Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	believe_v	holy_a	scripture_n	6,955	5	5.9774	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76262	A Legacie left to Protestants, containing eighteen controversies, viz. 1. Of the Holy Scriptures. 2. Of Christs Catholick Church, &c. 3. Of the Bishop and Church of Rome, 4. Of traditions needfull, &c.	Bayly, Thomas, d. 1657?,; T. B.	1654 (1654)	Wing B1512; Thomason E1667_2; ESTC R208395	72,275	206

Paul calleth the Church so surely on a Rock as Hell-gates Heresies to wit Schismes Scandals Persecutions or any hellish power else should not prevail against it as he expressily promised if he Mat. 6. likewise intended to remain with it to the worlds end by his power to wit of guiding and protecting it if he Mat. 28. performed his repealed promises of sending the holy Ghost to abide ever with it for no other end but to cōfort Jo. 16. 17. guide and lead it unto all truth how without blasphemy and plainly accusing him of falsehood in his promises Can any Christian affirm her to have been idolatrous and Antichristian in her Religion for many ages together evacuating so the glory of Contra Luciferianos our Saviours Crosse saith St. Hier●m and subjecting himself to the Devill as able to bereave him of his Church and Kingdome God forbid saith the same Father that Christ should be said to have died in vain and his Passion become at any time fruitlesse and ineffectuall to save us No no the eternal Fathers promise is fulfilled willing his Son to ask him and he would give for an inheritance all nations of the Gentiles unto him and the utmost bounds of the earth for his possession Esay 62. called therefore by the Prophet Esay Lord of the whol earth and it will be Apo● 7. a jo●f●ll and eternall cry of Saints in Heaven Thou hast redeemed us O Lord God out of every Tribe Tongue and People c. So as I may say here to Protestants what St. Optatus told the Donatists if you seek to shut up the Catholick and Universal Church into corners and Lib. 2. co●tra Parmenionem seclude all nations besides your selves from the communion thereof where is that then which the Son of God hath merited for us How then will his Fathers promise be fulfilled of giving all Nations unto him Why do you infringe his promise and seek to streighten his ample Kingdom why do you deny his Fathers great love and bounty to him why do you war against his merits and not permit him to enjoy what was promised unto him why do you limit to places and times his Universal and everlasting Dominion Wherefore to finde out this true Church of Christ and distinguish the same from heretical conventicles and Congregations the Apostles in their Creed and the two first general Councels of Nice and Constantinople have fitly assigned these foure marks of being one holy Catholick and Apostolical which no other Church but ours can in their true sence colourably claim here briefly declared by me She is said to be one and the same in her Faith amongst all Nations communicating Lib. de unitat Eccl●s with her so that illuminated by our Lord saith St. Cyprian as a Sun she spreadeth her Rayes throughout the world yet so as her light is one as a fruitful Vine she extendeth widely forth her branches but as from one root and body which they grow in as a full and flowing fountain she powreth out her streams yet so as there is still one head and origine of them And according to St. Optatus his comparison the multitude of particular Churches remaineth in her as many fingers in one hand distant in places but united in Doctrine for that the very name of a Church importeth Union and collection of many together in faith government and practices of Religion as all those things do unto which Christs Church is likened for example to a kingdom to a City to a house or family to a flock to a body consisting of different members ordered and compacted together She is one by a continuall Succession of Pastors and faithfull people in her still professing the same faith whereas Hereticks are choosers of what they will believe and divided into so many sects as there are heads almost amongst them She is called holy as the mysticall body of Christ vivificated by his holy Spirit governed by a holy Law sanctified by Sacraments continually by him having none but faithfull servants of their divine Lord remaining within her amongst whom there are still to be found many holy Persons whilest others are like fruitlesse branches in a Vine and dead members in a living body She is said to be Catholick for her large extent embracing many Countryes and Kingdomes of the world united in faith and governed by her so that she is still greater than any sort or Sect of Hereticks