Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	add_v	holy_a	scripture_n	1,651	5	5.5616	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93781	Spiritual infatuation, the principal cause of our past and present distempers. Or a serious caveate to the many seducers and seduced who under the specious pretences of reformation and conscience endeavour the subversion of Church and State. In several sermons on Isa. 9,10,11,12. By W. Stamp D.D. late minister of the Word at Stepn[e]y near London.	Stampe, William, 1611-1653?	1662 (1662)	Wing S5195; ESTC R229850	116,158	268

forme their visions as some men do their prognostications according to the humour palate and unstedinesse of these times Now if the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself unto the battel If the Prophets steer according to the people 1. Cor. 14. 8. who shall be the peoples guides If the blind lead the blind both must certainly fall into the ditch God commanded the Prophet Isaiah to record it unto ●ll posterity That his people were a rebellious people lying children and such as would not hear the law of the Lord Why What was the reason because they took upon them to prescribe unto the Prophets saying unto the Seers see not a●d to the Prophets prophesie not unto us right things speak unto us smooth things prophesie deceipt The people were therefore said to be incorgible because they were resolved to entertain no Prophets but such as should varnish over their foul spots with fair pretenses and scratch the itch of their rebelliou● humour In the Prophet Ieremies time there was the same combination agreement between the Prophets and the people and that this was no slight provocation observe what a black mark the holy Ghost sets upon it A wonderful and horrible th●ng is committed in the ●and The Prophet● prophesie falsly and the Priests bear rule by their Ier. 5. 30. 31. means and my people love to have it so and what will ye do in the end thereof And as this evil re●gned under the Law so that it should re●gne also under the ●ospel we have S. Pauls expresse prediction The time will come saith he that men wil not endure sound doctrine but 2. Tim. 4. 3. after their own lusts wil heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears All Scripture is written for our Instruction These smooth Prophets are the great Lw●inaries or rather Idols of our Age and Nation adored and magnified by the blind unsteddy multitude for no other reason that I can imagine but for their sympathizing correspondency in blindness and inconstancy And truly if there be any light at all in them 't is certainly the light of the glo-worm or rotten-wood rather seems then is so by reason of the great darknesse wherein we are involved O● rather like those pernicious and misguiding lights that cause a man to wander out of his way which we call Ignis Fatuus and Ignis Lambens one of which you may fan and drive before you which way you please and the o●her will follow ●ou which way soever you part the ayr Both are ductible and pliant unto your will and both will lead you out of your way and cary you you know not where These I call the peoples Prophets whose doctrines are so loose and Independent that you know not where to have them and yet you have them at every turn That steer in their prophesyings somtimes according to the sense and dictate of a secular Councel or Committee somtimes according to the face and Aspect of a Cyfer Assembly somtimes according to the successe and atchievements of a traiterous and bloody Military Combination somtimes according to the Itch and enclinations of their blind ●ol●owers by whom they subsist Thus instead of squaring the Christians practise by the precepts of Gods word which every wise and regular builder ought to do they have borrowed a trick from Rome to mint their doctrines and cases of conscience as may be most serviceable to their particular designs and Interests And I could wish they had borrowed only their fine spun Artifices from that Conclave their Sophismes and distinctions from the le●u●te and not by their wilde and confused principles have invited the very persons of Priests and Iesuites to incorporate and co-operate with them in their pernicious and destructive designs For it is most certain that these subtile and busie factors have not only plowed with our heifers in their private Assemblies bur with the Calves of the people also those Bulls of Basan or rather Buls of Belial whom pride Ambition and Covetousnesse have rendered impatient of any yoke of Government or of being confined to any In●…o●ure The phrase is not in●ollerable since it is the Holy Ghosts own Dialect the one is Sampsons Iudg. 14 18. The other the Psalmists Psal 68 30. But to return to the Peoples Prophets To say nothing of the unme●surable Cove●eousnesse and notorious Non-residence of those men who in other times were the fiercest declamers against these foul sins Nor of their bottomlesse malice against their fellow Labourers Making a man a Delinquent for a word and laying snares for him that impartially Isa 29. 21. reproveth in the gates I shall passe by their injuries unto men and only take notice of their injurious dealing and prevarication with the word of God and consequently with God himself and that in two respects First in their mis●nterpreting of Scripture and secondly in their misapplying of Scripture in both which respects they have added much to the boldnesse and presumption of the Hereticks of old and the present Church of Rome they so much declame against To produce some few instances of many and first concerning their misinterpreting of Scripture If Barack were the supreme Magistrate in Israel and Meroz were Cursed for not coming in to his assistance in a day of great extremity and hazard I wonder with what fa●e our Prophets could so unanimously concur in making use of that Text a Iudg. 5. 23. to incite subjects to take arms against their Soveraign If Peter were reprehended by Christ for drawing a sword in defence of the most innocent cause and person th●t ever appeared in the world it is very strange that of all other instances that should be made use of to strengt●…n the doctrine of resisting the lawful Magistrate It was a strange piece of confidence to my appreh●nsion in the Presbyterian party to turn those Cannons or Cannonical Texts upon the Army and their adherents a See the letter subscribed by some of the London Ministers not long before the Kings murther which they would never take notice of whilst they were planted against themselves I my self have heard out of the pulpit a passiona●e Declamation b Master Grenhil at Stepney against all Ceremonies whatsoever and the Textalledged to prove the damnablenesse of them hath been only that Rev. 22 18. For I testifie unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesie of this book if any man shall add unto these sayings God shall a●…t unto him the plagues that are written in this book As if the institution of a Ceremon●e ●r Circumstance without which no external worship can be performed without which no Church on earth ever d●d or any assembly of men can appear in the Publike worship and s●rvice of God were an Addition to the prophesie of that Book or to the Doctrinal part of the Holy Scriptures I wish from my heart these men were ●n this particular as innocent as the Ceren

