Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	call_v	church_n	truth_n	3,635	5	6.4889	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51142	The trve Protestant sovldier fighting valiantly under truths banner, and by the glorious light of Gods word overthrowing the strongest bulwarkes, and subtle stratagems of the Church of Rome. By Hamnet Warde.	Monginot, François, 1569-1637.; Ward, Hamnet.	1642 (1642)	Wing M2418; ESTC R27120	26,961	42

THE TRVE PROTESTANT SOVLDIER Fighting valiantly under Truths Banner AND By the glorious light of Gods Word overthrowing the strongest Bulwarkes and subtle Stratagems of the Church of Rome By HAMNET WARDE ANCHORA SPEI LONDON Printed by G. M. for William Lee at the Signe of the Turks-Head in Fleet-street 1642. TO THE HONOVRABLE AND TRVLY VERTVOVS THE LADY BRIDG●T BRIANT all Happinesse in CHRIST IESVS Madam THe true zeale which you have for the maintenance of the Truth together with those many favours which your Ladiship hath been pleased to bestow on me my deceased and surviving friends hath encouraged me or rather inforced me to present this little Manuall being the first fruits of mine endeavours to your Ladiships acceptance In that short stride of the World which I have travelled having found many strong oppositions from our adversaries of the Church of Rome as well at home as beyond Sea touching the Protestant Religion I began somewhat to doubt of the truth thereof But by Gods providence lighting on this short Treatise after the perusall thereof I found the Religion of the Church of Rome if I may so call it so sleightly poasted upon the quicksands of mens frivolous opinions and contrariwise the Protestant Religion so soundly founded on the true and lively rocke of our salvation Christ Iesus that by Gods grace as●isting me neither the bewitching charmes of their devillish temptations nor the fiery darts of their hottest persecutions shall ever be able to divert me from the profession thereof Wherefore having received so great comfort thereby my selfe I have laboured with as much as in me lyeth to translate it verbatim out of French into English that others also may have benefit therby humbly beseeching your Ladiship to accept thereof as a token of my ever bounden duty and your Ladiship shall thereby encourage me to pray for your long and happy life here on earth and your eternall happinesse with God in heaven Madam Your Lad● ps most humble and truly devoted Servant Hamnet Warde To the READER Christian Reader MOnsieur Pierre Monginot a Gentleman as well learned as truly noble forsaking the Church of Rome and turning to the Protestant his friends being much discontented thereat wrote this short Treatise to satisfie them shewing them the causes which moved him to change his Religion Which I have translated for thy good out of French into English take but as much heed in reading it as I did labour in the translating it and God grant thee as much benefit by the Copy as I had comfort by the Originall Thine in Christ Iesus Hamnet Warde CHAPTERS 1. Of the true Church 2. Of the Popes power 3. Of the worshipping of Images 4. Of Prayer and Service in an unknowne tongue 5. Of the Invocation of Angels and Saints departed this life 6. Of Abstinence from Meats 7. Of Abstinence from Marriage 8. Of Purgatory 9. Of Merits and Justification by Works 10. Of works of Super-erogation 11. Of the superaboundant satisfactions of Saints and Monkes which the Pope distributes by Indulgences 12. Of the reall presence of the Lords body in the Sacrament and of Transubstantiation 13. Of the Sacrifice of the Masse 14. Of the taking away the cup in the Sacrament Decemb. 1● 1641. Imprimatur THO. WYKES THE TRVE PROTESTANT SOVLDIER CHAPTER I. Of the true Church THe holy Scripture tels us of diverse kindes of Churches There is that Church which is spoken of in the Creed which the Apostle S. Paul calleth the body of Christ against which saith our Saviour Mat. 16. The gates of Hell shall not prevaile which is the Assembly of the truly faithfull and elect people of God wherof part doe already injoy the heavenly pleasures of Gods kingdome part now live here on Earth among sinfull men and infidels and cannot be discerned by the eyes of man Others not yet borne But besides this Church of Gods elect there is another universall and visible Church which is the Assembly of all such as professe themselves Christians and to believe in Jesus Christ This is that Church which Saint Paul 1 Tim. 3. cals the pillar and ground of the truth as being bound to defend and maintaine the truth against all those who labour to corrupt or suppresse it This universall