Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	call_v	great_a	know_v	2,096	5	3.3529	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61335	The divine obligation of humane ordinances Delivered in a sermon upon the 26th of February, before the iudge, at St. Maries in Bury St. Edmonds, By William Starkey, D.D. Rector of Pulham in Norfolk.	Starkey, William, 1620 or 21-1684.	1668 (1668)	Wing S5294; ESTC R214022	19,168	36

have I this day made my Enemies for speaking the Truth And while the Zeal of Equity and Righteousness and of just Obedience is eating me up I may look even for this that some may speak evil of me in the gate and the reproaches of them that are given to Sedition may fall upon me And certainly if I would have had respect to the favour of men I should have pleaded this day for Indulgence for Toleration for Dispensation of all Positive Laws at least for suspension of their Penalty and not earnestly have urged obedience and submission to the Ordinances of men but that I never yet feared the face of man having committed my cause to God neither durst I partially flatter or by silence countenance any in their opposition or neglect of that subjection which must be yeelded for the Lords sake Yet there was never more love pretended to the Prince then in our days and never less respect unto his Laws persons shewing with what spirit they are possessed when they break almost all the bonds of Humane Laws asunder and cast away all those cords from them And in those that are not quite broken O how stretched how distorted One Humour pulling the Ligament one way another the other way and every Member is distracted and full of Convulsion-fits so no wonder if the head be sick the heart be faint and the whole body be full of pain But certainly so it is scarce any regard our reports and either St. Peter was no Apostle or the Text hath not been rightly expounded or else there hath been and is too too much wilful Disorder in the Nation I know what the Dissenter pleads I honour my Prince I love and reverence his Person I pay him Tribute willingly but for some Humane Ordinances to them I cannot in Conscience submit Shall I not have the liberty of my Conscience may not my Conscience be free To which give me leave to reply That thy Profession of thy love is empty and insignificant without thy obedience as required Probatio dilectionis est exhibitio operis service is the clearest demonstration of thy love and if thou lovest thy God or his Christ thy love to either is to be evidenced by keeping their Commandments And thy obedience to the Commands of things of a middle nature is the clearest and most unquestionable obedience And yet if we hear any thing from the Opposers it is a Plea of Conscience they dare not do any thing against their Conscience all these mens Asceticks are acted in the lists and bounds of Conscience and this the cry They exercise themselves to keep a Conscience void of offence toward God and toward man And so is the world filled with the noise as a great part of it hath lost the thing Conscience For if persons that palliate and excuse their Dissent and Disorder with the cloak of Conscience had not laid aside Reason Religion and Conscience also there could not be that distance and difference that is yet among us And if any that dissents from us in the Obedience urged be crept in among us let him know that if he will hear me with patience and without prejudice if do not make it appear that in his not submitting he hath no Conscience and if he hath a Conscience that he must submit I will turn his Proselyte vow my self in his Perswasion and come over to his side immediately There is onely this to be done first that we agree what Conscience is and we come to the point in hand instantly And Conscientia is concludens Scientia a firm Conclusion a settled Judgement a fixed Determination of the Intellective Part from a certain infallible Rule from which we infer assume apply to our selves the Morality of our Action and determine of the subsequent issue accordingly So Conscience is nothing else but Syllogismus Practicus a Practical Syllogism in which the Major part of Conscience is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Major the Understanding lays down the Rule the Revealed Will or the Natural Law of God Where Conscience is there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the keeping together the Commands of God In respect of the Minor Conscience may be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Intellective part casts one look on the Rule another on our selves and actions and applieth to our selves from our agreeing or disagreeing the goodness or badness of our fact and so 't is a Witness In respect of the Conclusion it 's well called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There it plays the part of a Judge for having observed either our conformity or disagreeing with the Rule then the Intellective part passeth a true sentence and acquits or condemns accordingly So then this is to be agreed on first That Lex Dei solum obligat Conscientiam hominis The Conscience of a man is to be ruled by the Law of God So no example or practice of the most retired mortified men can be a Rule for thy Conscience the most devout of men are not to be lords of our Faith who at best are but helpers of our Joy Infallibility is not be granted to any particular man which is not to be granted to any particular Church of Christ Neither can Conscience be made up soundly from the practice of a fallible man but from the dictate of an infallible God So that is not to be called Conscience that is grounded on the examples of godly religious men Nor is that Conscience that hath onely former resolutions for its Rule for wilful obstinacy tenaciousness of purpose cannot be a part of Conscience which is not in the appetitive part at all nor can humour animosity a suddain precipitate ingaging be justified by a Plea of Conscience when there must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Conscience cannot be without Deliberation Nor can Deliberation without applying or Determination be called Conscience for while the Understanding is fluctuating and questioning and inquiring it may be in tendency to it it is not yet to be called Conscience till determined And here again they seem as far from Reason in their Expressions as from Obedience in their Actions that call out for Liberty of Conscience May not my Conscience be free And they would make the doubting reason against the undoubted Command of the Superiour in things indifferent to be the weak Conscience but where liberty or doubting is there can be no Determination of the thing doubted and where no Determination there can be no Conscience Neither can any Plea of Conscience justifie any Action or Undertaking that is unlawful when Conscience which is but a Witness to a Rule can be no more then a subordinate Rule neither can it give an absolute Law which must be determined by a Law without which it may be Humour Animosity Fancy Opinion whatever it be sure enough it cannot be rightly called Conscience And therefore that persons should be constrained through Penalties to examine throughly the cause of their dissenting Judgements

