Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	day_n	lord_n	sabbath_n	19,256	5	10.0267	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96902	The Solemne League and Covenant of three kingdomes, cleared to the conscience of every man, who is not willingly blinde, or wilfully obstinate. The antiquity of the Covenant on the Scots-side; the seasonablenesse of it on the English side; the admirable wisedome of God, in stirring-up the spirits of men on all sides, at such a time as this; all this with other things mightily conducing to, and promoting of the militia of kingdomes, and the posturing every person there, is referred to a place, where it may take up more room. The clearnese for the matter of this Covenant; the solemnity for the manner of it, is the subject of these few leaves, and yet to be made more clear to them thaT have a mind to understand. By E.W. Imprimatur Edm: Calamy, the morrow after wee lifted up our hands, and subscribed our names to this Covenant, Octob. 2. 1643.	Woodward, Ezekias, 1590-1675.	1643 (1643)	Wing W3505; Thomason E71_13; ESTC R14305	22,799	20

this way with every good man These are the turnings and windings of the crooked Serpent Thou hast vowed to serve God serve Him But for the matter of worship as God has prescribed And manner with the whole heart as God has commanded There is the opposition The main Brunt will be on the Lords Day touching that Solemnitie on that day and the Services proper to the day The man will perceive how subtle the Adversary is as much against the Due observing of The Lords Day as against The Lord Himself What needs all this strictnesse The Sabbath is made for Man not you for the Sabbath Sit out thy houre at Church in the Morning and as long at Evening and then recreate thy self God sayes He will have mercy Better and wiser then thy self say so and do so Archbishops and Bishops with their Curates and give thee fair allowance so to do in like manner as they do and teach Fool as thou art and slow to understanding what is Christian libertie Thou art now repeating the Sermon when thou mightest with lesse danger of an Earthly Prison when time was be elsewhere in the fields walking and doing after the Pleasure of thine own Eye Reader do not think slightly of this how ever it seems be confident the Devill works strongly and prevails mightily by precedents presenting before common Eyes the example of Bishops how they have or do walk before the People It is true there are examples of Gods Judgements which might be presented here in visible Characters and as terrible as was the writing on the Wall upon Dan 5. those that have done as the Divell has perswaded them and as the example of Bishops have led-on for has not The Lord Remembred all those abhominations the Breach of His onely Holy Day Has he not remembred all this and required it of the Bishops and those that have practised according to these abhominations The Bishops allowance and Rule But we go-on The Bishops carried it and their examples are snares at this day and their words eat as a Gangrene for which we ought and so we lift-up the hands to be humbled for what our own hearts have done and what the Bishops have done and because we were so well content to have it so I did not value the Everlasting Gospel If I had so done I had contended for it and more set my self against my self and those Men and their Doctrines But I return where I digressed how the Divell works with this Man now he has lifted up his hand to the living God The Divell tells him If thou wilt be strict be strict for thy self be not so for thy Houshold Children and Servants there they may take the Recreations as is allowed them by the Bishops who are not so precise No their houses were the Tabernacles of Robbers and as the Mountains of Prey Wilder Folk then Satyr's danced there Therefore though their house be not yet made a Dunghill as that infamous Lords-House was 2 Kings 10. 27. yet Blessed be God they are Prisons to hold those who are almost as bad as themselves and made so bad by their Bishops example Thou wilt Pardon me Reader if I am confused here when I look off my own heart as too often I do then I look upon Archbishops Bishops and their Curates all the Brutish Pastors in the Land as upon the fomentors of these Divisions Causers of these Distractions Authors of these Confusions in our Land Therefore I shall never mention them or any of these but as Jeroboam is mentioned in the Sacred Records Archbishops and Bishops c. That made Israel to sin Prophaning The Lords Day by a Law stopping the Mouths of Ministers thrusting them aside to hang like an Instrument whose strings are let-down or thrust-up into a corner as if