Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	aaron_n	able_a	word_n	17	3	3.3432	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15765	A summons for sleepers Wherein most grieuous and notorious offenders are cited to bring forth true frutes of repentance, before the day of the Lord now at hand. Hereunto is annexed, a patterne for pastors, deciphering briefly the dueties pertaining to that function, by Leonard Wright.	Wright, Leonard, b. 1555 or 6.	1589 (1589)	STC 26034.3; ESTC S121115	49,627	64

there is not one godly man left the faithfull are minished from amōgst the children of men they doe but flatter with their lippes and dissemble in their double hearts they are become abhominable in their doings there is no feare of God before their eyes the Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his masters cribbe but our people will not know the iudgements of the highest The Turtle the Storke and the Swallow do know their appointed seasons but this people is without vnderstanding Oh Lord how wicked are these our daies if the very Turks and Infidels had heard the preaching and séene the wonders that wee haue done they had long ere this repented and amended their liues to our cōfusion Oh Lorde wee heare much with our eares but our hearts remaine still as hard as flint stones we rather féed our fancie than our fayth Lord conuert and amend vs create in vs new and contrite hearts adorne our eyes with the teares of true repentance giue vs grace in some measure to frame our liues according to thy heauenly will that by the course which thou hast appointed for vs in this vale of miserie wée may yet at the ende come to liue with thée in felicitie for euer through Iesus Christ our onely Sauiour and Redéemer to whom with the Father and the holy Ghost thrée distinct persons and one eternall God be all honor glory praise and thanks for euermore Amen A Patterne for Pastors THe office of a Preacher is a dignitie of great reuerence honour and estimation The holie Ghost doeth call them the Angels of the Lord of hostes dispensors of his secrets Stewards of his housholde and fellow workers with Christ himselfe Gods Trumpetters to sounde out his woorde through the world whose tongues are consecrated to instruct the ignorant comfort the weake edifie the simple defend the truth confute heresies suppresse vice and conuert sinners vnto Christ. A calling méete for the best part of men such as are indued with comely personage a graue countenance a bolde spirit and a manly courage a good vertuous nature and ciuill behauiour a learned mind and a fruitful tongue The priests lips should preserue knowledge that the people may séeke the lawe at his mouth about the skirts of Arons Ephod were hanged golden belles alwaies sounding to signifie that preachers must be apt and able to sound out the worde of trueth He must be no gréene plant but hard timber well seasoned with knowledge and experience to instruct and teach soundly profound arguments and reasons to persuade and dissuade pithily arte and eloquence to stirre vp and delight pleasantly discretion and modestie to order and gouerne politikely not onely apt to flourish in a Pulpet but able also to playe his quarter strokes and defende his head Christ especially in these our dangerous dayes when Sathan is so busie is sowing of sects and heresies He must therefore be well furnished with canonicall authorities pithie sayings apt similies fit comparisons familiar examples and pretie histories méete both for comfortation perswasion and delectation for the multitude as Horace sayth is like a monstrous beast with many heades and like diuersitie of natures and commonly the most part ignorant and foolish who though the doctrine be neuer so wholesome yet without varietie are soone dulled and wearied so greatly is the nature of man delighted with nouelties that without change and varietie nothing séemeth pleasant to his lothsom appetite One kind of musick though neuer so swéete yet without varietie it is lothsom to y e eares One kind of meat though neuer so daintie yet without varietie gluttish to the taste and one kinde of matter though neuer so well framed yet without varietie séemeth tedious to the hearers And for that cause were figures first inuented to refresh the audience with pleasure and to this ende serueth Metaphors fables and wise sayings of Poets and Philosophers which being rightly vnderstoode in sense allegorie aptly applyed in time place conuenient containe very profitable lessons to instruct vnto vertue and godlinesse and as it were to spoyle the Egyptians of their iewels and so are the arts of Logick Rethorick very necessarie handmaides to diuinitie wherein are fiue things requisite as well in a Preacher as in an Orator The