Selected quad for the lemma: word_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	believe_v	hear_v	preacher_n	2,737	5	9.9162	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A73285	A sermon, pointing out the chiefe causes, and cures, of such unruly stirres, as are not seldome found in the church of God Preached at Sawston in the countie of Cambridge, at the arch deacon of Elie his visitation held there, upon the nineteenth day of September, 1638. By Iohn Swan.	Swan, John, d. 1671.	1639 (1639)	STC 23515; ESTC S125547	12,451	34

our Apostles prediction as almost any of the dayes that have ever beene And therefore wee as well as our Fathers can testifie and say Paulus verus vates Paul is a true Prophet for as hee hath spoken sowee find that From among our selves doe arise men speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them And indeed they may draw them farre enough so easie are they to bee set agog For that man among us who can but shew his dislike of the Churches Hierarchie traduce the men thereof for unsound intentions preferre Preaching before Praying soare up aloft into the high and deepe points of Predestination detract from the honour of the House of God and bee homely bold in his holy worship shall not want a traine to follow after him from Parish to Parish from Towne to Towne from Citie to Citie from one Kingdome to another people yea from one England to another But though by such kind of meanes these men may have a number both of Hee and She-Disciples satis dicaculi Plaus as the Comicke speaketh who will bee readie to prate and prattle enough in behalfe of their deare Masters as if all but they were Arch-traytours to the Faith and Factours for the Sea of Rome yet are these stout Champions for Religion to men of knowledge and moderation no better then the bane and Disturbers thereof And therefore their silly Proselytes are too presumptuous nice Epist 118. ad Ianuar. cap. 2. and credulous They have superstitiosa timiditas it is S. Austins phrase They feare superstition but it is with a superstitious feare And so Dum vitant stulti vitia in contraria currunt Iude vers 10 speaking evill many times of those very things which God almightie knowes they understand not For if they understand them why are they so wicked as to speake against them I say no more t is time I shew they are gone astray For First if they denie the divine right of the Churches Hierarchie they doe more than was done by the holy Spirit it selfe which when the seven Churches of Asia mentioned by Saint Iohn were taxed for their errours used not one word or other against the forme of their government whereas I doe not doubt Revelat. in chap. 2. chap. 3. but if the Pillars thereof had wanted that which wee call a Ius divinum the breath of the Spirit had overthrowne them And indeed Christ shewed the difference in the Seventie and the Twelve for hee did at the very first so order the matter in choosing Church officers as that there were inferiour and superiour Priests Sheepe and Lambes for so he * Math. 10.16 Luk. 10.3 stiles them when hee sent them And loe here I find that Rome hath made many things offensive to ignorant and vulgar eares But then againe As a man may not loathe his meate because some have surfetted nor abhorre his drinke because many a Rioter hath beene drunken no more may Romes arogancie cause us to contemne or fight against Christs ordinance And secondly as for that bitter out-crie of unsound intentions it is without question a causelesse and Panicke feare for from the ignorance of Antiquitie proceeds that needlesse suspition of a Popish Reformation Whereas on the contrarie if things bee well lookt into the worst of Vipers after all their digging and delving into their Mothers bowels may find enough to confesse their follies and say with Nero Nesciebam me tam pulchram Matrem habere I never knew till now that I had so faire a Mother Yea and each Governour likewise with other well-ordered person may comfort himselfe and say Regium est andire malè cum feceris benè si rectè facis quid eos vereris qūi non rectè reprehendunt Then also thirdly to preferre Preaching before praying is to magnifie the meanes before the End For as it is in Rom. 10.13 Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall bee saved But then next Rom. 10.14 How shall they call on him in whom they have not beleeved and how shall they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard and how shall they heare without a Preacher Nor can Christ take it well to have his owne words blotted For though a Sermon-bell can tang more together than a Bell that is tolled and so bee a true token that there is some schisme in the Church yet remember what hee saith Hee no where tells us that his house shall bee called the house of Preaching Math. 21.13 But Sic scriptum est It is thus written My house shall bee called the house of Prayer And this as to shew the excellencie of Prayer in generall so in particular to expresse unto us the excellencie of publike Prayer in the Congregation the one a dutie to bee done of all that would have Christ to bee their * Revel 8.3 Advocate the other of those who doe not only ayme at that but take also the right course in Gods service neither letting private prayer bee preferred before the publike nor publike prayer bee either put downe or disrespected to let Preaching have the chiefe preheminence in the holy Temple So also say the Apostles in Act. 6. at the fourth verse But wee say they will give our selves continually to Prayer and to the Ministration of the Word This was their order To prayer first and to the Ministration of the Word that came next And if so then here wee see though Simeon bee the elder brother yet to Iudah is the Scepter given And as of Iudah came Christ the promised seed so to Iudah that is to Prayer as one speaketh worthily is the Promise made Which I therefore note with him because Simeon in his name signifieth Hearing Iudah Prayer and Praising And well doe I give a touch at Praise as well as Prayer for it is indeed a part of Prayer and one maine piece of our holy Service The heavenly societie is frequent in it and wee on earth make Gods house then to bee like the heavens when Prayer and Praise have chiefest place in the Congregation I reckon it therefore as a great offence for men of our C hing to let the people turne all their members into eares Is Religion nothing else but hearing have they no knees no hands no tongues No knees to bend no hands to hold up no tongues to speaking A shame most certaine And though some men among us may account it their glorie yet sure I am it robbeth God of a great deale of honour which hee expects and looketh for at his peoples hands Not that I doe hereby intend any thing to the prejudice of Preaching it is farre from mee but to shew the right order of Gods service And so much the rather because there is scarce any place allowed amongst too many for Indah to appeare in the house of God But did the holy Fathers thus They were indeed very frequent and fervent Preachers and yet neverthelesse no part of