Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	woman_n	word_n	year_n	50	3	4.4392	4	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09376	A cloud of faithfull witnesses, leading to the heauenly Canaan, or, A commentarie vpon the 11 chapter to the Hebrewes preached in Cambridge by that godly, and iudicious divine, M. William Perkins ; long expected and desired, and therefore published at the request of his executours, by Will. Crashawe and Tho. Pierson, preachers of Gods Word, who heard him preach it, and wrote it from his mouth.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.	1607 (1607)	STC 19677.5; ESTC S2273	415,205	614

Then assuredly his heart is voide of true faith and farre from the life and power of religion For assuredly where God is knowen and beleeued there that mans heart though hee be a King cannot once thinke of God without a reuerence of his Maiestie and an admiration at his greatnesse and his owne basenesse therefore the want of this argueth a want of true religion and true faith in mens hearts Secondly this profanenesse discouers it selfe to the world by want of reuerence to Gods workes Let the Lord send vnseasonable weather or famines or plagues or any strange signes in heauen or in earth forthwith they are but fooles that cry out Behold the finger of God the hand of God No this is nature and is produced by naturall causes Ill weather comes from the starres famines from ill weather and mens couetousnesse Plagues from famines or from ill aires or else by apparant infection from another place But cannot Nature and naturall meanes haue their place vnlesse they haue Gods place God ouerthroweth not them why should they ouerthrow God Yet thus it is in the world and thus God is robbed of his glory and he is but a simple fellow which is moued with reuerence at sight of such things or begins to magnifie Gods power and iustice in them This is too apparant to be denied for haue wee not now as great causes of feare as can be Noah heard of water and wee heare that fire is to destroy the worlde and yeâ— where is hee that is mooued with reuerence as Noah was and yet Noah could saye The floud shall not be these 120. yeeres but who can say and proue that this world shal not be destroyed by fire within these 120. yeeres And till the floud came they had doubtlesse many otheâ— plagues which were fore-runners of the generall destruction all which as they came Moued Noah vnto reuerence and so wee in this age doe see the great workes of Gods Iudgements vpon men vpon families vpon townes vpon countries and whole kingdomes and wee feele his heauie hand in many sharpe strokes but who and where are they whose hearts feare God the more and doe tremble in the consideration of his Iudgements Nay alas amongst many it is but a matter of mockerie so to doe This is not the fault of our religion but the want of it for if men truly knew and beleeued in God they could not thinke nor speake of God nor looke at his workes but with feare and reuerence For as our feare of God is so is our faith little feare of God little faith and no feare at all no faith at all Let therefore all men shew their religion by their feare of God and let euery Christian acknowledge God in his workes England hath beene faulty herein in one point especially Wee haue had great plagues which haue taken away many thousands in short time wherein God hath shewed himselfe mighty against our sinnes But Gods hand would not be seene nor acknowledged but onely nature and naturall causes But let England take heede that God send not a plague so generall and so greeuous that euen the most profane men euen the sorcerers of Egypt if they were here doe acknowledge that it is the finger of God and so giue God that due reuerence which in his ordinary visitations he hath not Thus wee see the ground whence this reuerence in Noah sprang namely his faith Now let vs see the occasions or considerations in Noahs heart that made him feare The ground wherupon he feared was true faith for else he had not beene capable of any feare or reuerence of God but the occasions which stirred vp this feare in him were some things else Now if we looke to humane reasons Noah had no cause at all to feare as he did For first the Iudgement was farre off 120. yeeres after and common reason saith its folly to feare any thing so farre off but its time enough to feare when it is neere at hand Againe he was one single man and the world was full of wise and mighty men they all heard of it yet none of them feared therefore their exsample might preuaile with him to keepe him from feare and to make him secure and carelesâ—e with the rest for exsamples are strong especially when they are so generall Thirdly the strangenesse of the Iudgement threatned was such as might driue any man in reason from fearing it at all For first who would euer beleeue that God would drowne all the world with water such a thing neuer had beene and therefore how could it be And againe If all should be drowned who would thinke that Noah should escape and none but he These three considerations being wayed in the