Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	stir_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	14	3	8.4771	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61711	Sermons and discourses upon several occasions by G. Stradling ... ; together with an account of the author.	Stradling, George, 1621-1688.; Harrington, James, 1664-1693.	1692 (1692)	Wing S5783; ESTC R39104	236,831	593

persecuted us says St. Paul 1 Thess. 2. 15. Adding this farther character of them there That they pleased not God and were contrary to all Men That is to all that were not of their way but to Christians above all others Which is that our Lord had expresly foretold they should doe Mat. 23. 34. and St. Stephen upbraids them for having done Act. 7. 52. And we see what havock St. Paul himself made of the Church before his Conversion breathing out threatnings and slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord And himself tells us why he did so namely out of a full persuasion that he was in conscience obliged to persecute Christians who were as he then thought the main Enemies of the Jewish Religion I verily thought with my self says he that I ought to doe many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth Act. 26. 9. And he tells us Phil. 3. 6. That out of zeal he persecuted the Church Affirming the same of the other Jews being all zealous of the law Act. 21. 20. So that all his and their rage against Christ and his Disciples proceeded from their great Zeal to the Mosaical Law For the Mosaical Law having been of divine Institution they lookt upon all those that opposed it as professed Enemies to God as guilty of the highest presumption and sacriledge who should endeavour to repeal and make void what God Himself had once enacted And then what more acceptable service think we what better sacrifice could they offer up to Him than the bloud of such Miscreants who should presume to set up a way of Worship in opposition to what Himself had prescribed We find this charg'd upon St. Stephen as his great crime That he should affirm That Jesus of Nazareth should destroy the holy Place and change the customs which Moses had delivered them Act. 6. 13 14. And so strongly were the Jews possessed with a conceit of their being the peculiar People of God that they could not endure the least mention of any others sharing with them in this Priviledge insomuch that they could hear St. Paul with patience enough till once he spake of his being sent to the Gentiles They gave him audience till then says the Text And then cryed out Away with such a Fellow from the Earth for it is not fit that he should live Act. 22. 21 22. Contradicting and blaspheming the truth Paul preacht unto them Act. 13. 45. And stirring up the devout and honourable Women that is such as had embrac'd the Law of Moses and the Jewish Religion being led with blind Zeal against the Gospel which they knew not and so were the fittest Agents to their Party and for their turn to promote Persecution against the Church as having a great Interest in men's Affections All this plainly shews that what the most part of the Jews did in opposition to the Gospel was out of pure Zeal to the Law and out of a conscientious but blind Persuasion That it was their Duty to persecute and destroy All that were Enemies thereunto wherein many of them did bono animo errare err with a good Mind and holy Intention Thinking thereby to doe God service But although the Generality of the Jews did Think so yet some and They the leading Party among them did think to doe themselves some service as well as God driving on their Politick designs under the fair and colourable pretence of Religion Of this sort were the chief Governors who dreaded the ruine of their Synagogue That their Law and Government would sink together and that Christianity if not timely crusht would sweep away both This appears clear from that saying of theirs Joh. 11. 48. If we let this Man that is Christ alone All men will believe on Him And then what will become of our Power and Authority The Romans shall come and take away both our Place and Nation This was their great Fear They saw that the World was already gone after Christ And if things should go on at that rate they should then be left alone and the People should fall off from them from whom they suckt no small advantage It was this Apprehension that vexed them at the heart This made them straitly threaten the Apostles not to preach any more in Christ's name left a doctrine so dangerous to them should spread any farther Act. 4. 17 18. The Law was their great Pretence but Interest their chiefest Motive to persecute Christians who were such dangerous Enemies to their Religion and which was more considerable to them to Themselves to their Sway and Authority And both these meeting together would not fail to give their rage the keenest Edge But this consideration was not perhaps that which moved the generality of the People who had no such deep reach and had more sincere Hearts and honest Intentions being but so many Tools in the hands of more cunning Designers These men being possessed and acted by a Religious frenzy bore all down before them not valuing their own Lives to be masters of other men's Such were those devout Assassins who had bound themselves under a great Curse an Oath of Execration That they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul Act. 23. 12. Like those among the Mahumetans who strongly deluded and besotted with their Superstition count it meritorious to murther any Enemy thereof though Themselves perish in the Attempt And thus you see who were the principal Persons our Lord here aims at to wit the Jews And what were the main Grounds and Motives that transported them with such rage and fury against Christ's servants a blind zeal for their Law and a strong persuasion that they were bound in duty and conscience to use all manner of violence against them who were in their account utter Enemies to their Law and consequently to Themselves as well as to God the Author of it 2. But these were not the only People here pointed at The time cometh faith our Lord that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service That Time was not yet come but it was coming and near at hand too when every one as much bigotted as the Jews could be should think they should perform the same service Deo opiniativo as St. Augustine phraseth it to what they took for God to those false Gods they worshipped as the Jews did to the true by mingling theirs as Pilate once did the Galileans bloud with their Sacrifices This points to Heathens So Tertullian speaking of Maximilian tells us That he thought the bloud of Christians a most pleasing Sacrifice to his Gods Christianorum sanguinem Diis gratissimam esse victimam Budoeus is of opinion that St. Paul speaking of Christians being accounted as the filth of the World and the off-scowring of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 4. 13. Alludes to those Expiations in use among Heathens where certain condemned Persons were