Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	aaron_n	bad_a	power_n	16	3	6.0443	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66578	Nehushtan, or, A sober and peaceable discourse, concerning the abolishing of things abused to superstition and idolatry which may serve as one intire, and sufficient argument, to evince that the liturgy, ceremonies, and other things used at this day in the Church of England, ought neither to be imposed, nor retained, but utterly extirpated and laid aside : and to vindicate the non-conformists in their refusal to close with them.	Wilson, Joseph, d. 1678.	1668 (1668)	Wing W2927; ESTC R38669	118,485	216

will and therefore in complyance with our weakness he does not only lay precepts before us but likewise promises wherein he ingages that if we will do our duty and be faithful he will do great things for us Numb 33.52 53. See Trem. Jun. in loc And as he deals thus with us in other cases so particularly in this we have now before us Having commanded the Israclites that they should drive out all the Inhabitants of the land from before them destroy their Pictures overthrow their molten Images and pluck down their high places he adds by way of promise Yee shall dispossess the Inhabitants of the land and dwell therein And the Prophet Isaiah speaking to the Church in after times saith Isa 30.22 c. Yee shall defile the covering of thy graven Images of silver and the ornament of thy molten Images of gold thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth thou shalt say unto it get thee hence Then he shall give the rain of thy seed that thou shalt sow the ground withall and bread of the increase of the earth and it shall be fat and plenteous in that day shall thy Cattel feed in large pastures c. Here we have an accumulation of promises the substance whereof is this that if we will hearken to what he hath required in his law and in observance thereof will cordially and vigorously appear against the monuments of Idolatry and throw them away from us with scorn and contempt as a true hearted zealous people ought to do then he will open the fountains of his goodness and let out streams thereof upon us Then he will bless us with plenty of provision both for man and beast give us victory over our enemies and fill our hearts with joy As far as the light of the Sun exceeds that of the Moon or as far as the light of the Sun would exceed it self were it seven times brighter so far will he cause our future joy to exceed our former And he does not only promise temporal benefits to it but pardon of sin justification with the benefits flowing therefrom Isa 27.9 By this saith he shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit to take away his sin when he maketh all the stones of the Altar as chalk stones that are beaten in sunder c. q. d. When my people shall heartily and unfeignedly repent and evidence as much by their vigorous ingaging and appearing against Idolatry with the monuments and incitements thereof then will I purge away their iniquity and take away their sin Thus does he out of the earnest desire he hath we should set upon the work allure and intice us to it 3. From the terrible threatnings he hath pronounced against us to terrifie and affright us to it Sometimes when a promise will not move a threatning will and therefore he uses both He told the Israelites and us in them that if they would not drive out the Cananites Numb 33.55 56. destroy their Pictures break their Images and pull down their high places they should be pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides and should vex them in the land wherein they should dwell nay that he would do unto them what he thought to have done to their Enemies that is root them out destroy them and make an end of them He deals plainly with them he sets before them life and death telling them that if they would obey and do as he required they should live and be a flourishing and happy people but if otherwise that they should dye and perish and come to ruin 4. From the solemn and lasting commendations he hath bestow'd upon such as have done it Such is the contentment he takes in it Exo. 32.20 2 Kings 23.4 Serpens aeneus laudatissimo exemplo ab Ezechia sublatus suit Ti●en Syntag p. 256. Rev. 2.14 that when any of his Servants do perform it he records the fact and praises them for it Moses Hezekiah Josiah with other of the Hebrew VVorthies did eminently here●n and he hath set it down in the sacred story where it is dayly read to their renown and ●raise so that whiles the names of Jerob●am Ahab Ahaz and such like idolatrous Printes stink in the nostrils of all good men their 's ●re as a fragrant ointment poured forth 5. From the sharp reprehensions he hath uttered to such as either through sloathfulness timerousness or the like have omitted to do it Amongst other things that Christ blames the Pastor of the Church of Pergamus for this is one that he tolerated such as were for the ●ating of things sacrificed to Idols Though he ●iv'd in a bad place even where Satan had his ●eat and in a bad time Gillesp Aarons rod. p. 280. Milton of Civil Power in Eccl. Causes p. 53. even whe● Antipas ●he Martyr was slain yet that excused not the neglect of his duty He should have exercis'd himself in the conscionable discharge of that and have left the issue to him who hath taken upon him the protection as well as the direction of his Church VVhether he failed in the neglect of discipline or admonition only I leave to others whose business it is to determine This is certain he did not appear against abused things and those who were for them as a faithful Minister ought to have done and for this he is blamed Let our dangers and discouragements be what they will we must do our duty knowing that he who sets us on work both can and will bear us out 6. From the great rewards he hath bestowed upon such as have done it Not looking upon his approbation or commendation as sufficient 2 Kings 10.30.13.1 9.14.16 29.15.12 13. he hath bestowed high and eminent rewards upon such as have been active herein witness Jehu though he were but a bad man yet because he obeyed him in this business he promised him the Throne of Israel to the 4th generation And what he promised he afterwards performed for upon his death reign'd Jehoahaz his Son then Joash his Grand-son after Jeroboam his great Grandson and after him Zechariah the fourth from him upon whose decease the Scepter departed from his family and passed into the hands of Shallum the son of Jabesh and so the promise made unto him being fulfilled the Holy Ghost cries out This was the word of the Lord which he spake unto ●ehu saying Thy Sons shall sit on the Throne of Israel to the fourth generation and so it came to pass whereby we see God is so far pleased with the destroying of Idolaters and Idolatry that he rewards it even in wicked men though not with eternal yet with temporal blessings and those of the highest sort 7. From the severe punishments he hath inflicted upon such as have neglected to do it Let men be never so d●ar to him yet if they either refuse or neglect to do it when they have power and opportunity he is

