Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A87186
|
Considerations tending to the happy accomplishment of Englands reformation in church and state. Humbly presented to the piety and wisdome of the High and Honourable Court of Parliament.
|
Hartlib, Samuel, d. 1662.
|
1647
(1647)
|
Wing H981; Thomason E389_4; Thomason E397_25; ESTC R201517
|
28,652
|
73
|
live reformed under his Ordinance as Members of Christs body hath obliged Us before others to mind not Our selves alone but the Communion of his Saints also in all the Reformed Churches Then this other Advantage that by our successe hee hath made our Parliament eminently Honorable and his great Trustee of the greatest and most uncontroulable Power and Authority which is in any Protestant State on earth doth bind Us so much the more to bee mindfull of his Honour to advance it with all the power and authority which hee hath bestowed upon Us. Moreover this that hee hath put into the hands of our Parliament the right and priviledge to Set a worke to Addresse and to Dispose of more large Spirituall Talents and Intellectuall Abilities and of more plentifull Temporall Meanes and Helpes for Spirituall Uses then other Nations have and withall that offer he doth at this time also more convenient opportunities and occasions to Us then to any others to improve all these blessings to his Glory to our owne Good and the Comfort of many This â— say that God doth all this for Us by our Parliament is evidently a more effectuall drawing and engaging of Us to himself then is our voluntary binding of our selves over unto him by our Nationall Covenant Therefore as we may gather that our guilt for this reason will bee above other Nations extreame heavily increased upon Us in case we neglect the duties of so many and strong Obligations so we may hope that our Happiness in case we answer this great call and discharge the trust which God hath reposed in Us faithfully will be upon Us and our Posterity more then upon others for ever also increased From which Consideration we must conclude That Three Things will be required of Us to acquit our selves of all these engagements The First is that which the Nationall Covenant doth bind Us unto within and towards Our selves for the redresse of Publike Evils The Second is that which the Universall Kingdom of God in the world and the Church Visible doth require of Us towards all for the addresse of every one to partake of Publike Blessings And the Third is that which the Communion of Saints doth oblige Us unto toward our Protestant Brethren at home and abroad for the Common Advancement of Religion and against the Common Enemies thereof Upon the Conscionable performance of our Duties in these Three Relations the continuance and enlargement of our Happines will consist Let us then briefly consider of the Ways by which wee should acquit our selves of these engagements The Nationall Covenant doth bind Us for the redresse of our Evils to settle our Church our Civill State and our particular Persons in a Reformed condition The Reformation of our Church is specified in the settlement of Truth by a Common Confession of Faith and Catechisme in the settlement of Righteousnesse and good Order by a Common Directory for Worship for Government and for Discipline and in the overthrow of Error of Unrighteousnes and of Disorder by the abolishment of Popery of Prelacy of Superstition of Heresie of Schisme and of all Profanesse The Reformation of the Civill State is also specified in the maintenance of that Authority whereby Justice is to be administred unto the Nations in the preservation of that Peace and Unity which is setled between the Kingdomes in the suppression of all evil Instruments that disturb the Publike Peace between the King and his People or between the two Nations and in the faithfulness of every one to persevere in these endevours and to maintaine those that prosecute the same And the Reformation of Our particular Person is specified lastly in the Humiliation of every one for his own sins the sins of the Nations and in the care which every one of Us doth bind himself unto to Reforme his own life according to the Gospel of Christ and to watch over all those that are under Our charges to the same effect Now when all this is done and Nationally agreed unto as is expresly mentioned in the Covenant yet even then all will not be done which of Us Nationally God doth require for the Advancement of his Glory For the very Reformation itself if truly compleated will oblige the Nation more effectually then ever hitherto it hath bin to mind a further Interest both in the generall Communion of Saints and in the Universall Kingdom of God For then Christs saying wil take place in Us Luk. 12.48 Vnto whomsoever much is given of him shall bee much required and to whom men have committed much of him they will aske the more Therefore whatever blessing through redress of our Evils in our Reformation shall be attained by Us or advanced to Us within this State God will not conferre it upon us that it should rest there and lye dead as a Talent buried in the ground but he will expect that we should trade with it and make it usefull in his service towards All for the enlargement of his Kingdome because the maine engagement which hee doth put upon those whom hee hath delivered from their Enemies is this namely That they should serve him without feare in righteousnesse and holinesse all the dayes of their life Luk. 1.24 25. For if by this Reformation of our Church State and Lives he doth intend to convert Us unto himself Hee will not doe it upon any other termes then it was done to his Apostle Peter to whom he said Tu Conversus confirma fratres When thou art converted strengthen thy Brethren Luk. 22.32 So then our Obligation to the whole Body of Christ for whose sake God doth all things to every one will not be satisfied by that discharge of our duty to the Body of this Nation but that which in this Nation is brought home unto God by the Truth and Settlement of the Holy Profession therin must be according to the Rule offered up again unto him dedicated unto his service and applyed unto the use for which he hath bestowed it upon Us else wee shall rob him of the fruit of all these blessings and deserve to be deprived of the same For God dealeth with a whole Nation in respect of his Kingdom as he doth with a single Man Hee doth not give to any particular man the gifts of his Spirit for himself alone but he giveth them as the Apostle saith To profit withall that he should minister the same unto others as a Steward of his Grace even so wee must judge of the Nationall blessings bestowed upon Us in the hand of the Parliament that Gods undoubted meaning is not that wee should ingrosse his gifts as our own peculiar to our selves alone but that wee should become faithfull Stewards thereof for the Universall Kingdome of his Son that it may be propagated and for the generall Communion of his Saints that it may be entertained It will be therefore the Wisdome of Us all that make Conscience of our wayes both in the Parliament and in
