Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	good_a	see_v	word_n	1,813	5	4.0812	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72174	A briefe discourse of certaine points of the religion which is among the commõ sort of Christians, which may bee termed the countrie diuinitie with a manifest confutation of the same, after the order of a dialogue / compiled by George Gifforde.	Gifford, George, d. 1620.	1582 (1582)	STC 11846; ESTC S5348	72,465	187

for the Learnedest of them all Zelot I praye ye let mee heare what his vertues bee for which yee doe commend him so highly Ath. Hee is as gentle a person as euer I see a verye good fellowe hee willnot sticke when good Fellowes and honest men meete together too spende his groate at the Alehouse I cannot tell they preache and preache but hee doeth liue as well as the best of them all I am afrayde when he is gone wée shall neuer haue the like againe Zelot Bee these the greate vertues whiche yee doe commende hym for hee maye haue all these and yet be more meete for too keepe swine then too bee a Sheaphearde ouer the flocke of Christe is hee able to teache the people and doeth hee instruct them in Gods woord Ath. I knowe not what teaching yée woulde haue hee doeth reade the seruice as well as anye of them all and I thinke there is as good edifiyng in those prayers and Homilies as in anye that the Preacher canne make let vs learne those first Zelot That is not all which is required in a Minister for a boye of tenne yeeres olde canne doe all this doeth hee not teache them too knowe the will of GOD and reprooue naughtinesse among the people Ath. Yes that hee doeth for if there bee anye that doe not agree hée will seeke for too make them friendes for hee will gette them too playe a game or two at Bowles or Cardes and too drynke together at the Alehouse I thynke it a Godlye waye to make Charitie hee is none of these busie Controulers for if hée were hée coulde not be so well liked of some and those not of the meanest as he is Zelot Doe yee call the Preachers of Gods worde busie Controulers doe they goe further then Gods woorde doeth leade them Ath. Wée may call them busie controllers I thinke we shall doe nothing shortly as poore a man as I am I woulde not for fortye shillinges that wee had one of them there be more of my minde Zelot Some poore men perhaps Ath. Naye the best in the Parish who would not so well like of our Curat if hee should meddle that way Zelot I perceiue nowe what manner of man your Curat is and I see like master like scholler Ath. Why so I pray yée Zelot Why so I smell how vnmeete hee is also how ignorant you are Let me question a little while with yee concerning that which yee haue vttered Ath. I trust I haue vttered nothing but that whiche doeth beecome an honest man Zelot Nay all your speech doeth beewraye that you are a carnall man for you haue made a verye fine description of a good Curate what meane yee when yee say hee is a good fellowe and will not sticke to spende his money among good fellowes is it not beecause hee is a potte companion Ath. Doe yée mislike good felowship is it not lawfull for honest men to drinke and bee merrie together Zelot I doe not mislike true friendship whiche is in the Lorde knitte in true Godlinesse but I mislike this vice which ouerfloweth euerie where that Drunkardes meete togeather and sitte quaffing and the minister which shoulde reprooue them to bee one of the chiefe when hee shoulde bee at his studie to bee vpon the Alebench at Cardes or dice. Ath. I perceiue you are one of those curious and precise fellowes whiche will allowe no recreation what woulde yée haue men doe we shall doe nothing shortly You would haue them sitte mooping alwayes at their bookes I like not that Zelot Nay my friende I doe not allowe that recreation whiche prophane men call so whiche is no recreation but a torment to a Godly minde to see men drunken to heare them sweare and rayle to spende their goodes and their time so lewdelie and hee that shoulde teach them to bee a Ringleader as there bee manie as it seemeth whiche are entred into the ministerie for none other purpose but to liue an idle life to haue leysure to play at Cardes or Tables and Bowles all the Weeke And therefore they haue no skill to teache but like vnsauerie salte are not good euen for the dunghill Ath. These thinges were vsed before you were borne and will bee when you are gone So long as men thinke no hurte when they play and be merry Zelot I perceiue yee are of the ryght stampe yee are light vppon an argument whiche may well be termed olde Suersebee because it bringeth a reason whiche doeth sticke by manye when all other reasons forsake them But lett vs pull this olde fellowe out of his newe coat and yee shall see what a leane shrimpe hee is and so feeble that hee cannot goe on stiltes these thinges were vsed saye you beefore you were borne so were all other naughtie vices are they nowe good because they bee olde Because men committed them before I was borne and will doe when I am dead Ath. I meane not so but there were as wise men and wiser then hee nowe among our Forefathers and they would not haue vsed nor allowed such thinges if they had not béene good they knewe well enough what they did Let not vs bée more precise thē they were Zelot I perceiue you grounde your faith and your doinges vpon men and not vpon Gods worde Ath. I praye GOD I may followe our Forefathers and doe no woorse then they did what shoulde wee seeke for too bee wyser or better then they I woulde wée coulde doe but as well as they did Zelot Doe you not thinke that there were among our forefathers theeues murtherers adulterers drunkardes and suche like Ath. I thinke there haue béene alwayes euill dooers and wilbe while the worldes end Zelot Woulde yee haue vs to followe those and to take their vices Ath. Wee are not to follow any thing but that whiche is good and those whiche were godly and wise Zelot Is there anye thing good but that which God setteth downe in his worde and were any wise and Godly but such as did followe the will of GOD expressed in his word Ath. There is nothing good but of GOD and suche as doe as hee commaundeth Zelot Then you see olde suresebee layde flat vppon the grounde and youre lustye champion is manifested to bee but k●●ne and bones and the same draugh rotten for nowe by your owne confession doeth followe that the woorde of God is the onely rule and we must followe our Forefathers no further then they followe the woorde of God You must not followe Dauid nor Abraham in euery thing they did Furthermore also these naughtie vices and corrupte customes came from the wicked forefathers not from the godly which followed gods word Ath. That is true but I will follow our forefathers nowe there is no loue then they liued in friendshippe and made merrie together nowe there is no good neighbourhood nowe euerie man for himselfe and are readie to pull one another by the throate Zelot There are but a few

