Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	lord_n	servant_n	service_n	5,597	5	7.0128	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07767	Meditations vpon Psal. 101. Written first in French, by Philip Mornai lord of Plessis, and by him dedicated to Henrie the fourth, the French king. And now translated into English, for the benefit of the christian reader, by T.W.; Meditations upon Psal. 101.	Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly, 1549-1623.; T. W. (Thomas Wilcox), 1549?-1608.	1599 (1599)	STC 18146; ESTC S106486	63,180	176

his king cōmanding good things and when and as he should Nay I will say more the vassale neuer better serueth his Lord than when hee faithfully serueth him that is king to both And the reason thereof is plaine not onely the vassale but the lord himselfe and all owe the king all manner of homage and seruice So none serueth the king so wel as he that religiously serueth God Who is lord of lords and king of kings It is too apparent in these daies that the greatest number of seruants serue not but as we say vnto the eie and whilest their masters are present And that is one reason amongst many why kings are ill serued by their seruants when they are far off and are secretly betraied when they are nigh But such as serue their king and in doing of that dutie are assured and persuaded that they serue God they keepe alwaies one course whether they bee nigh at hand or farre of that is not materiall because their obedience is not tied to place but to persons and yet no further to persons than as in the feare and faith of God they may performe the duties they doe And surely it must bee so with them because they serue to pacifie appease and content their owne conscience and not to satisfie their maisters sight and eye alone For if it bee so the backe shall no sooner be turned but the hand will waxe idle and the heart will be auerse from the businesse No no they haue alwaies God before their eies and they know him to bee the beholder of their facts more than of their faces and the very searcher of their hearts and reines From him they looke for their wages and hire from him yea from him alone they expect grace and fauor being certainely assured that he will giue them a gracious recompence though their Maisters should not but should bee vnkind rather and froward 1. Pet. 2.18 From these trees then and not from elswhere must kings chuse and fetch the graffes and sciences of good Officers of good subiects But specially hee must looke to haue from hence as Dauid telleth vs here good cornsellors of estate whom they should cause to fit neere and about themselues and make them partakers of their authori●●● and of their power For to keep and hold this burke or ship of the Common-weale yea and of the church also vpright tight as we say against all winds and blasts inward outward boysterous gentle c. they must haue vpright and entire persons or else it will neuer bee And reason for being a sound entire bodie it must haue such to guide tend it Otherwise if they be infected and vnfaithfull they may put it and all that is in it in danger And these are such as must not carrie the rout and beare the sway in themselues nor keepe it for or direct it to others much lesse lay it vpon the people whom they are to guide and gouerne and least of all vpon the Kings and Princes who are but men and many times must bee brought to good courses beeause they stray fowlie but must referre all to the common good and the benefit of the countrey kingdome which must continue when they themselnes Princes and all shal be dead and rotten Now against these good and faithfull people whom hee will imploy vse in publike place he opposeth and setteth others whom he will banish his house and kingdome and presence And of them is it that he sayth Verse 7. He that shall vse deceit shall not dwell in my house he that speaketh a lie shall not remaine before me THis is that hee meaneth and sayeth Good and vertuous people shall come into my closet secret chambers they are they that I will be most familiar withall and take best delight in And good reason for they are good and will do me good and my kingdome also as I see by that auncient example of Ioseph in Pharoahs state But the wicked shall be shut out of my house yea they shall not come so much as into the vtmost court for the verie gate it selfe shal be shut against thē And good reason also for being naught themselues they will pollute the place and defile the people and a little leauen of maliciousnesse and wickednesse soureth the whole lumpe Yea hee meaneth more 1. Cor. 5.6 that good and vertuous people sh●ll haue seats and places of honour in his counsell but the wicked shall not so much as stand in his presence but rather shall flie and fall downe before him so small hope shal they haue of preferment And these wicked and vngodly men are described here by these two tearms Deceit and Lying both which he setteth against in vpright and a sound way mentioned in the last verse before this Deceit is no other thing but indirect dealing and carriage as in respect of mens actions and deeds as lying also is nothing els but indirect deling as in respect of speech words Both the one and the other of them are cōtrary to integrity or vprightnes whether it be the vprightnesse of the hands against which is opposed deceit and th● sinceritie or vprightnesse of our lippes against which is opposed lying And indeed these two amongst other are 〈◊〉 witnesses of the crookednesse and indirectnesse of our vnderstanding and wils and to be short cleare witnesses indeed of that peruersenesse and peeuishnesse which wee haue in our soules thorow sinne Yea both the one and the other of them are directly contrarie to that true wisedome that ought to bee found in kings counsels For sayth the wise man The wicked haue not seene it Eccle 15.8 and that wisedome holdeth her selfe aloose from pride and deceit Liers shal not so much as remember it By all which we may see and learn that it is not ynough to seeke after and to pursue good things Psal 37.27 but also we must flie from euill Yea and not onely flie from euill but also wee must chase driue it away yea we must so liuely and speedily chase it that it may neuer bee able to gather strength or get footing yea and wee must driue it so farre away that it may neuer be able to hurt hinder or trouble any good thing Here if in any thing ●●e Physicians rules of flying from the ●●●gue are most meet to be practised as soone and as farre as may be for this is a plague indeed But the world is of a clea●e contrarie mind and foulie deceiued in this behalfe Manie deceiued with the pleasures of sinne Hebr. 11.25 which last but for a while coll it and imbrace it as if it were vertue it selfe These are either ignorant in iudgement or carelesse in practise Othersome suppose that good and euill are not contrarie but may wel agree together in a house in a kingdome in a church But why doe you not in nature compound fire and water or in policie peace and warre orin Gods

