Selected quad for the lemma: evil_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
evil_n	good_a	know_v	knowledge_n	3,077	5	7.3450	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45370	The private Christian's witness for Christianity to the notional and erroneous apprehensions of the Arminian, Socinian, and Deist of the age : with the easy and true means leading the prophane, meer professor, and lazy Christian, to the same experience, as preservative against the infection of each, and against the ill example of the practical blemishes in lazy Christians conversation.	Hamilton, David, Sir, 1663-1721.	1697 (1697)	Wing H477; ESTC R9357	136,639	289

earth it attains not to know so much but upon strict observation in the continued use of Means more and more Mysteries would be imparted No wonder the Apostle's different Christians grown from others by a capacity of discerning good and evil and that by the habitual use of observation and experiencing God's ways with the Soul if therefore you find others express what you have not felt accuse not them but censure your own neglect especially if upon the review of your life you have not been acting with an exact observation and improvement of knowledge of God in his Word outward Providences and inward workings of his Spirit I think it not amiss to subjoin to this Reproof and Advice an Experience concerning my self and the very Saint thus reproached I once being importuned to assist in a particular matter a more than ordinary willingness to it seiz'd me in the undertaking whereof a successful Issue occur'd and great benefit to the person that importuned whose Poverty and Goodness I had no discovery of though greatly known to others but was under a surprizing force to refuse their grateful Acknowledgment And hapning about an hour after to unbosom my self to this Saint amongst other things I imparted this Passage with a wondring at the meaning of such a surprizing willingness to the action and unwillingness to accept of reward though Duty oblig'd me to it when no other Motives to the contrary appear'd To which he gravely answer'd You shall receive it as a reward of this action sixty-fold by God's imparting himself to your Soul this day but be not concern'd though a disquiet follow it before you sleep This then in my account run like Prophecy especially after its fulfilling our Discourse being about eleven in the forenoon About two in the afternoon in a Chamber all alone such enlargement of Soul such sudden ravishing and heavenly affections with an unexpressible delight seiz'd me with amazement in my self to observe the first part of his Assertion made out But about nine at night there came a Penny-post Letter to my hands from one whose Malice prompts them with false Accusations to asperse me and that express'd in such bitterness that it greatly did disquiet me and going immediately with it to him he with Modesty and Concern repli'd That the Devil had been at the penning thereof His foresight of these two such different Effects consequential to this action was neither by Prophecy nor Revelation but purely from his strict and constant observation of God's ways round himself in the like case and though then it seemed strange to me hardly being able to forbear from thinking of something prophetical in it yet since by observation I may say often or never falls out a voluntary lively Act of Charity without the least of self and much of God in it but great spirituality of frame has followed and after this one disquiet or other has fallen out yea often I may say always as yet at the time of this fellowship an apprehension of some succeeding disquiet is in my thoughts Those that have reproach'd his Writings would have been as ready to have reproach'd this Experience of him as Melancholy unless they had been strict observers of God's ways with themselves I do believe that every Christian had not met my passage with the same return and that none but those who by use are made discerning of good and evil had been capable of what I find he was Be humbled therefore lazy Christians and think of others better than your selves and not of your selves above what you are by aspersing each other You encourage those who know nothing of inward Religion to keep out from trying its Enjoyments and others to mock at Experimental Christianity Alas Is so much of the depth of God's Ways to be known by years Observation and this time made use of to rack Thoughts to explicate Events notionally altho' the Psalmist himself found it too painful for him to explicate the inequality of Providence without God's Word yet our Land abounds with such Deists who to destroy the Being or necessity of Revealed Religion or of a Holy Spirit as helps in the use of means exalt Reason alone and expunge all things incomprehensible by it as Fancy or Chimera as well as the Christian treated of expunge Injoyments obtain'd beyond others in a constant and close walking with God as Enthusiastical Some I am apt to believe affect this way of high Pretensions to Rationality when at the same time they are greatly distant from its Exercise either to obtain a Character of being Learn'd or a liking in Society by Rhetorical Conversation or to draw Followers after their Notions and they to appear as Primate thereof You that have rational Souls improve your Reason more for God's Service and your own Interest the more Rational the more capable of improvement with the blessed helps of God's Divine Word Providence and Spirit Place your Knowledge in Divine Things upon his Word as the foundation and learn to establish it