although it hath gotten through mistake a repute of harshness in the World I know not why it should seem unreasonable For if persons will take up Resolutions without yea sometimes against a Rule I think 't is a greater deal of Charity and there is necessity to bring those by any means to a Rule to bring them into the way of truth who have so long erred and have been deceived But be it agreed upon betwixt us That Conscience is a settled Determination of the Intellective Part from a certain Rule inferring the Morality of our Actions and concluding the issue accordingly And now to our business in hand That I or thou decline any thing in Conscience that is commanded by a lawful Authority it must be because the thing is unlawful For neither I nor thou ought to do any thing unlawful that we both abide by What therefore we decline that is enjoyned by lawful Authority we cannot decline unless it be prohibited or forbidden by the Law of God For if forbidden then be not careful to answer Vetitum est is sufficient But if the thing be not forbidden and so not unlawful though not commanded by God directly or immediately yet if enjoyned by lawful Authority we must sin against Conscience in refusing or declining much more in opposing when we ought to be subject to Higher Powers and to submit c. to every Ordinance of man And yet these Ordinances of men not binding as the Arbitrary Impositions of fallible men but as having their Authority and Obligingness from a superintending Command of an undeceiving God who commands subjection to Higher Powers which cannot be better demonstrated then in things of this nature nor is the Fifth Command better observed as hath been proved sufficiently So there can be no justifiable declining or opposing the Superiours Command out of Conscience when the things declined are no ways unlawful nor prohibited by the Word of God For where no Law no Trangression But now on the contrary if we have any Conscience we must submit and there is just ground of our submission and conformity For the thing being not unlawful and commanded by our Superiours we are to submit not onely for fear of wrath but for Conscience sake Conscience not simply of the Command of man but as the Command of God who commands subjection and that we submit to every Ordinance of man for the Lords sake Yet the Dissenters oppose and complain of it as a great grievance That actions or things in their own nature indifferent should by an Imposition be made necessary and determined and this bemoan'd as a violence to tender Consciences To which I must reply this To demand what hurt is it if things or actions of their own nature indifferent be determined Those things that were indifferent of their own nature might have been done or undone lawfully without transgression before determined but now determined they are grievances and unlawful Oh at last consider How little thy Reason how great thy Opposition to all manner of Government when an action of its own nature indifferent and so consequentially lawful shall be declined by thee as a thing unlawful onely because a lawful Authority hath enjoyned it Again that the indifference is taken away it is not taken away for the nature of the thing but for the use of it it being determined in wisdome as then in that place being most convenient Neither is it enjoyned that thou shouldst believe thy obedience must be yeelded to such Commands as if they were absolutely necessary to Salvation but as conveniently necessary for Peace to preserve Order and prevent Confusion There is no question but such Constitutions are peculiar temporary and mutable yet the outward Power shall bind and limit thee for the outward Act but it leaves thee free for thy Conscience Conscience I say of the nature of the thing not of the exercise of the Act enjoyned For thou art bound to do as is commanded not onely for wrath but for Conscience sake who art commanded to submit c. Again If indifferent things as thou seemest to desire should not be determined what can be expected from the unyeeldingness of mens nature upon pretence of offence but we must run into Schism and Divisions For to instance in that thing which is before our eyes The Surplice in its self is indifferent whether worn or not worn be it left so and no Injunction and see what follows Thou art perswaded in Divine Administration it should be forborn others with as much earnestness and more reason urge it that it must be worn it being decent and significant If I wear it I offend one party if I wear it not I offend another it were good to be without offence and to give none to either Jew or Gentile but if this be left indifferent of necessity some must be scandalized so as the Determination of the Governour in this case is necessary that people by his judgement may abide quietly and live in peace who if left to themselves would inevitably run into Contention and Confusion But I may leave arguing and we have reason enough God help us to break out into Lamentation and we may complain with Hilary Our Faith facta est fides temporum potius quam Evangeliorum periculosum ac miserabile tot nunc fides existere quot voluntates Our Faith is become the Faith of the Times rather then the Faith of the Gospels and what is dangerous and lamentable we have got as many Faiths as Wills and Consciences as obstinate Resolutions And when Conscience which ought to be subordinate and under a Law shall be accounted as a plea sufficient to justifie any mans attempts or actions without any respect to the absolute Law no wonder we should run headlong in multitudes into a lawless liberty and licentiousness and into all manner of disobedience The Church of England admired and envied of all strangers hath been like Joseph a very fruitful Bough but the Archers have sorely grieved her and shot at her and feared not Those that have withdrawn themselves into the Synagogue are yet persecuting them of the Church and lay things to their charge they knew not of For while they clamour against Superstition among us let those that obstinately will account things absolutely unlawful that of their own nature are indifferent let them soberly consider whether they be not deeply guilty of Superstition themselves But say what we can the worst of our Enemies are those that have been of our own Houshold the Children of our Mother have fought against her and they that have eat of her bread have lift up their heels against her And when those that have been our Friends and Acquaintance though without cause stand thus afar off no wonder if Strangers think some evil Disease cleaveth close unto us And to make us more miserable what hath befaln the Church will certainly befal the State in all positive Laws if Liberty and Toleration be