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
A93757	Six several sermons preached on Isaiah, 38. I. Wherein that great duty of setting our body and soul in order, for we shall die, is at large opened and explained Wherein also many divine truths are made known relating to the same matter; and now published, because of the exceeding importance and concernment of this subject unto all people whatsoever.	Stafford, Richard, 1663-1703.	1696 (1696)	Wing S5135; ESTC R230779	115,810	178

●hings of this World and of the Flesh we cannot obtain which we would and if we could we cannot hold or continue to have them for we die and go away Or if we could yet they are not worth the holding because as yet God doth not commit unto us the true Rich●s Luke 16. 11. that is the true and abiding Happiness for it is not to be had in this World but in the World to come wherein we seek and do expect it Here then is the mind that hath Wisdom to draw off our desires not only from the Sin and Evil for we should be perfectly listless and dead as to them And if Christ be in you the Body is dead because of Sin Rom. 8. 10. But also our desires should be drawn off utterly even from the lawful necessary and indifferent things of this World We should be as if we used them not temperate in all things and get above them We are commanded not only to commit any unclean thing But not so much as to touch the unclean thing Which is standing as much at a distance from it as well as we can So the Word of God which is very pure hath provided against all manner of Sin and to abstain from all appearance of Evil to take this care even as to prevent the first beginnings rise and occasion of Sin or Evil. Thus to Hate and Strip off the Garment spotted by the Flesh as is before explained and to lay aside every weight and the Sin that doth so easily beset us and to resist unto Blood striving against Sin all those Expressions come to one and the same thing That is to set up again Innocency and Holiness in the Soul after it had by the fall of Adam by whose Transgression many were made Sinners lost and defaced them And this is to set the Soul in Order before we die or before she goes out of the Body It being a taking care that nothing is wanting in her as indeed it would be a very great want if she was not renewed again after the Image of him who created her that is in Righteousness and true Holiness It hath been aforesaid That to set our Bodies in Order was that they might be made free from Sin for an Holy Body is an orderly Body Even so it is here an Holy Soul is an orderly Soul or to get Holiness which is the Image of God ingrafted and implanted in her is to set the Soul in order for then it is meet for his Acceptance who is the Father of Spirits and Lover of Souls Inasmuch as Holiness is the Image of God and every like loves its like With the pure thou wilt shew thy self pure What sets the Body in Order as Holiness doth that the same Holiness doth set the Soul in Order also for they are both united in one and make up the same Man and they desire the same end which is Happiness The High way to which is the way of Holiness The Body indeed must go through more Alterations and it shall be raised up again to partake of Happiness of Misery According to this very same Truth and Observation Paul prays by the Spirit And the very God of Peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Faithful is He that calleth you who will do it 1 Thess 5. 23 24. Good God What comfortable and encouraging Words are here From this Place of being preserved blameless and from what we read in Rom. 6. 22. Of being made free from Sin ye have your Fruit unto Holiness We see hence that Sin and Holiness are as Incompatible Things as Darkness and Light They are perfectly and properly contraries the Nature of which is to expel one another and one succeeds the other for as when the Sun sets and the Light goes off from the Earth then Darkness comes and succeeds And so when the Sun arises again it drives off Darkness from the Face of the Earth so it is as to Sin and Holiness There is no arriving at Holiness without being made free from Sin As again when Holiness goes off or is defaced then Sin succeeds and creeps in of course It is ●onsence and a contradiction to say that People lead an Holy Life and Conversation although they seem outwardly Religious when they are yet in their Sins or when they serve divers Lusts and Pleasures For Darkness may be as truly called Light which would be a great absurdity and imp●ssibility as to think or say ●uch are an Holy People Woe unto them that call Evil Good and Good Evil that put Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness that put Bitter for Sweet and Sweet for Bi●ter Isa 5. 20. And whereas the divinely inspired Prophet goes on to add Woe unto them that are wise in their own Eyes and prudent in their own sight vers 21. Hereby He seems to meet tacitely with a fort of People which are common and many now in the World They make up nine parts in ten in the visible Church Who do not care nor heartily endeavour to come clearly out of Sin nor yet can they gainsay and renounce Holiness quite inasmuch as glorious things are spoken of it and precious Promises are made and annexed unto it And therefore they are for a kind of Life which is made up as they fashion and imagine to themselves of a mixt medly of Sin and Holiness as twilight is made up of Darkness and Light and th●y think that this will serve their turn with God so as they hope for his acceptance of them although they are sinful also because they do love and esteem of Holiness But God answers such by his Spirit Woe unto them that are wise in their own Eyes and prudent in their own sight as to think to compound the matter with God No such matter For He that commanded Thou shalt not sow thy Land with divers kinds of Seeds nor yet make a Garment of Linsey Woolsey when such a judicial Law was given forth of old Time the Holy Ghost hereby signifies even in these days that God will never accept of such a medly or mixt kind of Goodness or Righteousness as is made up of Sin and Holiness which is properly no Goodness or Righteousness at all As it is written But they like men have transgressed the Covenant Hos 6. 7. That is it was like and such as could be expected from them Even so this sort of mixt medly Goodness or Righteousness is like Mans Goodness and Righteousness which is a corrupt and imperfect thing at best and that our Righteousness spoken of in Isa 64. 6. which is as filthy Rags which People are to be stripped utterly off to set their Souls in Order before they die or otherwise God will not accept them For that is an offence unto him and He commands to get behind him what savours of Men. But God hath yet much

