Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	form_n	public_a	set_a	3,224	5	10.4233	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66817	Hermes theologus, or, A divine Mercurie dispatcht with a grave message of new descants upon old records no lesse delightfull in the best sense, then truly usefull for these times / by Theoph. Wodenote ...	Wodenote, Theophilus, d. 1662.	1649 (1649)	Wing W3242; ESTC R38728	47,955	188

world were bound to the breath of other mens mouths shew me a proof for that point thou wouldst have me to beleeve or follow prove what thou preachest if I shall beleeve thee I shall ever imbrace one full proofe before a thousand flaunting protestations Tell not me of uses only and uses upon uses I shall ever be afraid to make use of the roome of that house where I am still in doubt whether the foundation be sure XLIV IT was an heroicall answer which was given by Charles the fifth Emperour to such as would have perswaded him not to send back Luther being come unto him under his safe conduct that though the performances of promises were cleare banished the face of the earth yet they should be kept by an Emperour Going often into the Sanctuary of God and having there clearly found so many precepts for the reverent handling of Gods word the which I hope they have promised to keepe what though Ministers now adaies be earnestly perswaded and urged to take the name of God in vaine and to Preach extempore what though otherwise they are like to loose all esteeme amongst worldly men and to be outed of all their meanes yet is it a good resolution for every Preacher that feareth God to imbrace and observe without exception Be the impudent guize of others applauded and admired and preferred be fear and reverence banished from the Church I will never presume to ascend a Pulpit without private and publick both prayer and premeditation By me the sacred word of God shall never willingly be prophaned XLV THe Lacedemonians banished Ctesiphon for that he vaunted that he could discourse all the day of any subject that was put unto him they thought that words should not be long and empty but short and the subject of much matter but like pretious jewels containe great riches in a little roome They conceived that speech ought to be so precious a treasure as not to be used in vaine and wastfully But have the people such an evill conceit now adaies of copiam verborum of over-flowers with words who for a drop of wit have a floud of elocution who trust more to the slipperyness of their tongues then to the soundnesse of their cause or though they do not banish them do they mislike to hear them Do they not rather thinke their wisdome to be as fluent as their words Do they not rather take them for the best preachers that can most vary phrases and talke longest and loudest though nothing to the business though much mudde of vanity must needs issue out where the sluce of moderation is plucked up and passage given to all that can be spoken And yet how could the Lacedemonians come to hear what we have often heard that for every idle word though neither in it self false nor yet hurtfull and prejudiciall unto others and therefore much more for tedious Sermons full of tautologies besides unreasonable treacherous and prophane matters a strict account there must assuredly be rendred XLVI AUgustus Caesar on a time as he was passing through Rome and saw certain strange women lulling Apes and whelpes in their armes What said he have the women of these Countries no other Children You that so admire and run after those as the only profound Teachers who were never bred as Scholars who understand not one of those tongues wherein the holy Ghost wrote great helps to learne his meaning and therefore cannot convince hereticks as true Ministers ought for the translations often faile and cannot alwaies expresse the force of words in the Originall can you find in neither of our famous Universities so learned and so holy men as these your new mountebanks that can mount from the boate or the coach to the desk from the shop-board to the Pulpit can you meet with no stronger workemen then such weake hinds no better leaders then such blind guides no skilfuller Pilots then such as never sailed one league from the shore XLVII WHensoever Alexander the Great heard any plaintiff he was wont to stop one eare and being asked why he did so answered I keepe the other free for the defence of the accused that so I may stand indifferent till the truth be throughly canvassed If an heretick or schismatick mutineere or Rebell can get the first acquaintance with some men he may easily so forestall and fill both their ears with a false report as to leave no roome for any farther information He may quickly lead them or rather mislead them whither his perverse humour inclineth The first tale cunningly told carrieth thē without baile or mainprize into any crazed opinion or carnal resolution whatsoever against their Country Prince yea God himselfe Alexander was not more reserved and reasonable then they are weake and wilfull XLVIII WE read of them who dwell about the fall of the River Nilus where it tumbleth downe from high mountaines that they are made deafe by the greatness of the sound and noise of the waters The many great and strange lies that in these desperate times have been spread abroad by loud-sounding Trumpets all the Kingdom over the tumultuous noise that all Protestant and conformable Divines are ranke Papists or Popishly affected that their faith and service is cursed and damnable that a set forme of publique Prayer is Antichristian and abominable and no more acceptable to God then the offering of swines flesh was under the Law which the Lord abhorred have made many of the common people and some no doubt who have a devotion atherwise to serve God aright so hard and dull of hearing that they cannot now for their hearts and souls perceive the still and soft voice of the truth XLIX WAlter Mapes sometimes Arch-deacon of Oxford the next age after the Conquest having written of a gross Simoniacall bargaine made by the Pope shutteth up his narration thus Notwithstanding let our Lady and Mother the Church of Rome be as a staffe bowed in the water and let us not beleeve what we see (k) De Nugis Can. Let a true Protestant give but any the least advantage of suspition let him but looke over the hedge be the complaint never so false the proof never so slender the man never so guiltlesse the horse is stoln and he must needs be the man There is no pleading to be made to it there is no beleeving the contrary but let a brother of the faction apparently commit a most foule offence let him be taken in the manner let the case be clear by sufficient witnesses yet we must not beleeve all that we hear or see both our eares and our eyes may be deceived the man may be right still as a staffe in the water how bowed how crooked soever it appear L. PEnelope but a heathenish woman was sollicited by many unchaste wooers to wrong her husband Ulysses who had been absent from her twenty years yet neither by suiters promises nor her owne Parents intreaties could she be drawn to breake her