Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	aaron_n	apostle_n	shadow_n	15	3	8.6038	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00901	The fall of Babylon in vsurping ecclesiastical power and offices And the miserable estate of them that pertake of her fornications.		1634 (1634)	STC 1101; ESTC S101521	80,856	100

puritans doe truly beare the crosse of Christ fot the Testimonie of Iesus while the Prelates who in the meane live in pompe and pleasure onely impose on others and take on themselves a beggarly signe with the hand ordained as they thinke in greate Wisdom which yet doth never a whit the more stir them vp to theire duty as is pretended For in theese cases they mock and oppose the reasons of Christs Souldiers the reformists and haue rather sided with such against the parliaments as were rockoned trecherous and verie corrupt in religion and therefore it is but a mockerie and as other things onely carried out by humane Lawes terrour and authority They haue not in theese cases observed that the foolishnes of God is wiser then men that he saith let no man deceive himselfe 1. Cor. 1.25 chap. 3.18 If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world let him become a foole that he may be wise for the Wisdom of this world is foolishnes with God He taketh the wise in theire owne craftinesse The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are but vaine as wee see in this particular For God gives a better blessing to them which doe not seeke to stirre vp mens mindes to such duties by signes but by the Scripture which is sufficiently proffitable for doctrine 2. Tim. 3.16.17 for reproofe for instruction in righteousnes that the man of God may be persect thorowly furnished vnto all good works What neede then is there of theese beggarlie devises Signing with the signe of the crosse doth not doe this though they give such a reason of it Much lesse can they prove that the vse of coapes and hoods in service Altars organs singing men whome few or none vnderstand or Antemes whereof no such specious reasons can be given as beeing in savour heathenish or Iewish or popish are apt by notable significations to stirre vp men to theire duties to God For they are rather offences or stumbling blocks making men to fall to heathenisme Iudaisme or poperie in som things They cannot justifie them by the old Testament for that serves as well to prove that sacrifices and other Iewish ceremonies should be still observed which to say were to lay a greate stumbling blocke seeing they are all abolished and wee are to vse no more then the new Testament alloweth Howsoever the English as ye see haue not better donne theire duties but more failed then the reformed churches who have none of these things Now therefore whereas they also say Vbi supra That som ceremonies entred into the church by vndiscreete devotion and such a zeale as was without knowledge and for because they were winked at in the beginning they grew daily to more and more abuses which for theire vnproffitablenesse and because they much blinded the people and obscured the glorie of God are wortly to be cut away and cleane rejected wee see that these are such that the signe of the crosse is of this nature by themselves made ridiculous Rom. 14.13 Such is theire Wisdom They doe not in this case observe that rule that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brothers way And so also in matter of the surplesse By theire rule this is also apt to stirre vp the dull minde of man to the remembrance of his duty to God by som notable signification whereby he might be edefied And therfore they bring Scriptures for it Reu. 6.9 They that were slaine for the word of God and for the Testimonie which they held had white roabes given vnto every one of them It is therfore say they no hurt to impose the wearing of white seeing peradventure in the Church of Martyrs this was devised to stir vp the dull minde of man to this duty Chap. 15. The seaven Angels come out of the Temple haveing seaven plagues clothed in pure and fine linnen They as wee saw haue the Testimonie of Iesus the marke of God and indeede nothing is pure and white without it And so haue those also of whome is saide Chap. 19. The armies which are in heauen followed him vpon white horses clothed in pure and white linnen Which is not onely meant of those that helpe to get the victorie over Rome and the Beast by the sword but of those also that doe it by the word of God all theese haue white roabes I answer all this doth not warrant the Bishops to impose on men a signe of this much lesse as our Bishops doe and yet in divers particulars abovementioned they as the Popish Bishops before them doe not suffer them to doe the thing signified ●herefore it is but a Popish tricke and a mockerie to make men retaine and weare that which at first was invented and is at this day vsed with superstition by the Papists They cannot say theese are the fruits of the Spirit For the fruite of the Spirit is in all goodnes and righteousnes and truth Ephes 5.9 Marke in Truth not then in ceremonies signes and shewes They say white is a note of puritie innocencie victorie and gladnesse and so indeede it is yet as wee have seene they are far enough from that white linnen or puritie which is the righteousnes of the Saints there meant And indeede they are not more innocent victorious and pure then other Protestants that doe not weare the white garment but rather more Popish and corrupt They doe not now neither in Doctrine discipline nor manners so hold fast the word as the Saints did in som of the seaven Churches Men Popish may not onely come to theire communions but even knowne drunkards fornicators Prophane mockers of religious excercises and other like wicked men It was an ordinance of the ceremoniall Law Exod. 28.2.40 thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glorie and for beautie And for Aarons Sonnes thou shalt make coates and girdles and bonnets for glorie and for beautie Theese beeing commaunded might then stir vp the dull minde of man to remembrance of his dutie for God then taught them by ceremonies and shaddowes But now they cannot such Lawes beeing abolished and the truth cleerely preached to vse them is greate presumption to devise others for glorie and for beautie more then were in time of the Apostles whether they be surplesses coapes or Rochets and the like is far greater presumption and namely to choose rather to be edified by shaddowes of humane invention then by the cleere and all-sufficient Truth of God revealed in Christ yea to deceive our selves because the surplesse wee see doth nothing stir vp mens mindes to doe the duties of those who are saide to weare white as the seaven Angels the bride and those that follow Christ on white horses For among others the presbiters sit round aboute Christs throne in white raiment Reu. 4.4 which setteth forth the puritie of theire order yet Prelates and theire defenders are so far from