ballance of mans reason would haue kept Noah from fearing or beleeuing this word of God But behold the power of faith it goeth beyond all humane reach fixeth it selfe fast on Gods word and therfore he not only beleeueth it but hath furthermore his heart possessed with a great reuerence of Gods Maiestie vpon this message And there were three motiues stirring him vp vnto this Reuerence First the consideration of Gods strange Iudgement vpon the sinfull world to see that his wrath was so prouoked that he should bring so vnwonted a plague so strange both for the nature of it a floud of water to drowne men whereas generally all men can auoide the violence of that element for the measure of it so great as it should drown all the world and destroy all men Now that which this Iudgement of God wrought in Noah the same effect should Gods Iudgements worke in vs namely they should moue vs with reuerence For as Christ saith Our dayes are like Noahs As it was in the dayes of Noah so shall the dayes be before the comming of Christ Mathew 24.37 These dayes are as wicked men are as couetous as cruell as malitious as voluptuous and yet as secure as they then were as full of sinne and yet as dead in sinne as they were then Therefore Noah looked for a floud 120. yeeres after and who can tell whether our world shall last so long a time or no At least wee may safely say whatsoeuer the world doth there is no man liueth but within farre lesse time then 120. yeeres is assured to be throwen to hell by a floud of Gods wrath at his death vnlesse in the meane time hee repent and yet alas where is hee that is moued with reuerence at consideration hereof The wicked man may escape the water of a floud but hee cannot scape the fire of hell hee cannot escape death hee cannot escape the last Iudgement These are to come yet they are sure why then doe not men feare as Noah did hee feared 120. yeeres afore it came We can indeede tremble a little at a present Iudgement as when fire breakes out when waters ouerflowe when the plague destroyeth or when famine consumes but to tremble at a Iudgement threatned though it

though hee receiue it with a hand shaking with the palsey So God is well pleased with our faith though diseased with infirmities and bestoweth grace on a beleeuing soule though shaken with many temptations In a word God accepteth soundnesse of faith though it be but small and more lookes at in his mercy a mans little faith then his many faults Hee will not breake the bruised reede nor quench the smoking flaxe Esay 42 3 When a man is broken in heart and deiected in soule in fight of his many sinnes and little grace God will not breake this bruised reede but will comfort and strengthen him And when any life of grace appeares in a manne as flaxe that smoketh but will not burne out God will not quench it but will rather kindle it and giue life vnto it Let this teach vs to take in good part the holy and honest endeuours of our brethren though they cannot doe so well as they would or should Let vs not exact too much and too hastily vpon them but expect in meeknesse the working of Gods grace and in the meane time thinke well of Sarahs faith though it be with laughing Secondly here we may learne that God rather obserues and regards good things in his children then their faults and imperfections he writes vp Sarahs faith he nameth not her laughing This is from the goodnesse of his nature being goodnesse it selfe and therefore most easily apprehendeth and takes notice of the least goodnesse where-euer hee findes it Thus should wee deale one with another what good thing we see in any man we should obserue commend it his faults we should not see but couer and omit them But the course is contrary the common table talke of the world is nothing but of mens faults and to rip vp their imperfections but if they haue neuer so many good properties we can burie them all or passe them ouer in silence This argueth the malice and the naughtinesse of our nature which being euill doth delight in nothing but euill and being corrupt feedes as doth the filthy horse-flie on nothing but corruption But let vs remember the practice of God and learne to conceale faults and vse our tongues to talke of the good things and vertues in our brethren So shall we resemble the Lord who though Sarah laughed not in a holy admiration but in vnbeliefe yet forasmuch as afterward shee beleeued God hath matched her with the notablest beleeuers and holiest men that haue beene in the world Thus much for the first point the person and her action she beleeued Now the second is what she beleeued included and necessarily implied in the last words of the verse she iudged him faithfull Which had promised The thing she beleeued was the word or promise of God Particularly his promise that shee should beare Isaac in her olde age of which promise and the circumstances of it we may reade Gen. 18.13 c. Here the onely question is By what faith she beleeued this And the answere is by true sauing faith and it is proued thus Abraham beleeued this promise by the faith that iustified him Rom. 4.10.11 But Abraham and Sarah beleeued it both by one faith therefore Sarah beleeued that promise by the faith that also iustified her Where we learne that sauing faith apprehendeth not onely the great promise of redemption by Christ but all other inferiour promises that depend vpon it For here wee see Abraham and Sarah take hold of the promise of a temporal blessing by the same faith whereby formerly they had laide holde on the promise of eternall saluation by the Messias so that the obiect of true faith is 1. Principall the promise of saluation by Christ. 