Selected quad for the lemma: woman_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
woman_n	church_n	time_n	wilderness_n	1,494	5	9.8942	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28933	The history of the Vaudois. Wherein is shewn their original; how God has preserved the Christian religion among them in its purity, from the time of the Apostles to our days; the wonders he has done for their preservation, with the signal and miraculous victories that they have gained over their enemies; how they were dispersed, and their churches ruined; and how at last they were re-established, beyond the expectation and hope of all the world. / By Peter Boyer ... ; and newly translated out of French by a person of quality.; Abrégé de l'histoire des Vaudois. English	Boyer, P. (Pierre), 1619-ca. 1700.; Boyer, Abel, 1667-1729.; Person of quality.	1692 (1692)	Wing B3918A; ESTC R5697	97,378	276

things that are conformable to the Word of God who is the King of kings and Lord of lords XXXIII That we must receive the Creed of the Apostles the Lords Prayer the Ten Commandements as Fundamental Parts of our belief and of our Devotions We can likewise make it appear even by evidence drawn out of the Books of the Adversaries of the Vaudois that their Doctrine is the same as it 's represented in this confession and that it has always been so those that have a mind to see those Testimonies may find them in the General History written by Iohn Leger The Vaudois having conserved from Father to Son the purity of the Doctrine of the Apostles from the time they received it down to our days and made a constant profession publickly of this Celestial Doctrine they are by consequence the true Successors of the Apostles CHAP. III. Of the Ecclesiastical Government of the Churches of the Vaudois of Piemont and the Manners of the Vaudois BUT if they have succeeded the Apostles as to their Doctrine they likewise succeeded it as to the Order and Government of the Church In the Primitive Church Acts 20. The Apostles established for the government of it Elders Ephes. 4. 11. and Deacons as we may learn as well from the book of the Acts of the Apostles as from their Epistles Tit. 1. 5 6. the Pastors are likewise called Bishops and Elders 1 Tim. 3. they are called Pastors because they are to feed the Flock of Christ which are his Sheep with the good Word of God they are called Bishops which signifies Inspectors or Watchers because they are to watch and take care of the Flock which is committed to their charge they are called Elders because they ought to be Sage and Prudent and edifie those that are committed to them by their good life and conduct and so there were two sorts of Elders in the Primitive Church the one laboured in the Government of the Church only and the other besides the care they had of the affairs of the Church took also pains in Preaching and Explaining the Word 1 Tim. 5. 17. The Deacons had the care of the Poor and Pastors Elders and Deacons altogether had the government of the Church This is the Discipline that the Churches of Piemont have always kept as one may see in their ancient Manuscripts translated out of their Language into French and treated of succinctly in the Cap. 31. of the First Part of the General History of the Churches of the Vaudois in which writing it 's said the Churches there have always had Pastors Elders and Deacons to govern them as they had till the year 1686. when they were dispersed The Pastors employed themselves to instruct and exhort the people to live well and holily and the Pastors Elders and Deacons altogether watched over their Flock to banish all vice and scandal It was requisite that the Governors of the Church should be of a good Life and holy Conversation for to edifie others by their good Example There were Schools kept to breed up Youth in piety There was likewise a particular School for to instruct those that aspired to the Ministry where was taught Divinity They made the young Scholars learn by heart all the Chapters of the Gospels according to St. Matthew and St. Iohn and all the Canonical Epistles and a good part of the Writings of Solomon David and the Prophets There came to this School young men out of Bohemia and other places where the people of God dwelt and retained the profession of the ancient verity to be instructed in the Ministry The Vaudois were not only pure as to their Doctrine but likewise as to their Manners even their Adversaries witness the same Reynerus Sacco who was one of the first Inquisitors imployed by Rome against those of the Valleys speaks thus of them in his Relation which he made of them to the Court of Rome After he had told that Court that the Sect of the Vaudois was the eldest that had ever been it beginning in the time of the