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	prince_n	1,496	5	5.5979	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85989	The prelatical Cavalier catechized, and the Protestant souldier incouraged. By a missive sent to King Charles in the name of the Protestants beyond seas. Wherein these three questions are resolved. Viz. First, how inconsistent a prelaticall government is with the true Protestant religion, and with the peace and welfare of this kingdome. Secondly, how absolutely necessary it is for King Charles and his associats, to entertain peace with the Parliament at any hand, if ever he hopeth to recover or enjoy any glory or splendour of his royalty. Thirdly, which are the best means King Charles, &c. can use for obtayning an honourable peace for the present, and improving and continuing the same in time to come. Much conducing to encourage and confirme all true Protestants in the truth of the Protestant cause, especially all souldiers that are for King and Parliament. ... Presented to the Honorable Councels of Great Britain, now sitting in Parliament; and the rest of the Kings Majesties subjects. / By Eleazer Gilbert, a minister of Gods Word. Printed, and published according to order.	Gilbert, Eleazer.	1645 (1645)	Wing G706; Thomason E296_28; ESTC R200215	22,248	25

event of any temporall occurrence all things falling out to all to them that sweare as to them that fear an oath we will neither think the worse of them because of their present afflictions nor the better of their enemies because of their atchieved victories The Almighty hath his own fulnesse of time for the managing and disposing all important passages under the Sunne but especially for such as doe more immediately concerne his own glory and the good of his Church and although he hath suffered the Roman Antichrist and his Catholick children for these thirty or forty years past to ride over the bellies plow and make long furrows upon the backs of these and some other Protestant Princes Psal 129. 3. yet as God is just and his Gospel true the feet of all the enemies of Protestant Religion shall slide in due time Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Deut. 32. 35. For when That seven-headed and ten-horned monster having caused the Kings of the earth to commit fornication with her Rev. 18. 3. and stirred them up by policie and machiavilisme to fight against the Lamb Revel. 17. 14. so soon as shee shall be fully drunk with the blood of the Saints and of the Martyrs of Jesus Christ and also hath made these Kings drunken with the wine of the wrath of her fornication in a word when shee hath for a long time sitten upon that septicolled Citie like a Queen saying and domineering over it I am no widdow and shall see no mourning then shall there come upon her a sodain alarm as there did upon Samson Up Samson the Philistims are upon thee Up Romish Babylon for all thy strength and cunning a Lambe shal overcome thee and these Kings which thou cast been so much in love with and have been so much in love with thee they shall stand afar off because of thy torment saying alas Alas for that great City for in one houre is thy judgement come If therefore your Highnesse and your Confederates have not already given your names to this Beast and if you be not yet drunke with the wine of the wrath of her fornication For the Lords sake come out of her let not your souls come into her counsels neither be ye joyned with her Assemblies lest partaking of her truelty you partake also of her plagues For as the Lambe overcommeth and destroyeth all such as oppose and contradict him in the truth and purity of his worship so doth he in his appointed time honour crown and blesse all that in syncerity and simplicity of heart joyne with him for the mayntenance of the purity and truth of his Ordinances of which number are not onely these noble Princes so many of them as have declined that broad way and embraced this narrow way one that leads to the new Jerusalem but also the mayn body of Great Britain England and Scotland which have mutually and interchangeably Hungary ingaged themselves besides a considerable number of Reformed Protestants beyond the Seas yea and the Luther an Protestants also in Denmarke Sweden Germany Prussia c. besides the protestants of the Greek Church inhabiting the Territories of Muscovia white Russia in Poland and other places who are almost allequally engaged with us towards the curtaling of the horns of the Romish Bishop all which as we conceive if there were any firme complyance betwixt you and your Great Counsell of State might here be brought easily to reconciliable minds towards us to joyne with us in one common cause for the abandoning and abolishing all Antichristian and and unlimited Jurisdiction from the protestant Churches throughout Europe So that in all places and Dominions of Christendome there may be but one Shepherd and one sheepfold every severall Kingdome and Province thereof through the annuall and mutuall correspondence of their Princes and States and the strength of a generall Councell by their authority seasonably convocated being perswaded and throughly informed in the truth of all essentiall points that may any ways concerne our salvation and finally all that professe the name of Christ may be brought to consent together to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace that there may be but one Faith one Lord and one Baptisine one Father in us all through us all and for us all and then what an easie thing it were for a Christian King that is Defender of the Faith Inot onely to enlarge his Dominions but also to improve his just splendour and priviledges both for himself and for all that he hath relation to throughout the known world we leave to the censure of the indifferent reader But if wilfulnesse and prejudicacie have so much preposessed you and your associates that you will not thinke of any other or better way to prevent your own and your Kinsmens ruine then that which you have now in hand Wee have no more to say to you but what Mordecay said to Ester Ester 4. 13. Deliverance will be brought another way For as God is true you will finde this certain that so many of your kindred and other Protestant Princes and States that doe justly suffer for the cause of Religion if they persevere unto the end God will exalt and raise them by the same Religion and work their deliverance by no other means then by the same whereby they have suffered The fourth and last motive which we shall mention at this time is the duty which by the Law of God you owe to your people which is to shew your chiefest care and use your best means for the preservation of their lives and liberties especially seeing they are all members of that politicall body whereof your Highnesse professeth your selfe to be the head and seeing also that in them viz. in then good affections health and welfare doth consist as Samsons did in his locks your great strength and livelihood For if there be a sympathy and fellow-feeling in the body naturall in so much as when the foot is trod upon or any other member hurt the head will complain as if the injury were done unto it and so likewise in the true Church of Christ or body mysticall as the Apostle emplyeth when he biddeth us rejoyce with them that rejoyce and weep with them that weep Rom. 12. 15. And be like affectioned one towards another And again Who is weak and I am not weak who is offended and I burn not if wee say there is such a sympathy in the mysticall and naturall body why should not the same be also in the body politicall if therefore any or many members of the body of Great Britain be diseased or distempered through malignant humours which may perhaps not onely work obstructions in the pipes of government but also make the head complain and cry out for pain yet are not these members by war or any other means of this nature to be cut off from the head unlesse they prove so poysoned putrified

