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Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88818	The wolf stript of his sheeps clothing or The antichristian clergy-man turn'd right side outwards. Wherein is briefly discovered and layd open their subtile and wicked wayes and practises to deceive and destroy not only private people, or particular societies, but whole nation and kingdoms, and all under the plausible vizzard of reformation, church-government, punishing of hereticks and sectaries. / By R. Lavvrance Marshal General.	Lawrence, Richard, d. 1684.	1647 (1647)	Wing L682; Thomason E386_10; ESTC R201479	19,259	30

such men as are forc'd to run up and down the Country sculking here and there in private places to broach their opinions to some poor despised people for there is no possibility that these men if deceivers should be persecuters too But these deceivers have in their hands all the power the earth can afford to stir up Nation against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdome to bring before and deliver up to Counsels to beat you in their Synagogues to hale you before Kings and Rulers Matth. 10.17 18. Mark 13.8 9. These deceivers are of that man of sin that son of perdition spoken of 2 Thess 2.3 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God ver 4. These deceivers are they whose coming is like the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and with all deceivablenesse of unrighteousnesse Now those deceivers which the Church of God hath been troubled withall for these many ages are such kinde of deceivers as these are men of great places and high esteem in the world having had all the power of the world to back them which never were able to carry on their businesse with any strength of argument the Scripture hath been so point-blank against them and therefore they have made use of the power and strength of Emperors and Kings and where the Magisteriall power hath faild them they have made use of the Military and have stirred up Emperors and Kings to war one with another and by this means these bloody deceivers have been the cause of thousands of millions of Christians lives to be lost and their blood to be spilt to maintain their Antichristian power and domination over the whole Christian world And all this hath been done under the pious pretences of Reformation Church order punishing of Hereticks c. pretending zeale to Gods glory and the Churches good in the most bloody enterprises that ever they undertook They have alwayes pretended to reform the Church of its Heresie and Schisme c. and on the contrary have deformed it into formality superstition and idolatry And when their wicked practices and false worships have begun to appear so visible to the eye of the world that the very light of nature hath been ashamed of their abominations then for fear that the mystery of iniquity should fully discover it self to their utter ruine they have again transformed themselves into some other likeness or shape thereby to deceive the world and make them beleeve they were a reforming themselves and the Church out of their zeal to Gods glory when they alwayes staid in their old Idols Temple while it were ready to fall on their heads and then built themselves another of the same materials onely painted over with some other colours And this ye shall finde to be the center of all Synodical Reformations to this very day never countenancing nor suffering more of the power of godliness in any where they could suppress it then what would serve them for a stalking horse to destroy their dissenting Brethren by And as they have sought the exaltation of their own glory the establishment of their own power and the manifestation of their own humane wisdom and learning in all their undertakings and have despised the wisdom power and glory of God in his people because God hath hid that treasure in earthen vessels 2 Cor. 4.7 because it is the good pleasure of the Father to hide those things from the wise and prudent and reveal them unto babes Matth. 11.25 because not many wise not many mighty not many noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise 1 Cor. 1.27 Therefore hath God likewise refused them and hath given them up to the pride and deceit of their own heart Therefore hath God pronounced a wo against them Isaiah 30.1 Wo to the rebellious children that take counsel but not of me that cover with a covering but not of my spirit So in the 29. of Isaiah 13. Wherefore the Lord said Forasmuch as this people draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me but have removed their heart far from me and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men Therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people even a marvellous work and a wonder the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid Is not the sin and punishment of the Prince of Tyre met in our days Ezekiel 28. Is it not visibly discovered to us that our learned Wise men such as have endeavoured to confine all the true knowledge of God and the mysteries of his Kingdom to their learned capacities have ever been our deceivers and seducers Such as have been our leaders into all manner of Superstition and Idolatry may we not well say with the Apostle Where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this world hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world 1 Cor. 1.20 Doth it not appear That Christ is made by God alone unto us wisdom 1 Cor. 1.30 Have not those which have called themselves the Reverend Clergy the Learned Tribe of Levi the Bishops Pastors and Ministers of Christs Church been for above a thousand yeers to the begining of this Parliament the great deceivers the grand Sectaries the chief sowers of Sedition the very Throne and Body of Antichrist and the proudest enemies to the Church of God Let us leave England a little and observe the greatest part of the World called Christendom as Italy Spain France Germany c. and do they not at this very day generally live in the very darkness of Popery making it their very Religion to maintain the Popes supremacy the authority of the Church and a few idolatrous Superstitions Ceremonies and are other-wayes altogether as ignorant of the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the