Selected quad for the lemma: tradition_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
tradition_n	prove_v	scripture_n	testimony_n	1,765	5	8.0187	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10190	Lord bishops, none of the Lords bishops. Or A short discourse, wherin is proved that prelaticall jurisdiction, is not of divine institution, but forbidden by Christ himselfe, as heathenish, and branded by his apostles for antichristian wherin also sundry notable passages of the Arch-Prelate of Canterbury in his late booke, intituled, A relation of a conference, &c. are by the way met withall.	Prynne, William, 1600-1669.	1640 (1640)	STC 20467; ESTC S115311	76,101	90

the Lords day which is an open proclaiming of Warre against God against Christ against his holy Laws against all holinesse against our Christian vow in Baptisme against the good Laws of the Land and Acts of Parliament and against the very bonds of all Civill and Natural Societies And thus our Prelates are the most notorious Lawlesse men onely excepting the Grand Antichrist the Pope unlesse in some things they doe outstrip him that ever were in any Age of the world Further two wayes more doe the Prelates prove themselves to be o`i a'nomei those Lawlesse men As first in hanging the Keys of Scripture at their Girdle saying that the Credit and belie●● of Scripture to be the word of God doth necessarily depend upon the Authority and Tradition of the present Church as the prime inducing cause to that bel●●f This our great Prelate in his said Book boldly affirmeth● and often repeateth saying withall that the Scripture hath not light enough in it selfe is not sufficient to shew and prove it selfe to be the word of God So as the whole Authority of Scripture● depending upon church-Church-Tradition and Authority is necessarily made subject to Episcopall Power and so consequently the Law of God contained therein shall not be Divine unlesse it please their good Lordships to give their good word for it and to make it of so much credit by the vote of their Authority and Tradition as that men may beleeve it to be Gods Law And upon this ground it is that if the Prelates shall pronounce the 4th Commandement not to be Morall for the sanctifying of a Seventh day yea the first day of the weeke for Sabbath and that Servants and Children are not bound to yeeld obedience to their Masters and Parents on that day in Case Civil or Ecclesiasticall Authority shall dispense with them to be free that day for their Sports then all men must be of their opinion that those Commandements are none of Gods Commandements The second way whereby Prelates doe shew themselves Lawlesse men is by denying the Scripture to be Iudge in Controversus of Faith For the said Prelate pe●emptorily saith * I absolutely make a lawfull and free Generall Councel Iudge of Controversies by and according to Scriptures Which By and according to the Scriptures come in by the By and are meere Cyphers For by these words he either meanes That By and according to the Scriptures hee absolutely makes c. which is most false for by and according to the Scripture no Generall Councel is Iudge of Coneroversies Neither by and according to the Scriptures hath the Prelate power absolutely to make a Generall Councel Iudge of Controversies or els by these words he doth but cast a ●yst before his Readers eyes to make him beleeve upon the first rebound of his words that he makes Scripture the Rule for Generall Councels to determine Controversies by Whereas he meanes no such thing For elswhere he hath sundry speeches to the contrary as ‡ The Churches Declaration can bind us to peace and externall obedience where there is not expresse letter of Scripture and s●nce agreed upon And againe If there be a a●eal●usie or doubt of the sense of Scripture a Generall Councel must judge the Difference onely Scripture must be the Rule Now if Scripture be doubtfull and not cleare how can it be a rule to others to judge by But if Scripture be sufficiently and aboundantly cleare in it selfe in resolving of matters of faith for salvation how come men to take upon them to be Iudges But that the Scripture it selfe should be Iudge the Prelate in no case in no place of his Booke will allow of that Onely he confesseth that the Scripture is a * Iudge but without light Sufficient visible but not living not speaking but by the Church So as the Iudge he makes upon the matter both blind and dead and dumb As the ‡ Papists make it a dead letter and Leaden or Lesbian Rule that so they may set the Church above it to be Supreme Iudge Thus our Prelates if they will allow their Primate to speake for them have made the Scripture and so Gods word of no Authority in and of it selfe when it must depend both for its Authority and Sense upon the Church and that the Prelaticall Church or that Catholicke wherein the Church Prelaticall of England and of Rome are one and the Same Are not the Prelates then next after the Pope those Lawlesse men branded here by the Apostle under the name of that Lawlesse one We come now to the Sixth note of Antichrist in the Text which is●that he at God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himselfe that he is God Now the ‡ Temple of God properly according to the New Testament the ancient Temple of the Iews being abolished is the Soule and Conscience of every beleever or true Christian namely a Spirttuall Temple Now all that beare but the beare name of Christians as Papists doe doe also participate of the bare Name of such as are the true Temples and so in that respect Antichrist is said to sit in or upon or over the Temple of God For sitting argues a Seat Chaire or Throne which Antichrist sets up in the Soules and Consciences of all Papists Sitting and raigning as King over them in all matters of faith So as thus he makes himselfe a Spirituall Lord or King over them And thus by Antichrists sitting is understood his raingning as the Scripture doth often use this Terme as Revel. 