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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	aaron_n	day_n	see_v	14	3	3.4368	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10817	The day of hearing: or, six lectvres vpon the latter part of the thirde chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrewes of the time and meanes that God hath appointed for man to come to the knowledge of his truth, that they may be saved from his wrath. The summary pointes of every one of which lectures are set downe immediately after the Epistle dedicatory. Herevnto is adioyned a sermon against fleshly lusts, & against certaine mischevious May-games which are the fruit thereof. By H.R. Master of Artes, and now, minister of the word.; Day of hearing: or, six lectures upon the latter part of the thirde chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrewes.	Roberts, Huw, b. 1558 or 9.	1600 (1600)	STC 21089; ESTC S102956	70,687	163

a humane hardening or the hardening of God and the the hardening of man and yet the one of these doeth not harden without the other for God hardeneth not Pharaohs heart but that Pharaohs owne will is the cause of it his hardening proceedeth not from any other but frō himselfe And therefore the scripture saith that Pharaoh harde●ed his heart Neither for al that E●od 9. 34. doeth Pharaoh harden his owne heart but God doeth it iudicially or according to his secret iudgements for the kings heart is in the hand of the ●ord Pro. 21. 1. But when it is said that God hardeneth the heart we must not so vnderstand it as if God should make that hard which before was softe and tender or of it selfe was not hard For the truth is that all men are borne with a hard heart and darke vnderstanding even with a heart of stone like the Adamant of the which wee haue heard already And for this cause the Lord saith by his Prophet I will take away the sto●●● 〈◊〉 36. 26. heart o●● of your bodie and I will giue you an heart of flesh God therefore is saide to harden the heart when as he denieth his grace and the fire of his holy spirite to mol●●fie and soften that which is naturally hard even as when the heat of the fire is denied to the softening of the hard and vntempered waxe This is called of some a pr●vatiue hardening because God detaineth his grace from men for iust causes which are not knowne to vs. Beside this God hardeneth after an other manner when he doeth not only suffer the heart to remaine in that hardnesle and obduration which it hath by nature but doeth also externally harden it more and more by his ministers For as we may see in 〈◊〉 Pharaoh was made more obstinate hard-hearted by the ministery of Moses and Aaron then he was before hee had heard ●hese men And in these daies we haue too much expetience hereof by seeing vngodly men to become the more froward and malicious the more that they heare Gods worde and are taught by his ministers This is Gods iudicial hardening of the heart whereby in his iust iudgementes hee punisheth the former sinnes of men and for this purpose he commandeth his ministers as it is written Make the heart of this people ●at make their eares heavie Isa 10. shut their eies least they see with their eies and heare with their eares and vnderstande with their hearts and convert that I might heale thē Here we see how and wherefore God hardeneth the heart Now the humane hardening or the hardening attributed to man himselfe is that which the text that we handle warneth vs to beware of if yee heare his voice harden not your hearts This hardening of the hart is nothing else but a voluntary purpose and intent of man to continue in sinne and not to follow nor obey the doctrine of Gods everlasting trueth howsoeuer it be preached vnto him as hereof we haue examples in king Saule in Iudas in Iuhan the Aposta●● and others ' but specially in Pharach whom the scriptures do set before vs as a notable paterne of a disobedient and hard-hearted man After this maner thhrefore the Israelies in the wildernesle hardened their heartes by grudging and bitter strining against Moses when they wanted water notwithstanding they had the word of the Lord among them This is it Exod. 17. which the Apostle putteth vs in minde of when he saith harden not your hearts as in the p●ov●●ation And this is the hardening wherewith man hardeneth his heart even his own perverse will and purpose of sinning wherin he persisteth and so becōmeth the minister of death perdition to his own soule Now the cause of all hardening of the heart is sin and the custome of sinning For Moses saith Phiraoh sinned againe and hardened his hearte Exod. 9. 34. There Pharaohs sinne goeth before the hardening of his heart VVherefore consider how fearefull and dangerous the custome of sinne is it bringeth hardnesse of hearte which denyeth obedience to the worde of God and despiseth his holy ministery and so groweth to fulnesse of sinne the wages whereof is death eternall Let the consideration Rom. 6. 