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	papist_n	protestant_n	3,430	5	8.0447	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19399	A quaternion of sermons preached in Ireland in the summer season: 1624. By George Andrevve Master of Arts, and deane of Limmericke. The severall titles, texts, time and place are set downe in the next page	Andrewe, George, 1575 or 6-1648.	1625 (1625)	STC 583; ESTC S115917	66,132	116

Lords Ieshurun Deut. 32.15 that is as Moses elsewhere where expounds it Be you upright with the Lord your God And though Sathan rage 18 18. and forrage round about you yet looke unto that which is within and say with Christ The Prince of this world commeth Iohn 14.30 but hee hath nought in mee 4 Fourthly of Sions Strength For Doe you not heare of Towers and Bulwarkes in the Text Towers for beholding a farre off descrying the approaching of the enemie Bulwarkes for defence against the enemies assaults Such Towers and Bulwarkes such defence and strength nay farre greater hath the Church of God And that Two wayes accomplished viz. By Mediate meanes and Immediate Author Mediate Meanes and these of Two sorts Rom. 1.16 First the Word preached for it is called the Power of God unto salvation Ephes 6.17 The sword of the spirit No carnall weapon but mightie through God and bringing into captivitie every thought 2. Corinth 10.4 to the obedience of Christ to which power wee may adde the powerfull and comfortable Seales of his Covenant namely the Two Sacraments which are like those Flagons of Wine Cant. 2.5 which revive the Church when it is fallen into a swoone Secondly the Preachers of the Word they are the strength Mediatly of Sion It was a dreame and nought else but a dreame that Innocentius the third Rom. Bre. in fest Oct. pag. 762. thought in his sleepe to have seene their S. Francis the Assisinate with his shoulders to uphold the Palace of Lateran but it is past dreaming or doubting that the faithfull Pastors of the Word 2. King 2.12 are the Chariots of Israel and the Horsemen thereof Immediate Author of Sions strength is Sions Head He from whom the Church receiveth her influence life motion Ephes 1.22 1. Corinth 16 13 and preservation This our Head is Christ In him we stand quitt our selves like men and are strong and He is that El Deut 32.15 That strong God of our salvation as Moses calleth him Oh! The weakenesse of the Sonnes of men readie to stumble and to tumble to falter and to fall being fallen not able to rise againe but by his Power the Tower of his love we rise and stand and fight and in Him Rom. 8.37 goe away more then Conquerors 5 Fiftly of Sions Succession For locally it was noe other then onely from the Idolatrous Iebusites set forth under the tearmes of Blinde and Lame 2 Sam 5.6 and yet in that verie place did David build his Citie and served the Lord there where once Sathan had erected his throne Two sorts of Men doe here beare their reproofe First domesticke Opposites as the Brownists other Seperatists who shunne the Place because of Abuse but the Place hath not offended Hilar. lib. contr Auxent That which Hillarie spake against Auxentius Malè vos parietum cepit amor we may here change into another Affection and say Malè vos parietum cepit odium Yee doe ill to hate the Walls Sion was nothing the worse that the Iebusites had formerly profaned it with Idolatrie Secondly forraine Adversaries Bellar. libr. 4. de Eccles cap. 8. Aug. lib. 2. contr Petil. Donat. cap. 51. who doe much boast of outward succession But S. Augustine not onely mentions Anastasius his succession in the Sea of Rome but Iohn his succession in the Sea of Ierusalem even then when He wrote against Petilian the Donatist And their owne Stapleton tels us That the Greeke Churches Stapl. lib. 13. c. 6. Princip dict can demonstrate their personall succession from the foundations of the Apostles Yea from S. Andrew for Constantinople saith Nicephorus in his Chronologie Niceph. Chronol alledged by Bellarmine Bellar vbi supra in his Notes of the Church Yet our Adversaries will not say that the Church of Ierusalem or Constantinople is the true Church And the same Stapleton tells them that Personall succession is nothing Staplet vbi sup when it is not joyned unto doctrine agreeable to that of Nazianzene which is a good ground among divines 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gregor Nazian in land Athan That which is of the same doctrine is of the same Sea but if adverse in doctrine