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	belong_v	lord_n	15	3	2.9850	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07822	Salomon or A treatise declaring the state of the kingdome of Israel, as it was in the daies of Salomon Whereunto is annexed another treatise, of the Church: or more particularly, of the right constitution of a Church.	Morton, Thomas, of Berwick.	1596 (1596)	STC 18197.7; ESTC S112936	159,289	238

the Church should be at the call and commaundement of the secular power whereby they might be eyther wholly dispossessed of their places or continually troubled interrupted in ordering the affaires of the Church and the matters of God and finally iniuriously and contumeliously handled which thing the holines of their places and persons wil in no wise suffer For the answere of this doubt it is plaine in the word of God that all ecclesiasticall persons whatsoeuer yea the chiefe priestes in them the high priest himself the prince and head of the priestes who was the type of Christ the Oracle of God and on whom the whole glory and maiesty of the priesthood was bestowed was no lesse subiect to the iurisdiction of the kinge then he which had the basest place and calling in the common-wealth The trueth heereof appeareth by the lamentable tragedie of Abimelech 1. Sam. 2. who being summoned by Saule to appeare came with all the priestes that were with him and being come acknowledged Saul● to be his Lord Verse 12. and did not appeale frō his vniust sentence of death to any other power The same end befel his son Abiather who for that he tooke part with Adonia was by Salomon put out of his office and condemned to die 1. King 2.26 And likewise Zachariah the son of Ieh●ida 2. Chro. 24.21 Now although two of these kinges did impiously and tyrannically abuse their authority yet it doth appeare that they had authority ouer them yea not onely these examples but the course of the whole scripture and equitie it selfe doth shew that it ought to be so We knowe that euen Christ himselfe more holy in person and office then all the priestes men or angels in the world did throughout the whole course of his life submit himselfe to the ciuill power and at the end of it did suffer himselfe to be violently apprehended contu●eliously entreated yea vniustly cōdemned by the deputy of a heathen Emperour Likewise the Apostle Paule did appeale and subiect himselfe to the authority of Caesar. Neyther is there any cause or reason why it should be otherwise For howsoeuer the Romish prelates haue not only drawen out their neckes from the subiection of princes but also haue inuaded their thrones and subdued them vnder their feete and the whole cleargie say to the ciuill power come not near nor yet once touch me because I am holier then thou and think themselues too good to be iudged by any but by their owne ordinarie yet the trueth is that all persons as well ciuill as ecclesiasticall are and ought to be by the word of God equally subiect to the ciuill power For shall Christ himselfe and in him God himselfe stand before the iudgement seat of princes and shall sinfull men nay shall wretched wormes thinke them too prophane to be competent iudges in their causes no no the seruant is not aboue the master nor the creature aboue the creator and therefore we say with the Apostle that al soules that is euery man that hath a soule that none shoulde thinke himselfe exempted ought to be subiect to the higher powers Rom. 13.1 The ground of the contrary errour is an arrogant opinion which presumptuous men bearing function in the Church haue of their own holin●sse in respect of others whereas in the Church of God men who haue ciuil callings are no lesse holy then they who haue ecclesiastica● yea somtimes much more holy they who haue ecclesiastical holy callings being otherwise wicked prophane for it is truly said althoug● impiously applied by the rebellious company of Corah Numb 16.3 That not only Moses Aaron but euen the whole multitude of the common people much more the Lords annoynted is holy In the next place we are to search whether that as al persons so likewise al causes belonged to the authority of the King of Israell First of ciuill then of ecclesiasticall causes in the first kinde it is not needful that we should insist forsomuch as all men euen they who are most sparing and wary in giuing power to these kinges doe acknowledge that all ciuill causes did properly belong to their iurisdiction And so it was indeede For the king had authoritie to appointe all the publike officers of his kingdome who should be his counsellers at home or his Captaines abroad who shoulde be the iudges of the people and who of the chiefe senate in Ierusalem and good reason it was that he shoulde haue this power in these causes For seeing that his office was especially to iudge the causes of the people and to fight their battailes for the which purpose the people desired a king it could not be denied vnto him to appointe those to be his deputies whom he thought most able to discharge these dueties Yea further it belonged to him to call all publike assemblies and to order