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	person_n	1,806	5	4.8836	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26103	A collection of svndry petitions presented to the Kings Most Excellent Majestie as also to the two most honourable houses, now assembled in Parliament, and others, already signed, by most of the gentry, ministers, and free-holders of severall counties, in behalfe of episcopacie, liturgie, and supportation of church-revenues, and suppression of schismaticks / collected by a faithful lover of the church, for the comfort of the dejected clergy, and all moderately affected Protestants.	Aston, Thomas, Sir, 1600-1645.; Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1642 (1642)	Wing A4073; ESTC R208748	30,703	48

all others what high presumption is it and how great a tyranny may it prove over the minds and consciences of men The great increase of late of Schismaticks and Sectaries and of persons not onely separating and sequestring themselves from the publike Assembly at Common Prayers and Divine Service but also opposing and tumultuously interrupting others in the performance thereof in the publike Congregation the frequent and many Conventicles held amongst them and their often meetings at all publike conventions of Assizes Sessions Faires Markets and other publike Assemblies their earnest labouring to sollicit and draw the people to them and the generall correspondence held amongst them to advance their ends herein Of these things wee cannot but take notice and must needs expresse our just feares that their desires and endeavours are to worke some great change and mutation in the present state of the Church Government and in the Forme of the publique Worship of God and Divine Service and Common Prayers Of the Common grievances of the Kingdome wee as others have beene and are sensible and doe professe that wee have just cause with joy and comfort to remember and with thankefulnesse to acknowledge the pious care which is already taken for the suppressing of the grouth of Popery the better supply of able and painefull Ministers and the removing of all Innovation and wee doubt not but in your great Wisdomes you will regulate the rigour and exorbitancy of the Ecclesiasticall Courts to suit with the temper of our Common Lawes and the nature and condition of Freemen And wee hope and humbly pray that the present Forme of Church Government and of Church Service and Common Prayers now established by the Statutes of this Kingdome shall bee setled and that all such as shall oppose themselves against the same or shall doe or speake any thing in derogation or depraving of the said Divine Service or Booke of Common Prayer may without any further tolleration or connivence undergoe the paines punishment and forfeitures due therefore and that such care shall bee taken for placing of Orthodox and peaceable men Lecturers in all places whose Doctrine may tend rather to sound instruction and edification then lead to Schisme and Faction All which wee humbly submit to your great judgements and shall pray to God to assist and direct you from above with his heavenly wisdome to guide and bring all your consultations to happy conclusions To the High and Honourable Court of Parliament now sitting The humble Petition and Remonstrance of the Knights Gentry Clergy Freeholders and Inhabitants of the County of Somerset Delivered to the House of Peers by the Lord Marquesse Hartford the 10. of December 1641. Wee humbly shew THat having with griefe of mind heard of sundry Petitions which have beene exhibited to this Right Honourable Assembly by some of the Clergy and Laity about London and some Counties tending to the subversion of the Church-government established in this Kingdome Wee therefore tendring the Peace and Welfare of Both Doe in all humblenesse presume to make knowne our Opinions and Desires concerning the same Nothing doubting of the like good acceptance of our humble Petition and Remonstrance in this behalfe being tendred with no lesse good Affection to the Peace and Happinesse of the Church the prosperity of His Sacred Majesty and this whole Kingdome For the present government of the Church we are most thankefull to God believing it in our hearts to be the most pious and the wisest that any People or Kingdome upon earth hath beene blest withall since the Apostles dayes though wee may not deny but through the frailty of Men and corruption of Times some things of ill consequence and other needlesse are stollen or thrust into it which wee heartily wish may be reformed and the Church restored to its former Purity And to the end it may be the better preserved from present and future Innovation We wish the wittingly and maliciously guilty of what condition soever they be whether Bishops or inferior Clergy may receive condigne punishment But for the miscarriage of Governours to destroy the Government we trust it shall never enter into the hearts of this