Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	great_a	soul_n	12,147	5	5.0848	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07444	The iudge of heresies one God, one faith, one church, out of which there is no saluation. Excluding all infidells, Mahumetans, Iewes, obstinate papists, and other heretikes of all sorts, and consequently all newters, who conforme themselues onely externally to any religion, from hope of participation of the kingdome of heauen. If they finally persist therein, and returne not to the knowledge and zealous profession of the true faith. By Iohn Merideth, Sub-Deane of Chichester.	Meredith, John, b. 1579 or 80.	1624 (1624)	STC 17830; ESTC S112660	68,232	98

from the inclination of Gods Nature vnto mercie and that therefore hee should saue all or at the least more then h●e doth condemne I doe answere That Gods nature is not different So that he should haue more mercy then Iustice for whatsoeuer is in God is infinite he is in●initely iust as he is mercifull though in this world he doth exercise his mercy more then his Iustice And true it is that God would saue all men if they were disposed accordingly which because they are not therefore they are not saued For Actus Actiuarum sunt in patiente Arist ● de A●ima bene disposito We see it true by experience Meate doth naturally nourish but not him who wanteth digestion fire doth naturally heat but not him who doth not come neere vnto it Hony yeeldeth sweetnesse but not vnto him that doth not taste it A Medicine healeth but not him whose Malady is deadly and refuseth to admit the application of it The fault is not in the Agent but the defect is in the Patient So Gods nature in it selfe is enclined to haue mercy on all men yet he hath not mercy on all men because all men are not disposed to receiue it nay no man is by nature disposed to receiue it but contrarily to reiect it when it is offered and many wilfully shut vp the dore of their heart against it least the light of the world should enter into their black soules If an earthly King seeing his people detayned in captiuity by his Enemies should pay their Ransome and offer to set them free and to bring them backe into their owne Countrey a●d some of those should vngratefully despise this benefit and refuse to goe home The King were not to be blamed that they were not freed seeing that he was ready to deliuer them But it was their owne fault who chose rather to abide in bondage then to be restored vnto liberty It is a rule in the law and it holdeth good in this case betweene God and Man Inuito non datur beneficium So Christ paid the price of Mans redemption ●●d reg Iuris who liued before vnder the thraldome of the deuill Yet many most peruerse men will not come out of his slauery neither is the fault in God for his reuealed will is to saue all men But he will haue all those who despise him punished As a good King who loueth his Subiects and wisheth them all safety and prosperity yet for the maintenance of Iustice and preseruation of the common good hee will punish and cut of● the wicked for Iustice requireth that euery one be rewarded according to his deserts therefore as hee defendeth his faithfull Subiects so he destroyeth his Enemies Traytors and Rebels Againe euery thing as the Philosopher saith is more naturally enclined and moued vnto that which is in it selfe Ab intrinseco then vnto that which is in him from another As a stone doth rather moue downeward then vpward and that because of his inward heauinesse which enclineth downward So mans nature being corrupted by Originall sinne is enclined vnto euill at all times but if there be any good in him it commeth from another viz. from God Therefore it followeth that from this inward corrupt inclination more men or rather all men without speciall grace consent vnto sinne rather then vnto goodnesse and follow after sensuall pleasures more then spirituall workes because the soule ioyned to the body doth follow the passions of the body Ad mores Natura recurrit damnatas fixa et mutari nescia and therefore no wonder if so many troupe vnto Hell 〈◊〉 Moreouer consider the great multitude of the damned and you shall see how they runne headlong vnto death And therefore it is not strange that men should come vnto that end vnto which they labour to attaine by all might and maine and that which carrieth them thereunto is their owne peruersity And therefore in that God created a great multitude of men whom he fore knew should pe●ish thou mayest admire the riches of his goodnesse in giuing so great a multitude so many and great