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	doctrine_n	england_n	6,989	5	6.3346	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10781	A pituous lamentation of the miserable estate of the churche of Christ in Englande in the time of the late reuolt from the gospel, wherin is conteyned a learned comparison betwene the comfortable doctrine of the gospell, [and] the traditions of the popish religion: with an instruction how the true Christian ought to behaue himself in the tyme of tryall. Wrytten by that worthy martyr of god Nicolas Rydley, late Bysshoppe of London. Neuer before this tyme imprynted. Wherevnto are also annexed certayne letters of Iohn Careles, written in the tyme of his imprisonment. Perused and allowed according to the Quenes Maiesties iniunctions.	Ridley, Nicholas, 1500?-1555.; Careless, John, fl. 1564-1566.	1566 (1566)	STC 21052; ESTC S110643	38,326	116

A PITVOVS LAMENTATION OF THE MISERABLE ESTATE OF THE CHVRCHE of Christ in Englande in the time of the late reuolt from the gospel wherin is conteyned a learned comparison betwene the comfortable doctrine of the gospell the traditions of the popish religion with an instruction how the true Christian ought to behaue himself in the tyme of tryall Wrytten by that worthy martyr of god Nicolas Rydley late Bysshoppe of London Neuer before this tyme imprynted ¶ Wherevnto are also annexed certayne letters of Iohn Careles written in the tyme of his imprisonment Perused and allowed according to the Quenes Maiesties Iniunctions A Lamentacion of the Churche ALAS what mysery is thy churche broughte vnto O Lord at this daye Whereof late the word of the Lord was truely preached was redde and hearde in euery towne in euery churche in euery vyllage yea almoste in euery honest mans house alas nowe is it exiled banished out of the whole Realme Of late whoo was not glad to be taken for a louer of Goddes worde for a reader for a redy hearer and for a learner of the same now alas who dare beare any open coūtenance toward it but such as are content in Christes cause for his wordes sake to stand to the daunger losse of all that they haue Of late there was to be founde of euery age of euery degree and kynd of people that gaue their dilygence to learne as they coulde out of gods woorde the articles of the christian fayth the commaundmentes of god and the lords prayer The babes and younge chyldren were taughte these things of their parents of their masters wekely of their curates in euery churche the aged folke whyche had ben brought vp in blindenes and in ignoraunce of those thynges whyche euery christian is bounde to knowe when otherwyse they coulde not yet they lerned the same by often hearyng their chyldren and seruants repeating the same But now alas and alas again the false prophets of Antechrist which are past all shame do openly preach in pulpets vnto the people of God that the cat●chisme is to be counted heresy whereby theyr olde blindenesse is broughte home agayne for the aged are afrayd of the higher powers and the youthe is abashed ashamed euen of that which they haue lerned though it be Gods worde and dare no more meddle Of late in euerye congregation throughout all England was made prayer peticion vnto God to be deliuered from the tyrannye of the byshop of Rome and all his detestable enormities from all false doctryne and heresie And now alas Sathā hath perswaded Englād by his falshed and crafte to reuoke her old godly prayer to recant the same prouoke the fearefull wrath and indygnation of god vpon her owne pate Of late by straite lawes and ordinaunces with the consent of the nobles and commonaltie and ful agrement and counsaile of the prelates clergie was banished hence the beast of Babylon with lawes I say and with othes and al meanes that then coulde be deuysed for so godly a purpose But now alas all these lawes are troden vnder foote the nobles the commonaltie the prelates clargie are quite chaunged and all those othes though they were herein made in iudgement iustice and truth and the matter neuer so good dothe no more holde then a bond of rushes or of a barley strawe nor publyke periurie no more fearethe them then a shadowe vppon the wall Of late it was agreed in England of all handes accordinge to Paules doctrine and Chrystes commaundement as Paule saythe playne that nothinge oughte to be doone in the church in the publike congregation but in that tongue which the congregation coulde vnderstande that all might be edified therby wheather it were common praier administratiō of the sacramēts or any other thinge belonging to the publike mynisterie of gods holy and wholsome woorde but alas all is turned vpsidedowne Paules doctrine is put aparte Christes commaundemente is not