wise and Honourable assembly Wee will not presume to dispute the Right of Episcopacy whether it be Divine or not It sufficeth us to know that the Church-government by Bishops is ancient even neere to the Apostles dayes and that it hath pleased God from time to time to make them most glorious instruments for the propagation and preservation of Christian Religion which with their blood they have frequently sealed to Posterity And how much this Kingdome in particular is indebted to them for their Piety their Wisedomes and Sufferings wee trust shall never be forgotten Our hearts desire therefore is That the Precious may be separated from the Vile that the bad may be rejected and the good retayned Furthermore having credibly heard that our Common Prayer hath beene interrupted and despised of some mis-understanding or mis-led people to the great scandall of the Religion professed in our Church Wee humbly beseech you to take into your care the Redresse therof as of an Impiety not to be endured as also to take order for the severe punishment of those men if they may be discovered who frequently publish Pamphlets under a veile of Religion yet conducing to confusion and Rebellion All which wee humbly offer to your Wisedomes as the thoughts and desires of this County And as wee are perswaded of multitudes of the sound Members of the Church of England and his Sacred Majesties most loyall Subjects Beseeching God to direct and prosper your Counsels and yee to pardon our Errors Wee rest At your Commands Knights Esquires Divines Gentlemen Free-holders Inhabitants of the County of Somerset none of them Papists but all Protestants of the Church of England and his Majesties loyall Subjects 14350 Whereof Knights Esquires and Gentlemen 200 Divines 221 Io BROVVNE Cler. Parliament To the high and honourable Court of PARLIAMENT The humble Petition of the Knights Esquires Gentlemen and Housholders in the County of RVTLAND in behalfe of our selves and our Families And of the Parsons Vicars and Curats for the Clergy in behalfe of themselves and their Families Humbly shewing THat whereas there have beene divers Petitions exhibited to this Honourable Court by persons disaffected to the present Government for the utter extirpation of the apostolicall Government of the Church by Bishops They by sedulity and zeale supplying the want of faire pretences for the abolition of that which wee hope no just reason can condemne and on the otherside many pious persons true sonnes of the Church of England have represented their just desires of the continuance of it upon great and weighty causes both in Divinity and true Policy wee also lest we might seem unconcerned and for feare lest our silence should be exacted as a crime at our hands if wee be deficient to what wee are perswaded is the cause of God In

of Bishops would be a scandall not onely to many weake Christians who feare all Innovation as guilty of some ill intendments upon their consciences but also to the strongest which shewes it to be the fault of the giver not the weaknesse of the receiver and if we must not scandalize our weake brethren much lesse our strong since this will intrench upon us in a high measure they not being apt to be scandalized upon umbrages and impertinencies 12 Where Bishops are not there is not an Honourable but Familike Clergy against the Apostolicall rule of double honour 13 By putting downe Episcopacy wee deprive our selves of those solemne benedictions which the Faith of Christendome and the profession of the Church of England enjoyning the Bishop rather to pronounce the blessing at the end of the Communion appropriates to Episcopall preheminence above Priestly authority 14 Two parts of three of the Reformed Churches are governed by Bishops or Superintendents which is properly the Latine word of Bishops and the other part that wants them have often wished them as their owne Doctors doe professe 15 It is against the liberties of the Clergy indulged to them by the Magna Charta granted and confirmed by so many Kings and about thirty Parliaments in expresse act and the violation of any part of it by intrenchment upon the right of the lay Subject justly accounted a great grievance the Charter it selfe being as Fundamentall a Law as we conceive as any other and any of us may feare lest his Liberties may be next in question 16 The foure great Generall Councels in estimation next the foure Evangelists and by the Statutes of the Kingdome made the rules of judging Heresies were held by Bishops the greatest fires and pests of Christendome the old Heresies were by their Industry extinct Church Discipline and pious constitutions by them established many Nations by them converted many Miracles done for the confirmation of Christian Faith one of the Gospels written by a Bishop Saint Marke of Alexandria if wee beleeve as authentike Records as any are extant Three Epistles of Saint Paul written to Bishops Seven Epistles by the Holy