourse touching a wel-grounded assurance of mens everlasting happiness and blessedness. Discovering the nature of assurance, the possibility of attaining it, the causes, springs, and degrees of it, with the resolution of several weighty questions. By Thomas Brooks, preacher of the Gospel at Margarets Fishstreet-Hill.	Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1654 (1654)	Wing B4943; Thomason E1446_1; ESTC R209539	332,772	663

perfect in weakness which filled his heart with joy and gladness The hidden Manna the New name and the Revel 2. 17. White stone is given to the conqueror to him that hath fought with principalities Ephes 6. 12. and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places and is come off with his garments dipt in blood After the Roman Generals had gotten victory over their enemies the Senate did use not one way but many ways to express their loves to them So after our Faith hath gotten victory over Satan God usually takes the soul in his arms and courts it and shews much kindness to it Now the soul shall be carried in triumph now the Chariot of state attends the soul now White Revel 3. 5. 7. 9. rayment is put upon the soul now Palms are put into the Conquerors hands now the Garland is set upon the Conquerors head and now a Royal feast is provided where God will set the Conqueror at the upper end of the Table and speak kindly and carry it sweetly towards him as one much affected and taken with his victory over the Prince of darkness Conflicts with Satan are usually the As many have found by experience sharpest and the hottest they spend and waste most the vital and noble spirits of the Saints and therefore the Lord after such conflicts doth ordinarily give his people his choicest and his strongest Cordials And thus by Divine assistance we have shewed you the special times and seasons wherein the Lord is graciously pleased to give his people some tastes of his love some sweet assurance that they are his favorites that all is well and shall be for ever well between him and them and that though many things may trouble them yet nothing shall separate them from their God their Christ their Crown CHAP. III. Containing the several Hinderances and Impediments that keep poor souls from Assurance with the Means and Helps to remove those Impediments and Hinderances NOw the first impediment 1. Impediment and hinderance to Assurance that we shall instance in is Despairing thoughts of mercy O these imprison the Soul and make it always dark night with the Soul these shut the windows of the Soul that no light can come in to cheer it Despairing There is a threefold Despair 1. Worldly 2. Moral 3. Spiritual And this last is the worst and greatest thoughts make a man fight against God with his own weapons they make a man cast all the Cordials of the Spirit against the wall as things of no value they make a man suck poyson out of the sweetest promises they make a man eminent in nothing unless it be in having hard thoughts of God and in arguing against his own Soul and happiness and in turning his greatest advantages into disadvantages his greatest helps into his greatest hinderances Despairing It makes a man call good evil and evil good light darkness and darkness light sweet bitter and bitter sweet a Saviour a destroyer a Redeemer a revenger c. thoughts of mercy make a man a beast yea below the beast that perisheth Pliny speaks of the Scorpion that there is not one minute wherein it doth not put forth the sting as being unwilling to lose any opportunity of doing mischief Such Scorpions are despairing souls they are still a putting out their sting a rangling with God or Christ or the Scripture or the Saints or Ordinances or their own Souls A despairing soul is Magor Missabib a terror to himself it cannot rest but like Noahs Ark is always tost here and there it is troubled on every side it is full of fears and fightings A despairing soul is a burden to others but the greatest burden to it self it is still a vexing terrifying tormenting condemning and perplexing it self Despair makes every sweet A despairing soul is like the spider that draws poyson out of the sweetest flowers bitter and every bitter exceeding bitter it puts Gall and Wormwood into the sweetest Wine and it puts a sting a cross into every cross Now whilest the soul is under these despairing thoughts of mercy how is it possible that it should attain to a well-grounded assurance therefore for the helping of the soul out of this despairing condition give me leave a little to expostulate with despairing souls Tell me O despairing souls is not despair an exceeding vile and contemptible sin is it not a dishonor to God a reproach to Christ and a murderer of souls is it not a belying of God a denying of Christ and a crowning of Satan it doth without doubt proclaim the Devil a Conqueror and lifts him up above Christ himself Despair is an evil that flows Despair is Satans master-piece it carries men he adlong to hell it makes a man twice told a childe of hell it is a Viper that hath stinged many a man to death from the greatest evil in the world it flows from unbelief from ignorance and mis-apprehensions of God and his Grace and from mistakes of Scripture and from Satan who being for ever cast out of paradise labors with all his art and might to work poor souls to despair of ever entring into paradise O despairing souls let the greatness of this sin effectually awaken you and provoke you to labor as for life to come out of this condition which is as sinful as it is doleful and as much to be hated as to be lamented Again tell me O despairing souls Acts 2. Plus peccavit Judas desperando quàm prodendo Christum saith one hath not despairing Judas perished when as the murderers of Christ believing on him were saved Did not Judas sin more hainously by despairing then by betraying of Christ Despairing Spira is damned when repentting Manasseh is saved O despairing souls the arms of mercy are open to receive a Manasseh a Monster a Devil incarnate he caused that Gospel Prophet Isaiah to be sawed in the midst with a Saw as some Rabbins say he turned aside from the Lord to commit 2 Chro 33. 1 to 15. Idolatry and caused his sons to pass thorow the fire and dealt with familiar spirits and made the streets of Jerusalem to overflow with innocent blood The soul of Mary Magdalen Mark 6. 9. was full of Devils and yet Christ casts them out and made her heart his house his presence Chamber why dost thou then say there is no hope for thee O despairing soul Paul was full Acts 1. 1 2. 26. 11. of rage and malice against Christ his people and ways and he was full of blasphemy and impiety and yet behold Paul is a chosen Vessel Paul is 1 Tim. 1. 13 15 16. caught up into the third Heaven and he is filled with the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost Why shouldst thou then say there is for thee no help O despairing soul Though the Prodigal Luke 15. 13 14. had run from his Father and spent and wasted all his estate in ways

