Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	ancient_a	father_n	primitive_a	3,741	5	8.1245	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14642	Ionahs sermon, and Ninivehs repentance A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse Jun. 20. 1602. and now thought fit to be published for our meditations in these times. By Ro. Wakeman Master of Arts and fellow of Balioll Colledge in Oxford.; Jonahs sermon, and Ninivehs repentance.	Wakeman, Robert, 1575 or 6-1629.	1606 (1606)	STC 24948; ESTC S104651	37,818	114

sometimes with the sweete balme of the Gospel bind vp the brokē harted and yet sometimes also with the hard hāmer of the law bruze and breake downe the strength of impietie Let vs sometimes as good chirurgions applie pleasant lenitines to supple yet sometimes also sharpe corasines to exasperate the festered woūds of our sicke patients Let vs somtimes like skilful Physitions minister comfortable refections to cherish yet somtimes also sharpe and bitter potions to offend their distēpered stomacks Let vs somtimes with that good Samaritane Luk. 10 with the oile of mercy cheere vp the fainting cō science of a poenitent Christian yet sometimes also with the wine of reprehension rub vp the cōtagious maladies of hard harted worldlings Let vs sometimes with the sons of Iacob stand vpon the moūt Gerizzim to blesse yet sōtimes also vpon the moūt Eball to curse the Lords enemies Deut. 27.13 Let vs sometimes with St. Paul Come in the spirit of meekenes to comfort and yet sometims also with the same Apostle with the rod of correction to controule 1. Cor. 4. 21. Let vs sometimes say with our maister pax vobis peace be vnto you Luk. 24.36 yet sometimes also vae vobis woe be vnto you Matt. 23.13 Let vs sometimes be like that soft voice wherin God came 1. Reg. 19.12 and yet sometimes also like Iohn Baptist the voices of criers or crying voices in the wildernes of this world Math. 3.3 Let vs sometimes bee like Barnabas sons of Consolatiō Act. 4.36 and yet sometimes also like Iames Iohn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sons of thunder Mark 3.17 Lastly let vs sometimes come with Ionas in my text with a sōge of mercy as in the first part of his sermō yet 40. daies and yet sometimes also with a songe of iudgment as it followeth in the second and Niniveh shal be destroied And Niniveh shal be destroyed And heerein a word before I proceede further Let me remoue a stumbling blocke of offēce which may arise to the weake out of these words For wheras our Prophet here setteth downe that after the space of 40. daies Niniveh shoulde bee destroied it is manifest in the last verse of this 3. chapter that God repented of this evil which he had purposed to do vnto it he did it not Quaestion Howe then is the councel of the Lord infallible howe is the verity of his word immutable howe are his decrees vnresistable how is his iudgment here denoūced by Ionas inevitable and Niniveh shal be destroyed Opinion 1 For answere where vnto we must observe that some of the auncient fathers in the primitiue church haue bin of this opinion that by Niniveh here is vnderstood the sin iniquity of the people of Niniveh As if the Prophet had said Yet forty daies Niniveh shal be destroied that is not the mē the wals the buildings of Niniveh but the sins transgressiōs of Niniveh the sinful city shal become an holy city the idolatrous people a sāctified people the height of their impietie shal be destroied by the teares of their penitēcy Thus shal sinful Niniveh be quite defaced thus shall vngodly Niniveh be overthrowne Of this opiniō was Sr. Austen in his 21 lib. 24. chapter de civitate dei Where he saith thus That God vseth to ouerthrow sinners two manner of waies Either when he punisheth the men for sins cōmitted as he did the Sodomites Gen. 19.25 or when he destroyeth the sins of mē through their vnfeined repentāce as in these Ninivits And in this sence saith Sr. Austen is the word of the Lord true that Niniveh in her people buildings stood stil but in her wicked waies and transgressions she was overthrowne But saving the iudgmēt of so learned a father whom notwithstanding of alother of the fathers generally for his interpretatiōs of the Scripture I hould to bee most worthy of reverence I rather fasten vppon another interpretation of these wordes 2. Opinion And that is that they are spoken by our Prophet with a conditiō implied in them as if hee had saide the Lord your God is a patient God he will not woūd you before he warne you Loe he giveth you yet 40 daies more to bethink your selues if in this space you wil not turne vnto him then assuredly you shal be destroyed And this I rather take to bee the Prophets meaning in this place not onely for that the whole current of our latter sounder interpreters doe agree here vnto but also because I know this manner of denouncing iudgment is verie vsual vvith the spirite of God in holy scripture Witnes that one place insteede of all in the prophecie of Ieremy I will speake saith the Lord suddenly against a natiō against a kingdom to plucke it vp and to roote it out and to destroy it But if this nation against whō I haue pronounced turne from their wickednes I vvill repent of the plague that I thought to bring vpon them Ier. 18.7.8 There you see the condition is set down in expresse words If they turne frō their wickednes I will repent But elsewhere it is necessarily implyed and vnderstood as for example When Abimelech the king of Gerar had tooke vnto him Sara the wife of Abrahā God said vnto him thou art but a dead mā because of the woman which thou haste taken Genes 20.3 Here the iudgement seemeth absolute But this condition must needes bee vnderstood that he was but a dead man if hee did not restore the woman without touching her bodie For vvhen he had purged himselfe with an vpright minde and innocent hand haue I done this the Lorde forbare to execute this sentence on him So likewise the Prophet Esaie biddeth Ezechiah from the Lorde to set his house in order for hee should die not liue Es 38.1 What speech can be more absolute thē this And yet we must needs confesse that this condition is therein contained thou shalt die if thou appease not the wrath of God by thy tears and vnfained repentance For when he had once so done the Lord removed away this iudgement and added vnto his daies fifteene yeares as it is in the same chapt Agreeable to this is that of David vvho when he had killed Vriah the Hittite and taken his wife vnto himself the Lord tolde him that for this the sword should neuer depart from his house 2. Sam. 12.10 A sentence without exception and yet when he confessed that in this he had sinned against the Lorde a condition no doubt in the former iudgment implyed it was tould him by Nathan that the Lord had put away his sin and he should not die vers 13. So in the words of my text here is destructiō denounced by Ionas against Niniveh yet 40 daies and Niniveh shall be destroyed And yet Niniveh repenting the Lord withholdeth his iudgements from it therefore we must needes vnderstand a condition in the words yet 40. daies and if Niniveh go