Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	believe_v	know_v	word_n	4,525	5	4.2540	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96858	Gnōston tou Theou, k[a]i gnōston tou Christou, or, That which may be knovvn of God by the book of nature; and the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ by the Book of Scripture. Delivered at St Mary's in Oxford, by Edward Wood M.A. late proctor of the University and fellow of Merton Coll. Oxon. Published since his death by his brother A.W. M.A.	Wood, Edward, 1626 or 7-1655.; Wood, Anthony à, 1632-1695.	1656 (1656)	Wing W3387; Thomason E1648_1; ESTC R204118	76,854	234

Turke may know Christ so farre as by hear-say and History yet he cannot be said savingly to know him because he denies his assent unto the Gospell which is the ordinary way of discovering him to a man As when those that pretend to be disciples of any great Phylosopher or Schollar doe wholly submit themselves to his dogmata writings and opinions as for example the Peripateticks to Aristotle the Scotists to Scotus the Thomists to Thomas his Doctrine insomuch that they doe even sweare to resigne up their judgements to the words of their Master why so much more ought Christians to give their assent unto the Word of their Lord master Christ therefore John 10. 't is said that his Sheepe heare his voice and follow him they presently adhere to his word and accordingly obey him in it He that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting Life Joh. 5. 24. we must first hearken to his Word before we can believe on him and have everlasting life Secondly it implyes affection to Christ For as Gods knowing his people implyes his love towards them in Scripture the Lord knows the way of the Righteous Psal 1. v. 6. so his peoples knowing of God implyes also affection towards him hence Christ saith that he knows his sheep and is known of them John 10. 14. which implyes on both sides a mutuall love to each other for so expressly v. 15. he saith he will lay down his life for his sheep Hence ignorance is every where in holy writ made the ground of mens hatred and disaffection to Christ and his people had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory 1 Cor. 2. 8. and John 15. 21. and c. 16. v. 3. All these things meaning persecutions saith Christ they will doe unto you because they have not known the Father nor me did a man throughly and savingly know Christ he would be more in love with him for there is such an intimacy and union between the truth and goodnesse of divine objects that whosoever rightly understands the one will presently imbrace the other so that be sure that is but a vaine empty knowledge of Christ where the characters of it are not imprinted in our hearts and affections even in common discourse when we say I know such a one is of excellent parts of a sweet and good disposition this implies our secret esteem and respect unto the person and how can we be said truely to know him as the fairest of ten-thousand as our Saviour Reconciler Lord and God unlesse our hearts be carryed forth in a high esteem and love of him 't is said Jam. 2. 19. The Divells do believe and therefore tremble certainly did they know there was any mercy in store for them as now there is nothing but vengeance as they now tremble and feare so they would then love and admire Christ and did we but justly understand the admirable goodnesse and excellencies of Christ we should be more taken with him we should keep his commandements with more observance and feare more to displease him then we doe O let us never say we know Christ that we have intimacy and acquaintance with him when our hearts are farre from him when we have an Idea of him in our Braine and not so much as a lust Crucified by the Knowledge of his death not one grace the more implanted by the knowledge of his Resurrection when we pretend to know him yet grieve his Spirit wound his glory trample under foot his blood disobey his precepts and preferre a Barrabas a robber a sinne that dispoiles him of his Glory before the Lord of life believe it this knowledge of Christ is scientia affectiva it must sinke deeper then so into our affections and transforme the whole man into the image of Christ otherwise it is but a counterfeit not a reall knowledge of him Thirdly this practicall knowledg of Christ implies a particuliar application of him to our own soules what good will it doe me to know there is gold in the Indies unlesse I had it in my coffer or to know when I am hungry that there is in such a place hony and food unlesse I did tast it my selfe no more good will the knowledge of Christ doe us unlesse we doe eate him and drinke him by faith and can say with Paul in the text I know him to be my Lord that hath redeemed me and will save me you will not count him a good Physitian that knoweth only the name figure and shape of an hearb in Gerhard or Mathiolus and not the use and application of the same and so neither can ye call him a knowing Christian that can discourse only of Christ in generall being in the meane while ignorant of the benefits and the comfortable application of them he may still for all this lay under the curse under the pangs of conscience the sence of the wrath of God the tyranny of sin and Sathan unlesse he can feele Christs spirit as Thomas did corporally and say My Lord and My God Joh. 20. 