Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	air_n	element_n	fire_n	13,062	5	7.1789	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35535	An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and the thirty fourth chapters of the booke of Job being the substance of forty-nine lectures / delivered at Magnus neare the Bridge, London, by Joseph Caryl ...	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1661 (1661)	Wing C774; ESTC R36275	783,217	917

goodliness thereof as the flower of the field that is all men are perishing and all that man hath meerly as a man is as fading and perishing as himself is Some take notice that man was not called flesh till after his fall It 's said before when God set him up in that primitive purity of his Creation Man became a living soul He was not spoken of at first as flesh but as a living soul Gen. 2.7 but as soon as man had sinned he was called flesh as if he had no soul There may two other reasons be given why man is called flesh both following from the former First Because man since his fall doth most for his flesh and neglects his soul altogether till being planted into the second Adam he is brought out of that wretched condition into which he fell by and with the first Adam Secondly He is called flesh because since the fall man is become weak and frail both as to Naturals and Morals Gen. 6.3 My spirit shall not alwaies strive with man for that he also is flesh As if the Lord had said Now man declareth himself to be flesh indeed he acts like an impotent sorry creature he acts as if he scarce had a soul in him as if he were no more then the beasts of the earth My spirit shall not alwaies strive with man for that he also is flesh and therefore v. 30. God told Noah The end of all flesh is come before me that is Man and all his worldly glory shall all be swept away with a deluge of water as here All flesh shall perish together There is a two-fold perishing First By way of annihilation Secondly By way of transmutation When Elihu saith all flesh shall perish we are not to understand it of annihilating all flesh God can do that he can turn man back into that nothing out of which he was made but the perishing in the Text importeth only a change Death is called a change a change to perishing as that good great woman said I will go in unto the King and if I perish I perish Hest 4.16 that is If I die I die The Prophet laments Isa 57.1 The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart All flesh shall perish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Together That is without exception one as well as another rich and poor high and low strong and weak all are alike in the hand of God Psal 33.13.15 The Lord looketh from heaven he beholdeth all the sons of men c. he fashioneth their hearts alike or together that is he fashioneth the hearts of all men God doth not so fashion mens hearts alike as to make them all alike faces do not differ so much as hearts but as he fashions one mans heart so anothers he fashions the heart of a King as well as the heart of a begger All flesh shall perish together none either by power or policy can stand against a displeased God Again We may take the word together for all at once God can make a total devastation in the earth and sweep all away as filth with the besome of destruction He can destroy all the world of all men who are the chiefe part of the world together or at one blow so that as the Prophet Nahum speaks Chap 1.9 Affliction shall not rise up a second time All flesh shall perish together And man shall returne againe unto dust Or he shall goe backe unto dust that is he shall dye that 's the sentence which God gave upon man when he had sinned Gen 3.19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou returne unto the ground for out of it wast thou taken for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou returne Man was dust before he sinned yet he had not returned to dust if he had not turned from God by sin Sin brought in death and death brings us to the dust All flesh shall perish together and man shall returne againe unto dust Hence observe There is no one man hath more priviledge then another against the sentence of death The Greatest Prince dyeth as soone as the meanest peasant Death can as soone and as easily breake into the strongest fort or tower of stone as into the meanest cottage of reeds High and low shall perish together Let none hope to secure themselves by any thing of this world from going out of this world Riches availe not in the day of death Pro 11.4 High Titles and honours availe not strength availeth not beauty availeth not none of these can be a protection if God send out a writ or summons to the grave Happy are they who get an assurance of life after death for none have an assurance of life against death Againe In that death is here expressed under this notion of perishing Observe Man is but in a perishing condition while he is in this world As all the things of the world are so is man while he abideth if I may say he abideth in this world Christ earnestly exhorts John 6.27 Labour not for the meat that perisheth Why should we labour that is set our selves with our whole strength and might to pursue perishing things seeing we our selves are perishing The more perishing we are the more reason we have to looke after and labour for those things which doe not which cannot perish When the Apostle saith 1 Pet 1.18 We are not redeemed with corruptible things from our vaine conversation c. He doth not instance in flowers or fruits of the earth which quickly rot but in gold and silver which are the most durable and lasting metalls even these are corruptible but we our selves as to this bodyly life are corruptible not only as gold and silver but as the most fading flowers and summer fruits of the earth Further From that other description of death as 't is called a returning againe unto dust We learne Man is of the dust Unlesse man as to his body were of the dust when he began to live he could not be sayd to returne unto dust when he dyeth or departs this life Many men pore upon their pedegree and heir minds swel with pride because they are of such or such a noble descent but let them remember man is of the dust The soule or spirit of man is indeed from above as was shewed before and the body of man is I grant a compound of all the foure Elements Our bodyly spirits say Naturalists are of the fire our breath of the ayre our blood of the water and our flesh and bones are most properly of the dust of the earth yet the whole body of man is denominated dust or earth or as the Apostle stileth it 2 Cor 5.1 'T is an earthly house If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved For though we may truely say there is water and ayre and fire in this house yet because earth is the predominant Element the whole body beares the denomination of

