Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	godly_a	rejoice_v	simplicity_n	1,031	5	9.5439	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A69044	A sermon necessarie for these times shewing the nature of conscience, with the corruptions thereof, and the repairs or means to inform it with right knowledge, and stirre it up to upright practise, and how to get and keep a good conscience. To which is adjoyned a necessarie, brief, and pithy treatise af [sic] the ceremonies of the Church of England. By Anthony Cade Batch. of Divinitie.	Cade, Anthony, 1564?-1641.	1639 (1639)	STC 4330; ESTC S107399	57,371	130

A SERMON NECESSARIE FOR THESE TIMES Shewing the nature of Conscience with the corruptions thereof and the repairs or means to inform it with right knowledge and stirre it up to upright practise and how to get and keep a good Conscience To which is adjoyned a necessarie brief and pithy treatise of the Ceremonies of the Church of England By ANTHONY CADE Batch of Divinitie 2 Cor. 1.12 Our rejoycing is this the testimonie of our Conscience that in simplicitie and godly sinceritie not with fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world c. Printed by the Printers to the Vniversitie of Cambridge And are to be sold by John Sweeting near Popes head alley in Corn-hill 1639. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD JOHN LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN MY VERY good Lord and Patron RIght Reverend Father in God I have often with great comfort related among my friends what I observed about five yeares agone at my being at Buckden an ancient house belonging to the Bishoprick of Lincoln how bare naked and ruinous I had seen it in former times and now worthily repaired and adorned by your Lordship The cloisters fairly pargetted and beautified with comely coportments and inscriptions of wise counsels and sentences the windows enriched with costly pictures of Prophets Apostles and holy Fathers and beyond all the Chappell for Gods immediate service most beautifully furnished with new Seats Windows Altar Bibles and other sacred books costly covered clasped and embossed with silver and gilt with gold with Bason Candlesticks and other vessels all of bright shining silver and with stately Organs curiously coloured gilded and enameled no cost spared to set forth the dignity of that house dedicated to Gods worship And the whole service of God therein performed with all possible reverence and devout behaviour of your own person and all the assembly and with the organs of sweet ravishing angelicall voices and faces of young men lifting up with heavenly raptures all the hearers and beholders hearts to heaven and enforcing me to think and meditate When such things are found on earth in the Church Militant Oh what unconceivable joyes shall we finde in heaven in the Church Triumphant We have great cause to glorifie God for your Fatherhoods excellent care and cost in this and many * At Lincoln Westminster Cambridge Oxford c. Where this Bishop hath built chappels libraries c. or garnished and furnished them with excellent books and maintenance for Scholars other places where as I heare you have done the like As also now more lately for our most excellent worthy-minded Archbishops Grace who prosecuting his own and some other Bishops preparations hath now notably begun and happily gone forwards with the repairing of that most honourable ancient monument of Christendome S. Pauls Church in London to the comfort of all good hearts and glory of our nation and also to work an unity of faith and uniformity of practise in the service of God and by all possible means to winne all adversaries thereunto which would be an incomparable joy to all true Christian hearts But to return again to Buckden to my observations there and to my present purpose I did also ordinarily speak among my friends of the government of your great house with all subjection and gravity and of your hospitalitie such as S. 1. Tim. 3.2 Paul prescribes to Bishops entertaining your numerous guests with bountifull provision and feasting them with variety and plenty of all good things but with exemplary sobriety in your own person and with wise learned and religious discourse as wholesome for their souls as your meats for their bodies But this I passe over now slightly as beside my present purpose for my purpose was onely to shew how by the former sight of your house and Chappel and the manner of Gods service therein I well understood your Fatherhoods religious minde and intentions but much better by your private words to my self afterwards viz. That your desire was to have the Consciences of all people preachers and others in your Diocesse rightly informed and soundly convicted of the lawfulnesse and perswaded to the practise of the established service of God with the Rites and Ceremonies of our happily reformed Church and that your self would leade them the way and give them a fair * S. August epist 86. in fine Si consilio meo acquiescis Episcopo tuo noli resistere quod facit ipse sine ullo scrupulo sectare In using Rites and Ceremonies example This gladded my heart more then the rest So that not