Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	administration_n	prayer_n	sacrament_n	2,563	5	7.2488	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85832	Englands complaint: or, a sharp reproof for the inhabitants thereof; against that now raigning sin of rebellion. But more especially to the inhabitants of the county of Suffolk. With a vindication of those worthyes now in Colchester. / By Lionel Gatford B.D. the true, but sequestred rector of Dinnington, in the said county.	Gatford, Lionel, d. 1665.	1648 (1648)	Wing G332; Thomason E461_27; ESTC R205193	55,099	61

some members chosen for this County in answer to some of yours concerning the receiving of contribution from Popish Recusants upon the Propositions for Horses Money or Plate at the beginning of these wars In which letters you were told as some of you have confessed That it was the sense of the House that contribution should be received from Popish Recusants provided that it were such as might witnesse their affection to the cause and not argue onely a desire to save themselves or to that effect And whether they did then contribute with you or not to the raysing of that cursed warre to be sure except as I said but now some few of them they have from that time to this contributed very little to the King for his defence against it And I beseech God that that war seconded by this may contribute no more to the terrible designes of some of that party though there need no other contribution to the exalting of the Throne of Antichrist 2 Thes 2. then the sending of a people strong delusion that they should believe a Lie there needs nothing to be said for the demonstrating how fouly and grosly we of this Nation have been so deluded and are contented if not desirous still so to be I remember well and shall do whilest I have breath what I heard fall from the mouth of that Apostolicall I wish I might not in that particular say that Propheticall Preacher the matchlesse Primate of Ireland matchlesse for the Graces of God in him as well as for that Grace of Primacy conferred on him in one of his constant Lords day Sermons in Oxford I feare not said he those Feltmakers Weavers Coblers c. that are risen up amongst us sowers of Sedition and broachers of Heresies and Errours but those with whom I feare we shall have the strongest struggling are those Giant-like Jesuits trained up men of warre from their youth these these are they whom we have all cause to feare as those with whom wee shall have the last and sorest pull for our Religion God grant it prove not so But if we go on in the rending and tearing out one anothers thoats and the Hereticks and Schismaticks go on in their rending and tearing the very bowels of our Church who can expect lesse Who is there that hath read or heard of Christs way in planting and propagating of his Gospell of truth and in acquainting men with the mysteries of Godlinesse and of the way in Antichrist in planting and propagating his Doctrine of lyes and in possessing men with the mystery of iniquity that can expect from Sects of Heresie and Schisme sown by the enemy in the furrows of mens hearts filled with malice and all uncharitablenesse and watered with the bloods of so many thousands of their fellow Christians any other Harvest then of Popery and Antichristianisme Be ye then supplicated O all yee that have any love unto or care of the preservation of the true Protestant Religion to take the sad deplorable condition thereof into your most serious consideration and speedily to apply your selves with all your art and skill and with all your might and power to the resisting and countermining of its openly professed and secretly conspiring enemies and to the ayding and assisting of its known and by these late persecutions and temptations throughly tryed friends Think soberly and sadly with your selves God's cleansing your thoughts from all selfe-favour and brother-prejudice being first implored whether they to whom in the beginnings of these miseries you first adhered and who then made you so many faire and large promises and tooke some solemne Protestations Vows and Oathes in the presence of God to Defend and Maintaine the true Established PROTESTANT RELIGION have made good those promises Protestations Vows and Oaths yea or no. If they have what meanes the lowing and bellowing of such herds of notorious abominable Hereticks of all sorts and the bleating and bawling of such flocks of furious Schismaticks of all cuts in every corner of this Kingdome Yea what meane those favourable excuses and defensive Apologies published to the Kingdome in one of the late Declarations in answer to the Scots that complained thereof What meanes also their suppressing and silencing of all or the most of the known religious Orthodox Protestant Preachers throughout the Kingdome sequestering their livings and clapping them up into Prisons and then setting up Antinomian Anabaptisticall Socinian Jesuiticall and other notoriously hereticall Teachers and lying Prophets in their roomes What meanes the blasting of the established Doctrine of the Church of England as being corrupt and erroneous such as needs Reformation What meanes the blaspheming the Lords Prayer and Apostles Creed commonly so called and rejecting them from being publikely used in anie Congregations And what meanes the casting out and condemning the whole Book of common-Common-Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments which had so often and so long been found and made use of as one of our strongest out-workes and fortifications against Popery and other Heresies as well as an incomparable and unparallelled rule and forme of publike Worship and Devotion In a word what meanes the entertaining of Petitions for the Toleration of Popery forbearing only the granting them their requests till the people be a little better prepared by that Doctrine of Liberty of Conscience Bethinke your selves also whether they to whom ye now give up your selves to serve with your lives and estates and joyne with in all their rebellions and bloodie enterprizes have not sufficiently declared their disaffection unto yea and their hatred and detestation of the true Protestant Religion What meane else their retaining only such Chaplains amongst them as hold far more principles of the Popish Religion then Protestant and have expressely renounced the established Protestant Religion of the Church of England Or why doe they like those Rebells against the house of David make to themseves both high places to worship in and Priests of the lowest of the people to minister unto them And why do they proclaime the liberty of being of any Religion or of no Religion at all rather then of the established Religion of our Church If there be anie so stupid as to thinke that the leading-men either at Westminster or in the Army or their active adherents are at the present men of other affections and resolutions more then what the present oppositions and their want of power to withstand them and to crush the opposers to pieces do constraine them to dissemble I shall admire their stupidity and lament their weaknesse unlesse they can produce some better evidence of their retracting their former errors of their repenting of their former iniquities and of their returning to their God and to their duties then their own bare words so often broken and contradicted by their actions And yet which of you can shew so much as the Armies words for any good intended by them either to this Church or Common wealth or so much

