Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	church_n	word_n	write_a	3,648	5	10.7659	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44799	The mouth of the pit stopped and the smoke that hath arisen out of it scattered by the breath of truth in answer to a lying story called Hell broken loose, or, The history of the Quakers, published by Thomas Underhill, a seller of the whores merchandize otherwise called a book-seller : his lyes returned upon him, his accusations answered and his envie decleared and truth cleared from all his reproaches / by one that waits to see death and hell cast into the lake of fire, with the beast and false-prophet, Francis Howgil.	Howgill, Francis, 1618-1669.	1659 (1659)	Wing H3172; ESTC R6601	19,385	26

reason to curse the Magistrates from morning to night because that allowance was granted unto any to worship God in spirit and Truth who could not be subject to their traditional uniformity and thou tells the Army in thy Epistle that ruine is like to come upon all Religion and Piety if God prevent it not by you or some other way they may see what Religion thou art of and what God thou trusts in and what piety thou art for which may be rather called irreligious and impious the Government of Religion and piety lies upon the shoulders of him who is a wonderful Councellor and mighty to save and able to defend them that are subject unto him would thou have the Souldiers or any others intrude themselves into Christs Throne unto whom all power is committed both to make Religious and preserve pious them that do believe in him this were to derogate from the honour and power which belongs to Christ who is head of the Church who will not give his glory to another and let all take notice of this that whosoever hath sought to take the honour from him and glory from him he hath laid their honour is the dust and their glory is become as the moth-eaten garment as hitherto it hath been evident and thou tells them they know the Scripture is Gods written Word and a holy perfect rule of faith and practice and that it holds out that Christ is now in his humane glorified body in Heaven If thou hadst said the Scripture is the Words of God written thou hadst said something for the Word of God is one thing and the words is another though the words are a Testimony of the Word and the Word and the Spirit which is one which gave forth the words are the perfect rule and foundation of faith which was before the words and is greater then the words as we have often declared to thy dearest generation though they would not hear and where doth the Scripture hold forth a humane glorified body in Heaven thy deceit and ignorant mind holds out a humane glorified body we say according to the Scriptures that Christs body is spiritual and he is raised a spiritual body and is glorified in a spiritual body and in a Heavenly body which thou never knew neither art like while the nature lives in thee in which thou now stands And thou saith in thy Epistle that one day in seventh should be set apart for rational souls to mind the things of Eternity And which is that day that thou wilt set apart some of Babylons Merchants have cryed up one day and some have cryed up another day and some have called the seventh day the Sabbath and some have called the first day the Sabbath and whether was Sabbaths made for man or man for Sabbaths and whether was dayes made for man or man made for dayes all time is in the hand of the Lord and they that have Communion with him do mind the things of Eternity every day and so they come to know the day of the Lord in which rest is given to the soul and the creature hath rest though he labour in the Creation when that is done away in himself which hath opprest thou may go learn what this means In thy post-script as thou calls it thou saith if any shall take offence for thy seeking to civil or Military Power to support Religion thy defence is and thy belief is that thou ought to seek to the higher powers to support Religion and this is the Liberty of thy conscience and that this thou may do more acceptably then they who cross their own profest opinion as they have done of late years by motions Councels books and Papers which they have delivered for these many years for the pulling down the Ministry and steeple-houses and that their importuning the Magistrate to pull down Ministry and worship is a yielding of the cause I say thy belief is without the true foundation and so many properly be called unbelief and thou errs in thy judgement who seekes to civil or Military power to uphold Religion which as I said before belongs to him who is the higher and highest power Civil and Military Officers are not for making Religion or setting up Religion but are to keep the Peace and to stop the violent doer and to be a terror to evil works and workers and a praise to them that do well and that is their place to govern in righteousness but not to exercise Lordship over the conscience which power belongs onely to Christ and as for them who have delivered Books and Papers and words and writings to them who were in Authority to pull down the Ministry