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	power_n	spiritual_a	1,510	5	6.4164	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88100	A discourse concerning Puritans. A vindication of those, who uniustly suffer by the mistake, abuse, and misapplication of that name. A tract necessary and usefull for these times.	Ley, John, 1583-1662, attributed name.; Parker, Henry, 1604-1652, attributed name.	1641 (1641)	Wing L1875; Thomason E204_3; ESTC R15236	40,576	60

extreams alike as well to represse Papal Bishops as to curbe proud Puritans For sayes the King the naturall sicknesses which have ever troubled and beene the decay of all Churches since the beginning changing the Candlestick from one to another have beene pride ambition and avarice and these wrought the overthrow of the Romish Church in divers Countries K. James knew well how apt Church-men had ever beene to abuse their power and pomp what enemies they had beene to our Saviour and what a tyranny they had erected over all Christendom ever since Constantine almost and therefore though Hee dislikes a democracie in the Church as Hee had reason yet Hee so limits and circumscribes his Bishops both in power and honour that they might be as sensible of their chaines and fetters as of their Miters and Crosiers I wish K. Iames had particularly signified what bonds and bounds Hee thought fit to prefix to Episcopacy to preserve it from corruption and what his opinion was of a Prelacy so active in secular affaires as ours is now in England and how it would have pleased him to see a Metropolitan amongst Protestants almost a rivall to the French Cardinall The world in my opinion hath little reason to dote upon a gowned Empire we have all smarted long enough under it men of meane birth commonly beare preferment with little moderation and their breeding having beene soft and esseminate in their malice cruelty they neerest of all approach to the nature of women and by the advantage of learning they extend their power and win upon others more then they ought When the Church was at first under Heathen or Jewish Governours which sought as enemies to ruine it not as Fathers to protect it they which were within could not live in peace and unity without some Politicall bonds so at that time there was a necessity of some coercive power within besides that which was without The world is now unsatisfied what kinde of power that was whether Episcopal or Presbyteriall or what Episcopacy or Presbytery was in those dayes Yet me thinks what government so ever then was it is not necessarily precedentary to us now The Episcopal faction at this day takes advantage by the abuses of the Presbyter al the Presbyterial by the Episcopal and most men think either the one power or the other necessary and some more favour the Episcopal as K. Iames some the Presbyterial as M. Calvin but sure the Presbyterial is lesse offensive then the Episcopal and yet neither the one nor other of necessity Kings may grant usuram quandam jurisdictionis either to Bishops or Elders but the jurisdiction it selfe is their owne property from which they ought not to depart nor can without wrong to their charge committed to them For the power which God gives the Prince is not given for his use alone but for the peoples benefit so that since He cannot let it fall to decay without making it insufficient for good and entire government which is mischievous to the people he cannot justly lessen it at all And it is manifest that except one supream head be alone in all causes as wel Ecclesiastical as civill humane nature must needs be destitute of those remedies which are necessary for its conservation since power cannot be divided but it must be diminished to him which suffers that division and being diminished it proves insufficient All confesse some government necessary for men in holy Orders to whom the power of the Keyes belongs but some account Princes but as meere temporall or Lay persons and therefore conclude against their authority over sacred Ecclesiastical persons as incompetent especially in cases meerely ecclesiasticall For this cause spirituall Governours have ever beene in the Church to whom some have attributed a divine right depending from none but God and subordinate to none but God but this hath beene controverted by others and no little debate and strife hath followed hereupon But it seemes to me that princes doe receive from God a spirituall unction whereby not only their persons are dignified and their hearts prepared and enlarged with divine graces fit for rule but their functions also innobled and sanctified above any other whatsoever and higher advanced then the sense of Laick or Secular will beare To Princes an assistance of counsell is requisite in spirituall as in civill affaires but that that Counsaile ought to bee composed onely of persons Ecclesiasticall or that those persons ought to bee invested with all those Ensignes of Honour and Authority which our Bishops now claime as of divine right seemes not necessary Clergy-men are not alwayes the most knowing in all Ecclesiasticall cases neither are they at all indifferent and impartiall in many which concerne their owne honour and profit as the world feeles to its regret therefore for jurisdiction they are not the most competent But be they of what use soever they may still remaine subordinate and at the Princes election and admitted of ad consilium solum not ad consensum and it had beene happy for all Christians these many hundred yeares by-past if they had not been further hearkned to The Sacerdotall function is not at all disparaged by this subordination for whether the order of Princes be more sacred then that of Bishops or not it is all one to Priests for an obedience they owe and must pay be it to the one Order or the other Our Bishops at this day stand much upon their Divine right of Jurisdiction and they refer their style to the providence of God immediately not to the grace of the King and though in words they acknowledge a Supremacy of power to remain to the King yet indeed I think they mean rather a priority of order Whatsoever Supremacy they meane if it be not such as makes them meerely subordinate and dependent so that the King may limit alter or extinguish their jurisdiction as far as He may to his civil Judges they derogate much from his Kingly office Bishops for their claim of Jurisdiction ought to prove that they alone did exercise it over all in all causes from our Saviours dayes till the entrance of Christian Princes and that being cleared they must further prove that those times also are leading and precedentary to ours In both these their proofes are lame especially in the latter for neither is the power of the Keyes the same thing as Iurisdiction nor is jurisdiction now as it was in the Apostles dayes nor is the State of the times now the same as then In those dayes either Christians were to implead one another before Infidel Magistrates whatsoever the case were criminall or civill spirituall or temporall or else they were to erect some tribunall in the Church or else they were to await no justice at all and because some judicature within the Church was most fit therefore Christ himselfe according to the exigence of those times did indow his Church with a divine Oeconomy which was partly miraculous of

