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
B00537	An exhortation vnto the gouernours, and people of Hir Maiesties countrie of Wales, to labour earnestly, to haue the preaching of the Gospell planted among them. There is in the ende something that was not in the former impression..	Penry, John, 1559-1593.; Waldegrave, Robert, 1554-1604, printer.	1588 (1588)	STC 19605.5; ESTC S94666	73,347	118

God vppon such Magistrates as tollerate them The proposition is not to be doubted off The assumption is thus prouided That gouernement and that booke whiche holdeth Iesus Christ God and man to haue prescribed no external form of gouernment in his church but such as at the pleasure of the magistrate when time and place requireth may without sinne be altered preferreth Moses before the Lord Iesus This is manifest out of the expresse word out of the text Heb. 3.2.6 Because that the Lorde Iesus beeing the sonne in this place is compared with Moses a faithful seruaunt is preferred before Moses in regarde of the externall gouernement which Moses had so faithfully prescribed as it was not to bee altered or chaunged at the pleasure of any magistrate vntill the messiah should cause the oblations to ceas a Dan. 9 27. For whatking was there euer in Iudah that without the breach of Gods lawe could euer alter the externall forme of the iewish Church in the Leuitical priesthood officers And that the comparison between the sonne and the seruant Christ and Moses is concerning the externall and not concerning the spyrituall gouernment of the inner man as D. bridges sayth it is plaine bieause that Moses had nothing to doe with the gouerning of the inner man therefore it were no prerogatiue for the Lorde to be preferred in faithfulnes before Moses b page 55. lin 30. in that thinge wherein Moses neuer dealt Nowe I assume that our fourme of Church-gouernement in Wales and this wicked booke holdeth Iesus Christ to haue ordained such an externall forme of gouernment in his Church at his departure from earth to heauen as at the pleasure of the magistrate may be altered without the brech of Gods institution which thing D. Bridges affirmeth page 55. and all our prelates will graunt that the magistrate may alter the forme of gouernement now established and therefore this gouernement and this booke preferreth Moses before Iesus Christ And I cannot see how far this differeth from blasphemie Now if Christ shuld be saide to haue ordained no externall regiment then Moses is far before him and so the thirst of superioritie in our prelates and their accomplishes is turned into extreme drunkennes of impietie by this assertion I beseech the Lord in mercie to open your Hh. eies that you may see how he and his people haue bene dealt with by retaining such lawes in force as iustle and ouerthrow the royall prerogatiue of his sonne And the Lord make you to see whether those men that defend the interest of the sonne of God in this point against the tyrannicall vsurpation of prelats and haue brought for his title vnaunswerable euidence out of the sacred records of Gods owne writings offending either in matter or circumstance in no one thing but that they haue not dealt more earnestly with your Hh. and more ronndly with the aduersaries in the right of their master haue deserued to be imprisoned thrust out of their liuings reuiled railed vppon and slaundered by vngodly and wicked prelates vnto your Hh. as seditious and discontented men with the ciuill gouernment dangerous subiects and enemies to her Maiesties crowne And surely the cause being made knowen vnto you as it is howsoeuer the Lord may beare with your ouersight heretofore in the ignorance of the waight thereof yet if you do not now abrogate and abolish such a Church gouernement wel may you hope for the fauour and entertainment of Moses that is the curse of the law but the fauour and louing countenance of Iesus Christ I doe not see how you shall euer inioy My second reason That forme of church-gouerment and booke or bookes whiche maketh the ecclesiasticall regiment to bee an humane constitution that is such a constitution as is inclusiuely acording to the word any more then the ciuill gouernment which a 1. Pet. 2.13 2. Pet. 2.10 also must be inclusiuely according to the word and so may at the magistrates pleasure be changed as the ciuill gouernment may that gouerment and that booke or bookes besides that they prefer Moses before Iesus Christ as before is a wicked gouernment and they wicked sophisticall and vngodly bookes But our gouernement in Churche causes