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	pope_n	rome_n	5,434	5	6.6788	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27153	The journal or diary of a thankful Christian presented in some meditations upon Numb. 33:2 / by J.B., Master of Arts, and Minister of the Gospel at Barnstone in Essex.	Beadle, John, d. 1667.; Fuller, John, b. 1640 or 41.	1656 (1656)	Wing B1557; ESTC R20752	111,367	248

things and keep that which is good Unity is the highest mystery in heaven and would be the greatest happinesse on earth could we enjoy it Union is from God division from the Devil who where he comes with his cloven feet separates chief friends and surely such are factors for hell that cause divisions that observe Machidvel's rule they divide that they may rule but surely the end of such wayes will be their owne confusion The champion Mile when he thrust his hands into the clefts of an Oak thinking thereby to make the breach the wider was caught and there held till he was devoured by wilde beasts God grant that such envyous persons that do sow the tares of division may reap the fruit of such labours even confusion He graciously fulfill his promise and give us one heart and one way He hear the prayers of his dear Son and grant that we may be one He turn our heart-burnings into heart-breakings and unite us fast together in the unity of the spirit with the bond of peace This I contesse is one of the sicknesses of these times which alone is enough to make a gracious heart weary of his life and long to be at home in heaven out of the reach of ●o mischievous an evil Melanchthon when he lay on his death-bed discovered not only much willingnesse to dye but much joy ●t the thoughts of his approaching end and being asked by one the reason of it answered that it was because he should then see Christ and his Church above where he was sure there was no such contentions amongst brethren as was here which he often ●amented with tears This I say is our sicknesse but yet my finger is not upon the plague-sore 2. Some peradventure will think Hypocrisie to be that sin and indeed much profession of Religion without the power of godlinesse is common in these dayes wherein men have learned the art of looking one way and rowing another pretending one thing and doing the quite contrary These are like not onely Apothecaries boxes that have golden titles and nothing in them but like painted sepulchres full of rotten●esse and noysome filthinesse There are seven abominations in such mens hearts These men are like curious pictures of men and women drawn to life but if you look behinde them you may see store of dust and cobwebs Or they are like to some of our Innes in Market-towns where you may see a Crown for the Signe and a Begger for the Host an Angel at the dore and a Devil for the Hostess who under the glorious profession of sanctity dare act the greatest villany Jehu his pretence is zeal for the Lord of Hosts but his plot is the Kingdome Ahab and Jezabel proclaim a Fast pretending the punishment of blasphemy but they intend thereby to take away Naboth's both life and vineyard And though all hypocrites have not attained to this height of hellish iniquity yet they are like some children that are sick of a disease they call the Rickets who have great heads and big bellies but shrimpled hands and weak knees They are men of great parts but no gifts not one of many are given to good works whileft they live and when they dye something is given to the poor by their Testament but not by their Will It is said that Isaac digged more Wells and found more water then Abraham and questionlesse the knowledge of most men is this latter age of the world exceeds that of former times The earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters that cover the earth Nay mens knowledge is profound like waters that came out of the Sanctuary it is grown deeper from the ankles to the loyns but it is to be feared the water● of the Sanctuary have put out the fire that should burn in the Sanctuary and that our great knowledge hath quite drowned our zeal so that all those mens religion is run out of the heart into the head The world is full of such who are like the heads that Jehu caused to be laid at the gate of Jezreel a great many heads but never an heart amongst them all The Toad some say hath a pearl in the head I am sure it hath poyson in the belly These speak like Cato but live like Lucullus Leah had bad eyes but she was fruitfull Rachel had a better sight but she was barren Our Fathers saw lesse but did more these men professe they know God but in works ●deny him being abominable and unto every good work reprobate such knowledge will end in ●utter darknesse and this tree of knowledge rob them of the tree of life Quis non iraseatur saith St. Aug. videns homines ore Deum confitentes negantes moribus Quis non iraseatur videns homines secuio verbis non factis renunciantes Who can choose but be angry that shall see men that confesse God with their lips and deny him in their lives that shal see men renounce the world and the lusts thereof in words but not in deeds Such men are like rogues that use to lye in the Church porch whilest others make it but the way to their attendance upon divine ordinances and religious duties These men rest in an outward profession of religion and a very form of godlinesse and go no further I wish some men were called as these be Hypocrites or be as they are called solid and judicious Christians But questionlesse many such are miscalled they have a name to live but are dead Like many of the Popes of Rome if the man were a Coward they called him Leo if a Clown Vrbanus if a Tyrant Clemens Such hypocrisie is hated of all The Cardinal of Lorreign a bitter enemy to Geneva and the reformed Churches when Bernardinus Ochinus offered him his service in writing against the Protestants slighted him with the greatest scorn because he knew he had dissembled and played the hypocrite And Trajan that wise and worthy Emperor professed that he had reason to hold himself discharged of all debts to those that offended more by prevarication then they ever deserved by industry But yet this is not the sin 3. There are others that will say that Apostasie is the sin of this age and certainly there may be some reason for it for we are a people given to backsliding and how hath the secret hypocrisie of many broken out into open apostasie in these times These are like gallant ships with glorious titles as the Bonaventure the Triumph c. but in a storm are ventorum ludibrium if the temptation come from the fears or flatteries of the Times they are taken with many foolish lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition and so they make shipwrack of faith and a good conscience There are three sorts of persons that are most dangerous I wish all to take great heed of them First such as might have been good but are not as the children