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	resist_v	2,184	5	9.6676	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81054	Conscience-oppression: or, A complaint of wrong done to the people's rights, being a vvord necessary and seasonable to all pious christians in England, whether in or out of church-way; and to all sober minded and rational men, that yet know how to value law and christian liberty. / By I. Croope, a subject of Christ's kingdome, and of England's common-wealth.	Croope, J.	1657 (1657)	Wing C7236; Thomason E903_8; ESTC R207425	46,102	63

to the faith here Anno _____ whereby saith SPEED leaning on his Authoritie This Province was the first that received the faith by publique Ordinance it might be by publique Ordinance and yet without penalty for the Countenance of the Magistrate shining upon the way and his provisions for the publique preaching of it Speeds Chron. pag. 78. Spelmans Antiq pag. 12. might very well in after writers swell into the notion of a publique Ordinance less things have come to more in latter times then these And we read that Rex ipse Lucius una cum uxore fidei imbuitur Lavacro exemplo ejus undique concurrentes populi i. e. King LUCIUS himself together with his wife and the people coming together on all sides by his example note that not by any force or at least by any authoritative of Parliamentary Edict they are Imbued or washed in faith's laver I would assert that there was no Heresie or error yet determined so by Law nor no legal persecucution tending to death or other punishment lay open against dissenters in such cases nor no act of King or Parliament for uniformity in doctrine and discipline And by the way we must distinguish between an action lying at the Common Law against Hereticks c. and a violent irruption of a Tyrant or prevailing party against or without law upon such men as are made odious to them because they think or worship otherwise then they would have them the former was not yet in Esse The latter many times sprung up and shed much Christian blood in England as well as other places when the Tyrants pleased to gratifie themselves or others by such cruelty But persecution of men professing Religion though divers from the state therein in many points was not yet established by a Law nor had yet crept into our Brittish Parliaments for Parliaments we may conclude there were imployed and honoured much by the Prince if Mr. SADLER or whosoever he were that wrought the book Intituled The Rights of the Kingdome or c. doth see well through his Authorities nor made incroachments thereby upon the people liberties If there were no better ground one might so argue from the carriages of those that dealt here with PELAGIUS of Bangor Ant. Eccl. Britt pag. 47. of which Sir HENRY SPELMAN out of Matthew of Westminster He saith Britanni cum neque suscipere Dogma perversum gratiam c. The Brittains when they would not any longer endure His perverse opinion in blaspheming the name of Christ neither could they in disputation refute the subtilty of his wicked perswasion they lighted on this wholesome advice to seek the aid of a spiritual war from the French Bishops which war is not called spiritual because they were to fight for spiritual things but because they must contend with spiritual weapons the other not being able to reach the understanding or the Conscience and for this they re-inforce a disputation at a Councell or a Synod where were vulgar men and women Laicks to hear the business No talk of humane Authority or the Magistrates sword that served well to keep the peace that these Dissenters might not run one upon another but we finde it here imployed upon no other service And a little after upon the breaking forth of Pelagianism again they call for help it comes and praedicationis Antidoto vulnera sanat Incredulitatis c. He meaning Germarius Ibidem pag. 49. heals the wounds by the Antidote of preaching A proper and reasonable application Who had the better or the worse in these contests I care now to know my desire is to see the sword of the Magistrate in its sheath in spirituall things for it is no fit Antidote to be given against dissenting Iudgements in matters of Religion and it is hitherto left out at least in Law But things continued not long at this rate The Clergy begin to aspire to the Civil power to beg its help or else to use it themselves they forgot the wisdom that descends from above The sweetness and moderation together with the evidence of the spirit is in the warre they are willing to be great in the world and therefore exercise carnall arguments and weapons to accomplish what they would and that they may the better rule and satisfie themselves in what they longed for men must be obedient to them and embrace their Impositions in Religion or they shall hear on 't loud enough and to try their obedience there must still be new Sanctions and Canons made to the corrupting of the word of God and Gospel-simplicity Nothing now will please but the confirmation of the Popes authority and Constitutions by a Law and then this Beast will cause the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first Beast Rev. 13 12. Here is the strength and hour of Temptation falling on the Christian Kings and World and oh how happy might it have been had they resisted this and refused to give their power observe the phrase unto this Beast Rev. 17.13 How much innocent and Christian blood that hath been spilt as carelesly as water on the ground and as barbarously as ever any tyrant acted in this world had been preserved the Kings of the earth should not have been branded with this deep and reproachfull signall That they make war with the Lamb Rev. 17.14 if they had kept within their sphere and profest their own faith in love and tenderness instruments of the best Conquest unto all subjects under them I will touch a little upon one act the first of our English bloody Tragedy under this Head for I wave the persecutions that were acted by the Roman Emperors since which there have been many and of long continuance Those that write in favour of the Papacy report the great father Gregory a holy man Spelmans Antiq. pag. 56. and a great labourer to convert men to the knowledge of the truth for which say they our Brittain is much owing to him He sent Augustine hither sometimes called the Monke with Sanctions and Canons and many orders for the worship of the people and the setting of Church Government with its face towards Rome The Roman favourites much commend the wisdome the piety and sanctimony of this man such graces and such principles if they were his brought forth very bad fruit as will appear Austine arrives with his Companions and is entertained by Ethelbert Anno 596. He labours to bring the Nation under the papall obedience The King though not concluding with his doctrines gives him his liberty and provides maintenance for him and his followers in Canterbury where he was after Bishop and had his See He calls a Synod and the Bishops meet him He commands obedience to Rome and other things They refuse with suspicion of Austines pride and the Synod ended in dislike And t is added Spelman's Antiq p. 92. That the Brittish Church differed from the Roman in many other things also then

