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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	great_a	know_v	lord_n	3,918	5	3.5901	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11460	Tvvo sermons the former, concerning the right use of Christian liberty, preached at S. Pauls Crosse London. May 6. The later, concerning the perswasion of conscience, preached at a metropoliticall visitation at Grantham Lincoln: Aug. 22. 1634. By Robert Saunderson chaplaine to his Maiestie.; Two sermons: the former, concerning the right use of Christian liberty. The later, concerning the perswasion of conscience	Sanderson, Robert, 1587-1663.	1635 (1635)	STC 21710; ESTC S116631	77,313	112

vocatur Deus yet certainely and no modest man can deny it it will amount to as much as S. Peters dominari in Cleris even to the exercising of such a Lordship over the Lords heritage the Christian Church as will become none but the Lord himselfe whose heritage the Church is Besides these that doe it thus by open assault I would there were not others also that did by secret underminings goe about to deprive us of that liberty which we have in Christ Jesus even then when they most pretend the maintenance of it They inveigh against the Church Governours as if they Lorded it over Gods heritage and against the Church orders and constitutions as if they were contrary to Christian liberty wherein besides that they doe manifest wrong to the Church in both particulars they consider not that those very accusations which they thus irreverently dart at the face of their Mother to whom they owe better respect but misse it doe recoile pat upon themselves and cannot be avoided For whereas these constitutions of the Church are made for order decency and uniformities sake and to serve unto odification and not with any intention at all to lay a tye upon the consciences of men or to work their judgements to an opinion as if there were some necessity or inherent holinesse in the things required thereby neither doe our governours neither ought they to presse them any farther which is sufficient to acquite both the governours from that Lording● and the Constitutions from that trenching upon Christian liberty wherewith they are charged Alas that our brethren who thus accuse them should suffer themselves to bee so far blinded with prejudices and partiall affections as not see that themselves in the meane time doe really exercise a spirituall Lordship over their disciples who depend in a manner wholly upon their judgements by imposing upon their consciences sundry Magisteriall conclusions for which they have no sound warrant from the written word of God Whereby besides the great injury done to their brethren in the impeachment of their Christian liberty and leading them into errour they doe withall exasperate against them the mindes of those that being in authority looke to be obeyed and engage them in such sufferings as they can have no just cause of rejoyeing in For beloved this we must know that as it is injustice to condemne the innocent as well as it is injustice to cleare the guilty and both these are equally abominable to the Lord so it is superstition to forbid that as sinfull which is in truth indifferent and therefore lawfull as well as it is superstition to enjoyne that as necessary which is in truth indifferent and therefore arbitrary Doth that heavy woe in Esay 5. appertaine thinke yee to them onely that out of prophanenesse call evill good and nothing at all concerne them that out of precisenesse call good evill Doth not hee decline out of the way that turneth aside on the right hand as well as he that turneth on the left They that positively make that to be sinne which the Law of God never made so to be how can they be excused from symbolizing with the Pharisees and the Papists in making the narrow wayes of God yet narrower then they are in teaching for doctines mens precepts and so casting asuare upon the consciences of their brethren If our Church should presse things as far and upon such grounds the one way as some forward spirits doe the other way if as they say it is a sinne to kneele at the Communion and therefore we charge you upon your consciences not to do● it so the Church should say it is a sinne not to kneele and therefore we require you upon your consciences to doe it and so in all other lawfull yet arbitrary ceremonies possibly then the Church could no more be able to acquit her selfe from encroaching upon Christian liberty then they are that accuse her for it Which since they have done and she hath not shee is therefore free and themselves onely guilty It is our duty for the better securing of our selves as well against those open impugners as against these secret underminers to looke heedfully to our trenches and fortifications and to stand fast in that liberty wherwith Christ hath made us free lest by some devise or other we be lifted out of it To those that seeke to enthrall us we should give place by subjection no not for an houre lest we bee ensnared by our owne default ere we be aware For indeed w● cannot be ensnared in this kinde but meerely by our owne default and therefore S. Paul often admonisheth us to take heed that none deceive spoile or beguile us as if it were in our power if we would but use requisite care thereunto to prevent it and as if it were our fault most if wee did not prevent it And so in truth it is For wee oftentimes betray away our owne liberty when wee might maintaine it and so become servants unto men when we both might and ought to keep our selves free Which fault we shall be the better able to avoid when we shall know the true causes from whence it springeth which are evermore one of these two an unsound head or an unsound heart Sometimes wee esteeme too highly of others so far as eitheir to envassall our judgements to their opinions or to enthrall our consciences to their precepts and that is our weaknesse there the fault is in the head Sometimes we apply our selves to the wills of others with an eye to our owne benefit or satisfaction in some other ●arnall or worldly respect and that is our fleshlinesse there the fault is in the heart This latter is the worst and therefore in the first place to be avoided The most and worser sort unconscionable men doe often transgresse this way When for feare of a frowne or worse displeasure or to curry favour with those they may have use of or in hope either of raising themselves to some advancement or of raising to themselves some advantage or for some other like respects they become officious instruments to others for the accomplishing of their lusts in such services as are evidently even to their owne apprehensions sinfull and wicked So Doeg did King Saul service in shedding the blood of fourescore and five innocent Priests and Absolons servants murdered their masters brother upon his bare command and Pilate partly to gratifie the Iewes but especially for feare of Caesars displeasure gave sentence of death upon Jesus who in his owne conscience he thought had not deserved it In such cases as these are when we are commanded by our superiours or required by our friends or any other way sollicited to doe that which we know we cannot do without sinne we are to maintaine our liberty if we cannot otherwise fairely decline the service by a flat and ●eremptory deniall though it be

