Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bishop_n	church_n	judge_n	1,391	5	7.0612	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10190	Lord bishops, none of the Lords bishops. Or A short discourse, wherin is proved that prelaticall jurisdiction, is not of divine institution, but forbidden by Christ himselfe, as heathenish, and branded by his apostles for antichristian wherin also sundry notable passages of the Arch-Prelate of Canterbury in his late booke, intituled, A relation of a conference, &c. are by the way met withall.	Prynne, William, 1600-1669.	1640 (1640)	STC 20467; ESTC S115311	76,101	90

discourse then this of mine will admit Againe he saith ‡ If there be a jealousie or doubt of the Sense of the Scripture we must repaire to the Exposition of the Primitive Church and submit to that or call and submit to a Generall Councel c. Now if he shall quarrell this Scripture and those words of Christ forementioned as being either jealous or doubtfull of the sense thereof and so send me to the Primitive Church or call me to a Generall Councel for the determination of this point what shall we say For in no case can he yeeld the Scripture the honour to be sole Judge of controversies in faith And for the Primitive Church which he meanes namely that which came after Christ and his Apostles that he will say had Bishops or Prelates And for a Generall Councel that by his own verdict must consist of Prelates and so then shal be Judges in their own cause Therefore herein I must tell him plainly that first for the Primitive Church which was that of the Apostles never any one of them was a Prelate or Diocesan Bishop as we shall see more anon Secondly the next ages of the Church succeeding that of the Apostles knew no such Lord Bishops or Prelates as are now adayes with their Traines and Courts And when they began to get Prelacies old Hierome reprooved them and so did others Thirdly never any Generall Councel yet concluded that Prelates were jure divino Fourthly For a Generall Councel now to be called for the determining of this controversie which must consist onely of Prelates I deny them to be competent Iudges in this Case For by the Prelates own Confession * No man ought to be both party and Iudge in his own Cause And again the ‡ Prelate is too strict and Canonicall in tying all men to the decision of a Generall Councel and to yeeld obedience unto it yea although it determine a matter erronious in the Faith Now then if a Generall Councel of Prelates should determine that Prelates are jure divino although it be erronious yet according to the Prelates Rule all must yeeld obedience and submit thereunto And then we are gone if we commit this matter to a Generall Councel But we will passe by these and come to some other of his passages for his Prelacy He saith ‡ I beleeve Christ thought it fitter to governe the Church Aristocratically by Diverse rather then by one Vice-Roy A●d those Diverse he makes to be Prelates or Hierarchs or rather Archprelates Now except he verily beleeve that Prelates are the best men in the world how can he beleeve that Christ thought is fittest to governe his Church by them For Aristocracie is a Government of the best men Aristoi Optimi and therefore called Optimates most honourable for their vertues But are Prelates so Doth their extreme pride ambition covetousnesse voluptuousnesse idlenesse hatred and suppressing of Gods word persecution of Gods Ministers oppression of Gods people even all that professe godlinesse and extreme both injustice and cruelty without all Law or Conscience in Censuring poore innocent soules that come before them doe these their vertues make them to be the best men for Christ to thinke the fittest by whom to governe his Church unlesse in this respect Christ might thinke it fittest that seeing he thought it fittest to keep his true Church his little sto●ke alwayes under manifold tryalls of afflictions and persecutions as being the exercises of all that will live godly in Christ Iesus and the way through which they must goe into the Kingdome of God therefore for this very cause he might thinke it fittest to suffer Satan to set up Anticr●ist in the Temple of God with his Traine of Prelates who should prove the most vengable Instruments of persecuting and oppressing Gods true children of all other men in the world And this I beleeve to be true And againe I beleeve this to be true also that Christ thought it fittest to governe his true Church Aristocratically that is by the best men because he hath so expressed himselfe in his word Why Where and who be those best men Let my Lord Prelate have patience and I will shew him a cleare ground of this my faith such as he can never shew for his blind faith Those best men that Christ thought is fittest to governe his Church by are the severall Ministerss rightly qualified and lawfully placed over their Severall Congregations respectively And they are called both Presbyteri and Episcopi Presbyters or Elders and Overseers or as Prelates falsely style themselves Bishops But how are these o i aristoi the best men Because Christ requires such to have the qualities of the best men What be those First such a Bishop or Overseer must be blamelesse the husband of one wife not therfore one tyed from Marriage which is for Antichrists Priests vigilant sober of good behaviour given to hospitality apt to teach not given to wine no strik●r not greedy of filthy l●●re but patient