Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	earth_n	heaven_n	militant_a	4,766	5	11.7120	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02223	The great day, or, A sermon, setting forth the desperate estate and condition of the wicked at the day of iudgement Preached at Saint Andrews in Holborne at London By Nathaniel Grenfield, Master of Artes, and preacher of the Word of God at Whit-field in Oxfordshire.	Grenfield, Nathaniel, b. 1588 or 9.	1615 (1615)	STC 12358; ESTC S118555	51,838	174

chiefest nursing mother beene bereaued of her life and we her children should neuer haue inioyed these Halcyonian dayes wherein the Gospel flourisheth in despite eyther of Pope or Turke During the time of whose raigne which was but for the space of fiue yeeres there were aboue forty thousand liuing bodies of the most choisest Martyrs most cruelly burnt I say the liuing bodies to aggrauate the depth of their inraged enuy for they would not suffer the bones of the dead to rest in their graues but they must be burnt to ashes when they were almost rotten to the dust The tenth was vnder Philip in Spaine and Flaunders as in the Spanish Inquisition we may read more at large nay almost what part of the earth hath not that drunken VVhore of Rome moystned with the bloud of Saints And yet heere is not an end but still shee is plodding and plotting some secret mischiefe vpon the bed of her fornications and hatching still a malicious brood of Serpents and Cockatrices Men and Deuils hellish conspiratours still machinating the workes of darknesse their fellow-helper being the Deuill which is the Prince of darknes and therefore no maruell though the Church triumphant in heauen and the Church militant vpon earth doe daily cry for reuenge vpon that VVhere of Babylon and the Lord hearing the lowd cry of the Saints whose bloud cryes as lowd as euer Abels did against his brother Cain at the length awaketh as one out of sleepe commeth forth as a Giant refreshed with wine strikes their enemies vpon the thigh and puts them vnto a perpetuall shame as you may see at the opening of the sixt seale when God in the seuerity of his wrath summons all Kings and Princes of the earth which haue been bloudy agents in massacring of Saints vnto the trembling Tribunal of his generall Iudgement where the first thing that we may take notice of is the fearefull alteration of naturall things both in heauen and earth ver 12.13.14 In the Sunne blacknesse the Moone became as bloud and the Starres fell from heauen heauen departed as a scrowle the earth shooke mountaines and Ilands were moued out of their place All which are euident demonstrations of that great and fearefull Day Mark 13. v. 24.25 Matth. 24. v. 29. Luk. 21.25 The second is the feare and amazednesse of men Kings great men rich men chiefe Captaines bond and free their hearts did faile them for feare Luk. 21.26 desiring rather that the earth would swallow them vp aliue as it did Corah Dathan and Abiram then to behold the countenance of so angry a Iudge and breathing forth such bootlesse exclamations vnto the senselesse Rocks and helplesse Mountaines Fall vpon vs couer vs from the wrath of the Lambe v. 15.16 All which doe immediately goe before the day of Iudgement vers 17.11 I had rather wade with the Lambe in the shallow lest with the Elephant plunging my selfe into the depth I should be drowned in the depth which is a iust iudgement of God vpon all rash enterprizing spirits and curious inquisitors into the vnsearchable secrets and mysteries past finding out of almighty God to be giuen ouer vnto their owne priuate spirits and to lose themselues in the Labyrinth of their owne selfe motions and all because they will not confesse their ignorance and content themselues with a sober knowledge Rom. 12.3 but wil be wise aboue what is written Once sure I am of this that the Scriptures doe containe in them all things necessary to saluation and that they are riddles and mysteries darke and obscure vnto none but vnto those that perish Amidst variety of Interpretors some inclining vnto a Litterall some vnto an Allegorical some vnto a Tropological sense I doubt not but that I may safely lay downe this plaine and litterall exposition viz. That this Text setteth forth the desperate estate and condition of the wicked at the dreadfull day of Iudgement wherein I obserue these parts First an enumeration of particulars concluding an vniuersall Kings great men rich men chiefe Captaines mighty men bond men free men that is some of all sorts and sexes all the wicked Secondly their straight desperate estate in seeking such bootlesse refuges They hid themselues in dens and in the rockes of Mountaines v. 15. Thirdly their lamentable yet fruitlesse