Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	christian_a	great_a	life_n	2,755	4	4.1264	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67073	The history of the creation as it is written by Moses in the first and second chapters of Genesis : plainly opened and expounded in severall sermons preached in London : whereunto is added a short treatise of Gods actuall Providence in ruling, ordering, and governing the world and all things therein / by G.W.	Walker, George, 1581?-1651.	1641 (1641)	Wing W359; ESTC R23584	255,374	304

THE HISTORY OF THE CREATION AS IT IS WRITTEN BY MOSES in the first and second CHAPTERS of GENESIS plainly opened and expounded in severall Sermons preached in London Whereunto is added a short Treatise of GODS actuall Providence in ruling ordering and governing the world and all things therein By G. W. Batchelour of Divinity and Pastour of St. Iohn Evangelist LONDON Printed for John Bartlet at the signe of the gilt Cup neare St. Austins-gate in Pauls Church-yard 1641. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE AND NOBLE Lords FRANCIS Earle of BEDFORD Robert Earle of Warwick William Viscount Say and Seale Edward Viscount Mandevilc Robert Lord Brooke John Lord Roberts and the rest of the Honourable Lords Committees in the upper nou●e of the high Court of Parliament Grace and Peace with multiplicity of all Blessings temporall and eternall Most Noble LORDS THat which the learned Doctours of the Jews doe say of their Masorah to wit That it is an hedge or defence to the Law We Christians may more truly say of our weekly Sabbath the Lords day that it is the hedge of defence to true Christian Religion For as their Masorah which was their Annotations upon all the Scriptures of the old Testament shewing the genuine reading and signification of every word in the Hebrew text with what pricks vowels and accents it ought to be and was anciently written and read by Moses and the Prophets and by tradition from Ezra and other succeeding Fathers in all ages delivered over unto them did serve as an hedge and fence to keep the Scriptures of the old Testament pure from all corruption and alteration so that if any Scribe did in writing any copy of them omit or adde one word or letter or alter and change any vowell point or accent his errour might easily by the notes and rules of their Masorah be discerned and amended So the Lords holy weekly Sabbath being rightly observed according to the Law of God and the first institution and sanctification of it that is First by cessation and rest from all worldly cares and all secular affairs in respect wherof it is called in Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sabbath that is rest and cessation Secondly by devoting it only to the worship and service of God and by sanctifying it with preaching reading and hearing of the word prayer meditation and other works of piety and exercises of true Religion in which respect it is called the Lords day that is the day of the Lord Christ consecrated to his honor and to the service and wor●hip of God in his name It is most certainly as we find by experience a strong hedge and fence to true Christian Religion by which true piety and the true knowledge and worship of God and true Faith in Christ are upheld maintained increased and continued among all Christian nations from generation to generation Without observation of this weekly Sabbath and keeping this day of the Lord Christ holy by holy assemblies the publik and private worship of God the knowledge of Christ the memory of our Redemption by him and of his finishing and perfecting that great work and resting from it in his resurrection the publike preaching reading and hearing of the word and all other exercises of Christian religion which are the most effectuall ordinary meanes of grace and furtherances to eternall life and blessednesse would undoubtedly grow out of use and at length utterly decay and vanish This consideration did move me to insist more largely upon this subject and to make many Sermons upon that Text Gen. 2. 2 3. which briefly relates the first institution of the Sabbath on the seventh day in the first weeke of the world and Gods blessing and sanctifying of every seventh day in every week to be an holy Sabbath to his people Out of which Sermons first publikly preached to mine owne peculiar flocke I did afterwards compose this Treatise at the importunity of some of my best affected hearers and imparted severall written copies of it unto divers of them having at that time no hope to get it licensed for the Presse For by Gods speciall providence I having handled the doctrine of the Creation out of the 1. Chap. of Genesis was by my order of preaching and expounding of that Scripture led along and brought to this Text concerning Gods sanctifying of the seventh day at that very time when a book of liberty for sports on the Lords day was by the Bishops in every Diocesse sent to every Parish Church and commanded to be publickly read by every Minister in time of divine Service in the audience of all the people And because I proceeded to handle this subject as the order of my text did lead me and durst not balk that part of Gods word I was three severall times convented before my Ordinary and admonished under paine of suspension to proceed no further in this doctrine not for any errour which could be objected against any part or passage in it but only because the times would not beare it And because I did not hold it fit nor safe for me to obey man rather then God by concealing from my flock any part of Gods truth and shunning to declare unto them the whole counsell of God I have undergone the high displeasure of that Primate to whose jurisdiction my Church doth belong who upon divers false informations of catchers which have bin imployed to entrap me in my words that they might have something wherof to accuse me hath caused me to be convented before the Kings Majesty and the Lords of his Honourable Privy Counsell and hath charged and accused me to be a Preacher of factious and seditious Doctrine and for many years the great troubler of the City of London Wherupon I was committed close prisoner for two and twenty weeks and through close custody was by sicknesse brought neare unto death and could not obtain so much liberty as to be confined to the limits of my brothers house for the safety of my life upon bayle of a 1000 pound given untill by the testimony of fifty five Neighbour Ministers of best report in and about the City I was declared to be innocent and free from all the crimes of which I was accused Now blessed be God for your happy Assembly in this most hopefull Parliament by which I have been eased of my strait bonds and the times are so changed that this Treatise and divers others of my labours are licensed to passe by the Presse into the publik view of the world I should not have dared to commend it to the sight and grave Judgement of your Honours If your godly Zeale for the sanctifying of the Lords day and for the honouring of the name of the Sabbath which appeared most evidently to us all who of late were present at the time when that scandalous libell intituled Sunday no Sabbath was most accurately and judiciously sifted and examined by your Honours and justly censured and condemned to the fire had

