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A09453 A reformed Catholike: or, A declaration shewing how neere we may come to the present Church of Rome in sundrie points of religion: and vvherein we must for euer depart from them with an advertisment to all fauourers of the Romane religion, shewing that the said religion is against the Catholike principles and grounds of the catechisme. Perkins, William, 1558-1602. 1598 (1598) STC 19736; ESTC S114478 146,915 390

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be gathered and beleeued not vpon bare tradition but from the very bookes themselues on this manner Let a man that is indued with the spirit of discerning read the seuerall bookes withall let him consider the professed author thereof which is God himselfe and the matter therein contained which is a most diuine and absolute truth full of pietie the manner and forme of speach which is full of maiestie in the simplicitie of words The ende wherat they wholly aime which is the honour and glorie of God alone c. and he shall be resolued that Scripture is Scripture euen by the Scripture it selfe Yea and by this meanes he may discerne any part of Scripture from the writings of men whatsoeuer Thus then scripture proves it selfe to be scripture and yet we dispise not the vniversall consent or tradition of the Church in this case which though it doe not perswade the conscience yet is it a notable inducement to mooue vs to reverence and regard the writings of the Prophets Apostles It will be said where is it written that scripture is scripture I answer not in any one particular place or book of scripture but in euery line and page of the whole bible to him that can read with the spirit of discerning can discerne the voice of the true pastour as the sheep of Christ can doe Obiect III Some bookes of the canon of the scripture are lost as the booke of the warres of God Num. 21. 14. The booke of the iust Iosua 10 13. the bookes of Cronicles of the kings of Israel and Iuda 1. King 14. 19. the books of certain prophets Nathan Gad Iddo Ahiah and Semiah and therefore the matter of these bookes must come to vs by tradition Ans. Though it be graunted that some bookes of Canonicall scripture be lost yet the scripture still remaines sufficient because the matter of those bookes so farforth as it was necessarie to saluation is contained in these bookes of scripture that are now extant Again I take it to be a truth though some thinke otherwise that no part of the Canon is lost for Paul saith what soeuer things were written aforetime vvere written for our learning that vve through patience and comfort of the Scriptures c. Rom. 15. 4. Where he takes it for graunted that the whole canon of holy Scripture was then extant For if he had thought that some books of scripture had beene lost he would haue said whatsoeuer was written and is now extant was written for our learning and comfort For bookes that are lost serue neither for learning nor comfort Againe to hold that any bookes of scripture should be lost calls into question Gods prouidence and the fidelity of the Church who hath the bookes of God in keeping and is therefore called the pillar and ground of truth And touching the bookes before mentioned I answere thus The booke of the warres of God Num. 21. 14. might be some short bill or narration of things done among the Israelites which in the daies of Moses went from hand to hand For sometime a booke in scripture signifieth a roule or Catalogue as the first chapter of Mathew which containeth the genealogie of our Sauiour Christ is called the booke of the generation of Iesus Christ. Againe the booke of the iust and the bookes of Chronicles which are said to be lost were but as the Chronicles of England are with vs euen politike recordes of the acts and euentes of things in the kingdome of Iuda and Israel out of which the Prophets gathered things necessarie to be knowne and placed them in holy scripture As for the bookes of Iddo Ahiah Semiah Gad and Nathan they are contained in the bookes of the Kings and Chronicles and in the bookes of Samuel which were not written by him alone but by sundry prophets 1. Chr. 29. 29. as also was the booke of Iudges As for the books of Salomon which are lost they did not concerne religion and matters of saluation but were concerning matters of philosophy and such like things Obiect IV. Moses in Mount Sina beside the written lawe receiued from God a more secret doctrine which he neuer writ but deliuered by tradition or worde of mouth to the Prophets after him and this the Iewes haue now set down in their Cabala Ans. This indeede is the opinion of some of the Iewes whome in effect and substance sundrie Papists follow but we take it for no better then a Iewish dotage For if Moses had known any secret doctrine beside the written law he would neuer haue giuen this commandement of the said lawe thou shalt not adde any thing thereto Obiect V. Heb. 5. 12. Gods worde is of two sortes milke and strong me at By milke we must vnderstand the word of God written wherein God speakes plainely to the capacitie of the rudest but strong meate is vnwritten traditions a doctrine not to be delivered vnto all but to those that growe to perfection Ansvv. We must knowe that one and the same word of God is milke and strong meate in regard of the manner of handling and propounding of it For beeing deliuered generally and plainely to the capacity of the simplest it is milke but beeing handled particularly and largely and so fitted for men of more vnderstanding it is strong meate As for example the doctrine of the creation of mans fall and redemption by Christ when it is taught ouerly and plainely it is milke but when the depth of the same is throughly opened it is strong meate And therefore it is a conceit of mans braine to imagine that some vnwritten word is meant by strong meat Obiect VI. Sundrie places of Scripture be doubtfull and euery religion hath his seuerall exposition of them as the Papists haue theirs and the Protestants theirs Now then seeing there can be but one truth when question is of the interpretation of scripture recourse must be had to the tradition of the Church that the true sense may be determined and the question ended Ans. It is not so but in doubtfull places Scripture it selfe is sufficient to declare his owne meaning first by the analogie of faith which is the summe of religiō gathered out of the clearest places of scripture secondly by the circumstances of the place and the nature and signification of the wordes thirdly by conference of place with place By these and like helpes contained in scripture we may iudge which is the truest meaning of any place Scripture it selfe is the text and the best glosse And the scripture is falsly tearmed the matter of strife it being not so of it selfe but by the abuse of man And thus much for our dissent concerning traditions wherein we must not be wauering but steadfast because notwithstāding our renouncing of popery yet popish inclinations and dispositions be rise among vs. Our common people maruelously affect humane traditions yea mans nature is inclined more to be pleased with them then with the word of God The feast
