Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	become_v	gain_v	weak_a	7,469	5	11.0638	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05459	Against the apple of the left eye of antichrist, or the masse book of lurking darknesse making way for the apple of the right eye of antichrist, the compleat masse book of palpable darknesse : this apple of the left eye, commonly called, the liturgie, or service book, is in great use both among the halting papists, and compleat papists, and the things written heere are also against the compleat masse book.	Lightbody, George.	1638 (1638)	STC 15591.5; ESTC S2182	52,108	90

they therefore be read for Divine service And also they and the scriptures called A●●●crypha can prove nothing which may beget nor establish saving faith in the hearts of men 4. God in His word did registrat the lives doings and sayings of many Pagans and wicked men as are Nimrod Balaam Pharaoh and Haman and of the devill plagueing Job tempting Christ and entring into Judas c. these should bee read in Divine service But who dare censure GODS doing and who dare imitate his practise in hatching new Scriptures All fire in Heaven and in earth is but fire yet if God send fire from himself upon the sacrifices who dare burn them with strange fire Qu. 11. Is not this book good for publict prayer in that it setteth down some formes thereof for in conceaved prayer men spend their time in thinking what should be their wants and what way to expresse them before God Ans 1. The knowledge of the wants of Christians is alwayes present to such as are nor senslesse and carelesse the manner of expressing of them is at hand to such as are frequented with Divine service for use maketh promptnesse 2. Your set formes of prayer know not mens particular nor yet their common wants which occasionally may fall out into Gods kirk and therefore they can not make the time shorter by discovering unto men their wants neither can they expresse their occasionall wants There is more time ●pended before that thou canst apply a set forme unto thy heart and stir up thy desires thereby without the which thou doest not pray but prat 3. Thou must also take time to consider if thou hast need of the things contained in the set forme for it will perturb 〈◊〉 prayer to seek deliverance from war tempest famine thunder and pestilence when such things are not neer unto thee This prayer is commanded to be said in the Litany which is appointed for the Wednesdayes Fridayes and Sundayes such a prayer is a mocking of GOD. 4. The set forme perturbeth thy minde in publict prayer when true griefs and wants come into thy minde and thou hast no libertie to expresse them unto GOD because they are not mentioned in the set forme 5. Thou that condemnest a conceived prayer doest also condemne the set formes for all set formes were conceived by these who first published them Why may not wee then use now also conceived prayers If any pray for things unlawfull let the kirk censure them If any pray for things agreeable to GODS glory and the well of his kirk how dare any accuse it This masse book teacheth men not to be Christians but apes in unpertinent gestures of standing sitting kneeling c. and parrats in reading praying vociferation and crying unpertinently All is hypocrisie the very substance of antichristian devotion Qu. 12. Doth not the conceived prayer used by the preacher become also a set forme unto the people if they fixe their meditations and devotion unto his prayer why then may not both the preachers and people use the set formes of this book Ans 1. When the Preacher conceiveth a prayer GODS Spirit is no wayes restrained for he expresseth as Gods Spirit informeth him And if the people in the meane time have the same information at the hearing of the Preacher then no man hindereth 〈◊〉 expression thereof by themselves But if GOD● Spirit put in them any heavenly meditations different from the words and meditations of the Preacher they may also secretly expresse them 2. Every day as troubles or changes shall fall out in kirk or common-wealth GOD offereth unto men new occasions to have variety of meditations and of the expressing of them in prayer The set formes in the masse book do hinder both Preachers and People from such expression Qu. 13. May not preachers sometimes vse some ordinary set forme of prayer Ans They may if the prayer conteine only things that are perpetually needfull for GODS kirk as Confession of sins mercy and remission of sins sanctification of life a blessing to the present exercise increase of faith c. that thereby ignorant people if there be but one of them in the whole flock who understand nothing and have neither form nor words of prayer at all at the least they may learne some form of prayer to call upon God in such a forme is better then not to call upon God at all This forme so used restraineth not Gods Spirit both because the matter of it is perpetually needfull as also because it hindereth none to say conceived prayers before or after as men think good Experience hath shown that the memories of some people have beene so weak that neither pain●s nor travell nor repetitions could make them get perqueer the LORDS Prayer Others have learned the