28. in all true knowledge the Acts of the understanding are reflexive the soule will start back and rebound upon its selfe it will first goe out unto Christ its direct object and then turne in upon its selfe and examine its own interest in him Hence saith Saint Paul in the 2 Cor. 13. v. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith let your soules retire into themselves and there diligently examine the matter and you will quickly find whether you believe in Christ or have any communion with him which cannot be rightly known unlesse you so examine your selves and so much shall suffice to be spoken of the first point The second is the qualifications of this knowledge 1. 'T is a revealed supernaturall knowledge Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee saith Christ of himselfe to Simon Peter but my Father which is in Heaven Mat. 16. v. 17. neither carnall reason nor humane wisedome can ever suggest Christ unto us 't is God alone that reveales his Sonne in us Gal. 1. v. 16. Nature can rise no higher then things within its own bounds and spheare As water cannot runne above its own fountaine now the knowledg of Christ doth much exceed the reach of naturall disquisition 't is the wisedome of God in a mystery hidden wisedome which none of the princes of this world knew 1 Cor. 2. we attaine usually unto naturall knowledg by much industry turmoile of body minde when our understanding doth out of some imperfect hintes and blushes of the causes of things by degrees hack and hew out the truth of them and by much labour and toyle we get and serve out of nature the small knowledge that we have whereas now all the toyle and study in the world will never advance a meer naturall man to the knowledge of Christ because I suppose he hath not so much as a hint

there is no such impossibility for then how came Job and others Gentiles into the pale of the Church and according to some the Law of Nature was sufficient to discover unto them a Christ though this savours too much of Pelagianisme Againe secondly what though it was impossible for them barely by the light of nature to believe yet shall we tax God of tying his creatures to impossibilities certainly we cannot for it was not Gods fault but mans who by his sinfull fall contracted unto himselfe and his posterity such an impossibility But I must hasten Thirdly this may further be made good unto you by considering the vast disproportion and enmity that is betweene a Naturall understanding and Spirituall Mysteries The naturall man saith the Apostle receiveth not the not the thinges of the spirit of God for they are spiritually discerned 1 Corin. 2. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 't is say some expositors from the narrownesse and incapacity of the intellective faculty to receive those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the text indeed they are said to know the things of God but not the things of the spirit of God and good reason to for it for as water can ascend no higher then just the spring or fountaine from whence it is derived even so the knowledge which flowes from the light of Nature can mount no further then into those things which are proportioned and levell with the same light Should you tell a Pagan of three distinct persons united in the same nature of an Infinite God wrapt up and cloysterd in Finite humane flesh of being twice borne before he can become a child of God would he not think you rather laugh at then believe the discourse and suppose you rather went about to puzzle then instruct him Doubtlesse a Bat may as soone face the Sun at noone day or a purblind man read the smallest print at a miles distance as a Carnall man can dive into or discover such abstruse sublime Mysteries 'T is the Word alone and spirit of God that unlocks unto us these hidden things of God which blockish nature can never understand much lesse discover And therefore when Paul spoke unto the Athenians concerning the Resurrection the text saith some of them mocked and the same Apostle in the 1 Cor. 7. 2. saith the Gospell was unto the Greekes foolishnesse even the most learned of the Gentiles counted these mysteries ridiculous and absurd things Unto these reasons I might adde many more and answere some objections but I am afraid I should be tedious Give me leave now but in a word or two particularly to apply of this point unto our selves what hath been Doctrinally spoken as touching the Gentiles and so I shall conclude First then this should make us bewaile the sad losse we sustained by Adams Apostacy us I say for we are all by nature Gentiles neither is there any man borne a Christian As then when the sunne is in a very great Eclipse every man is apt to be struct with horrour and Amazement so likewise when we consider how strange an Eclipse this primitive glorious light hath suffered through sinne we ought to be smitten through with greife and seriously to bewaile the cause of it When a man looketh upon the Venerable ruines of some ancient stately edifice how apt is he to weepe and melt over its desolations And shall Man that admirable fabrick and Master-peice of his Creatour fall into such confusion and darknesse and wee be insensible of his ruines and as Nero once did upon Rome looke merrily upon his destruction Certainly were not a man wholly Engulphed in carnall pleasures were not his heart so deeply steeped in worldly delight he would sometimes let fall a teare or two upon the sad reliques of his Primitive Glory and mourne over his former happinesse now entoumbed in nothing but Misery and Darknesse For doubtlesse great matter there will be of sorrow unto us to see that glorious fabrick and beautifull Image of God sullied over with sinne and uglinesse that Vnderstanding which is the candle of the Lord Prov. 20. 