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	infallibility_n	infallible_a	2,837	5	9.9103	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29515	The easiness and difficulty of the Christian religion in a sermon preach'd before the Lord Mayor, and court of Aldermen of the city of London, at Guild-Hall chappel, on Sunday May 26. 1689 / by Isaac Bringhurst ...	Bringhurst, Isaac, d. 1697.	1689 (1689)	Wing B4695; ESTC R14226	21,221	40

of Christ shed abroad and rooted and grounded in our Hearts This one Article of Christ crucified thus digested in Succum Sanguinem into the Temper and Nourishment of our Souls producing the most pleasing Acts as all the Acts of Love are upon the most perfect and Satisfactory Object God thus manifested in the Flesh must needs give Power to the faint and to them that have no Might increase Strength So that they shall mount up with Wings like Eagles and run the Ways of our Saviour's Commandments and not be weary and walk continually in them and not faint as the Prophet Isaiah speaks in another case This is a great Demonstration that our Saviour's Yoke is easy and Burden light because when we see our Saviour's Love to us stronger than the bitterest Death in him our Love to him must needs be as strong as any Death can be in us 6. And lastly From the kind Acceptance of our Heavenly Father he requireth not Perfection but Sincerity He knows our Frame and remembers we are but Dust Psal 103.14 remembers how he at first framed Man of the Dust of the Ground And ver 13. As a Father pityeth his Children so the Lord pitieth those that fear him The Apostle saith the same thing in other words 2 Cor. 8.12 If there be first a willing Mind it is accepted according to that a Man hath and not according to that he hath not Now no Man can pretend difficulty in Sincerity our Wills are more our own than any thing else we call ours our inward Thoughts and Inclinations the only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that belong to us the Philosopher will tell us Lying and Dissimulation plainly are a force upon us and we feel it so when ever we are guilty Hypocrisy is stoutness against God and Cowardise to Man as my Lord Bacon tells us and is not this the most unnatural and uneasy thing in the World Our own Experience will assure us that 't is much easier to act our selves than the Person of another we act our selves often to our disadvantage because we do it extempore before we are aware but to act another Men learn and try Practice before-hand some time before they will venture to do it in publick This also demonstrates being so acceptable to God that our Saviour's Yoke is easy and his Burden light Thus I have finish'd what I proposed in the second place which was to demonstrate That although the Christian Religion be a Yoke and a Burden yet this Yoke is easy and this Burden light I shall apply it as briefly and seasonably as I can Then let us not make it more uneasy to one another than our Saviour hath made it 1. In respect of our common or ordinary Conversation there is an old Proverb too true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men are Devils to one another to tempt one another to Sin. Hab. 2.15 Wo unto him that giveth his Neighbour Drink that puttest thy Bottle to him and makest him drunk also that thou mayst look on his Nakedness Where the Prophet plainly threatens that sort of Men that make a Mock of Sin especially of that beastly Sin of Drunkenness and for their Sport and Diversion tempt one another to it and vie one with another for the Victory in the commission of it notwithstanding the Prophet Isaiah's Woe which he pronounceth against those who are mighty to drink Wine and Men of strength to mingle strong Drink Isa 5.22 There is the same Reason against our tempting one another to any Sin for by so doing we make the Yoke of Christ much more sharp and uneasy and the Burden of Christ much heavier to one another than otherwise it would be that is our Conversion and Regeneration Heb. 10.24 the Apostle tells us we are to consider one another to provoke unto Love and to Good Works Thus we shall bear one anothers Burdens Gal. 6.2 and so help one another to fulfil the Law of Christ to make his Yoke easy and his Burden light 2. Upon the Account of our Religion which at first I said was the Yoke and Burden mention'd in the Text. We make this uneasier than Christ hath made it to one another 1. When we impose as necessary Articles of our Faith either what it is certain our Saviour and his Apostles never imposed or uncertain whether they did or no. Articles of Faith necessary to Salvation can derive Authority from none but God he only can tell us what will be acceptable to himself so that the Scriptures only of the Old and New Testament by all Protestants being the Revelation that God hath given of his Will in this case to us Whatsoever is made necessary that is not here must be a very uneasy Yoke and heavy Burden for 't is not in a Man's power to believe as Men would have him we cannot believe beyond our Evidence and our Evidence must be as we can understand it So that what is necessary must be supposed to be intelligibly reveal'd to all concern'd in the belief of it This hath often made me think that we should be easier to one another were the Articles of our Faith given us in the very words of the Scripture I am sure that both the Orthodox and the Arrians in the Council of Nice concurred in this that all the Mischiefs of the Church of God were caused by bringing in words into the Creeds of the Church which were not in the Scriptures Consequences indeed are as sure as the express Terms of the Scriptures but Infallibility in these Consequences seems to be necessary for Articles of Faith because infallible Authority only can create them Certainty may satisfy a Man's Conscience for his own Sense and Compliance but for Terms of Communion that may not be sufficient because that is so according to Mens different Capacities and Apprehensions And 't is Humility and Piety to consent with Antiquity but still this will recur we cannot be sure of our Revelation because nothing is infallible but the Word of God. And upon this account the Papists objecting to us the uncertainty or insecurity of our Faith would be to their purpose did not we attribute the same infallible Authority to the Word of God which they do to the Determinations of their Church And did not the Word of God declare what is nececessary to be believed as intelligibly as their Church ever did or can express it self But this necessarily follows that we are to believe no more than the Word of God declares to us and also as it declares it and if we desire more of one another we make Christ's Yoke more uneasy and his Burden heavier than he hath made it I cannot see how this Consequence can be avoided But I speak all this with Submission This sufficiently confutes and condemns the Tyranny of the Church of Rome in making the grand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Character of her Communion the belief of innumerable Contradictions in that one Article of

