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
A95679	Gainsayer convinced: or, An answer to a certain scandalous paper, subscribed and sent by certain seduced and seditious people to a minister in the countrey: in which the calling of the ministry of the Church of England, the nature of a visible church, the power of the magistrate under the gospel, the right of tithes, with many other points now in controversie, are briefly, fully and plainly cleared, to the satisfaction of those that are wavering; also much of the spirit and many of the errours of the Anabaptists of these daies (who call themselves saints) discovered and confuted. / By T.T. Preacher of the word at Kemble in Wiltshire.	Thache, Thomas, b. 1616 or 17.	1649 (1649)	Wing T827; Thomason E568_1; ESTC R206240	79,821	83

God in his word that putting away lying every man should speak truth with his neighbour Ephes 4. 25. Now I thinke I have made it appeare and shall make it appeare farther that this Paper which you have set your hands to hath not one page of it but what is stuft with lyes and falsehood I leave to the Lord and to the world to judge betwixt us of them And therefore here again you have walked contrary to the revealed will of God Againe 'T is the revealed will of God that you should not backbite with your tongue nor doe evill to your neighbour nor take up a reproach against your neighbour Psal 15. 3. Againe that all bitternesse anger wrath clamour and evill speaking be put away with all malice Ephes 4. 31. Now looke upon your Paper There you call us Praters Time-servers Weathercocks blinde Pharisees Ministers of Antichrist Popish persecutors of the Saints haters of godlinesse lovers of prophanesse false Apostles selfe seekers penny Masters Drunkards Swearers Lyars men that endeavour to keep others in ignorance Seducers men of no religion proud covetous blood thirsty men for-swearers vain teachers men of perfidious opinions that we preach destructive and damnable doctrines destroyers of truth and true religion perfidious men that will destroy soules for gain Ale-house hunters Hereticks Jews Monsters men that condemne the practice and precepts of Christ for heresie enemies to true grace Ministers of Antichrist nay Divels This is the language you afford us in your Paper and you have set your hands to it that we are such as these Now whether this be a walking according to the Word or contrary to the revealed will of God in his word let your own consciences be Judges or else let the Lord the righteous Judge judge betwixt you and us I thinke I need goe no farther in this particular I hope this may be sufficient to convince you if the Lord will set it on upon your consciences and if so then be thankfull and blesse God for it if there be any truth or ingenuity in you Paper In the next particular you tell me you are grieved in spirit to see and heare my light and frothy carriage in the mentioning of Scripture as to say that 's a nimble Place You say a carnall and w●cked heart will abuse the best thing even grace mercy and love you say a Stage Player could doe no more nor the Divell himselfe to abuse and mock at Scripture and you close thus for shame come not in publick to act such Diabolicall parts Ans I answer This whole accusation is from the Divell the Father of lyes too you are grieved you say to see and heare pray how many of you ten dare say you saw and heard me in that carriage or that expression which you have here set your hands to if I am not much mistaken not neare the one halfe of you and yet you have set your hands to it I hope you will not turn Knights of the post these be some steps towards it Me thinks you should not call men Divels meerly upon heare say if you had any Charitie in you you could not he or they that informed the rest of you of this may be ashamed to looke an honest man in the face as we say to come to Publicke ordinances under a pretence of worshipping and to bely the truth of God in this manner the Lord will finde out such one day But as you say a carnall and wicked heart will abuse the best things I am able to bring you twenty for one of your informers of this who will passe I beleeve both in the presence of God and account of men for as honest conscientious Christians as your informer whosoever he be of you that will be witnesses that there was no such word spoken and I call God that heard and recorded every word to witnesse of it You tell me that a Stage Player a Devill could have done no more I answer For what I did and speak then and there in publicke the Lord knows that as David said to Michal it was before the Lord and for the Lord and if this be to be vile and a carnall wicked man a Stage Player a Divell I shall desire that I may be more vile yet Paper You bid me not come in publick for shame to act such Diabolicall parts Ans When the Lord shall again call me I shall not be ashamed to come again in publick and to act that part which the Lord hath put me upon as for your expression Diabolicall the Lord forgive you I do and I value it not The Lord Jesus hath taught me that the disciple is not above his Master nor the servant above his Lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Fear them not therefore for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid that shall not be known Matth. 10. 24 25 26. In the next place you come to make your requests to me Paper First that I would define what heresie is Ans I define heresie thus Heresie is a voluntary chusing of an opinion against some Article of Faith without ground of Scripture and an obstinate maintaining of it against all lawfull determinations of the true Church for some sinister and particular respects Or if you will have it more briefly thus Heresie is an error in the foundation of Christian Religion taught and defended with obstinacy Thus Paul saith Tit. 3. 