first inuention to finde out méete arguments and reasons to proue and confirme euery matter whereupon question may arise The second disposition to frame and dispose the matter in right order The third Eloeutiō to adorne and beautifie the same with apt words and picked sentences The fourth a good memorie to preserue kéepe such things as the wit hath conceiued The fift pronunciation which is a moderate and séemely behauiour both of voyce gesture and countenance with a comely motion of the bodie and exactnesse of spéech so as the words doe agrée with the matter and the gesture with the minde whereby the he arers are as much moued and delighted as with doctrine it self Demosthenes being asked what was the first second and third pointes of an Orator answered pronunciation meaning that art without vtterance is to small purpose Some speake shrill short and thicke euery worde tumbling ouer in anothers necke much like the cackeling of Iacke dawes Some are so fine and curious as though euery worde should be waighed in a ballance Some whewle and pipe so smal as though it were a pigge whining for his breakefast Some looke grimme and stearne with the Welchmans wagge the Italian shrugge and the precisian Sneuill as though hée came to fray the audience And some stand so long about instructing the soules as though they had forgotten the people had any bodies who doe not so much edifie as tedifie Whereas a comely graue and moderate behauiour in voice gesture and countenance with a cleane sensible tongue to deliuer his wordes plainely distinctly and modestly with discretion to order the matter aptly pithily and brieflie doth best instruct soonest profite and most edifie A good Preacher also must be wise circumspect discréete in choosing the séede most fit for the soyle remembring that as little children may not alwaies be fed with vinegar and sharp saulce but rather with milke swéete pappe so though sometime it be necessarie to bruise and mollifie the hard stonie affections of mens hearts with the rigor of Gods fearful iudgements yet rather to water them often with the swéete comfortable dew of his mercies in Christ according to the wise Phisitian who tempereth his bitter medicines with swéete sirops He must not be high minded wise in his owne conceit nor curious in taking offence at euery little trifle but charitable in ●udging the best of all men and patient in bearing the infirmities of euill men for common quiet sake for from the beginning the Church was neuer either so ripe in knowledge or purged in manners but that great imperfections remained In the houses and families of godly Patriarkes were alwayes some

and rage without al measure much like new wine which without some vent is lyke to breake the caske as though Gods spirite inforced man to passe the bounds of Christian modestie These like euill birds that beray their owne neast or hatefull snatching curres neuer cease barking and rayling in open audience at their fellow ministers yea and such as their faultes and blemishes beeing rightly waighed are fewer in number and lyghter in waight than theyr owne whose innocent liues are able to confute theyr viperous slaunders vtterly despising all those in whom they see any infirmitie of man as though themselues were some airie spirites Especially such as they perceiue more pleasant and sociable of nature or more delighted in mirth and honest pastime for their health and recreation than agréeth with their owne Stoicall disposition or if his gifts in preaching doe not altogether satisfie their fantasticall humors and his doctrine applied to the seditious vaine though the man be neuer so honest in life and conuersation nor so carefull and diligent in discharging his duetie according to his talent yet in the eies of these vehement accusers he is but a dumbe dogge salt without sauour a bell without a clapper and a feeder without food the children say they doe crie for meate but he hath none neither for himselfe nor them except they will haue whole loues as though he could do nothing but cast the Bible at their heads Such a wise reason made that late sprung vp heretique Browne a brother of theirs when he compared God to man that loued potage well that as a man might be glutted with too many potage so might God with one praier often sayde Thus they accuse without truth iudge without authoritie and condemne without triall whereby the poore Ministers of the Church who of a good conscience doe keepe themselues within compasse of order and indeuour to continue the people in due obedience to the same are despised defaced and shaked vp in open audience as though they were most grieuous and notorious offenders yea Iesabel was neuer more madde against the true Prophets Herod against the innocents nor