of no more worth then themselves like a Vessell wherein is no Pleasure We Vow to be humbled for all these Blasphemies Impieties Iniquities for all that our own beguiled hearts have done here and all that these men have done by their examples We Vow also to be avenged of them and to reforme every man himself there to Center Reformation And thus the good Souldier A Christian indeed maintaining his Militia Resolved for his own part the Subject of the next Treatise and so by the good hand of God with him he confounds his Adversarys and lives above example according to the Rule and Tenour of the Curse and Oath he has entered into and to follow no man now but as he follows Christ Who is given a Leader and Commander to His People And so to take care speciall care of his family also intrusted to his care by The Lord Himself as in another Case and in a figure that Man (a) 1 King 20. 39. was See unto them thy Children thy Servants there they have the like precious Soul all one at that point of Cure Children and Servants all one their Souls as pretious as thine bought with the same Price Heirs to the same Inheritance pretious Souls as thine Thine and Theirs more pretious then a World then all earthly things there more ex●elling then the San when it shines in his strength These Souls are thy charge look to them if they miscarry if th●se perish by thy means and default they dye in their sins but their blood shall be required at thy hands life for life though not in exchange yet both shall perish together Therefore this man considering the terrour of the Lord walks wisely in the midst of his house he keeps a day to The Lord himself so shall his house too all the persons within his gates To be short in so clear a matter so fully charged upon the Governers for Souls know no sex Abraham will command his children (b) Gen 18. 1● As for me and my House we will serve the Lord (c) Iosh 24. 15. I and my Maidens (d) Este● 4 16 feared God with all his House (e) Act. 10. 2. Reformation is Personall it is centered and bottomed in self self Reformation in the heart and life He hath lifted-up the hand To all this he has subscribed his Name unto it We must now observe in the second place the solemnitie of these Actions and then we shall the better see every man his own engagement II. He lifts up his hand he subscribes his name His hand next week may be asleep in the dust but he has subscribed his Name That lives when the Man is dead But the least is in that though that tells it to posteritie ce●tainly there was never such a thing so done in our Israel A. Yes you will say we protested and entred into Covenant twice in all the Peoples sight ● T●ue but we did not lift up the hand I do not doubt but every honest man lifte●-up the heart those other times To that solemn Work Vow and Covenant formerly entered into A That is the better P●s●●●e of the two is it not B. No

world That they have made as great a Deformation in the Church as ever was seen in the world since the Councell of Trent the Iliad of that Age Nay the perfectest that ever was or now is I cannot perfectly tell what will be upon the Face of the Earth Grant that it shall do them no good nor scruple or offend us at this point for can it be a dishonour to the most perfect Church to Reforme according to the Word of God I trow not A Church cannot come up too neer unto the Rule the Word of God they may Rest at a distance too remote and farre off but I say again yet I need not say it but we have to do with unreasonable Men we cannot come up too neer unto the Rule of Doctrine and Discipline and Government What is that It follows To the Word of God That we endeavour All in All three Kingdoms To come up To the neerest Conjunction and Uniformitie in Religion Confession of Faith forme of Church Government Directory for Worship and Catechizing O Blessed Work I should speak to that but it would not be a little and Catechizing That we and our little ones may as Brethren live in Faith and Love and the Lord may delight in us This is all we have sworn unto And do we Repent Yes That we were so foolish as to make any Scruple here upon so cleer a Text. We are Satisfied now and had we an hundred Hands as I Read one Man had and half as many Mouthes we would do as much as much with all our Hands and Mouths as we have done and so for the next II. That we will endeavour in like manner the extirpation of Popery the Rooting of it out What else and Pr●la●y they were never seperated these came-in together and they must go out together Ay but the 〈◊〉 and his Wi●● their Sons and their Daughters too Pray let me use those words I mean Illiterate Persons may stumble at this for indeed though Pr●lacy has