Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	discipline_n	doctrine_n	4,176	5	6.2312	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13082	Scotlands warning, or a treatise of fasting containing a declaration of the causes of the solemne fast, indyted to bee kept in all the Churches of Scotland, the third and fourth sundayes of this instant moneth of May Anno 1628.& the weeke dayes betwixt them, as they may be goodly keeped in Townes. Together with a direction how to proceed in the religious obseruation of any soleme fast. Written at the appointment of superiors by Mr. W. Struther, preacher of the Gospel at Edinburgh.	Struther, William, 1578-1633.	1628 (1628)	STC 23370; ESTC S120441	41,231	90

hee leadeth you Yee might think he were a Ruffian to mislead you to a Bordell or to rob you yet ye hazard your Saluation vpon such cousening Yee know your Iesuites and seducing Seminaries strictlie discharge you the reading of Scriptures and holde you hood-winked vnder the vaile of implicite Faith or rather explicite Ignorance They propone to you worse conditions than Nahash the Ammonite did to the men of labesh Gilead hee craued that one of their eyes should bee put out But they craue and yee agree to haue both your eyes pulled out of you It was Israels priuiledge to haue light in Goshen in the midst of Egypts darknesse but your delight is to haue darknesse in the midst of Goshen and to winke in the cleare Noone-day of the Gospel shining in this Land You know they haue drawne your Houses within the compasse of Treason and are a Moth and canker-worme to eate vp your State And how euill they recompence your good intreating them in secrete by defiling your Houses in joyning bodilie whoredome with spirituall For the married Women they keepe their old direction Si non caste tamen cautè If not cleanelie yet Cannalie But with Maides they cannot so conuoy it The professed Chastitie of these Ghostlie Fathers maketh Virginitie fruitefull And their Auricular confession is found to bee a carnall pollution These thinges and worse you knowe of your seducers yet you will not see them But choose to couer your errours by a selfe-deceate and least you should let men see that yee know your abuse yee remaine still vnder that your willing and wilfull Captiuitie This is none other than that strong delusion making you beleiue lies because you will not receiue the loue of the Trueth They abuse you as their Slaues vnder blind Credulitie to belieue their lies and base Obsequiousnesse to doe all their direction It is time for you to auenge your selues on these Philistines for your two eyes by pulling downe the house of their Dagon and to vendicate your Goods Children Wiues and Conscience from their Tyrannie Though it bee a benefite to the Church that you separate your selues from it as the bodie is relieued when noysome and excrementitious humours draw themselues to byles and Apostemes yet your Apostacie bringeth guiltinesse on the Land Further more vvho seeth not Atheisme an uniuersall disease in this Land Many professe the true Religion and some are fallen to Poperie But Atheists are moe than true Protestants and superstitious Papists The most part doe liue as though there were not a God or an Heauen for the godlie or an Hell for the wicked Some more openlie expresse in wordes and actions their grosse Atheisme other more closelie couer it with a ciuill life and a morall honestie But all of them say in their heart That there is no God So the Lord may say to vs as by Ieremiah Run to and fro in the streetes of Ierusalem and inquire in the open places of it if there bee any that executeth iudgement and seeketh the Trueth and I will spare it Ieremiah 5. 1. As Impietie hath spred it selfe ouer all so God hath punished it with the breach of Charitie All Estates of this Land are rent from other and euerie one of them diuided in it selfe It was an vntimous strife betweene the seruants of Abraham and Lot when the Canaanites enemies to them both were in the Land Gen. 13. 7. Peaceable Abraham reproued and amended it saying Why doe wee striue since we are Brethren And Moses tooke that ●essoun of him and reproued the two Israelites for their strife VVhy striue yee together yee are Brethren Our renting is like the diuisions of Reuben strong thoughts of heart Iudg. 5. 1● Weaknesse of judgement cannot discerne thinges but breadeth scruples and the scrupling weake minde is strong to hold fast the apprehension and refuse better information and for to intertaine Schisme They are sinfull of themselues dangerous to vs ●ll VVhen the Papist taketh occasion of our diuisions to strengthen himselfe and waiteth opportunitie for our ruine If wee can reconceale our selues to God hee will soone bind vp our diuisions with brotherlie loue in the bond of Peace It is oftimes an ominous presage of ruine if ye byte deuoure one another take heed ye be not deuoured one of another Galat. 