Ghost himselfe recorded in the Revelation and sent to seven Asian Bishops as all ancient Fathers accord the names of twelve men beside Apostles mentioned in Holy Scripture which all antiquity reports to have beene Bishops Most of the Fathers whose workes all Posterity embraces with much zeale and admiration were Bishops these also in our apprehensions advance that holy Function to a high and unalterable estimate 17 Very many of the fairest Churches and Colledges and places of Religion were built by Bishops which are faire Caracters to shew their promptnesse to doe publike acts of Piety and that persons so qualified as they were that is Governours and Clergy and fairly endowed is an excellent composition to advance publike designes for the honour of God in the Promotion of publike Piety 18 Since it hath pleased this Honourable Court of late to commend a Protestation to us which we by solemne Vow engaged our selves to attest with our lives and fortunes the established Doctrine of the Church of England wee consider that since the 36. article hath approved and established the booke of Consecration of Bishops the abolition of Episcopacy would nullifie that article and should not we make humble Remonstrance to the contrary we should suddenly recede from our great and solemne Protestation for maintenance of our Church Doctrine But may it please this Honourable Assembly wee consider on the other side 19 The introducing of Lay Elders must needs bring an insupportable burthen to all Parishes by maintaining them at the Parish charge for they must bee maintained or else a transgression is made against an Apostolicall Rule For the principall and indeed the onely colourable pretended place for Lay Elders injoynes their maintenance So that either the people must bee oppressed with so great burthens or else Saint Pauls Rule not obeyed or else there is no authority for Lay Elders as indeed there is not 20 And also there can bee no lesse feare of Vsurpation upon the Temporall power by the Presbitery then is pretended from Episcopacy since that Presbitery challenges cognisance of more causes and persons then the Episcopacy does so making a dangerous entrenchment upon the Supremacy and derives its pretence from Divine Institution with more confidence and more immediate derivation then Episcopacy though indeed most vainely as wee conceive 21 Wee crave leave also to adde this that these two viz. Episcopacy and Presbitery being the onely two in contestation if any new designe should justle Episcopacy wee are confident that as it hitherto wants a name so it will want a face or forme of reason in case of Conscience when it shall appeare Signed by Knights Justices Gentry and Freeholders about 800. By Ministers about the number of 40. The Cheshire Petition for establishing of the Common-Prayer-Booke and Suppression of Schismatiques presented to the Kings Majesty and from him recommended to the House of Peeres by the Lord KEEPER To the Kings most Excellent Majesty and to the Right Honourable the Lords and the Honourable the House of Commons Assembled in Parliament The humble Petition of divers of the Nobility Justices Gentry Ministers Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the County Palatine of Chester whose Names are nominated in the Schedule annexed Your Petitioners with all cheerefulnesse and contentation ●ffying in the happy settlement of the distractions both of Church and State by His Majesties pious care and the prudent and religious endeavours of this Honourable Assembly and with due humility and obedience submitting to the unanimous conclusions thereof yet conceive themselves bound in Duty HVmbly to represent to your mature considerations that the present disorders of many turbulent and ill disposed Spirits are such as give not onely occasion of present discontent to your Petitioners but seeme to import some ill event without early prevention The pure seed of our Faith the Doctrine of the true Reformed Protestant Religion established by so many Acts of Parliament and so harmoniously concurring with the confessions of all other Reformed Churches being tainted with the Tares of divers Sects and Schismes lately sprung up amongst us Our pious laudable and ancient forme of Divine Service composed by the holy Martyrs and worthy Instruments of Reformation established by the prudent Sages of State your religious Predecessours honoured by the approbation of many learned forraigne Divines subscribed by the Ministery of the whole Kingdome and with such generall content received by all the Laity that scarse any Family or person that can read but are furnished with the Bookes of Common Prayer In the conscionable use whereof many Christian hearts have found unspeakable joy and comfort wherein the famous Church of England our deare Mother hath just cause to glory And may shee long flourish in the practise of so blessed a Liturgy yet it is now not onely depraved by many of those who