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	priest_n	29	3	6.6648	4	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

raigne ouer them but God shoulde still bee their kinge But after that they had made a kinge neyther did the iudiciall lawes retayne their full force neyther did GOD himselfe appoynte Captaines ouer the Armies but all was done according to the will and commaundement of the kinges who although they did keepe the iudiciall lawe in parte and for the greate extremities in warre asked counsell of God yet they were free in both these respectes as we are afterwarde to declare more at large So that by the comming in of these kinges God himselfe if we may so basely speake of his glorious maiestie was put out of his office as hee himselfe doth confesse 1. Sam. 8.7 where hee speaketh to Samuell not to be grieued for that the people had cast off his and his sonnes gouernment for indeede saith God they haue not despised or cast awaie thee but mee and haue refused that I shoulde raigne ouer them In the seconde place the iudges had parte of this supreame authoritie who although in the greatest matters they were ouer-ruled by the worde of God yet in the ordinarie administration especially of warelike affaires they were the chiefe And therefore the state of the common wealth from Moses to Saule the first king is called the gouernment of the Iudges the which did wholly cease after that Saule was created king for the Captaines of the warre were either the kinges themselues or whom it pleased them to appointe So wee ●eade that Dauid placed and displaced Ioab at his pleasure Thirdlie the bodie of the people ioyning together in a general assembly had a part yea the greatest part of this authoritie and likewise the elders who were a compendious bodie of the people had their part especially in ciuill administration in the time of peace Iudg. 20. The children of Israel came together as one man to the Lord in Maspha to whome the leuite maketh his complaint as vnto them who had authoritie to reuenge the villanie done vnto him desiring them to determine of that cause as they did with greate seueritie The causes why the people and the elders had parte of this supreme authoritie were these First for that they did neuer giue the whole power ouer themselues into the handes of anie of the Iudges but onely did as it were vse them to be their Captaines and leaders in the time of warre the which beeing ended vsually the iudge returned to his owne house and priuate estate till the like necessitie called him abroade againe but during the time of peace they did not meddle much with ciuill iurisdiction but onely hearde those causes which were brought vnto them as to fitte arbiters because they were men renoumed eyther for their valour or because they were prophetes as were Debora and Samuell or had the office of the high prieste as had Ely Hence it is that in this booke of iudges there is no mention made of their ciuil iudgements or that they did cal together the Senate or the people vnlesse it were to warre or of any edictes which they made or of faults which they did redresse or punish Only of Samuel it is written that he went about the land to iudge the people and of Debora that the people brought their controuersies to her The second cause of the authoritie of the elders and people was the want a Iudge for whenas the Iudge died they did not streightway put another in his place vntill they had occasion giuen by warre during which time of vacation the elders and people in euery citie did iudge their owne causes and meeting together in a common assēbly did order publike matters although seldome and negligently as the people vse to gouerne So that they wanted a Iudge as often as they had one But when once they had a king created there did no more any supreame authoritie remaine either in elders or people all being giuen vnto the hands of the king who had no man which did participat with him in his authoritie For we are not to thinke that in this state the king was the chiefe gouernour and the elders senators and inferiour officers fellow gouernours and as it were his mates For all within the land of Israel were to the king meere priuate men so that if any had authoritie in respect of the people they had it all from him as from the fountaine all the officers of the kingdome all the Iudges of ciuill causes and the captaines of the armies were appointted by him Yea they were so farre from hauing any authoritie in respect of the king that all the people with their magistrates and officers of what kinde soeuer are vsually called the kinges seruantes so 2. Chro. 10.6 The counsellers of Salomon are saide to haue stood before his face to wit waiting and attending his pleasure so Esa. 37.5 Officers of the king and elder● of the priestes are called the kings seruantes For the state of this kingdome was not such a gouernment as both hath beene and is at this day in vse in many places where the people to auoide confusion and for the administration of iustice and of other publike affaires doe for one ouer them yea and giue vnto him although improperly the name of a king reseruing to themselues authority eyther to displace him at their pleasure or at the least to controll his doings which they thinke to be wrong to call him to account of his administration yea if need be to rise vp in armes against him and to lay violent handes vpon him This was no such gouernment but a kingdome both in name and in trueth wherein none had any iot of supreame authority saue the king onely Sect. V. BVT if it be graunted that there was no authoritie in the land which could associate it selfe with the authoritie of the king or any way intermeddle with his lawful administration as long as he did rule with religion and iustice for the glory of God the good of the people yet it may seeme that there was some authoritie to restraine him if at any time he should be imperious or vniust in his gouernment whereby he should be eyther brought to a lawfull manner of ruling or else if he were incorrigible deposed from his kingdome For otherwise the people might be miserably oppressed religion defaced yea all thinges turned vpside downe and in the ende the commonwealth vtterly ouerthrowen and therefore that both wisedome reason and necessitie i● the glorie of God and the good of men doe require that there should be in Israell some other authoritie eyther in the people or in the priestes in the senate or in the inferiour magistrates the which should neuer be eyther vsed or once mentioned but against those kinges which did degenerate into violent and bloody tyrantes euen as men vse a false vnder raine to pull in strong headed horses which otherwise woulde runne into some pit so destroy both themselues the riders This reason taken