given to all mankind in the creation so marriage which God appointed for the increase of men on earth is by the law of God which is written in mans heart and engraven in mans nature free for all Men and Women to whom God hath given ability and strength of body for procreation and fruitfulnesse for increase of mankind As the text here openly expresseth so much so in all the Scriptures wee have examples of holy men of all sorts even of Priests and Prophets not onely allowed but also commanded by God to take Wives and beget children as Isaiah cap. 8. 3. Ezechiel chap. 24. Hosea chap. 1. And the Apostle commends it as honourable in all Hebr. 13. 4. And the Apostles who were most devoted to Christ and to his worke did lead about Wives with them 1 Cor. 9. 5. And although in times of great trouble and persecution raised up against Christianity Wives are a great burden and breed much care and griefe to preachers of the Gospell especially who must bee ready to run and flee whithersoever God cals them and therefore in such cases the Apostle by reason of the urgent and pressing necessity holdeth it better for continent and chaste Men and Women to remaine unmarried 1 Cor. 7. 26. And our Saviour doth approve and well like it in case when a mans heart and affection is so extraordinarily taken up with the love of the Kingdome of heaven that hee is like an Eunuch without any desire of affection of marriage Matth. 19. 12. Yet wee have no word or precept in all the Scripture to restraine any Persons of any order or calling from liberty of marriage Saint Paul affirmes that he and Barnabas had power and liberty in this kind though they used it not 1 Cor. 9. 5. The consideration whereof serves First to teach Men and Women of all sorts to maintaine and retaine that liberty which God had given them from their first creation and to admonish them to beware that neither Satan by his suggestions nor any of his wicked instruments by their cunningly devised fables nor any misconceipt of their owne hearts doe lay a needlesse snare upon their consciences and possesse them with a false opinion concerning that liberty which God hath written in mans heart in the state of innocency which cannot bee taken away without violence offered to nature They who are thus instructed and fully perswaded if they doe marrie they may have comfort in this assurance that they are not out of Gods high-way neither in this have swerved from his perfect law and rule of liberty If they find many crosses in the married life yet let them know that they are not curses laid on marriage for an unlawfulnesse of it If they doe live single to avoid worldly cares and to devote themselves wholly to heavenly thoughts and spirituall cares for the Kingdome of heaven they have more cause to rejoyce and glory in the aboundance of Gods speciall grace to them in that hee hath given them an heart to forsake lesser blessings for the gaining of greater and bringing of more glory to God Secondly this sheweth that the Popes prohibitions of Priests marriage and the absolute vowes of virginity and single life taught and imposed by the Church of Rome are cursed and corrupt inventions of men and diabolicall devices yea damnable haeresies as the Apostle calleth them 1 Tim. 4. 1. and 2 Pet. 2. 1. For though divers holy Men of God to whom God gave power over their owne wils and the gift of continency to stand steadfast in their owne hearts have strongly resolved to keepe their virginity and to live single that they might apply themselves to the service of God and his Church with greater freedome from worldly eares and have steadfastly held their resolution proving themselves such as our Saviour and his Apostle doe commend Matth. 19. 12. and 1 Cor. 7. yet wee never read in Scripture that they were commanded by God or that they did bind themselves voluntarily by an unchangable vow or under any execration to abstaine from marriage and from procreation of children therein but alwayes without any absolute necessity imposed on them remained at liberty to marry if just occasion were offered If our adversaries object that the law of nature must give place to the Evangelicall law which hath greater promises and tends to lead men to supernaturall and heavenly happinesse and that for Christs sake and his Churches good wee must renounce liberty of nature I answere that the Evangelicall law doth not offer violence to the law of nature neither doth it abolish any part thereof but rather doth perfect it by giving men grace willingly to neglect naturall liberty for the gaining of a better estate As for example the law of nature requires that men love Fathers Mothers Wives Children and their owne lives and gives them liberty to hold lands and houses but yet when the case so stands by reason of tyrannie and presecution raging that a man must either forsake all these or deny Christ and renounce Christian religion here a man ought to forgoe all for Christ as the Gospell teacheth And yet the Gospell never commandeth us to renounce Father or Mother or Houses or Land and the like and to expose our selves to death when we may together with Parents Wives Children and Life still cleave to Christ and enjoy him for salvation yea it were frensie and fury for any Church to impose lawes on men for the hating of Parents Wives and Children forsaking houses and lands and giving themselves to death voluntarily when there is no inevitable necessity laid on them but they may live good and faithfull Christians and yet love Parents Wives and Children possesse lands and houses and live in safety Wherefore though wee highly commend them who more zealously follow Christ and forsake the World and make small account of naturall blessings in comparison of spirituall but doe as Saint Paul did who made the Gospell free and did not use lawfull liberty and power yet wee cannot but count them execrable who tyrannize and lay cruell snares upon mens consciences and impose lawes and vowes upon themselves or others to forsake and renounce utterly their lawfull liberty and to bind them by that law and vow which either they must breake or else fall into many wofull inconveniencies and abominable evils and mischiefes as wee see in the Popes lawes and vowes which have proved causes and occasions of secret Whoredomes publike Stewes many Rapes and Murders of innocents to the staining and defiling of the whole Land Thirdly we hence learne that our first parents in the state of innocency had in them both the affection and naturall desire to bring forth children and to increase mankind with all convenient speed God so commanding them also they had all strength and ability of body to beget and bring forth and there was in them no defect to hinder procreation for a moment The words of the