Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A20766
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The summe of sacred diuinitie briefly & methodically propounded : more largly & cleerely handled and explaned / published by John Downame ...
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Downame, John, d. 1652.
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1625
(1625)
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STC 7148.3; ESTC S5154
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448,527
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580
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the Angels that fell the Apostle saith z 1. Cor. 5. 1. Know ye not that wee shall iudge the Angelâ— a Iude verse 6. The angels that kept not their first estate hee hath kept in euerlasting chaines vnder darknesse vnto the Iudgement of the great Day Secondly Who shal be the Iudge Euen Christ who Christ b Acts 10. 42. is appointed of God the Iudge of the liuing dead Christ Iesus I say God and Man appearing in his Man-hood visible to be seene in the flesh c Acts 17. 31. For hee hath set a Day saith PAVL wherein hee will iudge the World in Righteousnesse by the Man whom hee hath appointed The Father nor Holy Ghost shall not appeare Thirdly The comming of this Iudge Wherein I obserue comming to Iudgement foure circumstances First The place from whence hee shall come as wee reade This d Acts 1. 11. IESVS who is taken vp from you into Heauen shall so come from Heauen as yee haue beheld him going into Heauen e 2. Thess 1. 7. When the Lord IESVS CHRIST shall be reuealed from Heauen with his mightie Angels f 1. Thess 4. 5. The Lord himselfe with a showting shall come downe from Heauen Secondly The time of his comming the Day and houre whereof is vncertaine g Mat. 24. 36. Of that Day or houre saith hee knoweth no man no not the Angels of Heauen but my Father onely and as another h Marke 13. 32 Euangelist hath it nor the Sonne himselfe meaning as hee is the Mediatour of his Church and not as hee is God equall with his Father Thirdly As earthly Princes haue sundry States to goe before them in great brauerie and ostentation to giue warning of their comming and at length followeth the Prince with all his Nobles So this King of Kings sendeth before him certayne glorious signes and foretokens of his Comming before hee himselfe doe come These Signes you shall finde all recorded Mat. 24. of which Chapter so much thereof as appertayneth to this purpose it shall not bee amisse before wee goe further to make some short Analysis or resolution both for the excellencie of the matter and to cleere some difficulties in the passage for I know it is commonly taken that some of those tokens are immediately vpon his Comming and as it were at his setting forth whereas the truth is the very neerest of them is at the least some Age of yeeres before as appeareth Verse 33 34. To come therefore to the foure and twentieth of Matthew our Sauiour hauing finished the Signes of Ierusalems ouerthrow in the first 22. Verses of the Chapter beginneth in the 23. Verse to enter vpon those that were to fore-runne his Comming vnto Iudgement whereof hee mentioneth foure of all other the greatest and most memorable The first is the Kingdome of Poperie where see how hee painteth out the Romish Synagogue euen in her colours First It is a Church in shew and semblance else false christs and false prophets could not be spoken of but yet in truth it is no Church at all For if any man saith he shall say vnto you Lo heere is Christ or there beleeue it not Secondly They shall say Here is Christ and there is Christ. Notably verified in the Popish Masse which to make it appeare to all the World that they are of the number of these false prophets proclaymeth Christ to be really in the Sacraments Thirdly It is a persecuting Church So he saith Verse 29. Immediately after the affliction of those dayes Therein comprehending the whole Antichristian Tyrannie Fourthly Of this Church Antichrist is the head whose whole succession he termeth False christs and false prophets Not such false christs as hee speaketh of with another manner of style Verse 5. which should say I am Christ falsly belying his very Person but that great seducer and false prophet who vnder the Name of Christs Vicar and Peters Successour should iustle Christ out of his Chaire Fiftly The Armes Legges and Shoulders of it or the Tayle rather for the Sting and Poyson of these Scorpions is in their Tayle are a Rabble of false teachers False prophets as he termeth them Sixtly By these false teachers are wrought a multitude of false and fayned miracles Seuenthly The bodie is their Romish catholike apostaticall Church seduced by such false teachers and by those lying signes and miracles How maruellously doe these things iumpe with that which we finde recorded in the Epistle to the Thessalonians and by Iohn in the Reuelation They shall saith Christ heere worke great Signes and Wonders insomuch as they should deceiue if it were possible the very Elect. So saith i 2. Thess 2. 