Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	commandment_n	keep_v	liar_n	1,680	5	11.3944	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17036	An ansvvere to Master Cartvvright his letter for ioyning with the English Churches: whereunto the true copie of his sayde letter is annexed.	Browne, Robert, ca. 1550-1633.; Cartwright, Thomas, 1535-1603.; Harrison, Robert, d. 1585?, attributed name.	1585 (1585)	STC 3909; ESTC S109433	77,571	102

not beguiled with the Names of Gods house Church and Citie he him selfe hath giuen it a name as it is written the name of that city shalbe from that day The Lord is there And in this respect also it is called in Ieremie the throne of his glorie As who say that amōg whōsoeuer we see not the Lord to reigne by his gouernement discipline as it were in the throne of his kingdom them we shuld ●●dge not to be the city church of God And though the church ●o pray that God would not cast downe the throne of his glory nor breake the conant with them yet Ieremie bringeth in those wordes as a complaint of the penitent and not to proue that the wretched sorte either helde the couenant or were the throne of God Wherefore to conclude this matter The path and way of the Lord is holy as the prophet teacheth no polluted shal passe by it there shalbe no lyon no noysome beast shall ascend by it neither shall they be founde there whereby is meant that open and grosse sinners shall not be suffred in the Church For either they shall be separate by excommunication or els all the godly shall withdraw them selues from them and hold them accursed As it is written If any man loue not the Lorde Iesus let him be had in execration yea excommunicate to death And surely they loue not the Lorde but are his enemies as was shewed before which refuse his gouernment that he can not reigne ouer them And againe it is written This is the loue of God that we keepe his commandemēts and he that sayeth I knowe god or I loue god and keepe not his commaudements is a lyar and the trueth is not in him Not that we can keepe his commandements without all breach or offence for wee are not Donatistes as the aduersaries slāder vs that we should say we may be without sinne or that the church may be without publike offences or if there fall out some sort of grosser sinnes that therefore it should cease to be the church of God we teach no such doctrine but if in any Church such grosse sinnes bee incurable and the Church hath not power to redresse them or rebelliously refuseth to redresse them then it ceaseth to be the Church of God and so remaineth till it repent take better order And here cōmeth in that question to be decided whether without the discipline cōmanded of Christ any assembly or church may be called the church of Christ M. C. saith that for want of this discipline we giue al the english assemblies the blacke stone of condemnation Howe truely he writeth this of vs his conscience is witnes for we neuer said that all the English assemblyes doe want discipline Thogh this matter be sufficiently debated before yet let vs weigh Master Cartwrights answere H sayeth that faith in Christ is the essence being or life of the church as for discipline it is but accidental and therefore the Church of God may haue her being and life and be named the church of God without discipline what worde of God doeth he bring for all this we knowe in deede that Christ is the life and essence of the Church For except as braunches we abide in him which is the true vine we can bring foorth no fruite we are cast foorth as branches and are to be consumed with fire Christ is the resurrection and the life He is the way the trueth and the life So it is true that Christ is the life of the church as for faith it is but the hand whereby we take hold of this life As it is written he that beleeueth in the sonne hath euerlasting life and he addeth vpon it as a tryall of faith euen our obedience to the sonne and saith he that obeyeth not the sonne shall not see life but the wrath of god abideth on him Nowe it was prooued before that they which are guilty of such horrible abuses so grossely offende by their corrupt and false profession haue not this faith neither do holde Christ the foundation But see how fondly blasphemously Master Cartwright distinguiseth He will haue a dead Christ or an Idol christ to be the life of the church For he will ioyne the church to Christ without the discipline and gouernement of Christ. He putteth asunder the church and the discipline of Christ and so must ●eedes sunder Christ from his owne discipline or gouernement Nowe Paul calleth this discipline the power of our Lorde Iesus christ So if wee seuer christ and his power what is he but a dead christ Also by his discipline and gouernement he hath ouer vs he is our king as againe it is written the scepter of thy kingdome is a scepter of righteousnesse So if we seuer christ and his discipline rule and gouernement what is he but an Idol christ If Master Cartwright say that by the scepter there is meant nothing else but the power of the worde of God I graunt it as Paul saith I will knowe not the speach or wordes of these men but the power For the kingdome of God is not in worde but in power saith he and in the psalme The Lorde shall sende the rodde of this power out of Zion And the weapons of our warrefare are mighty through God as againe he writeth So then if the power of the word to bynde lose to remit or refaine mens sinnes to promise lyfe and to rebuke and giue ouer to execration be taken from Christ or the church of Christ what remaineth but an Idol or counterfet christ an Idol or counterfet church Thus while M C. wil haue faith in christ to be the life of the church without discipline he doth leaue christ himselfe without life as one that is dead or turned into an Idol yet further he proceedeth in his absurdities blasphemies saith that fayth only is the essence being or life of the church and that besides faith nothing is necessary to the very essence and being of the church Thus be like children which yet through want of discretion can not haue faith shall be without the essence life of the church How corrupt doctrine this is I neede not heere stand on it If he say that by the faith of the parēts they haue life essēce in the church the scripture is against him For by the promise the couenant made to the righteous to their seed are their childrē reckoned in the church not by their faith Therefore the faythful are called by Paul the children of promise For we are sayth he after the maner of Isaac children of the promise and againe to the Romans the children of the promise are counted for the true seede of Abraham But that by any mans faith his children or others should haue life essence in the church is the same false doctrine we refuted

