Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	ancient_a	church_n	father_n	3,954	5	5.0522	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19291	A sermon preached at Paules Crosse, the 23. of Aprill, being the Lords day, called Sonday. 1581. By Anthonie Andreson	Anderson, Anthony, d. 1593.	1581 (1581)	STC 570; ESTC S108525	42,865	126

in substance sincerely by law established and by the godly Ministers likewise to Gods people administred without addition or defalking too or fro the worde of God For the Discipline of the Church we also haue it thoughe in some weaker sorte than either the auctoritie of the worde seemeth to me to affoorde or the grauitie of the cause in our pestiferous time doth require it Yet it cannot bée said but we haue established discipline by hir graces godly laws to this Churche of Englande and at thys laste Parliament agaynst the Papists haue the same Christianly augmented God grāt that our godly and reuerende Bishops Iudges Ecclesiasticall Commissioners and officers whych haue the authority may and would so vse thys aucthoritye they haue that God myghte be wonne as it were wyth theyr godly indeuor to enlarge the heartes of higher aucthoritye ouer vs in the Lorde by lawefull power to yéelde vs further and more seuere discipline to one and all in thys Churche of Englande Lord for thy mercies sake graunt it to this thy holy visible Vineyarde of Englande we beseeche thée And in the meane space brethren let vs be obedient to this we haue and heartilye praise God for the same and pray earnestly with conioyned hearts for a further by hir Graces aucthoritie and the strict rule of hys holy worde These holy and sufficient notes of hys visible Church we haue in our English Church at thys day the Lord be praised for them and contynue them wyth vs and therefore agaynste al your blasphemies to God your sinister but subtill suggestions to Princes and people o ye poore Papists we stand by proofe to bée the Figge trée planted indeede in the moste holy Vineyarde of the Lorde and haue our Churche consecrated a sacred member of the Catholike Churche of God visible wyth the rest of that Militante troupe and companye of sanctified men in the vniuersall earth And as for the other forged marks of Vniuersalitie and personall succession we count it sufficient to haue the society with suche the sonnes of God as haue their felowshippe with the Sainctes of Christe 1. Io. 11.2.3 4. and haue learned to forsake the company of the wicked and to auoide the way of sinners but greatly deteste to stoupe to that Cacolike Apostata of Rome Ps 1. whych so arrogantly setteth hymselfe in that chaire of the scorner But touching personall succession of Bishoprickes and Churches we holde it not to be always a sure marke of Gods holye Churche Except ye wil saye of the Church of Israel vnder Ieroboam that Idolatour that she was then the true Churche thoughe an Apostata by hir grosse Idolatrie bicause she could boast of personall succession from the Kyngs and Bishoppes of that people Or that the Churche of Iudah vnder Manasses that idolatrous King was notwythstanding the murther of Gods chyldren their sacrificing to Idols theyr racing out of the lawe of the Lorde and banyshing hys holy sacrifyces was I saye all thys admitted yet the true Church of God bycause they hadde and coulde shewe a personall succession of Kyngs and Byshoppes euen from the firste Moses and Aaron But yée wyll possibly presse vs wyth the auctoritie of the Fathers as wyth Tertullian that ancient whych boasted in truth to haue had succession of the Byshops of Rome for the furtheraunce of hys purpose But forget not you Papists that as yet the Fathers of that Church had not departed from the faith but wyth theyr succession had contynued the Apostolicall doctrine vppon whiche point Tertullian chiefly stoode as it may appeare by hym And also would God you would not wyth malitious heartes séeke to darken that notable doctrine of hys in that hys Booke of prescriptions that althoughe manye Churches haue not to shewe theyr personall succession of Byshoppes yet if so they haue the Apostolicall doctrine taught sincerely in them for that consāguinitie and kinred in Doctrine those Churches are and are to be accompted Apostolicall The Orientall Churches hadde due succession til Arrius had infected them with hys poyson shall personall succession nowe approue the sect of the Arrians to be the church of God So had the Churche of Rome before Antichristes possession therof Shal we therfore now say whē their doctrine theyr malice theyr ambition theyr pride theyr dyuelishe conuersation dothe conuince them to be that whore