Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bishop_n	ephesus_n	timothy_n	4,502	5	11.0289	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18357	Six sermons now first published, preached by that learned and worthy divine Edward Chaloner lately deceas'd, Dr in Divinity, sometimes Chaplaine in Ordinary to our soveraigne K. Iames, and to his Maiesty that now is: and late Principall of Alban Hall in Oxford. Printed according to the author's coppies, written with his owne hand	Chaloner, Edward, 1590 or 91-1625.; Sherman, Abraham, 1601 or 2-1654.	1629 (1629)	STC 4937; ESTC S107649	98,854	158

labourer of the vineyard from his censure of standing here Secondly there may be extrinsecall impediments which may admit of a dispensation of absence as persecution so that the two rules which St Austine requireth in his 18 epistle to Honoratus bee observ'd the first is that the persecution bee not generall but personall not generall that is of all pastours or of the flocke as well as pastours for if he then leaue his station he is compared by our Saviour to an hireling who seeth the wolfe comming and leaveth the sheepe and the wolfe catcheth them and scattereth the sheepe Ioh. 10. and this persecution of cleargy and lay-people together is likened by that Father to the equall danger of marriners and merchants in the same shippe in a great tempest now God forbid saith he that the marriners or specially the master of the shippe leaving his passengers behind should saue himselfe by a boate or by swimming and commit the vnwealdy vessell to the mercy of the vnmercifull waues But the persecution must bee personall and proper not to pastours onely but to that pastour or some pastours only and in this case Elias fled from Iesabell 1. King 19. Peter left the Church of Hierusalem to escape Herods furie Act. 12. Paul left the Church of Damascus when some particularly sought to kill him Act. 9. and Christ wish't his disciples when they were persecuted in one citie to flie into another Mat. 10. The second rule which St Austine sets downe is that the necessary offices of the pastour which is fled bee supplied by others and therefore Paul when he fled the persecutours left not Damascus voide of a necessary ministerie nor Athanasius left the Church of Alexandria destitute of other teachers when hee fled from Constantius the Emperour as the same Father well noteth Thirdly I deny not but that a labourer from his speciall place or a pastour from his particular flocke may be absent and yet not come vnder the Husband-mans lash of Why stand you here and this may be qualitate negotij when the businesse about which hee goeth is to the profite either of the vniversall Church or of some particular Naclantius Campegius Mosconius and others which write vpon this subject do reduce to this title the going to generall or particular Synods and helping to establish other Churches the like in which cases they agree that a pastour may leaue his flocke for a time so that the time be not very long and the place not vnprovided of a sufficient substitute for so we reade of Timothy to whom Paul had committed the Church of Ephesus and Tytus who was Bishop of Crete how the one was sent to establish the Church in Dalmatia the other both promised to the Philippians also vpon an occasion sent for to come to Rome 2. Tim. 4. but yet so that neither Titus his flocke were left vnprovided of many instructors which before he had ordained there nor Ephesus as Calvin well noteth wāted a Tychicus which was sent vnto them to supply Timothie's roome But these former exceptions may be applyed to all Churches in generall there are some other alleadged by our men which cōcerne our Church of England more particularly for first there is a liberty of absence graunted to some that their knowledge may be increased in the Vniversity their labours by that meanes be made afterwards the more profitable secondly to others lest the houses of great men should want that daily exercise of religion wherein their example availeth as much yea many times peradventure more then the lawes thēelues with the cōmon sort thirdly to others which are men of quality that as their services are in weight for the publicke good so likewise their rewardes encouragements should be the more lest it might here be verified which we reade in the first of Iob that the oxen should be only plowing and the asses feeding But because it is controversed with no small fervency on both sides what are the true limits without which it is not lawfull to stray in this point for as much as it cannot be imagined that all circūstances are so perspicuously delivered in the Scriptures concerning this as that moe doubtes like Hydra's heads shall notrise vp a new to continue the fight for mine own part I could wish that mē would but first practise on all parts that which may be certainely determined by the word of God Fourethings we find plainly expressed in the Scriptures concerning the duty of a Pastour First that he is to imploy his talent to the best advantage of the Church lest the grace bestowed vpon him be in vaine 1. Cor. 15. Secondly that hee hath a particular calling to take heed to to feed that flocke of God ouer which the Holy Ghost hath made him ouerseer Act. 20. Thirdly that his hirelings negligence shall not excuse him if the wicked be not warned from his way but that the bloud of that man God will require at his hands which is the true watchman Ezech. 33. Fourthly that the feeding of his flocke is to be preferr'd before any worldly respect be it either honour or wealth and therefore we are commanded to take the ouersight thereof not for filthy lucre but of a ready minde 1. Pet. 5. and indeede our lawes never intended that the outward pompe of the Church should bee advanced with any prejudice to the inward growth of it as some thinke who take the Church to be of the Spanish humour could be content to haue it's belly pinch't rather then it 's backe vngarded These things I take may be sufficiently strengthned by many texts in holy writ if any will pretend that they can practise these by substitutes or can supply in effect by proxies what these challenge let others take vp the first stone I should bee here silent for mine owne part I came not hither to lay any aspertion of negligence vpon those reverend pillars of our Church whose assiduous and frequent visiting of their flockes besides other worthy labours consumed in higher places might serue to brande our rurall sluggards with perpetuall ignominy only for those whose flocke as St Paul termes it haue scarce seene their face in the flesh nor others in the pulpit which abusing the scope of the statute provided no doubt to a good end thinke they may goe safely therein as farre as the very letter of the law will giue them leaue I know not what to judge vnlesse they are perswaded that before Gods tribunall they shall bee proceeded against by the common law or else that they hope they shall bee allowed a Counseller to plead their case at that day In the meane time leaving the deciding of the question to others let vs apply to our selues but those foure points which before I mentioned and consider therein the duties which God exacteth at our hands the first which concernes the imployment of our talent yeelds a caveat both to those who having spent