very Heathens And who are the Leaders of these people in their ignorant superstition and idolatry Is it not the Clergy the Learned the University men Is it not they which are their Popes Cardinals Jesuites Fryers Monks c Is it not they which hath broacht and imposed all those damnable Heresies and Errors now in the Church of Rome And have they not to fill up the measure of their iniquities caused to be presented and put to death many thousands of Christians for not beleeving and receiving their damnable Superstitious Errors Nay further hath it not been they which throughout all Christendom for these many ages have been the chief and onely contrivers and ploters of all the bloody barbarous plots wicked insurrections and traiterous rebellions against Kings and Kingdoms Hath it not been their constant practise to stir up Nation against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdom under pretence of Holy War to the

to the work of the Ministery which had in them an infalliable spirit to guide them and yet you never finde them speaking or doing any thing in their own name or in the name or authority of any other but Christ himself producing his precepts and practices for all their words and actions That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you 1 John 1.3 so Acts 4.20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard they do not say the things which we have considered and and agreed upon So ye read in the first of the Acts and verse the second That Christ by the holy Ghost had given commandment to the Apostles whom he had chosen and in obedience to those commands of Christ did they act and do all which they did This was the doctrine Peter preached Acts 10.42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testifie that it was he which was ordained of God to be judge of quick and dead and when Peter and John were commanded to preach no more in this name Acts 4.19 Peter and John answered and said unto them Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more then unto God judge ye And as they did not decline the preaching in the name never the more for being commanded to the contrary so would they not have preached it ever the less or more for being commanded to do it by any but Christ who had alone power to inable them to obey his commands therefore saith David I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt inlarge my heart Psal 119.32 If men could inlarge hearts as well as give commands there might be some hopes of their forcing to beleeve in Christ and to walk in the way of his commandments But in vain do ye worship me saith Christ teaching for doctrine the commandments of men Matth. 15.9 Though the commandments which those Pharisees take for doctrine were commandments of men to worship the true God and that after the most strictest manner according to the Law of Moses as they judged Acts 26.5 and yet this was then vain worship how comes it now to be orthodox and so you finde Paul that great Apostle called and chosen to the Ministry by Christ himself Acts 9.5 6. and to that end was filled with the holy Ghost Verse 7. of a contrary spirit to the Apostles and Ministers of our times when there was several divisions and opinions in the Church of Corinth he did not side with one or two of them to see if he could suppress the other he did not countenance those that cryed up Paul no more then those that cryed up Apollo nor those that were for Cephas less then those that were for Christ but his designe was to have Christ advanced above Paul Apollo and Cephas two he included them altogether and writ to them all as Brethren 1 Cor. 1.10 11. and the thing which he propounded to them was not whether any of the rulers or of the pharisees beleeved on him as they did John 7.48 but Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized into the name of Paul Verse 13. threw himself down that Christ might be set up He doth not direct his Epistle to them under the names of their several opinions as they stood divided neither doth he call them Sectaries nor Schismatikes though they were as really such as most that are so accounted of among us but to the Church of God which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be Saints c. Verse 2. Neither doth he charge the cause of their divisions upon their illiterate mechanick Teachers though such they had Verse 26 27. for if he had they might have said to him Paul thou art but a Tent-maker but all that Paul prest at was to tread down and that with detestation all humane wisdom and learning and let them know it had no share neither in him nor in Christ as you may see in the three first Chapters of this Epistle which would have been useless at that time if that had not been the cause of their mistake they did not know that God would destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent V. 19. That the foolishness of God is wiser then men and the weakness of God stronger then men For ye see your calling Brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to nought things which are They did not consider that God would have no flesh glory in his presence that Christ was made alone by God wisdom and righteousness to his people Yerse 29 30. But so far have these self-exalting vain-glorious Clergy-men been from using any of these Arguments or Scriptures against divisions and opinions that it is little less then Heresie with them for any to read or make mention of these Scriptures to them if it cross their designes that if Paul were now alive amongst us and should preach such doctrine as this 〈◊〉 were enough to fill two or three Gangrena's but though they have hitherto and still may deceive and delude the world with their humane inventions and vain imaginations so shall they not do the Church For the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished 1 Peter 2.9 And though the Wolves and Goats may follow them because they are all of one nature and spirit yet the sheep of Christ will follow him For they know his voice and a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him for they know not the voice of strangers John 10.4 5. Neither shall the time of their deceiving last alwayes Onely he who now letteth will let till he be taken out of the way And then shall that wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming 2 Thess 2.7 8. FINIS

