Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	believe_v	scripture_n	tradition_n	2,838	5	9.5550	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65559	A sermon against neutrality whether as to the main substantials of religion or matters of injoyned order / preached at the visitation of the Reverend Doctour Cary, Arch-deacon of Exon, at St. Marie's Exon, on Friday in Easter Week, 1663 by E.W.	Wettenhall, Edward, 1636-1713.	1663 (1663)	Wing W1516; ESTC R27060	24,015	54

the forenamed particulars and have said If there be any nobler and more divine knowledge than what the Christian Faith delivereth follow it If there be any better Precepts of life than what the Gospel injoyns practise them But on the contrary If the knowledge of an infinite Majesty Creatour of all things his Nature and Works of another Life after this and an Eternity of Happiness if faithfull of Misery if vicious to be enjoyed by the immortal Soul and raised Body united of blessed Angels our Companions and Ministers If also these Precepts of Holiness Justice Temperance Love Peaceableness and Unity be all of them so good so much the best that they have and daily do extort from their unwilling Adversaries whose practices tend to destroy them the praise of them Fas est ab hoste doceri believe then and follow these And as to the last of the aforementioned Heads If the Builders of any of those Ecclesiastical Babels for our Age hath been more fertile of Confusion than to afford onely one can shew such a divine Authority for their intentionally erected Frame of Government as hath been produced for this let them take all But if their way of asserting their be by wresting some more dubious Texts from their natural intent and the received sense which the constant Tradition of the Church the best Interpreter of Scripture but Scripture hath ever since the Apostles their very Authour's days given of them and then by picking out some uncertain passages or broken Sentences of Fathers and Councils to contradict the manifest current of all their joynt Suffrages then though they prophesie at this rate with Baal's Prophets till the time of the evening sacrifice and cut not themselves but three Nations with their zealous Steel till Rivers of Bloud gushing forth from each unite their over-flowing streams into one common Deluge then I say remember that as this was never the custome of the Church of God by such means to propagate its Doctrine so that neither the one expedient of putting force upon Writings nor the other of sanguinary compulsion of King and Kingdom hath any encouragement from the God of Truth and Peace and therefore be constant and obedient to that which hath Having done with the Premises of the Prophet's Argument it remains that I should conclude against Neutrality which I had intended by applying all that I have said in reproof thereof and so to have resumed the Prophet's How long halt ye It was a Law either amongst the Athenians or Lacedaemonians my memory will not at present recover whether that in case a Civil War happened and therein any sate at hoee quiet neutral to both Factions the Apud Suetonium etiam Consultante ●● Pompeio de med●● neutram partem sequentibus ●n Domitius censuit hostium nu●●●ro habendos Sue● Nero. Sect. 2. War being ended both should come and pull down his House to the ground and his Goods become confiscate Certainly Beloved as to those who in the main of Christianity have been neutral God will deal with them worse than so at the consummation of all things I have already said that Neutrality in the Substantials of Religion differs not from Atheism and then let such judge what retribution that day of recompence will bring them And as to those who stand neutral in things determined by lawful Authority we have said and as far as I can see evinced that halting herein is the same in effect with disobedience Rom. 13. now the Apostle saith They that resist and little difference betwixt resisting and refusal of due obedience shall receive damnation at least they do incur it I shall not apply this more particularly to my Brethren of the Ministry than by taking up Salvian's words Quicquid de aliis omnibus dictum Ad Eccles Cathol l. 2. est magis absque dubio ad eos pertinet qui exemplo esse omnibus debeni quos utique tanto antistare caeteris oportet devotione quanto antistant omnibus dignitate And elsewhere Magis De Gubernat Dei l. 4. damnabilis est malitia quam titulus bonitatis accusat reatus impii est pium nomen If Neutrality be a sin in others 't is doubly so in us especially seeing our Lives teach as much as our Doctrine not onely the common sort but * The French Philosopher whose Principle it was to doubt of all things though he professes he meant not that in maters of practice yet elsewhere makes imitation of the wisest men the rule of manners at least saith it was of his Ut certè intelligerem quid●am sapientissimi reverà optimum censer ●●t ad ea q●● agebant potiùs quàm ad ea qua loquebantur attendebam Des Cartes in dissert de methodo many other now adays whose wisdom may pass current for a degree above vulgar in matters of Morality walking more by Example than they do by Precept Shall I deal plainly May not the Neutrality of the People both as to Substantials and matters of injoyned order derive it self from ours in each case 'T is well if we can excuse our selves in both Matthew of Paris in his History ad Annum Dom. 1072. relates that about that time Literas ab inferno missas commenti sunt quidam in quibus Satanas omne contubernium inferorum omni Ecclesiastico coetui gradui gratias emisit quòd cùm in nullo voluptatibus suis deessent tantum numerum subditarum sibi animarum vitae praedicationis suae incuriâ paterentur ad infernum descendere quantum saecula anteacta nunquam viderint God be thanked the contumely cannot without the greatest injury be applied to this Age But we must take care that no particular persons of us give occasion of such Calumnies to those who are already apt to give us more in such cases than our due yet if the Devil should have occasion at the last day to thank any of us but for one accursed Proselyte which our negligence or corruptness had sent him it would surely much imbitter if possible Heaven it self The Levitical Law we know admitted no Levit. 21. 17 18 c. Priests that were lame And I am much deceived if I may not say of the Laws of our Church the same in some sense For that she never intended either the reception or fostering of such Halters as we have spoken of we may see in that she neither admits any Minister till according to the XXXVI Canon of 1603. he have simply subscribed lubens ex animo nor intends that Subscription as a formal Ceremony but as a binding Engagement as appears by Canon the XXXVIII which is If any Minister after he hath once subscribed shall omit to use the Form of Prayer or any of the Orders or Ceremonies prescribed in the Communion Book let him be suspended and if after a moneth he reform not and submit himself let him be excommunicated and if not within another moneth let him be deposed Wherefore I humbly our halting brethren that while they curteil the prayers lay aside their Surplices in favour of some mens humours put them on onely for fear of others and such like things many they will be pleased to consider if they wrong not hereby First th●ir own consciences with the guilt of breaking this solemn subscription which sure comes but little short of an Oath made to the Church and Secondly their security in making themselves liable by every such Act to Suspension and further punishment as they proceed Sure I am they wrong their honest brethren who think themselves albeit they have sworn and subscribed to no more then they obliged thereby to a total Conformity and doing their duty herein are for their sakes who neglect theirs traduced by the male-contented party who brook every man the better by how much less obedient for persons more Superstitious as they call it than they need If such will not consider their engagements I hope the respective Church-wardens will look to their Oath and make a true answer to every proposed Article But if neither will hold touch and both conspire to be unfaithful to God by whom and the Church to whom they have sworn fidelity I doubt not but that at long run they will meet with some honest Neighbour who will do them both the justice of a presentment and then I presume though in the mean time they should think my words fit for nothing but to pass away with the breath which utters them they will be taught effectually what it is to betray their trust to halt between two opinions when they are most justly engaged by all that 's Sacred to follow one onely Now the God of peace that brought again from Heb. 13. 23 21. the dead our Lord Jesus Christ the great shepherd of the sheep through the Eternal Spirit perfect his Church in every Psa 13● 9. 16. good work clothe his Priests with righteousness and cause his people to shout for joy make the one able faithful and successful in their work and edifie and keep constant the other in their most holy Faith and in the end bring both with Angels and all the hosts of Heaven to sing unto himself the one Lord yet Father Son and Holy Ghost most Triumphan Praises and Thanksgivings world without end Amen FINIS