Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	king_n	law_n	legal_a	2,470	5	10.2354	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31349	Catholicon, the expediency of an explicit stipulation betwixt the parochial ministers and their congregations, or, An essay to prove that the intervention of solemn mutual promises betwixt the parochial ministers and their people (faithfully to discharge their relative duties to one another) would be useful and expedient for these ends to promote in clergy-men regularity of life, and diligence in their ministerial function, to increase in the lay parishioners, Christian knowledge, sincere godliness, with a free and friendly conversation, to give a stop to separation, and reduct dissenters to the communion of the church without using secular compulsion, to secure the peace of the nation, to inlarge trade, and make provision for the poor, and that all may be effected without the least innovation, or alteration of the present legal establishment of the Church of England humbly tendred to the consideration of all English Protestants / by a parochial minister.	Parochial minister.	1674 (1674)	Wing C1498; ESTC R17127	21,417	32

us or soon admit the suspicion instilled by deceitful workers that we seek theirs not them But after this mutual contract hath made them secure that it is our care of them only that calls us to their help we may more easily perswade them impartially to consider both our arguments and the discourses written by pious and learned men in vindication of communion with us and for the cure of Church Divisions Add to this that it is more than probable that all the Parishioners of the league would be very careful to study how to defend their own Conformity to the Orders and Constitutions Ecclesiastical by Law established and would stand more zealously for the Credit of the same than now many of them think themselves obliged to do For it is obvious to observe that scarce a Separatist can be met with but is taught like one brought up in the School of War and Contention to say more by way of cavilling against the publick Settlement and our Communion therein than one in twenty of our Lay-Conformists can say for it because indeed they do not concern themselves in the study of those truths by which our Communion in the setled Order is justified But this explicit Covenant would make them think they are concerned in honour to be able to plead for their way And besides it would urge Ministers to maintain both publick and private conferences with their people about Church Order and other matters of Religion and Conferences are but Catechising the Elder sort as Catechising is conference with the Younger In short if either this or some other course be not taken to excite and quicken the Parochial Ministers and their Congregations jointly to endeavour either the reforming or else the putting away from among themselves the scandalous and notoriously vitious persons and to unite those who do yet own the setled Order and to fortifie them in the truth and obedience to the same we shall soon find that not only the Sectarian Catholick Recusant on the one side and the Popish Catholick Recusant on the other will daily get upon us and if our banks and shores be not better fortified those two working Seas will eat our Island quite through but also that prophaness will prevail and overspread us as a Leprosie which is most of all to be dreaded And whether of those two Catholick Recusants I mean whether the Romish or the complicated Sectarian will prevail against the other and keep the field if once the Church of England be diffolved which hath always been terrible to the Romanists as an Army with Banners is not difficult to foresee For how can the several little bodies and sects into which the other Dissenters from the English Protestantism will be crumbled by division upon division be able long to bear up against that united interest which the fine and subtile Romanists will obtain in this Nation acting in part under the Vizor of other Sects partly wearing their own profession openly For it is easie to observe how their Emissaries according to instructions seek another manner of Quarry fly at another sort of Game when they appear as Romanists than that which some of the other sects do follow They strive not so much to ingage Meticulous Scrupulous Women and Mechanicks or narrow spirited Melancholists or Opinionative Burgers and Traders these the Romish Fishermen seek not after but if any such come to their Net they cast them not away But their most taking Arts are laid out for the inveigling young and pregnant Wits in the Universities or elsewhere who may be trained up to write Polemicks and practise Politicks and to ingage Persons of Honour and Interest amongst the Nobility and Gentry not mattering what their Morals are who are likely to be of great importance in the legal alteration or settlement of a Nation and those whom they have gained in their concealed and by-trade as Undertakers and Brokers for other Sects they will easily turn over into their great bank when they find it seasonable to unmask themselves And this Mystery of iniquity hath been and is still working only that which hath letted will lett till it is taken out of the way namely the legal establishment of the Church of England owned by his sacred Majesty and the Laws CAP. IV. The Expediency of the Explicit Promises to secure publick Peace THat the publick Peace of Nations is the most valuable temporal blessing that men enjoy is without dispute And that the peace of England would be in a great measure secured by this Parochial Covenant may easily be evidenced For first the Doctrine of the Church of England doth so influence all that are Genuine Sons thereof as renders them the best Subjects in the World and makes them obey the King and the Laws for Conscience sake in all lawful things and restrains from resistance on any account civil or religious lest they should receive to themselves damnation Whether any of the Catholick Recusants whether Romish or otherwise Sectarians be so disposed to Obedience to Authority let their own Writings and Practises witness in the Gate for it is not agreeable to the peaceable design of these Papers to question other mens Loyalty who own Religion under any form But the Sons of the Church of England have givne sufficient evidence that in Conscience of their Allegiance by Law required they will not only not resist but if occasion be they will fight for their Soveraign and the established Laws and venture life and estate in that just Service And if their own sins and the sins of the Nation render their arms succesless they will not only pray still for their Soveraign but suffer with him yea though they should know beforehand that Zibah the false Informer should keep half sequestred Mephibosheths estate even after our Lord the King was returned in peace So that his Majesty might be assured that this Parochial Combination would give the Royal Interest the strongest ●ooting in the hearts of his subjects But besides this way of securing publick peace by right principling the Subjects the Parochial Covenant would do much also towards prevention of rebellion For it is no small advantage to Governours in order to the preventing of seditions to know beforehand from what quarter they are most likely to rise and blow And without all doubt it a new Civil War should spring up in England in our daies which God in mercy prevent his Majesty might have the Muster-roles of his Enemies by requiring the Catalogues of them who in the several Parishes because of their prophaness are refused or through other pretences do refuse to combine in Conformity But yet far be it from me to design to intimate that the Scrupulous Dissenters would make the main body and bulk of any Rebellious Army or would be the head and contrivers of the War there are amongst them unquestionably many who fear God and the King But we have rather reason to suspect that as it was in