17. 1. 3. 15. and 18. 7. And so in other places of Scripture by sitting is understood raigning as Heb. 1. 13. 1. Rev. 1. 13. Now that the Pope doth thus set up his throne and sit and raigne in the Consciences of men who are the Subjects and vassalls of his Spirituall Kingdome himselfe cannot will not deny And he sits as God that is assumes and exercises that power and authority over the Conscience which appertaines to God to Christ alone And thus he makes shew that he is God as to whom God hath committed all his Power and authority unto As the Pope calls himselfe Vice-God Christs Vicar and the like usurping whatsoever Titles of Power Christ hath in the Scripture as we read of Leo 10 in the Councel of Lateran calling himselfe the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah and the like And Bellarmine blusheth not to say and therein to Blas-Pheme that what soever is attributed to Christ in the Scripture is communicated to his Vicar the Pope And thus is fullfilled that which Christ foretold * Many shall come in my Name saying I am or I am Christ and shall deceive many Thus for the Pope that man of Sinne that Sonne of Perdition who opposeth and exalteth himselfe ab●ve all that is called God or that is worshiped that Lawlesse one that as God sits in the Temple of God shewing himselfe that he is God● Now for our Prelates are they not herein

are comprehended many for it is a Mystery yet one is mentioned Chap. 2. 1. because I say it holds proportion with the vision Againe if by the Angel here they would have to be understood a Diocesan Bishop then they must prove that this Diocesan hath a lawfull Calling as Sent of God Otherwise he is no Angel that is no Messenger no Angel sent of God Or if they say This Angel was sent of God let them prove him to be a Diocesan Bishop And thus they are brought into a Circle and cannot find the way out But they alledge againe That one here notes unity which cannot be without a Diocesan Bishop And therefore a Diocesan Bishop was set up for that end to be a Head of unity for the conservation of Order and Peace in Schismatis remedium for a remedy of Schisme Insomuch as our Arch-prelate as is before noted holds a necessity of one Ordine Primus for the unity and peace of his Catholicke Church Now for answere briefly this being partly touched before true it is that one here is a mysticall note of unity so as in the Angel of the Church of Ephesus is comprehended the whole Church of Ephesus both Ministers and People But one here doth not signifie one Diocesan Bishop Neither is one Diocesan Bishop in a Diocese nor one Metropolitan in a Province or Kingdome nor one Ordine Primus in the whole Catholicke Church of necessity to preserve unity in the Church 'T is true indeed that the Prelates new Catholicke-Church which is Prelaticall may need such a Head as one Ordine Primus to preserve it in unity and peace this being also very usefull for the inlarging of the Tower of Babel for which the Prelate hath so laboured for Peace in the Church of England under the Headship of his Primacy so as had he none to oppose or contradict his wicked practises for the setting up of Popery but all did quietly submit and conforme to his Canon his Babylon would goe up apace and prosper even as * when the old world was all of one language the Tower of Babel went up a maine till God confounded their worke in the division of tongues but the true Catholicke Church of Iesus Christ hath one Bishop of there Soules which is Christ who is that Ordine Primus that ‡ unites the whole body every joynt and every member that is not onely every particular beleever but every particular Christian Congregation is knit to the whole in and under that one Head And so this Body groweth and this building goeth up notwithstanding all the mouths of contradiction and of malicious Sandballets that seek to hinder it Whereas it is not so with the building of Babel For one small breath of the mouth of God in his word breathed by one poore Minister is able to blast the building and therefore the builders cry out against such Fellows as troublers of the State and movers of Sedition And they cannot be in quiet nor their building goe up untill such make-bates be silenced or made our of the way And therefore they labour with the Prince when themselves want power and Law to d●e with such as Constantine did with Athanasius Athanasius was the onely man that refused to hold Communion with a sort of Arian Bishops which caused a great gappe in that unity and peace in the Church which Constantine so much desired Well what 's the remedy He thereupon was easily moved to send Athanasius away into banishment and then he thought all would be quiet and in peace But by the way Truth must be looked unto in the first place otherwise