11. that an Heretick is perverted that is put besides the foundation and condemned of himself in his sin that is he erres obstinately This heresie is differenced from a simple error by its obstinate maintaining from a schisme for that schisme is in discipline heresie in doctrine from Heathenish superstition Jewish perversnesse stup●d Mahometisme and the like because heresie is a revolt from the faith contrary to the Word of God which such never had no profest The father of it is the devill the mother pride the nurse singularitie the attendant hypocrisie the promoters of it inticing perswasions and peremptory will-worship Apostacie is an eminency in it it being a falling away from the truth profest self-condemning the top of it The outrages of it will be blasphemy against God virulent persecution of his Church and children The end finall impenitencie and despair the dismall fore-runners of eternall damnation Having thus shewed you what Heresie is you may easily resolve your selves the 2d Quaere what an Heretick is And can likewise best satisfie your selves in the 3d. viz whether there be any such among you The Lord help you to search narrowly and to deal truly with your selves that if there be any amongst you you may see them and beware of them For your 4th desire to satisfie you in that I give you all this under my hand And for the 5th I leave it to the world to judge whether I have answered it or no. And whereas in your close you again desire a meeting in a sober and in a Christian way I have told you my mind before and here tell you again that the most safe and sure way to cleare up the truth to satisfie doubts to discover errors to establish Saints that are wavering wil be to deal by setting down under yours and my hand what we would speak face to face at such a meeting one thing we shall more probably avoid this way which would frustrate our endeavours in the other that is clamour passion and tumults Again from written words we shall not so soone start and fly as from words spoken which in such a way with such people have seldome proved any better then wind For my part I professe it in the presence of God that it is and by Gods grace shall be my endeavour that love may be increased that jealousies heart burning and evill surmisings may be removed And that we may live in love and peace as becomes Christians I trust the Lord Jesus who is the great Prophet of his Church and the teacher of Israel will alwayes direct me not onely to speak of but to endeavour after the peace of the Church by convincing and stopping the mouthes of gainsayers who are crept in to disturbe our Peace by perverting the truths of God once delivered to the Saints And my prayers in speciall are that that God whom I serve in my spirit who knoweth the heart and prayers of his servant would onely so be with me in these endeavours of mine as it is the truth which I endeavour to maintain Amen You subscribe your selves My loving friends so farre as I love the Lord Jesus For your love and friendship to me I know not how I have of late forfeited it There are but few signes of it at present to be seen But for love to the Lord Jesus I here set my heart tongue pen to that of Paul as the conclusion of his Epistle 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha March 1648. Kemble Yours to serve you in the work of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus THO THACHE Postscript FRiends If hereupon you finde grace to see and heal your Errors we shall with all brotherly meeknesse love and humilitie be willing to receive you and shall blesse God on your behalf But if the sway of your mis informed and mis-resolved Conscience be heady and unresistable and your return hopelesse Even these poore endeavours of mine shall one day be a fearfull and materiall evidence against you before that awfull Judge who hath already said That judgements are prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools FINIS

stand for truth and justice as now they doe Secondly We dislike the misapplication as indeed is your common practice whereby youleade people in dark paths of that expression the base are risen up against the honourable who do you mean by base and who by honourable this Riddle wants an Interpreter these are but bals of wilde-fire to set the Kingdome fresh on fire and to fill the hearts of the sons of Belial with dishonourable thoughts of the Kingdoms Worthies in the Army But if truth may take place with our time-serving generation who are base but such who are content to be basely cheated out of all their priviledges spirituall and temporall by a few fine empty notions who basely betray the lives and liberties of themselves and posterities for present shadows who are base but such as basely falsifie and betray the trust reposed in them but such as seek their own advancement by a Kingdomes ruine And who honourable but such that venture their lives rather then they and theirs should be vassels to the base wils of any though never so great Is not that honourable service to bring Delinquents to punishment such Vipers that would eat out the heart of our liberties which is as dear as our lives which the Army only doth Doth not the Scripture declare that Righteousnesse exalts a Nation but what shall we say to this gainsaying generation or generation of gainsaiers who will not understand may it not be truly said to them as Christ said to Nicodemus Art thou a Ruler in Israel and knowest not these things or rather as Christ said to seeing blinde Pharisees that sin open-eyed Ioh. 9. last If you were blinde you should have no sinne but now you say we see therefore your sinne