Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A90603
|
The mysticall vvolfe. Set forth in a sermon preached in the Church of Edmond the King, in Lombard-street. / By E.P.
|
Pagitt, Ephraim, 1574 or 5-1647.
|
1645
(1645)
|
Wing P183; Thomason E27_9; ESTC R8274
|
23,897
|
45
|
The Fryers of old erected their Kingdome by lyes Walsingham reporteth that they were so famous for lying that it was accounted a good argument hee is a fryer Ergo a lyer Do not our lying prophets goe beyond them they tell lyes they write lies they preach lyes they print lyes as if God needed lyes Thou wilt destroy all them that speake leasing saith the Prophet Here I would observe two things 1. That there have beene and always shall be false prophets in the Church 2. Why God suffereth them For the first that there have been and always shall be false prophets in the Church There shal arise saith our Lord false prophets and if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect I know saith St. Paul that after my departing grievous Wolves shall enter in among you Again the spirit speaketh evidently that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith and shall give heed to the spirit of error and doctrines of Devills which speake lyes through hypocrisâ—â— Likewise St. Peter affirmeth But there were false prophets among the people and there shal be also false teachers among you which privily shal bring in damnable hesies even denying the Lord that bought them bring upon themselves swift damnation For example sake wee read of the Devill the archfalse prophet deceiving our first parents in Paradice of Iamnes and Iambres withstanding Moses and resisting the truth In Eliahs time of many false prophets deceiving the people yea in this very time when our Lord preached upon the earth The Church was annoyed with divers pernicious sects as with the Pharisees who like the Papists held Justification by works With the Saduces who held with the Atheists of our time that there is no resurrection With the Essens who like the Anabaptists of our time thought themselves free from all humane authority I might set down the hereticks that sprang up in the most pure ages of the Church viz. In the first 400. yeares after Christ collected by St. Agustine out of Eusebius and Epiphanius The Apostles and holy men seldome planted any Churches but the devill with his false prophets went about to subvert them Heare what St. Paul saith to the Galatians O ye foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth Again to the Corinthians I fear lest as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty so you should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ The noble Churches of Antioch Ephesus Alexandria and Constantinople were poisoned by false prophets In Ephesus were the Nicholaitans in Alexandria Arrius in Antioch Samosatenus in Constantinople Eutyches and Nestorius and iâ— Britany Pelagius called in Welch Morgan But how Christian Princes holy Bishops and learned men bestir'd themselves to save their flocks from those Wolves and in the very beginning to suppresse them you may perceive by the ancient Councels in some one of which 400. year 600. Bishops conveâ—ed and ran together yea among us to damne Pelagius heresie Bishops came from beyond the Seas as Germanus and Lupus out of France St. Augustine also Bishop of Hippo in Africa was assisting to us against him as appeareth by his writings extant among us Our histories report that our Welch Arch-bishop Davie was a great meanes to extirpate his heresie who wrote a booke against it As sorreign Bishops were ayding to us in suppressing the hereticks that rose among us so were we assisting to them as Eborius of York Restitutus of LondoÌ„ Adelâ—ius of Colchester with other Brittish and learned men subscribed the Councell of Arles Also some of our Bishops were at the Councell of Nice and Sardis and with others damned the Arrian heresie and absolved Athanasius Our poor Church is at this time oppressed with false prophets not only with Iesuites and other Romish Emissaries but also with unpure Familists who blasphemously pretend to be godified like God whereas indeed they are devillified like their Father the Devill who would be like the most high With illuminated Anabaptists who blaspheme the baptisme of Children and these hereticks whom in time past we burned wee may heare now in our pulâ—its â—educing the people We have also Donatistical Brownists who like the Pharisees of old separate themselves from other men counting all men prophane that are not of their Conventicles We have also Independants who dream that they have a perfect modelâ— of Church-government which Almighty God kept secret from the Patriarks Priests Prophets Apostles and Doctors of the Church and now lately revealed unto them We have also Antinomians who whereas the Papists leave out one Commandement of the ten they null the whole Law not allowing it to be a rule of life This opinion simple people swallow down having as they suppose found a new way to heaven We have Arminians an after-brood of Pelagius We have Sabbatarianss who affirme the old Jewish Sabbath to be kept and not the Lords day We have also Antisabbatarians who would have no speciall Sabboth day at all affirming every day to be a sabbath to a christian man We have Traskites who affirme many Jewish ceremonies to be observed by Christians We have Arrians who deny the deity of Christ We have Antitrinitarians who blaspheme the holy Trinity We have Millenaries who dream that wee must live with Christ 1000. yeares here in earth before the resurrection We have Hetheringtonians who hold a hodg-podg of many heresies We have an Atheisticall sect who affirm that mens soules sleep with their bodies We have Socinians who teach that Christ dyed not to satisfie for our sins but to give us an example of patience with other abhoâ—inable errours Alas what Heresie have we not and most of these are subdivided into many Sects as there are about twenty sorts of Anabaptists fourteen set downe by Alstedius and the rest by Bullinger sundry sorts of Familists Brownists and of others every day begets a new opinion it faring with them as with the ancient Hereticks who having once forsaken the truth wandred from one errour to another they agreeing onely in this one thing to doe mischiefe to the Church of God The old Fable may have relation to our times of an overture of peace tendred by the Wolves to the Sheep but upon condition that they would put away their dogs that were malignant to them and doth not all this follow upon the suspension of Church Government Alas our Church is oppressed by false Prophets and we have no government to helpe The City of God is on fire and who goeth about to quench it The plague of Heresie is among us and we have no power to keep the sick from the whole The Wolves that were wont to lye in the woods dare come into our Sheep-folds and roar in our holy Congregations O thou Shepheard of Israel why hast
