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	subject_n	7,302	5	7.0719	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19800	The iudgement of that reuerend and Godly lerned man, M. Lambert Danæus, touching certaine points now in controuersie, contained in his preface before his commentary vpon the first Epistle to Timothie, written in Latine, and dedicated by him to the Prince of Orange. But novv translated into Englishe, for the behofe and comfort of all those, who (not vnderstanding the Latine tongue) are desirous to know the trueth in those points; In D. Pauli priorem epistolam ad Timotheum commentarius. English. dedication	Daneau, Lambert, ca. 1530-1595?	1590 (1590)	STC 6228; ESTC S111042	11,315	26

to offer extreame injurie vnto the maiesty of God which claimeth this authority vnto himselfe alone We do not deny but that kings and Princes together with their counsellours and such as are well seene in matters of state may deuise and enact wholsome lawes for the maintaining of publicke peace among their subiects but to inuent and ordaine newe lawes besides those that are prescribed in Gods word wherewith they would rule and binde the consciences of men or to appoint enact ordinances and constitutions concerning the lawful callings of those that gouerne the Church which is the house of God and not the mansion of anie earthly Prince they haue no warrant nor authoritie at all Yea and as hath bene sayd the whole Church of God gathered and assembled togeather in a generall Councell hath no authoritie at all to take any such worke in hand In so much as whatsoeuer generall Councels haue enacted and constituted different from or contrary vnto the substance of Ecclesiasticall Discipline prescribed in the worde of God it was nothing els but plaine tyrannie and a most injurious vsurpation of the right which belongeth vnto the Lorde alone although it cannot bee denied but those Councels and assemblies perswaded themselues that they went about no such matter but intended a farre better and a more holie purpose The confusion and miserable ruine of the Church folowed vpon their purposes do manifestly shew the truth hereof For if they had retained that discipline of the Apostles and appointed no other the Church of God had not fallen into that horrible disorder wherewith at the length it was lamentably ouerthrowen Doe you then will some men say condemne all those Churches that receiued the gospell wherein either no Ecclesiasticall discipline at all or at the least that ordained by the Apostles is not obserued but haue either corrupted the true Discipline or substituted a false in stead thereof Vnto this odious question wherewith we haue bene often cumbred wee answere plainely and yet louingly and modestly that we indeed do not condemne those Churches and congregations wher idolatry is banished and the pure and true preaching of the Gospell retained as not beeing the Churches of GOD notwithstanding that they want and in joy not the true gouerenment of the Church For the fundamentall and true and infallible note of gods Church heere vpon earth is onely one namely the word of God truly preached by a lawful Pastor the which true preaching of the worde wheresoeuer it bee there men may boldly conclude the Lordes flocke to bee a remnant according to the saying of our sauior Christ My sheepe heare my voyce yea and wee hould this flocke to bee the flocke of God although it want both the administration of the sacraments and the vse and practise of the true Discipline of the Church And whereas these 2. last markes to wit the sacraments and discipline are by some thought necessary to point out the true Church their meaning in this is nothing els but to shew what and how much is necessarily required to the perfect and absolute constitution of the outward face of a Churche But they are verye farre from thinking that those congregations cannot be at al accounted the Churches of God which want ecclesiasticall discipline so that the word of God be trulie and soundly preached in them Those congregations and assemblies then which want Discipline are indeed the Churches of God but yet lame vnperfect and maimed Churches As we cal him a man though he haue both his arms cut off so that hee be liuing haue the vse of his reason Notwithstanding all those Countries who hauing banished idolatry and receiued the true and liuely word of God do as yet want this disciplin ought to know that this shuld be their chiefe care and continual endeuor euen that they may without delay joyne and adde vnto their Church this notable ornament namely Ecclesiasticall Discipline as it is prescribed in the writinges of the Apostles and so they shall not only haue the bones and sinowes but inioy the bloud colour beauty and retaine the absolute strength of a Church And in this point that speeche of the holy ghost is carefully to be hearkned vnto that we ought to make straight steps vnto our feet least that which halteth be at length clean turned out of the way For if those things which are needful be through carelesnesse neglected in the Church of God it will come to passe that in processe of time the Church it selfe wil be clean alienated from God And in asmuch as this Discipline whereof wee speake is set downe in the first Epistle of Tim. therfore I haue principally chosen it in the expoūding wherof I thought good briefly to set down my iudgement concerning this whole argument Diuers many both new and olde writers being indeed learned men haue written vpon this Epistle But amongst the rest one Claudius Spensaeus especially endeuoured to shew how much he was able to write concerning the Discipline of the Church For besides a large commentarie that he hath written vpon the text it selfe he hath also published no lesse then three tedious books of digressions as he calleth them vpon this verie same Epistle But he is so farre in my iudgement from being a helpe vnto any man by his bookes that in my daies I haue knowen nothing more obscure then his verie commentary and nothing more confused and out of order then are his intricate discourses For these Schoolmen of whose number this Spensaeus was on are blinded by the iust iudgement of God and so giuen to obscuritie that in the most thinges they vnderstand not themselues because their onely bringing vp is in darknes and vaine iangling Indeed when I had lighted vpon these commentaries and could profit my selfe nothing at all by them the best course that I could take was to betake me from his wandering digressions vnto the right way it selfe that is vnto the text of the Apostle and so as the olde prouerbe faith I dranke and hasted away For my selfe what I haue attained vnto by this my trauel and howe much I haue manifested this cause which otherwise for want of practise nowe these many yeares was growen out of vse the knowledge of men let others iudge Thus much I may bouldlye affirme that I was not able to bring to light these olde rubushes of antiquitie without great labour and paines Howsoeuer it bee I intreat the Lord God that these my labours may be profitable vnto his Church and acceptable vnto the godly And as for your excellency most noble prince vnto whome I doe most humbly and willinglie dedicate this worke if it may bee but approoued of you I shal take your acceptation as a great fruit of the labour bestowed heerein There are many and diuerse causes of waight why I should dedicate this trauel of mine vnto your excellency but this in speciall And that is that whereas by the blessing of GOD and your great

