Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	abraham_n	servant_n	speak_v	285	4	4.6958	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15673	A glasse for the godly Contayning many comfortable treatises to perswade men from the loue of this world, to the loue of the world to come, and exhorting them with cherefulnes to passe through the crosses and afflictions of this life. Full of spirituall comfort for all such as hope to be saued by Iesus Christ. The first [-second] part. By R:W: minister of Gods word.	Wolcomb, Robert, b. 1567 or 8.	1612 (1612)	STC 25941; ESTC S121029	292,196	642

it But rather as when thou art trimmed of the Barber thou lookest on the glasse to sée whether thou a●t well trimmed or not so when thou goest from hearing the word consider whether thou be made better or worse by the hearing Art thou learned Let the word of Christ dwell in thee plenteously and despise not the preaching and exposition thereof Though thou know much yet thou maiest be confirmed in knowledge though thou reade priuately with deuotion yet that which mooued thée not then nor séemed worthy to be obserued when another vtters it may worke on thy soule 2. Sam. 12.1 though Dauid were a singular Prophet yet Nathan roused him out of his securitie though Pharaoh remembred his dreame yet Ioseph made the interpretation thereof cléere vnto him Gen. 41.17 Art thou vnlearned pray that the word of Christ may dwell in thee plenteously and loue it earnestly and meditate thereupon continually and then thou shalt say with the Prophet Psal 119.98.99.100 by thy commandements O Lord thou hast made me wiser then mine enemies Psal 119.98.99.100 for they are euer with me I haue had more vnderstanding then all my teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation I vnderstood more then the Ancient because I kept thy precepts For true it is Ean es philomathès èse polumathés Isocrat that the Athenian Oratour wrote ouer his schoole doore in golden letters If thou loue learning thou shalt attaine to much learning Art thou poore or rich Art thou a father or a child Art thou a Maister or a seruant Art thou a Magistrate or a priuate person Of what ranke or condition soeuer thou art Let the word of Christ dwell in thée plenteously For if thou be tempted to sinne it will call to thy minde what is written and what thou hast read if thou doubt what is to be done by thy selfe or other it will direct thée in the right way if thou wouldest reprooue vice it will teach thee the will of the Lord if thou wouldest confirme truth or confute errour or comfort the afflicted there thou shalt be satisfied and learne the whole dutie of man Wherefore since they that are of God Ioh. 8.47 1. Io. 4.6 heare Gods words and they that despise it are not his children let vs shew our selues Gods children by hearing his word let vs remooue from vs the loue of the world that doth commonly hinder it let vs shun pleasures and cares that doe choake it let vs heare it with an honest and good heart and a purged minde and a sincere faith and a prompt will and an humble and reuerēt feare of the Lord and daily and diligent praiers and supplications for the true vnderstanding thereof let vs kéepe it by continuall meditation and obedience and watchfulnes and profession and practise that so lodging the word of God as an heauenly guest in our soule and suffering it to dwel therein plenteously in all wisedome in this life in the life to come we may dwell eternally with that word Ioh. 1.1.4 which is God and which is life and may sit downe with Abraham Isaak and Iacob in his heauenly kingdome Amen THE HVMBLE CENTVRION Matt. 8.8 But the Centurion answered saying Maister I am not worthy that thou shouldest come vnder my roofe but speake the word onely and my seruant shall be healed THis is the answere of the Centurion to Christ whē hee had desired him to heale his seruāt that was gréeuously pained with the palsie when Christ had said that he would come and heale him As if the Centurion had thus answered Maister I beléeue that thou art the Messias and Sauiour of beléeuers I beléeue that thou art the onely sonne of God I beléeue that thou art omnipotent able with a word to call remooue sicknesses diseases from mās body Euē as I haue my souldiours at cōmand when I say to one go he goeth to another come he commeth and to my seruant doe this he doth it so if thou bid sicknes enter on a man it enters if thou bid sicknes depart from a man it departs if thou bid sicknes returne to a man it returnes if thou bid sicknes kill a man it kils him