TWO SERMONS THE FORMER CONCERNING THE right use of Christian Liberty PREACHED At S. PAULS CROSSE London May 6. THE LATER CONCERNING the perswasion of Conscience PREACHED At a Metropoliticall visitation at GRANTHAM LINCOLN Aug. 22. 1634. By ROBERT SAUNDERSON Chaplaine to his MAIESTIE LONDON Printed by M. F. for R. Dawlman and L. Fawne at the signe of the Brazen serpent in Pauls Churchyard M DC XXXV PErl●gi has duas co●ciones in quibus nihil reperio bonis moribus aut sanae doctrinae contrarium quo minùs cum utilitate publicâ imprima●tur it à tamen ut si non intra tres menses proximè sequentes typis mandentur haec licentia fit omninò irrita Dat' Lambethae Jun. 17. 1635. GuIL BRAY. TO THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD WILLIAM L. ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBVRY Primate of all England and Metropolitane Chauncellor of the Vniversitie of Oxford and one of his Majesties most Hon Privy Counsell I Have been ever willing most Reverend Father in God as at all other times upon just occasion so especially when called to preach at any publique meeting of the Clergy to vindicate the Government and Rites established in the Church of England from the unjust aspersions which in this last age have beene and still are cast thereon by ill affected spirits with a great deals more noyse then there is cause Not any way to comply farther then duty and reason require with the times which is the ready objection against this course in every mouth God pardon their uncharitablenesse and unrighteousnesse who so mis-judge but out of an earnest and as I hope sinc●re desire of advancing the peace of this flourishing Church and State wishing unfainedly that all wee who live in the visible communion of the same body as brethren might also as brethren so far as were possible With one mind and one mouth glorify God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was no other then this very desire that gave these two Seri●o●s their first life nor is it any other thing now that bringeth them into farther light then the possibility if not rather hope of prod●cing some good effect that way For as it is at all times in the hand of God so is it many times his good pleasure also to blesse well-meant though weake endeavours far beyond the proportion of their wo●th I know there are some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men that will not be brought into order by any meanes nor satisfied with any reason so perversely minded are they and so stiffened in their resolutiōs who albeit they deserve very little regard other wise yet euen in respect of them also it is requisite the truth in these points should be sometimes opened either to stoppe their mouthes from clamouring if it may be or at leastwise if they will needs be doing to render their obstinacy the more inexcusable But it is principally requisite for those mens sakes and in compassion to their soules whose honest simplicity hath been abused and their weake consciences mis-guided by such Incendiaties that they may be better informed and partly also for the confirmation of those that are regular that they may continue in their right minds and not suffer themselves to be wrested out of their good beleef by the cunning engines of those that are chiefe factours for the faction To any of which ends if by Gods good blessing these my slender labours shall lend the least furtherance it shall nothing repent mee to have published them But this is all I am able to say for them onwards first for the arguments that I made choice to entreat of such as to mee seemed very usefull for these licencious times wherein too too many plead Liberty and Conscience in barre to Loyalty and Obedience and then for the manner of handling the same that I gave all diligence to deliver my selfe in the spirit of truth and of meeknesse that is to say with all cleare evidence of reason but without all either gall of bitternesse or leaven of partiality However such as they are I hubly present them to the service of God his Church under your Graces protection as unto whom by a double title they most properly belong First for that they were both preached by appointment from your Grace the former in the City when you were L Bishop of London the other in the Country at your late Metropoliticall Visitation and to what hand should they rather returne then to that that first occasioned their being As also for that they tend to the suppressing of Novelties and to the preservation of Order and Peace of both which you are most zealous in that Church wherein under God and the King you worthily sit at the sterne The God of heaven multiply his blessings upon you prosper the affaires of his Church in your hands that Truth and Peace may flourish therein more and more and remember you according to all the good deeds you either have already done or entend farther to doe for his house and for the prosperity thereof So prayeth Your Graces in all humble service ROBERT SAUNDERSON Boothby Paynell Linc. 4. Febr. 1634. THE FIRST SERMON Being the seventh ad Populum PREACHED AT SPAVLS CROSSE IN LONdon 6. May 1632. THE FIRST SERMON 1 PET. 2. 16. As free and not using your liberty for a cloake of maliciousnesse but as the servants of God THere is not any thing in the world more generally desired then Liberty nor scarce any thing more generally abused Insomuch as even that blessed liberty which the eternall Son of God hath purch●sed for his spouse the Church and endowed her there withall hath in no age beene free from abuses whilest some have sinfully neglected their Christian liberty to their owne prejudice and othersome have as sinfully stood upon it to the prejudice of their brethren So hardly through pride and ignorance and other corruptions that abound in us doe wee hit upon the golden meane either in this or almost in any thing else but easily swarve into the vitious extre●mes on both hands declining sometimes into the defect and sometimes into the excesse The Apostles therefore especially S. Peter and S. Paul the two chiefest planters of the Churches endeavoured early to instruct beleevers in the true doctrine and to direct them in the right use of their Christian liberty so often in their severall Epistles as fit occasion was offered thereunto Which we may observe them to have done most frequently and fully in those two cases which being very common are therefore of the greater consequence viz. the case of scandall and the case of obedience And we may further observe concerning these two Apostles that S. Paul usually toucheth upon this argument of liberty as it is to bee exercised in the Case of Scandall but S. Peter oftner as in the Case of obedience Whereof on S. P●ters part I conceive the reason to be this That being