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A47214
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Veritas evangelica, or, The Gospel-truth asserted in sixteen useful questions which being seriously searched into, will open the way to find out assuredly the true and saving faith of Christ which is but one, as the apostle affirms / written by T.K. and now published by R.C.
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T. K. (Thomas Kemeys)
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1687
(1687)
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Wing K256; ESTC R13531
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80,587
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135
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they must not budge from Luther in Geneva from Calvin in England from the Belief Establish'd by Parliament Which if they do presently they are urg'd and sometimes born down by Church Authority Presently excellent and pithy Sentences extolling Church Authority and shewing the Necessity thereof are Alleadg'd Magnify'd urg'd in Sermons in Books out of the Scripture out of Tertullian St. Cyprian Lirinensis and other Fathers Notwithstanding that these very Sentences through the sides of these poor Ignorants do deadly stab the Hearts of those which alleadge them for disobeying that very Church Authority which these Sentences speak of and commend But with what Equity if I may be so bold as to ask with what Security of Conscience do these Authoriz'd Teachers proceed against these Zealous Ignorants for following that Belief which they gather out of the Word of God put into their Hands by these their Teachers and force them to follow another which by the very Rules and Tenets of these men they cannot but esteem Superstitious May they not justly say If the Scripture only be the Rule of Faith why do ye not permit us to believe what we find therein If it be easie to be understood why do you punish us for holding that Doctrine which we gather out of it If it be not easie why do you put it into our Hands If we are not bound to believe in Points of Faith any thing that is not expresly in the Scripture why will ye force us to believe and practice that which there we find not If Church Authority is to be rejected why do you interpose yours If it be a Butchering of Consciences to force men to Believe as the Church doth Teach Why do you force us to Believe as you Teach If you contemn the Authority of the â—ver Visible Church why do you force us to Reverence and to stoop to yours What signes do you shew what Miracles do you work to demonstrate unto us that your Church Authority is rather to be Follow'd rather to be Obey'd than the Church Authority of the Antient Fathers of the General Councels of the ever Visible Church of Christ If Church Authority be to be Follow'd be to be Reverenc'd be to be Obey'd Restore Us to that which Hoary Autiquity which Succession of Prelates which Consent of Nations which Excellent Sanctity which Manifest Miracles do commend unto Us. If it is to be rejected leave us to Gods Word and force not our Consciences against that Light which shineth unto us in Reading the same Thus may these misled People now complain against those who having drawn them out of the Bosom of the Catholick Church do now endeavour to Inthrawl them to themselves But much more terrible I fear will be the Bill of Complaint which one day they are likely to put up at the Chancery Bar of Heaven if a speedy and serious Course be not taken to restore these misled Souls again to the secure feeding of their Mother Church Which God of his Mercy bring to pass for the Eternal Happiness both of Them and their Leaders Question VII If God hath left no sure and un-erring Interpreter of his Word in Matters of Faith How can it be defended That the Holy Scriptures are not Unprofitable and even Pernicious to Mankind PErchance some Protestants not able to give a satisfying Answer to my Question about the Interpreter of the Scriptures will affirm That God hath not ordained any certain Interpreter of those his Sacred Oracles but hath left them to the scanning and guess of all Readers whatsoever But then I demand How it can be defended that these Divine Books are not hurtful yea and even pernicious to Mankind For evident it is that they may be taken in divers and opposite Senses Yea evident it is that they are de facto so taken by several Learned Men. Who following no surer Interpreter than the strength of their own Wit and Learning do gather out of them contrary Faiths and Religions and several worships of God Of which some of necessity must be false and hurtful to all that follow them for False Religions are ever hurtful yea plainly pernicious to those which follow them as more clearly hereafter shall appear And indeed three things are questionable about the Holy Scriptures which without the help of an un-erring Interpreter authorized and enabled by God himself to guide us to the Truth about them can never be rightly and fittingly decided The first is Which Books are Canonical and truly the Word of God And which are not The second is Which Translation is good right authentical and which is not The third is Which is the true and right meaning of the Holy Ghost in this or that Text or Sentence of Scripture touching upon some point of Faith About the sense whereof the Learned do contend Which being so divers People perswaded in