shall he be of God If he say a thing may be lawfull before men which before GOD is not so and therefore that men maye take it as lawfull before God Let hym remember himselfe that hee speaketh of vnlawfull ministers euen before men yea whome hee himselfe knoweth and calleth vnlawfull So that beeyng vnlawfull ministers both before men and before God how shall they be ministers of god Wherefore they are of the Deuill and plantes which the heauenly Father hath not planted and therefore shall hee rooted vp and christ sheweth the way to roote them vp namely that we let them alone blinde guides leaders of the blinde and haue nothing to doe with their guyding and ministerie For christ did gather his disciples aparte from the Pharisees disciples so that the Pharisees were to haue no charge nor ouersight on christes disciples This appeareth in v●ry many places of the Euangelists Againe he distingui●eth that he is a minister and leaueth out his wordes of lawfull and vnlawfull of god and not of god So he woulde fray vs with the bare worde minister If they bee Satans ministers shoulde we receiue them because they beare the name of ministers There are prophets also which come to vs in sheepes clothing shoulde we receiue them being false prophets because they beare the name of prophets Therefore these are vyle and vngodly mockeries wherewith Master Cartwright woulde delude vs Further he distinguisheth that to the dumbe ministers them selues their ministery is a matter of destruction but to the church it is he can not tell what good thing or gratious benefite from Christ. Wee shewed before that they doe good to others like those foolish shepherdes named in Zechary whom God did raise vp in iudgement to sell and to slay the sheepe Also like Corah and his companie by whome so many thousandes perished Or like the priestes of Baal or the Shepheardes spoken of in Ezekiel which did eate the fat and clothe them selues with the wooll and slewe them that were fedde but fed not the sheepe the weake they strengthened not the sicke they healed not neither bound vp the broken nor brought again that which was driuen away neither sought vp that which was lost but with crueltie and violence doe they rule them as these doe by their cannon power and spirituall courtes For they the Byshoppes and their officers are those that thrust with side and with shoulder and push with their hornes all the weake of the flocke till they vtterly scatter them abroade It is a wonder that any man should speake of any good the blind ministers doe For through their woefull ministerie and through that lamentable bondage of popish discipline we may well say with Ieremie that wickednesse is gone foorth into all the lande They strengthen also the handes of the wicked that none can returne from his wickednesse They are all vnto me saith the Lorde as Sodome and the inhabitantes thereof as Gomorah But let vs see what are those things of Christ which he saith the dumbe ministers can giue vs. Forsooth the Sacraments and the reading of common seruice Indeede they haue gotten the censers of Corah and his companie and they are made priestes of such places and churches as the Lorde as yet doeth not choose to put his name there Wherefore as as we shewed before both their censings and their offrings that is their prayers and sacraments are reiected of the Lord as execrable things They are those strangers named in Ezekiel and in Nombers which are not of the Leuites nor of the seede of Aaron but doe pollute the Lordes house and can not offer the sweete incense and pure offerings which Malachie speaketh of Their Sacraments are stollen and counterfet badges and howe then shoulde we receiue them as markes of the true church of God They offer the incense of Nadab and Abihu For their stinted forme of seruice deuised by the Byshoppes and translated from the Massebooke can neuer be prooued to be incense made by fire from the Altar of the Lorde But yet Master Cartwright will iustifie their Sacraments and reading of seruice Let vs therefore see to his proofes One proofe is this the Scribes and Pharises might be heard preaching true doctrine therfore the dumbe ministers may be heard reading seruice a goodly proofe For it was lawfull for the Pharisees to bee preachers of the trueth and it was a parte of their office and ministerie but it is not lawfull to be a blinde reading minister neither is it any parte of the ministerie to reade ouer such a stinted forme of seruice Wherefore though I may heare and like of that which is truely preached yet doeth it not followe that I shoulde heare like of or ioyne with that which is vngodly and blasphemously spoken vttered or done Againe he abuseth that place in Matthew saying that it was cōmanded by Christ to heare the Scribes There is no cōmandement giuen to heare but to do as they knewe the Pharises taught truely And though by occasion they might heare them teaching trueth yet were they separate as was shewed before from being their disciples they were not vnder their charge and ministerie as those are nowe vnder the dumbe ministers charge whome Master Cartwright doeth iustifie in hearing them and receiuing the Sacraments of them Hee can not shewe that the Pharises were no Leuites nor Priestes and yet offered the sacrifices as the Priestes And yet these doe minister the Sacrament●● and will be Priestes ouer the people beyng neither to bee counted brethren nor Christyans And though the Pharises or Scribes had so farre vsurped yet shoulde not the people haue partaken with them in the sacrifices no more ought the people at this day to partake in the Sacraments with such blinde ministers But why doth not Master Cartwright perceiue that his owne proofe is against him selfe For if the Scribes and Pharises were to be heard because they preached trueth then are these dumbe ministers not to bee hearde because they are no preachers But this proofe fayling Master Cartwright prepareth another namely this The Scribes and Pharisees were as vnfit and as vnlawfull ministers as our reading ministers and yet might be heard therefore our reading minysters may bee heard Howe vnfitte ministers the Pharisees were it is after examined We saye not but that the dumbe ministers may be heard For if standing on the gallouse to be executed they say they woulde come downe I knowe we maye heare them But the question whether we may be vnder their charge and guiding and so daily and vsually heare them as our spirituall guides pastours watchmen for our soules and ministers in the church This Master Cartwright can not prooue and therefore his proofe serueth for another matter quite besides the question Yea if he looke well this proofe serueth against him For the disciples of Christ were not to heare the Pharisees as being their