as doe acknowledge him to be their head and doe beleeue the doctrine established in the Councel of Trent we take it to be no Church of God Because Babylon which I haue prooued to be the Church of Rome is here opposed to the Church or people of God and because we are commanded to come out of it wheras we may not wholly forsake any people till they forsake Christ. Some will happely say the Church of Rome hath the Scriptures and the Sacrament of baptisme I answer first of all they haue indeede the bookes of holy Scripture among them but by the rest of their doctrine they ouerthrowe the true sense thereof in the foundation as I haue prooued before And though they haue the outward forme of baptisme yet they ouerturne the inward baptisme which is the substance of all standing in the iustification and sanctification of a sinner Againe I answer that they haue the word and baptisme not for themselues but for the true Church of God among them like as the lanterne holdeth the candle not for it selfe but for others Secondly it may be and is alleadged that if the Pope be Antichrist he then sittes in the temple that is the Church of God and by this meanes the Romane Church shall be the true Church Ans. He sittes in the temple of God but marke further how AS GOD that is not as a member but as a manifest vsurper like as the thiefe sittes in the true mans house For the popish Church and Gods Church are mingled like chaffe and corne in one heape and the Church of Rome may be said to be in the Church of God and the church of God in the church of Rome as we say the wheat is among the chaffe and the chaffe in the wheat Againe he is said to sit in the t●mple of God because the Romane Church though falsly takes vnto it selfe the title of the true Catholike church Some goe about to delaie and qualifie the matter by comparing this Church to a man lying sicke full of soares hauing also his throat cut yet so as bodie and soule are ioyned together and life is remaining still But all things wel considered it is rather like a dead carkasse and is voide of all spirituall life as the popish errours in the foundation doe manifest Indeede a knowne harlot may afterward remaine a wife and be so tearmed yet after the bill of diuorcement is giuen shee cease●h to be a wife though she can shew her marriage ring now the church hath receiued the bill of her diuorcement in the written word namely 2. Thess. 2. and Rev. 13. 11 12 c. Furthermore in this commaundement we may see a liuely portraiture of the state of all mankinde Here we see two sorts of men some are pertaining to Babylon a people running on to their destruction some againe are a people of God seuered from Babylon and reserued to life euerlasting If any aske the cause of this distinction I answer it is the very wil of God vouchsafing mercy to some and forsaking others by withdrawing his mercie from them for the better declaration of his iustice Thus saith the Lord Rom. 11. 4. I HAVE RESERVED seauen thousand that neuer bowed the knee to Baal and the prophet Isai saith Vnles the Lord had reserued arēnant we had beene as Sodom and Gomorrha By this distinction we are taught aboue all things to seeke to be of the number of Gods people and to labour for assurance of this in our owne consciences For if all should be saued lesse care would suffice but this mercie is not common to all and therefore the more to be thought vpon Lastly here I note the speciall care that God hath ouer his owne children He first giueth them warning to depart before he beginne to execute his iudgement vpon his enemies with whome they liue that they might not be partakers of their sinnes or punishments Thus before God would punish Ierusalem an angel is sent to marke thē in the forehead that mourned for the abominatiōs of the people And in the destruction of the first born of Egypt the angel passed ouer the houses of the Iewes that had their posts sprin kled with the blood of the paschal lambe and this passing ouer be●okneth safetie preseruation in the cōmon destructiō to those that haue their hearts sprinkled with the blood of Christ. This blessing of protection should moue vs all to becō true hartie seruants of God Men vsually become mēbers of those societies and corporations where they may inioy many freedomes priuiledges Well behold in the societie of the Saints of God which is the true church there is the freedō frō danger in all cōmon destructions from eternal vengeance at the last day VVhen Hester had procured safetie for the Iewes libertie to reuenge themselues vpon their enemies it is said that many of the people of the land became Iewes Euen so cōsidering Christ hath procured freedom from hell death and damnation for all that beleeue in him we should labour aboue all things to become new creatures ioyning our selues alwaies to the true Church of God Hitherto I haue spoken of the commandement now followeth the reason thereof drawne from the ende that they be not partakers of her sinnes and that they receiue not of her plagues Here I might stande long to shewe what be the sinnes of the Church of Rome but I will onely name the principall The first sinne is Atheisme and that I prooue on this manner Atheisme is twofold open coloured Open Atheisme is when men both in word and deede denie God and his Word Coloured Atheisme is not so manifest and it hath two degrees The first is when men acknowledge God the creatour and gouernour of heauen and earth and yet denie the father sonne and holy ghost Thus the Ephesians before they receiued the gospel are saide to be vvithout God whome in their naturall iudgement they acknowledged because they denied Christ and consequently worshipped an Idol of their owne braine in that they worshipped God out of Christ. And in this respect though the Samaritans worshipped the God of Abraham yet our Sauiour Christ saith they worshipped they knevv not vvhat And the Psalmist saith of all the Gentiles that their Gods are Idols In this degree of Atheisme are placed Turks and Iewes at this day the Anti-Trinitaries and Arians and all that conceiue and worship God out of the trinitie The second degree is when men doe rightly acknowledge the vnitie of the god head in the Trinitie of persons yet so as by other necessarie consequents partly of their doctrine and partly of the seruice of God they ouerturne that which they haue well maintained And thus I say that the very religiō of the church of Rome is a kind of Atheisme For whereas it makes the merit of the workes of men to concurre with the grace of God it ouerthrowes the grace of God Rom. 11. In