Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	ground_n	pillar_n	16,417	5	10.6783	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51142	The trve Protestant sovldier fighting valiantly under truths banner, and by the glorious light of Gods word overthrowing the strongest bulwarkes, and subtle stratagems of the Church of Rome. By Hamnet Warde.	Monginot, François, 1569-1637.; Ward, Hamnet.	1642 (1642)	Wing M2418; ESTC R27120	26,961	42

THE TRVE PROTESTANT SOVLDIER Fighting valiantly under Truths Banner AND By the glorious light of Gods Word overthrowing the strongest Bulwarkes and subtle Stratagems of the Church of Rome By HAMNET WARDE ANCHORA SPEI LONDON Printed by G. M. for William Lee at the Signe of the Turks-Head in Fleet-street 1642. TO THE HONOVRABLE AND TRVLY VERTVOVS THE LADY BRIDG●T BRIANT all Happinesse in CHRIST IESVS Madam THe true zeale which you have for the maintenance of the Truth together with those many favours which your Ladiship hath been pleased to bestow on me my deceased and surviving friends hath encouraged me or rather inforced me to present this little Manuall being the first fruits of mine endeavours to your Ladiships acceptance In that short stride of the World which I have travelled having found many strong oppositions from our adversaries of the Church of Rome as well at home as beyond Sea touching the Protestant Religion I began somewhat to doubt of the truth thereof But by Gods providence lighting on this short Treatise after the perusall thereof I found the Religion of the Church of Rome if I may so call it so sleightly poasted upon the quicksands of mens frivolous opinions and contrariwise the Protestant Religion so soundly founded on the true and lively rocke of our salvation Christ Iesus that by Gods grace as●isting me neither the bewitching charmes of their devillish temptations nor the fiery darts of their hottest persecutions shall ever be able to divert me from the profession thereof Wherefore having received so great comfort thereby my selfe I have laboured with as much as in me lyeth to translate it verbatim out of French into English that others also may have benefit therby humbly beseeching your Ladiship to accept thereof as a token of my ever bounden duty and your Ladiship shall thereby encourage me to pray for your long and happy life here on earth and your eternall happinesse with God in heaven Madam Your Lad● ps most humble and truly devoted Servant Hamnet Warde To the READER Christian Reader MOnsieur Pierre Monginot a Gentleman as well learned as truly noble forsaking the Church of Rome and turning to the Protestant his friends being much discontented thereat wrote this short Treatise to satisfie them shewing them the causes which moved him to change his Religion Which I have translated for thy good out of French into English take but as much heed in reading it as I did labour in the translating it and God grant thee as much benefit by the Copy as I had comfort by the Originall Thine in Christ Iesus Hamnet Warde CHAPTERS 1. Of the true Church 2. Of the Popes power 3. Of the worshipping of Images 4. Of Prayer and Service in an unknowne tongue 5. Of the Invocation of Angels and Saints departed this life 6. Of Abstinence from Meats 7. Of Abstinence from Marriage 8. Of Purgatory 9. Of Merits and Justification by Works 10. Of works of Super-erogation 11. Of the superaboundant satisfactions of Saints and Monkes which the Pope distributes by Indulgences 12. Of the reall presence of the Lords body in the Sacrament and of Transubstantiation 13. Of the Sacrifice of the Masse 14. Of the taking away the cup in the Sacrament Decemb. 1● 1641. Imprimatur THO. WYKES THE TRVE PROTESTANT SOVLDIER CHAPTER I. Of the true Church THe holy Scripture tels us of diverse kindes of Churches There is that Church which is spoken of in the Creed which the Apostle S. Paul calleth the body of Christ against which saith our Saviour Mat. 16. The gates of Hell shall not prevaile which is the Assembly of the truly faithfull and elect people of God wherof part doe already injoy the heavenly pleasures of Gods kingdome part now live here on Earth among sinfull men and infidels and cannot be discerned by the eyes of man Others not yet borne But besides this Church of Gods elect there is another universall and visible Church which is the Assembly of all such as professe themselves Christians and to believe in Jesus Christ This is that Church which Saint Paul 1 Tim. 3. cals the pillar and ground of the truth as being bound to defend and maintaine the truth against all those who labour to corrupt or suppresse it This universall visible Church is composed of divers particular Churches such as were in the Apostles time the Church of Jerusalem the Church of Corinth the Church of Rome and that of the Galatians c. Of these particular Churches some are puter than others nay and there may be some so corrupted as that it is impossible for them to be saved namely as where Idolatry reigneth and where the benefits of Jesus Christ are abused The Church of Rome is one of these particular Churches wherin reigneth Idolatry First in that they call God a Sacrifice made by men Secondly because the honour appertaining to God is by them attributed to Saints in that they say the Saints know the hearts of all men and because they give them and their reliques and Images a religious worship and adoration Lastly because they call the Virgin Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth for the Soveraigne Royalty of the world is not communicable to the creature Likewise the benefits of Jesus Christ are therin abus'd in that they teach that Jesus Christ by his death delivers us from sinnes committed before Bapisme but as for sinnes committed after Baptisme he hath left us to satisfie Gods justice for them by satisfactory pains as well here as in Purgatory Thus then let it be that the Church of Rome be a particular visible Church and it more corrupt than any other although she terme her selfe the universall Church as if there were no other Church besides whereas indeed the Churches of Syria Greece Armenia and Affrica be more pure and mor● … cient then the Roman and no way subject therunto All th 〈…〉 h the holy Scripture and the Creed attribute to the universall Church of Gods elect or the universall visible Church the Church of Rome by an intolerable abuse and usurpation attributes unto her self as if in the holy Scripture there were no other Church spoken off but the Church of Rome or as if shee alone were the pillar and ground of the truth And when Jesus Christ Mat. 18. sends two Brothers being at strife to the judgement of the Church saying Tell it the Church and if he neglect to heare the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen man and a Publican these Gentlemen would needs make us beleeve that he sends such as doubt in matters of Faith and Doctrin to the judgment of the Church of Rome which they call universall but reade the passage and you shall see that our Saviour speaks not there of doubts touching Religion but of quarrels and broyles which happen betweene man and man and consequently he speaks not of the Church universall but of the Ministers of some particular Church for to appease a quarrell between two Neighbours men doe

