Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	believe_v	church_n	creed_n	1,645	5	10.6358	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17258	A guide vnto godlinesse: or, A plaine and familiar explanation of the ten commandements, by questions and answeres fittest for the instruction of the simple and ignorant people. By Francis Bunny, one of the prebendaries of the Cathedrall Church of Durham.; Guide unto godlinesse.	Bunny, Francis, 1543-1617.	1617 (1617)	STC 4100; ESTC S119539	83,481	241

bée painfull in that state of life that God hath appointed vs to liue in thereby to maintaine our selues and our families and enable our selues to doe good also to other and also by labour to banish the idle life the bane of al goodnesse and root of all wickednes Q. Hitherto wee are taught that neither in any religious respect wee must repose our trust in any but God only neither in any proud perswasion of our heart must we hope for help in any worldly meanes how hopefull so euer they seeme vnto vs neither yet must our loue bee so to any thing vpon earth but that our chief delight may be in the worship and obedience of our good God But as wee haue heard how many waies we are in danger of breaking this Commandement so would I faine vnderstand what it requireth of vs that wee may do it A. Euen the contrary to the things that it forbiddeth For as it forbiddeth all trust in any thing but in God only so doth it require of vs that in him wee should repose all our confidence in all our wants dangers or any distresse as also the Prophet Dauid aduiseth Psal 37.3 verse 7. Trust thou in the Lord saith Dauid Waite patiently vpon the Lord and hope in him So did Dauid when hee encountred Goliah that Champion of the Philistims He trusted not in the armour that Saul caused them to buckle about him but cast it away and told the proud braging Philistim that hee came with sword speare and shield but I saith he come vnto thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts 1. Sam. 17.45 the God of the Host of Israel whom thou hast railed vpon Now this confident assurance cannot flow from any other fountaine then from a setled perswasion in our heart that God is our God that is in power able in mercy willing to make vs all helpe Here-out I say doth spring this resting vpon him for helpe in all distresse And this our confidence and acknowledging God to be our God moueth vs to inuocate and call vpon God in praier either to giue vs good things which we want or to keepe vs from euill that wee heare Thus was Dauid mooued to consult whether he should lift vp his eies vnto the mountaines and then as if he corrected himselfe for that foolish thought hee asketh frō whence his help should come if hee should thinke to lurke in those hills of the land of Canaan then setting downe his resolution Psa 121.1.2 Mine helpe saith he is from the Lord which made Heauen and earth Hence commeth that boldnesse that the Apostle speaketh of to goe boldly vnto the Throne of grace that we may receiue mercy Heb. 4.16 and to finde grace to helpe in time of need Q. I see then that because we must trust in God only if we will obey this first Commandement we must onely pray vnto him and not to any Angel or Saint For how can they call on him in whom they haue not beleeued Rom. 10.14 saith Saint Paul And if praier be to be made only to them in whom wee may trust then fie vpon the Church of Rome that so abuseth the simplicitie of their followers that they make thē beleeue it is great deuotion and a holy worship to pray vnto Saints and Angels in whom yet they may not trust or beleeue For our Creed teacheth vs that we must beleeue in none but in God the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost A. You say well But you must know that the Church Romish loueth not to bee tied within such straight limits as are the Scriptures or that rule of faith which we call the Créed For in all these they can finde no warrant as their Portuesse or Breuiarie teacheth to pray vnto Michael the Archangel to come to help Gods people or as their Masse-booke instructeth to cal vpon the said Michael thus Defende nos in praelio vt non pereamus in tremendo iudicio Defend vs in the battell that we perish not in the terrible iudgment Ascribing therby vnto the Arch-angel Gods office For saluation belongeth to the Lord as all the Scriptures testifie And yet these blasphemies are in their reformed editions of their Portues and Masse-booke approued by Pius the fift and commanded by him to be published Q. I haue also read that they pray vnto Gabriel to destroy their enemies to Raphael to heale their sicknesses to take away their diseases and to wash away their faults And that they teach men to pray to their peculiar Angel if any one bee so appointed to be a gardian to any man to saue him to come downe and gouerne him to cleanse his mind from sinne to attend daily vpon him and keepe him from falling What can they aske of God more then in these prayers they sue to obtaine of the Angels A. The Popish blasphemies whereby they most impiously transgresse against the first Commandement are grosse and infinite as when they ascribe to the blessed Virgin Marie that she is the fountaine of mercie of health and grace consolation and pardon of pietie and gladnes of life and forgiuenesse She most happy Virgin drew saluation pardon life and forgiuenesse from another Fountaine not dreaming of such Fountaines of spirituall graces to be found in her as they most impiously ascribe vnto her And as blasphemous is that their suit Through the Virgin his Mother our Lord grant to vs saluation and peace Euen the Popish Church following in that point the patterne of the purer times conclude commonly their Praiers with this clause through Iesus Christ our Lord. But in this Prayer Christ must bee gracious to vs through his Mother or for her sake Christ I say who for our sakes was made man humbled himselfe to the death euen that shamefull death of the Crosse that Hee might make atonement betwéene his Father and vs must now if we beléeue such teachers and follow such guides not saue vs according to Gods determinate purpose and mercy before all ages and according to his own grace and mercy who came to saue sinners and dissolue the works of Sathan but for his Mothers sake must he saue vs. O horrible popish blasphemy And yet all these horrible impieties are in their booke of the Office of the blessed Virgine printed Ano. 1604. Set forth as they tel vs according to their reformed Latine A deformed reformation it may well bee called that publisheth such idolatrus things so manifestly against the first Commandement to the great offence of the simple and ignorant Q. All popish prayer-bookes are stuffed with such abominations asking of their Saints whereof some may iustly bee doubted of whether they were such or not the things that none but God only can giue I thinke that such offend grieuously also against this Commandement as ascribe vnto their supposed saints the praise and glory of such good things as they receiue from God A. It is true and God reprooueth his people for that