23. of these thinges cause you with feare reverence to hear the Gospel of your salvation and before you come to heare it bee careful as the Apostle exhorteth to cast away euery thing that presseth downe and the sinne that Heb. 12. 1. hangeth so fast on that whē the Lord speaketh by the mouth of his mess●gers you may haue cares to hear hearts to vnderstād be in a readmes to heare his voice to say with Samuel speake Lord for thy servāt heareth Here 1. Sam. 3. 10 we see that as there was a voice hard so there was a readines to hear it Here ●od did speak here man was prepared to heare him But this exāple of obediēce preparatiō to heare the Gospell which is more glorious speaketh better thinges then the law is too rare in our age For most men and women though they resort to church and to Christian congregations are yet in the time of divine exercise of the word of God more ready to speake then to heare They are more ready to pray by themselues and to offer vp a sacrifice of their owne superstition then either to heare reading or preaching of the holy scriptures or to consent with one mind to the common praters of the whole church if the time so require yea and some are not content to be thus farre superstitious but wil also giue themselues to read on some praier booke when God speaketh to them out of his booke of life Such blinde devotion of men and private repeating of words out of due time and place must needes be a sacrifice not accepted but reiected of God For it cannot be the fruit of faith because you haue not so learned Christ and whatsoever saith the Apostle is not of faith is sinne Rom. 14. 13 Marke a speciall doctrine of that famous preacher Salomon touching this point take heede to thy foote when thou enterest into the house Eccl. 4. 7. of God and be wore neere to heare then to giue the sacrifice of fooles for they know not that they d●● evill If they know not that they do evil then they do it of ignorance But it is evil saith he and we are taught that Christians must abstaine not onely from evill it selfe but from al appe●●●nce of evill Yet because nothing is so 1. Thess 5. 22. evill but if it be commonly vsed seemeth to be good and men will needs defend it so to be as in this case some are wont to say that when they giue themselues to pray privatly in the church they doe it that they may be the better prepared to serue God But as the Apostle saith to the Corinthians which came disorderedly to the receiving of the

2. P●t 2. 9. how to reserue the vniust vnto the day of iudgment to be punished The heathen man as Iustine Martyr alledgeth Iust Mart. in h●de mo●●●chia was not ignorant of this ●udgment of the reckoning to come for he speaketh pl●●ly therof S●●ustus et ●mp●us eadem conditione futu 〈…〉 rape ●urare frauda misce if after this life there be no difference betweene the iust mā the wicked then go to catch what thou canst steale deceiue make confusion of all thing● s●derrarenol● but be not deceyued for saith he there is a●iudgment in hel beneath which God that is Lord of al things will doe whose name is so dreadfull that I d●re not name him Th●● and much more he alledgeth out of Phil●mo● other heathē writers which by the light of nature did set forth not onely the ommpotency of God the immortalitie of mans soule but also the reward of vertue the punishment of sin after this life how that God which as one of them saith is the eye of equitie that seeth all thinges doeth beare with the euill deedes of men in this life for that they shall come into iudgment hereafter The doctrine of the holy Psalmist is of singular force to this purpose who for the instruction of others confesseth that his f●●t● were almost gone that his steppes had wel-nigh slypt Psal 73. ●3 〈◊〉 5. when he saw the prosperitie of the wicked how they thriue in the world and are not in trowble ver 17. 18. 19. 20. as other men but when the Lord opened his vnderstanding he saw the ende of these men namelie that they are se●● in slippery places and are suddenlie destroyed horriblelio consumed as a dreame when one awaketh Iob Iob. 21. 17. 18. testifieth the like both of their momentary prosperitie and of their sudden destruction The seruants of God haue here a singular comfort that they may not be discouraged with tribulatiō and aduersitie and that they may not at anie time stumble at Gods long patience and benignitie toward reprobate and vniust men seeing that he rewardeth everie mā according as his deedes shal be though Rom. 2. 6. Rev. 22. 12. he be not hasty in punishing and though he doeth not in this life punish all mens sinnes alike Heere also secure worldlings and such as are slow to beleeue the word of truth may be moued to feare Gods iudgments and by amendment of life to withdrawe themselues out of the s●are of the deuill vvhich as the Apostle saith are taken of him at his 2. Tim. 