by the observation of his Providence and Spirit confirming it to you and then I dare say there will need neither Rhetorick nor Division to keep up the Christian Religion in its Power amongst its Professors You are too weak to comprehend the Mysteries of the Gospel put forth never such acuteness of Judgment without the powerful Influences of Christ's Spirit opening the Eyes of your Understanding and fixing your Faith therein by your Experiencing its Truth in your Souls such clear knowledge and establishment appears as resists all the fanciful and erroneous Notions of others yea such unspotted Conversations as may engage others to your way and to be Members of Christ's Mystical Body here on Earth I have with great concern known some Christians weak in Learning but strong in the knowledge of Experimental Religion clearly understanding an Event of Providence yea rejoycing in an Event outwardly afflicting when a Learned Wit could neither comprehend the meaning of the one nor free himself from disquiet under the other How often may you hear some unacquainted with Experimental Religion but greatly knowing in Notional Divinity mightily applauding a Sermon itching their Ears with a Rhetorical style and Philosophical arguing And others mean in Learning and worldly Reputation but well acquainted with inward Religion esteeming this same Sermon an empty noise and the Preacher a feeder of his Flock with airy Notions that have neither solidity nor comfort in their relish and will lead them in no other Path than that of a meer Notional Knowledge as a Bate to be catch'd by the Errors of this Age. If Ministers and People were more close to the use of means whereby God's Truths might be Experimentally felt both would see far less need of adjoyning the high flight of Notions in Pulpits or in Conversation for its establishment in their Souls I think it in our day a more advantageous Sermon and a more necessary Book that leads Christians to the use of such

will with Heat contend for their Opinions in things that are not clear nor of great moment as if they were Fundamental Doctrines There are some Christians that have not only the life of Grace planted in them but the liveliness of Grace they are working and watchful to prevent any impression and taint of Evil from the Contagion of the World wherewith they are encompast And they are watchful unto Good they are ready to exercise every Grace in its season and by a continual Derivation of strength from Christ they are preserved from sinful Errors and irregular Passions Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price of our Redemption and that we may have an interest therein and enjoy the Priviledges thereof as evidence and earnest of Heaven God has appointed means whereby we may obtain this Blessed end means that are suitable in their use to rational and lapsed Creatures in their human capacity such as exclude boasting in ourselves and of Presumption Licentiousness and security in a carnal Conversation these means are prescrib'd in the Gospel as Prayer Meditation Hearing and the Participation of the Lord's Supper These are the Sphere of the Holy Spirit 's Activity in these we draw near to God and he draws near us By these means Christ with all his saving Benefits is applied to Souls By these they are revived from the Death of Sin and restored to the favour and Image of God They live in Communion with him and are confirmed thereby against the Temptations of the Evil Spirit who rules the World Those who neglect the holy and constant use of these means whether from the delusion of their Minds or the corruption of their Hearts will find that Darkness is their guide and the issue of their way will be fatal and destructive Let me therefore apply the foregoing Narrative thus There are some Professors that have knowledge in an eminent degree and are of a fair unblemisht Conversation by the advantage and impression of Education but are strangers to the inward power of Godliness as ignorant Heathens Let such duly consider the Case and neither despair for the Divine Spirit can quicken them nor delay the serious and diligent use of means which God has made effectual for the Conversion and Salvation of others Let them observe both the outward Providences of God and the inward Workings of his Spirit and apply themselves to God in the Ordinances both private and publick that they may receive renewing Grace of God and be preserved from destructive Evils If a Notional Knowledge of God's Word and an unblemish'd outward Conversation be no real Christianity no certain Testimony of Real and Saving Grace How utterly void of it are the Prophane To them I would give this Counsel Not to be averse from Serious and Real Religion upon the account of some Professors who have only a name to live but are dead or from a conceit that the Christian Religion is so extremely rigorous as to deprive us of all Natural Comforts or upon the account of different Opinions in the Christian World but to remove all Prejudices and to endeavour to understand the Gospel to believe the Doctrines to obey the Precepts of it and then they will find Christianity to be more than an outward Profession a serious Divine Principle regulating the Heart and Life and that it is to be obtained of God by every sincere Seeker of it and that it allows the temperate Use of Natural Comforts and only forbids the licentious Abuse of them whereby men become most unlike God and are like the beasts that perish And the lawful sober Enjoyments of Nature are consistent with the Joy of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of