Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	act_n	church_n	communion_n	1,604	5	9.1682	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49510	The matching of the magistrates authority and the Christians true liberty in matters if religion wherein is clearly stated, how farre the magistrate may impose or restrain in matters of faith and worship, and how far forth the Christian may challenge freedome and exemption : in a sermon preached at the Assizes at Dorchester, Jul. 17. 1651. / by William Lyford ...	Lyford, William, 1598-1653.	1654 (1654)	Wing L3549; ESTC R32907	15,979	27

THE MATCHING OF THE Magistrates Authority AND THE CHRISTIANS TRUE LIBERTY IN Matters of RELIGION VVherein is clearly stated How farre the Magistrate may impose or restrain in matters of FAITH and VVORSHIP And how far forth the Christian may challenge Freedome and Exemption In a Sermon preached at the Assizes at DORCHESTER Jul. 17. 1651. By WILLIAM LYFORD B.D. and late Minister of Sherborn in Dors LONDON Printed for R. ROYSTON and are to be sold by Tho Miller Booke-seller in Sherborne 1654. TO THE HONOVRABLE Sir GERARD NAPPER Knight and Baronet Most Honoured SIR THe World doth much call for this little worke of my Fathers who is now with God And the Communion of Saints being so great a part of our most holy Faith I dare not keep it back from any Christian mans enjoyment Yet it being a piece which was formed in your service while you were Sheriffe of Dorset-shire I refuse to send it forth but with your cognizance and under your Patronage It is just that having beene borne as it were in your house it should not become the propertie of others without a speciall reserve of its chiefe homage unto your selfe When it was preached to you from the Pulpit it found your great acceptance I hope it shall finde as great now it salutes you from the Presse And if it shall be still as welcome to your eye as it was then unto your eare it will much encourage me to inherite as well my Fathers affections to you as his name and to let you see that though he be dead yet there is still alive Most honour'd SIR Your faithfull and humble Servant WILL LYFORD From my Study in Mag. Coll. Oxon. Octob. 22. 1653. DAN 3.14 to 18. Is it true ô SHADRACH c. THese two things The Truths of Christ and Peace among Brethren ought to be precious to every Son of the Church 'T was a blessed time when the multitude of Believers were of one heart and one Soule Acts when they held Communion in Doctrine and Fellowship in breaking of Bread and Prayers they heard together they received together they prayed together and according to this primitive Patterne all good Christians should endeavour to walk and those Churches are happy which hold that blessed knot of Truth and Love Contrary whereunto are those two reigning evils among us at this day viz. Wantonnesse of Spirit and Pride of Spirit Through the wantonnesse of mens spirits craving an absolute liberty in matters of God the sacred Truths of God are corrupted and vilified And through the Pride of mens spirits on the other hand imposing matters of Opinion and Worship under temporall penalties the Quiet of mens Consciences and Unity among Brethren is exceedingly disturbed and unsetled There is much evill in both extreams either that all things should be tolerated or Nothing that Nothing should be restrained or that All things should be imposed and rigidly enforced under temporall inflictions the one leads to Heresie and Atheisme the other to Perescution Now to shape a course out of Gods Word 1. How the sacred Truths of God and the precious Souls of Men those great truths committed to our charge And 2. How the just Liberty of Conscience for I meddle not without my line with due reverence to Authority may be preserved pure and blamelesse is the scope of my ensuing discourse unto which ends I shall endeavour to drive with all clearnesse Christian Moderation and Sobriety from the words now read in your eares Whether Nebuchadnezzar did erect this huge Statue of such a vast cost for it was of God and bignesse 60. cubits high out of ambition and vaine-glory as a Monument of his Greatnesse and Magnificence or out of Blinde Zeale to his God Bell to whom it was dedicated or out of Policy to bring all his Dominions and People to an Uniformity in Religion and Worship the better to prevent Dissentions and Divisions in bis Kingdome which might be occasioned by the exercise of the Jewes Religion now scattered amongst them Whether all or any of these things might move him I determine not But most likely it is that there was something of Designe in it for the Princes of Babylon seeing their Greatnesse and Glory eclipsed by Strangers and Captives moved with Envy and Indignation advised the King to such a specious Action of Devotion whereby they might intrap and work the ruine of those Jewish Commanders for ver 12. they informe against Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that these men have not regarded thee ô King they serve not thy Gods nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up Upon this information Nebuchadnezzar sends for them and bespeaks them in the words of my Text Is it true O Shadrach Meshach and Abednego do not ye serve my Gods nor worship the Image which I have set up q. d. I should least of all men expected this from you you who are at my mercy you that have been so highly advanced by me He used them civilly as the Phrase is yet cruelly he did not presently condemne them till he had heard their defence and in his speech he did seeke to win them as unwilling to believe it to be true which was informed Is it true O Shadrach that you do not serve my Gods ver 14. perhaps it was an over-sight or some needlesse scruple in you or a mis-information to me I shall be willing to passe it by if now at last you will conforme Take time to consider of it But if you persist I cannot help you you must be cast into the fiery Fornace for so is the Law ver 15. Then followes their Answer ver 16 17. We are not carefull to answer thee in this matter as if they should say your Majesty is not mis-informed we did not worship your Gods and the truth is we cannot we are sufficiently advised and resolved in this matter we crave no farther time for consultation And whereas you threaten us with Death for our refusall this is no satisfaction to our Conscience nor discharge of our Duty we are not moved with thy threatnings we are ready to sacrifice our lives to the will and command of our God rather than our Conscience or Religion to thy will It is a poor Religion and a poor God that is not worth the dying for And if our God see cause by this meanes to call for our lives we are contented to pay a debt of Nature in a debt of Duty and yet we know that he can deliver us from thy Fornace if it seeme good unto him but if not we cannot gratifie thee in this matter Wee will not serve thy Gods we rather yeild our bodies and Gods will be done In which Conference note two remarkable Acts 1. One of the King enjoyning an Act of Worship upon men of a different judgement and those poore Captives under the sharpest penaltie 2. The other of the poor vanquished Captives their refusall chusing rather to suffer than to sin against God

