Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	death_n	die_v	sin_n	7,620	5	5.8816	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56807	The conformists plea for the nonconformists, or, A just and compassionate representation of the present state and condition of the non-conformists as to I. The greatness of their sufferings, II. Hardness of their case, III. Reasonableness and equity of their desires and proposals, IV. Qualifications, and worth of their persons, V. Peaceableness of their behaviour, VI. The churches prejudice by their exclusion, &c. humbly submitted to authority / by a beneficed minister, and a regular son of the Church of England.	Pearse, Edward, 1631-1694.	1681 (1681)	Wing P976; ESTC R1092	66,864	80

without the Common-Prayer See also Mr. Blake Covenant sealed p. 308. as I my self have known nor any Child rightly baptized without the Cross yet by this Act of Uniformity they must declare Assent and Consent to all and every thing to Cross as well as Baptism to Ceremony as well as Substance And how easie was it for sinful people and weak to say See what these Men can do Yea in case that in any after-time wise and moderate Governours should see a necessity of making Alterations Then again teaching Scorners to say Yea see what these Men can do to the great dishonour of Religion and disgrace of the best of Ministers And one would think that because the Courts continue to swear Churchwardens to present they had Spies enow upon our Nonconformists and Punishments smart enough they might have spared to require this Declaration or if they had thought us honest our promise to conform had been sufficient tho kept in the Registers and made at our Institutions Yet through this Dishonour we attain our Honour They are debarred from all exercise of their Ministerial Abilities their Wives and Children turned out of doors and when they had made a sad and chargeable Remove of late must remove again upon the Five-mile Act. And these Penalties were next to Death and I conceive proved the Death of many I remember the Renowned Bishop Morton wrote these words to the Nonconformists and desired them earnestly to consider the Censure of the Apostle's Wo being so dreadful I ought not to esteem any thing a just Cause why I should wilfully incur the Censure of Silencing my self from Preaching for which I ought not as willingly to adventure my Life The General Defence of the three Ceremonies Part 1. p. 163. The Nonconformists have suffered what is next to Death and too many have suffered even unto Death in Prisons where several caught their Death and others died it is a dreadful story of whom shall their Deaths be required And it is easie to retort those words of the Reverend Bishop Imposers should not esteem any thing a just Cause of bringing any under the censures of Silencing of Preachers from preaching for which they may not adventure to take away their Lives It is objected That they sin against the Law And they may answer Who procured the Law it is the Magistrate's Sword but who moved him to draw it They are told they have no cause to complain of Sufferings for the Magistrate hath been merciful and hath not execued the Laws Thanks be to God for the Mercy but all have not been so merciful as the King hath been or many inferiour Magistrates but their Mercy hath not been kindly taken by many who should have more tender bowels than any Man that wears a Sword To conclude A reasonable Understanding may judge that Law not fit to remain in force that is not fit to be put in execution That Law cannot be good that is not fit to be brought to act without more real hurt than good And if the wise and merciful God hath by many remarkable Providences put a stop to their execution it is time for Men to annul the Law 2. The Penalty is hard upon them that make their offers to be admitted into the Churches Service or that would come in but for these Injunctions It is but a narrow passage that is made for them that enter in yet what shall they do who have spent all they have in a Preparatory Education In they must tho but to a Curacy which is not easie to be had It is grievous to think with what Implicit Faith they do what is to be done yet must Assent to more than ever many have studied rather following Example than Reason or else there is nothing for them to do Others that are enclin'd to Learning and to serve in the Gospel are deterred upon many accounts and have great prejudices against Conformity because of the great reverence they have to Nonconformists and these are under a great temptation to perpetuate a Nonconformity which is more sutable to their inclinations as being a state of freedom to their Consciences from great Bonds and Obligations tho an Estate attended with hazard to their Bodies and Estates And all young Students are under this necessity either they must subscribe hand-over-head or else they must spend their time in these endless Controversies of the Church and be engaged in the dolefull and fearfull Wars of the Church on one side or other 3. The third Consideration that pleads for our Non-conforming Brethren is taken from the Reasonableness of their Demands I distinguish these Demands into those Proposals made by the Commissioners in the Savoy Anno 1662 with that Modesty Gravity Humility and Reason treating the Bishops and other Commissioners as Superiours 2. Into those which have been repeated by particular Persons and may be seen in the Writings of Laborious and Catholick Mr. Baxter Mr. John Corbet and Dr. Owen in his learned and moderate Book of Church-Peace Love and Unity I shall only generally compare what they humbly desired with what was declared 1. In his Majesties gracious Declaration concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs a most large and healing Plaister for the Churches Wounds and might have been a Pillar to have born up the Church in Unity as his Gracious Act of Indempnity and Oblivion hath held up the State if some Men who can be loyal for their own ends had not perhaps bin industrious to make Divisions by their Affected Terms of Union 2. They humbly moved but for what great Men and famous in the Church of God to all posterity thought fit to grant In that Year 1641 there was a Committee for Religion appointed in the House of Lords ten Earls ten Bishops ten Barons The Bishop of Lincoln Williams sent a Letter to some Divines to attend that Service who met in his House Breviat of his Life p. 24. the Deanery of Westminster upon which Arch-Bishop Laud hath this Note Upon the whole matter I believe this Committee will prove the National Synod of England to the great dishonour of the Church and what else may follow upon it God knows These Divines were no less Men than the most Venerable Arch-Bishop Vsher Bishop Williams of Lincoln Dr. Prideaux after Bishop of Worcester Dr. Brownrig after Bishop of Fxeter Dr. Ward Professor of Divinity in Cambridge and Arch-Deacon of Taunton Dr. Featly Dr. Hacket of late Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield All these subscribed a Paper called The Proceedings c. touching Innovations in Doctrine and Disoipline of the Church of England together with Considerations upon the Common-Prayer Book Out of which I draw a Parallel with the Proposals of the Divines appointed to treat by his Majesty's Commission with the Archbishop and Bishops and other Divines of the Church of England at the Savoy See Account of the Proceedings printed Lond. 1661. The Divines appointed to meet in the Dean's House 1641. Considerations on the

