Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
religion_n article_n church_n true_a 3,598 5 5.1162 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A15304 The schysmatical puritan A sermon preached at Witney concerning the lawfulnesse of church-authority, for ordaining, and commanding of rites, and ceremonies, to beautifie the Church. By Giles Widdowes rector of St Martins church in Oxford. Widdowes, Giles, 1558?-1645. 1630 (1630) STC 25594; ESTC S120720 21,327 48

There are 3 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

in order THE 19. of the 39. Articles of Religion affirmes that the Church may erre that the Church hath erred The reason why the erring Church is become the lost sheep is because shee submits not vnto the onely true rule of faith which is Gods faithfull word The 20. Article saith that the church cannot erre that t is no erring church but a true church not a church voide of authority but a church having authority to decree Rites and Ceremonies to handle iudge and decide the hard subtile and deceiving controversies of faith For this well tempered and well governed church obserues Gods not deceaving nor deceaved word to be her principium fidei her principle of faith to be faithfully beleeved to be her true signifying Rule to be taught learned and kept Whatsoeuer is contrary to this heavenly voice she hates being all diabolicall lies whatsoever exposition doth make scripture to be contrary to scripture she examines confutes reformes by the true rules of exposition Whatsoever is besides scripture shee reiects for mans inveution for humane tradition for superfluous vnnecessarie Herein the church is a faithfull keeper and a faithfull witnesse of holy writ And let the church let this church persevere a faithfull witnesse and a faithfull keeper of Gods most true and most holy word to preserue her authority in rites and ceremonies in resolving Faiths factious controversies to expound the scripture learnedly according to rule in summo gradu necessitatis in the propriety of truth and to reiect mans flattering additions prudently according to Gods all-sufficient precept This is the summe of S. Pauls spirituall councell to advise and instruct the church Let all things be done decently and in order Which words are the substance of the 20. of the 39. Articles of religion they containe fowre parts The first is Commande Authorizing Let. The second is how many things are Authorized All things The third is the obeying of this commaunding Authority Be done The fourth is the manner of obeying this command This is Decently and in order In the commande Authorizing obserue Who and what Commands who commands This is first God the Holy Ghost secondly S. Paul What commands This is Gods will this is Gods word Let. In how many things there are authorized obserue the doctrine of faith the discipline the rites and ceremonies of the church All things In the obeying of this commaunding Authority obserue who must obey and this is the church Secondly that shee doth obey in keeping the doctrine discipline rites and ceremonies commaunded Be done Let all things be done In the manner of obeying this commaund obserue how many-fold this manner is and this is twofold first decently secondly in order in the outside by beawtie decently within and without according to rule In order Let all things be done decently and in order You haue the diuision of my text God commaunding the Church to decencie and order of doctrine and discipline and therefore let no man accuse me ignorantly that I am not come to edifie for if Gods S. Paules doctrine and discipline may edifie I shall edifie And let noe temporizing faction act the dissembling Hypocrite and say that my doctrine is not true but rayling for I am come to you with the doctrine of our receaued and established faith And let no trembling Neuter plead that my words are too deepe mysteries to be vnderstood No but let him striue to know his Faith how it differs from heresie that he may be truely faithfull in the pure and vndefiled Religion My text doth not stay to request but requires my text doth not intreate and pray but doth will and commaund you to be faithfully religious and that in a word and that in the first word of my text Let. This word is commaund though t is but a signe yet by it commaund is vnderstood and vnderstood to speake not by prohibition to make any stopp or stay but with commaund to make hast and not to fayle at your perill This Let is the actiue part of Gods commaund in the first place of S. Paule in the second place in person commaunding thirdly of the scripture which is S. Paules commaund which is Gods souereigne and vncontrouleable commaund You know the almighty power of Gods commaund that by it he made nothing to be all things For he spake and it was done he commaunded and it stood fast And shall he now speake and shall nothing be done Shall he now commaund and shall nothing stand fast Gods word is sharper then any two edged sword and 't is as possible to resist Gods word and liue eternally as 't is to resist a sword dividing the heart and after that to enioy this temporall life At the giving of the law Gods voyce was so terrible that the people that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more for feare of death Heb. 12. 