Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	christian_a	good_a	great_a	1,012	4	2.0712	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18193	The lamentacion of a synner, made by ye most vertuous Ladie, Quene Caterin, bewayling the ignoraunce of her blind life: set furth and put in print at the instaunt desire of the righte gracious ladie Caterin duchesse of Suffolke, [and] the earnest requeste of the right honourable Lord, William Parre, Marquesse of North Hampton	Catharine Parr, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1512-1548.; Burghley, William Cecil, Baron, 1520-1598.	1547 (1547)	STC 4827; ESTC S108944	34,896	122

The lamentacion of a sinner made by y e most vertuous Ladie Quene Caterin bewayling the ignoraunce of her blind life set furth and put in print at the instaunt desire of the righte gracious ladie Caterin Duchesse of Suffolke the earnest requeste of the right honourable Lord William Parre Marquesse of North Hampton Wiliam Cicill hauing taken muche profit by y e reading of this treatyse folowing wisheth vnto euery christian by y e reading therof like profit with increase from god MOste gentle Christian reader yf matiers shoulde be rather confirmed by their reporters than the reportes warraunted by the maters I might iustely bewayle our tyme wherin euil deades be well woorded and good actes euill cleped But synce truthe is y e thinges be not good for their prayses but be praysed for their goodnes I doe not moue the to lyke this christian treatise bycause I haue mynde to prayse it but I exhorte the to mynde it for the goodnes thou shalt allowe it for whose likinge I labour not to obteyne only moued by my example their iudgement I regarde chieflye confirmed by by the matier Truely our tyme is so disposed to graunte good names to euill fruites and excellente termes to meane workes that neyther can good dedes enioye their due names being defrauded by the euill neyther excellente workes can possesse their worthy termes beinge forstalled by the meane In so muche that men seeke rather howe muche they can then howe muche they ought to saye inclininge more to their pleasure thē to theyr iudgement and to shewe them selues rather elo●uent then the matier good so that neyther the goodnes of the cause can moue them to saye more neyther the euilnes lesse For if the excellencye of this christian contemplacion eyther for y e goodnes herin to maruaill appering eyther for the proffyt herupon to the reader ensewinge shoulde be with due commendacion folowed I of necessitie shoulde eyther trauayle to fynde oute newe wordes the olde being anticipated by euill matiers or wishe that the commen speache of praysing were spared vntill conuenient maters were founde to spende it suche is the plentye of praysing and scarcenes of deseruing Wherfore lackinge the manner in woordes and not the matier in deade of high commēdacion I am compelled to kepe in my iudgemente with sylence trusting whō my reaport coulde not haue moued to lyke thys present treatise the worthines of the matier shal compell to geue it honour Any earthely manne woulde sone be stirred to see some mistery of magike or practise of alchumye or perchaunce some enchauntemente of Elementes But thou whiche art christened hast here a wonderful mistery of the mercy of god a heuenly practise of regeneracion a spirituall Enchauntement of the grace of god Yf Ioye and tryumphes be shewed when a kinges childe is borne to the worlde what Ioye is sufficient when goddes childe is regenerated from heauen Th one is fleshe whiche is borne of fleshe The other is spirite whiche is borne of Spirit The one also shall wither like y e grasse of the yearth in shorte tyme the other shal lyue in heauen beyond al time Yf the finding of one lost shepe be more ioyfull then the hauing of ninetie and nyne what Ioye is it to consyder the returne of a straye childe of almightye god whose returne teacheth the nyentie and nine to come to their folde Euen suche cause of Ioye is this that the Aungells in heauen take comforte herin be thou therfore ioyfull where a noble childe is newlie borne shewe thy selfe gladde where the lost shepe hathe wunne the hole flocke be thou not sad wherin Aungelles reioyce Here mayst thou see one if the kinde maye moue the a woman if degre may prouoke the a woman of highe estate by birthe made noble by mariage most noble by wisdome godly by a mighty king an excellent Quene by a famous Henry a renoumed Katheryne a wife to hym that was a kinge to realmes refusinge the worlde wherin she was loste to obteyne heauen wherin she maye be saued abhorringe synne whiche made her bounde to receyue grace wherby she may be fre dispising fleshe the cause of corrupcion to put on the spirite y e cause of sanctificacion forsaking ignoraunce wherin she was blind to come to knowledge wherby she may se remouing supersticion wherwith she was smothered to enbrace trew Religion wherwith she may reuiue The fruit of thys treatise good Reader is thye amendment this only had the writer is satisfied This good lady thought no shame to detect her sinne to obteyne