2. Secondarie all inferiour promises annexed thereunto The maine promise is So God loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne to the end that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue eternall life Iohn 3.16 Now true faith first of all directly and plainly fastneth it selfe on this but after and with this on all other promises that concerne soule or body In the Lords prayer we are bid to pray for temporal blessings health peace competencie of wealth all other vnder the name of daily bread and we are bound to beleeue that God will giue them if wee aske in faith Neither is this faith constrained but free and voluntarie and on a good foundation For being perswaded that God accepteth vs in Christ for saluation we cannot but withall be perswaded that God will giue vs all things else needefull for vs. This wee heere note againe because wee are wrongfully charged by the Papists to hold that faith apprehendeth the promise of saluation alone But we passe it ouer for that we haue already spoken something of it Now followeth the third point namely the impediments of her faith in these words When she was past age The promise was to haue a childe She beleeued it Now against child-bearing there are two impediments 1. Barrennesse 2. Age. If one be aged or past the ordinarie time it is hard and vnlikely but if one be very aged and farre past it it is impossible shee should conceiue and beare a childe thus it stands in reason Besides though one be not past age yet if she be barren as some by secret reasons in nature are it is not to be expected she should conceiue Now both these lay in Sarahs way for here it is said she was past age and another place namely Gen. 16.1.2 saith she was barren But it may be obiected against Sarahs age that in the olde time they had children till they were of great age Eua had her sonne Sheth at 130. yeares olde Gen. 5.3 For Adam and Eue must needes be both of one age and after that Eue bore many sonnes and daughters Therfore it may seeme that Sarah was not past age at 90. yeares olde But we are to knowe that they who began to beare at that age liued eight or nine hundred yeares but Sarah liued after the floud when Ages were brought downe to 200. and for the most part to 100. yeares Abraham liued but 175. yeares and Sarah but 127. She therefore who liued 127. yeares and died an olde woman must needes be past age of child-bearing at 90. yeares olde And besides her age she was also barren by her naturall constitution as many are and haue beene and brought Abraham no children Yet vnto this woman comes a word from God Sarah shall beare a sonne And behold this aged and barren woman doth not obiect desperatly these her two hinderances the one whereof in reason is sufficient against childe-bearing but beyond all impediments and aboue reason beleeueth it shall be so resting and relying onely and wholly on Gods word for it The vse of which notable and faithfull practice so wonderful in a woman must teach vs to rest on Gods word promise though we haue no reason so to doe for example When we see our

friends or childrens bodies cast into the earth to feede wormes burnt by fire or eaten by fishes reason saith they are gone they can neuer be againe We haue Gods word and assured promise The dead shall rise with their bodies shall they rise Esay Wee must therefore beleeue it if we will be of the faith of Sarah God said to her Age and barronnesse shall haue a childe she beleeued it He saith to vs Dust and rottennesse shall liue againe nay hee hath often said it and shall not our faith acknowledge the voice of our God and beleeue it as she did But let vs come to personall promises as hers was for this is generall God hath promised grace and pardon to euery penitent and beleeuing soule yet no man is partaker of the sweetnesse hereof without the bitternesse of many temptations to the contrary giuing him occasions of doubting and often euen of despairing of Gods fauour What must a man doe in this case euen beleeue though he feele no reason why to beleeue and hope aboue hope Such was Abrahams and Sarahs faith And for it as they were registred in the Storie of Genesis so both here and in the Romanes Chap. 4. remembred againe and commended for it Now suppose that thou after thy comming to God by faith repentance fall into temptations of desertion wherein to thy feeling Gods heauy hand wrath hath seized on thee the diuell layeth thy sins to thy charge tels thee thou art a damned wretch for thou wert euer an hypocrite and neuer hadst faith that therfore