Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	apostle_n	church_n	prophet_n	2,510	5	6.4935	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16247	Boanerges. Or the humble supplication of the ministers of Scotland, to the High Court of Pariament [sic] in England	Scott, Thomas, 1580?-1626.	1624 (1624)	STC 3171; ESTC S102729	18,586	38

for telling him his dutie and chid all the rest for being flatterers and parasites Thus doe we say to you seeing our great and considerate Prince hath now condescended to call this high Court of Parliament to heare his subiects grieuances and redresse the enormities of the Commonwealth either cease to sit and come not there at all or entertaine our petitions and relieue our discontents But because we will not affright Israel as the ten explorators of the land of Canaan did with talking of Enachims and giants of iron walls and high towers that is with medling with the Church and gouernment of the Clergie either by finding fault with the setled state or proposing vnto you our maner of discipline according to other reformed Churches of Europe the Confession of Auspurgh the Harmonie of Confession or other fearfull petitions which in the dayes of Queen Elizabeth were presented to the Councell we will at this present contract ourselues and insist onely vpon three things 1. First concerning Non-residents and the ill example which the Clergie giue by their ill liues to weake and ignorant soules 2. Concerning the mixtures of Papistrie in your kingdome or conniuing at the impudencie of such men that with Bels priests eate vp the Kings prouision and make him beleeue the Dragon did it 3. Last of all not to giue eare to the Syrens incantations but tie yourselues close to the mast of true Religion and Christian policie that you be not seduced and brought within the Panthers reach whose sweet sauours and persumes intoxicateth many innocents and ignorants First concerning Non-residents Formalists and other abuses of the Clergie if it please you to remember in the Law of Moses the malefactor or delinquent in any kind saued his life if he could once take hold of the hornes of the Altar yet when the case was against King Salomon it could not serue Ioabs turne but hee perisht immediatly so is it amongst you if you can but name the orders of gouernment and constitutions of the Church you are able to stop any disputants mouth to silence any Preacher but this shall not serue your turne in any cause against the maiestie of heauen but the sentence of our Sauiour shall be denounced against any hypocriticall Formalist vnder the Sunne He that knowes his masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes If againe he be an ignorant oh reade the prophesie the flying booke came to one and he could not open it it was too fast sealed it came to another opened and hee could not reade it and it came to a third and hee could not vnderstand it Thus out of ignorance or wilfulnesse you haue silenced many worthy spirituall stones of Gods building and traduced those that could not endure the prophane mixtures in religion with the termes of heretiks schismatiks and sectaries termes more affrighting then Iewes Turks and Infidels for their misunderstanding themselues may be excused ex magno inscitia bello yet Corasim and Bethsaida shall answer the matter more fearfully But most gracious Lords notwithstanding these calumniations or the brand of malice by intemperate humours the crime of heresie is not to be imputed to any whose faith doth wholy rely vpon the sure rocke of Gods word they are no Schismatiks who runne for shelter vnder the comfortable shade of the tree of the Church of God such as the Prophets Apostles and primitiue Church describe or such as all the Reformed Churches of Europe take vpon them to defend nor are they to be reputed Sectaries which embrace the truth alwayes one and itselfe and so impregnable that all the assaults of Satan shall not preuaile against it and therefore Right honorable Lords we do here exhibite a petition vnto you so to order the matter that neither we be thus scandalized nor any seruant of God put from his estate maintenance for making a conscience against some friuolous ceremonies which are not things indifferent as now is the phrase if you compell men to the obseruation and therefore to affright them with losse of liuing maintenance or imprisonment is no brotherly punishment nor charitable discipline doe rather as Augustus did by his Senator we beseech you There was a Romane dwelling in the great city named Ouidius Pollio who determining to invite the Emperour to supper made a great preparation but in the washing of his christall glasses the slaue broke one of them for which he was condemned the next day to be cut in peeces and throwne into his fish-ponds The Emperour comming to supper and hearing of this most cruell doome for so triuial an offence cōmanded all the glasses to be brought into his presence and so brake them to peeces This I doe quoth Augustus to preuent further mischiefe which may happen vpon so slight occasions Wee will not apply but leaue all to be throughly searched and discussed and that for two causes 1. The one for that wee are confident you are able in respect of your singular knowledge in the Scriptures and hope you are willing in respect of your honours and sincere pietie toward Religion to convince our errors by Gods word and discouer our wandrings if in any thing we be out of the way 2. Secondly that if you find the testimony confession of faith of honest religious men agreeable with the word of truth you will also agree either to convince vs by writing or giue vs leaue to liue without obloquy or infamous characters in our poore and despised estates or not to clog our consciences as we said with ceremonies and devices of men For what said Stephen King of Poland Princes might command the bodies and liues of their subiects but not their soules and consciences And who I pray you are our greatest enemies but such as liue in pomp state glory feasting with much aboundance and affluencie such as haue pluralitie of Benefices are resident at none of them and scarce preach once in a yeare such as are Prebends in Cathedrall Churches whose liuings are inordinatly spent vpon a number of Drones and deuouring panches Singing-men Organists Queristers and diuers superfluous officers which otherwise might be extended toward the reliefe of poore schollers and the true seruants of God and all this is the more lamentable because many times the place of preaching is vnsupplied and when it is supplied you shall finde at least a dozen Ministers walking in your most frequented Churches without hearing the word of God at all to be briefe such are our enemies as neither know what true zeale or deuotion meanes nor once thinke vpon the propagation of religiō or purity of a sincere life Iudge most gracious Lords whether our soules are truly vexed or no at the enormities and grosse wickednesse of Clergie men when amongst you there are such couetous and ambitious Preachers that retaine divers Benefices offices and Church-liuings in their hands and growing rich are able to purchase Lordships and Mannors when yet you reade the