9 10 11. PAVL Whose comming shall be by the effectuall working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and with all deceitfulnesse of iniquitie in them that perish c. Therefore God shall send them effectuall errours to beleeue lyes And in the k Reuel 13. 12 13 14. Reuelation he maketh the Earth and the Inhabitants thereof to worship the first Beast and worketh great signes insomuch as he maketh fire come downe from Heauen vnto the Earth before men and deceiueth the Inhabitants of the Earth by the signes which were giuen to him to doe These are the signes and wonders which the Papists so bragge of and make one speciall marke of their Church as Vniuersalitie that is their vniuersall Apostasie here also mentioned is another These seuen are in the 23. and 24. Verses Eighthly The errour and superstition of the times placing all Religion and Christianitie in the Wildernes among the Eremites or in their Monkish Cels and Cloysters Against which hee armeth vs with a double argument first l Verse 27. The Light saith he of the Gospell that he meaneth by the Comming of the Sonne of Man as it is taken much in the same sence 2. Thes 2. 8. is as the Lightening which flasheth from the East to the West and lighteneth all the World So doth the Gospell not the Desarts and Cloysters onely but in euery place He that feareth God and worketh Righteousnesse is accepted of him Againe as the m Verse 28. Eagles or with vs Crowes and Rauens flock vnto a Carcase wheresoeuer it may be found So doe the faithfull to Christ wheresoeuer hee n Gal. 2. 2. by the preaching of the Gospel is crucified before their eies And so ninthly and lastly deliuering a most certayne and infallible note of the true Church hee giueth a Bill of Diuorce to the Romish Synagogue that holdeth not Christ the Head nor Iustification by Faith alone in his bloud Thus haue wee in the whole a liuely description of the Romish Catholike Church which for the ROMANISTS better helpe may out of this place bee defined thus The Romish Catholike Church is a cruell persecuting Church whereof Christs Vicar falsly so named is the head multitude of false teachers and a whole World of mis-beleeuers by lying miracles deceiuing and deceiued make the bodie which seeke Christ vpon the Earth in their Sacrament of the Altar place Religion in an Eremiticall or Monkish life not holding Christ the Head nor Iustification by Faith alone in his bloud And therefore are not the Church of
THE SUMME of Sacred Diuinitie Briefly Methodically Propounded More Largly cleerely handled and explaned PUBLISHED by John Downhame Batchelor in Diuinitie LONDON Printed by William Stansby TO THE CHRISTIAN READER AS in materiall buildings the skil of those Workemen is commendable who can cunningly frame the singular parts and so beautifie set them forth as that they may bee pleasant to the eye and conuenient for vse as they that can make faire Walls and Windowes a gracefull Frontispice and comely Roofe but they are most praise-worthy who can well contriue the whole plot lay a good and sure Foundation and in due proportion can frame out and set vp the principalls and chiefe parts which sustayne and beare all the rest so in the spirituall Edifice they are worthily to be commended who skilfully handle particular points of Diuinitie in their Learned and Religious Tractates whereby the iudgement of the Reader is thorowly informed in those diuine Mysteries and the heart and will inclined to draw them into holy vse but yet none deserue better of the Church of God nor ought rather to haue their names registred with red Letters in the Kalender of the worthiest Saints then they who in their Writings or Sermons doe skilfully contriue the whole building or body of Diuinitie in a wel-framed plot lay a sound and sure foundation and thereupon erect the chiefe Principles and most substantial parts which are the strength and stay of all the rest For if the iudgement bee once thorowly informed in these mayne points then is it able to deduce from them innumerable particular Conclusions for speciall information and direction in the well-ordering of our liues in all singular actions then may wee with profit and without perill of falling into pernicious errours reade the holy Scriptures when we are able to interpret them according to these infallible Canons and Rules then may we heare the Word preached with vnderstanding and trie the spirits of those who preach vnto vs whether they bee of God or no when wee haue skill to examine