Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	false_a	true_a	worship_n	4,780	5	7.8086	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76080	Independency not Gods ordinance: or A treatise concerning church-government, occasioned by the distractions of these times. Wherein is evidently proved, that the Presbyterian government dependent is Gods ordinance, and not the Presbyterian government independent. To vvhich is annexed a postscript, discovering the uncharitable dealing of the independents towards their Christian brethren, and the fraud and jugglings of many of their pastors and ministers, to the misleading of the poor people, not only to their own detriment, but the hurt of church and state; with the danger of all novelties in religion. / By John Bastvvick, Dr in Physick.; Independency not Gods ordinance. Part 1	Bastwick, John, 1593-1654.	1645 (1645)	Wing B1063; Thomason E285_2; ESTC R200066	144,017	171

the earth shall be blessed in him for I know him that he will command his children and houshould after him that they shall keep the way of the Lord to doe Justice and Judgement that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him c. In these words we have Gods testimony of Abraham in the which he gives this witnesse of him that he would command his children and houshold after him that they should keep the way of the Lord to doe justice and judgement Then it is manifest that Abraham tolerated neither in his children nor in his houshold any Religion contrary unto that that God had taught him nor suffered no Idolatry nor sects in his family for this had not been to walk uprightly before God for it had been unjust dealing with God so to have done for Abraham and his seed were to walk perfectly and sincerely before God and therefore he would never tolerate all Religions or the worshipping of a false God or the worship of the true God after a false manner which also is idolatry for this had not been to doe justice and judgement but Abraham set up the true worship of God wheresoever he came as the whole story of his life doth abundantly declare And so did Isaac after him and Jacob after him as in the 33. of Gen. doth appeare where Iacob said unto his houshold and to all that were with him put away the strange gods that are among you and be cleane and change your garments and let us arise and goe up to Bethel and I will make there an Altar unto God who answered me in the day of my distresse and was with me in the way which I went and they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods that were in their hands and Jacob hid them under the Oake that was at Sechem and the terrour of God was upon the cities which were round about them and they did not pursue after the sonnes of Jacob. In these words we have a president for imitation with the fruit and benefit that doth redound to al those people Nations that set up the true worship of God and root out all idolatry and false worship out of their families countries for Iacob gives no toleration in his house nor amongst his people for all Religions or for any other but that which God himselfe had appointed he sets up the true worship of God and that onely within his Jurisdiction and buries all the Idols of what price and how rich soever they were and he found the comfort and benefit of this his so doing for the Lord for this his faithfull service blessed him and protected him from the fury of all his provoked enemies for the terror of God was upon them all so that they durst not pursue him And if we take notice in our reading of the holy Scriptures we shall find and that through the whole Word of God that the Lord ever followed that people and those Kings and governours and their whole Kingdomes and countries with speciall blessings and singular favours that purged their country from idolatry and all false worships and struck a terror into all their enemies round about them neither did they ever purge their countries from idolatry and root out idolaters but the anger of the Lord was presently appeased by it and it is alwayes recorded to the eternall praise and honour of those Kings Rulers and Judges that were most forward in reformation and that set more throughly upon that good work of reformation and those that did things but to the halves in reformation have not so honourable a testimony in holy Scripture as the other and that God has ever been pleased when idolatry has been rooted out and idolaters put to death there be many presidents of it in the Word of God Amongst others that in the 32. of Exodus how highly was God displeased there with the making of that Calfe and how well was he pleased when execution was done upon the contrivers and authors of that idolatry that place sufficiently declareth yea in the 13. of Deuteronomie the Lord declaring how much he detesteth idolatry all false worship giveth a dispensation to children for disobedience to their parents who by his law they are bound to obey in Gods matters so that if those of their nighest relations should goe about to intice any to idolatry or to the worshipping of false gods or the true God in a false manner or should endeavour but to bring in another Riligion than that the Lord had appointed that then they should bring them forth and have justice done against them so that God abhorreth that any Religion amongst his owne people should be tolerated or set up besides that he himselfe hath commanded and he had forbid in his law that any man should make to themselves any graven Image or