Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	chief_a	lord_n	plea_n	5,523	5	9.8646	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01551	True contentment in the gaine of godlines, with its self-sufficiencie A meditation on 1. Timoth. 6. 6. By Thomas Gataker B. of D. and pastor of Rotherhith.	Gataker, Thomas, 1574-1654.	1620 (1620)	STC 11678; ESTC S102989	95,347	98

TRVE CONTENTMENT IN THE GAINE OF GODLINES With its SELF-SUFFICIENCIE A MEDITATION ON 1. TIMOTH 6. 6. By THOMAS GATAKER B. of D. and Pastor of Rotherhith LONDON Printed by Edward Griffin for William 〈…〉 sold at his shop at the signe 〈…〉 great North dore of Paules ●●●● TO THE RIGHT WORTHY AND HIS MVCH HONOVRED LADY the Lady DOROTHY HOBART Wife to the Right Honorable and his singular good Lord Sr HENRY HOBART Knight and Baronet Lord Cheife Iustice of the Common Pleas True Contentment in the Gaine of Godlines with its Self-Sufficiencie GOOD MADAME It is a point by all generally agreed vpon that Happinesse is the maine end and aime of all mens Actions And it is a Truth no lesse generally confessed and acknowledged that Without Contentment of Minde there can be no true Happines It is Happines then that all men without exception desire and Contentment that all consequently striue to attaine But here in the most faile that they are mistaken in the meanes that they take wrong courses for the compassing of this their end and aime so vai●rely weary tire out themselues in seeking Happines and Contentment there where neither of them is to be had To reforme this error the Spirit of God in the Word hath directed vs the right way to either to wit by conjunction with God the author and fountaine of all good by adhering vnto him in whō only the soule of man can find su●e sound contentment Now this is done by louing him by fearing him by trusting in him by obeying him by conformitie vnto him or more breiefely in a word by Holines by Godlines for these two are in substance one and the same So that there is no compassing of Contentment or Happines without God and there is no way vnto God but by Godlinesse For God alone being the chiefest good and the chiefest good each ones vtmost aime our desires cannot be stayed till we come home vnto him beyond whom we can not possibly go He being onely All-sufficient and there can be no Contentment where any want is nor freedome from want where Sufficiencie is not we can haue no true Contentment till we haue once gained Him we can haue no full Contentment till we come wholy to enjoy Him that he may be all in all vnto vs. And this being by Holilnes by Godlines onely effected it must needs follow that the holier men are the happier they are and the more godly they are the more true and sound Contentment they are sure of We shall neuer be truly Happy till we be sincerely Holy nor fully Happy till we be perfectly Holy We shall neuer attaine true Cōtentment till we be truly Religious nor full Contentment till we be consummate in Godlines The consideration whereof should encite all that desire Happines and Contentment and who is he be he neuer so brutish that doth not to bend their maine studie and endeuor this way for the compassing of this Grace and profiting in it as the onely meanes availeable to bring them to that end which howsoeuer they may wander from mistaking the way their whole desire is to attaine vnto To prouoke all sorts hereunto is the maine project propounded in this present discourse Which what euer it be and I wish it were much better I humbly present to your Ladiship desiring that it may helpe to supply some part of that dutie and seruice which partly mine owne infirmitie and imbecillitie of bodie and partly also other necessarie and vnauoidable imployments will not suffer me to performe answerably to mine owne desire and mine Honorable Lords and your Ladiships desert And so wishing againe and againe vnto your Ladiship for what other or what better thing can I wish that which the worke it selfe importeth true Contentment from God in this life and full Contentment with God after this life I take my leaue for the present but cease not to continue Your Ladiships euer to be commanded in the Lord THO GATAKER TRVE CONTENTMENT 1. TIMOTH 6. 6. Godlinesse is great Gaine with Selfe-sufficiencie or with the Sufficiencie of it selfe THE FORMER PART The Gaine of Godlinesse THe Stoick Philosophie which Luke the Euangelist maketh mention of was famous for Paradoxes strange Opinions improbable and besides common conceit admired much for them by some controlled and taxed for them by others Howbeit not Stoicisme onely but euery art and profession euery course of life and learning hath some Paradoxes or other the world not a few and Christianitie many more as strange yea stranger than any that the Stoicks euer held and yet no lesse true than strange A worldly Paradox the Apostle had mentioned in the verse next before going to wit that some men should hold Gaine to be Godlinesse vnto which he opposeth a contrary Christian Paradox in the words of my Text to wit that Godlinesse is the onely true Gaine For the former It is a very absurd conceit indeed and though too too rife in the world yet such as few or none will be acknowne of and either openly father or seeme outwardly to fauor But as God at the last day when the wicked shall go about to excuse and defend themselues he will not onely take hold of their words By thine owne mouth will I iudge thee thou thriftles seruant and aduantage of their actions I was naked and yee clad me not hungry and yee fed me not c. and theresore had neither Faith nor Loue but he will conuince them by their owne Consciences too Their secret thoughts shall either excuse or accuse them in that day In like manner must we deale with those that will seeme to abhorre and detest this Opinion and yet do those things that maintaine and vphold it ●he ●oole saith i● 〈◊〉 heart There is no God and that is sufficient to proue him an Athe●● though he neuer openly maintaine any Position of Atheisme And there be some that professe they know God but denie him in their deeds and that is enough to proue them irreligious though they neuer vtter that their impietie in speech So in this case the Couetous mans heart saith it and his practise proclaimeth it that his Gold is his God and that his Gaine is his Godlinesse and that is sufficient to proue him an Idolater though he neuer outwardly bow his knee to an Idoll In regard whereof the Apostle expresly pronounceth Couetousnes to be Idolatry and the Couetous man an Idolater To reason then in this point as our Sauiour himselfe doth Where a mans Treasure is theire is his Heart and where a mans heart is there is his happinesse and where his happinesse is that is his God Since the couetous man therefore setteth his heart on his riches putteth his trust in his treasure and whereas the