Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	adam_n	law_n	moral_a	4,944	5	10.5377	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01704	The blessing of a good king Deliuered in eight sermons vpon the storie of the Queene of the south, her words to Salomon, magnifying the gouernment of his familie and kingdome. By Thomas Gibson, minister.	Gibson, Thomas, M.A.	1614 (1614)	STC 11841; ESTC S103127	203,984	514

contemne the faithfull preachers deliuering vnto vs the certaine and sure word of God The Romanes shall condemne vs who gaue such honour to the obscure writings of Sybilla that in all doubts they rested vpon them we neglect the scriptures which are able to resolue vs in all doubts and to comfort vs in the greatest extremities The Papists shall condemne vs who make more account of their own traditions then we do of Christs Gospell They are more constant in errors then we in the truth they goe further to a masse then we to a sermon they are more liberall in mainetaining of Idolatrous Priestes then we aree to maintaine the Lords faithfull ministers They take more care and paines in drawing as many as they can to their idolatrous superstition then we are to drawe men to true religion They liberally maintaine their followers and fauourers we suffer many true professors and Christians to want Our forefathers who liued in blindnes shall condemne vs who were full of good deeds abounding in hospitalitie liberalitie and almes deeds dealing iustly honestly and vprightly in their contractes and bargaines Many amongst vs vnder the Gospell are couetous miserable and vnmercifull full of deceit and crueltie These miserable worldlings shall condeme vs who doe so much followe the world and bestowe so much care and paines vpon it neglecting no time or occasion of gaine whereas we are sloathfull carelesse and negligent in heauenly things These two examples of the Niniuites and this woman alledged by our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell against the vnthankefull and disobedient Iewes may as truly and as iustly be applied against vs. The Niniuites shall rise in iudgement and condemne this generation They hearing but one Ionas and one sermon threatning destruction beleeued God repented of their sinnes and shewed the fruites of their faith and repentance but how many sermons haue we heard and that by sundrie men and a long time sermons of mercy alluring vs by the sweet promises of God and sermons of iudgements threatning thundring euerlasting damnation and yet where is our repentance where are the fruites of our faith and obedience A fewe sermons or one sermon was sufficient to witnes against vs how much more such a multitude of sermons so long continued By the mouth of two or three witnesses euery thing shall be established And the Apostle accounteth his sermons and Epistles as witnesses against the Corinthians And if the very shaking off the dust of the feete of Gods seruants be a sufficient witnes against an vnthankfull people how much more shall they themselues their continuall labours and sermons testifie against them to their vtter shame and confusion And if our Sauiour Christ pronounce so hard a sentēce against Chorazin Bethsaida Capernaum amongst whō he preached but a small time what shall become of vs that haue had the Gospell preached so often and so long a time Our Sauiour preached publikely in the world but three yeares onely he taught in many other places he bestowed but some of that time in those Cities Now if one yeares preaching two or three yeeres preaching be sufficient to drawe vpon an impenitent people such heauie iudgements and damnation what shall become of those which haue had the Gospell preached some tenne yeares some 20. some 30. some 40. some 50. yeares and yet haue beene and are still most vnthankfull and vnprofitable hearers The lawe of nature was sufficient to make vs inexcusable much more the morall lawe of God written and most of all if to these two be ioyned the Gospell of Christ these are three heauie witnesses against vs. But to come to the example we haue in hand and to make some speciall vse of it to our owne soules This woman the Queene of the South shall rise in iudgment condemne this generation wherin we liue She trauelleth far taketh vpon her a great long teadious dangerous painefull and costly iourney but many amongst vs are secure idle and sloathfull fewe or none will labour for it Nay they will scarce haue it receiue it though they may haue it with ease without any cost or labour If any haue care and conscience to seeke for wisedome abroad wanting it at home such are derided scoffed hated and persecuted by the most sort of men This woman