if thou bid sicknes not to touch a man it toucheth him not Since then I knowe thy Maiestie authoritie and power I suppose it needles to entreate thee to come to my house as if in thine absence thou couldest not heale my seruant or as if thou were like other Physitians that must behold the sicke patient and consider of many circumstances that are to be weighed in applying of medicines but it shall be sufficient if thou speake the word onely And what should I expect thy comming to mine house séeing I am a sinner and altogether vnworthy that thou shouldest enter vnder my roofe It is doubtfull which was greater and more to be admired whether the Centurions faith or the Centurions humilitie His faith is highly extolled by Christ himselfe Verse 10. when he said Verily I say vnto you I haue not found so great faith euen in Israel As if our Sauiour had said In Israel there are that doe embrace my doctrine and sticke to me and followe me and acknowledge that I am the lambe of God that taketh away the sinne of the world but these haue beene alwaies brought vp in religion and haue continually heard the prophecies ●ead that testifie of my comming in the flesh this Centurion is a stranger borne a Gentile naturally voyde of the knowledge of the lawes written by Moses and therefore forasmuch as he makes so excellent a profession of my power and worthines I am constrained to maruell and I must needes say that I haue not found so great faith euen in Israel Christ hath so fully and plenteously commended the Centurions faith that it needes no farther explanation or amplification vnles we should be exhorted to the imitation of it namely that in all our dangers troubles crosses and afflictions we relie wholly on the mercie of our onely Sauiour not distrusting but that he can and will at an instant and in a moment succour vs if he speake the word onely and see that it shall redound to Gods glorie and to our saluation Let vs then see what edification we may retaine by the Centurions humilitie when he saith Maister I am not worthy that thou shouldest come vnder my roofe If this were the same Centurion that S. Luke writes Luk. 7.2.4.7 of as some very learned men haue thought though there séeme some difference in the narration doubtles he was a Nobleman and appointed by the Romanes a Gouernour and a president of Capernaum the chiefe citie of Galile who so much loued the Iewish nation that he built a Synagogue for them and therefore the Elders of the Iewes were intercessors to Christ for him saying that he was worthy that he should doe this for him Yet this Centurion respecting neither the Noblenes of

such obedience giuen to Earthly rulers and shall wee refuse to obey the commaundement of our Heauenlie King specially when hee craues not that wee should vainely spend our liues but that we would subdue our affections our corrupt desires our inordinate concupiscences vngodly motions Let vs not therefore be bare protestants and not performers Let vs not liue in the reformed Church and haue deformed manners Let vs not bee entertained in Christs Campe beare his colours yet wish the enemie well promote the cause of the enemie and séeke opportunitie with Iudas to betray CHRIST with the traiterous soldiour to flie to the enemie What is profession worth except practise bee coupled therewith We know what S. Iames saith Iam. 1.22.23.24.25 Be yee doers of the word and not hearers onely deceiuing your owne selues For if anie heare the word do it not he is like vnto a man that beholdeth his n●turall face in a glasse for when hee hath considered himself he goeth his way forgetteth immediately what manner of man he was but who so loketh in the perfect lawe of libertie cōtinueth therein he not being a forgetfull hearer but a dooer of the worke shal be blessed in his deede And wee knowe what the lord saith Mat. 7.21 Not euery one that saith vnto me Lord Lord shal enter into the kingdome of heauen but hee that doth my Fathers will which is in heauen And what gaines that seruant that knowes his maisters will doth it not August but to be beaten with many stripes Hee is thy best seruant saith an anciēt Father speaking to God not the desireth to heare of thee what he would but rather that is willing to performe what he heareth And therfore whereas the poet Hesiod● was much cōmended by most men for his deuise in that he gaue the chiefest wisdom to him that knowes of himselfe what is good and méete the next to him that hearkens to another when hee himself is ignorāt Diog. Laert. Zeno Citticus did correct that sentence