Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	believe_v	faith_n	reason_n	2,615	5	5.5904	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09299	A treatise vvherein is manifestlie proued, that reformation and those that sincerely fauor the same, are vnjustly charged to be enemies, vnto hir Maiestie, and the state Written both for the clearing of those that stande in that cause: and the stopping of the sclaunderous mouthes of all the enemies thereof.	Penry, John, 1559-1593.	1590 (1590)	STC 19612; ESTC S121983	58,104	90

they are fruitles and to no purpose Nay though it were possible that without the word they could worke some aedification in men yet notwithstanding they were neuer appointed to beget men into the hope of aeternall life For regenerate flesh and blood they cannot because they were onely appointed to edifie those whome the word should beget So that men may all their life time enjoy these exercises of true religion and yet be far from the outward meanes whereby the Lord requireth himselfe to be worshipped in spirit and trueth and whereby the saluation of their soules should be wrought And though your Honours shewe youre selues neuer so greate fauourers of reading the worde publike prayers c. which in themselues are acceptable to God but among our people for the most part abominablie profaned yet because you maintain those to outcountenance the preaching of the worde and to be polluted by such men as ought not to deal with the holy things of the Lord You are no otherwise accounted of in his sight then the professed enemies of that pure worship in spirit and trueth wherein alone he delighteth the maintainers of the profanation of his seruice and aduersaries vnto the saluation of his Churche And what other account I beseeche you can he make of you which dare presume to platte him out the perfection of his seruice and appoint him a way to saue his people according vnto your owne pleasure He hath set down in his word that without faith it is vnpossible to please him and so that without faith it is vnpossible for men to worship him in spirit and trueth and come to aeternall life In this point I hope you will not gainesay his Majestie He goeth farther and manifesteth the ordinarie meanes to beget fayth and saluation to be onely the word preached And therefore requireth the forwardnes of all those that would not be guiltie of neglecting his honour to promote the saide preaching of his worde Herein you oppose your selues vnto him reply againe that he must needs prouide himselfe of newe ordinances or els he can neither in this life be worshipped in trueth of your people nor glorified with their saluation in the life to come For vnlesse reading of the worde publike prayers the profanation of his sacramentes by the polluted fingers of most ignorantmen can worke all that he requireth he can haue no meanes in the most congregations within the dominions of England to be purely worshipped and to gaine himself a name by the sauing of the distressed souls of men And you are so resolute with the Lord in this point that you proclaime all them to bee enemies vnto your state whosoeuer dare open their mouthes in his cause against your vnaduised resolutions So that whatsoeuer fauour your Honors pretend vnto some part of the true outward seruice of his Majestie yet inasmuch as you lende your whole force to maintaine and keepe in the Church the reading idol ministerie which you may know wel inough can neither beget faith nor any true aedification in your people and by whome the Lorde accounteth himselfe his ordinances to be profaned the very trueth is this that you stand at this day guiltie in his sight of the defects ruines and profanations of his worship and also of the vtter vndoing of many a thousand soule within England And I do not see what you can alledge for your defence except you will joyne with that notable seducer of your people D. VVhitgift the Arch. of Cant. and affirme eyther that saluation may be wrought in your people by hearing the word read or that reading is preaching But alas these figge leaues are so far from standing you in any stead when the Lorde shall enter into areckoning with our land for the small care that our gouernours haue had in furthering his seruice that his wrath will be kindled against our state almost for nothing more then because that both these errors of this wicked deceiuer haue beene vncondemned therein and also as a token I thinke of our hatred vnto the Lord and his gospell such a detected enemie vnto the gospell as he is hath bene promoted vnto one of the highest roomes at the counsell table to the ende as the maintaining of his proceedings do witnesse that he might be a scourge vnto Gods Church within hir Majesties dominions Well he saith that men may be saued by hearing the word read as by the ordinarie meanes If it be not so wo be to him that euer he was borne whose practises these 20. yeeres almost haue tended to no other ende then to maintaine this damnable error of his For if men cānot be saued by reading where shall he stande which hath brought vpon himselfe the guiltines of so many soules by silencing so many faythful preachers and planting readers in their stead And therefore I doe not so much blame him for framing his corrupt judgement according vnto the rule of his vngodly practises For if his practise were contrarie vnto the light of his knowledge then hath he a more fearfull account to make who hath quenched the light of his vnderstanding to the ende he might with lesse remorse raue against the Majestie of God But his blindnes cannot make others inexcusable that willingly follow after such a leader therefore let vs see what the word saith vnto this assertion The Apostle Paul affirmeth 1. Cor. 1.24 Reading not the ordinarie meanes to saluation that seeing the world by wisdome knew not god in the wisdome of god it pleased god by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue as many as beleeue Will you then haue a salnation that is by fayth whiche you must haue or none at all Surely the Apostle tels you that it pleaseth the Lorde to worke this no otherwise in the hearts of men then by preaching which vnto the worldly wise men is but foolishnes but vnto vs that are saued it is the wisedome of god and the power of god Euen as thē we can expect no saluation but that which is apprehended by faith so can we not hope to haue this sauing fayth wrought in vs by any other meanes then by preaching For the Apostle setteth downe in expresse wordes that as many as beleeue Rom. 10.14 are saued by the means of preaching Againe how shall they call vpon him saith the same Apostle in another place in whome they haue not belecued How shal they belieue in him of whom they haue not heard Howe shall they heare without a preacher Beholde then if we will so heare as wee may beleeue the Apostle telleth vs that this must be the hearing not of a reader but of a preacher If then this seducing prelate cannot make good a saluation which is to be obtained without fayth as heauen and earth knowe he cannot or if beleuing to saluation be conuaied vnto mens souls by no other hearing then by the hearing of a preacher as the Apostle telleth then also it followeth to the shame

