Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	fruit_n	good_a	word_n	4,456	5	5.3399	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13091	The second part of the anatomie of abuses conteining the display of corruptions, with a perfect description of such imperfections, blemishes and abuses, as now reigning in euerie degree, require reformation for feare of Gods vengeance to be powred vpon the people and countrie, without speedie repentance, and conuersion vnto God: made dialogwise by Phillip Stubbes.; Anatomie of abuses. Part 2	Stubbes, Phillip.	1583 (1583)	STC 23380; ESTC S112627	103,282	240

persuaded of that as the soule is the life of the bodie and the eie the light of the same so the word of God preached is the life and light as well to the bodie as to the soule of man And as necessarie as the one is to the bodie so and much more necessarie is the other both to soule and bodie Now certein it is these things cannot be applied without the presence of the preacher or pastor and therfore is his absence from his flocke a dangerous and a perilous thing and as it were a taking away of their life and light from them which commeth by the preaching of Gods word vnto them Theod. But they say though they be not present by themselues ●●t be they present by their substitutes and deputies is no● that a sufficient d●scharge for them before God Amphil. I grant they are present by their deputies and substitutes but if a man shoulde ●ooke into a great sort of them he should finde them such as are fit●er to feed hogs than christian soules For as for some of them are they not such as can scarcely read true english And for their zeale to Gods worde and true religion are they not such as can scarce tell what it meaneth The truth of Gods word they cannot easily preach nor expound The aduersarie they cannot refell barke against sinne they dare not bicause their liues are licentious They will read you their seruice faire and cleanly as the doting papists did their blasphemous masses out of their porcesses and when they ha●e done they will to all kinde of want on pastimes and delights with come that come will and that vpon sabboth day festiuall day or other no day is amisse to them And all the wéeke after yea all the yéere if I said all the yéeres of their life I lied not they will not sticke to kéepe companie at the alehouse from morning till night tipling and swilling till the signe be in Capricornus Insomuch as if you would know where the best cup of drinke is go to these malt woormes and I warrant you you shall not misse of your purpose By these mercenaries their deputies and the like I grant they are present in all their flocks but so as it were better or as good they were absent for any good they doe but rather hurt by their euill example of life The residence of these their deputies is no discharge for them before the tribunall seate of God for notwithstanding the same let them be sure to answere for the bloud of euerie one of their sheepe that miscarrieth through their default or their deputies Their deputies shal not excuse them at the day of iudgement I dare be their warrant Therefore I wish them to take heed to it betime least afterward it be too late Theod. But I heare say that what is wanting either in their deputies or in themselues for not being daily resident they supply either by preaching their quarter sermons thēselues or else if they be not able by procuring of others to do it for them Is not that well Amphil. It is as though a man euery quarter of a yéere once shuld take his plow go draw a furrow in a field yet notwithstanding should looke for increase of the same were not be a foolish husbandman that wold do thus And euen so is he no lesse vnwise that plowing but one furow that is preaching but one poore sermon in a quarter of a yéere perchance but one in a whole yéere nay in 7. yéeres wil notwithstanding loke for gret increse of the same Now the cause why this ground bringeth not forth fruit is for that it is not plowed furowed tilled al togither as it ought to be So the cause wherefore the pore churches doe not bring forth fruit is for that they are not furrowed manured and tilled as they ought and bicause the word of God is not preached vnto them and as it were braied punned interpreted and expounded y t it sinking down into the good ground of their harts might bring forth fruit to eternal life If the strongest mans body that liueth vpon the earth should be nourished with nothing for a whole quarter of a yeeres space but onely with two or three drops of aqua vite aqua angelica or the like euery day and at euery quarters end should be fed with all manner of dainties I am perswaded that his bodie notwithstanding would soone be weake inough Nay do you thinke it were possible to liue one quarter of a yeere Euen so falleth out in this case For although our soules which liue by the word of God as our bodies doe by meate be daily fedde with hearing the word read as it were with aqua vite or swéet necter and at euerie quarters ende haue a most excellent sumptuous banquet to pray vpō yet may they macerate and pyne away notwithstanding for lacke of the continuance of the same And therfore the worde of God is to be preached night and day in time and out of time in season and out of season and that without ceasing or intermission And if that saieng of the prophet be true as without all controuersie it is most true that he is accursed Qui fecerit opus domini negligenter That doth the worke of the Lord negligently or fradulently then must it néeds be that those who hauing cure of soules and doe seldome or neuer preach are within the compasse of this curse Let them take héede to it The apostle Paule said of himselfe Vae mihi nisi euangelizauero Wo be to me if I preach not the gospel and doe they thinke that the same wo is not proper to them if they prech not Haue they a greater priuiledge than the blessed apostle saint Paule had No no these vaine excuses will not serue them therfore as they tender the saluation of their owne soules and many others I wish them to take heede and to shew themselues painefull laborers in the Lords haruest Theod. As far as I remember by the lawes of Dnalgne there is a restraint that none shall haue no more benefices at once than one how is it then that they can holde so manie a peece without danger of the law Amphil. They make the lawes as it were shipmens hoos●n or as a nose of waxe turning and wresting them at their pleasure to anie thing they lust But bicause they will auoide the lawes they purchase a dispensation a licence a commission a pluralitie a qualification and I cannot tell what else by vertue whereof they may hold totquots so manie how manie soeuer and that with as good a conscience as Iudas receiued the mony for the which he sold Christ Iesus the Sauiour of the world Or if this way will not serue then get they to be chaplines to honorable noble personages by prerogatiue whereof they may holde I cannot tell how manie benefices yea as manie as they can get But I maruell whether they

