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A02036
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Pauls crovvne of reioycing. Or The maner how to heare the word with profit. By Thomas Granger preacher of the word at Botterwike in Holland, neere Boston in Lincolnshire; Pauls crowne of rejoycing.
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Granger, Thomas, b. 1578.
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1616
(1616)
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STC 12182; ESTC S114984
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43,435
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71
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vnsauory speeches In dissembling lying cousonage in bargayning insnarings called ale-house bargaines wasting your good like Esaus then is it such like as S. Peter speakes of 1 Pet. 4. 3. 4. It 's like the meeting of swine at their trough and it seemes strange to such heathenish people that good Christians run not with them to the same excesse of riot and therefore speake they euill of them You say also that he preacheth out of choler and that hee will be angry when no man hurts him You thinke belike no man should be angry for Gods cause you will take your brothers part your kinsmans part and your friends part when you see him abused yea in his absence you will answer for him it may be you will not deale onely words but blowes for him if you loue him well and should God haue no friends to take his part not to speake a word for him nay not so much as to looke with an angry countenance against his enemies Hath not God beene and is not God our friend that wee should shew no loue at all to him can a childe with patience see his Father wronged and should the children of God not be displeased when they heare the name of God blasphemed Surely if we loue our Fathers that begat vs wee cannot but loue God much more which hath made both them and vs and all the world and maintaines vs all and all for vs of his own goodnes and bounty If we loue our earthly Mothers that endured some bodily paines in our birth we cannot but loue Iesus Christ that endured the cursed death of the Crosse For our new birth Our Mothers bring vs forth Children of wrath firebrands of hell but Christ hath brought vs forth children of God and heyres of his glorious kingdome Surely this loue of God towards vs which is infinite and endlesse should moue vs to loue him at the least to be displeased with his enemies and the contemners of him Was not Moses angry with the Israelites in Gods cause Exodus 32. 19. Did not the Leuites out of their zeale of Gods glory slay euery man his brother companion and neighbour Was not Lots righteous soule grieued from day to day because of the wickednesse of the Sodomites but you say a man is angry for nought if it be in Gods cause you shew what knowledge what faith what loue of God there is in you This is farre from louing him with all the heart soule minde and strength There is none so ready to answere for themselues as you are yea you will be very feruent and zealous in your owne causes but you will hate or mocke them that speake in Gods behalfe Whether doe you loue God or your selfe better whereas you say that some of your rich men will ouer power him and remoue him vnlesse he looke well to himselfe he knowes that to be the nature of the rich which serue the golden Deuill Mammon to hate all them that seeke to set forth Gods glory Hee knowes that Mammon is now strong in the world and so full of sophistry that hee can make the Law a nose of waxe yea and the Gospell also to turne them which way he list Notwithstanding he feares not the souldiers and seruants of Mammon though they come like Goliahs strong men sensible men sound cardes well purst cunning vnderminers against him for God hath put a stone in his sling euen his word in his mouth and giuen him strength to slay a Beare and a Lion God hath bidden him not to feare you wherefore should hee feare Ezech. 2. 6. Sonne of man feare them not nor be afraid of their words although Rebells and thornes be with thee and thou remainest with scorpions feare not their words nor be afraid at their lookes for they are a rebellious house Wherefore I would counsell you to looke well to your selfe that Satan and your owne sins ouer-power not you and remoue you cleane out of Gods fauour protection and kingdome Afterward you come to tell me of a fine man of a great Scholler that vseth more Greeke and Latine then English in his Sermons and that it will doe one good to heare him What edifying doe you thinke that any of his vnlearned hearers get by such vsing of his Greeke and Latine You your selfe say that they profit nothing in knowledge and I thinke they profit as little in good life What good is that you speake of It is euen nothing but this that you vse him as an instrument to disgrace your Minister withall by your odious comparisons-making And because heereby you comfort releeue and refresh an accusing conscience whiles that you dispose the plain-dealing of your owne Minister and accounts him the right Preacher that lets you liue securely in your sinnes Moreouer doe you thinke it a decent thing for a Minister to goe from the pot to the pulpit Should he not rather come from God I meane from prayer and Meditation that he might pray and preach in fear humility reuerence and zeale as hauing the word put in his mouth from God and speaking as from God beeing in the glorious presence of God and his Angells You say that you haue talkatiue fellows in your parish that can put them all downe in reasoning and their minister too It likes you well and such as you to call gracious words talkatiuenesse and prattle Marke what the Apostle saith Colossians 3. 16. Let the word of God dwell plenteously in you in all wisedome c. In another place Let your speech be seasoned with salt but you thinke that vaine foolish rotten and vnsauory speeches should rather be plentifull in men mouthes for with these I neuer heare you finde any fault oaths lyes foolish ieasting ribaldry hath free passage without checke or rebuke And if such persons doe but humour and please you then is all well taken how bad soeuer it be and with such like persons you loue to keepe company but you haue no delight to tarry where there is sober talke and Christian communication as I haue seene diuers begin to hem and to hum and to hang downe the head to yawne raspe and stretch as being weary with long sitting saying that they haue businesse and therefore must away and so sliuing out of the doores presently stumble into an other place where they will be as merry as cuppe and cann can make them But heare what the holy man of God the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 26. 4. 5. I haue not dwelt with vaine persons neither will I haue fellowship with the deceitfull I haue hated the congregation of the wicked and will not sit among the vngodly And Psal 119. 115. Away from me ye wicked for I will keepe the commandement of my God And Pro. 14. 7. Depart from the foolish man when thou perceiuest not in him the lips of knowledge And Ecclus. 9. 17. Let thy talke be with the wise and all thy communication in the Law of