regarded for nothing is hearde commonly in the Churche but in a straunge tongue that the people doth nothing vnderstande Of late all men and women were taught after Christs doctrine to pray in that tongue which they could vnderstand that they might pray with harte that whiche they shuld speake with their tongue Nowe alas the vnlearned people is brought in that blyndenesse agayne to thyncke that they praye when they speake wyth their tongue they can not tel what nor wherof their harte is nothynge myndefull at all for that it can vnderstande neuer a whyt therof Of late the lordes supper was duely ministred and taughte to be made common to all that were true Chrystians with thankes geuing and settinge forthe of the Lordes death and passion vntil his returninge agayne to iudge bothe quicke and deadde But nowe alas the Lordes table is quyte ouerthrowen and that whych ought to be common to all godly is made priuate to a few vngodly with out any kinde of thankesgeuinge or any settinge forth of the lords death at all that the people is able to vnderstande Of late all that were endued with the light and grace of vnderstanding of goddes holye mysteries did blesse god which had broughte them out of that horrible blyndenesse and ignoraunce whereby in tymes paste beinge seduced by Satans subteltyes they beleued that the sacrament was not the sacrament but the thynge it selfe whereof it is a sacramente that the creature was the creatour and that the thynge whiche hathe neyther lyfe nor sense alas suche was the horryble blyndenes was the Lorde hym selfe whiche made the eye to see and hath gyuen al senses and vnderstandynge vnto man But nowe alas Englande is returned agayn lyke a dogge to her owne vomyt and spuynge and is in worse case then euer she was for it had ben better neuer to haue knowen the truthe then to forsake the truth once receyued and knowen And nowe not onely that light is turned into darknes and goddes grace is receyued in vayne but also lawes of deathe are made by hyghe court of parliamente masterfully to maineteine by sworde fyer and al kind of violence that heinouse Idolatry wherin that adoration is geuē vnto the lyueles and dum creature whiche is onely dew vnto the euerlyuynge God yea they faye they can and do make of bread bothe man and god by theyr transubstantiation O wicked inuention and Sathans owne broode Of late was the Lordes cuppe at his table distributed according to his owne comaundement by his expresse wordes in his gospell as well to the laytie as to the clergie which order Christes churche obserued soo manye hundreth yeres after as al the auncient ecclesiasticall wryters do testyfie without contradictiō of any one of them that can be shewid vnto this day But nowe alas not onely the lordes commaundemente is broken his cuppe is denied to his seruantes to whom he commaunded it shuld be distributed but also with the same is set vppe a new blasphemous kynd of sacrifyce

exquisite searching of the causes therof vnto gods secret and vnserchable iudgements lette vs see what is beste nowe to be done for Chrystes lyttle selye flocke This is one Maxime and princyple in Christes law he that denieth me before men him shall Christ deny afore his father and al his aungels of heauen And therfore euery one that loketh to haue by Christ our sauiour euerlasting life let him prepare him selfe so that he denye not his master Christ or els he is but a caste away and a wretch howesoeuer he be coūted or taken here in the worlde Nowe then seinge the doctrine of antechriste is retourned agayne into this realme and the higher powers alas are so deceaued and bewitched that they are perswaded it to be truth and Christes true doctrin to be error and heresie and the old lawes of antechrist are allowed to returne wyth the power of their Father agayne what can be hereafter loked for by reason to the man of God and trewe christian abiding in this realme but extreame violence of deathe or els to deny his master I graunt the harte of prynces are in Gods handes and whether soeuer he will he can make them to bowe and also that christiā princes in old time vsed a more gentell kinde of punishment euen to thē which were heritikes in dede as degradation and depositiō out of theyr rowmes and offices exile and banishmente out of their dominions coūtreyes and also as it is red the true bishops of christes church were somtimes intercessours for the heretikes vnto princes that they would not kil them as is red of S. Augustine But as yet Antechristes kyngedome was not so erected at that time nor is now accustomed to order theym that wyll not fal downe and worship the beast and hys image but euen as all the worlde knoweth after the same maner that both Iohn and Daniel