them to make peace with whom he would and to goe to battaile against whome ●e when 〈◊〉 thought good The trueth of this pointe doth 〈◊〉 plainely appeare throughout the whole storie that we need not insist in it Sect. X. NOwe we are to enquire what was the authoritie of the kinge in the matters of the Church to wit in ordering the state of religion and of the seruice of God Whereof there is greate question made whilest some doe wholly exclude him out of the Church not permitting him to intermeddle with any affaires belonging vnto it others suffer him to deale in these causes yet not to beare any great sway or to ouerrule in them and the third sort giueth vnto him the greatest part of that ecclesiasticall authoritie which belongeth to man The which distinction is necessarely to be considered for God hath not giuen to any man such ful and absolute authoritie in the Church as in the common-wealth for he hath made Christ the soueraign Lord and King of the Church to rule it by his owne lawes and worde Yet one parte of ecclesiasticall iurisdiction belongeth to men who are to establish the diuine lawes of the worship of God and to make ecclesiastical constitutions for that purpose But who hath authoritie to doe this there is all the controuersie In the first opinion or rather grosse and palpable errour are the Bishops of Rome with their adherentes who that they might through the Church enter into the common-wealth inuade the riches preferments and pleasures of kinges and vsurpe their states and crownes haue thrust out of the Church this king of Israell least that by his example other magistrates shoulde challenge to themselues ●uthoritie in causes ecclesiasticall In the second opinion are men otherwise syncere in iudgement who in a good meaning affection to the Church thinke it not safe or conuenient to permitte her wholly to the ciuill power and in a reuerent opinion of her iudge it vnmeete that ciuill rulers should order diuine matters and so make the Church say vnto the magistrate touch me not for I am more holy then thou

the Church of God that he doe by all means labour to aduance the Gospell of Christ and to beautifie his Church If nothing preuaile then we ar● to commend the cause to the Lorde who can easely mouethe heartes of rulers the which he doth sometimes by some iudgement or plague laide vpon them or their lande as we read that Elias made Achab put away idolatrie by bringing an extreame famine vpon his whole lande But what is to be done in this case if that none of these meanes hauing beene discreetly faithfully and importunatelie vsed can preuaile that there ought not any outward force to be vsed against the will of the ruler vnlesse it be in such a gouernment wherein the rulers may after a sorte be ruled it hath beene declared There remaineth nothing to be done vnlesse the Church vse her censure of excommunication against her disobedient sonne thus obstinatelie hindering this worke But heerein there are manie thinges to be considered And first whether this censure may lawfully be vsed against the rulers or rather exercised vpon them For the answere whereof we are to consider that as there is but one saluation and one glorie both for rulers and subiectes so also there is but one meanes appointed by God in his Church to attaine thereunto belonging equally to all that be within the Church of what state or condition soeuer they be And therefore as the preaching of the worde the administration of the sacramentes so likewise ecclesiasticall censures tending to the same ende doe belong to all that be of the Church Yea it is a thing most commendable in a prince that whenas no man can compell him to it of his owne accorde he submitteth himselfe vnto all the ordinances of God and by this means giueth exāple vnto the people of obediēce But although it may lawfully be done yet there are so many incōmodities which would follow the vse of it that it wil be found seldome or neuer conuenient to be done For first by this meanes the ciuill ruler who doth professe himselfe to be a fauourer of the Church although he be not a sound friend may be alienated quite from it and so cast away all care of furth●ring the building of it By the which meanes the Church may come vtterly to ruine being destitute of his helpe who is the builder of it it being a publick church as most commonly it is where the ciuill ruler is a member of it Secondly it is greatly to be feared least that by this meanes the ciuill authoritie receaue some disgrace the authority dignity maiestie wherof if it be of that kinde ought by all meanes to be maintained In regard of the first inconuenience we are to consider the disposition of the prince and the present state of the Church and not to doe it till that by mature deliberation it be found to be for the good both of the one and of the other For otherwise if the whole state of the Church shal be ●azarded by this meanes we ought not to doe it It is better to haue an imperfect or corrupt state of a Church with the fauour of the ruler then none at all by his displeasure Yea also in this respect it is needfull that he doe first acknowledge