their Consciences that the Scriptures are Divine Books and really the Word of God And that by believing them rightly and by following that Religion which they teach they may obtain Life Everlasting Will earnestly endeavour to search out the true meaning of them Which they being not able every where to find by their own natural Forces without the help of a sure Interpreter directed by the Holy Ghost They will pick out divers false Senses yea and Religions out of the Scriptures by mistaking their right meaning Which they will repute the true meaning of them being not tyed to any Interpreter and will defend Tooth and Nail to the assured Perdition of their own Souls and theirs whom they draw after them and to the raising of several Factions endless Contentions and bloody Broils amongst Christian People as we see fallen out since the rising of Luther For each of those who thus search the Scriptures without regarding any Infallible Interpreter will easily perswade himself that is the right meaning of the Holy Ghost which he hath lighted upon and that the true Light of the Gospel which shineth to him in reading and scanning the Word of God and that therefore it standeth him upon if he will not betray the Truth and lose his own Soul to stick firmly thereunto and to strive even to death to maintain the same Yea sometimes such Searchers of God's Word esteem themselves bound in Conscience to bandy with all the force they can against those who seek to Ruine what they would Raise From which manner of perswasions have proceeded not only great varieties of Religions and great Animosity in the defence of them but all the furious Garboils also and bloody Contentions about Religion which now for above these Hundred Years have miserably turmoil'd the Christian World and yet are likely further to turmoil it unless Christian Princes open their Eyes to behold the true Root of these Dissentions and how absolutely necessary it is to admit of some one Infallible and Un-erring Interpreter of God's Word authorized and enabled by the Holy Ghost to deliver the true Sense thereof
at all And as for the Scriptures as from thence we may easily gather that the Apostles were Papists So we find not there the least Sign that they were Protestants For if as Reason dictates we will judge of their Faith by their practice we cannot admit that in Faith they were like the Protestants seeing that in their practice they were plainly Papists For they lived perpetually Chaste yea and if ever any other they also Guelded themselves for the Kingdom of Heaven by a Vow of perpetual chastity according to the Counsel of our Saviour given Matth. 19. 12. They forsook all to follow Christ and to attain to perfection according also to the Counsel of Christ given Matth. 19. 21. as Saint Peter doth confidently profess Matth. 19. 27. whereby they practised both Poverty and Obedience Poverty in forsaking all Obedience in following Christ wherein they were so exact that they doubted not at his appointment to leave both Country and Friends and to expose both themselves and their Lives to infinite Labours and Hazards while they enterprized the Conversion of the Gentiles from their carnal and inveterate Idolatry to the Holy and Divine Religion of Christ And therefore we may truly say that the Apostles were Religious Men even such as are in the Catholick Church practising Poverty Chastity and Obedience and imitating thereby in an excellent manner their Blessed Master who was so poor that he had not whereon to repose his Head Luke 9. 58. So Chaste and so great a Friend of Chastity that even he would be born of a Virgin and so Obedient as he was Man to his Heavenly Father that he gave his Life at his appointment for the Redemption and Salvation of Mankind Philip. 2. 8. By the practices of which excellent Virtues this Blessed Lord laid the Foundation of the Regular or Religious Life consisting chiefly in the profession and due observance of perpetual Poverty Chastity and Obedience so much practiced afterwards in his Church For from him as from the Original Fountain the same hath hitherto flowed and doth yet flow with so full a Stream in his true and Catholick Church For the Vowing of these things had never been of so high esteem and of so frequent use among the Ancient and Learned Fathers and the choicest pieces of Christian Sanctity had it not been the nearest imitation of the Holy and mortified Life of Christ and of the practice of the Apostles of John the Baptist of Elias To which practice of the Apostles if we add their frequent Praying Act. 2. 42. Act. 12. 5. Act. 10. 9. and their often Watching and much Fasting Act. 14. 22. 2 Cor. 6. 5. 2 Cor. 11. 27. it will manifestly appear that they were as far from being Protestants as Monks and Fryers now are These things being wholly out of use amongst Protestants and not only contrary to the Liberty of their new Gospel but even fruitless vain superstious toys according to the Tenets and Principles thereof By all which it seems to be manifestly Convinced that the Apostles of our Saviour were not Protestants but rather truly and really Papists both in their Belief and practice their outward practice shewing their inward Belief according to that of our Saviour Out of the abundance of the Heart the mouth speaketh Mat. 12. 