of Babilon Shal we I say now say bycause they possibly can shew vs a great Catalogue of Byshops from Linus or Anacletus that therefore they are nowe the true Churche of God And yet were that a sufficient proofe of Gods Churche our Bishops in England then haue their personall succession from the firste euen the firste that you can name as by time and nexte course succéeding one an other Thus you sée dearely beloued howe apparant it is that this noble Realme of Englande is planted by Gods greate mercy into the Catholike Vineyarde of the Lorde the visible Churche of God and is it selfe a notable member of the same Now time requireth that we speake something likewise of the inuisible cōpany and Church of God to the greater comforte of the godlye in thys visible Churche whiche this day heare me or hereafter may heare of this holy labor to their further benefite If thou wouldest knowe certainly beloued in thine owne conscience whether thou arte verily and indéede the member of Christ and so a liuely braunche of the virident Vine end a fruitful Figge trée examine thy selfe by these thrée pointes The true notes of the inuisible Church al which the spirite of God againe hathe laide vp in one most sacred Sentence and thys it is The end of the commandement is loue out of a pure hart 1. Tim. 1.5 and of a good conscience and of saith vnfained In thys sentence beloued in Christ is laid forth vnto vs the verye true and infallibe tokens to euery mans soule whether he be the sonne of God or no. For by degrées from the fruite to the trée from the childe to the parent he goeth fetcheth thence vnto vs the certaine markes whereby we are sealed to the Lorde The purpose of God giuyng his worde is saith the Apostle that yée purely loue one another but your loue muste procéede from a good conscience not from a corrupted hart and this conscience hath his purging from an vnfained faith Then take hence your certaine notes of Gods children and these they are First by the vertue of the spirite and word of God a pure faith vnfained Secondly a renued minde whiche here is called a pure heart And thirdely by the same spirite suche charitie as neither can be cold or hypocriticall In whom soeuer these be vigent warme let him be assured though al the Popes in Rome had sēt their curses against him this honorable natiō yet he is of god the member of Christ one of his inuisible Churche whyche can not be caste forth of the dores But that we maye the better knowe

muche more worthye of receit as that the same is sente to youre memories by that Princely Prophet Dauid And it is that Psal 1.1 Zorobabell and Iehosuah of a milde purpose haue vsed to the enimies of thys trée such mercilesse pitie that by suche ouermuche lenitie thrée pestilent cancre wormes are bred in the earth about the roote and eate vppe the life of the Figge trée But if they be not with spéed digged and cast away to the helpe of his life it is of necessitie that he muste be cut down The firste is the cancre of Popishe conspyracie and their wicked counsell The seconde is the stiffe and stubborne standing in sinne and the defence thereof And the thirde is that the scorning Atheist pestilent Papiste and subtile hypocrite are set with and aboue the godly in the chayre of aucthority which is by their abuse become greately the chaire of scorners If thys earth be not remooued the Cancre wormes excéedinglye bréede and the barren trée must perishe The conspiracies of the Papistes and their wicked coūcels they be eyther publique or priuate Publique but yet among themselues at their solemne places of appointed méetings where for their Counter caked Christ against the Lorde and his annointed they consulte and mightly conspyre awayting onely theyr trauailing day of such Popish conception As the laste good Fridaye in our partes was a suspected number gathered neare vnto a suspected place where that horrible sacrilegious Masse if it often be not may with greate ease voide of feare be daily sacrificed Their priuate persuasions are greate and wrought by sundry sometime by wandering Priestes harboured of no beggars sometyme by popishe Phisitions greatly magnified of our greater Papistes and these secreately sollicite the Romishe religion to men in towne and fieldes and in their weary beddes and muche moleste the valor of the Figge trée But these sinners stande the more stiffely in their Italienated sinne bicause they stande in that way whiche manie of oure Worshipfull and Noble States be delighted in to whiche Popishe sinne all lashing luste is fixed and their state dothe bréede suche stoutnesse as it is euen at this day déemed a sin eyther to reproue