Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	fall_v	great_a	place_n	1,540	5	4.0939	3	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02746	A touch-stone of grace Discouering the differences betweene true and counterfeit grace: laying downe infallible euidences and markes of true grace: seruing for the triall of a mans spirituall estate. By A.H. Bachelor in Diuinitie, and Minister of Gods Word at Cranham in Essex.	Harsnett, Adam, 1579 or 80-1639.	1630 (1630)	STC 12876; ESTC S114563	72,897	335

grace to bewaile the want of grace and to be earnest with the Lord for a supply thereof If thou wert in any bodily want or necessity Towne and Countrey peraduenture should heare if not ring of it Thou canst heartily pray for and earnestly seeke out for outward necessaries food clothing fire c. But to whom dost thou make thy complaint of the want of grace Whereas grace being the most excelleÌ„t thing should in the first place be desired for thy selfe thy wife thy husband thy children c. If thou hast grace thou hast gotten a rich portion a great possession thy line is falne in a faire ground If thou seest grace wrought in the hearts of thy children thou mayest be freed from carefulnesse or seeking great things for them they haue a great a rich portion The Heathen could say that Vertue was a sufficient Dowrie And the Scripture saith The Lord wil not famish the soule of the righteous But how hard a thing is it for a Minister of Christ to beat this into the heads of people especially the poorer sort who most neglect grace and therefore they can rise early lye downe late and eat the bread of carefulnesse they can call and crie for these outward things for themselues and theirs but how few will stirre one foot or wet a finger for the obtaining of grace How many poore soules neuer had any one thought tending that way not so much as once dreame of the necessitie of grace and therfore trouble not themselues about it Let all such beware lest as a Captaine who finding one of his watchmen which kept sentinell asleepe cut off his head saying Dead I found thee and dead I leaue thee so the Lord cut off these with the sword of his wrath and vengeance leauing them for euer dead in sinne as he found them Thirdly if Grace be the most excellent thing why should wee not labour and striue to grow in grace as we are exhorted 2 Pet. 3. 18 An honest and good heart is neuer weary of increasing its stock of grace as worldlings are vnwearied in heaping vp transitory riches and lading theÌ„selues with clay though sometimes it falls out that outward things haue their satiety and wee may bee cloyed with them whereas in grace there is no nimiety a mans heart cannot be cloyed nor clog'd with it Our life is a wayfare a walke no time of standing we must still forwards on and on as those that haue a great iourney to goe As the Lord said to Elias when hee found him sitting and sleeping vnder a Iuniper tree Vp eat thou hast a great iourney to goe 1 King 19. 7. So we haue a long way a short day to finish it in and therfore had need bestirre our selues to purpose Therefore as Paul said to the Thessalonians 1 Thess 4. 1. so I to you Now I beseech you brethren and exhort you in the Lord Iesus that ye increase more and more Grace in the heart of Gods child should be like the waters flowing from the Sanctuarie Ezek. 47. 3 4. which were at the first to the ancles and after to the knees and so to the loynes and at last to a great deep that could not be passed ouer Though grace below and shallow at the first in vs we should so nourish and cherish it that it may grow to ripenesse and full holinesse in the feare of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. Which that wee may the better doe obserue these directions First we must be careful to remoue away all euil hindring grace and secondly set vpon the practice of that good which will further it First of all we must be carefull to plucke vp root and rinde of al such weeds as may ouer-grow choak and hinder the prospering of grace One maine and ranke weed is spirituall pride and selfe-conceitednesse which growes too fast in the best soile being watered and cherished by the Deuill who when he cannot procure the childe of God to stoope to his lure and bite at his bait of impietie and profanenesse then labours he to poison him with his owne venome to puffe him vp and make him swel with pride of his gifts He will make him proud of his knowledge proud of his preaching praying c. yea rather than faile hee will make him proud of his humility proud that he is not proud Pluck vp this weed therefore for it much hinders grace God resisteth the proud and giueth grace to the humble He fills the hungrie with good things and sends away the full emptie Luk. 1. 53. Humble your selues therfore and the Lord will exalt you The more humble and lowly thou art the freer thou art from shaking and ouer-turning for wee see low houses stand fast when many loftie and high buildings are blowne downe fall The higher any hill or mountaine is the more barren it is for the dew and raine which waters the earth to make it fruitfull tarries not vpon high hils but fals down into the valleyes makes them fruitfull euen so the meanes of grace lighting vpon an high and lofty spirit do fall from him without soaking or entring into him whereas lighting vpon the humble and lowly they make him fertile for the humble he will teach his way Psal 25. 9. Another weede which must bee pluckt vp is selfe-confidence or securitie When Christians begin to beare theÌ„selues vpon their own strength and to grow presumptuous the Lord oft withdrawes from them the strength of his grace and then downe they fall Dauid was too selfe-confident when he said I shall neuer be moued therefore God soone hides away his face and Dauid was as quickly troubled But of all other examples there is none for our purpose more remarkable than that of Peter who took it in foule scorne to be thought to be such a dastard and white-liuerd souldier yea such a false-hearted seruant as to forsake his Lord Master in greatest extremitie and therefore if you will take his word he will neuer flinch hee will die for Christ before he will deny him But when Christ fore-told his Apostles of their flinching from him if Peter had thus replied Lord it may be thou seest more into me and know'st my heart better than I know my selfe we are of our selues weake and fraile ready to pull in our heads vpon euery storme but Lord the spirit is willing though the flesh be fraile of our selues we can do nothing any further than thou wilt assist vs strengthen vs therefore with thy grace and then we will neuer flie from thee If thus Peter had answered Christ all had been well but being foole-hardy and selfe-confident the Lord sets him vpon his owne legs leaues him vnto himselfe and what became of this boaster at the word of a Maiden he denyes and forsweares Christ curses and damnes himself if euer he knew him Thus when Gods children grow carelesse too confident or are ouer-takeÌ„ with a dead sleep

