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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	church_n	great_a	know_v	1,117	5	3.7969	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65488	Eleaven choice sermons as they were delivered by that late reverend divine, Thomas Westfield ...	Westfield, Thomas, 1573-1644.	1655 (1655)	Wing W1414A; ESTC R38251	108,074	268

of Images It is a most indigne thing saith Tertullian that the Image of a dead man should be worshipped by man that is the Image of the living God We make no figure or representation of the Saints saith Anthelopius Bishop of Hiponium Wee have no need of them saith Ambrose God will not be worshipped by a stone We worship no Image saith Austine but that Image that is the same that God himselfe is hee meanes Christ the substantiall Image of the Father I could goe on but this is enough Come then to Councels The Councell of Illeberos in Spaine for at that time by the negligence of the Bishops Images were crept into the Church then that Councell decreed there should be no pictures in the Church The Constantinople Councell condemned all Images in the Church of God and so did the Councell at Frankfort under Charles the Great For the Tradition of the Church For three hundred yeares after Christ it is confessed by some of our Adversaries themselves that there were no Images in the Churches of God Three hundred yeares after that six hundred yeares after Christ then began Images in the Churches then the people began to yield some worship to them Gregorie the Great Bishop of Rome condemned the worshipping of them Hee allowed them and hee did ill to allow them to be in the Church to be provocations to Idolatry yet hee condemned the worshipping of them Thus it continued six hundred yeares after Christ Between six and eight hundred yeares there came a marvelous stirre in the Church of God between the Easterne and the Westerne Churches about the worshipping of Images The Bishops of the West under Rome were all for Images The good Emperour of the East was against it a bloudy war there was about it and thus it continued for above an hundred yeares Then Minera the Empresse in the minority of her Sonne a cruell Idolatrous woman and marke when you will Idolatry is cruell shee caused the second Nycene Councell to be called and there was first decreed the worshipping of Images in the Church of God in the yeare of our Lord 788. Till then Images were never appointed publikely to be worshipped in the Church yea after that time the worshipping of Images got not a peaceable quiet profession in the Church of God Charles the Great Emperour in the West mightily opposed it hee called his Bishops together at Franckford they mightily opposed the worshipping of Images Yea I pray marke that duty that concernes us in our Kingdome Charles the Great hee sent that Act of that second idolatrous Nycene Councell to our Bishops in England to know how they liked it They said Alas for woe we finde in those Acts many things against Christian Religion especially this that the worshipping of Images is decreed which the Church of God curseth Marke our Bishops Fore-fathers in England about eight hundred yeares since held that a doctrine which the Church of God curseth yea and that against all the Tables of Gods Law against the preaching of the Prophets against the institution of the Apostles against the custome of the old Church against the practice of the primitive Church against the cleare testimonies of the Fathers against the determination of Councels against a continued Tradition for almost eight hundred yeares together The beauty of the Church as one complaines in defiance of God and Man is now polluted with the very filth of Paganisme and Christian Churches are pestred as much as ever the heathen Temples were with Idols I come now to the proof of that that is the fourth point viz. That The worshipping of Images as it is taught and practised in the Church of Rome is plaine Paganisme and Idolatry The Paganish and Popish Idolatry is all one I say the worshipping of Images as it is taught and practised in the Church of Rome is plaine heathenish Idolatry How is it taught and how is it practised For the doctrine of their Church it is hard for a man to set it downe The determination of the Councell of Trent about it is a very nose of wax you may turne it any way They tell us of our divisions among our selves It is a wonder to see how they interferre and strike one on another in the point of worshipping of Images It is hard to say what they teach But I will tell you thus much Isolius the Jesuite saith This is the constant opinion of the Divines of our Church that Images are to be worshipped with the same worship that is due to him whose Image it is This was the doctrine of Thomas of Aquine whom they make a Saint This was the doctrine of all his followers This was the doctrine of Nauclantus a Bishop in Italy upon Romanes 1. Wee doe not saith hee worship before an Image as some men are wont casually to speake but we worship the Image it selfe and that with the same worship that is due to him whose Image it is Peter Precavaria a great professour of Divinity in Spaine saith This doctrine is the onely true and pious doctrine agreeable to the decrees of the Christian faith Hee alledgeth nineteene of the speciall School-men that all were of this opinion besides himself We take this then to be the doctrine of the Church of Rome that Images are to be worshipped with the same worship that is due to him whose Image it is They that have travelled into foreigne parts have found that the practise of that Church is as bad as these Theorems Confessed by some of the modest sort of them that their people were growne to a kinde of piety that did not differ much from impiety You will say it if you consider First the Image it selfe Then the worship that is given to that Image And then the rites and ceremonies in the performance of that worship Consider first the Images themselves What difference can you finde in the Images between the Popish Images and the Images of the Gentiles Look to the matter of them they are the very same The matter of the Gentiles Images was silver and gold and brasse and wood and stone this is the matter of Popish Images Look to the outward forme of their Images they are the very same The Gentiles Images were the work of mens hands they had eyes and could not see they had eares and could not heare they had mouths and could not speake they had hands and could not work they had feet and could not walk Popish Images they see no more they heare no more they speake no more they doe no more they walke no further then the heathens Images Thus much for the Image it selfe Then come secondly to the acts of devotion performed to these Images The Gentiles were wont to bow to them so doe the Papists The Gentiles were wont to pray to them so doe the Papists The Gentiles were wont to render thanks to them so doe the Papists The Gentiles were wont to dedicate themselves and all that they had to

