Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	church_n	tradition_n	9,173	5	9.2350	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15304	The schysmatical puritan A sermon preached at Witney concerning the lawfulnesse of church-authority, for ordaining, and commanding of rites, and ceremonies, to beautifie the Church. By Giles Widdowes rector of St Martins church in Oxford.	Widdowes, Giles, 1558?-1645.	1630 (1630)	STC 25594; ESTC S120720	21,327	48

our Saviour The purification of the Blessed Virgin c. to praise the Lord. And herein we transgresse not the fourth commandement Sixe daies shalt thou labour c. For that law bindes vs to thanke the Lord for the creation and Restitution of the World and God requires but the seuenth day to performe our holy thanksgiuings vnto him in the publique congregation and yet he requires other holy daies vpon other speciall reasons as 't is proued hereafter at Leuiticus 23. Church pictures are an externall beauty of the Church a memory of honour to the dead and S. Gregory cals them lay mens bookes Church Organs are musicall signes of our exultation they are the lowd and as sweet as lowd expressions of the Churches greatest ioy towards God so are church-Bells though sometimes they are the churches solemne call that Gods people should assemble to worship the Lord with holy worship And seeing that I haue proceeded thus farre in the Narration of church-rites and ceremonies giue me leaue to tell you how ancient Godfathers and Godmothers haue beene in the church and how long interrogatories haue beene vsed at baptizing little children They are as ancient as Dionysius the Areopagite as it appeareth in his seaventh chapter de Ecclesiastica Hierarchia who lived in the 70. yeare after Christ The church is not Abrahams private house when he was witnesse to his sonne Isaacs circumcising but the church is catholique and therefore shee must accordingly haue witnesses to preserue her catholique communion of faith T is a ceremonie a rite of the church to bring the dead body the corps into the body of the church For that body Christ did sanctifie with his blood and did make it the temple of the holy Ghost And therefore at performing of our last duety wee must not thrust it out at church-dores but honour it with church-entertainement For blessed are the dead for whom the Lord Iesus laid downe his life I haue giuen you a view of All things of All things in my text 'T is Church doctrine let your faith beleeue it 'T is Church discipline let your liues obserue and Keepe it 'T is Church ceremonie let your frequent vse exercise and renew it In the first place you shall honour God your Almighty Father In the second place you shall honour the vnity of brethren which the Psalmist commends with admiration Oh how good and ioyfull a thing it is brethren to dwell together in vnity God hath not authorized these things that you should neglect them but his good pleasure is that they should Be Done Let all things be done which is my third part of text and followes next to be handled in these words Be Done This is the obeying of a commanding authority 'T is the Church that obeys For she obserues and keepes the doctrine the discipline the rites and ceremonies of the Church The scripture is the command Let all things be done and the Church obeys And then compare which is the greater in authority either that which commands or that which obeyes To obey is vnder authority command and therefore the Scripture is greater in authority then the Church The Churches obedience is not only passiue still to be an hearer only but the Churches obedience is also actiue for she must not be only an hearer of the Scripture of the law but she must be a doer also First shee must heare the Scripture say Let all things be done and then shee must doe what she heares commanded to be done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fiant inquit à vobis vestro consilio So Pareus when the Scripture hath said it Then let all things be done by the Church by the iudgement of the church Here the Apostle hath by Scripture given authority to the Church to gouerne decently and in order in doctrine in divine precepts in Church-discipline And therefore the Church may in the first place expound according to rules of exposition and make any lawes which she sees to be decent and orderly in every place Omnes Ecclesiarum Episcoporum Doctorum leges c. de decoro ordine externo c. disponere debent Pareus The lawes of Churches of Bishops of Doctors must beautifie and order the Church Let all things be done decently and in order These words doe authorize the Church to ordaine Church-orders expositions rites and ceremonies that not of late but from the Apostles times so Iustin Martyr Irenaeus Tertullian St Cyprian St Basill S. Ambrose S. Hierome S. Augustine and fiue Councells say the same But what doth the Scripture say that there must be any such traditions Yes the scripture saith the same Read 1. Cor. 11. 2. 1. Cor. 11. 34. And Church-ceremonies are contain'd in the scriptures not in expresse sentence but by pregnant consequence by vertue whereof the Apostle doth grant a generall license authority to all Churches to ordaine any ceremonies that may bee fit for the better serving of God so our Right reverend and learned Bishop Morton The same ceremonies will not sort in all places and therefore our Saviour left them to the different disposition custome of times and countries so Calvin lib. 4. Institut cap. 10. parag 30. Therefore to deny this power to the Church to ordaine ceremonies is to depriue her of christian liberty so Bucer If our Church-ceremonies were dumbe non-significant they might bee well condemn'd for vnlawfull but they being significant are lawfull so Kemnitius being significant they are profitable for admonition and testification of our duties so B. Iewell Kemnitius and Zanchius The ceremonies of our church haue speciall signification they are signes and doe signifie not with sacramentall signification but with decently morall For they are signes of Church-beauty for moral ornament as you haue heard by the bowing at the name of Iesus by other Church-ceremonies in my former particular Our Church-ceremonies our Church-traditions are grounded on good authority for they are contain'd in the Scriptures in genere ent is aut in virtute causae either in their generall or in the power of their fundamentall cause My Text will serue for the generall to signifie all Church-ceremonies and my Text serues for the cause to ordaine all church-Church-traditions that are lawfull All things decently and in order there are all Church-ceremonies signified Let them be done there is Church authority giuen by Scripture to cause them to be ordain'd But to bow at the name of Iesus this is expresse Scripture Philip. 2. 10. To kneele at prayer this is expresse Scripture Psalm 95. 6. and wee pray at receiuing the Lords Supper The body of our Lord Iesus Christ preserue my soule and body to everlasting life To take vp the Crosse and follow Christ is expresse Scripture Mat. 16. 24. And to take vp the Crosse is the fundamentall cause of the signe of the Crosse to bee done decently in order The man and wife are one flesh is expresse Scripture Mat. 19. 6. And to be one