19. For Gods voyce did then shake the earth and it shall once more shake both heaven and earth Heb. 12. 26. Here is maiestie and power and Gods will must be done for he commaunds to the terrifying of heaven and earth Gods word is not a bare sound but his word is a conuerting word and if the conuerted will not stand in grace God hauing giuen the will and the deede what doe they that resist but neglect great saluation But see that yee refuse not him that speaketh For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape if we turne away from him that speaketh from heauen Heb. 12. 25. It concernes you then very much to heare Gods commaund S. Paule Gods deputed commaunder tells you that it concernes your saluation and loose this loose all the world But what 's the matter that mens hearts are so litle knowne to a commaunding God Who hath bewitched them that they will not obey truth T' is true that there must be Heresies for lying and dissembling tongues doe deceaue seduce and vnder a colour of a little godlines bring Church and Common wealth into confusion and destruction of soule and body And is it not then high time to exhort you with S. Paule Beware of dogs beware of evill workers Philip. 3. 2. Beware of them that barke at the Articles of religion Beware of thē that bite at the gouernment of the Church Beware of fiery zeale set on fire by a factious spirit Beware of despisers of Gouernours of inuentors of evill things Beware of the disobedient For they hate the doctrine and discipline the rites and ceremonies of the Church which is my second part of text implyed in these words All Things By all things are not vnderstood all things of this world for they are enmitie against God But by All thinges are vnderstood all things which God commands to build and beautifie the Church which God commands to gouerne preserue the Church So that these All things are all Ecclesiasticall things all things that belong to
the Church The text doth mentiō prophecying speaking with tongues prayer 1. Cor. 14. faith hope and charitie 1. Cor. 13 all spirituall guifts 1. Cor. 12 the Ceremonies of the Church 1. Cor. 11 the sacraments Baptisme The Lords supper 1. Cor. 10 the Ministers dues 1. Cor. 9 Meats offer'd to idolls not to be eaten 1. Cor. 8. Marriage and single life 1. Cor. 7. Forbearing to goe to law one with an other 1. Cor. 6. Excommunication 1. Cor. 5. reuerence due to the Cleargie 1. Cor. 4 diuision and sectes in the Church Chap. 1. 2. 3. Doctrina generalis hic traditur circa Doctrinam precepta diuina leges de decoro ordine Ecclesiae circa ritus circa externam disciplinam so Pareus By all things are vnderstood the doctrine of the Church divine precepts lawes for decencie and order of the Church the Churches rites and externall discipline The doctrine of the Church is here vnderstood The doctrine of the primitiue Church which is the law and the Gospell the old and the new Testament and here is vnderstood the doctrine of the Reformed Church which is the 39. Articles of Religion This is the materiall breife of all Christian doctrine and let this suffice for this present For to speake particularly to every part of faith in the old and new Testament and in the 39. Articles of Religion is more then the tongue of men and Angells is able to deliuer within the short limits of an howre The discipline of the Church is here vnderstood which is the ordayning of Superiours and their gouerning and 't is the practise and humble obedience of inferiours This is Moyses and all inferiour Magistrates iudging and gouerning This is Aarons and all inferiour Preists expounding and instructing the people and 't is the Magistrates Preists and peoples reverent worshipping the Lord and their sincere keeping of the law The Imperiall and Preistlie gouerment still remaine not in rigour for that our Sauiour hath mitigated but they are still Authorities one supremely commanding the other is supremely instructing Kings are nursing fathers and Queenes are nursing Mothers and they are so much higher than Preists as Christs Kings office in spirituall things is higher than Christs Preists office in spirituall things The superioritie still stands a superioritie in the Clergie There was a superioritie still in the Ministerie Christ aboue the twelue Apostles the twelue Apostles aboue the seuentie disciples S. Paule aboue Timothie Timothy aboue the Presbyters in the Church of Ephesus in doctrine and manners of the Church 1. Tim. 1 in ordaining Bishopps Deacons 1. Tim. 3 in having authoritie to punish the Elders offending and other Church-offenders 1. Tim. Chap. 5. 