〈◊〉 26. will And now if neither the promises of entering into eternall rest nor the testimonies of Gods fearfull iudgments reuealed against sin and disobedience can moue vs to repētance let vs yet make vse of Gods visitatiōs wherwith we heare and see the iniquities of these our dayes to be visited as in all ages God sheweth diuers tokēs of his displeasure and indignation against the vnrighteousnes and vnbeleefe of men For euerie plague ev 〈…〉 calamitie sudden death burning with fire 〈…〉 ther strange sicknesses famine euerie stood of waters ruine of buildings vnseasonable weather euerie one of these and of the like aduersities as oft as they happen in the world are a sermon of repentance to all that see them or heare therof For whensoeuer God punisheth some kind of sinns or punisheth some men more seuerely then others that haue sinned euen that his punishment is a warning a memento to euery one of vs to looke to our selues and to call to reremēbrance our owne sinns knowing that it is the same God that will take vengeance of eue●●e sinne and transgression of men that he will strike with a more heauie hand if his warning and example of his iustice be not regarded Wherfore to come to our selues We see that beside the pestilence and many other ●ignes of Gods anger where with this land of late yeares hath bene visited the Lord hath now for the space of three yeares together sent scarsitie of bread famine and penurie among vs And shall we thinke that the poore and the helplesse who for the most-part suffer these thinges are sinners aboue the rest that haue not yet tasted of this cup if we thinke so we vtterly deceiue our selues For we are otherwise taught of the Lordes Prophet in these words when the land sinneth against me by committing a trespasse then will I Eze● 14 13 stretch out my hand vpon it and will breake the staffe of the bread therof and will send famine vpon it We see that the Lords hand is after this maner stretched out and that the staffe of bread is broken We see and must needes know that the sinnes of the land are great and that the inhabitants therof from the greatest to the least haue not ob 〈…〉 the voice of the Lord to walke in all his waies and yet we see but some punished with the scourge of hunger and aduesitie The rest that are not yet touched are so farre from repētance newnesse of life that as the Prophet saith they drinke wine in bowles and anoynt themselues Amos. 6. 6. with the che●●●e oyntments but no man is sory for the afflections of Ioseph Few do weepe or haue that Christian-like affection to weepe with them that suffer afflictiō And will you still cōtinue in sinne and hardnes of heart shall not the afflictions of our brethren cause vs to feare to turne into the way of truth before that greater plagues be powred out vpon the land euen vpon euery soule that doeth euill and continueth in sinne and disobedience Euery mā may gather that the calamities of other men do testifie that the punishmēt of his owne sinns lyeth at the doore As to this effect the heathen Poet speaketh Et tua res agitur paries cum proximus ordet Horatius When thou seest thy neighbours house set on fire thou hast warning to looke to thine owne And for this cause the Lord sometimes cutteth downe the greene tree shewing therby what he will do to the vnfruitful fig tree that keepeth bar●ē the groūd of the vinyard though he let it stand for awhile That no man therfore might sleepe in his sinns or thinke himselfe to be the better man because he seeth other men punished himselfe not touched Christ teacheth vs most plainely by the cruell slaughter of the Galileans made by Pilat by the fall of the Luk. 13. 2. 3. 4. 5. towre vpon the men ●n Siloa●● that the worst men are not first punished but that if God shew such tokens of his iudgments vpō some few all other mē except they amend shall nothing the rather escape his heauie hand for that they be borne with for a time When we see therfore that God hādleth some men seuerelie and in his iustice we ought to feare examine our selues what we haue deserued so to consider that the lōger

abstaine from such enemies Strangers and pilgrims doe commonly stand in more feare of enemies thē they that dwell in their knowne country and among their acquaintance as it appeareth by Iacob howe Gen. 34. 3 〈…〉 he feared the Cananites when his sonnes had slaine Hamor and Sechem He feared because he was a stranger in the land few in ●●mber in comparison of his enemies So Lot is despised of the Sodomites because Gen. 19. 〈◊〉 he was a stranger and one that had not been borne in that country therefore they regard not his praiers nor his intreaty he made vnto them but bid him bee pa●king as a stranger This pride of insulting against strangers lyeth as poison within vs all what nation soeuer we be of and vpon any light occasion sheweth it selfe It pleased God therefore Acta 10. 34. who is no accepter of persōs to bridle such insolencie by his holy word as it is written loue the stranger and againe thou shalt loue the Deut. 10. 19 stranger as thy selfe With a memento that wee haue iust cause so to do For yee were strangers Levi. 19. 