the Scribes and Pharesies against Christ himselfe than these seuere censors are agaynst their poore brethren to bring them into hatred and discredite amongst the people to the end that by one meanes or other they might hitch them out of their liuings and enioy it themselues Yea such is the miserie of our daies when youth are so fantasticall to inuent and age so senslesse to credite that the one is brought into fooles paradice and the other into open dotage béeing thought a thing séemely and tollerable for a young scholler of small learning and lesse wit before hée be either ripe in knowledge gouerned in life or reformed in manners to pricke vp into the Pulpet blushing like a blacke dogge to controll discredite and deface the ancient graue Bishoppes and reuerend learned Fathers of the land much like as a proud beardlesse Boie should sit in a chaire with a rod in his hand teaching and Saint Augustine and Chrisostome to say their lessons In whose iudgement they are but lasie loiterers dumbe dogges Popish doctors men pleasers and theyr Churches no better than dennes of théeues béeing growne so farre past shame and voide of all humanitie that now they fall from reasoning to plaine round rayling scoffing iearing deriding and threatning of buffets with bent fists insomuch as no state or degrée can scape their venemous tongues They looke like Lions léere like Foxes hisse like Adders barke like dogges and if they durst they would bite like Tygars so malitiously measuring other mens doings by the crooked line of their owne imaginations that I think if wise Salomon and learned Paul were here in these daies the one would bee taken for a foole the other for a mad man Dumbe dog is a great word in their mouths that sermon where dumbe dog is left out is not worth a pinne it fits not their fancie for why their whole felicitie is in barking and snatching yea rather than cease for want of other they would barke at the Moone and seauen Starres They are much like the dogge that Cicero speaketh of that being set in Capitolio a tower in Rome to fraie théeues left the theeues and fell a barking at true men whose doctrine and example of life tends onely to this end to driue the Quéenes subiectes to a lothsomnesse and misliking of the present gouernment and order established to discredit her Maiesties supremacie to deface her Ministers and contemne her lawes to surfet the Church with Schismes and infect the common wealth with factions And if wisdome in time doe not preuent it then folly in trial wil surely repent it To vse the laudable ceremonies of the Church they make it an hainous offence but in disobeying the Princes lawes backbiting their superiours slaundering their brethren disquieting the Church abusing the office of godly preaching by their vaine seditious pratling they make no offence at all They séeme very diligent and studious but it is rather for nouelties and varietie to make an eloquent show that by the persuasible words of mans wisedome they may delight itching eares than for sound doctrine to conuert sinfull heartes they vse cunning persuasions with faire golden phrases but as Absolon did to steale away the heartes of the people from Dauid they proclaime publik fastings but as Iesabel dyd to kill Naboth For vnder colour of reformation they séeke to rob God of his honour the Prince of her due and the Clergie of their liuings being as is supposed instruments of some others who by their meanes séeke to make the Church a mark to shoote at and a carkasse to praie vppon to the spoile ouerthrow and vtter confusion of Church learning religion and all Deuisers and fanciers were neuer good either for Church or common wealth So Iudas vnder a pretence of holinesse desired to haue the ointment solde for a greate summe to relieue the poore withall but his purpose was to get the money into his owne bagge so was it pretended that the lands of Abbies Colleges and Chantries should haue bin imployed to the inriching of the king maintaining of schooles and reléeuing the poore but they are put to maintaine pompe pride and superfluitie Faire words and wicked deeds deceiue both wise men and fooles Thus when vnder the name of a Sermon these greate builders haue tossed their fantasticall doctrine such as Peter neuer planted nor Paul neuer watered before the light beleeuing multitude with such an outward shew of holinesse that Ladie hypocrisie her selfe could not more fitly handle the matter spitting out their poison with cutting girdes disdainfull glikes and pretie biting nips against orders established Bishops Ministers Magistrats and all so farre as they dare Then like vnto the late rebels that rose in the North in the end of their traiterous proclamations to blind the multitude pray for the Quéene