Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	blood_n	lord_n	shed_v	1,770	5	9.8115	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19267	An admonition to the people of England vvherein are ansvvered, not onely the slaunderous vntruethes, reprochfully vttered by Martin the libeller, but also many other crimes by some of his broode, obiected generally against all bishops, and the chiefe of the cleargie, purposely to deface and discredite the present state of the Church. Seene and allowed by authoritie.	Cooper, Thomas, 1517?-1594.	1589 (1589)	STC 5682; ESTC S118522	145,211	254

had the greatest liuings in this lād were most ready not onely to be banished their countrey but also to shead their blood and giue their liues to serue faithfully their Lord and master Christ and I doubt not wil doe againe if euer God giue the occasion Iudge therefore more charitably of your Ministers Preachers O ye English professours which haue seene these things with your eyes know not how soone to the sorowe of your owne hearts yee may see the same againe But they which at this day mislike the state of bishops do write or speake against them are those persons which in the time of affliction eyther were not borne or els were very yong therefore haue no sense of that temptation which that persecution did then bring As God of his goodnes graunteth vs now some Halcion dayes so I beseech him against that day to giue vs the grace of his mightie spirit so that we may haue the like constancie It is further alledged out of Christs doctrine that when he answered the Pharisees Mat. 22. he giueth a plaine commandement that landes and possesions should be at the pleasure of the Prince that Ministers of the church ought to giue them vp vnto him For this he saith Giue to Caesar that which is Caesars and to God that is Gods But say they all temporall landes are Caesars therefore they ought to giue them vnto Caesar and our Caesar is our gracious Prince and Soueraigne Truely it woulde make any Christian heart to lament in these dayes to see Gods holy word so miserably drawen racked and pulled in sunder from the true meaning thereof If the bishops and other of the Cleargy of England did grudge or murmure to haue their landes and Liuinges to bee tributarie to the Prince and subiect to all taxes and seruices that by the laws of this Realm may be either to the maintenance of her person or to the defence of our countrey Or if they did challenge such an immunitie or exemption from the authoritie of the Prince as the Pope and his Cleargie did Or if they did find them-selues grieued to bee punished by the Prince for the breach of her Lawes as the Donatists in old time did and some nowe in our age do If they were such enemies to Princes and Gouernours as they woulde exempt thē out of the state of true christianitie of the Church of God and make them onely to serue their turne in euill affaires then in deede did this place make strongly against them But I trust the Cleargie of Englande are with all good men out of the suspition of these pointes They are as willing and readie at all times to bee contributarie as any other subiectes are they claime no exemption from her authoritie they willingly submitte them-selues to her correction they humbly acknowledge their obedience in all thinges that anie Christian Prince may require and this doe they principallie for conscience sake because it is the ordinance and commandement of God but much mooued thereto also as men in consideration of their ovvnestate vvhich next vnder God dependeth of her maiestie Seeing therfore the hand of God hath more straightly bounde them vnto her then other common subiects I doubt not but shee vvillingly hath and shall haue all dueties of obedience at their handes that any Christian subiects by the word of God are bound vnto Neither are they in any feare that her Maiestie vvill presse them to any thing vvhich shall not stand vvith the glorie of God and furtherance of the Gospel But hovv these vvords of Christ before mentioned do cōmand them presently to yeeld vp into her Maiesties hands such landes possessions as by the grant of her goodnes by the law of this realm they nowe inioy indeede I see not If such a Prince shall com as I trust in my daies neuer to see that shal put them to this choise either to forgoe their lands liuings or to loose the free course of the Gospell it is before declared what their duty is to do therin And I doubt not but in the late time of persecutiō there were many of them that would haue bin glad with al the veines in their hearts by that choice to haue enioyed in this Realme the freedom of their consciences though they had bin put to as pore estate as possibly men might haue liued in But how that christiā princes are warranted either by this place of the gospell or by any part of the word of God so hardly to deale with the state of the ministery I haue not as yet learned though it be in these dayes by some boldly affirmed Amb. hath a worthy saying wherin he plainly noteth both what a christiā prince may do in these things that appertaine vnto the Church and howe a godly bishop shoulde in that case behaue himselfe When it was proposed vnto me saith he that I should deliuer the plate or vessell of the church I made this answere If there were any thing required that was my owne either land house gold or siluer being of my owne priuate right that I would willingly deliuer it but that I coulde not pull any thing from the Church of God And moreouer I sayde that in so doing I had regarde to the Emperours safetie because it was not profitable either for me to deliuer it or for him to receiue it Let him receiue the words of a free Minister of God If he will doe that is for his owne safety let him forbeare to do Christ iniury By these words ye may perceiue both that Ambrose wold not deliuer the church goods nor that he thought it safe for the Emperour to require it The mening of Christ is in those words to teach his to put a differēce between the duty that they owe to the Prince that they owe to God and to declare that vvithin their due boundes they may both stand together Therefore they that wil rightly folow Christ in this doctrine must consider in what consisteth the dutie towards a Prince or Magistrate and wherein resteth our duetie towardes God Wee owe to the Prince honour feare and obedience obedience I say in al those things that are not against the worde of God and his commandements Those things that God commandeth a Christian Prince cannot forbid Those things that God forbiddeth no Prince hath authority to command But such things as be external and by Gods word left in different the Prince by his authoritie may so by lawe dispose either in cōmanding or forbidding as in wisedome discretion he shall thinke to make most to the glorie of God and to the good and safe state of his people Among these things external I thinke lands goods and possessions to bee and therefore that the same ought to be subiect to taxe and tribute in such sort as the lawes state of the countrey requireth yea and if there shal happen in any country a magistrate which by

