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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	faith_n	hear_v	word_n	3,321	5	5.3463	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76079	A declaration demonstrating and infallibly proving that all malignants, whether they be prelates, popish-cavaleers, with all other ill-affected persons, are enemies to God and the King: who desire the suppression of the Gospel, the advancement of superstition, the diminution of the Kings prerogative and authority, with the oppression of the subject. All which is evinced by strong proofes, and sufficient reasons. By John Bastwick Dr. of Physick.	Bastwick, John, 1593-1654.	1643 (1643)	Wing B1061; Thomason E101_8; ESTC R1900	48,987	64

had ever been the fiction and excogitations of mens braines as some prophane and Atheisticall men thinke who suppose and say that Religion was by Policie invented to keepe men in awe then the Defendant saith that all men would willingly and without reluctation have embraced and received them given ever them admittance and free entertainment for the world ever loveth his owne Now it is notoriously knowne that no carnall men either love the Scriptures or regard them nay it hath beene alwayes the endeavour and the greatest plot and conspiracy of wicked and ungodly men and the adversaries of the truth either totally to extinguish them or to vilifie their authority as King James of renowned memory in his Apologie to all Christian Princes sufficiently declareth discovering therein the Popes double diligence in that businesse So that were there no other reason but this alone it were of conviction enough to prove the holy Scripture to be the Word of God because it so much opposeth impiety wickednesse cruelty unrighteous dealing errours and darknesse which carnall and sensuall men love more then light And whereas the Prelates with the Papists produce the authority of the Fathers for the maintaining of what they speake and in Court alledged that of Augustine Where he saith that he would not have beleeved the Scripture if the Church had not told him it was the Scripture The Defendant for his part is sorry to see such a profane Sympathie between the Prelates and Papists in these things who deale with true Christians as the Gibeonites dealt with the Israelites in the 9. of Iudges who pretended they were Ambassadours and tooke old sackes upon their asses and old tattered bottles and clouted shoes and ragged clothes and pretended they came from a far Countrey and so the Israelites not taking counsell of the Lord were cousened and deluded by them Even so the Papists and Prelates under pretence of the ancient Writers and with their old shoes mouldy bread of uncouth antiquity rob us of the truth and take away from us the bread and staffe of life by which we should safely and comfortably walk to heaven and happinesse and under the pretence of the Fathers and their authority they abuse and deceive the simple But in this cause Augustine is not very usefull unto them for his authority in this so weighty a matter is to rationall men of no great validity for the Defendant demands of any that hath but the grace of understanding that if Augustine would never have beleeved that there had beene a God without the Church had told him so must his infidelity make others Atheists also This will not be thought good reason amongst the learned for then one mans imperfections should be a rule for multitudes to go to hell and unbeliefe should be a vertue And yet it is not altogether denyed but that the perswasion and report of men may be a motive to stirre up men many times to the hearing and perusall of a thing which of it selfe doth not alwayes beget saith or but very little as dayly experience teacheth us but the thing it selfe seene or heard is that that worketh effecteth it and makes their faith so firme and stedfast that although the same parties should a thousand times after deny that to be so yet they to the death would persevere in that true beliefe As for example we see in the people of Samaria that were by the womans perswasion brought out to see Christ and in some small measure beleeved in him from her relation that he was the Messiah yet when then they had talked with him themselves they openly affirmed that then they beleeved not because the woman had told them but from more excellent reasons and grounds that they themselves had heard him And should the Samaritan woman a thousand times after that have denyed that he had beene the Messiah they would never have beene removed from their faith in Christ for all that The same may be said of Nathaniel in the first of John to whom Philip said That he had found him of whom Moses spake in the Law and the Prophets Jesus of Nazareth and Nathaniel said unto him Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth Philip said Come and see Jesus saw Nathaniel comming unto him and saith to him Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile Nathaniel said unto him Whence knowest thou me Jesus answered and said unto him Before that Philip called thee when thou wert under the Fig-tree I saw thee Nathaniel answereth and saith unto him Rabbi Thou art the Son of God thou art the King of Israel And howsoever Philip here was an occasion of bringing Nathaniel to Christ yet the sight of Christ and his Miracles were the things onely that begat true faith in him and such a faith as all the Philips in the world could never after have removed him from it againe