Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	authority_n	church_n	king_n	2,752	5	4.0125	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79765	To our reverend and vvell-beloved brethren the Assembly of Divines at VVestminster, the ministers of London, and all other well-affected brethren of the ministery in England. Presented to the ministers of London this 13th. of December 1647. Decemb. 13. 1647. Imprimatur Ja. Cranford.	Church of Scotland. General Assembly.; Douglas, Robert, 1594-1674.	1647 (1647)	Wing C4269C; Thomason E419_25; ESTC R203822	3,274	9

TO OUR REVEREND AND VVell-beloved Brethren THE Assembly of Divines at VVestminster THE Ministers of LONDON and all other well-affected Brethren of the Ministery in ENGLAND Presented to the Ministers of London this 13th of December 1647. Decemb. 13. 1647. Imprimatur Ja. Cranford LONDON Printed for Ralph Smith 1647. TO Our Reverend and welbeloved Brethren The Assembly of Divines at Westminster Right Reverend and dearly beloved Brethren AS the Generall Assembly of this Church and their Commissioners have upon many former occasions expressed their great respects and speciall affection to our Brethren of England and how much they valued and minded the Lords work there Of which also their actions have been reall Testimonies So we have thought good in this present juncture or rather dis-juncture of affaires to adde this new Testimony and symbole of brotherly love And so much the more lest either the Commissioners of this Church their returne from London to their particular flocks after foure yeares absence or any informations spread by disaffected persons might make some of our Brethren in that Kingdome grow somewhat lesse confident of the constancy of our affection to them and to that common cause which both they and we did undertake and are obliged to prosecute with our best endeavours all the dayes of our lives Wherefore wee doe at once both 〈◊〉 and trust that our Brethren will be as confident as ever Brethren were of Brethren that by the grace and assistance of Jesus Christ come what may come no alteration of affairs whatsoever shall ever remove us from those principles and intentions which have been professed before God and all the world in our solemn Covenant and in our publick Declarations from time to time We should think it a greater sin in us then in others and should certainly expect a dreadfull curse and exemplary judgement from the righteous God if ever there shall be cause to say that the Church of Scotland remembred not the brotherly Covenant We owe indeed all loyall subjection and lawfull obedenice to the King Neither shall our prayers and best endeavours bee wanting for the preservation and defence of his Royall person and authority in the preservation and defence of the true Religion and liberties of the Kingdomes but God forbid that wee should ever seperate or connive at any who would seperate what the Covenant linketh together the glory of God and good of Religion being alwayes the principall and Gods interest more then Caesars although not exclusive of Caesars And now deare Brethren although we are confident of you through the Lord that you neither are nor will be otherwise minded then to stand fast in the truth of Christ and to be faithfull to the death in the Covenant you have taken yet give us leave to stir you up by putting you in remembrance That whereto you and we have already attained there may bee a walking by the same rule and minding of the same thing The Directory of worship being about two yeares agoe agreed upon by the Assemblies and Parliaments of both Kingdomes The Doctrinall part of Church-Government agreed upon by the reverend learned Assembly of Divines was at the same time with the Directory of worship approved by the generall Assembly and ratified by the Parliament of this Kingdome the Confession of Faith is also approved by the last generall Assembly as sound and orthodoxe for the matter and agreed unto on their part that it be a part of the uniformity and a Confession of Faith for the Churches of Christ in the three Kingdomes The other things communicated from thence unto this Church namely a Directory of Church Government Cateisme and new paraphrase of the Psalms in metre are printed and published here to be considred and examined against the next generall Assembly to be held in Iuly 1648 we wish and hope that you all may stand fast and firme together in the same principles rules and that these results of so long and learned Syndiocall debates may generally find acceptance through tho Kingdome It cannot be expected that such a Reformation as is according to the mind of Christ and tendeth to the casting out of Satans Kingdome to the censuring of prophannesse and suppressing of errours and heresie can be carried on without a mighty and strong opposition But how strong soever the opposition be it is but the strength of Satan and wicked men the weapons of your warre farre if well handled are more strong and mighty through God to the casting downe of every thing that exalteth it selfe against the Kingdome of Christ The eyes of God Angells and Man are now in a more speciall manner upon you observing how to acquit your selves in this time of tryall Blessed shall they be whosoever shall not be offended at the covenant and cause of Christ but shall bee ready to speake doe or suffer for it whatsoever God calleth them unto and shall neither be ashamed of it when it is set aside and abandoned by many nor afraid to own it and to give a good and honest Testimony for it even when it is opposed and persecuted We know your temptations are many and great yet such as God hath in his word forewarned you of promising withall that with your temptation he will make a way to escape that ye may be able to beare it Faithfull is he who hath called you who also will doe it When you are pressed out of measure and above strength it is that you should not trust to your selves but to God So that when you are weak then are you strong and when the adversaries of truth are strong then are they weak Be it therefore far from you to be overcome with the tentations either on the right hand by compliance and doing evill that good may come of it or on the left by a despendency of spirit and casting away of your confidence which as we trust you will not so if any among you should there wil be cause to say to him as once it was said to Job Behold thou hast instructed many and strengthened the weake hands Thy words have upholden him that was falling and thou hast strengthned the feeble knees But now it is come upon thee and thou faintest it toucheth thee and thou art troubled It is indeed the amazement of the Christian world that after such a Solemne Covenant for extirpation of heresie and schisme these pernicious plants have been suffered to spread more then ever before T is also a stupendious judgement of God that a little horne should grow forth and wax great and have an host given it against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression yea to cast downe the truth to the ground practiseing and prospering and even by peace destroying many Such things God hath permitted long agoe yet but for a time having pre-limited a certaine period thereunto Truth was at last victorious and so shall be Meane while the greater and more horrid the present evills be t is the more necessary for you and you have the clearer call from God to give testimony against them and the greater were the sinne and danger if you should not But we are the more confident that you shall not fall under this sinne and danger because you have already by your Sermons and Writings so much witnessed for the truth and against the errours of these times This we must further say from our owne experience that faithfull indeavours of these who were both few and weake in the greatest extremities and in the difficulties appeared most in-superable have not wanted a blessing and comfortable successe God can as easily drive all the monsterous Errours and Heresies out of England as once he tooke away all the locusts out of Egypt by a mighty strong west wind so that there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt God can make the earth to open her mouth and swallow up the flood which the Dragon cast out of his mouth it is not in vaine in the worst of times to bee witnesses for Christ and for his truth to do duty and trust God with events As many as walke according to this rule and will yet sincerely constantly and really endeavour that by their Covenant they are bound to do shall find that their labour is not in vaine in the Lord the very glory of Iesus Christ is highly concerned and his name interest and ingaged to repudiat disclaime and overthrow those wayes of Errour Schis-me Heresie selfe interest and carnall policy falsely fathered by many upon Christ under the names of tender Consciences Saints and the like And for our part you are in our hearts to dye and live with you and we cease not to make mention of you in our prayers daily beleeving also that God hath thoughts of peace towards you and not of evill to give you an expected end and that when he hath humbled his people under his mighty hand and brought them to an acknowledgment of those offences which are the true causes of his controversie he will awake for their helpe and appeare for their joy And then they who are by a temporary successe hardned in wayes of errour or malignancy shall see it and be ashamed and shall wonder and perish but peace shall be upon Israel Edinburgh 26 of Nove. 1647. Subscribed in name of the Commission of the generall Assembly of the Kirke of Scotland by M. Robert Douglas Moderator FINIS