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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	authority_n	church_n	true_a	2,292	5	5.6438	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30059	The contrariety of popery to the blessed word of God wherein may be seen that the doctrine and practice of the Church of Rome are not consistent with the sacred oracles of the Old and New Testament ... / written by Digby Bull ...	Bull, Digby.	1695 (1695)	Wing B5410; ESTC R8749	67,944	72

Bishops of Rome do succeed St. Peter in such a Supreme Power and Authority and are now the Head of all the Christian Church is not consistent with the sacred Scriptures but directly contrary to them This is proved by what hath been said already For if St. Peter had no such Universal Power and Authority over the Apostles and all the Church as it is clear that he had not then the Roman Bishops have no ground to pretend to succeed him in such a supreme Power and Authority This is altogether vain seeing there is no truth in the former And there is no proof at all that they should be St. Peter's Heirs and Successors and be the only Masters of that Power and Authority which he had in the Church And how then can they assume such an Universal Power and Authority which he had not Heb. 5.4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself saith the Apostle but he that is called of God as was Aaron And how then can the Bishops of Rome justly assume to themselves such a supreme and universal Power over all the Church till they can shew some Divine Commission for it And for such Authority they have no Plea nor Colour from the sacred Word of God There is no clear place in the sacred Scriptures to prove that ever St. Peter was at Rome and he wrote no Epistle to them to confer any Power upon them and in those Epistles that he wrote he makes no mention of any such Power and supreme Authority that they were to have St. Peter was chiefly the Apostle of the Jews as St. Paul sheweth Gal. 2.7 And how then can the Roman Gentiles pretend that all his Power is devolved upon them St. Peter was much at Jerusalem and the Bishops of that place might have had a better Title to be his Successors in a higher manner than others if any were to have been so than the Bishops of Rome can have because he was chiefly and primarily the Apostle of the Jews St. Peter was also at Antioch some time Gal. 2.11 And the Bishops of that place may alledg as good a Plea to be his Successors as the Bishops of Rome can Again St. Paul writes an Epistle to the Romans and several Epistles from Rome but no intimation in them that the Bishops of that place only were to be St. Peters Successors and to have an universal Power and Authority over the whole Church And from hence we may see that St. Paul knew nothing of any such universal Power that the Roman Bishops were to have For if he had known that our blessed Lord had designed them to be the Universal Pastors over all the Church we may be sure that he would not have been wanting to have instructed the Churches to which he wrote in this great Point of Duty and to have let them know where the Supreme Power of the Church was lodged that they might have had recourse to it in all weighty Concerns The Apostle commandeth Christians Heb. 13.17 To obey them that have the Rule over them and to submit themselves but not a word of obeying the Roman Bishop nor any regard that is to be had to him more than to another Again if any place should have been Invested with such a Supreme Power over all the Christian Church we may well conclude that Jerusalem should have been the place For more is said of that place tending this way than of any place in the whole World besides This is the place that is renowned above all others in the sacred Word of God and the Bishops of this place might have pleaded the most of all for a Divine Right of Governing the Universal Church of Christ For this was the Holy City as St. Matthew calls it Matt. 4.5 This was the City of the Great King as our Saviour himself calls it Matt. 5.35 Neither by Jerusalem saith he for it is the City of the Great King This was the City of the Lord of Hosts the Great King of all Kings This was the place where Christ the Great Shepherd of all did exercise the Power that God the Father gave him over all the Church and for whose sacred Temple he shewed so much Zeal and was so much concerned Mar. 11.15 Within the jurisdiction of this City and among the Jews who had a dependence upon this City as their great Metropolis did our Lord do all his Miracles and exercised his Pastoral Office This was the great Metropolis of the whole World and here had Almighty God recorded his Holy Name Psal 87.2 3 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob Glorious things are spoken of thee O City of God Great Matters were spoken and predicted of this City This was to be the City of Truth Zac. 8.3 Thus saith the Lord I am returned unto Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth and the Mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy Mountain This was the place from whence the Law was to go forth according to the predictions of the Prophets Isa 2.3 And many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths For out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And Micah 4.2 For the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem From this place was the Law and Word of God to go forth This is the place where God is said to dwell for ever and he promiseth to cloath her Priests with Salvation Psal 132.13 14. For the Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation This is my Rest for ever And ver 16. I will also cloath her Priests with Salvation This is said of this place and the Priests thereof Here the Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost Acts 2. Here was held the first Council Act. 15. And St. James that was Bishop of Jerusalem was President of this Council of Apostles and Elders And if all this and much more be said of this place in the Word of God we may be sure that Jerusalem should have been the place of Supremacy and Power over all the Church if any place should have been so We may be sure that the Bishops of this place should have been the Universal Head of the Church if there should have been any such Head For more may be said for a Divine Right of Ruling over all the Church for Jerusalem than for any place in the whole World besides But seeing Jerusalem has no such Superiority and doth not exalt it self over all other places we may be sure that no other place ought to do so For Rome or any other place cannot stand in Competition with it for Superiority or urge