And so it was with Augustine perhaps that being a learned Infidell or little better a Man●●nee through the perswasions of learned Christians he came to looke in the Word of God as all faith commeth by hearing but doth it therefore follow that that was onely the cause of his faith and perseverance in it or if the Church had not told him so these had beene no other meanes for him to come to the knowledge of the Scripture this doth not necessarily follow But were it granted that had not the Church told Augustine which was the Scripture and the Word of God that he had then never beleeved it to be the Word must this conclusion of necessity be gathered from thence That all men must be like Augustine in this or that the authoritie of men is greater and above the Scripture All these are poore and lame consequences and not beseeming the worthy Fathers of the Church in open Court to publish to the infinite dishonour of holy Scripture and advancing humane authoritie above it which indeed is meete blasphemy against the holy Word of God For would not every man accuse one of folly if another being a stranger and never seeing the King and meeting him in a journey with all his Nobles richly clad as it beseemeth noble Peeres so to be for the honour of their Master and the Majestie of his Court and in this company where there are so many brave personages and all so excellently apparelled and he not knowing which was the King should aske some of his retinue or some Courtier which of those were the King Now doth follow because at that time the man should not have known the King without this information from some of the attendants that the King could no other way have been known unto him or that Kings could be knowne no other wayes but by such informations No rationall creatures wil so conclude at that time he in part beleeved from the Courtiers relation that it was the King but after that he seeth the King in his Court or upon his throne with his Crowne

A DECLARATION DEMONSTRATING AND INFALLIBLY PROVING That all Malignants whether they be Prelates Popish-Cavaleers with all other ill-affected Persons are enemies to GOD and the KING Who desire the suppression of the Gospel the advancement of superstition the diminution of the Kings Prerogative and Authority with the oppression of the Subject All which is evinced by strong Proofes and sufficient Reasons By John Bastwick Dr. of Physick LONDON Printed in the Yeare MDCXLIII The simply Portrareture of Mr John Bastwick Dr of Phisick sate Captayne of a foote Company A Declaration of Iohn Bastwick Doctor of Physick infallibly proving that all who desire the suppression of the Gospel the advancement of superstition c. are enemies to God and the King THe said Defendant saving and reserving to himselfe now and at all times hereafter all advantages and benefits of exceptions to the incertainty and insufficiencie and other imperfections of the said Information For answer thereunto so far forth as concernes the said Defendant he saith He doth with all thankfulnesse acknowledge his Majesties great care and zeale at all times for the maintenance and defence of the true Christian faith and Religion and the service of Almighty God love charity and concord among his Subjects and withall that his people and all loyall Subjects have great cause daily to praise God for the happy government they have under him and for that they may for futurity promise unto themselves under his Royalty and Principality especially when he hath so graciously made knowne his pious intentions for the good and welfare of Church and State in that his Majesties Declaration to all his loving Subjects of the causes which made him dissolve the last Parliament published by his Majesties speciall command in which Declaration pag. 21. his Majestie thus speakes For we call God to record before whom we stand That it is and alwayes hath beene our hearts desire to be found worthy of that Title which we account the most glorious in all our Crowne Defender of the Faith Neither shall we ever give way to the authorizing of any thing whereby innovation may steale or creepe into the Church but preserve that unity of Doctrine and Discipline established in the time of Queene Elizabeth whereby the Church of England hath stood and flourished ever since c. These words and solemne protestations of our most pious King cannot but stirre up the hearts loves and affections of all his true loyall Subjects both incessantly to pray for his happy life reign and preservation and also to the utmost of their powers to yeeld all subjection obedience yea and their lives and liberties for the honour of his Crowne and Dignity in the number of which Subjects the said Defendant professeth himselfe to be being willing and ready at all times and upon all occasions not onely to lose his liberty livelihood and estate but millions of lives if he had them in defence of his Empire and Prerogative Royall and doth againe and againe acknowledge and that with the thankfulnesse his renowned Highnesses zeal and care for the maintenance of the true Religion love charity and concord amongst his Subjects and beseech the King of kings and Lord of lords long to continue him among us and to put into his royall heart to remove all scandals in Church and State which have beene such hinderances of the propagation of the Christian Faith and true Religion established in his Majesties kingdoms of the which he is Defender in his dominions and the right instruction of the people