that God is not sayd to forme man of the water or ayre or fire but of the dust of the ground Gen 2.7 though all those as well as earth were ingredients in the composition and formation of mans body As man with respect to his spiritualls and moralls is denominated from that which is chief in him so with respect to his naturalls Every man hath the seeds and principles of all sin in him yet many men are knowne and expressed by some speciall sin Thus one is called a covetous man another a malicious man c. because covetousnesse and malice are their predominant sins in practice though the principles of all other sins are in them So for grace one is sayd to be a patient man and another an humble man and a third a self-denying man Though where any grace is all graces are yet a godly man is knowne by that grace which acts most eminently and vigorously in him In this notion man is sayd to be of the dust and to returne to dust as if he were nothing but dust because dust is the predominant Element in the naturall constitution of man And if so then this is an humbling consideration Some walke as if they thought the ground or earth not good enough for them to goe upon Moses setting forth the dreadfullness of famine as a punishment threatned the Jewish nation in case of disobedience tells us it shall fall on all sorts both of men and women Deut 28.56 The tender and delicate woman among you which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness c. Some are loth to put their feet to the ground whereas the best foote that ever trod upon the ground is dust as wel as the ground trodden on and 't is but dust to dust when they are in the dust and dirt to dirt if they fall into the dirt The Apostle among other reasons for this also calleth the body of man a vile body Phil 3.21 Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Our bodies are vile chiefly from the contagion of sin that hath made them most vile But they are comparatively vile with respect to the very matter out of which they were all representatively made when the first man was made without the least taint or touch of sin Man at best as to the body is but a little breathing dust or moving clay And did we spiritually look upon the matter of our bodyes it would exceedingly humble our spirits and keep them low even when like Jordan they are ready to over-flow all the banks of modesty and moderation We heare of a bird who priding himselfe in spreading and perusing his fine feathers is presently as it were ashamed by looking down upon his owne black feete Surely did man often consider that his whole body is of the earth it would be an excellent meanes to keepe his heart in a lowly frame how highly soever himselfe is exalted in the earth And as man while he lives is from the dust so when he dyeth that 's another humbling consideration his body not only returneth unto dust but turneth into dust David as the figure of Christ cryed out Psal 22.15 Thou hast brought me into the dust of death Dust and death are neere acquaintance and all that dy grow quickly into neerer acquaintance with the dust It is sayd Psal 103.14 The Lord knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are but dust But what advantage is that to us that the Lord knoweth the one and remembreth the other I may answer as the Apostle doth to another question Rom 3.2 much every way chiefly because he will pitty us and spare us and deale tenderly with us as considering how frayle we are Now as it may be our comfort that God remembreth we are but dust so 't is our duty to remember that we are but dust and that we must to the dust Shall God remember that we are dust and shall not we remember it our selves Did we more remember that we are dust we should more prepare for our return to the dust Yea I may say we should be more in heaven if we were more in our dust that is the gracious and serious meditation of our naturall vilenes and infirmities would provoke us to looke heaven-wards and prepare for heaven where these our naturall bodyes shall become spirituall 1 Cor 15.44 that is they shall be like spirits though not turned into spirits living without food or sleep living free from weariness and sickness from paines and languishments yea free from the remotest feare of ever dying or returning againe into dust Such as these and many more would be our soules advantages did we often as becomes us remember that our bodyes are of the earth and must shortly be earth againe Thus to be earthly minded is the way to be heavenly minded Many are earthly minded that is they mind earthly things but few mind that themselves are earth In what holy heights and elevations of spirit should we be if we could spiritually remember how low we once were and how low as to our bodyes we within a few dayes shall be Lastly This truth should take us off from all creature-confidence from trusting in man Cursed is the man saith the Lord Jer 17.5 that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme 'T is a cursed thing for man to trust in man becaus● trust is an honour proper to God he alone is to be trusted And as it is a cursed so it is also a foolish thing to trust in man David a Great Prince giveth us this counsel from God Psal 146.3 4. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help his breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth or to his dust in that day all his thoughts perish happy is the man that hath the God of Jacob for his help What can dust do for dust what can dust get by dust that which is weake may become strong by trusting to or leaning upon that which is strong the weakest man is strong enough while he trusteth upon the strong God but if weake trust upon weake how shall it be made strong Therefore let all flesh hearken to the words of the holy Prophet Isa 2.21 Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrills for wherein is he to be accounted of Man himselfe is a soone-ceasing creature David useth the noune of this verbe to expresse himselfe so Psal 39.4 and therefore we have reason to cease from man to cease from any high estimation of the highest men much more from any confidence in them What can we assure our selves of from any man living seeing he hath no assurance of his owne life The Prophet would have us understand that while he saith his breath is in his nostrills Mans life is gone as soone as his breath is gone and how soone may that be