to be ordained of God and necessary when indeede it is theire owne office that is not necessary seeing it onely serveth for such things to persecute men for the Testimonie of Iesus and more to force vnnecessarie then necessarie ceremonies For kneeling in prayer good order and reverent gesture in the Church are vsed in the french Churches as commendable and necessarie and yet in men that in those other th●ngs are disobedient to the truth theire verie prayers are abhominable and but mockeries much more theire owne deuised cringes and gestures as in Papists who abound in such things and as if a man should with all order and reverence bow his body to the King his chaire of Estate Image or seale and yet despise or neglect many of his wholsom Lawes and commandements The orders and ceremonies which God ordained are indeede to religion as the barke or leaues to a tree that is a comely part of it but as for other ceremonies and inventions with theire pretended significations which beeing devised by man are more then are in the reformed Churches of France or were in the Apostles time they are not to the religion and truth of God as they say like the barke to the tree which if it be taken off the tree withereth but as the ivye to the oake which seemes to adorne and embrace it but indeede binds shadowes and by degrees wasts and destroyes it For these shewes serve many for a religion and a cloake of persecution and the power of Bishops serues for a tyranous terrour to keepe men from p●aching and writing the truth and setting theire names to theire bookes in the cases of the hierarchie traditions Altars images pelagianisme or the like and consequently to beget flatterie and lukewarmnesse in Clergie and people and eate out that loue and zeale of the truth in all things that they either doe now or may hereafter prohibit or maintaine Such was and such is the fruite of theire power and therfore certainly it is not of God but of men of the world of the coueteous lust of the eyes and of the pride of life and therfore what matters it who gaue it them whether councels or Kings they cannot make black white nor euill good nor that Lawfull which is so unlawfull and pernicious to the Kingdom of God Constantine no doubt thought he had offered a greate sacrifice to God in giueing them so much as he did other Emperours Kings therfore haue augmented it But he that forbiddeth to adde to his word or take from it saith to obey is better then sacrifice 1. Sam. 15. Therfore Asa to doe that which was right in the eyes of God did not vrge his owne or other mens inventions 2. Chro. 14.3.4 but tooke away the Altars of the strange Gods and the high places and Images other Kings had erected and commaunded Judah to seeke the Lord God of theire Fathers and to doe the Law marke and the commaundement Chr st beeing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords though Kinges as his deputies haue greate power in matters of Religion yet that is so as in theese things not so seeke theire owne but Gods will donne in ear●h as it is in heauen I saith he Ioh. 8.26 chap. 6.34 Tract 40.41.54 speake to the world those things which I haue heard of him J came not to doe mine owne will but the will of him that sent me He sai●e this that was the eternall word and Wisdom of God yea verie God and eternall l fe For indeede he was not his owne wisdom word but the Fathers as August n doth m●n●fest on theese the like places of the Gosspell And shall not Kings then who are but his Deputies much more say it yea doe it either by causing the word of God to be faithfully taught in theire cities as David and Iehoshaphat or by rooting out all monuments and stumbling blocks of superstition and idollatrie and by suffering theire subjects to preach freely against them and to worship the Lord in the beautie of holinesse as Hezechiah and Iosiah did that is in a word by causing theire subjects to worship God aright and take his marke in the puritie of his ordinances and not to worship the Beast and take his mark in receiving professing and defending his corrupt traditions and ceremonies For to serve God and make others serve him in the beautie of holinesse Psa 110.3 is to make men serve him in the holinesse of the truth according to all that is written in his Testament Ios 1.8 and not with cathedrall service and musick after the pompous traditions and inventions of Prelates and theire Canons as some infer For the Image of God is renewed in all righteousnesse and holines of the truth Ephes 4.24 and if God would not that wee should be again in bondage to the rudiments which himselfe ordained in the ceremoniall law Christ haveing nailed them to his crosse much lesse to those which the pope and church of Rome or other men have invented or established It were good that Princes and theire chaplains would think of that Ezra 7.21 whatsoever is commaunded by the God of heaven that is in matters of religion let it be diligently donne where mark he saith not commaunded by Kings for why should there be wrath against the Realme of the King and his Sonnes That is either for neglecting Gods commaund or vrging inventions of men for therfore wee are willed not to thinke of men and theire power above that is written 1 Cor. 4.6 It is the necessity of conformitie imposed upon Ministers that furnisheth them as it did the Papists with arguments to defend traditions humane precepts and Canons against this truth and so to make a fearfull war against God Which I observe not so much of them who haveing subscribed follow theire ministrie preach the word and never speake of English traditions hopeing God will reforme them as of those that defend and preach them Isa 1. never thinking that God may say vnto them who required these things at your hands What Gospell is this How doth it helpe the Kingdom of God What knowledge what fai h what holinesse of the truth doth it worke They yet strive to justifie these ordinances and all the power of the prelates 1. Cor. 14.40 saying the Apostle sai●h Let all things be donne decently and in order therfore Synods may ordaine diocessan Bishops and all such Canons as are in England and doubtlesse the will of God is that they should be obeied I nswer the Apostle by this decencie and order can not meane any thing that shall overthrow any of the ordinances of God or make his word of none effect in any particular He speakes it of things before mencioned in his Epistle Chap. 11.21 Chap. 12. There were divers who did eate theire suppers when they came to the Sacrament one is hungrie and another is drunken this was not decently and in order If any