the Kings of the earth and to make their Prophet Iohn King of the universe In the History of the Anabaptists of Germany you may read what faire pretences they made before they surprized the City The use that we should make of this is to be very wary of these Hereticks who are of the best conversations whose lives saith Origem are possibly directed not of God but by the devill Secondlie this their sheeps cloathing may be their palliating their errours with the testimony of holy Scriptures I read that the Monster Arrius pretended to have 42. places of Scripture to prove that Christ was a meere man and not God and this the Seducers learnt of their Father the Devill who cited the word to the Word himselfe tempting him to cast himselfe downe from the Pinacle of the Temple viz. He cited part of the 91. Psalme He hath given his Angels charge over thee they shall heare thee up in their hands lest thou shouldest dash thy foot against a stone leaving out part of the Text viz. to keep thee in thy wayes The devill fitted it for his purpose This do Hereticks as among others the Anabaptists to maintaine their uncleannesse in their spirituall marriages cite or rather abuse the holy Scriptures viz. That Christians must forsake those things that are most deare unto them for Chrsts sake and therefore women must renounce their beloved honesties Quidam etiam liberi fratres impuri Nebulones persuadebant levibas mulier culis â—on posse ipsâ—s salvari nisi suam pudiâ—itam prostituerent  Abutebantur autem non absque blasphemia verâ—is Domini Nisi quis deserâ—erit spreverit quaecuâ—que chara habeat â—â—â— posse salvari 2. That Publicans and harlots shall enter heaven before the Pharisee therefore their spirituall sisters must prostitute their bodies to enter Heaven before honest Matrons Item Christi â—omiâ—e oâ—nes coâ—tumeliâ—s â—erendas esse 3. For Christs sake wee must undergoe all manner of infamy Praetereaâ— cum Christus dixerit meretrices Publicanos praececisse justitiarios in Regne Coelorum debere mulieres meretrices fieri sâ—am pudicitiam prostituere â—uâ— fore in Regne coeloruÌ„ majores probis honestis matronis Hen. Bull Adver. Anab. lib. 2. cap. 1. fol. 31. Againe as Christians are one spirit so they must be one bodie such Scripture they quote  The Use that you should make of this is advise with your learned Pastors and double and treble your prayers to Almighty God to keepe you and to bring into the way of truth all such as do erre and are deceived But inwardly they are ravening Wolves {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Wolves Whatsoever they pretend they are Wolves as Wolves are to the Sheep so are false Prophets to Christs flock St. Paul calleth them {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} grievous Wolves Our Lord setteth downe their outward shew and their inward disposition what outward shew soever they make {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Wolves in divers respects 1. As the biting of a Wolfe is venomous like the biting of a mad Dog making them that are bitten by them mad so false Prophets venome men causing them to goe out of their wits 2. As the Wolves destroy more sheep by craft then by might so doe false Prophets of whom Saint Paul speaketh of some carrryed away {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} By the cogging of men and with craftinesse by which they lye in wait to deceive 3. As Wolves are dull-sighted in the day and quick sighted in the night so false Prophets are very accute and sharpe witted to defend their errors but very dull and blinde to see the truth 4 Make a garment saith Plutarth of the haire of a Wolfe it will prove odious being lousie and breeding vernâ—â—e upon him that weareth it So all the profit you shall get by false Prophets will be noxious to you {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which signifieth dilanio to teare asunder {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} of {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to rend asunder as one Wolf may destroy a flock so one Hereticke a Congregation â— Lupus quasi Leopus followeth the Lyon hunting for his prey and what the Lyon spareth the Wolfe devoureth So false Prophets follow their father the Devill the roaring Lyon seeking whom they may devoure Wolves play with little Children as Aristotle reporteth and sometimes spareth them as wee read of Roâ—ulus brought up by a Wolf and of late days I read of a man brought up among the Wolves and raâ—â—e about with them and preyed as they did but being taken by Hunters and chained up he howl'd like a Wolfe and continuing among men and having gotten his speech and understanding he would complaine that he lived more carefully among men than among Wolves I never read that a false Prophet spared any man whom he could seduce and it is not so dangerous to live among Wolves in the fields as with false Prophets in a strong City Ravening wolves they are by reason of their rapacitie taking away truth from our understandings charity from our affections and holinesse from our action {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} grievous Wolves cruell Wolves a Wolfe delighteth in bloud so these mysticall Wolves of the cruelty of these ravening Wolves you may read Hebr. 11. 37. By them the Saints of God were stoned they were sawne asunder they were tempted they were slaine with the sword c. In the Primiâ—ive persecutions they opened the Bellies of holy men and virginâ— and filling them full of Corne exposed them to be eaten of Swine Cyril of Hierapolis had his breast opened and his Liver taken out and chewed by these ravenous Wolves In cruelty the Romish Wolves excell Call but to minde the martyrdom of our holy men in Queen Maries dayes which holy men delivered our Nation from Idoll worship Bread-worship invocation of Saints and Angels and translated the holy Bible into English who restored to us the Cup in the Sacrament the symboll of Christs bloud who sealed their confession with their bloud Their blessed remembrance shall remaine for ever In the Massacre of the Protestants in France you may see their Wolvish cruelty The Papists being not able to quell the Protestants in Battaile they put on sheepes cloathing made a League with them confirmed by Oathes and a publike Edict And that the Protestants might the better confide in them the Protestant King of Navar our Queens father was to marry the sister of the then French King To the which marriage the Protestant Princes Nobles resorted invited with great joy and expectation of future happinesse The marriage was solemnized but in the night time the Wolvish Papists fell upon their guests and worried them against the Law of hospitality promises and oathes The noble Prince the Admirall among others was