remissiō no vilenes to become nothing to be a mēbre of hī which is al thinges is all no folye to forget the wisdome of the worlde to lerne the Simplicitie of the gospel at the last no displeasauntnes to submyt her selfe to the scole of the Crosse the learning of the crucifixe the booke of our redēpciō y e very obsolute library of goddes mercye and wisdome Thys way thought she her honour encreased and her state permanente to make her yearthlye honour heauenly and neglect the transitorye for the euerlastynge Of this I woulde the warned that y e profit may ensewe These greate misteries and graces be not well perceyued except they be suerly studied neyther be they perfectly studied except they be diligently practised neither profitablye practysed without amendement Se lerne hereby what she hath doone then mayst thou practise and amend that thou canst do so shalt thou practise with ease hauing a guyde amende w t profit hauing a zeale It is easyer to see these then to learne begynne at the easyest to come to the harder see thou her confession that thou maist lerne her repētaunce practyse her perseueraunce that thou mayst haue lyke amendemente displease thy selfe in eschewing vice that thou mayste please god in askynge grace let not shame hinder thy confessiō whiche hindred not the offence be thou sure yf we knowledge our sinnes god is faythful to forgiue vs and to clense vs from all vnryghteousnes obey y e prophetes saying declare thy wayes to the lord Thus far thou maist learne to knowe thy selfe next this be thou as diligent to releiue thye selfe in goddes mercy as thou hast bē to reuele thy selfe in thine owne repentaunce For god hath cōcluded al thinges vnder sinne because he woulde haue mercy vpon al who hath also borne our sinnes in his body vpon the tre y t we shoulde be delyuered from sinne shoulde lyue vnto rightwisnes by whose stripe we be healed here is oure anker here is our shepeherd here we be made hole here is our life our redempcion our saluacion and our blisse let vs therfore nowe fede by thys gracious quenes example and be not ashamed to become in confession publicanes since thys noble lady wil be no Pharesie And to all ladies of estate I wishe as ernest minde to folow our quene in vertue as in honour that they might once appere to prefer god before the worlde and be honorable

in religion whiche nowe be honorable in vanyties so shall they as in some vertuouse ladies of right high estate it is with greate comforte seene taste of this fredome of remission of this euerlastyng blisse whiche excedeth all thoughtes and vnderstandinges and is prepared for the holie in spirite for the which let vs with our intercessiō in holynes and purenes of lyfe offer our selfes to the heauenly father an vndefiled host to whom be eternall prayse and glorye through all the yearth without ende Amen A lamentaciō or complaynte of A Synner WHen I considre in the bethinking of myne euill wretched former life myne obstynate stony and vntractable herte to haue so much exceded in euilnes y t it hath not only neglected yea cōtemned dispised goddes holy preceptes cōmaundementes But also enbrased receyued and estemed vayne folish and feyned tryfles I am partely by the hate I owe to sinne who hathe reygned in me partely by the loue I owe to all Christians whom I am contente to edifye euen with thexample of mine owne shame forced and constrayned with my harte and wordes to cōfesse and declare to the worlde howe ingrate negligent vnkynde and stubberne I haue bene to god my Creatour and howe beneficiall mercyfull and gentill he hath ben alwayes to me his creature beyng suche a miserable wretched sinner Truly I haue taken no lytle small thing vpō me firste to set furth my whole stubbernes and contempt in wordes the which is incomprehensible in thought as it is in the Psalme who vnderstandeth hys faultes next this to declare the excellente beneficence mercy goodnes of god which is infinite vnmeasurable neyther can all the wordes of Angelles men make relaciō therof as apperteyneth to hys moste high goodnes Who is he that is not forced to confesse the same if he consyder what he hath receyued of god and dothe dayly receyue Yea if men woulde not acknowledge confesse the same the stones would crie it out Trulye I am constrayned forced to speake write therof to mine own cōfusiō shame but to the great glorye and prayse of god For he as a louyng father of moste habundant and high goodnes hath heaped vpon me innumerable benefites and I contrary haue heaped manifolde sinnes dispysing that whiche was good holy pleasant and acceptable in hys sight and choysing that whiche was delicious pleasant and acceptable in my sight And no meruayle it was that I so dyd for I would not learne to knowe y e lord and hys wayes But loued darkenes better then light Yea darknes semed to me light I enbraced ignorance as perfect knowlege knowelege seamed to me superfluous vayne I regarded little goddes worde but gaue my selfe to vanities and shadowes of the worlde I forsooke him in whom is all truth folowed the vayne folishe imaginacions of my hert I would