resolving in the way of Dutie to trust God with their lives ver 16 17 18. Sundry particulars are observable but I shall reduce the whole into 2. Doctrines Doct. 1 1. Though the civill power hath much to do in matters of Religion yet it may not compell or enforce under temporall penalties to an Act of Worship either in it selfe evill or evill in the judgement of him upon whom it is imposed Nebuchadnezzar sets up an Image requires a Worship to it under pain of death This was ill in him and the like is ill in any man else Doct. 2 D. 2. From their Answ is this To cleave to Gods will and ways against all humane dread and terror out of a confident perswasion that God is Lord of our lives able to deliver and in an humble resignation to his wisdome whether he will deliver or not in such a strait is a strength of spirit to be endeavoured after by all that feare God and would keep a good conscience Thus did these three men Doct. 1 I begin with the first Doctrine Though the Civill Power c. This Truth is evidenced by the Repentance of Nebuchadnezzar v. 28. Blessed be God that hath changed the Kings word By this Retractation he condemns his former crueltie Note that passage of Pauls Repentance recorded Acts 26.11 I punished them oft in every Synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme It was a great weaknesse in them to blaspheme but it was a great wickednesse in Paul to compell them and thus much S. Paul confesseth that it is an Act of Persecution to compell poor Christians to deny what they believed concerning Jesus Christ Obj. It may be said S. Paul sinned because he compelled to that which was evil as here Nebuchadn did else he needed not to repent of what he had done Sol. 1. That which he did was not evill in the judgement of Authority for verse 10. Saint Paul had a Commission so to do 2. Nor was it evill in the judgement of his owne Conscience for he verily thought that he ought to doe many things against the name of Jesus ver 9. The evill of his acting therefore did not lie only in the Object whereunto he compelled but in the very act of compelling Christians to go against their owne Consciences 3. To put the sinfulnesse of compelling upon the Object is altogether unsatisfactory for the question will still recurre who shall judge of the right Is not every Power judge of its owne right They that think it just to compell others to yeild to an unknown truth or duty will think it hard to be compelled to a like unknown duty by a contrary Power And yet Error in Power thinks it hath as much right to a forcible imposition as Truth hath when it is in Power Sol. 4. Note from this Confession of S. Paul two things 1. That an erring Conscience does not excuse in case of misactings Perswasion of Conscience is not the ground nor prime rule of mens actings for the Conscience it selfe must be regulated else it will be a false witnesse of God As Conscience is set between God and us so it must speak from God to us not from Satan or any Spirit of delusion Saint Paul verily thought he ought to doe many things contrary to the Name of Jesus yet was he not thereby excused he did it not in malice but his erring conscience put him upon that action which was damnable 2. Note that the plea of authority is not a sufficient discharge before God for Paul had Commission for what hee did But he and his Commission were wicked and I believe that many are and may be damned for their misactings though they have authority for what they do yea though they be also in conscience perswaded that they do nothing but what is good as the Jewes that crucified Christ and they of whom Christ speakes Joh. 13.3 He that kills you will thinke they do God good service Paul had been damned for his persecuting unlesse hee had repented though he did it ignorantly Thus for the proofe in generall There be two Branches of our Doctrine 1. That the Civill Magistrate may do much in matters of Religion 2. Yet not this viz. to impose under temporall penalties There be two extremes some thinke the Magistrate has nothing to do in matters of Religion others that he may do what hee list Some claime an absolute freedome from all Civill Power as being for matter of Faith and Worship under Christ your King alone Others challenge to the Magistrate a Power of imposing the publikely owned and established Religion The one is too loose the other too rigid The right or wrong apprehending and executing of this practicall point is of great good or great mischiefe to the Church of Christ therefore for distinct proceeding I shall endeavor to resolve these two Questions 1. What the Civill Magistrate has to doe in matters of Religion 2. What he may not doe Qu. 1 To the former it is very much that the Civill Magistrate may and ought to doe for Christ for though the Magistrates be not Christs Officers of his Mediatory Kingdome as the Ministers of the Gospell are The Civill Power is a Beame of Gods Soveraignity over the World and of his providentiall Kingdome not directly of his Kingdome of grace yet all power is committed unto Christ and God has appointed the exercise of his power governing the World to be serviceable to the advancement of the Kingdome of his deare Son and to the setting of him upon his holy Hill according to that gracious promise made to the Churches of the Gentiles Es 49.23 Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers and Queens thy nursing Mothers Though they be not Fathers to beget thee yet they shall be Fathers to nurse thee up they shall carry thy Sonnes and thy daughters in their Armes i.e. they shall contribute their aid and assistance for the upholding and enreasing of the Church And the Nation and Kingdome that will not serve thee when this Kingdom of Jesus Christ comes to be revealed to them He will require it at your hands Psalme 2.10 they shall perish Es 60.12 From this Unction it is that Magistrates are bound to serve Christ as Magistrates that is use their civill power to serve Christs Kingdome The administration of Civill Justice is not sufficient to give them the title of nursing Fathers for so much the Turk at this day doth yeild them and yet he is no Nurse Father to the Church But the Civill Power is to be used for the Churches spirituall good 1 Tim. 2.2 The Object and end of the Kings Power is not onely the externall peace of humane society but also honesty and godlinesse to be procured by his Civill coactive Power and for this cause Paul willeth us to pray for Kings and all that are in authority Here 's the quod sit that the Magistrate may do much how much that is 4. Conc. will appeare in these