Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	church_n	teach_v	tradition_n	3,694	5	9.0240	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91075	The prophets Malachy and Isaiah prophecying to the saints and professors of this generation of the great things the Lord will doe in this their day and time. Shewing (amongst other things) the nature and quality of the apostachy. The judgement of the Lord upon the leaders of the apostacy. How the Lord will deale with, and carry himself towards, others guilty of the apostacy. The certainty of deliverance at hand for the true seed. / By a wel-wisher to the kingdome of our Lord Jesus. To which is prefixed two very useful epistles, by Christopher Feak, and John Pendarves, ministers of the Gospel.	Wel-wisher to the kingdome of our Lord Jesus.; Pendarves, John, 1622-1656.; Feake, Christopher, fl. 1645-1660.	1656 (1656)	Wing P3687; Thomason E888_2; ESTC R207362	83,871	109

of all unrighteousnesse likewise as may be observed once for all in Rom. 1. from the 18 verse to the end of the Chapter These Gentiles in the poynt of Government and worship have not Jehovah for their Judge or their Law-giver or their King but have in a constant succession submitted to the foure Beasts which rose out of the great Sea as is described by Daniel the Prophet as to their Soveraigne Lords in all things Others of the degenerate part of Mankind are such as having been taken into Covenant with God from among the Idolatrous Nations to be his Church and people did for a time observe and doe his Commandements but afterward forsaking the Lord their God have joyned themselves to Idols after the manner of the Nations of the world and so have gradually degenerated into the very Image and similitude of the Gentiles which know not God and so are of the world as the Aegyptians were of the world and as the Canaanites were of the world This was the state of the Ten Tribes and this state is notably described in Jeremy the 2 from the 9 to the 21 verse Such also were the degenerate Members of the Jewish Church in the first day of the Son of man they were of the world as the Romans and the Grecians were of the world and therefore without controversie our Lord in the forementioned passages doth include within the compasse of the word WORLD the Order of the Priests from the Highest to the Lowest the whole state of the Elders the whole Hypocriticall Generation of the Scribes and Pharisees and the Generality of the people who being corrupted from the simplicity and purity of the Divine Institutions did not long after the Testimony aforesaid Joyne in the Murthering of the Lord of glory This is the world which hated Jesus Christ even with a more perfect hatred then Herod or Pontius Pilate or the Centurions or the Souldiers of the Romans These Things are plain and clear to almost every understanding and therefore I for bear further explication Only let me add this As it was then even so it is now in these our dayes as by many Instances it might appeare That the Turks are of the world that the Jews are of the world and not of the Church that the Persians the Indians the Moores are of the world as the nations before the day of Christ were of the world is Confessed by us all But is it not as true that the Idolatrous the prophane the Brutish the Barbarous Papists are of the world as the Mahumetans c. are of the world though they pretend to be the only true Church of God upon earth this also will be assented to as the Truth among the protestants they may beleeve upon Scripture ground that the Romish Church as now degenerated must needes be very neere of Kin to the Heathenish world because the spirit of the world and the Characters of the world workes effectually in them and is plainly discerned upon them as in and upon others of the children of Disobedience But now what shall wee say of the Protestant Churches of the Reformed Churches which have a name to live to bee the Spouse of Christ c. wee cannot indure to heare them evill spoken of wee cannot beare it that they should be looked upon as the world or the worldly Church or the Carnal Church these are odious expressions they and their state are not to bee compared with the state of the Jewish Church as our Lord found it when he testified that they were the world and that their workes were evill To this with an holy Boldnes as in the sight of Christ I dare to say that in their present Constitution and Condition they may without doing them any wrong be compared to the Jewish Church and state in the Dayes of Christ and his Apostles in respect of their superstitions and persecutions of their hatred and enmity to the pure wayes of Christ as the popish Church may be justly compared to the Apostate Ten tribes in respect of their Idolatryes and persecutions for this is a most certain truth full of evidence in it selfe where you find the spirit of Idolatry Superstition Tradition Ceremony and formality in worship prevailing and overpowring the true Gospel spirit there will you find the spirit of the world Moreover where the Lord Jesus and his Members feele the power of the spirit of injustice and opression of hatred and persecution overcoming the spirit of truth and equity of righteousnes and innocency there they may safely say these Men are the men of the world and so no other no better then the world Now then forbearing to inquire into the state of the reformed Churches abroad let us take a short survay of the nationall Churches of England of Scotland and Ireland which are accounted in the Number of the Reformed Churches and their Daughters the Parish Churches as they were formerly or are now Constituted and Governed by the Lords Spirituall the Lord Byshops the Lord Presbiters and the Lord Triers under Charles R. and Oliver P. those two protestant Princes those two Defenders of the faith those two supream Heades successively of the Church in these parts of the Earth with all their Ecclesiasticall furniture of Church officers patrons Parsons Vicars Curates Church Wardens Clearks Sextons c. not to omit all their Parish and Collegiate-Church members Did they formerly or doe they now looke like the Churches of Christ or like the Churches of Antichrist were they not are they not of the world did they not doe they not speake of the world as sayeth the Apostle Iohn yea all of them from the Head to the tayle as sayeth the Prophet Isayah Were they not are they not now againe under the shadow of their Lord protectors wings Constituted Countenanced maintained and Governed after the Inventions of men after the traditions of Antichrist after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ doe not these Churches and their officers worship the Lord in vaine teaching for Doctrines the commandements of Men nay more then this did they not in the Prelates dayes doe they not in the dayes of the present Tryers appeare full of the spirit of enmity against the wayes of Christ against the Kingdom of Christ against the Government of Christ and his Legislative power is there not now as formerly a great and a generall hatred among the Scribes and the Pharisees and the Corrupt Lawyers against the new non-conformists nonsubscribers and against all those who in the spirit of Christ shall boldly beare witnes that they are the world and not the Church and that their workes are evill Let those who are spirituall consider the matter and speake their mind Let those whose senses are exercised by reason of use to discerne betwixt Christ and Beliall betwixt the Inventions of men and the Injunctions of God well weigh the premises in the balance of the Sanctuary and give judgement according to God

