Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	aaron_n	pharaoh_n	reserve_v	25	3	10.6864	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07540	Wisdome crying out to sinners to returne from their evill wayes Conteined in three pious and learned treatises, viz. I. Of Christs fervent love to bloudy Jerusalem. II. Of Gods just hardening of Pharaoh, when he had filled up the measure of his iniquity. III. Of mans timely remembring of his creator. Heretofore communicated to some friends in written copies: but now published for the generall good.; Sapientia clamitans, wisdome crying out to sinners to returne from their evill wayes	Jackson, Thomas, 1579-1640.; Gods just hardning of Pharaoh, when he had filled up the measure of his iniquity. aut; Donne, John, 1572-1631. aut; Milbourne, William, b. 1598 or 9.	1640 (1640)	STC 17920; ESTC S100914	68,657	328

Pharaoh For this expostulation whereunto our Apostle in this place hath reference was uttred after the seventh wonder wrought by Moses and Aaron in the sight of Pharaoh upon which it is expresly said that The Lord hardned the heart of Pharaoh that hee hearkned not unto them Whereas of the five going before it is onely said That Pharaoh hardned his heart or his heart was hardned or hee set not his heart to the wonders The spirits censure likewise of Pharaohs stupiditie upon the first wonder may bee read impersonally or to bee referred to the wonder it selfe which might positively harden his heart in such a sense as is before expressed Nor is it to be omitted that upon the neglect of the seventh wonder the Lord enlargeth his commission to Moses and his threats to Pharaoh Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrewes Let my people goe that they may serve mee For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart and upon thy servants and upon thy people that thou maist know that there is none like mee in all the earth For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence and thou shalt bee cut off from the earth or as Junius excellently rendreth it I had smitten thee and thy people with pestilence when I destroyed your cattell with murraine and thou hadst beene cut off from the earth when the boiles were so rife upon the Magitians but when they fell I made thee to stand for so the Hebrew is verbatim to what purpose that thou mightest still stand out against mee nay but for this very purpose That I might shew my power and declare my name more manifestly throughout all the earth by a more remarkable destruction than all that time should have befallen thee This briefe survey of these historicall circumstances present unto us as in a mappe the just occasion the due force and full extent of the objection here intimated in transitu Thou wilt say then unto mee why doth hee yet finde fault As if some one on Pharaohs behalfe had replied more expresly thus God indeed had just cause to upbraid Pharaoh heretofore for neglect of his signes and wonders it was a foule fault in him not to relent so long as there was a possibilitie left for him to relent But since God hath thus openly declared his irresistible will to harden him to destruction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Why doth he chide him any longer Why doth he hold on to expostulate more sharply with him than heretofore for that which it is impossible for him to avoid For is it possible for him to open the doore of repentance when God hath shut it or to mollifie his heart whose hardning was now by Gods decree irrevocable I have heard of a malepart Courtier who being rated of his Soveraigne Lord for committing the third murther after hee had beene graciously pardoned for two made this saucy reply One man indeed I killed and if the law might have had its course that had beene all For the death of the second and of the third your Highnesse is to answer God and the Law Our Apostle being better acquainted than wee are with the circumstances of time with the manner of Pharaohs hardening foresaw the malepart Jew or Hypocrite especially when Pharaohs case came in a manner to be their owne would make this or the like saucie answer to God If Pharaoh after the time wherein by the ordinary course of justice hee was to die were by Gods speciall appointment not onely reprived but suffered to be more out-ragious than before yea imboldened to contemne Gods messengers the ensuing evils which befell the Aegyptians may seeme to be more justly imputed unto God than unto him at least the former expostulation might seeme now altogether unseasonable To this objection our Apostle opposeth a twofold answer First he checks the saucinesse of the Replicant Nay but oh man who art thou 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui respondeas Deo saith the Vulgar Beza as hee thinkes more fully qui responsas Deo our English better than both that repliest against God The just and naturall value of the originall doubly compounded word will best appeare from the circumstances specified First God by Moses admonisheth Pharaoh to let his people goe But he refuseth Then God expostulateth with him As yet exaltest thou thy selfe against my people that thou wilt not let them goe The objection made by the Hypocrite is as a rejoynder upon Gods Reply to Pharaoh for his wonted stubbornnesse or as an answer made on his behalfe or others in his case unto the former expostulations For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Respondenti respondere to rejoyne upon a replie or answer Now this Rejoynder to speake according to the rules of modestie and good manners was too saucie out of what mans mouth soever it had proceeded For what is man in respect of God any better than an artificiall body in respect of the artificer that makes it or than an earthen vessell in respect of the potter Nay if wee might imagine a base vessell could speake as fables suppose beasts in old time did and thus expostulate with the potter When I was spoiled in the making why didst thou rather reserve me to such base and ignominious uses than throw mee away especially when others of the same lumpe are fitted for commendable uses it would deserve to be appointed yet to more base or homely uses For a by-slander that had no skill in this facultie for the potters boy or apprentise thus to expostulate on the vessels behalfe to his father or master would argue ignorance and indiscretion The potter at least would take so much authority on him as to reply I will appoint every vessell to what use I thinke fit not to such use as every idle fellow or malepart boy would have it appointed Now all that our Apostle in this similitude intends is that wee must attribute more unto the Creators skill and wisdome in dispensing mercy and judgement or in preparing vessels of wrath and vessels of honour than wee doe unto the potters judgement in discerning clay or sitting every part of his matter to his right and most commodious use Yet in all these the potter is judge saith the author of the booke of Wisdome That very vessell which ministred the matter of this similitude to our Apostle Jer. 18. 4. was so marred in the potters hand as he was inforced to fashion it againe to another use than it was first intended for That it was marred in the first making was the fault of the clay So to fashion it anew as neither stuffe nor former labour should be altogether lost was the potters skill And shall wee thinke our Apostle did intend any other inference from this similitude than the Prophet from whence hee borrowes it had made to his hand O house of Israel cannot I doe with you as this potter saith the