benefits when he did foresee that they would proue vngratefull yea and wonder at the peruersity of these men who with Gods gifts did impugne and dishonour the bountifull Giuer of them And so consider Gods mercy that thou remember his Iustice also that those whom his mercy created nourished gouerned and preserued If hee finde them vngratefull for these benefits receiued he doth worthily condemne them No wonder that a man should reape those things which he hath sowed Though all men desire to liue in health yet all men doe not vse the true medicine So likewise though all men generally desire eternall felicity yet all men doe not walke the right way to attaine vnto it for we may say with the Poet● 〈◊〉 Quis enim non vicus ab unde● tristibus obscaenis The least Village is full of lamentable filthinesse But that there are many that shall be damned and few that shall be saued wee finde it expressed by way of similitude Naturall and Morall by diuine testimonies also and examples In Naturall things we see there is more dregges of Corne Wine and Oyle then Fruit more leaues then Apples more barren earth then good land more salt water then fresh more base stones then pretious so there are more Reprobates then Elect. We see it is more easie to destroy then to build to loose then to finde to kill then to raise vnto life Many yeares passe before Man can be brought vnto perfection of body but he dieth in a moment We finde this figured also by many Examples in holy Scripture Eight persons only saued in Noahs Arke the whole world Gen. 7. 8. beside destroyed in the flood Lot and his two daughters onely preserued in the destruction 19. of the fiue Cities by fire and brimstone Ioseph onely is found iust among the Egiptians 40. Moses among the Madianites Exod. 3. Samuel among the Sonnes of Leui. 1. Sam. 3. Daniel and the three Children among the Chaldees Dan 3. Gamaliel among the Pharisies Act. 5. The fourth part onely of the Seed brought forth fruit Ten Lepers cleansed one alone giueth thanks for the benefit receiued Luc. 8. 17. Rari quippe Roni numero vix sunt totidem quot Thebarum Portae vel diuitis ostia Nili Good men are but few in number Iuuenal hardly seauen to be found in a Citie and for a certaine resolution our Sauiour saith Many are called but few are chosen Math. 20. August lib. de side ad Pe●rum multi ad fidem saith Augustine pauci ad r●gnum Many to the faith few to the Kingdome And againe hee biddeth vs hold this for a sure and vndoubted truth that all that are baptized within the Catholicke Church shall not receiue eternall life but those onely who hauing beene baptized leade a godly life for as Heretickes Iewes Infidels and Schismatickes

the light thereof Neither can they pretend feare of heresie Seeing the Scriptures cannot deceiue any one nor neuer did who did reade it to the end hee might serue God the more truly and demeane himselfe toward his neighbour the more charitably and order his owne person the more soberly and chastly Therefore it is to be feared that the State of those P●pists who liue in this kingdome and other countries where the Romish Inquisition is exauthorized is damnable for here Christ speaketh vnto you and you refuse to be acquainted with the knowledge of his wayes and therefore your good meaning cannot excuse and defend you but your Wilfull affected Ignorance will accuse and condemne you for no ignorance doth excuse in those things which a man is bound to beleeue and know But you will obiect why should we doubt of our selues liuing and dying in the Romish Religion seeing our Forefather● Ob●ect who departed this life in the same are as wee hope saued who had they beene Heretickes must necessarily haue perished And you say the Romish Religion is heresie For an answer let vs consider that not euery one that ●eleeueth some points of religion whereunto they are bound in an hereticall Church is presently censured to be an hereticke vnlesse he do● willingly assent to such particular Articles of their belee●e which doe derrogate from the vertue of Christ his Crosse which is the s●le hope of the Christian either directly or by consequent if he keepe the Foundation whole and hold no particular errour in matters of faith against the Truth manifested to his conscience There is no doubt of him but through Gods mercy he shall be safe But such were the farr● greater part of the Laity in the time of Popery of whom no more was required to be knowne in matters of faith but only the Lords Prayer the Creed the Decalogue the sal●uation of the blessed Virgin and a general● superficiall knowledge