Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	day_n	great_a	time_n	3,017	5	3.2491	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00280	An exhortation to the byshops to deale brotherly with theyr brethren		1572 (1572)	STC 10392; ESTC S111888	14,916	22

¶ AN Exhortation to the Byshops to deale Brotherly with theyr Brethren ALthough both through lacke of learning and experience I be farre short in abilitie to exhort or dehort in any respect especially sythe the matter dothe concerne those that are or shoulde be bothe wel learned and experienced themselues and thereby vnderstand more then I can aduise yet being greeued in conscience and somewhat I finde in you blame worthy and seeing you bende not your knowledge to amende that in you is amisse pardon me though I presume to admonish you in brotherly sort as my slender skill will permit But iustly it may be obiected to me that ther are many farre more fitte and able then I to deale in suche a matter and syth they do not it may be thought great arrogancie in me to intermeddle in the same In deede my want of abilitie as before so againe I confesse and the great plentie of others that are farre more able I muste nedes acknowledge and withall my heart I wishe better willes in men added to their skill then the Lorde knoweth are to be found amongst vs as for arrogancie to be imputed to me in this case surely I hope there shall not for God is my witnesse I only seeke to discharge my conscience in shewing my dislike of that wherin as I thinke you deale scarse brotherly If any good fall out hereby I shall be glad and praise God for the same if none yet haue I satisfied mine owne conscience in vttering my minde Thus much for excuse nowe to the matter I vnderstand beloued in Christ of a certaine booke lately published abrode by some of our brethren the matter whereof as it is muche misliked so is the maner not well alowed of and bothe so euill taken as oure poore brethren for the same feele the paine and punishment of most hainous offenders if theyr fault be great yet they are our brethren and therfore by you ought somwhat to be regarded if it be not great as they are oure brethren you not regarding them are greatlye to be blamed And surely for my part I thinke your duety were to discouer vnto the world by the warrant of the worde howe truely or falsly they haue wrytten which if you woulde doe in symplicitie of conscience then perhaps theyr fault would not be so greeuous as you make it wherin I durste appeale vnto your owne conscience if the matter did not touch you so nearly as it doth For I pray you examine theyr case with me a little they put forth a Booke in the time of Parliament wherin they disclose the disorders of our church of Englande and humbly desire a Reformation of the same according to the rule of Gods worde is this an innouation they say there oughte to be no Lordlinesse in the ministerie Bishops liuings ought to be abated theyr great circuites cutte shorter and them selues made equall to theyr brethren is this to ouerthrowe a whole state they say the Booke of common Prayer is full of corruptions they mislike with our vnlearned ministerie they fynde fault with our disorderous Discipline and putte downe theyr opinions howe these things may be reformed is this intollerable theyr Boke standeth on many pointes needelesse heere to be rehersed and if in any parte therof they shew suche contemptuous disobedience towardes our soueraigne as some seeke to enforce none shall thynke them more worthy punishment then I but to seeke reformation of deformities in Gods church to say the Bishops shuld be vnlorded and abridged of theyr huge liuings and to craue that all deformities may be cut of and corrected by the prescripte rule of Gods holy woorde is to seeke the furtherance of Gods honor and glory and therfore great blame worthy are they that so seeke to aggrauate the matter in charging them with disobedience to hir Maiestie as thoughe to honor the almightie were to dishonor the Prince I maruell that menne of learning professing christian religion wil contrary to theyr profession deale so vnchristianlye with theyr brethren surely in my iudgemnt these be very slender arguments to say these men desyre a reformation therefore they seeke innouations as thoughe it were so straunge a matter to haue a churche reformed it is as weake an argument to say they woulde haue Bishops vnlorded theyr liuings abated the ministerie broughte to hys right course and true discipline restored therefore they would ouerthrow the whole state A third reason is vsed as fond and feeble as the rest and that is that their dealing is vntollerable surely what it is to innouate in your sense I know not but sure I am there can be no innouation found in that motion that hath any parte of Gods woorde to warrant it For that is farre more auncient then the disorders of our church or any order deuised by man and till oure disorders be remoued and Christ his auncient orders set in place till we cease to be guided and ruled by men and yeelde to be directed by the word of God I can not hope of any great good in our congregations As for ouerthrowe of the whole state truely Englande were in a straunge case if the state therof either in encrease or decay dependeth vpon the maintenance or ouerthrowe of the Bishops Lordships and liuings And as for your argument of intollerablenesse in deede in one sense it may holde true and that is in that your selues will not tollerate theyr dealings herein but aggrauate theyr cause to make it seme more greuous in the sight of men otherwise I see no reason how iustly theyr doing may be thought intollerable for it maye be counted tollerable that Goddes word doth allowe But whether theyr booke agree or disagree with the word of god I meane not to deale leauing that to be iudged by the learned as for me according to my greefe conceiued I minde to exhort you to Bishoply brotherly dealing with these that are althoughe you beare the titles and names of Lorde and Lordes grace felowe pastors and preachers of the eternal word of God together with you In dede my purpose tended somewhat further but that is cut off by a contrary report that I haue heard therfore leauing this as a thing needelesse to be rehearsed I proceede to the matter in hand Your brethren are in prison and haue bene these many dayes for the booke before named and which of you all since theyr emprisoning hath opened his mouth to speake one word for their deliuerie nay which of you hath not inueighed bitterly against them by worde since the publishing of that booke They haue bene delt as close prisoners a long time so that no frende no not skarce their wiues may come to them and which of you all haue sued for their further libertie nay which of you all hath not bene ready to hinder their libertie sought for by others They haue lien lōg at great charge and are very pore and needy which of you all hath opened your