The worde of God is certaine and sure because God cannot lie but howe shall I ●●●we which is their ●● sense of it ● shall I beleeue euerie man which doth interprer the worde shall I not the better beleeue 〈…〉 if he say it is not my interpretation but S. Ierome he saith so S. Augustine hee sayth so I promise yée he shall haue the greater credite with me for they were other maner of men then hée Zelot I cannot but ●●ruell to see howe grosse and dull your head is for to learne the trueth and how readily you can bring out such matters as this ye speake not of your owne head I woulde there were no greater learned men then you blinded in this matter But let mee shewe yee your grosse errour Yee say the word is certaine and sure but the interpretation thereof yee make doubtfull but what are we the better that the worde of God is sure and certaine vnlesse it be sure certaine vnto vs which cannot bee except the interpretation be so It is as good for you to say the word is doubtfull as for to say the sense is doubtfull Nowe when as yee hang the sense vppon men can ye denie but that still it is in doubt This must needes arise in the minde those Doctors said so but they might erre and therefore I am not certaine that this is the sense If this shall bee admitted in the Church what shall become of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or full certaintie of fayth which the woorde of GOD doeth require to be in vs it is grounded vpon the word of God for it cannot stande otherwise Moreouer faith is sure what God meaneth or else it is no faith therefore such as woulde hang mens saith vppon the authoritye of men where they must needes still be in doubt and when they are at the furthest they come but vnto this it is 〈…〉 like for to be true because such notable men speake it doe not know a right what faith is for that yee say he shall haue the more credite with you if he say It is not my saying but the saying of Augustine therein ye were euen as good say that your fayth is built vpon men and not vpon God For if ye doe beleeue because some great learned or Godlie man telleth yee the matter this is no true beleefe for wee must bee fully perswaded that God him selfe doeth tell vs or els wee be neuer the neere Ath. Howe shall I know when GOD speaketh ●● which God speaketh you come and preach one way another commeth and hee doeth proache another way yee preache one contrary to another you say God speaketh hee saith God speaketh whiche shall wee beleeue Is not ●ee to ●e● best beléeued which can shew that those greate doctors are on his side Zelot See what a grounde you leaue vnto you know not when GOD speaketh not what God speaketh and therefore yee will haue some of the olde Doctors for to tell are yee sure hee telleth yee right if ye be it is because hee sheweth ye the worde of God why he telleth yee so the credite must bee giuen vnto the word and not to the man But you saie yee can not tell when one doeth alleadge the worde in the true meaning howe then can ye tell when one alleadgeth the doctor in the true meaning he which will falsifie the word of God in the Bible he will not sticke for to falsifie the meaning of the Doctor you may search the scriptures to see whether the testimonies alleadged be so as the men of Berea did when Paule preached Act. 17. 11. You cannot neither are yee commaunded for to searche the doctors And vnlesse yee see the manifest 〈…〉 of gods worde ye are not bounde for to beleeue but if it be plainlie shewed that God hath spoken then yee are bounde vnder the 〈…〉 of damnation for to giue credite vnto it Christe sayth My sheepe heare my voyce a straunger they will not heare Iohn 10. Also S. Iohn saith brethren beleeue not euerie spirite but trie the spirites whether they be of God 1. Iohn 4. he therefore which saith I cannot tell when the voyce of Christ is vttered it is all one as if he should say I am none of the sheepe of Christ because as he saith Euery one of his sheepe do knowe his voyce He that saith I know not which Preacher doth preach truth and which falshood he may euen as well say I am none of those to whome the holy Ghost speaketh and sayth Try the spirites whether they be of God it is a generall precept giuen vnto all Christians Ath. Ye shall neuer make mee beleeue that euerye man is for to iudge whether the Preacher speake true or false Zelot I know not what I shall be able for to make you beleeue but I am sure I can plainely shewe what yee ought to beleeue First marke this the worde came not from man neither can a man teache it ye vnlesse God reueale it by his spirite if it were the wisedome of the worlde or of the flesh then the spirit of the world which is in man and knoweth the secretes of man could teache it but because it is the mysterie of GOD none can make yee learne it but the holy Ghoste which searcheth euen the deepe things of God as S. Paul teacheth 1. Cor. 2. 10 S. Iohn in his first Epistle Chap. the seconde hauing told them that there were euen then many Antichrists he comforteth them with this You saith he haue receiued an annointing from the holy one know all things Like as therefore none of those can learne whō God doth not inlighten with his spirite so on the cōtrary part all those which are taught within by the spirit doe feele when the doctrine which the same spirit hath taught is vttered he knoweth his owne and he sealeth it vp in their hearts and consciences which being instructed by him must needes consent thereto fully For this cause there is great difference betweene such as set all vpon the authorities of men and such as preach as S. Paul saith he did with the plaine euidence of the spirit and of power 1. Cor. 2. 4. he addeth the reason in the next verse that their faith should not cōsist in the wisedome of men but in the power of God If faith may not hang vpon the wisdome of men and therefore the intising speech which mans wisedome teacheth is to be auoided in setting foorth the Gospell then can it not stand vpon the authorities of men Ath. Is it not lawfull in any respect for to alleadge them Zelot Yes no doubt there are circumstances which may make it sometime very needfull I speake only against this that they are alleaged when as we may alledge the same things out of the worde it selfe And when they are alleadged for men to builde their faith vpon or to make men thinke that there can be no certaintie in the interpretation of the worde