not a brawler not covetous c. And in Titus Not selfe-willed not soon angry a lover of good men● sober just holy temperate holding fast the faithfull word that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainesayers Such therefore as call themselves the onely Bishops to exercise Lordship over many Ministers and Congregations and are proud heady high minded lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God cruell strikers with their High-Commission-weapons soone angry and never appeased againe not lovers but persecuters of good men not such as hold fast the wholesome word but suppresse it all they can forbidding others to convince the gainesayers as those of the Arminian party and the like and cutting off the Eares of those Ministers that should dare to reprove the Prelates notorious practises and attempts in setting up a false Idolatrous and Anchristian Religion for Christs Religion and such like such I say how can the Prelate beleeve to be of those diverse whom Christ thought it fittest to governe his Church by Againe another passage of his is this * She the Church of England beleeves That our Saviour Christ hath left in his Church besides his Law-booke the Scripture visible Magistrates and Iudges that is Arch-bishops and Bishops under a gracious King to governe both for Truth and Peace according to the Scripture and her owne Canons and Constitutions as also chose of the Catholick Church which crosse not the Scripture and the just Laws of the Realme So the Prelate In the next passage before the Prelate makes profession of his own Faith concerning Christs thought for Prelaticall Government and here he tells us what is the Faith of the Church of England about the same new Article of his beliefe●● And not unlikely it is ● that the Prelaticall Church of England is of the saine beliefe with her learned Champion and great Metropolitan But the faith both of the Prelate and his Church

whereof is to be ascribed to the Hierarchy of Prelates over their inferiour Clergy Thirdly where he saith Though S. Jerome being no Prelate himselfe he was no gre●t friend to Bishops Hence I note onely the conceit of the Prelate that he thinks none can speake against Prelates but such as are none themselves as if it were onely a matter of envie But as the Poet said Dic mibi si fi●l tis L●● qualis eris● Tell me if thou thy selfe wert a Lion what manner of man wouldst thou be So the Prelate imagines that if any of those that speake against the Authority of Prelates were themselves Lions that is Lord Prelates they would be of another mind they would then say We Prelates have Authority over all Inferiour Priests Jure Divino we are the Sole visible living Iudges to determine and resolve all doubts in matters of Faith and Religion we are the Sole Masters of Ceremonies to bind all men to Canonicall obedience to all our Canons and Constitutions we enjoy honours pleasures riches ease delights of the world favours in Court and what not Thus the Prelate thinks all men would be of his mind were they in his Place And I thinke so too thus farre that they who take upon them the Prelacy they no sooner sit in that Chaire but it proves a Chaire of Pestilence unto them infecting and corrupting mans very reason and judgement so farre as to make him beleeve all is gold that glistereth Onely few come to that Chaire but such as are selfe-infected with their own imbred Plagues as pride Ambition Covetousnesse and that in a high Degree So as King Iames being once asked why he had made so many Bishops in Scotland and not one honest man amongst them all he replyed saying By his Saule there was never an Honest Man wad tack a Bishopricke And Histories tell us of many holy men that utterly refused Bishopricks And there is never a true Reformed Protestant Minister but hates a Bishoprick as he doth the Throne of the Beast But Fourthly saith the Prelate This to wit Anthority of Bishops was so settled in the minds of men from the very Infancy of the Christian Church as that it had not been to that time in the 4th Age or Century contradicted by any No doubt but such a brave and bonny thing as a Prelacy would find Grace enough in the world and quickly sink down and settle in mens minds and affections But what 's this to the purpose as to prove it a Calling from God● But this was saith he from the very Infancy of the Christian Church Surely the Prelacy in the very Infancy of the Christian Church either had no being at all i●rerum natura or was but a misshapen Embrio or infant in the Mothers belly as Es●● was at the same time in his Mothers belly with Isaac yea and would have claimed the blessing of the birth-right too from Isaac because of his antiquity And did not this young Babe wrastle with 〈◊〉 in the wombe when the Apostle saith The Mystery of iniquity doth already works and this young Prelate wanted but time and opportunity to grow up to be a Nimrod even the great Antichrist as we shall see further anon So as to plead Antiquity of the Prelacy even from the very Infancy of the Christian Church is yet no good Argument to confirme their Authority to be jure divino For even Satans Kingdome had existence in the world before Christ was Promised And the Kingdome of heaven to wit of 〈◊〉 here is described to be such as no sooner was the wheat of the Gospell sowne but that wicked one had his Supersemination of Tares of manifold ●rrors such as sprung up even in the Apostles times the very Infancy of the