Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	form_n	prayer_n	prescribe_v	4,723	5	9.8951	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67559	Against resistance of lawful powers a sermon preached at White-Hall, Novemb. Vth, 1661 / by Seth Ward ...	Ward, Seth, 1617-1689.	1661 (1661)	Wing W812; ESTC R10700	22,608	47

heart to be tender of the rights of the Church as of the Apple of his Ey This is a Calumny insisted on generally by almost all our Adversaries but it is too rude and gross to be spoken to in this place Rather let us see whether the Sovereigns among all people Heathen Iews Christians have not claimed and exercised power in all Causes over all Persons as well Ecclesiastical as Civil 1. For Causes The New Testament sometimes divides the Gentiles into Greeks and Barbarians sometimes into wise and unwise according to which division the Romanes are I suppose reckoned under the Greeks from whence they were mostly extracted and with whom they contended in Civility Briefly 1. the Greeks 2. the Romanes 3. the Barbarous Nations did alwaies exercise such a power 1. Aristotle the greatest among the Greeks tells us that the first and principal Thing in a Common-Wealth is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And accordingly if we consult the Fragments which are left us of the Laws of the most antient Grecian Common-Wealths we shall finde nothing so frequent as the Ordinances concerning their Religion 2. Amongst the Romans Cicero the wisest saith that Religion is the Foundation of Humane Society as in truth it is To say nothing of the Ordinances of Numa the Ius Pontificium c. the Titles of the Twelve Tables are many of them concerning Religion 3. As for the Barbarous Nations I shall not multiply Testimonies nor go beyond the line of Scripture In the third of Daniel we finde an Edict of the King of Babylon enjoyning all People Languages and Tongues to commit Idolatry Verse 4 5. And by and by another Edict that no man should speak amiss of the God of Shadrach Mesech and A●ednego Verse 29. In the sixth we finde Darius the Persian by the advise of his Council signing a Decree against petitioning for thirty days any God besides himself Verse 9. and shortly another that all men should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel Verse 26. In the third of Ionah the King of Nineveh and his Nobles proclaim a publick Fast. In the first of Ezra Cyrus puts forth an Edict to build the Temple at Hierusalem In the fourth Artaxerxes reverseth it In the sixth Darius re-inforceth it I suppose it is now evident that Greeks and Barbarians did exercise this power To think to elevate the force of these Instances because all these were Strangers from God and aliens from the Common-Wealth of Israel is to mistake the purpose for which they are alledged However it was not thus among the Kings of the Nations only but among the holiest and wisest of the Governours and Kings of Israel and Iudaea who for abolishing false Worship and ordaining the true are often highly commended by the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures The time would fail me to speak distinctly and particularly of the Ordinances concerning Religion which were made by Moses Ioshua David Solomon Asa Iehosaphat Hezekiah Manasses also and Iosiah concerning whom the Scripture gives these Characters Moses was the man of God Joshua the servant of the Lord. David a man after God's own heart There was none like unto Solomon Asa his heart was perfect with the Lord. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat Hezekiah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Manasseh was heard of God Josiah did that which was right and his Goodness was recorded Now the Acts of every one of these concerning the Worship of God and matters of Religion are recorded and applauded in the Scriptures For these all ordered and regulated Services and Sacraments and Covenants with God they erected Altars and Tabernacles and Temples and dedicated them to the Lord they destroyed Idolatry reformed abuses in God's Worship settled both the standing Worship of God and occasional Thanks-givings and Humiliations to omit other matters The whole Aaronical Ministery which consisted in Ceremonies and Sacrifices Typical and Carnal Ordinances was not ordered by the hand of Aaron but of Moses who was King in Iesurun The Tabernacle and Temple-service which beside the Mosaical Institutions consisted of Spiritual abiding Ordinances was instituted by David who being the sweet Singer of Israel and acquainted more then ever any man for ought appears with the ways and helps of lifting up the Heart to spiritual intercourse with God to that end appointed the use of Musick in the Church and without fear of stinting the Spirit he prescribed set-Set-forms of Praise and Prayers for the use of the Temple and ordered the Service for every day A Psalm consisting partly of the one hundred and fifth ninety sixth and one hundred and eighteenth he first delivered to Asaph and his Brethren at the reduction of the Ark from the house of Obed-Edom 1 Chron. xvi 7. And divers other Psalms were composed by him for the Service of the Church And what he had ordained Solomon put in practise In the fifth Chapter of the second Book of Chronicles we finde the pattern of the Service of this Time and Place the Sons of Asaph Heman and Ieduthun arrayed in white Linen with musical Instruments praising the Lord saying For he is good c. viz. reciting the one hundred and eighteenth Psalm and in token of God's acceptance a Cloud filled the house The one hundred thirty and sixth Psalm likewise was wont to be sung in Thanksgivings So we finde also Hezekiah and Iosiah praising the Lord in the words of David and Asaph Thus stood the matter under the Law the ordering of matters of Religion was not exempted from the Supreme Power Hezekiah varied from Moses his Law and was blameless Neither was it otherwise in the best and purest Times under the Gospel It had been but a slender invitation to the Emperours to become Christian if by submitting to Christianity they must lose so considerable a part of the Sovereign Power enjoyed by all their Predecessours and be thereby exposed inevitably to Seditions and Rebellions upon every Frantick eruption of religious Melancholie The Primitive Emperours understood themselves otherwise and so did the Christians under them I may not stand to recite the Annals of the Church If Constantine had not interposed for the composing of the Arrian Heresie what had become either of Government or Religion The drawing up of Canons for the regulation of Religion was by our LORD committed to the Apostles and their Successours the Bishops and other Ecclesiastical Persons but that these Canons should be enforced as Laws by temporal Penalties it was by the sanction of Civil Powers In the second Oecumenical Council the Fathers assembled at Constantinople beseech Theodosius the Elder to ratifie the Decrees of that Synod Thus we finde Iustinian establishing the Homo-Canonicon or Code of the Vniversal Church consisting of the Canons of the four first General and five antient Provincial Councils and commanding them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be kept as Laws Briefly