and Steeple-houses or publike Ministry and worship if thou intend the Quakers as I believe thou dost thy arrowes being shot onely at them we have delivered or caused to be delivered divers Books and Papers wherein we have shewed them the grievous suffering of the People of God by the heavy oppressions which they did suffer under because of the hirelings wages and upholding of Mass-houses things which hath been introduced since the Primitive times in the Apostacy which aforesaid things hath been guarded and upheld by Lawes made in the Beasts power now to make null those Lawes which were the ground of many oppressions and an offence to many tender Consciences this is not to pull down Religion and that Ministry which can be pul'd down by taking away of Tythes and forced maintenance is no Ministry of Christ but Ministers of Antichrist and to deny paying to Steeple-houses Clark wages burying for the dead and such other like invented things which many hath groaned under is not to pull down Religion for this I say to thee and that which I can say to all which no reasonable or equitable man will deny to be equitable or just take the hireling Ministry to thee and give him the fifth part of thy estate if thou wilt and erect thy Steeple-house like Babels Tower but trouble not us with none of these things and for declaring to the Magistrates that these things ought to be done away and the Law by which they stood which was made in transgression ought to be taken away this is not to pull down the Ministry nor true Religion but to overturn deceit and Innovation which hath obstructed and hindered pure Reformation which hath been talkt on for these are but the rotten raggs of the Whores Menstruous garment so thy defence is made void and ours standeth true that the Magistrate or Military power hath nothing to do to prescribe any form of Religion to bind all unto for this is an intruding into those things that belongs not to them Thou saith that thou dost freely and sincerely affirm that thou hast not knowingly wronged the Quakers in the least but doth engage thy self to mak● good every thing thou charges against them that shall require it of thee That we shall see afterwards how thou wilt

improvement and your intrust which you have in God and in Christ will but amount to a small dram you all of you hitherto as you have said have improved your intrust and hath sought God as you have said by your prayers and humiliations for the suppressing of that which you call heresie and yet you have had no answer neither hath he listned nor will he listen nor bow down his ear unto you because your hearts is full of abominations and as for relapsing into Popery you never came out of it witness the Priests Popish Ordination their Popish Attire your Popish Mass-houses your Cross and Bells your Popish Tithes Easter-reckonings and Mid-summer dues your Popish Colledges your Popish Crosses and your Popish Images in and about your Idols Temple and because of the holding up of these things the hearts of many of Gods people are made sad and because you would hold up your Religion by swords and clubs and persecute others who discent from you in this you are one with the Papists And is this all thy Reformation that thy godly Ministry can bring forth You have travelled in vain spent your strength for nought and because of these things the hand of God is against all in the Nation who hold them up and who is he that can alter the Councel of the Lord and God will not be reconciled to the Nation till these things be done away because of these things and many more grievous oppressions which hath been holden up therefore God hath broken them in the midst of their Councels and confounded them in the midst of their devices and will confound and overthrow all deceitful workers and unprofitable talkers such as thou art and one hill shall fall after another till there shall be a great plain that the ransomed of the Lord may walk over and worship the Lord together in spirit and love and truth in joy and gladness of heart even as when Israel kept the feast of Tabernacles And now I shall come to let the Reader see how thou hast falsified our words which thou hast added thy own imaginations to and then hath quoted our Books to make people believe they are our words when as they are thy own forged lies the which I shall return upon thee First Thou sayes George Fox In truth defended saith that Preaching the Word Praying and singing are no appointments of Christ when as he saith no such thing but the hireling Priests divination and feigned Prayers and other mens words in rhime and Meeter are the inventions of men and not the Ordinances of Christ Secondly Thou saith E. B. In truth defended saith The Priest taking Tythes in the time of the Law was evil and proved them to be false Prophets and deceivers When as he saith quite contrary that the Priests took Tythes under the Law according to the command of God but ●ow the Priesthood was changed and the Law was changed and them that Preach for hire and seek for their gain from their quarter or take Tythes are in the steps of false Prophets and deceivers and no Ministers