of the Sa●rament of Baptisme and the Eucharist and that of Pennance and obed●ence to the Church Though they neuer knew what other points the Church commanded or belee●ed Explicite they were prohibited from Inquisition into farther particula● subtilties of Diuinity which were to be deduced out of the precedent heads which was a great meanes through the mercifull prouidence of God for the preseruation of the people who by the knowledge and beliefe of these particulars might haue perished as well as their great Masters So that it pleased Gods goodnesse by that imposed ignorance to preserue them from fundamentall errors and by their simple credulity and implicite faith in the principall of the fore-named points to giue them saluation Whereas their subtill Schoole-men and learned Diuines who disputed and broached many blasphemous absurdities ranne headlong to hell For as that Ancient said Mel●us est ergo et vtilius Idyot as ●t parum scientes existere et per char●atem proximum fieri Deo ●●●us ●h ● 〈…〉 cap. 45 quam putare multum sc●re et multa expertos in suum Deum blas●h●mos ●uentri It is better and more prositable to be No●ices and haue but a little knowledge if by loue wee become nigh vnto God then to thinke you know much and are expert in many things if withall you be blasphemous against God Infinite such persons were saued in the primitiue Church They acknowledged one God onely and the same their Creator whom they were to worship and that they were redeemed by Id. ● l●b 3. cap. 4. the bloud of Iesus Christ in whom alone they reposed all their hope and confidence and renounced all that was against this doctrine Such was the faith of our fore-fathers in the dayes of Popery they were not acquainted with the heresies of their Doctors and Teachers but died in this confession Viz. That they reioyced that they dyed in the faith of Christ that they confessed that they did not leade their liues as they ought to haue done and that they liued so wickedly that they merited eternall death that they were penitent for the same that they resolued to amend if they did liue any longer that they beleeued that Iesus Christ the Sonne of God was borne of the glorious virgine Mary That he dyed for them and that they gaue him thankes for these benefits and that they beleeued that they could not be saued by any other meanes but onely by his death and passion and in this confession they commended their soules into the hands of Almighty God and died securely This Confession is annexed by a learned man vnto Roffensis his Booke De fide et miserecordi● Dei with a preface prefixed Im●ressus est J●te liber Co●on a●ud hared Ar. no● B●rckma●ni 1556. by the publisher wherein he doth thus censure it Certe hanc formulam legenti admiratio quaedam subijt diuinae bo●tatis ex qua sane perspicere licet doctr●am de meritis et intercessione Christi quamui● fortassis non nihil deformatam et obsc●ratam quod certe nenio inf●c●are pote●t non tamen penitus quod nonnulls falso putant oppressam atque extinctam fuisse cum diuina prouidentia fac●um sit vt tempore maxime necessario nempe sub exitum hu●●s vitae hoc exiguo interrogationum fasciculo totius Euangelicae et Aposto●cae doctrinae virtus et eff●catia pura sincera null●sque peregrinae doctrinae sordibus contam●ata proponerctur atque exhiberetur quo factum esse non dubito vt innumerae animae di●bolo creptae regno Dei sunt vindicatae In English thus Surely he that readeth the forme of Confession must needes wonder at the goodnesse of God out of which we may plainly perceiue that though the Doctrine of the Merites and Interce●sion of Christ was happily much depraued and obscured which surely no man can deny yet it was not wholy extinct and oppressed as many falsely imagine whereas God did so prouide that in a most necessary time namely immediatly before death the vertue and essicacie of the whole Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles should be propounded and exhibited pure sincere and voyd of the pollution of strange doctrine whereby it came to passe I doubt not that infinite soules were deliuered from the diuel and gayned to the Kingdome of God For father euidence hereof which may satisfie the most curious Read Sacerdotale Romanum Tract 5. part 1. cap. 13. in the Title Visitatio Infirmorum For a Summary of this point heare what Iohn Wickleffe saith hereof in his time being the height of Popery Now saith hee a fewe poore men and Ideots in Introduct scripturae cap. 10. comparison of Clarkis of Schole moune haue the trueth of holy Scripture ayens many Prelatis and religious that beene yeuen to worldly pride and couetis simony hypocrisie and other fleshly sinnes most sithen these poore men desire only the trueth and freedome of the holy Gospell and holy Scripture and accepten mans law and ordinancis only in as mych as they