in the same who alone are most of the Prelates in generall and the Arch-Prelates in speciall being so farre from seeking the right and due instruction of the people in the true Christian Faith and Religion as the Information would infer as they spend their whole endeavours to take away all the possibility and meanes of instruction which is the preaching of the word that is onely able to save our soules and without which no man can beleeve or come to life eternall as thousand places in sacred Writ witnesse and among other that in the 26. of the Acts where Christ saith unto Paul Rise and stand upon thy feet For I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister and witnesse both of the things which thou hast seene and of those things in which I will appeare unto thee delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to open their eyes and to turne them from darknesse unto light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgivenesse of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith which is in me And Paul was not disobedient to this heavenly vision but preached unto all men that they should repent and turne to God and do workes meet for repentance And this was and is the onely way that God hath appointed to save our soules by for Faith commeth onely by hearing and this preaching was all that Paul did I came not to baptise saith he but to preach the Gospel so that preaching is the effect of all the ordinances and in another place he saith Wo be me if I preach not the Gospel And in the sixth of the Acts the Apostles told the Church That it was not reason that they should leave the word of God and serve tables and therefore they resolved continually to give themselves to prayer and to the ministery of the Word And in the 4. of the Acts when the Rulers commanded Peter and John not to speak nor teach in the Name of Jesus They answered and said unto them Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more then unto God judge ye for we cannot but speake the things which we have heard Here we see the whole office and care of the Apostles was to preach the Gospel and this is onely the work taske and duty of Ministers to publish the same word of life And Paul set his owne example before them for his sedulity in preaching day and night and commands them to follow him in that and chargeth Timothie and Titus and all Ministers in them to be instant in season and out of season in preaching the Word and they that neglect that duty are no Ministers of Christ nor of the Gospell Yea the Bishops themselves and all their Priests as they call them as we may see in the Booke of Ordinations solemnely promise before God and the Church that they will be diligent in the preaching of the Word of God and publishing of the Gospel And for the better stirring of them up to that Duty and Office they reade the 20. Chapter of the Acts concerning the charge that was given the Elders and Bishops of Ephesus for their diligent preaching of the Gospel And in most of all their Prayers before their Sermons they beseech God to blesse the two fountaines of all learning in this kingdome and that he would

all ancient truth and the vetust est Bishops and by the whole Clergy of England in King Henry the Eights dayes as all the Learned and ingenuous doe well perceive and know both at home and abroad So that if the Informers with the Prelates will make this book a libell then let them make holy Scripture the Lawes of the Kingdome and all the ancient records of learned Bishops libells also for the Defendant in that hath said nothing concerning the Presbytery which is not agreeable to them all And for the matters in speciall he is charged with the information viz. That he hath causlesly enveighed against the oath ex officio and other ancient formes of proceedings in that Court and against the Sacred Hierarchy and orders of Bishops Priests and Deacons preferring a Presbyterian parity before it And that he hath falsly and scandalously defamed the witnesses produced against him and falsly and maliciously taxed the High Commission Court it selfe and the Judges therein in generall and some of them particularly and personally with cruelty and injustice with want of wisdome and temperance and that they are perswaders of his Majesty to bloodshed and are upholders of idolatry superstition Popery and Profanenesse and further most maliciously and falsly affirmeth that Canterbury London and Ely are disgracers and contemners of holy Scriptures and falsly traduceth them and the rest of the Bishops for Traytors and invaders of his Majesties Prerogative and that in the said booke there are contained divers other unlawfull and scandalous passages against the established government and setled discipline of the Church of England the Bishops and Clergy and their proceedings which being many and of various nature is delivered into his Majesties Court of Starchamber To all which things that he is here charged with the Defendant will answer with what brevity and the best Method he can and doubteth nothing but whatsoever he hath writ in his Apology against the Prelates and their proceeding shall be made evidently appear to this Court to be most true And to begin with the things laid to his charge in the last place that he accuseth the Bishops to be disgracers and contemners of holy Scripture to be invaders of his Majesties prerogative upholders of idolatry Popery superstition and profanenesse All which is most true for so they are as he hath