world which you doe call wise sensible men are ledde by their sense and worldly craft to the Deuills Larder-house And as the Apostle sayes when they thinke themselues to be wise they become very fooles I haue spoken thus boldly vnto you because I take you to be my friend for I am sure that I am yours if you any way doubt of it try mee in any thing wherein I can pleasure you onely let mee intreat you to consider well of this point that you and I haue thus reasoned of I haue a good hope that howsoeuer you haue beene misledde a long time all the Angells in Heauen shall reioyce in your conuersion And I doe like you a great deale the better because you haue not left mee and gone away from mee in a chase especiallie being that I haue dealt so plainely with you as I haue done Mataeolog I can tell you if you had spoken so to some of our towne they would sit on your skirts while they liued Eulalus Like enough for it is the property of flesh and bloud to be reuengefull but the Apostle teacheth vs another lesson Auenge not your selues I will repay saith the Lord My skirts are as well able to beare a Feather as it is to sit on them I trust that so long as I giue them no other occasion then I haue done they shall haue no fast sitting for the Lord will not leaue them that feare him in their enemies hands The Lord grant that I may see some fruits of this conference in you at our next meeting By this short Dialogue it appeareth how the word of GOD is most commonly and generally heard and receiued yea euen of all that are not sanctified For they doe either altogether heare it as the word of man or at least when it is particularly applied for their conuersion and reformation then begin they euer to seeke out arguments for the Sophister the Father of lyes is at hand for their hard hearts for their lustfull liuing for the saluing of an euill and corrupt conscience drawne from the person of the Minister yea and to seeke out another shepheard some that Satan hath pickt in at the window whom they may obiect against him who if hee be a good Scholler politicke and crafty for his owne aduantage and of Gentleman-like fashion then is hee and such like to be preferred before their owne Minister and such like without all compare And indeede to say the truth there is no more comparison betweene them then betweene Paul and the learned preachers that so flourisht at Corinth A foole will seeke out excuses for his foolishnes Wherefore seeing that this is the fourth and highest degree of Faith whereby a man euen steps vp into heauen the Apostle and all faithfull Shepheards haue great cause of reioycing as the Angells in Heauen also haue and of thanksgiuing without ceasing when any man heareth the word not as theirs but as Gods seeing that they alone and none but they doe heare know and follow Christ their chiefe shepheard This then is the condemnation of the world that they heare indeede but with vnbeleeuing hearts doubting and wauering minds and in a dreaming and slumbering manner being like to Salomons sluggard Prouerbs 6. 10. Yet a little sleepe a little slumber a little foulding of the hands to sleepe the weather is colde there is a Beare or a Lyon in the way It is yet early enough there is no time yet ouerpast many labour and trauell hauing no rest night nor day yet doe they liue and die in pouerty many lye and sleepe yet wealth commeth on them vnlooked for That which will be will be It is but euen happen good haue good one good fortune or other will befall mee I shall doe as well as I can and as others haue done before mee And thus doth slothfulnesse get the vpper hand and hold possession still till at the length pouerty come sodenly and necessity like an armed man This is the common practise of dead hearted and worldly minded men they are continually called vpon iogged and rouzed yet they heare and heare not like dreamers and are possest with the spirit of slumber Their hearts are fixed and affections set on the earth and earthly things euen as the tree is fixed and rooted in the earth They loue to lye and liue securely in sinne being drunken with the profits pleasures delights pompe and pride of this world hauing no affection nor fancy to God and godly things being adulterers adulteresses and fornicators of this world altogether vnlike and contrary to the spouse of Christ in the Canticles Hence it is that they imagine and reason in themselues like the sluggard yet a little more pleasure in sinne a little more solace and delight in fleshly lusts a little longer space of liuing after the pleasant conceits and imaginations of mine owne heart there is yet no time ouer-past I shall repent and amend in my latter dayes God is mercifull and will not so strictly deale with vs as these precise Preachers doe beare vs in hand that would haue vs to be ruled and ordered by their phantasticall imaginations they would haue they know not what and for ought we see they are as ill as others This precise kinde of preaching is come vp but of late yeares and I thinke there were as good Christians before as euer there haue beene since These and a thousand such like follies doe they imagine and vtter tending all to the blinding and hardning of themselues in their sinfull and rebellious courses That which a man hath a speciall loue liking and inclination to of himselfe hee may soone be perswaded vnto by another for any reason though neuer so weake and seely feedeth him and confirmeth him whereas the strongest disswasions that may be shall preuaile little or nothing or but for the time present Againe on the contrary if a man out of his owne heart and iudgement haue no liking nor inclination though hee be neuer so earnestly set vpon and by most sound and strong reasons be disswaded by another yet can hee be little moued or stirred but euer returneth backe againe to his former dislikes like the heauy stone that being rouled by great strength vpward doth of it selfe retire backe againe so soone as we hold off our hands Thus it is with obstinate sinners whose hearts are heauy and stony the strongest reasons that may be though neuer so plaine and euident yea the very bare word of the text being the immediate word of God can preuaile little or nothing with them they are so strongly possest with contrary imaginations lusts and desires but on the contrary any weake silly and foolish reason any ignorant speech groundlesse opinion feedeth them and confirmeth them in their sinfull courses Any thing will perswade the sluggard to be idle so any thing will mooue the sinner to spirituall idlenesse And thus will those drunken and sleepy sinners doe till death summon them to iudgement