Selected quad for the lemma: woman_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
woman_n	devil_n	seed_n	serpent_n	4,337	5	9.5644	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03881	A treatise of the vvritten VVord of God. Composed in Latin, by the Reuerend Father Iames Gordon Huntley of Scotland, Doctour of Diuinity, of the Society of Iesus. And translated into English, by I. L. of the same Society. The first part of the first controuersy; Controversiarum epitomes. English. Selections	Gordon, James, 1541-1620.; Wright, William, 1563-1639.	1614 (1614)	STC 13996; ESTC S115737	32,568	73

be well vnderstood of Christ as many auncient Fathers haue expounded it but that Christ alone is meant hereby and not his members we deny to be the literall sense for the reasons following 2. First it is euident that the seed of the Serpent which is opposed against the seed of the woman doth not signify any one Serpent but a multitude it is therefore very probable that by the seed of the woman a multitude also is signified vnlesse we will haue the Scripture in so few wordes speak ambiguously Moreouer semen is a Nowne collectiue properly signifying a multitude neyther is there any thing in this sentence that forceth vs to departe from the proper signification of the Word This reason is of so great a force that C●luin was moued therby to forsake the exposition of the Lutherans which he would otherwise willingly haue imbraced the more strongly to assault vs for thus he writeth Some make no doubt but Christ alone is meant by the seed of the woman whose exposition I could willingly approue but that I see they offer too great violence to the word seed for who will graunt that a Nowne collectiue is to be taken for one man only Thus Caluin So strong is the truth that it extorteth a true confession from her greatest enemy 3. Secondly it is said of the seed of the woman that it shall crush and bruze the head of the Serpent but this crushing and bruzing the Scripture doth not attribute to Christ alone but to all that lead a godly life in him for to euery iust man the holy Ghost speaketh saying thou shalt walke ouer the Addar and Basiliske and thou shalt tread vnder thy seete the Lyon and the Dragon And Christ saith vnto his Disciples Behold I haue giuen you power to tread vpon the Serpents and Scorpions and vpon all the power of the enemy And the Apostle to the Romans prayeth saying The God of peace crush Satan vnder your feete quickly And lastly in very many places of Scripture the faithfull are said to ouer come the Diuell and to get victories against him which is all one as to crush him Seing therefore the proper worke of this seed agreeth also to the members of Christ the Word seed is not to be limited to Christ alone Ad hereunto that God in these wordes intended to comfort not only Eue deceaued by the craft of the Diuell but all her posterity Now the comfort is more generall if all the faithfull should be able by Christ to ouercome the Diuell then if that Christ alone should ouercome him euen as our comfort is greater that we togeather with Christ shall rise againe then if Christ only should rise and he alone attayne to eternall life 4. Thirdly Albeit we should graunt our Aduersaries that Christ alone doth crush the head of the Diuell which is the former part of the sentence yet the latter part can by no meanes be applyed to Christ alone where it is sayd that the Diuell shall crush this seed for Christ in his owne person cannot be crushed by the Diuell we must therefore needes by this seed vnderstand also the members of Christ for in the Hebrew text it is thus word for word ipsa velipsum cōteret te in capite tu contere● cum vel eam in calcaneo for the Hebrew word is the same in both places both in the first and in the later part of the sentence and signifyeth c●nterere 5. As for Caluins exposition interpreting by the seed of the woman all man kind it is not to be receaued for God in this place denounceth emnity betweene the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman but infidells and vngoodly persons haue no emnity with the Diuell and his seed but are rather the seed and sonnes of the Diuell according to those words of Christ You are of your father the Diuell they therefore cannot appertayne to this seed of the woman 6. But whereas Caluin in another place sayth that Christ and his members are signifyed by the seed of the woman wee like well of that his saying for it is the exposition of the Catholike and auncient Fathers and indeed the true litterall sense 7. For in that sentence God sayth first that he will put emnity wherefore he speaketh not of any naturall emnity as Caluin insinuateth but of a supernaturall proceeding from God Moreouer God signifyeth betweene whome this emnity shal be to wit betweene the Serpent and woman Now as by the Serpent the Diuell is meant whome that naturall Serpent represented and in whome God layed his curse vpon the Diuell so by the woman Eue is meant the spouse of Christ or his true Church represented by Eue whose force and victory against the Diuell was therefore foretold by God for that Eue represented the Church as Adam did Christ the Apostle plainely teacheth in his Epistle to the Ephes. and the same Apostle doth therfore elsewhere expound this place of Satan and the Church as doth S. Iohn in his Apocalyps where he declareth this emnity betwene the woman and the Serpent to be indeed the emnity betweene the Church of Christ and the Diuell wherfore here by the Serpent is signifyed the Diuell by the woman the Church by the seed of the Serpent the Children of the Diuell and all the wicked who are aliens from Christ and his Church but especially such as seduce others and oppugne the Church The seede of the woman are the Children of the Church especially such as keep Gods commaundments and haue the testimony of Iesus Christ as S. Iohn speaketh 8. Furthermore this woman to wit the Church shall crush the head of the Serpent as we haue proued by many places of Scripture But on the other side the womans heele shal be crushed by Satan for the Church ouercōmeth the Diuell by her chiefe and more excellent members but she is ouercome in such her members as are base and worldly giuen which set vp their rest heere vpon earth and tast no other things but such as are terrene earthly worthily therefore signified by the heele of the Church let vs not therefore sayth S. Ambrose walke by loue and affection vpon t he earth and the Serpent cannot hurt vs. In the first combat is that the Church ouer cometh by open warre and therefore it is expressed by crushing of the head In the later combat in which a part of the Church is ouercome the enemy proceedeth by guiles and deceites and therefore that combat is signifyed by crushing the heele for the Hebrew word signifying calcaneum doth signify also properly insiaiari ex insidijs aggredi as appeareth by many places of Scripture And out of ignorance heerof Caluin without cause reprehendeth the vulgar interpreter for otherwise explicating this combat in the later part of the sētence then he had in the former for the Emphasis or force of the Hebrew word