Demeanour peaceable their Abilities valuable and their Dissent conscientious I do humbly conclude and propose it to my Reverend Superiours in any place of Power Favour or Interest that they would sincerely endeavour the qualifying of these worthy Persons for a legal discharge of their Ministerial Duties A thing so pleasing to God agreeable to the Government and Condescention of Jesus Christ to the Christian Temper so conducing to the Churches Union Peace Growth and establishment to the silencing of many Controversies and that fearful Clamour and Accusation of Schism that I am not able to express it I cannot it is acknowledged judg what is another Man 's particular Duty but I humbly conceive it is mine in my place which is but low indeed to provoke any Superiours to it And if I were in their place which is but a Supposition next to a Dream I should neither eat nor drink not sleep with Satisfaction till this were done or endeavoured nor think of appearing before Jesus the Chief Shepherd with Joy or Acceptation Hath he required this Uniformity at our hands of this Extent with these Sanctions having for many Years seen no better Effects of them Hath not his Gracious Majesty by a late Proclamation for a great and necessary Duty of fasting and Prayers made this one end of that Solemn Duty to unite the Hearts of his Protestant Subjects Have we not in one Prayer representd bleeding Wounds from our Divisions and in another prayed for Union Have many taken Direction to wrestle with God Laugh and Scorn who dare at the Word to grant us that Blessing And what was the meaning of it Was no more to be understood by it than to bring the Dissenting Brethren on a sudden to see what after many Years Study Prayers and Sufferings they cannot see On a sudden to convert them against their Reason And to condemn themselves for their Dissent Surely I cannot think it for what were this but to pray for an Impossibility or a Miracle and to pray in vain in our Solemn Humiliation If Union be so desirable a Mercy as certainly it is what shall we do for Union Are there no other Terms of Union but these Without doubt it is their great Sin not to come as near to a Closure as possibly they can but doth all the Duty lye on their side and no more upon us than to call them in And if not let them be excommunicated from the Church if not accursed of God! Or were they never meant As being no Protestants or not Loyal Subjects And what are they that say or think so The Lord in Mercy grant he may not see such a Trial as I doubt not they would by the Grace of God as forwardly engag'd in as true Protestants and as Loyal Subjects to the King and Government to the Expence and Profusion of their dearest Blood I cannot think any thing more suitable to the Clemency of the King's Nature who hath always been ready to gratify peaceble Designs Can we think it is not suitable to the Constitution of the late Great and United Parliament or to any other that shall be chosen by a free Election This great Body hath as quick discerning Eyes as ever any other had and have made as deep Discoveries of the Works of Darkness as any other for their time and see a necessity of uniting Protestants at home and succouring Protestants abroad and cannot they discern by what Persons whose Endeavours to whose purposes our Constitutions have been screwed so high They are not unsensible by whom they have been called a Presbyterian Paliament and who are afraid of their undoing all Perhaps indeed they would think it hard Measure that every Man in England should be turned out of Doors that will not be content that his House shall be exactly Uniform They may by Experience know that there may be Peace and Unity and Charity in Houses that are of different Figure and Form There is a vast Difference between pulling down painted Glass which keeps out Light and making Doors wider or taking down some Partitions and pulling down of Houses Oh! let it never be said that Church-Men are most morose difficult and stiff and can grant nothing but in a great Extremity And I pray God that he would move and effectually work upon their Hearts to take the Opportunities and Advantages God puts into their Hands to supplicate and promote the great Work of Healing It will be a Work most pleasing to all Conformists that have the truest Principles of Christianity that are not factious to keep what they have or think the gain of Peace to the Church will bring a loss to of them or that are not Melancholy and given to pore upon Shadows and to think their Fancies to be the unalterable Frame of Antiquity If we cannot distinguish between an Alteration and a Dissolution between Reformation of what hath been changed one way or other in every Princes Reign since the 2d of Edw. 6. and an Extirpation we are not Cathedral-men that know the Note may be changed and the Instrument unbroken and that the same Psalm may be read and sung Many cry out upon Schism that miss of the Notion It is a very great Sin Should we not therefore do what possibly we can to remove the Causes and to redeem Souls from the Sin and Guilt of it To this end let us take notice that the Carnal Heart is the Seat of Schism Are there no Schismatical Notions or Passions and Lusts in us within the Pale We know that Vniformity in Discipline and Modes of Worship could not extinguish or restrain Divisions in former days How was the Church divided between those two the prevailing and rising Arminian Innovators and the Anti-Arminian Propugnators of the Doctrine and ancient Discipline of the Church And the Feuds were greater between these in many Respects than between the Conformist and Non-Conformist And the straining of the Girdle of Vniformity burst the Buckles and the Garments hung loose till by a new Act the Girdle was made stronger and less than it was before and new Buckles made a purpose for it There is an Unity where there is not an Uniformity and Vice versa To what Church in London can a Man go and find an Uniformity exactly keeping with Rubricks and Orders and yet there is a Conformity and in general an Vnity I might instance in Ministers and People's deviating from the Rule in Prayers What Uniformity among the People some standing others kneeling and others leaning if not sitting Some facing the East others the West and others the North and South some use the Responds some low and others loud and others silent and yet there may be an Unity in the Amen either oral or mental Vniformity will never be forced to Particulars it must lie in Generals as Unity in Essentials God both in the works of Nature Providence and Grace is most glorious in Variety in Multiformity Uniformity as it is an outward