Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	evil_a	good_a	know_v	2,974	5	4.2147	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47742	A discourse shewing who they are that are now qualify'd to administer baptism and the Lord's-Supper wherein the cause of episcopacy is briefly treated / by the author of A discourse proving the divine institution of water-baptism.	Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.	1698 (1698)	Wing L1130; ESTC R25145	50,009	107

from and Superior to Presbyters before the Vaudois in Piedmont the Hugonots in France the Calvinists in Geneva and the Presbyterians thence Transplanted in this last Age into Holland Scotland and England V. If it shou'd be retorted that neither is the Church of England without Opposers for that the Church of Rome opposes Her as do likewise our Dissenters Ans None of them do oppose Her in the Point we are now upon that is the Validity of Episcopal Ordination which the Church of Rome does own and the Presbyterians dare not deny it because they wou'd thereby overthrow all their own Ordinations for the Presbyters who Reformed as they call it from Bishops receiv'd their Ordination from Bishops And therefore tho' the Episcopal Principles do Invalidate the Ordination by Presbyters yet the Presbyterian Principles do not Invalidate the Ordination by Bishops So that the Validity of Episcopal Ordination stands safe on all sides even by the Confession of those who are Enemies to the Episcopal Order and in this the Bishops have no opposers Whereas on the other hand the Validity of the Presbyterian Ordinations is own'd by none but themselves and they have all the rest of the World as opposite to them Therefore to state the Case the most Impartially to receive Baptism from these Dissenters is at least a hazard of many Thousands to One as many as all the rest of Christianity are more than they But to receive it from the Bishops or Episcopal Clergy has no hazard at all as to its Validity even as own'd by the Presbyterians themselves SECT V. The Personal Sanctity of the Administrator of the Sacraments tho' highly Requisite on his Part yet not of Necessity as to the Receivers to Convey to them the Benefits of the Sacraments I. THE only Objection of those Quakers who are otherwise convinc'd of the Obligation of the Sacraments is the Necessity they think ther is of great Personal Holiness in the Administrators without which they cannot see how the Spiritual Effects of the Sacraments can be convey'd But I wou'd beseech them to consider how by this instead of referring the Glory to God and lessening the Performance of Man which I charitably presume and I am confident as to some of whom I speak that it is their true and sincere Intention but instead of that I do in great Good will invite them to reflect whither their well-intended Zeal has turn'd the Point of this Question even to over-magnifie Man and transfer the Glory of God unto His weak Instrument as if any the least Part of the Divine Vertue which God has annexed to His Sacraments did proceed from His Minister If this be not the meaning as sure it is not why so much stress laid upon the Sanctity of the Ministers Act. iii. 12. as if thro' their power or holiness the Holy Ghost was given II. To obviate this pretence our Saviour Christ chose a Devil John vi 70. to be one of His Apostles and he was sent to Baptize and work Miracles as well as the rest And those whom Judas did Baptize were no doubt as well Baptized and did partake of the Communication of the Spirit according to their Preparation for it as much as any who were Baptized by the other Apostles unless you will say that Christ sent him to Baptize who had no Authority to Baptize and that none shou'd receive Benefit by his Baptism which wou'd be to Cheat and Delude the People and is a great Blasphemy against Christ and a distrust of His Power as if it were Limited by the poor Instrument He pleases to make use off whereas III. His Greatness is often most Magnify'd in the meaness of the Instruments by which He works Thus He destroy'd Egypt by Frogs and Lice and the Philistines by Emerods and Mice and sent His Armies of Flies and Hornets to dispossess the Canaanites Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies Psal viii 2. that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger i.e. That the Enemies of God might be confounded when they saw His great Power Exerted by such weak and contemptible Instruments The Walls of Jericho the Type of Spiritual wickedness were thrown down by the blast of seven Rams Horns when blown by the Priests whom He had commanded And He rebuked the Iniquity of Balaam by the mouth of an Ass to shew that no Instruments are Ineffectual in His Hands and made use of the mouth of Balaam to Prophesie of Christ. For this cause says St. Barnabas in his Catholick Epistle c. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did Christ choose Men who were Exceeding great Sinners to be His Apostles to shew the Greatness of His Power and Grace and put the Inestimable Treasure of His Gospel into Earthen Vessels that the Praise might be to God and not to Men. IV. St. Paul rejoyced in Christ being Preached Ihil i. 16. tho' not sincerely by those who did it because God can bring Good out of Evil and by wicked Instruments Propagate His Gospel turning their malice even of the Devil himself to the furtherance of the Faith Otherwise the Apostle cou'd have no cause to Rejoyce in the Preaching of wicked Men if none cou'd receive benefit by it And he plainly supposes 1 Cor. ix 27. That a Man may save others by his Preaching and yet himself be a cast-away V. And so far as we can know or judge any thing we see daily Experience of this That God has touched Mens Hearts upon hearing the Truth spoken tho' by Men who were great Hypocrites and very Wicked And what reason can be given to the contrary Truth is Truth whoever speaks it And if my Heart be prepared the good Seed receives no evil Tincture of the Hand that sowed it And who can Limit God that His Grace may not go along with me in this I have heard some of the now separate Quakers confess that they have formerly felt very sensible Operations of the Spirit upon the Preaching of some of those whom they have since Detected of gross Errors and Hypocrisies and they now think it strange But this were enough to convince them that the wind bloweth where it listeth otherwise they must condemn themselves and confess that in all that time they had no true Participation of the Spirit of God but that what they mistook for it was a meer Delusion Or else confess that by the Truths which were spoken by these Ministers of Satan for they speak some Truths God might work a good Effect upon the Hearts of some Well-dispos'd tho' then Ignorant and much Deluded People If not so we must judge very severely of all those who live in Idolatrous or Schismatical Countries ther were great Prophets and good Men among the Ten Tribes And if the Words nay Miracles of Christ did render the Hearts of many yet more obdurate Matth. xii from v. 22. to v. 32. even to sin against the Holy