34. ●n the land of Egypt Io 〈…〉 hes brethren do behaue themselues in the lande of Egypt with greate humility and a 〈…〉 nde at the rough wordes of Ioseph which they woulde not haue done but for that they were st●●gers in the land few in number And that is it that should cause al strangers and pilgri●s to looke to their owne wa●es to liue warily because they are cōp●●led about with strange people of strange conditions which are many in nūber they few Now the state of all true Christians here vpon earth is by the condition and nature of strangers most ●i●ly expressed For in the sacred scriptures ●hey are called strāgers The Prophet speaking in the person of the faithfull confes●eth that they are so saying I am a Psal 119. 19 Psal 39. 12. stranger vpō earth And againe I am a stranger with thee a soiournor as all my fathers were in another place where he cōfesseth his own and his peoples vnworthines he saith we are strangers before thee so●ourners ●ike all our fathers our dates are like the shadow vpon the earth 1 〈◊〉 29. 15. and there is none abiding We see that this is true for man so long as hee dwelleth in the tabetnacle of his flesh dwelleth as a stranger among his spirituall enemies vvhich are the lustes of his flesh daily fighting against him and wounding his soule more deadly thē the multitude of any strange and barbarous people can wound or hurt his bodie vvhen they are mooved to fight against him Man can kill but the bodie but fleshly lustes kill both the soule and bodie too This the Apostle Paule sheweth where hee saith if yee liue after the Rom. 8. 13. flesh yee shall die VVee reade in an heathen vvriter that D 〈…〉 C 〈…〉 de b●th Tre. lib. 4. the arrowes of Hercules had beene d●pt in the blood of the venimous monster Hidr● And therefore whosoeuer was shot of wounded with any of them perished and dyeil without recovery The lustes of the flesh may be compared to such Arrowes for the flesh of al men hath euer since the fal of Adam been infected with the vemme of ●lie old serpent the Deuill And therefore the lustes thereof ●lay the soule with endlesse death of they be not refisted with great vigila●ty For as Iames saith when lust hath conceived Iam. 1. 15. it bringeth forth sin sin when it is finished bringeth foorth d●ath Here is the wounde that lust giueth to the soule to w●t death which shall neuer haue an end againe the s●n●e Apostle saith from whence are vvarres Iam. 4. 1. and contentions among you● are they not hence even of your lustes that sight in your members here note that he saith your lustes and in your members For if they were not in our members within our bodies we might be safe from the danger of them if they were in our garmēts we might haue them washed out or change and put on such as shoulde bee cleane or if they were in some one kinde of meate wee might abstaine from that and liue by other meate But the Prophet saith of them that had fasted from meate your lust remaineth still Isa 58. 4. Or if they were as a plague in some towne or citie or in some mens houses the inhabitants there of might change their dwelling and so avoide them Or if they were in some one countrey more then in another men would be content to leaue that as a wildernesse rather then to die in it even as Abraham forsooke Gen. 12. 10 Canaan and went into Egypt in time of a famine Nay if these lustes were but in some one outward member of the body as in the hand or the foote some men would bee content to cut of that member to saue the rest of the body from infection or death But the scripture saith the heart is deceitfull and wicked Ier. 17. 9. aboue all thinges who can know it here wee see that the principall part of the fleshis infected even the heart and no man can make him a newe heart no man can go out of his own flesh nor change the dwelling place of his soule so long as this life lasteth Luther writeth of one that was grieued Martin Luther of one that intended to bee an Heremite with himselfe for sinne weary with seeing hearing the iniquities of the world which made him forsake the societie of mē goe into a desert place thinking there to be safe from evill frō all occasion of sinne but herein he was greatly deceyued for being in the desert he had with him an earthē vessell to hold water in this vessell with often falling downe from the place where he would haue had it to stand did moue him to such anger● that at the last it caused him to breake it in peeces Then he beganne to consider what his nature was saw that he could haue no peace with himselfe though no mā disquieted him If this be true as most true it is that in mās flesh dwelleth no good thing Rom. 7. 18. what excellēt thing do the Heremits such people as forsake the felowshipe of men vnder a pretense of religion if they abstayne from offending when they want occasion to offende you know that the theese cannot steale so long as nothing is les●e in his way If ther be no battell there cā be no victorie but we see that the Christians victorie is not gotten by alte●●ng the dwelling place of his body o● by going out of the wo●ld that is out of the ●o●ie●●e of men but it must be in the world by ●e●i●●ing his dayl●e aduersaries to keepe himselfe as ●●mes s●●th vnspo●ted of the Iam 1 27. world For Christ will not haue his disciples to be exemp●ed from the