Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	church_n	earth_n	militant_a	5,036	5	12.4963	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B08106	An epistle of a religious priest vnto his father: exhorting him to the perfect forsaking of the world.	Southwell, Robert, Saint, 1561?-1595.	1597 (1597)	STC 22968.5; ESTC S95268	12,378	49

soule shold haue the soueraignty and the body followe the sway of her direction scruile senses and lawlesse appetites do rule her as superiours and she is made a vassall in her owne dominions What is there sayeth S. Augustine in thy meanest necessaries that thou wouldest not haue good Thou wouldest haue a good house good furniture good apparell good fare good cattell and not so much but thy hose and thy shoes thou wilt seek to haue good Onely thy life and poore soule thy principall charge and of all other things the most worthy to be best thou arte cōtent should be nought and ly cancring and rusting in all kinde of euelles O vnspeakable blindnes can we preferr our shoes before our soule refusing to we are an euell shoe and not caring to cary an vgly deformed soule Alas let vs not set so litle by that which God prised so much Lett vs not rate our selues at soe base a peniworth being in truth of so pereles dignity If the soule be such that not all the gold and treasure of the world nor any thing of lesse worth then the blood and life of almighty God was able to buy it If not all the deinties that witt can deuise or heauen and earth afford but onely Gods owne pretious body was by him deemed a repast fitt to feed it If not all the creatures of this nor millions of new worldes if so many more were created but onely the illimitable goodnes and maiestye of God can satisfie the desire and fill the compasse and capacity of it who but of lame iudgemēt or peruers will yea who but of an incredulous mind and pitiles spirite could set more by his shoes then he did by his soule or be cōtented to suffer so noble a paragon so many monethes and yeeres to ly chanelled in ordure mired in all sinne Can we not see our seruant sicke but we allow him a Phisician our horse diseased but we send for a leach nor our garment torne but we will haue one to mend it and can we so much maligne out soule as to let it dye for want of cure and seing it mangled with so many vices neuer seeke any to restore it to the wonted inte grity Is our seruāt neerer our beast more pretious our coate dearer then our owne soule If any shold call vs Epicures Aethestes rebells vnto God or murderers of soules we would take it for an vntollerable reproche and thinke it a most disgracefull opprobrious calumniatiō But to liue like Epicures to sinne like Aethists to struggle against Gods callinges and like violēt rebells to scorne his commandements yea with dailye and damnable wounds barbarously to stab our infortunat soules this we account no contumely we reckon for no discreditt yea rather we register it in the vaunte of our chiefe praises O ye sonnes of men how long will you carry this heauy hart aliking vanity and seeking lyes how long will children loue the follies of infancye and sinners runne carelesse and wilfull to their ruine Will you keepe your chicken from the kite your lambe from the wolfe your faune frō the hoūd Dare you not suffer a spider in your bosome or a toade to come nere you can you nestle in your soule so many vipers as vices and permit it to be so long chewed weried with the poisoned iawes tuskes of the Deuell And is our soule so vaine a substance as to be had in so litle esteeme Had Christ made shipwracke of his wisdome or was he in a rage of passion when he became a wandering pilgrimme exiling him selfe from the comfortes of his Godhead and passing three and thirty yeares in paine and penury for the be hoofe of our soules Was he surprised with a rauing fitt when in the tragedy of his passion so bloodily inflicted and so patitiently accepted he made his body as a cloud to resolue into shouers of innocent blood and suffered the deerest veines of his hart to be lanced to giue full issue to the price of our soules redemption Or if Christ did not erre nor deeme amisse when it pleased him to redeeme vs with so excessiue a ransome then what should we iudge of our monstruous abuse that sell our soule to the Deuell for euerye vaine delighte rather aduenture the hazard therof then of a selye pittance of worldly pelfe O that a creature of so incōparable a price should be in the demaine of so vnnaturall keepers and that which is in it selfe so gracious and amiable that the Angells and Saintes delite to behold it as S. Chrisostome saieth should by sinne be fashioned into so lothsome disguised shapes as to become a horrour to heauen and a sutely pheere for the foulest fiendes Alas if the care of our own harmes moue vs no more but that we can still be so barbarous to the better portion of our selues lett vs at the lest feare to iniury an other party very carefull and ielious ouer it who will neuer endure so deepe an impeachment of his interest to passe vnreuenged We must remēber that our soule is not onely a part of vs but also the temple the paradise and spouse of Almightye god by him in baptisme garnished stored and endowed with moste graciouse ornamentes And how think you he can brooke to see his temple prophaned and turned into a denne of Deuels his paradise displanted and altered into a wildernesse of serpentes his spouse defloured and become an adulteresse to his vtter enemies Durst we offer such vsage to our Princes yea or to our farmers daughter woulde not feare of the lawe and popular shame disturne vs from it And shall not the reuerend Maiestye of almighty God and the vnrebated iustice of his angry sword terrifie vs from offering the like to his own spouse Do we thinke God either so impotent that he cannot so base and sottish that he will not or so weake witted that he knoweth not how to wreake him selfe vpon so contēptuous and daring offenders Will he so neglect and lose his honour which of all thinges he claimeth as his chiefe peculier Will he that for the soules sake keepeth a reckoninge of our verye heares which are but the excrementes of her earthly weed see him selfe so much wronged in the principall passe it without remōstrance of his iust indignation O deere Sir remēber thāt the scripture termeth it a thing full of horrour to fall into the hands of God who is able to crush the proud spirittes of the obstinate and to make his enemies the footestoole of his feete Wrastle no longer against the cries of your owne conscience and the forcible inspirations that God doth sende you Embrace his mercy before the time of rigour returne to his Church lest he debarre you his kingdome He cannot haue God for his father that refuseth to professe the Catholicke Church for his mother neither can he atchiue to the Church triumphant in heauen that is not a member of the Church militāt here in earth You haue bene alas to long an aliant in the tabernacles of sinners and straied to farr from the folde of Gods flocke Turne now the blaze of your harte towardes the sanctuary of saluation and the city of refuge seeking to recompence your wandering steppes troddē in error with a swifte gate and zelous progresse to Christian perfection redeming the time because the daies be euell The full of your spring-tide