And Exod. 34.13 But ye shall destroy their altars and break their Images and cut down their groves And Numb 33.52 Then ye shall drive out all the Inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their molten Images and quite pluck down all their high places And Deut. 7.5 But thus shall ye deal with them ye shall destroy their altars and break down their Images and cut down their groves and burn their graven Images with fire And again Deut. 12.3 And you shall overthrow their altars and break their pillars and burn their groves with fire and you shall hew down the graven Images of their Gods and destroy the name of them out of that place In all these places were they strictly commanded to beat down and destroy all Images for Religious use and all such Idols out of their land This is often repeated to them that they might be sure to take great Care to do it And they were commanded to cast away the very gold and Silver that was upon them as a cursed thing and not to take it to them that they might not be snared thereby Deut. 7.25 26. The graven Images of their Gods shall ye burn with fire thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them nor take it unto thee lest thou be snared therein for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house lest thou be a cursed thing like it but thou shalt utterly detest it and thou shalt utterly abhor it for it is a cursed thing Here we see what cursed and abominable things Images are to Almighty God and that his People and Servants are commanded to abhor and detest them and not to take so much as the gold and silver that was upon them lest they should bring a Curse upon themselves thereby And this one might think should be enough to keep all good People from all Image-worship and to make them abhor all such thoughts And we may see that all good Kings and Princes did beat down and destroy all Images and such Idols according to the Commands of Almighty God Moses burnt the Calf that Aaron had made and ground it to Powder and cast it upon the water and made the Children of Israel to drink of it notwithstanding it doth appear that it was made for the Service of the true God Exod. 32.20 Hezekiah brake down the Images that were set up to be worshipped in Judea and is commended for doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord 2 King 18.3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord He removed the high places and brake the Images and cut down the groves And yet Rabshakeh pretended that he had broken down the Altars of the Lord. Josiah brake down all the Images that he met with in his Dominions and is commended for a good King and for doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord 2 Chron. 34.2 And he destroyed Jeroboam's Altar at Bethel and it is like his Calf too if it were to be found and was not destroyed before 2 Kings 23.15 And yet Jeroboam pretended to serve the true God by his Calves as I have shewed before King Asa also destroyed the Images and all such Idolatrous Worship and is commended herein for doing that which was good in the eyes of the Lord 2 Chron. 14.2 King Hezekiah also brake in pieces the Brazen Serpent that was set up by Moses when it was abused to an Idolatrous use that it might be no more an occasion of Idolatry 2 King 18.3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord He removed the high places and brake in pieces the brazen Serpent that Moses had made for unto those days the Children of Israel did burn incense to it This we see can be no Plea for Idolatry and Image-worship because he brake this brazen Serpent to pieces when it was thus abused to an Idolatrous use and his commended for doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. These we see brake down and destroyed all Images and such Idols and are commended for their practice in so doing And we may see that Shadrach Meshach and Abednego would not be driven to worship the golden Image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up by all the threatnings and Terrors that he could use tho' he threatned to cast them forthwith into the midst of a Fiery Furnace if they did it not Dan. 3.15 And because they would not break the sacred Commands of Almighty God and commit such wickedness as the King commanded them but were resolved to part with their Lives tho' it were in this terrible and dreadful manner rather than do so God did in a wonderful manner deliver them and they received no harm at all tho' they were cast into a fiery Furnace as we see in that Chapter Again farther we may see that God hath declared himself to be a jealous God and that he will not part with his sacred Rights and give his Worship to Images and Idols and that a Wo and Curse is denounced against such Idolaters and that they are like to be shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to go to the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone God declareth himself to be a jealous God in the second Commandment upon this account Exod. 20.5 Thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God And so Exod. 34.14 For thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose Name is jealous is a jealous God And saith he Isa 42.8 I am the Lord that is my Name and my Glory will I not give to another neither my Praise to graven Images And saith Moses Deut. 4.24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire even a jealous God God we see hath flatly declared that he will not part with his Sacred Worship and Service and let them be given to Images and Idols and hath oft declared that he will be full of jealousie and Fury when men set up Images and such Idols to rival him And a Curse and Wo is denounced against such as worship Images This is the first of Moses's Curses Deut. 27.15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten Image an abomination unto the Lord the work of the hands of the crafts-man and putteth it in a secret place and all the people shall answer and say Amen Tho' this should be done secretly yet he that should do it is here pronounced Cursed And saith the Psalmist Psal 97.7 Confounded be all they that serve graven Images that boast themselves of Idols worship him all ye Gods And saith the Prophet Isaiah Isa 42.17 They shall be turned back they shall be greatly ashamed that trust in graven Images that say to the molten Images ye are our Gods And Isa 45.16 They shall be ashamed and also confounded all of them