worthy and able Parishioners let complaint be made to the Lord Bishop for his regulation And indeed so little of Government is betrusted to the Parish Ministers that they can hardly miscarry for want of political gifts if they be worthy to be betrusted with the Preaching of the Word and Administration of the Sacraments Besides amongst us all the Parochial Assemblies are under the guidance and inspection of the most Reverend Fathers the Bishops of the several Diocesses to question whose equality to such a work will ill become any Member of the Church of England One consideration more I must take leave to add as a Motive to all the Layety to wish well to this proposal of mine namely that hereby they shall be strongly secured of continual love and peace betwixt themselves and their Ministers For after this Mutual Stipulation the Generality of themselves will of course and in all reason ought to be both Arbitrators and Judges of most differences that can possibly arise betwixt any particular Persons of them and their Ministers about Legal dues or otherwaies And the Patrons with others of the Nobility and Gentry will have their just Esteem and Authority in their Parishes hereby inlarged for whilst they as Stars of the first Magnitude by their eminent Quality and Prudence have chiefest influence upon Ministers both by way of Incouragement Direction and Incitement of them to do their duty they will raise a greater veneration of themselves both with Ministers and Parishioners and make all of them ready to exhibit on all occasions affectionate devotions to the service of such their Benefactors and their Generous Families If then as I have endeavoured to make good the natural Preductions of this Parochial Explicit Stipulation appear likely to be these The advance of Honour and Authority to our Grandees of Holiness and Diligence in our Ministers of Love and Unity amongst the People and of Loyalty towards our Gracious Soveraign in all his Subjects I will promise my self that neither the Obscurity of my self the Proposer nor my mean way of managing this excellent Argument will at all prejudice my Proposal with true English Protestants The Conclusion And now I certifie my Reader that I have provided answers to all the other material Objections that I was able to foresee might be made against this innocent and harmless Project whether taken from the manner of Ministers legal entrance by the presentations of Patrons or from the present Legally established Order of Publick Worship or the Ministers maintenance c. But considering the present Crisis of affairs and that it may be part of the subject of the question in some of these Objections may either be taken away or altered I thought it best to suppress them that my Reader might be but little further troubled than in a bare prospect of this proposal which his own thoughts I believe will commend to his approbation but only those in Authority can command to our practise At whose feet I humbly lay down these my endeavours to serve God and my Country and hope they will not reckon it presumption in me thus to propose seeing in a general danger of an inundation every man runs with the best materials and instruments that he hath to assist at strengthning the banks And seeing also that I offer nothing to their consideration but what doth every way comport with the good Laws already made or to be made by them and which my just fears of the prevailing of bold impieties as well as of the attempts of the enemies of our Church have drawn me to make this publick I shall promise my self therefore that all the pious Members of the Church of England will not only make a favourable construction of my design but promote it by as advantageous a representation of it to those in Authority as it is capable of in truth and reason And I hope my Nonconforming Brethren will not think themselves obliged on any account to endeavour to obstruct what I have represented thus useful and beneficial to us and no way prejudicial to them I never intended by making it manifest that all this might be done without violation of any part of the legal settlement to upbraid them who avouch that they cannot effectually promote faith and holiness without moving excentrically to the Laws and Constitutions Ecclesiastical For I believe if they had the same apprehensions of Conformity which I at present have they would come in and build with us Much less did I intend as I again protest in the presence of the All-seeing God to fix the distance betwixt Conformists and Nonconformists by this proposal For I shall be far from repining if those in Authority think fit to remove any thing which may be laid aside without casting reproach on the Parochial Churches conforming to the present legal establishment or hindring their edification and without giving scandal to Foraign Churches or prejudicing Catholick Communion with them And as I question not but that all Momentous Constitutions necessary to those good purposes will be secured to us by the Piety and Prudence of the Kings most excellent Majesty who is a true Nursing Father to the Church and through the advice of his present Parliament being a Constellation of as eminent Patriots as any Age of our Forefathers saw ever imbodied on the account of the great trust laid upon them so if they see fit to dispense in other things of meaner concernment whereby Sober and Pious Dissenters may imbody with us I shall not be wanting to appear amongst those who will testifie their joy for the healing of our breaches nor shall I think my own shoe pincheth me because my Brothers steps are more inlarged However I hope that all amongst us and amongst them also who would rejoyce over the Churches of Christ beholding their Order and Stedfastness will easily unite in this prayer to the great Shepheard of the Sheep That he will continue and strengthen amongst us his staves of bands and of beauty that if ever the Assyrian shall attempt to come into our Land or tread in our Palaces we may be able to raise up against him seven Shepheards and eight Principal men And let all the people say Amen Glory be to God on high on earth peace good will amongst men FINIS