34. But if any Protestants will be yet so wilful that he will maintain against manifest Reason that the Protestant Religion was in the times of the Apostles though afterwards it appeared not in the World till Luther reviv'd it I must tell him that this doth not only prove that the Protestant Religion is not the true Religion of Christ which must ever be extant in the World for the Salvation of Souls but further also it shews that it is a very vile and naughty Religion seeing the whole Christian World did so soon forsake and cast it aside notwithstanding that it is so easie and so pleasing to the Carnal Appetites of men And so Protestants cannot reap much true comfort by imagining that their Religion was in the times of the Apostles seeing all the Antient Saints and Learned Fathers yea even the whole Christian World thought it not worth the regarding Books Printed and sold by Nathaniel Thompson at the Entrance into the Old Spring-Garden near Charing-Cross A Manual of Controversies clearly demonstrating the Truth of Catholick Religion By Texts of Holy Scripture Councils of all Ages Fathers of the first 500 years Common Sense and Reason And fully Answering the principal Objections of Protestants and all other Sectaries Price bound 1. s. 6. d. A Manual of Devout Prayers Fitted for all Persons and Occasions To which is added the Rosary Latine and English Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary c. The Prayers of St. Bridget and other most devout Prayers upon several occasions never before published With a Catholick Kalender for the year of our Lord 1686. A most excellent way of Hearing Mass with profit and Devotion Containing the whole Mass in Latine and English with divers choice select Prayers before and after Confession and Communion And an Examen of Conscience To which is added the Rosary of our Blessed Lady Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary the Prayers of St. Bridget c. And several other most Devout Prayers to our Blessed Redeemer Also the Vespers or Even-Song in Latine and English as it is Sung in all Catholick Churches Newly Corrected A Collection of 86. Loyal Poems all of them Written upon the two late Plots viz. The horrid Salamanca Plot in 1678. and the present Fanatical Conspiracy in 1683. To which is added Advice to the Carver Written on the Death of the â—ate Lord Stafford With several Poems on Their Majesties Coronation never before published The second Edition Collected by N. T. Price Bound 2 s. A choice Collection of 180 Loyal Songs all of them written since the two lâ—te Plots c. Intermixt with some new Love Songs With a Table to find every Song To which is added the Musical Notes to each Song The third Editâ—â—n with many Additions Price 2 s. The Lawyer Out-law'd or a brief Answer to Mr. Hunt's Defence of the Charter With some useful Remarks on the Commons proceedings in the last Parliament at Westminster in a Letter to a Friend Price 6 d. Janua Scientiarum Or a Compendious Introduction to Geography Chronology Government History Philosophy and all gentile sorts of LITERATURE Price Bound 1 s. The State of the Church Affairs in this Isaldn of Great Britain under the Government of the Romans and British Kings Written by a Person of Quality And published by Authority price 4 s. The Succession of the Church and Sacraments from Christ and his Apostles to the end of the World cleared and stated according to the Antient Doctrine of the Greek and Latine Churches price 6 d. A brief Explanation of several Mysteries of the H. Mass and of the Actions of the Priest Celebrating Very necessary for all Roman Cacholicks for the better understanding thereof Together with certain Reflections upon the Apostles Creed touching the B. Sacrament and also divers Meditations and Prayers both before and after Communion price 1 s. Popery Anatomised Or the Papists cleared from the false Aspersion of Idolatry price 4 d. A Papist Misrepresented and Represented Or a two-fold Character of Popery c. price 1 s. Ordo Recitandi Divini Officii pro Anno Domini 1687. price 6 d. A Net for the Fishers of Men being the same which Christ gave to his Apostles Wherein the points controverted betwixt Catholicks and all Sectaries are briefly vindicated by way of Dilemma By two Gentlemen Converts price 4 d An Explanation of the Holy Ornaments and Ceremonies which the Priest uses at Mass price 2 d. A Sermon Preach'd before the King and Queen in their Majestie 's Chappel at St. Jame's on Sunday Octob. 24. 1686. By the Reverend Father Dom. W. Marsh Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty Published by his Majesties Command price 6 d. A Sermon Preach'd before their Majestie 's in their Chappel at St. Jamee's the 25th Sunday after Pentcost Nov. 17. 1686. By John Dormer of the Society of Jesus price 6 d. A Sermon Preach'd before their Majesties in their Chappel at St. James's the 2 d Sunday in Advent Dec. 6. 1686. By John Dormer of the Society of Jesus price 6 d. A Sermon of Judgement Preach'd before the Queen Dowager in Her Majesties Chappel at Somerset-House on the first Sunday in Advent being the 27th of November 1686. By John Dormer of the Society of Jesus price 6 d. All Published by his Majesties Command A Sermon Preach'd before the King and Queen at their Chappel at St. James's on the Feast of the Holy Patriarch St. Bennet By J. Cross of the Holy Order of St. Francis. An Apology for the Contemplations on the Life and Glory of the Holy Mother of JESVS shewing the Innocency Equity and Antiquity of the Honour and Veneration giveen to Her by the Holy Catholick Church By J. C. FINIS