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	rome_n	2,013	5	6.8164	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62900	The principles of the Papists by which their leaders put them upon bloody and treacherous practices, plainly demonstrated by the Scriptures to be most erroneous and wicked. And a few better principles briefly laid down, for them (or others) to meditate on, tending to a peaceable life among men, &c. And also a few quæries left them last of all, to satisfie their consciences in. Partly for the sakes of those among them whose consciences have some tenderness in them, and are not quite feared: partly also for those who through ignorance are too much inclining to them. Also there may be some service of these things to others. By a lover of truth, mercifulness, plain-heartedness, humility and fidelity, W. T.	Tomlinson, William.	1679 (1679)	Wing T1850; ESTC R221759	49,364	105

darkness done in his cruel Inquisitions will all press upon him And yet this Man whose Sins and Cruelties and unmerciful Massacres reach to Heaven he must be the Man to forgive men their sins Oh the blindness and besotted condition of men whom the Lord hath given up to strong delusion I beseech you let us understand who they are that are given up to strong delusion to believe a lye if they be not that train that follows the Pope and depends upon him for the pardon of their sins For the strong delusions are to come upon them that follow the Man of Sin the Son of Perdition who exalts himself above all that 's called God and who sits in the Temple of God as the Pope doth And so you may find these deluded ones spoken of as the train of that exalted Man of Sin in the same Chapter with him 2 Thess 2. But the Pope pretends to have power to pardon sins because Christ gave that power to his Apostles for he boasts of his Succession to them especially to Peter But I aver that he that is departed and fallen away from the Apostles Spirit and Doctrine is no true Sucessor to them nor hath that power which they had The Apostles were innocent holy humble men of heart not seeking the glory of this World as the Pope doth not exercising dominion over mens Faith and Conscience as the Pope doth nor lording it over God's Heritage as the Pope doth but were ensamples of piety and holiness to the Flock of Christ But the Pope walks contrary to their Example and to their Doctrine being a devouring Wolf where he cannot exercise dominion over mens spirits He indeed arrogates to himself the title of Holiness but is far from the life of it being a ring-leader into wickedness murthers massacres perjury dissimulation and wicked fraud encouraging his Children to take Tests or Oaths so that they may lurk among us like Foxes under Sheeps cloathing until they can seize upon their prey Is not here plainly a departing and falling away from the upright and innocent spirit and wholesom doctrine of the Apostles When will your eyes be opened you that are his Subjects and Slaves When will you be sensible and understand what manner of Holiness you have set before you to follow I pray you consider what is it above and beyond these wickednesses that he shall live in who is such a Man of Sin and Son of Perdition See if you can find out grosser abominations among all that profess Christianity for which those titles may be put upon any man more justly So then seeing he is thus departed and fallen away from the Apostles spirit and doctrine who will trust to him for the remitting of their sins who have any good understanding or sound reason left in them and are not given up to strong delusion to believe a lye 4. I proceed to a fourth Principle of the Romish Church viz. That the Church of Rome whereof the Pope is Head is the true Church of Christ and all that depart from them are Hereticks That there was once a true Church and a precious Church of Christ at Rome I grant while they followed the Doctrine and innocent Life of Christ and his holy Apostles But since they are fallen therefrom into the murthering and lying treacherous spirit they are become degenerate and thereby cut themselves off as a Branch withered is cut off from the Vine But here by the way before I proceed any further I desire to be rightly understood that the bent of my Discourse is not against those that are simple-hearted and harmless among them and honest according to their knowledg but it is against the ruling and leading part who lead the rest into evil these are fallen away from Christ and hold others in bondage and keep them in captivity as the Israelites were kept captives in Babylon of old So there is a people that God calls his people in Babylon the great the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the Earth For saith the Scripture Come out of her my people which words were insignificant if he had not a people in the midst of Babylon This being premised which I desire may be minded all along I shall now for the finding out of the truth or falshood of this 4th Principle put the Question thus viz. Whether the present Church of Rome that is the ruling leading part and the ruled part from the Pope to his meanest Minister or Subject who are spirited to teach or actively to put in practice the destructive principles of their Church be the only true Church of Christ Now for the readier finding out of the truth or falshood in this Question I shall set another by it which may run parallel with it to give light to it namely Whether a people teaching or by principles practising lying perjury or false swearing hypocrisie and dissimulation Plots and conspiracies to destroy others assassinations secret murders and open massacres and other such like abominations and all this with consent and approbation of their Church Whether such a people be the only true Church of Christ and all that withdraw from them be Hereticks Thus the Question is truly stated concerning the present Church of Rome as their actions make it manifest and being thus stated I think I may leave the deciding of it to the meanest capacity where there is any grain of honesty left in their hearts towards Christ Jesus the Head of his Church for certainly none will say that such a Church is the only true Church of Christ and all others Hereticks except they have sold themselves to speak wickedly Now that the Pope and his Romanists are such a people they themselves prove by matter of fact and by their actions they sufficiently declare it to this present Age which is constrained for its own security to use the best means it can to preserve it self from their assassinations stabbings stranglings sinothering of their persons burning of their Houses and Cities and from their bloody hands and merciless massacres The Church of Christ in the Apostles days was the pillar and ground of truth upholding and holding forth truth in the World by teaching it and by living in it and so by living a just and innocent harmless life among men so that they were of no danger to others among whom they lived But the Church of Rome is come to that that she is become the pillar and ground of lyes and slanders of equivocation false accusations truce-breaking hypocrisie to seem one thing and be another to deny or hide their own Principles for wicked ends she is so far fallen from an innocent harmless life that she is become the pillar and ground of Plots and wicked designs to contrive the blowing up of Parliaments the ruine of Nations the destruction of Kings and Rulers the massacring of multitudes and butcherly murthering of thousands of innocent people that do them no harm This is the Pope's Roman

