Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	doctrine_n	teach_v	6,712	5	6.4919	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68091	A preparation to the most holie ministerie wherein is set downe the true meanes to be well prepared to the same, by an exact description, and consideration, of the necessitie, excellencie, difficultie, and great profit therof; with the maruellous effects of the same: also a liuely exhortation to all youth, to giue themselues to the studie therof: and a confutation of the obiections which may be brought in any sort to touch the same: verie profitable and necessarie in these our times, ... Diuided into two bookes. Written in French by Peter Gerard, and translated into English by N.B.	Gerard, Pierre.	1598 (1598)	STC 11754; ESTC S108635	151,047	320

which they worshipped with which their fact God being angry he threatned to destroy them and as hee went about to performe that which hee had spoken hee was appeased by the prayers of Moses who made his supplication vnto him after this maner O Lord why doth thy wrath waxe hote against thy people which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mightie hand Remember Abraham Isaac and Israel thy seruants to whom thou swarest by thy owne selfe and saidest vnto them I will multiplie your seede as the starres of the heauen After it is added Then the Lord chaunged his minde from the euill which hee threatned to doe vnto his people See here that the Lorde was hindered to doo that which hee was almost resolued to doo But let vs obserue here the chiefe poynt that God knowing well how he might be moued by the request of his seruant Moses the Historie reporteth that God spake after this sort vnto Moses in the tenth verse Let me alone that my wrath maie waxe hote against them for I will consume them Wherefore saith he Let me But that Moses held him as it were by the armes and bound his handes by his prayers to the ende that hee shoulde not destroy them euen as one will holde a man incenced with choller that hee striketh not another or else tie fast his armes and his hands to represse him As indeede the deuoute prayers and ardent inuocations of the seruaunts of God are euen bondes and chaines which tieth and chaineth the furie and indignation of the Lord being prouoked against the sinnes and transgressions of men and many places beareth witnesse in the scripture and experience sheweth it diuerse wayes O immortall God what heart is so hard whose intrailes are so like the adamant stone which cannot be softned by a deep cōsideration of the vnspeakeable incredible goodnesse of God in this behalfe what man I pray you cannot be maruailously moued by those miraculous Workes of God which he hath performed by the ministers of his word What man is there fearing God that comprehends this although but in small measure that doth not giue singular honour vnto them whom god hath adorned with this charge which is so honourable and moreouer doth not desire with a most feruēt affection that god would stirre vp more that are such by the meanes of whome we might see his Kingdome to florish plentifully and that of Sathan to be diminished For in truth there is no better way to come to such happinesse thē to haue a great number of faithfull Pastors Euery one thē may easily perceiue that they are not without great reason set forth with the titles of Prophets Men of God Angels and with the title of God himselfe and for this cause it is impossible for any man not onely to do but once to imagin to do that which he hath performed by them how that he worketh by them as by instruments which hee hath vouchsafed to choose of his incōprehensible goodnesse to serue him But some will say what will you haue it that the myraculous acts of the Prophets and Apostles and other great men should be now attribu●ed to the Pastors which are in these dayes And must they bee so honoured as the Prophets were not only of the simple people amongst whom many which went vnto them called themselues their seruants 1. King 18 as Obadiah called Elias Lord when he spake vnto him named himselfe his seruant and that widow of whō wee haue spoken before when shee spake to Elisha she sayd Thy seruant thy handmaide prayeth thee or causeth thee to vnderstand 2 King 4 and when she spake of her husband shee named him his seruant c. but also they were regarded of Kings because they went vnto them in respect of a singular reuerence that they bare towardes them to enquire of the word of the Lord as we haue alledged how Iehoram Iehosaphat and the king of Edom and many other kings which commonly did demaund their counsell in their affaires by reason of the great honor that they bare toward them It may be thē some will reply that the ministers which liue now should do the which they did We answer that all which they did must not be attributed to their persons for they were men as we are but vnto their ministerie And because it pleaseth God to send vs forth to be messengers of his worde as he did them why should not that honor which was attributed to their ministrie be attributed to ours because that is all one There is onely this difference that the grace of God was more plentifully powred forth by them then by vs and therefore we must ad that as the grace of God was more amply declared by them so also a greater honor was due vnto them euen so now at this day hee must bee most honoured vnto whome God hath communicated most graces otherwise hee that will not do it must be reckoned vnthankefull vnto the goodnesse of God Moreouer if he that is inferior to another be greeued because he is not so much reuerenced and honored as he that doth excell him in gifts although they be both of the same function we say that he is to bee accounted a proude and enuious man But also we must consider that seeing that God will bee serued by our Ministrie as he was by that of the Prophets and Apostles it pleaseth him also that wee should be accounted of as they were according to the measure of graces which it pleaseth him to distribute to euery one For although that the Preachers now at this day haue not such a fulnesse of gifts as they had to do such miraculous things neuerthelesse hauing the charge of preaching his worde when it pleaseth him he may furnish them with such graces as they may performe the like things or else come neere vnto them It might also be obiected that we should recite something done by them which were a matter of no great difficultie For all they vnto whome God hath giuen eyes to see more clearely then the simple people may beare sufficient witnesse that in these latter times God hath raysed vp some extraordinarllye vnto the holy ministrie who hath done as miraculous things as those of the Prophets and Apostles Not many yeares are passed since the whole world was plunged in grosse darkenesse and ignoraunce so that it was a hard thing to say whither there was a church or the doctrine of Iesus Christ or no. They themselues which hadde the charge to teach others had theyr eyes so closed vp with those errors with which the world was inwrapped that they confirmed others in their errors thinking that there was no other truth then that which they sette forth in such sort that it seemed an impossible thing to cause any spark of light to appeare amongst these dark cloudes yet neuerthelesse God in a moment then when euery one thought least vppon