were swallowed up of it they had swallowed it down so fast What was the Consequence Whom shall he teach Knowledg and make to understand Doctrine them that are weaned from the Milk and drawn from the Breasts for Precept must be upon Precept Precept upon Precept c. The Sense is they had by their Sensuality rendred themselves as uncapable of understanding spiritual things as little Children and must be so instructed as they use to be How unfit then for the beatifick Vision hereafter Flesh and Blood thus qualified to be sure cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Fugite enervatas delicias per quas permadescunt animi Senec. Those feeble Pleasures whereby Mens Minds are weakened and being thus steep'd and soak'd in Sensuality and put down by this Burden of the Flesh thus bound upon them by their Lusts are utterly senseless of higher or more noble Felicities than the Earth affords them 2. In our religious Relation to one another Phil. 2.14 The Apostle commands us to do all things without Murmurings and Disputings Nothing more in its proper place than Unity and Obedience in Religion The Golden Rule our Saviour hath given us of doing as we would be done unto can never be more usefully applyed than in this case we are to use our Governours as we would be used our selves were we in their Circumstances and when they are coming to meet us let us not start back or turn away from them let us concerning them believe all things hope all things that is put the most charitable and candid Interpretation upon their Commands The Church of England is not superstitious in imposing her Ceremonies because she declares the Nature of them and pretends only to humane Authority for their immediate Appointment or Obligation But Superstition may easily get in at the other Door because God is here immediately pretended for nothing can excuse our Disobedience but some Law or Command of God now if there be none and yet the Fear and Authority of God is pretended we are soberly to consider where the Superstition in this case must be applied for Superstition is not so much in the matter a Man is about as in his Mind innocent things may be superstitiously used yea the best and holiest Institutions And there is a negative as well as positive Superstition a Man may be as superstitious in being against the use of some things in Religion as any Man can be in being for them because the Superstition lies in fearing God where no Fear is where God hath been pleased not at all to concern himself And thus we may easily make our Saviour's Yoke more uneasy to our selves and his Burden more heavy than he hath made them 4. Lastly Let us all consider how earnestly St. Paul beseeches us Eph. 4.1 to the 7th by the peculiar Graces of our Religion ver 2. To keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace ver 3. He tells us ver 1. that it is to walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith we are called that is otherwise we are unworthy of the Name of Christians and proves it ver 4. because we are called into one Body and therefore must be acted by one Spirit which he further proves ver 5 6. because there is but one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in us all How passionately he beseecheth us to do it Phil. 2.1 to 9. adding to all his other Arguments the Example of our Saviour's voluntary Passion and Death upon the Cross for us Let us all seriously read Gal. 5.20 22. Are the matters we differ about and produce so many of the Fruits of the Flesh amongst us mentioned in ver 20. of such Consequence as that we should hazard the sweet and blessed Fruits of the Spirit mentioned ver 22. Love Joy Peace c. either in the Vindication of them or opposition to them And are not these excellent Fruits of the Spirit too often check'd and in danger to be blasted both by our Zeal for them and against them Let the very Heathen provoke us to Love and good Works towards one another St. Austin tells us that the Philosophers had almost as many Opinions about the chief Good as there were Sects amongst them which from Varro he saith were above 200. Yet Tertullian observes they all agreed about the Necessity of Patience which may be a Reason why they did not persecute one another as we do And certainly the Article about the chief Good is an essential Article in every Religion and that they wanted not Zeal to preserve their Religion the poor Christians felt very often to their cost Let us fear lest whilst the Protestant Princes are confederate and spending their Blood and Treasure for their own and our Preservation we by our bitter Zeal about uncertain and little things should make it impracticable for if we bite and devour one another we shall be consumed one of another And what account can we give of our selves in the other World for certainly as the planting Christianity at first was the best Cause God ever had in this World so the Reformation of it must be the next best and as that was first planted and secured very much by the Love and Unity of its Professors so must also the Reformation of it be Let us remember what we would have done in the day of our Distress 't is not so long since but we may do it for this Unity I am speaking of when we plainly saw for want of it we were but threshing Instruments in the Hands of our Enemies to break in pieces one another and they are as malicious and industrious still as ever they were and also as confident they shall do it Lastly Let us consider that no return for our miraculous Deliverance can be more grateful than this to the Divine Majesty for God is Love and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him 1 John 4.16 And also that the Love that was in our Saviour's Passion made it an Offering and Sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Savour The Providence of God hath given us a greater Opportunity than any Age ever saw to heal our Divisions that I know of every Opportunity to do good is an Obligation but a special Providence is the Voice of Heaven calling upon us upon that occasion to do our Duty Thus I have as briefly as I could laid open the Easiness and Difficulty of our Religion and prov'd that though we have made it difficult our Saviour hath made it easy and that to wear our Saviour's Yoke and bear his Burden and imitate him in the Text is the only infallible means of Ease and Happiness here both in our selves and one another and everlasting Happiness in the Enjoyment of God together hereafter to which blessed Temper here and happy State hereafter the God of Peace and Love bring us all And the Peace of God which passeth