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
B13698	A dialogue or conference betweene Irenæus and Antimachus, about the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England: by Samuel Gardiner, Doctor of Diuinitie	Gardiner, Samuel, b. 1563 or 4.	1605 (1605)	STC 11575; ESTC S102819	49,951	71

Samuel though a great Prophet 1. Sam. 16. and the Lord was with him and suffered not any of his words to drop to the ground yet his iudgement deceiued him when he was sent to annoint one of the sons of Ishai King of Israel 1. King 4.27 and made his eye his Counsellor making choice of Eliab because he was the eldest fairest and highest When a suppliant woman came before Elizeus casting downe herselfe at his feete and his seruant Giezi would haue thrust her away Elizeus said Let her alone for her soule is vexed within her and the Lord hath hid it from mee and hath not tolde it mee It is the saying of the Apostle Paule We knowe but in parte and we prophecie but in parte Zacharie and Daniel at euery vision they had prayed that God would reueale the meaning of it to them The reason heereof is the will of God that hath his differences and varietie of giftes To be ledde with a strict tenacitie of opinion because wee haue dwelt a long time in it and haue maintained it with stiffenesse of affection notwithstanding it is checked with better reason it is wilfulnesse and not wisedome and the very common disease of Nature This was Dauids disposition which nature solitarie in him without grace suggested not to reuerse his sentence of Lawe awarded against Mephib●sheth vppon false crimination of Siba against him although it afterward appeared as cleere as the Sunne 2. Sam. 6. 2. Sam. 19. that hee had punished him wrongfully Contented hee was to qualifie the iudgement vppon this full aduertisement that Siba and he should halfe the lands betweene them hee would in no wise repeale that which hee had once pronounced Such a one was Pilate who would not alter any thing he had written but saide That which I haue written I haue written We shew our selues Pilates rather than Prelates in being wedded to our willes as vnto a wife they two beeing in one flesh It is the saying of Saint Ambrose Inter seruos Christi contentio non debet esse sed collatio Not contention but conference ought to be among the seruants of Christ And it is well saide of Bernard Paco●● contemnentes gloriam quaerentes pacem perdunt gloriam Such as despise peace and seeke glory they shall loose both their peace and their glorie Our betters haue not blushed to recant their errours Iohn Baptist the greatest among the bundle of men the Sonne of man onely excepted was peremptorily resolued with himselfe in the height of his humilitie not to suffer Christ so to abase himselfe to him as to take his baptisme of him Matth. 3. when he answered him I haue neede to be baptized of thee and commest thou to mee But when Christ had replied to those wordes hee left his former purpose and yeelded to Christs will So Peter was fully determined with himselfe not to suffer Christ to stoope to wash his feete telling him to his face Iohn 13. Thou shalt neuer wash my feete But when Christ had rounded him in the care saying If I wash thee not thou shalt haue no parte with me Then here signed his former resolution and was as forward as before he had bin backeward saying to him Lord not my feete onely but also the hands and the head Dauid had taken a solemne othe of himselfe 2. Sam. 25. to cutte off roote and branch from the stocke of Nabal euen euery one that made water against the wall not meaning belike to spare his dog yet by the timely interuenient mediation of Abigail he was so charmd warmed with such coles of kindnes as were cast vpon his head as his blood grew cooler and hee forsooke his othe and blessed God for it It is a wise mans parte not to loose his care with Malchus but to open it to good aduise and counsell Counsel as Plato in his Dialogues saith is a sacred thing And it is well spoken of Minutius in Liuie Lib. 22. Saepe ego audiui milites cum primum esse virum qui ipse consulit quid in rem sit secundum cum qui bene monenti obediat I haue often heard my Souldiers saieth hee that he is the rare man that is able to minister best cōunsaile to himselfe in all occurrences and that he is next vnto him that entertaineth good counsell Cicero pro Cluentio The like saying hath Tullie in his Oration pro Cluentio Sapientissimun● esse dicunt cui quid opus sit ipsiveniat in mentem proxime accedere ilium qui alterius bere viuentis obtemperat Hee is accompted the wisest man who can concetue with himselfe what is best for him and second to him is hee that will be ruled by his best counseller It is our best sometimes to distrust our owne learning and iudgement and not to stand vpon termes of precedency and sufficiency aboue others but to listen to our inferiours when they speake to good purpose as Moses did to Iethro a Madianite and Heathen and as Naaman the Syrian did to the counsell of his seruantes Exod. 18. 2. King 6. Now Antimachus if thou wilt take this course I will bring thee out of thy former sweate which thy conceit of thy former doings hath cast thee into and doe thee much good Antimachus You haue spoken much of my retracting my error and of apprehension of better counsell I will aske you afterward what is that counsell that you would I shoulde followe in the meane time you that lay imputation of errour vppon mee doe you thinke the outward gouernement of your Church so absolute as it is not to be charged or touched with errour Iren I will not say so For Christ compareth the Church to a drawe nette which bringeth to land with the good fish Matth. 13. all kinde of gatherings with the pelfe and baggage of the soyle To a field wherein the enemie scattereth his tares amiddest the good corne which the husbandman hath sowne In many things wee offend all saith holy Iames Psal 25. The prayer of the royall Prophet to God is That he would not call him to reckoning for his ignorances Rom. 3. And the Apostle Paul casteth the lie vpon the very nature of vs Euery man is a liar If the Church might not be blacked with this coale of errour and sinne the Church should not neede by daily prayer to begge at Gods hand remission of sinnes Errours growe vppe as naturally in the Church as wilde and luxurious weedes growe vppe in a garden among good hearbes Ephes 5. The Church that Paul speaketh of without spot and wrinckle is not the church Militant in earth as the foolish Anabaptistes haue conceiued but the church Triumphant in Heauen which is in this perfect beautie God wiping away all teares from her eyes Wherefore it is an idle question that is mooved Whether the Church can erre So farre foorth as it heareth and followeth the woorde and keepeth her faith