that thou art honoured in the administration of thy ministerie of all those that are wise and feare God and seeing that is the true honour which commeth frō good men and not from sensual men we may conclude that thou hast more honor then the other For in truth the honour that is receiued from men well instructed is to be preferred before that which is giuen of the ignorant But of all things propound before thee that thou art honoured of God For the scripture speaking of the Preachers of the word doth teach vs that Christ hath said Whosoeuer honoreth you honors me c. In this world when we are honoured of Kings and Princes and great Lords we make more account of that honour then of that which wee receiue from those that be inferiors because that the greater that they are that honoureth vs so ought their honour to be prised and valued Seing then God doth so honour Ministers and theyr Ministrie that hee attributeth that honour vnto them which is giuen vnto himselfe wherefore dost thou that art a Pastor take care for the honour of men And if thou dost adde hereunto those honourable titles which are giuen vnto faithfull Pastors thou wouldest make lesse account of the honour of the world and esteeme more the incomparable honour of the ministrie But if any other shall obiect that therefore he is discouraged because that the Ministers for the most part are poore needy and in miserie we answere that this is the obiection of a couetous man A confutation of the obiection of the couetous and to correct this vice of couetousnesse consider on the other side that they that haue more meanes to liue by then other yet they also bee poore and further that pouertie is no vice but that it is as acceptable vnto God of it selfe as riches when as well the one as the other doo come from GOD if they bee vsed as they ought Secondly think with thy self that there is at this day almost no men which are addicted to any other study as to any arte mechanick who doo finde more easily honest conditions to liue then those that haue giuen them selues to the studie of diuinitie as wee haue seene within this seuen or eight yeares that many Phisitians Lawyers Aduocates Proctors Notaries many marchants many great Lordes and gentlemen beeing gone out of France and other places are constrained to trauaile vp and downe in strange Countries and haue suffered much want although they haue beene skilfull in their profession and haue beene rich at home but those that haue studied diuinitie haue founde alwaies many commodities to sweeten the rigour of theyr exile Thirdly consider that if they haue not such goods and richesse as many Marchaunts Artificers and other men of trades in this world that God hath giuen vnto them a contented life which is accompanied with godlinesse and the feare of God In the fourth place thou must meditate that GGD is the plentifull rewarder of all the Ministers of GOD and thou must thinke vppon all those excellent promises of GOD which hee maketh in his worde to nourish all liuing creatures For if hee feedeth the beastes of the fielde he will much more nourish men and if he nourisheth all men much more the faithfull and principally those whom he hath appointed for the teaching and leading of them To make an ende of this point sette before thine eyes that if they abound not in temporall and earthly goods yet they are riche in the knowledge of the word of God in the vnderstanding and reuealing of his secrets which are the true riches of the soule and seeing that those be the true riches cōsider that the more thou aboundest with thē the more thou art truly rich for these riches wil bring vnto thee so much ioy and gladnesse as the corporall and worldly goods doo bring vnto them that possesse them griefe and care and so enioying these true and sincere spirituall rithes why dost thou take such thought for the riches of this world If another doth reply A confutation of those that loue pleasure that his heart is pulled downe because that ministers are ordinarily sorowfull pensiue full of care and melancholy I may demande of him why are they more then other men These bee vaine and imaginarie fansies forged in the braine of I knowe not what worldly men for they are as ioyfull as other and it is as lawfull for them as for any other It is true it is their dutie to be sage wise prudent modest graue and honest but this doth not hinder them but that they may vse a moderate ioy and agreeable to their vocation and on the contrary this ioy doth bring more contentation as it differeth from the reioycing of the prophane Seneca sayth in a certaine place that we must gouerne our selues in such sort that none may think vs too seuere and again that none despise vs as those that be vile contemptible that we must more delight in profitable matters then in things that be rediculous he addeth that one may mingle sometime amongst graue serious matters those things that be pleasant but we must take heed that they bee so tempered that they do not discredit their honour If this bee so who is he that thinketh the Pastor worthie of reprehension if sometime vpon occasion he vseth pleasant words and full of delight which are more the signes of gentleman-like nature then of any vice seeing that it is proper and naturall to great and rare personages to haue as it is sayd in the common prouerb some grace in theyr speech But some will obiect that they must of necessitie abstaine from many pleasures which are lawfull to others which be in other callings Lette vs demaunde of them againe what they bee if one imagineth that they ought not to vse the naturall pleasures which are to drinke to eate soberlie and many such like which our outward senses do enioy he may bee answered that it is lawful for them to vse them as it was for the Patriarches Prophets Apostles and Iesus Christ himselfe who was present at a marriage and at banquets and had the fruition of these ordinarie thinges as well as any other If any meane those pleasures which are vnprofitable and superfluous he may be answered that these pleasures are proper vnto Epicures are cōmon to brute beasts If one vnderstands carnall pleasures as to gourmandize and to be drunken and to bee riotous in excesse in which sensuall men doo take theyr pleasure hee may bee aunswered that these bee the pleasures of voluptuous men and that such pleasures be of their owne nature so filthie detestable and infamous that when they are once named they ought to bee abhorred by reason of those infinite mischiefes which they draw after them without making any mention of the shame sorrow and repentance which doo ordinarily accompanie them But lette vs oppose vnto these that they may continually possesse the ioy