remaineth and this we fear is your condition because we cannot but remember carriage and zeal for those who you now condemn Oh! what pains was spent in their behalf what praiers was put up for them what The ANSWER Friends SO in charity I call you because you subscribe your selves so though your Paper from the beginning to the end be full of gall and bitternesse and savours as much as may be of that enmitie which God from the beginning did put 'twixt the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent Having received your Letter and perused it I took it and as Hezekiah did with the reproachfull letter of Sennacherib 2 King 19. I did spread it before the Lord who knoweth the secrets of all hearts and judgeth righteously And for Answer to it which you desired speedily in that I have been thus long about it I must say as Paul did to his Thessalonians 1 Thess 2. 18. I would have come unto you even I Paul once and again but Satan hindred me So I say to you in this case I would have answered you once and again ere this but Satan hindred me You desire me to answer you in Scripture language I promise you here in the beginning that I will indeavour in 2 Tim. 2. 2 last ver meeknes and love to answer and to instruct you with much patience if God peradventure will give you repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that you may recover your selves out of the snare of the devil But me thinks 't is strange that you who desire Scripture language from others you who pretend so much to the Spirit should yet so farre forget Scripture language and so far put off the meeknesse of the Spirit in this your Letter as you do for I appeal to the world or rather to God who knows the hearts from whence these expressions come whether it be not fill'd up with that which St. Paul saith grieves the Spirit viz Bitternesse wrath anger clamour evill speaking malice Ephes 4. 31. whether it savour not of many of the works of the flesh reckoned up Galat. 5. 20 21. viz. hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions envie with that reviling which the Apostle reproves 1 Cor. 6. 11. Look upon some of your expressions you call us Time-servers Weather-cocks blinde Pharisees Ministers of Antichrist false Apostles blood-thirsty men Popish swearers forswearers drunkards lyars seducers Jews Hereticks men of no Religion that our Doctrines are destructive and damnable yea Devils and the like and this you have set your hands to But I shall indeavour with the Apostle being reviled to blesse or as the Apostle commands us to imitate Christ who being reviled reviled not again but committed himself to God who judgeth righteously 1 Pet. 2. 23. I would willingly speak something to every materiall passage in your Letter but I shall passe by many of those extravagancies which I am willing charitably to beleeve did unadvisedly drop from your pen and not take notice of them for should I stay upon every piece of your madnesse and folly the profit redounding to you or me of such a work would not countervail the labour I shall therefore passe over all your bitternesse base slanders your reproaches your reviling and railing accusations with the words of Michael the Archangel contending with the Devill The Lord rebuke you and the Lord help you to see from what spirit they come I heartily pitie you as knowing the Author of these and that nothing of what you have sent comes immediately from your selves though by reason of your ignorance you have been easily seduced and led to set your hands to and in that to speak evil of those things you know not I shall therefore speak onely to such passages in your Letter as do demonstrate to any common eye the undeniable footsteps of the spirit of Error walking amongst you I hope the Lord will inable me so to discover it to you that you may at present be ashamed and grieve that you have been nursing fathers to any of Satans brood and that for the time to come ye may with all carefulnesse learn to avoid the deepdeceit of that seeming Angell of light To begin You first say you present me with such particulars as you could not but dislike except you should be as many now adayes meer Time-servers and men-pleasers and so prove perfidious to your principles and prof●ssions and make shipwrack of faith and a good conscience and betray your freedoms into the hands of your blood-thirstie adversaries that have so long sought your downfall To this I answer First that many of your dislikes presented in your Paper are such that if you father the ground of them upon me you are false accusers if you look into the 8. Joh. 44. ver Christ will tell you that the Devill is a lyar and the father of lyes And therefore look to it if I am not mistaken the one half of you at least who have subscribed this Paper and these exceptions against my praying and preaching were not present when either of those Sermons were preached yet it seems that beleeving by an implicite faith you have set your hands to them 't was bravely and boldly ventured 2ly

