Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	wit_n	world_n	worldly_a	43	3	9.4638	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00414	A methode vnto mortification: called heretofore, the contempt of the world, and the vanitie thereof Written at the first in the Spanish, afterward translated into the Italian, English, and Latine tongues: now last of all perused at the request of some of his godly friends, and as may bee most for the benefite of this Church, reformed and published by Thomas Rogers. Allowed by authoritie.; Vanidad del mundo. English	Estella, Diego de, 1524-1578.; Rogers, Thomas, d. 1616.	1608 (1608)	STC 10543; ESTC S114515	174,792	500

doe iniurie to the heauenly father which more than liberalie prouideth for his children those thinges which he knoweth are most necessary and meete for euery one of them The birde of the aier wil no longer staie vpon the earth than meere necessitie driues her so to doe but spendeth the greater parte of her life aboue in the aier where she is best in secutitie If thou haue a desire to escape the perill of this life shunne so much as in thee is all vnnecessarie busines of this world It is thy part either to flie with the birde or to swimme with the fish not to grouell on the grounde if thou wouldest liue in safety At such time as God created the foules and the fishes he gaue them his blessing but the beastes and other liuing creatures that crept on the ground he blessed not at al He therfore which desireth the blessing that God imparteth on the good let him flie or let him swimme that he maie escape all danger and not like the brute beastes abide and rest vpon these earthly thinges for such he will not blesse but curse saying vnto them Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the Deuil his Angels Liue therfore like the flying soule aloft in heauenly meditations and praier and cast al your care vpō God as the Apostle commaundeth saying Cast al your care vpon him for he careth for you And saie with the Psal. mist Though I bee poore and needy yet the Lord careth for me Now if the Lord haue care of thee why serueth thy carefulnesse but euen to extinguish in thine heart the word of God The desire of riches in whomsoeuer it be choaketh the good seede of the worde of God that it can take noe roote and fructifie The Gentíles and heathen inasmuch as they are of opiniō how these things are giuen vs of fortune it is no maruel though they be so careful But thou which dost admitt and beleeue the Doctrine concerning Gods prouidence thou maiest not be so careful seeing well thou knowest that doing thy dutie according to thy calling God he will prouid that which is sufficient for thee If God preserue the Birdes which he created for man will he not much more haue a care for the substance of man which hee made for him selfe Remoue from thee al vnnecessarie businesse that thine heart may bee lifted vp vnto God Our nature and sensuall part being very strong they seeke themselues in the vanities and pleasures of the world but in the meane while the vnderstanding is darkened the spirite becommeth insensible and all spirituall exercise is vnsauorie Vnnecessary busines it hindereth the inward prayer of the heart it distracteth the mind it blindeth the vnderstanding and finally driueth away from vs the true light of the spirit Therefore if thou haue any desire to serue God aband from thy mind all carefulnesse and suffer not thy selfe to be distracted with the affaires of this world CHAP. 33. The wisedome of this world is vaine and foolish THe foolishnes of God is wiser than man saith the Apostle The worlde esteemeth him for a wise man which can cloke his owne vices in the sight of men and cunningly can attaine vnto honour and preferment in the worlde on the other side it holdeth all those for fooles which despise suche vanities The wise man in the person of worldly men saith We thought his life madnes and his end without honor the cause was for that he gaue not his minde to the gathering together of riches The men of this worlde take the seruantes of God for verie fooles without all forecast but they are like burning lampes and the worlde is onely the winde which bloweth and would put them out which the godly obseruing they do hide themselues that they maie be secure neither studie they to shewe theire holinesse in the sight of men but to God onely which regardeth not the outward partes but the heart within The wisdome of God is quite contrarie to the wisdome of man Good men are of none accounte amonge worldlie men but they are greatlie esteemed of the Lorde The iudgemetes of God differ much from the iudgements of men For the worlde looking vnto those thing which appeare to the outward senses taketh him for happie which is of power and rich When Samuel went to annoint one of the sonnes of ●shai for King of Israell passing by him whome the father made great account of he annointed Dauid which no man would haue thought So whome the worlde accounteth wise men GOD numbreth among fooles He whome the world reiected as an abiect was elected afore all to be a king He which hath a matter to be pleaded before a iudge of learning and integritie taketh it not too heauily though afore hee be condemned by an vnskilfull Iudge inasmuch as hee reposeth confidence in the sentence of that Iudge which is well seene in the lawes The men of this worlde like partiall and vnskilfull Iudges they iudged the pouertie of Th'apostles and the beggerly condition of the Martyrs but very foolishnes bnt the iudgement of God touching this matter is quite contrarie When it was said to S. Paul that much learning had made him mad he answered that he was not mad but spake the wordes of truth and sobernesse Hereby we may see that it is no newe thing for the worlde blindlie to iudge that which it knoweth not neither vnderstandeth meere foolishnesse But death will one day come when the seruantes of Christ will appeale vnto God the chiefe and vpright iudge who soundely and substantially will consider the cause and then will hee condemne the iudgement of the world as altoghether vniust hy his righteous and irreuocable sentence whereby he will reproue all that which was approued in the worlde If therefore thou bee reputed for a foole in the world bee not dismaid for so was Christ esteemed of Herod neither waigh the vaine iudgementes of men which shall euery of them shortly bee repealed and then true vertue and they which be truelie veruous shall shine most gloriously in the celestiall paradise CHAP. 34. The true wisedome is the wisedome of Christ. IF any man among you seeme to bee wise in this world let him bee a foole that he may be wise saith the Apostle It is true wisdome to become and to bee counted a foole for Christ his sake The wisdome of God which consisteth in true mortifying denying of a mans selfe is takē but for foolishnes among men The wise man saith I am more foolish than any man haue not the vnderstanding of a man in me The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light therefore the wise man said that hee had not the vnderstanding of a man yet had he the wisdome of God which is reputed foolishnesse of the world forasmuch as the wit of man cannot reach vnto

