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	old_a	testament_n	6,574	5	8.1314	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A73023	M. Perkins, his Exhortation to repentance, out of Zephaniah preached in 2. sermons in Sturbridge Faire. Together with two treatises of the duties and dignitie of the ministrie: deliuered publiquely in the Vniuersitie of Cambridge. With a preface præfixed touching the publishing of all such workes of his as are to be expected: with a catalogue of all the perticulers [sic] of them, diligently perused and published, by a preacher of the word.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626.	1605 (1605)	STC 19706.5; ESTC S123485	128,687	352

so farre from being driuen from their duty because they being sinfull men dare not come into Gods presence without much feare as let them contrariwise be assured that the more they tremble at Gods presence here the lesse shall they feare it at the last day and when prophane and vngodly men who in this world feared not to stand in Gods presence in their horrible sins shall cry to the Mountaines fall vpon vs and hilles couer vs and hide vs from the presence of God then such ministers as in this world in feare and trembling and alwaies in repentance did approach into Gods presence shall then looke vp and lift vp their heads shall say to the holy Angels all the powers of heauen helpe vs and hasten vs to come into the glorious presence of our God and Sauiour And thus we see the manisold vse of this doctrine to our Church and ministerie Secondly In asmuch as here the prophet in a conscience of his corruptions feareth and cryeth out at the least apparition of Gods glory The vanitie and false dealing of the Church of Rome is here discoured in whose Legēds stories of their Saints nothing is more common then apparitions from heauen of Saints depa●ted of glorious Angels of the virgin Mary and that so familiarly as sometime she sang with thē in their Cell kissed some of them and let them sucke her brests Nay of God himselfe and especially of our Sauiour Christ Iesus who they say appeared I knowe not how oft to one man namely to Saint Francis and appeared as he was crucified with his woundes and imprinted those woundes of his in Francis his body which they say he bare all his life and that they bled whensoeuer hee would suffer them which he alwayes did on Good Fryday that hee might be like to Christ Thus c many more such may yousee in that fabulous blasphemous book of the conformities of S. Francis But for the matter Are apparitions from heauen so ordinary in the popish Church how then came it to passe that the greatest and holiest men in the olde Testament were so amezed at the very apparition but of an Angell as wee may see in the whole course of the Storie Some ranne away and hidde themselues some couered their faces some fell flat on the grounde and the Prophets heere cryed out Woe is mee I am vndone my eyes haue seene the King and Lorde of Hostes But in the Church of Rome looke the stories that Saint or Monke is no body that hath not had some apparition either of the Virgin Marie or some of the Apostles or an Angel or Christ Iesus appearing and talking with them and yet alas Peter lames and Iohn those three great pillars they were as good as beside themselues at the appearing of a little part of the glorie of Christ in his transfiguration Either therefore must it followe that these men haue no sinne in them which dare and can behold Gods glory so easily and so ordinarily which is impossible or rather which indeed is truth it appeares that these are but deceitfull fancies and forgeries of their owne deuise to deceiue the world and to magnifie themselues before the eyes of the common people for it is first of all most false that apparitions are so common as they make them for if they were then are they more ordinary in the newe Testament then in the Olde For whereas the Scripture hath one their Legions haue twenty whereas one namely Saint Paul was once rapt into heauen they haue 20. that were rapt thither And as that is false so is it impossible that any man cloathed with flesh can endure an extraordinary apparition of Gods glorie without extreame amazement as is plaine herd in the Prophet who I hope was as holy a man as the holiest monke that euer was I haue noted this that young Diuines may be occasioned to looke a litle into their fabulous legends that so they may discouer the false trickes and iugling castes of that religion which euill shiftes it needed not if it were of God Thirdly the people may here learne First in that Gods presence is so glorious and fearefull to mans nature how mercifully God hath delt with them in teaching them not by himself or by his Angels from heauē which they could neuer endure but by men who are like themselues and how vaine and fond these men are who would bee taught from heauen not by men who are so full of wants In the olde Testament when the people receiued the law from Gods owne mouth it is saide they ran away and cryed out Why should we die if we heare the voyce of God any more wee shall dye for what flesh euer heard the voice of the liuing God liued therefore they said to Moses Goe thou neare and heare al that the Lord shal say declare thou vnto vs what God saith to thee we wilheare it doe it And then saith the text the Lord said I heard the words of this people they haue said well in al that they haue spoken And so from that day forward God ordinarily taught his church by men like themselues we see that the beginning of it was not in iudgement but in mercie vnto them It is therefore the dutie of all men both to acknowledge this mercy of God in due thankfulnesse and withall to remember when they see infirmities in Ministers that they are but men and that if they had not the Ministery of men howe hard it would goe with them considering that the least measure of Gods owne presence cannot be endured by any man 2. Inasmuch as gods presence is so glorious in it self and fearefull to our nature al men are taught to prepare themselues by holy prayer by humisiation and confession of their sinnes and vnworthinesse afore they come to Gods word or sacraments for they come at that time into Gods presence they therefore are not to come in their securitie nor in their ordinarie sinnes vnrepented of least God strike their consciences with a sence of his fearefull displeasure make them cry out vpon farre greater cause then here the Propet did Thirdly and lastly wee learne here the different natures and properties of sinne and holinesse Sinne euen the least sinne nay a very sinfulnes of nature makes a man afraid of Gods presence That sinne vnrepented of doth so appeares in Adam who as in his integrity he spoke conuersed euen in a familiar sort with God so no sooner had he finned but he ranne from God and hid himselfe that euen the least sinnes not repented of doe so also appeares in this Prophet who beeing a holy man yet his conscience being priuie to it self of some small omissions or negligēces in his calling he crieth out he is vndone because he seeth the Lord of hosts But contrariwise the state of perfect holinesse the want