himselfe subi●ct to the censures of his Church before they can be vsed on him that so by his owne confession at least in his conscience he may approue their doeing to be both agreeable to the worde of God and also not repugnant to that loyaltie which they owe vnto him Which if he doe not then this censure cannot be vsed because all lawes and constitutions take hold of th●m who are vnder the same not of those who are not In regarde of the second inconuenience these cautions are to be vsed First that it be not done but vpon a great vrgent euident cause as whenas his hindering of the building of the church is not so much of ignorance as of malice pride and some such corruption in him Secondly that it be not suddainly done but that first all patience be vsed by forebeareing and expecting the chaunging of his minde to acknowledge the trueth Thirdly that vnlesse it be needfull to be otherwise it be done by the secret opinion and estimation of men accounting him not worthy the name of a Godly and Christian prince or of a faithfull brother rather then by the open and publick promulgation of the sentence of excommunication So we read 1. Sam. 15.30.31 that when as Samuell did after a sort excommunicate Saule the first king of the Iewes by declaring him to be foresaken of God and cast out of his fauou● yet he had care to keepe the dignitie or rather the maiestie of his person and calling before the people and therefore he did at his request go with him and honor him with his companie in the sight of the w●ole people And lastly that if it be needfull that the sentence of excommunication should be openly pronounced yet that there be added a declaration of the nature of this censure to wit that it doth not touch his ciuill gouernmen● or derogate any iot from the maiesty of his person the authoritie of his place and calling the obedience which his subiects owe vnto him saue onely that a Christian godly vertuous and religious prince who is zealous in aduancing the glory of God and procuring the good of his Church ought more highly to be esteemed more chearfully obeyed and more intirely loued then an infiddel or then a wicked and obstinate ruler proffessing faith For whenas we make it lawfull to excommunicate the the ciuill ruler we do not meane any popishe kind of excommunication whereby the pope doth curse and depose all those princes which shake off the yoke of his corrupt and prophane worshippe for the nature of excommunication is farre from the nature of a curse it being onely a mere separation from the outward society of the church which doth not in any respect touch or diminish his authoritie as hath been said otherwise it were not lawfull to excommunicate the ciuil ruler for so much as we are flatly forbidden by the word of God to curse the ruler of the people Therefore did Paule call backe that speach vttered against the high priest malitiously hindering the building of the Church Act. 23.5 Sect. 8. Of the Church hindered by the ministers of the word AS the ministers of the word of God are the proper builders of the Church so they are often vsed by sathan as a meanes to hinder the same And no doubt but that they are most fit instruments for this purpose and whenas they are so set most daungerous and pernitious hinderers of this worke As if the woolfe can haue the shepheard to put the sheepe into his mouth what need he any more for the vtter destroying of the whole flocke and yet this kind of hinderers is verie ordinary as we may see throughout the whole scripture

with the multitude there commeth in confusion and corruption And the ciuill power being in the person of the magistrate ioyned to the church doth often too much abridge the vse of christian liberty taking to it selfe as it may lawfully do full power in making those ecclesiasticall lawes which belong generally to all the churches within the compasse of it But in these churches the whole authoritie of establishing lawes orders and the appointing of rites and ceremonies is in the Church it selfe Lastly it is vsually obiected against these priuate Churches that they are the causes of tumults and ciuil dissensiō and so consequently do bre●d the ruine of those common-wealthes and kingdoms wher●in they a●e toll●rated therefore that it is the part of wise rulers who tender the good and peaceable estate of the people not to suff●r them within their dominions to this we answere confessing that through the peruersnesse of our corrupt natures the which are 〈◊〉 inflamed with bitter enmitie against God and all goo●nesse it commeth often to passe that ●●uersitie of religion doth stirre vp great debate in kingdomes cities and families for this cause the Church desired to be separated in place from the idolatours least th●y should exasperate their mindes against them Gen. 46.34 Exod. 8.26 yea Christ doth professe that this would follow the Gospell that the father should be at deadly variaunce with the sonne and the mother with the daughter and that a mans nearest friend shoulde for this cause become his cruell enimie Yea the bloudie and tragica●l tumults which haue of late times risen and continued