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	read_v	see_v	2,673	5	3.5053	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96901	Soft answers unto hard censures: relating, I. To a book printed without licence. A full accompt given thereof. II. To my particular calling: 3 offences relating thereunto removed: and the dutie of visiting families and schooles is pressed upon magistrates and ministers, whose duty it is to visite there, enquiring how the governours and governed, do answer their relations, the one commanding, the other obeying in the Lord. III. To the offence given by a book called an Anti-apologie, which I have said, is a great offence to the church of God; and that they, who write as Mr. Edwards does, too many by two, have offended their lord and master, more than Moses did, when he said, ye rebels, for which unadvised speaking (yet the people were little better) though he would, he could not compound with his lord God almighty. ... / By Hezekiah Woodward.	Woodward, Ezekias, 1590-1675.	1645 (1645)	Wing W3504; Thomason E268_2; ESTC R212399	14,831	17

shall think fittest And indeed so an Author should do for he is worst able to judge of himself and he may slip with his pen as soon as with his tongue which the Licenser by adding or leaving out a word may help and reconcile the Authors words and his meaning Therefore no man I think is more willing to crave judgement and submit unto it then I am And with this kinde of Licensing any spirit can well close But for a Licenser to withdraw his hand out of prejudice to that he will not read or because it may not suit with his judgement This gives an offence sure which ought not be given Secondly I observed bookes passing abroad with Licence which I thought were wanting to Truth in part and to right Reason more wanting and to the Law of Charity wholly wanting all throughout Yet these have their Licence I thought now That sith I craved leave and could not have it I might take leave and the liberty to speak the Truth keeping the Dictates of Right Reason up close in desire to the Law and Rule of charity all along certainly so I did in desire But my performances I know all short of my own minde and cannot reach up to my rule All good men will pardon me here Their Lord and Master will Thirdly Not to cast the least scruple much lesse a stone of ofence at the way is now beating out before us I have said in deed That the way of Church Government I would name no more is an Holy way And that I can discerne no other in it but what ought to be Holinesse therein all along And this Holinesse not so discernible in the other Way But still I have said I travelled with hope That the waies we have unhappily differenced by two names of Debate will meete in one and there shall bee one way my endeavours are for it so are my prayers even so Amen And now me thinks I have in my hand that which advanceth my hope for I am reading the Directory for worship to the Church in Scotland A thing I confesse I stumbled at hearing it so much talked of amongst us But I stumbled at it as a man in the darke at that hee neither sees nor knowes before him I am reading of that book ●…probe facitqui in alieno libro ingeniosus est Mart. ad Lect. And truly not to shew my self curious therein which I should not be this I must say That they have spoken very well and my soul can go out with it perswaded their endeavour is to live up in their practise according as they have spoken And as their light comes in so shall their commings in and going forth be before all their people As the Lord shall be pleased to clear up the way of Worship before their eyes they will for there is no standing still in Gods way hold it forth before all Congregations What we expect from the Assemblies here I cannot tell great things sure and sure we shall have them according to expectation if our sinnes our murmurings and repinings and for want of faith our making haste our great sinne And the sinnes of some Ministers also which they know best and we know too well to be such as may cast an offence in the way may hinder at least the faithfull endeavours of the Best approved And therefore are matters of deep humiliation unto all before all the people The sins of Ministers Assembled now Oh let their sinnes be found-out and greatly humbled let them be for all they have done That the Righteous may have their hearts desire touching the way of worship before their God which certainly they shall have if sinnes hinder not theirs and ours reaching higher and crying louder than the prayers of all the Righteous in the World can cry in the eares of their God And if so but surely so it shall not be and if matters answer not expectation yet I praise God as well as I can I think for I dare not be confident of my own heart all within me doth praise His Holy Name for all that good the Lord hath done for His poor people by the unwearied labours of His faithfull Servants Abundantly recompencing all the expence of Spirits Time and Purse Though the expence were a thousand times more than it is And we should live to see no more yet abundantly sufficient is that we have seen touching the purifying of Gods house His worship and services there Now the Lord be praised for this And all within us must blesse His Name for giving gifts unto His servants and hearts to lay-out themseves and their gifts To advance His Name A Reformation or way of worship sutable to the excellency of His Name Power and Godnesse I have been the larger here to clear my intentions That nothing could stand so contrary to the purpose and tendency of my soule than to diminish any thing from the beauty of that way is now beating-out before us or from the labour of love in those who lay-out themselves in that worke And these are the reasons I call for distinction sake Negative The other you may call Affirmative are these 1. That I might do as much for the Brethren as I stand bound to do for my enemies Asse his that hates me Exodus 23.4 to my power I must helpe the Asse-up and case him of his burden I conceive I have done no more now I saw a mighty burden of Reproach cast upon the Brethren I have put to my hand to ease them of it 2 I considered who they were that were so extreamly laden with disgraces They are the precious and excellent of the world which I speak making no comparison with those whom I acknowlledge to bee pretious in Gods sight and therefore honourable in ours also All of them the sons of a King and servants of the High God These are the men so reproached 3 And that the Gospell might suffer no dammage finde no stop in their mouthes who are I would detract from none giving these their due eminently gracious that way and able above many to carry it forth and to speak it from their hearts to the hearts of all that hear them Indeed I have more then a jealousie That the way men have taken now a dayes against their wils I hope and besides their intentions is the readrest way that can bee taken to destroy the Gospell what man can do and to take-off from the working of it in the hearts of the people when they lay such cart-loads of disgrace upon the publishers thereof as that they are as Altars and Idol-services were in Iudahs land plagues and pests there 4. This also had the force of a reason mighty alone to perswade with me to do as I did That 1 All the evill of manners is charged upon them whose conversation is before Angels and men as becommeth the Gospel they preach and the Faith they professe 2 And all the evill Doctrines are charged