visible Church is composed of divers particular Churches such as were in the Apostles time the Church of Jerusalem the Church of Corinth the Church of Rome and that of the Galatians c. Of these particular Churches some are puter than others nay and there may be some so corrupted as that it is impossible for them to be saved namely as where Idolatry reigneth and where the benefits of Jesus Christ are abused The Church of Rome is one of these particular Churches wherin reigneth Idolatry First in that they call God a Sacrifice made by men Secondly because the honour appertaining to God is by them attributed to Saints in that they say the Saints know the hearts of all men and because they give them and their reliques and Images a religious worship and adoration Lastly because they call the Virgin Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth for the Soveraigne Royalty of the world is not communicable to the creature Likewise the benefits of Jesus Christ are therin abus'd in that they teach that Jesus Christ by his death delivers us from sinnes committed before Bapisme but as for sinnes committed after Baptisme he hath left us to satisfie Gods justice for them by satisfactory pains as well here as in Purgatory Thus then let it be that the Church of Rome be a particular visible Church and it more corrupt than any other although she terme her selfe the universall Church as if there were no other Church besides whereas indeed the Churches of Syria Greece Armenia and Affrica be more pure and mor● … cient then the Roman and no way subject therunto All th 〈…〉 h the holy Scripture and the Creed attribute to the universall Church of Gods elect or the universall visible Church the Church of Rome by an intolerable abuse and usurpation attributes unto her self as if in the holy Scripture there were no other Church spoken off but the Church of Rome or as if shee alone were the pillar and ground of the truth And when Jesus Christ Mat. 18. sends two Brothers being at strife to the judgement of the Church saying Tell it the Church and if he neglect to heare the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen man and a Publican these Gentlemen would needs make us beleeve that he sends such as doubt in matters of Faith and Doctrin to the judgment of the Church of Rome which they call universall but reade the passage and you shall see that our Saviour speaks not there of doubts touching Religion but of quarrels and broyles which happen betweene man and man and consequently he speaks not of the Church universall but of the Ministers of some particular Church for to appease a quarrell between two Neighbours men doe

accuse God Almighty of injustice to thinke that he inflicts more punishments on any man then his sinnes doe deserve It is not to know the greatnesse of sinne and to be ignorant of the punishment due thereunto to conceive that a few fasts and scourgings or any miseries that are to be endured in this life can be a satisfaction more then sufficient for the same For our Saviour in the 5th Chapter of Saint Matthew saith that he that calleth his brother foole shall be in danger of hell-fire And if the satisfaction of Iesus Christ be sufficient for the punishment due to all our sinnes what need we the satisfactions of Saints Why should we thinke that God will take two payments for one and the same debt when the first is sufficient Moreover God rewards us to the full here on earth for all our good works and endeavours how is it then that we should merit any thing to another thereby A foolish conceit it is indeed as if the same money which I imploy to buy me a house should likewise serve over and above for the payment of another mans debts And in a thing so holy and important as touching our reconciliation with God in Christ is it lawfull to forge articles of faith without any ground for the truth thereof out of the word of God For where is the least proofe for this in all the holy Scripture who seeth not that it was invented on purpose to increase the Popes treasury and to exalt his Empire who hereby with his pardons and Indulgences amasseth unto himselfe infinite riches I would very willingly learne who it was that first put the Saints satisfactions into the treasury of the Church when began this distribution how shall we know certainly whether God doth receive these satisfactions as sufficient why had not the Priests in the old Testament such a treasury wherein to keep the superaboundant satisfactions of Noah Abraham and Jacob c. which overplus it seems they have lost by ill husbandry What is the cause why our Saviour Christ Iesus nor his Apostles