Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A43676
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No King but Jesus, or, The Walls of tyrannie razed and the foundations of unjust monarchy discovered to the view of all that desire to see it wherein is undeniably proved that no king is the Lords anointed but Jesus ... / by Henry Haggar.
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Haggar, Henry.
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1652
(1652)
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Wing H187; ESTC R31087
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42,037
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60
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to pass in their appointed times for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it but it is not yet come to pass therefore we must look for other times in the last days of all viz. not the rising of false prophets but the destroying and casting of them down which the Lord will hasten The second thing is How we may know a false prophet of which I shall speak as briefly as I can because by what hath been said before they may be known 1. They will preach and prophesie in the Name of Christ very much but they say and do not see Matth. 7.21 22 23 24. If Antichrist should not come in the name of Christ he could not deceive so many for the world hath been deceived these many hundred yeers by praying and preaching in his name by them that have not obeyed his commandments nor contended for the faith as it was once delivered to the Saints Jude 3. 2. They are of a persecuting spirit for they win stir up the Magistrate to persecute others which both say and do those things commanded in Scripture which was first preached by the Lord himself and his holy Apostles and yet they cannot tell us how we shall escape if we neglect it See Heb. 2.1 2.3 3. They commonly deny Christ to be come in the flesh in effect though not in words by grounding their Religion upon the Ceremonies of the Law as is well noted in that little book of Tho. Collier's called Three Parallels one between the Priests of our times and they under the Law 4. They love to give expositions of plain places of Scripture thereby to blinde the eyes of the ignorant by darkning the counsel of God with their words without knowledge thereby endeavouring to make the people set their faith in their wisdom and not in the power of God contrary to Paul and the Apostles of Christ See 1 Cor. 2.4 5. Lastly to escape their wiles let all men try the spirits by the Words of God remember the noble Bereans Acts 17.11 12. who searched the Scriptures daily to see whether the things were so Therefore let none venture their souls upon their expositions lest they lose them but let us he sure we have a written Word of God for what we believe and for what we obey for he is a wise man that believes and obeys the sayings of Christ and not their Expositions of his sayings See Luk. 6.46 47 48 49 Consider it well and learn to be wise The next thing we are accused of is that we are those that cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine we have learned Rom. 16 17. From which place our enemies take occasion to warn the people to take heed of us and avoid our company for say they Who are they which cause these divisions and offences amongst us but these Separatists and men of a new faith To which at present I shall briefly answer thus for the clearing of it First consider when the Apostle spake these words it was sixteen hundred yeers ago Secondly to whom he spake them it was to the true Church of Christ that was then at Rome Rom. 1.7 Thirdly what doctrine it was they had learned it was the doctrine of Christ which was preached to them by Paul himself in those days and therefore he exhorteth them to mark them that laboured to cause divisions and offences contrary to it for saith he they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple vers. 18. Now what is all this to a people that never learned this doctrine but the doctrine of their Teacher or his predecessor 〈◊〉 be if it were tried by the Word of God it is so far from that which Paul speaks of that they ought to separate and divide from it Secondly the same may be said of Jude's exhortation to the Saints to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints therefore it is not that which was delivered since Jude's days contrary to it but that which was delivered before in his days or else why should he say Contend for that faith which was once delivered if it were still to deliver Therefore let us make that which was first preached by Christ and his Apostles in that generation a perfect Rule of faith and obedience in this generation and let us contend earnestly for it and mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to what is written in the holy Scriptures and avoid them Lastly it is said that we are the ignorant and unlearned that wrest the Scriptures to our own destruction 2 Pet. 3.16 To which I answer If Peter meant those which are unlearned in reference to humane learning I confesse we may be some what guilty but if Peter meant humane learning then he condemns himself and the other Apostles for Acts 4.13 we read that Peter and Iohn were ignorant and unlearned men therefore he meaneth them which are ignorant and unlearned in the things of the Spirit of God which as Paul saith the naturall man perceiveth not nor any of the Princes of this world knew for all their learning 1 Cor. 2.7 8 9 10. with 14. Againe we know that the Pope his Cardinals and Jesuites want no humane learning and yet most men in England conclude that they wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction Again we know the ancient learned grave Bishops in our days wanted no Greek nor Hebrew and yet they are concluded to be Antichristian and erroneous Lastly the Apostle sheweth us plainly who he calleth unlearned 1 Cor. 14.24 where he saith If the church be come together into some place and they all speak with tongues and there come in those that are unlearned or unbelievers they will conclude they are mad but if all prophesie and there come in unlearned or unbelievers they will be convinced c. By all which we see that unbelievers are the unlearned once which wrest the Scriptures to their own distruction which indeed they must needs do if they have not heard and learned Christ and been caught by him as the truth is in Jesus Eph. 4.20 21 22. Thus having cast in my mite into the treasury towards the continuing and increasing the peace and prosperity of the Church of Christ and the Common-wealth of England I freely commit what is written to the view of all men desiring them to read and consider it seriously and trie it by the Word of God and judge impartially and if any finde profit let God have the praise and glory and let me have the prayers of all that fear God and regard not iniquity in their hearts To whom I desire while I live to remaine A loving brother and faithful servant in the service of Christ HENRY HAGGAR FINIS Christian Reader THe Author hereof hath another Treatise extant intituled The Spirit of Promise OR Those rich Treasures that so long have lien hid in Christ searched out and discovered to the Saints Wherein is undeniably proved that the holy Spirit of Promise and the gifts thereof are the Saints proper right now and may and ought to be sought after with all diligence so as be attained unto in this generation full as well as in the Apostltes Which is also to be sold by Giles Calvert at the signe or the black Spread Eagle at the west-end of Pauls
