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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	bishop_n	church_n	see_v	3,056	5	3.9474	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19551	A sermon of sanctification preached on the Act Sunday at Oxford, Iulie 12, 1607. By Richard Crakanthorp Doctor of Diuinity.	Crakanthorpe, Richard, 1567-1624.	1608 (1608)	STC 5982; ESTC S109018	32,903	41

cause to cut them off for euer Thou shouldest not haue beholden the day of thy brother when he was made a stranger thou shouldest not haue reioiced in the day of their destruction nor haue spoken proudly in the day of affliction neither shouldst thou haue looked on their affliction in the day of their destruction but as thou hast done it shall be done to thee thy reward shall be vpon thine owne head I might adde heereto a further iudgement of God mentioned in the Apostle Whosoeuer hateth his brother is a manslayer yee know that no manslayer hath eternall life abiding in him But hauing spoken thus much concerning that brotherly charitie and peace which wee ought to haue one towards another I would gladly adde somewhat of that peace which we all iointly owe vnto the Church of God Of this peace the prophet Dauid saith O pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that loue thee Peace be within thy wals Of this the Apostle saith I beseech you marke them diligently which cause diuision and offences contrary to the doctrine which yee haue receiued and auoid them for they that are such serue not the Lord Iesus for God is not the authour of diuision but of peace in all churches Of this Dionysius that ancient Bishop excellently writ to Nonatus when hee began his schisme as you may see in his epistle set downe by Eusebius in his 6. booke and 44. chap. If you Nonatus haue gone vnwillingly as you pretend from the Church shew it by your voluntary and willing returning to the Church againe Oportebat quidem nihil non ferre ne ecclesia Dei sc●nderes you should haue borne with whatsoeuer rather then haue made a rent in the Church of God It is a more glorious martyrdome to suffer for auoiding a schisme then for auoiding the sinne of Idolatry In the one you suffer martyrdome but for one soule in the other you suffer for the whole Church of God Thus said Dionysius Of this Gregorie Nazianzen was so studious and zealous that when the Church at Constantinople began to be diuided as he supposed by occasion that he possessed that sea he openly said and his speech was much more commendable then his fact Si propter me ista tempestas If this stirre and tempest be for my sake take me cast me into the sea that the storme may cease and the Church may enioy her calme as Ruffinus reports in his 2. booke 9. chap. To this S. Cyprian at large perswaded in his booke de vnitate ecclesia Let no man thinke saith he that the good will depart from the Church Triticum non rapit ventus sed paleas It is not wheate but chaste which the winde blowes away Those can neuer abide in God that will not abide in the vnitie of the Church of God Though such giue their bodies to be burned or to be deuoured of wilde beasts Non est illa corona fides sed poena persidiae That is no crowne of their saith but a punishment for their perfidiousnesse Occidi talis potest coronari non potest A man may happily be killed but neuer crowned in a schisme Of this Martianus though no good bishop most passionately said when Sabbatius whom he had formerly ordained Presbyter began to make a tumult and diuision in the Church Multa satius ●●●sset It had beene much better and I wish rather I had laid my hands vpon thornes then imposed them vpon the head of this troublesome Sabbatius as Socrates relates in his 5. booke and 20 chap. For preseruing this peace Polycarp and other ancient bishops were so carefull that though they di●fered in iudgement about some rites and smaller matters yet neuer for that cause would they breake the vnitie of the Church or make a separation one from another as Eusebius declares in his 5. booke and 23. chap. Friuolum enim quidem meritò indicarunt consuetudinis gratia a se mutuò segregari eos qui in praecipius religionis capitibus cons●ntir●nt saith Zozomen in his 7. booke and 19. chap speaking of Polycarp and Victor They iudged it friuolous and childish and indeed not without cause to disagree and make a separation for customes ceremonies when they did agree in the substance chiefe points of Religion For this S. Austen so earnestly pleads besides many other places thorowout his whole 7. bookes De Baptismo contra Donatistas that I suppose the diligent perusall of those bookes would easily perswade a man that is not too much led with a partiall or s●lfe conceit to do much and to suffer much more for the vnitie and peace of the Church of which hee thus saith Omnia bono pacis vnitatis esse toleranda That all things must be borne with for peace vnities sake cause him euer to shun yea detest a rent or schisme in the church of which he againe saith and prooues it in his 2. booke and 8. chap. That the sinne of schisme is more hainous then is the sin of Idolatry and more peremptorily in his 1. booke contra epist. Parmen 4. chap. sacrilegium schismatis omnia sc●lera supergreditur there is no sin no sacriledge nor robbery so great as is this to rob Gods Chuch of her vnitie and peace But because I hasten to say somwhat of the other points which remaine I will not go forward in this so large and spatious a field but conclude this whole point of peace partly with those words of our Sauiour Haue salt in your selues and haue peace one towards another partly with the words of the Apostle Finally brethren fare yee well be of one mind liue in peace and the God of loue and peace shall be with you And this be spoken of the title that is here giuen to God that he is called The very God of peace Sanctifie you throughout that your whole spirit and soule and bodie may be kept blamelesse The maner of our sanctification which was the third generall point I proposed is heere set downe which is that it must be totall and intire that both our vnderstanding reason which is meant by the spirit and our will and affections which are meant by the soul● and our externall and outward actions which are meant by 〈…〉 may all be holy and so wee whollie sanctified in the sight of God By which integritie of sanctification the Apostle meanes not any such perfection of santitie as is voide of all sinne for the Scripture euerie where doth witnesse that no such sanctitie is to be expected or hoped for while we carry about th●se bodies of sinne The Apostles confesse plainly of themselues and such as are most righteous in this life In many things we sinne all And if we say we haue no sinne we make God a lyar and his word is not in vs. This was the prerogatiue of Christ alone that he knew no sinne and in all

