Selected quad for the lemma: end_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
end_n	oath_n	strife_n	swear_v	3,032	5	9.0688	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67115	A sermon preached in London by a faithfvll minister of Christ, and perfected by him and now set forth to the publike view of all for the ivstification of the truth and clearing the innocencie of his long suffering for it.	Walker, George, 1581?-1651.	1642 (1642)	Wing W363; ESTC R27052	14,142	20

of God If Kings and great Potentates command them under great penalties as losse of goods liberty or lives torturing imprisoning and death to make Images of God and to bow down to images and Altars of wood and stone and to practice superstitious will-worship or to do as proud and potent Nebuchadnezar commanded all his people to worship his Image under paine of burning to ashes in an hot firie Furnace Or if a law and decree were made like that which Darius made by the advice of his wicked and malicious Princes for a snare to Gods people forbidding the true worship of God It is the common opinion of self-conceited wordlings abundantly wise and politick in their own opinion that there is no danger in obeying no feare of unexcusable sin and that they who are afraid to obey such commands and to stirre their consciences with guilt of sin by breaking Gods Law are too scrupulous worthy of contempt yea that they are mad men who in such cases wil hazard their lives goods or liberty But the 3. faithfull servants of God full of the holy Spirit were of a contrary opinion and resolution as Dan. 3. Though Nebuchadnezar was a mighty Potentate and had highly promoted them to honour and dignity and the thing which he commanded was only to fall downe and worship his golden Image yet they utterly refused to doe such an act forbiden in Gods Law and did rather chuse to yeeld their bodies to death and to be burned in his hot fiery Furnace And so likewise Daniel that holy seruant of God so famous in his time for learning wisdome and favour with God he regarded not the Decree of the wicked Princes which restrained him from the worship of his God and from praing to him for the space of thirty dayes under paine of being cast into the den of Lions but notwithstanding it was confirmed by his great Lord and King Darius and sealed with his Seale he would not refraine from his constant course custom of prayer and worship of his God wich he knew to be a duety daly and continually required by the divine Law and did chuse rather to forgoe all the honours and promotions which the King had bestowed on him and to be cast into the den of Lions then to disobey Gods Commandement by obeying the Kings decree and such hath the opinion resolution and practice of all Gods noble Wortheys and faithful serevants been in all ages Wherefore let me here be bold to spend some few words in arguing against and conuincing the blind carnal wicked world and in discovering that wisdome which is commonly callen State-policy to be folly and enmity against God which I wil do very breifly by answering and taking away those foolish excuses of carnal men which are as vaine and unable to shroud and defend them from the staine of sin and Gods just wrath as the fig-leaves patched together by our first parents were unfit to cover their nakednes● Some when they are commanded by great Potentates cruell Tyrants to worship God in Images and in Altars of wood and stone or the like or are forbidden to professe the truth and true religion and to practice the holy worship of God that under pain of death persecution imprisonment spoyling of their goods and losse of all worldly substance they are very f●●ward and earnest to plead that authority must be obeyed the powers must not be resisted and that it is no wisedome to undergoe losse of goods liberty and life for conscience and needlesse fear of breaking Gods Commandements But let me tell such pleaders that Ephraim the Israelits of the ten Tribes had as good a plea and the same excuse for their forsaking of the Covenant of the Lord for worshipping of Baal Calves Idols Groves in the daies of Ieroboam Ahab other wicked kings their Kings did comaund them so to do for a politike reason of state even to keep them from going up to worship God at Ierusalem lest by that means they might be drawne away and revolt to the house of Dauid and reunite themselves to the Kingdome of Iudah Also some of their Kings were cruell Tyrants which persecuted the true Prophets and worshippers of God and by feare of death and other great penalties forced and compelled men to commit Idolatry as we read in the dayes of Ahab and Iezabel and as appeares by Eliahs complaint unto God 1 King 19. And yet this was no excuse of the peoples Idolatry and sinne for Ephraim was oppressed and broken in judgement because hee willingly walked after Ieroboams commandement as Hosea testifieth Hos. 5. 11. And because they kept the Statutes of Omri doing the workes of the house of Ahab and walking in their counsels the Lord gives this sentence against them by the Prophet Micha That he will make their land a desolation and them an hissing and reproach Micha 6. 16. Our Saviour in the Gospel discovers to us how vaine and frivolous all such excuses will be found before his Tribunall where hee saith that whosoever loves houses lands goods or life it selfe more then him insomuch that they will rather deny and not confesse him before men then indanger or lose their life liberty or wordly goods they are not worthy to be counted his Disciples and hee will deny them in the presence of his Father and before his holy Angels and as they feared them who could kill the body only and were not able to kill the soule more then God who could destroy both soule and body in hell so they shall lose their life which they loved more then him they shall also be excluded from life eternall and so cast wholly both soules and bodies into hell into the fire which never shall be quenched and dye and perish eternally Matth. 10. 28 Mark 8. 35. Luk. 9. 24. Secondly whereas oathes are to be given and taken in truth in judgement and righteousnesse Ier. 4. 2. That is men must not sweare any false thing but onely what is true neither to raise up strife nor to doe injury or to hurt any man but to put an end to strife by laying open in judgement things as they are neither must they bind themselves by oath to doe any vain unjust or wicked against Christian charity or to execute any unlawfull office Now there are and have beene in all ages divers politick worldlings and cowardly Hypocrites who when vaine or sinfull oathes are imposed on them such as the Elders and Nobles of Iezrael imposed on the wicked men whom they set up to sweare falsely that Naboath blasphemed God and the King or such as the Iewes tooke to kill Paul Act. 23. 12. or such as Traytors take to conceale or act Treasons or as many corrupt men take to execute unlawfull offices and unjust designes which are hurtfull and injurious to divers others either in Church or Common-wealth If these oathes be imposed by men of authority who rule over them or under great