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	rule_n	scripture_n	2,577	5	6.0532	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51142	The trve Protestant sovldier fighting valiantly under truths banner, and by the glorious light of Gods word overthrowing the strongest bulwarkes, and subtle stratagems of the Church of Rome. By Hamnet Warde.	Monginot, François, 1569-1637.; Ward, Hamnet.	1642 (1642)	Wing M2418; ESTC R27120	26,961	42

not betake themselves to the universall Church In this then there appeares a very great abuse that the Church of Rome being indeed but a particular Church stiles her selfe the universall Church and in that she being full of errours vaunts her selfe neverthelesse to be without any errour nay more that it is impossible for her to erre and least her errours should be discovered by the glorious light of Gods holy Word the writings of the Prophets and Apostles she doth not only hinder the people from reading the word and reade it in the Church in a language which the people understandeth not but endeavours also to take away all its force and authority for they make the people beleeve that the Church of Rome is soveraigne Judge in all matters of difference in Religion by this meanes he that will accuse the Church of Rome of any errour may be sure to loose his processe seeing she alone is soveraigne Judge in her owne cause The Church of Rome doth likewise affirme that it is impossible for her to erre in the interpretations of the holy Scripture and that it is in her power to make constructions of the like authority with the word of God which is indeed no lesse then to place her selfe in Gods seat For as there is none but the King that can give an interpretation to his edict that may be of equall force with the edict it selfe So there is none but God alone that may give such a construction unto the Word of God as may be of the like power and authority with the Word of God And there is nothing more certaine then that such an interpreter is greater then the Law-giver sithence he giveth unto the Law such a sense as he pleaseth and the people taught to rely more on that then on the Law it self And to be sure that the Church of Rome be not any way subject unto the holy Scripture they maintaine that it is the Church that doth authorize the Scripture and which gives it all its power and authority as if the Subject could give authority unto Lawes or as if the Word of God did receive its authority from men To this end the Doctours of the Church of Rome say that the Church is more ancient then the holy Scripture but doth it therefore follow that the Church must be above the Scripture the people are they not many of them older then the King yet are they neverthelesse subject both to the King and to his Lawes however there be many Doctrines in the holy Scripture more ancient then the Church But say they we should not know that it were the Scripture if the Church did not tell us so but doth it follow thence I pray you that the Church must be above the Scripture If I should say I doe not know which is the King and if my friend should shew me doth it therefore follow that my friend must be above the King Many serve for witnesses unto persons unto whom they are farre inferiour Likewise to undervalue the authority of the Scripture and to strengthen that of the Church they say that the holy Scripture is a dead thing and cannot speake and consequently may not be Judge for say they a Judge must be able to speake as the Church is This is most false and deceitfull for the holy Scripture speaketh enough and if it speaks not enough it is that it guides us But the Church of Rome forsooth will be the rule it selfe and not subject to any Law but will be Judge both of the Law and of the Word of God Thus are men become Gods Judges and guilty persons shall be infallible and soveraigne Judges of the sence and authority of the Law which concernes their owne crime by this meanes they need not feare to be condemned but will they nill they at the day of Judgement they shall be judged by this very word over which they now thus usurpe authority then shall that pratling Judge be constrained to keep silence So then these Gentlemen in sending the people to the Church for the deciding of doubts in faith distract their minds with an innumerable company of doubts and difficulties for how shall an ignorant man know that there must be a Church in the world If they say he may know it by the Scripture it is then necessary that he be acquainted with the Scripture and thus the authority of the Church should be founded on the Scripture and when the Church teacheth this or that how shall the people know whether it be conformable to the Word of God sithence the reading of Gods Word is absolutely forbidden them and there being many Churches disagreeing one with the other how can the poore people discerne that which teacheth lyes from that which teacheth the truth seeing the very rule of truth which is the holy Scripture is a book utterly forbidden them Shall they follow the multitude Jesus Christ saith Mat. 7. That the gate is wide which leadeth to perdition and there are ten times as many Turks and Pagans as there are Christians shall they believe miracles our Saviour faith Marke 13. There shall come false teachers working miracles whereby to seduce if it were possible the very elect shall they have regard to seats and successions The Churches of Greece have also had their seats since the Apostles and the Churches of Syria theirs and brag of S. Peters chair and yet all these are quite contrary to the Church of Rome and indeed more ancient Jesus Christ himself and his Apostles having preached there and beeing the first Institutours of them We doe not here dispute of S. Peters superiority over the rest of the Apostles he might be the first in order authority or virtue and yet not have any superiority of jurisdiction But that matters not the question is whether the Pope of Rome be S. Peters successour as the head of the universall Church which is the principall point of the Papists Religion wherof neverthelesse there is not one word spoken in all the Scripture The Bishops of Corinth and Thessalonica were Saint Pauls Successours not as Apostles but as particular Bishops of those cities So the question is not whither the afore-said Bishop of Rome be Saint Peters Successour in the Bishoprick of Rome but whether he succeeds him in the Apostleship as the head of the whole Church This is that which we slatly deny and which they can never proove or if they could so prove it yet the Pope having corrupted Saint Peters Doctrine and changed his Bishoprick into an abs●lute temporall Monarchy had long since that lost his succession To conclude there being but one holy Scripture and there being many contrary Churches and the Doctors of these Churches being apt to seeke their owne profit and subject to be carried away with diverse evill affections but the holy Scripture being an incorruptible Judge let us have recourse to this holy Word of God in the which if there be any obscurity there is