this and yet of no Religion if you have apostatized from this I would fain know what new religion you have found out what God ye acknowledge and after what way and in what manner ye do worship you tell me something in the following part of this branch of your Paper that after that way which we call heresie you so worship the God of your fathers you have been lately taught to say this in a Sermon of your new Pastors I see you can remember the text But I tell you and will make it good to you that if you worship the God of your fathers after that way which we call heresie your worship is incense in the devils nostrils and an abomination to the Lord. And this I doubt not but you will be convinc'd of anon when I come to shew you what way 't is that we call heresie Pray be so charitable for the time to come as to think that we are of some religion though it may be not of yours Paper You say in the next place that we are a hodg-podge made up of all like the Turks Alcoran of Heathenisme in permitting meer Atheists and prophane ones to be members of our Church and partakers of our Seals in worship of Jewish Tithes and oblations of Popish ordination and ceremonies of Episcopall pomp pride and avarice c. Ans What can you leave off so soon is this all have ye no more 't is wonder but let 's see what all this out-cry is for First we are a meer hodge-podge I would that you who pretend so to excell in Saint-ship and the Spirit would but once discover and manifest thus much that ye had learn'd common civility and how to give some civill language In what are we an hodge-podge you say we admit of heathens and prophane ones to be members of our Church and partakers of the Seals of our worship Truly no other Heathens nor prophane ones then such as you your selves are I know of no Atheists nor Heathens that have been admitted members as Atheists and Heathens to any of our Churches or any Church in Christendome it may be that some of you that charge us with this have been travellers and so may lye by authoritie according to the Proverb pray tell me let 's be informed by you a little where or in what particular Church of ours have any Atheists or Heathens been admitted members or to either of the Seals are any admitted to the first or second Seal but such as are born within the line of the Church of Christian parents professing faith in Christ Jesus are any but such admitted by us to the first Seal or any but such to the second Now will you make those that are born within the line of the visible Church and that do professe faith in Christ Jesus to be Heathens and Atheists what Brownisticall Anabaptisticall tenets are these wil not all the world that hears of this hisse at your madnes your simplicitie and non-sence and your witlesse groundlesse uncharitable charging and censuring of us Again where can you shew any meerly prophane ones who continuing openly such without profession of godly sorrow and desires of coming to the Lord Jesus for forgivenesse and for increase of grace that they might be inabled to lead a more holy life for the time to come that have been admitted by us to the Lords Supper This is as very a slander as all the rest and if they do desire to come in this way I would fain know of you where is your warrant and authoritie from Scripture to deny them To satisfie you further in this I long to see where your rule or your command is from Christ to require satisfaction by convincing Arguments of the true grace of every Church-member I am confident of it that if that were strictly stood upon by your new Pastor he would have but a thin Church I am afraid were an honest and sufficient impartiall understand●ng Ch●istian to be Judge of this the greatest part of the Ten Subscribers would be found tardy in this and so not fit to be members what ever you lay claim to What ever your new guide pretends to he must stretch his tender conscience in dispencing with and in taking many upon charitable suppositions in this point or else his quarters would quickly grow as cold and as thin at Cirencester as they have been at other places and so he must again turn Traveller and an Itinerary Again I see you do not know poore men and therefore I would have you to go to your spirituall and gifted man to teach you what is the nature of a visible Church and lest he should be ignorant of it I will give you a hint or two of it The visible Church it is such a body whose members are never all gracious if you will beleeve the Scripture it is not like the Church invisible the Church of the Elect but it is an Heterogeneous body do you understand that word I 'le help you the parts of it are very dissimular some chaff some corn some wheat some tares a net of fishes good and bad an house wherein are vessels of honour and dishonour a fold of sheep and goats a tree of green and withered branches a table of guests some with some without a wedding garment In a word every visible Church is a society wherein many are called and few are chosen Except therefore you will alter the nature of all true visible Churches whereof the Scripture speaks we must grant and so must you that in every visible Church there are some members which have not true grace If you have any thing to say to this let me hear your Arguments and I shall answer you Paper Your next grounds upon which you say we are of no religion are because we receive Jewish Tithes and Oblations because of Popish ordination and ceremonies Episcopall pomp pride and avarice Ans For matter of Tithes you give me large occasion by and by after and therefore I will refer that till I come to it there Though your Paper be full of Tautologies to stuffe up your invective I shall shovell up as much of your filth as I can together into order in my Answer For Popish ordination if therefore Popish because by Bishops I have likewise formerly said enough alreadie to satisfie reasonable men though perhaps not you and therefore I shall say no more of that here neither For Popish Ceremonies we renounce them and are as far as the precisest Anabaptist of you all from tollerating them either in our selves or others where we may in a lawfull way hinder and remove them For our Episcopall pomp pride and avarice which you say is in us I tell you again you will be judging till you are judged if you leave not the sooner The Lord forgive you Paper To passe by much of your rubbish the next thing you give me occasion to take notice of is your zeal against evill in opinion and