of Christ Thirdly That its dangerous for the ignorant and unlearned to read the Scripture and the Ministers of it are the Ministers of death Now thou hast detracted from the words There it is said that it is dangerous for thee to take the Scripture to War against the Saints withal and to make a trade with it and give carnal Exposition and then sell them for money Fourthly Thou tells of one Master Kellet in Lancashire and his queries Whether did not Christ Institute his last Supper with bread and wine and R. H. saith The bread which Christ called his body is his Church which words thou hast mangled and perverted as thou hast done the most thou hath medled with there is no such man as Master Kellet the words are these in Truths Defence 103. Christ did not speak of bread and wine but he took bread and brake it and said This is my body and we witness the breaking of the bread which is his body and in this answer there is not one word of Church Fiftly E. B. In answer to Firmin his words thou hast perverted and would bring this as a contradiction of R. H. thou saith he allowes onely the wicked and ungodly to read the Scripture such as the Scribes and Pharisees and not the godly And not the godly is thy own adition he spoke concerning the Scribes and Pharisees who thought to have Eternal Life in the Scripture he saith this was spoken to the Pharisees and not to believers yet believers is not excluded from reading the Scripture for them it pertains to and they understand it but thou are like the Spider where the Bee gathers honey gathers that which is corrupt and in thy conclusion of thy story thou takes in hand to supplicate God and thou saith it is for the help of them that need it this thou might have spared till the old Prelates had come up again it may be some Synod of them will add to the Book of Common-Prayer thy late service and worship dost thou think the Lord will hear thy hypocrisie lies without returning his judgment on thy head Thou tells of some that sets light of Christ and his blood and Word thou art one of them that sets light of Christ and counts his blood as a vain thing as thy own words in thy Book shall testifie where the Reader may observe when we have testified of the true light wch lighteth every man that comes into the world who is the way to the Father thou hath set down our words for blasphemy and errour when divers of them are the words of Scripture and none of them but the Scripture will testifie unto against thee And as for the blood of Christ and the blood of the everlasting Covenant thou accounts a vain thing and an unholy thing even which cleanseth from sin and and bears witness against it and subdues it and makes them that receive it conquerers over sin but thou that cries out against perfection or freedom from sin and counts this errour and blasphemy ●hou denyes that which sanctifies and cleanseth from sin and counts it unholy and vain and so if the Lord should hear thee and grant that thou prayes for destruction would come upon thee and thou art one of the formal professors that had need to repent of thy deceit before thou can pray unto God either for thy self or others but enmity and wickedness lodges in thy heart against the Lord and the way of truth and thou hast resisted the Counsel of the Lord against thy self and therefore woes plagues thunders and storms is truely thy portion and nothing else must thou expect which undoubtedly will come upon thee except thou repent and it will be hard for thee to find a place of repentance for it is yet hid from thine eyes So I have answered thy lying History by which thou would inchant peoples minds

flattered them and told them they would stand by them and lay down all for that which they asserted and called one of them Joshuah and the other Moses and said They committed the keeping of the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ unto them and such like Blasphemies but as soon as the wheele turned about in the next month calls them Traitors Tyrants and Usurpers and these were your stinking Addresses and your fained Supplications which all sober and understanding people were ashamed of and thy Priests which thou calls Ministers and their Confederates which thou calls Christians have flattered them and bowed under every deceit turned with every wind instance in the dayes of Edw. 6 Hen. 8. Eliz. and Mary and Charles and when these were overthrown which you used to call Gods annointed then you strike in with what thing soever arises ●s instance one Parliament after another and then for Protectors and then no Protectors but a Parliament and thus have you flattered each of the Rulers though never so unjust till the wrath of God hath sunk the most of them because they have hearkened to flattery and deceit and had not their ears open to them with whom the Counsel of God is we have Counselled them oft and have forwarned them in all plainness and nakedness of heart though our Counsel hath been rejected yet God hath fulfilled our Testimony thus far upon them all And as for the Quaker in Hartfordshire who thou saith swore against some who did abuse him and the Quakers I do