in order THE 19. of the 39. Articles of Religion affirmes that the Church may erre that the Church hath erred The reason why the erring Church is become the lost sheep is because shee submits not vnto the onely true rule of faith which is Gods faithfull word The 20. Article saith that the church cannot erre that t is no erring church but a true church not a church voide of authority but a church having authority to decree Rites and Ceremonies to handle iudge and decide the hard subtile and deceiving controversies of faith For this well tempered and well governed church obserues Gods not deceaving nor deceaved word to be her principium fidei her principle of faith to be faithfully beleeved to be her true signifying Rule to be taught learned and kept Whatsoeuer is contrary to this heavenly voice she hates being all diabolicall lies whatsoever exposition doth make scripture to be contrary to scripture she examines confutes reformes by the true rules of exposition Whatsoever is besides scripture shee reiects for mans inveution for humane tradition for superfluous vnnecessarie Herein the church is a faithfull keeper and a faithfull witnesse of holy writ And let the church let this church persevere a faithfull witnesse and a faithfull keeper of Gods most true and most holy word to preserue her authority in rites and ceremonies in resolving Faiths factious controversies to expound the scripture learnedly according to rule in summo gradu necessitatis in the propriety of truth and to reiect mans flattering additions prudently according to Gods all-sufficient precept This is the summe of S. Pauls spirituall councell to advise and instruct the church Let all things be done decently and in order Which words are the substance of the 20. of the 39. Articles of religion they containe fowre parts The first is Commande Authorizing Let. The second is how many things are Authorized All things The third is the obeying of this commaunding Authority Be done The fourth is the manner of obeying this command This is Decently and in order In the commande Authorizing obserue Who and what Commands who commands This is first God the Holy Ghost secondly S. Paul What commands This is Gods will this is Gods word Let. In how many things there are authorized obserue the doctrine of faith the discipline the rites and ceremonies of the church All things In the obeying of this commaunding Authority obserue who must obey and this is the church Secondly that shee doth obey in keeping the doctrine discipline rites and ceremonies commaunded Be done Let all things be done In the manner of obeying this commaund obserue how many-fold this manner is and this is twofold first decently secondly in order in the outside by beawtie decently within and without according to rule In order Let all things be done decently and in order You haue the diuision of my text God commaunding the Church to decencie and order of doctrine and discipline and therefore let no man accuse me ignorantly that I am not come to edifie for if Gods S. Paules doctrine and discipline may edifie I shall edifie And let noe temporizing faction act the dissembling Hypocrite and say that my doctrine is not true but rayling for I am come to you with the doctrine of our receaued and established faith And let no trembling Neuter plead that my words are too deepe mysteries to be vnderstood No but let him striue to know his Faith how it differs from heresie that he may be truely faithfull in the pure and vndefiled Religion My text doth not stay to request but requires my text doth not intreate and pray but doth will and commaund you to be faithfully religious and that in a word and that in the first word of my text Let. This word is commaund though t is but a signe yet by it commaund is vnderstood and vnderstood to speake not by prohibition to make any stopp or stay but with commaund to make hast and not to fayle at your perill This Let is the actiue part of Gods commaund in the first place of S. Paule in the second place in person commaunding thirdly of the scripture which is S. Paules commaund which is Gods souereigne and vncontrouleable commaund You know the almighty power of Gods commaund that by it he made nothing to be all things For he spake and it was done he commaunded and it stood fast And shall he now speake and shall nothing be done Shall he now commaund and shall nothing stand fast Gods word is sharper then any two edged sword and 't is as possible to resist Gods word and liue eternally as 't is to resist a sword dividing the heart and after that to enioy this temporall life At the giving of the law Gods voyce was so terrible that the people that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more for feare of death Heb. 12. 19. For Gods voyce did then shake the earth and it shall once more shake both heaven and earth Heb. 12. 26. Here is maiestie and power and Gods will must be done for he commaunds to the terrifying of heaven and earth Gods word is not a bare sound but his word is a conuerting word and if the conuerted will not stand in grace God hauing giuen the will and the deede what doe they that resist but neglect great saluation But see that yee refuse not him that speaketh For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape if we turne away from him that speaketh from heauen Heb. 12. 25. It concernes you then very much to heare Gods commaund S. Paule Gods deputed commaunder tells you that it concernes your saluation and loose this loose all the world But what 's the matter that mens hearts are so litle knowne to a commaunding God Who hath bewitched them that they will not obey truth T' is true that there must be Heresies for lying and dissembling tongues doe deceaue seduce and vnder a colour of a little godlines bring Church and Common wealth into confusion and destruction of soule and body And is it not then high time to exhort you with S. Paule Beware of dogs beware of evill workers Philip. 3. 2. Beware of them that barke at the Articles of religion Beware of thē that bite at the gouernment of the Church Beware of fiery zeale set on fire by a factious spirit Beware of despisers of Gouernours of inuentors of evill things Beware of the disobedient For they hate the doctrine and discipline the rites and ceremonies of the Church which is my second part of text implyed in these words All Things By all things are not vnderstood all things of this world for they are enmitie against God But by All thinges are vnderstood all things which God commands to build and beautifie the Church which God commands to gouerne preserue the Church So that these All things are all Ecclesiasticall things all things that belong to