them when ye see the multitude before them and behind them worshipping them Thus it is also in the streets of the great City mystical Babylon Rome and among her Children when they go about the streets with their Host besides all the rest of their Idolatry committed in their places of Worship and in secret 3. As Babylon of old was exalted above all and call'd Lady of Kingdoms Isa 47.5 and the glory of Kingdoms Isa 13.19 So Rome exalts her self in like manner and calls her self Mother Church and Caput omnium Ecclesiarum i.e. the Head of all the Churches and sits as Queen over all in her own exalted mind But then 4 thly and lastly Rome is most fitly call'd Babylon because she holds the seed of God in bondage and captivity Whom she leads captive once she will hardly let them escape without danger of their lives or cruel torments in her Inquisitions they must become perfect slaves to her Superstitions Will-worships and Idolatries And what bondage is like to this that people to whom God hath given reason and understanding shall not make use of it but lay it aside and submit wholly to the understandings or rather wills of others though it be against their own and so be urged to submit to that which is against the light in their own Consciences And this is the greatest bondage and captivity of all and therefore well may Rome be called Babylon the great She is also called Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth She brings forth Harlots that is such Children as go a whoring with her after her Inventions Those that in tenderness of Conscience and in subjection to the words of Christ who said In vain do you worship me after the traditions of men will not joyn with them in their invented traditions and superstitions such she owns not for her Children she will be no Mother or Nurse to such but seeks to murder them in cold blood as none of hers she will be only Mother of Harlots that can prostitute themselves with her to her Idolatries and Inventions and if they can do that it shall not break the band between them although they be common Harlots in the vulgar sence but she will remain their Mother She is also Mother of abominations in the earth Not only Mother of abominations in Worship and superstitious Inventions but also Mother of abominations in the earth abominations as to the civil life of men without the consideration of worship abominations to men as they are men living upon the earth To manifest this I shall quote one Scripture and then her own actions will testifie the truth of it against her It is Prov. 6.16 17 18 19. These six things doth the Lord hate yea seven are abomination to him A proud look a lying tongue hands that shed innocent blood an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations feet that be swift in running to mischief a false witness that speaketh lyes and him that soweth discord among brethren Now see and judge if Rome be not Mother of these abominations Who more lofty in spirit than the Pope and his Romanists Can any compare with him who exalts himself over all makes his Cardinals as Princes his Bishops and whole Clergy as great men and makes his whole Train dispise others as Hereticks not worthy to live in the earth Here 's a proud look indeed And for a lying tongue Rome's Children are so pregnant with that that one cannot tell how to believe either what they say or what they swear How miserably were the Protestants in Ireland cheated by them by fair promises and deep oaths that they would secure their Goods for them in the time of that bloody Massacre and yet when they had got them into their hands refused to restore them yea and afterwards murthered them And so 3dly They have hands that shed innocent blood none like them for that 4thly An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations Whose hearts are so full of wicked imaginations Plots Conspiracies and devices of Cruelty as Rome's Children 5thly Whose feet are swifter in running to mischief than the Papists who in one brunt can cut off so many thousands by Massacres before they make an end Their feet are speedy to do mischief when they get but the opportunity 6thly Another abomination is a false witness that speaketh Lyes If we go no further than this year how have they endeavoured to choak all true reports among us with their lyes and falshoods Witness the false reports and lying stories that they gave forth about the death of Worthy Godfrey till the truth appeared by Evidence and could no longer be hid 7thly and lastly He that saweth discord among brethren is also one of the abominations in the earth This is one of Rome's Principles Divide impera Divide and then command Divide what 's that but sowing of discord destroying of concord setting one against another that she may fish in troubled waters Whether she made the former division and discord between the late foregoing King and the People or no I will not say but if they did it 's but according to their Principle Thus you see Rome is a fruitful Mother of abominations of the earth And now you may also at leisure view all these things over again and see how pertinent all these Characters of the great Whore are to Rome they fit her as a garment that sits close and compleat upon a man's back And why then we should be afraid to look upon her as that great Whore here described by the Angel to John I know no reason especially if we add that which follows in the 6th Ver. of this 17th Chap. viz. And I saw the Woman that is the great City seated on seven Hills drunken with the blood of Saints and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus And when I saw her I wondred with great admiration But having spoken of this afore and shewed that it must be Rome professing Christianity and not heathen Rome that caused this great admiration I forbear to speak more of it now I say till Rome shew the contrary to these Characters by a better lise and conversation they will rest upon her And it 's not by her poysoning and stabbing fire and faggot Inquisitions and Massacres that she can clear her self No that way confirms and fixes these marks more fully upon her the more she seeks to wipe off the stains of blood that are upon her by such means the more and greater they still appear And now for the deciding of the Question in hand which all that I have said tends to Let any that have any reason of their own to make use of and any honesty and faithfulness in their hearts towards God and Christ Jesus our Lord judge and determine the Question Whether this Church of Rome so guilty of these things be the only true Church of Christ now and all others that draw from her be Hereticks I hope whosoever considers these things