it is of another Sea Now though our Adversaries shall produce a shew of Personall succession which yet wee prove to be Improbable from Peter uncertaine in the Entrance and interrupted often aswell by the Papacie of Pope Ioane Plat. in Ion 8. Anno. 855. Genebr Chronol lib. 4. sec c. 10. Onuph Chronol pag. 47. as by the Apostacie of fiftie Popes for 140. yeres witnessed by Genebrard as also after that by that 29th Schisme in the Papacie for fiftie yeares when Clemens VII and many of his successors sate in Avignion about the yeare 1380. Yet they shall never be able to prove a succession in life and doctrine which is the life of Succession For as for their Life it is set out in a jest by Balthazar Castilio Balih Castili li de aulice Staphil apolog part 1. That Peter and Paul doe blush at the wickednesse of their Successors and seriously by Staphylus that the life and behaviour of their Priesthood is verie scandalous to the world And as for their doctrine Mus in orat in Conc. Trid. in 3. dom Ad. their owne Bishop Mus tells them That Priest people are fallen with one cōsent from Religion to superstition from Faith to Infidelitie from Christ to Antichrist And as for both their Life and Doctrine Iansenius Iansen concord pag. 270 the Bishop of Gaunt tels us That the greater part of Bishops and Pastors have no Corne of Salt in their life and doctrine for They are irrecoverably corrupted by whose health Others should be holpen The Summe of this point is this That as Israel was not hurt by a Locall succession from the Iebusite whose Religion was left and changed to a better So the moderne Popes are nothing benefited by a Locall succession from Peter whose Religion is left and changed to a worse 6 Sixtly we come to Sions Visibilitie For If Sion can be marked and her Towers told then certainely Sion is visible Here me thinks I see many weake Protestants to droupe and some ignorant Church Papist to lift up his horne on high De Eccles milit libr. 3. cap. 12 Be not deceived I intend not to stablish Bellarmines opinion concerning visibilitie as a marke of the Catholicke Church For Sion hath Two Capacities First as it is a Type of the Catholicke Church spoken of in the Creede so it is invisible for That Church is beleeved and therefore is not seene as the Author to the Hebrewes argueth Hebr. 11.1 Secondly as it was a Particular Church so it was visible So were the Churches of Corinth Galatia Philipi and the seven Churches in Asia So is the Church of England visible at this day But some will object where

that I intend with Bellarmine to make multitude De noti Ecclesia libr 4 cap 7 to be a note of the Church for when they have talked their fil yet Christ shal have but a little flocke Luke 12 32 and He is true of his word that said Few doe enter in at the straite Gate Math 7 14 But yet you will say Are they few whom no man can number Revel 7 9 I answere This is spoken Hyperbolically and by the way of Comparison If the King would muster his Armie and gather Twentie out of every Parish in this Kingdome it would be an admirable great Armie yet it were not a handfull to those that are left behinde so are the multitude of Gods Saints little in respect of the wicked yet they are many great too in account with God And if yet thou doe contend and thinke them to be but few as they are indeede doe thou make One and so the number will be increased 3 The third Meditation is Sions Memoriall and that may be taken Two wayes Actively and Passively Actively Sion hath the Art of memorie shee remembreth her Creator for the Time past Eccles 12 1 she remembers his wonders of old for the Time Present Psalm 77 11 Psalm 71 24 her tongue talketh of his righteousnesse daily and for the Time to come even from generation to generation Psalm 79,13 shee will set forth his prayse and here in the Text shee tels it to Posteritie this was the practise of the Saints in the Old Testament as Abraham who commanded his Sonnes Genes 18 19. and houshold after him to keepe the wayes of the Lord. Yea and of the Saints in the New for Peters care was that the dispersed Iewes should have remembrance of his doctrine 2 Pet 1 15 even after his departure And seeing that Sion is so good a Remembrancer Let our tongues cleave to the roofe of our mouthes if wee remember not thee ô Sion Psalm 137 6 Passively Sions memoriall Sion is remembred If God hath made his wonderfull workes to be had in remembrance as David speaketh then cannot Sion be forgotten Psalm 111 