Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	act_n	apostle_n	church_n	2,046	5	4.4187	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28313	The nature and mischief of envy a sermon preach'd before the Queen, Aug. 20, 1693 / by Jonathan Blagrave ...	Blagrave, Jonathan, 1652-1698.	1693 (1693)	Wing B3110; ESTC R12893	14,097	30

when he hears of any Disgrace or Misfortune that hath befallen his Neighbour if he loves to hear of the weakness or miscarriages of those that are in prosperity if he is glad to have an ill thing to tell of them if he is out of Humour when he hears their praise or commendation if in relating their Actions he slily endeavours to lessen them or when he does commend them puts in still some malicious Buts or Exceptions if as the Apostle in few Words expresses all this A man rejoyces in Iniquity and not in the Truth In iniquity that is to the Disgrace of any Person and not in the Truth that is to his advantage That Man is certainly Envious And how few then are wholly free from this Vice In some indeed it grows to a most wicked and pernicious Height but in all that have not wholly mortified their carnal Affections amongst whith S. Paul reckons this there is some Taint of envy according to the words of St. James ch 4. v. 5. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to Envy Without the powerful Grace of God to pluck it up this Root of bitterness will grow in the hearts of all the Corrupt Children of Adam We have seen then what envy is Let us in the 2 d. Place take a view of the usual mischievous effects of it and see what Abundance of Evil it commonly does in the world that we may be the more set against it that we may avoid it our selves that we may beware of it in others that we may use our utmost endeavours to quench this Flame to dispatch this Hydra to shut up this Pandora's Box out of which mischeif hath and doth continually fly over all the Earth according to the words of the Apostle Where Envy is there is confusion and every evil Work For if we consult Histories either Sacred or Civil or the experience of any observing men we shall find that there hath been no Disturbance in the state no Heresy or Schism in the Church no trouble in any little Neighbourhood or private Family but it is chiefly owing to envy In the State when one man is advanc'd to any Place of Trust or Dignity or Profit presently those that think themselves as capable or as deserving as he raise a clamour seek to disparage endeavour to oppose him lay plots for his Downfal and Ruin and that many times for no other Reason but because the man has obtain'd what they would gladly have had themselves For a man that has so many Vices that they cannot be reckon'd up when once he has a little got the start of his Neighbours in his Fortune had been as good and as innocent a man as any one living if he had continued upon the same Level with them and joyn'd in their envious Calumnies against others But having got above them they disparage they hate they endeavour to thwart him in all things tho' it be to the hind'rance and detriment of the Publick Interest In which tho' they themselves have a common stake Yet envy many times so blinds mens eyes that they will rather hurt themselves injure the common Good and Safety ruine their Native Country hazard all that is dear or precious rather than not do what they can to pull down and destroy those whom they envy And as envy hath and doth work continually such Confusion in the State so it hath no less been a Disturber of the Peace of the Church For though the Scriptures of the New Testament are full of Precepts against envy such as that of St. Paul Gal. 5.26 Let us not be desirous of Vain Glory provoking one another envying one another And though our Blessed Saviour both by his example and precept taught all Christians not to seek Earthly but Heavenly Riches and Honours the way to which could never be the same with that by which Satan fell from them and tho' he gave to the Ministers of his Church the greatest Caution against vain Ambition and would have those that are in the Highest Station be most humble and meek and as officious to do good as if they were the least and servants of all Mark 9.35 Yet nevertheless because no Society can consist without Government and there can be no Government without Subordination for there is no Authority and there can be no obedience amongst those that are in all Respects equal therefore our Lord himself did constitute different Orders he ordained Apostles whose Office is in the 1 st of the Acts called a Bishoprick He likewise ordain'd Elders who were not of so great Authority as the Apostles and the Apostles who were endued with Power from on high ordained Deacons all the Orders we now retain Now because Authority is that which all ambitious and worldly-minded men do seek and it is impossible that any Church or any Society here on earth should be without any worldly-minded men in it Thence hath arisen the Disturbance of the Peace of the Church there have been men like Diotrephes whom we read of in the 3d. Epistle of John ver 9. who lov'd Preeminence and therefore envyed the Possession of it by any other Persons and as it is at the Tenth Verse first began to prate against them and then made Divisions from them This in all Ages of the Church if we look into Ecclesiastical History we shall find to be the first and chief Cause of all Heresies Sects and Schisms There were men that would fain have had the Preeminence that were very angry that it fell to other mens Lots and so first prated against them and then made Divisions from them Thus of Old the Novation Donatist Arrian and many other both Schisms and Heresies began And therefore we must not think strange if we see such things happen again in our Age. We have seen the effects of this not only in Divisions in the Church but also in Sub-divisions among the Dividers themselves For when a Proud man has made himself Head of a Sect others of the same Sect as Proud as he have Envy'd that his Preeminence and divided from him to make themselves Chief of other Sects and in their turn have felt the same effect of Envy For let men talk what they will of Parity or Equality it is utterly impossible in any Society or Company that hold together but that there will and must be some that will be more Eminent and that will bear a greater sway than others and in effect Govern and wheresoever there is Superiority that will be a But of Envy and that Envy will be the Cause of Division and Sub-divisions are the easiest things in the world because there is neither Authority nor Argument to restrain them but what had been rejected before by the Dividers So that if God should leave Human Nature to it self as long as there is such a thing as Envy in it there could be no Church-Government there could be no Unity in