long after being appointed by your Lordship to preach at a Visitation at Leicester I addressed my self to improve my best service to God and his Church to our gracious Soveraigne Gods immediate deputy to your Lordship the generall spirituall Father of these parts and to our Countrey both ministers and people for the better setling of their Consciences in these and other necessary points My sermon presently upon the hearing procured me thanks from many even from the contrary-minded formerly and many desired copies or the publication as did also some of your own officers which I also promised And shortly after having made my copie ready with some additions which time would not give me leave to utter and with a brief Appendix at the end fitter for young preachers to reade at home then for people to heare from the pulpit I gave it to a friend to procure the printing but my friend unfriendly kept it in his own or his friends hands so long that till neare the end of this last yeare I could not get my copie again At last having recovered it and communicated it to some other learned judicious friends they again importuned me for the publication as a thing that undoubtedly would do much good to many unsetled souls To which now I have condescended My good Lord I beseech you and all my Readers to beare with my long preface I thought it necessary to let the world know the two occasions one of my preaching the other of the late publishing of this sermon Now such as it is I send and dedicate it to your Fatherhood whose it is by the first appointment and all the service it can do and so is the Authour thereof Your Lordships in all humble service and observance to be commanded ANTHONY CADE ROM 2.15 Which Gentiles shew the work of the Law written in their hearts their Conscience also bearing witnesse and their thoughts the mean while or between themselves accusing or else excusing one another SAint Paul to move all men to seek salvation by faith in Jesus Christ which he propounds chap. 1. vers 16. and prosecutes chap. 3. vers 21. shews in these first chapters that all men are in themselves inexcusable sinners The Jews sinning against the law written in their Books the Gentiles against the law written in their Hearts This sentence convicts the Gentiles but by an argument

Shall private men That may not be for their opinions are various and then in severall congregations we should have severall ceremonies and fashions Reade Socrates eccl hist lib. 5. cap. 22. Sozomen lib. 7. cap. 19. one crossing and condemning another with much disquietnesse and offence Quot capita tot schismata saith Saint Hierom endlesse distraction and confusion If no private men then we must conclude The King or chief governour of the whole nationall Church must be the supreme judge and none other and that for two reasons 1. He onely hath power to gather together the most godly wise and learned men in the whole kingdome and if need be to have the advice and judgement of the best learned in other nations by whose grave counsels he may with great maturitie of judgement set down orders fittest for the whole nationall Church 2. He onely hath power to impose them upon all congregations within his dominions for unitie and uniformitie and to inflict punishment upon the offenders for Lex sine coertione nulla est To make a law and not compell men to keep it and so let every man still do what he list is to no purpose Therefore the conclusive answer to this second question is Conclusion A Christian Prince may yea and ought to impose upon his subjects such ceremonies in Gods publick service as he knows to be lawfull and convenient for order decency and edification and compell men to observe them for the preservation of unitie uniformitie and peace of the Church in his dominions And 6. They that resist such Magistrates in such things do grievously sinne against God They resist the ordinance of God saith S. Paul Rom. 13.2 and procure to themselves damnation And vers 5. Ye must needs be subject not onely for a Necessitate externâ wrath but also for b Necessitate internâ Conscience sake Quest 3. What is then to be done when thy Prince Gods deputy and in Gods stead commands thee and thy Conscience Gods deputy also and in Gods stead forbids thee the same since in obeying thy Prince thou sinnest against thy Conscience in obeying thy Conscience thou sinnest against thy Prince in both against God because they both have their authoritie from God to command thee and to binde thee under pain of damnation not to offend The answer then to this third question is The Conscience must be reformed For otherwise here is a labyrinth so inclosing the poore soul that as long as the Conscience continueth in this errour it is unpossible to come out without sinne Therefore I wish that all good means may be used to avoid sinne and damnation On the Magistrates part Mr. Slater in Rom. 2. Mr. Masons serm at Norwich c. pag. 70. I wish with many other good men these cautions to be observed and I finde they have been well observed 1. That great care be taken for amending the Law-book of Conscience that is for better information of the erring and resolution of the doubting Conscience As Ezra gathered all the people together Nehem. 