Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	gospel_n	zeal_n	zion_n	26	3	8.8406	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92067	The speech of that vvorthy knight, Sir Beniamin Rudierd, spoken in Parliament; concerning the placing of good and able divines in parishes miserably destitute of instruction, through want of maintenance. And confirmed by the testimonies of three judicious, and learned men.	Rudyerd, Benjamin, Sir, 1572-1658.	1641 (1641)	Wing R2199; ESTC R182951	8,503	9

able and sufficient Ministry may grow and be established in all the Churches of this Realme is to be wished for The good estate of this noble Kingdome the comfort of posteritie the stay of Religion the continuing of the Gospell the removing of darkenesse hangeth upon it One asked sometimes how it was that in Athens so good and great a Citie there were no Physitians to whom this answer was made because there are no rewards appointed for them that practise Physick The same answer may be made for our times the cause why the Church of God is so forsaken is the want of zeale in them that should either for their courtesie or for their ability be fosterers of learning and encrease the Livings where occasion is and give hope and comfort to learned men Which said I encrease nay the Livings and provisions which heretofore were given or taken away Have patience if any such be here as I well know there are whom these things touch Suffer me to speake the truth it is Gods cause the Livings of such as are in the Ministery are not in their hands to whom they are due All other labourers and artificers have their hire encreased double as much as it was wont to be onely the poore man that laboureth and sweateth in the vineyard of the Lord of hostes hath his hire abridged and abated I spake not of the Curates but of the Personages Vicarages that is of the places which are the Castles and Towers of fence for the Lords Temple They seldome passe now adayes from the Patron if he be no better than a gentleman but either for the lease or for present money Such Merchants are broken into the Church of God a great deale more intollerable then were they whom Christ whipped and chased out of the Temple Thus they that should be carefull for Gods Church that should be Patrons to provide for the consciences of the people and to place among them a learned Minister who might be able to preach the Word unto them out of season and in season and to fulfill his ministery seeke their owne and not which is Jesus Christs They serve not Jesus Christ but their belly And this is done not in one place or in one countrey but throughout England A Gentleman cannot keepe his house unlesse he have a Personage or two in farme for his provision O mercifull God! whereto will this grow at last if the misery which this plague worketh would reach but to one age it were the more tolerable but it will be a plague to the posterity it will be the decay and desolation of Gods Church young men which are toward and learned see this they see that he which feedeth the flock hath least part of the milke he which goeth a warfare hath not halfe his wages therefore they are weary and discouraged they change their studies some become prentises some turne to physick some to law all shun and fly the Ministery And besides the hinderance that thus groweth by the wicked dealing of patrons by reason of the Impropriations the vicarages in many places and in the properest marker towns are so simple that no man can live upon them and therefore no man will take them T they were went to say Beneficia sine cura benefices without charge but now may be said Cura sine beneficio charge or care without benefit But there be many which can say such as be Ministers in the Church should 〈…〉 holy Prophets who lived poorely poverty is a commendable state So say some in like devotion as did Iudas What needeth this waste this might have beene sold for much and given to the poore not that he cared for the poore but because he was a theefe and had the bagge and bare that which was given I do but not there are many which teach Christ for Christs sake which say in their soule the Lord is my portion vvho seeke you and not yours I doubt not there are such But for the hope of posteritie I report me to all you which are Fathers and have children for whom you are carefull although your selves have a zeale and care for the house of God yet will you breed them up keepe them at Schoole and at the Universitie untill 30. or 40. yeares old to your great charges to the end they may live in glorious povertie that they may live poorely and naked like the Prophets and Apostles Our posterities shall rue that ever such Fathers went before them and Chronicles shall report this contempt of learning among the punishments and murraines and other plagues of God they shall leave it written in what time and under whose raigne this was done In the meane time what may be guessed of their meaning who thus ruine and spoile the house of God which decay the provision thereof and so basely esteeme the Ministers of his Gospell they cannot say to God the zeale of thine house hath eaten me up however in other things they doe well however they seeme to rejoyce at the prosperity of Sion and to seeke the safety and preservation of the Lords anointed yet needs must it be that by these meanes forrain power of which this Realme by the mercy of God is happily delivered shall againe be brought in upon us Such things shall be done unto us as we before suffered in the times of Popery the truth of God shall be taken away the holy Scriptures burnt and consumed in fire a marveilous