Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	body_n	church_n	unity_n	1,412	5	9.5035	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00397	A declaration and catholick exhortation to all Christian princes to succour the Church of God and realme of France. Written by Peter Erondelle, natife of Normandie. Faithfully translated out of the French	Erondelle, Pierre, fl. 1586-1609.	1586 (1586)	STC 10512; ESTC S112258	9,822	26

of the trespasse If I demaund of you who is the better or who is most worthy punishment the thiefe or the receiuer you wil answere they are alike guiltie the one one as the other who then is the better he that committeth the tyranny or he that being by goeth not about to let it In this case you will say he is not guiltie of the deede because hee furdereth it not neither helpeth to doe it whereto I may well reply that no more doth the receiuer steale and yet is he not free from punishment for if there were no receiuer there would be no thiefe euen so if euery one would endeuour to withstand the perturbers of common peace we should not haue so many cruell warres and tyrannyes as at this day are in force Wee may therefore well thinke that those that looke vpon the executing of such tyrannies and doe not oppose them selues against them are in as great or rather greater fault then those that commit them A man disposed to doe euill if he finde any l●t will not goe forward therein and so shal not his offence be so heynous in the sight of men as if he had done it notwithstanding I will not quite excuse him or say that hee ought to be exempt of punishment sith God saith that will is reputed for the deede but he that seeth the wickednesse committed and to his power letteth it not is worthy double punishment for both him selfe offendeth and his winking is cause that the other proceedeth in his bad purpose which hee would not haue done if hee had bene letted Hee therefore is guiltie both of his owne fault y t others also and so such persons can not eschue the iust vengeance of God either in this worlde or in the worlde to come vnlesse his great mercie deliuer them For God saith loue God aboue all things and thy neighbour as thy selfe if then we loue our neighbour as our selfe wee can not before our faces see hym oppressed with tyranny but we must needes afford him some helpe and comfort and therefore we are herein guiltie both to God and our neighbor But was there euer greater tyranny practized then the same that the Guizards do now vse in France They be theeues murderers and perturbers of publicke peace For can there be any greater thieuery then to banish an infinite number of poore peoplee and to vsurpe their goods Landes Lordships and enheritances But nowe we see some that are willing to withstand them but doe feare to be ouer weake Let vs not feare my frends but consider for what we fight Wee fight for our peace our country our liues and the restitution of our goods for the deliuery of our brethren for the obteining of peace and quietnesse and to be briefe for al most iust and lawfull causes Contrariwise our ennemies fight onely for the maintenance of their tyrannies and ransoming of the poore people yea onely of a gready desire to raigne aud vsurpe If we would consider al these things we should conceine a greater courage to defend our selues then the others haue to assaile besides that we see our great capteine Iesus Christ who taketh our cause in hand as being most iust and righteous Let vs not quaile though we see our ennemies to bee three times moe then our selues For if they fortefie themselues it is onely for feare of vs as also the force of man is nothing in respect of the power of God who nameth him selfe the God of Armes and battailes who graunteth victorie to whom he please who also wil reueale his might in vs in breaking the greatest Army that may be leuied through euē one smale handfull of men Let vs couragionsly goe to the Combat and stedfastly beleene that our good God and Lord Iesus Christ will grasse vs the victorie so as we craue it at his-hands in faith for of him we obteine whatsoeuer we faithfully doe craue But first let vs also see that our army consist not of wicked parsons but let euery one enter into his owne conscience for God neither is called neither wilbe leader of peruerse and wicked people so no doubt we shall obteine a perfect and full victory Let vs so march as the boulder may be an example of vertue to the rest Again I beseech all Kinges Princes and Lordes both strangers and others that haue any meanes to succour vs or that doe beare any goodwill or fauour to France not to suffer so florishing a realme to be lost for want thereof at the appetite of a famely which seeketh no other but the vsurping of the same vnder shadow of religion so shall yee accomplish the workes of charitie and fulfill the Commaundement of GOD which is loue thy neighbour as thy selfe And in as much as we all are brethren and neighbours let vs one helpe another in our necessitie for so shal the noble hearts and vertuous parsons be knowen I knowe some may reply and say that forreine Kings and Princes are not to enterprize vpon the Dominions of other Princes their neighbours for sometimes vnder such a cloke of Godlinesse they do extend their owne limites with the losse of their neighbours and therefore it is not their parts to set foote into other mens Lordships For answere I would faine aske them whether we doe not all agree that there is one onely vniuersall Church whereof Iesus Christ is the head and the members are so vnited and confoyned that the least of them can not bee greeued but the rest must feele some smart according as we see that the holy Scripture doth testifie See wee not many times the whole body perish through some wound not onely in the Arme or Thigh but also some times through some smale inconuenience happened to the litle finger Marke the Serpent or any other venemous beast when it stingeth any body it seeketh not the head or any other principall member of the body but onely or for the most part the foot and yet ye see the parson so hurt dye of such a stinging And what would you make any accompt of such a Phisition as hath respect onely to some one part of his patient no no he must looke vpon visite al the whole body euen from the foot to the head to see whether any other me●●●●… bee infected Euen so doe wee compare the Church to this body which hath diuers mēbers some in one place some in another Now as this Church is only and vniuersall so is it not cōmitted to the chardge of one onely King but generally to all christian Princes and perticulerly to euery one because it were danngerous to leaue the custodie to one onely and yet the vnitie thereof is such as can by no meanes bee seperated notwitstanding it be vniuersally dispersed ouer the whole fate of the earth The Church of England and the Church of Fraunce are not two Churches but all are mēbers of one God hath committed it wholy to euery one perticulerly and all the