LORDS Prayer but no further others learned also some set forme but could never conceive a prayer ●●●refore these preachers are both undiscreet and uncharitable who deny altogether a set forme of prayer unto weak Christians who can neither understand nor imitate a conceived prayer It is mercilesse Divinitie that showeth no pitie upon the infirme and ignorant Christians Then when the Ministers have thus taken care for the ignorant people they do best afterwards to conceive their prayers that the libertie of GODS Spirit in his gifts may be enlarged and not diminished and that the more learned people by the diversitie of the Preachers meditations may bee edified as well by his prayer as by his preaching Paul become as under the Law for them that were under the Law he became weak for them that are weak he became all things unto all men that he might gaine some So the faithfull and true Pastors that are not hirelings neither puft up with a conceat of spirituall gifts they will accommodat themselves not only to strong Christians with diversitie change of meditations in a conceived prayer but also to the weak and infirme for whom Christ dyed with a set forme containing things ever needfull for Gods Kirk that the infirme may be gained untill the Lord bring them to greater perfection Qu. 14. Their are set formes of Divine service in scriptures as the Lords prayer and the 10. commandments may not wee make set formes following this example Ans 1. The whole word of GOD in the Old and New Testament is a set forme of Gods revealed will for us to make use of in the practise of a holy life but not in the practise of making new formes May wee then make new Scriptures and Gospels as we please containing the form set down by Gods Spirit 2. 〈◊〉 set formes in Scripture do not lay bands on Gods Sp●●rit they were the effects of his libertie which hee used at his pleasure He may restraine and command us we may not do so unto him 3. Masters who appoint set formes of service are offended if their servants do not obey them as they command but as the servants like to obey The antichristian Prelates themselves are not

of the bread after that the celebration is ended and the eating of it only by such as communicate showeth that they esteeme more of it then of a Sacrament For after the Celebration of the Sacrament the elements are no more holy by a Sacramentall relation then they were before the celebration Any man might drink the waters of Jordan after that men were baptized in it So any man may eat and drink the Sacramentall elements when the Celebration is ended Therefore in the Primitive kirk they did not keep the Sacramentall bread neither for them that were in sicknesse nor in health It was not hanged up in the pixis to be worshipped as is now done by the Papists and intended by the halting Papists who now by ●●eping the elements will come the more easily to the worshipping of them Origen said Comment in Leviticum that of old in some places they brunt the Sacramentall bread which remained And Euagrius in histor Eccles saith That in some places children learning at schooles were called to eat it Hieron in comment in 1. Corinth 11. saith That after the celebration the Communicants did eat t●● Sacramentall bread and drink the wine in the k●●● their common supper Our formalists as they superstitiously keep the bread so do they keep the water in the font 9. The pretending of the necessitie of salvation when they minister private baptisme and private communion showeth greater vertue and merite attributed unto them then either pertaineth to a Sacrament or to any divine ordinance except the death and merite of Christ whereupon only dependeth the necessitie of our Salvation The professing of a necessitie of salvation to depend upon a private communion is a denying of the spirituall use and benefite that men receive by the publick Sacrament 10. The hindering of GODS word to be read making it give place to the reading of humane traditions is grosse idolatrie for this honour belongeth only unto God that as all religions in the world should give place to the true religion whereby God is rightly worshipped according to his own word So the reading of all traditions in the world should give place to the Divine traditions of his sacred word dited by his holy Spirit and that chiefly when religious Divine service should be exercised 11. The dedicating of dayes to be solemnly keept for the honour of Martyres Saints and Angels is grosse idolatrie as is the praying unto Saints and Angels and the religious kneeling to them or to their pictures used by Papists all such sort of honour belong unto God only 12. The usurping of power to ordeine Sacraments as the Popish Prelates have ordeined five bastard sacraments and the halting Papists ordeine Confirmation to bee observed among themselves To appoint holy dayes for Angels and Saints to make rites and ceremonies have spirituall and religious significations to make these things to be points of Divine worship and religion All Rulers who do such things in doing the same they commit Divine-laesmajestie usurping Gods place for the power and authoritie of ordeining such things belongeth unto God only All people that give obedience in