Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	church_n	head_n	supreme_a	4,494	5	9.0477	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A73318	A supplycacion to our moste soueraigne lorde Kynge henry the eyght Kynge of England of Fraunce and of Irelande, [and] moste ernest defender of Christes gospell, supreme heade vnder God here in erthe, next [and] immedyatly of his churches of Englande and Irelande.	Tracy, Richard, d. 1569.	1544 (1544)	STC 24165.5; ESTC S125558	23,792	64

A supplycacion to our moste soueraigne lorde Kynge Henry the eyght / Kynge of England of Fraunce and of Irelande / moste ernest defender of Christes gospell / supreme heade vnder God here in erthe / next immedyatly of his churches of Englande and Irelande Matthei .ix. The harweste is greate but the laborers are fewe Wherfore praye the lorde of the harweste to sende forthe laborers into his harweste A supplication to our moste soueraigne Lorde Kynge Henry the eyght Kynge of England / of Fraunce / and of Irelande c. MOst dreade Soueraigne lorde most christen Prynce / whē I remembre the lamentable wonderfull great blyndnes wherin the most parte of all Englāde not onely of the layete called the temporaltie / but also of the Clergie / haue pytuousely erred and wandered many hundereth yeres / acceptinge / reputynge / most vngodly / erronyousely / and blyndely / estemynge the Bysshop of Rome to be supreame head ouer aboue all christen congregatiōs and in dyuerse other poyntes suche as be touchynge the necessarye articles of our faithe I coulde not but meruell how and by what meanes suche pestilent errours and horrible darke blyndenes coulde or myght entre / Invade ouerflowe this your realme / to contynewe so longe in the same / not espied / perceyued / nor repelled Consideringe that by all that tyme and space this your Realme as the most parte of men dyd then iudge and esteame was well endowed / replenyshed / and furnyshed with many profounde lerned clerkes / wherof some were Bysshops Archedeacōs / Deanes / Prebendaries / Parsons / Doctours / Bachelars in deuinite / other profounde lerned clerkes in bothe the vniuersytees which were / graue / sage / auncyent fathers Contemplatinge and reuoluinge these things in my mynde not a lytle moued / troubled / and vexed with the same / I applyed me with all my powre dyligence exquysytely to serche to knowe the originall grounde cause therof And in cōclusyon amōgest other things it chaunced me to reade in the .v. chapiter of Ezay a proposition that muche lamenteth the captyuite and bondage which cōmeth groweth to all people for lacke of knowleage in godds worde / Sayeng / Therfore cōmeth my flocke also into captyuite / because they haue not vnderstandinge / their glory is famyshed with hunger / their pryde marred with chyrste Therfore gapeth hell and openeth her mouthe meruelousely wyde By this text graciouse lorde it appeareth that all myserable blyndenes captyuite bondage vnder synne / cōmeth for lacke of knowleage in Gods worde Mar. xij I had forgotten at that tyme / that Christ reproued the Pharasees / sayeng / You erre not knowinge the scriptures Which reproue and rebuke shulde haue ben a suffycient admonyciō and doctryne to me and to all other wherby we myght haue knowen that all erroure commeth for lacke of vnderstandinge knowleage in the scriptures But by what reason then coulde there be suche erroure and blyndenes for lacke of knowleage in Gods worde in this your realme most gracyouse lorde / seing there were suche profounde clerkes auncyent fathers / Bysshops and studentes in the same / which dyd teache preache vnto the people cōtynually The Apostle Paul in the .vi. chapiter to Timothe descrybeth two kyndes of doctrynes / the one he calleth a godly doctryne a doctryne of helth / the other he calleth a proude doctrine full of vnprofitable questions / stryuynge more for wordes than for godly knowleage / wherof spryngeth envy / stryffe / raylings / euyll surmysyngs / vayne dysputacions of mē with corrupte myndes destytute of the trueth / which thinke that lucre is godlynes This kynde of lernynge and subtle dysputacyons vnto this daye we call scole matters / from the which Paul commaundeth all christyans to separate thē selues ij Ti. iij Soche clerkes sayeth Paul / be euer lernynge / but neuer atteyne to the knowleage of the trueth With suche wayne vngodly and vnprofitable lerninge / this your realme most redoubted soueraigne was ouer moche replenyshed through the preachinge and teachinge of suche scole men subtyll disputers / otherwise called deceyuers Which was one of the causes of our myserable blyndnes / and of dyuerse errours and abuses spronge