Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A94746
|
Innovations of popery in the Church of Rome, calling for repentance and reformation; being as a wall of separation between Christians and Christians. : Wherein is shewed, that the mystery of iniquity, Sodom and Egypt spiritual ... are all founded in innovations. : Given forth partly to stir up our thankfulness to God for his former mercies to this nation ... / By one that loves all that fear the Lord ... W.T.
|
Tomlinson, William.
|
1689
(1689)
|
Wing T1848; ESTC R185373
|
39,994
|
146
|
and People To give Kingdoms and take them away at his pleasure Now here take notice that as the Popes Exaltation of himself was foreshewed 2 Thess 3 4. So this Power and Dominion of the Popedom over Kings and Princes was foreshewed Rev. 17. ult under the representation of a Woman there expounded to be a great City reigning over the Kings of the Earth And the Woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth Or nearer the Greek thus Which hath a Kingdom above the Kings of the Earth Which Kingdom if it be not the Popedom reigning over the Kings of the Earth deposing them at pleasure and Surrogating others in their stead then I confess I know not what it is But if other Circumstances in that Chapter be considered with this I think it will put this out of doubt which here I cannot stand upon without too great a diversion and interruption but in its proper place following where the Hierarchy of Rome comes to be spoken of by Gods assistance I shall demonstrate Another innovation is The Exercising Dominion over mens Faith. It may be something of this kind might begin before the Popes were so named But however it s upheld and practised by the Popes and was not owned by the Apostles Doctrine but is an Innovation contrary to the simplicity and purity of the Gospel wheresoever it is found That it is a piece of Popery and upheld by them is manifest by their punishing and cruel handling of those that in Conscience towards God and faithfulness to his Truth cannot submit to those their humane Innovations which they see to be so But the Popes who have arrogated to themselves Power and Dominion over the Persons and Thrones of Kings and Princes are not satisfied without the like dominion also over the Throne of God the Conscience and except they model mens Faith and cast them all into one Mould which thing the Apostles durst not do The Apostle Paul disclaims this Dominion over mens Faith 2 Cor. 1.24 And he durst not judge the Faith or Conscience of the different believing Romans when some of them kept a Day and others kept it not and when some of them did Eat Herbs and others did Eat Flesh and both to the Lord as he judged and therefore he defends them both one against the other and judged nothing but their judging of one another in so doing Rom. 14.4 5 6. And then he puts them in mind of Christ's Prerogative in this case ver 10. Saying But why dost thou judge thy Brother Or why dost thou set at nought thy Brother We shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ But the Popes are not of Pauls mind they will have men believe as they believe or else Burn them alive if this be not to exercise Dominion over mens Faith and Conscience what is And if this be not an innovation contrary to the simplicity purity mercy and meekness of the Gospel nothing is which saith In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves 2 Tim. 2.25 not burning them as is done under the Tyrannical Popedom 7. But to back this their cruel Dominion over the Faith and Consciences of men and to palliate it and make it take place and go down with their people they put the Name Heretick upon those who cannot conform to their Innovations that they may incense people against them And this is another Innovation And so they heap Innovation upon Innovation Whereas indeed and in truth nothing is Heresie but that which opposes the Truth of the Gospel delivered by Christ and his Holy Apostles To oppose false Doctrine and innovations of men is no Heresie But to bring in Innovations contrary to the Truth of the Gospel and to require subjection thereto this is certainly Heresie Therefore let them that call or count men Hereticks look to it that they be not found the greatest Hereticks devouring innocent Lambs of Christ under that false notion And indeed here is a notable Stratagem of Satan whereby to make them that fear God and abhor mens inventions as Sheep fit for the Slaughter even to fix opprobtious Terms upon them For this begets an Odium in the minds of Blindfolded people against them and makes them through hatred ready for Butchers and to execute Massacres and all manner of mischief against the Faithful Servants of Christ under that notion of being Hereticks It must be under some such disguise that the Great Whore makes her self drunk with the Blood of Saints and with the Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus such as bear witness to him and his Truth against the Innovations of men 8. And so that 's another Innovation namely To rid men out of the Earth whom they call Hereticks It 's no sin to destroy them say they Yea further they have made it a Law to Burn them And this hath not been a dead Law or like a Sword kept in a Scabbard but hath been cruelly executed where the power of the Popedom hath prevailed I am sure this cruelty is an Innovation for there is no such Doctrin from Christ or any of his Apostles but positive Doctrin against it Therefore that Law and such other destructive Laws and the execution of them must needs be Innovations of men Christ Jesus our Lord said He came not to destroy mens lives but to save them Luke 9.54 55 56. But this Spirit that hath got into the Popedom comes to destroy mens lives therefore is a Spirit contrary to the Spirit of Christ It 's another Spirit crept in under the profession of the Gospel not his Christ Jesus our Lord said also concerning the Tares which his Servants would have been plucking up Let them alone How long were they to let them alone Even till the end of the World. And then the Angels must do that work Mat. 13.29 39. Men are not infallible they may mistake Therefore the Lord said to his own Servants Let them alone lest ye pluck up Wheat with Tares He will not have them do that rooting Work but he will set those to do that work that can more certainly distinguish between Tares and Wheat even the Angels they shall not do it neither till his appointed time even the end of the World. This therefore must needs be an Innovation contrary to the command and will of Christ to be doing this work under any pretence namely to be rooting out Tares if they really be so out of the Field of the World before Christ's appointed time Again it 's against that Golden Rule of Christ As ye would that men should do to you so do ye to them Mat. 7.12 Now would any man have others to burn him because he cannot believe as they believe Would those burning Popes have any of the Reformed Churches to burn them or their People because they believe not as those Reformed Churches believe I think not And yet it were but Lex talionis like for like if they did so
