Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	good_a	love_n	unfeigned_a	1,422	5	11.0683	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11621	Vox vera: or, Obseruations from Amsterdam Examining the late insolencies of some pseudo-puritans, separatists from the Church of Great Brittaine. And closed vp with a serious three-fold aduertisement for the generall vse of euery good subiect within his Maiesties dominions, but more especially of those in the kingdome of Scotland. By Patricke Scot, North-Brittaine.	Scot, Patrick.	1625 (1625)	STC 21863; ESTC S116886	33,610	74

incite Church-men to deuotion and pietie to explaine the sense of Scripture with all humilitie to acquaint as well Princes as people with the will of God by preaching to turne the wrath of God from them by prayer that so obtaining a blessing vpon their labours they may by practise confirme such in the faith by their workes as they haue wonne by their words to embrace and beleeue it Ex pede Herculem the tree is knowne by the fruite and not by the florishing shadowes of substance Exclamation and railing howsoeuer personated in religious habit is not so much to the preseruation of religion as the Romans did superstitiously imagine the keckling of Geese was to the safety of the Capitolium Ambros serm de obed Contentious bitternesse is as opposite to the peace of the Church as oyle to the quenching of fire God is not in the bitter diuision or alienation of affections nor in the raging fire of seditions nor in turbulent tempests and whirlewinds of contradictions and discentions But his blessed Spirit is in the sweet gentle breach and still calme winde of peace and concord If any man say they are warranted by their conscience contentiously to impugne authoritie anull the lawes of a free Monarchy and make a Metamorhposis of religion at their pleasure when euery misconception tickleth their fancy I answer that they balke the high way wherein they ought to walke neglect the maine end at which they should driue and aime obliquely at priuate gaine vaine glory satisfaction of some base humour or passion If our conscience tels vs this or that and cannot proue what it tells but by shifts coniectures shadows then it is not cōscience at least no true but a lying conscience that so misleads vs no it is rather our fancy our peeuish preiudicate and forward conceit which we are bound to resist and subiect our owne peruerse crooked will to the will of God Melanch Epirom Philos who hath subiected vs to lawfull Magistrates whose hearts are so deepe and vnsearchable by reason of the multiplicitie of affaires and variable waies they are forced to walke for the weale of their people that oft times when they seem to erre to these who ought to bee holden in suspence or that vnderstand not the language of State their actions tels their wisdome to the world as well in protecting their subiects within as curbing their enemies abroad In consideration whereof the booke of publike determination once opened euery liege man is to acquiesse therein because Kings are Gods deputies to execute iustice and iudgement and to leuell singular oppositions by lawes established if they doe it not the fault is theirs to whom the preuention of contempt or animaduersion into such lawes doth belong When Micha will set vp an Idoll and assume a chamber worship to satisfie his erring conscience Iudg. 17.5.6 the reason is subioyned because there was no King in Israel but euery man did what seemed good in his owne eies Conscientia non est contra scientia sed cum scientia our conscience must bee ioyned with knowledge otherwise we Idolatrze vnto our owne hearts whilst we obay an ignorant or etring conscience howsoeuer it may seeme right in the eyes of scismaticks Prouer. 14.12 yet such a conscience is but a melancholy imagination or maleuolent inuention the end whereof are the wayes of death As the Lawes of God must guide our consciences in matters of Faith so the positiue Lawes of the kingdome must be the high way wherin euery good Subiect must walke in actiue obedience in matters not repugnant to that faith Againe Kings are dispensators and dilposers of the law but they are not holden to satisfie euery priuate contentious or curious head which pretend conscience for disobedience or answer euery delinquent with arguments if they did so their worke were infinite It is strange then in the eyes of sound iudgement that some rebellious factious spirits should thus roare range rage as if we had neither Prince Priest nor Iudge The Apostles and Fathers obayed Nero a Monster and Tyrant Dioclesian a cruell persecutor and Iulian an accursed Apostate When there was not a Christian King vpon earth Saint Paul commanded Titus to put the people in remembrance of their obedience to