Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	life_n	write_v	3,140	5	5.7901	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04821	Hallelu-iah: praise yee the Lord, for the vnburthening of a loaden conscience By his grace is Iesus Christ vouchsafed vnto the worst sinner of all the whole world.	Kilby, Richard, d. 1617.	1618 (1618)	STC 14955; ESTC S106533	55,442	148

had done enough and enough my heart being farre from God and not once assaying to come neere vnto him Here I would aske a question of the common sort of people young and old I would aske you for no harme Is not this your religion I meane to say your praiers to heare seruice I will not put in to say seruice without any special stirring of your heart not actually minding that you are in talke with God nor so affected as they who perceiue themselues to be so neere vnto euen before the face of that Almightie King who is terrible vnto the Kings of the earth they are his seruiters I take that blessed God to witnesse against my soule if I speake vncharitably or idlely I am perswaded that I haue good reason to feare that a great many of you haue little religion in your hearts but content your selues with saying and hearing and some outward ceremonies Then I can tell you what religion is the fittest for you Euen that which you call the old religion for that wil so furnish you with outward workes and ceremonies that you shall not dreame of medling with your heart You see the deuoutest of them can swallowe downe into their soules lying forswearing murther and treason They make no bones of such matters And why Because the ceremonie-law of Rome serueth their turne I speake vpon my conscience for the glorie of my Lord God and for the good of my countrey It pleased God that specially by the meanes of M. William Olney of Tachbrooke neere Warwicke who tooke me from my poore parents I was in some sort continued at schoole About foureteene or fifteene yeares of age I fell into acquaintance with diuerse that fauoured the Popes religion among whom one lent me a booke thus intituled A defence of the censure giuen vpon two bookes of William Charke and Meredith Hanmer ministers which they wrote against M. Edmund Campian priest of the societie of Iesus and against his offer of disputation This little booke beeing one of the most dangerous bookes that euer I read for they bee little ones that either doe good or harme vnto the greatest number of people did thoroughly distast me with the Protestant-religion before religion was in mine heart A principall case of my distast was the many euill reports which with great pretence of truth it signifieth touching the liues of Luther Caluin and Beza bringing in this reason withall that the authors and beginners of an extraordinary reformation in the Church of God should at the least be ordinarie honest men in life and conuersation which those men were not if that booke be true Here I humbly entreat all people to take knowledge of two things which I haue found true by experience First it is not safe for a man to betake himselfe to this or that side in controuersie of religion vntill his heart and life bee setled in some vprightnesse of obedience vnto God Can a man iudge of colours before he bee borne No. Then how can a man rightly discerne the truth in questions touching the mysterie or secret of godlines he not beeing renewed by the spirit of God Although he haue great learning or depēd vpon the iudgement of great learned men yet Sathan the deuill will haue an hand in him because they which doe not conscionably obey God are subiect to be wrought vpon by him Eph. 2.2 The second thing that I would desire you to take knowledge of is this When a man is well assured that he is entred into a conscionable course of obeying the commandements of God which is the practise of repentance to settle his iudgement touching this or that controuersie in religion hee must not bee lead by the sermons or books or liues of men but principally hee must apply himselfe vnto the grounds of his faith which are two God and Gods word How shall he apply himselfe vnto God By verie often humble and earnest prayer that he will vouchsafe for Iesus Christs sake to giue him the spirit of reuelation the inlightening of minde to perceiue the holy truth S. Paul telleth vs plainly that the secrets of God cannot be rightly known but by the spirit of God 1. Cor. 2.10.11 And our Lord Iesus hath giuen vs this assurance that if we doe earnestly pray vnto God for the holy Ghost hee will giue him vnto vs Luk. 11.5 6 7 8 c. How shall a man apply himselfe to the word of God In following the example of the Iewes that dwelt at Berea who when S. Paul preached vnto them receiued the word with all readinesse But how They searched the Scriptures dayly whether those things which S. Paul deliuered vnto them were so as he said yea or no Act. 17.11 And for your encouragement see what followed Act. 16.12 Therefore many of them beleeued If any say hee cannot vnderstand the word of God I answer he may bee sorrie and ashamed to say so for to what end hath God giuen his word but to be vnderstood euen of very simple folke for of all the books in the world there is none that hath more plainenesse in it then the booke of God hath Many fine schollers haue no minde to reade Gods word because it is so plaine It is certainely one of the maine drifts of Sathan the deuill to make people beleeue that Gods word is hard to bee vnderstood because he would not haue them to vnderstand it for he knoweth that nothing in all the world is so great an hinderance vnto him as Gods word beeing vnderstood Now I will goe forward in my confession I went first to Oxford and then to Cambridge At Oxford I was in Gloster Hall about foure yeares first and last at Cambridge I was in Emanuel Colledge not so long but to that Colledge I am singularly bound Afterward I tooke vpon me to be a schoolemaster and then entred into the ministerie in the yeare of our Lord one thousand fiue hundred nintie and sixe The next yeare after vpon the commendation of diuerse reuerend Ministers in Kent namely my fatherly friend Doctor Milborne of Seuenoke M. Bust of Penshurst M. Deiose of Chiddingstone M. Smith of Chelfield I obtained of Archbishop Whitegift a generall licence to preach I haue beene a minister eighteene yeares and so much more as since the sixeteenth day of May last for as vpon that day Doctor Young Bishop of Rochester gaue mee orders at Bromeley in Kent All this while vntill this verie yeare one thousand sixe hundred and foureteen my heart continued in that inward behauiour wherwith it was first possessed in my childhood Now let me goe backe againe and make report how the Father of mercie hath striuen with me from my youth yea and nowe in good and comfortable measure blessed be his name vanquished the setled wickednesse of mine heart Euer since I had any vnderstanding of Gods will something hath been working vpon my mind perswading me very earnestly to forsake sinne and wholly to submit my selfe

