Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	great_a	king_n	war_n	4,472	5	6.2395	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95971	His Maiesties concessions to the bill of abolition of arch-bishops and bishops, &c. stated and considered. By Richard Vines, one of the divines that attended the Commissioners of Parliament.	Vines, Richard, 1600?-1656.	1660 (1660)	Wing V556; Thomason E1081_11; ESTC R203897	3,636	9

HIS MAIESTIES Concessions TO THE BILL of ABOLITION OF Arch-Bishops and Bishops c. STATED and CONSIDERED By Richard Vines one of the Divines that attended the Commissioners of Parliament LONDON Printed in the year 1660. SIR The Law of friendship oblidgeth me to answer your desire by affording to you my sense touching his Majesty his Concessions towards the removal of Episcopal Government or the Bil of Abolition His Majesties Concessions to the Bill of Abolition of Arch-bishops Bishops c. Stated Considered HIS Majesty hath fully and expresly consented to the Bill of Abolition and removal of the whole Hierarchy contained in the Bill excepting that part thereof which relates to Bishops whose Jurisdictive power as he calls it he hath also abrogated finally and for ever except the two Houses shall otherwise determine and hath reserved to them some power in Ordination only wherein he would have them to be as we use to say of the Quorum by the use or power of a negative voice in that action but withal doth actually suspend them from the exercise of all manner of power of Ordination for three years during which time he hath obliged himself to make no other no more Bishops but refers himself to further debate and consultation of Divines what shall obtain in the Church of England after the expiration of that term according as himself and the two Houses shall determine upon their advice which may probably upon his Majesties information more throughly in the point issue to a total abolition of both the name and all power of Bishops But if then his Majesty and the Houses shall not agree the Bishop shall have power of Ordination with the councel and consent of the Presbyters or the major part of them conjoyned or co-operating with him Which Presbyters are not to be nominated or appointed by his Majesty alone much less arbitrarily associated by the Bishop himself but appointed and authorised by his Majesty and the two Houses and not otherwise This being the clear state as far as I understand of his Majesty his concession except I be mistaken in the length of that word Cooperate which is not his Majesties expression I shall offer to you these two considerations upon it CONSID. I. First Whether the Bishops of England and to whom only the bill extends be not hereby in effect abolished not only as to their posse but also as to their esse for 1. There remains no visible way of making any Bishop hereafter because the Deans and Chapters who were by the lawes and usage of this Kingdom to elect the Bishop recommended to them by the Kings Conge de liere are utterly taken away so as there can be no proceeding to an Ordination of them and if the book or form of consecration be together with the Book of Common Prayer also abolisht I cannot see but that the Bishops are abolisht also and cannot be made without some new way of constitution which rests in the power of the Parliament 2. The Bishops that now are cannot after three years ordain except the Houses agree to appoint Presbyters to joyn with them in that action which if the Houses shall not do the Bishops power is still under suspension and if the Presbyterial Government and Ordination were but granted indefinitely as it is for three years I do not see but it would rest in the power of the Houses whether the Bishop should ever ordain or no and so in effect be vacated being limited to a concurrence of Presbyters which are not found 3. His Majesty in this Concession seems to me which I speak under his Majesties favour to have gone quite beside his own level for in his Papers given to the Divines at Newport He cuts out the Episcopal office by the pattern of the Apostles and of Timothy and Titus whose Episcopal office as he calls it did not consist only in a concurrence with a major part of Presbyters in Ordination or a negative voice to such a major part nor do the Scriptures by his Majesty alledged prove them to have bin Bishops in this sense and latitude only but the primitive Bishops of the second and haply some of the first century after Christ were rather of this model being of the Quorum in Ordination which primitive Bishops as the Divines say in their answer might possibly be and yet the Bishops of England be abolisht and so it appears that the Bishops in the Bill presented to his Majesty are by this Concession of his quite altered and cast in a new mould which if his Majesty would please to make as a new tendry to his Houses of Parliament and expresly remove the old the rub would be in a manner quite taken out of the way which remains in the opinion of many because his Majesty doth under the name of the present Bishop capitulate before-hand for a new Episcopacy which present Bishop if you shall not concur with me in