Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	old_a	part_n	testament_n	2,968	5	7.9440	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07190	The avthoritie of the Chvrch in making canons and constitutions concerning things indifferent and the obedience thereto required: with particular application to the present estate of the Church of England. Deliuered in a sermon preached in the Greene yard at Norwich the third Sunday after Trinitie. 1605. By Fran. Mason, Bacheler of Diuinitie, and sometime fellow of Merton College in Oxford. And now in sundrie points by him enlarged.	Mason, Francis, 1566?-1621.	1607 (1607)	STC 17595; ESTC S112385	61,269	101

in an equall ballance it will be found that the wisedome of the Church hath disposed them honestly and in order 25 And as our Church desireth that doctrine may shine like the light of the Lord vpon the holie candlesticke so she is carefull that the conuersation of her Ministers be such as may adorne the Gospell of Christ. In making of which Canon the church of England may seeme to haue set before her eies that golden sentence Let thy Priests ô Lord be clothed with holinesse and let thy Saints reioice and sing 26 And as they should be inwardly decked with godlinesse and grace so it is inioined that their outward apparell shall be sober and graue euery way correspondent to their calling that all things may bee done honestly and by order And thus much of the Ministrie and so I come to our ministration 27 The beginning of our Church Seruice is with some memorable sentence of holy Scripture appointed for that purpose moouing to repentance and praier or magnifying the mercy of God in Christ then after a holy exhortation all of vs both Minister and people fall downe before the throne of grace confessing our sinnes with an humble lowly penitent and obedient heart meekely kneeling vpon our knees without question beloued heere is a holie and a blessed beginning Now because that God which dwelleth in eternitie hath respect to an humble and contrite spirit and hath appointed the Minister to comfort them which mourne in Sion therefore in the next place the Minister in the name of Iesus Christ pronounceth forgiuenesse of sinnes to all that truely repent and vnfainedly beleeue his holie Gospell This is the oile of gladnesse the balme of Gilead the fountaine of grace for the washing away of sinnes O the fountaine of the gardens the Well of liuing water and the springs of Lebanon And lest any man hauing the pardon of his sinnes pronounced should take occasion of carnall libertie therefore our Church doth presently apply a preseruatiue against presumption and a conseruatiue of all grace and godlinesse euen that zealous and piercing praier which the Lord Iesus himselfe hath taught vs. And because when we haue done all that we can we are vnprositable seruants and must forget that which is behinde and indeuor our selues vnto that which is before therefore as though we had yet done nothing we beseech him to open our lippes that our mouth may shew foorth his praise And so with praier to him which is best able to helpe vs wee giue glory to the blessed Trinitie in all which what is there which can be bettered by the wit of man Now forasmuch as the minde of man in praier mounteth aloft with Eagles wings piercing the clouds with ardent affection and powring out her plaintes in the bosome of the Almighty therfore lest the vehement attention which is required in praier should be dulled by long continuance our Church vseth a profitable varietie intermingling the reading of heauenly wisedome wherein the soule tasting and seeing how good and gracious the Lord is feedeth vpon him by diuine contemplation and so returneth to praier with a greater inflammation The Psalms being a store-house of all godlinesse wisedome and grace so plaine to the simple so profound to the wise so profitable to all sorts in all ages in all estates ioy or griefe prosperitie or aduersitie our Church desireth to make familiar to all men and therefore we reade them ouer euery moneth still interlacing the Hymne of glorie to the blessed Trinitie Then follow Chapters of the old and new Testament intermingled with sacred Hymnes all in a knowne language so God is glorified and the people edified It is true that to some parts of the Apocrypha we giue publike audience in our church yet we omit some bookes thereof and reade them not at all and those bookes we reade we reade not altogither intirely but omit some Chapters and peeces of Chapters which some haue thought capable of hard construction And if any thing we reade be such as may seeme to found suspiciously or doubtfully wee hold it our dutie to make the most charitable and christian construction and if wee cannot of our selues satisfie our selues wee are referred for resolution of our doubts to the Bishop of the Diocesse of whom what interpretation is to bee expected the Church doth teach vs binding him to doe nothing contrarie to the booke and proclaiming withall in the booke that nothing is ordained which is not the very pure word of God or euidently grounded vpon the same and therefore his interpretation being accordingly performed should in reason satisfie and content vs. Furthermore we receiue them for humane cōpositions and not for diuine therfore we reade them not for confirmation of Faith but for information of maners yet haue I said nothing of the libertie granted by the Preface of the second booke of Homilies concerning the changing of Chapters Moreouer though some portions of the Canonicall concerning Genealogies and some other intricate and mysticall points be not appointed to be solemnly read in our Church seruice yet we vsually alleage and expound them in Sermons Neither is it our meaning to aduance the Apocryphal which we reade aboue the Canonicall which we reade not for all Canonicall being the sacred Oracles of God haue incomparable preheminence of excellencie yet nothing doth hinder but that some thing in it selfe of farre lesser excellencie may be more familiar for popular capacitie After the Chapter of the new Testament accompanied with a holie Psalme or Hymne wee all stand vp boldly professing our faith before God and men in that forme which is most anciently receiued in the Church of Christ for which purpose we vse sometimes the Creed of Athanasius and elsewhere the Creed of the Councell of Nice Hauing thus fedde our mindes with heauenly meditation of the blessed Word and confessed our faith in the holie Trinitie we fall a fresh to Praier we praie for our Prince for all the States of the land for all Gods children and that for all blessings spirituall and temporall and we praie onely to God and onely in the merits of Iesus Christ. And because the life of man is subiect to a seaof miseries and little doe we know what storme may hang ouer our heads and suddenly surprize either vs or any of our brethren therefore that Gods present wrath may bee appeased and future dangers graciously preuented we humble our soules in the presence of God with a most deuout Letanie which is so pathetically penned that it may seeme to soare aloft with wings of sanctified affections and to pierce the skies as it were with darts of deuotion And after some time spent in Praier wee intermingle againe the reading of Gods holie word to beate downe sinne wee reade Gods firie law and fearefull commandements religiously beseeching him to incline our hearts to keepe his law And to kindle and increase