5. 15. And among all the sinnes against the Gospel the contempt of the Gospel and the Ministrie of it is a great one and so vniuersall that few can cleanse themselues of it 1. Papists abhorre them because the light of their doctrine discouereth their abominable errours as Theeues in their thift abhorre a Torch-bearer 2. Atheists hate them deadlie because their Doctrine suffereth them not to sleepe peaceablie in Sathans armes but suggesteth to them the thoughts of God of the Soules immortalitie of the last judgement and eternall rewardes in heauen and hell These things make their Conscience checke them and so troubleth their false peace 3. Deboshed and dissolute men pursue them for their Discipline because they suffer them not to run on in the workes of the flesh without censure 4 And Politickes care not for their message but serue themselues of them for gaining a name of good professours they cannot abide faithfull and free Pastours but labour for a Trencher Ministrie and to haue them as baselie obsequious as their foote-boyes If they with Michah can finde a Leuite for ten shickles of siluer and a sute of apparell they care not for the Gospel nor the Ministerie of it 5. And other who possiblie doe neither mislike their Doctrine nor Discipline nor sinceritie doe grudge at them for Church Patrimonie This is counted a great degree of Iulians persecution though they bee not of his minde by withdrawing the maintenance of the Professours to vnderminde the Profession and Religion it selfe This hath beene since the Reformation and yet it is a great sinne in this Land Men of the greatest sort pulling Gods portion from his Church and turning it to the increase of their own estat Whereby the Gospel is spoiled many thousand Soules perish Where there is no vision the people perish And where there is no maintenance how can there bee prophecie or vision It is now a question greatlie debated how it commeth to passe that moe great Houses are decayed within these few yeares than in some three Ages before But it is easilie answered 1. In the generall Sinne is the ruine of all Estates 2. In the particular the abuse of the Gospel For as one hotte day'rypneth the cornes more than twentie colde dayes So one yeare vnder the cleare Light of the Gospel filleth more the cuppe of the sinnes of an House than twentie yeares vnder idolatrie 3. And Sacriledge is a consuming moth to destroy a State other wayes well acquired and guided It falleth to them as to the Eagle Shee was not content of her free booting abroad but pulled a collop from the Altar wherein was fastned an

the reformed Churches and executeth his crueltie against them because of their obedience to Gods voyce in comming out of Babell and that according to the bloodie decrees of the Counsell of Trent For after that Sathan had for a long space vented his first propertie of lying by Antichrist his first borne involuing and holding these Westerne places of Europe vnder the errours of a false Religion And seeing that Manger his malice God in the appointed time brought in the Light of the Gospel and discouered that darkenesse Then hee tooke him to his other propertie and practise of blood to maintaine by force his discouered Heresies And hee set Antichrist and his supposts to worke to put out the Light of the Gospel in destroying the professours of it So the indyting of the Counsell of Trent beares Ad reformandum Ecclesiam exstirpandas Haeresies To reforme the Kirke and roote out Heresies That is to say in the Romane sense To confirme and establish the deformities and corruptions of their Church and roote out the Trueth which God hath brought in againe by the Gospel And from that tyme hee hath sent out his Emissaries Iesuites and other Locusts from the bottomlesse pit to stirre vp the Kings of the Earth to fight against the Lambe This is the quarrell now debated in Europe And albeit hee hath cast in the mixture of ciuill respects in rights to Kingdomes and Dignities and such like to blind the eyes of the simple as to make them belieue that all these warres are onelie for ciuill and not for Sacred things Yet sure it is that all this matter is directed and sweyed by the Pope For his maine end is to roote out the Gospel and re-establish his false Religion His purpose serueth to the end of his associat Kings Princes and their power serueth his end As they plotte and worke joyntlie in the worke so they share in the end for their seuerall aduantage For the Countreyes subdued fall as a prey and a reward to the enlarging of Princes Dominions and therein Idolatrie is established as the Popes recompence Beside what euer be the mixture of the cause yet their maine intention is manifeste from themselues For one of them in his alarme to this warre stirreth vp the Emperour to destroy the Protestants as Moses did the Moabits And if he did not so his life should goe for their life as Achabs for the King of Syria Sciopp Classicum belli Sacri cap. 1. 