Selected quad for the lemma: word_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	add_v	book_n	plague_n	2,933	5	10.1547	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93781	Spiritual infatuation, the principal cause of our past and present distempers. Or a serious caveate to the many seducers and seduced who under the specious pretences of reformation and conscience endeavour the subversion of Church and State. In several sermons on Isa. 9,10,11,12. By W. Stamp D.D. late minister of the Word at Stepn[e]y near London.	Stampe, William, 1611-1653?	1662 (1662)	Wing S5195; ESTC R229850	116,158	268

forme their visions as some men do their prognostications according to the humour palate and unstedinesse of these times Now if the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself unto the battel If the Prophets steer according to the people 1. Cor. 14. 8. who shall be the peoples guides If the blind lead the blind both must certainly fall into the ditch God commanded the Prophet Isaiah to record it unto ●ll posterity That his people were a rebellious people lying children and such as would not hear the law of the Lord Why What was the reason because they took upon them to prescribe unto the Prophets saying unto the Seers see not a●d to the Prophets prophesie not unto us right things speak unto us smooth things prophesie deceipt The people were therefore said to be incorgible because they were resolved to entertain no Prophets but such as should varnish over their foul spots with fair pretenses and scratch the itch of their rebelliou● humour In the Prophet Ieremies time there was the same combination agreement between the Prophets and the people and that this was no slight provocation observe what a black mark the holy Ghost sets upon it A wonderful and horrible th●ng is committed in the ●and The Prophet● prophesie falsly and the Priests bear rule by their Ier. 5. 30. 31. means and my people love to have it so and what will ye do in the end thereof And as this evil re●gned under the Law so that it should re●gne also under the ●ospel we have S. Pauls expresse prediction The time will come saith he that men wil not endure sound doctrine but 2. Tim. 4. 3. after their own lusts wil heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears All Scripture is written for our Instruction These smooth Prophets are the great Lw●inaries or rather Idols of our Age and Nation adored and magnified by the blind unsteddy multitude for no other reason that I can imagine but for their sympathizing correspondency in blindness and inconstancy And truly if there be any light at all in them 't is certainly the light of the glo-worm or rotten-wood rather seems then is so by reason of the great darknesse wherein we are involved O● rather like those pernicious and misguiding lights that cause a man to wander out of his way which we call Ignis Fatuus and Ignis Lambens one of which you may fan and drive before you which way you please and the o●her will follow ●ou which way soever you part the ayr Both are ductible and pliant unto your will and both will lead you out of your way and cary you you know not where These I call the peoples Prophets whose doctrines are so loose and Independent that you know not where to have them and yet you have them at every turn That steer in their prophesyings somtimes according to the sense and dictate of a secular Councel or Committee somtimes according to the face and Aspect of a Cyfer Assembly somtimes according to the successe and atchievements of a traiterous and bloody Military Combination somtimes according to the Itch and enclinations of their blind ●ol●owers by whom they subsist Thus instead of squaring the Christians practise by the precepts of Gods word which every wise and regular builder ought to do they have borrowed a trick from Rome to mint their doctrines and cases of conscience as may be most serviceable to their particular designs and Interests And I could wish they had borrowed only their fine spun Artifices from that Conclave their Sophismes and distinctions from the le●u●te and not by their wilde and confused principles have invited the very persons of Priests and Iesuites to incorporate and co-operate with them in their pernicious and destructive designs For it is most certain that these subtile and busie factors have not only plowed with our heifers in their private Assemblies bur with the Calves of the people also those Bulls of Basan or rather Buls of Belial whom pride Ambition and Covetousnesse have rendered impatient of any yoke of Government or of being confined to any In●…o●ure The phrase is not in●ollerable since it is the Holy Ghosts own Dialect the one is Sampsons Iudg. 14 18. The other the Psalmists Psal 68 30. But to return to the Peoples Prophets To say nothing of the unme●surable Cove●eousnesse and notorious Non-residence of those men who in other times were the fiercest declamers against these foul sins Nor of their bottomlesse malice against their fellow Labourers Making a man a Delinquent for a word and laying snares for him that impartially Isa 29. 21. reproveth in the gates I shall passe by their injuries unto men and only take notice of their injurious dealing and prevarication with the word of God and consequently with God himself and that in two respects First in their mis●nterpreting of Scripture and secondly in their misapplying of Scripture in both which respects they have added much to the boldnesse and presumption of the Hereticks of old and the present Church of Rome they so much declame against To produce some few instances of many and first concerning their misinterpreting of Scripture If Barack were the supreme Magistrate in Israel and Meroz were Cursed for not coming in to his assistance in a day of great extremity and hazard I wonder with what fa●e our Prophets could so unanimously concur in making use of that Text a Iudg. 5. 23. to incite subjects to take arms against their Soveraign If Peter were reprehended by Christ for drawing a sword in defence of the most innocent cause and person th●t ever appeared in the world it is very strange that of all other instances that should be made use of to strengt●…n the doctrine of resisting the lawful Magistrate It was a strange piece of confidence to my appreh●nsion in the Presbyterian party to turn those Cannons or Cannonical Texts upon the Army and their adherents a See the letter subscribed by some of the London Ministers not long before the Kings murther which they would never take notice of whilst they were planted against themselves I my self have heard out of the pulpit a passiona●e Declamation b Master Grenhil at Stepney against all Ceremonies whatsoever and the Textalledged to prove the damnablenesse of them hath been only that Rev. 22 18. For I testifie unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesie of this book if any man shall add unto these sayings God shall a●…t unto him the plagues that are written in this book As if the institution of a Ceremon●e ●r Circumstance without which no external worship can be performed without which no Church on earth ever d●d or any assembly of men can appear in the Publike worship and s●rvice of God were an Addition to the prophesie of that Book or to the Doctrinal part of the Holy Scriptures I wish from my heart these men were ●n this particular as innocent as the Ceren