what peace For that a false peace and the moeher of farther discord for the which truth is lost And even our Prelate himselfe in his said Booke doth often harpe upon these two strings together Truth and Peace a good harmony were they rightly meant and that his Truth were not made of a Wolfes gut which will never agree with a string made of a Sheeps gut as he pretends his Peace to be But this by the way And whereas they alledge the Prelacie to be a remedy of Schisme Heare ô heavens and hearken ô earth is not the Prelacy the grand Schismaticke I mean not onely in being the most busie and usuall make-bate in all Civil States dividing Prince and People but in setting up a new and false Catholicke Church altogether seperate from and holding no communion with yea excluding all Reformed Churches not Prelaticall as no members of the Catholicke as indeed they be not of the false Catholicke all Prelacie drawing to one Head of the Papacy and that by a necessity of one Ordine Primus as before is noted But to draw to a Conclusion The last Allegation which I note they make is that S. Marke was Bishop of Alexandria Ergo Episcopall Iurisdiction is an Apostolicall Tradition and so jure divino And for this they alledge the Testimony of Ierome where he saith At Alexandria from Marke the Evangelist the Presbyters alwayes chusing one from among them and placing him in a more eminent degree called him Bishop Whereupon the Prelate thus inferres So even according to S. Jerome Bishops had a very ancient and honourable Discent in the Church from St. Marke the Euangelist and this saith Ierome was a Tradition Apostolicke So the Prelate But first for Ierome we noted his words before of such Bishops saying They were set up by humane presumption and not by divine Institution and consequently not by Apostolike Tradition For Apostolicke Tradition is farre from ●um●ne presumption So as it is humane presumption to make that Apostolicke Tradition And for S. Marke * Ecclesiasticall Story tells us that Marke was the first that preached the Gospell which also he writ at Alexandria But the Story saith not that Marke was Bishop of Alexandria And the Prelate must marke that he was an Euangelist as also Iereme saith for he wrote the Gospel And the History saith he was ‡ a follower of Peter the Apostle Which if true it makes it more probable that it was that Babylon in Egypt whence Peter wrote his Epistle where he saith The Church that is at Babylon saluteth you and so doth Marcus my Son then that Peter was then at Rome which the Papists to make Peter to have been at Rome are content should be that Babylon from whence he writ And if they will needs have it so let them have it with the whore of Babylon to boot But this by the way But be it that Marke was at Alexandria he was there onely as an Euangelist and to doe the Office of an Euangelist of which we have Spoken before Bishop he was not as the Prelates would have him for that we have already proved to be in their sense condemned both by Christ and by his Apostles and therfore is neither an Institution of Christ nor a Tradition Apostolicke And therefore what ever the Presbyters at Alexandria began to

and the Holy Ghost Now as we received the Holy Ghost by hearing of Faith preached So this Spirit of God doth guide us into all truth by and according unto the Scripture And as the Holy Ghost is as I may so say § begotten in us by the Seed of Gods word Sown in our hearts though properly we are begotten again by the Holy Ghost so this Holy Ghost is as it were nourished and preserved in us by and through the word of God even as the light of the Lamp is nourished by the Oyle or as the breath goeth with the voyce or word spoken or as the blood hath its course in the veins or the vitall Spirits have their S●at in the heart or as the Animall Spirits in the braine when they are derived into all the parts of the body in the Arteries and veines so as all the members are thereby actuated and moved And as the Philosopher saith of naturall bodies * A'panta trephétas tois a●utois e'x o`pér e`isi All things are nourished by selfe same Substance whereof they are begotten or have their beginning or beeing So in a sort it may truly be said that as we begin Spiritually to live by the Holy Ghost through Faith by the Preaching of the word of God So this Holy Ghost in the severall graces and operations there of is preserved and as it were nourished in us by the continuall ministration of the food of the same word in our Soules Or in a word the Holy Ghost hath no operation in us either for instruction or illumination or consolation or corroboration of any Grace in our Soules but in and by or according to the word of God So as besides Gods written word there are no revelations of the Spirit to be expected in Gods true Church Secondly therefore the promise of the Holy Ghost to Christs true Church and Children succeeding the Apostles even to the end of the world is made good to all and every particular member of Christs Mysticall body whether Ministers or People so as in the matter of their faith and whatsoever appertains to their salvation they are by Christs Spirit guided into all truth being led by the rule and light of Gods word which to those that are in Christ never goes unaccompanied with the Holy Ghost For even as * so many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God● So as If any