not betake themselves to the universall Church In this then there appeares a very great abuse that the Church of Rome being indeed but a particular Church stiles her selfe the universall Church and in that she being full of errours vaunts her selfe neverthelesse to be without any errour nay more that it is impossible for her to erre and least her errours should be discovered by the glorious light of Gods holy Word the writings of the Prophets and Apostles she doth not only hinder the people from reading the word and reade it in the Church in a language which the people understandeth not but endeavours also to take away all its force and authority for they make the people beleeve that the Church of Rome is soveraigne Judge in all matters of difference in Religion by this meanes he that will accuse the Church of Rome of any errour may be sure to loose his processe seeing she alone is soveraigne Judge in her owne cause The Church of Rome doth likewise affirme that it is impossible for her to erre in the interpretations of the holy Scripture and that it is in her power to make constructions of the like authority with the word of God which is indeed no lesse then to place her selfe in Gods seat For as there is none but the King that can give an interpretation to his edict that may be of equall force with the edict it selfe So there is none but God alone that may give such a construction unto the Word of God as may be of the like power and authority with the Word of God And there is nothing more certaine then that such an interpreter is greater then the Law-giver sithence he giveth unto the Law such a sense as he pleaseth and the people taught to rely more on that then on the Law it self And to be sure that the Church of Rome be not any way subject unto the holy Scripture they maintaine that it is the Church that doth authorize the Scripture and which gives it all its power and authority as if the Subject could give authority unto Lawes or as if the Word of God did receive its authority from men To this end the Doctours of the Church of Rome say that the Church is more ancient then the holy Scripture but doth it therefore follow that the Church must be above the Scripture the people are they not many of them older then the King yet are they neverthelesse subject both to the King and to his Lawes however there be many Doctrines in the holy Scripture more ancient then the Church But say they we should not know that it were the Scripture if the Church did not tell us so but doth it follow thence I pray you that the Church must be above the Scripture If I should say I doe not know which is the King and if my friend should shew me doth it therefore follow that my friend must be above the King Many serve for witnesses unto persons unto whom they are farre inferiour Likewise to undervalue the authority of the Scripture and to strengthen that of the Church they say that the holy Scripture is a dead thing and cannot speake and consequently may not be Judge for say they a Judge must be able to speake as the Church is This is most false and deceitfull for the holy Scripture speaketh enough and if it speaks not enough it is that it guides us But the Church of Rome forsooth will be the rule it selfe and not subject to any Law but will be Judge both of the Law and of the Word of God Thus are men become Gods Judges and guilty persons shall be infallible and soveraigne Judges of the sence and authority of the Law which concernes their owne crime by this meanes they need not feare to be condemned but will they nill they at the day of Judgement they shall be judged by this very word over which they now thus usurpe authority then shall that pratling Judge be constrained to keep silence So then these Gentlemen in sending the people to the Church for the deciding of doubts in faith distract their minds with an innumerable company of doubts and difficulties for how shall an ignorant man know that there must be a Church in the world If they say he may know it by the Scripture it is then necessary that he be acquainted with the Scripture and thus the authority of the Church should be founded on the Scripture and when the Church teacheth this or that how shall the people know whether it be conformable to the Word of God sithence the reading of Gods Word is absolutely forbidden them and there being many Churches disagreeing one with the other how can the poore people discerne that which teacheth lyes from that which teacheth the truth seeing the very rule of truth which is the holy Scripture is a book utterly forbidden them Shall they follow the multitude Jesus Christ saith Mat. 7. That the gate is wide which leadeth to perdition and there are ten times as many Turks and Pagans as there are Christians shall they believe miracles our Saviour faith Marke 13. There shall come false teachers working miracles whereby to seduce if it were possible the very elect shall they have regard to seats and successions The Churches of Greece have also had their seats since the Apostles and the Churches of Syria theirs and brag of S. Peters chair and yet all these are quite contrary to the Church of Rome and indeed more ancient Jesus Christ himself and his Apostles having preached there and beeing the first Institutours of them We doe not here dispute of S. Peters superiority over the rest of the Apostles he might be the first in order authority or virtue and yet not have any superiority of jurisdiction But that matters not the question is whether the Pope of Rome be S. Peters successour as the head of the universall Church which is the principall point of the Papists Religion wherof neverthelesse there is not one word spoken in all the Scripture The Bishops of Corinth and Thessalonica were Saint Pauls Successours not as Apostles but as particular Bishops of those cities So the question is not whither the afore-said Bishop of Rome be Saint Peters Successour in the Bishoprick of Rome but whether he succeeds him in the Apostleship as the head of the whole Church This is that which we slatly deny and which they can never proove or if they could so prove it yet the Pope having corrupted Saint Peters Doctrine and changed his Bishoprick into an abs●lute temporall Monarchy had long since that lost his succession To conclude there being but one holy Scripture and there being many contrary Churches and the Doctors of these Churches being apt to seeke their owne profit and subject to be carried away with diverse evill affections but the holy Scripture being an incorruptible Judge let us have recourse to this holy Word of God in the which if there be any obscurity there is