the Saints which is infinitely more satisfying and lasting than all the Pleasures of Sense for which so many lose Heaven and are condemned to Eternal Torments If Christianity and its Power may be really felt in the Soul and yet damp'd by the too long intermission of the Means of Grace and clouded by the admixture of too much of self producing a kind of Christians lazy in the obtaining the continued Power of Christ's Spirit in their Souls and so are in danger both of long intermissions of fellowship with God and breaking of fellowship one to another more dishonouring God than either the mere Professor or Prophane who never experienc'd the Reality and Comfort of True Christianity To such I would apply this Exhortation Not only to be in the Right Use of Means but in the more Continued Right Use than ever formerly for undoubtedly if the Means of Grace be the ways by which he walks and by which he communicates to Believers to the truth whereof all experiencing Christians will put their Seal then the oftner Christians walk in those ways the oftner and the more they receive both of Knowledge and Comfort from God which undoubtedly is the reason why some real Christians go beyond others in the knowledge of his ways and are in the more close walking according to the Rule of his Word with more inward Fellowship with God both in the Means of Grace and common Conversation That therefore the Word of God the doubting whereof being one great occasion of Error and Vice may be experienc'd as Truth and the means leading thereto given forth I shall previously lay down Two Propositions the first Instructive the other Cautionary The first is That all the Children of God in their Pilgrimage-state are under Three sorts of Conducts The first is that of God's Word the Foundation of our Faith and the Infallible Rule by which we are to judge of all Doctrines of all our Experiences and all the Passages of Providence The second is that of the Divine Spirit who according to the Promise of Christ instructs us in all Saving Truth by the Word and brings it to our remembrance to guide us safely to Heaven The third is that of Divine Providence sometimes enlightning what seemed dark in the Word of God and in the Actings of Christ's Spirit but founded upon his Word of Truth and agreeable to both though the dispensations of Providence are no Certificate of God's special love to men yet we are assured by the Scriptures that there is a peculiar tender Providence of God that regards his Children which is declarative of his special Love and by a serious observation of it their Duty and Comfort will be encouraged and improved Secondly Cautionary Not to limit the Spirit of God to any particular way or time of working in the Soul either in planting of Grace or its further growth Though by observation of outward Providences God was pleased to bring me to the first serious sense of my self and to a dependance upon God for Life and for Salvation and by marvellous steps of his outward dispensations joined with the inward Workings of his Spirit he has begun and increased a gracious Change in my Soul yet he has used various methods in the Conversion and Sanctification of

finds to please and to obey him in all his preceptive Commands and that his Experience of Free-Grace no ways tend to a Licentious Life Whatever the Notional Knowledge of Free-Grace may do amongst those who know nothing of a real Faith and experience of God's Grace in their Soul and where unstrictness and unholiness of life appears in the greatest Zealot for Free Grace it savours of nothing more than its Notion in their Brain Again the Experiencing Christian finds that when he sets himself to be most diligent to perform Good Works and Religious Duties yet in the first he is often overtaken with faults and in the latter constant failures ●●●ur wandering Thoughts therein discomposure of Mind from some disquiet falling in before or some suggestion from Satan or corruption within rising up at the time which forces the Soul to lay by trust to Self-sufficiency and to have recourse to the Free-Grace of God in Christ that through his Divine Spirit supplies may be conveyed enabling of us to do Works though our own yet perform'd by Christ's supplies enabling of us and accepted from us thorough his Merits perfuming them that being our alone argument to obtain both for the sake of the multitude of his tender Mercies the opening and pouring forth of which we owe to our Blessed Redeemer who has remov'd the flaming Sword and given us access to the Throne of Free-Grace but still in the use of the blessed mean of Prayer And I think it more a Soul 's concern to try the Truth of access to the Throne of Grace by Prayer in our own endeavour and observation if return'd that being a mean of obtaining of Prayer in Christ's Strength than before the trial of Prayer to pursue first the Knowledge whether Justification be previously necessary before access to this Grace as is set down in the first verse of the fifth chapter of the Romans Alas While we are a striving which things go first we are in danger of missing all while we are debating about the Notions of Religion we suffer the Truths of God in their Experience to drop Oh that our Debates were more at home with our inward Corruption sighting it with the continued use of means capable by Christ's Strength meeting us in them to overcome it and to fructifie Grace in its room and less with our fellow Christians unless in point of strict and Holy Lives Christianity needs no other bulwark from us than the true plain meaning of Scripture-truth and