Princes and Rulers Neque aliud remedium proponitur priuatis hominibus tirannis subiectis preter preces lachrymas vitae mendationem There can bee no iust cause enabling subiects to arme against authoritie because a publike action must be warranted with a iust cause a good intention and lawfull authoritie the last whereof can neuer fall into priuate hands which are not to vendicate that cognizance which belongeth to the tribunall of heauen That transcendent Maiestie by whom Kings raigne hath reserued their audit to himselfe that they may be more carefull to keepe their accompts streight and rule with iustice The Iura Regalia of Kings are holden of heauen and cannot escheat to any earthly power farre lesse to a subiect The Law hath two properties the one to shew men what they should doe the other to punish the transgressors the king hath interest in the first but is not further subiect to the secōd then to his Soueraign in heauen whose deputie he is in this inferior Orbe of the earth All popular commotions vnreasonable railing vomiting of vnchristian scandall factious conspiracies and treasonable practices are the badges of disloyall and treacherous subiects who ought to testifie the patience of true Israelites and the obedience of true Christians Arma mea preces meae nec possum nec debeo aliter resistere saith Saint Ambrose Phil. 3.3 The Apostle tels vs That we are to doe nothing in the Church through contention or vaine glory but that in meeknesse of minde euery man thinke another better then himselfe Supporting one another through loue Ephes 4.23 endeauouring to keepe the vnitie of faith in the bonds of peace doing all things without reasoning and murmuring For the end of the Commandements is Loue out of a pure heart and of a good conscience Phil. 2.14 Tim. 1.56 and of faith vnfaigned from which things some haue erred and turned vnto vaine ianglings Now in contempt of these Oracles of direction the discourse of religion doth so busie the world Epist histor the word that it hath well neere driuen the practice of it out of the world where charitie and trueth haue onely their being in termes as the Philosophers materia prima Religious discourse is now so canuased in the mouth of most men yea at the tipling table of euery Scoulding Drab vayled with the name of a Sister that any man might resolue that tooke notice of their zealous discourse patheticall griefes and not of their liues that there were nothing in their desires but the purchase of heauen and that they vsed the world as a reposing place towards their celestiall habitation when on the contrary their actions tell the world that

supreame head but him no other rule of faith but his word no other propitiatory sacrifice but his death no purgatory but his blood no other merit but his obedience Nemo super hoc fundamento aliud ponat quam quod positum est 2. Cor. 3.11 To this Church doth belong the couenant the promises of Peace of Loue of Saluation of the presence of God of his graces power protection We haue that Catholike Church which is founded vpon and agreeth with the trueth of the Scripture that antiquitie which agreeth with the verity of the Scripture that number which worship God according to the rules of the Scripture so farre as human infirmity can reach we haue that succession which succeedeth in the trueth of doctrine deliuered in the Scripture that vnitie which beleeues the trinitie taught in Scripture that visible congregation which is seene to God as he hath reuealed himselfe in the Scripture Our ceremonies virulently opposed by the schismaticall dregs of our owne separatists other braine-sicke sectaries or prophane hypocrites are few but Minister many instructions neither burthning the Church with the multitude or blemishing her face with the superstition of externall rites in all which shee followeth her doctrine as the beames the Sunne a shadow the body or a line the Center As in our Church the word is truly preached so in euery circumstance of policie and discipline there is no repugnancie to that doctrine or to that decency commanded by the Apostles In the whole frame of our externall gouernment God hath his true worship Princes lawfull obedience the lawes due respect and Pastors beseeming reuerence All our policy tends to the pure preaching of the word right administration of the Sacraments to the lawfull vocation of Pastors charitable supplying of the poore to the sedulous correction of manners carefull remouall of scandall and to the cherishing of Christian vnitie Thus hath our Church all the notes by which shee may safely walke in this doubtfull way of mortalitie if some personall infirmities or abuse of good Lawes somtimes eclipse the dignity of offendors as they haue done in the most pure Church is that euer