Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	answer_v	speak_v	word_n	767	5	3.9356	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03264	A short dialogue concerning the plagues infection Published to preserue bloud, through the blessing of God.	Balmford, James, b. 1556.	1603 (1603)	STC 1338; ESTC S100768	34,749	98

there be necessary cause of the sound or some of their attendance or repaire Moreouer it may be that the sound or some of thē be profitable members in the Church or common wealth now the more hope there is of good by them the more care there ought to be of their preseruation according to the peoples care for the safetie of Dauid before spoken of Profess In my conscience this seemes to be very true but I pray you tel me what you think of them who send their seruants vnto the Pest-house Preach Right wel especially if they want conuenient roome other means at home for I vnderstand of the Cities right honorable and christian prouisiō for that house I know diuers there wel vsed and thence well returned and it is extant in print that when there were buried in and about London 3385. in one wéek yet of all pestred in that house there were buried but six And therfore I condemne those that raised a slander vpon that house holding them as despisers of gouernment and wicked ill speakers of them that are in authoritie Prof. If you conuersed amongst people as I do and must do I know your spirit would be griued to see how ready they be to lay hold on euery light occasion and false report to speake their wicked pleasure of Gouernors O that they would consider the example you lately in a Sermon vrged of a plague kindled amongst the Israelites for charging Moses and Aaron with killing Corah and his rebellious complices Well God amend vs all and giue vs grace to humble our selues vnder this his heauie hand that we may be raised again and comforted according to the dayes he hath afflicted vs. Now I speake of cōfort that we may go on with the main matter I wold know if it might be without offence whether you would haue those pittifull creatures that are tormēted with the plague to want the comfort which they may take by the very presence of their good neighbors friends much more by their comfortable words Preach O neighbour I wish them all true comfort of body and mind the Lord knoweth and I graunt that the very presence of those we loue is very comfortable in time of sicknesse but yet I aduise all visited with that deadly and contagious disease to manifest their mortification from vnnecessarie desires their charitable loue to their friends by not desiring them to come into far greater daunger than their presence can do good without necessarie cause And let them remember how Dauid refused that water which was gotten with ieopardie of life and called it bloud though he had longed for it the daunger was past As for comfortable words I likewise acknowledge their speciall vse but before I answer that point let vs consider how needfull it is especially in time of mortality to hide in their hearts the word of life lest wée be iustly punished with want of comfortable words when we most need them according to that of Amos where a famin of the word is threatned to despisers of the Sabboth and that at such a time when to find the word they would run from the East to the West Now to the point Sith all sicknesse especially the plague vntill the worst be past when cōfortable words are not vsually in great request maketh vs vnfit for long learned discourses therfore short sentēces may through Gods blessing do much good whereby attendants friēds repairing for necessary causes may sufficiently comfort the afflicted according to that which is required by the Apostle in Thess 4. 18. except there be extraordinary néede of resolution or consolation whereof I haue spoken before Again the Spirit of God is called a Comforter because he bringeth the words of Christ vnto remembrance and that especially in time of néed as when we iustifie wisedome before authoritie so when we are sick For when the outward man perisheth the inward man is renewed so that we often heare not onely men but euen children also speake diuinely and admirably in their sicknesse We may the rather make account of this holy assistance if we follow Christ his counsel in laying vp his words in our hearts and praying for the holy Ghost All the premises constdered I hope that you are now of my mind touching the restraint as of the infected from the sound so of the sound from the infected Profess Indeede I confesse that your probable discourses haue won I know not how a certaine inclination to your opinion but yet I must suspend my resolution till you haue answered certain obiections against the maine grounds of your opinion but before I come to them let me haue but one word with you about buriall I say but one word for if those that are infected in person or garment are to keep from Church for a time conuenient and if friends are to forbeare resorting to friends sicke of the Plague except they haue necessary cause then I may of my felfe conclude that we are not to throng after infected corpses which haue no good thereby without some reasonable cause That one word I spake of is this I would gladly know if I may obtaine that fauour your iudgement concerning the direction of authoritie that but sixe persons besides the Minister Clerke and bearers should accompany infected corpses Preach I dare not presume to iudge of the determinations of authoritie without sufficiēt reason which I want in this case but rather I am perswaded according to that I am commaunded by these words Honor thy father and mother to indge the best and take it as an argument that authoritie careth more for the liuing then for the dead their pompe so dangerous in these times and not necessary as wise men thinke But mine own opinion is this I could wish the friends of the diseased would respect the preseruation of life more than complements of buriall But I vtterly mislike that infected persons should thrust into the throng and it grieueth me to heare how the poorer sort yea women with yong children will flocke to burials and which is worse stand of purpose ouer open graues where sundry are buried together that forsooth all the world may see that they feare not the Plague This peruerse course of too too many in doing that which authority forbiddeth and despising that which authoritie commandeth to wit fasting and praier occasioneth me to obserue a notable proportion betwéene the plague the wickednes of this time by which proportion God séemeth to teach men to say in their hearts we would not be ruled neither by reason nor authority therefore are so many as it were distracted in their sicknesse and by no meanes to be ruled so that some leape out of the windowes and some runne into the Thames As the rough spéeches of Ioseph caused his brethren to say As we would not heare Ioseph so this man will not heare vs. I rather obserue