to behave himsel● proudly against the ancient the base against the honourable and the people to be oppressed every one by another which is an accursed condition as full of torment and vexation to an ing●niou● spirit as of absurdity confusion If he hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst of us delivered us up to spiritual drunkenness and madness and blasted all our Treaties perhaps for the secret insincerity of our specious disguises Isa 15. 14. Ier. 13. 13. If he hath suffered our people to be eaten up like bread our blood to be made as cheap as water our metropolis to become a portion for sozes our stately pallaces and Temples to be a quarter for horses or a receptacle for thieves and rebels and the overflowings of ungodlines to proceed so far as to quench the light of our Israel by taking away the joy of our hearts and the breath of our nostrils in the life of our Soveraign And notwithstanding all this hath closed Isa 29. 10. the eys of our Prophets and rulers with the spirit of a deep sleep of senslesness security which is the map of our present misery and confusion sure there is great wrath gone out from the Lord against us it concerns every man to enquire after the secret Achan of his own bosom there is great reason to suspect we are under the immediate power and enchantment of a general Infatuation And therefore since the first ground and bottom of infatuation is from a stumbling block of our own laying in the secret depravities and reservations of the heart Let the people no longer charge the errors and infelicities of the times on the prophets nor the prophets on the people but let all look well into our selves and we shall find matter of high provocation both in the prophets and in the people And therefore laying a side all bitternesse and evil speakings against each other Let us turn our charges and clamours into prayers for each other the people sor the prophets that they may be more faithful sincere in the administration and execution of their sacred function and the prophets for the people that they may be more diligent in knowing and more conscionable in practising what is delivered unto them out of the sacred Oracles the people for the prophets that they may be burning and shining lamps in the sanctuary of God and the prophets for the people that they may be translated from the kingdom of darknes into the glorious light and liberty of the sons of God That so both people and prophets may twist and conc●r in their utmost endeavours to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2. 12. and both be brought nearer to God to serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear To all these instruments of Infatuation I shall add but one more and that I take to be expresly set down in the Text namely The sincere preaching of the good word of God Go first and tell this people and afterwards make the heart of this people fat that is deliver my message sincerely unto this people though I know before-hand they will grow more obstinate and obdurate upon the hearing of it The prophet Isaiah compares the word of God to Rain and Snow As the rain cometh down and Isa 55. 10. 11. the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater So shall my word be that goeth out of my mouth it shall not return unto me void c. And yet as the same frosty snowy weather that is health to the sound is a burthen to the weak and crazy Constitution As the same refreshing shower which bringeth up the grasse and corn bringeth up the weeds and tares also So the same good word 1. Cor. 15. 15. 1. of God never returns in vain our Labour cannot be in vain in the Lord It may be in vain in respect of your conversion It will not be in vain in respect of your Conviction It may be in vain in respect of your humiliation It will not be in vain in respect of your Obduration It may be in vain in respect of your Regeneration and Salvation It will not be in vain in respect of your Iudgement and C●ndemnation Moses was assured before-hand from the mouth of God himself that all his embassies and transactions with Pharaoh should produce no other effect but to render him more obst●nate and resolved not to subscribe to the command of God in the dismission of his people yet Moses is sent unto him that the hardnesse of Pharaohs heart as well as the greatness of Gods power might be known unto the world There was message upon message and if these were not enough there was miracle upon miracle and if these concerned him not there was plague upon plague like wave upon wave beating upon himself his servants and the whole Nation of the Egyptians and yet notwithstanding all this we find the heart of Pharaoh hardned into a proverb and an instance of an obdurate spirit unto all posterity What shall we say then Is there unrighteousnesse with God in sending Prophets to the ruin of a people Is there mors in olla Is there death in the Prophets pot Is there poyson in the sincere milk of Gods word I shewed before that corruption in the hearts of the people might occasion corruption in the prophets but can the stench and infection of that corruption extend it self so far as to ●aint the good word of God No certainly Let God be true though every man a Lyar and let his word be ever sacred and immutable though all the world should be convicted and condemned by it Heaven and earth shall passe away but his word shall not passe away that is accord●ng as the Rev. 6. 14. scripture comment else where The heavens shall passe away as a scroul when it is rouled together and the Elements 2. Pet. 3. 10. shall melt with fervent heat This goodly Ball of Earth shall be crumbled into nothing and all the gaudy vanities we so much dote on shall passe away like a smoke But not one jot or tittle of that word which may save and must judge us shall passe away or be changed And therefore to prevent any mistake that may arise in a businesse of so great concernment It may not be impertinent to shew first the innocent Quality of Gods word in its own nature Secondly The different operation of this word per accidens in some hearers Thirdly The Reason of this different operation Fourthly what Cautions and Counsels may be needful to prevent its hardning quality in our selves First that we may have no quarrel against the preaching of the word what ever exception lies against the preachers we must know The word of Mark 4. 1. Pet. 22. God is alwaies good seed what ever the ground