Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	faith_n	write_v	2,743	5	5.6922	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B11418	The complaint or dialogue, betvvixt the soule and the bodie of a damned man Each laying the fault vpon the other. Supposed to be written by S. Bernard from a nightly vision of his, and now published out of an ancient manuscript copie. By William Crashaw.; Noctis sub silentio tempore brumali. English and Latin.	Crashaw, William, 1572-1626.; Bernard, of Clairvaux, Saint, 1090 or 91-1153, attributed name.; Fulbert, Saint, Bishop of Chartres, ca. 960-1028, attributed name.; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626. Manuale Catholicorum. aut	1622 (1622)	STC 1909.3; ESTC S105114	31,120	195

thee Then if thou pray Christ will not stay to set thee free Albe thou were To death most neare yet still be sure And vnderstand That his high hand containes thy cure Be he thy quest That giues all rest from restlesse woes Who so adore And him implore shall come to those For many a one Dead long agone hath he reuiued And saued more That were before of grace depriued Be all thy loue On God aboue lift vp thy spirit That thou maist taste The Saints repast through his sole merit And honour him That he from sinne may thee deliuer That sinnes increase In thee may cease in prayer perseuer On him I call That all in all hath in his power Against all harme Be he mine arme my shield my towre And this liues length Vouchsafe vs strength to keepe his hest That at our end Wee may ascend to endlesse rest Amen HEre followeth the meanes and manner how our forefathers in the time of Popery prepared themselues and others to die consisting first of the confession of their faith and secondly of the Prayers which were made by them and for them in their last sicknesse by which it may appeare that though they were misled by the crafty Romish Clergie in diuers errors and superstitions yet in the great point of the meanes of saluation they were of our religion and were saued by it Truly and verbatim englished out of the Latine being an ancient Copie and by any of that side vnquestioned and heretofore in that kind published By W. CRASH Questions to be expounded to sicke persons whilst they haue the vse of reason and power to speak to the end that if any be not so well disposed to dye hee may be better informed and prepared and the questions be these according to Anselme the Reuerend Bishop 1. Let him be asked thus BRother dost thou reioyce that thou shalt die in the faith of Christ A. I doe Q. Doest thou sorrow and grieue for that thou hast not liued so well as thou oughtest A. I doe Q. Hast thou a hearty purpose to liue better if God giue thee time to liue A. I haue Q. Doest thou beleeue that thou canst not be saued but by the death of Christ A. I doe Q. Doest thou beleeue that Iesus Christ the Sonne of God dyed for thee A. I doe Q. Doest thou giue thankes to God therefore from thy whole heart A. I doe Well then good Brother whilst thy soule is in thy body giue him hearty thankes and settle all thy assurance vpon his death alone haue no confidence in any thing else trust thy selfe wholly to his passion couer thy selfe wholly with it fasten thy whole life on his Crosse cast thy whole selfe into this Sea and if the Lord God say hee will iudge thee answere thou Lord I obiect the death of my Lord Iesus Christ betwixt me and thy iudgement otherwise I will not contend with thee And if GOD say to thee Thou art a sinner answere Lord it is so but I set the death of my Lord Iesus betwixt thee and my sinnes If hee say thou hast deserued damnation answer It is true Lord but I place the death and merits of my Lord Iesus Christ betwixt thee and my ill deseruings and I offer vp him and the most worthy merits of his passion for the merits which I should haue had but alas haue not If the Lord say further that he is angry with thee answer Lord thou hast cause but I set the death and sufferings of my Lord Iesus Christ betwixt thy wrath and my soule Then let him say thrice Lord into thy hands I commit my spirit and if he be so weake he cannot let the company that stand by say Lord into thy hands we commend his soule And hee that doth this is safe and sure that he shall neuer tast of eternall death Also in another old Booke I find this written THese bee the sixe signes vpon which a man may rest confident of his Saluation 1. If hee beleeue the Articles of Christian faith as many as are determined by the Church 2. If hee reioyce to dye in the faith of Christ 3. If he know that he haue grieuously offended God 4. If he