whole Kingdome hath interest Nay I say more though S. Peter had been the head of the Church and though he had resided at Rome and had left his charge to the Bishop of Rome which are all such presuppositions as they shall never be able to proove yet hath the Pope long since fallen from his charge and consequently lost his honour by comporting himselfe quite contrary to S. Peter and to a spirituall Pastour being become a temporall Monarch having amassed unto himself such an aboundance of riches that the Superiours and Kings of the Earth are poore in comparison As for his Doctrine the Chapters following shall be imployed to shew that it is absolutely contrary to the Doctrine of the Apostles Again S. Peter never made himself a religious worship but contrariwise in Acts 10. v. 25. he hinders Cornelius from worshipping him saying Stand up I my selfe also am a man S. Peter never indeavoured to set himself above God as doth the Pope glorying that he can dispence with men from keeping their vowes made unto God He that can dispence with a servant from obeying his master must be greater then the master The Pope dispenceth with men from obeying Gods commands doth he not then make himselfe greater then God He dispenceth also with Subjects from keeping their oath of allegiance which they have sworne to their Soveraigne inciting therby to rebellion He permits a man to marry his Neece and his wives sister things absclutely against Gods expresse command in the 18. 20. Chapters of Leviticus Faults committed against the Pope are many of them accounted so hideous that they are not to be pardoned under a great summe of mony or it may be two or three years pilgrimage but as for sins which tend only to Gods dishonour as swearing blasphemy Sabbath-breaking and so though they be f●atly forbidden in Gods holy Word yet if they doe not any way intrench upon the Popes prerogative not derogate from his suprem●cy theseare esteem'd but petty faults half a dozen p●●er nosters and two or three ave Maries are a su●ficient satisfaction for a thousand such sins Briefly he boasts himself to be above the Church and saith that the Church is above the Word of God by this reckoning then the Pope is two degrees above Gods Word Moreover in the Councels where the Pope is present the holy Scripture is set at his feet as it was in the last Councell of Lateran I leave any reasonable man to judge whether by this it appeareth not plainly that he tramples under his feet the Word of God To conclude when I reade in the second Epistle of the Apostle Saint Paul to the Thessalonians That there shall come a man which is called the man of sinne and the sonne of perdition that shall call himselfe God and exalt himselfe above God boasting himselfe in signes and miracles And in the 17. of the Revelation of the great Whore that is cloathed in scarlet that seduceth Kings and maketh them drunke with the bloud of her fornication that hath her habitation in the City seated on seven mountains that is to say the City of Rome I have searched every where but can find none to whom this may be so truly applyed as to the Pope of Rome CHAP. III. Of the worshipping of Images THe third abuse which I have taken notice of in the Church of Rome is the service which they doe unto Saints departed this life The Councels of the Church of Rome namely the second Councell of Nice command that Images be adored At Paris a little before Lent you may see the people goe in procession to the Image of our Lady to have permission to eat butter The women come and rub their Chappelets on the feet of the I mages they light them torches at mid-day they kisse them they make coursies to them they bring them presents and carry them all about in procession with great solemnity Nay more then that you may see many Images of Saints that never were As of the three Kings Saint Christopher Saint Margaret Saint Martiall Saint Vrsuline Saint Longis Saint Catherine and many other such like fantasticall Saints that never were in the world Many prayers likewise there are which they mumble out before such their dumbe petty-gods as that unto the crosse Ave Lignum triumphale c. and diverse others which prayers if they intend them to Gods honour they must also cause those things to which they speake to understand what they say unto them No man except he be franticke will speake to the Kings Image with a conceit that thereby he doth the King any honour All these inventions serve on purpose to lull the people asleep in ignorance wherefore they call Images the books of the ignorant they themselves also hide them in time of Lent which is the time of their devotion that they may not hinder their devotion That which causeth all this misery is that they take away from the common people the holy Scripture for having forbidden them Gods Word it was most necessary for them to finde them out somewhat or other to muse on for this end they take out of the table of the commandements which they deliver unto the people the second commandement wherein God forbids the worshipping of Images and the making of the likenesse of any thing in heaven or in earth Deut. 5.8 Thus they doe in some places clip and crop the word of God and in other some patch it and peece it wherby to make it answerable to their owne inventions As I cannot therefore but pitty the miserable estate of those people who are thus kept in darknesse and ignorance so I cannot but most justly condemne the intollerable usurpation of their Leaders who to serve their owne unsatiable avarice hating the glorious light of Gods word endeavour by all meanes to eclipse the same and thereby bring themselves and all such as are carried away with their lives and doctrine without Gods great mercy to everlasting destruction CHAPTER IIII. Of Prayer and serving God in an unknowne tongue ONe of the most deadly and most dangerous abuses of the Church of Rome in my judgement is their praying to God in a language that oft times the person that prayeth understandeth not for S. Paul in the 1. to the Corinthians chap. 14. ver 15. willeth us to pray with understanding How can we expect that God should grant our requests if we our selves doe not know what we would have True indeed God understandeth all languages but in prayer God hath not so much regard to the tongue but to the heart which cannot be then well disposed when it knowes not what the tongue doth say For the tongue is given unto men to testifie the thoughts of their hearts so that he who prayeth not knowing what he saith doth not expresse his thoughts by his words by this meanes he doth as it were act a Comedy before God There is no Prince that will suffer a man to prate thus