Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	spiritual_a	worship_n	worship_v	1,653	5	9.0507	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94720	The female duel, or The ladies looking glass. Representing a Scripture combate about business of religion, fairly carried on, between a Roman Catholick lady, and the wife of a dignified person in the Church of England. Together with their joynt answer to an Anabaptists paper sent in defiance of them both: entitled the Dipper drowned. / Now published by Tho. Toll Gent.	Toll, Thomas.	1661 (1661)	Wing T1776A; Thomason E1813_2; ESTC R209780	171,193	328

inclosed for which I teturn my most humble thanks and instead of another which you seem to require of me I have sent you two herein inclosed the one to shew you the superstition Idolatry and Will-worship of your Church the other to convince you of the Pride Arrogancy Tyranny and Usurp'd power of it which when your Ladyship hath been pleased to peruse and as well as you can to answer I shall summe up all that you have said rogether and make a short rejoynder to the whole of your replies for I am refolved to trouble your Ladyship with no more Papers so praying God for your Ladyships good health both of Body and Soul I take leave to remain Madam Your Ladyships most assured faithfull servant N. My Lady upon the return of her servant opening the Packet that Mistress N. had sent back to her found the Papers inclosed whereof the first was to this effect as followeth That which your Church teacheth concerning the invocation of Saints is a Doctrine very injurious to God and yet not more prophane then superstitious and impertinent and that I will prove thus 1. Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour with God the Father God the Holy Ghost Holy Trinity in Unity three Persons and one God alone is all-sufficient alone is most liberall and alone is most mercifull and who alone loves us more than all the Saints There is not a Christian living that I think dares deny a word of this if there should be such a monster a were easie to prove every word of it by express Scripture who can think it rationall then to invoke any other thing and besides that this all-bountifull all-mercifull all-powerfull most good most gracious and most loving Lord God has not onely enjoin'd us but importun'd us to pray to him and him alone promising to hear and grant our requests and that I prove by most express Scriptures thus 2. First by the Gospells it is most clear our Saviour in Saint John assures it with a Verily verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you John 16.23 24. and then in the next verse Ask and ye shal receive thus it is but asking of God and having and yet you must think fit to go about by the Saints 3. Then in Saint Lukes Gospel we find and I say unto you ask and it shall be given you Luke 11.9.10 11 12 13. seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened Then by the paralel of God with a good Father granting his childs requests he concludes how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Again what you ask in prayet believing ye shall receive as Saint Matthews Gospell tells Matth. 2. with an infinity of other places too many to repeat to that purpose wherefore Saint Paul most pithily concludes Heb. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need 4 The Apostle tells us 2 Cor. 1.3 that God is the Father of mercies and the Lord of all comforts who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selvs are comforted of God c. If all our comfort then be from God had we not better make our address to him that we know is the fountain of all Grace than to the Saints who can have nothing but what they derive from him 5. The same Apostle tells Tymothy plainly that there is but one Mediatour between God and men and that is Christ Jesus what an offence then must it needs be to God to make more Mediators that is the Saints Then we finde frequently in Scripture that he alone maketh intercesion for us as in Isaiah that he makes intercession for transgressors 1 Tim. 2.5 Isai 53.12 Rom. 8.26.24 Heb. 7.25 and Saint Paul tells us that he ever liveth to make intercession for us And again who always maketh intercession for us why should we date to make more intercessors that is the Saints 6. In fine to summe up all in short your Doctrine of invocacion of the Saints is highly injurious to God who is a jealous God and will onely be worship'd It is injurious to Jesus Christ who is the onely Mediatour between God and man Thirdly it is injurious to our selves for it is an argument of a diffidence and distrust in God when we fly to the Saints for succour and then lastly it is an impertinent and unprofitable piece of devotion because the Saints in heaven neither do nor can hear our prayets nor know our wants or what is done here amongst us as Job tells us Job 24.21 Eccles 9.5 his sons came to honor and he knoweth it not Ecclesiastes assures us that the living know that they shall dye but the dead know not any thing and the Prophet Isaiah yet more plainly Isai 63.16 doubtlessthou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel do not acknowledge us c. Thus it is plain that the Saintf in heaven are incapable to know our wants or hear our prayers much less to help us That your Doctrine of Veneration of Images is an abominable Idolatrcus Dactrine and prejudicial to divine Worship I prove Thus. First out of the plain words of the Commandement Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image Exod. 20.4 5. Deut. 4.5 2● or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the waterunder the earth thou shalt notbow down thy self to them nor serve them c. The same thing is repeated at the latter end of Ex●dus and in severall places of Deuteronomy and in many other places of the Old Testament 2. Again we find how good Hezekiah 2 King 18.4 removed the high places and brake the Images and brake in pieces the beazen Serpent that Moses had made c. Yet your Religion strives to restore to Christians that kind of worship 3 How well our Saviour is pleased with that kinde of Worship Joh. 22 23 24. you may see in Saint John's Gospell where our Saviour says ye worship ye know not what c. But the hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seekes such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth Now I would feign know what a Spirit hath to do with Images or how can the worship of Images be thought a spiritual worship 4 Over and above the danger of Idolatry and many unclean thoughts that may be occasioned by Images I shall onely add this

