Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	command_v	forbid_v	vice_n	1,917	5	9.6001	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10380	A warning to come out of Babylon, in a sermon preached by Master Andrew Ramsay, minister at Edinburgh; at the receiving of Mr. Thomas Abernethie, sometime Jesuite, into the societie of the truely reformed Church of Scotland	Ramsay, Andrew, 1574-1660.	1638 (1638)	STC 20657; ESTC S115617	27,981	57

houre of the birth by the mercie of God and wisdome of that Prince of blessed memorie Bee wise therefore O Kings and be not inebriat with the cup of the fornications of that whoor Neither bear they rule over the lives of men but also over their soules after this life imprisoning them in Purgatorie and inlarging them when they will and in this life the deepest thought and most inward secret of their soul must be revealed unto them that if they be sinfull or inclining to sin they upon their Confession may receive pardon and except all even their most hid sins be confessed to the priest and pardoned by him they can have no mercie from God nor hope of salvation By this fond perswasion as if they dwelt in the breasts of all men and women they are made privie to their thoughts and actions and nothing is hid from them what hath beene done thought or spoken By this their fraud also and craft they dominier and beare rule over the consciences of men ascribing to themselves a power of making lawes to binde and louse the conscience at their arbitriment And least their deceit should bee knowne they have musted up the Word of God in an unknowne tongue and leade their blinded disciples whether they will And this is their craft and policie whereby they reigne over the lives moyens secrets and consciences of men But God who catcheth the craftie in their craftinesse and delivereth the upright and sincere will catch with the nets of his justice these deceitfull workers of iniquitie in Babylon Therefore come out of Babylon least being partakers of her sins yee partake of her plagues These former three vices Pride Crueltie and Craft have ever been esteemed to be badges and marks of a false and corrupt religion The Pharisees for crueltie are called by Christ murtherers for craft serpents for pride to walk in long robes to covet the first salutations in markets and first seat at tables Of these three pride is not the least and demonstrative of a false worship because that where it is God is robbed of his glory Eusebius speaking of Samosatenus an heretick mentioneth his pride and arrogancie Augustine the Monk sent from Rome to induce England to the obedience of the Romane church not daining himself to rise being saluted For his pride was esteemed of the beholders not to be sent of God Optatus Milevitan●●s a learned and godly Bishop brandeth with pride Donatus that archschismatick that he was not so much called Donat bishop of Carthage as out of pride Donat of Carthage that is stylo novo lord of Carthage With this leaven of pride the doctrine of the Romane church is heeven up by their merit of condignitie works of supererogation possibilitie of fulfilling the Law with perfection of Faith and hope in this life Notwithstanding these three former are only outward characters bewraying a counterfeit religion but idolatrie and heresie are deadly diseases destroying the soul and life of Gods true worship● with both these the Romish kirk is deeply infected Her idolatrie is visible to all whose eyes are not blinded For idolatrie is an idole-worship or a false worship and worship is made up of three of the estimation of the minde subjection of the will and reverend gesture of the body When these are either given to a false God or to the true God and an idole or when the true God is not worshipped truely according to the prescript of his Word the worshippers are guiltie of idolatrie with all these sorts of idolatrie the church of Rome is stained But I in a more popular manner will discover her whooredomes and idolatries both in respect of the Creator and of the creature As to God the Creator of all they show themselves vile idolaters representing GOD the Father in the similitude of an old man GOD the Son in the similitude of a lamb GOD the holy Ghost in the similitude of a dove And in so doeing they are no better but rather worse than the idolatrous Gentiles who as the Apostle sayeth did transforme the glory of the incorruptible GOD into the similitude of corruptible things as of beasts foules and creeping things wherefore the Lord gave them up to unnaturall lusts and finally to a reprobate minde And it is just with GOD so to do with the Romane church being guiltie of the like idolatrie As to the creature they are in many respects idolatrous for they worship the images of the Trinitie and crosse with a Divine worship and although some would excuse it to be a Divire accidentall analogick or r●ductive worship yet their prime schoolemen who are canonized as Saints and followed by many attribute to them a divine proper worship And so it appeareth to be by their prayers directed unto the Crosse for grace and par●on in these words O crux ave spes unica auge piis justi●iam r●isque da veniam that is Haile Crosse our only hope give to the godly r●ghteousnesse and to the guiltie pardon What greater worship would they give to God then this Do they not also honour with divine worship the blessed Virgine The Heretiques called Collyridiari did offer cakes unto her and so do the Romanists this day Hath not Bonaventura transformed the Psalterie of David to the honour of the Virgine Marie changing GOD in goddesse and Lord in Lady And where it is said by David Praise the Lord by him it is praise the Ladie and for trust in the LORD trust in the Ladie And in his 35. Psalme are these words Incline the countenance of GOD upon us and compell him to have mercie upon us Sutable unto this is the Crown composed by him where this is one of his orations that is prescribed to be said O Empresse and our most kinde Ladie by the authoritie of a mother command thy most beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ that hee would vou●hafe to list up our mindes from the love of all earthly things unto heavenly desires O blasphemous speaches But whose speaches are these Are they not the speaches of their doctor exalted by them to the Seraphick order of angels a place not fit for an idolater In adoring the Pope their head they are no lesse transcendent idolaters in acknowledging his power not only to dispense with the law of God but also to repeale the same as likewise in ascribing the finall and last resolution of their faith to his determination What bee their idolatrous absolute subjection to the Pope who so like to know may read it in Bellarmine his fourth book de Pont. Rom. 2. chap. where he averreth impudently That the Pope ought to bee heard with obedience whether hee erre or erre not And not only impudently but blasphemously hee affirmeth in the fifth chapter of the same book towards the end that if the Pope did erre commanding vice forbidding vertue the Church should be bound to believe vice to bee good and vertue to