set up any way of worshipping him but that which he himselfe had ordained and injoyned and commanded that they that should attempt any such thing should be put to death We see likewise what Joshua did according to the commandement of God who ought to be a patterne to all christians and all christian Magistrates chap. 24. ver 14.15 16. Now therefore saith he fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your Fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and serve ye the Lord and if it seem evill unto you to serve the Lord choose you this day whom yee will serve whether the gods which your Fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whose land yee dwell but for me and my house we will serve the Lord And the people answered and said God forbid that we should forsake the Lord and serve other gods for the Lord our God is he that brought us up and our Fathers out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage c. Here we may observe first that Joshua injoynes them to serve the Lord in sincerity and in truth and that they might do that to put away all their idols he gives no toleration of all Religions and the like may be said of Joshua Jos 24.15 and that they might with the more alacrity yeeld obedience to God's command he sets his owne example before their eyes with his resolution which was that both he and his houshold would serve the Lord onely and set up his worship and all the people likewise assented to doe the same and gave their reason why they would serve the Lord and tolerate no other Religion because say they the Lord hath brought us up out of the land of Aegypt and out of the house of bondage and made us his peculiar people and therefore they resolved to serve him onely and tolerate no other service amongst them but that which God himselfe had commanded and appointed And this example of Joshua and the people

When therefore the Ministers of the church of England follow Christs and his Apostles way and method in their teaching and for the converting of men and heare onely the voyce of Christ their King and the christian beleevers through the Kngdome under their ministries doe all faithfully cleave unto the written Word and square both their faith and obedience according to that rule there is no just cause why the Independents should proclaime them all enemies of Christ and his Kingdome and such as oppose his royalty and preach up themselves and their congregations as the onely people of God and his Saints and account all those that dissent from them as opposers of Christs government telling the people in their Sermons that they come over from beyond the seas thinking that they would have set up Christ upon his Throne and that they would have embraced him for their King and would have established his government and have gone on in a church-way and have set up the wayes of God but they find it otherwise that they deny and disclaime and preach against Christs Kingly government and persecute the wayes of the Lord Christ so that they can find more favour from moderate Papists and common Protestants than from them by which their dealing say the brethren they have so taken off the edge of Gods peoples affection from them that the Saints and servants of God cannot pray for them proclaiming themselves the Saints and people of God as if all the other beleevers through the Kingdome dissenting from them in their opinions were no Saints nor people of God Nay they affirme it in their Pulpits and in every Pamphlet that both Ministers and people are enemies of Jesus Christ and his Kingdome and all such as will not joyne with them in their new wayes And one of them not long since affirmed unto me that the church of England was a Strumpet an arrant Whore and that shee being once a Whore could never be presented unto Christ as a chaste Spouse which was an expression not onely uncivill and unbeseeming a christian but untrue also for grant shee had been so shee is now come out of Babylon and has entred into a publike covenant against her and we read of Juda and Samaria howsoever they had defiled themselves and played the Harlots yet upon their unfained repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ and renewing their covenant publikely of new obedience were presented unto Christ as a chaste Spouse so that what is impossible with man is possible with God But this is the generall opinion of the brethren and howsoever they will not all of them speak it out in plaine words as some of them doe yet they preach and practice a separation from all our assemblies and congregations as from a people not to be communicated with and declare that by their deedes which they will not as yet publish in their writings nor expresse words as he did And one of the Independent Ministers not long since denouncing Gods judgements against all those that would not assent unto their new wayes nor light their candles at their new lights nor embrace their new-borne truths told them that by their standing out against the wayes of God for so they suppose these are and by their unkind usage of the Saints and persecuting of them they would at last drive from amongst them the praying people meaning themselves as if no other prayed but they onely and then they might look that the judgements of God would speedily come downe upon them as it happened to the Lutherans in Maydenburge in Germany who thrust out all the Calvanists out of their Towne a praying people and immediatly after the enemy came upon them with fire and