advice and assistance in the management of hir further discourses with my Lady The Doctor was at this time fallen into some indisposition of body notwitnstanding he took the pains to look hastily over them and then called his wife to him and told her after this manner Indeed sweet-heart you have done very ill to engage your self in any business of this nature without my knowledge and approbation for what you have said or done amiss in it wil be all imputed to me though utterly ignorant and innocent in the matter And I must tell you that you have ventured very boldly upon some main points in which the most learned Doctors in the world are yet to seek for satisfaction and again give me leave to tell you that you charge the Church of Rome with some things that the Church of England does not and so instead of healing up those breaches that are betwixt us which should be all our endeavours to do you have made the wounds wider and differences greater then indeed they are and that truly is no small fault amongst us all Then last of all I fear you have hazarded much of that good opinion that my Lady had of us by entring the list with her upon this occasion and that interest we had in her was not a little considerable being so excellent a neighbour and especiall a friend as she has always been to us so for my part I will have nothing to do in the business but as you begun you shall e'n make an end without me but if you must needs be scribling of controversie and dabling in divinity I 'le let you a task and you may offer it to my Lady if you please and you are both I perceive so good Scripturists as that I may entrust you with it it is a Paper that I received from Mr. R. the grand Patriarch of all the Anabaptist in these parts I will write a Letter to my Lady to beg her excuse of me for not waiting on her Ladyship at dinner Mr is N. not a little troubled to finde no better acceptation of her zealous and painful endeavours for my Ladies conversion yet being unwilling to move her husband further at that time took the Anabaptists paper from him so left him to his other studies and she betook her self to her houshold occasions The next morning early she made her self ready to wait on my Lady that she might have some private discourse with her Ladyship before dinner so calling for her husbands letter she took her walk and comming to my Ladies house she found her in her Kitchin giving orders about dinner and directing her servants how to employ themselves in the other affairs of her family My Lady begging pardon for her being surprized in that place and posture took Mrs. N. along with her to her chamber where after she had delivered her husbands letter they fell to read the Anabaptists paper which when they had done my Lady willingly undertook the task to joyn with her in the answer but what shall we doe with the Latine that is here said my Lady O for that Madam replyed Mrs. N. my husband will direct us and has promised us all his assistance in this though he does not approve our other disputes at all Nay further he sayes that when we have answered in our way he will answer it too in his Well then replied my Lady we will not trouble him till we have done for I have a Kinsman in my house that will be able to give us the English of his Latine and so they fell to work immediately and in two or three meetings more they made an end of the business in this manner as followeth That to build or to use Steeple-houses which you call Churches in the service of God is altogether unlawfull much more to beautifie or adorn them and to give priviledges lands or possessiens to them or to the persons of your Churchmen but that we are all Priests equally and that your Canonical hours and prayers in those Churches are utterly unlawfull too I prove by Scripture thus 1. FIrst we find that Stephen in the latter end of his Sermon and in the words foregoing his death expresly declares against the vanity of all Temples or Churches call them what you please Acts 7.48 49 50. and quotes the Prophet for it Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in Temples made with hands as saith the Prophet Heaven is my Throne and earth is my footstool what house will ye build me saith the Lord or what is the place of my rest hath not my hands made all these things c. From hence it is plain that God delights not in any of your Steeple-houses Again we find Paul as plainly declaiming against the Idolatry of all Steeple-houses assuring the Athenians Acts 17.24 25. that God that made the world and all things therein seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and earth dwelleth not in Temples made with hands neither is he worshipt with mens hands c. Thus you see how in the begining of Christianity there were not onely no steeple-houses but by Scripture expresly forbiden that there should be any 3. The Apostle Paul bids us again 1 Tim. 2. to pray always in all places holding up pure hands what need have we more of Churches and steeolehouses to pray in than in any other roomes 4 Nay finde we not our Saviour Jesus Christ himself prophesying the destruction of that Idoll of the Jews their Temple to say Matt 24.2 Verely Verely I say unto you there shall not be left heer one stone upon another that shall not be throwne down You may see then what pleasure he tooke in that place which was the gloriousest of the whole world what then will become of your pittifull Temples and steeple-houses 5 Our Saviour yet more plainly shews his distast of that kinde of worship when he tells the woman of Samaria in S. Johns Gospell John 4.21.23 Women believe me The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Hierusalem worship the Father c. But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him Heer it is plain that he will not have his worship confined to places no not to his holy Temple 6 Then does not the Prophet Jeremy heat down the fond confidence that the Jews had in their Temple when he bids them not to trust in lying words saying Jer. 4.7 The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord it is plain he says that to call that the Temple of the Lord was to give lying words 7 Is not God in every place and can there be any one place shewed where he is properly present but he is always ready to hear sinners every where as is frequently sayd in Scripture what need have we then of your Churches or