Bishop The Presbyter ought to consult the Bishop and receive his Orders in it as is declar'd in the 7. Can. Can. 10. If any Presbyter being puff'd up with Pride shall make a Schism against his own proper Bishop let him be Anathema Can. 11. Gives leave to a Presbyter who is Condemn'd by his Bishop to Appeal to the Neighbouring Bishops but if without this he flies off and makes a Schism from his Bishop it confirms the Anathema upon him Can. 12. Orders what is before Recited out of Can. xi of the Council of Carthage That a Bishop who is Accus'd shall be try'd by twelve Bishops if more may not be had a Presbyter by six Bishops with his own Bishop and a Deacon by three Can. 14. Orders that in Tripeli because of the smaller number of Bishops in those Parts a Presbyter shall be judg'd by Five Bishops and a Deacon by Three his own proper Bishop Presiding Can. 46. That a Presbyter shall not Reconcile a Penitent without the knowledge of the Bishop unless upon necessity in the absence of the Bishop Can. 59. That one Bishop may ordain many Presbyters but that it was hard to find a Presbyter who was fit to be made a Bishop Can. 65. That a Clergy man being Condemned by the Bishops cannot be deliver'd by that Church to which he did belong or by any Man whatsoever Can. 126. That Presbyters and Deacons may Appeal from their own Bishop to the Neighbouring Bishops chosen by consent of their own Bishop and from them to the Primate or Provincial Synod but not to any Trans-marine or Forraign Jurisdiction under pain of Excommunication The Council of Carthage A. D. 419. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Council of Chalcedon being the Fourth General Council A. D. 451. Can. 9. If any Clergy-man have a Cause of complaint against another Clergy-man let him not leave his own proper Bishop and have Recourse to the Secular Courts-Whoever does otherwise shall be put under the Canonical Censures Can. 13. That a Forreign Clergy-man and not known shall not officiate in another City without Commendatory Letters from his own Bishop Can. 18. If any of the Clergy shall be found Conspiring or Joyning in Fraternities or Contriving any thing against the Bishops they shall fall from their own Degree Can. 29. To reduce a Bishop to the Degree of a Presbyter is Sacrilege The Council of Chalcedon being the Fourth General Council A. D. 451. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These Authorities are so plain and full as to prevent any Application or Multiplying of further Quotations which might easily be done For if these can be answer'd so may all that can possibly be produc'd or framed in words And ther is no Remedy left to the Presbyterians and other Dissenters from Episcopacy but to deny all these by whole-sale to throw off all Antiquity as well the first Ages of Christianity even that wherein the Apostles themselves Liv'd and Taught as all since and to stand upon a New Foundation of their own Invention But this only shews the Desperatness of their Cause and the Impregnable Bulwork of Episcopacy which I must say it stands upon so Many Clear and Authentick Evidences as can never be overthrown but by such Topicks as must render Christianity it self Precarious And if from the Etymology of the Words Bishop and Presbyter any Argument can be drawn against all the Authorities Produc'd to prove them the same we may by this way of Reasoning prove Cyrus to be Christ for so he is call'd Isa XLV 1. Or if the Presbyterians will have their Moderator to be a Bishop we will not Quarrel with them about a word Let us then have a Moderator such as the Bishops before describ'd viz. A Moderator as a standing Officer during Life to whom all the Presbyters are to be obedient as to Christ i. e. to the Moderator as Representing the Person of Christ That nothing be done in the Church without Him That He be understood as the Principle of Unity in His Church so that they who unjustly break off from his Communion are thereby in a Schism That he shew his Succession by Regular Ordination convey'd down from the Apostles In short that He have all that Character and Authority which we see to have been Recogniz'd in the Bishops in the very Age of the Apostles and all the succeeding Ages of Christianity and then call Him Moderator Superintendent or Bishop For the Contest is not about the Name but the Thing And if we go only upon the Etymology of the Word how shall we prove Presbyters to be an Order in the Church more than Bishops as Athanasius said to Dracontius of those who persuaded him not to accept of a Bishoprick Why do they persuade you not to be a Bishop when they themselves will have Presbyters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will end this Head with the Advice of that great Father to this same Drasontius If the Government of the Churches do not please you and th●t you think the Office of a Bishop has no Reward thereby making your self a Despiser of our Saviour who did Institute it I beseech you surmise not any such things as these nor do you Entertain any who advise such things for that is not worthy of Dracontius For what things the Lord did Institute by His Apostles those things remain both good and sure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athanas Epist ad Dracont II. Having thus Explain'd those Texts of Scripture which speak of Episcopacy by the Concurrent sense of those who liv'd with the Apostles and were taught the Faith from their Mouths who liv'd zealous Confessors and dy'd glorious Martyrs of Christ and who Succeeded the Apostles in those very Churches where themselves had sat Bishops And having deduc'd their Testimonies and of those who Succeeded them down for Four Hundred and Fifty Years after Christ from which time ther is no doubt rais'd against the Universal Reception of Episcopacy and this not only from their Writings apact but by their Canons and Laws when Assembl'd together in Council which one wou'd think sufficient Evidence against none at all on the other side that is for the Succession of Churches in the Presbyterian Form of which no one Instance can be given so much as of any one Church in the World so Deduc'd not only from the days of the Apostles as is shewn for Episcopacy but before Calvin and those who Reform'd with him about 160 Years last past I say tho' what is done is sufficient to satisfie any Indifferent and Un-byass'd Judgment yet ther is one Topick yet behind which with our Dissenters weighs more than all Fathers and Councils