sufficiently proved against them in that book and doth here also adde that they have greatly dishonoured the King their Master and King James his Father of perpetuall Memory all which he will briefly declare and demonstrate to this noble Court And that they are contemners and disgracers of holy Scripture what can be more manifest when they say that the Scriptures are the refuge of all Schismaticks Hereticks as much as if they should say the good Laws and Statutes of a Kingdom and the Kings Edicts Proclamations are the cause of all disorder wickednes withall what is it to be contemners and disgracers of the holy Scriptures if this be not to say That they can neither be knowne to be the Word of God nor distinguished from the Apocrypha and Prophane Authours nor to be understood and the meaning of them attained unto for their obscurity but by the Fathers If this be not to contemne Sacred Writ then all Orthodox Writers both in ours and all reformed Churches and King James himselfe have accused the Church of Rome most falsly whom they prove blasphemous against God and disgracers of the Holy Scriptures for the same assertions as all their learned writings witnesse with innumerable Arguments in them for proofe of the same The Defendant desireth to know what it is to prophane and contemne holy Scripture if this be not to slight and vilyfie the Authority of it and to preferre humane authority before it which the Bishops did blasphemously saying that they could not be knowne to be the Word of God without the help of the Fathers when every page and leafe of those Sacred monuments breath a Divine Spirit and they are called the lively Oracles Acts 7. verse 38. as if the Scripture had lost his ancient lustre life and Divinity by its antiquity and were inferiour to all other things both Naturall and Artificiall When notwithstanding there is such a Majestie and Splendour in the Scripture as it dazleth the eyes of all those that look into it with his transcendent and heavenly clarity and brightnesse the eyes of whose mindes the God of this world hath not blinded yea under the very law when there was a vaile before the eyes of men so that they could not so clearly see into them as now Christians may yet then such dignity and excellency was discerned in them that at the first reading of them men cryed out the voice of God and not of man and tore their garments for very anguish and fear of the threats in them and never were so ungracious and impious to say How shall we know these bookes to be the Word of God for the holy Scriptures had ever such an innate and Domesticall light beauty and goodnesse in them and carried such testimony and witnesse within themselves ever able to declare themselves divine and holy and to be the very word of the everliving God that they needed borrow no help from without them or fetcht in humane witnesse for the declaring of their divinity There was no need to send unto the Prophets or the Church in old time to enquire whether the Scriptures were the word of God amongst any that were but any thing acquainted with the language of Canaan as is manifestly evident in the 2. of the Kings 22. verse 8.10 and the 2. of the Chron. 34. verse 14 15 19. where it appeareth that when the Booke of the Law was found by Helchia the Priest in the house of the Lord he knew it at the first reading of it to be the word of God the same did the King they were neither of them told by the Church or any Prophets or Fathers that it was the Booke of the Law neither did the King send unto Hulda the Prophetesse to know whether it were a true and authenticke Copy all this needed not it needed then no Godfathers and Godmothers to Christen and give it the name of the Law of God and holy Scripture as without the which it could not have beene knowne there was no need of any such thing or any humane authority for the proofe of that in those times all that were then true Israelites knew it by its own testimony to be the word of God and shall any man now think that the Scriptures are more obscure and dark and harder to be discerned by their own testimony to be Divine and holy then when they had a vail before them and their sacred treasuries of Divine truths were muffled up in so many tipes and mysteries Certainly this is not onely great ingratitude to Gods bounty but very contempt and disgrace of holy Scriptures that their most excellent

is the greatest cruelty that can be exercised over miserable men and yet this is the daily occupation of the Prelates of which the whole kingdome can witnesse how that they have made most places desolate depriving them of the bread of life the preaching of the Gospell and taking away the key of knowledge from them and in stead of true nourishing food they give them the huskes of Ceremonies and vaine traditions and idle superstitious observations Neither do they onely extinguish and put out all their shining lights but they severely punish those that seek it or go after it where it is so that if one do but go out of his own parish where he hath no preaching and where perhaps there hath not been a Sermon seven yeares together as there are many such parishes in this Kingdome he is forthwith hailed into their Courts and tormented to death and is not this horrible cruelty yea if one neighbour do but go to another and that but to hear a Sermon repeated when he dare not goe out of his owne parish he is immediately hailed into their Courts as a keeper of Conventicles and miserably there tormented and