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	word_n	2,098	5	4.2654	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60930	A candle lighted at a coal from the altar whereby the King and rulers of this nation with the people of this present age may see the stone on which many have stumbled, and the rock which hath broken to pieces unfaithful men once in authority, who instead of protecting, did persecute the people of God, when they had the high places of the earth in possession, and that these present rulers may take warning betimes, least they stumble at the same rock, and while they have opportunity they may rather become as nursing-fathers to the flock of God within these dominions, by giving due encouragement to tender consciences, and men fearing God as in matters of religion / and this is directed unto you by a subject of the King of Righteousness, Tho. Salthouse.	Salthouse, Thomas, 1630-1691.	1660 (1660)	Wing S471; ESTC R13989	18,411	26

whom he hath chosen to place his Name among and these poor of the world whom he hath made rich in Faith But he that reproved Kings for the sake of his people saying Touch not mine annointed and do my Prophets no harm hath smitten some of our Adversaries and opposers with a deadly wound and with Equity will he plead the Cause of the oppressed that have no helper in the Earth Therefore hearken unto this Word ye Heads and Rulers of the people and give ear O House of the King and all you in Authority whether in Church or State or of matters spiritual or temporal this is the Word of the Lord God unto you in this your day of Tryal touch not the Lords annointed nor offend not any of those little ones who are coming up out Egypt and Babylon neither seek to set up your selves as Lords over Gods Heritage by making Laws or prescribing wayes of worship to impose upon those tender Consciences and those Righteous Souls contrary to the spiritual Law of God according to his promise written in their hearts for behold the day is come in which the Lord is putting his Spirit in the inward parts and writing his Law in the hearts and in the mindes of his people so that we cannot submit to the Laws of the Medes and the Persians nor bow down to worship Nebuchadnezzars Image at the sound of the Musick whether Bell Organs Drum or Trumpet neither can we conform to the old Antichristian Traditions which in the time of ignorance was taught for Doctrines and Church Ordinances and imposed upon our Fore-fathers to be observed by them under pains penalties and corporal punishments neither can we worship or bow down to the resemblance or likeness of any thing either in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath nor in the waters under the Earth least we should provoke the Lord to jealousie who will not give his glory to another nor we cannot have mens persons in admiration because of advantage or for fear of persecution knowing that he who respecteth persons doth commit sin and is convinced of the Law as a transgressor Wherefore all you that are in Authority set up to Rule amongst men as Magistrates whether spiritual Military or Civil remember what the Rock of Israel hath said He that Rules amongst men must be Just ruling in the Fear and Wisdom of God that he may be a terrour to the evil-doers and a praise to them that do well and if you thus rule for God in his fear then will your light go forth as a morning without clouds and those under your Government will revive as the Corn and spring up as the tender grass out of the earth by clear shining after the rain and you must fear God and work Righteousness and hate oppression and covetousnesse else you cannot please God nor Rule for him amongst men neither can your Government be blessed nor of long continuance except you be Wise and Learned Just and Righteous Holy and Humble Gentle and easie to be entreated therefore be instructed O King and all ye Rulers of the earth and serve the Lord with fear and walk humbly before him for humility goeth before true honour and except you be Humble Holy and Upright you cannot be owned or accounted as the honourable of the earth although for a season you have the high Places thereof in possession to prove and try you as others have bin that were before you whom the Lord hath cast out rejected from bearing Rule amongst men not alone for your sakes but because of their unfaithfulness to the Lord in their day and the heavy yoaks which they laid upon the necks of those over whom they bore Rule and by reason of their envy violence and unkindness unto those sons of Jacob the Israel of God who are passing thorow your borders out of the house of bondage who did desire nothing of them nor now of you but to pass peaceably by the high way which is cast up and prepared for the Redeemed of the Lord out of Egypt and Assyria to that holy City whose Builder and Maker is God where they may worship God in the Spirit and Truth in the beauty of holiness and now let it enter into your Consideration that the Lord hath had a remnant of Righteous Servants in this Nation that have not defiled their garments with the detestible things nor with the abominations that have been committed in the land and that have not bowed their knee unto Baal and these are