Church But had not been till that time which the Prelate speakes of contradicted by any That I must now contradict For first as before is shewed Christ forbad it upon the first motion of it Secondly the Apostles of which we shall speake by and by mightily contradicted it and cryed it down as being that monstrous mystery of Iniquity And thirdly it was contradicted by sundry as by 〈◊〉 But you will presently say that Epiphanius ranks him even for that very opinion only that he held Prelates not to be de jure divino or that the Degree of a Bishop was no greater then that of a Priest in the Catalogue of Hereticks And so am I also content upon the same termes to be by the Prelates counted for an Hereticke But Secondly himselfe confesseth S. Ierome to have contradicted their Authority as we noted before saying that their Institution was meerly of humane Presumption Yea and thirdly Augustine that Famous light was of the same mind with Ierome So as some of the Learned in the * Councel of Trent alledged both of them in this point So that contradicted it was and had been and that by many and some of them as Christ and his Apostles of Divine and Infallible Authority So as without all Controversie Prelaticall Authority over other Ministers is no Calling of God at all which we now come more fully to shew by the Testimony of the Apostles both in their Doctrine and Practise CHAP. VI Wherein is shewed that according to the Scripture Preshyters and Bishops are all one without difference so as he which is a Presbyter is called Episcopus a Bishop and a Bishop a Presbyter THe first place of Scripture that proves this is in Acts 20. where the Apostles called together the Presbyters or Elders of the Church of Ephesus as ver. 17. which Elders or Presbyters in v. 28. he calls Episcopus saying Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the Flocke over the which the Holy Gh●st hath made you Episcopous that is Overseers as our English renders the word or Bishops to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood From which words it is manifest First that Presbyters and Bishops are all one and the same Order Calling and Office Secondly that in the Church of Ephesus there were many Bishops or Presbyters Thirdly that they had their Calling from the Holy Ghost Fourthly that their Office was to feed the Flock of God over the which the Holy Ghost had made them Overseers And for this Cause such are called elsewhere * Pastors and Teachers right Shepheards indeed that feed the Flocke of God Now will our Prelates say First that they are those Episcopi What more contrary to their Canons and practise For First they doe not allow that every Presbyter be called a Bishop nor to be of the same Order Calling and Office For they say that the Order Calling and Office of a Bishop or Prelate is distinct and different from that of the Presbytery Secondly the Prelates have an old Canon that there must be but one Bishop in one City or Diocese But here we see the Church of Ephesus that one City had many Bishops in

or Bishops as most sutable for those Apostolick Times and Persons Content they are to take the Name of Bishop upon them but for the qualities there required they are not Prelaticall enough such as will ●uit with a Lord-Bishop For those were poore Bishops or Overseers and Feeders of one Flocke in this or that City but these are Lord-bishops over a whole Di●●●se as before is noted To these places we might adde others as Phil. 1. 1. With the Bishops and Deacons Where the Apostle nameing no more Orders but of Bishops and Deacons● the same which he nameth and describeth in the forecited places 1 Tim. 3. and Tit. 1. makes it cleare unto us that by those Pishops in Philippi he meanes the same in kind that were in Ephesus and Creete to wit so many Presbyters as were also called Bishops or Overseers And naming Bishops which were at Philippi it argues there were many Bishops of that one Church as we noted before of the Church of Ephesus And in other places also they are called Elders For 1 Tim. 5. 17. Let the Elders that rule will be counted worthy of double honour mali●ta o● kopiontes especially th●se that take greatest paines in the Word and Doctrine Now those Elders Chap. 3. he calls Bishops Implying they are both o●e as also that there were many of those Bishops in the Church of Ephesus where Timethy then was And those Presbyters or Bishops some were more industrious in the word and Doctrine did kopian labour more hard therein as the word signifieth then ordinary and therefore such the Apostle would have to be counted worthy of double honour Now is it thus with our Lord-Bishops First do they kopian ●oyle hard at Gods Plough to use La●imers Comparison do they desire no more honour but such as is proportionable to their paines in Preaching Gods word Tussi their honour is according to the honour of the City whereof they are Lord-Bishops as the Prelate himselfe ‡ tells us The Honours of the Church should follow the Honours of the State or according to the greatnesse of their reven●●s or according to their great favour and place in Kings Courts and not according to their yeares or vertues or good deserts which are neither required in them nor respected of them Thus still all along quantum abludunt how much distance is there and what infinit disparity between our Lord Bishops and Scripture-bishops And lastly these Bishops so called by Paul are called also by Peter Praesbyteri Presbyters or