beene grounded in holy Scripture eyther good reason and common profit of Christen puple and worldly praelatis and feinid religious grounden hem on sinfull mens statutis that sownen pride and couetise and letten the truth and fredome of goddis law● to bee knowen and bringin Christen puple in endles thraldome and great cost Moreouer it is certaine that they misliked and complained against many abuses in doctrine and manners then abounding in the Church of Rome This is plainly apparent by the sundry complaints of di●ers Emperours States Kings Nations and people made for reformation in all ages since the first Apostacie No man can doubt hereof who will conuerse with the Councels and Ecclesiasticall Histories of those Ages Againe it is certaine that many of them laboured to gayne the knowledge of Truth by procuring vnto them the vse of the holy Scriptures translated into the Mother tongue by reading whereof they might finde the right way vnto saluation This is plaine by the wordes of Iohn Wickleffe who in a Booke of his called the Introductory to the Scriptures saith Impressus est iste liber Lon●i●i per Robertum Crow●●y Jdio●●a●e Anglico in quo et ab ●u●●ore co●s●ri●●us est A●uto Dom. 1550. For though couetous Clarkis bene wode by Simony haeresie and many other sinnes and despisen and stoppen Holy write as much as they moune ●et the ignorant puple cryeth after holy writ to ●un it with great cost and perile of here life and saith That he himselfe had translated the Bible into English to saue mens soules and saith that Bede translated the Bible before him and King Alured the beginning of the Psalter But you will say They might read long but all in vaine seeing they did not vnderstand wanting an ●nterpreter which could not be had in those dayes when the Clergy detested that liberty in the Laity I answere partly with St. Ieromes words who I th●nke foresaw your time of the power of darknesse who speaking of Ieron in Nahum cap. 3. the Christian people deceiued saith That they should at length repaire vnto the Mountaines of the Scriptures and if they shall finde no man to teach them yet the good desire of the people should be well accepted of God and the negligence of their Masters should be openly reproued But thankes be vnto God he reserued Priest and people in no small number vnto himselfe who neuer bowed their knee to Baal to teach and beleeue the truth If I should name those of the Clergy whose workes I haue read not of the ordinary ranke but such who were eminent for learning i●dgement ●anctity and Ecclesiasticall dignity who euer since the first Apostacy of Boniface from the auncient Apostolicall humility and verity to Antichristian pompous pride and heresie impugned in their Writings their foule blasphemous and Idolatrous vnheard of fallacies I should be teadious But I referre the Reader for breuity sake to Illyricus his Catalogus Testium veritatis As for the Laity there is no doubt but they were many because such famous Masters could not be without many Disciples and Histories confirme so much vnto vs yea a Popish Inqui●itor confesseth that there haue beene Waldenses euen from the time of the Apostles He meaneth such who professed those Articles of Religion which Valdus and his followers maintained Which at this day the Protestants know beleeue and defend maugre the malice of Antichrist of Rome his Locusts and Scorpions which we hope shall in short time be entertayned by other noble Nations who as yet sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death which God graunt for his mercy sake that it may take effect to the aduancement of the glory of Christ the confusion of Antichrist and the saluation of their soules who shall embrace the same Yet say that there were infinite who though they ●arnestly sought after such Teachers but could not finde them by reason of their rarity in those dayes yet we must not doubt but that they might haue sauing knowledge abundantly by Gods grace and their industrious reading of the Scriptures for as Chrys●stome saith Fieri non potest vt is qui diuinis c It is impossible Hom●l 36. in Genes that hee who doeth seriously and zealously study the Scriptures should bee alway forsaken for although wee haue not mans instruction yet the Lord himselfe descending into our hearts enlighteneth our minde infuseth his