Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	egypt_n	joseph_n	pharaoh_n	4,186	5	10.7503	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20202	The plaine mans path-way to heauen Wherein euery man may cleerely see, whether he shall be saued or damned. Set forth dialogue-wise, for the better vnderstanding of the simple: By Arthur Dent, preacher of the vvord of God at South-Shoobery in Essex. Corrected and amended: vvith a table of all the principall matters; and three prayers necessarie to be vsed in priuate families thereunto added.; Plaine mans path-way to heaven	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1607 (1607)	STC 6629; ESTC S113573	201,787	436

whatsoeuer a man sweareth by he calleth it as a witnesse vnto his conscience that hée speaketh the truth and lieth not which thing onely belongeth vnto God And therefore in swearing by creatures wée doe rob God of his honour Therefore to sweare by the crosse of the money or by bread or a mouse foot or the fire which they call Gods Angell or any such like is a robbing of God of his Honour and an ascribing of that to the creature which is proper onely to the Creator Asune What say you then to them which sweare by the Masse and by the Rood Theol. Their sinne is as great as the other For it is an hainous thing to sweare by idoles as S. Mary our Ladie by the Masse by the Rood c. The Prophet Amos saith They that sweare by the sinne of Samaria and that say thy God O Dan liueth euen they shall fall and neuer rise vp againe To sweare by the sinne of Samaria is to sweare by Idols for Samaria was full of idols Moreouer the Lord threatneth by the Prophet Zephany that he will cut off them that sweare by the Lord and by Malcham or by their King For the idolaters called their idol Molech their King Asune Seeing you condemne both swearing by creatures and swearing by idols what then must we sweare by You would haue vs sweare by nothing belike Theo. In our ordinary communication wée must not sweare at all either by one thing or another But as our Lord teacheth vs our communication must be yea yea nay nay For whatsoeuer is more then these commeth of euill And Saint Iames saith Before all things my brethren sweare not neither by heauen nor by earth nor by any other oath but let your Yea be yea and your Nay nay lest you fall into condemnation Antile It seemeth you are an Anabaptist You condemne all swearing you will haue no swearing at all Theol. Not so For though I condemne swearing by creatures swearing by idols and vaine swearing yet doe I allow swearing before a Magistrate and priuately also in matters of waight and importance for the further bolting out of the truth This is warranted from Gods owne mouth where he saith Thou shalt sweare The Lord liueth in truth in iudgement and in righteousnesse And in these cases onely the name of God is to be sworne by as it is written Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God and thou shalt serue him and shalt cleaue vnto him and shalt sweare by his name Asune May wee not sweare by God in our common talke Theol. At no hand For that is to take the name of God in vaine which you know is forbidden And one of the wise Heathen could say thus When an oath is laid vpon thee vndertake it for two causes either to deliuer thy selfe from some grieuous crime and accusation or else to preserue thy friends from danger So then that Heathen man in common talke wil not allow any oath much lesse to sweare by God Another saith Auoid an oath though thou sweare truely So then wée sée vaine swearing condemned euen by Heathen Asune Yea but for all that we must sweare men will not beleeue vs else Theol. Neither yet will they beléeue you any whit the more for your swearing For it doth manifestly appeare that thousands make no conscience at all of it They make no more conscience of it then of cracking of nuts and therefore what wise man will beléeue them though they sweare neuer so much But if you would make conscience alwaies to speake the truth from your heart without any oathes at all you should be better beléeued of all honest and wise men then otherwise with a thousand oathes Antile It is the custome to sweare Theol. But a wicked and diuellish custome Antile I hope sir we may sweare as long as we sweare truely and sweare by nothing but that which is good Theol. It hath béene answeared before that in vaine matters you may not sweare at all Antil As long as we doe no worse than that I hope God will hold vs excused Theol. God will not hold you excused when you breake his commandements and continue so doing Antil What say you then to them that sweare wounds and blood and such like in a brauery thinking that it setteth out their speech very well Theol. Hell gapeth for them And they shall know one day what it is to blaspheme God Antil What may we thinke of such as sweare by Gods life Gods soule Gods body Gods heart Theol. That their cause is most wofull and dangerous I quake at the naming of them They are most horrible monstrous and outragious blasphemies enough to make the stones in the stréet to cracke and the clouds to fall vpon our heads And we may thinke that all the Diuels in hell are in a readinesse to cary such blasphemous villaines headlong into that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone for euer Antil Doe you find in the Scriptures that God will so seuerely punish swearers Theol. Yes verily For besides that which hath béene spoken before wée haue diuers other examples First of Senacherib the King of Ashur who for his outragious blasphemies against the God of heauen was in most fearefull and tragicall manner slame by his own sonnes Adramelech and Sharezer and that in the Temple when he was worshipping his Idoll God Nisroch And yet behold a more fearefull example of Gods wrath against blasphemers Wée reade that an hundred thousand of the Aramites were slaine by the Israelites in one day for blaspheming of God And seuen and twenty thousand being left and flying into the city of Aphek for refuge were all slaine by the fal of an huge great wall What should I héere speake how the seuen sonnes of Saul the King of Israel were hanged vp before the Lord in mount Gibeah for the breach of the oath made to the Gibeonites long before In these examples we may plainly sée that the iust God euen in this life sometimes will be reuenged of blasphemers and oath-breakers And therefore the very Heathen in all ages haue béene very carefull for the performing of oaths as Pharaoh King of Egypt willed Ioseph to goe vp into the land of Canaan to bury his father according to his oath made to his father Phila. Me thinketh these so terrible fearfull examples of Gods vengeance against swearers and blasphemers should strike some terror into the hearts of our blasphemers Theol. One would thinke so indéed if any thing could doe it But alas they are so hardened in it and in all other sinne that nothing can mooue them except peraduenture there were a Law made that euery swearer and blasphemer should hold his hand a quarter of an houre in boiling lead This or some such like seuere law might peraduenture curbe them a little and make them bite in their oaths But otherwise they will neuer feare any thing till they be in hell