Elders where he saith ‡ The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder and a witnesse of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory that shal be reveald Feed the Flocke of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof Episcopountes not by constra●nt but willingly not for filthy luore but of a ready mind neither as being Lords over Gods Heritage but being Ensamples to the Flocke And when the chiefe Shepheard shall appeare ye shall receive a Crown that fadeth not away Where First he notes the Ministers and Pastors by the Title of Presbyters or Elders as also he stiles himselfe He saith not My Lords or Right Reverend Fathers or the like Secondly he useth no imperious language unto them but saith parakalo I exhort or beseech you Not as the Prelates to their Priests These are to will and require you upon pai●●e of Episcopall Censure c. Thirdly the thing he exhorts them unto is to ●eed the flocke of God committed to their Charge But our Lord-Prelates command their inferiour Ministers to feed their flocke as sparingly as may be as at the most to preach but once upon the Lords day or once a moneth will serve and for Catechising in the afternoone altogether to forbeare expounding and for the sound food of the Doctrins of Gods free Grace which is the very Summe of the Gosp●l never to preach of them at all as being too Puritanicall and the like Fourthly He exhorts them to feed each his own Flocke Feed the Flocke of God which dependeth on you He saith not Flocks as if one Presbyter or Bishop were set over many Flocks or Congregations as our Lord Bishops are as is noted before Fiftly he exhorts them to oversee their Flock● not for filthy lucre but of a free and ready mind But our Lord Prelates and their Curate Priests are of another mind as being hirelings and noe true Shepheards so as it is with them No penny no Pater noster they looke more to their tithes then to their taske and more after the sleece then for the good of the flocke Sixtly Not as Lords over Gods Heritage yea Mud o●s katakurie●ontes nor as Lording it ever Gods Heritage The same word is used in Mat. 20. 25. Mark 10. 42. Where such Heathen-like Lording is by Christ himselfe forbidden his Disciples as * before is she●ed But the Pontificians and so our Lordly Prelates say that this word katakurieuein signifieth onely a tyrannicall Lordship which they doe not use I answere that in Luke kurieu●in to Lord it at all is forbidden And being put for katakurieuin it noteth that all manner of Lordship over the Flocke of God is forbidden to Christs true Ministers Nor can the Prelates whether Pontifician or Protestant in Name so easily cleare their Lordly Dominion over Gods people from Tyranny For even our great Prelate himselfe sticks not to charge the Church of Rome with ‡ Tyranny And can he discharge himselfe of it Wherein comes the Primate of the Church of England short of the Papall Tyranny but in this that the Pope tyrannizeth over the universall Church of the great world and the Metropolitan or Metropolitician of all En●land tyrannizeth over that whole Church which the Pope called the other world The difference I say is onely in the Magi● Minus which alter not the nature of the thing For for the Popes Inquisition the Prelate hath his High-Commission by the Law whereof though he cannot bring his Heretick Puritans to the Stake attended with fire and fagot as the Popes Inquisition doth yet he can make their life more miserable then death it selfe by his pecpetuall close Imprisonments and the like Nor wants he either Canons and Ceremonies as snares to catch nor Pursuivants as Beagles to hunt out the poore Sheep and to hale them to his Shambles for refusing to be fed with such hemlocke instead of Gods wholesome word Yea where his High-Commission cannot reach to suck the blood and crucifie the bodies of Christs Servants as upon the Pillory he can easily remove the Cause into another Court where himselfe sitting a grand and Powerfull Swaying Judge will satisfie his blood-thirsty longing And as in * another place of his Booke he twitteth the Church of Rome for being a Tryumphant Church Saying Now She must be a Triumphant Church here Militant no longer So no lesse Triumphant hath the Prelate made his present Prelaticall Church of

it even as many as there were Presbyters Thirdly our Prelates can never prove their Authority and Office to be from the Holy Ghost either from any inward calling or outward Not from an inward calling because first it is not any zeale of Gods glory or desire to win soules to God but it is the strong bias of ambition and covetousnesse pride and vaine glory and love of the world that draws them to a Bishopricke Nor Secondly is it an outward calling from men For as in respect of God they have run afore they be sent So in respect of Man they come before they be called Yea they provide and prepare a long time before for such a Purchase For they heap up by hook or crock 3 or 4 Fat Livings they seldome Preach at any of them nor keep Residence or Hospitality but hoord up full Bagges Sculke at the Court ●gratiate themselves with those in greatest Grace and when the Chaire is voyd they bring out their Bagges and so they ar the onely qualified men for such a Dignity They are well known to be no Puritans So as neither according to their own ancient Canons which were framed according to the practise held in the Apostles dayes when the People had a voyce in the election