their Doctrines according to this Analogie of Faith and can trie them by this neuer-deceiuing Touchstone whether they bee pure metall or but reprobate siluer and counterfait coyne Then shall we be more strongly armed against all assaults of enemies and aduersaries to the Truth false Seducers and subtill Heretikes and be better able to defend that Veritie which we professe and conuince them of their errours and lyes then wanting this helpe if we should spend our whole time in reading of Controuersies and euen dimme our eyes and tyre our braynes in the perusing and studying of Polemicall discourses For these many grounds of Truth doe yeeld from them such a cleere light that they do not only appeare in their owne brightnesse but also discouer the blacknesse of errour and from one Principle well vnderstood wee inferre the falshood of innumerable contrarie Conclusions whereof it is that we shall very rarely obserue any well-grounded in the fundamentall points of Religion to fall into the snares of subtill Seducers whereas contrariwise wee may commonly see that those who are ignorant of them though neuer so sharpe-sighted in curious speculations doe become an easie prey and are quickly catched in the nets of their Sophistrie In which respects it were much to bee wished that both Ministers would bee more frequent and diligent in laying these grounds in their Teaching and Writing and also that the people would receyue this more solid and substantiall foode with a better appetite The which of both is too much neglected because how soeuer these grounds are most necessarie yet they doe not make so glorious a shew as other points lesse substantiall because like a sure foundation they are plaine and vnpolished whereas the other being beautifully garnished with wit and eloquence doe delight the sense and more pleasingly worke vpon the heart and affections And yet we must acknowledge to Gods glorie who hath giuen these gifts to men and grace to vse them that there haue not beene wanting in these latter times many famous Worthies who haue happily laboured in this kind and with great soundnesse and perspicuitie haue deliuered and cleered these mayne points by their speaking and writing Among which Christian Reader I commend vnto thee the Author of this Booke as deseruing iustly to be ranked among the best both for Method and Matter sound handling of the chiefe points of Christian Religion and for cleering by the way diuers hard places of holy Scripture All which hee performeth in this worke with such learning iudgement and pietie that had he herein respected the prayses of men hee might well haue graced his Name with his Worke euen as his Worke would haue beene graced by his Name and not as one ashamed of so beautifull an off-spring haue suffered it to come abroad into the World as an Orphan the Father still liuing onely vnder the name of an vnworthy God-father The which I write not to commend the Author who as he is farre aboue my prayses in the high pitch of his owne worth so doth he not desire but rather shunneth them and as to the willing an iniurie is no iniurie so an officious dutie is no benefit but a kind of wrong where the partie nilling it is forced and obtruded Nor yet doe I prayse the worke for the Workers sake which though it commeth abroad without the Fathers name yet will I doubt not in short time bee famous in it owne name and excellencie but that I may with the weake thread of my censure draw thee to peruse it and so will it sufficiently commend it selfe and giue there iust cause of praysing God for stirring vp such Instruments of his Glorie and thy good The Lord make this and all other the godly labours of his faithfull Seruants effectuall for magnifying of his great Name and the further Eph. 4. 12 13. building vp of the body of his Sonne till we all come in the Vnitie of the Faith and the knowledge of the Sonne of God vnto a perfect Man and vnto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ that wee henceforth bee no more children tossed to and fro and carryed about with euery wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftinesse whereby they lye in wait to deceiue but speaking the truth in loue may grow vp into him in all things which is the Head euen Christ. AMEN Thine in the Lord Iesus IOHN DOWNAME An Aduertisement to the READER THis Booke tending to explane another intituled The sacred Doctrine of Diuinitie wherein the whole body of Religion is set forth according to rules of Arte it was thought necessarie to place the Arte in the Margent on the one hand and some principall Heresies and Errors contrarie to the Doctrines here handled as they arise on the other Also for thy better helpe we haue herewithall printed the Arte by it selfe before the beginning of the Booke If it differ in any