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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	lord_n	servant_n	serve_v	7,269	5	6.9164	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10738	A sermon against oppression and fraudulent dealing: preached at Paules Crosse, the eleuenth of December, by Charles Richardson, preacher at Saint Katherines neare the Tower of London	Richardson, Charles, fl. 1612-1617.	1615 (1615)	STC 21017; ESTC S121051	31,098	45

and sinewes There is one hope of our calling Eph. 4.16 whereby wee are called to an inheritance in the Kingdome of heauen There is one Lord whose seruants wee all professe our selues to be And therefore as they that serue one Master and liue in one house ought not to wrong one another no more should wee that would bee accounted of Gods houshold offer iniury to our fellow seruants Mat. 24.49 There is one faith whereby wee belieue the same gracious promises of God for our comfort There is one Baptisme wherein wee all promised before the God of heauen before Angels and men to renounce all the cursed deedes of darkenes Last of all there is one God the Father of vs all not onely by creation as hee is also of the wicked and vnreasonable creatures in which respect Iob calleth the crawling wormes his sisters but chiefly Iob. 17.14 by grace and regeneration Quae si non prosunt singula multa iuuāt and wee all would bee reputed his children There is neuer a one of these bonds but euen single by it selfe it might bee of force to tye vs to the good behauiour towards our brethren but all of thē laide together cannot chufe if there bee any sparke of grace but mightily preuaile with vs. And therefore to apply this in a word it serueth to reproue those that breake all these bonds Solomon saith a threefold corde is not easily broken Eccl. 4.12.2 But here is a greater corde here are first as we haue heard foure arguments of brotherhood Hos 11.4 then here are seuen bonds of loue to tie and vnite vs in affection one towards another And yet all these are not strong enough There are a number of false brethren in all the former respects Gal. 2.4 And it is hard to finde any in this age 1. Cor. 6.8 that will not doe wrong and do harm euen to their brethren So that as the Prophet sayth Euery man must take heed of his neighbour Ier. 9.4.5 and not trust in any brother for euery brother will vse deceit and euery friend will deale deceitfully and euery one will deceiue his friend and will not speake the truth for they haue taught their tongues to speake lies c. Yea many are growne to that passe that they will deceiue their owne fathers The sacred profession of religion which ought to bee the nearest of all bonds that heauen and earth can affoorde is violated and troden vnder foote Yea it is too euident that there are many that vse their profession for a cloake of maliciousnesse 1. Pet. 2.16 Gal. 5.13 They thinke that men will the sooner belieue and credite them fot their profession sake and so by that meanes they doe the more dangerously deceiue And hereby it commeth to passe that the mouths of profane persons are opened against them and the holy name Gospell of God is disgraced for indeed there can no greater reproch redound to the Gospell then when they that are the professors of it make no conscience of their dealing According to that speech of the Apostle Rom. 2.24 The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you 2. Sam. 12.14 And so Nathan tolde Dauid that by that wicked deed of his hee had caused the enemies of God to blaspheme For this is the property of the vngodly that whatsoeuer they can finde amisse in a man that professeth religion presently they impute it to the profession and to the religion it selfe And hence it is that Papists on the one side and Atheists on the other side doe exclame against vs. These are your professors these are your Bible-bearers these are they that will not misse a Sermon and yet they will dissemble as deepely vse as much bad dealing as other men And doubtlesse this is that which disgraceth this famous City that hauing the Gospell so plentifully as they haue and making such a profession of religion as generally they do yet there is so little conscience and equity in their dealing And therefore let them be exhorted in the feare of God to walke answerably to their profession that so as the Apostle sayth They may take away occasion 2. Cor. 11.12 from them that desire occasion against them There is nothing in the world that ought to bee so deare vnto a Christian man no not his owne life as the credite of the Gospell And therefore as wee tender it and would bee loth to expose it to contempt by the slanderous reproaches of wicked men let vs make conscience of our wayes that they that speake euill of vs as of euill doers 1. Pet. 3.16 may be ashamed when they shall see our good conuersation in Christ And thus much shall suffice briefly to haue spoken of the first reason in this word Brother For the Lord is the auenger of all such This is the second reason which is plainely expressed And it is taken from the vengeance of God that they that will not bee drawne by loue may be forced by feare And it is added by due order to that which is supplyed out of the third verse namely It is the will of God that no man oppresse or defraud his brother for the vengeance of God doth alwayes follow the violating of his will Now it is to bee obserued that the Apostle doth vse here the present time because the Lord not onely will bee but also hath beene in all the ages of the world and still is at this day the auenger of all such things Doctrine From hence wee learne that the Lord will most surely punish all oppression and fraudulent dealing and all iniury that a man doth to his neighbour Prou. 22.22.23 The Scripture is plentiful in the proofe of this point Solomon saith Rob not the poore because hee is poore c. For the Lord will defend their cause and spoyle the soule of those that spoyle them And the Lord gaue a strict charge to the people of Israel and inforced it with a seuere threatning Exod. 22.22.23.24 Yee shall not trouble any widdow nor fatherlesse child If thou vexe or trouble any such and so he call and cry vnto me I will surely heare his cry Then shall my wrath bee kindled and I will kill you with the sword and your wiues shall be widdowes and your children fatherlesse Where wee see that the Lord will pay them home in their owne kinde And to this purpose saith the Prophet Dauid Psal 12.5 Now for the oppression of the needy and for the sighes of the poore I will vp sayth the Lord and will set at liberty him whom the wicked hath snared 10.14 And in another place Thou beholdest mischiefe and wrong that thou mayest take the matter into thy hands the poore committeth himselfe vnto thee for thou art the helper of the fatherlesse And the Apostle testifyeth that it is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation to them