bee evill except shee would sinne against conscience Likewise in offering incense to the Saincts in generall sweareing by them praying and vowing to them which are partes of Divine worshippe Doe they not commit vile idolatrie And in worshipping of images forbidden so clearlie and frequently in Gods word whether it be with relative terminative or conterminative worship in all these they prove idolaters Further their Idolatrie doth manifest it self in worshipping Saint Christopher the three imaginarie Kings at Culen and others who never had life breath nor being as their Saint Longinus whom ignorance hath canonized transforming the speare that pierced Christs side called in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Longin●●s a religious Latine Saint What credit is there to be given to their forged reliquies let any man judge when the heads and bodies of Saints parcels of the crosse nailes and speares that pierced Christ have exceeded and daylie do exceed their just number and quantitie Neither are they inferiour in idolatrie to the prophane Gentiles who were aliens from the common-wealth of Israel without GOD without hope for as they had tutelarie Gods for the protection of nations cities places and Gods for averting of evils and curing of diseases as also for conferring all manner of benefites So also in the Romane church they have their tutelarie saints for nations cities places for curing of diverse diseases and conferring of benefites Finally as the Samaritans did worship that which they knew not and the Athenians did erect an altar to the unknowne GOD so also in the sacrament of the Lords body they worship and know not what they worship whether bread or the body of the LORD for seeing the change of the body of Christ dependeth upon the Priests intention as they affirme and they being uncertaine of his intention do worship and know not what they worship whether bread or the body of Christ To conclude one of their cheif schoolemen Vazquez confesseth that they have no Scripture for the worshipping of images and is further bold to say that they may worship lawfully upon ignorance the divel lurking under the crucifixe Therefore that we be not partakers of her spirituall whoordomes and idolatries and thereby receive of her plagues let us come out of Babylon As to the fift and last sin moving God to powre out the vials of his wrath upon Rome is her corrupt doctrines and heresies for shee is loaden not with one heresie only but heaps of heresies For clearing of this heresie is to be considered materially and formally A materiall heresie is an erronious doctrine● opposing and everting the saving grounds of religion A formall heresie when a doctine everting the saving grounds of Truth is maintained with obstinacie Materiall errours was received into the Church of Corinth when the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was called in question The like befell the churches of Galatia when circumcision and the works of the law was thought necessare supplements to Faith to make up our justification before GOD Yet because these foresaid errours was not defended with obstinacie the maintainers were not formally hereticks But in the Romane church doctrines everting Ground trueths are defended with obstinacie and the opponents persecuted with fire and sword wherefore shee is justlie charged with heresies and that both against faith and the dueties commanded in the law as followeth It is an hereticall doctrine maintained in the church of Rome with obstinacie that the Scripture is unsufficient for salvation and is but a partiall rule of our Faith seeing according to the Divine Apostle Paul It is able to make us wise to salvation and perfect to every good work It is more hereticall then this to affirme that their church traditions which are uncertain shall equall the written Word of God given by divine inspiration There is a third hereticall doctrine that surpasseth the two former that the last resolution of our faith shall not be grounded upon Gods Word but upon the church that is according to their glosse upon the Pope who only as they misbelieve is priviledged from all errour It is an hereticall doctrine which teacheth Christ to be offered up 〈◊〉 in an unbloudie sacrifice for the expiation of sin under the bare speces of bread and wine being repugnant to the eternitie of Christs Priesthood who liveth for ever repugnant to the perfection of his sacrifice by reiteration repugnant to his Majestie who hath entered into the heavenly tabernacle in glory and is not any more Priest on earth repugnant finally to his merit which being in it self infinit is redacted to a finite worth and measure at the pleasure of every Messemunging-priest It is an hereticall and arrogant doctrine which teacheth man by the merit of condignitie to deserve life everlasting seing when we have done all we can we are unprofitable servants and when we have suffered what is possible to us these momentanie asslictions are not worthie of that infinit weight of glory layed 〈◊〉 for us in Heaven And seing the righteousnesse of the most just as David Esay and others can not stand before God it is an hereticall doctrine and preiudiciall to salvation to place our justification before God in our owne maimed inherent righteousnesse It is a Divine trueth that there is no name under Heaven to be saved but by the name of Christ Contrare to this is that heretick doctrine of the Romane church that the merits intercession and bloud of Saints and Martyres are mixed as satisfactorie for our redemption with the bloud merit and intercession of Christ The Scripture telleth us that man in his creation was made according to the image of God perfect in holinesse and righteousnesse The doctrine of the Romane church jumpeth with the heresie of Florinus which holdeth that God made the inferiour and sensuall part of mans soule with a propension and inclination to sin In the doctrine of Free-will besides the fond opinion they have in advancing immoderatly the libertie of the same they have fallen upon sundrie hereticall positions in extolling the power thereof for seeing man as saith the Apostle hath no aptitude in himself so much as to thinke a good thought and worse then that We are dead in sinnes and trespasses by nature and if worse can be yet our hearts are said to be meer stones Is it not then an heretical assertion that there is in us any active power to do good being in such a miserable condition Moreover such being our corruption that all the imaginations of our heart are altogether set upon evill and that without the holy Spirit we cannot say so much as the Lord Jesus Is it not an heretick doctrine which teacheth that man unregenerat and voide of the sanctifying Spirit may inact and produce a good morale work wherein there is no sin Further to averre not God but the will to determine it selfe