Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	high_a	power_n	resist_v	1,057	5	9.4839	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91884	A moderate answer to Mr. Prins full reply to certaine observations on his first twelve questions: vvherein all his reasons and objections are candidly examined and refuted. A short description of the congregationall way discovered. Some arguments for indulgence to tender consciences modestly propounded. By the same author.	Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.; Robinson, Henry, 1605?-1664?, attributed name.	1645 (1645)	Wing R1676; Thomason E26_20; ESTC R13022	43,033	54

will never punish any man for the not obeying that he searcheth after prayeth God to reveale and yet cannot find it to be the mind of God much lesse should men force men who not only have no light in the thing but their light is against it to obey what they conceive is the mind of God 2. That Doctrine that puts upon any man an inevitablenesse of sinning may not be admitted but such doth this that men must obey what superiours command in the Worship of God though their judgements be against it and the minor is proved thus by instance to go against my light and conscience is sin and to disobey the Magistrates commands is sin and one I must doe yea it s the greatest hypocrisie that can be to follow that authority commands which yet mans conscience thinks is not to be done besides what do I know but the light I have is from the Spirit of God and if I go against it I am guilty of resisting and grieving the Spirit which is the greatest sin that can be 3. It is the greatest tyranny over mens souls that can be what can be greater then to make other mens judgments the rule of my conscience to sweare obedience to that my understanding is against surely its the greatest soul-inquisition that can be however Master Pryn saith I infer a blind obedience from his Position I know not how to infer otherwise for that must needs be blind obedience when a man must obey take it in what you will of this kind that which he seeth not either exprest or any way warranted by the Word it s to put men above God at least in this place for if I must obey because higher Powers judge it so their power must be the rule of my conscience which alone is subject to the Word and it s the greatest basenesse of spirit it dis-ennobles mens spirits hinders and utterly crusheth the growth of any ones gifts for if other mens judgments must be my rule and I sin in not submitting to it what need any man study to find out truth or with the noble Bereans to search the Scripture to see whether these things be so give men eyes and they will soon follow you else never call for such unlimited obedience Againe what if the Parliament and Synod should erre in setting up a Government must every one be bound to joine with them To which he answers First such an oversight is not to be presumed untill it be actually committed and it s neither Christian charitable nor any way of Christ thus to prejudge their resolutions And yet you to presume to determine what the Congregationall way is and censure what effects will follow though you professe you know not what they hold and never saw the way exercised we know as much of Presbyteriall and its effects as ever any can speak of the Congregationall therefore leave off your scandalous Titles of this way which yet you never saw did commit any thing worthy of them As for your sufferings you speak of I never mentioned them as your shame though you have made the honour of them lesse then the World thought it was in that you say you suffered not for opposing any Ceremony legally established or the Bishops calling but their Lordly power however you suffered and now we are glad we know for what you suffered yet holy Master Burton for his part confesseth the contrary that he suffered for preaching against the Bishops Government and the Ceremonies I doubt not but if ever God shall call us to suffer for this truth we shall have as much comfort and strength in standing for the Prerogative of King Jesus as ever you had for maintaining any Statute-Law whatsoever In the fifth saith he he grants that Independency will overthrow all Nationall Churches and Synods 1. Is it not even a turbulent dangerous Schismaticall unquiet that I say not insufferable Government which will admit no equall nor corrivall and thus he goes on with his uncivill calumnies for many lines But bona verba quaeso if you understand the words thus that in the judgments of these that are of this way there can be no Nationall Churches according to the Word so it overthrowes it but yet only in intellectu as I may say they cannot think it to be a Gospel Institution of a Church as the holding one opinion overthrowes another so is this that all Nationall Churches will be overthrowne by your Congregationall way and this sense which I meane deserves not such unworthy Language but if you take it as it seems you do that the Congregationall way cannot live by the other Government or in a Nation which is a Church but it will endeavour by force and armes to extirpate overthrow unchurch them that disturbe their peace slay their members c. It hath not as yet conceived such a thought and its contrary to its nature to bring it forth there is nothing so detestable to our judgements and I doubt not that should be more contrary to our practice then the disturbing the peace of a Nation what ever scandall men fasten on us To the sixth he sayes I returne no answer but plainly yeeld that there was never any Independent Church in any age or nation whatever totally converted to the Christian faith c. If Mr. Pryn understand the words thus That the congregationall way hath not beene set up as the government of any one Nation it s granted but that there was never a congregationall Church in any one nation is denied and it will put him to it to make it out Nay for the first foure or 500. yeeres I durst challenge him to produce any other then particular Churches that had the power of censures within themselves Justin and Irenaeus knew no kinde of Church in the world which did not assemble on the Sabbath and as learned Mr. Baines proves out of Euseb l. 3. 44. lib. See Bains diocesan triall 4. cap. 21. and lib. 2. cap. 6. that Churches at first were but Parishes and Parishes within Cities and he quotes Saint John lib. 3. cap. 23. saying to the Bishop Redde juvenem quem tibi ego Christus teste Ecclesia tua tradidimus Tertullian Apol. c. 39. knew no Churches which had not power of censures within themselves and we hold no more Saith Cyprian lib. 4. ep 1. Schismes were said to be from hence Quod Episcopo universa fraternitas non obtemperat And the same Author Epist 55. tota fraternitas i. e. unius congregationis tota multitudo ex qua componitur Ecclesia particularis Sabino de universae fraternitatis suffragio Episcopatus fuit delatus And againe lib. 1. epist 47. 58. 68. Ecclesiae igitur circuitus non fuit major quam ut Episcopatus totam plebem fuam in negotiis hujusmodi convocare potuerit He which is skil'd in Antiquity I doubt not but may bring forth multitudes of such testimonies as these all that we say is that a

