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
B13857	Contemplations vpon the historie of the old Testament. The seuenth volume. In two bookes. By Ios. Hall D.D.; Contemplations upon the principall passages of the Holy Storie. Vol. 7	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1623 (1623)	STC 12658.5; ESTC S103672	123,026	533

to guard or guide it selfe all the safetie all the direction of it is from the keeper without whom euery curre chases and werries it euery tracke seduceth it Such shall Israel soone be if Ahab be ruled by his Prophets The King of Israel doth not beleeue but quarrell not at himselfe who had deserued euill but at the Prophet who fore-signified it and is more carefull that the King of Iuda should marke how true he had fore-told concerning the Prophet than how true the Prophet had foretold concerning him Bold Micaiah as no whit discouraged with the vniust checks of greatnesse doubles his prediction and by a second vision particularizeth the meanes of this dangerous errour Whiles the two Kings sate maiestically in their thrones he tels them of a more glorious Throne than theirs whereon he saw the King of Gods sitting Whiles they were compassed with some hundreds of Prophets and thousands of Subiects and Souldiers he tels them of all the host of heauen attending that other Throne Whiles they were deliberating of a warre hee tels them of the God of heauen iustly decreeing the iudgement of a deadly deception to Ahab This decree of the highest is not more plainly reuealed than expressed parabolically The wise and holy God is represented after the manner of men consulting of that ruine which he intended to the wicked King of Israel That increated and infinite wisdome needs not the aduice of any finite and created powers to direct him needs not the assent and aid of any spirit for his execution much lesse of an euill one yet here an euill spirit is brought in by way of vision mixt with parable profering the seruice of his lie accepted imploied successefull These figures are not void of truth The action and euent is reduced to a decree the decree is shadowed out by the resemblance of humane proceedings All euill motions and counsels are originally from that malignant Spirit That euill spirit could haue no power ouer men but by the permission by the decree of the Almightie That Almightie as he is no Author of sin so he ordinates all euill to good It is good that is iust it is iust that one sinne should be punished by another Satan is herein no other than the executioner of that God who is as farre from infusing euill as from not reuenging it Now Ahab sees the ground of that applauded consent of his rabble of Prophets one euill spirit hath no lesse deceiued them than they their master he is one therefore he agrees with himselfe he is euill therefore both he and they agree in deceit Oh the noble and vndaunted spirit of Michaiah neither the Thrones of the Kings nor the number of the Prophets could abate one word of his true though displeasing message The King of Israel shall heare that he is misled by liers they by a deuill Surely Iehoshaphat cannot but wonder at so vnequall a contention to see one silly Prophet affronting foure hundred with whom lest confidence should carrie it behold Zedekiah more bold more zealous If Michaiah haue giuen him with his fellowes the lie he giues Michaiah the fist Before these two great Guardians of peace and iustice swaggering Zedekiah smites Michaiah on the face and with the blow expostulates Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speake vnto thee For a Prophet to smite a Prophet in the face of two Kings was intolerably insolent the act was much vnbeseeming the person more the presence Prophets may reproue they may not strike It was enough for Ahab to punish with the hand no weapon was for Zedekiah but his tongue neither could this rude presumption haue beene well taken if malice had not made magistracie insensible of this vsurpation Ahab was well content to see that hated mouth beaten by any hand It is no new condition of Gods faithfull messengers to smart for saying true Falshood doth not more bewray it selfe in any thing than in blowes Truth suffers whiles error persecutes None are more ready to boast of the Spirit of God than those that haue the least As in vessels the full are silent Innocent Michaiah neither defends nor complaines It would haue well beseemed the religious King of Iudah to haue spoken in the cause of the dumbe to haue checked insolent Zedekiah Hee is content to giue way to this tide of peremptorie and generall opposition The helplesse Prophet stands alone yet laies about him with his tongue Behold thou shalt see in that day when thou shalt goe into an inner chamber to hide thy selfe Now the proud Baalite shewed himselfe too much ere long he shall bee glad to lurke vnseene his hornes of iron cannot beare off this danger The sonne of Ahab cannot chuse but in the zeale of reuenging his fathers deadly seducement call for that false head of Zedekiah In vaine shall that impostor seeke to hide himselfe from iustice But in the meane while he goes away with honour Michaiah with censure Take Micaiah and carrie him backe to Amon the Gouernor of the Citie and to Ioash the Kings sonne and say Thus saith the King Put this fellow in prison and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction vntill I come in peace An hard doome of Truth The Iayle for his lodging course bread and water for his food shall but reserue Micaiah for a further reuenge The returne of Ahab shall be the bane of the Prophet Was not this he that aduised Benhadad not to boast in putting on his Armour as in the vngirding it and doth he now promise himselfe peace and victorie before hee buckle it on No warning wil disswade the wilfull So assured doth Ahab make himselfe of successe that he threats ere he goe what he will doe when he returnes in peace How iustly doth God deride the mis-reckonings of proud and foolish men If Ahab had had no other sinnes his very confidence shall defeat him yet the Prophet cannot bee ouercome in his resolution hee knowes his grounds cannot deceiue him and dare therefore cast the credit of his function vpon this issue If thou returne at all in peace the Lord hath not spoken by me And hee said Hearken O people euery one of you Let him neuer be called a Prophet that dare not trust his God This was no aduenture therefore of reputation or life since hee knew whom he beleeued the euent was no lesse sure than if it had beene past He is no God that is not constant to himselfe Hath he spoken and shall he not performe What hold haue wee for our soules but his eternall word The being of God is not more sure than his promises than his sentences of iudgement Well may we appeale the testimony of the world in both If there be not plagues for the wicked If there bee not rewards for the righteous God hath not spoken by vs. Not Ahab onely but good Iehoshaphat is carried with the multitude Their forces are ioyned against Ramoth The King