of their Pastors have the Prelates an outward calling to their dignities For instance when Mr. Moutague was to be installed or I wot not what they call it in Bow Church and the Tipstaffe according to the Ancient custome in that Case with his Mace proclaimes open liberty for any that can come and except against the worthinesse of that Man one stood forth and made his exception which though it was both legall and very materiall yet he was borne down and the matter never came to tryall but was carryed with a strong hand for the new Prelate Thus I say they have no lawfull nor truly formall or yet Canonicall outward Calling Yea besides that they are notorious Simonists either purchasing that dignity with a great Summe of money or procuring it obsequio by obsequiousnesse or Court-Service and attendance or by a wager or the like all which are branches of Simonie they doe also play the egregious hypocrites For when the Question is asked them Vis Episcopare Wilt thou be a Bishop he answers Nolo No forsooth And this is done three times A meere mock-holiday For if the wretch were taken at his word he were undone Fourthly neither doe our Prelates affect the Bishopricke for that end that those Bishops of the Church of Ephesus were exhorted unto by the Apostle namely to feed the Fock of God Yea besides that their ayme and desire is not for the Office and worke of a true Bishop as the Apostle saith * He that desireth the Office of a Bishop desireth a worthy worke which is principally to feed the Flocke of God as also ‡ Peter exhorteth for they look not to the duty but after the dignity as Chrysostome and ‡ Bernard have noted of old Thou seest saith Bernard all Ecclesiasticall zeale to boyle and pant aft●r their Dignities onely c. as we noted before besides this I say it is a thing impossible for them to feed the Flocke of God For some of them have foure or five hundred Flocks within their Diocese some more● some lesse which they never once in all their life bestow one fothering upon onely the Prelate in his Trienniall Visitation that is once in 3. yeares visites perhaps halfe a dozen Churches where he comes not to feed the Flock● with one Scrap of a Sermon but to fill his pouch with his poore Ministers double Procurations and his paunch with their good Cheere But our Prelates will answere as our Non-residents doe in that case that though themselves doe not feed the Flocke yet their Curates do● it for them For say our Prelates and that according to their Collect for Bishops and Curates all the Ministers in their severall Diocese are their Curates to feed so many Flocks Thus by this reckoning the Prelates are the most egregious Non-residents of all other And thus we see how not onely unlike but directly contrary all Prelates are to those Bishops of the Church of Ephesus and that in all and every of those particular and remarkable respects forespecified out of the Apostles own words And therfore by that place of Scripture Prelates though they have usurped most unjustly the Title of Bishops yet they have nothing in them of true Bishops indeed and therfore are never able to prove that they are Bishops jure divino For they which are Bishops jure divino are lawfull Pastors set over their particular Flocke to feed the same with the wholesome food of the word but Prelates call themselves Diocesan Bishops having so many Flocks as they neither doe nor ever are able nor ever intend to feed them Nay instead of feeding them they restraine and inhibit all Ministers to feed their Flocke at all in the Afternoone on the Lords dayes nor at any time to feed them with sound and wholsome and comfortable f●od of the Doctrines of Grace and Gods free love to his Elect in giving Christ for them effectually to Redeeme them and certainly to bring them to that eternall glory in heaven which God from all Eternity had Predestinated them unto So as without this sound preaching of Grace no Flock can be Savingly fedde Prelates therefore are Wolves to destroy not Shepheards to feed the Flocke of Christ A Second place of Scripture proveing a Presbyter and a Bishop to be all one in Order Calling and Office is in Tit. 1. 5. c. For this Cause saith the Apostle to Titus I left thee in Creete that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and ordaine Elders in every City as I had appointed thee If any be blamelesse c. For a Bishop must be bl●melesse as the Steward of God not Selfe-willed● c. Here againe we plainly see that those who are the Presbyters or Pastors set over the Flock of God are here called Bishops by the Apostle Whence in is evident that in the Infancy of the Christian Church in the time of the Apostles themselves and that by Order from Christ and from the Holy Ghost all Presbyters or true Pastors of several●Congregations as aforesaid were called Bishops or Overseers as the Greek word signifieth And this was k●ta po●n in every City and Towne in Creete especially where there was a Congregation of Christians Titus was appointed by the Apostle to ordaine such Elders or Bishops And in Centuries we read ●ow in some Countries there was never a Towne or Village but it had a Bishop in it which Bishop was the Pastor there And the severall qualities required in those Presbyters or Bishops are in the same Chapter set down by the Apostle which because we touched before upon occasion I will not here insist upon But those qualities are such as our Prelates willingly leave to those poore Presbyters