martyrdomes of the Prophets before Christ of the Fathers in the Ten first persecutions and of the Protestants here in England in Queene Marie's dayes The third is the endeavouring by the same meanes to preserue the liberties and immunities of the Church which are two fold either natiue and connaturall to the Church as preaching the word administring the Sacraments and applying medicinall censure or accessory such as for the furtherance advancement of the worship of God Christian Princes haue given vnto it If any to whose charge God hath committed these by an ordinary calling do loose his life either in the execution of the former or for a pious dutifull admonition to the Prince for the latter wee may justly esteeme him for a martyr But to come to our application Christ hath his martyrs and Antichrist would haue his also It may make some peradventure to wonder and stand astonisht at the strange hardnesse of some priests Iesuites of the Roman religiō their resolution to dye for their Bell the Bishop of Rome but should wee but sift the truth of the point wee should finde that it is not Christ's cause that they dye for nor his Name which with the Apostle here they so stand for but that other reasons and by-respects do induce them to this false martyrdome To see one lavish of his bloud would perswade a simple man to thinke that the cause could not be but good but alas it is not true zeale but fury which driues them to these exigences it is not the loue of their Master Christ but the hope of avoyding Purgatory and of meriting heaven which so advanceth this corrupt inclination Yet this I will say that if the sustaining of death for the defence of one's cause could end the controversie Bellarmine the greatest Doctor of the Romish Church would giue the Vmpire to our side for in his 4th book de signis Ecclesia 2. chap. he ingenioussly cōfesseth that Martyrdome can be no note of the Romish Church because saith he other sects there are amongst which he name 's the Calvinists who haue ever bin most forward in dying for their Religion But let vs goe on and examine a little whether those Iesuites and Priests according to the ground laide downe before can challenge the names of true Martyrs or no. To beginne therefore with the first kinde of Martyrdome which is for defending some morall truth doe they dye for defending any such verity No beloved it is for oppugniug euen the rirst Commandement which concernes our duty towards man that Commandement teacheth vs that we should honour our Fathers and Mothers by which is meant not only our naturall Parents but likewise all higher powers and especially such as haue soveraigne authority over vs as Kings and Princes whom the Scripture doth terme nursing Fathers of the Church Esay 49. But they are executed for plotting their deaths for contriving powder-treasons for affirming that the Pope may depose the King that hee may excommunicate him and then giue his Subjects a priviledge to assassinate him so that for defending any morall truth they are not Martyrs but rather for breaking of so great a Commandement they dye as guilty offenders both of God and the Lawes of the Land Well then let 's goe to the Articles of Faith may they beterm'd Martyrs because they stand for the vp-holding of any part of the Creed therein do they maintaine the Name of Iesus No beloved though some of them are called Iesuites yet are they so farre from being so indeed that as Whitaker a learned divine of ours hath observ'd there is no point of their doctrine wherein they differ from vs but either therein they deny the Name of Iesus or the Name of Christ one of our Saviour's two Names is alwayes infring'd by thē But yet they will say perhaps that they dye for maintaining their Churche's immunities priviledges therein do descrue to be called Martyrs They may wel indeed say their Churche's for I cannot say Christ's Church But what are the Priviledges which they pretend why any of their Priests will tell you they are those which our Saviour gaue to S. Peter in Matt. 16. ver 18. in these words Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke I will build my Church But what meane these words are they any thing else then that Christ would build his Church vpon that rocke that is vpon that confession of Peter's immediatly before vttered That he was the Sonne of God this indeede is the true sense but yet the Pope's Canon-Law hath pleas'd to giue another interpretation Thou art Peter that is to say in the Romane speech I am sure neither in the Greeke nor Latine thou art Bishop of Rome and vpon thee as thou art such an one I will build my Church but not onely vpon thee Peter for there shall be no moreBishops of Rome of that name but vpon thee Gregory vpon thee Adrian Iulius Ioane vpon euery Bishop of Rome good or bad holy or prophane Christian or Atheist be he what he will I will build my Church and vnder this I ordaine thee Monarch both of things temporall and things spirituall Soveraigne King and Bishop together of spirituall to controlle the Olde Testament to dispense against the Gospell and against the Apostles to make new articles of faith to be aboue all Councels and when thou traylest men by thousands into hell I would haue no man to question thee why doest thou this Of Temporall to dispose of all the World to distribute it at thy pleasure as if it were thine own heritage to raigne over Kings to arraigne and indite them to depose them to absolue their subjects from their Oath of Allegiance to expose their estates for a prey their persons to murther to bestow their Kingdomes on whom it shall please thee and lastly to change their tenures to fealty or convert their territories to their owne demaine Pitty will strike one here into horrour but sweete Iesus were these the priviledges which thou bequeathed'st to S. Peter were these the dignities which thou conferred'st on thy Church thy profession was wont to be that thy Kingdome was not of this world that the servant is not greater then his Master and thy Apostles haue taught vs that euery soule should be subiect vnto higher powers may now any be so hardy as to claime this Imperiall sway from thy donation Alas beloued this challenge by the Pope is farre from the promise of the Apostles and of S. Peter himselfe let 's looke into his 1 Epistle and 2 Chap. where he enjoynes all men to feare God and honour the King and wee shall perceiue that his scope was obedience subjectiō duty Poore man whil'st he liv'd he was in want and need silver and gold he had none and see since his death the Pope hath provided for him a mighty Kingdome All the Churche's priviledges which they dye for if they dye for any are these which you haue heard