Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	law_n	see_v	write_v	2,709	5	5.5275	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33206	The Difference of the case, between the separation of Protestants from the Church of Rome, and the separation of Dissenters from the Church of England	Clagett, William, 1646-1688.; Williams, John, 1636?-1709.	1683 (1683)	Wing C4377; ESTC R12185	45,320	73

whom they follow at present All that we beg of them is that they would not take every thing upon Trust that others tell them in these matters but hear what we also have to offer to them and not only hear but consider and weigh it with the best Judgment they have And let me say this to all those whom I now speak of whether Papists or Dissenters that if you set your selves with a sincere desire of being rightly Informed to compare our Reasons with them whom hitherto you have trusted some Advantage you will gain by it whatever the Success be For if the Truth be not on our side you will in all likelihood get this benefit by it to be Confirmed in your own way upon better grounds than you had before But if it be it is then to be hoped that through the Grace of God you will discorn it and entertain it for which blessing you and we shall have great reason to yield our hearty Thanks and Praises to the Father of Lights who giveth Wisdom to them that ask him But if you should be so unhappily Prejudiced on the wrong side as to miss this benefit yet let me tell you it will turn to some good account for you at last that you took Pains to be better informed and that you were not altogether wanting to your selves to come to a right Understanding of your Duty in these Particulars by disposing your selves to Impartiality and by Reading and Meditating and Praying in all this for the Illumination of Gods Holy Spirit And now I trust there is little need to tell you that if your Leaders discourage you from taking this pains it may justly make you suspect that your Cause will not bear the Trial. If they would keep up your Confidence by their own and all the while divert you from comparing one thing with another and from trying what is said on both sides you have sufficient Cause to Question either their Honesty or their Understanding And the more unwilling they are that you should examin what we and they say the more Reason do they give you to resolve that you will do so I have shewn how greatly different the Case of the True English Protestant is from that of the Papist on the one hand and that of the Separatist on the other And though the difference be so very notorious as it is yet we know the Popish Priests have represented our Reformation under such Colours as to make it look like Fanaticism and the Dissenters are made to believe on the other hand that our Reformation is but a better sort of Popery And some little popular things are said on both sides to make these pretences look like Truth But now I have brought these Colours into the Light and if you will but take upon your selves to use your own Eyes you may I think easily discern that you have been all this while abused At least I have given you Reason enough to make farther Inquiries and to Consider more particular Questions But if upon Reading this general Discourse you should resolve to keep where you are and to trouble your selves no farther I am Confident the true Reason thereof must be this that you are afraid to proceed lest you should be convinced and this is nothing less than Wilfully to bar up your minds against the Knowledge of the Truth For though I have no conceit of this performance as if I had done any great matter in it yet I am Conscious to my self that I intended honestly all along and I am sure I have Written plainly and have laid some things together that may give just occasion to any well meaning Papist or Sectary to Question the safety of the way he is in at present especially if he has never troubled himself to Consider these things before And now I do heartily desire you all for I cannot desire this too often or too earnestly that you would take the Word of God for your Rule and propound the Rewards of another Life for your end and set the Fear of God before your Eyes whilest you Consider and Examin these things It is our concern for the safety of your Souls as well as for the Welfare of this Poor Church so distressed with Adversaries on both sides that putteth us forward upon all occasions to lay these things before you Do not therefore Read these Books which are indeed publisht for your sakes as if they were Written against you There is not one of us I am Confident but is troubled to see you expose your selves to the penalties of the Laws of the Land that are against you But we are more sorry to consider that at the same time you do also incur the high displeasure of God We would sain have you to avoid both the one and the other And if you would hearken to us the worst you would get by it is to live with less Disturbance in this World but whether that should prove true or not you would walk in a more Safe and Plain way to Heaven than that which any of you are in at present And I hope you would not grudge that good which this Church should receive by your return to us when you would do your selves so much more by it If therefore you think our Importunity troublesom pray remember what it is that makes us Importunate and let no misconstruction of the Design of your Friends render their honest endeavours Ineffectual to your conviction We would have you understand the Truth and do your Duty And as this end is Charitable so you must needs grant those means to be Charitable also by which we are contributing towards it It is indeed our Concern that these means should take place but it is yours something more if you are under great and dangerous mistakes as I am perswaded you are But if you should be so prejudiced against us as to think that we Write these Controversies more in Concern for the Temporal Interests of this Church than for your Spiritual Good Pray will you make this profitable use of that hard thought as to excel us in this matter by being more careful not to mix any Carnal and Worldly affection with your Judgment in Reading these things then you imagine us to be in Writing of them Be as strict as you will in Examining what we say in behalf of our Church only be willing that Truth should Overcome and Consider that if that prevails against your Errors you indeed are the Conquerours and that the greatest Gain will be yours both in this World and in the World to come I have no mind to prejudge which Party it is that we may hope to win more of to the Truth than of the other being very willing to believe that there is no Cause of despairing to do good on either side As for the Dissenters methinks it should not be hard to disswade the most of them from breaking the Communion of that Church any longer