they have no Benefit or Interest in him they being not within the Covenant and they have no Share nor Lot in this matter Even after Death hath destroyed the Body Christ will destroy that Now to destroy the Destroyer that is Salvation indeed Which again will be effected after it hath seized and done its worst and utmost upon us I will Ransom them from the power of the Grave whereby it may be understood that the Prince of Life will as it were force and command it so for God is greater in Power and Might I will Ransom them from Death As he first brought us into Life for it was the Word of God that Created us and the W●rd of God is Christ and Christ is the Word of God and made us liable unto Dying and Death so he will rescue and bring us up from it again O Death I will be thy Plagues O Grave I will be thy Destruction Death hath been heretofore a Plague unto us and the Grave hath destroyed and crumbled our Body into dust when before it was safe and entire Flesh and Blood But God and Christ will in this sence Repent himself for his Servants and he will Plague this Plague and Destroy this Destroyer So that it shall be returned upon him and said O thou Enemy Destructions are come to a perpetual end Psal 9. 6. That is when the very same things which seem to be destroyed and come to nothing are raised up into Life and Being again never more to turn into Corruption nor yet to be subject unto Destruction All this stands ratified and confirmed with this kind of Speech Repentance shall be hid from mine Eyes Hos 13. 14. whereby is shewn forth the Immutability and ●●●edfastness of God's Councel and Determination herei● For it is as much as if God should say I am resolved upon it I will never Repent nor alter from this my Decree and Purpose And when all these things shall so be then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in Victory 1 Cor. 15. 24. which very words are quoted out of Isa 25. 8. He will swallow up Death in Victory and the Lord God shall wipe away all Tears from all Faces for the Lord hath spoken it Then also those words of Isa 38. 1. will be changed reversed read rung or rather they will be sung backwards For instead of Thou shalt die and not live then it will be returned and said to the unspeakable rejoycing and exultation of us Creatures Thou shalt live and not die After Hezekiah had heard those words from Isaiah Thou shalt die and not live he turned his Face to the wall and wept sore But it was just now quoted from another place of Isaiah the Lord God shall wipe away all Tears from off all Faces So that the same God who did see Hezekiah's Tears Isa 38. 5. will wipe them away in a particular eminent and visible manner and so of all his Saints and Servants By the way it is much better and greater Honour to have ones Name Registred and Recorded in the Book of the Lord or the Book of Life than to be Chronicled or to be had in the greatest Esteem by the World I do the more willingly make known and rehearse these things unto ye both because they do flow from that Fo●ntain or Well of Truth which lies in our Text as als● to beget in ye lovely apprehensions of God Truly he is a good God whom we serve And this is the bes● Argument and Persuasion with Ingenious and Grateful Minds to serve him yet more and more To serve him yet more ear●estly and continually yea and instantly If ye hope and expect to receive those future good things from 〈◊〉 hands of God furthermore then we beseech you Brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesu● that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and please God so you would abound in it more and more 1 Thes 4. 1. Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean Heart Psal 73. 1. He is good to all Mankind indifferently and in the general but the mixt Multitude do not altogether so much discern his goodness For if they did they would never carry themselves so Evil Rebellious and Despising towards him as now they do But in an especial manner God is good to such as are of a clean Heart or clean of Heart And here reciprocally again those who are of a clean Heart do behold and know the Goodness of God more than the common sort of People do For whereas on the other worse side one sin retained and dwelling in a Man is the Root that beareth Gall and Wormwood and is the cause of all that Alienation from and Enmity towards God none being Enemies to him but through their own wicked works So again on the other hand this cleanness of heart is like the pulling or rubbing of filth filmn or scales from our Eyes in order to help our Eye-sight or in order that we may see clearly For as aforesaid every like loves its like An Holy God loves and accepts of an Holy Soul So here again it is there being a proportionableness and suitableness herein a clean Heart knows this proposition better than others God is good A clean Heart sees farther than another kind of Heart for it can see God through the Cloud It can see the goodness of God not only in the Land of the Living but also when it walks through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no Evil why so for thou art with me Psal 23. 4. A clean Heart doth see a good God yea and a sweet God even through the darkness and bitterness of Death I have read it as a saying of those whom they call the Wittier sort of Atheists that People in the general are afraid of Death as Children are afraid to walk in the dark for fear to meet Hobgoblings which we Men know there is no such thing and from thence they would ground their Imaginations or Dictates of Unbelief But in their Answers there remaineth falshood and miserable Comforters are they all For as sure as we now live and fear several things in the World there is somewhat real also to be feared after Death for as there are other parts of the World besides this Earth as Rivers Seas and we may look up and behold the Stars in their Courses So in like manner it may be evidenced and demonstrated that there is an immortal Spirit in Man as well as a dying Body But so far I will make use of that saying of theirs That to the Children of God to the Heirs of Life and Immortality although they are partakers of Flesh and Blood and 't is this only which Death can hurt yet to the main and in the utmost Death is but as a Hobgoblin Phantasm or Apparition There is little reality in it for it is not properly a thing or