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A60223 The reasons of the conversion of Mr. John Sidway from the Romish to the Protestant religion together with what usage he hath since received in the Church of England : as also a brief account of his travails / humbly communicated to the high court of Parliament. Sidway, John. 1681 (1681) Wing S3770A; ESTC R25150 50,639 86

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verily believing there was a God for indeed I could believe no other for Heaven and Earth and all things therein shewed me as much I considered that though I could not believe them in all things all in regard of their Disagreement yet in those things in which they all agreed I had reason to do no other but to believe them all I sought therefore next to see in what they agreed and finding they all agreed in these things and no other viz. That there was a God to be adored here for which there was a Heaven for the Righteous and a Hell for the Wicked the one as a Reward and the other as a Punishment for the fame hereafter I concluded I had reason to believe them in these things and no other So that now I doubted even of Christianity it self Next therefore being at Sery there being a whole Parish of Christians in which there was three Franciscans all Priests one of which seemed very Learned and Ingenious I had a great desire to have some Private Discourse with him And the better to have his Advice and safer to Relate my Doubts I went to him to Confession in which I declared that by reason of my Travels I had been brought even to doubt of the Truth both of Christ and Christianity The Franciscan Father was greatly surprised to hear me relate this and the better to regain me to the Faith asked me Whether I believed there was a God I told him that that I did not only believe but was very sensible of He then asked me Whether I believed the Holy Prophets the Writers of the Old Testament were of God To this I answered I greatly questioned whether they were or no. He then shewed me divers Reasons to prove they were of God and that therefore whatsoever was contained in their Prophesies must needs be true Which Reasons especially those which were most convincing to me I have here inserted to wit First That amongst their Prophesies many of which foretelling things many years and sometimes Ages before they were to happen being such as in all probability were never likely to come to pass nor could be conjectured by any Natural Causes as were generally the things foretold by the Heathens and their Oracles were notwithstanding afterward most certainly fulfilled As first The Prophesie and Prediction made to Abraham of his Issue when he had neither any nor was ever like to have Gen. 12.2 Gen. 13.16 Gen. 15.5 Gen. 17.2 Gen 18.11 12. Of his inheriting the Land of Canaan and above all of his Posterities descent into Egypt of their time of Servitude and manner of deliverance thence the same being foretold more than four hundred years before it was fulfilled Gen. 15.13 14. And when no likely hood thereof did at all appear and yet how exactly the same was fulfilled and at the very time appointed by the Prophesie is declared in Exod. 12.31 32. 2dly Jacobs Prophesie of the Kingly Government of Judah Gen. 42.8 9 10. where there is mention made of his Brethrens bowing down to him and withal of his Scepter the Circumstances whereof if we seriously consider are exceedingly to be wondred at For first When these words were uttered by Jacob there was no probability at all of any Scepter to be among the Jews or Israelites for they were poor and few in number and never like to be a distinct Nation of themselves or to depart forth of Egypt again And 2dly If any such thing should come to pass as that they might be a People and have a Scepter of Government of their own yet was it not that Judah and his Posterity should possess the same for that he had three elder Brothers to wit Reuben Simeon and Levi who in all likely hood were to have it before him And 3dly When Moses recorded and put in writing this Prophesie which was divers hundred years after Jacob had spoken it it was much less likely that ever it should be true in regard that Moses then present in Government was of the Tribe of Levi and Joshua designed by God for his Successour was of the Tribe of Ephraim and not of Judah which makes greatly for the certainty of this Record For that it is most apparent that Moses would never have put such a Prophesie in writing to the disgrace of his own Tribe and to the prejudice and offence of Reuben Simeon Ephraim and other Tribes neither would they have suffered such a Derogation but that it was evident to them by Tradition that their Grand-Father Jacob had spoken it although then there was no great likely hood that ever after it should come to be fulfilled Nevertheless this was for the time of Moses whereas if we consider that from Moses to Samuel that was the last of all the Judges there passed four hundred years more and yet was there no appearance of the fulfilling of this Prophesie in Israel for that the Tribe of Judah was not established in that Government it is the more to be wondred at At length they came to have Kings to Rule and then was there chosen Saul to the Place who was not of the Tribe of Judah but of Benjamin and he was endued with divers Children to succeed him who therefore would have then thought that this Prophesie could have ever been fulfilled Nevertheless when no man thought thereof there was a poor Shepherd chosen out of the Tribe of Judah called David to be King 1 Sam. 16.13 which Government of Judah held out more than 1200 years together even until the time of Herod Euseb in Chron. 3dly The Prophesie of the same Jacob for the greatness of Ephraim above Manasses Gen. 48.19 20. which afterward was fulfilled for that Ephraim was always the greater and stronger Tribe Josh 16. Josh 17. and became afterward the Head of the Kingdom of Israel or of the Ten Tribes Isai 7.2 9. whereof there was no suspition or likely hood when Jacob spake this or when Moses recorded it 4thly The Prophesie of Moses of the Jews forsaking of God and of the many and great evils they should incur thereby Deut. 31.16 17 18. which afterward came to pass 5thly The Prophesie of the Birth and Acts of Josiah more than 300 years before he was born 1 King 13.2 which afterward was exactly fulfilled 2 King 23.15 6thly The Prophesie of Isaiah of the Destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and of the grievous Captivity the Jews should be in under them 2 King 20.17 Esai 5.26 As also the Destruction of Babylon by Cyrus King of Persia Esai 13.1 6. which Prophesie was almost 200 years before the said Cyrus was born in which he declared his Name and how although a Heathen he should rebuild the City and Temple of Jerusalem Isai 44.28 Isai 45.1 which others of his own Religion had destroyed all which accordingly came to pass and he nominateth two Witnesses thereof Esai 8.2 Urius and Zacharias which were not born of many years after the one being a
