Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	lord_n	love_n	love_v	16,052	5	6.8069	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26939	How to do good to many, or, The publick good is the Christians life directions and motives to it, intended for an auditory of London citizens, and published for them, for want of leave to preach them / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1682 (1682)	Wing B1283; ESTC R5487	40,184	56

of publick self-defence against its publick enemies that is against any that by his Religion or his own profession bindeth himself to destroy that Nation if he can or by open arms seeketh no less than their destruction But as few calamities are worse to a Land than War so much is to be endured to prevent it It is like a red hot Iron which Fools lay hold on thinking it is cold till it fetch off skin and flesh to the bones and perhaps set the house on fire If your Cause be bad God will not be for you and he that so taketh the Sword shall perish with the Sword and if you bite and devour one another you shall be devoured one of another And alas thousands of the innocent usually perish or are ruined in the flames which furious men do kindle No doubt as suffering a Prison so venturing in War is a duty when God calls you to it But in its self a Prison is a far more desireable sort of suffering than a War Therefore between the danger of the miseries of an unlawful War and the danger of betraying our King or Kingdom for want of necessary defence how cautelous should all sober Christians be IX If you would promote the common good do your best to procure wise and faithful Rulers Quest What can private men do in this Ans 1. In Cases where they have choosing Voices they ought to prefer the best with greatest resolution and not for slothfulness to omit their part nor for worldly interest or the fear of men betray their Country as ever they would escape the punishment of the perfidious Wo to that Judas that sells his Country and Conscience for any bribe or by self-saving fear 2. In other Cases where you have no Choosing Vote with men you have a praying Voice with God Pray for Kings and all in Authority that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty God hath commanded no duty in vain Do it earnestly and constantly and hope for a good issue from God Do it not selfishly that you may have prosperity or preferment by them but sincerely for their own and the Common good God is the Fountain of power the absolute Soveraign of all the world Men are but his Provincial officers none claimeth an universal Government of the world but one that pretendeth to be Christs Vicar General and none believe his claim but blinded men There is no power but of and under God who hath made Rulers his Ministers for our good to be a praise to them that do well and a terrour to evil doers that they that will not be moved with the hopes of Gods future rewards and the fears of his punishments may be moved by that which is near them within the reach of sense And all men regard their bodies tho only believers are ruled by the everlasting interest of their Souls Therefore pray hard for Kings and Magistrates For if they be good they are exceeding great blessings to the world They will remember that their power is for God and the Common Good and that to God they must give a strict account They will take Gods Law for the only Universal Law to the world and conform their own as By-Laws to it They will take their own interest to consist in pleasing God and promoting the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ and the piety and saving of Mens Souls They will be Examples of serious Godliness of Justice and sobriety trustiness and temperance and Chastity to their subjects in their eyes a vile person will be contemned but they will honour those that fear the Lord Psal 15. 4. They will Love those most that Love Christ best and most deligently obey him and tenderly fear to sin against him Those please them best that please God best and are most useful to the common good They will set their hearts on the peoples welfare and are watching for all while all securely live under their vigilancy They will cherish all that Christ cherisheth and specially the faithful Pastors of the Churches that seek not the world but the welfare of the flocks When some are saying In this Mountain we must worship God and some at Jerusalem they will teach them all to worship God in Spirit and truth When Pastors and people grow pievish and quarrelsome for their several interests opinions and wills a Constantine will cast all their Libels into the fire and rebuke the unpeaceable and restreine the violent and teach them to forgive and love each other and will be the great Justice of Peace to all the Churches in the Land and pare their nailes that would tear and scratch their Brethren He will Countenance the sound and peaceable and tolerate all the tolerable but will tie the hands of strikers and the tongues of revilers He will contrive the healing of exasperated minds and take away the occasions of division and rebuke them that call for fire from Heaven or for the Sword to do that which belongeth to the word or to execute their pride and wrath Godliness will have all the encouragement they can giveit and innocency a full defence Malignity and Persecution and Perjury and unpeaceable revenge will be hateful where they rule and they had rather men feared sin too much than too little and would have all men prefer the Law and honour of God to theirs where the Righteous bear rule the people rejoyce The wisdom piety and impartiality of their Governours suppresseth prophaneness oppression and contention and keepeth men in the way of love and peace