they that trembles at the Word of the Lord and they have been alwayes grieved and oppressed by reason of the great evils and abominations that have been committed in the land not onely open prophaneness pride and wantonness among the baser sort but also in things relating to Religion and the Worship of God and Church Ordinances so called and the Spirit of Grace and Truth which is poured forth from on high and which rests upon them hath strove from time to time with the Rulers of this Nation for Freedom and Liberty of Conscience in matters of such weighty concernment as the Work Worship of God and sometimes the Cry thereof hath entred into the ears of King Parliaments others in Authority and then they would promise or at least pretend a Reformation in Church and State and much action hath been in this Nation in a few years last past and the Lord hath overturned one Government after another without either Bow Battel-Ax or outward Weapon but not without giving them warning by his Watch-men either in word or writing for they have had precept upon precept and line upon line and the Lord hath pleaded with them by his Judgements and when his hand hath been upon them then they would humble themselves for a season and set upon doing something in answer to the expectation of that Spirit that did strive with them but it may and alwayes hath been observed that the people in whom this oppressed Spirit did strive and operate most of all and who were most zealous for a Reformation they have alwayes been accounted as Hereticks and Sectaries and reproached with the names of Puritans Round-heads and Quakers and such like brands of reproach as might render them odious to men in Authority or as a discontented people not fit to live upon the Earth yet nevertheless the witness of God in the Consciences of Men in places of trust hath somtimes answered to the cry of the oppressed so that they began to remove some Antichristian Yoaks of Bondage out of the way which was the greatest burden to tender Consciences as for instance several Monuments of Idolatry and Superstition was abolished all representations of the persons of the Trinity Angels or Saints in or about the Cathedral Collegiate or Parish Church or Chappel so called and the High Altars taken down and all Superstitious Vestments as Copes Surplices Roods Holy Water Funts Crosses Crucifixes and Pictures defaced and no more

the Prophets and there is no lording one over another neither is the Spirit limitted or confined to him that has the highest place in the Assembly for such have taken away the Key of knowledge and have forsaken the right Way and are out of the Doctrine of Christ who are called of men Master and have the chiefest seats in the Synagogues and this is not the Order of the Churches of the Saints but by them in this Order the Saints are persecuted and haled out of their Assemblies and before Magistrates and the time of this ignorance hath been long in which the pretended Leaders of the people in this Nation have caused them to err and they that were led by them have been destroyed for want of the good knowledge of the Lord for since the time that the right Way was forsaken and the way of Baalam followed the Priests have preached for hire and they have taught fear towards God by the precepts of men so that the unknown God hath been ignorantly worshipped in the Old Mass-houses commonly called Churches which is the invention and work of mens hands and in which is the very seat of the Image of jealousie spoken of by the Prophet Ezekiel and even all manner of graven Images Pictures and abominable Beasts and the similitude of creeping things and all the Idols of the house of Israels portraied or painted round about upon the Walls and in the highest places of these Idols Tempels have the Hirelings by Authority and Commission from the higher Power made merchandize of the Scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles which were spoken forth freely by the holy men of God in their day and written aforetime not to be sold for money but for our learning and admonition upon whom the ends of the World is come and because we have declared against such practises we have been accused for denying the Scriptures and the Ministers of the Gospel and because we cannot own those Mass-houses for Churches which were set up in the time of Popery as the Idols Temples were set up when Israel had forgotten their Maker and forsaken the fountain of living water as it s written in the Prophets When Israel had forgotten her Maker she builded Temples and Judah multiplied fenced Cities therefore we have been accused by the prophane and ignorant people that we deny the Churches because we cannot contribute to the repairing of these painted houses in which are all these Pictures and Images portraied upon the Walls round about and because of these things by an usurped Authority we have suffered the spoiling of our goods from time to time and have been made as a prey to the teeth of merciless men and because for Conscience sake we could not come to these houses to hear the Priests preach for hire and so put into the mouth of the false prophet and Idol shepherds we have been summoned by Law suites to London from all parts of