and b page 55. this booke with all other books of this greist make the ecclesiasticall gouernment to bee nothing else but an humaine constitution whiche may bee altered at the magistrates pleasure Therefore our Church-gouernement in Wales and this booke or bookes are vngodly and wicked The proposition is prooued by these reasons First because they make no difference betweene that which belongeth to the true worship of God as ecclesiastical gouernement doth that which appertaineth vnto ciuill pollicie 2. Peter 1.3 Contrary to the Apostle who affirmeth in expres words that we haue receiued by the knowledge of God whatsoeuer belongeth vnto true religion for so the word Eusebeia translated godlines signifieth in that place wheras there was neuer yet any place of scripture found wherin we are said to haue by the knowledge of God whatsoeuer belongeth to anthropinen kteisin the ciuill magistrat called mans ordinance by the same apostle a Peter 3. ●3 Wherin those thinges which are inuented by them that neuer knew God may be inclusiuelie according to the worde Secondly Ecclesiasticall gouernement being granted to be an humaine constitution maketh the Pope to haue sufficient b warraunt out of the worde not of his idolatrous and false religion And D. Bridges auoucheth this for good doctrin as I will shew but of his superioritie ouer ciuil magistrates and al the Pastors in the Churche For why should not hee the ciuill magistrate granting him this superioritie as they vnder his iurisdiction do be allowed by the word to be aboue the Emperour and all other magistrates and ministers whosoeuer if the ecclesiasticall gouernement be an humane ordinance For I am assured that the Emperor and all other princes in Europe may chuse a magistrate superiour vnto them all if they will And why may not he be a Byshop or an Arch-bishop if the Church-gouerment be an humane ordinance or if it be lawful for either of them to be a Lord and be are ciuill office Thirdly if Church-gouernment bee an humane constitution then it may be lawful for a Church-gouernour to preach administer the sacraments ouersee excommunicate c. and to be a king For the Apostle maketh it lawfull for any supplying the place of an humane constitution lawfully to bee a king and I would they durst denie it And where then learned they that diuinitie that it is more against the word for a Bishop to be Basileus a king Hyperichon a suriour Hegamon a captaine or gouernour b 1. Pet. ● 13 Luk. 22.25 beeing titles sanctified by the holy ghost for ciuill offices then Curios a Lord Hyperpheron a prelat of the garter Euergetes a lords grace The former the latter being by our Sauiour himself forbidden vnto Bishops or

can read well and distinctlie is not able to perfourme 20 e 1. Tim 5.22 ephes 4.7.12 20 and such a thing as proceedeth not from and gift of nature in vs a Rom. 12.3.77 ephe 3.8 1. cor 3.21.3.10 he 6.4 reading a naturall gift 21 though it be a labour to be ouer anie people in the Lord b 1. Cor. 3.9 thes 5.12 tim 5.17 a labour 2 so woonderfull as the Apostle in the admiration thereof crieth out who is sit for these things 21 c 2. Cor. 2.16 Reading a worke of small labour and lesse wonder yet you my deare countri-men wil rather aduenture the bloud of your selues 22 cruell and frozen securitie than giue eare vnto that great saluation whiche firste was preached by the Lord himselfe d Heb. 2.3 ephe 2.17 and can be made or dinarily knowen vnto no nation vnder heauen but by 23 preaching e Rom. 10.14 How can the way of saluation 24 be made known vnto you by those that are not able to compare spirituall things with spirituall 23 24 f 1. Cor. 2.13 O Lord hast thou euer giuen them 25 anie allowance to bee thy Ministers 25 whose lippes neuer preserued knowledge g Mal. 2.7 and dare wee gaine-say thee to thy face in admitting them 26 furious madnes 26 to thinke that our readers according to the Cannon of the word haue the message of saluation in their hands whereas they haue no more fitnes to declare the same in regard of sufficiencie than a verie Painim Turke or Iewe which denieth and defieth Christ Iesus may well inough haue if hee can read English or welch A thing to bee astonied at euen among the worshippers of heathen gods that the religion of christians and the woorship of the God that made heauen earth should not haue in it so much as one misterie 27 whose secrecie euen in regarde of knowledge 27 might disable one that neuer heard of true religion to be a publike Minister thereof O earth couer this our sinne O heauen conceale it least in