man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of his So none are led by the Spirit of God but those that are led by the word of God And therefore as Christs Spirit dwells in all his so his ‡ Word also For these two are inseperable the Holy Ghost teaching us no other things but what we find written in the word of Christ To which purpose Christ saith When § the Spirit of Truth is come be will guide you into all truth for he shall not speake of himselfe but whatsoever he shall heare that shall he speake Now the whole Scripture is Christs word this the Holy Ghost receiving from Christ revealed to his Apostles or as Christ saith † brought to their remembrance and the Apostles commited those things to writing as the Holy Ghost directed them for our both instruction and remembrance So as if * any Speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them Whatever Spirit men bragge of not indurcing the Law and Testimony of the Scripture it is without light a counterfet Spirit a lying spirit And this is that very Spirit of Antichrist and of his Prelates who to advance their own Canons and Decrees and to cry up their usurped Antichristian Authority in taking upon them to be the onely visible Iudges in matters of faith as * before we have noted of our Prelate of Cant● as if they had the Spirit of Infallibility and were the onely men of Gods Privy Counsell and the onely Privilegiats not to erre doe so much depresse vi●ifie and cry down the Authority and Sufficiencie of the Scripture as if it were a ‡ dumbe dead and blind Iu●ge having not so much light in it as is sufficient to demonstrate it to be the word of God but what it must be beholden to the Authority and Tradition of the present Prelaticall Church●or But ● ye blind Guides § To the Law and to the Testimony for while ye Speake not accordiag to this word but contrariwise blaspheme the same it is a manifest signe that there is neither light nor ‡ life in you Come we now to prosecute the remainder of the former particulars propounded the second generall whereof is the Practise of the Apostles as they were Ministers of the Gospell whose example all true Ministers imitating are said to be their true Successors And first of this Practise in regard of Doctrine to wit in their Ministy of the Word and Sacraments First for their Doctrine it was sound and sincere the very word of God which they preached with all diligence and good Conscience exhorting other Ministers also to the like diligence and faithfullnesse in preaching as 2 Tim● 4. 1 2. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Iesus Christ c. Preach the word be instant in season out of season c. Thus did the Apostles But doe our Prelates thus First do they preach diligently Are their Sermons any more then 2 or 3 Festivalls in the yeare And doe they preach sound Doctrine Nay as the Apostle there saith They will not indure sound doctrine they neither preach it themselves nor permit others And instead of exhorting Ministers to be diligent in preaching and teaching the people they flatly forbid them to preach so of●en as twice on the Sabbath or to expound the Catechisine for instructing the People Thus they are enemies of Gods word and so of the salvation of Gods people Are these men then Successors of the Apostles Againe for the two Sacraments the Apostles administred them duly according to ‡ Christs institution not varying one title from it they neither detracted any thing from i● nor added ought of their own inventions Now doth the Prelaticall Catholicke Church wherein that of England and of Rome are both one and the same and doe professe one and the same faith and Religion as our great Prelate saith noted before thus Now Romes detractions and additions we all know But what hath the Prelaticall Church of England done in this kind 1. Doe they not detract both from Christs institution and from the dignity of the Sacraments while they set dumb Priests no better then Masse-Priests to administer Doe they not detract from Baptisme while they doe as much debase it in comparison of the Lords Supper as they doe exalt this which they * call the Great Eucharist in comparison of that Do they not administer that neere the Belfrey or Church-door the lowest part of the Church as they estimate it

practise after Marke the Euangelist in chusing and exalting one over them whom they called a Bishop whence our Prelates derive their Ancieut and Honourable descent sure we are they can never prove that ever either any Apostle delivered this to Marke or Marke from the Apostles to the Presbyters to make it a Tradition Apostolicke Yea this is a sure and infallible Rule in Divinity That whatever the Apostles expresly set down in their Sacred writing they never delivered the contrary by word of mouth As the Apostle writes to the Corinthians saying ‡ As God is true our word towards you was not yea and any Now as we have sufficiently proved before the Apostles as Christ their Masters forbad them forbid Prelacy to others they exercised it not themselves they disclaimed dominion over the saith of Christians they brand it for Antichristian therfore Prelaticall Iurisdiction is no Apostolick Tradition and so no w●y of divine Institution And thus the Truth and Title agreeing together I end as I began Lord Bishops are none of the LORDS Bishops FINIS GOOD COVNCEL FOR THE PRESENT STATE OF ENGLAND I Call