hath prophesied before that is by violence of death and Daniell declareth farder the kynde of death accustomably should be by sworde fier and imprysonment Therefore if thou O man of God doe purpose to abide in thys realme prepare and arme thy self to die for bothe by antechristes accustomable lawes and these prophecies ther is no apparance or likelyhode of any other thinge excepte thou wylte deny thy master Christ which is the losse at the laste both of body soule vnto euerlastinge death Therefore my good brother or syster in Chryste whatsoeuer thou be to thee that cāst and mayest so do that counsel that I thinke is the best sauegarde for thee both for thy bodi and most suerty for thy soules helth is that which I shal shew thee herafter But first I warn thee to vnderstande me to speake to him or her which be not in captiuity or called already for to confesse christ but is at liberty abrode My counsell I say therfore is this to flie from the plague and to get thee hense I consider not only the subtelties of sathā and howe he is able to deceiue by his false perswasions if it were possible euen the chosen of God and also the greate frailty whiche is often tymes more in a man then he doth know in himselfe which in the time of temptation then wyll vtter it selfe I doe not only consider these thyngs I say but that our master christ whose life was and is a perfect rule of the christian mannes life that he himselfe auoyded oftentimes the fury and madnes of the Iewes by departing from the countrye or place Paule like wise when he was sought in Damasco and the gates of the citie were layde in wayte for hym he was conueyed by night let down in a basket oute at a windowe ouer the wall and Helias the prophet fledde the persecution of wycked Iesabell And Christ our Sauiour saith in the Gospell when they persecute you in one citie flie vnto another and so did many good greate learned and verteouse men of god which were great stoute chāpions neuerthelesse and stoute confessors and mainteyners of Christ and his truth in due time and place Of such was the greate clarke Athanasius But this is so playne to be lawfull by gods word examples of holy men that I nede not to stand in it Hauing this for my groūd I saye to thee O man of god this semeth to me to be the most sure waye for thy sauegard to depart and flie far from the plague that swiftly also for truly before god I thinck that the abhomination that Daniel prophecied of so long before is now set vp in the holy place For al antechrists doctrine lawes rytes religion contrary to Christe and to the true seruynge and worshypping of god I vnderstande to be that abhomination therefore now is the time in Englād for those words of Christ Tūc inquit qui●n ●udaea runt fugiant ad montes Then saith he marke this christes then for truly I am perswaded and I trust by the spirit of god that this then is cōmaunded Then saith Chryst they that be in Iewry let them flie into the moūtaynes he that is on the house top let him not come down to take away any thynge out of his house and he that is abrode in the fielde let hym not returne to take his clothes Wo be to the great bellied women and to them that geue sucke but pray saith Christ that your flight be not in winter nor on the sabboth daye These wordes of Christ are mistical there fore haue nede of interpretatiō I vnderstand all those to be in Iewryspiritually which truly cōfesse one true liuinge god and the whole trueth of hys worde after the doctryne of the gospel of Christ. Such are they whō here chryst biddeth in the time of the reygne of Antechrystes abhominations to flie vnto the moūtains which signifieth places of safegarde and all such thinges whych are able to defēd frō the plague That he biddeth him that is on the house top not to come downe nor him that is in the fyelde not to returne to take with him hys clothes he meaneth that they should spede them to get thē awaye betime least in their tarying trifling about worldly prouision thei be trapped in the snare or euer they be aware and caughte by the backe and for gayne of small worldly thinges endaunger and cast them selues in to greate perilles of more weighty matter And where he sayth wo to the greate bellyed women and to theim that geue sucke women great with childe and nigh to their lying downe and to be brought to bedde are not able to trauel nor also those women which are brought to bedde now geueth their babes sucke by these therefore christ spiritually vnderstādeth al such to be in extreme danger which this word wo signifieth all suche I saye as are soo letted by any maner of meanes that they no wayes be able to fly frō the plague That which christ saith praye that your flight be not in winter nor on the sabboth