Lord Behold as the clay is in the potters hand so are yee in mine hand Oh house of Israel Ierem. 18. 6. The true and full explication is thus much and no more albeit God sought to prepare them to glorie yet had they a possibilitie or libertie utterly to spoile themselves in the making Howbeit if so they did hee was able to forme them againe to an end quite contrarie unto that whereto hee first intended them So the Prophet explicates himselfe vers 9. 10. And here wee must request our Reader alwayes to remember that the Apostle compares God not to a frantick or fantastick potter delighted to play tricks to his losse as to make a vessell scarce worth a groat of that peece which with the same ease and cost might bee made worth a shilling onely to shew his imperiall authoritie over a peece of clay He imagineth such a potter as the Wise man did that knowes a reason why he makes one vessell of this fashion another of that why he appoints this to a base use that to a better albeit an unskilfull by-stander could perhaps discerne no difference in the stuffe or matter whereof they are made The summe then of our Apostles intended inference is this As it is an unmannerly point for any man to contest or wrangle with a skilfull artificer in his owne facultie of whom hee should rather desire to learne with submission so it is damnable presumption for any creature to dispute with his Creator in matters of providence or of the worlds regiment or to debate his owne cause with him thus Seeing all of us were made of the same masse I might have beene graced as others have beene with wealth with honour with strength with wisdome unlesse thou hadst beene more favourable to them than to mee Yet that which must quell all inclination to such secret murmurings or presumptuous debates is it our stedfast beleefe of his omnipotent power or absolute will No but of his infinite wisdome equity and mercie by which he disposeth all things even mens infirmities or greater crosses to a better end in respect of them so they will patiently submit their wils to his than they could hope by any other meanes to atchieve Gods will to have mercie on some and to harden others or howsoever otherwise to deale with men is in this sense most absolute Whatsoever wee certainly know to bee willed by him wee must acknowledge without examination to bee truly good Whomsoever wee assuredly beleeve it hath beene his will to harden wee must without dispute beleeve their hardning to have beene most just Yet thus to beleeve wee are not bound unlesse it were a fundamentall point of our beleefe that this his most absolute will hath just reasons though unknowne to us why hee hardneth some and not others yea such ideall reasons as when it shall be his pleasure to make them knowne to us wee shall acknowledge them to bee infinitely better and more agreeable to the immutable rules of eternall equitie which indeed they are than any earthly Prince can give why hee punisheth this man and rewardeth that The contrarie in consequence which some would inferre out of our Apostle in this place is the true naturall and necessarie consequence which they have made of another orthodoxall principle Gods will is the only infallible rule of goodnesse that is in their exposition Things are good onely because God doth will them When as in truth his will could not be so infallible so inflexible and so soveraigne a rule of goodnesse as all must beleeve it to bee that thinke themselves bound to conforme their wils to his unlesse absolute and immutable goodnesse were the essentiall object of this his most holy will Wherefore though this argument bee more than demonstrative It was Gods will to deale thus and thus with mankinde therefore they are most justly dealt withall Yet on the other side this inference is as strong and sound Some kinde of dealings are in their owne natures so evidently unjust that we must beleeve it was not Gods will to deale so with any man living Abraham did not transgresse the bounds of modestie in saying to God That the righteous should perish with the wicked that be farre from thee Shall not the Judge of all the earth doe right Yet were Gods will the rule of all goodnesse in such a sense as some conceive it or our Apostles meaning such as many in this place have made it Abraham had beene either very ignorant or immodest in questioning whether Gods will concerning the destruction of Sodome lovingly imparted to him Genes 18. had beene right or wrong whether to have slaine the righteous with the wicked had beene just or ill beseeming the great Judge and Maker of the world Howbeit to have slaine the righteous with the wicked would have beene lesse rigorous and lesse unjust than to harden man by an inevitable necessitating decree before they had voluntarily hardned themselves or unnecessarily brought an impenitent temper or necessitie of sinning upon themselves And for this cause we may safely say with our father Abraham Thus to harden any whom thou hast created that bee farre from thee Oh Lord. Farre be it ever from every good Christians heart to entertaine any such conceit of his Creator Albeit this first answer might suffice to check all such captious replies as hypocrites here make yet as our Apostle in his second answer imports wee need not use the benefit of this generall apologie in Pharaohs case The reason or manner of Gods justice and wisdome in hardning and punishing him is conspicuous and justifiable by the principles of equitie acknowledged by all For Pharaoh and his confederates were vessels of wrath sealed up for destruction Hell as wee say did yawne for them before God uttered the former expostulations perhaps from that very instant wherein hee first sent Moses unto him It being then granted that God as wee indeed suppose did from the plague of murraine or that other of boiles positively and inevitably harden Pharaohs heart and after he had promised to let the Israelites goe infatuated his braines to wrangle with Moses First whether their little ones afterwards whether their flocks should goe along with them yet to reserve him alive upon what condition or termes soever though to bee hardned though to be threatned though to be astonished and affrighted with frosts plagues and lastly to bee destroyed with a more fearfull destruction than if hee had dyed of the pestilence when the cattell perished of the murraine was a true document of Gods lenity and patience no impeachment to his justice a gentle commutation of due punishment no rigorous infliction of punishment not justly deserved For what if God had thrust him quick into hell in that very moment wherein hee told him Ad hoc ipsum excitavite For this very purpose have I reserved thee alive that I might shew my power in thee No question but as the torments of