sword and destroyed them all With these and such like expressions are their preachments stuffed and to say the truth of many of their Sermons they are like Taylors cushions consisting of a hundred severall shreds of various colours all independent making a fine shew but comely no where but in a Taylors shop and surely such kind of expressions as these are may beseem their Pulpits but no grave and learned honest mens for they have no just cause to complaine of persecution amongst us it is a calumny neither deale they christianly with us to accuse us that we oppose the wayes of God for we doe not so we onely contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints and against the wayes of men and such as were brought into the Church by the cunning craftinesse of some and thrust upon the people as the Lawes and Ordinances and wayes of God when they are but their owne inventions and tend to no edification but to the trouble and disturbance of Church and State and such as already have brought a confusion upon us all and if the Lord doth not speedily from Heaven send his helping hand we can expect nothing but desolation and all from these devisions that their new wayes have brought in and therefore it is high time for all good christians and such as love the peace of Sion more exactly to examine all these new wayes and to put them upon the proofe of them But that the brethren should complain of persecution amongst us and of evill usage it is against all reason and humanity and sheweth little gratitude in them to all the christians both thorow city and country for if they remember when they came over though they had deserted the cause when they had most need of them they were more honoured then any of those famous and learned Ministers that had undergone the labour and heat of the day and they were preferred before them all and setled in the prime Lectures of the Kingdome and had more honourable maintainance than was usually given to any Lectures before them and therefore they deale not brotherly in none of all their proceedings nor humanely so to asperse them as they ordinarily doe both publikely and privately I am confident there is not such a president in the world of humanity as that shewed here to them it is well known and their books and practices declare it that they preach new wayes new-borne truthes and set up new lights Now where was it ever heard of either in the Christian or Pagan world that it was ever permitted unto any Ministers or Preachers to have all the Pulpits in any nation to preach a divers doctrine to that which is set up by authority and such as tends to make a faction and devision amongst the people I doe most assuredly beleeve that there cannot the like president be produced Amongst the Heathen the Jewish Religion in many countries was tolerated but they were confined to their owne Sinagogues they might not come in the Heathens Pulpits to preach up the Jewish worship amongst them or to set up another service contrary to the custome of the Nation It was an abomination to the Egyptians that the Jewes should sacrifice in their land they would not have

suffered them then to have preached up their Religion in all their Pulpits In Turkey at this day Christians in many places have the liberty of their consciences amongst themselves and have their places for worship to assemble in but they are not so much as permitted to come into their Temples much lesse to preach up their Religion in their Pulpits In France the Protestants are permitted to preach but it is onely in such places as are appointed for them they may not preach in popish Pulpits that is not permitted unto them In the Low countries there is liberty of conscience which they so much plead for of which afterwards and yet the divers sects that are there are not suffered to preach out of those places assigned unto them or to preach publikely in any of their Pulpits against the Religion established by authority neither are they permitted to unchristian them or unchurch them and publikely and in print to proclaime them enemies of Christs government and if any should dare attempt such a thing or goe about to disgrace their Ministers and church-government or in the least intrench upon the Mrgistrates authority they would be made fly like lightning before thunder And yet the brethren among us have the liberty of all the Pulpits through the Kingdome without controle and vent all their new wayes and their new-borne truths and set up their new lights without any molestation and have all respectfull usage and the onely esteem of the people and are more followed than all our learned godly and painfull orthodox Ministers and yet they cry out of persecution and unchurch and unchristian us all and proclaime both Ministers and people all enemies of Christ and his Kingdome and count of us little better than of Infidels and keep our children from baptisme and debarre us from communion with them and exercise a kind of absolute lordship over all their brethren so as Deotraphes never did the like nor the Pope more and yet they cry out of persecution against the Saints and lay odious aspersions upon their brethren and fellow-Presbiters perswading the people that the presbiterian way will be as bad or worse than that of the Prelats But if we as duly examine the manner of the Independent government and compare it with the Presbiterian as we have done the manner of their preaching with theirs we shall find there is little reason why they should so villipend the