Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	apostle_n	church_n	doctrine_n	4,033	5	6.2595	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09402	A discourse of the damned art of witchcraft so farre forth as it is reuealed in the Scriptures, and manifest by true experience. Framed and deliuered by M. William Perkins, in his ordinarie course of preaching, and now published by Tho. Pickering Batchelour of Diuinitie, and minister of Finchingfield in Essex. Whereunto is adioyned a twofold table; one of the order and heades of the treatise; another of the texts of Scripture explaned, or vindicated from the corrupt interpretation of the aduersarie.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Pickering, Thomas, d. 1625.	1610 (1610)	STC 19698; ESTC S114527	101,186	282

besides the ordinarie course of nature yet it is not simply aboue the power thereof For a third instance The deuill is able to vtter a voice in plaine words and speach answerable to mans vnderstanding in any language Not that he can take vnto himselfe beeing a spirit an immeadiate power to speake or frame a voyce of nothing without meanes but knowing the naturall and proper causes and meanes by which men doe speake by them he frames in himselfe the voyce of a man and plainely vtters the same in a knowne language In this manner he abused the tongue and mouth of the serpent when in plaine words he tempted Eue to eate the forbidden fruit Now it is to be remembred here that when the deuill speakes in a creature it must be such a creature as hath the instruments of speach or such whereby speach may be framed and vttered not otherwise for it was neuer heard that he spake in a stocke or a stone or any created entity that had not the meanes and power of vttering a voice at least in some sort it beeing a worke peculiar to the Creator to giue power of vtterance where it is not by creation Againe when he frameth a voice in a creature he doth it not by giuing immediate power to speake for that he cannot doe and the creature abused by him remaineth in that regard as it was before But it beeing naturally fitted and disposed to vtter a voice though not perfectly to speake as a man he furthereth and helpeth nature in it and addeth to the facultie thereof a present vse of words by ordering and ruling the instruments to his intended purposes And to conclude this point looke what strange workes and wonders may be truely effected by the power of nature though they be not ordinarily brought to passe in the course of nature those the deuill can do so farre forth as the power of nature will permit he is able to worke true wonders though for a false and euill ende Here a question is mooued by some whether the deuil can change one creature into another as a man or woman into a beast for some notwithstanding the doctrine alreadie taught are of opinion that he can turne the bodies of Witches into other creatures as hares cattes and such like Ans. The transmuta●ion of the substance of one creature into another as of a man into a beast of what kind soeuer is a worke simply aboue the power of nature and therefore cannot be done by the deuil or any creature For it is the proper worke of God alone as I haue said to create to change or abolish nature It is obiected that such chāges haue beene made For Lots wi●e was turned into a pillar of salt Gen. 19. 26. Ans. It is true but that was done by the mightie power of God neither can it be proued that any creature Angel or other was euer able to doe the like But it is further said that king Nabuchadnezzar was turned in●o a beast and did eate grasse with the beasts of the field Dan. 4. 30. Ans. There is no such matter his substance was not changed so as his bodie became the bodie of a beast indeede but his condicions onely were altered by the iudgement of God vpon his minde whereby he was so farre forth bereaued of humane sense and vnderstanding Againe for his behauiour and kinde of life he became altogether bruitish for the time and excepting onely his outward forme and shape no part of humanitie could appeare in him but that he retained his humane bodie still it is euident by his owne words vers 31. when he saith And mine vnderstanding was restored to me which argueth plainly that the hand of God was vpon him in some kind of madnesse and furie and therefore that there was not a change of his bodie and substance but a strange and fearefull alteration in his minde and outward behauiour And though such a transmutation should be granted yet it makes nothing for the purpose considering it was the worke of God onely and not of the deull And thus we see what kind of wonders the deuil can bring to passe The meditation of which point may teach vs tvvo things First that the working of wonders is not a thing that will commend man vnto God for the deuill himselfe a wicked spirit can worke them And many shall alledge this in the day of iudgement that they haue by the name of God cast out deuils and done many great wo●ks to whome notwithstanding the Lord will say I neuer knewe you depart from me yee workers of in●quitie Matth. 