thē for it or thys Cancre worme of deathe in them And can we looke to haue eyther Atheisme Popery or Popishe hypocrisie once but a little disgraced so long as the Chaire of aucthority in most of our shires is filled with the Popish scorner Sundry letters are carefully sent many times to search out Papists but they come to the handes of suche often as haue more cause to be called themselues than to be in commission to conuent others And what is then done the packet once receiued happily there is some priuye packing of the Popishe Iustice to those knowne or suspected so as for the tyme non est inuentus is a good returne So is God dishonored hir Maiesties godly endeuor disturbed hir honorable Councell set to Schoole and the poore Figge trée vndigged to hir death You sée then of necessitie it is if ye wil my Lordes whiche haue the authority to place into the Chayre of Iustyce rightly digge the hurting matter from the Figge trée you must take away this earth that countenaunce and purpose whyche earste haue fedde these cancre wormes I meane that lenitie mercilesse pitie whyche in hope to win thereby the hollow Papist haue greatly hurt and hyndered the true hearted Protestant And the verye grounde of your labour and firste setting the spade to the earth is and muste here begynne to digge out the Papist from the Chaire of auctority For you may not forgette that not onely they are fruitelesse themselues but they make the grounde also barrē wheresoeuer they rule yea they bite at the prospering Figge trée they whet the téeth of theyr confederates and are practising their purpose vnder the pretence of hir Maiesties power against the branches that their cunning maye excell againste the bodye and the verye roote of the trée of thys common weale in the day of their decrée But if that the Atheiste hypocriticall and scorning Papiste were altogither discontinued the seate of authoritie No doubt thereof but their agents the Popishe practitioners that so conspire into the heartes of men against Gods truth durste not or could haue such fréedome neither suche standing in sin or so mightie preuailing aide woulde be lent vnto it Oh Lorde worke this yet more effectually for thy holie names sake and for thy loue to the dresser of oure Figge trée And London London thy Rulers and Gouernours muste well looke vnto it For a little digging in the Countrie dothe driue these cancred Papistes into thée So as thou arte become a mother to manye godlye So also a Nurse vnknowen to thée to manye a wicked Papist whiche breake vp their being in the countrey and lurke in the Citie of London and so are moste safe when they are nearest the place of their deserued daunger as neare to the court the Councell the Bishoppes consistory Westminster Hall and the sworde of authoritie Wherefore my Lord Bishop muste be still vigilant the Iudges diligent the Mayor painefull all to picke oute the scorning Papiste thys pestilent cancre worme which for more safetie créepeth so neare the roote of the Figge trée The reuerende Fathers muste bée holpen with the aide of theyr preaching brethren The godlye Iudges with the help of their associats And surely praised be God for it Englād had neuer in mans memory so manye good christian Lawyers whych with their study to the Common laws haue bin so able to benefite the bodies in the common weale as now they are by their increase in godly knowledge of his holy laws to furnish well the Fig trée to hir growth in spirite for the good successe to hys church This thē remaineth my Lords that you being our godly Fathers of the law endeuor with godly strife to excel one another in digging and that you become for your zeale in knowledge so religious and for youre dexteritie in Iustice so vpright that al other godly Iudges succéeding you may with reuerent regard feare to pronounce the sentence of Iustice after you leaste they should not equall your equitie to Papist or Protestant but chiefly in digging of euil matter from the Figge trée To your godly furtherance herein I pray you reade Psalm 101. The seconde worke of the Magistrate of either estate is to laye to the roote of the Figge trée that which maye supple and comfort and mightily help the weakened life of the same and is here by our heauenly dresser exampled vnto suche namely earnest and hearty prayer vnto God to humble his church to quicken hir to make supple and nimble hir veynes by his spirite that hys sap may be vigent and working in hir making hir more more fruitfull And then to dung the same trée that is to indicte to it such godly exercises as maye rightly humble theyr heartes and supple their soules before God And that