exclamations They said vnto the Mountaines and Rockes Fal vpon vs hide vs from the presence of him c. v. 16. Lastly the reason of all For the Great day of his wrath is come and who can stand The Kings of the earth not Romani Principes the Princes of Rome that had bin too plaine and it had bin a meanes to haue exasperated the malice of those bloudy Emperours more cruelly to imbrue their hands in the bloud of Saints for Kings that are Tyrants and rich men that are wedded to the world can hardly indure to heare of their downefall and destruction but they will rage more furiously and redouble their cruelty so Herod slew all the children that were in Bethlem and in all the coasts therof from two yeeres old and vnder when the Wise-men told him that Iesus was borne and that He should be the King of the Iewes Matth. 2. v. 2.16 Therefore Saint Iohn noting their power and malice being that they are Kings and rich men doth for the Churches safety of set purpose conceale their names so the Apostle Saint Paul in the second to the Thessalonians c. 2. v. 3.4 describing the downefall of the Pope of Rome hee calls him not in plaine and direct tearmes Antichrist or the Pope but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That man of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That sonne of perdition which exalteth himselfe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aboue all that is called God describing the nature of him so that it can be competent vnto none but vnto the Pope of Rome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vegetius l. 2. c. 2. dere militari Tribuni the chiefe Captaines such as were set ouer a thousand souldiers such amongst the Romans were called Tribunes and a Romane Legion consisted of six thousand souldiers by which finite agnomination the Deuils shewed that the number of their infernall Kingdome was infinite My name is Legion for we are many Euery bond and euery free-man that is all the wicked but especially those that haue beene actors of the Kings decrees and executioners of new deuised tortures in the persecution of the Saints Hid themselues in dennes Some there are and that not a few that would haue this to bee vnderstood figuratiuely of the corrupt estate of the Church and of the last persecution of Antichrist when the Popish Prelacy had gotten the supremacy The Sunne say they is Christ blacke and obscured not in himselfe but in the hearts of men The Moone is the Church which resembles the Moone waxing and waning and shee borrowes her light from Christ The Starres are the Doctors of the Church Teachers and Preachers of the Word Falling to the earth i. slaine

legges of iron Dan. 2.32.33 This Image was an Emblem or representation of the foure Monarchies of the World the Monarchie of the Assyrians or Caldeans the Monarchie of the Medes and Persians the Monarchie of the Grecians the Monarchie of the Romans and as Gold of all other mettals is the best and purest and therefore it is said that Heauenly Ierusalem is a Citie of pure Gold Apoc. 21.18 So White is the best and chiefest of all colours and therefore it is said that the Saints were clothed with white Robes vers 11. Which colour is consecrated to innocency puritie victorie and felicitie and therefore it is said that the head of the Image was of fine Gold Dan. 2.32 And that the first horse was white vers 2. so the first Monarchie viz. of the Caldeans though full of crueltie was the best and a golden Age comparatiuely in respect of the rest but the last of all was the worst of all the Romane Emperours outstripped all the rest in their bloudy proiects and vnspeakable cruelties for who can reckon vp all their expeditions of warre so many funerals of Citizens massacring of so many millions of men depopulations and dispeopling of so many Countries burnings of so many Cities such a prodigall profusion of blood when this Roman horse rushed forth in so much that the fourth part of the Earth was slaine with the sword of this fierce Beast as it is vers 8. The crueltie of all preceding Emperors was clemencie being compared with these Romans whose Drummes sounded nothing else but blood and death and their little finger was bigger then the loines of all their predecessours The fifth Seale being opened Saint Iohn saw the Soules of blessed Martyrs lying vnder the Altar and crying for reuenge where first hee shewes the essence of true Martyrs they were killed Pseudo-martyrs so may false Martyrs 't is a good cause that makes a Martyr and therefore it is said that they were killed for the word of God and for the testimonie of the truth verse 9. The words may haue reference either vnto the Church Militant who may bee termed Martyrs though they bee