6. At the 326. yeare after Christ the Councell of Nice decreed that there should be in the Catholique Church three Patriarchs one at Rome one at Alexandria one at Antioch to gouerne inferiour Bishops Religion was planted in this land by S. Paule So Parsons the Iesuite and by Simon Zelotes So Mr Mason out of Necephorus and Dorotheus and by Aristobulus Bishop of Britaine so Dorotheus and by Ioseph of Arimathea so Iohn Capgraue and that in the life of Tiberius Caesar so Gildas in the 35 yeare of Christ so learned B. Morton cap. 3. sect 9. of the Grand Imposture hath obserued out of famous Papists Cardinall Baronius and the Iesuite Suarez From the yeare of the Lord 179. there were Arch-bishops Bishops in the Church of England and Wales so Lelandus and they haue successiuely continued to this day In their first consecration till 600 years after Christ they were Primitiue Bishops From 600 years till 1533 they were Popish corrupt sicke with heresy almost to the death From 1533 they haue 5 years excepted continued good because reformed Bishops Here note that our Church did not beginne a little after Luther but being sicke with Popery she thē recouered her Apostolicall faith Like as a sick man recouering then enters not into the World to beginne his life but into the recouery of his former health so Popery and Puritanisme being purged out of these parts of the Catholique Church 't was not then a new planted but a new reformed Church All things Here is vnderstood Ecclesiasticall discipline The King doth gouerne by Christs regall power and command The Bishop doth gouerne by the key of knowledge and by the key of iurisdiction The Bishop doth gouerne in the Church by the key of knowledge in that he giues authority by ordaination mission to able and fit men for to preach to pray c. in the Church By the key of iurisdiction the Bishop doth gouerne in the Consistory by examining and censuring with the helpe of his Iudge-assistant To know all Church-discipline I referre you to the Rubricke in the Common-praier-booke to the Canons of the Church c. This part of my text is All things and therefore I must not omit the rites ceremonies of the Church for they are vnderstood in these All things The rites and ceremonies of the Church which were tipicall in the Iewes time did signifie Christ to come and therefore at Christs comming they were abrogated Quia veritas venit signum tollitur so S. Augustine Because Christ is come into the flesh there is no vse of a signe to signifie that Christ is to come But in our church the ceremonies are not typicall but they are signes of church-beauty for morall ornament And that to beautify gesture in acknowledging the Lord Iesus to be King of heauen and earth of the triumphant militant Church hence it is that in Church-assemblies we bow at the name of Iesus or to beautify gesture at praier when we pray The body and blood of our Lord Iesus Christ preserue soule and body to euerlasting life c. hence it is that we humbly and reuerently kneele on our knees at receiuing the Lords supper Or in token that we will not be ashamed to confes the faith of Christ crucified manfully to fight vnder his banner c. hence it is that little Children baptized after the forme of baptisme are signed with the signe of the crosse or to signify the sincerity of the Ministers vnspotted faith hence it is that our Church-priests doe weare the surplesse at performing holy worship to God or to signify the vndeuided loue of husband and wife till death them depart hence it is that in marriage the ring is giuen for a token and pledge or to signify a thankfull remembrance vnto God for giueing vs Christian examples and encouragements to perseuere in the true Apostolicall faith in that God gaue vs his Sonne his one and only Sonne to be our Mediatour and the Blessed Virgin to bee his Mother according to his humanity the holy Apostles to preach Christ Iesus the Saviour to the ends of the world for giving vs many and miraculous deliverances from great and apparent dangers hence it is that Holy-dayes were ordain'd and are kept The nativitie of
vnworthynesse of Gods favour and blind ignorance not in the necessary precepts of saith but in Contingents with what particular blessing when where and how God will blesse sinners Prayers at Baptisme doe regenerate though you denie this T is the text Aske and you shall haue To pray is to Aske To be Regenerate is to haue The blessed Apostles did confirme the Churches which they before had converted Act. 14. 22. Act. 15. 32. For confirmation is a Principle of the doctrine of Christ next to baptisme Heb. 6. 1. 2. Therefore S. Peter and S. Iohn did pray impose hands to confirme the Church with the holy Ghost Act. 8. 17. And little Children being more weake in the state of Grace then such Converts must necessarily be confirmed by the Bishop the Apostle of the Diocesse though not by miraculous yet by seaven of the holy Ghosts gifts We must pray for the dead Thy kingdome come Oh Lord raise the dead prisoners in the graue And herein we pray for their soules and bodies God be with them to comfort their soules deprived of their bodies I say to comfort them with hast'ning the Re-vnion and the consummate ioy of soule and body Thus the Primitiue Fathers Iunius B. Bilson Mornay Chameirus This is not to defend Purgatory but the receaued answere against Purgatory These things being thus answered obserue that this Puritan would obstinately cast out of the Church Gods sauing mercy saving hope saving charity and the seauen guifts of the holy Ghost And what then is his religion but faction But marke those that cause diuision in the Church contrary to the doctrine which you haue receiued For they that are such serue not the Lord Iesus but their owne bellies and with faire speech and flattering deceiue the hearts of the simple Rom. 16. 