that he that buyeth is shrewdly prouoked nay is after a sort openly dispensed withall to sell againe If he be an exchequer man hee will rob and spoile if he haue to doe with iustice and judgement he wil take presents and bribes if hee meddle with the matter of warte or deale with gouernment or any part of the state he will goe further such people will make small account to sell a state and to deliuer vp a kingdome By such breaches as these hath all manner of mischeefe entred into our land and preuailed vpon all estates ciuile ecclesiasticall and all I will adde but one word more weknow but too much of these corruptions And I would to God wee either knew or felt lesse vnlesse we could make better vse of them for praier to God for patience in ourselues and for all other good fruits besides The king that our Prophet speaketh of will for the auoiding of these mischeefes with his eies looke out into all the quarters and corners of his kingdome and find eyes among them making euerie where good people his eyes to see for him and to informe him hee will know and haue in euery towne men of merite and of seruice I meane men of conscience also as wel as of science or skill He will hold the reines in his hand that he may prouide for such euen for euerie one according to his profession and according to his degree Shall any charge or place come to be void The first thing he will doe shall bee to goe and seeke out meet men for that place And though they would hide them in their gardens or amongst the baggage sluffe as did Saul or be at the cart and follow the oxen as did Elisha yet from thence will he fetch thē and cause them to become exchequer men and treasurers without deceit coūsellors without passion and gouernours without faction whose continuall care mark that they should aime at should be by gracious effects and fruits to iustifie the good choice that their king had made of them And though perhaps before they had not deserued either the good report of vertuous people or the grace and fauour of the faithfull Prince yet now they would deserue it and that by all manner of well doing And this is the reason why hee that hath said in one place that the king is the stay and strength of the people hath also said in another place the multitude of wise men is the saluation of the king and the health of the world And hee presently telleth vs what this wisdome is the feare of God sayth hee the fulnesse and the crowne the beginning and the end of wisdome Because verily to him that hath this fear of God God who is the full treasure of all good things will adde and giue graces sufficient for his calling and of his own mercy and blessing will supplie all his lackes and will cause his simplicitie rather appeare and breake forth than his subtlety his libertie and freedome rather than his dissimulation his weakenesse rather than another mans force and all that the glorie of the world may bee Gods and not mans Whervpon it oftentimes followeth and falleth out that the Maister florisheth in his seruant as did Laban in Iacob and Potipherah in Ioseph or to speake more properly to the purpose the king in his officer as did Pharoah in Ioseph by consequent the whole people in such a worthie instrument According vnto which also Salomon sayth When the righteous are in authoritie Prou. 29.2 the people reioiceth but when the wicked beareth rule the people sigh Wherefore wee may safely conclude that it doth by a manner of speech infinitely import the Prince the people the Commonweale and all to set vp in the same meet and worthie persons because they be as it were the life and soule that holdeth all together and without which the bodie it self cannot not chufe but languish and pine Howbeit before they can bee setled and placed there they must be knowne For as that is true that of an vnknowne thing there is no desire so vertuous and faithfull people cannot bee aduanced vnlesse they be first spied out Now first and most assured make to know them by is the feare of God without which indeed all wisedome easily degenerateth into craft and deceit valour into violence instice into priuate reuenge policie into priuate profit and monopolies as we say and as we haue seene in our age and land where the wifest men haue beene ouertaken with couetousnesse oppression briberie and infinite numbers such like Yea without which also euen the verie best grace that God hath giuen vs is an instrument of great euill and corruption our affections breaking forth 〈◊〉 to passions and reason it selfe a canse 〈◊〉 cauillation and craft And yet this is 〈◊〉 thing that is the least sought after of 〈◊〉 most or greatest number of Princes which in the election or choice of seruants and publike officers findeth as small place and entertainement as possiblie can be Nay rather men say of such and it is receiued for a common sentence That these people are not folke fit for seruice and that kings are great and mighte ynough to bee serued alone without God and that all that is attributed and giuen to God is abated and taken from their seruice But fie vpon such prophane and blasphemous speeches so directly derogatorious to Gods glorie Who alone must bee serued Math. 4.10 and so peremptorily preiudiciall to Princes Gods Lieutenants vpon earth for is not this as much to say that their Princes or Kings are Athests without God in the world They tell vs further that those that are strict in conscience and tie themselues to reason and to lawes are not fit seruants for Princes And their flatterers tell them they are aboue law aboue nature yea equall with God What prophane What blaspemous speeches are these Is not this to defac● equitie and honestie To puffe vp flesh and bloud to it owne confusion to euacuate all humane societie if Princes may make and leaue lawes when they list In such cases as these the Apostle doth not without cause admonish saying 1 Cor. 15.33 Bee not deceiued euill speeches corrupt good manners Yea verily the authour of veritie it selfe telleth vs Math. 6.24 No man can serue two maisters And yet in another place the spirit sayth ● Pet 2.17 Feare God honor the king By which wee may see that these two masters are not alwaies and of their own nature contrarie for if they were so we could not obey them and much lesse are their seruices contrary Nay rather they follow one vpon another and come in their order and degree as God first the king after and so Gods seruice first and the Kings after A vassal that serueth his proper Lord is not for the dutie that he doth to him a rebell to his Prince No more is he disobedient to God that serueth