such things unto any but unto GOD they commit idolatrie for the honour of that kinde of obedience only belongeth unto GOD and that only when he commandeth such things to be done If men obey GOD in these things when he neither commandeth nor giveth approbation nor warrand for such obedience it is wil-worship when things indifferent are counted divine service it is wil-worship and idolatrie in the large sense but when things only belonging unto GOD are robbed from him and given unto creatures albeit usurpers will have the same also called GODS honour yet it is grosse idolatrie So when prelates usurpe this honour and authoritie they become idol-GODS And as GOD by his own law and by no other law commandeth children to honour their parents servants their masters so the prelates by their owne lawes and not by GODS law doe command men to obey GOD as if GOD were inferiour to prelates so they exalt themselves above GOD in giving lawes how God should bee obeyed as God giveth Lawes how parents should be obeyed 13. The communion table must stand at the uppermost part of the chancell or Church conforme to the standing of the Popish alters when the table is covered with superstitious vestiments the Priest standeth at the north side or end of the table with his back or side to the people saying the Lords Prayer with a collect After the collect he turneing to the people rehearseth the Commandements the people all the while kneeling and asking God mercy at the end of every commandement All this showeth a conformitie to Popish idolatrie for they fixe religious adoration determinatly unto the Priests act of rehearsing the commands as if God were personallie appearing and speaking out of the Priests mouth The Priest kneeleth not as if he were not a sinner neither prayeth he with the people for mercy 14. The most part of things cont●ined in this book were first decreed and ordeined by Popes the 〈◊〉 authors of antichristian idolatrie which showeth th●● the obtruders of this book do draw men unto grosse idolatrie Qu. 5. Rehearse some of these examples Ans Pope Pius the 1. brought into the church the font and the hallowing thereof as say Sabellicus and Platina 2. Pope Sixtus the 2. first ordeined altars whereat they celebrat the Lords supper Volateran Durandus 3. Pope Sixtus the 1. ordeined the corporall cloath Platina Sabellicus 4. Pope Boniface the 2. ordeined the partician between the chancell or queer and the church that the people should hear divine service in a severall place from the clergy Platina So as Moses might not come neer the bush where God appeared in the fire but should declare his reverent respect of his glorious Majestie by standing far off The sinfull laicks must have the same respect unto the sacrilegious holinesse of the clergy by standing in a severall place from them 5. Pope Clement the 1. as Papists affirme commanded all the baptized to be annoynted with oyl and crossed on the forehead Ioannes laziardus No marvell if this be true for the mysterie of iniquitie began in the dayes of the Apostles 6. Pope Honorius the 3. commanded the Sacrament to bee worshipped and kneeled unto by the people Liber conciliorum 7. Pope Fabian commanded all Christians to receive the Sacrament thrise in the year to wit at Easter Whitsunday and Christmas Eusebius Platina so the Communion was fixed superstitiously unto set times 8. Pope Zepherinus appointed that all professing Christians being of 12. or 13. yeares or upward should at least once in the year as at Easter receive the sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ Platina Sabellicus Laziardus 9. Pope Clement the 1. ordeined Confirmation or Bishopping Some say it was Pope Sylvester the 1. Platina Volateranus all agree in this that some bastard Bishop of Rome ordeined it 10. Pope Gregorie the 1. and Pope

pleased with such voluntary service no more is God pleased with the wil-worship of men 4. We are not bound in our prayers to say the Lords Prayer at all times in the precise words of the Text for Matthew chap. 6. at the fift petition saith forgive us our debts Luke chap. 11. hath other words viz. forgive us our sins The LORD and his Apostles oftimes thereafter prayed in the New Testament not using the words of this form of prayer Wee may either say this prayer as a perfect rule of prayer or we may conceave our own prayers after this manner as Matthew saith that is we should seek both heavenly and earthly things only so far as is needfull for setting forth Gods glory and for our own well salvation and seing in scripture none are bound to use the precise forme of the Lords words far lesse are we bound to be thralled with humane formes As for the set formes that we use for the weak memories of the infirmer sort we have libertie to change them also and we should change them if we think it needfull for the weak ones The Lords Prayer and the x. Commands are short compends the one of prayer the other of the contents of Gods Law both were ordeined chiefly for weak memories as the primitive kirk ordeined the articles of the Apostles Creed that weak memories might have perqueer a short summe of the historie of our salvation which is also a plaine kinde of preaching unto the ignorant explicating