Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	abraham_n	faith_n	justify_v	2,976	5	9.3728	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11454	Ten sermons preached I. Ad clerum. 3. II. Ad magistratum. 3. III. Ad populum. 4. By Robert Saunderson Bachellor in Diuinitie, sometimes fellow of Lincolne Colledge in Oxford.; Sermons. Selected sermons	Sanderson, Robert, 1587-1663.	1627 (1627)	STC 21705; ESTC S116623	297,067	482

not any honest Minister that will pleade for him But since there is no incapacitie in a Clergy-man by reason of his spirituall Calling but he may exercise temporall Power if hee be called to it by his Prince as well as he may enioy temporall Land if he bee heire to it from his Father I see not but it behooueth vs all if we be good Subiects and sober Christians to pray that such as haue the power of Iudicature more or lesse in any kinde or degree committed vnto them may exercise that power wherewith they are entrusted with zeale and prudence and equitie rather than out of enuy at the preferment of a Church-man take vpon vs little lesse than to quarrell the discretion of our Soueraignes Phinehes though he could not challenge to execute iudgement by vertue of his Priesthood yet his Priesthood disabled him not from executing iudgement §. 14. Phinehes his fact examined That for the Person Followeth his Action and that twofold Hee stood vp Hee executed iudgement Of the former first which though I call it an Action yet is indeed a Gesture properly and not an Action But being no necessitie to binde me to strict proprietie of speech be it Action or Gesture or what else you will call it the circumstance and phrase since it seemeth to import some materiall thing may not be passed ouer without some consideration Then stood vp Phinehes Which clause may denote vnto vs eyther that extraordinary spirit whereby Phinehes was moued to doe iudgement vpon those shamelesse offenders or that forwardnesse of zeale in the heate whereof he did it or both Phinehes was indeed the High Priests sonne as we heard but yet a priuate man and no ordinarie Magistrate and what had anie priuate man to doe to draw the sword of iustice or but to sentence a malefactor to dye Or say he had been a Magistrate he ought yet to haue proceeded in a legall and iudiciall course to haue conuented the parties and when they had beene conuicted in a faire triall and by sufficient witnesse then to haue adiudged them according to the Law and not to haue come suddenly vpon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they were acting their villanie and thrust them thorow vncondemned I haue a Serm. 2. ad Cler. § 30. elsewhere deliuered it as a collection not altogether improbable from the circumstances of the originall storie that Phinehes had warrant for this execution from the expresse command of Moses the supreme Magistrate and namely by vertue of that Proclamation whereby he authorized the b Num. 25.5 vnder-Rulers to slay euerie one his men that were ioyned vnto Baal-Peor Num. 25.5 And I since finde that coniecture confirmed by the iudgement of some learned men insomuch as an eminent Writer in our Church saith that c Hall 7. Contempl 4. by vertue of that Commission euerie Israelite was made a Magistrate for this execution But looking more neerly into the Text and considering that the Commission Moses there gaue was first onely to the Rulers and so could bee no warrant for Phinehes vnlesse hee were such a Ruler which appeareth not and secondly concerned onely those men that were vnder their seuerall gouernments and so was too short to reach Zimri who being himselfe a Prince and that of another Tribe too the Tribe of d Num. 25.14 Simeon could not be vnder the gouernement of Phinehes who was of the Tribe of Leui how probable soeuer that other collection may be yet I hold it the safer resolution which is commonly giuen by Diuines for the iustification of this fact of Phinehes that he had an extraordinarie notion and a peculiar secret instinct of the Spirit of God powerfully working in him and prompting him to this Heroicall Act. §. 15. and iustified Certainly God will not approue that worke which himselfe hath not wrought But to this Action of Phinehes God hath giuen large approbation both by staying the plague thereupon and by rewarding Phinehes with an a Num. 2● 12.13 euerlasting Priesthood therefore and by giuing expresse testimonie of his zeale and righteousnesse therein as it is said in the next verse after my Text b Psal. 106.31 And it was accounted to him for righteousnesse Which words in the iudgement of learned Expositours are not to bee vnderstood barely of the righteousnesse of Faith as it is said of Abraham that c Gen. 15.6 applied by Saint Paul Rom. 4.3 he beleeued God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse as if the zeale of Phinehes in this act had beene a good euidence of that faith in Gods promises whereby he was iustified and his Person accepted with God though that also but they doe withall import the iustification of the Action at least thus farre that how soeuer measured by the common rules of life it might seeme an vniust action and a rash attempt at the least if not an haynous murder as being done by a priuate man without the warrant of authoritie yet was it indeed not onely in regard of the intent a zealous action as done for the honour of God but also for the ground and warrant of it as done by the speciall secret direction of Gods holy Spirit a iust and a righteous action Possibly this very word of standing vp importeth that extraordinary spirit For of those Worthies whom God at seuerall times endowed with Heroicall spirits to attempt some speciall worke for the deliuery of his Church the Scriptures vse to speake in words and phrases much like this It is often said in the booke of Iudges that God d Iud. 3.9.15 c. 2.16.18 raised vp such and such to iudge Israel and that Deborah and Iair and others e Iud. 5.7 10.1.3 c. rose vp to defend Israel that is f Iud. 3.10 the Spirit of God came vpon them as is said of Othoniel Iudg. 3. and by a secret but powerfull instinct put them vpon those braue and noble attempts they vndertooke and effected for the good of his Church Raysed by the impulsion of that powerfull spirit which g Nescit tarda molimina spiritus Sancti gratia Ambros. 2. in Luc. 3. admitteth no slow debatements Phinehes standeth vp and feeling himselfe called not to deliberate but act without casting of scruples or fore-casting of dangers or expecting commission from men when hee had his warrant sealed within he taketh his weapon dispatcheth his errant and leaueth the euent to the prouidence of God §. 16. yet not to be imitated Let no man now vnlesse hee be able to demonstrate Phinehes spirit presume to imitate his fact Those Opera liberi spiritus as Diuines call them as they proceeded from an extraordinary spirit so they were done for speciall purposes but were neuer intended either by God that inspired them or by those Worthies that did them for ordinary or generall examples The errour is dangerous from the priuiledged examples of some few exempted ones to take