Parliament and the Power and Abilities in it which are under God to be the Meanes of our Happy Settlement there can be nothing conceived or proposed of greater importance and more befitting the thoughts of Wise and Conscionable Men in Parliament then the Determination of these Duties If therefore any respect either to God or to Our selves or to Posterity can raise Mens thoughts above Particular and Private Interests to minde the settlement of a Publike Good in a Way which is unblamable the worth of these Duties and the obligation whereby God doth engage Us all but chiefly our Leaders to desire the fulfilling of them should raise both their and our thoughts to the entertaining of such deliberations Certainly Gods Aime in bestowing upon Us this Parliament and upon the Parliament all Power and Ability to Act whatever it will in the Kingdom is none other then this to make them and Us under Himself Instrumentall in Our owne Felicity by serving him in his Kingdom but if we should not care to minde the settlement of his Kingdome amongst Us are we not unworthy of all these blessings And shal they not be taken from Us deservedly if wee serve our selves only or a particular Party of Men which wee affect with our Interest in the Publike Power and if we make Use of the Means which we are intrusted withall and set our thoughts onely to finde Wayes thereby to make Our selves and Our Party great we shall be found in the day of Accounts Unfaithfull Stewards and naughty Servants to so good a Lord and Master For it is most Undeniably apparent that these fore-mentioned Duties are the true and proper Workes of his service whereunto wee are called and the onely Meanes to deliver Us from the danger of our Confusions will bee to Deliberate maturely of the performance therof Therefore as Mordecai said to Ester in another case so we may say with a small charge of the expression to those that fit in Parliament He said to her And who knoweth whether thou art come to the Kingdome for such a time as this But we must say to Our Senators And Who knoweth not that the Kingdome is come unto You for such a Work as this Therefore You are bound to mind it and use Meanes to advance it and if You will not know neverthelesse that this dispensation is committed unto You and that God will find some others to do this Work without You but that You and the People which is led out of this Way will certainly be destroyed But wee will cheerfully Hope and by the Grace of God confidently Expect that upon a more full discovery and faithfull Insinuation of the Way How to proceed in the prosecution of this Enterprize there will bee ho neglect in the Undertaking nor impediment in the execution Let Us then proceed to the Fourth and Last Point in hand to shew How the Parliament should apply their Authority Counsell and Abilities to the accomplishment of these Duties and this we shal intend to doe if God permit by shewing the true Contrivement the right Use and the Incredible Advantages and Benefits of an Office of Publike Addresse which may be easily and without delay erected and set afoot among Us. Of the Fourth THe Honourable House of Parliament are the Great Committee of the whole Kingdom for the Universall Reformation therof and by the Deputation of Power given to them in their Members from every part of the Kingdom the whole Power of all is contracted in their Body as in the Headship of the Nation for Counsell and Justice and from thence all Power hath again an influence upon every part of the Kingdome as need required Now by vertue of this Supremacy or Power summed up in them and in reference to the necessity of things to bee done under them they have a right to confer Power and make Deputations of Authority unto others to Act for a Reformation so as by them they shal be directed nor is it lawfull for any without leave and commission from them to act towards a Reformation in a Publike Way so that properly the Worke of Reformation is radically seated in the Body of the Houses and no Committee can bee with any just title termed a Committee for Reformation but the Houses themselves because none have any right to minde and act a Reformation in the Generall but They. Yet this notwithstanding it is Lawful no doubt for all Men to entertaine the thoughts and wishes of a Generall Reformation and would to God every one in his place were acting something as a preparative towards it more then seemes to be intended If then it should be moved that the Houses would depute some of their Members without excluding any from partaking of the same cares to mind not so much a particular Taske in the Work of Reformation which is Ordinary in the appointment of all Committees as to seek out the Generall Rules and Maximes by which the Course of a setled Reformation should be steered guided at all times that those Maximes might be proposed and debated in the Houses and laid as Grounds of the Righteous Wayes by which all their Government is to be established under God I suppose it would bee a great advantage both to their proceedings in Counsel and to the direction of all such as being subordinate unto their Power desire to act knowingly according to their just intentions For the Main Fundamentall Rules of all just proceedings once being setled and received not only the Subordinate Agents but the Senators themselves in doubtfull Cases of Advice will be therby able to find Light what to resolve upon and in dark matters of Judgement they will be directed thereby What Sentence to give Conscionably according to their own Uncontroulable Principles This Committee for Rules of Reformation should have power and be ordered to call unto them for Consultation the most Learned Godly and Experienced Divines of the Kingdome whether in or out of the Assembly to put them upon the thoughts of Resolving such Queries and Doubts from the Word of God and cleer Principles of Reason as they shall think fit to propose unto them for the framing of those Maximes of Reformation which they shall prepare to be proposed unto the Houses to be upon debate received as Universall Rules to walk by in the pursuit of such an Evangelicall Settlement and Reformation as wee should now aime at And although Men be never so able in Parts never so much read in all Authors never so deeply grounded in all Sciences never so largely experienced in all Affairs and never so much seen in all the World and consequently every way as much qualified as men can be for a work of such high Consequence as this will be to this State yet except they have some helps to enable them to look upon Matters neer at hand with some speciall relation to the changes of Times Things Persons and Occasions whereunto their endeavours are to be applyed