Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	cause_n	just_a	separation_n	3,235	5	9.9864	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91988	The picture of the conscience drawne to the life, by the pencell of divine truth. VVherein are set out 1. Its nature. 2. Infirmities. 3. Remedies. 4. Its duties. Consisting first in the truths to be beleived [sic]. 2. The vertues to be practised. 3. The vices to bee avoyded. 4. The heresies to bee rejected. All seasonable for these distracted times. By Alexander Rosse.	Ross, Alexander, 1591-1654.	1648 (1648)	Wing R1980; Thomason E1195_1; ESTC R208720	46,614	212

and this consent must be free and voluntary not forced and the parties consenting must be of age and such as are guided by reason and have power to dispose of themselves 83 Wee cannot with a safe Conscience have above one wife at once for God gave A dam but one Evah the husband will love one wife better then two for love divided is weaker then united the children will be more carefully educated we read of two that by marriage are made one flesh not of three we see divers creatures are by nature taught to content themselves with single mates Polygamie is often times the cause of jarres in families and therefore cannot be lawfull but where there is an immediate dispensation from God as is supposed was among the Patriarchs before the flood and sometime after 84 The husband and wife are bound to love and respect each other and to dwell together to have all things in common to professe the same truth and to communicate to each other the use of their bodies according to the law of marriage the man is to cherish and maintaine to instruct and guide his wife and she is to honor feare and obey her husband she must temper her tounge and he must keepe in his hands he may reprove admonish and instruct but not strike which causeth hatred and strife and shewes want of true love she may not give away his goods without his consent neither must they live apart except upon urgent occasions 85 A man cannot with a safe Conscience put away his wife except it be for adultery for that unties the band of matrimony yet this band may be tied againe upon the desire and consent of the innocent party in whose favour the divorce was made 86 We are bound to abstaine from fleshly lusts which fight against the Soule which destroy the body which dishonor GOD which wrong man-kind and are the causes of many other sins therefore we must make a covenant with our eyes not to looke upon wanton or immodest objects whither in apparell pictures bookes or lascivious gestures wee must make a covenant with our eares not to heare immodest words or songs wee must covenant with our tongues to speake only such words as edifie and not by them utter what is not lawfull to bee done for immodest actions are concealed so should immodest speeches bee by which God is dishonoured the soule of the speaker and so likewise of the hearer is indangered and good men are grieved and we should make a covenant with our hearts not to entertaine lascivious thoughts with delight but to reject them with detestation otherwise cogitation wil breed delight delight consent consent action and actions a habit Lastly wee must take heed of lascivious kissing embracing touching of Women and immodest dances and of luxurious and unchast speeches gestures or any other such like expressions in stage-playes which have made both the Actors and the sports the recreation it self hatefull tho otherwise tolerable 87. VVee are bound in Conscience to separate our selves from that Church where Gods name is dishonoured Idolatry practised and wickednesse countenanced least wee pertake of her sinnes and so of her punishment but wee are not therefore bound to separate our selves from all Congregations where some bad men are suffered for in this life is no perfection and the Sheepe here are mingled with Goates in the same net are good and bad fishes in the same field Corne and tares which must not be suddenly pluckt up we must exercise our patience in induring such churches infimities and indevour to amend them not by our departure increase them or exasperate our weake brethren and give occasion of schisme 88. Ministers are bound to preach and catechise their flocks sincerely purely constantly boldly powerfully to administer the Sacraments without superstition to resist schisme and heresie beate downe sinne and iniquity to suspend from the Sacrament and to excommunicate in cases of extremity which censure is indeed the act of the whole Church whereof the Minister is the mouth but one Church is not to excommunicate an other not being subordinate although upon just cause there may bee separation or desertion but although the Church may refuse to cast pearls before swine or give that which is holy to dogges and is bound to purge out the old Leaven yet she cannot debarre men from hearing the Word unlesse they bee obstinate dispisers and scoffers of it nor can shee keepe them out of Heaven except they bee impenitent nor can shee breake off the Oeconomicall communion that is betweene husband and wives Parents and Children Masters and servants nor yet the Politicall society that is betweene Magistrates and Subjects 89. Every Minister is bound to have learning integrity of life dexterity of preaching and a will bent to doe God service and to edifie the Church and not to respect his owne honour wealth or profit or to intrude himselfe into that sacred function without both inward and outward calling as many doe who by friends Simonie or any other sinistrous way creepe in at the window but enter not in at the dore neither must they forsake the charge once undertaken except they be forced or necessitated 90 We are bound to make restitution of our neighbours goods whither we detaine them by loane fraud or theft for it is a theft to detain the owners goods to which we have no interest against his will and it is both a violation of justice and also of that love we owe to our neighbour which restitution must be made either really if we are able or else mentally and in our resolution if we cannot wee must also restore to the right owner if he can be found or else to him that is next a kin if there be none then dedicate it to God in some pious or charitable use and we must restore the very thing it selfe if we can or else the full value of it so we are bound to restore his good name which we have hurt either by recantation or accusation of our selves or compensation for the wrong he hath sustained or if we have hurt him in his body we are to make such satisfaction as the Law requires or if we have hurt a woman in the losse of her chastity we must make restitution by marriage or by paying her portion 91 We are bound in Conscience to reprove sinne in whom soever we find it for it is an argument of love and no lesse needfull then almes to him that is in want if it be mercy to pull our neighbours beast out of the mire much more to pull himselfe out of the pit of sinne where his soul will perish but our reproofe must be grounded on Gods word must be sweetned with mildnesse and discretion and uttered in love opportunity of time place and other circumstances must be observed our superiors must be reproved with reverence our equals and inferiors with love and benevolence and because charity begins at home we

