Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	work_n	world_n	zion_n	349	3	9.0208	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88818	The wolf stript of his sheeps clothing or The antichristian clergy-man turn'd right side outwards. Wherein is briefly discovered and layd open their subtile and wicked wayes and practises to deceive and destroy not only private people, or particular societies, but whole nation and kingdoms, and all under the plausible vizzard of reformation, church-government, punishing of hereticks and sectaries. / By R. Lavvrance Marshal General.	Lawrence, Richard, d. 1684.	1647 (1647)	Wing L682; Thomason E386_10; ESTC R201479	19,259	30

people against him to destroy him this ye finde Matth. 26.3 16.5 21. 15.1 20.18 21. so Mark 8.11 31. 14.1 43. so Luk. 5.21 6.7 9.22 20.1 22.2 66. 23.10 And since the time of Christs finishing his work in the world which he did upon the crosse John 19.30 since the Captain of our salvation hath been made perfect through sufferings Heb. 2.10 Whereby he hath given all that are his sufficient testimony that if they will follow their Lord Christ they must take up his crosse Luk. 19 23. and All that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 that In the world they shall have tribulation but in him they shall have peace For saith Christ the disciple is not above his Master nor the servant above his Lord it is enough for the disciple to be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Matth. 10.24 25. I say since this chaste spouse of Jesus Christ the spirituall Church of God hath been left in the world as the Ark of God was among the Philistims as Daniel in the lions den or as Jonas in the whales belly void of all hope and help in the world as far as sense and reason or any thing below faith was able to apprehend the flesh the world and the Divel hath ever since proclaimed open war against Christ in his people though the gates of hell could never yet nor ever shall prevail against them Matth. 16.18 For no sooner had they done crucifying Christ but presently they began to persecute the Apostles and Saints at Jerusalem And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles Acts 8.1 and they which were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word and the Apostles did not go about to stir up Jerusalem to petition the Magistrate against them then but what was then the duty and practice of the Saints is now punishable by our learned Presbyters for Schism and Heresie and because they have neither precept nor practice neither Scripture nor good reason to convince their differing Brethren therefore are they procuring lawes and ordinances that then they may cry out to the Magistrate as the Jewes did to Pilate Wee have a law and by our law hee ought to die Those who are the drivers of this designe let us pray that the Lord would not lay this sin to their charge but that hee would open their eyes and let them see the evill of their doings that they may put it far from them and take this into their consideration that England hath too much innocent blood upon its score already which hath cost it very deer lately God hath given our Nation blood to drink in great measure as if he would tell us every drop of the blood of his saints which this Kingdome for many yeers hath been destroying and banishing should cost us a fountain and hath so disperst and scattered all our former persecutors as if hee were minded to let them see how good persecution and banishment were or to make them as forward to fetch those home again whom they have formerly banisht and forc'd out of the Kingdom as he did the Egyptians to thrust the Israelites out whom they did formerly force to stay in their Kingdom I shall here onely use Davids words in the very same case In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood But the Lord is my defence and my God is the rock of my refuge And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickednesse yea the Lord our God shall cut them off Psal 94.19 20 c. It hath been the sad condition of the Church of God for above a thousand yeers last past ever since the falling away spoken of 2 Thess 2.3 to suffer by her enemies as an evill doer truth hath ever since been persecuted for errour light for darknesse Christ for Belial and therefore this last hath been the most cunning and cruellest way of persecuting that ever the adversary attained to therefore saith Christ prophesying of this last and greatest adversary to the Church Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves So Behold I send you forth as sheep among wolves be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmlesse as doves As much as if he should say ye have a subtle and cruell adversary to deal withall therefore arm your selves with wisdom and innocency Or thus Ye have been formerly persecuted by open enemies such as have not been ashamed to appear against you in their own likenesse but now your enemy shall be your pretented friend such as shall be in your own likenesse they will be wolves still but they will be in sheeps clothing Matth 7.15 They will still kill you but they will pretend to do God good service by it John 16.2 Christ further prophesieth of the Saints sufferings under the Gospel by this wicked cruel devouring adversary Mark 13.19 For in those dayes shall be afflictions such as were not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time neither shall be And then if any man shall say Lo here is Christ or lo there is Christ beleeve him not for false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall shew signes and wonders to deceive if it were possible even the very elect And if ye will beleeve the Scripture those false Christs and great deceivers spoken of so much are not such kinde of creatures as wee are crying out against poor illiterate mechanick fellows as we call them for such were Christ and the Apostles esteemed of by the world Is not this the Carpenters son Matt. 13.55 Mar. 6.5 So in Acts 4. when the Apostles Peter and John were brought before the high priest and his kindred to be examined When they saw the boldnesse of Peter and John and perceived they were unlearned and ignorant men they marvelled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus These priests had more goodnesse in them then many of our priests for they will not take notice of any whom they call unlearned and ignorant men to have been with Jesus if they have any Christian boldnesse in them but call it audaciousnesse and out facing Authority meaning their own Antichristian power as if there were no coming to Jesus but by Rome the same way by which themselves come But those false Christs and false Apostles spoken of in Scripture are not unlearned mechanick fellowes but such as have in them all the humane learning and wisdome the world can afford not