opposite unto her She is Apostolical in her descent as being able to prove her Origine from the Apostles themselves according to Tertullians prescription saying The Apostles founded Churches in divers Cities and appointed Bishops to govern them and from these latter Churches by receiving and persevering in their faith become Apostolical also which prescription is used by ancient Irenaeus instancing against Hereticks Lib. 3. c. 3. lib. 4. c. 36. of his time the succession of Roman Bishops in one Sea and Faith without any mutation different from that first professed by them St. Optatus likewise and St. Austin have done the sam● and pressed the Donatists with this prescription who like to the Hereticks of this time wanted antiquity and had no unity amongst them Wherefore our Adversaries fly from those ancient marks of a true Church and assign two others of their own devising true preaching of Gods word and a due administration of Sacraments against which we object first that the essence rather than the sig●es of a true Church consisteth in them Secondly that all sorts of Hereticks do equally claim them so as no Church can be known to be a true Church certainly by them Thirdly that any man desirous to be a Christian must first know the Church before he can know the truth of her Doctrine c. Fourthly that this judgement of the Churches true doctrine and due manner of administration of Sacraments cannot be made by ordinary persons but by such as are learned whereas the sign●s of a Church are to direct all sorts of persons to the knowledge of her Fiftly these marks may be found amongst Schismaticks damnably separated from a Catholick and charitable communion with other Christians as S. Austin in sundry places proved against the Donatists who at their first rising at least wanted neither a true Doctrine nor Sacraments but a will onely to live peaceably with their Brethren so as to speak truly Protestants have purposely devised these marks of a Church as otherwise knowing that the great division which is amongst them in points and practises of faith novelty of rising the smalness of their extent hitherto in the world and want of pastorall succession would convince them to be a rabble onely of Hereticall Conventicles jarring one against another Yet rather than they will admit ours to be the true Church of Christ in whom these signes may be found confessedly by themselves and all predictions of the Prophets exactly fulfilled concerning the amplitude glory and continuance of Christs

A LEGACIE left to PROTESTANTS Containing Eighteen Controversies viz. 1. Of the Holy Scriptures 2. Of Christs Catholick Church c. 3. Of the Bishop and Church of Rome 4. Of Traditions needfull c. DOWA Printed 1654 To the Reader THese ensuing Controversies were found in a learned mans study dead nine years since and commended to the care of a Friend who dyed soon after him or otherwise they had been printed long since with the foresaid Title by the Author himself prefixed u● to them desiring not to have his name or any dedication added unto them but this That many learned Freinds had read and approved them that he heartily wished they might help to convert unto the true faith of Christs Catholique Church such Protestants as should read them which I wish also his Friend Whil●st he lived T. B. A Table of the severall Controversies 1. OF the Holy Scriptures pag. 1. 2. Of Christs Catholick Church in generall not colourably now among Christians the first part pag. 14. The second part pag. 30. 3. Of the Bishop and Church of Rome pag. 48 4. Of Traditions needfully added into the Canon of Scripture pag. 69 5. Of Protestancy begun here in England under Queen Elizabeth pag. 82 6. Of the holy Eucharist pag. 92 First part concerning our Saviours reall presence therein ib. Second part pag. 101 7. Of honouring Saints and praying to them pag. 109 8. Of reverencing of Saints Reliques pag. 116 9. Of holy Images kept and honoured by us pag. 120 10. Of Purgatory and Prayer for the dead pag. 131 11. Of Sacramentall Confession pag. 135 12. Concerning the number and effects of Sacraments pag. 145 13. Of Free-will pag. 157 14. Of Calvins Solifidian Justice pag. 16● 15. Concerning the merit of good Works pag. 169 16. About the possibility of keeping Gods Commandements pag. 177 17. Of Feasts and Fasts Apostolically ordained and neglected both by English Calvinists and Independents pag. 183 18. Concerning praedestination pag. 191 THE First Controversie Of the holy Scriptures WHerein our Adversaries do notoriously wrong us and make simple people believe that we Catholicks yeeld no more authority to sacred Writings then our Church alloweth them Whereas we firmly believe them