which hée had in his cel Totus in Imaginem eius intentus Being wholly deuoted to her Image thus to say Thou holy Mother of God take care of this thy candle and as I would haue it keep it that it goe not out and so when he had beene away fiue or sixe months at his return hee found the candle burning And there is also another such like tale of a woman that was at great charges to digge a Well and could get no water vntill shee had put an Image into the Wel and then she had plenty of water Acts 5. Much such good stuffe there was in that second Nicen Councell giuing much honour to the Images themselues as if they knew not that olde Verse Hoc Deus est quod Imago docet sed non Deus ipse That which thou seest stand in Gods steed This Image is not God indeed Q. It seemeth then howsoeuer they now would seeme to giue no honour to the Image but to that which is thereby represented yet the contrary appeareth so plainly both by their words and deedes that they must bee holden guiltie of the breach at the least of this part of the Commandement wherin external seruice of Images is forbidden A. You iudge truly And that spirituall worship also which God prohibiteth in this word Thou shalt not serue them they giue to other the Images contrary to this commandement or to the Saints thereby represented to them and that is contrary to the first commandement For if we trust in any thing but in God looking for help from them it is as before is sayd a plaine breach of this commandement Thou shalt haue no other god before mee Q. The Romish teachers make vs beleeue that there is one worship that they giue vnto God another wherewith they honour the Saints and therefore will not confesse themselues to be transgressors either of the first or this second Commandement in worshipping the Saints A. It is true that they speake of two sorts of worships one belonging vnto God another say they may be giuen to the creature the first they call Latria the second Doulia which distinction howsoeuer it may séeme to haue some shew of antiquity yet if it bee truely examined it hath no colour of verity For first the words themselues differ not in signification but both signifie seruice vnlesse Doulia which seruice they reserue for the Saints be more base seruice and therefore more fit to giue to God because reason would wee should more humble and subiect our selues vnto God then to any creature Secondly it is hard for a simple man to put any difference between these two seruices because howsoeuer their teachers say the one seruice belongeth to God the other to Saints yet if thou looke vnto the outward behauiour they are alike to both We knéel to God they to their Saints if not to their Images wee lift vp hands and eyes to God in our prayers so doe they to their Images or to their Saints at the least yea they set lights before them and offer vnto them incense which is more then wee doe to God because hee néedeth it not To be short with greater solemnity by far they obserue their Saints daies then the Lords day So that the seruice to the Saints in outward ceremonies is in euery thing equall to that of Gods with them in some things much greater Q. But in the spirituall honor they tell vs there is great difference For these acknowledge God to be the giuer of all good things As for Saints they make them but Aduocates to God for them A. If this which they say were true yet it were intolerable wrong so to rob Christ of his office For if any man sinne 1. Ioh. 2.1 we haue an Aduocate with the Father euen Iesus Christ the Iust And hee is the propitiation for our sinnes It is he also that is at the right hand of God Rom. 8.34 and maketh request for vs. But they content not themselues thus to rob Christ of his office of mediation but that also they rob God of his glory and that mo wayes then one That appoint to euery Country their peculiar Saint to be as it were their Patron as to England Saint George to Scotland St. Andrew to Spaine St. Iames and to other countries other Saints wherein they imitate the Gentils who had for euery Country and City their seueral gods as Tertullian in his Apologie for Christians and Theodoret writing against the Idolatries of the heathen in his third booke doth charge them Q. It seemeth they haue forgotten that it is God who disposeth of the greatest Monarches at his pleasure and bringeth their kingdomes to an end when hee will If that watchfull keeper of Israel Psal 121.4 who doth neither slumber nor sleepe doe not protect not all the Saints in heauen can worke security and if God be with any Kingdome or Citie or house to defend it not all the powers of the earth nor all the diuels in hel shal any thing annoy it So that the godly may with much ioy comfort say Psal 2.12 Blessed are all they that trust in the Lord And Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord Psal 33.12 the people that hee hath chosen for his inheritance But the simple may iudge that without all doubt in this the Romish Church giue that honour to the Saints that belongeth to God onely yea and that in much greater aboundance to them then to God For the seuenth day which God himselfe commanded to be sanctified vnto him which is now vnto vs the Sabbath or the Lords day is nothing so solemnely kept as those Saints dayes are vnlesse they fall vpon the Lords day and then God for their sakes shall bee serued after their best maner not they for his sake But you said that sundrie waies they rob God of his glory I pray you let vs heare more of this A. Praier belongeth to God only first because hee commanded so Call vpon mee in the day of thy trouble Psa 50.15 then also it is a spiritual sacrifice one of them that the Apostle St. Peter speaketh of 1. Pet. 2.5 Wee are saith he a holy Priesthood to offer vp spirituall sacrifices acceptable to GOD by Iesus Christ and sacrifices were not to bée offered to any but to God Thirdly the practice and examples of al the godly whose praiers we read of in the scriptures teach this And the reason is because they did know it was Gods office onely to heare our prayers O thou hearer of praiers sayth Dauid to thee shall all flesh come Psal 65.2 And the Godly confesse that Abraham was ignorant of them and Israel knewe them not yet I hope these were as good Saints as any that the Romish church can affoord vs Thou O Lord say they art our Father and Redeemer Esa 63.16 shewing hereby for what cause they came to God for helpe euen because other