confusion in his temporal punishments upon others Thus he threatned his owne people for their confidence in Egypt and contempt of his holy word Isa 30.13 This iniquity shall be unto you as a breach ready to fall swelling out in a high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant And he shall breake it as the breaking of a potters vessel that is broken in pieces he shall not spare so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth or to take water withall out of the pit that is ye shall be made utterly uselesse and unserviceable That piece of a vessel is of no use which will not serve for either of those little uses the taking of a little fire from the hearth or a little water out of the pit And if God sometime breake his owne professing people thus small for their sins how small will he breake his professed enemies read for this the last breaking and down-fall of Babylon Rev 18.21 22 23. Therefore take heed how you fall into the Lords hand for he can not only break you in pieces but break you to powder he can break you to destruction The Lords purposes and the effects of them his works are never without effect for good or evil for the better or for the worse JOB Chap. 34. Vers 26 27 28. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others Because they turned back from him and would not Consider any of his wayes So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him and he heareth the cry of the afflicted ELihu having in the former words shewed the impartiall vengeance of God upon the wicked proceedeth to shew two things further about it in these words First The manner of it v. 26. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others Secondly The causes grounds or reasons of it in the 27th and 28th verses why doth God strike them it is because they turned back from him and would not Consider any of his wayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 percuss●t volam ad volam adversas manus collisit Significat aliquid cum sono deijcere vel cōplodere unde aliqui de ejectione ignominiosa cum sibilis exponunt Alij volunt peti metaphoram à vesica vento turgente quae pede compressa cum sonitu rumpitur Scult Pro improbis complosit eos Tharg In loco improborum complodit eos Jun So that they cause the Cry of the poore to come unto him their impiety in turning from God and their iniquity in oppressing the poor provoked the Lord to strike them as wicked men in the open sight of others Vers 26. He striketh them as wicked men The word which we render strike specially notes the striking of one hand against the other our hands clasht or struck together make a sound or noise Thus some Interpret the word here He strikes them with an Ignominious sound Many rejoyce and clap their hands when they fall They are destroyed with shouting Others take the metaphor from a bladder filled with winde which being cast on the ground and stampt upon with the foot breaks with a noise or gives a crack in the breaking Wicked men in all they thinke and purpose and doe are but wind and when they break they break like bladders which have nothing of solidity only breath and fume in them Such an Elegancy there is in this word hitting the vanity and vacuity or emptiness of wicked men all their filling being but like that of a bladder which puffes them up but never makes them wise or solid men Further I find this word used for striking in a three-fold sense First For striking with sorrow and shame such was that of repenting Ephraim Jer 31.19 Who when he thought on his wayes was ashamed and smote upon his thigh Secondly For striking with scorne and derision Lam 2.15 All that passe by clap their hands at thee they hisse and wagge their head at the daughter of Jerusalem Thirdly There is also a striking with anger and indignation Thus Balak being vext because he could not have his purpose to bribe Balaam to curse the people of God Smote his hands together Numb 24.10 and the Lord himselfe is exprest expressing his angry indignation against his owne people the Jewes by this gesture Ezek. 22.13 Behold therefore I have smitten my hands at thy dishonest gaine c. There is then a speciall Emphasis in the smitting or striking here intended besides the generall meaning of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Extin●it autem impios Sept Pro impijs strinxit eos Bold i. e. vinculis funibusque ligare fecit eos tanquam impios atque●●a spectandos palam deduci et proponi Bold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 causalis est propterea quod impij sunt illud quasi saepe non similitudinem sed veritatem significat et idem valet quod utpote c. The Lord destroyes wicked men in such a manner that all who behold it are filled with the admiration of his righteousnesse and with a detestation of their lewdnesse The Septuagint say He hath Extinguished wicked men As if they were but smoaking firebrands or the stinking snuffe of a candle Another renders it He binds them the word signifying also to bind or straighten● The Lord brings forth evill men as it were bound hand and foot to Judgement We say clearely He striketh them and that in no ordinary way but As wicked men So we translate yet the particle which we render as may here according to its frequent use else-where carry in it a reason He strikes them because they are wicked so some read the text not as we by way of similitude how God striketh them but as giving an account why God striketh them even because they are wicked men Mr Broughton saith For the wicked he maketh plentifull riddance of them which hath a good sense in it but takes somewhat too great a liberty with the original text And because the reason of this striking is held forth in the verses following it is more distinct to say he strikes them not because they are wicked men but as wicked men that is as wicked men use to be strucken or as they use to be proceeded against in a way of Justice God striketh the mighty men of whom he spake before as common offenders or malefactors Though they are great on earth yea though they are in title Gods upon earth yet God strikes them as the basest of wicked men they shall not only dye as 't is sayd Psal 82.7 or fall like one of the Princes but they shall dye like the worst of men like wicked men Hence note First They that doe like the wicked shall be dealt with by God as the wicked how high or mighty soever they are in this world And as they who are openly wicked shall be dealt with as wicked men though they be high in the world so