Apostles or at least of Sylvester he adds touching their Manners that whereas all other Sects did strike the hearers with horror of their many Blasphemies against God that this of the Valleys made great demonstration of piety for they live justly before the face of the World and in Chap. 7. of his Book he says the Vaudois are chast The President Du Thou commonly called Tuaanus in Chap 27. of his History says that the Vaudois observe the Ten Commandments of the Law which gives the rule of living holily and piously they give no entertainment to any sort of Vices in their Assemblies they have in horror and detest all sorts of unlawful Oaths Perjuries Wicked Imprecations Quarrels Seditions Debauches Drunkenness Whoring Inchantments Sacrileges Thest Usury Witchcraft and the like And Claudis de Seissel Archbishop of Turin in the Book he wrote against the Vaudois in the year 1500. confesses in formal terms that as to their Life and Manners they live in the world without reproach observing with all their power the Commandments of God We could alledge many other authorities of the bitterest Enemies of the Vaudois which they give of their good life and conversation but the curious may find them in the General History of the Vaudois if they think these be not sufficient CHAP. IV. Of the great Calm the Vaudois Churches enjoyed many Ages WE cannot find in the Ecclesiastical Histories the Vaudois or Christians of the Valleys of Piemont were persecuted under the reigns of Nero Domitian or any other of the Pagan Emperors who so cruelly persecuted the Christians it 's therefore probable that during those cruel persecutions many faithful Christians retired unto these Valleys to escape persecution and to save themselves from the bloody hands of those cruel Butchers as we saw in France during the last persecution that many of the Reformed Religion fled into the Woods Mountains and hid themselves in Caverns and Rocks to save themselves from the hands of the cruel and pitiless Dragoons and to avoid by their flight the danger of renouncing their Religion So the Church which is represented by the Woman is at the same time Rev. 12. described flying into the Wilderness from the fury of the Dragon And is there a more dreadful Wilderness than the Mountains of the Alpes which are covered with Snow eight or nine months of the year amongst which are these Valleys It 's said that in the Desart the Woman had a place prepared of God for her where she might be nourished 1260 days The Valleys have they not been the place which God has prepared to keep his Church safe in since the true Church has been always conserved here from the time of the Apostles even to our days without any interruption or want of succession that while the whole world ran after the Beast only the Inhabitants of these Valleys followed Jesus Christ c. walked according to the

confirm the authority of Ecclesiastical Doctrine The Apocryphal Books are as follow The third of Esdras the fourth of Esdras Tobie Judith Wisdome Ecclesiasticus Baruc with the Epistle of Jeremiah Esther from the tenth Chapter to the end the History of Susanna the History of the Dragon the first of Maccabees the second of Maccabees The Books of the New Testament The Gospel of St. Matthew of St. Mark St. Luke and St. John The Acts of the Apostles The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans the first to the Corinthians the second to the Corinthians to the Galatians to the Ephesians to the Philippians to the Colossians the 1 to the Thessalonians the 2 to the Thessalonians the 1 to Timothy the 2 to Timothy to Titus to Philemon to the Hebrews the first Epistle of St. Peter the second Epistle of St. Peter the first Epistle of St. John the second Epistle of St. John the third Epistle of St. John the Epistle of St. Jude the Revelations of St. John IV. The foresaid Books teach this That there is one God Almighty all wisdom and goodness and who by his power has created all things who made Adam according to his own Image but by the malice of the Devil and the disobedience of Adam Sin entred into the World and that we are Sinners in Adam and by Adam V. That it was promised to the Fathers who received the Law that by the Law knowing their sins and their own defect of Iustice and their inability of keeping it that they should desire the coming of Christ to satisfie for their sins and to accomplish the Law in his own person VI. That Christ was born at the time ordained by the father viz. when all iniquity abounded and not for the good works of any for all were sinners VII That Christ is truth life justice peace our pastor advocate oblation sacrificer that he is dead for the salvation of all believers and that he rose for their justification VIII Likewise we firmly believe that