been amongst Naturalists coÌ„cerning the chiefe good seuerall verdicts and iudgements haue beene giuen of it some calling pleasures some esteeming profits and some accounting honours the chiefe good some this thing and othersome that as their seuerall humors affections haue swayed them but we haue not so learned Christ and therefore from a better principle beyond the reach or pitch of all Naturalists we conclude that the prime good the best thing we can partake of is Grace for I may truly say of it as Dauid speakes of Goliahs sword 1 Sam. 21. 9. None to that All earthly comforts yea the greatest prefermeÌ„ts the largest possessions the most excellent endowments either of bodie or minde in respect of Grace are but as dung and drosse The excellencie of Grace will appeare the better if we acquaint our selues with the truth and worth thereof which that we may the better do obserue wee these particulars First of all I will lay downe the differences betwixt true and counterfeit Grace Secondly I will giue you some euidences and markes of true Grace Thirdly I will shew the reasons of the doctrine And then in the fourth and last place I will come to make some profitable vse and application of the point Differences betwixt true and counterfeit Grace FIrst of the differences betwixt true and false sound couÌ„terfeit Grace A necessary search and a point wherein we haue all need to be skilfull because of the deep imposture and deceitfulnesse of our owne wicked wretched hearts which like vnto lying spirits will flatter and deceiue vs telling vs that we are in a good way and that all is well with vs when as it is worse than nought and therefore we should be the more willing to heare of it For a man may haue a gracelesse wicked hart and yet not know it nor beleeue it and we are beguiled in nothing so much in nothing so soone as about our spirituall estate the estate of grace pleasing our selues with shewes and shadowes in stead of matter and substance Besides the Deuill is subtill and he will not bee wanting to teach vs the art of hypocrisie and hence it is that vertues are oft taken vp by vicious persons and fiends of darknesse will for their owne ends sometimes appeare like Angels of light How much then doth it stand vs vpon how neerely doth it concerne vs to search and trie whether our coine be currant or counterfeit lest that as for the present we beguile others in the end wee deceiue our owne soules The differences twixt true and counterfeit grace lye especially in foure things First the ground or beginning of Grace Secondly the growth or proceeding of it Thirdly the declension or falling thereof Fourthly and lastly the rising and perseuerance thereof First of the ground and beginning of grace Know we that all grace commeth from God the fountain of grace Euery good giuing and euery perfect gift is from aboue and commeth downe from the Father of lights Grace commeth from grace for there is grace infusing and grace infused Now that you may the better distinguish the one from the other before I fall vpon the differences giue me leaue to acquaint you with the nature of that grace from whence all grace is deriued vnto vs. Peter Martyr doth thus define the grace of God Grace is the free good will of God to man whereby he accepteth of vs in Christ forgiues vs our sinnes giues vs his Spirit here and eternall life hereafter First it is called the free good will of God vtterly to exclude all merit on our part Hence it is that the Scripture in diuers places doth diametrally oppose grace and merit As Rom. 11. 6. If it be of grace it is no more of works or else were grace no more grace For grace is all grace or no grace So Ephes 2. 8 9. By grace yee are saued it is the gift of God not of works c. Light is not more contrary vnto darknesse good stands not in more opposition vnto euill than grace and merit do oppose each other Merit in the best sense in the least sense doth marre the sense of grace Yea grace excludes that preuision of our workes which some imagine to be the ground of Gods louing vs or if not the ground a maine motiue and great meanes of Gods bestowing his grace vpon vs. But the nature of grace will not admit of any such preuision foreseeing of our workes The ground of all grace is in God himselfe and therefore grace must needs bee free it being his meere good wil and owne goodnesse to respect vs. As he told the people of Israel Deut. 7. 8. Nothing without God moueth him or can any wayes allure him to bestow his grace vpon vs. Hee found vs in our bloud vnlouely lothsome vnworthy to be beloued wherefore we conclude that grace is Gods free good will The Church of Rome hath beene much puzled about this doctrine of Gods free grace and therefore in generall termes they will seeme to ioyne issue with vs as if they said not as if they held not any other thing than that the Apostle alleageth Rom. 3. 24. That wee are iustified freely by his grace but like the Deuill their father they speake the truth in a false manner their words haue a wicked meaning which ouerthrowes the nature of Grace and the very foundation of Christian religion For by Iustification they doe not vnderstand the free grace of God in himselfe and that right0eousnesse of Christ freely imputed vnto vs but such a righteousnesse as God freely works in vs So by grace they do not vnderstand the free and vndeserued loue fauour of God to man but certaine gifts of grace certaine habituall graces as faith loue mercy c. which God freely workes in vs and for which say they he doth accept of vs. Now what is this but to ouerturne grace to ouerthrow Iustification and to make vs our owne sauiours When for certaine graces of our own and our owne inherent righteousnesse God doth accept of vs. From whence we may boldly conclude that the doctrine of the Church of Rome doth ouerthrow the foundation it peruerts the nature of grace and takes away the truth of Iustification For Iustification rightly considered implies two things First an vtter emptinesse and want in vs Secondly an absolute fulnesse and sufficiencie in Christ I would know how this can be if any merit or worth be in vs if we merit there is something in vs if something in vs then not an vtter emptines neither is there an all-sufficiencie in Christ thus they take away Iustification they make Christ no absolute Sauiour and so no perfect Christ and so no Christ at all Let vs therefore abominate the doctrine of the Church of Rome that satanicall Synagogue let vs hold it to bee Antichristian against Christ and their doctrine to be against the truth of grace and to say truth a gracelesse

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