this Nation and have had our goods spoiled and our bodies imprisoned some until death by a cruel hard-hearted generation of hireling Presbyterian Priests and Impropriators so that we may truly say Satans power hath been great and the time hath been long in which he that could persecute the People of God called Quakers by vertue of Authority derived from the higher Power did think he did God good service but the Lord hath visited and will vilit for these things and with equity will he plead for the meek of the earth and we have given our power and committed our cause unto him so that our dependance is not upon the Arm of flesh or men of might but in the Lord in whom there is Everlasting strength Nevertheless that you who are set up and intrusted amongst men as the chief Authority in the Nation may have precept upon precept and line upon line as others had in their day a necessity is laid on the Lords Servants and Hand-maids who loves not their lives unto the death to speak and write unto you of the things which they have seen and heard concerning you as they are commanded of God that to Gods witness in the sight of the Lord they may be made manifest and that you may have warning in this your day not to touch the Lords annointed nor to do any harm unto his Prophets whether they be Sons or Daughters Servants or Hand-maids upon whom God hath poured forth of his Spirit from on high in these latter dayes And if it be in the hearts of you who are the present Rulers of this Nation to settle establish Religion as others have attempted to do and so have limitted the Spirit of God by their Ordinances and Traditions let it be wisely considered whether God require such a thing at your hands yea or nay for many who were supposed to be Wise and Learned men have been mistaken in this very particular and instead of Reformation they have brought in oppression and persecution and instead of a happy settlement they have caused great strife heart-burnings disputations and open contention about Church Ordinances Worship Doctrine and Discipline and one sort have cryed lo here is Christ and others have said here is the place where men ought to Worship and others they cry this is the Good Old Way let all be compelled to conform to this Way and to our Order and Ordinances and Discipline and let all be made subject to that Worship which our Fore-fathers owned and to that Church Government which they lived under and so would have all limitted to their Worship and compelled to their way by corporal punishments if for Conscience sake they cannot be conformable so that there is need of much wisdome in this thing the best way to preserve peace in the Nation is to protect all people of all perswafions alike in their Civil and Religious Rights and not to compel any by force or violence to any worship contrary to a full perswasion in their minds for in this very Particular Jacobs Family hath suffered by all sorts of people and governments of late in this Nation both Parliaments Protector and professors and prophane and the Lords peculiar treasure hath been trampled upon as people not fit to be protected nor to live upon the earth and even like as the high-minded Councellors or Courtiers of the King of Babylon did in their day envy Israel and incense the King against that people who were dispersed in all the Provinces of his Kingdoms as being diverse in their Laws from all other people and that they did not observe the Kings Laws even so have the proud and high-minded men in high Places in these dayes laboured to incense the Supream Magistrates against a dispersed remnant of the Seed of Jacob whose captivity the Lord is returning out of the Land of the North Countrey and out of all places where they have been scattered and we have been misrepresented both to Parliaments and others by the Priests of the high Places as

Amos was unto the King by Amaziah the Priest of Bethel who sent unto Jeroboam King of Israel saying Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the House of Israel the land is not able to bear his words when he declared unto them that which the Lord had shewed unto him concerning them and without all Controversie some of our old Adversaries by whom we have been persecuted ever since we were a people may yet go about to perswade these present Rulers that it is not for the Kings profit to suffer us to enjoy our Liberty and Religion within his Dominions and so wait for a Law from him to limit the Holy One of Israel as the uncircumcised in all ages and generations have done and as the Rulers of this last age have laboured and endeavoured to do until the Lord hath made the House of Jacob as a fire and the House of Joseph as a flame and the House of Esau like stubble fully dry and hath consumed their bryars and thorns as in one day for the same spirit of envy remains yet unsatisfied in the Priests of the high Places who prayed against the King and for the Protector and cryed out for assistance liek as the unbelieving Jews cryed Men of Israel help these are they that will turn the world upside down help Protector and Parliament Councel Committee and Army make your Law both Military and Civil a defence of our Faith and Religion Church Ministry and Ordinances else these