be heartily sory for it 5. If hee resolue to forsake his sinnes if God giue him leaue 6 If hee hope and beleeue to come to eternall saluation not by his owne merits but by the merits of Iesus Christ And Anselme saith that these sixe questions are to bee asked of euery one at the time of his death and saith further thus Then say to the sicke person if Satan obiect any thing against thee oppose thou the merits of Christ betwixt thee and him and thus without all doubt he shall be saued This consolation of the sicke and preparation to their death is in ancient Copies ascribed to Anselme who liued more then 500. yeares agoe euen when Popery was almost growne to perfect age Now if any man make question how our fathers were saued in these later and worse times when Popery preuailed in a great measure I answere that euen almost the same preparation and same questions were vsed long after Anselme euen in the deepest darknesse of Popery for in the most euil time about the Councell of Constance some two hundred yeares agoe thus I find it written in an ancient Booke and it is ascribed to Gerson Euery Christian whether secular or regular is thus to be examined and informed in his sicknesse touching his saluation 1 DOest thou beleeue all the principall Articles of faith all that is contained in the whole body of holy Scripture according to the exposition of the Catholike and Orthodoxall Doctors of the holy Church and doest thou detest all heresies and errors and superstitions condemned or reproued by the Church and art thou glad that thou diest in the faith of Christ and vnitie and obedience of thy mother the Church 2 Dost thou know and confesse that thou hast many waies and grieuously offended thy God and thy Creator 3 Doest thou sorrow from thy whole heart for all thy sinnes committed against Gods Maiesty his loue and mercy art thou truly sorrowfull for the euils that thou hast committed and the good that thou hast omitted and the grace that thou hast neglected and art thou agrieued not so much for feare of death or any punishment as for that loue that thou oughtest to beare towards God 4 Doest thou beg pardon for all these thy sinnes of Iesus Christ desiring that by him thy heart may bee enlightned truely to see and know thy sinnes that so thou mayest particularly and more seriously repent of them 5 Doest thou propound and resolue truely to amend thy life if so be thou liue and neuer hereafter to sinne so againe but rather to lose any thing how deare soeuer vnto thee yea euen life it selfe then to offend thy God againe 6 Doest thou also desire of God grace to continue in this purpose that thou maiest not

fall againe 7 Doest thou forgiue from thy whole heart any that haue done thee any wrong in word or deede for the loue of Christ Iesus our Lord and Sauiour and as thou hopest for pardon from him and doest thou heartily desire to bee forgiuen of all men whom thou hast any way offended 8 Wilt thou that there bee full restitution made according to thy power yea though it should extend to thy whole estate if otherwise there cannot be satisfaction made 9 Doest thou beleeue that Christ dyed for thee and that thou canst be saued no otherwise but by the merits of Iesus Christ and doest thou giue God thankes for this from thy whole heart as much as thou art able And whosoeuer can giue true answer to these questions affirmatiuely out of a good conscience and faith not fained It is an euident and sufficient testimonie of saluation and let him not doubt but if he so depart hee is one of them that shall bee saued Behold heere good Reader our Religion practised in the most misty times of Popery behold here the true holy Catholike and ancient way to heauen Namely by Christ and his merits alone Here is no trusting on mans merits either our owne or others Here is no mention of Agnus dei or woodden Crucifixes Hee is not bid to trust in the prayers suffrages requiems dirges Masses Trentalls or other obsequies that shall bee said for him after his departure Hee is sent to no Angell no nor to the Virgin Mary for matter of Saluation Nay all are excluded and Christs death alone euen it alone is made the meanes of his Saluation And the makers hereof were so resolute and zealous in this point that they vsed such variety of words as though they could not sufficiently expresse the excellencie and the necessity of cleauing to Christ alone in the matter of Saluation And if any man suspect that this is but deuised by vs and falsly fathered vpon Antiquity let him know that not onely we haue the ancient Copies whose age will speake for themselues but Gasper Vlēbergius in lib. de Causis Causa 14 pag 462. editionis Colon. 