own interpretation and conceit goeth against his own beleife for he beleeves that he is in the right though indeed he is an error now What is done either against or without Faith is Sinne Rom. 14. For the Egyptian Mid-wives who beleeved that they might with a safe Conscience lye to save the Hebrew infants from drowning had done against their faith and conscience so been guilty of murther formaly though not materialy if they had not lyed But we must note that though we are bound never to resist the erring conscience yet we are not obliged alwayes to follow it for if the error be voluntarily contracted we are not tyed by any obligation to yeeld obedience to it yet we are bound by a simple ligation not to doe any thing against it because the Conscience beleeves this error to be truth remaines as yet not convinced untill which time these actions which in themselves are materially evill yet are not evill formally as when a man lyeth with his neighbours wife beleeving her to be his own he commiteth adultery materially in effect though not formally or in his conscience and intention and for the same reason the Dictates of an erroneous conscience are to be preferred to the precepts of a Superior until the error be removed by the Superior who cannot injoyne us to do that which destroyes the law of nature but to do any thing against our conscience were to thwart and oppose that very law of nature 2 Opinion is the second infirmity to which the conscience is subject in this life by reason we are ignorant of the true causes of things without which there can be no knowledge for Scire est per causas cognoscere but opinion is a bad rule for men to square their actions by seeing we can never give a firme assent unto that which we perfectly know not but by way of probabilitie therefore the assent is timerous cum formidinecontrarij yet it is opinion that for the most part bares rule in the world and causeth men without scruple of Conscience to runne headlong into many errors and absurdities it is opinion that imboldens men to persecute without remorse of conscience al such as dissent from them and in this they think they do GOD good service hence the Arians of old thought they were bound in Conscience to persecute the Orthodox Christians and so the Papists are led by the same opinion at this day in persecuting the Protestants dissonant opinions have as well armed mens Consciences with boldnesse as their hands with fire and sword against each other the opinion of universalitie and antiquity hath kept the world so long in blindnesse of Popery causing them without scruple of Conscience to swallow down their grosse errors which notwithstanding Luther could not disgest neither he of late nor Athanasius of old could satisfie their consciences with the opinion of universalitie the opinion that the scholars have of their teachers worth and integrity make them without any check of Conscience maintaine defend even to their own undoing and of the place where they live their masters errors be they never so absurd and this is the cause that the Church hath been stil pestered with so many Heresies the opinion that the Subject hath of the Princes authority and power as also the necessity of obedience to his commands makes them without any controlement of conscience put in execution what soever he commands be it right or wrong and when they take an evil opinion of the prince though he deserve it not their Conscience sets them on work to rise against him some Physitians think they may kil men with a safe conscience by trying experiments their conscience doth not check them for murther because they have an opinion that what they did was for the furthring of their own knowledge and the benefit of others so from the opinion the Lawyer hath that it is lawfull for him to live by his Profession he makes no scruple to receive his Clients mony and to plead for him in a wrong cause 3. The third infirmity of the Conscience is doubting to which so long as we are subject our actions can neither stand with love nor faith nor goodnesse not with love for how shall we love God when we doe that which wee doubt is not consonant to his will not with faith for faith is an assurance and firm assent but that can be neither assent nor assurance where there is doubting and what is done without faith is sinne saith the Apostle not with goodnesse for that action cannot bee good which is done without knowledge but where doubting is there cannot be knowledge Maximum malae mentis judicinm fluctuatio therfore if the action bee doubtfull which we goe about it were better bee for borne then put in execution for there may be danger in performance there can bee none in forbearance a man that doubts of his impotency and ineptitude for mariage were better abstaine then marry hee that doubts whither the goods or estate which hee enjoyes bee his owne or not were better restore then retaine them if he can find the right owner if he cannot find him then hee were best bestow them on the poore or else retaine them with that intention and resolution to restore them to the right owner and for that cause use his best endeavours to finde him out so when we doubt whither the Princes command imposed upon us be just or not wee ought to bee resolved either by the Prince or by some other wise and religious man of the lawfulnesse of that command If the Vsurer doubt whither hee may lawfully take use or not he were better forbeare then demand it for there may bee sinne hee doubts in taking there can be none in forbearing 4. The fourth infirmity of the Conscience is scrupulositie a disease that gives it no rest for after it hath assented to one part yet it remaines anxious and wavering whither that be the rightest part it hath assented to and is easily removed from its assent which it gave to this part inclined to assent to the contrary being troubled at every smal conceit scruple perplexed with every shaddow imagination of sin sometimes making us feare that we have omitted what should have been done and sometimes that that we have committed what should not have been done this sicknesse is sometimes layd upon us by God as a punishment of our sins and somtimes as a meanes to try our Faith Constancy and patience its a part of our sprituall warfare let us not then be dejected the end of this tryall is not to hurt but to help us not to kill but to save us neither hath Satan any more power to vex our minds with such scruples then he had to afflict Iobs body with soares he doeth it by permission from God for our further weal these scruples like the Angels of Satan are sent to buffet us but let us not despaire