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

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68954	A three-fold treatise containing the saints sure and perpetuall guide. Selfe-enriching examination. Soule-fatting fasting. Or, meditations, concerning the word, the sacrament of the Lords Supper, and fasting. By the labours of that late Reverend, and learned divine, Master Robert Bolton ...	Bolton, Robert, 1572-1631.	1634 (1634)	STC 3255; ESTC S106789	149,468	268

farre from daunting and dulling his forwardnesse that they set an edge upon his affections and adde strength to his resolution in proceeding in the glorious state of Christianitie Why then the last sleight and temptation of Sathan to hinder the sanctifying power and successe of the Word and to make it fruitlesse and unprofitable is spirituall Pride which by his malicious cunning and hellish Alchymie hee extracts even out of his graces and vertues out of such sweet flowers he rayses poyson and sith he cannot keepe goodnesse utterly out of the soule he uses it selfe as an instrument to weaken wound it selfe For when a man is most endued and enriched with extraordinarie gifts holy graces and spirituall strength Sathan seekes most busily to make him proud of them and to puffe him up with an over-weening conceit of his owne worth that so himselfe may lose the comfort of them his brethren the fruit of them and God the glory of them This spirituall Pride is the same in our corruptions and sinfull affections that the Shirt is in our Clothing that is to say it sits the closest unto us and is last put off it is the white Devill as a worthy Divine calls it That sinne doth lye and insensibly insinuate it selfe and lurkes amid our graces and good actions as a dead Fly in the Apothecaries Ointment It is as it were Sathans last intrenchment which hee holds the longest and with most resolute and desperate pertinacie and is hardlyest driven out much spirituall wisedome a great measure of humilitie and the whole Armour of God is required to this combate For he is so endlesse and exercised in the point that if we be so humble that he cannot make us proud of any thing else he will labour to make us proud even of our humilitie and proud that we are not proud of our gifts Except a Christian continually and carefully watch over his heart and guard it with humilitie and a lowly conceit of himselfe this privie Pride may steale upon him before he be aware And first it may spring out of a consideration of the excellencie of his estate and the varietie of his peculiar blessings and speciall priviledges which the ungodly men neither can nor doe enjoy For when he is once translated from Darknesse to Light from prophanenesse to sinceritie from Nature to Grace out of the Dominion of Sathan into the Kingdome of Christ by the great worke of regeneration hee is presently made partaker of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1. 4. hee is entitled by the right of the Sonne of God to an inheritance immortall and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in the Heavens for him While hee is thus looking upon himselfe possessed of this happinesse and planted in this glorious Paradise Sathan is secretly blowing the coales of his hidden corruption to enkindle and rayse there-out an over-weening conceit of his owne worth and to puffe him up with pride of his owne gifts and graces whence may ensue two foule and hatefull inconveniences For so hee may grow by little and little to justifie himselfe too much whereby Gods glory may be lessened and darkened and to despise his Brethren whereby his exercise of charitie may be hindered This spirituall Pride may occasionally and by accident spring out of a godly and gracious care to keepe and preserve himselfe unspotted and undefiled in his happy and glorious state of grace and regeneration For while he is casting with himselfe and concluding upon some sound and substantiall course of holinesse and obedience in the wayes of godlinesse Sathan labours might and maine to draw him to a singularitie of unwarrantable conceits and opinions that by a tedious and unnecessarie pursuit and possession thereof he may keepe him cold and uncomfortable in the practice of the chiefe and most materiall duties of Christianitie and to make him place the height of Religion and heat of zeale in continuall conference and most peremptorie defence of some groundlesse fancies from whence Sathan busily strives to toll him out to separation Which course of separating from and condemning our Church in the judgement of our sincerest Divines is full of pride contention and confusion For first certaine it is our Church in that most exquisite and worthy confession of Faith contained in the Articles of Religion doth hold and professe all substantiall points of Divinitie as soundly as any Church in the World none excepted neither in this Age nor in the primitive times of the Church Secondly it hath communion with and testimonie of all other true Churches Thirdly in it are to be had the meanes of salvation in a powerfull and plentifull manner and in the bowels thereof even they that goe out of our Church if they be truly converted received that precious and blessed vigour which is able to quicken them to eternall life Fourthly a Church may be a true Church though it should have spots and blemishes though there be some Swine and Dogges in it In S. Pauls time the Corinthians were called the Church of God 1 Cor. 1. 1 2. And yet at that very time were some in an Heresie some in Incest some that had not repented of their filthinesse 2 Cor. 12. 20 21. The like may be said of the Churches of Asia Rev. 2. 3. Fifthly though outward prosperitie worldly honour and plentie be rather the lot of false hereticall and Apostaticall Churches than an individuall and necessary mark of the true Church yet if unto our unparallel'd Peace both for duration and entirenesse we adde our many and miraculous deliverances strange defeatments and preventions of Popish Plots of their Bulls Conspiracies and hostile Invasions of their Powder Poysons Daggers Dags and all manner of execrable attempts machinations and underminings which either Hell could devise or that desperate and bloudy Faction adventure upon and manage I say if all these be put together and well weighed it is impossible but that wee should therein see acknowledge and adore the speciall finger of Gods holy providence upholding his owne Arke amongst his owne people and pointing out to all the World the truth of that Church upon whose side and for whose safetie and glory hee so mightily stands This most extraordinarie grace and favour of Divine assistance having not in one thing or two shewed it selfe nor for some few dayes or yeeres appeared but in such sort so long continued our manifold sinnes and transgressions striving to the contrary What doth it else import or what can wee lesse thereupon conclude than that God would thereby tell and teach the World That the thing which hee blesseth defendeth and keepeth so strangely cannot but be of him and his saving and sacred Truth Ill doe they then who transported with a pang of spirituall Pride abandon forsake and separate from our Church as though Gods true worship and salvation were not there to be found You see how Sathan by spirituall Pride may