is not this also great cruelty Especially when any of their lewd parishioners may goe from year to year out of their own parishes a drinking and quaffing and that on the Lords day and holy dayes as they call them and have their meetings in troopes and great assemblies in drinking Schooles tippling there to the great dishonour of God and many times to the great mischiefe of others and the prepetrating of many sinnes and all such though they never heare Service neither divine or humane finde favour in their Courts and serve for witnesses against the generation of the just and those that fear God and they are esteemed good Sons of the Church though in all other things they be also never so impious Neither is there any law against those children of Beliall neither can any man deny this that knoweth any thing for the defenders of such fellowes and tormentors of the most godly And if this be not also insufferable tyranny and cruelty let every reasonable man judge In this information his most excellent Majestie is truely and deservedly commended that he is an enemy to Popery and all innovation of religion as his Highnesse hath often declared himselfe and that he doth daily frequent the Church and is diligent in hearing of Sermons And this most eminent piety in our noble King and Soveraign we his loyall though poore Subjects heartily rejoyce at desiring the Lord of heaven still to enflame his Royall heart with a zeale for the glory of God and the propagation of the Gospel and to continue in him an increase a love unto his holy word Now all men know that Kings examples have been ever the paterne for their Subjects and it is the duty of all good Citizens and Subjects to imitate their King in all wel doing and men use commonly to say Regis ad exemplum the Kings example is ever to be followed and it is his royall hearts desire that his Subjects should imitate him in that his piety Now what a great and unexpressible cruelty is this in the Prelates towards the poore people and how great a dishonour is done to the King in it that they will not let his Subjects be good for it is good in the King and highly commendable before God and men to hear the Word of God often preached and to be diligent in the hearing of Sermons or else the Informers would not have set it down as so singular a vertue in our Royall King and yet they punish this good in his Subjects and it is a cause of the utter undoing of many of them if they goe to Sermons and when they are found to be diligent at the hearing of the Word and the going to a Sermon into the next Parish when they have none in their owne is matter sufficient to mount them up in the High Commission which is none of the smallest cruelties that holy and pious men groane under to the infinite dishonour of God and the King and the needlesse vexation and molestation of his dutifullest Subjects who desire to follow in that their godly Princes example In Saint Iohn Baptists time it is said That Jerusalem and Judea and the Region round about came all to heare him running after Sermons and so they did after Christ And it stands recorded in sacred Writ to their eternall honour and for our imitation For all the Saints godly examples are set downe for us to imitate and we never read that any were by the very enemies of the Gospel in those dayes the Scribes Pharisees and high Priests molested or troubled for the same and it is said of them that they tooke the Kingdome of heaven with a kinde of holy violence and their diligence in hearing the Word is related and told of them as a thing very honourable and praise worthy and so it is very well related in the Information of our gracious King to his immortall honour and great praise and so it is and ever to be honoured in his Majestie and his example in this to be followed of all his obedient Subjects And is it not a transcendent cruelty then in the Prelates that poore Christians in our age may neither obey the Commandement of God who injoyneth us to heare in season and out of season nor imitate the Saints of old in their pious indeavours in building up themselves in their most holy faith nor follow the good paternes of their Kings and Governours but they must be severely punished for it yea undone traduced for it as evill doers If this be not great cruelty and tyranny it selfe in the Prelates there was never none for they rob them of heaven and earth and all other comforts in as much as in them lieth Nay which is yet more to shew their cruelty injustice unrighteous dealing the Prelates in the Baptisme of infants constrain the Godfathers and Godmothers there solemnly to promise that they will call upon them that are baptized when they come to years of discretion often to hear Sermons and to this duty are also the baptized tied Now when they are come to yeares of understanding and in obedience of their promise they made by their God-Fathers and God-mothers and perhaps being stirred up also by their exhortation to this good duty of hearing the Word if they goe out to heare Sermons when they have none in their owne Parishes they are first punished in their purses and liberties and then given to the Devill for this good worke which they notwithstanding have tied them to by speciall promise in their Baptisme and if all this be not unspeakable cruelty tyrannie and injustice there was never none in the world and yet this is the dayly practice of the Prelates thorow the Kingdome as all men know And which is yet more to be observed in the same Sacrament