and as the welfare of all is the care of such a Ruler above his own pleasure wealth or will so he will have the hearts and hands and wealth of all with readiness to serve him No wonder if such are called Nursing Fathers and the light of our eyes and the breath of our Nostrils and the shaddow of a rock in a weary Land As they bear the Image of Gods Supereminency and doubly honour him they are doubly honoured by him so that the names of pious Princes shew not only the sense of Mankind but the special providence of God in making the memory of the Just to be blessed And as they could not indure to see in their days ungodliness triumph or serious godliness made a scorn or Conscience and fear of sinning made a disgrace or the Gospel hindred and faithful Ministers forbid to preach it so God will not suffer their Consciences to want the sense of his Love nor their departing Souls to fail of their everlasting hopes nor their memories to be clouded by obscurity or reproach Even among Heathens What a name have those Emperours left behind them who lived in justice charity and all virtue and wholly studied the good of all What a wonder is it that M. Antonine should be so extolled by so many Writers and not one of them all that I remember speak one word of evil of him save that a small and

short persecution of the Christians was made by some in his time till he restrained it And all the people almost deified him and would have perpetuated his Line and Name in the Throne but that the horrid wickedness of his Posterity forced them to a change What a name hath excellent Alexander Severus left behind him And what a blessing have wise and godly and peacemaking Christian Princes been in divers ages to the world And both the inferiour Magistrates and the Clergy usually much conform themselves at least in outward behaviour to their example For they will choose men of wisdom Conscience and Justice under them to judge and govern The Bishops and Pastors which they choose will be able Godly laborious men not seekers of worldly wealth and Honour not envious silencers of faithful Preachers nor jealous hinderers of Religious duties nor flattering man-pleasers nor such as Lord it over Gods heritage but such as rule not by constraint but willingly as Examples of Love and piety to the flock Pray hard therefore for Kings and all in Authority and honour all such as unspeakable blessings for the good of all But on the contrary wicked Rulers will be Satans Captains against Jesus Christ and Mens Sanctification and Salvation They will be Wolves in the place of Shepherds and will study to destroy the best of the people and to root out all serious Godliness and Justice Conscience and fearing sin will be to them a suspected yea a hated thing If any abuse it it serves them for a pretence against it They take the peoples welfare and their own interest to be enemies and presently look on these whom they should rule and cherish as the adversaries whom they must tread down They will purposely make Edicts and Laws that are contrary to Gods Law that they may have advantage to persecute the faithful and to destroy them as disobedient They will study to conquer Conscience and obedience to God lest his Authority should be regarded above theirs and Christ is used by them as if he were a Usurper and not their Soveraign but were again to be taken for an enemy to Caesar and their hatred to true Ministers will be such as Pauls accusers intimate who said he Preached another King one Jesus Wicked Rulers will be the Capital Enemies to all that will be enemies to wickedness and resolved to please God and save their Souls They will not be obeyed under God but before him nor served by the faithful Servants of Christ nor pleased but at the rate of mens damnation by displeasing God All men love their like The worst men if flatterers will seem the best to them and the best the worst and most intolerable And Church and State is like to be Written by their Copy O what dreadful Plagues have wicked Rulers been to the world and what a dismal case do they continue the Earth in to this day Not but that People and especially Priests do contribute hereto But the chief Authors are men in greatest power Five parts of six of the World at this day are Heathens and Infidels And what 's the Cause Rulers will not suffer the Gospel to be Preached to them The Eastern Christians were all torn in pieces by the wickedness and contention of the Governours of the State and Church banishing and murdering one another so that when the Turks invaded them the promise of Liberty to exercise their Religion tempted them to make the less resistance thinking they could not be much worse than before But the Vulgar are so apt to follow the Rulers that ever since the most of the Easterns are apostatized from Christ and turned to Mahometanism And tho in those Countries where the Turk alloweth the Christian people to have Governours of their own Religion somewhat prospereth yet where that priviledge is denied them and Turks only are their Rulers it withereth away and comes to almost nothing And what keepeth out Reformation that is the Primitive simple Christianity from the Popish Countries that have Religion corrupted by humane superfluities but the seduction of Priests and the Tyranny of Rulers that will not endure the Preaching of the Gospel and the opening of the Scriptures to the people in a known Tongue How much holy blood have Roman and Spanish Inquisitors and French and Irish Murderers and most other Popish Rulers to Answer for Even Walsh the Papist in his Irish History tells us all out of Ketin and others how commonly in Ages they lived there in the Sin of bloody Wars and Murders yea even when they professed