compounding and mixing of their elements simples togither as also in selling chalke for cheese one thing for another the like so as it is hard to get any thing of them that is right pure and good of it selfe but druggie baggage and such counterfait stuffe as is starke naught But of them inough Let vs speake a worde or two of a certeine kinde of curious people and vaineglorious called astronomers and astrologers the corruptions and abuses of whom are inexplicable This done we will make a final ende at this time of speaking any further conserning the abuses corruptions and imperfections of the temporaltie till occasion of more matter her ca●ter shall be offered Theod. These names of astronomers astrologers prognosticators and the like are so vnquoth and strange to my eares that I knowe not what to make of them Wherefore I pray you shewe me as néere as you can the meaning of them and what kinde of marchants the professors thereof be Amphil The astronomers astrologers prognosticators and all others of the same societie and brotherhoode by what name or title soeuer they be called are a certeine kinde of curious phantasticall and vaineglorious fellowes who secreta dei temere remantes Searching the secrets of God rashlie which he would haue kept close from vs and onely knowne to himselfe take vpon them that vpon these grounds forsooth namely the obseruations of times seasons the aspects and coniunctions of the signes and planets with their occurrents to presage to diuine and prognosticate whai shall come or happen afterwards as though they sate in Gods lap knew his secrets had the world and the disposement therof in their own hands It is an olde saieng and verie true Quae supra nos nihil ad nos Those things that are aboue our reach conserne vs not and therefore we ought not to enter into the bowels secrets of the Lord for as the wise man saith Qui scrutatur abscondita dei obruetu● gloria eius hee that searcheth out the hidden things of GOD shall bee ouerwhelmed with the glorye of the same but to content our selues with so much as hee hath reuealed vnto vs in his sacred worde committing the euent the successe and disposement of all thinges else to his sacrede Maiestie the GOD of all glorie For to them that goe about and labour so buselye by speculations by astronomie astrologie and the like curious arts to iudge of things to come and thinke they can tell all things by the same but Dum parturiunt montes nascetur ridiculus mus whilst the moūtains doe trauell a séely mouse will be brought forth Christ our sauiour saith Non est vestrum nosse tempora momenta temporum quae ipse pater in sua ipsius constituit potestate It is not for you to knowe the times and seasons which the Lord God hath reserued to himselfe And how much our sauiour Christ disliketh this vaine curiositie of astronomicall astrologicall speculations we may gather by that vehement reprehension or commination in the 16. of Matthew thundred out against the people of the Iewes who were as it séemeth too much addicted to the same Where he sharply rebuketh them and calleth them dissembling hypocrites in that they obserued and marked with such serious attention and diligence the elemental signes tokens in the firmament being in the meane time ignorant of greater things namely of the signes and tokens of the sonne of GOD Christ Iesus the true Messias and sauiour of the world Theod. Uppon what grounds certeinties rules and principles doth this curious science consist Amphil. It standeth vpon nothing else but méere coniectures supposals likelihods ghesses probabilities obseruations of times and seasons coniunctions of signes starres and planets with their aspects and occurrents and the like not vpon anie certeine ground knowledge or truth either of the word of God or of natural reason But to argue the vntruth and the vncerteintie of this foolish curious science we néed not to go farre for examples and arguments For the contrariety that euer hath béene in all ages amongst the verie doctors and maisters themselues but most specially of late doth approoue the same to be most fantasticall curious vaine vncerten and méere prophane For there being a maruellous strange coniunction as they said of two superiour planets So manie as writ of the same neither iumped togither in one truth nor yet agréed togither either of the day houre or moneth when it should be but in al things shewed themselues like themselues that is plaine contradictorie one to another Insomuch as they writ in defence of their errors and confutation of the contrarie one against another shamefully to behold By which more than presumptuous audacitie and rash boldnesse of these they brought the world into a woonderfull perplexitie and cease expecting either a woonderfull alteration of states and kingdomes as these foolish starre tooters promised or else a finall consummation and ouerthrowe of all things Or if not so yet the strangest things should happen that euer were heard or séene since the beginning of the world Whereas God be thanked at the verie houre and moment when as some of them set downe these woonders and portents should haue happened there was no alteration nor change of any thing séene or heard of the element being as faire as bright as calme and as pleasant and euerie thing as silent and in as perfect order and forme as euer they were since the beginning of the world By all which appéereth the vanitie and vncerteintie of their curious science I woonder where these fellowes sate whether vppon the earth or in the firmament of heauen when they sawe these coniunctions Or with what eies they could sée that that no man else could see But peraduenture they haue Argus eies and can see all things euen those things that be not I maruell whether they haue dwelt in the region of the aire and who told them the names the scituation the houses aspects and locall places of the signes and planets of the sunne moone and starres with the number thereof also which indeed are innumerable I woonder what spirite tolde them which planets were higher than other and which lower than other which be good and which be euill which be moist and which bee drie which bee colde and which be hote which be gentle and affable and which bee cruell and terrible which giue good fortune and which giue euill which be good to take iourneies in hand or to attempt any great thing and which bee naught which bee good for a man to take a wise in that she may be amiable and gentle and which be contrarie which be dangerous to take diseases in or to fall sicke and which bee not with infinite the like fooleries which I ouerpasse Now from whence they haue learned these things I cannot tell but certeine I am that out of the booke of GOD they neuer fetched them the same being in euerie point