when they fulfill their wicked lusts so the simple and vnskilful are of enmis-led in the vain● conceit and imagination of zeale This was the zeale that intoxicated the Iewes of which S. Paul saith They haue the zeale of God but not in iudgement 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not according to knowledge This knowledge like Captaine Ioas should goe in and out before our zeale and lighten the way of our zeale and direct as the pillar of fire that gaue light to the people of Israel in the night season As Iohn Baptist was the fore-runner of Christ so ought knowledge to be the fore-runner of zeale to make readie a way for zeale as Iohn made readie the way to Christ Knowledge is like the starre that led the Easterne Wise-men to Christ Math. 3. that will leade our zeale vnto the truth The spirit of zeale is sampled to fire yet a boll of water is to be cast vpon it somwhat to quallifie the fury of this fire Wherefore as Christ baptized with fire so Iohn the Baptist did baptize with water A great heate is naturally in zeale which by letting in acoole winde and ayre Acts 2. would be moderated wherefore as the Holy-ghost came downe in fire so he came downe in a mightie winde that doth much abate the heate of the fire There is a golden meane as in all other things so in Knowledge in Zeale Rom. 12.3 Exod. 16.18 according to this saying of the Apostle Be wise with sobrietie It was vnlawfull in the Iewes to gather too much or too little Manna wherefore their measure was appointed them and they were stinted in the proportion of it which hath a good application to zeale that it neither may redound or bee defectiue Isaiah was willed to cry Isai 58. and to cry somewhat highly but he was not bidde●●are and to rende his throate and the ayre with his voyce Zeale and that in some height is good but there may too much strength be put to it which will quite marre it Mar. 10.28 It was zeale in the Disciples that wrought with them when they forsooke all to follow Christ and it was good and well esteemed of by Christ And it was zeale that kindled the coales of wrath in the breasts of the Disciples against the Samaritans Luke 9.55 when they would haue plucked fire from heauen to haue consumed them if Christ would haue suffered them but this was preposterous inconsiderate braine-sicke wherefore Christ controled it Iud. 4. As Barak would not goe to warre without Deborah against Sisara so let vs not warre with our zeale without our other companion of knowledge Zeale without knowledge is as Sampson without eyes who could not take hold of the arches of the house it cannot finde out the principall things Vaesoli woe be to him that is alone saith Wisedome so wo be to zeale alone not accompanied with knowledge Zeale and knowledge of God 1. Kings 20. are as the two Lyons that were the supporters of Salomons Throne And he that combineth them and coupleth them together he shall be like Moses in meekenesse and Phineas in feruour Wherefore as wine is delaide by water so is zeale with knowledge As the Pinnesse without a Pilot is in perill of rockes and as the bodie without the eye is in hazzard of falling so zeale without knowledge that is the eye of zeale and ruleth it is in danger of mis carrying For it is not a bare good intention and zeale that must iustifie our good actions but such mature knowledge must leade vs forth to them as we may be able to warrant them The great variance among vs I wot well not for so great causes I feare me is not warrantable When the Lord willed Eliah to stand vppon the mount before the Lord it is saide 1. Kings 19. that a mightie strong winde rent the mountaines and brake the rockes before the Lord but the Lord was not in the winde and after the winde came an earth-quake but the Lord was not in the earth-quake and after the earth-qake came fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire came a still and soft voice and there the Lord vvas In the stormie vvindes and tempests of the Church that offer to shake it in the verie foundation in the earth-quake and fire of our endlesse contentions the Lord is not but he is in the still voyce that seeketh and ensueth the peace of Ierusalem Antun I haue nothing else to say in the cause but I promised to call for your counsell and therefore if you please addresse your selfe to that Iren. My counsell shall be first That you weigh the points in controuersie betweene vs in equall ballances and that you striue not by inuention of argument to hang lumpes of lead to the heeles of them to make them heauier then they are of themselues You may weigh our cause vneuenly on the weights two wayes for in any of these two there may be deceit in all weights First when a thing is weighed ouer hastily Be not therfore too readie rash in iudgement in condemning such things as may well in any free estate be tolerated Secondly when one part of the ballance is heauier then another which is when thou commest aggrauated with preiudicate affections against the setled ceremonies when thou art rather led by thy wil then reason When you haue set these ceremonies vpon the tenters of your inuectiues and grounde the face of them betweene the mill-stones of your fore-stalde affections you shall neuer perswade the wise that either they are of hurtefull nature or otherwise contrarie to the word of God but in ordinary vnderstanding they will be deemed to be indifferent Secondly you are in the next place to be aduised how you wrong other Churches by your bitter sermons against these ceremonies which haue alwaies hetherto entertained them as lawfull and laudable Iob 47. Eliphas was very imperious ouer Iob not considering himselfe The Iewes very notable hypocrites themselues and loose liuers snebbed and snatched vp the Gentiles at their pleasure which said Isai 63.5 Stand apart come not neere to mee for I am belier then thou We are not ignorant how farre the authoritie of the Church may extend and wee willingly confesse that it ought to rule by the Scepter of the word and that it may not any way countermaund that that standeth like Mount Syon that may not be remooued the whole world the Lords building and the heauens the beautifull roofe thereof must perish before any tittle of the word must perish and fall to the ground But of this we are well assured that it hath leaue and libertie to authorize ceremonies that are of mixt kinde and that we are neither to condemne such or vnreuerently to esteeme them I agree with thee that which is not of faith is sinne Rom. 14 2 yet that wee may carry a quiet conscience and haue the testimoniall thereof in our