8.1 3. read the law unto them and he with others made the people to understand it vers 7 8. and in the chapters following they all made a covenant of obedience to the Lord. This order also took Jehoshaphat 2. Chron. 17.7 8 9. and Chap. 1 9.4 Vide Camdeni Annales Elisabethae pag. 26. edit Lugd. Batav anno 1625. 2. Chron. 17. and 19. So did the Protestants in reforming the abuses crept into the Church Our Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory first caused the people to be taught and rightly informed throughout the land and after that established the reformation 2. That the scrupulous be not too hardly dealt withall upon any sudden proceeding for they sinne not willingly but of a pious humilitie and fearfulnesse to offend God and therefore are much to be pitied and better instructed 3. That compulsion or punishment be not hastened so long as there appeares a desire and godly endeavour to be better informed But 4. These things being first well performed first sufficient information offered secondly a tender usage of the parties and thirdly a convenient time given to settle the Conscience men not yeelding may be accounted refractarie and obstinate Aquin. in Ep. ad Rom. cap. 14. lect 2. To avoid scandall of little ones a man must deferre the use of things lawfull till a reason may be rendred to remove the scandall but if the scandall still remain after the reason rendred it seems not to proceed from ignorance or infirmitie but of malice and so belongs to the scandall of Pharisees See Masons serm pag. 56. Zanchius de redempt cap. 17. fol. 493. rather then tender-conscienced they seem not now to be errones but turbones contumacious troublers and disquieters of the peace unitie uniformitie and happinesse of the Church which Christian Kings are bound in Conscience to preserve and as they have in love used all good means to win the humble so now in justice they must punish the disorderly to preserve unitie I dare not say as S. Augustine said of unitie in sound doctrine Pereat unus potiùs quàm unitas but in our discipline I may boldly say with our laws Maereat unus potiùs quàm unitas For continuance in errour through wilfull neglect of the means of better information is censurable of obstinacy and disobedience both to God and the Prince On the peoples part I wish these things to be seriously considered First since it hath pleased Almighty God to give us wise religious and gracious Princes nursing Fathers and Mothers to his Church Mr. Slater in Rom. 2. who have already banished the intolerable tyrannie corruptions and abuses crept into the Church restored us to free libertie of Conscience and peace of pure religion and by good laws officers and other provident and potent means protected and preserved it and us We the subjects should take this for a benefit inestimable not abuse it to the liberty of new opinions or to the loosenessse and dissolution of publick government but to be most thankfull to our Princes for it give them all possible content and yeeld our selves more willing and ready to all civill burdens Secondly See B. Jewels Apologie edit Londin 1591. pag. 170. that these constitutions were first and chiefly directed to those true necessary ends prescribed by S. Paul Order Decencie and Edification and secondarily with respect to former ages and the present state of neighbour nations to the greatest grace and honour of our Church in that beside the inward substance of doctrine they make the very outward face of our Church as like as may be to the most ancient and purest Churches which yeelded so many thousand Martyrs for the testimony of the truth in their times and lately also in Queen Maries time a number more living and dying in the liking or practise of them And thirdly they tend to the stopping of the mouthes of our clamorous

with fair pretences hiding thy intents from the abused people while thine own end is hid from thy self God sees all thy Conscience writes all while thou needlesly and heedlesly runnest a full careere to thine own destruction And thou David See 2. Sam. 12. and the chapters following from the shepherds staffe raised to the Kings sceptre and now setled in thy kingdome in great wealth peace honour and prosperitie wilt thou now forget thy self so farre that thine own hundred sheep will not satisfie thee but thou must take thy neighbours onely ew that lies in his bosome wilt thou commit so foul an act and yet a fouler to murder the right innocent owner and to do it the closelier wilt thou betray the Lords guiltlesse army into the enemies hand and cause his name to be blasphemed among the heathen and wilt thou hereby draw plagues upon thee and thine and cut off thy prosperitie when thou needest not and doth thy Conscience all this while sleep and will never awake No no thy Conscience is writing all the while a chronicle of all thy doings and after nine moneths when the childe is born Nathan will open thy book and make thee reade thine own sinne which will cost thee many teares and much heart-grief and many afflictions from thine own subjects from thine own children all thy life long after