Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	ordinance_n	power_n	resist_v	1,861	5	9.7674	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71196	Utrum horum, or, God's ways of disposing of kingdoms and some clergy-men's ways of disposing of them.	Lloyd, William, 1627-1717.; William III, King of England, 1650-1702.	1691 (1691)	Wing U231; ESTC R1713	63,859	133

Success wherewith it has been attended since 1. That God has signally manifested his favour to this our Church And 2. That the King is the Instrument whereby he has conferr'd this Favour on us And from hence there arises a twofold Duty upon us 1. That we should have a regard and reverence for the Church 2. That we should pay Honour and Obedience to the King And 1. How great a veneration and esteem do we justly owe to that Church which first rescued us from the Tyranny of the Roman Yoke recovered the pure Word of God from their usurpation and disguise and instated us in the true light of the Gospel A Church which for the purity of her Faith and the Regularity of her Institution has ever since stood the Envy and endured the brunt of Antichrist and has so many miraculous deliverances to shew that God has espoused her Cause We have heard with out Ears and our Fathers have declar'd unto us the Wonders which he did for her in their days and our own eyes also have seen the salvation of God How he rescued us from an implacable ravenous Herd of Men who had nothing but numbers to entitle them to a Catholick Church and with those numbers they design'd to over-power the Truth with those Wolves they thought to have worry'd this little Flock Against us alone they bent all their Rage and whet their Teeth in the late unhappy Reign and when their small stock of Arguments was spent they prepar'd for another kind of onset But God deliver'd us from all the expectation of the Romans and shew'd that it was not their Church but ours that is founded upon that Rock And I wish all they that are still projecting to overturn it would for their own security consider this What do you think of Oliver Crumwell That no weapon ever prosper'd yet that has been lifted up against it And now for any of us to question the honesty of our Mother-Church which we have seen attested by so many unquestionable proofs by all the demonstration that the nature of the thing will bear must be something more than Ignorance something that I am loath to name To forsake this guide of our youth who never deserted us in any times of difficulty never consulted her own safety when she saw her Sons in danger ☜ but boldly oppos'd every Enemy and stood in every breach for us I say to desert her upon any score is such vile ingratitude as hardly can be parallel'd but can never be excus'd What iniquity have your fathers found in me said God that ye should forfake me and follow after other gods A very serious Expostulation a most pathetical Complaint And the same thing may be said in behalf of our native Church What is there in this our way of Worship that can justly give offence What is there in the substance that the godliest Man can scruple or the wisest Man can mend What Supplication or Prayer can be made for any Blessings A Prayer for honest Clergy-men would do well to be added or any Grant of which our humane nature stands in need that is not daily and decently offer'd up to God from this our House of Prayer What Portion of God's Holy Word is there that is not here duly read and I hope faithfully explain'd unto you What Christian Doctrine have we conceal'd from you or when have we taught you for Doctrine the Commandments of men When ye coin'd new Articles of Faith and obtruded them upon us Jure Divino Where have we defrauded you of that which is the Word of God or impos'd upon you that which is not If any of these Charges can be made out then we will willingly bear the blame till there is a Reformation but if they cannot be prov'd upon us as I am certain that they can't if our Church has constantly discharg'd the duty of a careful Mother God knows they can then well may she expect from us the obedience of Sons or else cry out upon our disobedience What iniquity have you or your fathers found in me In the mean while I wish every man would conscientiously consider this That a needless Separation is very far from being an indifferent harmless thing and therefore they whose Consciences will give them leave to communicate with us at some times I know not how they can excuse themselves for not doing always so for certainly Union is so positive a Command of God and the want of it is of so pernicious consequence to the Souls of men that nothing but absolute necessity can give us a dispensation nothing can justify us for breaking the Unity of the Church but when the terms of Communion are utterly unlawful if any man thinks that our terms are such they have their liberty and we have ours and so I hope there may be Charity although there is not Union amongst us and therefore leaving every man freely to his own way as he will answer it to God who cannot be deceiv'd as well as to his own Conscience which can let us proceed to the last thing propos'd wherein I hope we do all agree and that is in paying Homage and Obedience to our Sovereign Civil and Sacred must be distinguish'd and that not only upon a Civil but also upon a Sacred account not only for wrath but for Conscience sake Kings are the only Persons upon Earth unto whom God has given an immediate delegation of his Authority whom to obey is to obey his Ordinance and whom to resist is to resist his Power And whosoever denies Obedience to be a religious duty takes away from the King the fairest Jewel in his Crown and the strongest Fortress in his Dominion But this is a Doctrine that has been so frequently discuss'd of late so learnedly demonstrated and so undeniably establish'd amongst us that there is no need to insist upon it now Only give me leave to say That notwithstanding the unreasonable Cavils of gainsaying men yet Passive Obedience always was and I hope always will be the Doctrine and Practice of the Church of England I am sure 't is a Doctrine of which no Church need to be asham'd and no King can be afraid And to this I shall only add That all that Obedience which the Scripture requires us to pay unto the King we must now look upon as devolv'd upon Their present Majesties and properly belonging to Their Claim The powers that are saith the Apostle are ordained of God and upon that account they justly challenge our submission And in this point tho I must not say with St. Paul that I think I have the Spirit of God yet I dare say You mean of a great many of your Church-men the Spirit of your Church you understand not that I have the Spirit of that Church in which I was born and bred And I dare say no more For Crowns and Scepters are very nice curious things something a-kin to the