the mother lookes hopefully vpon her onely sonne promising her selfe much ioy in his life and prosperitie when an inexpected sicknesse surprizeth him and doth that which the famine but threatned When can we hold our selues secure from euils no sooner is one of these Sergeants compounded withall than we are arrested by another How ready we are to mistake the grounds of our afflictions and to cast them vpon false causes The passionate mother cannot finde whither to impute the death of her sonne but to the presence of Elijah to whom shee comes distracted with perplexitie not without an vnkinde challenge of him from whom she had receiued both that life shee had lost and that she had What haue I to doe with thee O thou man of God Art thou come to me to call my sinne to remembrance and to slay my sonne As if her sonne could not haue died if Elijah had not beene her guest when as her sonne had died but for him why should she thinke that the Prophet had saued him from the famine to kill him with sicknesse As if God had not beene free in his actions and must needs strike by the same hands by which hee preserued She had the grace to know that her affliction was for her sinne yet was so vnwise to imagine the arerages of her iniquities had not beene called for if Elijah had not beene the remembrancer Hee who had appeased God towards her is suspected to haue incensed him This wrongfull mis-construction was enough to moue any patience Elijah was of an hot spirit yet his holinesse kept him from fury This challenge rather increased the zeale of his prayer than stirred his choller to the offendent He takes the dead childe out of his mothers bosome and laies him vpon his owne bed and cries vnto the Lord Oh Lord my God hast thou brought euill also vpon the Widow with whom I soiourne by slaying her sonne In stead of chiding the Sareptan out of the feruency of his soule he humbly expostulates with his God His only remedy is in his prayer that which shut heauen for raine must open it for life Euery word inforceth First he pleads his interest in God Oh Lord my God then the quality of the patient a Widow and therefore both most distressed with the losse and most peculiar to the charge of the Almighty Then his interest as in God so in this patient with whom I soiourne as if the stroke were giuen to himselfe through her sides and lastly the quality of the punishment By slaying her sonne the only comfort of her life and in all these implying the scandall that must needs arise from this euent where euer it should bee noised to the name of his God to his owne when it should be said Loe how Elijahs entertainement is rewarded Surely the Prophet is either impotent or vnthankfull Neither doth his tongue moue thus only Thrice doth he stretch himselfe vpon the dead body as if he could wish to infuse of his owne life into the childe and so often calls to his God for the restitution of that soule What can Elijah aske to be denied The Lord heard the voice of his Prophet the soule of the child came into him againe and he reuiued What miracle is impossible to faithfull prayers There cannot be more difference betwixt Elijahs deuotion and ours than betwixt supernaturall and ordinary acts If he therefore obtained miraculous fauours by his prayers doe wee doubt of those which are within the sphere of nature and vse What could we want if we did not slacke to plye heauen with our prayers Certainly Elijah had not beene premonished of this sudden sicknesse and death of the child He who knew the remote affaires of the world might not know what God would doe within his owne roofe The greatest Prophet must content himselfe with so much of Gods counsell as he will please to reueale and he will sometimes reueale the greater secrets and conceale the lesse to make good both his owne liberty and mans humiliation So much more vnexpected as the stroke was so much more welcome is the cure How ioyfully doth the man of God take the reuiued child into his armes and present him to his mother How doth his heart leape within him at this proofe of Gods fauour to him mercy to the widdow power to the child What life and ioy did now show it selfe in the face of that amazed mother when shee saw againe the eyes of her sonne fixed vpon hers when she felt his flesh warme his motions vitall Now shee can say to Elijah By this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth Did shee not till now know this Had shee not said before What haue I to doe with thee ô thou man of God Were not her cruse and her barrell sufficient proofes of his diuine commission Doubtlesse what her meale and oyle had assured her of the death of her sonne made her to doubt and now the reuiuing did re-ascertaine Euen the strongest faith sometimes staggereth and needeth new acts of heauenly supportation the end of miracles is confirmation of truth It seemes had this widowes sonne continued dead her beleefe had beene buried in his graue notwithstanding her meale and her oile her soule had languished The mercy of God is faine to prouide new helpes for our infirmities and graciously condescends to our owne termes that he may worke out our faith and saluation ELIjAH with the BAALITES THree yeeares and an halfe did Israel lie gasping vnder a parching drought and miserable famine No creature was so odious to them as Elijah to whom they ascribed all their misery Me thinkes I heare how they railed on and cursed the Prophet How much enuie must the seruants of God vndergoe for their master Nothing but the tongue was Elijahs the hand was Gods the Prophet did but say what God would doe I doe not see them fall out with their sinnes that had deserued the iudgement but with the messenger that denounced it Baal had no fewer seruants than if there had beene both raine and plenty Elijah safely spends this storme vnder the lee of Sarepta Some three yeares hath he lien close in that obscure corner and liued vpon the barrell and cruse which he had multiplied At last God calles him foorth Goe shew thy selfe to Ahab and I will send raine vpon the earth No raine must fall till Elijah were seene of Ahab He carried away the clouds with him he must bring them againe The King the people of Israel shall be witnesses that God will make good the word the oath of his Prophet Should the raine haue fallen in Elijahs absence who could haue knowne it was by his procurement God holds the credit of his messengers precious and neglects nothing that may grace them in the eies of the world Not the necessity of seuen thousand religious Israelites could cracke the word of one Elijah There is nothing wherein