the wrath and anger of God hell requite it What wordes shall I vse to make this sincke deeplye into your Honours heart and into the hearts of others whome it concerneth namelie that the great God the mightie and fearefull Lord hath a great and a blouddie reckoning wyth England and Wales and the gouernours of them 28 because the of-scouring of all contempt 28 and derision are permitted to represent his place and person among vs. As sure as the Lord liueth thys sinne shall neuer bee vn punished vnlesse betimes you repent betimes redres this sacrilege by placing those ouer vs who may truly say of themselues Nowe then are wee ambassadours for Christe as though God did beseech you through vs wee pray you in Christ his stead that you be reconciled vnto God a 2. Cor. 5.20 He ought not 29 to be a minister that hath not this commission 29 yea and dooth not faithfully excecute the same whatsoeuer vngodly men babble tot he contrarye The reason whiche out of their darke and diuelish vnderstanding they haue framed for the confirmation of their errour which is that the Apostles indeede were commaunded to preach the gospell but our ministers are to do no more then read that which they preached shall be vouchsafed a large confutation when my former reasons wherof I haue inserted aboue of score to prooue that our readers bee no ministers are answered In the mean time I vse these arguments against this leprous error 30 First 30 the basest publique readers ought to haue more in them then b Eph. 4.6 deut 6.7 Psal 78 5● parentes bothe vnder the lawe and the Gospell who though simple and vnlearned yet hadde the burthen of teaching others laid vppon them not by reading for it may be they could not do it and a sauage Caniball that coulde reade might well inough instruct others in that which coulde bee made knowen by reading And wil our curats reiect it 31 Secondly 31 reading is not that wholesome doctrine whereof the Apostle speaketh a 2. Tim. 4.3 which euery minister is bound to deliuer vnto the hearers prooued bicause there was neuer anye professing religion in any age who could not well abide the word red so that there were nothing gathered out of the same contrarie to their iudgements or affections wheras the apostle saith it should come to passe that men would not abide the wholsome doctrine spoken of in that place I disdaine to refell the obiection that the apostle should meane either the olde heretiques who denied some part of the word or the antichristian Papists who forbad the word to be read vnto the people in a vulgar toong Thirdly 32 all men in what age soeuer they liue haue as much need of teaching 32 as they who liued in the apostles time bicause all are borne citizens of the kingdome of darknes cannot be brought into the kingdome of Christ by any other instrument than the b Colos 1.13.23 worde preached And the roote of 33 corruption euen in the regenerate 33 bringeth foorth buds like it selfe which must bee cut off by the worde preached I doe not denie nay I know it is warranted that the worde shoulde be read in the congregations of Gods children c Acts 13.15.17 Nehem. 8.2 but that hee should be taken as a publike minister that hath no other gift that I detest that I abhorre because I knowe the Lorde accounteth it for no better than swines bloud the cutting off of a dogges head the blessing of an idoll or the killing of a man in his sight d Isay 66.3 Lastly the worde read is the 34 same vnto all 34 whereas the foode of eternall life must bee made milke vnto the weake and tender and strong meate vnto them which are capable thereof But woe is mee be the worde read as grosse as it may be my country men lamentable and wofull delusion thinke it inough for them to swallow that which containeth in it the food of the soule though in their stomacks it should turne into starke iron A few psalmes (35) 35 a few praiers with one chapter of the newe Testament in Welch for the olde neuer spake Welch in our daies though to my comfort I vnderstande it is all readie to be printed most pitifully euill read of the reader and not vnderstoode of one among tenne of the hearers is that meanes belike whereby the Lorde hath decreed to make cleare vnto all men in Wales what the fellowship is of the mysterie a Ephes 3.9 which from the beginning of the world hath bin had in God These be the onlie visions that our prophets haue tolde vs of for the most part Oh that the Prophet Ieremie or some man indued with his spirit were now liuing to raise vp that complaint of vs and our countrie which he tooke against