required that he should interprete the later part as he did by these wordes tu insidiaberis calcaneo eius which is as much to say as thou shalt crush her heele not by open warre but by taking her at vnawares See further of this matter in this Chapter in the Latin Edition the 8. § And you shall see that our Aduersaries make a great adoe about a matter of small moment if the wordes be rightly vnderstood For whether we reade ipsa and so referre it to the Church or ipsum that it may be referred to the children of the Church the sēse is all one for it is all on to say the seed of the woman shall crush the head of the Serpent or the Children of the Church shall doe it And heerehence it i● that the auncient Fathers whether they read ipse as S. Hierome and S. Chrysostome do or ipsa as read S. Ambrose S. Augustine S. Gregory and other Latin Fathers all of them expound this place of the Church 9. Howsoeuer it be the reading of the vulgar Edition is to be preferred before the other for this victory is rather to be attributed to the Church as to the Mother of all the faithfull and to her who continueth for euer according to that promise of Christ the gates of hell shall not preuaile against her then to her children or mēbers which are euery day changed for this promise is an explication of the promise made by God in Genesis for the head of the Serpent and the gates of hell signify one and the same thing And if the victory be attributed to the woman that is to the Church all thinges are better explicated for God first did foretell the emnity that was to be betweene the woman the Serpent and afterward he maketh mention of the seede of the woman and the Serpents seede so as the woman is opposed to the Serpent and the seede of the one to the seede of the other but the victory pro●●sed is sayd to be gotten against the Serpent himselfe and not against the seed wherefore the same appertaineth rather to the woman her selfe then to her seed for the words following betweene thy seed and her seed do not properly signify any new combat but a continuance of that combat which was betweene the woman and the Serpent and are put in by way of parēthesis for the combat of the Church and of her childrē is all one combat 10. But the chiefe cause that moued the Church to retayne at this tyme rather the word ipsa then ipsum or ipse was to controle the error of the Lutherans for if the reading had byn ipsum or ipse one might haue thought this promise to haue appertayned only to Christ as they though erroneously would haue it but by reading ipsa this promise must needes be vnderstood to haue byn made to the whole Church For such is the custome of the holy Church whether she interprete the Scripturs or administer the Sacraments to do all as is most profitable and most for the edification of the faithfull Neyther is Christ hereby excluded but he is rather included in the name of the Church as is also the holy Ghost for the true Church of Christ cannot consist or do anything that is good without the help of her supreme head Christ and the assistance of his holy spirit That the reading according to the Hebrew text i● ipsa or ipsissima and not ipsum or ipse is learnedly proued in the next Chapter of the Latin Edition of this Controuersy to which I referre the Reader and to the Chapters following in which other places of the vulgar Edition are defended CHAP. XI That the written Word is no fit Iudge of Controuersies concerning matters of fayth OVR Aduersaries in the beginning did stifly mayntaine that the holy Scripture was to be the only iudge of all Controuersies which arise in matters of fayth but when they were told that to make the Scripture a iudge was as much as to say the Scripture did heare speake liue for all these appertayne to a iudge that nothing is more vnreasonable thē to assigne such a iudge of Controuersies as can neyther heare nor speake but is vtterly voyd of l●●e changing their opinion They begin now to ●ay that the Scripture is improperly called a iudge and that to speake properly the holy Ghost only is the iudge And thus hauing for many yeares togeather spoken vnproperly now a● last they fly to the holy Ghost of whome there is no doubt but that he is the supreme iudge of all 2. But they should haue added further that the holy Ghost at this tyme doth not immediatly propose any new reuelations to any particuler man concerning points of fayth but only proposeth veri●ies already reuealed and that by the mouth of the Church as shal be shewed heereafter in the next Controuersy where we shall haue occasion to say more of this matter Whosoeuer therefore contemneth the iudgment of the Church in so doing he despiseth the iudgment of Christ and of the holy Ghost for Christ himselfe saith he that despyseth you despyseth me Neyther doth the holy Ghost speake by the Scripture but when it is rightly vnderstood which is neuer but when we imbrace the interpretation of the Catholike Church as we haue already shewed in the fourth Chapter CHAP. XII Whether the Scripture be obscure or hard to be vnderstood THE Word of God is eyther written or vnwritten and preached Now certaine it is that the Word preached is not obscure for it is not hidden from such as perish the question thefore is of the written Word Our Aduersaries in the beginning did teach that the whole Scripture was easy and no part therof hard to be vnderstood but after that not only many obscure places but euen whole Chapters out of the Canticle of Canticles out of Izechiel and other Prophets were obiected by the Catholikes they changing their mind confesse that very many places of Scripture are obscure but that all points of doctrine necessary to saluation are be ●ound in places plains and easy 2. For resolution of this question we must answere with a distinction and say that if the word Scripture be taken for the bare Letter only then doubtlesse the Scripture is obscure or els S. Paul would not have sayd that it killeth and causeth death and damnation but if it be taken properly that is to say togeather with the true sense and meaning thereof then it is not obscure but plaine inough in al things necessary to saluation and in this sense speaketh S. Augustine as do also other Fathers whom our Aduersaries cite whē they say that al things necessary to saluatiō are manifestly conteyned in the holy Scripture 3. Moreouer the holy Scripture is both manifest and obscure but not in regard of the same persons It is passing obscure and not to be vnderstood of the proud such