and gold to give that thou canst not give that yet give such things as thou hast The widow of Sarepta had no gold nor silver to give the Prophet shee gave him a cake shee lost nothing by it you know the story Our blessed Lord saith Whosoever shall give a cup of cold water to a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall not lose a Prophets reward If thou canst not doe good with thy aera thy money that thou hast none to give doe it ora thou maist doe good that way Thou shalt find some ignorant persons instruct them Thou shalt find some doubtfull that know not what to doe direct them Thou shalt find some poore comfortlesse creatures speak comfort to them speak kindly to them speak to their heart Solomon tells us Pro. 24. 16. Faire words are an honey-combe sweetnesse to the soule health to the bones If thou canst not doe what good thou wouldest why yet be willing to doe what good thou canst doe that thou art able to performe and God will accept thy willing heart man as hee did the willing heart of Abraham to offer his sonne though hee did not offer him and the willing heart of David to build him an house and Temple though hee built it not In a word to draw to a conclusion every man must give according to his ability as God hath enabled him and God looks not for small things from rich men In the sacrifices of the old Law in the voluntary free-will offerings the Iewes had this Canon that if a poore man brought a rich mans offering God accepted of it As a paire of turtle doves and two young pigeons was a poore mans offering and another offering for rich men If the poore man brought a rich mans offering it was accepted but if the rich man brought in a poore mans offering if a rich man came with a paire of turtles or two young pigeons this was not accepted every man must give according to his ability Wee are not lords of that wee possesse but stewards and bayliffes and the greater bayliwick the greater account To whom God hath given but one talent he shall make account but for one but to whom God hath given two hee shall make account for two and to whom five hee shall make account for five Thus as our gifts increase so our account increaseth according to the cost that God bestoweth on the ground he looketh for fruit of some ground it is enough if it bring forth thirty-fold but of some ground God looks for sixty and of some an hundred-fold And they that have a great deale of goods if they doe not a great deale of good with it they must look for a great deale of punishment And how little goods soever we have we must doe good with it You shall heare many say If I had so much as such a man hath I would doe a great deale of good I marry a great deale of good But first Why should God trust thee with a greater estate when thou wilt not doe good with that thou hast Why should thy father put into thy hands a greater stock when thou wilt not imploy that little Be faithfull in little and then God will increase that as the widows oyle and thou shalt have the blessing To doe good forget not You have heard the thing exhorted unto Now the manner Forget not to doe it In a word I will not stand upon it It seems that we are easily apt to forget to doe good if wee be not called upon Therefore our Apostle for I take St. Paul to be the Author of this Epistle when hee writes to Ti●us the Minister of the Church saith hee Put them in remembrance put them in mind to doe good It is one of his charges hee gives Tit. 3. 1. Put them in mind to the good It is a part of our duty to God to put you in mind to doe good that you may not forget it In Gal. 2. 8 9. you shall find there that the Apostles Peter and 〈◊〉 and Iohn the pillars among the Apostles those three gave the hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas that they should preach to the Gentiles and the other to the Iewes and there was nothing agreed upon but only this among them that they should remember the poore wheresoever they came whether it were Peter Iames and Iohn that preached to the Iewes or Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles this was covenanted and agreed on among them to remember the poore still to mind them Therefore people must not take it ill at the Ministers hands if that Ministers be still calling up on them for doing good and communicating it is part of our duty to call on you that you forget not to doe good And I could use many Arguments to perswade you still to remember to doe good but thus much onely you must know this I will speak of this one thing and then I have done That That God that forbids to doe ill hath commanded us also to doe good It is not enough for a man not to doe ill but hee must doe good too Innocency is a good thing to doe no hurt but innocency is not enough to salvation It is not though for us that wee doe no hurt wee must doe good too That God that forbids us to vex the stranger commands us in another place to entertaine strangers That God that in one place forbids us to grieve the widow and fatherlesse children hee commands us in another place to relieve them That God that forbids us to take the cloathing of a poore man for a pledge commands us in another place to cloathe poore naked men That God that forbids us to doe ill to any man commands us to doe good to any man That fearfull sentence Goe yee cursed into everlasting fire it shall not be onely for doing ill but it shall be for not doing good I was hungry and yee fed mee not I was thirsty and yee gave mee no drink c. and because you did not to one of those little ones you did it not to me All the trees planted in the house of God are called trees of righteousnesse Isai 61. they must bring forth fruit their leaves must be for medicine and their fruit for food there must be good God cannot indure that we should grow unprofitable let every man take heed how hee growes unprofitable that there come no good of that hee doth Take heed of unprofitablenesse the unprofitable servant is bound hand and foot the unprofitable chaffe is scattered with the wind the unprofitable fig-tree is hewen down the unprofitable salt is cast on the dung-hill God cannot endure unprofitablenesse I will conclude with that place Ezek. 15. 2. The Lord asks Ezekiel Son of man what is the vine tree good for The vine brings fruit it is good and comfortable for God and man in Iothams parable But God meanes the unprofitable vine tree if it bear no grapes what is