were not advised to speake of this Treasury or of one mans satisfying for another Surely Saint Paul was asleep when he said that every man shall beare his owne burthen Gal. 6. or else they will make themselves wiser then Saint Paul But whether it be allowable by Gods Word or no so it be any way conducing to the Popes profit it matters not with them so the Pope hath a fee it 's no matter whether God hath any honour Thus doe they both dishonour God and wrong their owne soules CHAP. XII Of the presence of the Lords body in the Sacrament and of Transubstantiation IF there were none other abuse in the Church of Rome save only this one errour of Transubstantiation it were of it selfe sufficient to drive away from the Church of Rome any man that is carefull for the salvation of his soule The holy Scripture declareth that no Idolaters shall enter into the kingdome of God 1 Cor. 6. and surely there can be no greater Idolatry then to call a morsell of bread his god and his Creator and to adore a god made with a few words a god that may be stollen away a god that may be mouldy and eaten up with wormes and those termes which they use of eating God of lifting up God of carrying God about in procession me thinkes should make a true Christians haire to stand on end to heare such intollerable blasphemies whereby God Almighty is so greatly dishonoured and the Christian Religion so exposed to the reproach of Pagans and Infidels The Doctors of the Church of Rome strive to prove this their Transubstantiation from that passage of our Saviour which they alleadge cropt and maimed not mentioning either the foregoing or the following words where we find that Jesus tooke bread brake it blessed and gave it to them saying take eat this is my body which is broken for you doe this in remembrance of me It appeares then that our Saviour g●ve bread and it is manifest that he gave it not till after the consecration it was therefore bread after the consecration Our Saviour saith that the bread is his body not that the bread is changed or transubstantiated into his body so that the bread is not the body of Christ Capernaitically or grossely but sacramentally and spiritually Moreover our Saviour in the 12th Chapter of Saint Johns Gospell saith me ye have not alwayes which were false if he were alwayes inclosed in a wafer cake To this they answer that we have him no more visibly I reply that to have Jesus Christ invisibly is neverthelesse to have him that man should lye that should say he hath no money because it is in his coffer So likewise in the 16th of Saint Johns Gospell ver 17. I goe to the Father saith our Saviour which also were an untruth if he did still remaine in a peece of bread All this they pretend under the shadow of these words this is my body for the meaning whereof they will not receive Saint Pauls exposition who thus delivereth it unto us the bread which we breake is it not the communion of the body of Christ 1 Cor. 10.16 And I pray how many times in the Scripture is it said that we are the body of Christ doth it therefore follow that we be transubstantiated into his body We see then into how many blasphemies how many grosse absurdities and contradictions they run into to defend this their fantasticall Transubstantion having no proofe at all for it out of Gods word what they have out of their unwritten word I know not neither doe I care CHAP. XIII Of the sacrifice of the Masse A word or two now of the Idolatrous sacrifice of the Masse Hereupon it was that I first found the Doctors of the Church of Rome at a fault For I often called on them to shew me some passage out of the word of God that commandeth the sacrifice of the body of Christ Jesus but they could none of them ever shew me any Some forsooth will take the institution thereof from those words of our Saviour doe this which they interpret sacrifice my body but this interpretation is of their owne invention Others alleadge that passage of our Saviour this is my body for the institution of it But what if it were such a body indeed as they interpret it which notwithstanding is very false can they conclude because our Saviour said this is my body that he commanded the sacrifice of his body Briefly they cannot alleadge any passage out of the word of God which might prove the institution of this their most idolatrous sacrifice And indeed seeing the sacrifice of the death of Iesus Christ is sufficient what need is there to sacrifice him any more Againe through the whole passage of the institution of the Lords Supper there is not the least signe or mention of any sacrifice neither did the Apostles any worship at