beame into our vnderstanding discouereth hidden mysteries and teacheth vs those things which wee know not onely if wee will apply our sel●es diligently thereunto also our Sauiour confirmeth it vnto vs. Aske and you shall haue Seeke and you shall finde Knocke and it shall bee opened vnto Math. you But say that such should erre in some points which they held with their Teachers they must neuer the sooner be censured Heretickes for that cause for as the auncient Canon saith They are not to be reputed heretickes who are seduced not by their owne but by others boldnesse into error For Qui sententiam suam quamuis falsam atque peruersam nulla pertinaci animositate 14. ● 3. Dixi● Aposto●us defendunt c. They who doe not stubbornely defend their opinion though it be false and peruerse especially if it be such a one which themselues haue not broached of bold presumption but such as they receiued from their seduced and deceiued Auncestors If they seeke after the truth with carefull diligence being ready to subscribe thereunto when they haue found it Nequaquam sunt inter haereticos deputandi are not to be censured as Heretickes Out of the premisses I inferre this conclusion Viz. That there was great difference betweene the State of our forefathers who liued in that time of blindnesse and yours who liue in this age They sought after the Truth when it was locked vp from them You behold it presented vnto you and neglect it They were in darknesse and desired the light You liue where it shineth and yet you shut vp your ●y●s against it They were subiect to the rack torture for seeking after it You haue the peace of the Church ready to receiue you ioyfully and yet you despise it They wanted ordinarily helpes to further them in knowledge and yet followed after it You haue all outward meanes and opportunity to solicite dispose and direct you thereunto Oh that you had Gods grace inwardly in your hearts also whereof as yet you are destitute and yet you reiect it And therefore they as wee doe hope haue receiued from Gods mercy the Kingdome of heauen which they so earnestly sought and desired But you as wee feare for your ●ngratefull obstinacy if you doe not come out of Babylon cannot auoyde the torments of hell which you haue iustly dese●ued Therefore if you will be secure of saluation imitate your Ancestors in diligent Inquisition of the truth and pretend not a good intention to protect your negligence for you deceiue your selues you must know that if you will

Profecto qui veritatem pro pecunia negant Deum pro pecunia vendunt Surely they who denie the truth for money doe sell GOD for ●o●l cap. Ab●●t money If a man should through infirmity deny the truth as did Peter vpon such repentance hee might receiue pardon though God doth sildome graunt repentance vnto such wretches But if any one shall with Iudas and Balaam be seduced by cou●tousnesse to betray the truth let him expect no other reward then befell those vnhappy Caitiues Vaevictis Woe vnto them that are ouercome by riches which perish who through feare shall deny the truth Timendo mortem car●i● tuae mortem dabis animae tuae by fearing thy flesh thou slayest August thy soule In which case our Sauiour commandeth his Disciples not to feare those who can kill the body vpon which words Chrysost●●● thus excellently reaso●eth Ne forte propter ●imor●m mortis non libere dicatis quod audistis least happily for Homil. 25. i● Math. feare of death you should not vtter that freely which you haue heard nor boldly preach vnto all men that which you heard in secret for as it is shewed by these words He onely is not a Traytor to the truth who transgressing against the truth doth speake a lye openly in stead of the truth But hee also who doth not vtter the truth freely which hee ought to vtter freely or doth not defend the truth freely which he ought to defend freely Such a one is a Traytor vnto the truth for as the Priest is bound to preach freely that truth which he heard of God So the Lay-man is bound faithfully to defend that truth which he hath heard of the Priests proued out of the Scriptures which if hee neglecteth to performe hee betrayeth the trueth for with the heart wee beleeue vnto righteousnesse and with the mouth wee confesse vnto Saluation And I doe adde this that euery dissembler in Religion is an offence vnto man and woe be vnto that man by whom the offence commeth in this kinde The Apostle saith wee must abstaine from all appearance of euill And it is the duty of euery good man so to order his actions that they breed no scandall to those who are without or