4. for there is no worke of his more wonderfull then his preservation of the Church Wheresoever this Gospell is preached saith Christ there shall this that shee hath done be spoken of for a memoriall of her Math 26 13 That which was Mary Magdalens lott shall befall the rest Ever shall be remembred Abels offering Noahs obedience Abrahams faith Iosephs chastitie Davids zeale Salomons wisedome The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance Prover 10 7 but the name of the wicked shall rott 4 The fourth Meditation is Sions priviledge There was Mount Sinai Exod. 19 1. Psalm 87 1 Lyrae in Psal 86 aswell as Mount Sion but yet his foundation in Sion saith the Psalmographe that is as Lyrae expounds it God layd the foundation of his Church in Sion In Sinai was the Law given but in Sion the Gospel In the Law Heb 12 21 God speaketh words of feare and trembling but in the Gospell 2. Corinth 5 18 the word of meekenesse peace When the Lord visited Elias in the Cave there came a Winde and the Lord was not in the winde 1 King 19 vers 11 12. and an Earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake and a fire but the Lord was not in the fire Then at last came a soft and still voyce and there the Lord was So is the Lords love to be felt not so much in the thunders of Sinai as in the comforts of Sion And though his Power is seene in the swelling waters of Iordan Ierem 13 5. Isai 8 6 yet is his delight rather in the soft running waters of Siloe a fountaine at the foote of Sion therefore mount Sion above all others is called Gods Hill Psalm 68.15 The schoolemen doe make God to be the object of Faith and it is true in his kinde but if they meane it Personally of the Father they rather draw wretched soules out of the way then direct them to the marke for without Christ the Father is an angrie Iudge therefore He saith Iohn 14.6 No man commeth to the Father but by mee Hee is Iacobs ladder Genes 28 12 Isai 59 20 which joyneth heaven and earth together and this is that Redeemer which came unto Sion So that here is our priviledge We are not come to mount Sinai Galat. 4.24 which gendereth unto bondage but to mount Sion to the Citie of the living God and to Iesus the Mediator Hebr. 12.22 whose bloud speakes better things then that of Abel 5 The fift Meditation is Sions Promises That Rom. 3.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Paul speakes the preferment of Sion for the Iewes they had the Adoption and the Promises Rom. 9.4 Rom. 3.2 Aug. in Psalm and to them were committed The Oracles of God Augustine saith that the Iewes were the Librarie keepers of the Christians and to this end it is thought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ios 15.15 they had their Kiriath-sepher the City of the Booke And in the first Councell of Constantinople being the second general by 150. Bishops Ierusalem is called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theodor. li. 5. c. 9. or Mother Citie of all Churches If such tearmes and promises had beene given to Rome all the Pulpits of Italie would have rung at it but we see there is no such thing With what impudencie then did Benedict III. rob Ierusalem of her right and give it to Rome Extr. com de elect cap. 3. sanct Rom. For hee decreed Rome to be first and Ierusalem the fift among the Seas of the Patriarches and of late Trid. Conc. sect 25. de Delect the Trent-Councell hath called Rome the Mother Mistris of all Churches But by this Novell Disseisin they have weakened nay overthrown their pretended Supremacie 6 The sixt is Sions Perpetuitie For it is the Hill wherein the Lord will abide for ever and yet wee see Psalm 68.16 that God was not eternally tyed to externall Sion for now the Wayes of Sion lament Lament 1.4 and no man commeth to her solemne feasts Let our Romanists looke unto this point They stile Rome Aeterna Vrbs Am. Marcel and as the Iewes unto Ierusalem the Donatists to Affrica so these men would tye the Church to Rome The Church is called in the Creede Catholicke and in this sense justly stiled Oecumenicall scattered over all the world but they would bring it backe into a narrow roome The Romane Catholicke Church Grounds of the Old and New Religion p 1. c. 6. and The Catholicke Romane Faith But particulars are not generals Obiect And though the Catholicke Church hath his Perpetuitie yet particular Churches have their Period and so had Sion Solut But God promised a perpetuitie to Sion Hee did so but it was under a condition