wrought upon him What course have you taken with him whereby through Gods blessing you might make him obedient both in word and deed a blessing to his parents and to his Generation Let this be enquired into there and every where as we tender the Glory of God and the accomplishment of the parents Hope who has nothing but Hope-to bear-up their Spirits in their sore travell under the Sun Hope that their children shall be by the Masters care made obedient to God and their parents able to serve their parents and themselves and their Generaton as the Law of God and Nature commands O that parents could consider this and as their hopes are to do thereafter in an orderly pursuance of their hope by discharging their owne Trust first And then inquiring well into their conversation into whose hands they will transmit their children those dearest pledges I returne to that I was saying That masters of Families Schooles are but families multiplied made like a flock of sheepe must be content to be taught here and prescribed how they may shew themselves conscientious at this point whereof they that make no conscience surely they have no conscience at all And the Magistrate has to do with such with them and their families And when we begin there in Families to Reforme there Then I shall beleeve that Reformation begins and never till then For this is the Apostles Method not according to the Course of this world But according to the course the people of God have taken who have so ordered their Families and so walked in the midst of their houses that their praise is in the Gospel And this is according to the Scriptures of God They oversee themselves first then theirs * Act. 20.28 First their flock within dores then the flocke without * Tim. 4.3 First their owne house then the House of God * Tit. 2 7 There is the Apostles Method which by Gods hand with me I have beaten-forth through all the observations and experiences by His assistance I had made and have desired to make them so legible that he who runs may read them What acceptance my labour has from Man I say not for little I can say but my labour * 2 Cor. 5.9 is I hope to be accepted of the Lord with whom my worke is and judgement from his Mouth That I stand with my loins ready girt to be called forth to his foote content to bee something or nothing or any thing so I might attain the end of my placing in the world the Glorifying God and serving my Generation And truly God hath given me a Body healthfull and able to do him service above many thousands I scarce remember that pain in my flesh held my eyes waking one night or made me keepe my bed one day in all my life hitherto And this I looked upon this health of body of minde too as a great mercy and a mighty ingagement to binde me over to duty This Mercy has followed me all my dayes evento the declining of my day and so Mercy hath followed Mercy which convinced me what my duty was and ingagement is That duty must follow duty else a double woe may overtake me And surely I may say this more that I feared alwaies since I had any understanding of my way and Duty to walke my owne way or to take my owne course What seemed good in mine owne eyes I say the truth I yeelded-up my selfe to Gods hand as he would be pleased to goe before me though his footsteps were as in great waters that way by His Grace I would go I was long since convinced how vaine my thoughts were and yet thousands do thinke as once I did That I could mould forth my own trade of life track-out a course pleasing enough to God and most usefull to my selfe for self was my end and high thoughts I had God knowes That I was some-body as well as others and could beate-out my owne Way cut-out and order my own Worke and then set about it in my owne strength These thoughts befooled me many a time and now-mine eyes are to the Lord as the Pilats eye to the star let Him direct my couse for He alone can do it cut-out and direct my worke for that is His Worke too My worke is no worke but Duty To eye what He directs and to follow Him To hearken what he will have done and to do it with all my might And surely from His Hand it was That I found a diversion of my studies towards some other matters somewhat without the verge of my calling But yet 2 which is my answer to the second exception I took such houres for those matters which sleep might have robbed me of with no hinderance at all to my proper imployment for truly such studies do enlive and quicken my phansie whereas semper eadem iisdem still the same every day is a dulling thereunto And 3 I do not conceive I have showed my self a Busie-body medling with matters too high for me but such as through Gods grace my understanding could very easily reach unto III. And so I come to the third particular in my charge The offence I have taken at Mr. Edwards his Book and have given to the Church of God as one that has an hand in the breaking her peace which rather then good men would do they would suffer their bones to be broken all to pieces This is part of my charge Let it now be weighed with both hands and this considered with all the heart 1 This which is legible for he that runs may read it That brethren have troubled the Churches peace and have broken the rule of charity all throughout their writings We may say of some of them as Cicero speaks of some Orators in his time Latrant Oratores non loquuntur Or as Calvin speaks of a rough-mouthed fellow Stridet non loquitur I will not English it as one sayes in another case we common people understand these matters too well Nimium est quod intelligitur Quint. They are so legible 2 And this which is visible too and in every mans eye That the sonnes of the Church have shewn themselves the sonnes of the Cole they have blown a spark so long that it is become a cole And now they have blown up the cole to a flame And from so small a matter how great a fire is kindled Let it be considered who has been blowing here And when the fire was kindling who has brought fuell as oyle to the fire or buckets of water to quench it If no man else will I will speak for my self That I thought it a matter greatly conducing to the peace of the Church to marke those and their writings which have troubled the peace thereof And here I noted Mr. Edwards Book and one or two more more unreasonable for more may be and uncharitable than is that Anti-Apologie yet so crosse is his manner of