God is thy enemy In this case wherein in reason or in feeling there is not the least hope of saluation what must thou doe despaire God forbid For that is the downfall into hell No but hope when there is no hope keepe faith when there is no feeling And to strengthen vs herein remember the faith of Iob tried and sifted so as fewe haue beene who though the arrowes of the almighty stucke in him and the venome thereof drunke vp his spirits Iob 6.4 Yet euen then he beleeued and would not giue ouer nor let goe his hold and said Though thou bring me to dust yet will I not forsake thee no though thou kill me yet will I trust in thee So in the furie of temptations when the venome of Gods wrath seemes to drinke vp our spirits then must we beleeue and in the pangs of death when God seemes ready to kill vs then must wee trust in him In such cases is the life of faith to be shewed when reason and feeling say God is a terrible Iudge faith must say he is a mercifull Father In our health and welfare and feeling of Gods fauour this exhortation may seeme tedious but if wee belong to GOD if it be not past already the time is sure to come when this doctrine will bee needefull for the best of vs all Thus we see the excellencie of this womans faith which is the more commended by reason of these two so great hinderances Now follow the effects of her faith which are diuerse some laide downe in this verse and some in the next Receiued strength to conceiue seede And was deliuered of a childe In these words are two effects First by power of her faith shee was inabled to conceiue which afore she did not though there were the same reasons in nature why she should Secondly shee was deliuered of a childe in her olde age and that childe was Isaac who is therefore called the promised seede and the childe of the promise Out of the consideration of these two we may learne diuerse good instructions for seeing they are so neere a-kin in their natures wee will speake of them both ioyntly together First here we may see that nothing is so hard or difficult which God hath promised but faith can compasse it and bring it to performance Christ bâ—d the blinde see the lame to goe he spake they beleeued and they were healed So here God promiseth a barren olde woman a childe shee beleeueth and loe she conceiueth and brings forth a Sonne The vse of this doctrine is for two sorts of people First many in our Church being ignorant when they are moued to learne religion answere Alas they are simple or not booke-learned or they are dull and heauy witted or they be olde and weake and therefore they can learne nothing or if they doe they cannot remember it But heere is nothing but vaine excuses For they want not wit to learne religion if they haue wit to buy and sell to knowe a faire day from a foule good meate from ill deere from cheape Winter from Sommer If they haue wit to practice the ciuill actions of the world they haue wit enough to conceiue the grounds of religion and to get so much knowledge as may suffice for a ground of that faith which will saue their soules So that they want nothing but grace and diligence to vse the meanes To them therfore here is matter of good aduice Let such a man learne but one promise of God out of the holy Scripture as this Seeke first the Kingdome of God and all things else shall be giuen vnto you Math. 6.33 or this Cast all your care on him for he careth for you 1. Pet. 5.7 or this He that coÌ„meth vnto me I cast him not away Iohn 6.37 or but this Aske and ye shall haue seeke and ye shall finde Math. 7. Let him learne but one of these when they haue learned it beleeue it and let their soules daily feede on that faith And they shall see what will followe euen a wonderfull blessing vpon that poore beginning This their faith will so content and please their hearts that it will vrge them forward to get more and will make them both desirous capable of more knowledge and grace and will make them euen hunger and thirst after knowledge and grace whereas he that knoweth no promise nor beleeues it contents himselfe in ignorance and errour And this shall euery one finde that will carefully vse the meanes that God appoints and will begin to learne but one lesson at the first For as olde barren Sarah beleeuing Gods promise conceiues and brings forth So olde simple plaine dull Country-men beleeuing but one promise of Gods word shall conceiue and bring forth daily more and more blessed fruites of knowledge and grace Secondly others who haue made better proceedings in religion doe see their sinnes and doe much bewaile them but they cannot ouercome their corruptions yea many there are to whom their sinnes and inward corruptions are more greeuous and burdensome then all bodily wants or miseries in the world yet see they not how to conquer their corruptions but alas are oftentimes foiled by them to their great discomfort Let these men know the want of faith is the cause hereof for that they doe not sufficiently ruminate and consider the promises of God made in that behalfe nor vse the meanes

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