that Counsel onely good which God himselfe giveth in his Word and such is this Counsel which is here given as being taken from the mouth of God speaking in his Word 'T is a dangerous thing and impious too for Men to neglect Gods Councel and follow their own This is a signe of a People given up of God As the Lord saith * My poople would not hearken to my voyce and Israel would none of me So I gave them up unto their own hea●●s lust and they walked in their own Counsels And what 's the issue of such Counsels David tells us and that with an imprecasion ‡ Destroy thou them ô God let them fall by their own Councels And this is meant of such Councels especially as are taken not onely without the Lord but against the Lord Of which David also saith ‡ Why doe the Heathen rage and the people imagine a vaine thing The Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take Councel together against the Lord and against his Christ Saying Let us breake their bonds a sunder and cast away their cords from us And what followeth He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision Then shall he speake unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure For God hath set his King even the Lord Iesus Christ upon his holy hill of Sion This King hath all power in heaven and in earth given into his hand And he hath as a golden Scepter sweetly to governe and protect his own people so an Iron Rod to break in pieces his enemies wherupon the Kingly Prophet concludes thus Be wise now therefore ô ye Kings be instructed ye Iudges of the Eearth Serve the Lord in feare and trembling Kisse the Son least he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little And what doth more kindle Gods wrath against a State or Nation then to Slight and Scorn his Councels and with those Giants of old to consult and confederate and even make Warre against the Lord and his Christ And now ô England thou a●t making a great preparation for Warre But of whom hast thou taken Councel Of the Lord From his mouth Hast thou consulted his Oracle his Word If not what ever other Councel thou takest or followest it is but such whereof David thus speakes * The Lord bringeth the Councel of the Heathen to nought be maketh the devises of the people of none effect and casteth out the Counsels of Princes The Councel of the Lord standeth for ever the thoughts of his heart to all generations And ‡ There is no King saved by the multitude of an Host a mighty man is not delivered by much strength An Horse is a vaine thing for safety neither shall be deliver any by his great strength Solomon saith By wise Councel thou shalt make thy Warre And no Councel can be wise which is not taken of God and much lesse what is taken of enemies against God Of whom then dost thou take Councel for thy Warre● Heare ô England examine thy selfe I know the Councel of thy heart as Solomon saith is as ‡ deep waters into the bottome wherof a vulgar eye cannot elsily pierce But yet a man of understanding will draw it out But if thou wil● not discover who is thy Counsellour certainly thy intended actions will bewray and publish to the world And therefore in the Second place consider the Cause of thy Warre that it be just I do not meane made seemingly just by false colours and pretences but that it be really and truly just before God an Men Otherwise thou hast two grand Causes of feare that the issue shall not be prosperous to wit not takiug Councel first of God for thy Warre secondly not undertaking it upon a just Cause or quarrell But to come a little nearer home to the point is the Cause such as it will beare any Consultation or Communion with God So as thou mayst with a good heart and Conscience seek unto God to maintaine thy Cause And for what ever Cause thou indendest thy Warre or against whom surely the Cause being publicke and so concerning the whole Land such a seeking of God is required as is solemne publicke and universall And we are sure that as yet ô England thou hast not sought God for the good Speed of this thy great and warlike preparation And then what good issue canst thou expect for But thou wilt say how shall I seeke Counsel and helpe of God For this I will propound but one example The whole Tribe of Benjamin stood up in maintenance of a most wicked and prodigious fact as that towards the Levites Wife He sent her being dead in 12 pieces to all the Tribes of Israel who abhorring such a Fact first sent to their Brethren the Benjamites to punish the Malefactors They refused Whereupon all the Tribes assembled And first they aske Counsel of the Lord which of the Tribes shall goe up first against Benjamin He Answers Iuda● And though the Cause was just and God councelled them yet they were expulsed with the losse of 22 thousand men They consult God the Second time and that with weeping before the Lord untill even the Lord answers them Goe up yet this time also they were beaten and lost 18 thousand men Strange Well they inquire of the Lord the third time but in a better manner then before for all the People of Israel assemble to the House of God weeping and fasting the whole day untill even and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord and then asking the Lord shall I yet againe goe to battaile against Benjamin or shall I cease The Lord answers them the third time Goe up for to morrow I will deliver them into thy hand Whence it is to