Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	affection_n	authority_n	zion_n	12	3	9.8320	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12800	Cassander Anglicanus shewing the necessity of conformitie to the prescribed ceremonies of our church, in case of depriuation. By Iohn Sprint, minister of Thornbury in Glocester-shire, sometimes of Christ-Church in Oxon.	Sprint, John, d. 1623.	1618 (1618)	STC 23108; ESTC S117795	199,939	306

CASSANDER ANGLICANVS Shewing THE NECESSITY OF CONFORMITIE TO THE PRESCRIBED CEREMONIES OF OVR CHVRCH In Case of Depriuation By IOHN SPRINT Minister of Thornbury in Glocester-Shire sometimes of Christ Church in Oxon. MATTH 12. 7. I will haue mercie and not sacrifice LONDON Imprinted by IOHN BILL ANNO M. DC XVIII TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVL Mr. DOCTOR GOODWIN Deane and to the Canons of the Colledge of CHRIST-CHVRCH in Oxon. FOr dedication of this booke to you R. w. I had direction frō the Riuers who Eccles 1. 7. empt themselues into the Seas from whence they came To you by whose Reuerend praedecessors I was in common consent chosen scholler into Christ-Church by whom that small modell of Learning which I haue if I haue any thing in mee which may be called Learning was deriued to me and by whom I was of free donation without bribe or sute first placed in my pastorall charge Then you I haue no greater patrones for you I haue no greater gift And this I offer to your view your censure your memoriall God euer graunt you so to blesse the Colledge of Christ-church by your free elections and elocations that the Church of Christ may euer blesse God for you and your selues may feele the comfort of your well-doing in this life and find the fruit thereof in the life to come London 27 of April M. DC XVIII Who am euer at your seruice in CHRIST IO. SPRINT TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL Mr. SAMVEL BVRTON Archdeacon of the Diocesse of Gloucester SIR AS it pleased you to appoint mee a certaine time to giue answere of my purpose or refusal of Conformitie So I haue at last resolued to offer it vnto you in these my Letters Confessing ingenuously for some respects seeming weighty to my poore iudgement my vnwillingnesse thereto if by any meanes I might auoide it Howbeit seeing I see the sway of Authoritie ouer-ruling and inforcing thereunto partly in obedience to it and partly for other more important reasons swaying my Conscience I giue you to vnderstand that I am resolued to Conforme To the which resolution I confesse I was the rather drawen by the mixture of your discreete proceedings yet not so much driuen thereunto by your publike authoritie as drawen by your priuate lenitie and kindnesse and vndeserued respect vnto my meannesse I being well acquainted with the common condition of mans will which may be induced when it cannot be inforced And I trust with equall good conscience and successe to proceede and continue in seruice vnto God and to his Church in this my Conformitie as before I did in not Conforming And I heartily wish that in the like case all others did the like This I can say that my indeauours haue not beene wanting to perswade others wherein I haue preuailed with not a few And I am perswaded that if my reasons of this point might see the light authoritie giuing way thereunto it would more preuaile to induce men of contrarie iudgement then many other bookes penned to that purpose Not for any worth of Art or reading that is in them more then others my selfe being the meanest of many thousands for a matter of this nature But partly in respect of the qualitie of the penner which haue beene I confesse a Non-conformitan and partly because of the conclusion prooued which inforceth the imputation of a sinne vpon the sufferers of silencing for not conforming a matter which of all things the Ministers of this kinde will least indure And partly also for the sufficiency of the Truth presented in those reasons Now if any shall thinke the booke vnfit to bee published because it reacheth not home to prooue the conueniency or necessitie of the Ceremonies themselues they may bee pleased to consider that this position of mine being onely proposed by way of presupposall concludeth nothing to crosse that I haue endeauoured to prooue this others whose knowledge and dexteritie is greater haue libertie to prooue further if they please But this I may more then probably affirme that the very most of not conforming Ministers will hearken vnto this when I am assured they will not vnto that My reasons I offer to your Learned view and correction of authoritie If any thing bee found in them hindering the passage thereof I wish it bee censured with a Deleatur For that my intention is not rashly to thrust out any thing offensiue to authoritie but that which may bee to the profit of the Church Which I humbly desire of God in this and al other mine indeauours for his owne names sake To whose sauing grace in Christ I commend you with many thankes for your many vndeserued fauours This 21. of October 1617. Thornebury By yours humbly at command in Christ IO. SPRINT TO THE READER EVery part of Trueth is precious euen the least as the least graine of muske is sweete Because it is the Trueth Because Gods Truth and because small errors intertained against small Trueths haue often euill sometimes pernicious effects Which last appeareth in the controuersie of our Ceremonies the sparkles of which difference haue growen vnto great flames in this our Church Where the fault is as God knoweth so the day will try and God will one day iudge But difference of apprehensions hath brought foorth difference of iudgements and difference of iudgements hath brought forth difference of practise and disagreement in affection The difference of practise hath mooued Authority to silence and suppresse refusers of Conformitie The disagreement in affection hath mooued the Ministers depriued to speake euil of persons in authority and of Conformers Whereby in the euent the course of the Gospell is interrupted and of Popery enlarged the friends of Sion are grieued the enemies reioyced the Deuill gratified and God not pleased The Church is rent with Schisme the Trueth scandalized by dissention the Ministers vndone by losse of liuing and the vnitie of brethren liuing in the same house professing the same Faith and reioycing in the same Hope is pulled in pieces And this like to continue God knowes how long but all men know the longer the worse For which cause I haue vndertaken this seruice to Gods Church to vnfold the state of this question which as yet hath not been so directly and distinctly handled in my opinion as it might by any that I know The Ministers haue heretofore laboured to proue the Ceremonies euill to be vsed and fit to be abolished but they neuer went about to prooue whether in case of Depriuation they ought to haue conformed which is the question directly concerning their case This is performed in this tractate and resolued by reason drawen from God and man from Scripture and Authority of all sorts which thou good Reader mayest perceiue if thy desire allure thee or thy patience will giue thee leaue to reade The occasion of my penning it was this At The occasion of penning this Treatise first being of aduersary iudgement to the Ceremonies I laboured as men doe