2. 18. Next their Cardinals consulting how to restore their Church to her auncient integritie aduised the Pope that there was no better way to doe it than by prosecuting this warre to the rooting out of Protestants Aphorisml Cardinal Anno 1623. And for this end a new order is instituted called the sodalitie of the Christian defence that is to say of Antichristian offence of the Protestants Cancell Hispani Consid. 1. This course as others of the like stampe of the mysterie of iniquitie is drawne deepelie for now Antichrist vnder the Name of Christs Vicar persueth Christ vnder the Colours banners of the Crosse of Christ hee destroyeth the doctrine of the Crosse Vnder name of the Church hee oppresseth the true Church Vnder the name of the pretended Verity he rooteth out the Trueth of God to establish his owne heresie And vnder the name of an old Religion hee setteth vp a new vp-start Religion This is Iudas his betraying of Christ with an Haile Master When his pretended Vicar turneth all his usurped power to the destruction of his Kingdome The Titles and Names that of old were the notes of the Apostolicke Church are claimed now of the Antichristian Synagogue and made signes for the persecution of the Church of Christ. God doeth so afflict his Church not for her Religion but for the abuse of it He hath called vs out of Babell and wee haue obeyed his voyce in comming out and haue vndertaken to walke in the Light of God but wee haue contemned that Light and in the midst of it brought out the workes of darknesse Sinne is grieuous in euery person tyme and place but most grieuous in the Church in the time of so cleare a Light And where euer men sin they are in Gods sight but his eye in a more particular manner is ouer his Church A Father is angrie at faults in his seruant but more angrie at them in his Sonne The more liberall and bountifull God is to a people the greater is their sinne and heauier shall bee their judgement Woe to thee Chorazin woe to thee Bethsaida for if the great works which were done in you had beene done in Tyrus and Sydon they had repented long agoe in sack-cloth and ashes But I say to you it shall bee more easie for Tyrus and Sydon at the last day than for you Matth. 11. 21. 22. And it is a strange forme of reasoning with Israel You onely haue I knowne of all the Families of the Earth sayeth the Lord Therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities Amos. 3. 2. God may justlie compleane of vs as hee did of the Iewes Hee planted a Vineyard in a fruitefull Hill and fencedit and gathered out the stones of it and planted it with the choisest Vines and built a Tower in the midst of it and a Wine-presse in it And hee looked that it should bring foorth Grapes but it brought foorth wylde grapes And now O Inhabitants of Ierusalem and men of Iudah iudge I pray you betweene mee and my Vine-yard What could I doe more to my Vineyard than I haue done And now I will tell you what I will doe to my Vine-yard I will take away the hedge thereof and it shall bee eaten vp and breake down the wall thereof and it shall bee troden downe and I will lay it waste Esa. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. As hee threatned them so hee performed it Hee brake downe her hedges so that all that passed by plucked her The wilde Boare out of the woode destroyed it and the wilde beastes of the fielde did eate it vp Psal. 80. 12. 13. For after that hee had chastened his people by Edomites Moabites Philistims and other bordering Nations and they became incurable In end hee chased them out of the Land And that not at once but by degrees for hee powred out that wrath first vpon the tenne Tribes reseruing to himselfe the Tribe of Iudah And when Iudah was not made wise by the sinne and punishment of Ephraim but Ierusalem did justifie Samaria by her greater sinnes God sent Iudah also away in captiuitie to Babylon And after hee had brought them againe and settled them in the pleasant Land they returned to their olde sinnes till in end God cast them off altogether Thus God dealt with the Iewes and after the like manner hee is now dealing with the Churches reformed to bring them to amendement in time that they may eschew a finall destruction Their heauie calamities who are now vnder that