Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	church_n	common_a	ordain_v	2,140	5	9.3754	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07215	The anatomie of sorcerie VVherein the wicked impietie of charmers, inchanters, and such like, is discouered and confuted. By Iames Mason, Master of Artes.	Mason, James, M.A.	1612 (1612)	STC 17615; ESTC S112409	64,423	108

comfort of sorcerers but as the holy man Iob saith in the 17. cap. and 15. vers That albeit the Lord did slay him yet he would put his trust in him And this hath beene the course that the Saints of God haue taken from time to time And this ought to be our course if we will arriue at the happy hauen of saluation in the world to come For it is not a thing indifferent but a matter of exceeding great moment In so much that whosoeuer doth not obserue the same he shall not without repentance enter into the kingdome of heauen These foure are the chiefe of their reasons which I haue heard The rest are either of small weight or moment or els they may be referred to the foure aforesaid wherefore I will hast to the next words which the exorcists are heere said to vse in their coniuration which are these following We adiure you by Iesus whome Paul preacheth This speech seemeth to be borrowed of the common course of iudges in their sessions and such like who when they would haue anything done exactly and diligently doe vse to sweare them vnto it Euen so in this place the Exorcists are said to vse the greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is deriued of the noune 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth an oath and so doth the Latine word adiuro come of iusiurandum which betokeneth the same thing As for English terme we haue none that I know that can in all points expresse the greeke or latine word wherefore we are constrained to make an English word of the Latine saying we adiure for the common vsuall word of coniuring in our language cannot well stand with the sense of this place Neither doe I know how it hath crept into our tongue in these matters seeing that it signifieth rather conspiring when diuerse haue conspired and as it were sworne together to doe any act How heit according as they are vsed now amongst vs there us little or no difference in the meaning and may be vsed for the most part the one word for the other But notwithstanding in the auncientest translations they vse this word charge which because it carieth not that emphasis with it which the greeke and latine words doe therefore it in altered heere and adiure put in for it But howsoeuer it be it is most certaine that these exorcists did mightily offend the maiesty of God in so profaning of the most holy name of Christ Iesus by making thereof a charme or inchantment and abusing it to their owne priuate fame and commodity without any such commission or authority from God For euen as all authority and power is appointed by him in ciuill causes and matters of the common wealth as it is in the 13. cap. Rom. vers 1. All power is of God the powers that be are ordeined of God So it is in gods Church wherin euery man hath his place euery man hath his especiall gift according as it pleaseth God to appoint and giue him as it is manifest by the 12. cap. of the 1. epist. Cor. And whosoeuer is not content with that measure which God by his spirit hath bestowed vpon him but presumeth of greater gifts in this behalfe then he hath is a vsurper of which sort were Corah Dathan and Abiram in the 16. cap. of the booke of Numbers with their adherents whose most fearefull punishment is set downe in that place Nay euen Vzza in the second booke of Samuel cap. 6. was stricken with present death because he touched the Arke of God to stay it least it should haue fallen or haue beene hurt which he seemed to doe of a good intent The which if it be so then no doubt the sinne of these exorcists cannot be but most horrible in abusing thus the name of Christ Iesus for God will not hold him guiltles that taketh his name in vaine as it is in the third commaundement And truely it is very much to be maruelled at that men of such place and knowledge as it may seeme that these were should fall into such grosse errours and impietie For they were the sonnes of Scena a chiefe priest of the Iewes which did this Now wee know that the priestes lippes should preserue knowledge and the law should be required at his mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of hostes Malachy cap. 2. ver 7. Wherefore if it were the duty of all the Israelites to teach their children the preceptes and commandementes of the Lord as it is in the 6. cap. of Deuteronomy ver 7. 8. and cap. 11. ver 19. then much more were the priestes bound to doe it vnto whom all the rest were to resort to light their candle of knowledge But that seemeth to bee most truly verified of the people in that age which the prophet Esay in the first chapter verse 5. 6. saieth viz. The whole head is sick of one and the same disease the whole heart is heauy euen from the soale of the foote vnto the crowne of the head there is no whole part but woundes and swellinges and filthy sores For Iosephus a Iew one of their owne countrie men liuing not long after this time a most excellent historiographer in his booke De antiquitate Iudaeorum cap. 6. and in other places doth say that this most wicked art of magick was neuer more vsed then it was in his time In so much that some doe report in their writings and those of their owne nation and countrie that their 70. Senators and as they terme them in their language the Sanhedrin which were the cheife counsailours of state amongst them and were wont to sit with the king for the gouernmēt of that common wealth were infected with the poison of this art and had great skill and cunning in the same Wherefore the afore-said Iosephus in the place before alledged hath these words Erat tunc temporis Iudaea latronum praestigiatorum planorum asylum spelunca certè quia deus extrema Iudaeorum impietate offendebatur vrbemque ideò templum abominabatur Romanorum exercitum induxit vt tanquam per ignem expurgaret Quin ait si Romani vel tantillum eius excidium distulissent proculdubio aut terrae hiatu absorpti aut nouo diluvio mersi aut incendio consumpti fuissent Haec enim generatio Sodomiticâ ipsa longè sceleratior flagitiosior erat Which may bee englished thus At that time was Iudea a receptacle and denne of theeues iuglers and notable deceiuers And truly because God was offended with their exceeding great impiety therefore hee detested also the cittie and the temple he brought in the army of the Romanes that thereby he might purge them as it were by fire Yea and that more is if the Romanes had deferred the destruction thereof neuer so little a while without doubt either the earth had swallowed them vp or they had beene drowned with some straunge and