27. Now so overcharged with ignorance unbeliefe and falshood with ignorance in being not able to fathome either naturall Causes or supernaturall mysteries with unbeliefe in its backwardnesse to assent unto such things which are beyond the reach of purblind nature and with falsehood in its misapprehending and misjudging the truths of God to see likewise what rebellious tumults and disorders there are in those Affections which Originally were quietly subordinated unto the dictates and guidance of Reason how madly they cast off the reins and rush into sinne as a horse rusheth into the battle how wildly they rage and Tyrannize over the discursive rationall facultie either bribing it to assent unto such things which upon deliberation it must needs disapprove off or else violently tugging and haling it to give way unto the Execution of them To consider also how that Conscience which primitively did enjoy a sweet tranquillity and peace is now lashed with the guilt of Sinne affrighted with the glarings and preapprehensions of Hell fire yea and become a very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a bugbeare unto us a speculum and looking glasse to reflect unto us both our Temporall and Eternall misery I might here make an Anatomy of the whole man and shew unto you how in every part and faculty of the soule that Glorious Light which God originally imprinted in our first parents is now dimme and almost quite extinguished through sinne such is the strange malignity of it to deface and blurre the clearest Characters of God and Goodnesse in man And therefore it should mightily humble every one of us when we consider that the Light whereby we primitively were directed unto Heaven and so sweet a communion with God himselfe is now so obscure in us that we are faine to grope after him in the darke with whom before we had so familiar Acquaintance And then it should cause us to pray unto God to enlighten our minds to repaire this decayed lumpe with the Oyle of his Grace that we may be enabled to seeke after him in the way that he will be found to bring us out of darknesse into his marvellous light out of the darknesse of ignorance that we may rightly know him and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent out of the darknesse of errour that we may know the truth and discerne thinges that differ and out of the darknesse of unbeliefe that believing on him we may not see death but have everlasting life But now secondly as we ought to be humbled in the sense of this our great losse so ought we likewise since God hath manifested it unto us and it is his gift to be thankfull for the remainders and sparks of this Light that now remaine in us for whereas God might have wrapped us up in eternall darknesse and have made us as brutish and irrationall as the Beasts we formerly had dominion over yet such was

togeither their letters read God in a monstrous prodigious manner and become vaine in their imaginations and their foolish hearts were darkened Rom. 1. As men that read in an old moth-eaten broken manuscript may easily mistake the originall meaning so methinks the Gentiles having nothing to study God in but the dull and darke print of the Creatures presently fell into grosse mistakes and multitudes of errors concerning him for they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto coruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things Rom. 1. v. 23. but now Christ is so cleer a representation of his Father that if we know him aright we cannot mistake God at all He and his Father are one so that you may comprehend and know him as it were for he that seeth him seeth the Father and he that cometh to him cometh to the Father as in St John 't is every where exprest 2. This knowledge of Christ discovers our selves also unto our selves the knowledge of our selves is one of the best and most divine knowledge that is Ecaelo descendit the heathen could say now we cannot know Christ aright but we must know our selves also know in what a miserable and wretched estate we are without him how vile and loathsome we are in our own natures how base and worthlesse our best performances how ugly and deformed our persons and our services are in the eyes of God As when the beames of the Sunne come into a roome they discover all the dust and filthinesse in the roome so when Christ beames in upon the soule the filthinesse and corruption of our hearts and lives doe straight way appeare we then see what a horrid thing sinne is that put so blessed a Saviour to so cruell a death we see what a cursed slavery we are all in by nature to the law to sinne to Satan till the Son doth make us free before we know Christ the Divell doth cast a mist before our eyes so hood-winks our soules that we cannot see where we are what we are or whither we are going till he takes the veile from off our eyes and then by our present light we know what it was to be in darkenesse Through Grace we know what sinne is how to debase our selves and advance Christ First Is it so that the knowledge of Vse Christ is the most excellent knowledge more to be desired then gold yea then most fine gold more pretious then Rubies is it the glory of a Christian to be more perfect in this to teach this to learne this then it should reprove all those who make not this the main end scope of their studies and endeavours As 1. Such carnall dispensers of the Word that use rather to speak in enticing words of mans wisedome then in demonstration of the Spirit and power and that dresse their discourses in the Apish foolish conceptions of mans wit neglecting in the meane while the sacred Word which alone is able to make both themselves and their Auditours wise unto Salvation such in the language of S. Paul doe make the Crosse of Christ of none effect 1 Cor. 1. 