the same So is the battel ordered somtime by the captaine and such newe stratagems he vseth that they seeme foolish altogether to the barbarous soldiers because they knowe neither the ground of his deuise not yet the ende whereunto it tendeth So doth foolish man iudge of the wisdome of God Which euen worldly folke as it is in the booke of Wisdome confessed whē they said The light of righteousnes hath not shined vnto vs and the sunne of vnderstanding rose not vpon vs. For the weake eies of our vnderstanding they are not able to comprehend the glorious light of heauenlie wisdome Moses so long as he was in Egypt he was taken to be a very wise man but whē once he was to speake before the Lord of heauen and earth he then confessed that slow he was of speech and slow of tongue For hee was onely wise with secular wisdome Salomon was a very wise man yet when he compared his wisdome with the wisdome of God he thought himselfe more foolishe than any man It is a point of great wisedome for Gods sake to contemne the worlde In the true knowledge of a mans owne selfe consistteh the high and heauenly wisedome of Iesus Christ. In comparison of this high wisdome all knowledge is but ignorance to the seruant of God If thou haue the perfect knowledg of all the liberal artes what wil it profit thee if thou know not thy selfe Thou wanderest about and thinkest that thou knowest much whē in deed thou knowest nothing as thou shouldest Happy is the soule which is replenished with heauenly wisedome and happy is the man whose care is to bee wise in the sight of God To haue one litle drope of heauen ly wisdome it is better than to haue euē a whole vaste sea of secular knowledge True wisedome is nothing els but a perfect mortificatiō of a mans owne selfe The more thou knowest the more ignorant shewe thy selfe and deade vnto the world Righteous men which see God as Iaacob did because they know God they are lame and vnapte as it were vnto earthly affaires and counted fooles of men because they are wise in Gods sight As that part of the moone which is toward the Sun is so glorious with light that the other part therof which hath respect vnto the earth giueth no light at all so when the chiefe and principall part of thy soule is fixed vpon the Sunne of righteousnesse it will be so possessed of the glorious beames thereof that it wil haue noe light to cast vpon the earth earthly thinges The foole saith Ecclesiasticu● changeth as the moone for leauing the light of God he turneth himselfe vnto the inferior things of the earth The wisedome of this world it is confoūded of the heauenly wisdome For as the serpent of Moses deuoured the serpents of Pharoas magicioners so the wisedome of God deuoureth consumeth all the wisedome of man God in the old lawe hee promiseth riches vnto men and those thinges which the nature of man desireth yet notwitstanding fewe there were that turned vnto the Iewish religion which was the true worshipe of God But Christ our Sauiour when hee came and preached persecution and tribulation which men naturally do hate in all partes of the worlde many were conuerted vnto the faith The wisdome of God is of that force that by foolish thinges of the world the wise are confounded and by weake thinges of the worlde hee hath confounded the mighty whē they professed themselues wise they became fooles saith the Apostle And what maruel seeing all thinges are subiect to the wisdome of God This wisdome Sathan would plucke from thee as would Nahash the Ammonite the right eies of the Israelites which is the knowledge of celestiall thinges The eies of a wise man are in his head which is Christ Neither doth a wise man seeke nor looke vpon any thing but Iesus Christ accordine to that of the Apostle I esteemed not to know any thing among you saue Iesus Christ and him crucified Therefore let thine whole exercise be in the meditation of the passion of Christ to the intent that knowing him in part here on earth thou maiest afterward haue a full sight of him in heauen CHAP. 35 The life of man vpon earth is but both short and vaine MAN that is borne of a woman is of short continuance and full of trouble saith Iob Hee shooteth forth as a flouer and is cut downe he vanisheth also at a shadowe and continueth not Our life is euen a vapor that appeareth for a little time and afterwarde vanisheth awaie like a cloud in the aier which so soone as the Sunne shineth disperseth it selfe This life so much accounted of seemeth among men to bee very goodly insomuch that it rauisheth the mindes of many with the glory of the same But vaine are such persons for who so knoweth not that euē a little sicknesse and infirmitie resolueth euen the goodliest personage into dust and allies So that he becommeth very vile that was so glorious but a while before What is the whole time of our life but euen a very instant which runneth away more swiftly thā the wind They are more swift thā a poste they haue fled aud haue seene no good thinge Euen as lightening in the aire which in the twinckling of an eie is dissolued so passeth away both the life and the glorie of this world For all is vanitie Number al the daies hours monethes and yeares of thy life and terme wherebe they now They are all passed away like a shaddow and like a spiders webbe that is blowen away with the wind There is nothing stable vpon earth whereout Adam was formed and his children I here is nothing shorter thā life which carieth death alwaies with it It is both short and miserable good men beare it mith patience and euil men loue it with great delight We must needes die and we are as water spilt on the grounde which cannot be gathered vp againe saith the Scripture There is no streame that runneth so fast awaie as the life of man doth the water streames neuer turne backe againe and the daies that are passed cannot be called backe The time past is irrecouerable Thou maiest sit by the riuer as Tobie did at the floud Tybris and by tht swiftnesse of the same consider how swiftly thy life it passeth awaie That riuer Tybris had his name of his speedie runninge and yet is not the course thereof fo swift as is the course of thy yeares after which thou art drawen immediately vnto death In this consideration wash the feete of thy soules affections in this contemplation purge thy selfe from the filth of earthly loue which thou hast gotten by much busying thy selfe in the world The life of man is but a dreame and deceite The Psalmist saith I saide in my feare all men are lyers The