believe he was one of thy own generation and lately one of your Popish Parochial Congregations instituted first by Pope Dionysius although the man was more moderate then the rest and did grieve to see his Neighbours abused and sober people disturbed and the house broken down blood shed that by the Justification of thy Sir T. H. the man not being convinced of the unlawfulness of an Oath did give Testimony against the riotous persons and evil-doers and against him who incouraged them in it And shall he be condemned by thee who acteth the same thing was it evil in him and is it Righteous in thee Although I do not justifie the thing for it is known to many thousands in the Nation that the Quakers will not swear upon any account least they should fall into condemnation but there is none can escape thy slanderous pen who loves uprightness and truth but all thy smitings in the dark will at last fall upon thy own pate Further thou goes on and saith We cry up Liberty of Conscience but are not willing to give it to others because thou saith Many thousand times some Ministers hath been disturbed by them in their Religious exercises That Liberty which we would enjoy our selves the same we can and will allow unto all men which is most equitable and though we have gone into the Steeple-houses and old Mass-houses and declared against Idolatry and deceit formality feignedness and hypocrisie or spoken the words of truth and soberness either in exhortation admonition or reproof this was the manner of the Apostles of Christ whose Consciences were exercised in purity towards God but that which was order in the Churches of Christ is counted disturbance by you Mass-house-worshippers and yet you would arrogate unto your selves the name of a Church and yet are out of Gospel Order you are for the liberty of the flesh and not for the Liberty of a pure Conscience Thou saith The Quakers are grievous lyars and thy proof is that Richard Hub berthorn said That the wicked are not to read the Scriptures and E. Burrough saith The wicked and ungodly are to read the Scriptures and not the godly and thou sayes In this they have not both spoken truth We know no lye is of the truth but of the Devil who abode not in the truth and we are redeemed out of lying by the truth which hath set us free and thou art found the lyar thy self for the words both of R. H. and of E. B. thou hast perverted and not spoken the truth as afterwards may be made more manifest In the 35th page of thy lying story thou saith The Quakers hath succeeded much and hath prevailed in these Nations and beyond the Seas but thou hopes where ever thy Book shall arrive before them the people will so well know them as to abhor any further acquaintance with them Here thou hast manifested thy spirit to be like the envious Jews who crucified the Lord of Life and persecuted the Apostles from City to City sometimes running before them with their lyes and sometimes after to oppose them to stir up the Vagabond-fellows the ruder sort of people to oppose and abuse them yet notwithstanding the truth prevailed and many believed on the Name of Christ thorow their words which they published unto them we have found the like opposition not onely from strangers but also of our own Countrey-men and have had many such lying stories as thine sent before us and spread over the Nations and yet God hath carried on his work notwithstanding all rage opposition and cruelty it hath prevailed and shall prevail for so is the Purpose and Will of God and they who shall see thy book who are but reasonable men will abhor and detest thy envious spirit and truth shall be more advanced and that shall be fulfilled the remainder of the wrath of man shall turn to the praise of God Thou sayes They are a very cruel bloody people if we may Judge the Lyon by his paw or what is abundantly in their hearts God Will confound thy lying lips and thy deceitful tongue whose blood have we shed can we not say and that of a truth and have our Testimony by Gods witness in every man that we are clear of the blood of all men Nay on the contrary hath not our blood been spilt in your places of worship which you account holy and hath not many suffered in bonds until death by the reason of the oppression of the blood-thirsty Priests of this Nation and thou might well have been silent if thou hadst not had an impudent face have not we much to lay to your charge and that truly what dost thou Judge of thy godly Ministers in Lancashire and Cheshire whom thou calls the valiant Captains of Christs Army which preached up the people into Rebellion upon pain of Damnation And others said except they went to the Randevous it was much if they were saved And others said the Nations must be purged with blood to shed the blood of all those that withstood them And others said if God would stand as a Newter they had men enough such Blasphemous words and doctrines were uttered which are too tedious to relate and all this quarrel they said was against the Quakers Now let the Reader Judge the Lyon by his paw and what is in these mens hearts by their words and actions before mentioned And now to conclude this