haue couered my sinnes with the pretence of holynes I called supersticion godly meaning and true holynes erroure The lord did speake many pleasant and swete wordes vnto me and I woulde not heare he called me diuersly but throughe frowardnes I woulde not answere Mine euilles and miseries be so many and great that they accuse me euen to my face Oh howe miserably wretchedly am I confounded when for the multitude and greatnes of my sinnes I am cōpelled to accuse my selfe Was it not a merueylous vnkyndnes when god dyd speake to me and also call me that I woulde not answer him what man so called woulde not heaue harde or what man hearyng woulde not haue answered Yf an earthlye Prince had spoken eyther called him I suppose there be none but would willingly haue done bothe Now therfore what a wretche Caytife am I that when the Prince of princes y e king of kinges did speake many pleasant and gentle woordes vnto me also called me so many sundry times that they canne not be numbred And yet notwithstandyng these greate signes tokens of loue I woulde not cum vnto him but hyd my selfe out of his sight seking many crooked bye wayes wherin I walked so longe that I had cleane loste his sight And noo maruayle or woundre for I had a blinde guyde called Ignoraūce who dimmed so mine eyes that I could neuer perfectlye get any sighte of the fayre goodly streight and ryght wayes of hys doctrine but cōtinually trauayled vncomfortablie in the foule wicked croked peruerce wayes Yea bicause they were so much haunted of many I coulde not thinke but I walked in the perfect right way hauing more regarde to the numbre of the walkers then to the order of the walking beleuing also moste surely with company to haue walked to heauen wheras I am most sure they woulde haue brought me downe to hell I forsoke the spirituall honoring of y e true liuyng god worshipped visible idoles and ymages made of mennes handes beleuing by them to haue gotten heauē yea to say y e truthe I made a great ydol of my selfe For I loued my selfe better then god And certaynely looke howe many thinges are loued or preferred in our hartes before god so many are taken and estemed for ydolles and false goddes Alas howe haue I violated this holy pure moste high precepte and commaundement of the loue of god whiche precepte byndeth me to loue hym w t my hole harte minde force strength vnderstāding And I like vnto an euyll wicked disobedient childe haue gyuen my wil power and sences to the contrary making almoste of euery earthly carnall thing a god Furthermore the bloud of Christe was not reputed by me sufficient for to wassh me frō the fylth of my sinnes neyther suche wayes as he hath appoynted by his word But I sought for such rifraf as the bisshoppe of Rome hath planted in his tyranny and kingdom trusting with greate confidence by the vertue holynes of thē to receyue full remission of my sinnes And so I did as much as was in me to obfuscate and darken the great benefite of Christes passion then the whiche no thought cā cōceyue any thing of more value There can not be dooen so great an iniury and displeasure to almighthy god our father as to treade vnder foote Christ his only begotten wel-beloued Sonne All other sinnes in the worlde gathered together in one be not so heynous and detestable in the sight of god And no wonder for in Christe crucified god doth shewe him selfe most noble and gloryouse euen an almighty god and most louing father in his onlye deere and chosen blessed sonne And therfore I counte my selfe one of the moste wicked myserable sinners bycause I haue ben so much cōtrary to Christ my sauiour Sainct Paule desired to knowe nothing but Christ crucified after he had ben rapt into the thirde heauen where he hearde suche

I trusted in hym to iustifie me sprang this excellent charitie in my harte I thinke no lesse but many wil wōder and maruell at this my saying that I neuer knewe Christe for my Sauioure and redemer vntil this tyme for many haue this opiniō saying who knoweth not there is a Christ who being a Christian doth not confesse hym hys Sauioure And thus beleuing their dead humayn historicall fayth knowlege whiche they haue learned in their scholasticall bookes to be the true infused fayth and knowelege of Christe whiche may be had as I sayde before with all sinne They vse to saye by their owne experience of thē self ●s that their fayth doth not iustifie them And true it is excepte they haue thys fayth the which I haue declared here before they shall neuer be iustifyed And yet it is not false that by fayth only I am sure to be iustified euen this is the cause that so many empugn this office and dutie of true fayth bycause so many lacke the true fayth And euen as the faythfull are forced to allowe true fayth so the vnfaythful can in no wise probably intrete therof y e one feling in him selfe that he sayth the other hauing not in him for to say I haue certeynly no curious learning to defende this matter withall but a simple zele and earnest loue to the truth inspired of god who promiseth to powre his spirite vpō all flesshe which I haue by the grace