content eyther to be condemned or acquited by the judgment thereof vpon whose judgement also they dare not but professe themselues to relie First then we holde it intollerable that the holy ministerie of the worde and Sacraments and the charge of soules The desire of remoouing the dumb ministerie no vndutifull attempt should in our Church be committed vnto such men as are no more able to teach vs what belongeth to the pure worshipp of god then can many a childe of sixe yeres old And we would know whether by the worde we may be accounted for this position to bee enemies eyther vnto our most deare prince or vnto our most louing cuntry What doth it determine in this matter are wee thereby acquited or condemned for this our assertion Surely acquited And that by the voyce of the Sonne of God himselfe who openly declareth that the miserie of that people is vnspeakably pitifull where the * Math. 15.14 Iuk 6.69 blinde leadeth the blinde who also by his owne * Matth. 9.36 mark 6.34 example hath taught vs what compassion we ought to haue of our brethren that are scattered as sheep without a sheepheard hauing none to leade them nor feede them in the way of aeternall life And therefore is so far from disliking this care of ours towardes the saluation of our brethren cuntrimen that he hath enjoyned vs when we see our brethren thicke and threefold to fall into the ditch of blindnes and ignorance and so into the pit of aeternall wo destruction * Matth. 9.34 to pray vnto the Lord that he would raise vp meet guides who may leade his people in the true and vpright waye that leadeth vnto life Before we go any farther behold here how the case standeth betweene vs and our aduersaries and judge vprightly Our Sauiour Christe IESVS teacheth vs to be mooued with pitie and compassion when we see the blinde lead the blinde and our owne fleshe perishe for want of the true knowledge of God We see this lamentable sight in our land euery where we may heare the blood of ignorant soules crie day and night in the eares of the Lorde for juste vengeaunce to bee powred vpon their blind leaders and such as maintaine them What shall we do in this case shall we not be touched with any remorse at all Farre be it but we should We are therefore mooued therewith and as christian duetie bindeth vs we doe endevor both by our prayers vnto the Lorde and by our petitions and suits vnto our Majestrates and euerye other way that become Christians to haue these murtherers remooued and to haue those placed in their roomes who bring with them faithfully execute this great and high cōmission wherof the Apostle speaketh in the person of al true ministers Now then are we Embassadors for Christ 2. Cor. 5.20 as though God did beseeche you through vs we pray you in Christes stead that you be reconciled vnto God But what say the aduersaries vnto vs for the performing of so necessarie a duetie Verely their censure is that in so doing we are enemies vnto the state We reply vpon them againe that the word of God doth cleare vs of their vnjust accusation which doth not so much light vpon vs as vppon the worde and docttine of the sonne of God For they that condemne the disciples of sedition for practizing that whiche their master enjoyned them must needs passe sentence against the master as a teacher of seditious doctrine And therefore we are so far from being moued with the vnaequall dealing that we wish them whosoeuer they be to giue eare vnto the inditement which the Psalmiste frameth against them in these wordes psal 15.19.20 You haue giuen your mouthes to euill and with your tongs you forge deceit You sit and speake against your brethren and you haue slaundered the sonnes of your mother psal 54 5. You haue encouraged your selues in a wicked purpose and common together howe to lay snares priuily and say who shall see You haue taken craftie counsell against the people of the Lord and consulted against his secrete ones psal 83.3 And because they must needs confesse themselues guiltie of this accusation in euery point therefore we doe also aduise them by true and speedie repentaunce to betake them vnto the Lorde least as it is in the Psalme He teare them in pieces and there be none that can deliuer them psal 50.12 And we entreat them that are in authoritie to weigh the state of the people of this land with the worde of God and then we doubt not but they shall see the motion of remoouing the dumbe ministery out of our Church and the planting of careful teachers to be the best piece of seruice one of them that euer was attempted vnder their gouernment If to redresse the wantes of the pure worshipp of God and to remooue the condemnation both of the bodies the soules of men be thought a seruice worthie to be vndertaken For alas by meanes of the false and loytering guides which haue kept out the true and painfull watche-men the seruice of God hath nowe for the space of 31. yeares continued at that miserable stay in our kingdom that in the most congregarions not of miserable Wales and Ireland onely but euen of England it self The lamentab'e state of religion in England we want not some necessary member but euen all the vitall partes as the heart lyfeblood yea and soule of true religion namely the word preached euen the very seed without which men can neyther be begotten vnto nor nourished in the hope of aeternall blisse and happines Again by reason of this desolation of our Churche the most of our people within all our prouinces wandering as blinde men in the darke know no means eyther how to yeeld the Lorde any part of his true worshipp or howe they shall be saued in the day of wrath Here your Hh. of hir Majesties priuie counsell who professe your selues aduersaries vnto reformation and therefore vpholders of our ignorant ministerie are cited before the tribunall seate of God and required in his name to consider the injurie that you offer vnto his Majestie both in the maintenance of these blinde guides also in your proceedings herein for both which you are sure one day to be called to a reckoning First by maintayning these idoles you countenance and mayntaine the ruines defectes and profanation of Gods true seruice together with the damnation of mens soules Secondly your proceedings in the maintenance of the blooddie cause is suche as vnder the profession of true religion I thinke the like hath bin seldome seene For you thinke it a small matter for you thus to bereaue the Lorde of his true honor to lend your authoritie might and power vnto Sathan to vphold ignorance and blindnes vnles also as a testimonie of your perseuerance in this damnable way you do account of them that seek to bring