Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	doctrine_n	reform_a	3,582	5	9.8202	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93346	Englands pressures: or, The peoples complaint, humbly related, for information and for satisfaction of the grounds and causes thereof, and communicated to the inhabitants of England, in the severall cities and counties of the kingdome. Also, a short reprehension to factious, seditious sinners, with a Christian exhortation to reformation, to brotherly unitie and concord, and conscionable performance of covenant, by assurance of Gods blessing, a glorious deliverance, with establishment of truth and peace to the three kingdomes. / By George Smith, Gent. Imprimatur John Downame.	Smith, George, 1602 or 3-1658.	1645 (1645)	Wing S4035; Thomason E295_9; ESTC R200196	33,562	43

which thou complainest and cast it from thee then Humbly Importune the Parliament to redresse the evils and put things right Judges know not who is wronged till the complaint come before them nor can they redresse the evill till proved by two or three witnesses If we thus doe we shall have no cause of any murmuring complaints for the Parliament will surely do justice x Rom. 13. 4. They are the Ministers of God to us for our good c. And know God is now about to set up Jesus Christ on his throns and to establish the puritie of Religion that God is now about a greater worke for this Kingdome and for the world of elect at this time then only the setling of our temporall freedomes for assuredly he will make Jesus Christ much more glorious to the world then ever before and his ordinances shall be set up in their puritie the truth of Religion shall be established not changed as some simple Ignoramuses report The Parliament is not about to change any thing in Religion onely to purge out the dregs of Antichristian doctrine that Christ may be worshipped in puritie according to the will of God revealed in holy Scripture and practised in the best reformed Churches Gre●t wo●●es mett with great oppositions The worke is great and difficult and we know great workes have ever met with great oppositions and much difficulty these are trying times y Heb. 11. 36 God proves us now whether we will follow Christ or Antichrist these are fyrie tryals such as the Apostle Peter speaks of which he saith z 1 Pet. 4. 12 is to try you When he hath tryed me a Job 23. 10. saith Job I shall come forth as gold b Jam. 1. 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tryed he shall receive the crowne of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him If we will be blessed live must endure it and endure it to the end else there is no promise of blessednesse he onely c Math. 10. 22. that endureth to the end shall be saved Now give me leave to advise A Caveat to take heed lest we mistake Christ and beseech all men of all ranks and degrees to consider well and to take heed that none of us doe now reject Christ as the Iewes did They looked for the performance of the promise that the Messiah should come but because they were stupid and fancied that he should come onely to restore their d Joh. 6. 15. temporall Kingdome they fayling of their expectation in that rejected him when he came to establish the Gospel for that sin were rejected by Christ as we know they yet are to this day It will be worth your consideration to consider that because they so much sought their owne safetie and doted upon a temporall deliverance e Joh. 11. 50. Joh. 18. 14. God turned that verie meanes which they used to secure themselves to be their utter ruine God forbid it should be so with England yet surely our case is dangerous for f Math. 12. 25. a kingdome divided against it selfe is brought to desolation That the Kingdome is divided The dangerous Divisions that are in England I need not tell you all men see and feele it the bloudy divisions between the King and his Parliament have already almost brought it to desolation but there are yet more dangerous divisions then that If we that are Protestants were but against the Papists as the Papists are against us such a division would make happie Union in the end But we that are Protestants are divided among our selves in our judgements or rather fancies we run after shadowes and leave the substance we use our liberty to a liberty to sin to invent broach new errors and spend our time to make Proselytes to our selves to compasse our own ends some are Proud some are Ignorant some are Ambitious some are Covetous some are Prophane some Treacherous some Tyrannicall oppressors c. all seeke their owne ends but few seek Jesus Christ nor the good of others we seek the Goods of others and our owne good by others ruine Surely this is cause of complaint and I conceive is some ground of those generall complaints that have from everie Countrie come to mine eares Now I being bound in conscience to the uttermost of my endeavours to seek the reformation of Religion the peace safetie of the Kingdom I shall with sorow of heart in all humble submission present these 20 complaints of the people to the view and consideration of the Inhabitants of the Cities and Counties of England c. they are the peoples not mine First Twentie severall Complaints common among all sorts of the people related That the Government and Discipline of the Church is not setled according to the rule of Gods word in uniformitie of worship nor is there a restriction to Sectaries and Schismaticks but they increase dayly and grow numerous in all places of the Kingdome to the griefe of the godly and wel-affected Minister preaching against Minister and one Congregation separating from another as if Christ the head of the Church were divided or as if there were more Christs then one hereby the illiterate and unstable people are either seduced or discouraged not onely to the disquiet of the Church of God but to the disturbance of the peace of the Kingdome insomuch that men rashly say they know not what Religion shall be set up c. Secondly That the secret evill councells that have or have had influence upon the Parliament the Committee of both Kingdomes and the Councells of Warre which have retarded and crossed severall good designes are not discovered nor questioned this I doe but name it is a generall complaint Thirdly That the Nationall Covenant by the providence of God Ordered to be taken in all the parts of the Kingdom within the Parliaments power hath beene much neglected by the Committees of Counties and in the Universitie which besides Gods anger is some Impediment to the peace of the Church and Kingdome it being war●antable by example in Scripture to urge it see 2 Chron. 15. 13. Ezra 10. 5. 8. Fourthly That the Committees of severall Counties doe tyrannize over the people and contrarie to the Ordinances of Parliament and intention of the Houses exact Taxations with much rigor and partialitie to the great discouragement of the people both Gentlemen and Yeomen c. even as in the dayes of Rehoboam which put the people upon resolutions of setting up a third partie Fifthly That manie men of meane qualitie indigent unfit and unexperienced men have crept into places of greatest command and trust in severall Counties and Committees and severall Gentlemen of qualitie education knowne abilities and of undoubted fidelitie are neglected and contemned by c. it is a cause of division and contention in Committees Cities and Counties Sixthly That men