17. 18. The third thing in which this Puritan is Nonconformist is the Canons of our reformed Church These 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 24. 29. 30. 31. 48. 49. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 60. 61. 73. 127. c. But who is this Puritan What is his name Mr Rogers in his Preface to the 39 Articles saith that since the suppression of Puritans by Arch-Bishops Parker Grindall and Whitegift none will seeme to be such irregular Professors But the eie that beholds their daring oppositions in the Church may very well beleeue that such Rebellions are taught in their Conventicles What Rebellions Their teaching against the Kings Supremacie a reiecting of our Reformed saith a refusing of Gods holy worship written which is the Common Praier-booke a despising of Canonicall obedience a repugning against our Reformed Church Yet this seditious Schysmatique would be the most true Reformist of Church and Religion but read the Suruey of the Pretended holy discipline and hence it is euidently proued that he knowes not what he is nor what he would be Therefore for his better edifying let him learne to beleeue to pray and obey according to the vnderstanding Rules of this Reformed Church For the 39 Articles are true precepts of faith all Collected out of holy writ The Common praiers are godly praiers The Canons are true wholesome lawes Therefore he that will not beleeue pray and obey according to this established estate of Church gouernment is noe pure man in heart He studies Consusion of Church and Common-wealth The specificall kinds of this Puritan promise neither truth nor goodnes and therefore let noe man fauour their vnrighteous dealing and let our Church stand fast in her faith instruct correct rebuke that this Non-conformist may be a true Reformist The species specificall kinds of this Puritan are these 1. the Perfectist 2. the factious Sermonist 3 the Separatist 4. the Anabaptist 5. the Brownist 6. Loues-familist 7. the Precisian 8. the Sabbatarian 9 the Ante-disciplinarian 10. the Presuming Predestinatist These ten kinds in their opinions are the best Christians and every one differs in the Reciprocall Quatenus i. e. in his proper essentiall Quality from other as much as white and blacke yet the same subiect of inhesion man may be all these ten as the same eie is white and blacke though whitenes and blacknes differ essentially The Perfectist is he whose purenes is continuata perseverandi actio sanctificans neuer to sinne after baptisme This is the Nouatian Catharist But St Paul did sinne after baptisme Rom. 7. This is a perfect keeper of Gods law Thus he is a Papist But S. Paul could not doe the good which he would but the evill which he would not His opinion is that a Christian sinning after baptisme is damned Our Reformed faith is That by the grace of God he may Repent and amend and thus S. Iohn if we confesse our sinnes he will forgiue 1. Iohn 1. This Puritan sinnes against the 16. Article The factious Sermonist is he whose purenes is to serue God with sermons and extemporary praiers made according to his supposititious inspiration His opinion is vaine glory Preachers Compos'de not according to his hasty rule he sayth are vn-worthy and therefore they must not be heard to preach nor resorted to at holy Communion Then S. Peter if vnworthines might depose Preachers should neuer haue preach'd after his forswearing his master Our reformed faith is that we may vse the ministery of vnworthy Ministers And t is strange that he commends himselfe to be worthy whereas S. Paul is not a teacher of his opinion 2. Cor. 2. 16. in these words Who is sufficient for these things This sinneth against the 26. Article Another opiniō of his is that preaching is better than Praier But both being most necessarie Preaching for to instruct the people and praier to worship God instrumentally to cause regeneration by baptisme c. It followes that this Sermonist is a peeuish disturber of Religion A third opinion of his is that priuate Praier made by a tardy commer to Church is the sacrifice of fools As if too late cōming to Church were not a sinne to be repented of and that one soe ill prepar'd to ioyne with the congregation should not pray for remission and Gods blessing and then praise the Lord with the whole Assembly The Separatist is he whose Purenes is Pharisaicall He commends himselfe in the Temple to be farre aboue all others for holines Our Sauiour sayth that the Publican repenting was more iust than he Luke 18. 14. His opinion is that only he is the Elect the Regenerate and faithfull child of God And that all others are reprobates the wicked the vnregenerat and the damned But Gods iudgments are vnsearchable Rom. 11. 33. And who art thou that iudgest why dost thou Iudge c Rom. 14. 4. 10. 11. 12. 13. The iudgment of our Church is that al that are baptized are regenerat Thus Seeing that this child is regenerat grafted into the body of Christs congregation c. And the Church regulated by scriptures is the pillar and groūd of truth 1 Tim. 3. 15. therefore