reuerenceth her teacher and thinketh nothing too deare for him Many despise their faithfull teachers little regarding their doctrine seeking their discredit and offering them iniuries and as for maintenance they thinke a litle too much they grudge to giue that little which the lawe alloweth in many places and hardly can any be drawne to voluntarie contributions and if they be they are soone wearie of it The Children of Israel doe offer voluntarie gifts for the building of the tabernacle as gold siluer precious stones and they were so free and gaue so much that the Lord said to Moses The people bring too much and more then enough for the vse of the worke which the Lord hath commanded to be made And in an other place the people and Princes offering many thousand tallents of gold siluer and precious stones It is said The people reioyced when they offered willingly And Dauid the King reioyced with great and blessed God for their franke offering Where are such people where are such hearts so free and liberall to maintaine Gods house In an other place The children of Israel they pulled their eare-rings from their eares to make a golden Calfe and Baalls Prophets are richly and liberally maintained Our forefathers haue beene very bountifull and prodigall in maintaining Idolatrous Priests they gaue indeed too much to the Church euen the very wealth and fatte of the world but we are come to an other extremitie they gaue too much we giue little or nothing nay that which is worst of all we take away that which was giuen by others Oh what account shall these make which spoyle robbe the Church Nay which robbe God himselfe If Christ shall say to those which haue not releeued and harboured his seruants Depart yee cursed to euerlasting fire shall not those be partakers of that heauie sentence to whom the iudge may truly say I had meate drinke of my own but you tooke it from me I had house and harbour but you thrust me out Whosoeuer they be that are not readie willing to releeue and maintaine the faithfull teachers they thinke basely of the word they doe not truly loue it nor take it to be their felicitie for as loue is painefull to seeke for wisdome so it is bountiful to maintaine it Want of maintenance is the decay of learning religion by this pollicie Sathan doth hinder keep backe many from this calling and discomfort many that are in it Therefore not onely this woman but also many other as the Iewes and our forefathers yea Iezabell in maintaining Baalls Priests shall condemne the miserablenes the couetousnes the hard dealing and vnkindnesse of this our

the profite and commodity of his subiects These be the worthy sayings and sentences of Heathen men which may be iustly alledged and applied to the shame and condemnation of many Christian Rulers who in ruling seeke onely or at least chiefly their owne ease and priuate gaine and haue little or no regard to the common good This is not to doe iudgement and iustice this is not to doe equity and righteousnesse for these or any of these taken in a large sence do cōprehend the whole duety of a Magistrate according to the rule of Gods word The Lord complaining of corrupt Rulers he saith that he looked for iudgement but behold oppression for righteousnes but behold a crying And in another place he saith Let iudgement run downe as waters and righteousnesse as a mighty riuer Righteousnesse and Iustice doth containe all vertues in them Righteousnesse saith one doth more profite others then it selfe doth neglect her owne profites preferring the common good giuing to euery one that which is right and this righteousnesse is first to God secondly to our Countrey And another saith whosoeuer thou art that desirest righteousnesse first feare God and loue him that thou mayst bee loued of him thou shalt loue God if thou follow him in this that thou art willing to doe good to all and hurt to none The righteousnesse of a King is the peace of his people the safety of his Countrey the comfort of the poore the calmnesse of the sea the temperature of the aire the fruitfulnesse of the earth the heritage of children and to himselfe the hope of future blessednesse Another doth most excellently set out the duty of Princes and Rulers in these words The Iustice of a King is that hee doe not wrongfully oppresse any man by his power that hee iudge betweene man and man without acceptance of persons that hee bee a defence to the stranger fatherlesse and widdow that hee suppresse theft punish adultery exalt not the wicked mainetaine no quarrellers nor lacisciuious persons roote out the peruerse permit no murtherers nor periured persons to liue that he vphold the Church feed the poore establish iust men