onely of those hirelings whose own the sheep are not which onely flee when the wolf comes and leaves the sheep to the wolf John 10.12 but these are rather those wolves which Christ forewarned the Church of Matth. 7.15 These are of that sort Paul prophesieth of Acts 20.29 For I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock These may be fitly compared to Jerusalems false prophets and wicked priests Ezek. 22.25 26. There is a conspiracy of her Prophets in the midst thereof like a roaring lion ravening the prey they have devoured souls they have taken the treasure and precious things they have made her many widows in the midst thereof Her Priests have violated my law and have prophaned my holy things they have put no difference between the holy and prophane neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths and I am prophaned among them Her Princes in the midest thereof are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood and destroy souls to get dishonest gain And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter seeing vanity and divining lies unto them saying Thus saith the Lord when the Lord hath not spoken If there were but such a noble spirit in thee as those Beareans had Acts 17.11 to search the Scriptures daily whether those things be true or no that men hold forth to thee how soon would the vanity and simpleness of these learned deceivers be discovered to thee If thou wouldest but take the Apostles for an example not to have regard to the words which mans wisdom teacheth but which the holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual 1 Cor. 2.13 If thou wouldest not beleeve every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God or no because many false prophets are gone out into the world 1 John 4.1 How would light break forth to thee and darkness flee away but we have been more fearful to scruple or question the testimony of men and their subtile intricate interpretations of the Scripture then we have been to question the testimony of God himself and the plain sayings of the spirit in the Scripture and the Laws and Ordinances which these men have procured and caused to be established against Heresie and false Doctrine did never run in the defence of the Scripture as it stands pen'd by the Spirit of God but as it were interpreted by them not thus If any man shall declare or hold forth any doctrine or opinion contrary to the Scripture or contrary to the form of sound words delivered by Christ and his Apostles but thus by the Papists If any man shall hold forth any doctrine or opinion contrary to the holy Catholike Church or shall deny the supremacy or infallibility of our holy Father the Pope c. And among the Protestants thus If any man shall hold forth any doctrine or opinion contrary to the present government established or contrary to the doctrine or articles of Faith received by the Church c. he shall be proceeded against as an Heretike c. and accordingly If any have been accused of Heresie or Schism c. why they have been proved Heretikes c. by those Laws and Ordinances and not by the Scripture nor by Christs precepts and practice as they stand upon record from his mouth neither will it avail the accused to plead in his defence any testimony from Scripture to maintain the lawfulness of his practice but his adversaries will cry out we have a law by our law he ought to die and thus hath these men like those wicked Pharisees Christ proves Matth. 15.6 made the Scripture and Law of God of none effect by their own traditions they have been alwayes striving and contending with Kings and Parliaments for Laws and Ordinances pretending them against Heresie and Schism and hath ever turned the edge of them against the very power of godliness this being their very way and means whereby they have destroyed so many good Christians as you see they have done in all ages so that they have not been satisfied to persecute and destroy good people themselves but have hereby imbrued the hands of Emperors Kings and Parliaments in the blood of many millions of Gods people to the ruinating of themselves and their Kingdoms besides the loud cry of blood to God for vengeance against them which he will surely require at their hands and when he had opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held and they cryed with a loud voice saying How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth Revel 9.10 And I heard the angel of the waters say Thou art righteous O Lord which art and wast and shall be because thou hast judged us for they have shed the blood of Saints and Prophets and thou hast given them blood to drink for they are worthy Revel 16.5 6. When the Lord shall once come to make inquisition for blood it is not a pretence of building up Sion and establishing the peace of Jerusalem that shall satisfie his justice no he will avenge it on all hands Hear this I pray you ye heads of the house of Jacob and princes of the house of Israel that abhor judgement and pervert all equity They build up Sion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity The heads thereof judge for reward and the Priests thereof teach for hire and the Prophets thereof divine for money yet will they lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us none evil can come upon us Therefore shall Sion for your sake be plowed as a field and Jerusalem shall become heaps and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest Micah 3.10 11 12. And do but compare the practice of these men to the practice of Christ and his Apostles and see what little agreement there is betwixt them and then chuse whether thou wilt serve God or Mammon for no man can serve both Matth. 6.24 Ye shall finde Christ himself which was not onely the great Prophet and Teacher of his Church Acts 3.23 24. but likewise their great King and Law-giver Isaiah 33.22 one that hath all the power of heaven and earth committed to him and yet did he never use any arbitrary power over or in the Church but saith he All things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you John 15.15 It was his Fathers business not his own that he came to do Luke 2.49 John 4 37. 17.4 His Fathers will not his own that he came to fulfil John 5.30 Mark 14.36 And in his Fathers name not his own did he do all that he did John 5.43 17.6 26. And so the Apostles which were chosen and ordained by Christ himself