there grew the wilde and stinking weeds of Heathenish Idolatry were of another and more heavenly or spirituall nature if we may say what they did and how they laboured here by what Paul did in another place 1 Cor. 2.1 And I Brethren came not to you with excellency of speech or wisdome much less with the out-stretched arm of humane power to force them declaring to you the Testimony of God nay he shakes off the sword of man as nothing indeed to effect that conquest which he and all the primitive leaders were labouring to obtain 2 Cor. 10.4 The weapons of our warfare are not carnall observe but mighty through God Carnall weapons are here excluded as heterogeneous for kind and as ineffectuall to accomplish and to bring about the great design of God in converting men to the faith of the Gospel or in keeping them there and when he arms the Christians against their adversaries and such are errors and heresies too he girds them not about with the civill sword not a little of that here but covers them with the Helmet of salvation and teaches them to buckle with the sword of the spirit Eph. 6.12 16 17. By this we may conclude that the instruments of violence were not nor were to be promoters of the blessed Kingdom of the Lord Iesus in those dayes Who they were that first began the heavenly plantation here is much uncertain nor doth it lie much in our way to inquire Sir HENRY SPELMAN that great Antiquary who set himself to lay open the mouldy records of the British Ecclesiastick affairs exposeth much but modestly concludes without a certain Demonstration who ere they were as I conceive But through divine providence hither they came and it may pass for certain that they found the Nation as Paul found Athens Acts 17.16 wholly given to Idolatry now if it be the part of a King to cut off such as speak against the God of the Country how came they where they were to set footing safely on this shore or being a land and declaring the end of their coming as no doubt they would be working presently what was the reason that they were not thrust through with a dart or fired at a stake Did the present Governour neglect his duty or suffer his sword to remain asleep unsheathed in its scabberd when he should strike But some will say he was a Pagan and 't was the Gospel that was now proclaimed against which he must not draw 2 King 18.4 Especially the Idolatrous Priests if they had ground in the Law of the Land yea but this Gospel serves the Countries gods as Hezekiah did the Images and Groves it plucks them up root and branch and burns them with fire and what must the Magistrate do now The gain-sayers among the people might probably complain to their Magistrate that the heart-strings of their Religion and the Worship began to break and the sinews thereof crackt in these new flames here be men and strangers and foraigners too belike they were that turn our Images upside down and draw away the people yea and speak against thy God O King Now if it be the proper office of the Magistrate also to determine and interpose with his sword then of the present Magistrate for in this case we are taught by him that hath set up or rather uncovered the bound-marks of liberty of Conscience Antient bounds or Liberty of Conscience pag. 15. and excellently contentended for them with a parenaetick to the then Parliament c. for their due observation and continuance I say we are taught that that which belongs to a man as a man belongs to every man for quatenus ad omne are terms adaequate and convertible And if the case be thus what had become of those poor hearts that travelled so far and adventured themselves upon the surges of the Sea to bring the truth and peace home to our doors and scape that danger Now the vengeance of the Magistrate must not suffer them to live A sad requitall for so great a good brought hither on the wings of so much zeal and love The Magistrate believed it then reasonable enough for men to have their freedom about divine things if they levelled not their opinion at the disturbance of the civil peace which he was bound to keep but I must wave the handling of the point in Law and Argument that hath been done before beyond what I can do by far 't is matter of fact that I would touch at and condole the errors there If Sir HENRY SPELMANS glass be clear enough with that he fetches in Speeds Chron. pag. 73. to look upon these remote times and actions therein and fluent Mr. SPEED inclines unto his Authors much we may conclude we see the Gospel here in ENGLAND preacht and received in the Government of Arviragus he was a stout and hardy Souldier and could not well endure the Romans Tax and Tyranny which cost him many a blow The people then were grieved much to feel the sword of Conquest cut so sharp into their Kingdoms liberties and the King did storm much yet a moderate and peaceable ventilation of this new-sprang Doctrine of Jesus past without controule except the Romans when they could grew angry for Arviragus protects and in part provides for these new Dogmatists Sir H●nry Spelman pag. 4. who conculcatis Druidarum Superstitionibus Evangelii radiis illuminarent populum the superstitions of the Druides so they called the Idolatrous Priests being trodden under foot a great provocation both to Priests and people they illightened the people with the beams of the Gospel The King is not moved to stretch out his sword though by some no doubt sollicited but they these new sowers had rem apud Arviragum Regem adeo promovisse ut licet cauteriatum avita superstitione eum totum expedire nequeunt quaseum tamen reddunt benignum so promoted the matter with the King that although they cannot wholly deliver him being seared with the superstition of his forefathers a thing that sticks much yet they make him quash mild The King continued Pagan stil yet these Christian labourers receive their freedom without his deadly censures and his sons become their benefactors upon the account of their sanctimony The Law of nature and right reason permitting them to patronize such men that deport themselves in a peaceable and humble manner though of another worship And there is as vast a difference between Idolatry and Christianity as between Calvinism Arminianism Socinianism c. The Heathens may be our Correctors and stain our faces with shame who are less bearing and more cruel then were they yet we finde not the Canons or Constitutions of the Church uttering their voice through the guilded Image of the Civil power nor the Magistrates Authority or arm flashing such as acted barely upon the terms of Conscience LUCIUS a Christian King of Brittain some say the first Monarch that owned that way submits