Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	church_n	invisible_a	visible_a	1,968	5	9.3548	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02584	The reconciler: or An epistle pacificatorie of the seeming differences of opinion concerning the true being and visibilitie of the Roman Church Enlarged with the addition of letters of resolution, for that purpose, from some famous divines of our Church. By Ios: Exon.	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1629 (1629)	STC 12709A; ESTC S103708	25,794	138

case are we when that which should command respect brands us What blacke Art hath raised up this spirit of Aerius from his pit Wo is mee that zeale should breed such monsters of conceit It is the honour the Pompe the wealthe the pleasure hee saith of the Episcopall Chaire that is guiltie of the depravation of our Calling and if himselfe were so overlayd with greatnesse hee should suspect his owne fidelitie Alas poore man at what distance doth hee see us Foggie Ayre useth to represent everie object farre bigger than it is Our Sauiour in his temptation upon the Mount had onely the glorie of those Kingdomes showed to him by that subtile Spirit not the cares and vexations Right so are our dignities exhibited to these envious beholders Little doe these men see the toyles and anxieties that attend this supposedly-pleasing eminence All the revenge that I would wish to this uncharitable Censurer should bee this that hee might bee but for a while adjudged to this so glorious seate of mine that so his experience might taste the bewitching pleasures of this envied greatnesse hee should well finde more danger of being over-spent with worke than of languishing with ease delicacie For mee I need not appeale to Heaven Eyes enow can witnesse how few free houres I have enjoyed since I put on these Robes of sacred honour In so much as I could finde in my heart with holy Gregorie to complaine of my change were it not that I see these publique troubles are so many acceptable services to my God whose glorie is the end of my being Certainly my Lord if none but earthly respects should sway me I should heartily wish to change this Pallace which the Providence of God and the bountie of my gracious Soveraigne hath put mee into for my quiet Cell at Waltham where I had so sweet leasure to enjoy God your Lordship and my selfe But I have followed the calling of my God to whose service I am willingly sacrificed and must now in an holy obedience to his Divine Majestie with what cheerefulnesse I may ride out all the stormes of envie which unavoidably will alight vpon the least appearance of a conceived greatnesse in the meane time what ever I may seeme to others I was never lesse in my owne apprehensions and were it not for this attendance of envie could not yeeld my selfe any whit greater than I was what ever I am that good God of mine make mee faithfull to him and compose the unquiet spirits of men to a conscionable care of the publique peace with which prayer together with the apprecation of all happinesse to your Lordship and all yours I take leave and am Your Lordships truly devoted in all hearty observance and dutie IOS EXON TO THE CHRISTIAN READER Wisedome and Charitie IT is no easie matter for a man so far to mortifie his self-love as to neglect himselfe for the publique good to vaile his private ingagements though with some seeming disadvantage to the peace of the Church that which is too apparent in the present occasion Whiles there might be some colour of ambiguitie of termes and possibilitie of misconstruction in that Position concerning the true being and visibility of the Roman church I could the lesse marvell that a mistaking should breed a quarrell but now after so clear an explication as I have given of my sense and so satisfactory a reconcilement as no ingenuous Christian can except against I am not a little troubled to see the peace of the church yet disquieted with personall and unkinde dissertations Surely what ever may bee pretended not one haire of any Christians head can be indangered in that assertion of mine yet not so much mine as the most of the reformed Divines of Christendome as it is by them and me both understood and interpreted since we call all Christians to no lesse detestation of the abhominable corruptiōs Idolatries of the Roman Church notwithstanding the yeeldance of a bootlesse visibilitie then those that deny it the being and name of a Church yea wee raise more strong advantage against the adversary by this grant then by that denyall Neyther is here the least contradiction to any clause of the Articles of our Church of England in that sense wherein I have delivered my selfe such is my true filiall honor to that our holy Mother that I should hate my selfe if I should offer to oppose any of her sacred dictates how ever it may sound to an ignorant eare In every opposition there must be supposed the same subject the same respect the same understanding of both Else how ever the words run the matter disagrees not For example If one man shall say The Church is visible materiall consisting of lime and stone Another shall say The Church is invisible immateall not consisting of any earthly stuffe these two doe not contradict each other whiles the one speakes of the outward fabricke of the Church the other of the spirituall state of the Church Neyther is it otherwise in my assertion and that which is counter-alledged from the Articles or Homilies of the Church as I have sufficiently explained my sense both in my Advertisement and Reconciler It is not for me to cloy my Reader with repetitions Now lest I might perhaps seeme partiall to my own cause and flatter my selfe in my own opinion I have craved the judgement of some of the most eminent approved Divines of our Church the French whose names are justly reverend whose workes have made thē famous in our gates I have of many hundreds selected only foure two Bishops and two Doctors such as whose very mētion is able to stop the mouth of calumny and to make ignorance ashamed of it selfe I have taken the boldnes to publish their private Letters in answer to mine Peruse them Reader and take satisfaction and confesse it was thy mistaking and not my errour that made me appeare foule Farewell and love peace and the God of peace be with thee I. E. To the Right Reuerend Father in God THOMAS Lord Bishop of Couentree and Lichfield MY Lord may your leasure serue you to read ouer this poore sheete of Paper and to censure it Your name is left out in the Catalogue of some other famous Diuines mentioned in the body of it that you might not be forestalled I suffer for that wherein your selfe amongst many renowmed Orthodoxe Doctors of the Church are my partner As if you had not already said it enough I beseech your Lordship say once more what you thinke of the true being and visibilitie of the Romane Church Your excellent and zealous writings haue iustly won you a constant reputation of great learning and no lesse sinceritie and haue placed you out of the reach of suspicion No man can no man dare mis-doubt your decision If you find any one word amisse in this explication spare me not I shall gladly kisse your rod and hold your vtmost seueritie a fauour But if you