Presbiterian and magnifie their owne and why they should make it so hatefull and odious to the people laying aside therefore all prejudice let us examine things with deliberation and then it will be soon evident that the Presbiterian government is not as bad or worse than that of the Prelats nor so lordly as that of the Independent government which is also Presbyterian and they as well Presbyters as their brethren It is well knowne that the Prelats assumed and arrogated unto themselves to be the onely Pastors of their Diocesses and ruled all the Ministers and people under them by their owne authority and spoyled all both Minsters and people and the severall congregations under them of their liberty and made them all both Ministers and people their vassals and slaves and from whose Courts there was no appeale Whereas the Presbiterian manner of government is not as that of Lords and Masters over Subjects and Servants but sociall as between equals between brethren friends and colledges who all judge and are all judged according to the Word of God where no congregation is above another congregation no Minister is above another Minister but onely for order-sake where every Presbiter is left to enjoy the whole office of a Presbiter and each congregation to the freedome of a congregation what belongs unto them and they able to performe it and the classes to corroborate and strengthen them And if any man be wronged by the Presbitry he may have the benefit of his appeale and be cleered by more righteous Judges a course ever followed by the Churches and agreeable to the light of nature so that I say if men would without a prejudicate opinion weigh and consider all things and compare the government of the Prelats with that of the Presbiterian they would speedily be undeceived And againe if they would compare the Presbiterian government dependent with the Presbiterian government independent they would have more honourable thoughts of the one and a lesse esteem of the other for in the Presbiterian government independent they exercise a kind of absolute power and soveraignty amongst themselves in every of their severall Churches or congregations so that if two or three of the Presbiters be malicious or self-will'd or corrupt or hereticall as it happens many times and by their learning or eloquence or great abilities of wit and schollership or by their wealth or power the congregation perhaps consisting of many poore people and it may be ignorant who are relieved by them and whose favour they dare not forfeit if they prevailing with the major part of the congregation as commonly the poore people are like a company of wild Gees who which way soever their leader flyes they all follow I say if they do once deliver a man to satan and will not by any art of perswasion be induced to reverse their unrighteous sentence the innocent and wronged man must live under this doome all the dayes of his life without any remedy and must be held by all the Churches of Christ that are after that new modell to whom their sentence is given notice of as an excommunicated person and shun'd accordingly they have no power to absolve or help him and from which he hath no benefit of appeale And this that I now speake there is not any of the brethren that is well verst in the grounds of that kind of government that either will or can deny it And this rigor to my knowledge both in the low Countries in the severall congregations of the English there and in some here in England among us was the cause of making so many severall sects for when they were cast out of one congregation for some particular opinion in the which they differed from them the other churches and congregations of the same mould and profession could not absolve them nor durst not receive them into church fellowship with them without an attestation from the church out of which they were excommunicated of their christian walking amongst them or had given satisfaction to that church of which they had been members and that they would never be brought unto conceiving that the wrong was theirs who complained as unjustly excommunicated neither would they relinquish their opinion as being perswaded it was grounded upon the Word of God whereupon they finding others of their owne opinion joyned themselves into a new society and congregation and had a peculiar church by themselves and this has been one of the chiefest causes of all these rents and devisions we now see every where for

of Israel is left to all the people of God to all ages for imitation whose duty it is to set up the true worship of God onely amongst them and none but that which Christ their Redeemer King and Law-giver hath injoyned them and therfore all such as would have all Religions tolerared do exceedingly forget themselves and are highly unthankfull to Christ their King and Redeemer And if we look into the story of the Judges the book following that of Joshua when this generation was dead and that they had forgot their covenant and began to tolerate all religions amongst them they brought downe all those plagues upon themselves by it that were writen in the law of Moses and for no other cause saith the holy Scripture but for that they set up those Religions the heathens had served their gods by as is manifest from the sixth chapter for when the people cryed unto the Lord because of the Midianites the Lord sent a Prophet unto them first who told them that the cause of all the judgements was because they had not obeyed the voyce of