have said is excepted he which is not Baptized the second to be Hell where every Apostate or Stranger from the Faith of Christ shall undergo Eternal Punishments The third place we are utterly ignorant of nor do we find it in the Holy Scriptures Feign thou Pelagian 4. place out of the Ware-house of thy Opinion Know for certain Augustine in his Book of the Vanity of the World Tomb 9th Chap. 1. that when the Soul is departed from the Body it is either presently placed in Paradice for its good works or certainly is cast headlong into the Pit of Hell for its Sins Choose you now what you will have and dispose of this now in your life-time either Perpetually to rejoyce with the Saints or without end to be Punished with the Wicked Let no Man deceive himself Augustine in his 10th Tomb of time Sermon 202. Augustine also saith the same in Effect in his 7th Tomb and first Book of the Deserts and Remission of Sins Chap. 28. And in his fifth Tomb and Twenty first Book of the City of God Chap. 25. my Brethren there are but two places and a third there is not for any he which deserveth not to Raign with Christ without all douht shall Perish with the Devil 2ly Against the Invocation of Angels and Saints departed and the making of them our Mediators and Intercessors FOr it behoveth not the Church of God to leave off The Councel of Luodicea can 35. and be gone and nominate Angels and make Congregations which are known to be forbidden if any one therefore shall be found observing this Occult Idolatry let him be accursed because he leaveth our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God Theodoret upon the third Chapter of the Epistle to the Coloss●●s and delivereth himself up to Idolatry For whereas they did command to adore Angels he commanded the contrary that both words and deeds might adorn the remembrance of Christ the Lord and saith through the sending forth of the Action of thanksgiving to God and the Father Clement Pope and Martyr in his second Book of Apostolical constitutions c. 32. by him and not by Angels Following also this Law of the Laodicean Councel and willing to be cured of that old Disease read it is to be taken heed least they should pray to Augels and least they should leave Our Lord Jesus Christ It is not lawful to come to Almighty God unless by Christ. And whereas notwithstanding he saith to us Origin in his Bighth Book against Cels●● there is one God the Father of whom are all things he saith to us this word of himself and to all which would ascend to the most High God of Gods and to the most High Lord of Lords but he ascendeth to the most High God which inseparably and indivisibly Worshippeth him by Jesus the Son of God by whose only conduct he cometh to the Father He hath said Cyril in his Eleventh Book upon John c. 7. impelling them to ask with confidence affirming Amen Amen whatsoever you shall obtain by request from the Father you shall ask it in my name and hath added in my name to the end he may shew himself a Mediator for no Man cometh to the Father unless by the Son Athanasius also in his Fourth Oration against the Arians treating upon the words of Paul to the Thessalonians pag. 259. And Augustine in his Eighth Tomb in his Enarration of the ●undred and Eighth Psalm say plainly the like things 3ly Against one Mans works being applyed to another FOr the foolish Virgins Hilary in his Commentary upon Matthew Cannon 27. their Lamps being out cannot go forth to meet him They which were Wise were Prayed that they would lend them Oyle to whom they answered we cannot lend our selves because there is not perhaps that there may be enough for every one So that works and deserts done by others shall help no Man because it is necessary that every one buy Oyle for his own Lamp Leo the Great in his 81 Epistle which is to the Palestine Monks in the first Tomb of the Councels pag 791. And Leo the Pope in his 95 Epistle written to Leo Augustus do plainly also say the like Fourthly Against the Adoration of Angels Martyrs and Saints departed LEt Mary be had in honor Epiphanius in his third Book Haeres 79. and the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost be Adored Mary no Body Adoreth I say not that either Woman or Man neither do the Angels receive such glorification this Mystery is due to God The things which were ill writ in the Heart of the deceiver are blotted out The desire of the Tree is taken from the Eyes it is turned again a fiction to the Lord. Eve returned with Adam that she might Worship God only not that she might be led away by the voice of the Serpent but might remain in the Precept of God thou shalt not Eat of the Tree and it was a Tree not error but by him the Tree was made inobedience of Error Let not any one Eat of the Error which is for St. Maries sake for although the Tree was fair but yet not for Food so Mary is very fair and holy and honorable but not for Adoration These truly do again renew the mixture of Fortune and prepare a Table for the Devil and not for God as it is written and they are fed with the food of impiety and as the holy Scripture saith and the Women do bear fine Flower and their Children gather Wood to make Cakes with Oyle subdued to the Army of Heaven Such Women are repressed by Jeremiah that they may not trouble the World and lest they should say let us honor the Queen of Heaven Cyril of Alexandria in his Third Tomb and Sixth Book against Julian fol. 50 in the Letter A. Taphnas also knew to Punish these the places of these Edifices have known to receive Bodies to Corruption But we say the Holy Martyrs be neither Gods nor have we been wont to Adore them But we Praise them with reat Honors that they have striven valiantly for the truth and have observed the sincerity of Faith so that they despised their lives and their farewel sayings prevailed in the greatest Perils by the Terrors of Death and were of such fortitude as to stir up to themselves Statues of their life I do not say that we may not Worship and Adore the reliques of Martyrs Hierom in his second Tomb in his Epistle against Vigilanti●● for the repair of the Priests p. 119. but also that we may not Worship and Adore the Sun and Moon not Angels not Arch-Angels not Cherubin not Seraphin nor any name which is named both in this World and in the World to come for we may not serve Creatures rather than the Creator which is Blessed in the World The Worship of dead Men is not a Religion for us Augustine in his first Tomb in his Book of