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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	doctrine_n	rome_n	2,813	5	6.6425	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13261	A Christian loue-letter sent particularly to K.T. a gentlewoman mis-styled a Catholicke, but generallie intended to all of the Romish religion, to labour their conuersion to the true faith of Christ Iesus. By Iohn Swynnerton, Gent	Swynnerton, John.	1606 (1606)	STC 23558; ESTC S120777	49,016	88

friendly caueat to take heed of ●●● 7.15 16 Beware saith he of false prophets which come to you in sheepes cloathing vnder the colour of holines and innocency but this is the outward man onely For inwardly they are rauening Wolues And the means wherby you may distinguish them from the true Ministers of christ is this Ye shall know them by their fruits And here I might take occasion to giue you a further tast of the fruits of your religion namely of the doctrine and conuersation which your Popes cardinals Priests Iesuits and others generally of your church from theyr instruction and tolleration haue taught and practised wherby after the rule of our sauiour in knowing the tree by the fruit you might the more plainly perceine your church which you are so confidently perswaded is the true church of christ to be no other then the very Synagogue of Satan But it is too spatious a field for mee to pace through it were the taske rather of a mans life a subiect for a mighty volume To omit therefore their doctrine and life in generall I will lay before you one onely instaunce hereof which by the argument of our Sauiour being fruit so rotten and ilsauery must of necessity you may be assured spring from a roote as bitter and corrupted Obseruations vpon the late discouered Treasons AND I will not looke backe to former times 7. Sect. nor trauell forreine countries for the accident It is that hotrible and inhuman conspiracy bred and fostered in the bosome of your religion and of late by the prouidence sweet mercy of our god so blessedly discouered and defeated A conspiracy against the sayrest against the Lord and against his anoynted And may I not say against all the soules of Israell that bare true faith and true allegiance to God and their soueraigne For all them should haue felt the force of that terrible blow that was threatned and in some degree or other pertaked of the Tragedy A Tregedy whereunto althe tragedies of the world begin with that of Abell and come along all ages to the last that dranke of that cup in our owne memory would haue giuen place and for horror monstrosisme and true essentiall diuelishnesse could not haue bin compared Which would haue made all the bloody villaines that euer breathed better or at least lesse thought vpon because the cogitations of all the mē in these parts of the earth wold only haue bin cast therupon as they are partly already but with the same of the intention No the like Tragedy was neuer acted nor I thinke by the most absolute incarnate Diuell euer before plotted A plot as Lauid speaketh to haue rooted vs out so many thousads yea millions within this kingdome that we should haue been no more a people and that the very name of a Protestant vnlesse in by-word should haue beene no more in remembrance as indeede had they acording as they proiected made that hauock of them altogether his sacred Maiesty our gratious Queene the hopefull Prince and all those holy and worthy ones their attendants it had not beene altogether improbable But this while you will say I proue not as I vndertooke that this conspiracy which most of you with your tongues at least wil confesse was wicked and vniustifiable to be the fruites of your religion or any instance of your life and doctrine for the cleering wherof can I deale more plainely then out of your owne mouth as it were to iudge you or produce better proofes then the positions and conclusions of your owne clerks and greatest diuines approuing and maintaining that in some cases it is lawfull for subiects to rise vp in arme against their King and that the deposing of an Heretick prince such as they take our King to be is a commendable worke and meritorious Vnderstand therefore that Allen Baines Saunders Parsons creswell Reynoles Tollet Tellarmine with others on whose shoulders as vpon so many arch-pillers your church of Rome hath for this many yeares beene supported haue taught and published the said doctrin as appeareth in their seuerall writings wherof some few are collected in this booke intituled An exact discouery of romish doctrine in case of conspirasie and rebellion by pregnant obseruations which heerewith I haue sent you or purpose to giue you a better view of their horrible doctrine not heerein onely but touching other matters likewise which may instly occasion you to abandon them and detest their courses for euer and that this conspiracy may be taken as an instance of their life likewise who can make doubt when they themselues should haue beene the performers thereof when the plotters actors abetrers and all that should haue washed their handes in that bloody bas●n were Papists deuoted to your church and such as you call Catholickes It is therefore questionlesse an instance of their life and doctrine the proper fruites of their Religion yea yea it is a babe of their owne begetting euery ynch of it And though they search each corner of their wit to shift it off and father it vpon others yet shal it alwaies be reputed theirs They shall euer bee inforced to keepe it and be are it vpon their backs as a notorious badge of their fornication and a durable monument of their shame whiles the world indureth yet is it worthy obseruation to note what poore deuises they haue and what iniserable shiftes they are driuen vnto I meane your Priestes and Ihesuites and such as you most depend vpon and are chiefely directed by to daube vp the matter if they could at least to preserue their estimation awhile amongst you and though it lye a dying to lynger it out as long as is possible But to omit the rest I will onely mention that which seemeth their finall refuge and serueth them for the best shelter to beare of the force off this imputation They maintaine that although the conspirators were all of them professed to the Church of Rome yet that it was not the doctrine of that church but ambition discontentment and desperate estate that drew them thereunto for their doctrine gaue warrant for no such courses and that without question the Popes holinesse could neuer be touched therewith To the former pointe I haue already answered and proued vnto you by the Testimony of their most famous and profoundest diuines that it is the doctrine of their church and therefore by all likelyhood they receiued their protection thence and it was that which gaue them their chiefe encouragment Now whether the Pope whom you call the head of your church were priuy to the damnable purpose of these all-bloody miscreants this worse then Catilniary crew of conspirators whom it cannot be denyed were members thereof I know not howbeit the regard of simpathy betwixt the head and the members together with consideration that the greatest part of the prize in all likelyhood would haue fallen to his share may seeme a substantiall ground for a suspition But this I

