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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	church_n	word_n	world_n	3,040	5	4.5870	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33542	Bourignianism detected, or, The delusions and errors of Antonia Bourignon, and her growing sect which may also serve for a discovery of all other enthusiastical impostures / by John Cockburn.	Cockburn, John, 1652-1729.	1698 (1698)	Wing C4804; ESTC R17688	48,522	82

secret Thoughts of Men's Hearts and Things to come and did not foretell them by way of Supposition or related them as if she had dreamt them We found also diverse times that she could tell what past in her absence and how our Souls behaved themselves towards God In short This Divine Soul told us so many Secrets of the Mystical and Inward Life that all our Theology was too short and insufficient to answer her to so high Questions not only in Matters of Theology but also in all other Matters according to the various Rencounters and Occurrences which fell out so that one would have thought that though a Man had perused all sorts of Histories and grown old in the study of all sorts of Sciences he could not know with such Understanding all the things which this Pilgrimess told us It is impossible to write in particular the admirable things which we have heard of this Pilgrimess so that We may say of her Discourses what St. Paul said of his Rapture That he had seen and heard things which eyes had not seen nor ear heard and that it has not entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for his elect Now lest any should think that this extraordinary Knowledge came to her by Natural Means or that it was the effect of some Art and Industry which others had not the happiness to know neither were capable to undergo we are told That she never read nor learn'd of any body That she was without Study even without Reading and which is more without Meditation Years and Experience make others Wise and Knowing but she had her vast Knowledge from the beginning she was not wiser in her Old Age than in her Youth for she was infallible in both neither was there any occasion for correcting or amending that which she spoke or wrote in her first years For if you peruse her Writings impartially you will meet with many remarkable Characters that are not ordinarily to be found in many Writings A clear and distinct Account of the Essential Truths of Christianity with a constant urging of them as the one thing necessary and distinguishing them from the accessory Truths which are not necessary to Salvation an inimitable simplicity of Expression which a Child may understand with as singular a sublimity of Thoughts a convincing power and force going along with them a plain unfolding in a few Lines the Difficulties about which the Learned write many Volumes a constant harmony and uniformity of Sentiments in the Writings of a course of forty years from about the Twenty third to the Sixty fifth year of her age in which she died with an evidence and clearness to the conviction of our Natural Reason And all this by one who never read any Books never conversed with the Learned to be instructed by them never premeditated what she wrote never blotted out nor mended what was once written but being attentive to the Love of God in the calm and inward recollection of her Spirit wrote as fast as her hand could guide the Pen and when some Writings were laid by unfinish'd for some years returned to them and finish'd them after the same manner without reading any more of what had been written than some few of the immediately foregoing Lines to make a due connexion Thus Memory and those Rational discussive Faculties which help others to the knowledge of Truth were of no use to her because they make her to have had an immediate intuition of all things in God with whom she had inward Conversation from her Childhood She neither did nor would learn any thing from the Scriptures though they were given by Inspiration and were designed to make every Man of God perfect and throughly instructed to every good word and work She would take nothing from the second-hand but would have all things immediately from God himself and therefore she asked Him Questions and received Answers from Him about the smallest matters In a word the design of these three Prefaces is to prove That all her Words and Thoughts are God's and that the Spirit was not given to her by measure no more than it was to Iesus Christ and that there was the same reason for both For as God had chosen a Virgin for his Mother so he had chosen another Virgin to be the Organ of his Light and Spirit by whom he designed to renew his Church and to give the last Blow and Overthrow to Satan's Kingdom for which cause she is called the Light of the World and these words of Isaiah are applied unto her The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shined And upon this account Monsieur de Cort says I look upon her Acquaintance as a greater favour than all the Graces and Favours which God hath bestowed on me in this World yea even than my Creation it self for that would serve me in little stead without the working out of my Salvation which would have been in great danger if I had not attained to the knowledge of my self and of the Designs and Marvels of God which I have learned and discovered by the means of this Creature and she has certainly been sent me as the only Means of the Perfection of my Soul and of all those who will profit by the recital of this Narrative which I find my self obliged to publish for the profit of many This is the true treasure hid in the earth he who shall find it ought to sell all that he has to by this Ground to the end he may find and discover this Treasure and take it up with Joy as the most precious thing in the World I have insisted the longer upon the Character of Madamoiselle Bourignon her personal Endowments and Qualifications her Divine Mission and Authority as they are declared and set forth by her Disciples because they are Material Points in our Enquiry about her And for the same reason I have chose to give these things in their own words that it may appear to all that I do not charge them with things which they do not neither will own And now I may have liberty to add That if Madamoiselle Bourignon deserves the Character which is here given to her if it be true what these Authors I have quoted do say of her if their Commendations and Praises are not rash and groundless but built upon a solid Foundation then she is not only a very Singular and Extraordinary Person but without exception the greatest that ever was Born of a Woman She is above all the Ancient Patriarchs she is to be preferred to Moses and the Prophets to Iohn the Baptist and the Apostles and at least she ought to be honoured equally with Jesus Christ who is said to be God blessed for ever She was as much without Sin as he was and her Body was of