any otherwise than the Papists answer us about other things of the like nature that we have cast off I should never I think he Conformist But I shall not offer to impose my belief on others let them read and then do as they find cause As for what some may alledge that these matters have been insisted on long enough it 's a frivolous pretence savouring of lukewarmness and carnal oscitancy How can it be imagin'd such things have been insisted on long enough when as they still remain as stumbling blocks and snares to overthrow ignorant and unstable Souls We proceed otherwise in matters of less danger and importance So long as the wound continues we apply the plaister and so long as the fire remains we cast on water And if such constant sedulity be allowable and necessary in lower matters why should it not be thought so in higher Let those who have power once remove offensive things out of the way and we have done but till then they may make account that witness will be born against them What opposition hath by good men been made against such things what influence the retaining of them hath had towards the begetting of our unhappy distractions who are to be blam'd Non negarim multos initio pio studio ad acricrem reprehensionem quorundam manifestotum abusuum impulsos fuisse c. Consult art 7. p. 56. and what course is to be taken for our cure I shall give you an account of in those sober words of Cassander a moderate and learned Papist I shall not saith he deny but many in the beginning were by a pious study moved to a sharper reprehension of manifest abuses and that the chief cause of this calamity and distraction of the Church is to be charged upon those who being puff'd up with ambition of Ecclesiastical power have proudly and disdainfully contemned and repelled those who have duly and modestly admonish'd them Wherefore I conceive there is no firm peace to be expected to the Church unless those begin who have given the occasion of the distraction that is unless those who preside in Ecclesiastical Government do remit something of their rigour and yield somewhat for the Churches peace and complying with the desires and admonitions of many pious persons correct manifest abuses according to the rule of the Divine Scriptures and the antient Church from which they have turn'd aside These words Conradus Vorstius though none of the soundest men thought so remarkeable that he hath set them down on the back side of the Title Page to his Enchiridion-Controversiarum Would those who are over us resent the maladies under which we labour but even as this Papist did we might hope our distractions and troubles were nearer to an issue However we must go on in giving our testimony and offering our requests and reasons for the removal of what offends and though the success be not answerable to our desires yet we shall have this to comfort us that we have done our duty THE CONTENTS Sect. 1. p. 1. THe Introduction Of High Places Two sorts of them Used by the Patriarchs Lawfull till the erection of the Tabernacle Sacrifice limited to the Tabernacle except some extraordinary case occurred Reason for it The abuse of the High Places The abolishing of them Of Images or Statues among the Jews Two sorts of them The unlawfulness of the latter sort with the removal thereof Of Groves Their Original One eminent above the rest Both Jews and Heathens dote on them In what sense it is said a Grove was in the Temple They are cut down Of the Brazen Serpent The occasion use and benefit of it The abuse and removal of it Nehushtan what The General Doctrine The eminency of Hezekiahs zeal in removing offensive things held forth in six particulars Sect. 2. p. 20. The Method propounded The point proved God deals with his people by way of precepts promises threatnings commendations reproofs rewards punishments to provoke them to remove abused things The concurrent judgements of Foreign Orthodox Writers for it Musculus Farell Rivet urged more particularly The Church of England for it Bishop Jewell Bishop Andrews the Book of Homilies the Preface to the Liturgy for it The Statute Law for it The Canon Law for it An argument a minori ad majus Several Officers and Orders of persons removed upon less grounds than superstition and idolatry Of Love Feasts Of the Kiss of Charity How used in Religious assemblies Of Vigils Of Sanctuaries for offenders All for their abuse removed Sect. 3. p. 44. Idolatrous persons to be punished Two sorts of them aimed at in an especial manner by Moses The Law severe against them The Chemarims who Magistrates are to distinguish betwixt some Idolaters and others What course they are to take with the Papists Whether Hezekiah executed the Law upon those who burn'd incense to the Brazen Serpent Sect. 4. p. 51. Abused Names must be abolished In what sense we may take the Names of false gods into our mouths Why God would not be called Baali Such as give abused Names to their Children Horses Doggs nay to the Officers and Ordinances of Christ censured What course we must take when we are to speak of such persons or things as have abused and scandalous Names Erasmus Politian Lipsius Castellio blamed Whether the Psalmist in that passage Kiss the son alluded to the Custom of the Heathens Dr. Sanderson advises to beware of offensive passages Aquinas does the like Bellarm. in his old age declared against the use of the word Divus Pope Sylvester altered the names of the dayes and why Sect. 5. p. 60. Abused Times must be abolished It hath been the manner of superstitious and idolatrous people to set apart certain times in the honour of their Deities So Jeroboam Belshazzar the Romans Why the Apostles abolished the Jewish Festivals Why the antient Church would not observe the Calend of January Play-dayes in the beginning of the Spring nor Easter at the usual time Mr. Hookers argument for Holy-dayes retorted Sect. 6. p. 62. Abused Places to be abolished Why God chose the form of an Ark. The Israelites strictly enjoyned to destroy all the places wherein the Canaanites had committed then abominations Why God forsook Shiloh Why he would not suffer the Jews to come to Bethel and slew the Prophet for doing it Why he cast off the Tabernacle The zeal of the good Kings of Judah in destroying abused places Two sorts of Religious High Places The zeal of Magistrates of latter times in pulling down Heathenish Temples Popish Abbies Monasteries commended Danger in suffering such places to remain but safety in removing them The doubt touching the returning of our Churches and Chappels heretofore abused by the Papists answered The case of Cathedrals and such unnecessary buildings different Beza's judgement Abused utensils such as Altars Images and other instruments of Idolatry to be laid aside Express precepts in the Word for it The practice of good men both