in publicke Offices retaine ancient wise and discreet Counsellers that in any wise hee apply not himselfe to the superstition of Deuiners Magitians and Pithonicall Spirits that hee deferre his displeasure and defend his Country from his enemies with Magnaminity and Iustice that hee repose his whole confidence in God that he bee not puft vp in prosperity and with patitience to beare aduersity that he mainetaine the Catholicke Faith and suffer not any wickednesse in his children that hee allot certaine howers to prayers to God and eate not but in due season for woe to thee ô Land where thy Gouernours rise earely to eate the performing of these things doe bring prosperity in this life and doth leade the King to a better Dominion euen to a Celestiall and eternall Kingdome such Iustice and Righteousnesse in good Rulers is the safety of the people and doth prolong and defend the State and is the strongest Guard and the ●●st Physition for the fafe-gard and health of a Land Onely there is a Common-wealth saith Scipio onely there is a good state of a Comminalty where Iustice and Honesty hath free execution whether it bee by King by Nobles or by the whole People but when the King becomes vniust the Nobles become vniust and the people themselues become vniust then it is not a vicious Common-wealth but it is iust no Common-wealth at all and that as in instruments that go with strings or winde or as in voyces consorted there is one certaine proportion of discrepant notes vnder one harmony the least alteration whereof is harsh in the eare of the skilfull hearer and that this concord doth consist of a number of contrary sounds and yet all combined into one perfect Musicke or Melody so in a Citty that is gouerned by reason of all the highest meane and lowest estates as of soundes there is one true concord made out of discord and natures and that which is harmony in musicke is vnity in a Citty This is the firmest and surest bond of safety to the Common-wealth which can neuer stand without equity and iustice and iniustice is the decay and ouerthrow of Townes Citties and Kingdomes Now that Equity and Iustice may flourish in the Common-wealth three things are necessarily required First there must bee Lawes Secondly there must be Iudges and Officers thirdly there must be execution of Lawes Now Law is defined to bee a constant and perpetuall good thing without which no House no Citty no Country no state of men no naturall creature not the world it selfe can consist firme and stable Chrisippus cals it a knowledge of all Diuine and Humae matters commanding equity and expulsing wickednesse and wrong There bee three kind of Lawes one Naturall that is not onely appropriated to man but also it concerneth all other liuing things either in Earth Sea or Aire as we perceiue all liuing creatures naturally haue certaine familiarity of male and female for procreation of Issue and a procliuity to nourish the same the which proceedeth of a Naturall Law ingraffed in thē by Nature it selfe that is God The second is named the Law that all men vse which is called Ius Gentium the Law of Nations generally vsed through the world as to shew a man the way to communicate to men the commodity of the Elements as Water and Fire to this appertaineth the Law of Armes The third kind of Law is called the Ciuill Law that is the priuate Law of euery Country or Citty as of the Romanes Lacedemonians Athenians this consisteth in Decrees of Princes Statutes and Proclamations Such Lawes Ceres made first or as some thinke Radamanthus and afterward others in diuers Countries deuised and ordained Lawes as in Athens Draco and Solon in Egypt Mercury in Creet Minos in Lacedemony Lycurgus in Tire Tharandes in Argoes Phorones in Rome Romulus in Italy Pythagoras or as some thinke the Arcadies that were vnder Leuander as their Soueraigne Lord and chiefe Captaine Notwithstanding the true Authour of Lawes was God which first planted in vs the Law of Nature and in processe of time when that was corrupted by Adam and his Posterity hee gaue by Moses the Law written to reduce vs againe to our first state Lawes must bee knowne and they must bee agreeing to the Lawes of God and Nature The end of Lawes the publicke good and safety of all which consisteth in the worship of God in honesty and righteousnesse such Lawes are to forbid and to restraine false worship Idolatry and prophanesse disobedience murther adultery theft and all wickednesse such Lawes must be common to all there must be no priuiledge no immunity no impunity the greatest and the highest must be subiect to such lawes and bee willing to performe them as well as the meanest for such Lawes are more necessary then the