7. 22. 23. It behooueth vs rather to get vnto our selues the precious gifts of faith repentance and the feare of God yea to go before others in a godly life and vpright conuers●tion then to excell in effecting of strange workes When the seauentie Disciples came to our Sauiour Christ with ioy and tolde him that euen the deuills were subdued vnto them through his name Luk. 10. 17. he counsells them not to reioyce in this that wicked spirits were s●bdued vnto them but rather because their names were written in heauen vers 20. Indeed to be able to worke a wonder is an excellent gift of God and may minister matter of reioycing when it proceedeth from God but seeing the deuill receiued this power by the gift of creation our speciall ioy must not be therein but rather in this that we are the adopted sonnes of God in which priuiledge the deuill hath no part with vs. And therefore the Apostle 1. Cor. 13. making a comparison of the gifts of the spirit as of speaking diuers tongues of prophecying and working miracles with loue in the end wisheth men to labour for the best gifts which are faith hope and loue because by these we are made partakers of Christ on whom we ought to set our hearts and in whome we are commanded ●lwaies to reioyce Phil. 4. 4. Secondly we learne from hence not to beleeue or receiue a doctrine now or at any time because it is confirmed by wonders For the deuill himselfe is able to confirme his errours and Idolatrous seruices by strange and extraordinarie signes by which vsually he laboureth to auouch and verisie the grossest points of falshood in matter of religion On the contrarie we must not reiect or contemne a doctrine because it is not thus confirmed This was a maine fault in the Iewes who would not receiue the word preached by Christ vnlesse he shewed them a signe from heauen Indeed in the primitiue Church it pleased God to confirme that doctrine which the Apostles taught by great signes and miracles but now that gift is ceased and the Church hath no warrant to expect any further euidence of the religion it professeth and enioyeth by arguments of that kinde yea rather it hath cause to suspect a doctrine taught for the wonders sake whereby men labour to auouch it Sect. V. The last clause in the description is

so no doubt the euill spirits may cause in men diabolicall dreames and therein reueile vnto them many strange things which they by meanes vnknowne to men may foresee and knowe By all which it is euident that there are and may be as well diabolicall as diuine dreames The conclusion then is this That as diuining by the second sort is superstitious hauing no ground from Gods word so fortelling by this third sort is flat Witchcraft directly condemned in the places aforenamed where men are forbidden to prophesie by them or to regard them Yet forasmuch as dreames be of sundrie kinds as hath beene said it shall not be amisse to set downe some notes of difference betweene them whereby they may be knowne and distinguished each from other Which point indeede hath long agone beene handled in the Primitiue Church but hardly determined For the learned of that age haue auouched it a very hard matter considering that the deuill in these as well as in other things can transforme himselfe into an Angel of light But howsoeuer the case be hard and the deuil politicke yet by light of direction from the word of God there may some true differences be set downe betweene them as namely these First of all diuine dreames haue alwaies had their preeminence aboue others that generally they haue concerned the weightiest matters in the world as the comming and exhibiting of the Messias the changes and alterations of Kingdomes the reueiling of Antichrist the state of the Church of God And this may plainly appeare by those which Ioseph expounded vnto Pharaoh and Daniel vnto the Kings of Babel and Persia. But in the other sort it is otherwise For if there be any thing represented more then ordinarie in those that be naturall it proceedeth meerely from fancie and imagination And as for diabolical they are not of so waightie matters nor so hard to foretell For though the deuill haue great power and skill yet it is aboue his reach to determine of such things as these are or to foretell them without helpe from God Secondly diuine dreames be alwaies either plaine and manifest or if they be obscure yet they haue a most euident interpretation annexed vnto them Of the plainer sort were the dreames of Ioseph the husband of Marie Matth. 