the Lord but had served the gods of the nations which he had forbidden them and afterwards he sent an Angel unto Gideon and commanded him to break downe the Altar af Baal which his father had and to cut downe the Grove that was by it and to set up an Altar to the Lord In the first place Gideon was enjoyned to root out idolatry and then to set up Gods true worship onely here we find no toleration of any Religion but the true Religion when they set upon the work of reformation and when the men of the City made inquiry after him that had broken down the Altar and cut downe the Grove and would have put him to death it is related that Ioash the Father of Gideon said to all that stood against him Will ye plead for Baal will ye save him he that will plead for him let him be put to death whiles it is yet morning if he be a god let him plead for himselfe because one hath cast downe his Altar Here we find no toleration of Baal's Religion but that they that would plead for him should be put to death and surely those that will plead for a toleration of all Religions doe no lesse than fight against God But now let us see what Elias did 1 King 18. ver 21. who was counted as the Chariot and Horse-men of Israel with Baals Priests and what he said to all those of his times How long saith he to the people will ye halt between two Religions if the Lord be God follow him but if Baal be God then follow him The holy Prophet would not admit of a toleration of all Religions but when God had miraculonsly manifested from Heaven that Elias his Religion was the true Religion and which God in his holy Word had established all Baals Priests were put to death and that by Elias his command who said Take the Prophets of Baal let none of them escape and they took them and Elias took them and brought them downe to the Brook Kishon and slew them there And so upon all reformations all other Religions were cast out but the true Religion as we may see through the whole Scripture as in the stories of the Kings and Chronicles and those of Nehemiah and Ezra and through all the Prophets and the Lord in the second of Ieremiah complaineth against his people that they had forsaken the fountaines of living water that is they had forsaken the true God and served other gods and forsaken their maker and had been more unconstant than the very Heathen who had not forsaken their idoll gods and therefore for this their rebellion and ingratitude the Prophet denounces all those plagues that were written in the law against them as all the other Prophets did for there is not any sinne in all the old Testament that the Lord more complaines of than that of idolatry and the toleration of many Religions amongst them as is most abundantly set downe both in Isaiah Ieremiah and Ezekiel Daniel and in all the other Prophets all which were written for our learning so that if the people of God shall imitate them in their sinnes they must look to partake with them in their plagues for the tolerating of all Religions would be a just provoking of the Lord our God to anger now as it was then And we have sad experience already what the tolerating of the idolatry of the Masse that Dagon of Ginger-bread hath brought upon us for God will not be mocked if God be God and the christian Religion of the reformed Churches and which we find in the holy Scriptures and which was confirmed by so many signes and wonders and miracles be the true religion than let that and that onely be set up amongst Christians and no other tolerated for if they be they will speedily bring the plagues of God upon the Kingdome and confusion upon us all as we may well perceive by the suffering of them but a few yeers what good effects they will produce for toleration of all Religions cannot be pleasing unto God no more in our times than it was amongst his ancient people the Jewes and in the primitive Churches and therefore all those that plead for a toleration of all Religions are no friends of Christ nor lovers of Religion pretend what they will for neither Abraham Isaac nor Iacob nor any of the Prophets nor holy men of God would suffer it neither would the Apostles ever endure it but in all their writings give especiall charge to all the people to take heed of all the false teachers of their time and forewarnes them to take heed of them in all succeeding ages ever describing them by their crafty dealings that they should come in sheeps cloathing and in all-seeming holinesse and fained simplicity and therefore that they are the more to be avoyded And Paul writing to the Galatians in the fifth chapter wisht and desired that the false Teachers were cut off so far were the holy Apostles from tolerating all Religions as in all their Epistles they invay against them and that continually as false Apostles and deceivers and command all christians to receive no other Religion but that which they had taught them Gal. 1. and bids the people come out of Babylon and tels them there is no fellowship with light and darknesse and surely if al the Prophets Apostles did command al the people of God to come out of Babylon they never gave leave to any Christians to set up Babylon amongst them and to tolerate the confusion and mingling together of all Religions for this would be a thing not onely against the Scripture and revealed will of God but against all solid reason and sound judgement Nay we see that Christ himselfe in writing to the seven Churches in Asia and in them to all Christians in the world he blames the Angel of the Church