therefore saith Chrisostome As I haue sayde wine is not ill but drunkennesse is ill so say I riches are not ill but couetousnesse is ill A rich man is one thing and a couetous man is another A couetous man cannot be a rich man And to the same meaning in an other place Let vs not falsely accuse either riches or pouertie for both riches and pouertie are such as if we will our selues bring instruments of vertue Let vs therefore so frame our selues that we iudge not so as we may seeme to blame Gods giftes but the euill affections of men The same Chrysostome Riches saith he killeth not but to be a slaue to riches killeth and to loue couetousnesse And againe the rich glutton was punished not because he was rich but because he wanted mercie For it may bee that one hauing riches ioyned with mercie may attaine to all goodnesse By these testimonies of the ancient learned Fathers grounded vpon the examples and doctrine of the Scriptures you may perceiue that riches are the good gift and blessing of God that the Saintes of God haue vsed and enioyed them that welth possessions of them selues are not hinderous to pietie godlinesse but rather instruments of vertue and meanes to come to heauen that God doeth not condemne them in his seruants that it is not a man voyd of lands and possession but a heart voyde of couetousnesse that Christ desireth that it is not riches but the sinfull affections of men that he reproueth How then can it bee prooued by Christs doctrine that any state of his disciples or faithfull seruants and followers ought not to haue landes possessions or ample and large liuings or that they be by his word so expresly prohibited that neither Prince may suffer it vvithout danger nor faithfull Minister with good conscience inioy them Let vs somewhat better consider the particular places of this doctrine of Christ whereon this assertion is grounded Where Christ saith Hoarde not vp treasures for your selues on earth he saith not you shall haue no treasures To haue treasures and to hoarde treasures be diuerse Hee that hoardeth vp treasures sheweth that hee hath a carefull minde to keepe them but a man may possesse treasures and yet with free heart bee willing to imploy them to godly purposes like as Iob did who had his riches alwayes ready to pleasure other When Christ affirmeth that where a mans treasure is there is his heart by treasure he meaneth not the possession of riches simply but hee meaneth that wherein a man reposeth his chiefe treasure and felicitie to consist And in deede it can not bee but that hee that esteemeth his chiefe felicitie in any thing doeth set his heart also vpon it He that setteth his felicitie in honour and dignitie hath his heart possessed with ambition Hee that thinketh it to bee in worldly pleasure hath his whole minde on playing banqueting feasting and riot He that reposeth his felicitie in building giueth ouer his cogitations vnto that So hee that iudgeth his blessednes in this life to be in possession of riches lands vndoubtedly can not but haue his heart fastened vpō them And seeing that God chalengeth vnto himselfe all our whole heart and our whole soule and minde they that so do must needes offend God most grieuously make of their riches their God and so as S. Paul saith become very idolaters Therfore if either Ecclesiasticall persons or lay men do so set their minds on riches this place nighly toucheth them When Christ saieth No man can serue two masters c. and ye cannot serue God and Mammon Marke I pray you that he saith not No man can serue God get riches For godly men both haue before time now may get lands riches procured either by heritage or by gift or by any other lawfull meanes Consider the Patriarch Iacob who passed Iordane onely with a staffe in his hand in the time of his liuing in a strange Countrey gate so great riches as he returned with two great cōpanies of seruants cattel And yet vndoubtedly this Patriarch was a good Christian being saued by the same religion that his grandfather Abraham was the father of the faithfull who with reioycing sawe the day of Christ Neither doth Christ say No man can serue God and possesse riches For as it is saide before Abraham Iob and Ioseph possessed great wealth riches and yet vndoubtedly truely and sincerely serued God Riches are the blessings of God neyther may anie more rightly or with better title possesse them then the good and faithfull seruants of God What saith Christ then forsooth No man can serue two masters or No man can serue God and Mammon Getting or possessing is one thing seruing is another Seruing presupposeth a mastership or dominion in him that is serued He that serueth riches acknovvledgeth them to be his Lord and Master Seruitude or bondage hath this condition that hee wholly obey his master that night and day he doe nothing but that pleaseth his master that he shall be contented to haue the displeasure of all other so that he may haue the good vvil of his master Finally vvhatsoeuer a seruant doth what labour soeuer he taketh vvhatsoeuer by his paines he getteth he doth it to the vse behalfe of his master Whosoeuer is such a bond-slaue to riches is a traytour reuolted from God neither can it be possible for him to serue God Such a seruing of Mammon it is that Christ in this place rebuketh vvith vvhich seruice the seruice of God cannot be ioyned But it vvere great rashnesse to thinke all that possesse lands lordships and riches of necessitie to be subiect to this slauish seruice of Mammon as some men vncharitably iudge of the Bishops and Clergie of England Ioseph of Arimathea vvas a rich man and yet in time of great perill did more seruice to Christ then all his poore Apostles vvhich had so little to leese It is vvritten in the Euangelists When Euen was come there came a rich man from Arimathea named Ioseph which also himselfe was Iesus his disciple He went to Pilate and begged the body of Iesus Then Pilate commaunded the body to bee deliuered and when Ioseph had taken the body hee wrapped it in a cleane linnen cloth and layde him in a newe tombe c. Consider the circumstances of the historie vveigh the danger of the time call to remembrance how many things might haue hindered and staied Ioseph from this doing and you shall perceiue that possession of landes and riches may be ioyned with a free faithful seruice yea oftentimes more faithful then pouerty and base estate in the vvorlde Good Christians therefore may not condemne as slaues seruants to Antichrist all such as haue lands possessions Experience in England God be thanked hath taught whē a number of poore Priests Ministers reuolted frō Christ to the Mammon their Masse that many which