Boanerges OR THE HVMBLE SVPPLICATION OF THE MINISTERS OF SCOTLAND TO THE HIGH COVRT OF PARIAMENT IN ENGLAND 2. COR. 4. 13. We beleeue and therefore haue we spoken Printed in Edenburgh 1624. 2. CHRON. 19. 6. Take heed what you doe for you execute not the iudgement of man but of the Lord and he shall be with you in the cause and iudgement A Preface or Introduction to the Supplication THere is a common saying among ours and Gods enemies the Papists that the Christian Church must be knowne by these Characters Visibility Antiquity Vniuersality and Consent but the Spirit of God sayes that all these are the marks of the Beast and persecution and paucitie the infallible signes of the true Church thus began the first prophesie I will put enmity betweene thee and the woman and betweene thy seed and her seed thus it continued in Iohns Reuelation Then the Dragon was wroth with the Woman and went and made warre with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandements of God and haue the testimony of Iesus Christ And thus could we spread the testimonies of Scripture like a mantle exposed to your view full of delicate resemblances wherein you might behold how the true Church of God hath been euer without any cessation subiect to scornes opprobry the malignant circumstances of time or fearfull persecution But withall we pray you remember that we make not our approches from Nebuchadnezars heating the oven seuen times hotter but the Dragons watching the Woman the Man that sitteth in the Temple of God as God those that be in Moses chaire such as were invested with Aarons ornaments and in plaine termes the continued persecution which we meane must arise out of the hate and malice of Christians yea Preachers themselues that are opposites to zealous professors and this we complaine of Oh reade reade for Gods sake the story of Ieremie and marke his persecutions and who were his greatest enemies Shemaiah a false Prophet and Zephaniah the chiefe Priest in stead of Iehoiada yea if you step a litle further you shal find that the king Zedekiah durst not iustifie his conference with Ieremie as being afraid of the Princes and Priests so that in truth he had no friends but Baruch the Prophet and Ebedmelech the Moore And as it was with him so it continued with all the rest vntill the comming of Christ and then wherfore did he call them generation of Vipers or who were those hypocrites that Christ exprobrated but the Scribes and Pharises who sat in Moses chaire and at last condemned the Sauiour of the world to an ignominious death so that it is apparant here was nothing but persecution And for visibility did not Eliah crie out he was alone and those that were the true seruants of God durst not iustifie their profession And after-terward he that was the Author of all truth was reputed an impostor and deceiuer of the world Oh marke what the Apostle saith For I thinke that God hath set forth vs the last Apostles as men appointed to death for we are made a gazing-stocke vnto the world vnto the Angels and to men Which place of Scripture driues vs to amaze when we consider the disparitie betweene the flourishing Churches ambitious Prelacie exalted Bishops and maiesticke glory of Clergie men in Europe and the pouerty persecution and disreputation of the true Church of God indeed as either it was in the time of the Apostles or must be according to this prophesie to the worlds end Reconcile vs then we pray you whether the Apostle onely meant the present time or from the Spirit of God by way of prediction had reference to after ages yea the end of the world but doe not come too neare our eyes to dim our sight or deafe our eares with the fearfull sound of the prerogatiue of Princes the high commanding voices of authoritie or the seeming flourishes of the orders of a Church but plainly out of coherence of Scripture rectifie our vnderstanding in this point For if the Apostles haue prophetically set downe and indefinitely concluded that this must be the estate of the true Church of God we shall neuer beleeue but that outward pomp pride wealth eminencie and the ill sounding accent of supereoritie ouer their brethren can decipher any other thing then Antichrist and so must loue such in our soules as either out of Pauls humilitie content themselues with that portion which God hath allotted or Dauids patience endure the Micols of the world to call them fooles THE SVPPLICATION OR PETITION IT SELFE Most gracious Lords WHen Paul came to preach at Ephesus and bring as it were the Arke of God into the Temple of Dagon that hee might breake his necke it is said the whole Citie was moued and Demetrius a siluer-smith who got his liuing by making of Images raised such a hurliburly amongst the people that they would not endure any motiue for their conuersion to Christianitie but cried out Great is Diana of the Ephesians Whereupon the Apostle afterward exclaimed vpon them that he had fought with beasts at Ephesus Thus is it with all kingdomes and setled gouernments though neuer so many thornes and thistles grow vp to choke the good seed yet if there be a desire to set a crowne of gold on the Priests head and take away his rags and deformed garments to bring some leprous offender to publicke view that it may be discerned whether he be vnclean or no to make the Priests to cleanse the Temple of filth and pigeons dung as you reade of Hercules who let in the riuer to cary away the ordure of Angens stable to search the vnswept corners of vicious mens soules and in a word to reforme the abuses of a Cōmon-wealth then shall some Amasiah tell Amos Bethel is the Kings Court and the Kings Chappell there is no preaching there then shall some Prince or Lord tell Zedechiah that Ieremy weakens the kingdome and disheartens the souldiers then shall Sandolet and the rest affright Nehemiah when hee attempts the discouery of foule enormities in a word then shall your great men and officers for feare some charming arme of Hecate turne their inside outward crie out of innouation sedition turbulencie or some hare-braind spirit But most gracious Lords we beseech you remember how worthily King Philip of Macedon entertained a petitioners presumption when a certaine woman kneeled before him to deliuer a supplication he reiected her suite and turned away in scorne from her the woman amazed yet boldly answered Then cease to be a King if thou deniest to heare thy subiects petitions The King hearing her voice but not vnderstanding what she said returned againe and askt her what she meant The vndaunted woman repeated the words againe and the magnanimous Prince not onely pardoned her but tooke her vp in his armes and as you shall reade that Dauid blessed Abigail for keeping him from shedding of blood so did King Philip blesse the woman