putting Souls in the use of such Means as God conveys the experience in and where the power of Christianity is felt let him be Church of England or Dissenter under all its Subdivisions he becomes the Object of my love because of the Impression the Divine Spirit seems to have stamp'd upon him Of their being such we may easily have discovery in discourse one with another and that without any extraordinary gift of discerning However others think of this Gospel-priviledge there is such a difference between the Nature of Notional and Experienc'd Christianity between the way and words of a meer Notional Professor though never so outwardly strict and of an experiencing Christian that to my self I find not the least difficulty And it is greatly suitable to the forecited Text in the Hebrews where it is said That it is the priviledge of grown Christians to discern good and evil and these Christians are such who have grown thereto by use and experience And where I can discover nothing of this whatever Party he is of let his Notions and Zeal in spreading them fly never so high I am always afraid that the Motive of Self bears too much room in his witnessing for God and his Truth Let all therefore be reprov'd who set up Variance with those that bear Christ's Image upon their Hearts and Lives and only differ in their Notions and Conceptions about the Truths of God Let Holy Lives and Acquaintance in Conversation with their experiencing Christianity in their Souls be the Touchstone of trying and esteeming them By the denying familiarity with such upon such differences you pinch the great evidence of loving the Brethren and shew to the world that such an one is laid aside or introduc'd to your Favour from having a name of being one of such a Party and so give occasion of producing Proselites in profession to such a Party to obtain interest and encourage thereby others to ridicule Christianity because of such Professors blemishes through the want of Christianity's power in their Souls though these inward enjoyments into which observation of outward Providences lead as a mean are incomprehensible by the prophane and meer Professor while in that state yet they are outward passages greatly discovering God bringing forth good where all evil is ominous if observ'd by meer Professors It is experimentally known that a passage of Providence dark and afflicting in its first approach has many times had in its bosom a rich mercy There is a known passage of one who broke his Leg in his Journey to go a Ship-board a dark and afflicting Providence both by reason of his breaking his Leg and the disappointment of his Voyage but in its bosom was that great mercy of saving his life the Ship being lost in which he was to have gone It is not long ago since a Wind hindring our Fleet to go forth was afflicting but in it was that great mercy of the preventing of a French Invasion such passages the prophane and meer Professor cannot dive into and if each were but observant of such like they would be reckon'd by Millions round Nations and People and all with a discovery of God the Governor of all things and would help us against repining for disappointments and advance a reliance upon him in all things by committing them to a Divine Conduct by Prayer and diligently using means providentially laid in our ways Again Is it not known with experimental Christians that the Lord many times introduces a rich spiritual mercy by a dark Providence a spiritual instruction for their establishment by an afflicting Providence It has oft been their experience to be brought under an outward disquiet on purpose to free them from a cold lazy frame of mind and to introduce a sweet heavenly posture of Soul who therefore from continued observation of this experience will not forbear repining and exercise patience till the discovery of God's design therein appears yea work together with him for the same end by addressing the Lord for strength to stand firm in the exercise of reliance and love to him which greatly establishes the Soul in the exercise of these Graces and therein honours God and is even met many times with a visible reward suited to that particular Action tho' performed by his own Divine strength the observation whereof has oft brought that Scripture to my thoughts Psal 31. Great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them

that trust in thee before the sons of men either by hiding them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man or keeping them secretly from the strife of Tongues and what establishment hereto the personal experience of an observing Christian would give is more fit for filling up of sheets than a few lines Mark the 10th Chapter ver 29. None has left house c. for my sake but he shall even in this life receive an hundred fold and eternal life in the world to come Is it not the personal experience of Christians to be disappointed of the designed and desired issue of an endeavour to introduce the success of another and better the constant observation whereof must needs bring the Soul to a greater measure of patience under a disappointment to a sooner and better sight of the Providence than the other who though under his disappointment is strengthned to rely by Divine influence perhaps in return to Prayer petitioning strength to honour God therein yet he must needs be under more sinking Fears through the course of the passages of such disappointments the other Christian having these supporting helps the reflecting upon God's former ways of the same kind observ'd and upon record with the instructing and establishing