there is no other advocate or mediator for us sinners to the Father but Iesus Christ and that the blessed Virgin was holy humble full of grace and the same we believe of all other Saints and that they expect in heaven the resurrection of the body at the dayf Iudgment IX Item We believe that after this life that there are but two places one for those that are saved which we call Paradice and another for those that ae damned which we call Hell totally renouncing the doctrine of Purgatory invented by Antichrist and his Ministers X. Item We have always believed that it was an abomination of which we ought not to speak in the presence of God and invented by men viz. the doctrine of Feasts and Vigils of Saints of Holy Water of abstinence from flesh and other meats upon certain days and above all the doctrine of the Mass. XI We have in abomination humane traditions as being Antichristian and of great prejudice to the liberty of the Spirit XII We believe that the Sacraments are the signs or visible forms of holy things believing that from time to time the faithful should make use of those holy signs or visible forms if they can but nevertheless we believe that the faithful may be saved if they never received the foresaid signs or visible forms when they could not have an opportunity of receiving them XIII We never knew of any other Sacraments than Baptism and the Supper of our Lord. XIV We owe honour to all superiour powers in paying them subjection obedience and tribute with alacrity It 's now 570 years since this confession of Faith was made by the Churches of Piemont at which time all other Churches were corrupted by the mixture of humane doctrine and Pagan Ceremonies the world at that time being overspread with an Aegyptian darkness and so the Authors of both Religions agree in calling that age the dark age This confession of Faith being drawn from the writings of the holy Apostles and in every respect conformable to their Doctrine it follows by a necessary consequence that the Religion of the Vaudois is the true and pure Religion of the Apostles and that they have always kept it pure from the first receiving of it till the beginning of the eleventh age and from thence till these times since they now profess the same Faith and teach the same Doctrine that was contained in that famous confession All other Churches both of the East and West being infected with divers Heresies Satan for to hinder the advancement of the Reign of Jesus Christ has from time to time stirred up false Teachers who have sown their cursed Seed in the field of our Lord and by their false Doctrine varnished over with a seeming Piety have corrupted the doctrine of the Gospel This is what our Saviour foretold saying to his Disciples that false Christs and false Prophets would arise and would do signs and wonders to deceive if it were possible the elect c. St. Peter 2 Ep. C. 2. 1 2 3. prophesied the same thing there has been false Prophets among the people as likewise there will be among you false Teachers who shall privately introduce Sects of perdition and shall deny the Lord who hath redeemed them bringing upon them sudden perdition and many shall follow them by which the ways of Truth shall be blasphemed But O the wonderful works of God! who has conserved by his wise Providence the purity of his Religion in the Valleys of Piemont from the time of the Apostles to our time by a singular effect of his Goodness towards these poor people of the Vallys and has hindered that Satan by his false Doctors and Teachers could not sow the Cockle of their poysonous Doctrine in the mystical field of his Church Notwithstanding all their crafty endeavours God in spight of the Devil and all his works has kept among these Mountains and Deserts the bright light of his Gospel and has never suffered the candle to be extinguished and the great wonders that God has done from time to time to keep his bright Lamp always shining clear to these happy countries makes it evident that this is the place which God Apoc. 12 has prepared to keep and defend his Church in against the furious Attaques of the infernal Dragon who gave his power and throne to the Beast to make war against the Saints and to vanquish them For this is the true Desart where the woman Apoc. 12. 6. cloathed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet crowned with twelve Stars made her retreat where God had prepared her a place where she might be nourished 1260 prophetical days which make 1260 years where God Almighty has kept her safe against all the storms raised by Satan without any effect till the year 1686 the term of the Prophecy of the eleventh Chapter of the Revelations was accomplished it was then that the Beast which rose out of the deeps vanquished them and killed