for our sinnes and prayeth that the same may be accepted for vs and we for the merit thereof become acceptable and gratious in his sight for euer And lastly he vndertaketh that at length we shal leaue our sins and cease to offend his deuine Maiesty any more that wee shall truely honour him and become fit instruments to sound forth his praise and glory Now I beseech you mark how this doctrin of Christs mediatorship and your doctrin of merits can stand togither Christ as a mediator intreteth his father in our behalfe but if we do merit what need this intreaty for God is iust and of himself wil reward the wel deseruing of euery man to the ful Christ as he is a mediator presenteth satisfaction vnto his father for our sinnes but if we do merit that satisfaction might be spared for God is iust wil not be paid duble christ as he is our mediator vndertaketh for our innocency herafter but if we do merit then belike we are innocent already for none can merit at gods hands that is absolute righteousnes but he that is absolutely righteous and so that part of christs mediatorship would cease for God is iust and will haue no security for that heerafter which he hath receiued already but what doctrin cal you this and yet such is your doctrine of merits and so derogating as you see from the holy mediatorship of christ Iesus If therefore you looke for benifit by that mediatorship as most miserable is their condition that do not you must lay by your own merit which is so thin a clothing that the least drop of Gods indignation will drench cleane through it and cloath your selfe with christes merit which will keepe you warme indeed and be sure to hold out in all weather for as christ came from heauen into the world not to call the righteous they that thinke themselues so but the sinners they that acknowledge themselues so to repentance In like sort he returned not into heauen out of the world to medyate for such pharasaicall iusticiaries as rest vpon their owne integrity but for the humble deiected publicans that with repentance acknowledge their owne vnworthinesse Furthermore I do not see how it can be well maintained but that it is in some sort repugnant euen to the office of the holy ghost likewise for if the same be to sanctifie vs to nevvnesse of life and to giue groweth to our faith from time to time which taken at the best as I am taught standeth in neede of increase how can any workes we do which are the fruites of that faith be truely sayd to merit considering it is a ground that the effect must be answerable to the cause and the cause heer which is our faith being desectiue the effect which is our workes cannot bee perfect as necessarily they must be if they be meritorious now tel me I pray you whether any heresie can be compact of grosser absurdities then this be more preiudiciall then this or the author of greater indignity euen to the blessed Trinity then proceedeth from this your heresie of merits and yet which may be wondered at it findeth professors and patrons more then a good many and those sconfesse not vnlearned but profoundly reade in all knowledge that humane helpes can puffe vp their vnderstanding with but there is a knowledge that only one scholmaister reueileth a diuine knowledge a diuine scholmaister happy and truely learned is that scholler which is trained vp in such knowledge and that is instructed how vnlearned soeuer he seeme otherwise by such a scholemaister I am not altogether ignorant of the cūning distinctions which your greatest clarkes deuise for maintenance of this your merit and how they will haue their merit of worke and merit of the person the merit of congruity and the merit of condignity and I knowe they will tell you that there are diuers places of scripture to vphold the same But first let me tell you what a bold offer a good-fellow of our church once made to the contrary he that can shew me saith he in any scripture that workes do merit or be any meanes to our iustification for the first scripture without any further iudgement I will loose both mine eares for the second my tongue for the third my neck but the yssue was they accepted of his eares his tongue and his neck without performing the condition for no such place in all the whole scripture could be found and yet was he pittifully martyred amongst them poore soule nay rich soule rather for who can be richer then he by whom euen the house of God is inriched and it is the saying of a learned father that the blood of the martyr is the seede of the Church I confesse there are many sayinges in the booke of god that at the first sight and being not throughly waighed do seeme to import such a matter as where it is said that euery man shall receiue according to his labour your reward is great in heanen he will render to euery man according to his works From these and such places your doctors would draw inuincible arguments that good workes because God hath promised to reward them doe therefore merit that reward so promised but there is no necessity of that consequent our good workes indeed shall receiue reward but not because they merit the same for the finest hath his staine the best worke that man can doe is blemished but in regard that God of his owne free grace and mercy without respect to any worthynesse in the worke at all hath promised to reward them who being euer faithful will euer be as good as his promise and shew himselfe in all thinges to deale with his seruantes that truely depend vpon his mercy far better then after their best deseruings And that our workes deserue not this reward christ that is the paymaister himselfe by his prophets his Apostles Doni 9.38 by himselfe telleth vs plainely We do not saith the prophet present or supplications before thee Rom. 3 27 for our owne righteousnesse but for thy great tender mercies your reioycing saith the apostle is excluded by the law of faith Luk. 37 10. When ye haue don all saith christ say we are vnprofitable seruants The reuerent fathers and and learned Doctors of the church are copyous and doe flow in their obsernations vpon these and such like places of holy write to drowne the barren plot of mans merits bring in greater estimation the Aeden soile of christs righteousnes where all true merits grow and whence the riches euen of heauen it selfe are to be gathered but because I haue already partly cited them vpon the same subiect and my letter begins with prolixity to try the pacience euen of a friendly reader I will only present you with a litle nosegaie of foure or fiue flowers out of their seuerall Gardens which although for hast they be not curiously tyed together will neuerthelesse I doubt not