the chief passages of Scripture that concerne our faith Neither is it needfull at all times to rehearse and confesse the precise words thereof for in Act. 8. the Eunuch said only I beleeve that Jesus Christ is the Son of God And in John 20. Thomas said My Lord and my God Qu. 15. Is not the masse book as lawfull as catecheticall doctrine Ans 1. Catecheticall doctrine is for a memorandum to Preachers in catechising the people and for people to answere it hindereth not Preachers to propound and the people to answere other questions as GODS Spirit shall assist them 2. It is a preaching of the word by questions Preaching is commanded Matthew 28. vers 19 20. Luke 24.4 Act. 1.8 GODS word and the orthodox preaching thereof are both of Divine authoritie because God commanded both to be in his kirk but they are not of equall dignitie As by the same authoritie a man commandeth his treasure and the ark that containeth it to be keept in a strong house but the treasure is of greater dignitie So GODS word is of greater dignitie then the preaching of it The word is the light of a heavenly candle the Preacher is the candlestick preaching is a holding out of that light that men may see spiritually the masse book is a bushell under which the light of Gods word is hide and obscured Matthew 5. vers 6 7. Qu. 16. Did not God give liberty unto his Kirk to 〈◊〉 indifferent things as they please Ans Not as that thereby men shall obscure his glory pollute his worship corrupt his word or hurt the consciences of his people nor to persecute the professors of his truth nor to hinder his word to have free passage in reading printing preaching practising and professing it If indifferent things be thus abused they are no more indifferent but deadly unto Christian religion all these evils are effected by the masse book Civile magistrats have neither power nor authoritie to make indifferent things hurtfull unto Christian religion If any say that the royall authoritie is disobeyed when men obey not such hurtfull lawes I answer It is not disobeyed for there is not such a royall authority that may hurt Christian religion neither may the lawes of men be essentiall points of Christian religion GOD alone decreeth such lawes to be keept GOD giveth no power nor authoritie unto men but to defend Divine lawes and to make humane lawes conforme and subordinate unto the lawes of God and by the sword of justice to defend such lawes Hee will not give authoritie to men to command or do any thing against the law of God no more then a Prince will give power to a subject to spit upon his face If Magistrats ignorantly or by misinformation make lawes hurtfull to true religion if they repent amend God will forgive them albeit he approve not their sin Qu. 17. When then do lawfull rites and ceremonies become unlawfull Ans When opinion of necessitie or holinesse is known to be annexed to them either by such as impose them or by the people on whom they are imposed They then become unlawfull because they confirme and harden the people in their superstition Therefore Hezekiah rejected the brasan serpent which wont to be a divine ordinance much more should rites which never were ordeined of GOD be rejected in this case If thou say when Magistrats command indifferent things then they become necessare Ergo they should be obeyed I answer If they be hurtfull to true religion they are neither necessare not needfull to be obeyed but altogether to be rejected because they are contrary both to the commandment worship of GOD the supreme Magistrate 2. When the use of them is urged more or as much as the ordinances of GOD It is time to put the slave out of the house when he is obeyed as much or more then the Master of the house Absalon should not now live when he is more obeyed and respected then David the King 3. When the omission of them causeth men who otherwise agree with GODS kirk in matters of faith and manners to be esteemed shismaticks and sectaries and so are contemned as men of a contrary religion 4. When the omission of them is accounted and punished as a sin even out of the case of scandal 5. when they are hurtfull to true religion and to the professors thereof as was said in the preceeding question Qu. 18. Did not God without Scriptures teach the Patriarks as Adam and Abraham Sometimes with few Scriptures as in the dayes of the Judges May not God do the like now albeit we diminish the Scriptures Ans Who made thee wiser then GOD to dimin●●●●● the Scriptures which he hath registrat for the good of his kirk He may give lawes unto thee thou may not do so unto him he may abrogat thy lawes thou may not altar nor diminish his lawes neither restraine nor hinder the free passage of them 2. May as little food and rayment susteene men of a perfect age as susteeneth infants GODS kirk in the Old Testament was in the infancie when they had no written word yet in substance they had the same word of life which we have they had it by the traditions of their fathers which they heard of GOD personallie appearing and revealing his will unto them Sometimes he sent his Angels and prophets working miracles for their edification Afterwards the manner of revealing his wi●● was written and enlarged now wee want these