opinion that he is in effect abolisht by his Majesties Concession yet certainly he is reduced to so small a hair as cannot be divided any more for if the King should go but one step further and take off that negative voice which this Bishop that is offer'd is to have in Ordination he would be then no more then one Presbyter as he is very little more by this Concession in the affirmative part of acting though he be more in the negative part of not acting which negative voice of the Bishop would very seldome be used or if it were all reason is that the Expectant or Candidate of the Ministry should have some relief of his gravamen by appeal to the Provincial meetings or some other assembly which should have power to determine the case and then I cannot see but that even this negative voice is rendred in effect nothing and so the Bishops in effect abolished and if I was in a capacity to supplicate his Majesty I should beseech him to consider that there is some difference between gravamen Spiritus and ligamen conscientiae For the affection he bears to that Government of Episcopacy and the long usage of it in the Church may be heavy on his Spirit and make the Abolition unpleasing which yet do not bind the conscience or make the doing it unlawfull to him CONSID. II. Secondly It may be considered if the Bishops be not in effect abolisht in regard of this being 1. Whether it be any inconvenience to set up in every County or Province a Presbytery for Ordination the jurisdictive part to go as is already establisht in Elderships Classes and Synods of the gravest and most judicious Ministers both to give reputation to the ordination and to prevent the mis-administration thereof in the Classes most of which in England may haply not consist of a competent number of men so fit to exercise it for I am of opinion that Ordination by Presbyters is good and lawfull and that one of the Quorum concurring with them in Ordination renders not the same evil or unlawfull for if it did so I see not how the Presbyters now in being can well justifie their own 2. This way propounded by his Majesty might happily reduce all the Divines of England into a liking or acceptance of the Government and so take off that odium or prejudice which it lies under with them and others 3. The way of Ordination by Presbyters in every Province or County selected by Parliament prima vice might prevent a great deal of influence which the now sequestred Divines being restored to a capacity of Pastoral charges will have in the several Classes where they shall be seated 4. That the Presbyterians ought to take heed that the cause of the continuance of the Warre and all the miseries of it be not laid at their door and that for opposing a thing in it self lawfull but not at present to be gotten quite off by reason of the Kings present unsatisfaction and his desire of time and means of better information 5. That such Presbyterians as cannot find a Jus Divinum for Ruling Elders acting in Ordination do judge it as great a disconformity to allow the Ruling Elder a power of co-operation and authority in ordaining Ministers as to allow one to be of the Quorum who is thereby no more then a Presbyter nor hath the Keyes any more in his hand for that then a Moderatour for the present time may have for orders sake 6. That the Covenant binding to extirpate Bishops if it be understood in sensu diviso in that Article and not as many conceive in sensu composito only doth not oblge us to break the peace of all if every thing be not to be had at first and if the great and ancient Tree be to be felled down by agreement shall the parties fight with one another because the one will fell it down chip by chipe the other will tear it up at once by the roots And therefore I humbly pray the honourable Members of Parliament the warned Presbyterians and as they are called Independents to consider of this Punctillio as it is laid in the ballance against the loss of all his Majesty his other Concessions and the fruits and consequences of new distractions and sadder times for I speak only in case that the King can be got no further it ought to be well weighed whether this negative vote in Ordination be such a thing as may justly imbitter all our peace besides And if any should say that out of this old root the old Episcopacy will grow again I do not conceive that it is possible being hoop'd about by the iron hoop of Laws for the Primitive Episcopacy grew so fast because the Pagan Princes looked not after that Government which was but exercised over such Voluntaries as put their necks under it and Christain Princes thought they should allow it as much as it had under Heathens But as for the resurrection of it after it's dead it cannot be but by Parliament and against an Act of Parliament there is no fortification to be made In fine if I cannot prevail with you to accept less then you ask I humbly beseech the King to grant more then he yet offers for the common peace sake which is to be purchased at any rate next the price of truth and even some truths are to be abated or sorborn to be exercised for the present for the common and publick peace Vale Novemb. 8. FINIS