some Epistles were written to some Churches before others according as occasion was and the Revelation discovered last as concerning the last Ages of the Church yet so as still at length that the whole Scripture should be written and left as the minde of God to all ages And unlesse Master Pryn saith that the Churches constituted by the Apostles had not at length a full discovery of Church-government he hath no ground to think they were not so compleat as the following Churches My tenth Querie saith he he wilfully mis-recites as he doth the rest and then returns an Answer by way of Dilemma Charity would have prompted you otherwise to which he Answers thus That if the Parliament and Synod shall by publike consent establish a Presbyterian Government as consonant to the Word the Laws and Regiment of this Kingdome Independents and all others are bound in conscience to submit under pain of obstinacie singularity in case they cannot prove it Diametrally opposite to the Scripture c. Something hath been said in Answer to this before Yet further if Master Pryn means by submitting that actually we must yeeld to the Presbyteriall judgement and on the first setting of it up presently lay down every thought of Reason and Argument we have raised up against it and say it is the way of Christ and the onely way which we must serve Christ in if he thinks any of us to have the least principles of reason he cannot imagine we should do so But if he means thus That we ought not to stand against that Authority that sets it up but submit to the penalty if the least can in conscience be imposed which shall be laid on us we grant it I hope we shall not be found despisers of Authority in that but shall expect as great assistance from Jesus Christ as ever you did in a matter far lower even the writing against a Bishops Court or a Cardinalls Cap as crossing the Statutes of the land and as you confesse but a matter of meer opinion I speak not this to upbraid you or detract from your sufferings which are indeed badges of honour not of shame but as far as your self detract from them in telling us the true ground of them that we might not too much glory in you These places you so often quote Rom. 13. 1. 1. Tim. 2. 1. c. They make as much for Heathen Magistrates as Christian and in every thing as well as any thing if it be meant of actuall obedience To his crosse Interrogatories saith he I Answer First That if the Popes Councell command lawfull things to them that are under their power they ought to be obeyed as well as the commands of Heathen Emperours Magistrates Parents by Christian Subjects Wives Servants living under them Notwithstanding this the Argument is still in force That Heathen Emperours are to be obeyed as well as any Christian Magistrates if that as Magistrates they must be obeyed for that you say and seem to make a distinction of it if they command lawfull thing But the question is still who shall be Judge of that Is it not as great a reason that I shall be Judge of the lawfulnesse of the things I am to obey as the Magistrate should judge of that he commands to be lawfull If this be not granted blinde obedience must necessarily follow If I obey because he judges it lawfull I obey not out of a principle of judgement concerning the thing but meerly because of the command what blinder obedience there can be I know not Again as before either the power commanding is to be obeyed or else the things themselves command obedience If the former that is alike to all Magistrates and in every thing there must be obedience where that power is If for the latter then the things themselves binde and then I must needs see it to be lawfull and that necessity of sinning put upon a man by this is not taken away by any thing I see in Master Pryns Reasons for if I obey not the power commanding of lawfull things I sin if I do obey before I am convinced of the lawfulnesse of it or have a scruple or doubt of its unlawfulnesse much more when I positively think so I sin against God and he will condemne me as an hypocrite a time-server as one sinning against my light and contradicting these motions that for ought I know are from his good spirit God cares not for nay will condemne whatever is done without knowledge though the things themselves be what he hath commanded so that either we shall intreat Master Pryn to give us new eyes or else not to censure us if we actually follow not that we have no knowledge in Secondly saith he there is a great difference between matters of opininion only and of practice as whether Episcopacy be jure divino c. though the resolutions of a Synod and Parliament should be affirmative they could not binde my judgment saith he absolutely so far as to subscribe to their opinion as an undoubted truth unlesse they could satisfie my arguments yet they should and ought to binde me to practise So if the Parliament and Synod should establish any Church-government though it bindes not Independents to be simply of their opinion or unlesse your reasons and arguments be sufficient to convince their judgments yet it bindes them in point of practice and obedience outwardly to submit thereunto This Argument contradicteth the fundamentals of Religion and gives way to the greatest hypocrisie in the world this is that God requires in all services that the heart and the head and the hand goe together to oppose the practice and the judgement in spirituall obedience is to separate the soul from the body and bid the body act God hath put the understanding in a man to be a light to his path a mans understanding is a mans practice as the eye to the body without which it cannot walk safely and men may be what they will if this be true that a mans judgment may be one way and a mans practice another a man may deny God break the Sabbath sweare in his practice so his judgement be contrary But it may be Master Pryn meanes it of indifferent things meerly circumstantiall but I hope he accounts not matters of worship and Church-government so whatever is not of faith is sin no mans practice can be of faith who knowes not what he doth lawfull much lesse whose judgement is contrary It s true matter of opinion is one thing if it be a meer opinion that is not reducible to practise and I may only hold an opinion and being contradicted by higher powers though I may not be convinced yet I may be silent but when things come to be prest on me to practise and that in the worship of God and my judgment is not satisfied then I must be convinc't or else it s a sin for me to practise how Master Pryn thinks in his conscience we can submit actually to the power of