men that pretends the Motion of the Spirit and immediate Revelation from Heaven those Quakers that trembles at the Word of God will prevail against us undermine the foundation of all our great Truths and then not onely our Craft is in danger by which we have got a livel hood for our selves and Families but also our Traditional Ordinances and those old Mass-houses our Churches in which are all these pleasant pictures painted upon the Walls and the glory of their magnificence will come into disesteem and so by a corrupt new invented Law hath iniquity been established and the Saints of the most high persecuted and imprisoned for the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God and their Righteous Souls have cryed How long Lord How long Holy and True Wilt not thou Judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the Earth And because Judgement was not speedily executed upon the usurpers of Authority workers of iniquity and oppressors of the Just all the false Prophets and bireling Priests promised peace and safety to themselves to the men in Authority and they were perswaded that their Mountain was so invincible that it could never have been moved Nay all the chief ones of the Nation would not have believed that an enemy to their imperfect peace should have entred into this Nation to take all the antient high Places thereof again in possession But what shall we say to these things the purpose of the Lord must come to pass That the oppressed may go free and that the sins of the false Prophets and the imquity of the hireling Priests and the corruption of Rulers may be punished which is the Cause of all the Judgements of the Lord upon the Nation for all the judgements which came upon Jerusalem who had neglected the day of their visitation and mocked Gods Messengers and stoned them that were sent unto them was for the sins of the Prophets and the iniquity of her priests that shed the blood of the just in the midst of her that wandred as blind men in the streets and were polluted with blood so that they would not touch their garments Lam. 4.13 And this is the Cause of all these alterations and overturnings which is so strange and marvellous to the beholders that such strong men should wax feeble and leave their glory to others not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord God and according to his Word by his Servants the Prophets whom they have mocked despised persecuted and shameful entreated in the day of their prosperity and exaltation But they would not receive instruction and therefore must they receive correction they would not be gathered when the Lord would have gathered them as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings and therefore are they scattered and broken to pieces and that Stone which the Builders resused is become a Some of stumbling and a rock of offence unto them on which they are fallen and broken and snared and taken and whosoever shall strive with their Maker and fight against the Lord shall not prosper nor prevail for the Lord will thunder out of heaven upon his adversaries will break them to pieces but this is the portion and heritage of his suffering Servants whose Faith stands in his Power whose Righteousness is of him every tongue that riseth in Judgment against them shall be condemned and this is the honour of all the Saints to bind Kings in Chains and Nobles with fetters of Iron and to execute upon the Heathen the Judgements written Psal 149.8 For the Lord will not cast off his People neither will he forsake his Inheritance who are unto him as the Apple of his Eye and whosoever shall offend any of those little ones whose Faith stands in the Power of God and who trembles at the Word of his Holiness It were better for him that a Mill-stone were hanged about his neck and he drowned in the midst of the Sea and though the wicked be highly exalted and joyn hand and hand against the Seed which God hath blessed yet must not they go unpunished though the Servants of the Lord be far from oppression or rendring unto them evil for evil for although we were all the day long accounted as sheep for the slaughter and have been smitten with the tongue of the uncircumcised and with the sist of wickedness every Horn of the Beasts head hath pushed at us from time to time yet have we not desired fire from Heaven to consume our adversaries neither have we sought to be avenged on them or desired their overthrow God is witness for us but we have loved them that hated us without a Cause and we have prayed for them that persecuted us and to this day we desire not their death or that they should be dealt with as they have dealt with others and that their trespastes may be forgiven them more then they have forgiven others and that the Lord would humble them in their afflictions that they might return to him and know that the Most High Rules in the Kingdomes of men who desires not the death of sinners but rather that all men every where should repent and come to the knowledge of his truth for he waits to be gratious because he delights in the exercise of loving kindness and there is mercy with him that he may be feared And as for the strange Act of the Lord which he hath brought to pass so far contrary to