greatest holiness Wicked Rulers are as the Pikes in the Pond which live by devouring all about them It is Satans main design in the world to corrupt Gods two great Ordinances of Magistracy and Ministry and turn them both against Christs Kingdom and to destroy Christians in Christs Name Oh therefore pray hard that all Christian Nations may have good Rulers and be very thankful to God for such X. And if you would be instruments of publick Good know what are publick sins and dangers that you may do your part against them and joyn not with any that will promise never to endeavour any reforming alteration The chiefest are Ignorance Pride and Self-willedness in Teachers and People malignant enmity to goodness impatience with the infirmities of good men judging of persons and things by self-interest covetousness sensuality and taking Christianity but as the Religion of the Land without diligent Study to be rooted in the Truth And the scandals of Hypocrites and tempted Christians hardening the enemies especially by divisions and publick temerities and miscarriages is not the least XI I would also in order to publick good perswade serious Christians to be more zealous in Communication with their Neighbours and live not over-strangely to others and say not as Cain Am I my Brothers keeper Be kind and loving to all about you and live not as unknown men to them nor alienate them by sourness contempt or needless singularity But become all things lawful to all men to save some Lend them good books and draw them to hear Gods faithful Ministers Perswade them to pray in their Families even with a Form or Book till they need it not XII Lastly if you would do good be such as you would have others be and teach them by Examples of Piety Charity Patience Self-denial Forbearing and Forgiving And not by meer words contradicted by your lives These are the materials by which you must do good to all VI. What now remaineth but that we all set our selves to such a fruitful Course of life I greatly rejoice in the Grace of God which I daily see in many such of my familiar acquaintance who study to do good to all and to live in Love and Peace and Holiness by example and by self-denial and constant Charity using Christs Talents to their Masters ends for the temporal and eternal good of many But alas too many live as if it were enough to

of the name and lineage that proveth worthy There are many other good works by which some rich men may be very profitable to the Common-wealth such as setting all the poor on work and building Hospitals for the Impotent c. But these this City is happily acquainted with already and tho still there be much wanting yet there is much done V. But one more I will presume to name only to you that are Merchants For I am not one who have the ear of Princes who are more able might not somewhat more be done than yet is to further the Gospel in your Factories and in our Plantations Old Mr. Eliots with his helpers in New-England have shewed that somewhat may be done if others were as Charitable and zealous as they The Jesuites and Fryars shewed us in Congo Japan China and other Countries that much might be done with care and diligence Tho the Papal interest was a corrupt end and all the means that they used was not justifiable when I read of their hazards unwearied labours and success I am none of those that would deprive them of their deserved honour but rather wish that we that have better ends and principles might do better than they and not come so far behind them as we do if half be true that Pet. Massoeus and the Jesuites Epistles and many other writers tell us of them I know that they had the advantage of greater helps from Kings and Pope and Prelates and Colledges endued with trained men and copious maintenance But might not somewhat more be done by us than is yet done 1. Is it not possible to send some able zealous Chaplains to those Factories which are in the Countries of Infidels and Heathens Such as thirst for the Conversion of sinners and the enlargment of the Church of Christ and would labour skilfully and diligently therein Is it not possible to get some short Christian books which are fitted for that use to be translated in such languages that Infidels can read and to distribute them among them If it be not possible also to send thither Religious Conscionable Factors who would further the work the case of London is very sad II. Is it not possible at least to help the poor ignorant Armenians Greeks Moscovites and other Christians who have no Printing among them nor much Preaching or knowledge and for want of Printing have very few Bibles even for their Churches or Ministers Could nothing be done to get some Bibles Catechisms and practical books printed in their own tongues and given among them I know there is difficulty in the way But mony and willingness and diligence might do something III. Might not something be done in other Plantations as well as in New-England towards the Conversion of the Natives there Might not some skilful zealous Preachers be sent thither who would both promote serious piety among those of the English that have too little of it and might invite the Americans to learn the Gospel and teach our Planters how to behave themselves Christianly towards them to win them to Christ IV. Is it not possible to do more than hath been done to Convert the Blacks that are our own slaves or servants to the Christian faith Hath not Mr. Goodwin justly reprehended and lamented the neglect yea and resistence of this work in Barbados and the like elsewhere 1. Might not better Teachers be sent thither for that use 2. Is it not an odious crime of Christians to hinder the Conversion of these Infidels lest they