content to toyle day after day fare hard breake their sleepe eate the Bread of carefulnesse and all to heape up a little wealth perhaps with the losse of their owne soules and sometimes they scarce know for whom and shall not wee with joy and chearefulnesse passe through holy Exercises for the enriching of our soules wherein true and lasting comfort is onely to be found and whereby we may lay up for our selves Treasures in Heaven durable Riches a Bag that cannot wax old a Treasure that can never faile Prov. 8. 18. Luk. 12. 33. unmixed joyes endlesse peace and blessed immortalitie presently to be entred upon after death and then to be enjoyed for ever and ever Shall rebellious Superstition and the Doctrine of Devils and killing Kings harden the Papists against any crosses and tortures and shall we be tyred with the peaceable Exercises of sound saving Religion God forbid In whom soever the true love of God and Christ hath taken up the heart there their Gospel and Word and services are sweeter and more tastfull than all outward delights Little touch of Religion or sense of Salvation hath hee that comes unto with unchearefulnesse and stayes with wearinesse at the Ministerie of the Word I but will some say it was never good World since so much preaching came amongst us when there was lesse preaching there was more plentie and therefore it seemes there is little good in it Since this new Religion was on foot for so some ignorantly and maliciously call it though it be as old as God himselfe whose eternall Truth it is as old as the Patriarks and Prophets as Christ and his Apostles there hath beene say they more scarcitie of all things more Plagues Famines strange apparitions extremitie of seasons and other Iudgements than ever our fore-fathers saw or heard of Hospitalitie Charitie Pastimes and Plentie were banished with the old Religion for so they call the bloudie and idolatrous Heresie of Poperie This hath ever beene the complaint of Idolaters and the wicked against the Truth of God as it is now of the Papists prophane men amongst us against the glorious Light of the Gospel that shines round about us When Ieremy chap. 44. had reproved the Iewes and denounced Gods Iudgements against them for their Idolatry they answer him thus in vers 16. The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord we will not heare it of thee but we will doe whatsoever thing goeth out of our mouth as to burne incense to the Queene of Heaven and to poure out drink-offerings unto her as we have done both we and our fathers our Kings and our Princes in the Cities of Iudah and in the streetes of Ierusalem for then had we plenty of victuals and were well and felt no evill But since we left off to burne incense to the Queene of Heaven and to poure out drink-offerings unto her we have had scarcenesse of all things and have bin consumed by the sword and by the famine The very same complaint was made of the wicked Heathens and Infidels at the first plantation of Christian Religion among the Gentiles Tertullian an ancient Father tells us in his time If there were any inundation and overflowing of Tibris a great River in Rome if there were any extraordinarie and uncouth Hayle or Frost or any other miserie or calamitie all the fault was presently laid on Christ and the Christian Religion It appeares also by Austin another ancient Father in his 122. Epistle that there were wicked complaints and murmurings against the Christian Faith in his time the Infidels were still crying that before the Doctrine of Christ was published to the World mankind was not vexed and distressed with so many troubles and garboyles To which the good Father doth there excellently answer Out of Luke 12. 47 48. easily saith he may they thence take their answer The servant that knew not his Masters will and yet did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes but he that knew his Masters will and prepared not himselfe neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes Hence then may wee clearely see the reason why our Times in all reason should be more visited with Iudgements than former dayes of ignorance 1 Because that the Light of the Gospel is come amongst us and many love Darknesse rather than that Light because their deeds are evill for every man that doth evill hateth the Light neither commeth to the Light lest his deeds should be reproved 2 Because the Gospel is not so thankefully received and entertained as so excellent a Blessing and precious a Treasure ought to be 3 Many that heare it live not after it Perhaps onely make a shew of godlinesse but deny the power thereof in their lives and conversations So that negligence and disobedience to the Word of God is the true cause of those Iudgements and miseries which are wickedly wrongfully pretended to bee a cause why they have so little care to attend and obey it As for Hospitality in the time of Popery it did not so much spring from the truth of Religion as 1. From a superstitious opinion of redeeming their sinnes and purchasing Heaven by almes-deeds 2. From an excessive cheapnesse of all things by reason of the scarcity of money 3. From the superfluitie of the wealth riches lands and impropriations the price of the bloud of soules which Monasteries and other religious or rather superstitious houses had immeasurably and unconscionably ingrossed and got into their hands And when they had ingrossed the world to themselves as one sayes they seemed liberall in giving something like unto some vaine-glorious theeves which having robbed wealthy Merchants bestow some pence upon beggers As for works of Charity Certaine it is and a reverend and learned man of our Church hath proved it and it will more clearly appeare hereafter That the charitable benevolence bountifull liberalitie large expences in building and enlarging Colledges and erecting Hospitals Libraries Free-schooles and many other works of charity and fruits of faith since the light of the Gospell began to shine amongst us may compare with if not farre excell any time of the like or longer continuance in any age As for greater dearth higher price of all things now than in former times it is a cleare and plaine case that the reason is that the great store and plentie of treasure which is walking in these parts of the world farre more in these our dayes than ever our forefathers have seene in times past Who doth not understand of the infinite summes of Gold and Silver which are gathered from the Indies and other Countries and so yearly transported into these coasts And this is confest to be the true cause of the same unancient dearnesse of all things even in other Kingdomes also where Popery is professed One Bodin a great