The nearer the church, the further from God.

The nearer the church, the further from God.

No silver saints, by dying misers giv'n,
Here brib'd the rage of ill-requited heav'n;
But such plain read more

No silver saints, by dying misers giv'n,
Here brib'd the rage of ill-requited heav'n;
But such plain roofs as Piety could raise,
And only vocal with the Maker's praise.

Whenever God erects a house of prayer
The devil always builds a chapel there;
And 'twill be read more

Whenever God erects a house of prayer
The devil always builds a chapel there;
And 'twill be found, upon examination,
The latter has the largest congregation.

To Kerke the narre, from God more farre.

To Kerke the narre, from God more farre.

God never had a church but there, men say,
The devil a chapel hath raised by some wiles,
read more

God never had a church but there, men say,
The devil a chapel hath raised by some wiles,
I doubted of this saw, till on a day
I westward spied great Edinburgh's Saint Giles.

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it read more

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock.

There can be no church in which the demon will not have his
chapel.

There can be no church in which the demon will not have his
chapel.

Well has the name of Pontifex been given
Unto the Church's head, as the chief builder
And read more

Well has the name of Pontifex been given
Unto the Church's head, as the chief builder
And architect of the invisible bridge
That leads from earth to heaven.

The church alone beyond all question
Has for ill-gotten goods the right digestion.
[Ger., Die Kirch' allein, read more

The church alone beyond all question
Has for ill-gotten goods the right digestion.
[Ger., Die Kirch' allein, meine lieben Frauen,
Kann ungerechtes Gut verdauen.]