of Christ and abound in the work of the Lord for asmuch as we know our labour shall not be in vaine and if we do these things we shall never fall but an entrance shall be opened to us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1 so that we may stand by saith and rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God even that eternal weight of glory the Apostle speaketh of 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. which will make our affliction seem light and momentary and though our outward man should perish yet our inward man will be dayly renewed Let us therefore consider these things lest we faint and be weary in our minds and that we may lift up our heads and rejoyce knowing the day of our Redemption draweth nigh Thus having laboured to stir up your pure minds in some measure by way of remembrance I shall proceed to the last particular namely the vindication of the Saints from the false aspersions cast upon them by wicked ignorant men First they assirme that we will not obey Magistrates but have rebelliously rose up against and prevailed over the King to the taking away of his life and therefore they conclude that we are those that dispise dominion and ars not afraid to speak evil of dignities To which answer This is no more true then that which Ahab spake of Elijah when he told him that it was he that troubled Israel 1 King 18.17.18 and therefore the same answer may well serve us viz. That it is not we that have troubled the Nation by fearing God and keeping his Commandments which are written in his Word of Truth for that is the whole duty of man Eccle. 12.13 but it was he and his fathers house in that he had forsaken the commandments of the Lord and brought in the commandments and traditions of men in stead therof as Ahab followed after Baalim and therefore in vain did they worship God as Christ faith But let our accusers remember those prophane days of Liberty which were set up by Authority and Books of liberty read in stead of preaching by which they strengthened the hands of the wicked that they could not turne from their wickedness for they thought all was well so long as it was set up and allowed by Authority and read by the Parish-Priest Secondly Let them remember the persecuting of them that feared the Lord in those days by banishment imprisonment and spoiling their goods and some by death whose blood cried for vengeance in the eares of the Lord with the prayers sighs and grones of the other banished out of their native Countrey from friends and acquaintance and those in Prison the wife being separated from her loving husband and the husband from his dear wife the children from their parents and parents from their children being thereby made uncapable of getting a livelihood in the world even to the utter undoing of many and all because they would but search into the Scriptures for eternal Life further then the Bishops and the King and his counsel would have them By all which it is evident that it is the just hand of God that hath taken vengeance upon his Teachers and Counselers and will yet find out more of them and that not onely in this Land but in other Nations also untill he hath stained the pride of all their glory and brought into contempt all the honorable of the earth the which is sufficiently proved before in the sixth and seventh particulars of this Book Thirdly Let them consider the abundance of wickedness that was at Court in his days what gluttony drunkenness pride swearing lying whoring carding dicing and all manner of unlawfull gaming allowed of practised and maintained by him his Courtiers and their attendance all which with the reft of their wickedness procured the just judgement of God upon them for because of these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience Eph. 5.3 4 5 67. Againe whereas they accuse us of speaking evill of dignities and for resisting of powers I answer It 's false for there is no power but of God the Apostle saith Rom. 1.3.1 2. And how to know what power is of God he sheweth in the 3 4 verses in these words for Rulers and powers that are of God are not a terrour to good works but to the evil Therefore if thou doest that which is good thou shalt have praise of the same for he is the servant of God to thee for good and is for the praise of them that do well and for the punishment of them that do evil And saith the Apostle To such a power we must needs be subject not onely for wrath but also for conscience sake Object But the powers that are be of God and must be obeyed though they should be wicked Answ. I deny it for wicked men in Authority commanding wicked things ought not to be obeyed but opposed either actively by doing or passively by suffering Therefore said the Apostle to the Magistrates Act. 4.19 Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you more then to God judge you And again Chap. 5.28 29. Peter and the other Apostles told the Magistrates they ought to obey God rather then them Thus we see Magistrates are not to feared and obeyed because they are Magistrates and powers but because they are good Magistrates and powers ordained of God such as are for the praise of them that do well and a terrour to them that do evill 1 Pet. 2.14 Therefore saith the Apostle Rom. 13.3 they that do well shall not need to be afraid of the powers that are of God but we know by wofull experience that those that did well had most cause of fear and were in greatest danger therefore that power was not of God and is cast down Againe if we must understand it in their sence viz. that all powers are of God and must be obeyed because they are powers then we shall prove the Devil and all wicked men as theives and murtherers must be obeyed for the Devil is both a Prince and a power even the Prince of the darkness the Prince of the powers of the aier the Spirit that now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 but now I hope none will say that because he is a power that therefore he ought to be obeyed or that he is of God But if the other argument be true this must needs follow but men reason thus because they are ignorant and are indeed of the number of those that speak evil of things they understand not and shall utterly perish in their own corruptions except they repent 2 Pet. 2.12 for indeed these men know not neither do they consider what God hath done in former ages much less what he is doing and will do yet before the end of all things and therefore speak they evil of things they know not and as Peter saith