but in the meane while the people will deride them And which is worst of all though as the Prophet sayth Ezech. 32 27. They goe downe to the graue with their weapons of warre c. yet their iniquity and their oppression is in their bones Somtimes they are punished in their posterity which for the most part come to beggery There is a fearefull saying in the Prophesie of Nahum The Lion Nahum 2 12 13. sayth the Prophet did teare in peeces enough for his whelpes and worried for his Lionesse and filled his holes with prey his dennes with spoyle But marke what followeth Behold I come vnto thee sayth the Lord and I will burn her charrets in the smoake and the sword shall deuoure the young Lions I will cut off thy spoyle from the earth c. wherby we see that though great men like Lions spoyle and deuoure on euery side yet their children shall be little better for it Iob. 27 1●.14 According to that which Iob saith This is the portion of a wicked man with God and the heritage of tyrants which they shall receiue of the Almighty If his children be in great number the sword shall destroy them and his posterity shall not be satisfied with bread But it is worthy our obseruation to consider what means the Lord in his prouidence vseth to bring this to passe Many times hee taketh away the couetous father before his sonne and heyre come to age at least before hee come to discretion to mannage his estate and then my young Master lasheth it out and can stand on no ground (a) Quodcunque profunda Traxit auaritia luxu peiore refundit Claudian till with a forke he haue cast abroad al that his father gathered together with a rake We need not goe farre for instances in this case There hath been sufficient experience of it in this City Haue not your eyes seene mountaines of wealth heaped vp by vniust courses sodenly thawed away like yce before the sunne and melted like waxe when it hath felte the heate of the fire And this is that which is spoken in our common Prouerbe Malê parta malê dilabuntur Euill gotten goods are euill spent Nay a small thing that is euill gotten will by the iust iudgement of God proue a canker to waste and consume a great deale that is well gotten Rarò gaudebit tertius haeres And though peraduenture this proue not true in the first heire yet such goods doe seldome continue to the third generation Another punishment that God inflicteth vpon such persons is this that their prayers are not heard As the Lord himselfe threatneth them Isa 1.15 Though yee make many prayers I will not heare because your hands are full of bloud And Sirach sayth well to this purpose Eccl. 34.25 When one prayeth and another curseth whose voyce will the Lord heare How then can they looke to haue their prayers heard when a great number of those whom they haue oppressed doe cry for vengeance against them If a man should come before an earthly Iudge to craue fauour for himselfe a multitude of poore men with their wiues and children should fall on their knees before the Iudge complain what wrong and iniuries he hath done vnto them the iudge would neuer respect him much lesse can such persons looke for any fauour at Gods hand so long as the cry of the oppressed is in his eares Sometimes they are punished with a guilty conscience as one sayth well They haue gaine in their cofers Lucrum in arca damnum in conscientia c. Rom. 2.5 but losse in their conscience yea gaine that is vniustly come by is a wofull treasury Such persons doe treasure vp to themselues wrath against the day of wrath c. Euery penny that is hoorded vp by sinnefull courses will bring with it in the end a pound of horror of conscience These are the punishments wherewith God taketh vengeance on oppressors and fraudulent persons in this life And though it should fall out that they should escape all these 1. Cor. 6.9.10 yet there is a farre worse after this life and that is they shall for euer bee excluded out of the Kingdome of heauen And therefore let mee vse that exhortation of the Prophet Dauid vnto them O consider this you that forget God Psal 50.22 lest he teare you in peeces and there be none to deliuer you For as the Apostle saith Heb. 10.31 It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God But it may bee they will obiect They hope to doe well inough for all this They will doe some deedes of Charity when they die they will build an Hospitall or an Almes house or some way or other relieue the poore and that shall make amends for all But let all such persons know that the Prophet maketh this a speciall property of a godly man to giue his own bread to the hungry Ezech. 13.7 Vpon which place Hierom wel obserueth that the Prophet doth sufficiently say his own bread lest mē should turne bread gotten by oppression and vsury into a work of mercy As wee see many doe sayth he who oppresse by their power or commit theft that of much they may giue a little to the poore and the Minister may make mention of their names among the benefactors They please themselues in the applause of the people when their conscience stingeth and vexeth them within I do not deny but the poore may be much relieued comforted by this means but whether it will be acceptable to God or no that is the question Barnard hath a sweet saying to this purpose (a) Non recepit Eleemosynas de manu raptoris aut foeneratoris Credo non redolebant lilia manus illae propterea respuebat munus exillis qui pasci inter lilia consueuit non inter ●spinas in Cant. Serm. 71. God receyueth not saith hee any almes at the hands of an oppressor or an vsurer I thinke his hands do not smell of lilies but of thorns and therefore hee refused to take a gift from them who feedeth among the lilies and not among the thornes Yea Plinius Secundus though an heathen man speaketh very grauely concerning this point (b) Pauperes non vt ferarum catuli sanguine caedibus muriendi quodque gratissimum est accipientibus scient dari sibi quod nemini est ereptum Paneggyr ad Traianum Prou. 3.9 Ephes 4.28 The poore saith he are not to be fed like the whelpes of wilde beasts with bloud and murther But then is a gift most acceptable to them that receiue it when they know that that which is giuen to them is not taken from some body els VVhen a man shall thinke this meat that I eate was taken out of the mouthes of many fatherlesse children this gowne or this apparrell that I weare was taken from the backs of the poore