spoken of the third generall point namely the maner of our sanctification that it must be totall and entire Vnto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ. The 4. general point and the last which I intend to obserue is the time or continuance which the Apostle requires in our sanctification namely that we should perseuere therein vnto the end of our liues and to our dying day for the life of a Christian is compared to a race wherein none receiue the prize but they onely that continue and run out vnto the end So runne then that yee may obtaine It is compared to a combat and the garland of immortalitie and crowne of righteousnesse for which we all doe striue hath not engrauen vpon it certanti but vincenti dabitur to him that ouercommeth and keepeth my words vnto the end will I giue to eate of the tree of life and of the hidden Manna Be thou faithfull then vnto the death and I will giue thee the crowne of life Non quaeruntur in Christianis initia sed finis saith S. Ierome ad Furiam It is not enough to begin but to end well is the honour of a Christian life The Prophet sets it downe as a propertie of the faithfull They will goe from strength to strength vntill euery one of them appeare before God in Sion Let vs not be weary saith S. Paul of weldoing for in due season we shall reape if wee faint not He that continueth saith S. Iohn in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Sonne To them that by continuance in wel-doing seeke glory and honour shall be immortalitie and eternall life Behold saith the same Apostle the bountifulnesse and seueritie of God toward them which haue fallen seueritie but toward thee bountifulnesse if thou continue in his bountifulnesse or els thou also shalt bee cut off And to such onely as perseuere is the promise of our Sauiour made Matth. 24. Hee that endureth to the end he shall be saued Beloued if any haue not already entred into the course of such a sincere and godly life as both long since they solemnly vowed and doe now outwardly professe such I cannot exhort with the Apostle to continue or goe forward but to desist from that course and without delay euen while it is called to day as the Apostle saith To turne vnto God nor euer to vse any of those sluggish and delatorie answers which S. Austen most iustly condemnes that when God cals you to arise from sinne and to bee partakers of his grace you should replie and say vnto him Modò ecce modò sine paululum sed modò modò non habebant modum Yet a little sleepe a little slumber and rest in sinne but rather follow that woorthie example of S. Austen who after a long strife and combat betwixt the flesh and the spirit at last as being impatient of longer delay he brast out into that most patheticall exclamation Quamdiu quamdiu ●ra● ●ra● quare non hodie quare n● hac hora finis turpitudinismeae How long shal I put off frō day to day why not euen this day nay why not this very houre do I make an end of all my filthines embrace the loue of God But because not onely Christian charitie but my priuate affection to this place makes me to iudge the best of you that you haue not onely begun but haue well proceeded in the course of a godlie life my onely exhortation shall bee vnto you that yee neuer turne backe from God nor from a Christian and a godly life but continue and perseuere therein as our Apostle saith euen to the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ for although it be impossible which I haue heeretofore in sundry Sermons out of this place made cleere that those who are once truely sanctified by Gods spirit and seasoned with his grace should euer afterwards either totally or finally relapse or fall away from God yet that euen such by their voluntary running into some grieuous transgressions may so farre decline from God and from many degrees of his grace that they may leaue a grieuous wound vnto their conscience and a blemish to their profession and calling those knowne examples of holy Dauid S. Peter and diuers others doe more then sufficiently witnesse vnto vs which are purposely registred in the booke of God not so much to be a staffe of comfort to vphold those from despaire which by like infirmitie fall into like sinnes but specially to be a caueat and warning to all other wisely to preuent and manfully to resist all the motions of sinne and euen the first suggestions of Satan cum videant tantorum vtr●rum cauendat tempestates slenda nausragia as S. Austen obserues of those very examples in his 3. booke De doctr Christ. and 23. chap. that seeing Satan hath already giuen the foile to those who were so full fraught with pietie and so strong and valiant champions in this spirituall conflict that they were able to encounter yea to ouerthrow euen Goliah of the Philistims how vigilant and watchfull ought wee to be who haue neither so great strength nor skill to make resistance against so mightie so subtill and so expert an enemie Wherefore let me put you in minde of the Apostles exhortation Take heed lest at any time there bee found in any of you an euill heart and vnfaithfull to depart away from the liuing God Remember the Apostles reproofe O foolish Galathians are yee so foolish that when yee haue begun in the spirit yee will end in the flesh Better it had beene as S. Peter saith neuer to haue knowen the way of righteousnesse then after yee haue knowen it to turne from the holy commandements of God O what a griefe would it be vnto you if when yee haue formerly beene as faire lampes in Gods Church giuing much light and warmth vnto many others those graces of Gods spirit should afterward be so farre smothered and almost quencht that they could yeeld neither more heat then some small sparkes and those couered also vnder the finders of many sinnes nor giue more light then the snuffe of a candle which is both dimme and noisome Or what a griefe would it be for a Christian minde that hee should euer haue iust cause to complaine as Milo did who hauing in his yonger daies beene renowned and famous throughout all Greece for his strength afterwards comming to the Olympicke games bemoned the want and decay thereof and stretching out his armes said At hi lacerti nunc mortui sunt ah the strength and sinewes of my armes are now withered and decaied farre greater sorrow would it bring vnto a Christian heart if in his old age which should be best of all finding an impairing of his spirituall strenth and former graces of Gods spirit he should then haue cause to lament and say Time was indeed