lose their service by it and to prefer their gain before mens Souls Is not this to sell Souls for a little mony as Judas did his Lord And whereas the Law manumits them from servitude when they turn Christians that it may invite them to Conversion and this occasioneth wicked Christians to hinder them from knowledge were it not better move the Government therefore to change that Law so far as to allow these Covetous Masters their service for a certain time useing them as free Servants 3. And whereas they are allowed only the Lords day for their own labour and some honest Christians would willingly allow them some other time instead of it that they might spend the Lords day in Learning to know Christ and worship God but they dare not do it lest their wicked Neighbours rise against them for giving their Slaves such an Example might not the Governours be procured to force the whole Plantation to it by a Law even to allow their Infidel Servants so much time on another day and cause some to congregate them for instruction on the Lords days Why should those men be called Christians or have any Christian reputation or priviledges themselves who think both Christianity and Souls to be no more worth than to be thus basely sold for the gain of mens servilest labours And what tho the poor Infidels desire not their own Conversion Their need is the greater and not the less VI. I conclude with this moveing inference The great opposition that is made against doing good by the Devil and his whole Army through all the world and their lamentable success doth call aloud to all true Christians to overdo them O what a Kingdom of Malignants hath Satan doing mischief to mens Souls and bodies through the Earth Hating the Godly oppressing the just corrupting doctrine introducing Lies turning Christs labourers out of his Vineyard forbidding them to Preach in his name the saving word of life hiding or despising the Laws of Christ and setting up their own Wills and Devises in their stead making dividing distracting Engines on pretence of Order Government and Unity Murdering mens bodies and ruining their Estates and slandering their names on pretence of love to the Church and Souls encouraging Prophaneness Blasphemy Perjury Whoredom and Scorning Conscience and fear of sinning What diligence doth Satan use through the very Christian Nations to turn Christs Ordinances of Magistracy and Ministry against himself and to make his own Officers the most mischievous Enemies to his Truth and Kingdom and saving work to tread down his Family and Spiritual worship as if it were by his own Authority and Commission To Preach down Truth and Conscience and real Godliness as in Christs own name and fight against him with his own word and to teach the people to hate his servants as if this pleased the God of Love And alas how dismal is their success In the East the Church is hereby destroyed by barbarous Mahometans the remnants by their Prelates continued in Sects in great ignorancé and dead formality reproaching and anathematizing one another and little hope appearing of recovery In the West a dead Image of Religion and Unity and Order drest up with a multitude of gawds and set up against the Life and Soul of Religion Unity and Order and a War hereupon maintain'd for their destruction with sad success So that usually the more Zealous men are for the Papal and formal humane Image the more zealously they study the extirpation of Worshipping God in Spirit and Truth and thirst after the blood of the most serious Worshippers and cry down them as intolerable Enemies who take their Baptism for an obliging Vow and seriously endeavour to perform it and live in good earnest as Christianity bindeth them and they take it for an unsufferable Crime to prefer Gods Authority before mans and to plead his Law against any thing that men command them In a word he is unworthy to be accounted a Christian with them who will be a Christian indeed and not despise the Laws of Christ and unworthy to have the liberty and usage of a man that will not sin and damn his Soul So much more cruel are they than the Turkish Tyrants who if they send to a man for his head must be obeyed And is the Devil a better Master than Christ and shall his work be done with greater zeal and resolution Will he give his Servants a better reward Should not all this awaken us to do Good with greater diligence than they do evil and to promote Love and Piety more earnestly than they do malignity and iniquity Is not saving Church and State Souls and Bodies better worth resolution and labour than destroying them And the prognosticks are encouraging Certainly Christ and his Kingdom will prevail At last all his Enemies shall be made his footstool yea shall from him receive their doom to the everlasting punishment which rebels against omnipotency goodness and mercy do deserve If God be not God if Christ will not conquer if there be no life to come let them boast of their success But when they are rottenness and dust and their souls with Devils and their names are a reproach Christ will be Christ his promises and threatnings all made good 2 Thes 1. 6. c. He will judg it righteous to recompense tribulation to your troublers when he cometh with his mighty Angels in flaming fire to take vengeance on rebels and to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all true Believers And when that solemn Judgment shall pass on them that did Good and that did Evil described Matth. 25. with a Come ye blessed inherit the Kingdom and go ye Cursed into everlasting fire doing Good and not doing it much more doing mischief will be better distinguished than now they are when they are rendred as the reason of those different dooms FINIS