Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	body_n	church_n	fullness_n	4,230	5	10.3232	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18641	A Christian discourse vpon certaine poynts of religion Presented vnto the most high & puissant Lorde, the Prince of Conde. Translated out of French into English by Iohn Brooke of Ashe next Sandwich. 1578.	Brooke, John, d. 1582.	1578 (1578)	STC 5158; ESTC S118872	166,874	382

then the commaūdements of God forasmuch then as God is the pure veritie yea in all things whole and perfect truely those doo greatly erre from the true way of saluation which doo offer vnto him a double heart I do meane those which haue the shewe and apperaunce of Godly liuing but haue denied the power thereof whiche doe confesse him with their mouthes and honour him with their lippes in the meane time haue their heart farre from him to be short they will serue two maisters together as to please God and men I do remember for this matter that which is written in the booke of Deuteronomium where the Lorde did commaunde that we shoulde not haue in our bagge two maner of weightes a great and a small neither diuerse measures a great a small But we must haue a perfect a iust measure As also the dissembler was cursed by the prophet whiche hauing in his flocke one that is male and when he maketh a vow offereth a spotted one vnto the lord The Lord meaning declaring thereby that we ought not to offer vnto him an vncleane and dissembling heart to giue vnto an other the honour whiche doth apperteine and belong vnto him Inasmuch then as those of the Romish Church do steale away the honour which doth belong vnto the Lorde for to giue it vnto men turning their siluer into drosse as saith Esaie and do mingle their wine with water I do meane do confounde and mingle the true Christian doctrine thorow their t●aditions it is most certeine that of the Christian Religion they do make a double religion As for vs the holy simplicitie of the Scripture doth please vs for al religiō and doctrine as saith Sanct Ierome Or the simple naked veritie of the same as sayth Lactancius and we will not adde vnto it or diminish frō it of our owne head bicause that the scripture giuen by inspiration of GOD is profitable to teach to improue to amende and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of GOD may bée perfect and prepared vnto all good woorkes The which ought to suffice our enimies for to know that it is too great iniurie and wrong done vnto the Lord vnto his holy Scripture that they will not make themselues captiues and obedient vnto the limittes and boundes of his commaundementes and his lawe But will adde so many vaine traditions considering that of that which is conteined in the same the man of God is made perfect and prepared vnto all good workes Furthermore that which doth make vs yet more odious and hatefull vnto the church of Rome is bicause that wee doe not acknowledge any other head of the christian church then Iesus Christ Who as saith S. Paule the Lord hath made him aboue all things the head of the Congregation which is his bodie and the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all thinges and which is the first begotten of the dead that in all things he might haue the preheminence no more also then we doe admit and allow for to be Bishoppes other then those who being called according to the christian rule by their doctrine and good conuersation geuing assured witnesse vnto the people of their vocation and election And therefore wée doe remoue from the church of God that man of sinne the sonne of perdition which doth rayse and lift vp himselfe against all that which is called God And we do not holde or take for ministers of the church so many vnprofitable hired pastors of whom Zacharie speaketh off saying O vnprofitable shepherde that leauest the flock cursed be thou And Iesus Christ in S. Iohn saith an hyred seruant which is not the shepherd flyeth bicause he is an hiered seruant careth not for the shepe It should serue for nothing here for vs to alledge the dignitie of s Peter for as saith s Cyprian the other Apostles were that the S. Peter was in lyke degrée of honour and of power But among the Apostles one is chosen to the ende the vnder one head we may auoide all occasion of scisme discention and diuision And our enimies doe deceiue themselues in the same part when thy do aledge vnto vs for a title of the seculer possession that the bishopps haue succéeded immediately the Apostles For after that the bishops haue chaunged and altred the discipline and christian Doctrine by good aucthoritie we may disauowe them as vnlawfull disciples and successours of the Lorde and of his Apostles And to haue recourse vnto the first rule of the Scripture that is to saye to the institution of ministes to the ende that from thence should spring and come foorth the reason of our dooinges as sayth Sanct Ciprian whereof the order and the originall haue taken their beginning And notwithstanding al that our enimies are not ashamed to crye aloude and clerely yea daye and night that they wyll not suffer two religions Be astonished O ye heauens be afrayde and abashed at such a thing sayth the LORD Those in the Romysh Church doe suffer in their Cities the Iewes and Mahomettes and doe permitte and suffre them with all libertie to buylde temples and to erecte and set vp Sinagogs yet haue they lesse shame to take tribute dayly of baudes and harlottes although that the Scripture doth forbid them I dare not say further and doe make it a conscience to suffer in their cities those which for all Christian rules do content themselues with that that the Lord hath prescribed vnto them by his Testament and last wil the which he hath ratified by his bloude But as then hée that was borne carnally persecuted him that was borne spiritually euen so is it nowe And as we doe reade that the Idol Dagon the God of the Azotiens or Philistians could neuer stand vp before the Arke of the Lord but Dagon did fall down groueling vpon the earth before it So this Romish church béeing builded and grounded vpon al idolatrie superstition of the Gentils seing themselues almost beaten downe and destroyed by the sworde of the woorde of God in the presence of the true and reformed Christian Churche hath chosen the remedy of tyrants and is armed with all felony and crueltie for to driue away and to banish the children of god And God willing that wil happen in the ende which is shewed by Daniel that that great and mightie Image yea grimme to beholde shal be broken by that little stone hewen out of the Rocke without mans hand and shal be established for euer the kingdome of the sonne of God. Insomuch that we will sing all with one accord great Babilon is fallen is fallen bicause that she hath made dronke so many people with the wine of hir fornication Esaie 1. ● The daughter of Sion is left alone like a cotage in a vineyard like a watch house in time of warre and like a besieged Citie