Nathan or as Solomons incontinence was to all the world or as Manasses his Idolatry yet why should I suffer more then they What new coercive vindicative authority have Priests gained over Princes by Christs Gospell which the Jewish Priests never used claymed or heard of If Excommunication c. be now necessary sure it was in use before Christ and then wee should have heard of some Kings Excommunicated c. by some Priests for if the Temporall power had not of its owne nature a competent force and habitude to restraine all things repugnant to publike quietnesse and honesty a Spirituall power was necessary and yet we read of none such But if there was a sufficiency in the Temporall power as is most manifestly apparent then we cannot imagine that Christ came to take away any of this authority from Magistrates but that power which he added was rather an excellency of grace and vertue in matters of faith and illumination It cannot bee alleadged by you that that punishment is meerely spirituall and so no politicall evill for as it puts other men into the condition of Publicans Heathens and worse so it further yet degrades disables and oppresses Princes How shall he be honoured and obeyed as the Vicegerent of God in all causes whom the Laity sees ejected out of the Church and expelled out of the Communion of the faithfull as a rotten contagious member how shall hee be held more sacred then a Priest whom the sentence interdiction and the confounding blow of a Priests spirituall execration shall render so contemptible miserable and abominable in the eyes of the world Saint Paul being accused in matters of Doctrine made his appeale to a wicked Heathen Emperour and yet now a Christian godly Emperour being accused by any Church-man no appeale is allowed though in meere civill accusations Saint Peters Keyes did either endure some new power not before known to the world or not if it did then our Saviours Gospell came into the world to the detriment of civill government which is contrary to Religion and all reason and if no new addition of power were imported then Tiberius himselfe though a Heathen and Tyrant remained as absolute as before and yet in his time there was more necessity of an Ecclesiasticall judicature then is now But you will say if Princes be not subject to some chastisement then some scandals must passe unremediable Not so for here God is the revenger and strikes often as he did Vzziah but if not yet either the Temporall or Spirituall Governour must passe unchastiz'd which is all one for two Supreames cannot be nor no entire government without some supremacy nor no supremacy without immunity and exemption from judgement The perpetuall conflicts and contestations betweene Princes and Prelates which are likely to ensue will soone cleere this that either Princes must at last submit to the tribunals of Church-men and raigne at their discretion or else Church-men must submit to them for both tribunals cannot stand compatible For my part I excuse so grave a Father as you are of ambition herein and therefore I am the lesse cautious in submitting my selfe at this time but I conceive this Doctrine may bee the ground of dangerous consequences to others and therefore I desire it may not from me passe into a president for the time to come Let not proud Prelates from this my voluntary humiliation arrogate to themselves as if it had beene due or derogate thereby from the more sacred order of Princes neither let Princes from this particular learne to yeeld to any Spirituall Monarchy whatsoever My beliefe is that the Prince is the Head the Fountaine the Soule of all power whatsoever Spirituall or Temporall wherein he ought not to indure at all any kinde of rivality of Ecclesiasticall persons nor can admit of any diminution in any part of his jurisdiction without offence to God dammage to his charge and danger to himselfe So much for Theodosius and so much for that jurisdiction which is due to Prelates I should now speake of the exercise thereof as it is granted by the favour of Princes but this is a very tender point It seemes to some that Princes ought not to incumber men in Sacred Orders in any kinde of judicature which is not purely Spirituall nor that Prelates can accept of any Temporall imployment whatsoever without dishonour to their Orders and neglect to their cure of Soules and yet now none so greedy of such imployment A sacred place may not be put to secular uses that 's prophane but a sacred person may that 's honourable A Bishoprick now adayes is but a Writ of ease to dismisse from Preaching and attending Gods service whereby the man is preferred from the Church to the Court from the Altar to some Tribunall from Gods spirituall to the Kings temporall affaires In the High Commission at the Councel Table in the Star-chamber and the Chequer Churchmen are now more active then in their owne Consistories and yet their ambition further aimes as 't is said to the Chancery Court of Requests c. which could not chuse but redound to the scandall of Religion the obstruction of Justice and vexation of the Subject if there were not learned and skilfull men enough in Policy and Law to serve the King unlesse Divinity were deprived of some of her followers there were some seeming umbrage why the King might borrow of God but when Gods more holy office is neglected that the Kings meaner may be the worse administred the world much gazes and wonders at it The functions of Divines are too sacred for any secular person to officiate and therefore it should seeme their persons also ought to be too sacred for secular functions for it seems prepostrous that it should be thought an honour to Priests to relinquish spiritual and adhere to temporall imployments Nic Machiavell did observe that Christian Religion had long since falne to the ground had not the regular strictnesse of poore inferiour Priests and Fryers held and propped up the reputation of it in the World as much as the pride and luxury of the great Cardinals and Prince like Bishops did strive to sinke and demolish it The same observation holds true amongst us Protestants at this day for the more our Prelates enjoy the more still they seeke and all our three Kingdomes are growne so sicke of their pride injustice and pragmaticall faction that scarce any remedy but bloud-letting can cure them We finde in Scripture the most high and holy Offices of Religion performed by Princes even amongst and above the greatest of Priests but we scarce finde any instance at all where Priests intermedled with any State affaires either above or under Princes and yet with us now the imploying and entrusting of Clergy-men in Temporal businesses is held as politick as it was in times of Popery although no time could ever justly boast of that use But to passe over Temporal businesses how violent have our Bishops beene