But to hasten to the second Question What were those EVILL WORKS which our Lord did testifie against or for which he did bear witness against the world and for doing whereof he was hated of the world I answer Without Controversie THOSE EVILL WORKS may be reduced to two or three generall Heads Either such as were wrought by them in the way of an ECCLESIASTICALL BODY or such as were brought forth in the Manner and Method of a CIVILL STATE or else such as were done by the confusion and mixture of ALL together as the Holy Spirit in that notable Prayer of Peter intimates where all sorts of Interests Civill Ecclesiasticall Military are declared to Combine together against our Lord. Acts 4.27 Of a truth against thy holy Servant Jesus whom thou hast anointed both HEROD and PONTIVS PILATE with the GENTILES and the PEOPLE of Israel were gathered together Here is a Combination in the Church in the Court in the CAMP against the Saviour of the world And upon examination of the works and workings of all these parties we shall find cause to say they were to be testified against as Evill But more particularly to reckon up some of them as we find them occasionally recorded by the foure Evangelists and as we goe along to compare them with those evill works which are now carried on in these parts of the earth as done by the High Priest by Herod by Pontius Pilate by the Gentlemen of the long Robe of both professions c. First let us begin with their Counsells against Christ those works of darknesse they are evill works within doores Mat. 12.14 The Pharisees went out and held a Counsel privately how they might destroy him Here were consultations held against the life of Christ So Mat. 27.1 All the chief Priests and Elders of the people tooke counsel against Jesus to put him to death We shall have an exact account of all their wicked murtherous Consultations against the Person the Doctrine the Honour of the Lord Jesus in that day when he shall Judge the secrets of all men according to his Gospel But in the mean time we know that these Deeds of Darknesse were some of those evill workes which our Lord did testifie against And in like manner at this day we know in that light of truth which will not faile us that there are many close cunning consultations to destroy that Cause of Christ which not long since was in shew highly honoured and contended for by him who is known by the name of his Highness the Lord Protector c. but who gave him that Name I leave to him to Answer when he shall be called to a strict account for all the evil counsel given against the Lord and his followers because of their righteous reproofs of the Army and their Generall for the Hypocrisie Apostacy Oppression and Persecutions whereof they are guilty in the sight of the Sun Another kind of evill works was their watching of the Lord Jesus and sending forth Spies which should feign themselves just men that they might take hold of his words that so they might deliver him to the power and Authority of the Governour Luke 20.20 And the Scribes and Pharisees Luke 11.53 urged him vehemently and provoked him to speak of many Things laying wait for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth that they might accuse him Certainly every man who loves the Lord Jesus will easily grant these were very wicked workes But are not such practises frequently used by the Spies which are Imployed from the Court and Council at White Hall I am sure before our Imprisonment Many who came to catch our words feigned themselves to be Just men to be good men whereby they were capeable to intangle us in our talke The same Spirit which wrought effectually in those children of disobedience doth work in these as effectually and we doubt not but we shall prove these Spies to be guilty of the same evill workes with those Spies which watched Christ and their Masters to be of the same conspiracy with the Pharisees and Herodians namely at that Day when his Highnesse shall stand before the Judgement seat of Jesus Christ without either his Clergy or his Lawyers to plead his Cause We shall then understand what Instructions they were which he or his Secretaries gave his Catch poles when he imployed them and what conference he had with them when they read our Sermon Notes in his hearing and all those works of darknesse and secrecy shall be brought to light and Our Lord Himselfe shall second our Testimony That their Deeds were evill Again Other evill workes of the world and the men of the world which the Lord Jesus did testifie against was Their devouring widdowes houses while for a pretence they made long prayers Mat. 23.14 Surely this was a double evill worke and therefore He tells them they shall receive greater Damnation Not only widdowes Houses have been devoured by the new Rulers but whole Families in pressing and forcing or else inticing men to the ends of the earth for Gold and Silver thousands having perished in the Enterprize but while these Families were devoured by Sea and Land what frequent fastings and long prayers were made at White-Hall The Lord beholds this Hypocrisie and it will one day appear how abominable this project was in the sight of God as it doth in part already not withstanding all their long prayers to colour it over as a Designe against Antichrist and his Kingdome Besides these evill works before Mentioned the Lord declares against them because of their extortion and excesse as it is in Matthew because of their ravening and wickednesse as it is in Luke yea he speaks of their Binding of heavy Burthens and grievous to be borne and laying them on mens shoulders but they will not move them with one of their fingers For my part I am verily perswaded that the same evill workes are Done to the Innocent people by this present Sword power and their cryes enter into the ears of the Lord of Hoasts though they pity them not who Doe thus oppresse them Many more might be added which in the Judgement of all the true Disciples of Christ will be accounted evill workes but I must not inlarge a Preface beyond its proportion this therefore shall sufface for the second Point what kind of evill workes they were which Christ testified against and how like unto them the evill workes of this present Generation of Rulers will be found to be when they are examined by the Righteous Judge of all the world Now as for the Nature of the Testimony given by Christ concerning the evill works of that world or worldly Church which hated both him his doctrine and his followers which is the third generall Head to be spoken to it 's plain that it is no lesse then a Divine Testimony As saith the Apostle If we receive the WITNES of men THE WITNES OF GOD is greater Now