was or shall be in the Church militant they are by priuate weakenesse or omission but not by generall institution and allowance In one word our Church is euery way happy if with all other blessings her children may bee conioyned in Feare Ephes 4.5 Loue and obedience as they are in one Lord in one Faith and in one Baptisme that as the loue of Christ combineth them one way so the communion of Saints may vnite them another way For what Aesculapius can cure that state wherein euery singular spirit factious fondling or malecontented humorist neither regard the face of Maiestie the wisdome of Councels nor their obedience to Lawes but on the contrary magnifie nothing but the obortiue births and firy oppositions of their fond conceptions measuring all things according to the wilde and giddy apprehensions of their owne crazy braines as if the sole skill of good gouernment had left her publike habitation to dwell retired with some few of a partie cullored liuery some of whom doe not blush to perswade their ouer capable auditors of such pleasing errors that it is the speciall illuminatiō of the Holy Ghost whereby they discerne in the Scripture euery circumstance of their discipline or other position which others cannot but such men would doe better not to trust to euery spirit Epist Ioh. 4.1 because there are but two wayes whereby the spirit leadeth men vnto all truth the one extraordinary extending it selfe but to some few and is now ceased the other common vnto all that are of God The first by a speciall diuine excellency we call reuelation and the second way is called reason If the spirit by reuelation hath discouered vnto the separatists the secrets of their discipline and liberty of their lauish tongues and lawlesse pens Tertul. de prescrip c. 30. which are the trumpets of sedition disobedience malice and scandall they must man and wife professe themselues Prophets or if reason led by the hād of that spirit they must for euery inuectiue and article which they disperse and hold shew some reason as strong as their Satirs are bitter or their perswasion earnest It is not the fire of railing or the feruency of perswasion incensed by malice or passion but the soundnesse of reason which must declare opinions to proceed from the Holy Ghost and not from fraud of that spirit who is strong in illusions They that take vpon them to impugne authority are to found themselues and examine whether they be puft vp with pride making their imaginations Idols 1. Tim. 5.4 or whether they can proue their vocation as Moyses and Elias did that hee that called them to so high a dignitie may giue them power to approue their vocation and induce the world to honour and reuerence them for their extraordinary workes and supernaturall vertues But if Didoclauius the Patriarch of Pseudo-Puritanisme and other separatists of his profession show not their vocation by other miracles and better reason then by accursed scandall prophane censure and seditious lybels quae in verecundae frontis nebulones olent We must not take Brightmans Apocalipsis Apocalipseos the altar of Damascus and other the like Chimeraes of distraction or melancholie and malecontented meditations for warrant Because all the gifts of Gods spirit doe so naturally tend to brotherly loue and common peace that we haue iust cause to suspect that if such doctrine did proceed from Gods spirit it should bee deliuered in sober calme and peaceable manner according to the inspiration of Gods spirit and not in bitternesse of railing and lybelling Melle prius quam felle tentandae sunt euangelicae curationes Other Simbols of pastorall vocation there be as perfect zeale right knoledge a good conscience not to bee railors contentious and authours of diuision to be patient in persecution louing the vnitie of brotherhood and deputed to death If with any part of the former and this ballance of the sanctuary the life doctrine and pretended zeal of our Separatists agree let al of sound iudgement follow or fauour them as they finde cause I haue not swerued from the trueth in the least circumstance thereof or if I would the recent actions which I oppose will not suffer me to belye the authors If I haue exceeded my intended breuitie the intricacie of the subiect will free mee If I haue beene constrained rudely and disorderly to heape together this discourse in a shorter scantling then the multiplicitie of aduerse calumnies require I hope I shall finde a time to supply that necessitous escape If my rough hewne discourse seeme somewhat harsh to the delicate eares of separation Saint Ierome will answer for me That against schismaticall insolencie no censure can bee too strict or expostulation too seuere If all that I haue sayd bee conferred with the least impudent personall aspersion