vpon this occasion in diuerse places do testifie the truth here of But yet we ought not therefore to banish the Church out of our dominions For it is better to haue the true worshippe of god with warre trouble and dissention then idolatrie with quietnesse So that we ought to say with Christ that seeing the Gospell is euen as a fierbrand in the world what shoulde be our desire but that it be preached for although for a time it breed trouble yet in the end it will be found the onely meanes of true quietnesse CHAP. VIIII Of a publick Church Sect. 1. Of the obiections which are made against publick churches THus much of a priuate Church Besides the which there is another kinde of a church namely when any whole citie countrie or nation doth generally professe the faith and so becommeth a Church consisting not of any smale or meane number but of great multitudes of people euen of whole nations As we see at this day that diue●s great kingdomes and common-wealthes haue receaued the gospell of Christ so that in them the church doth not lurke in any family or priuate corner or is in some few places but is openly publickly and generally set vp in all places by the authority of the ciuill rulers and the common consent of all men This we call a publick C●urch such as we see at this day most of al the cities commonwealthes countries and kingdomes in Eu●ope to be Of the which one is distinguished from another by hauing a proper gouernment of the owne being ruled by the same humane lawes both ciuill and also ecclesiasticall But it may be here thought that these countries are no true churches but that there are churches in them and that not all the people generally but only some fewe of them separated from the rest are to be accounted the true churches of God and that for these reasons first because there was no such churches established by the apostles or recorded to haue bene in the first ages of the gospell Secondly for that although it be not impossible to God to conuert the harts of all men to embrace the gospell yet it is not agreable to his vsuall dealing so to blesse any nation as that all of them without exception should beleeue and become faithfull men Thirdly because of the great confusion and many fould corruptions which are vsually found in such Churches the which seldom or neuer can be brought to the right order of the Church of Christ. Lastly because they are not called to the profession of the faith by the ministerie of the word of God but are in a manner forced thereunto by the lawes edictes of princes and other rulers Wh●reunto we answere that these things doe not hinder these whole cities or nations from being the true churches of God As touching the first we do confesse that there we●e no such publick and generall churches in the daies of the apostles neither in the ages following the cause whereof we may plainly see to be this That then was the ●ime of the infancie of the gospell in respect of the number of beleeuers it hauing been but lately published to the world but this is the time wherein the lord hath appointed that the fulnes of the gentiles should come in which is the conuersion of whole nations and many countries Yea the apostle witnesseth that the fulnes of the Iewes shal be then whenas that whole nation shal generally embrace christ as the sauiour of the world Rom. 11.26 To the second doubt we answere that all the people of any countrie may haue a general faith whereby they do knowe and professe that Iesus Christ is the sauiour of the world that their prof●ssion hereof although it be not effectual to their saluation yea although it be meerly hypocritical they thinking no such thing yet it is sufficient to make them members of the visible chu●ch As touching the corruptiōs which are in such churches we doe confesse that it is greater then either it is to be wished it were or then is in priuat churches where the nūber of beleeuers is lesse and that they cannot so easely be brought to and kept in that holy order which christ hath appointed for his church and further that these publick churches so seldome attaine to any pure or perfect estate because in them the church and the common-wealth are so ioyned linked together the whole affai●es and state of the Church depending on the ciuil estate that the manifold alterations wherūto al kingdoms cōmon-wealthes are subiect do make many chaunges in the church Yet this doth not take from them either the being or the name of the church For it is no straunge thing that there should be greater confusion and moe corruptions in great multitudes of people then in small congregations For so we see euen in the first congregation of C●ristians which the Apostles themselues did gouerne that when the number of disciples did encrease then there was murmuring among them and so euen this priuate Church did tend to some confusion Act. 6.1 yea this thing hath long ago been obserued to haue been con●inually the state of the Church the which as long as it was in persecution did florish not in the number so much as in the time of peace but yet it was farre better ordered godlines loue and vertue did