effects such ways had then upon the Soul and the better event brought forth in a way of Providence than what was expected together with Prayer put up and strengthning supplies of grace received however dark this may seem to the Notional Christian yet this I hope will receive many Seals in its perusal by observing Christians Is it not the experience of Christians to be led into a pinch of extremity on purpose to see the more of God and the less of means in an event and to stir up the greater reliance upon God with means and the less upon means without his Divine Hand accompanying How often are lawful diligent using of means disappointed to Christians till they be brought to serious and often Prayer for Heaven's conduct and blessing thereto The observation whereof keeps the Soul safe between means and a Divine Hand affording each his due place without presumption towards God or Idolatry towards the other if therefore the Christian Observer is enabled to discover good and evil where others not so used thereto are uncapable even in these more common Experiences how far less capable are some Christians to discover more secret and adorable methods of God observ'd by others Either they were never experienced by them through the long intermissions of fellowship with God or at least never observ'd reflected upon or improven by them to the end of further knowledge of God in the depth There is therefore not only in the sight and enjoyment of spiritual things a difference between Christians and meer Professors but even between Christian and Christian and that without either a Gift of Prophecy or an extraordinary Gift of Discerning but with such Gifts as are communicated to the Soul in the use of common means only with this difference that these means are more continually and in greater heavenliness perform'd and the enjoyments of God therein either for comfort or instruction more carefully remarkt in all its Circumstances and laid up in record for this very end of improvement the greater knowledge of Christianity and of God's more extraordinary steps therein Thou therefore O Christian that has necessary occasion of business and of lawful diversion greatly admixt with thy Religious Duties as a mean of hindering such fellowship with God as those do enjoy whose life does run in a stream of actual heavenly mindedness reproach not I say these other Christians with melancholy Fancy or Enthusiasm either of which bear their distinct marks from that knowledge of God obtain'd in the constant use of means and by Divine fellowship therein in continual and serious recesses of Soul with God but bemoan your Circumstances thus involv'd in the necessary occasions of the world when compar'd with some others and do more with the opportunities you have than ever yet you have done and that according to the means treated of and blessed by God to others In the hope therefore of passing from common Providences in your observation to special ones round your self yea to the steps and workings of Christ's Spirit in your Soul exactly correspondent to his Word affording you such knowledge thereof as expose the Contentions and Errors of the Earth to your Pity and keep you safe from the discouraging Blemishes and infectious Failures of Christians In hope I say of this let me press you to this great and experienced Duty of Observation and I am hopeful your expectations will not fail but a mysterious discovery of the reality of his Divine Word shall be unfolded such as could never have been forethought or foreseen by you It is not to be supposed that ever the most refin'd Wit on earth could have made up such a System of Mystery as is contained in the Scriptures and is experimentally felt in the Soul Is it supposable that the Wits of our Age who pretend their Reason as their Guide could foresee contrive or rightly comprehend the Work of Christ's Spirit in renewing the Soul Or is it supposable that the most rational man on earth unacquainted with experimental Christianity can imagine the work of Christ's Spirit in raising the Soul to a heavenly Frame and the state of the Soul at that time Is it imaginable that by the will and power of man such a Frame by which we are admitted to fellowship with the Godhead can be retained without a Divine Influence when though that this Divine Work is declar'd in the Scripture yet with their reason and light of God's Word without Divine Spiritual influences obtain'd by God's common means they are not able to comprehend it and therefore is left unknown to some of them and mockt at by others of them yea the Word of God made the occasion of Errors on earth the prevention of all which comes in by the right and continued use of these means God commonly affords the sensible experience of himself according to his Divine Records Some Christians excel one another in Faith of Reliance hereby that if there be no assurance going along yet their Hope is without shock and that in the use of Reflection upon former Experiences which in the 5th chap. of the Romans and the 5th and 6th ver is said to bring forth hope that maketh not ashamed and certainly found to do so in the Experiences of such Christians if their Seals were given forth to the World Let us imagine the judgment of any meer Professor under never so rational a Conviction of any one Scripture-truth yet without the power of Christ's Spirit bearing it home as Truth upon the Soul you will hardly see as the certain effect of this saving Faith therein either commenced or so sixt but that it may give way to a succeeding Error if it have a fairer appearance to his