neuer killed and though they neuer striue to bloud viz. when Christians are rayled at reuiled scorned disgraced abused false witnesses suborned either to empaire the credit of their person or empeach the sinceritie of their profession for the Deuil first letteth loose the tongues of the wicked to speake ill before he letteth loose their hands to doe ill Thus that Protomartyr Steuen was gnashed at with the teeth of the wicked Actes 7.54 before he was stoned and they suborned men which said Wee haue heard him speake blasphemous words c. Actes 6.11 Thus our Sauiour before he suffered endured such contradictions of sinners accounted sometimes for a seditious person a wine-bibber a friend to Publicans and sinners one that had a Deuill one that preached false doctrine c. And thus Paul before hee sealed Peters confession with his bloud he was accounted for a mad man August l. 10 confess a seducer of the people and for one not worthy to liue Lingua impiorum est quotidiana fornax The tongue of the wicked is a fornace wherein Gods children are tryed and there is not a man or member of this little poore despised Church whether zealous Preacher or sincere Professor but must be tryed in this Ouen of euill speaking for as long as you are in the world and are not of the world the world will hate you and speake euill of you Ioh. 15.19 Or the words as it should seeme may in a better sense onely bee referred vnto that heauenly troope of blessed Souldiers discharged the field with the losse of life and for a reward of this their perseuerance striuing vnto bloud are clothed with white Robes which crie for reuenge either in respect of vs which doe suffer for the Saints in Heauen doe pray for vs in generall howsoeuer they know not our wants in particular or in respect of themselues which haue suffered they cry for reuenge for it is Gods peculiar either in this life by his temporall plagues or punishments or by hastening his comming vnto Iudgement when they shall eternally be rewarded in that euerlastingly burning Tophet prepared for all persecuting Kings and Princes who haue made hauocke of the Saints Now the time when this was Saint Iohn makes it manifest that it was after the opening of of the fourth Seale and after the comming forth of the fourth Horse for the fiercenesse and furious rage of this Romish Beast was not vtterly abated although there was scarce matter left for malice to worke vpon but no sooner was Christ borne which was when Augustus Octauius was Emperour in the two and fortieth yeere of his raigne and also put to death againe which was when Tyberius was Emperour before the Church had recouered any strength or growth but Tyranny waited on her to deuoure her children as soone as they were borne There are two distinct times in which the Church of God suffered most grieuous persecutions the first was in her Primitiue estate when by the preaching of the Apostles the number of beleeuers were multiplied exceedingly then did the foes encrease that troubled her peace and prosperity bearing euill will to Sion inueigled by that hellish Dragon that was set at liberty bending and banding all their forces and furies prosecuting her with all might and malice did set her againe a bleeding when shee was yet but a budding Her most bloudy persecutours were these Romane bloud-thirsty Emperors Domician Traian Nero Doecius Dioclesian Antoninus Maxentius Lycinius and other cruel Tyrants euen vntil the time of Constantine the Great by whom the Saints were killed all the day long and were accounted as sheepe to be slaine The second time was in these last times vnder Antichrist when the whole number of Martyrs shall bee compleatly finished as it is v. 11. which may also bee diuided into tenne persecutions if wee reckon vp all those slaughters of blessed Martyrs which haue beene from the time of Iohn VVickleeue within these 138. yeers The first persecution vntill this time throughout all the coasts of Europe As first vnder King Henry the fourth and fift here in England the second vnder that generall Councell held in Constantia and Bohemia the third vnder the Bishoppes of Rome and the neerest Prouinces thereof the fourth vnder Charles the fifth Emperour in Germany the fift vnder Henry the eighth in England the sixt vnder Henry the second in France the seuenth vnder Iames the second in Scotland the eight vnder Charles the ninth in France vnder whose raigne there were within the space of one moneth put to death aboue twenty thousand of Martyrs the ninth was vnder Queene Mary here in England she that was a second Nero for her cruelty but yet for the Churches comfort she was but Nubecula citò transitura A short tempest Q. Elizabeth for had she liued then had the Churches