won●erfully Blasted it self as Tyranny has done yet good words both Tyranny is but Government and Prelacy a Superioritie amongst Church-Men and this must be and we allow of it with all our Hearts Therefore the Po●ters and their Wi●es we finde them entring into Covenant will observe what follows for explication and cleering their doubt touching Prelacy for Popery they know it well enough It is A walking in the wayes of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin and after the Whoredomes of Ahab and Jezebels house i● lifting up the Eye and the Heart to lying vanities this is plain 〈◊〉 And now they will understand Prelacy as well for know one and know both that is Church Government by Arch-Bishops and Bishops and their Chancellors with their Etcetera's together with I cannot tell what to call it but I have heard it called The Refuse and Garbadge of their Courts depending and following the Hierarchy as their train or as the shaddow the Body bringing in Superstition Heresie Schisme Prophanenesse c. Let Baal Plead for Baal because not one but three Kingdoms have sworn to Cast out his Lordship and his Images and to break down their house perhaps and make it as Baals a draught house Let Baal Plead and bring forth strong Reasons The Potter and his Wife will not Plead for them for though they may live in the Remotest Parts of the Kingdom yet they are not such strangers to the Common-Wealth of Israel as not to know though they understand not the word Hierarchy * I● is a Sacre● principal●●●e for it had its Originall f●●m the Heat●ens Arch Flamin● and Fla●in● co●inued with a very little change and ●esse Reason up ●ll most to this ●ay It is a cu●sed Government crept into the Church ●nsteed of an Hiera●●●●a a Sacred service whi●h 1. a●● shall be these Persons what they are what Blasphemies they have spoken besides hard words what Heresies they have maintained what Injustice they have done ungodly deeds and what In lets they have been to Prophanesse These cannot be Ignorant That the Government by Archbishops has been Tyrannicall Pharaoh like from the first Archbishop to him that three yeers a gone sate in his Throne I say Pharaoh like and his Bishops for they were his and at his Beck he said unto them do ye this and they did it Countenance Altars they did it and more Give the People a grant to Riot on the Lords day they did it Stop the Mouths of the Ministers they did it Thrust in the vile Throwout the Pretious they did it his Bishops And his Bishops were as Pharaohs Task-masters grievous oppressors they have by help of their Chancellors and their Etcetera's St●r●ned the Church of God evermore And for their Superstitions how Grosse Palpable and how many and Heresies as many How many all these I have no leisure to number my haires now The hearing of them would make a Mans hai●es stand up-right and his ears to tingle These are so many and so horrid I le report but one Heresie and this I will report because it has been an In-let to that which follows ever Prophane●esse and has done the greatest disservice that is Imaginable to the Potters and their Wives I mean still my Poor Brethren and Sisters in the Countries that live in the dark under the droppings of Cathedralls and the Cure of the forementioned such Brutish Men. I le Name the Heresie and the Heretick whom I have not heard named hitherto either in the high Court or in the Assembly In good time we may hear he is both found and thrown-out for that end I will Name him And that both may appear else as the old Custome was and as Reason is I le appear for him to suffer his Censure You shall hear the Text first I will have Mer●y and Matth 9 13. Doct●r Turners Text of Scripture fear●ul●y blasphemed not Sacrifice I will take leave to explain it I hope to my Lords meaning and that the Simple may understand If thou art going to offer a Sacrifice and a Work of Mer●y offer it self to thee in thy way which cannot be delayed w●rk that Thy Good and Gracious Lord will dispence with thee now for His Sacrifice He will let that stand aside that the Work of Mer●y to thy Brother may be done Nay let me adde That Mer●y may ●e shewn to an Inferiour Creature to an Oxe or an Asse I do not account him as one Calls him a Brother Brother Oxe and Brother Asse yet that thou mayest shew Mercy to either of Both and to tell thee how well Pleasing the shewing of Mercy to the lowest Be●e Anseltur Creatures for His Mercy is over all is unto The Lord The God of Mercies He will let His Sacrifice give Place the while thou art shewing this Mercy in helping these out of the Di●●l● when thou seest him faln as thou art passing by to offer thy Sacrifice the Calves of thy Lips now Prayers and Praises