Selected quad for the lemma: opinion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
opinion_n	church_n	heresy_n	heretical_a	602	5	10.5324	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49242	The dejected soules cure tending to support poor drooping sinners. With rules, comforts, and cautions in severall cases. In divers sermons, by Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Laurence Jury. To which is added, I. The ministry of the angels to the heirs of salvation. II. Gods omnipresence. III. The sinners legacy to their posterity.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.	1657 (1657)	Wing L3151; ESTC R215529	168,974	219

Church of God was never in a more glorious condition then it is at this day Yet whatsoever they say he that doth but rightly look at things and make but a diligent scrutiny into the Churches condition may easily see and behold the Church of God to be very low that the glory and the face of the Church of God was never so blurred as at this day and in these times wherein we live and we may say where is our glory become we may see our glory even standing on the threshold and ready to take her wings and fly away as a Bird and our eyes may behold it if God prevent it not for do we not see a cloud of troubles and sore afflictions hanging over our heads ready to fall upon us in these parts of the world and will certainly fall if God out of his infinite mercy do not prevent it Do we not behold prophaness and wickedness yea great wickedness to abound among us and that to appear also in the Church and that doth appear so much the more when the government of the Church which should keep out heresie and prophaness is cryed down and a toleration of all religions cryed up as if that were the true Church where most prophaness and errors abound where ever these sins abound there we may judge that it is the Churches swouning if not the Churches dying time The erroneous doctrines doctrines of Divels which do so much abound in our daies who do cast off the Assemblies of the true Church and seduce the people to sinful practices labouring to corrupt their judgements by unbottoming them from the truth and new principling them with false opinions these are the things do most hurt us This was that which troubled the Church of God of old in Revel 2. 15. this is called Satans seat where such opinions are propagated in verse 13. and these Principles are those which God hateth and for which God hath a controversie with the people where ever they are tolerated these opinions errors and heresies are they that disturbe the peace and trouble the patience of the Church of God not onely when wicked men are in power and place in the state but when wicked and prophane erroneous heretical and heterodox Opinions trouble the Church and the Lord knows how soon this Land may be overspread with them that may make us to say that the glory of the Church is departed and flown away for these are the Churches reproach and not her glory For if things do go on as we see they begin the Church of God may say they were never in a worse condition But in the handling of this particular that the people of God may not be too much cast down for seeing the calamity of the Church I shall First lay down some cautions 2. I shall shew you that the people of God have been afflicted for the calamaties of the Church 3. To shew you the difference between the sympathizing with the Church in her troubles and sinful troubles of mind 4. To lay down some Rules that notwithstanding the troubles of the Church and people of God be many and great yet it is the duty of the people of God not to be too much cast down First When I say that the people of God are not to be too much troubled for the calamities of the Church I do not intend by that to press you to a Stoical insensibility and sottish stupidity of the Churches miseries as you are not to be like Stoicks not to be troubled for the calamities of the Church at all not to have any fellow-feeling in your brothers miseries you must not be of an indifferent Galliolike spirit not to be cast down nor affected with the troubles of the Church but I would have you to be affected with the afflicted for the troubles of the Church in measure in a holy sense and a holy humbleness of heart for the troubles of the Church Secondly When you do find such a sympathizing and sensible fellow-feeling of the Churches miseries you are to cherish and to stir up that in you and that you are not to check your hearts for it for this is your duty and not your sin 1 Cor. 12. 26. as it is with the body corporal and natural so it is with the body mystical and spiritual as in the body if the head be in pain all the body every member of the body is sensible of it so it is with the mystical body if one member be in pain and suffer the rest of the members are in trouble for it Thirdly You are to check those castings down and those troubles of soul that doe disanimate and discourage you and lay you under such sorrow of spirit and under such trouble of mind as to lay you under a hopeless condition and that in your sorrrw you cannot retain any future hopes concerning the Churches future welfare and thus having laid down the cautions 2. I shall now lay down the Second particular to shew you that the people of God of old have been greatly sensible of and afflicted for the troubles of the Church of God and under this Head there are two sorts of persons to be considered 1. Those that did foresee the troubles of the Church and they did fear it and were troubled for it 2. Those that did feel the troubles of the Church when it did come and these were troubled also First Those that did foresee when the troubles of the Church would come and they were troubled the one was Elisha he did foresee the troubles of the Church and he fell a weeping and when he was with Hazael he asked What doth trouble thee my Lord And he answered and said Because of the evil and the wickedness that thou wilt doe unto the children of Israel to dash them against the stories and the strong holds thou wilt set on fire and then women thou wilt rip up with child the story you may read in 2 Kings 8. 12. 13. For saith he thou shalt come to be King and thou shalt do this great wickednesse and the consideration of what this man would doe to the Church of God made this good man so to weep And so likewise we read of the Prophet Isaiah Therefore said I Look away from me I will weep bitterly or I will be bitter in weeping labour not to comfort me Why what is the matter that this good man will be thus heavy and weep because of the spoiling of the daughters of my people What should the Prophet weep so for there was nothing in his daies but quietnesse and peace and plenty and yet in these daies the Prophet wept bitterly and would not be conforted the trouble was not now really come for it came not a hundred years after his death but the Prophet did foresee that it would come certainly upon the people of God and this consideration made him to weep and for this his heart was sore troubled