to have been inspired by God and therefore attribute a divine and infallible authority unto them when they are sufficiently declared to be such and truly Expounded unto us For without the former condition to wit an undoubted knowledge of them no man can securely rely on any doctrine contained in them and without the latter condition of being rightly understood all Heresies have been formerly and may now also be drawn pernitiously from them So as about these two points our Adversaries and we chiefly and indeed only differ They for example Calvinists especially for a certain knowledge of them rely upon-their own private Spirit and an imaginary light shining to all faithfull Readers of them no lesse clearly distinguishing true Scriptures from false then light by our eyes from darknesse is discernable by us which internall light is a meere Chymaera say we and other great Protestants with us by Calvin purposely devised to accept or reject what Scriptures he liked and interpret them as he pleased without any authority to controle him which is as St. Austine told Faustus his Manichean Lib. contra ●um 13. c. 5 Adversary to take away all authority both of Church and Scripture licensing every man to believe what he lifte●h Whereas we Catholicks for a certain knowledge of true Scriptures rely upon the exteriour and infallible t●stimony of Christ's Church by himself warranted unto us when he commanded us to heare and obey such as he appointed therein to govern and guide us no lesse then himself And whereas Calvin deemeth it a thing very inconvenient and against the Majesty of Scripture to be subjected to mens judgements about declaring the sacred authority thereof we say no and prove it to be no more inconvenient for Scriptures then for other points of Faith to be made known by the Church's testimony unto us And if the holy Scriptures have been written by men divinly inspired and guided in the penning of them as assuredly they have been why may they not also by men assisted by the holy Ghost be made known infallibly unto us especially sithence they cannot give testimony of themselves as Hooker and other chief Protestants Lib. 2. sect 14. Lib. 2. sect 4 7. Lib. 3. s●ct 8. have proved because if part of Scripture should give credit to the rest that very part might be doubted of likewise Unlesse besides Scripture there were something els● that might assure us which he acknowledgeth to be the authority of Christs Church Insomuch as Egidius Hunnius a cheife Colloquio Ratisbonen si Lutheran Divine and sixteen others with him at Ratisbone before sundry Princes of Germany were by Gretzerus and Tanner Catholick Divines inforced to admit the Church's testimony and historicall tradition as they c●lled it altogether needfull for an undoubted knowledge of Scripture as heretofore many forged Scriptures have been rejected and others approved by it Albeit they proceed not conformably therein by not admiting into their Canon all Books and parts of Scripture so approved For if the Churches testimony be false in declaring some Books surely it cannot be certain in declaring others and so we can receive no infallible assurance from her Turtullian notwithstanding prescribeth Lib. 1. praescript c. 6. this for an undoubted truth that what the Apostles preached and Christ revealed unto them cannot be testified unto us but by the Churches which they founded and St. Austine so affirmed the same as he saith He Tom. 6. contra Epist fundament cap. 5. would not believe the Gospel were it not that the Church by her authority commended the same unto him So far was he and other Fathers from dreaming of Calvin's inward light communicated to all faithful Readers of Scriptures wherein the Lutherans might claim an equall share with him as his Companions and so they might agree about their Canon of Scripture as now they do not nor with any antient Church before them Lib. 33. contra Faustum cap. 6. Whereas St. Austin speaking of our Canon which himself amongst other African Bishops had declared in the third Councel of Carthage as St. Innocentius the first had done before him and many both Popes and Councels Epist ad Exup●rium have done since those Books saith he by the consent of Christian Churches and Bishops of them succeeding each other downwards from the Apostles have been warranted for true Scriptures unto us and are onely denyed by you speaking then of the Manicheans as we doe now of Protestants few in number and lately risen because they make not for your Doctrine And whereas they provoke us to the Originals to wit the Hebrew and Greek Texts of the old Testament and seek by what means they can to disgrace our Vulgar Edition We answer them first that they