Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	earth_n	heaven_n	loose_v	6,038	5	10.6252	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16163	A friendlie communcication or dialogue betweene Paule and Damas wherein is disputed how we are to vse the pleasures of this life. By Samuel Byrd, Master of Art, and fellow not long since of Benet Colledge.	Bird, Samuel, d. 1604.	1580 (1580)	STC 3086; ESTC S102321	65,647	186

they see sin vnpunished What crueltie is it to se women children almost starued the whole countrie grow into decaie The mercifull God open the eies of our Magistrates make thē see a difference betweene mercifull seueritie cruell pitie We haue an English prouerbe which saith that foolish pittie marreth a citie but it is little thought vppon They maie perhappes thinke they shall bee well thought of by suffering the wicked to go scotfree but it can not be The people shal curse such a one the multiude shall abhorre him but to them that rebuke the wicked shalll be sweetenesse vpon them shal come the blessing of euery good man Pro. 24. 23. For open rebuke is better then secret loue And though the parties punished winch a little at the first yet hee that reproueth a man shall finde more fauour at the last then he that flattereth with his tongue If men wold but open their eies experience would teach them the truth of that which I say For by reason of their fearefulnesse and loosenesse this waies men make no account of them they despise the Lord therfore the Lord despiseth them Now they do nothing they are accounted as a king in a stage play that only maketh a show whē he hath done he goeth his waies wheras otherwise the Lord would cause men to loue honor them To keep their court dinners or to haue their men officers to waite vpon them is but an outward thing an accessarie matter to giue some countenaunce to their office but the chiefe thing the essentiall part of their dutie is to doe iustice iudgement But men are hard to be intreated in this matter I therefore beseech all pastors teachers that they would not suffer themselues to be deceiued witht he disguised names of parson or viccar which names the scripture knoweth not but that they would remember that they are appointed as continuall watch men to ring the alarum bell to beat to knocke at the consciences of men especially of the Magistrates which maie do all in all in this matter For it is great pittie that they shuld wāt so great a benefit as is the putting them in minde of their dutie especially seing the whole Church receiueth so great losse by their slackenesse If I spake of mine owne head my words might be little set by for who am I that any mā shuld esteme of my saying But because they be the words of the great God they must be set by Apollos was a very eloquent learned man yet he was very well content to be more thē admonished of a poore simple man I desire my Reader that he would do the like For I protest before the Lord his Angells before all the world that I haue not spoken anie thing for any delight that I haue in reprouing the truth whereof the Reader may easily see if he consider that I haue reprooued no mans fault so much as mine owne If I seeme to be more vehement then needeth the cause thereof is because it is both long since this our good statute was made also a contrary custome hath almost ouergrowne it It hath bene smoothered shamefully kept vnder of a long time And it is noted of one that a Law the farder it is from the first authoritie which is as it were the first stroke wherewith it is first sent abroad the weaker it is And that a custome the longer it cōtinueth the stronger it is I speak not this to end any should be discouraged from labouring against this sin for the word of God is mightie to bring down euerystrong hold euery high thought that lifteth vp it selfe against the almightie but that we shold rouse vp our selues to fight more manfullie against it seeing it hath so manie so mightie enemies to defende it And because there is little hope that the Lord will take awaie this losenesse of life from vs either by preaching or by the seueritie and diligence of the godlie magistrate so long as we cast away from vs so churlishlie his blessed discipline that hath bene so louingly offered let vs throw our selues downe and craue forgiuenesse for this our great rebellion giue enterteinmēt to it at the last that the vse praise of our catholike religion maie bee seene and that it maie appeare in hir perfect beautie We see nowe that euerie bodie maie do what him listeth without controlement The Church maie seeme to bee nothing els but a companie of outlawes And what reproch is this to the holy and righteous Lord Iesus Christ which is the Lord thereof What Christian heart doth not bleed to see open common dronkards to come to the Church and to be accounted catholikes How wonderfullie doth this sinne preuaile for want of church discipline Know you not saith the Apostle that a leauen sowreth a whole lumpe of dowe How manie are infected whilest the corrupted parties are not cut off What great commoditie is the whole Church depriued off for want of this communication If these filthie persons were thus banished the Church deliuered vnto Sathan vntill they had acknowledged their fault and washed their faces with teares of repentance before all the congregation this fearfull punishment would make others afraid to offend The parties that hath offended shall receiue a singuler commoditie by this thing for now they be not of the Church and yet are accounted to be of the Church they thinke their case is verie good and harden themselues in their sins and so goe to hell as it were in a sleepe before they be aware wheras by this wholsome discipline they would be awakened out of their deepe sleepe they would be made ashamed and so repent Thus if they were confounded in this world they should bee glorified in the world to come vpon their repentance they should be receiued againe then should they not onely be in the Church but of the Church theyr sinnes which were so fast bound in heauen but not in earth should then be loosed both in heauen in earth These things are confessed wished for in our cōmunion booke as it were by a generall consent of the whole Realme that manie yeares ago yet we stand at a staie and account those good men our enimies that perswade vs to the practise of it The Lord for his mercies sake that sitteth in the heauens and laugheth his enimies to scorne that can bring to passe with the turning of an hand whatsoeuer he wil bring this thing to passe Wherfore shall the Papists saie We neuer saw the like wickednesse in our fathers daies O Lord deliuer thy word from this reproch and deliuer vs from the slauerie of sin Sathan our own rebellious practises to freedome libertie which is no where els to be found but in putting on the easie yoke of Iesus Christ in being gouerned by his word We shal not thē anie longer