darkenesse and calamity must needs ensue c. The oxe that treadeth out the corn is musled he that goeth to warfare receiveth not his wages the cry hereof goeth up into the eares of the Lord of hostes hee will not abide so great contempt of his Word and Preachers his owne name is thereby dishonoured our Saviour saith Luk. 10. He that despiseth you despiseth me and Saint Paul 1 Thess 4. he that despiseth these things despiseth not man but God and thinke we that he will suffer his holy name to be despised nay his wrath is already kindled he hath already begun his judgements and therefore many places are left desolate there is none that can warne them of their sinne none that can move them to repentance none that can preach unto them forgivenesse through Christ none that can instruct them in the comfort of everlasting life For this cause you will live still in your sinnes in adultery in covetousnesse and in pride without any feeling of conscience without any feare of God thus we provoke God to anger many walke of whom wee cannot thinke but with weeping they are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ the name of God is blasphemed among them c. These words happily seeme sharpe over vehement but the darkenes of our hearts against God and the lacke of zeale for his house inforce me to them we are almost fallen into the lowest pit we are left without zeale as sencelesse men and as if we had cleane forgotten our selves as the

Heathens which know not God therefore unlesse we repent the kingdome of God 〈…〉 will send upon this land a famine of the Word 〈…〉 and they which have not the love of the truth shall prevaile with many and withdraw them from obedience to the Prince this noble Realme shall be subject to forraine nations all this will the zeale of the Lord of hostes bring to passe I could have spent this time in opening of some other matter but nothing in my judgement is more worthy your good consideration speedy redresse c. Wherefore he concludes with a grave exhortation to her Majestie as followeth O that Your Grace did behold the miserable disorder of Gods Church or that you might foresee the calamities that will follow It is a part of your kingdome and such a part as is the principall prop and stay of the rest I will say to your Majestie as Cyrillus sometimes said to the godly Emperours Theodosius and Valentinian ab ea quae erga Deum est pietate Reipub. vestrae status pendet The good state welfare of your common-weale hangeth upon true godlinesse you are our governour you are the nurse of Gods Church We may open this griefe before you God knoweth if it may be redressed it is runne so farre But if it may bee redressed there is no other besides your highnesse that can redresse it I hope I speake truely that which I spake without flattery that God hath indued your Grace with such measure of learning and knowledge as no other Christian Prince He hath given you peace happinesse the love and the hearts of your Subjects Oh turne and employ these to the glory of God that God may confirme in your Grace the thing vvhich he hath begun To this end hath God placed Kings and Princes in their State as David saith that they serve the Lord that they may see cause others to see to the furniture of the Church The good Emperour Iustinian cared for this as much as for his life Constantine Theodosius and Valentinian and other godly Princes called themselves vassales the subjects and bond-servants of God They remembred that God furnished them in their houses and were not unmindfull to furnish his house When Augustus had beautified Rome with setting up many faire buildings he said inveni lateritiam marmoream reliqui I found it made of brick but I leave it made of marble Your Grace when God sent you to your inheritance and the right of this Realme found the Church in horrible confusion and in respect of the true worship of God a Church of bricke or rather as Ezekiel saith dawbed up with untempered morter Your Grace hath already redressed the doctrine now cast your eyes towards the Ministery give courage and countenance unto learning that Gods house may be served So shall you leave a Church of God and a testimony that the zeale of the Lords house hath eaten you up Let us have care for the house of God whosoever is not after this sort zealous is a man of a double heart we may not halt betweene two opinions If the Lord bee God follow him but if Baal bee hee then goe after him Hee that is not with Christ is against him Many talke of the Gospell and glory in their knowledge but it is neither talke nor knowledge which shall save them in that day he that feareth the Lord and serveth him with a pure heart and may truely say the zeale of thine house hath consumed me he shall be saved if they shall no escape which have zeale without knowledge what shall become of us which have knowledge without zeale And you whosoever you are that 〈…〉 Church if there be any zeale of God in you if you have any fellowship of the Spirit if any compassion and mercy if you love God if you desire the continuance of the Gospell Oh remember you have the patrimony due to them that should attend in the Lords house you take unto your selves wrongfully that which was not lotted for you Give unto Caesar those things that belong unto Caesar and unto God the things which appertaine unto him and make for the beautie and furniture of his house Enrich your selves by lawfull meanes and without the spoile and wast of Gods Church Let not the Ministery by your meanes be despised You enriched them heretofore in the dayes of Popery which mocked and blinded and devoured you spoyle not them now that feed