them When Darius sent to Alexander that he would be willing to divide the Kingdom no saith Alexander there is but one Sun in the Firmament and there can be but one King in a Kingdom So saith Christ c. It is a reproach to Christ that those that have married the Master should at the same time match with the Servant The Queen may look upon her glistering Courtiers but she must live upon the King the Wife may take pleasure in her lovely Babes but she must live upon her Husband and be most observant of her Husband So gracious souls may look upon their Graces but they must live upon King Jesus they may take pleasure in their Graces but they must live upon Christ and be most observant of Christ This is the way to keep Christ and Assurance and he that walks contrary to this rule will soon find the losse of both Christ will be Alexander or Nemo he will be all in all or he will be nothing at all Though his Coat ●oh 19. 23. was once divided yet he will never suffer his Crowne to be divided His Isa 42. 8. glory he will give to none Fifthly If you would have your We have saith Cyprian no such notions as many Philosophers have but we are Philosophers in our deeds we do not speak great things but we do great things in our lives Assurance strengthened and maintained then labor to improve your Assurance improve it to the strengthening of you against temptations to the fencing of you against corruptions to the raising of your resolutions to the inflaming of your affections to the bettering of your conversations Assurance is a pearl of price he that will keep it must improve it The ready way to maintain our natural strength and to increase it is to improve it So the ready way to maintain our Assurance and to increase it is to improve it Assurance is one of the choicest and chiefest talents that ever God intrusted man with and he that doth not improve it and imploy it will quickly lose it c. God will not suffer so Matth. 25. 28. golden a talent to gather rust Win gold and wear gold improve gold and keep gold win Assurance and wear Assurance improve Assurance and keep Assurance Dionysius the elder being advised of one that had hidden great store of money commands him upon pain of death to bring it to him which he did but not all But with the remainder he went and dwelt in another Countrey where he bought an Inheri●ance and fel upon some imployment which when Dionysius heard he sent him his money againe which he had taken from him saying Now thou knowest how to use riches take that I had from thee I shall leave you to make the application Sixthly If you would have your Assurance strengthened and maintained then walke humbly with your God Mich. 6. 8. God makes the humble mans heart his house to dwell in Isa 57. 15. Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy I dwel in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 low of spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to quicken or make to live the spirit of humble ones Isa 41. 10. the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones The highest heavens and the lowest hearts are the habitations wherein the holy one delights to dwel Now this phrase I will dwel with the humble takes in several things 1. It includes Gods overlooking the humble 2. It takes in Gods assisting and strengthning of the humble 3. It takes in Gods protection I will dwel with the humble that is I Job 22. 29. will protect him and secure him 4 It takes in Gods sympathizing with the humble 5. It takes in Gods applying Isa 63. 9. Isa 57. 18. all suitable good to the humble 6. It takes in Gods ruling and over-ruling the heart and the affections of the humble 7. It takes in Gods teaching and Psa 10. 17. Psal 25. 9. learning of the humble But 8. and lastly it includes and takes in a clearer a fuller and a larger manifestation and communication of God to humble souls ah saith God I will dwell with the humble that is I will more richly more abundantly and more gloriously manifest and make knowne my grace and glory my goodnesse and sweetnesse my loving kindnesse and tendernesse to humble souls Now tell me humble soules will not Gods dwelling thus with you contribute very much to the strengthning and maintaining of your Assurance Jam. 4. 6. But he giveth more grace wherefore he saith God resisteth the proud or as the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 word emphatically signifies he sets himself in battle array against the proud but giveth grace to the humble Humility is both a grace and a vessell to receive grace God poures in grace into the humble souls as men poure liquor into an empty vessel And verily the more grace you have the more will your Assurance be strengthned and maintained Well remember this the humble mans mercies are the sweetest mercies the greatest mercies the most growing and thriving mercies the most blessed and sanctified mercies the most lasting and abiding mercies Therefore as you would have your Assurance strengthned and maintained walk humbly with your God I say again walk humbly walk humbly with your God and you shal wear the crown of Assurance to your grave Seventhly If you would keep and maintain your Assurance then take heed and watch against those very particular sins by which other Saints have lost their Assurance Take heed of carnall confidence and security David Psal 30. 6 7. lost his Assurance by not guarding his heart against those evils Again take heed of a light slight careless and negligent spirit in holy and spirituall things The Spouse in the Canticles lost her Assurance and her sweet communion with Christ by her slightness of spirit Again take heed of a stout Cant. 5 2 3 6. compared and unyeelding spirit under the afflicting hand of God this made God hide his face from them Isa 57. 17. In a word take heed of tasting of forbidden fruit remembring what Adam lost by a taste Eighthly If you would maintain and keep your Assurance then freequently A man may easier make a seeing eie blind then a blind eye to see a man may soon put an instrument out of tune but not so soon put it in again A man is easily born down the stream but cannot swim so easily up the stream c. and seriously consider of the wonderfull difficulty of recovering Assurance when it is lost Oh the sighs the groans the complaints the prayers the tears the heart-renting the soul-bleeding that the recovery of thy lost Assurance will cost The gaming of Assurance at first cost thee dear but the regaining of it if thou shouldest be