17. whilst they labour to possesse men with the love of their affected streines more then with the naked and simple truth of the Gospell and therefore the good Apostle professeth that he did determine to know nothing amongst the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and him crucifyed He could have flaunted as well as the best of those seducers and have trimmed his speeches with as much elegancy as any but saith he away with such trash to the herd of mankind that had rather feed upon such husks then the bread of life let others vaunt as they please and you expect what you will from me yet this is my resolution not to know any thing saving Jesus Christ and therefore exceedingly to be blamed are all they that contrary to his Word preach to the eare and not unto the heart seek rather to gratify the sensuall corrupt affections of men then to implant in them the saving knowledge of Christ O beloved we are to deale with the soules of men to rescue them from Hell and to pluck them out of the paws of the Divell by whom they are led captive We meet againe too too often with poor ignorant wretches to instruct who scarce know whether there be any Christ any Holy Ghost more-over we are not to deale with flesh and blood but with principalityes and powers the lusts of men they are to be blasted and beaten down by us the consciences of men to be wrought upon and satisfied sins to be convicted the righteousnesse of Christ to be pressed the Crosse of Christ which is foolishnesse to the world to be preached this is our labour this our worke what need we then to daube with untempered morter and to mixe humane inventions with sacred truths why is that zealous thirst after applause and to set up our selves more then our Saviour why is it then men desire oftentimes more to display their own reading then the knowledge of Christ and him crucifyed not as if there were no use of humane learning in the mystery of the Word Paul himselfe made use of a Poet to convince the Athenians Act. 17. nor doe we speake this to countenance those that doe the worke of the Lord negligently and bring the lame saplesse undigested notions to this sacrifice doubtlesse God that requires the whole man requires the braine as well as the heart in this service and he gives us talents not to lay up in a napkin but to bring themforth as occasion shall require for his Glory and the Churches good we all know by sad experience into what disorders and inconveniences the contempt of secular learning hath brought many giddy soules of this Nation and how prostituted and disregarded the carelesse management and wanton itch of preaching hath made the office of the ministry O that God would be pleased to convince all of us especially the forward youth of this University of the tremendous burthen that lyes upon the shoulders of a Minister Opus Angelis formidandum but to return I say we do not hereby discountenance learning or learned and painfull preaching especially in due place and time but only we ought to take heed that Hagar doe not justle out Sarah that the handmaid secular learning doe not take place in our affections above the free woman the knowledge of Christ that our Sermons savour not more of learning then of grace and that our designe be not to get more admirers of our parts then Disciples of Christ 2. This would reprove all those in generall that are more in love with humane knowledge then that the knowledge of Christ are more taken with an Aristotle a Plato perhaps a Romance or play-booke then a Prophet or an Apostle suffering in the mean while poor illiterate men to rise up and carry away Heaven from them whilst they

only know but also confute such errours as are repugnant unto sound Doctrine and the Analogy of Faith the Word of God is called a light Psal 119. 105. and therefore as by light only we know what darkenesse is so by the same word may we understand what is erroneous and false in religion As we say that a right thing is a sufficient judge of its own straitnesse and the crookednesse of another body so that there is an elencticall power as I may so speak in the very Scriptures themselves to stop the mouthes of gainsayers and to quash put to silence the impious opinions and errors of ungodly men 3. 'T is profitable for correction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the reformation that is for an amendment of all things amisse either in life or manners there is not the least deviation from the Law of God either in thought word or deed but it doth espye and correct A man can never sinne soe closely but it will find him out for the Word of God tryeth the reines the heart it is a two edged sword dividing betwixt this joynts the marrow is a discoveres of the thoughts and intents of the heart Heb. 4. 