For our innocencie and good works Vse 2 we need not hunt for eye-witnesses to cleare and to cheere us Hic murus aheneus esto Nil conscire sibi nullâ pallescere culpâ Horat. Integer vitae scelerísque purus non eget Mauri jaculis nec arcu c. Idem Conscience alone giveth sufficient comfortable testimony A cleare Conscience is a brazen wall to keep off all the darts of sinne or shame which ill tongues can throw against us He that is of sound life and free from ill-doing hath his heaven within him and may say with S. Paul 2. Cor. 1.12 Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicitie and godly sinceritie not with fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-wards In midst of slanders and uncharitable surmises of malicious men comfort thy self with the witnesse of thy sinceritie and innocencie as S. Paul did there and Acts 23.1 Men and brethren I have lived in all good Conscience before God unto this day And Acts 24.16 Herein I do exercise my self to have alwayes a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards men and neare his death 2. Tim. 4.6 Now said he I am ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousnesse c. Our Conscience also will witnesse Vse 3 whether in doing good works we serve God or our selves that is whether we do the works of our vocation with true sinceritie and simplicitie of heart and observing all due circumstances referring all to the true ends Gods glory chiefly and secondly our own salvation comfort and profit and the good of others without hurt or wrong to any which if we do our Conscience will assure us 2. Cor. 5.5 Rom. 8.14 15 16. Eph. 1.13 14 2. Cor. 1.22 we are guided by Gods Spirit are in Gods favour have received the earnest of our inheritance the Spirit of adoption although we feel still imperfections in our selves as S. Paul did Rom. 7.21 c. or whether we do our good works in hypocrisie and for our own by-ends which may be profitable to others but neither please God nor our own Conscience soundly as they ought to do Thus to apply it onely to our present meeting Preachers may finde it written in their Conscience See Gabr. Powels consideration of the ministers supplication to the Parliament 1606. pag. 11 12. whether their preaching hath been directed to Gods true service for his glory and the right information and falvation of his people or whether to their own praise to shew their learning eloquence and wit or to please and humour their patrons friends and people for maintenance and preferment I wish we all could say with S. Paul Acts 20.26 I take you all to record this day that I am pure from the bloud of all men and have taught you all the counsell of God and Acts 24.16 and 2. Cor. 1.12 Our Visitours and their inferiour officers may finde written in their Consciences whether they make such a meeting as this Morum or Nummorum visitatio D. Boys in a visitation Sermon visiting to do good to the Church or to themselves Sure I am these offices and meetings were ordained for good and the execution thereof doth much good in our Church to see that ministers do their duties preach true and profitable doctrine and that diligently live honest and unoffensive lives and be examples of all goodnesse to their flocks to see whether Church-buildings furniture books vestments and especially people be in good order They that do all these good offices deserve good recompense for their pains and care their persons and offices are venerable honourable and exceeding profitable to the Church But the good performance of the best Visitours may be much hindered by corrupt or negligent under-officers Church-wardens Side-men Apparitours which are the eyes of the Visitours I wish them to reade seriously in their Conscience whether they serve God or Mammon or God for Mammon whether they betray not the trust committed to them making the Visitours look through false glasses D. Boys ibid. or spectacles to see Omnia bene in billis when there is rather Omnia malè in villis and their feeling is better then their seeing and so no good reformation follows because no good information went before I can go no further but onely advise men to look to their Consciences lest they become partiall causes of the continuance of any evil in the Church and thereby derive much of the guilt and punishment upon themselves whereas by conscionable execution of their office and trust they may procure much good to the Church settle true peace in their Conscience and derive upon themselves many blessings from God with love and praise from men But I must hasten to the third part of my Text and hasten through it III. PART Their thoughts accusing or excusing THeir discursive thoughts by comparing these two books together the one containing Facta the other Regulam factorum the Law of God and the Chronicle of our lives either accuse and condemne for their disagreement or excuse and acquit for their agreement The first book makes the Proposition or Major of a Practicall Syllogisme Thus thou must do The second book makes the Assumption or Minor Thus thou hast done The Conscience with the discoursing thoughts out of those Premises draws the Conclusion Ergò thou hast done evil or