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
A67781	The tryall of true wisdom, with how to become wise indeed, or, A choice and cheap gift for a friend both to please and pleasure him, be he inferior or superior, sinful or faithful, ignorant or intelligent / By R. Younge ... ; add this as an appendix, or third part, to The hearts index, and, A short and sure way, to grace and salvation.	Younge, Richard.; Younge, Richard. Hearts-index, or, self-knowledg.; Younge, Richard. Short and sure way to grace and salvation.	1658 (1658)	Wing Y194; ESTC R39197	35,053	36

which have light but so shut up and reserved as if it were not and what is the difference betwixt concealed skill and ignorance It is the nature and praise of good to be communicative whereas if their hidden knowledge do ever look out it casts so sparing a light that it only argues it self to have an unprofitable being And for the most part these men if they may be thought great Rabbies deep and profound Schollars this is the hight of their ambition though neither the Church be benefited nor God glorified by it whereas they ought the contrary for as the grace of God is the fountain from which our wisdom flows so the glory of God should be the Ocean to which it should run yea that God may be honoured with and by our wisdom is the only end for which he gives us to be 〈◊〉 And for default of this end he not seldom croffeth the mean● whereby while men strive to expel ignorance they fall into 〈◊〉 as an E●●●●rick to cure one Disease causeth a worse Briefly to conclude this 〈◊〉 So many as are pust up with their knowledge or do not part with their sins th●w that they never sought it for Gods glory but for their own honour and glory And certainly if we seek not Gods glory in doing his work he will give us no wages at the latter end Sect. 48. BUt for men to do no good with then gifts is not all yea it were well if that were the worst for not a few of them resembl Achitophel and Jonadab who imployed their wit wickedly and do mischief insteed of good with their wisdom like Herod when you shall see turning over the Bible searching the Scriptures examining the Prophets but to what end and purpose To know good but to do evil yea the greatest evil under the Sun slay Christ in the cradle With many their knowledge and learning is not for God and for Gideon but for Antichrist and for Babylon and so of all other gifts how many are the worse for them As give Saul a Kingdom and he will tyrannize give Nabal plenty and he will be drunk give Judas an Apostleship and he will sell his Master for mony let Sarmantus have a good wit he will exercise it in scoffing at holiness Briefly how oft doth wisdom without grace prove like a fair estate in the hands of a sool which not seldom becomes the owners ruine Or Absoloms hair which was an ornament wherewith he hanged himself So that wisdom without grace is nothing else but a cunning way of undoing our selves at the last Many mens knowledge to them being like the Ark to the Philistims which did them more hurt than good When their knowledge makes them prouder not better more rebellious not more serviceable as it is Isa. 47. 10. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge they have caused thee to rebel And very often this falls out that as the best soyl usually yieldeth the worst air so without grace there is nothing more pestilent than a deep wit no such prey for the Devil as a good wit unsanctified VVit and Iearning well used is like the golden ear-rings and bracelets of the Israelites abused like the same gold cast into an Idol than which nothing more abominable Now when it comes to this That they fight against God with the weapon he hath given them when with those the Psalmist speaks of Psal. 73. 9. They set their mouths against heaven and are like an unruly Jade that being full fed kicks at his Master what course doth the Lord take with them Answ. Read but that Parable Luk 19. 24. Iob 7. 17. it will inform you For to him that useth his Talent of knowledge well he giveth more as to the servant that used his talents well he doubled them but to them that use not their knowledge well much more if they abuse it he taketh away that which he had formerly given them as he took heat from the fire when it would burn his Children Dan. 3. 27. As you 〈…〉 Isa. 44. 25. 2 Thess. 2. 10 11 12. Iob. 7. 17. Psa. 111. 10. 1 Cor. 〈◊〉 15. Eccles. 2. 26. Prov. 28 5. Matth. 21. 43. Acts 26. 18 Isa. 29 14. 44 25. 6. 9 10. Dan. 2. 19. 23. Iob 5. 13 14. Iob 9. 39. 12. 40. Rom. 1. 28. Ephe. 4. 18 19. 1 Cor. 1. 20. 2 Thess. 2. 10 11 12. turn to the places for they are rare I will destroy the Tokens of the Soothsayers and make them that conjecture fools I will turn the wise men backward and make their knowledge foolishness saith the Lord Isa. 44. 25. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness and the counsel of the wicked is made foolish Job 5. 13. the case of Achitophel And justly are they forsaken of their reason who have abandoned God yea most just it is that they who want grace should want wit too And so much of abusing their gifts Lastly These great knowers and wise men are so far from desiring soul wisdom and saving-knowledge to the ends before specified that they do not at all desire it for that it suits not with their condition For Naturalmen desire only humane and mundane knowledge Spiritual men that which is heavenly and supernatural and the reason why they desire it not is for that they know it not A man desireth not that he knoweth not saies Chrisostome neither are unknown evils feared wherefore the work of Regeneration begins at Illumination Acts 26. 18. Coll. 1. 13. 1 Pet. 2. 9. Now according as men are wise they prize and value this wisdom and endeavour to obtain it Prov. 18. 15. For it is more true of divine wisdom than it was of that Grecian beauty No man ever loved her that never saw her no man ever saw her but he loved her And so on the contrary according as men are ignorant and blockish they under-value and dis-esteem it hate it and are prejudiced against it And hereupon carnal men being blinded by the Prince of darkness together with their own wickedness and being of a reprobate judgement do most usually and familiarly term and esteem this soul-wisdom this divine spiritual experimental and saving-knowledge to be meer foolishness or madness Wisd. 5. 3. to 9. and the Professors thereof to be fools madmen Elisha was counted no better 2 King 9. 11. and the rest of the Prophets Hosea 9. 7. and Paul Acts 26. 20. and all the Apostles 1 Cor. 4. 10. Yea our Saviour Christ himself with open mouth was pronounced mad by his carnal hearers Joh. 10. 20. Mark 3. 21. and this hath been the worlds vote ever since The sinceer Christian was so reputed in Pliny's time and after in St. Austin's time yea Julian the Pelagian could gibe St. Austin that he had none of the wise Sages nor the learned Senate of Philosophers on his side but only a company of mean tradesmen of the vulgar sort that took part with him Whose Answer was Thou reproachest