vp and crept in to this your graces realme For certeynely if the clerkes of this your graces realme / had bene endowed with true knowleage of Gods worde / and had also syncerely preached the same / althoughe suche errours and blyndnes had entered into this realme / yet they shulde neuer haue so longe contynewed in the same / but we shulde haue bene delyuered through the worde clerely from them As Christe saieth Io. viij If you continewe in my wordes / then are you my very disciples / shall knowe the trueth / the trueth shall delyuer yow / and make you free Therfore most dread soueraigne lorde / seinge that all erroure / spyrytuall blyndnes / myserable captyuite / and seruyle bondage vnto synne commeth for lacke of knowleage and syncere vnderstādinge in the holy scriptures / and of the cōtrarye parte / through the knowleage syncere vnderstandinge of the holy scripturs we knowe god our father and his sonne Ihesus Christ our lorde / which is eternall liffe / we be also become free frō all condempnation of synne Io● v. Io. xvij And through the syncere and true knowleage of the worde we be newly regenerate become the childerne of god / the habitacle and dwellinge place of the holy ghoste / which moueth steareth vs euer to mortefye the fleshe / all her synfull lusts and concupiscence / to abhor and resyst vice What is then so necessary good and profitable for the christian people bothe spirituall and cyuile wealthe / as the worde wherby we receyue faithe / by faithe the holy ghoste What troubleth all commen wealthes / but treason / murder thefte / couetuousnes / adulterye / extorcion / whordome / dronckenes / periurye / suche other synne / as saythe the holy ghoste Prouer. xiiij Iustice and rightuousnes maketh the people wealthy / but synne maketh the people most myserable And all these the faithfull through the true and syncere vnderstādinge of gods worde / doo euer studye and labour to ouercome / and vtterly to abholyshe by faythe As Paul sayeth Gal. v. They which be Christes / doo crucyfye the fleshe with her lustes and concupiscence All good workes and counceyles encreased and stablyshed through faythe There is no study / striffe / nor laboure agaynst synne but through faithe All conscyences that be quyet from synnes / onely through faythe be made quyet Rom. v As Paul sayeth / Because we are iustyfyed by faithe / we are at peace with god through our lorde Ihesus Christ What counforte hathe any Christian man in aduersytyes / temptacions / desperation / but onely by fayth in Gods worde The Christyan man hathe noo refuge nor

receyue the holy ghoste / whiche shall teach-them to speake the treuthe For vpon whom shall my sprete reaste sayeth the Prophete Esaye but vpon the meake and lowely / and vpon hym which fearethe my sayengs Esa vi Also the Prophete sayeth God resysteth the prowde / and vnto the meake and lowely he geuethe his grace Wherfore so longe as the byshops contynewe in this worldely we althe and honowre / so longe will they neuer do their dewtye and offyce / but rather persecute the worde of God whiche declarethe and shewethe what is their offyce and their dewtye And so longe as they do not exercyse their offyce and vocatyon / but doo persecute the worde and suche as syncerely preache the same / so longe shall synne increase For if the eye be wicked / all the body shal be full of darcknes For euen as at suche tyme when the Byshoppe of rome was fyrste endowed with greate possessyons / a voyce was harde / seyinge Nowe venome and poyson is caste and shed forthe into the churche of God In lykewyse no doubt most godly gouernoure / semblable voyce and sayenge maye be veryfyed in and vpon all the churche of Englande / sythen yowr Byshops were endowed with so greate possessyons and lordely domynions No doubt gracyous lorde / so longe as grete lordely domynions / wordely honours and wealthe / be anexed and knyt to the vocacyon and offyces of Byshops and other Pastours / these myscheues inconuenyēces shall euer ensue folowe Fyrste the moste prowde and ambycyouse / the moste couetuouse and wycked / which other by money frendshyp or flattery can obtayne the benefyce / wyll laboure with all study and polycye to gett the benefice / only for the worldely honoure and not for the zeale and loue which he shulde haue to enstructe and teache the people commytted to his cure and charge And for the profett which belongethe and apperteynethe to the same benefyce / they wyll dyssemble humylyte and despeccyon of all worldely profettes and pleasures / so colorablye and subtelly / that yt shall be very harde for youre magestye or any other hauynge aucthoryte to geue benefyces to perceyue them