we close with this or that Method of Salvation otherwise we are shamefully lazy negligent and easie in things which do most concern us 'T is true the generality of the World practise the contrary they take these things upon trust and are satisfied with that which is first proposed and which lie nearest them But this is a Reproach to Mankind nor can there be a greater instance of the Corruption of Humane Nature than this that Men use their Reason least in things of greatest moment However we are not to consider what is commonly done but what should be done what is fit to be done by wise and good Men by such as would build their present Peace and Comfort and their eternal Interest not upon Sand but upon a Rock which can hold out against Storms and Tempests Now if in such cases a reasonable Conviction a satisfying Evidence be necessary then to receive Madamoiselle Bourignon as one so highly dignified by God and her Scheme of Religion and System of Opinions as Divine and absolutely necessary to be followed we ought to have something more than the Authority and Testimony of those Men formerly quoted for whatever their Morals be they are fallible as others if they will not wilfully deceive yet they are liable to be deceived and if they have been imposed upon where are we if we follow them The Testimony of Men is only valuable so far as they are competent Judges of the things which they declare It is unjust to deny the Testimony of sincere honest Men when they bear witness only to Matters of Fact to things which they have heard and seen but when it comes to Opinions Perswasions and Sentiments both good and wise Men ought to be submitted to a Tryal and Examination whether there be Reasons for their Belief Now the Case before us is of the Nature of the last that is It is not a Matter of Fact but a Matter of Faith and Opinion and therefore we must be allowed to judge the Validity of the Reasons of these Mens Sentiments of Antonia Bourignon before we can or ought to be of their Side And I am confident that if their Reasons be weighed in the Balance if they be put into just and equal Scales they will be found light and wanting Weight to make them pass for the Value which is put upon them I will not conceal any of their Reasons nor will I misrepresent them I do not remember to have met with any besides those which follow which have been suggested and which may be gathered from what has been said above 1. An Early and Extraordinary Sanctity 2. The secret Knowledge of Mens Thoughts 3. Foretelling things to come 4. A Sublime and Wonderful Knowledge of Divine Mysteries with an Uniformity and Agreement of Sentiments both with her self and Scripture 5. The Supernatural Means and Method of her coming to the Knowledge of all these things viz. without Reading without consulting Men or Books and without Meditation 6. The apparition of Comets at her Birth when she began to Write and at her Death From these Reasons they conclude that she was Divinely Inspired and sent to the World upon some great Design and for these Reasons they make her the Woman in the Revelation who was cloathed with the Sun and had the Moon under her Feet they call her the Spouse of Christ and give her that large Character which we have seen above I intend to consider these Reasons calmly and impartially First whether supposing them true the Consequence drawn from them be just and necessary and then what truth is in them I begin with the First viz. her Early and Extraordinary Sanctity And I do acknowledge that true Sanctity is only from God It is not the work of Nature but of Grace No Man can be perfectly Holy of himself nor can the Devil either intend or effectuate such a thing if therefore any have the Gift of Sanctity they have it from above God certainly is the Author of it whose Spirit only can subdue our Natural Corruption and raise us to a Conformity to the Divine Nature And as this Gift is of God so it is more valuable than the Gift of Miracles Prophecies speaking with divers Tongues and such like for it is a greater sign of the love of God and does better secure an Interest in him When our Lord bestowed the Power of Miracles and of casting out Devils upon the Seventy Disciples that they might not overvalue this Special Privilege or boast too highly of it be said unto them Notwithstanding in this rejoyce not that the Spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoyce because your names are written in Heaven Now all who are truly holy have their Names written there Many who have Prophesied and cast out Devils and done many wonderful Works shall be disowned in the great Day of the Lord they shall be commanded to Depart from Christ our Saviour but they who are truly sanctified will never be separated from him theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven for ever But though Sanctity be a great and most desirable token of God's Love and Favour yet it is not always attended with extraordinary Illuminations and Inspirations It may be without these and these may be separated from it Good and Holy Persons in the other World shall have a full and clear Vision of all things then they shall understand the Intricacies of Providence and the Secrets of the Divine Counsel then they shall see God as he is and know even as they are known But at present the best and most Holy see as through a Glass darkly and are ignorant of many things as well as others nay persons very good and holy and very dear to God may not know so much as some that are wicked and unsanctified What St. Paul supposeth may be proved by several Instances that one may have the Gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and all Knowledge and yet be without Holiness for if they may want Charity they want a special part of Holiness Wherefore suppose we should grant Sanctity to Antonia Bourignon suppose her to be truly and extraordinarily Holy yet she is not therefore to be reckoned Infallible nor endued with all Knowledge nor are her Doctrines to be received Implicitly Let her Sanctity be never so great yet that alone doth not raise her to the Station and Dignity of a Prophet at whose Mouth the Church and all particular Persons should receive the Law and Will of God for though Holiness doth certainly not only dispose Persons to receive special Influences of the Spirit of God but also give a deeper Sence of Divine Truths than Reading even as Practice in any Art doth make one Wiser and more Skilful than Speculation yet every Holy Person must not pretend a Revelation of all particulars or to know the Mind of God in every thing Wherefore we find St. Paul distinguishing warily what was his own Judgment from what he had