people against him to destroy him this ye finde Matth. 26.3 16.5 21. 15.1 20.18 21. so Mark 8.11 31. 14.1 43. so Luk. 5.21 6.7 9.22 20.1 22.2 66. 23.10 And since the time of Christs finishing his work in the world which he did upon the crosse John 19.30 since the Captain of our salvation hath been made perfect through sufferings Heb. 2.10 Whereby he hath given all that are his sufficient testimony that if they will follow their Lord Christ they must take up his crosse Luk. 19 23. and All that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 that In the world they shall have tribulation but in him they shall have peace For saith Christ the disciple is not above his Master nor the servant above his Lord it is enough for the disciple to be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Matth. 10.24 25. I say since this chaste spouse of Jesus Christ the spirituall Church of God hath been left in the world as the Ark of God was among the Philistims as Daniel in the lions den or as Jonas in the whales belly void of all hope and help in the world as far as sense and reason or any thing below faith was able to apprehend the flesh the world and the Divel hath ever since proclaimed open war against Christ in his people though the gates of hell could never yet nor ever shall prevail against them Matth. 16.18 For no sooner had they done crucifying Christ but presently they began to persecute the Apostles and Saints at Jerusalem And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles Acts 8.1 and they which were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word and the Apostles did not go about to stir up Jerusalem to petition the Magistrate against them then but what was then the duty and practice of the Saints is now punishable by our learned Presbyters for Schism and Heresie and because they have neither precept nor practice neither Scripture nor good reason to convince their differing Brethren therefore are they procuring lawes and ordinances that then they may cry out to the Magistrate as the Jewes did to Pilate Wee have a law and by our law hee ought to die Those who are the drivers of this designe let us pray that the Lord would not lay this sin to their charge but that hee would open their eyes and let them see the evill of their doings that they may put it far from them and take this into their consideration that England hath too much innocent blood upon its score already which hath cost it very deer lately God hath given our Nation blood to drink in great measure as if he would tell us every drop of the blood of his saints which this Kingdome for many yeers hath been destroying and banishing should cost us a fountain and hath so disperst and scattered all our former persecutors as if hee were minded to let them see how good persecution and banishment were or to make them as forward to fetch those home again whom they have formerly banisht and forc'd out of the Kingdom as he did the Egyptians to thrust the Israelites out whom they did formerly force to stay in their Kingdom I shall here onely use Davids words in the very same case In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood But the Lord is my defence and my God is the rock of my refuge And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickednesse yea the Lord our God shall cut them off Psal 94.19 20 c. It hath been the sad condition of the Church of God for above a thousand yeers last past ever since the falling away spoken of 2 Thess 2.3 to suffer by her enemies as an evill doer truth hath ever since been persecuted for errour light for darknesse Christ for Belial and therefore this last hath been the most cunning and cruellest way of persecuting that ever the adversary attained to therefore saith Christ prophesying of this last and greatest adversary to the Church Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves So Behold I send you forth as sheep among wolves be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmlesse as doves As much as if he should say ye have a subtle and cruell adversary to deal withall therefore arm your selves with wisdom and innocency Or thus Ye have been formerly persecuted by open enemies such as have not been ashamed to appear against you in their own likenesse but now your enemy shall be your pretented friend such as shall be in your own likenesse they will be wolves still but they will be in sheeps clothing Matth 7.15 They will still kill you but they will pretend to do God good service by it John 16.2 Christ further prophesieth of the Saints sufferings under the Gospel by this wicked cruel devouring adversary Mark 13.19 For in those dayes shall be afflictions such as were not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time neither shall be And then if any man shall say Lo here is Christ or lo there is Christ beleeve him not for false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall shew signes and wonders to deceive if it were possible even the very elect And if ye will beleeve the Scripture those false Christs and great deceivers spoken of so much are not such kinde of creatures as wee are crying out against poor illiterate mechanick fellows as we call them for such were Christ and the Apostles esteemed of by the world Is not this the Carpenters son Matt. 13.55 Mar. 6.5 So in Acts 4. when the Apostles Peter and John were brought before the high priest and his kindred to be examined When they saw the boldnesse of Peter and John and perceived they were unlearned and ignorant men they marvelled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus These priests had more goodnesse in them then many of our priests for they will not take notice of any whom they call unlearned and ignorant men to have been with Jesus if they have any Christian boldnesse in them but call it audaciousnesse and out facing Authority meaning their own Antichristian power as if there were no coming to Jesus but by Rome the same way by which themselves come But those false Christs and false Apostles spoken of in Scripture are not unlearned mechanick fellowes but such as have in them all the humane learning and wisdome the world can afford not