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	member_n	mystical_a	10,421	5	11.0632	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38025	The Great question, or, How religion, property, and liberty are to be best secured humbly offered to the consideration of all who are true lovers of the peace of church and state...	N. E.	1691 (1691)	Wing E21; ESTC R17143	33,752	50

cannot that 't is either the Law it self and the divine Worship therein commanded with those other moral duties of eternal Obligation Or yet the Articles of our Creed the great Fundamentals of the Trinity into the belief whereof every Christian is baptiz'd And as for any thing that is mere Appendix and Circumstance on the One hand mere Opinion and not at all necessary to Salvation that it should be believ'd on the Other nothing but the want of love to Peace a defect in that Charity which is the fulfilling of the Law and without which we mock God and man as often as we repeat the Creed can betray men to endless disputes and janglings about these or tempt them to divide and separate upon them I lay this down in common to all as well to those who shall give as those who shall take the Offence and the reason of it is because 't is indeed to deny the end and effects of all true Religion which is to make us unite and agree if we shall disunite and disagree upon what is not of the Essence of it Do we that I may touch upon one part of the Creed which takes in all the rest and indeed the whole frame of Religion with it do we profess our selves to believe a Church and the Communion of Saints in it i. e. that there is one Mystical Body of which we all are under our Head the Lord Christ and thereby members in particular 1 Cor. 12.27 and is it consistent with either the Being or well-being of those who are in such a relation as to Him their Head so to one another to be rending off quick Members from the Body or can it be without certain Death to the Member that is so severed and as certain pain and danger to the Body from whence 't is rent must not such a wound sink deep and leave at least a lasting Scar behind it But then that we may hold to our point what is it but some failure in this Law of Charity that can produce this What but a meer Spirit of Contention if the hazard being so great Men shall heedlesly run into it A Spirit of Contention I say for is it not so when no consideration of what they contest for being neither of the Necessity or Essence of Religion or that in which Church communion properly consists shall be able to witthhold them from Divisions I would not offend but what can it be else but this Men's loving to be of a party which it self is contrary to the Law of Nature and that Humanity which in the good effects of it is a debt we owe in common to all what I say else can it be when the things about which they differ are on all hands own'd to be indifferent when it may be too it shall be confessed that there is nothing sinful in the Communion to which they are invited and yet they shall still stand off I would turn the Question and say the same to the Imposers of such things as well as to those whose compliance is called for If they shall too highly insist on things of a middle nature and lay that burden upon the Conscience which is contrary to that Law whereof they are Guardians the same guilt will rest on their actings For Charity call'd for on either side would tell us all that we ought to suffer long and be kind 1 Cor. 13.4 that we ought not to envy not to vaunt or be puffed up that we ought not to behave our selves unseemly ought not to seek our own ought not to be easily provoked ought to think no evil ought to rejoyce only in the Truth ought to bear all things to believe all things endure all things v. 5 6 7. And were this our Temper what occasion would there be of Strife 't were impossible if we would respectively apply this in all our Scruples that there should arise any insuperable doubt amongst us 'T is because Men are of a Party 'T is because Men are not sincerely kind 'T is because Men are over-run with Envy Pride and Ambition 'T is because Men are Selfish and think all the World nay Religion and its Priviledges too made only for themselves 'T is because Men have their Passions to gratifie T is because Men too much think and imagine evil 'T is because Men rejoyce not in the Truth 'T is because Men are peevish and froward are suspicious and ill natur'd 'T is because Men are Censorious and can 't is a bad symptom on their own Temper for generally 't is the Consciousness they have of themselves makes them to think others as bad as themselves searce believe any thing that is good of others because they are not so Candid to hope the best and have themselves no Patience to endure any thing in a good Cause These let what will be the pretence are the Reason of all our Differences and the taking place of the contrary Virtues i. e. those excellent Effects of Charity as the Apostle there enumerates them would be a common Remedy for Prince and People a Cure that would reach the whole State This without any more ado would bring us all to a Temperament in Religion and as the Psalmist speaks Psal 120.5 6 7. we should no longer have occasion to say Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech that I dwell in the tents of Kedar My Soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace I am for peace but when I speak they are for War No there would be nothing but the fairest Correspondence among us all Charity would answer every scruple and decide all on the side of Peace 't would do it not so much by taking the Chair and resolving all the Niceties of the Schools there would be no need of that those would be given up as unnecessary Subtilties but by leaving nothing for us to dispute about But is this such a mighty Matter that it should be offered with so great Assurance Who is there could not have given the Advice or hath it not been again and again urged But if urged ever so often if Men have not taken it if the time for its being listen'd to hath not yet come if Men have not had Ears to hear let the season of the Advice at last prevail let the many dangers with which we are surrounded the many Disappointments the Publick hath met with for want of its being attended to at length open Mens Ears But whose Ears 't will be said can be open'd to this which hath been so often begun but so little succeeded hath it not been almost the constant Cry of the Nation for a Reformation and have not Men fairly set out towards it but what still hath been the Effect but that Disorder and Confusion which should thereby have been prevented And would we know the Reason 't is because such a Work was never any more than begun because Men made use of the Name to serve any thing else but the