power to worke the same But his owne glorie as I said and the edification of his Church and therefore when the Apostles at any time sawe that the aforesaid kinde of miracles serued not so fitly for that purpose they tooke a contrarie course as appeareth in the Actes 5. chapter where it is said that Ananias and Saphira his wife fell downe dead at the speech of S. Peter when he tolde them of their wicked dissimulation and hypocrisie before God in selling of a certaine possession and bringing part of the price vnto the Apostles to the vse of the Church pretending that they had brought the whole By which example the people were mooued to glorifie God for his iust iudgement vpon these hypocrites and also were put in feare lest at any time the like offence should lay hold vpon them Whereas if he had not done thus it might haue bin a meanes to make them goe on still in their wickednesse and to haue encouraged others to haue done the like In like manner in the Actes 13. chapt when Saint Paul caused Bariesu to be stricken blinde for resisting the preaching of the Gospel by Saint Paul wee see what effect it wrought in the conuersion of Sergius Paulus For truely all the spirituall giftes of God giuen and graunted vnto his Apostles and ministers in regard of their said calling and function is for the edification of the Church and not for the destruction thereof as Saint Paul saith in the 2. Epist Cor. cap. 10. vers 8. in these words If I should boast of my selfe somewhat more of our authoritie or power which the Lord hath giuen vs to edifie and not to destroy it should not be to my shame Howsoeuer somtimes they seeme to doe otherwise yet it is but as the Physition or Chirurgion who doe not alwaies applie milde mollifying medicines but somtimes biting corrosiues according to the nature and condition of the disease yea somtimes they cut off a member for feare of infecting the rest as the Poet singeth Omnia tentanda sed immedicabile vulnus Enserescindendum est ne pars sincera trahatur So Paul in the 3. chap. of the 1. Epist. Cor. verse 5. deliuered the man that had committed incest vnto Satan as he saith to the destruction of the flesh that the spirit might be saued in the day of the Lord Iesus But of this I haue spoken somewhat afore wherefore I will go forward to the particular discussing of the aforesaid two sorts of miracles And first of the miraculous gift of healing because that is first placed in the text And the diseases departed from them It is not heere particularly set downe what kinde of diseases were healed by the Apostle but it is certaine by the circumstance of the place that hee cured all whatsoeuer for curing whereof he sent napkins and partlets and it agreeth very well to the commission which our Sauiour Christ gaue to his Apostles in the 10. chapter of the Gospel after Saint Matthew verse 1. where it is said that he gaue power vnto his disciples to heale euery disease and euery infirmity that is all maner of diseases which the spirit of God did mooue them to take in hand and this is confirmed by their continuall practise throughout the whole new Testament wherein we cannot finde especially after the ascension of our Sauiour Christ that they euer failed in healing any disease whatsoeuer which they tooke vpon them to cure For this extraordinarie power of healing is not a naturall facultie but a diuine gift of God supernaturally inspired by his holy spirit to whome nothing is impossible and all and euery thing is of like easines yea that which to vs seemeth nay and is indeede most hard and difficult is soonest brought to passe when as God will haue his glorie shewed in a speciall manner thereby as in this kinde of healing Wherefore they which pretend this miraculous gift of healing and cannot or doe not cure all but some certaine of those diseases which they take in hand are greatly to be suspected of which sort are those which amongst vs are called wise and cunning folkes whereof some can cure but some one or a fewe particular diseases as for example they which haue a charme for the toothach a prayer or a blessing for a Fistula and such like Others doe professe the curing of all diseases and yet neither of them both doth alwaies and at all times performe that which they pretend in this behalfe no not in those diseases in curing wherof they would seeme to be most expert The reason is this when diseases cannot be cured by naturall meanes then are they past the diuells reach to heale and therefore his instruments must needes faile therein To make this more plaine wee must note that amongst all the diseases set downe by the Physitions in their treatises some are curable and some are vncurable I call those curable which nature either of her selfe alone or by the helpe of medicines is able to worke out and expell Of this sort we see many examples by daily experience which nature cureth if shee bee strong and the cause of the disease light or if shee be weake or the cause of the disease stubborne by the meanes of physicke Now these kindes of griefes the forcerers can and do heale and for as much as some diseases are more difficult then other yea some are so hardly cured as that fewe euen of the best sort of Physitions except God his especiall assistance can heale them whose cure notwithstanding is wrought by these forcerers Here therefore Satan in these his ministers is greatly honoured who in regard of the subtilty of his nature and his long experience as I haue said before doth more readily finde out the disease with all the circumstances thereunto belonging as also a fit remedie therof then most men can doe and yet for all that the disease by man if hee could hitte vpon the right methode and that by naturall meanes not vncurable for that disease is vncurable from which the partie grieued by no naturall meanes or medicines can be recouered of which kinde the Physitions doe account all deepe wounds in the braine heart or liuer also the deuiding of the sinewes asunder which are deriued from the braine or spirituall marrow to any limme or member of the body to giue sense and moouing thereunto whether it bee by a wound rupture or any such like causeth a palsie which is vncurable So is deafenes if it haue continued from the birth as also blindnes according to that which the blinde man saith to the Pharisies in the Gospel after Saint Iohn cap. 9. vers 32. Since the world beganne was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was borne blinde The like may bee said of them that could neuer smell An vlcer or sore that is deepe in the liuer is counted vncurable and so is an absolute and exquisite hardnes without sense or feeling in