acknowledge his imperfection and should the better kéepe that bande of amitie and Chrian charitie For although that we are all baptised by one spirite into one bodie whether they be Iewes or Greekes whether they be bonde or frée and haue all dronke into one spirite for the bodie is not one member but many And the eye cannot say vnto the hand I haue no néede of thée nor the heade also to the féete I haue no néede of you Yea rather a greate deale those members of the bodie whiche séeme to be more féeble are necessarie And vpon those members of the bodie whiche wee thinke most vnhonestie we put more honestie on and verie well that great Oratour of the latines hath declared that wee cannot doe all things of our selues And that one is more apt and profitable for one thing then another is That is the cause wherefore friendshippes are gotten to the ende that common vtilitie be kept thorowe great commune pleasures Then if there bee any grace in vs let vs not abuse it but let vs consider with our selues that euery good gifte and euery perfect gifte is from aboue and commeth downe from the father of lightes and with the same let vs giue glorie vnto him of whose aboundaunce we haue receiued euen grace for grace Furthermore that wee remember that wee haue receiued that grace to serue for to profite euerie one For vnto whome muche is giuen of him shalbée muche receiued and to whome men much committe the more of him will they aske Finally let vs confesse boldly that such and so muche excellencie as is in vs it is alway ioyned with some imperfection to the ende that the wise man reioyce not in his wisedome nor the strong man in his strength neither the ritch man in his riches But who so will reioyce let him reioyce in this that he vnderstandeth and knoweth that it is the Lorde whiche doth mercie equitie and righteousnesse vppon the earth In so muche that if the Lorde hath put in vs any knowledge whether it be the gifte of tongues or grace to interprete the holy scriptures there resteth none other thing but to magnifie and celebrate the name of him in whome not onely are hidde all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge but also him in whome doth dwell all heauealy fulnesse corporally He whiche opened the witts of his desciples that they might vnderstande the scriptures The Lyon of the tribe of Iuda the roote of Dauid hath obteined to open the booke and to lose the seuen seales theroff and if such are our prowesses and heroical déedes that they excell and passe the déeds of Alexander the great or of Iulius Caeser what can we better doe but to followe the example of the fower and twentie elders which fell downe before him that sate on the throne and worshiped him that liueth for euer and cast their crownes before the throne saying Thou arte worthie O LORDE to receiue glorie and honour and power for thou hast created all thinges and for thy willes sake they are and haue béene created And with the same also we ought to giue vnto him all honour homage and obedience vnto the Lambe I say whiche hath redéemed vs vnto GOD thorowe his bloude and hath made vs kinges and priestes vnto our GOD I doe meane the sonne of GOD who on his vesture and on his thigh hath a name written king of kings and Lorde of Lordes Vnto whome also a thousande times a thousande serued him and tenne thousande times ten thousand stoode before him Briefly wée must conclude that the things which are in vs whether they be the goods of the body or the goods of the soule are of small value if they be not bestowed vnto the glorie of the Lorde and to the health of our neighboure Nowe being applied and bestowed to that ende they bring fruite to eternall glorie As the Lorde saide make you friends with the riches of iniquitie that when ye shall departe they may receiue you into euerlasting habitations To the same end Toby exhorted euery faithfull man as followeth Be mercifull after thy power If thou haue much giue plenteously if thou hast little doe thy diligence gladly to giue of that little For so gatherest thou thy selfe a good rewarde in the day of necessitie For almes deliuereth from deathe and suffereth not the soule to come into darkenesse According as Dauid hath declared that blessed is he that considereth the poore for the Lorde shall deliuer him in the time of trouble As touching the seconde point Saincte Iames doth teach vs that if any of vs haue erred from the trueth and another hath conuerted him Let the same knowe that he which conuerted the sinner from going astray out of his way shall saue a soule from death and shall hide the multitude of sinnes By this we may knowe plainly that two thinges are proper to loue that is to say to lament and be sorrowful for the miserie of our neighctour And to reioyce and be glad of his prosperitie and health Of the first Moses doth giue vs an example who being greatly sorowfull for the sinne of his people cryed with a lowde voice and saide O Lorde this people haue sinned a greate sinne yet forgiue them their sinne I pray thée if not wipe me out of thy booke which thou hast written For that purpose Sainct Paule wished himselfe to be seperated from Christ for his brethren whiche are his kinsmen as perteining to the sleshe And in an other place he complaineth with wéeping of some enimies of the crosse of Christe Whose end is dampnation whose God is their belly and whose glorie is to their shame which are worldly minded And he himselfe doth witnesse in his Epistle vnto the Corinthians that he is gelous ouer them with Godly gelousie hauing prepared them for one husbande to present them a pure Virgin to Christ But he doth feare least as the serpent beguiled Eue through his subtilitie euen so their mindes should be corrupt from the simplicitie that is in Christ Euen 〈◊〉 Dauyd doth crie out saying I am horriblie afraide for the vngodly that forsake thy lawe On the other side the Apostle Sainct Paul reioysed at the repentance of his when he protested to the Corinthians that hée reioysed not that they were sorie but that they so sorrowed that they amended for they sorrowed godly But it is not inough to haue compassion of the miserie of the néedy which doth not assist him in the thinges necessarie for his life For as sainct Iames saith if a brother or a sister bée naked and destitute of dailie foode and one of you say vnto them Depart in peace warme your selues and fill your bellies notwithstanding ye giue them not those thinges which are néedfull to the bodie what helpeth it Also it is not much to sée our neighbour naked of spirituall thinges except that we