society of all that professe Christian Religion through the whole world howsoever impured who can denie this title to the Roman If in a strict sense it be taken as it is by Zanchius here and all those Divines who refuse to give this style to the Synagogue of Rome for the companie of elect faithfull men gathered into one mysticall bodie under one head Christ washed by his blood justified by his merits sanctified by his Spirit conscionablie waiting upon the true ordinances of God in his pure Word and holie Sacramēts who can be so shamelesse as to give this title to the Roman Church Both these sentences then are equally true The Church of Rome is yet a true Church in the first sense The Church of Rome long since ceased to bee a true Church in the second As those friendly souldiers therefore of old said to their fellowes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 why fight we Stay stay deare brethren for Gods sake for his Churches sake for your soules sake stay these busie and unprofitable litigations put up on both sides your angrie pens Turne your Swords into Sithes to cut downe the ranke corruptiōs of the Roman church and your Speares into Mattockes to beat downe the walls of this mysticall Babylon There are enemies ●now abroad Let us bee friends at home But if your sense be the same you will aske why our termes varie and why wee have chosen to fall upon that maner of expression which gives aduantage to the Adversarie offence to our owne Christian Reader let me beseech thee in the bowels of Christ to weigh well this matter and then tell me why such offence such advantage should bee rather given by my words than by the same words in the mouth of Luther of Calvin of Zanchie Iunius Plessee Hooker Andrewes Field Crakenthorpe Bedel and that whole cloud of learned and pious Authors who have without exceptiō used the same language And why more by my words now than twentie yeares agoe at which time I published the same truth in a more ful and liberall expression Wise and charitable Christians may not be apt to take offence where none is given As for anie Advantage that is hereby given to the Adversaries they may put it in their eye and see never the worse Loe say they we are of the true visible Church this is enough for us why are we forsaken why are we presecuted why are we solicited to change Alas poore soules doe they not know that Hypocrites leud persons reprobates are no lesse members of the true visible Church what gaine they by this but a deeper damnation To what purpose did the Iewes crie The Temple of the Lord whiles they despighted the Lord of that Temple Is the sea-weed ever the lesse vile because it is dragd vp together with good fish They are of the visible Church such as it is what is this but to say they are neither Iewes nor Turkes nor Pagans but misbeleevers damnablie hereticall in opinion shamefullie idolatrous in practice Let them make their best of this just Elogie and triumph in this style may we never prosper if we envie them this glorie Our care shall be that besides the Church sensible as Zuinglius distinguisheth we may be of the Church spirituall and not resting in a fruitlesse visibilitie wee may finde our selves livelie limbes of the mystical body of Christ which onelie condition shall give us a true right to heaven whiles fashionable profession in vaine cries Lord Lord and is barred out of those blessed gates with an I know you not Neither may the Reader think that I affect to goe by-waies of speech no I had not taken this path unlesse I had found it both more beaten and fairer I am not so unwise to teach the Adversarie what disadvantage I conceive to be given to our most just cause by the other manner of explication Let it suffice to say that this form of defence more fully stops the adversaries mouth in those two maine and envious scandals which hee casts upon our holy Religion Defection from the Church and Innovation than which no suggestion hath wont to bee more prevalent with weake and ungrounded hearts what wee further win by this not more charitable than safe Tenet I had rather it should bee silently conceived by the judicious then blazoned by my free penne shortly in this state of the question our gaine is as cleare as the Adversaries losse our ancient Truth triumphes over their upstart errours our charitie over their mercilesse presumptions Feare not therefore deare brethren where there is on roome for danger Suspect not fraud where there is nothing but plaine honest simplicitie of intentions censure not where there is the same Truth clad in a different but more easie habite of words But if any mans fervent zeale shall rather draw him to the liking of that other rougher and harder way so as in the meane time he keepe within the bounds of Christian charitie I taxe him not let everie man abound in his owne sense Onely let our hearts and tongues and hands conspire together in peace with our selves in warre with our common enemies Thus farre have I Right Honourable in a desire of peace poured out my selfe into a plaine explication and easie accordance Those whom I strive to satisfie are onely mis-takers whose censures if some man would have either laught out or despised yet I have condescended to take off by a serious deprecation and just defence It is an vnreasonable motion to request mindes prepossessed with prejudice to heare reason Whole Volumes are nothing to such as have contented themselves onely to take up opinions upon trust and will hold them because they know where they had them In vaine should I spend my selfe in beating upon such anviles but for those ingenuous Christians which will hold an eare open for justice and truth I have said enough if ought at all needed Alas my Lord I see and grieve to see it it is my Rochet that hath offended and not I In another habit I long since published this and more without dislike It is this colour of innocence that hath bleared some over-tender eyes Wherein I know not whether I should more pittie their errour or applaud my owne sufferings although I may not say with the Psalmist What hath the righteous done Let mee I beseech your Lordship upon this occasion have leave to give a little vent to my just griefe in this point The other day I fell upon a Latine Pamphlet homely for style tedious for length zealously uncharitable for stuffe wherein the Author onely wise in this that he would bee unknowne in a grave fiercenesse flies in the face of our English Prelacie not so much enveighing against their Persons which he could be content to reverence as their verie places I blest my selfe to see the case so altered Heretofore the Person had wont to beare off manie blowes from the function now the verie function wounds the person In what