HALLELV-IAH Praise yee the Lord FOR THE VNBVRTHENING of a loaden Conscience By his grace in Iesus Christ vouchsafed vnto the worst sinner of all the whole world I Come and heare all yee that feare God and I will tell you what hee hath done for my soule O magnifie his Name with mee and let vs exalt his Name together Printed by CANTRELL LEGGE Printer to the Vniuersitie of Cambridge 1618. And are to be sold by MATTHEVV LAVV in Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the Foxe THE DEDICATION ❧ To the right high and mightie Prince and most valiant Conquerour IESVS CHRIST God and man crucified My most gracious good Lord Sauiour and Master THou art gone vp on high thou hast lead captiuitie captiue thou hast receiued gifts for men yea for the rebellious also that the Lord God might dwell among them I will praise thee O Lord my God with all my heart and will glorifie thy name for euermore For great is thy mercy towards me and thou hast deliuered my soule from the lowest hell Let the speaking of my mouth the writing of mine hand and the thinking of mine heart be pleasing in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer Amen Amen ❧ To those learned men which in Cambridge haue authoritie to iudge of bookes before they be there imprinted REuerend Masters my dutie premised I humbly pray you to giue way vnto the glorifying of the grace of God in Iesus Christ as you will answer vnto his glorious maiestie when he shall call you to giue account of that your office Thus beseeching God to blesse you and that noble Nurcery of Christianity with all aboundance of knowledge and holinesse I rest At your correction in the Lord Iesus RICHARD KILBY THE VNBVRTHEning of a loaden Conscience WHosoeuer you are that shall purpose to read or heare any part of this booke I beseech you that of your charitie you will grant vnto me these two requests First to beleeue that I in making and putting foorth this booke intended the glorie of my Sauiour the good of Christened people and the hurt of no creature Secondly to shew such fauour compassion and patience towards mee as you your selfe towards your selfe expect from the Lord Iesus Now I beginne IT pleased the good Lord God to vnburthen my conscience by repentance and beleefe in Iesus Christ whereunto with verie much adoe I was brought by the knowledge of Gods word and the consideration of mine owne verie miserable and most dangerous state Among those parts of the holy Bible which God made me in some measure to vnderstand I had speciall vse of his tenne Commandements and therewith also of the first verse of the 20. chap. of Exodus as here it followeth Exo. 20.1 And c. This first word hath respect vnto some things mentioned in the chapter next before specially the Lords comming downe from heauen vnto the top of mount Sinai in fire and the comming of the Israelites out of their campe beeing brought forth by Moses to meet with God Touching the comming forth of the people I find that they were first prepared by cleansing themselues and washing their clothes secondly limited that they should not come too neere vnto the hill thirdly presented and set before the face of God by Moses Hereby I learne that whensoeuer I am to reade or heare Gods word to pray or to sing vnto him I must first prepare my selfe by putting away all euill thoughts and naughty affections secondly I must be very humble auoiding all presumption thirdly I must present my selfe before the maiestie of God in the name of Iesus Christ euen as if hee tooke mee by the hand and brought me into the presence of his Father The neglecting of these three necessarie points I know by mine owne experience is verie dangerous for the doing of holy seruices with an vnreuerent heart is a readie way to make a partie most vncapable of Gods grace because the custome of abusing the meanes of saluation doth not onely prouoke the Lord vnto great indignation but also hardeneth the heart and bringeth it to that passe that without some extraordinarie meanes it cannot be effectually wrought vpon And God c. God is the first beginning as of all good so specially of religion therefore he that will be religious must first and foremost steadfastly beleeue that there is a God Heb. 11.6 And God spake c. The second ground or beginning of religion is the word and speech of God which holy men by his direction and appointment did write in the books of the olde and new Testament It is a speciall fauour of God to make his word knowne vnto any man woman or child because the propertie of it is to make vs wise and holy fit for euerlasting blisse in heauen 2. Tim. 3.15.16 Whereas our Sauiour Christ made his Apostles Ministers of his word and gaue them commission to ordaine others and those also to ordaine others from time to time vntill the worlds ende is a question how the Ministers of the now publikely allowed Church of England can prooue their calling from Christ by the Apostles c. seeing that the now church of Rome is between them and the Apostles time I will breifly declare my setled beleefe in this point by way of comparison A certaine noble man did by his will appoint that a great part of his goods should be employed to such and such good vses so and so vntill the worlds end for the performance of this he did chuse certaine feoffers of trust giuing order that they should choose others and those others from age to age The first feoffers had in their time very much adoe to keepe the noble mans will from beeing wronged Many hundred yeares after that it came to passe that some beeing orderly chosen feoffers were fully perswaded that in many things the wil was wronged Hereupon they claimed reformation but others resisted them yea and pursued them to the death killing diuerse of them Those which escaped the hands of their aduersaries continued their claime of reformation and made choise of others to succeede them in their office These be the ministers of the Church of England If an honest man were asked what is in this case to be done he would say the written will is to be stood vpon and to be made knowne The Bible is that wil which the Romane feoffers haue no mind to make known nor can endure the publishing thereof in vulgar languages that all people might heare it read in their Churches alleadging this reason that as they iudge if common people had Gods word in their owne tongue they would rather take hurt then good by it To my silly vnderstanding this is a very strange reason Of all other books is Gods booke so dangerous Then why did the Lord giue his word the old Testament vnto his beloued nation the Israelites in their owne tongue yea and lay such charge vpon them to read it and to heare it