in the inheritance of Christ Jesus every one to his Tents ô Israel so that while as both of you seem to strive about one Religion there is in effect betwixt you both as much as no Religion Religion it self is almost lost through the quarrels and questions for Religion it faring with her as it did with the woman in Plutarch who having many Suitors when every one could not have her to himself they cut her in pieces that so none might have her For certainly if our information fail not there be almost as many false brethren and professors of the one side as there be abettors of the Prelacy and Papacy on the other yea and as obstructive and obnoxious to the Protestant Cause though both of them be eq●ally enemies to peace being not onely contentious but lovers of content on However we conceive the separating Schismaticks to be the most dangerous they being so wedded to their own phantasies and onthusiasmes that whatsoever opinion they once lay hold on let it be never so contrary to the analogie of faith or the rules of charity in the communion of Saints these men we say are so zealously confident in their way that they had rather there should be no Protestant Religion at all in the world then that opinion or phantasie which they have conceived of it should not prevail atque hinc illae lachrymae From hence your Kingdoms have received a double blow one from your professed Friends another from your professing enemies whom because nec verit ati nec paci cedere norunt they neither can nor know how to give way to a true Protestant peac● we will leave to themselves and proceed unto the second motive which should incline your Highnesse and your confederates to peace And this is the respect you should have to the Procestant Religion where by a Protestant Religion we understand not a profession of Christianity which is reformed onely an part such as is that of the Lutherans and your late Hierarchie in England which though as is aforesaid it was purged by the care of godly and orthodox Princes from the heresies of the Romane Church in matters and points of doctrine yet did it in matters of discipline retain diverse exorbitant scandalous and corrupt customs and superstitious ceremonies which made the English Church although not the same yet to resemble and be too too like that which is mayntained by the Roman Antichrist but by the Protestant Religion we understand such a profession of christianity as is reformed in both these so far as the excellencie perfection and purity of a militant Church may subsist withall without any excessive or corrupt mixture of humane inventions or superstitious customes and ceremonies either in doctrine or discipline such as we believe your self will confesse if you know any thing of a presbyterian government to be this day amongst all Europian Christians most candidly and incorruptible mayntained and practised by the Presbyterian Protestants This is that Religion which is in every godly and decent respect most consistent with the truth and purity of the Gospell and which ought to be mayntained preserved and cherished by Protesiant Princes and States with as much eagernesse and industry as the Jesuiticall Pentificians have to mayntain their Romish Idoll which an all probability can never be done by war especially by such a war as that is which is abetted by your Highnesse and Confederates for hereby if we be not much deceived you doe what you can to encourage and hearten the Papists against the Protestants and proclaim as it were with open mouth to the wide world that you are turned Apostates from the Protestant Religion For what greate cause or occasion can your Highnes and your associates give unto the Papist to work the finall overthrow and ruine of the Protestant Churches and States then to entertain and harbour prejudicate and inreconcilable affections against your Protestant Subjects and brethren this is all they seek for ●●fer if your Italie Gallico Haspamol●sed Austrian Papists can have but such a strong foundation to build upon as the distance and estrangement of Protestant Spirits either opposed or alienated one from another in points of Religion then are they perswaded and so in all humane reason they may well be that neither their Counsels nor intentions can neither fundamentally nor essentially concur and conscquently no confederation nor conjenction in real endeavours will ever be brought to any setled purpose or period either in Great Britain or elswhere And to this purpose wee cannot admire enough of your Highnesse and your Great Councell that you should take so shall notice of the Spanish King and the German Emperour who are so fast vying stakes with the French King which of them should soonest by this means engrosse unto themselves the European States and erect a Catholike Christian Monarchie to which purpose they omit no way or means to make the Protestant Princes and States fall by the eares together and keep their Houses and Territoires in perpetuall division To omit Germany and other places where we have not been so well accuainted wee appeal to the verdict of your own Countrymen Merchants that travell into Denmarke Sweden Poland Russia amongst almost an innumerable multitude of Lutheran Protestants who if they understand or have taken notice of the practice or preaching of these Luther Priests and Ministers cannot but acknowledge and testifie how carefully and industriously the Jesuits especially in Poland and Prussia doe foment and hire unconscionable Divines to mayntain pretences of a fundamentall difference in Religion betwixt us and them which in truth and substance is but all one giving unto the Lutherans many promises and priviledges which they will not so much as profer unto the Evangelick Protestants that separation being made between the Lutheran Protestant and the Reformed Evangelick Protestant the occasion of Disputes envy strife rayling and evill ●●mising might never be wanting amongst them and that as well for temporall and worldly as for heavenly and spirituall respects The third motive to induce your Highnesse unto peace is the Obligation which God and Nature hath laid upon you to mayntain the Rights of your Sister and Nephews whose parents if they had been either Papists or Neuterals might have this day been sitting in their Castle or Wittenbergh For although ambition was the cause pretended yet who knoweth not that knoweth any thing that their Religion was the cause intended For had they complyed so much as some other Princes do that beare the name of Protestants with the Spanish King and the Germane Emperour neither had their Confederates so miserably flinched from them us they did nor they liad been so rigidly and cruelly ejected out of their own inheritante us they were But because Gods judgments are unsearchable and his ways past finding out for who knoweth Gods mind or who hath been his Counsellor and also because no man can discerne Gods love and hatred in this respect by this