heauen and wide gates into hell I pray you therefore proue them out of the Scriptures and lay them forth somewhat more largely Theol. The first which is Infidelity is proued out of the fourth chapter to the Hebrewes where it is written Vnto vs was the Gospell preached as vnto them but the word which they heard profited them not because it was not mixed with faith in those that heard it And againe They could not enter in because of vnbeliefe Héere we sée that vnbeliefe did barre out the old people from entring into the land of promise which was a figure of Gods eternall kingdome And sure it is that the same vnbeliefe doth barre out thousands of vs. For many will beléeue nothing but their owne fansies They will not beléeue the word of God especially when it is contrary to their lustes and likings profits pleasures Though things be manifestly prooued to their faces and both the Chapter and the Uerse shewed them yet will they not beléeue or though they say they beléeue yet will they neuer goe about the practise of any thing but reply against God in all their actions And for the most part when God saith one thing they will say another When God saith yea they will say no and so giue God the lie Some againe will say if all bée true that the Preachers say then God helpe vs. Thus you sée how Infidelity doth barre men out of Heauen and cast them into hell Phila. Let vs heare of the second gate which is Presumption of Gods mercy Theol. This is set downe in the 29. of Deuteronomy where the Lord saith thus When a man heareth the words of this curse and yet flattereth himselfe in his heart saying I shall haue peace although I walke according to the stubbornnesse of mine owne heart thus adding drunkennesse to thirst that is one sinne to another the Lord will not be mercifull vnto him but the wrath of the Lord and his iealousie shall smoake against that man and euery curse that is written in this booke shall light vpon him and the Lord shall put out his name from vnder heauen Héere we sée how the mightie God doth thunder downe vpon such as goe on in their sins presuming of his mercy and saying in their hearts If I may haue but a Lord haue mercy vpon me thrée houres before death I care not But it is iust with God when those thrée hours come to shut them vp in blindnesse and hardnesse of heart as a iust plague for their presumption Therefore the Prophet Dauid seeing the grieuousnesse of this sin praieth to be deliuered from it Keepe me ô Lord saith he from presumptuous sins let them not raigne ouer me Let all men therfore take héed of presumptuous sins For though God be full of mercy yet will he shew no mercy to them that presume of his mercy But they shall once know to their cost that iustice goeth from him as well as mercy Phila. Let vs come to the third gate which is the Example of the multitude Theol. This is prooued in the 23. of Exod. where the Lord saith flatly Thou shalt not follow a multitude to doe euill In another place the Lord saith After the doings of the land of Egypt wherein yee dwelt shall yee not doe and after the manner of the land of Canaan whither I will bring you shall yee not doe neither walke in their ordinances Against this Law did the Children of Israel offend when they said in the stubbornnesse of their heart to the Prophet Ieremy The word that thou hast spoken vnto vs in the name of the Lord wee will not heare But we will doe whatsoeuer goeth out of our owne mouth and we will doe as we haue done both we and our Fathers our Kings and our Princes in the cities of Iudah and in the streets of Ierusalem Note héere how they doe altogether refuse the word of the Lord and how to follow the example of the multitude Wée sée in these our daies by lamentable experience how thousands are violently carried down this streame and for defence of it some will say Doe as the most men doe and the fewest wil speake of you Which is a very wicked speach For if wée will follow the course of the most we shall haue the reward of the most which is eternall perdition Let vs therefore take héed of bending with the sway For the sway of the world doth waigh downe all things that can bée spoken out of the word of God and openeth a very wide passage into Hell Phila. Proceed to the fourth gate into Hell which is the Long custome of sinne Theol. This is noted by the Prophet Ieremy to be a very dangerous thing For he saith Can the blacke More change his skinne or the Leopard his spots then may yee also doe good which are accustomed to doe euill Noting thereby that it is as hard a matter to leaue an old custome of sinne as to wash a black-more white or to change the spots of a Leopard which because they are naturall are most impossible So when men through custom haue made swearing lying adultery and drunkennesse as it were naturall vnto them oh how hard it is to leaue them For custome maketh another nature and taketh away all sense and féeling of sinne Phila. Let vs heare of the fift gate which is the Long escaping of punishment Theol. This is auouched by the wise man in these words Because sentence against an euill worke is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the children of men are set in them to doe euill Where he sheweth that one cause why men are so hardned in their sinnes is because God winketh at them and letteth them alone not punishing them immediately after they haue sinned For if God should forthwith strike downe one and raine fire and brimstone vpon another and cause the earth to swallow vp the third then men would feare indéed But it hath béene shewed before that God taketh not that course but though he méet with some in this life yet he lets thousands escape and that makes them more bold thinking they shall neuer come to their answer Euen as an olde théefe which hath a long time escaped both prison and gallowes thinkes he shall alwaies so escape and therefore goeth boldly on in his thefts But let men take héed For as the prouerbe saith Though the pitcher goeth long to the well yet at last it commeth broken home So though men escape long yet they shall not escape alwaies For there will come a day of reckoning a day that will pay it home for all Thus you sée how impunity leadeth numbers to destruction That is when men are let alone and neither smitten by the hand of God nor punished by the law of the Magistrate Phila. Let vs come to the sixt gate which is the Hope of long life Theol. This is affirmed by our Lord Iesus concerning that rich worldling who