to those who are apt to fall away But they who communicate with any Sect in the Sacraments of their Religion by that very action seeme to confirme their Religion and to draw other thereunto as much as in them lyeth whereas they should rather cry out against all heresie and seeke to bring them to the truth and thou by thy hypocrisie makest them to persist more obstinately in their errors and consequently thou art no Christian Heare what that holy Orthodoxall Bishop of Alexandria saith in his Epistle vnto the Clergy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. Concil Nic. part 1. ap●d Cyzicen It is fit that we who are Christians should auoid all those who speak against Christ and hate him as the ●nemies of God corrupter of soules and not to say so much as God speed vnto such kinde of men as St. Iohn hath cōmanded vs vnlest we should in so doing cōmunicate with them in their sins yea by so doing we should cōfirme them therein for they will say Why should wee forsake that Religion which the Protestants embrace with vs Whereas we are obliged to labour for their reformation and to winne them vnto the truth which happily may be effected when they shall behold vs to detest their sacred solemnities and to despise them as prophane trisles and then though they should not consent vnto our truth yet they may be ashamed of their owne falshood Some there are whose Religion consisteth herein that they doe not contradict the faith which is established be it neuer so false blasphemous and are slexible to all formes that are imposed on them because they haue not layde any foundation of the truth in themselues and this is the cause why they are so apt with Leon●das Mutari pro temporum ratione to change with the time Plutarch in Lacon The holy Ghost termeth such persons luke-warme whom hee speweth out of his mouth who with the Parasite in the Poet Apocalvps 3. Cry At s Aio Negas Nego play Protestant with one and Papist with another Saint Paul calleth them Men-pleasers Terent. which cannot please Christ. Galat 1. These make Religion a matter of indifference and hold the Academicks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be the best wisedome especially when in an Interregnum Religion hangeth Inter malleum et Incude●● as they say vpon the pleasure of the Prince and his Peeres as yet vnknowne to the party whether truth or falshood shall preuaile the losse of whose fauour they will not aduenture for conscience sake But let these wretches consider their iust censure by St. Augustine There are some saith he that are Christians for this cause only that they may thereby purchase the fauour of those Lib● de Catechis ●ud cap. 17. persons of whom they expect temporall riches or because th●y will not offend those whom they doe feare Sed istireprob● su●t but such as are R●probates But whereunto may I liken this vaine generation They are like vnto the Reare-mouse in the Fabler which are most base and odious creatures It is doubtfull whether they be Gressible or volatle of whom it is reco●ded That dis●●rd being betwee●e the flying creatures and the ●ou●e footed beasts and the day of Battaile assigned The Rearemouse absented himselfe thereon of policie to obserue on what side the victory would betide that hee might ioyne with the Conquerour The Battaile being finished and many slaine and wounded on both parts the foure-footed beasts met with the Reare-mouse and cried out to apprehend him and to slay their Enemie The Rearemouse answered what say you my friends I am of your side and he shewed them his feete and so escaped And in like manner meeting with the Birds hee shewed them his wings and escaped accordingly Let these Ancipites temporum palpatores as Cyprian speaketh These doubtfull Lib. 2. Exempla 2. ad Donas Time-seruers and Dalliers in sundry Religions behold their basenesse in this creature and let them know that Facti sunt vespertiliones neque in muribus plane neque in volucribus sunt Varro in Ag●thone They are become Monsters in Religion seeing they are of any and consequently of no Religion But let them know withall That God is not like vnto man that he will be mocked though mans eyes may be blinded his iudgement deceiued There is but one God one faith one truth and one Religion which is to be performed in Spirit and in truth Ephes 4. Ioh. 4. and such God requireth And all men are either members of Christ and such beleeue in heart and confesse with the mouth his Gospell or the members of Satan and such either openly impugne or secretly dissemble the Doctrine of the Gospel Betweene these two there is