1. Of the other sort were Pharaohs very darke and hidden but God raised vp Ioseph to giue them an casie interpretation vpon the instant Gen. 41. Nebuchadne●sars dreames were full of obscuritie and many matters were contained in thē so as his spirit was troubled and he forgat them but God stirred vp Daniel and reuealed to him the secret so as he remembred it to the King and declared the true meaning thereof Dan. 2. 1. 28. 36. Lastly Daniels dreames of the foure beasts c. were of like difficultie but the Angel Gabriel was presently sent to make him vnderstand them Dan. 8. 16. Now those that are caused by the Deuill as they be obscure and intricate so the interpretation of them is ambiguous and vncertaine because he himselfe cannot infallably determine how things shall come to passe and thereupon is constrained to giue doubtfull answers by dreames And such were not onely the auncient Oracles among the heathen where he gaue the resolution but the moderne Prophecies giuen by him to some of his instruments in later time Thirdly the dreame that comes from God is alwaies agreeable to his reuealed will and representeth nothing contrarie to the same in whole or in part whereas those that proceed from nature doe sauour of nature and bee agreeable to mans corruption which is repugnant vnto Gods will And those that are suggested by Satan are of the same nature the generall scope whereof is to crosse the will of God and to withdrawe the heart from obedience therevnto Fourthly diuine dreames 〈◊〉 a● this ende to further religion and ple●●e and to maintaine true doctrine but the deuill an enemie to God worketh in his dreames the subuersion of true religion the worship of God that in the roome thereof he may set vp Idolatrie and superstition For so much we learne Deut. 13. where the false Prophet brings his dreame and vtters it yea and confirmeth it by a wonder but marke his ende It was to draw men to Apostacie Let vs saith he goe after other Gods which thou hast not knowne and let vs serue them vers 2. Answerable to which was the practise of the false Prophets afterwardes who caused the people to erre ●y their lies and flatteries Ierem. 23. 32. To conclude this point it must be here remembred that howsoeuer there ●re and haue beene distinct sorts of dreams yet those which are from God were onely in ordinarie vse in the old Testament and in the Church of the New are ceased and take not place ordinarily Whereas therefore men in their sleepes haue dreames they must take them commonly to be naturall withall know that they may be diabolicall or mixt partly of the one kind partly of the other And howsoeuer there may be some vse of the naturall as hath beene said yet commonly they are not to be regarded And for the other which are from Satan or mixt they are not to be receiued beleeued or made meanes whereby to foretell things to come least by this vse of them we grow into familiaritie with the deuill and before God be guilty of the sin of Witchcraft § 5. The fift and last kind of Diuination by true meanes is by Lots when men take vpon them to search out fortune as they vse to speake that is good or bad successe in any busines by casting of Lots whether it be by casting a die or opening of booke or any such casuall meanes I mention this the rather because among the ignorant and superstitious sort such practises are cōmon in great accoūt the Lot is an ordinance of God appointed for speciall ends and purposes but when it is thus applyed it ceaseth to be lawfull because it is abused to other ends then God by his word ordinance hath allowed That we may the better knowe the abuse of a Lot in this kind we must remember there be three sorts of Lots the Ciuill the Sporting and the Diuining Lot The ciuill vse of Lots is when they be vsed for the ending of controuersies the diuiding of lands and heritages the disposition of offices amongst many that are equally fit the trying of the right in doubtfull things or lastly the discouerie of a malefactor hid amongst many suspected By this vse of the Lot was Saul chosen to be king ouer Israel 1. Sam. 10. 21. the skape-goate separated frō that which was to be sacrificed Leuit. 16. 8. the land of Canaan diuided among the children of Israel Iosh. 14. 2. c. the trespasse of Achan found out Iosh. 7. 15. and Matthias chosen to be one of the twelue Act. 1. 26. and of this Lot Salomon saith Pro. 18. 18. The Lot causeth contentions to cease and maketh