and instruct and comfort you That reverend man of God Mr. Perkins in his Sermon of the duties and dignities of the Ministery giveth three reasons of the rarenesse and scarcenesse of good Ministers The first is the contempt and disgrace of their calling by wicked and worldly men 2. The difficultie of discharging the duties of their calling The 3. reason is more peculiar to this age of the new Testament namely Want of maintenance and preferment for men that labour in this calling Men are flesh and blood and in that respect must be allured and wonne to embrace this vocation by some arguments which may perswade flesh and blood the world hath in all ages beene negligent herein and therefore God in his Law tooke such strict order for the maintenance of the Levites but especially now under the Gospell this calling is unprovided for when it deserves best of all to be rewarded certainly it were a worthy Christian policy to propound good preferments to this calling that thereby men of the worthyest gifts might be wonne with it and the want thereof is the cause why so many young men of speciall parts and greatest hope turne to other vocations and especially to the Law wherein at this day the greatest part of the finest wits of our Kingdome are imployed and why but because they have all the meanes to rise whereas the Ministery for the the most part yeeldeth nothing but a plaine way to beggery this is a great blemish in our Church and surely I wish the Papists those children of this world were not wiser in their kinde in this point then the Church of God the reformation hereof is a worke worth the labour of a Prince and people and speciall care is to be had in it else it will not be reformed for doubtlesse had not God himselfe in the Old Testament taken such straight order for the livings of the Levites they had bin put to no lesse extremities then is the Ministery of this age and this reason added to the other makes them perfect and all put together make a reason infallible for who will undergoe so vile a contempt and undertake so great a charge for no reward and where there is so great contempt so heavy a burthen and so mean a reward what marvell if a good Minister be one of a thousand Rulers and Magistrates are hereby taught if good Ministers be so scarce to maintaine and increase and doe all good they can to the Schooles of the Prophets to Universities Colledges and Schooles of good learning which are the Seminaries of the Ministery herein the example of Samuel is very worthy 〈…〉 put off his robes and prophecied amongst them So should Christian Princes and Magistrates advance their Schooles and see them both well maintained and well stored the reason is evident and forcible a good Minister is one of a thousand if therefore they would have the number encreased let them maintaine the Seminaries And againe if Antichrist to uphold his kingdome the kingdome of Satan be so carefull herein to erect Colledges and indow them with livings to be Seminaries for his Synagogue and use so great meanes to sow his tares in the hearts of young men that so they may sow them in the hearts of the people abroad shall not Christian Princes be as carefull or ra-ther much more zealous for the encreasing of the number of Godly Ministers shall Baal have his 400. Prophets and God have his Elias alone great shame must it be to Ahab or to any King whose kingdome is in that estate Adde hereunto that passage of an excelling and worthy knight Sir Henry Spelman in his tract de non temerandis Ecclesiis Perhaps Lay Approprietaries think they may hold Parsonages and tithes by example of Celledges Deanes and Chapters Bishops of the land and of divers of our late Kings and Princes Before I speak to this point I take it by protestation that I have no heart to make apologie for it For I wish that every man might drinke the water of his owne Well eate the milke of his owne flocke and live by the fruite of his owne vineyard I meane that every member might attract no other nutriment but that which is proper to it selfe yet are they greatly deceived that draw any juyce of incouragement from these examples for all these are either the Seminaries of the Church or the husbandmen of the Church or the Fathers and nurses of the Church all de familia Ecclesiae and consequently belonging to the care of the Church and ought therefore to be sustained by it For Saint Paul saith He that provideth not for his owne and namely for them of his houshold hee denyeth the faith and is worse then an infidell 1 Tim 5. Therefore before the statute of suppression of Abbies those that were not meerely Ecclesiasticall persons yet if they were mixt or had Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction they might by the lawes of the land participate Ecclesiasticall livings and tithes particularly And this seemeth to take some ground out of the Word of God for the provinciall Levites as I may tearme them whom David severed from the Temple and placed abroad in the countrey to be rulers of the people in matters pertaining to God and the Kings businesse 1 Cron. 26.30.32 That is spiriually and temporally had their portion of tithes notwithstanding as well as the other Levites that ministred in the Temple For a farewell heare what Saint Augustine saith Homil. 48. ex lib. 50. Homil. tom 10. majores nostri ideo copiis omnibus abundabant quia Deo decimas dabant Caesari censum reddebant Our Ancesters did therefore abound in all riches because they did pay tithes unto God and tribute unto Caesar but now they are not willing to doe either Act. 28.24 Some were perswaded with things that were spoken and some beleeved not