And when they haue obteyned the benefyce / than euery Christen man shall well perceyue that he hathe not entered in by the dore that is for the zeale and loue to doo and execute the offyce / but hathe clymmed vp and assended by a nother waye / that ys for the luker and honoure annexed to the offyce And than certenly whosoeuer assendeth and enterethe in by a nother waye / can not be but a thefe / by daye and by nyght / whose study and laboure muste be to steale / kyll / and to destroy As Christe whose wordes muste euer be true sayethe The thefe commethe not but to steale / to kyll / and to destroye Ioan. x. So that so longe as so moche worldely profett and honoure be longethe to the benefyce so longe wyll he that for wante and lacke of lernynge can not doo the offyce / and also the moste couetuouse and proude / wyll laboure to haue the offyce / whereby the people commytted to his cure / shall not onely be vntawgth / and not lerned in Gods worde / but also all they which can preache and teache Godds worde and loue the same / by suche a worldely wolfe / shall be extremely persecuted and tormented For he can not but steale / kyll / and destroye / and vtterly abhore / and hate the godly / as Christe sayethe Yf you were of the worlde / the worlde wolde loue his owne But because you be not of the worlde / but I haue chosen you from the worlde / therfore the worlde dothe hate you No doubt a man shall moche rather vpon thornes gather grapes / and vpon brambles and bryres gather fygges / than of soche gredy theues to haue any Chrysten relygyon other setforthe / preached / or stablyshed Wherfore moste redoubted Prynce seinge that theyr greate possessyons / ryches / worldely offyces / cures / and busynes / be the impedyment and let that they do not execute theyr vocacyon and offyce / whiche is so godly profytable and necessarye for this yowr common wealthe / yowe beinge owr soueraigne lorde and Kynge whom God hathe called to gouerne this yowr realme / and to redresse the enormytyes and abuses of the same by all iustyce and equyte are bounden to take awaye from Byshoppes and other spirytuall shepherdes suche superfluyte of possessyons and ryches and other seculer cures busynes and worldely offyces / whiche be the cause of moche synne in them / and no lesse occasyon whereby they be letted to execute their offyce / to the greate losse and hynderance of moche faythe vertue and goodnes / which myght be admynistred to your subiectes / through the trew preachynge of Godes worde And that done / than circumspectly to take heade that none be admytted to be Pastoures / but suche as cā preache and haue preached syncerely Godes worde And all suche as will not / to remoue them from theyr cures This godly ordre obserued in the electyon of spirituall pastoures / and the pestylent poyson moued and taken away from theyr vocatyon / faithe shall increase / and synne shall decrease / trewe obedience shall be obserued wyth all humylite to your magestye and to the hygher powers by your grace appoynted in office Cyuile quyetnes reste and peace shal be stablyshed / God shal be feared honoured and loued / whiche is theffecte of all Christen lyuinge O Lorde saue our moste soueraygne lorde Kynge Henry the eyght / and graunte that he may ones throughly feale and perceyue what myserable calamyte sorowe wretchednes we suffer now in these dayes a brode in the countre / by these vnlerned / popyshe / and moste cruell tyrauntes / euen the very enemyes of Chrystes crosse / whose payne shall be withowt ende / whan we shall lyue in Ioye for euer Graunte yet ones agayne I say goode lorde and moste mercyfull father through thy sone Ihesus Christe / that whan his grace shall knowe and perceyue by thy gyfte goodnes theyr most detestable wayes in mysusynge thy heretage / that he wyll ernestly go aboute to se a redresse amonge them / and to the penytent and contryte in harte to shewe his accustomed goodnes / and to the other his iustyce / accordinge to saynt Paules doctryne / and his graces lawes And moste dreade soueraygne with all humylyte and humblenes of harte I beseche your grace / accordinge to your accustomed goodnes to take this my rude supplycacyon to the beste / as a frute of my obedyence / wheryn I haue not dyssembled / but haue opened fully vnto your grace the grounde and very bottome of my hart / not of any grudge euyll wyll or malyce that I beare to any spirytuall shepherde God I take to recorde but onely for the glory of God / the honoure of your grace / and the wealthe and profett of your moste naturall and louinge subiectes FINIS ¶ Enprynted in the yeare of our Lorde M. CCCCC.xliiij in the moneth of Decembre