of Hesiode and did attribute the chiefest wisedome to him that heares the good counsell of another and the next to him that is wise of himselfe And his reason for the animaduersion was because he that is wise of himselfe and giueth aduise to another hath but the vnderstanding and knowledge of the matter but hee that hearkens to counsell deliuered puts the thing in execution and practise Besides this the Apostle saies that goodworks are profitable And to whome are they profitable to our Neighbours and to our selues Good workes are profitable to our brethren in that wee comfort and relieue them by our good déedes and we stirre them vp by our example to feare the Lord and they are caused to praise God for bestowing such grace vpon vs. And good workes are profitable to our selues in that they are the fruits of our faith 2. Pet. 1.10 Iam. 2.17 and thereby they assure vs of our election and vocation being by them declared to be new creatures we cherish in our selues the hope of eternal life As for the cōmodity that we reape by good works what spéech can be answerable thereunto since the Lord hath promised to reward our good works most largely plētifully with blessings aswell temporall as spiritual Deut. 28. Leu. 26.3 Let vs not therefore be wearie of well doing but let vs behold the recompen●e of the reward for in due season we shall reape Gal. 6.9 if we faint not If we be not carefull to shew foorth good workes we must not expect the reward if we doe not trim and prepare our lampes with oyle Matt. 25.2 against the comming of the bridegroome we shall not enter into the palace of glory if we doe not worke while we haue the light the darkenes will come Ioh. 12.35 And he that walketh in the darke knoweth not whither he goeth It is not enough to abstaine from euill but we must also do good Remember Matt. 25.30 how the vnprofitable seruant was cast into vtter darkenes and why not because he was wicked but because he was idle and not for that he committed ill but because he omitted good Indeed it is hard to doe well and to perseuere in well doing For there are many intisements and allurements to iniquitie But let vs heare our Sauiour Striue to enter in at the strait gate Luk. 13.24 Matt. 7.14.8 because the gate is strait and the way narrow that leadeth vnto life Though the gate be straite yet if we struggle and striue to enter we shall finde an entrance for whosoeuer asketh receiueth and he that séeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened The eshnick Greeke Poet partly perceiued this by the glimmering light of naturall reason and therefore said Hes Tes ● ' hàrerés id●òta the●ì proparoithen èthecan àthánatei That God had put sweate before vertue and that the way vnto it was long and tedious and rough at the first but after one aspired to the top it was as easie then as it was vneasie before And the Latine Poet could also say Hor. l. 1. Epist 2. Ep. Dimidium facti qui caepit habet sapere aude Incipe He that hath begun hath halfe ended be conragious to followe vertue begin once There must be a beginning attempted to doe well and when the yee is broken the wading thorough is not difficult And thereupon another wittily discanteth Incipe dimidium facti est caepisse Auson supersit Dimidium rursum hoc incipe efficies Begin saith he for to begin is to end halfe and when thou hast begun if there remaine halfe begin againe and thou shalt end all Vertue is like the Palme trée and the Lote trée the Palme hath a sharpe and rough rinde and the Lo●● hath a bitter pill but both the one and the other haue most swéete fruite Chrysostome saies notably Orat. 4. Aduersus Indaeos that as in monies he that hath gained two crownes is readie to gaine tenne or twentie crownes so it fals out in vertue he that doth a good worke once and once performes his dutie he is therby encouraged and stirred vp to do more good and to adde ver●ue to vertue And another saies Stobaeus ser 1. de Vir● that as they that begin to climbe a ladder goe from round to round till they aspire to the top so he that hath once begun to doe well mounts higher and higher We sée the most gay picture begins from rude draughts and lines and shadowes and procéedes from colour to colour till at last it be absolute so vertue and the habite of well doing is not presently engraft in vs but it riseth to full groweth by daily encreases Epist 86. It was ingeniously applied of Seneca that as Phidias was skilfull to make statues and Images not onely of marble and of brasse but if he had vilder and courser matter he could likewise