and that euery congregation should haue in it a Senate or company of Elders Al churches therefore are bound to be gouerned by the eldership chose by the church without whom neither the Pastor nor any man els is to deale in the affairs of the church and that in euery congregation there bee some censuring of wickednes and of vnruly manners which censures are not to be administred by the arbitriment of one man but by the deliberation and judgment of the leaders and gouerners and as Ierom saith of the Elders of the church To be short it is essential vnto ecclesiasticall discipline that the sentence of excommunication bee giuen forth against the obstinat and that it be pronounced not according to the minde and judgement of ciuilians and such as giue sentence according vnto the lawes of man but by the direction of the officers of the church which judge acording vnto the lawes of God and that it be giuen forth not in a corner by one man alone but by the consent and in the presence of the Church the same being gathered together for that purpose And therefore wee answere plainly and directly that the substance or essential partes of ecclesiastical discipline ought to be the same in al the churches that professe the Gospel or cary the name of any reformation with them But if the question bee concerning outwarde things which only are accidentary vnto this discipline wherin onely the conuenience or discommodity standeth in the practise or the omitting of some thinges indifferent wee holde that those pointes may bee changeable yea and that often times it is requisite they shoulde bee changed in consideration of the respect that is to be had vnto the diuersitie of times places persons So far are wee in this point from requiring that euery countrey and region shoulde be tyed vnto the same forme of outwarde order For it may fal out that these thinges which in this place and in this countrey is wel and commodiously done As for example the lords supper is administred in France once euery quarter cannot bee so conueniently practised in other regions and countries After this manner it is that the sentence of excommunication in som places is red out of booke which in other Churches is denounced by the Pastor as the Lord directeth him to speake for the present time Euen so also the maner is in this Church of Geneua that he who hath fallen to Idolatry and desireth afterwardes to bee reconciled vnto the Church maketh confession of his fault vpon the Lords day onely whereas in other Churches he might doe it at any other day that the Churche thinketh conuenient Here with vs the penitent readeth his confession in other places he speaketh it as he is moued for the present Al these indifferent things then may haue a diuers forme according to the diuersity of places times c so that alwaies the correction of manners the acknoweledging of the fault the seperation of the goates from the sheepe be retained in the lordes house those thinges done which God requireth to bee put in execution And so this point be euermore practised that the Church and house of God bee orderly gouerned that it may appeare not to be a cadge of vncleane birdes but the well gouerned familie of the liuing God The substance therefore and essential partes of discipline ought to bee one and the selfe same in al the Churches of God in what age or place soeuer they bee but as for such thinges as are accidentary thereunto they may bee changed And therefore in this question wee holde it needefull that men should learne alwaies to make a distinction betweene the accidentall and the essentiall partes of Church discipline Furthermore we account it meerely vnlaweful that any man yea the supreame Magistrate or yet the vniuersal body of the true Church should goe about to change alter remoue diminish or augment any thing that is Essentiall in Ecclesiasticall Discipline For although in ciuil causes the King The gouernment of the church not to bee changed or the chiefe magistrate may by vertue of the authority graunted vnto him by the Lord make newe lawes and abrogate the olde yet notwithstanding he hath not the like authoritie either in abolishing and changing the essential parts of ecclesiastical discipline or yet in adding any thing of his own thereunto The reason whereof is most manifest and cleare For seeing the especial scope and end of Ecclesiastical Discipline is first that the Pastors which take charge of Gods people haue a laweful calling Secondly that the consciences of men bee ruled and by true conuersion and repentance brought vnto the obedience of Gods wil it must needs follow that the ordaining appointing of ecclesiastical discipline is only in the Lords hand because that he alone is the Lord king ruler and lawgiuer of his Church and hee alone the onely true and lawful iudge and gouernour of the consciences of men And therefore hee alone is both to prescribe the rules of the lawfull callings of such as are to beare office in his house and also to set downe the way howe the consciences of men may bee mooued and repentaunce wrought in them In which two points as we haue sayd the chiefe force and drift of Ecclesiasticall discipline is contained And concerning these matters neither king nor yet the whole body of the Church haue authority to prescribe any other lawes then those which Christ himselfe hath set downe For the Church it selfe is no other then a seruaunt to be ruled by the commaundements of God hir soueraigne Lorde and not a Queene or a Lady to prescribe vnto her selfe what lawe she likes best and as for Kings and Princes they are members and not heads of the Church members indeede that are to be reuerenced aboue the rest in respect of their calling yet members in such sort as in the gouerning of the Churche they are not to commaund as they list but their duety is onely to be carefull that the commaundements of the Lord may bee put in execution by and amongest their subiectes For out of all controuersie the Lorde alone is to appoint and ordaine Ecclesiasticall vocations and callinges as hee is the onely searcher and ruler of the soule and conscience And therefore seeing the ruling of the consciences of men and the subduing of them vnto the obedience of God is the end wherefore Ecclesiasticall Discipline is ordained The way and the means wherby that worke is to be effected can be shewed by none saue onely by the Lorde alone because hee only made and formed the conscience and mind of man he only knoweth how they may be ruled turned and changed and he onely is the Lord of them Whence it is that to seeke any where els especially from the mouth of natural man saue only at the word of God the laws to rule and guide the conscience is nothing els but to hunt after errours and delusions and