as to you of this County that have hazarded your honours estates lives and fortunes And for the promise of those at Westminster call but to mind the successe of that Petition of the Ministers of this County and of Essex presented to both Houses in these dolefull termes That your solemne League and Covenant your great and glorious victories the expectation of the Reformed Churches beyond the Seas the longing desires of our Brethren of Scotland the Humble Petitions of the Reverend Assembly and the great City of the Kingdome the pressing miseries of the Orthodox and well affected Ministers and people in the Country here is a Letanie of conjurations indeed enough to conjure any that would come within compasse of any figure cry aloud to your Honours for the settlement of Church-Government according to the word Then followes For the want of this it is Right Honourable that the name of the most high God is blasphemed his precious Truths corrupted his Word despised his Ministers discouraged his Ordinances vilified Hence it is that Schism Heresie Ignorance Prophanesse and Atheisme flow in upon us Seducers multiply grow daring and insolent pernicious bookes poyson many soules Piety and Learning decay apace verie manie Congregations lie wast without Pastors the Sacrament of Baptism by many neglected and by many reiterated the Lords Supper generally disused or exceedingly prophaned confusion and ruine threatning us in all our quarters In all Humility therefore c. we out of conscience and in tender regard to the glory of God and the salvation of our people beseech your Honours that a form of Church Government according to the Word of God and the example of the best formed Churches may with all possible speed be perfected and confirmed by your civill sanction that Schismaticks Hereticks Seducing Teachers and soule-subverting bookes be effectually suppressed c. And what was their answer The Lords they answered like Lords professing much joy at the zeale and care of the Ministers of those Counties for the preventing the further increase of Heresie Prophanenesse c. They desire them to continue in their indeavours therin say they will not be wanting to give them al incouragement c. they assure them that they wil improve their power for suppressing of Error Heresie seducing Teachers and soul-subverting books likewise for the setling of Church-Government according to the Word of God c. Here was a Lordly answer but that they had not consulted the House of Commons for they return another and indeed their common answer viz. That the most of the particular desires of their Petition were then under consideration and they hope will be brought to a settlement speedily c. O the miraculous care and diligence of that House There was scarce ever any Petition for redresse or reliefe in any things presented unto them but they were just then in Consideration of them and hoped that they would be speedily ordered as they desired only through some intervening obstructions they could not do as they would But how came it to passe that the Commons had most of those particulars under their consideration and had proceeded so far in them as to hope for a speedie settlement therein and yet the Lords knew of no such thing at least for got it quite in their answer Well but let that passe How much of all these faire promises hath been performed either by the one House or the other from that time to this Why so nothing but the just contrarie that everie abomination complained of in that Petition is increased to that height and hath received that countenance from some of the Petitioned as well as some of the Petitioners that though each of them deserve a particular sad complaint in a sharp Petition yet 't is thought but vain for any to petition or complain to them of them all And do but remember what successe all other Petitions since that from other Counties either for Religion or King or Lawes or ought else that good is have found at their hands and hope for reliefe or redresse from them if you can Examine throughly in the last place whether those men both of the Clergie and Laity which have been since these unhappie divisions reviled slandered and perfecuted under the names of Popish and Popishly-affected persons have not in former times been to their power verie manie of them as zealous propugners of the Protestant Religion and as earnest opposers of Poperie and Superstition and whatsoever seemed to incline that way as anie men whatsoever yea above anie of those whom ye now most adore as also whether they have not all these sad times through to the eternall honour of their Religion as well as of themselves both in their owne and in other Nations as manie of them of note as have been forced abroad held firm to their first faith and to each principle thereof notwithstanding all temptations of poverty and want attending that their constancy and all allurements of large supplies and honourable imployment and preferment if they would desert or dissemble it whiles they whom ye have cried up magnified and idolized as the great Pillars and supporters of the Protestant Religion have both in former times failed like staves of reed and falsified like broken bowes and now in these times have shuffled and shifted not only from post to pillar but from seeming to be pillars in one profession to seeming and being anie thing that might serve the times in another even to their owne everlasting shame and to the reproach of that Religion which they have pretended Put these and all those other particulars mentioned in this second consideration together and then judge whether it be not high time for all those that are true Protestants indeed according to that distinctive name so long used to look to their Religion and to themselves least otherwise they be suddenly cheated of it or at least of the happy and long injoyed freedome of professing and exercising it and that by those that pretended and so seemed for a while to be most devoted to it and least Popery so much objected and so falsly charged upon those that least deserved it be within a while obtruded on them by those who have suggested those objections and forged those accusations as the stales and cries whereby to draw men within compasse of their nets and snares there being no such ready way to catch and insnare any creatures as by imitating their cries and calls and by setting some of their owne kind or somethings verie like them for stales You cannot but remember who it was for his blood is yet fresh in some of your skirts that told you when he was on the Scaffold Ier. 2.34 that it was part of his Prayer that the tumultuous people of this Nation might not be like those Pharisees and their followers who pretending a feare of the Romans coming and taking away their place and Nation Iohn 11.48 when there was no