your opinion it is written That secret things belong to God and reueiled things belong to vs. So that I may conclude that sith the prouidence of God touching life or death is secret before the euent and it is reuealed that the Plague is contagious therefore it followeth that howsoeuer it be true that none can die of the Plague but such as are specially appointed thereunto yet there ought not to be that bold and free resort to them that are sicke of the plague as to those that are sicke of any other disease To confirme this point further thus I argue A wanton or vnnecessary putting of God to the manifestation of his power or speciall prouidence is a tempting of the Almighty as may appeare by these places Psal 78. 18. 19. Esa 7. 12. Math. 4. 6. 7. But to runne into danger of the plague without necessary cause as they do who resort as boldly and fréely to them that are sicke of the plague as to those that are sicke of any other disease is wantonly and vnnecessarily to put God to manifest his power and speciall prouidence in preseruing them from the Plague therefore to runne into danger of the plague without necessary cause as they do who resort as boldly c. is a tempting of the Almighty The assumption or second propositiō I proue by the fourth of Mathew verse 6. 7. where Satan would haue perswaded Christ to cast himselfe downe from a pinacle of the Temple vpon this presumption that the Angels had charge to preserue him being the Sonne of God Where it is to be noted that Christ doth not take knowledge of Satan his abusing the Psalme 91. by him alleaged in putting in these words At anie time for these In all thy wayes but alledgeth another Scripture forbidding vs to tempt the Lord our God Whereby it is euident that to presume vpon Gods protection when we are not in our wayes or to neglect meanes as the staires of the pinacle were is to tempt the Almighty and that without necessary cause to runne into danger as Satan would haue had Christ to haue done is to be out of our wayes therefore to runne into danger of the plague without a necessary cause is to tempt the Almighty Thus you sée that from the prouidence of God you cannot conclude that either the plague is not contagious or we néed not shunne it more than other diseases Indéed vpon that ground he that hath a necessary cause of resort where the plague is may thus argue It is the reuealed will of God that I am in my way and therefore haue a promise of preseruation if it shall be to Gods glory and my good and it is not reuealed that I shall be infected therefore I may procéed with hope and comfort I say more from the prouidence of God manifested the beléeuer ought in euery affliction to conclude thus Howsoeuer I vsed meanes as Dauid did to preuent this affliction yet perceiuing by the euent that God hath decréed it I will by his grace take it patiently as Dauid also did Thus for your satisfaction I haue sayd that which I thinke sufficient to the second conclusion But yet if you haue any thing to reply or any other argument to obiect against the infection of the Plague I would not haue you in any case to hold it in Prof. If I staggered and stumbled before how is it likely that I should be able to reencounter now in this skirmish I am therefore to seeke supply from another obiection which if you ouerthrow I must yeeld for I remember no moe But before I assault you with that perceiuing by your discourse that shunning the plague is the cause of preseruation as being within the danger thereof is the cause of infection I pray your iudgement touching flying into the country for feare of infectiō which some iustifie by these words of Salomon The prudent man seeth the Plague and hideth himselfe Other say this place is misconstrued yea some preach against Flying into the countrey because of the plague Preach If you had sayd a cause in stead of the cause you had more rightly reported my mind for I haue deliuered sundry causes or meanes of Infection and Preseruation Amongst the rest I thinke going and abiding in the countrey to be an excellent meane in it selfe of preseruation But that this meane may be sanctified to them that vse it let it be considered Who may take the benefit thereof and How it is to be vsed I thinke that they whose residence is not necessary may take the benefit of going into the countrey as well as a man who hath a large house may remoue from one side infected to another not infected But let vs further examine this point by considering those 4. sorts of people whō you taxed for running away viz. Magistrates Ministers Phisitians and rich men As for Magistrates and Ministers I thinke they should be resident the one for reasons I gaue before the other for reasons no lesse euident For when will they offer to God the supplications of his people for helpe and health if not now when their miserie is so great When will they comfort the afflicted if not now when there be so many wofull husbands and wiues parents and children friends and kinsfolkes When will they preuaile against sinne with the word of exhortation if not now when men are humbled with the punishment of sinne And when will they do good by preparing men to patience and teaching them to make good vse of affliction if not now when euery houre they looke to come to the triall of their faith and wisedome in Christ Iesus I will say no more sith Christ hath sayd inough when he setteth it downe as a property of an hireling to leaue the shéepe when he séeth the Wolfe comming As for Phisitions I onely propound this question Whether they be bound in conscience to be resident in regard of their profession and ability to do good or they may vse their liberty to shift for themselues as they thinke for their liues in regard they are no publicke persons and liue not by a common stipend but by what they can get But howsoeuer this question be answered I dare say thus much That a Phisition who may do much more good than a keeper hath as great interest in Gods promise and prouidence There remaineth Rich men to be considered vnder which name I vnderstand also such as are able to prouide for themselues abroad I thinke they may go and abide in the countrey sith the good they can do as they be rich men is to reléeue the sicke and néedy which they may do well inough without their residence if they were so well minded To which purpose I spake somewhat before But though they may be non resident yet they must not vse their liberty as a cloake of their naughtines and therefore let them consider how or with what cautions