12. As it doth teach what things are right so it doth correct amend what things are out of order 4. 'T is profitable for instruction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 instruant Patriarchae etiam errantes The title of the 32. Psalme is a Psalme of instruction the word seemes to me to imply the great profit of the Scriptures even for the instruction of Children and young men so farre was our Apostle from forbidding any of what sort soever the reading of the Scriptures that he makes it one of the main ends and uses of the written Word to instruct all men even unto Children hence it is that v. 15. the Apostle approves in Timothy that from a Child he had read the Scriptures and I am verily perswaded that the Romanists withhold the reading of Scriptures from the people more out of a point of policy then Religion or ground they have for it out of the Word it selfe for it seemes altogether repugnant first to the Commands of God who enjoyned Moses to read the Law before all Israel Men Children and strangers within thy gate without any distinction Deut. 31. 12. And who bids us search the Scriptures Joh. 5. 39 and who commands that the Word of God should dwell in us richly and abundantly Had not laymen and ordinary people soules to be saved as well as the greater Cardinalls and Priests there were some reason that these precious things should not be cast unto such doggs these Jewells to such Swine but they expecting life from the same Christ as greater Schollars why should they not with them have the same meanes to obtaine it if the command of God lye thus indefinitely upon all men why should they be debarred from obeying that command Secondly 't is repugnant to the very designe of God in revealing his will in the Holy Scriptures for whatsoever things were written a foretime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Rom. 15. 4. why was the word written but that we might have hope and shall not a lay-man have hope of Salvation will you exclude the common people from the hope of Heaven if not why then shall they not have this hope through patience and comfort of the Scriptures againe Ephes 6. 12. 17. the Apostle there shewing how that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalites and powers c. bids them therefore take to themselves the Helmet of Salvation the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and now ought not poore ignorant soules thus to wrestle thus to fight against powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world against Spirituall wickednesse in high places why then shall they not have this comfort Why should they not be armed with that sword of the Spirit the Word of God When a Prince setteth forth a Proclamation 't is penned in a language that all his Subjects may understand it and doubtlesse 't is the intent and end of God in proclaiming his Will and Word unto mankind that all his People should read and understand what wonderous things he there revealeth for their Salvation for otherwise what a vaine unprofitable thing would it be to kindle a light meerly to put it under a bushell to bestow a rich treasure upon us for so the Word is called to be hid and clasped in a box to give us a rule whereunto we should square our lives even his Holy Word only that it should be shut up and cabineted in an unknown language it is in my judgement the highest piece of injustice in the Church of Rome thus to deprive the people of the bread of life and instead thereof to obtrude upon them their own hypocriticall leaven their fopperyes and traditions to obstruct and seale up the fountaine and then to feed them with the muddy streames of their own inventions yea indeed to damne mens souls meerly out of a divelish kind of policy to secure their own state and interest but say they there is no such necessity certainly for the common peoples reading the Scriptures when as in the times of the old Testament there were many Believers as Job his friends who yet living not among the Jews to whō then only were committed the Oracles of God were destitute of the holy Scriptures we answer that as for Job his friends they lived by computation of the best divines before the Law and the written Word whereas had they lived after it they had been bound to have the Scripture after it was delivered besides what if it be granted that some believers there were under the Old Testament who de facto had not the Scriptures must it therefore now de jure be true that the commonalty ought not to have them under the Old Testament perhaps God might by vision or some other extraordinary way reveale his will unto some of the Gentiles as unto Job others before their Conversion which ways being not now to be expected reason it is that all People should now fetch their knowledge of God from the Scriptures Againe they object that Paul writ not his Epistle unto the Romans in Latine which was their vulgar tongue but in Greek therefore to put the Scriptures in a vulgar tongue is not needfull we answer that the reason of this was that those sacred monuments of Paul being to instruct all people besides the Romans the Spirit thought it most convenient to write it in such a language which might most universally be understood now that the greek was then most known unto all Nations appeares not only out of prophane Authors but also out of the Scriptures themselves as from Rom. 1. 16. and other places where the Apostle under the name of Greeke comprehends all