of god whō I moste humblie honour felt in my selfe to be true Let vs therfore nowe I pray you by fayth beholde considre the greate charitie and goodnes of god in sending hys Sonne to suffer death for our redemcion when we were his mortal enemies and after what sort maner he sent him First it is to be considered yea to be vndoubtedly w t a perfect fayth beleued that god sent him to vs freely for he dyd geue him and solde him not A more noble and ryche gift he coulde not haue geuen He sente not a seruaunte or a frende but his only Sonne so deerlye beloued not in delytes riches and honours but in crosses poouerties slaunders not as a lorde but as a seruaunt Yea in most vyle and paynfull passions to wassh vs not with water but w t his owne precious bloud not frō myer but from the puddle and fylthe of our iniquities He hath geuē him not to make vs poore but to enryche vs with his diuine vertues merites and graces yea and in hym he hath geuen vs all good thynges and fynally hym selfe and that with suche greate charitie as can not be expressed Was it not a moste high and aboundaunt charitie of GOD to sende Christe to shead his bloud to loose honour lyfe and all for hys ennemyes Euen in the tyme when we had doen him moste iniurie he first shewed his charitie to vs with such flambes of loue that greater coulde not be shewed God in Christ hath opened vnto vs although we be weake and blinde of our selues y t we may beholde in this miserable state the great wisdom goodnes and truthe with all the other godly perfeccions whiche be in Christ. Therfore inwardlye to behold Christ crucified vpon the crosse is the best and godliest meditacion that cā be We may see also in Christe crucified the bewtie of the soule better then in all the bookes of y e worlde For who that with liuely fayth seeth and feleth in spirite that Christe the sonne of god is dead for the satisfiyng and the purifiyng of the soule shall see that his soule is appoynted for the very tabernacle and mansion of the inestimable and incomprehensible maiestie and honour of god We see also in Christ crucifyed howe vayne and folyshe the worlde is howe that Christ beyng moste wise dispised the same We see also how blynde it is bicause the same knoweth not Christ but persecuteth hym We see also how vnkynde the worlde is by the kylling of Christe in the tyme he did shewe it most fauour Howe harde and obstinate was it that would not be mollified with so many teares suche sweat and so muche bloud shed of the Sonne of God suffering with so greate and high chariti● Therfore he is nowe very blinde that seeth not howe vayne foolish false ingrate crewell harde wicked and euill the world is we may also in Christe crucified ●eye our sinnes as in a diuine ballance howe greuous howe weyghty they be seyng they haue crucified Christ for they woulde neuer haue ben coūterpaysed but w t the great precious weyght of the bloud of the Sonne of God And therfore God of hys high goodnes determined that hys blessed sonne shoulde rather suffer bloudeshead then our sinnes should haue condemned vs. We shall neuer knowe our owne miserye and wretchednes but with the light of Christ crucif●ed Thē we shall see our owne crueltie when we feele hys mercy our owne vnrightwisenes and Iniquitie when we see his rightwisenes and holynes Therfore to learne to knowe truly our owne sinnes is to study in the booke of the crucifixe by continuall conuersacion in fayth and to haue perfect and plentifull charitie is to learne first by fayth the charitie that is in god towardes vs. We may see also in Christe vpon the crosse howe greate the paynes of hell and howe blessed the Ioyes of heauē be and what a sharpe paynfull thyng it shal be to theim that from that swete happye glorious Ioye Christ shal be depriued Then this crucifix is the booke wherin God hath included all thinges hath most cōpendiously written therein all truth profitable and necessary for our saluacion Therfore let vs indeuour our selfes to studye thys booke that we beyng lightened with the spirite of god maye geue hym thankes for so great a benefite Yf we looke further in thys booke we shall see Christes greate victory vpon the crosse whiche was so noble and mighty that there neuer was neyther shal be suche Yf the victory glory of worldly princes were great bycause they dyd ouercū great hostes of men howe muche more was Christes greater whiche vanquished not onlye the prince of the worlde but all the ennemies of god triumphing ouer persecucion Iniuries villanies sclaunders yea death the worlde synne and the deuil and brought to confusion all carnal prudence The princes of the worlde neuer did fight w tout the strengthe of the worlde Christe contrary went to warre euen agaynste all the strength of y e world He would fight as Dauid did with Golias vnarmed of all humaine wisdom and policy and withoute all worldlie power and strength Neuertheles he was fully replenished armed w t the whole armour of y e spirite And in this one battayle he ouercame for euer al his enemies There was neuer so glorious a spoyle neyther a more riche and noble then