1589. euen the better sort of Papists that be learned doe know this well enough A learned Papist of this age writeth that in a Church in Colaine this very booke is extant Manuscript and that he hath seene it and that this manner of comforting the sicke was vsed in former ages and confesseth that it containes the very treasure and kernell of Christian religion And saith further that this manner was vsed not in Germany onely but ouer all the Christian world Indeede to the Iesuites I confesse this is held a ridiculous manner of comforting the sicke such a spirit possesseth them Thus doth Gretzer their Champion flout vs Lutherans as he cals vs for thus doing The Lutherans saith he do Iac. Gretz in resut Leyseri de hist Ord. Iesuit thus comfort their sicke Relickes Crucifixes Agnus deis and such matters are but dead things nothing worth the Scripture hath not a word of them it is therefore very vngodly to trust in them but God is our hope and God is our strength trust in him c. On this wise fashion doe these godly comforters comfort their sicke persons Thus in the Iesuites iudgement it is but a silly course to trust in Gods mercy and Christs merits in point of saluation hereby it may bee discerned of what spirit they are But let them mock vs as long as with vs they mocke the Scriptures Antiquitie and the better sort of their owne side for we appeale to this that hath beene said whether this manner of comforting the sicke were not in vse long before Luther was borne Now if any obiect that in the same bookes there is mention of the Crucifixe and that it is appointed to be in the presence of the sicke person I answer it is true but not that he should worship it as now the Iesuites teach and Greg. de Valent. Gretzer Vasquez Chrys à visit c. all the approued Romish writers but that it may put him in minde of Christ which though it bee a needlesse superstition yet it is not that impietie and Idolatrie which now at this day is practised and maintained in the Romish Church and my purpose is not to discharge those times nor our forefathers in those times of errours and superstitions but of the idolatry impietie and blasphemie of the present Church of Rome And the same answer is also to be giuen to another obiection That in the same book there are prayers to the Saints and Angels It is so and from that errour those ages cannot be cleared but withall let vs still obserue that those praiers are not to help them in matters of saluation as are many blasphemous prayers now vsuall in Popery and that sinne in those misty times being a sin of ignorance no doubt was pardoned vnto them in the mercy of God seeing that for their reconciliation with God and eternall saluation they beleeued to attaine it onely by the merits and passion of Iesus Christ But let not vs feede on their infirmities but louingly passe by them and let this content and comfort vs that their meanes of saluation which they vsed and trusted vnto is the same with ours at this day For better testimony whereof let vs set downe some of their prayers being such as the best Christians may vse at this day with much comfort Certaine Prayers vsed by our forefathers in the darkest times of Poperie in the time of a mans sicknesse some to bee made for the sicke and some by the sicke person gathered out of the same Ancient Bookes When the sicke person feeles his strength to faile then let him commend his soule to God in this prayer O Most high and Soueraigne GOD whose goodnesse and mercy is infinite O most glorious Trinitie which art loue and mercie and goodnesse it selfe haue mercy vpon mee most miserable sinner for vnto thee and vnto thy hands I commend my spirit O Lord my most louing God and Father of mercies shew thy mercie on me thy poore creature and forsake me not in my last need but stand with me and helpe my succourlesse soule saue my poore and desolate soule that it be not deuoured of the infernall dogs O most louing Lord and sweete Sauiour Iesus Christ the Sonne of the liuing God I beseech thee for thy honor and by the vertue of thy most blessed passion command that I may bee receiued into the number of thy Saints and seruants O my Sauiour and my Redeemer I here yeeld vp my selfe wholly vnto thee O graunt me thy grace and thy glory vouchsafe mee pardon of my sinne and giue mee a portion of thy glory But ô my deare Lord I challenge not a place in heauen for any worthinesse of mine owne merits for I am but dust and ashes and a most wretched sinner but for the vertue of thy most blessed passion by