are led out from her by the Spirit into a solitary Wilderness condition shall best see her And indeed they shall best see the Innovations of lesser Whores who are not in the Whoredom or involved in the Innovations Now what did John see I saw saith he a Woman sit upon a scarlet coloured Beast full of Names of Blasphemy having seven heads and ten Horns Here she is described by that which supports her and over which she ruleth as one rules over the Beast they sit upon The Great Whore is a pompous Whore and sits upon a pompous Beast a scarlet coloured Beast that is an earthly pompous Power not upon the power of the Spirit by which the Apostles of Christ were supported but upon an earthly power full of blasphemous names against the true power and the faithful servants of Christ who abhor the Innovations of men This is a Beast sutable to the great Whore and of one Spirit with her and fortified to uphold her in her large Dominion over Peoples Multitudes Nations and Tongues having seven Heads and ten Horns and what those are the Angel unfolds afterwards To go on with the Characters of the Woman vers 4. And the Woman was arrayed in Purple and scarlet colour and decked with Gold and precious Stones and Pearls having a Golded Cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her Fornication Here she is described by her Ornaments and by her Cup which contains her Fornication Her Ornaments are such as are used by Kings and Potentates of the World Purple and Scarlet and Gold and precious Stones not such Ornaments as the Apostles were adorned with and approved of in the Saints such as Humility Meekness Quietness Sincerity Truth and such as the Gospel approves of but such Ornaments as might make her of equal Splendour with the Princes of the World if not above them Doth not the Hierarchy of Rome answer this magnificence And then she is described by her Cup in her hand which contains the filthiness of her Fornication This demonstrates that her Fornication is Spiritual being contained in a Cup carried in the hand and that is the model of her Worship or composure of her Service which contains her spiritual Fornication and going a whoring after her own inventions This Cup is a very remarkable Character 1. It 's call'd a Cup because it contains her Fornication and also because out of it she pours forth the Wine of her Fornication to the inhabiters of the Earth wherewith she makes them drunk It contains their Inventions after which they go a whoring 2. This Cup is a Golden Cup. It 's golden to outward appearance Their Outward appearances of Worship are not only glorious to the outward eye being performed with great Ceremony cost and splendour but also the minds and ears of carnal earthly spirits are dazed with the seraphical expressions and golden words used therein 3. This Cup is in her hand In whose hand In the great Whores hand This shews that they that hand this Cup to the People they are the great Whore. It 's in the Womans hand the great Whores hand It 's framed already and beautified with all the art they can and carried in the hand It 's already formed to be put into the hand of every Servitor that is devoted to their Innovations Their Worship is not carried in the heart and springing from the Spirit of God administred from his Gift to the comfort and edification of people as their Worship did in the Apostles daies but this is in the hand and any wicked person can administer it or hand it forth 4 It 's full of abominations and filthiness of her Fornication It 's full of Innovations and Inventions of men which are an abomination to God. And to go after them is to go a whoring from the Spirit of God as the Israelites did They went a Whoring after their own Inventions Psal 106.39 Next we come to the Inscription upon the Forehead of the great Whore vers 5. which Couples all these together viz. The great Whore The Mystery of Iniquity and Babylon the Great So that find one and you find them all The Inscription is this Mystery Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the Earth This being writ upon the forehead of the great Whore shews that she is all this in her all this is found this being as her Crime writ upon her Forehead or a proper name extant to know her by Now if you can find out the Mystery of Iniquity by him that Heads it that sits in the Temple of God the Church exalted above all Magistrates then you have the great Whore also Or if you can find the great Whore by the Characters given of her then you have the Mystery of Iniquity and Babylon the Great for they are all co-incident being concatinated in one Chain as the inscription on the great Whores Forehead shews plainly As for the Words Mystery and Babylon the Great seeing I have spoken of them before I refer to that and so pass on to the next Character of the great Whore vers 6. And I saw the Woman drunken with the blood of Saints and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I wondred with great admiration Here 's a mark of a bloody die which the great Whore can never wipe off But the more she endeavours to blot it out by destroying those that see her guiltiness the deeper she sets it and the larger she makes it Here every one may see that the great Whore is a bloody Whore. She 's drunken with Blood which significantly expresses her great thirst after the blood of those she kills so that she swallows down their blood greedily without remorse and without all reason saving that they withstand her Innovations Where shall we find this bloody drunkenness so much as in the bloody raging Massacres Burnings and Cruelties which have been acted under the dominion and power of Rome and of those who have been infected with her innovations None like those And that which heightens this wickedness is that she is drunk with the Blood of Saints 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is of holy men innocent persons who are of a Righteous life and good conversation and truly fear the Lord. Who are also called Martyrs or witnesses of Jesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is such as bear witness to Jesus acknowledging and owning him and his Doctrine and willing to lose their lives rather than to deny the truth delivered to us by him and his Servants Such as these she kills because they see her innovations and cannot stoop to them That 's greatly remarkable also that her bloody drunkenness is such as put John to admiration John lived in times of Persecution and saw cruelty enough no doubt being banished into the Isle of Patmos at that time But that was not it that put John to an astonishment as some would have it But it was