Angels hath given this priviledge unto m●n He may take his choise whether he will be judged Here or Hereafter by himself or by another God hath made us all Ch●ncelours ●n our own Causes with this proviso That if we will deal truly and impartial●y with our selves that is if we will Summon our selves to ●ppear before our selves arraign our selves before the Tribunal of our own Consciences and there Examine Indite convict and condemn our selves we shall not come into any further condemnation If we would judge our selves we should not be judged of the Lord. But if we will not judge our selves we must stand or fall according to the Sentence of another Most Certain it is that we must all appear before the Iudgement seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad S Iohn in a vision saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which was the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works They are Books in the plural that shall be opened The Book o● Nature The Book of the scripture The Book of Conscience And out of these books several accu●…ons will be framed The Divel that Grand ac●use● will s●and so●th and plead against us The abused Creature will accuse us of excesse and luxurie The souls of the holy martyrs will 〈◊〉 us with oppression and blood gu●…i●…e The Sacred Oracles of God will 〈◊〉 ●s with infidel●ty a●d Contempt and our own guilty Consciences instead of pleading for us will give up a verdict against us The only way th●n to supersede the judgement of that day is to call our selves to an account beforehand To agree with our adversary quickly whilst we are in the way lest we be delivered up unto the Iudge and the Iudge send us to that prison from whence there is no Redemption To ri●le every cranny and co●ner of our hearts To bring sorth our murthering lusts our bosom Traytors and to use them as Ioshua did the five Kings that were hid in the cave of Makkedah that is set our feet upon their necks and slay them in the sight of all the world And this if we do we shall not fail of such a part in the first Resurrection as will secure us from the blow both of the second death and second judgement also So that it is in our own choise who shall pass sentence upon us whether our own selves or else some other person And what shall we be able to say for our selves in that great and terrible day of the Lord why the sentence of eternal death should not pass upon us when God hath given us the space of 10 20 30 40 50 60 years for the performance of so easie a task so reasonable a service and we have not done it We see with what malicious dexterity and boldness blood-thirsty and deceitful men manage the Tryals and des●gn the executions of persons of the highest quality and merit but how cold how dull and indisposed in enquiring after the guilt of their own wretched souls Certainly such men as they may be thought to be strongly infected with this disease of Infatuation so it may be feared they are very far removed out of the way of their recovery who have so much of other arens so little of their own guilt before their eyes A Cure then ye see there is for the Infauated soul and the first step to that Bethesda pool which cureth all diseases is by a descent of humiliation But do not mistake your selves It is not every s●gh or sad look no nor every tear that concludes a solid humiliation for sin There is a great difference between an humble man and a man that is humbled there are many of us God help us that are humbled and driven into great straits and extremities persons that have lived in their own Countries with great charity and hospitality towards others that have neither what to eat nor wherewithal to be clothed themselves And yet I fear were our purses as full of silver as our hearts are full of sin we should soon find the way to our former pride and luxury Physitians are wont to cure vomiting by a vomit and bleeding by letting of blood And truly the best cure I can prescribe for all our secular sorrows is by adding more sorrow and compunction for our sins then I fear resides in our dejected spirits I have dwelt long enough upon the severe● part of the Cu●e it may be demanded of me what are the messages of the Gospel to be delivered by Boanerges the sons of thunder Sure the world has ●ore then enow of such that take a great deal of pains to bring men unto Hell ga●e● by representing unto them the horrors of a damned Condition and the i●re●overable Estate of all the world besides themselves but then their Art fails them in bringing them back again They can bring the soul into a deep dejection but they know not how to raise it again They are good at the Corrasive but to seek in the application of the Cordial Like our Refo●mers in England they are de●…erous in p●l●ing down but they know not how or what to build in the place of it These are ignorant if not ●ll natured Physitians● that please themselves with wounding when they know not how to heal make work for their own mercinary and adulterate Art to practise on shaping their Cures too often accord●ng to their incouragements and though they will not sell the gifts yet they can find a way to sell the Comforts of the Holy Ghost for mony and advantage Now in the Samaritans Cure of the wounded man that fell among h●eves as he journied from Ierusalem to Iericho we find two ingredients wine and oyle not wine alone or oyle alone but both first wine to search afterwards oyl to supple Thus when S. Peter sound his auditory pricked in their hearts he presently applies an Evangelical Cordial and tells them that the promise was made unto them and unto their children even as m●ny as the Lord should call Thus S. Paul directs the Church at Corinth to deliver up the incestuous person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh but it was for no other end but that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus For the Churches censure having humbled him he writes a second Epistle to the same Church both to forgive him and to comfort him lest perhaps he be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow And indeed the more we are broken with sorrow and contrition the more firm and compacted shall we find our confidence and assurance in Gods mercy For though self-humbling be the certain fruit and effect of faith yet faith is not so clear and conspicuous till repentance hath scoured off the rust but