but to be this Interpreter which the holy Ghost heere saith a Minister must bee But to bee able to speake with this tongue is first to bee furnished with humane learning Secondly with Diuine knowledge as farre as it may by outward meanes bee taught from man to man but besides these hee that will speake this tongue aright must be inwardly learned and taught by the spirit of God the two first he must learne from men but the third from God a true Minister must be inwardly taught by the spiritual school-maister the holy Ghost Saint Iohn in the Reuelatiō must take the book that is the Scripture and eate it and when hee hath eaten it then saith the Angell he must goe preach to Nations tongues people and to Kings which was done not that Saint Iohn had not eaten that booke in the comming downe of the holy Ghost the very ende of whose comming was to teach them spiritually but that in him Christ might teach his Church for euer that no Minister is fit to preach to nations and to Kings vntill they haue eaten the booke of God that is till after and besides all the learning that man can teach them they be also taught by the spirit of God himselfe and this teaching is it that makes a man a true interpreter and without this he cannot be for how can a man bee Gods interpreter to his people vnlesse he knowe the mind of God himselfe and how can he knowe the minde of God but by the teaching of the spirit of God For as no man knoweth the thought of a man but the spirit of man that is in him So the things of God knoweth no mā but the spirit of god Indeed we may be mans interpreter by humane teaching and may interpret the Scriptures truly and soundly as a humane booke or storie for the increase of knowledge but the diuine spiritual interpreter which shal pearce the hart and astonish the soule of man must bee taught by the inward teaching of the holy Ghost Let no man thinke I heere giue the least allowance to Anabaptisticall fancies and reuelations which are nothing but eyther dreames of their owne or illusions of the Diuell for they contemne both humane learning and the study of the scripture and trust wholy to reuelations of the spirit but Gods Spirit worketh not but vpon the foundation of the worde onely I teach this that a Minister must bee a diuine Interpreter an Interpreter of Gods meaning And therfore he must not onely reade the books but eate it that is not onely haue the knowledge of Diuine things flowing in his braine but ingrauen in his heart and printed in his soule by the spirituall finger of God and therefore for this end after all his owne study meditation conference Commentaries and after all humane helps hee must pray with Dauid Open thou mine eyes that I may see the wonders of thy lawe The discerning of those wonders requires a spirituall illumination and the opening of them requires the tongue of the learned Therefore after all the studie which flesh and blood and humane reason can yeelde pray with the Prophet Lord giue me the tongue of the learned that I may be a right interpreter of thy holy will Furthermore inasmuch as ministers are Interpreters they must labour for sanctitie and holinesse of life In Esay the king of Assiria is saide to bee sanctified or set a part to destroy Gods enemies If there be a certaine kind of sanctification necessary for the worke of destruction then how much more is true sanctification necessarie for this great and glorious worke of the edification of Gods Church A Minister is to declare the reconciliation betwixt God and man and is hee himselfe not reconciled Dare he present another man to Gods mercy for pardon and neuer yet presented himselfe Can hee commend the state of Grace to another and neuer felt the sweetenesse thereof in his owne soule Dare hee come to preach sanctification with polluted lips and out of an vnsanctified heart Moses might not stand vpon the Mount in Gods presence till hee had put off his shooes from off his feet Exod. 3. and dare any man presume to come into this most high and holy presence of the Lord vntill he haue mortified his corruptions and cast off the vnrulines of his affections In Exodus the priests are bid to sanctifie the people and in Leuiticus it is saide that God will be sanctified in all that come neere him but who come so neere vnto God as the Ministers do So that it is apparant Ministers doe sanctifie the people and in some construction God himselfe Nowe shall they one way bee sanctifiers of the people another way of God himselfe and no way of themselues Surely if it bee so they are but lame Interpreters And this is the reason doubtlesse why vnsanctified Ministers and such as are of a loose conuersation bestow such fruitlesse labours in the Church many want no learning no ability to interpret yet how fewe soules doe they bring to God Some it may bee are conuerted by their Ministerie that God may shewe the efficacie is not in the person of man but in the ordinance of God but fewe doubtlesse for ought that we can see to teach vs how God hateth him which will take in hand to reconcile others to God himselfe being vnreconciled Seing-then Ministers are Gods Interpreters to the people to declare publish their reconciliation with God and that they cannot be reconciled vnlesse they be sanctified and can so hardly bee sanctified by the ministerie of an vnsanctified man let therefore all true Ministers of God first be Gods Interpreters to their owne consciences and their owne soules Interpreters to God then shall they know more perfectly how to discharge the office of true Interpreters betwixt God and his people And thus we haue the true titles of a true Minister Now it followeth in the Text. One of a thousand Here is the second part of this description which is by the rarenesse or scarcenesse of good Ministers which is layd downe in a very strange phrase namely that a true Minister one that is a right Angel and a true Interpreter is no common or ordinarie man but thin sowne one of many Nay one of a thousand The meaning hereof is to be conceiued either properly or figuratiuely in the figuratiue sence it is spoken in relation to ministers themselues in the proper sense it hath a comparison with all men the figuratiue and hyperbolicall sense is that of all the Ministers in the worlde not one of many is a right Angel and a true Interpreter the plaine proper sense is that amongst the men of this worlde there is not one of a thousand which proues a true Minister For this point let vs examine three points the truth of it the reasons of it and the vse of it The truth hereof is