Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	call_v	law_n	sin_n	8,672	5	5.5986	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52038	An expedient to preserve peace and amity, among dissenting brethren. By a brother in Christ	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1647 (1647)	Wing M754A; ESTC R204591	29,957	42

lived many yeares separated from his wife in which time she had divers children by another man by the law he shall be injoyned to father them all may he not plead that it is against his conscience to take upon him the fathering of another mans children Many such examples might be brought wherein the consciences of men seem to have more just pretences to withdraw their obedience from such civill lawes then from this law of government so fully debated and ●o duly established Besides inasmuch as our brethren require a toleration of their own government they do tacitly acknowledge a power in the Magistrate to gratifie them or deny them and consequently they may also acknowledge that this power is either lawfull or unlawfull if it be lawfull they are with us bound to obey it if unlawfull they are bound to disprove it which when they go ●bout godly pens will not be wanting to endeavour to give them satisfaction 4. Moreover it is said by some that whatsoever is imposed by man in the worship of God not directly specified in his Word falleth under the condemnation of will-worship humane traditions or inventions of men This is too large an assertion to be ever well proved for it is true neither way Neither whatsoever is omitted in Scripture to be rejected as wil-worship nor whatsoever is recorded in Scripture to be retained of perpetuall necessity We read that the first administration of Baptism used to be performed in open rivers which with us would be thought rude and dangerous The Saints had a custome in the close of their holy meetings to salute one another with a holy kisse which in our Congregations might be thought carnall and lascivious they also were wont after the celebration of the blessed Eucharist to bring their provisions together and make love-feast which among us would be esteemed loose and luxurious When a Brother or Sister was sick the Elders of the Church were sent for to pray over them and anoint them with oile which in our visitations might be held superstitious or perhaps fitter for a Physitian then a Minister All these customes and many others passed with edification in the innocency and infancy of these first times which not consorting with ours are universally disused On the other side the times and places of diuine worship the seats and gestures of the worshippers the manner of publike Praying and Preaching of singing of Psalms of collecting Almes of assembling and dismissing the people the forme of administration and receiving the holy Sacraments and many other things concerning the outward publick communion of Saints are for the most part undeclared in Scripture yet in full use and practise among us without offence that therefore must be understood for a wil-worship and humane invention which is set up for some humane and carnall end repugnant to Gods word and to his glory 5. There be yet remaining two more objections arising from two contrary grounds one from pretence of weaknesse th' other from presumption of strength Those that lay forth the tendernesse of conscience forget not to produce those heavenly exhortations whereof the Scripture is full that we should not bruise the broken reede nor offend the least of the little ones nor cast stumbling blocks before our brethren nor use our liberty to the destroying of the weake but rather spread the covering of love over our brethrens infirmities to raise up one another in the spirit of meeknesse to beare with the weake and please one another for good edification yea rather to abstain from matters which we think lawfull then to compell others to things they judge unlawfull This they say was the doctrine and the pattern which Christ and his Apostles taught and practised among the faithfull which because I intend not to deny I shall onely examine how fitly they are applyed to the controversie in hand and whether they be of force to absolve weake brethren from their due obedience to Gods Magistrate We are therefore to understand that all those excellent rules set down by the Apostles for tendering of weak consciences receive a double limitation First they were limited to the state of those times with respect to the condition of private Christians and their carriage one towards another For in the Apostles age nor long after there was in the world neither Christian Kingdome Common-wealth nor Magistrate whereby these Rulers were neither given to them who were not then in being nor for ought we find intended so for them when God should raise them up in his Church The contrary rather appeareth for Christ himselfe comming to set up a spirituall Kingdome in his Church intended onely to pull down the kingdom of Satan but not the Kingdomes of the world those he left standing not refusing to pay for himself and his Apostle tribute to Caesar nor yet to answer before the Courts and Tribunalls of the Jewes After Christs example th' Apostles were very carefull to instruct the faithfull that they should walke with circumspexion without blame or reproach lest if they should transgresse the law or commit scandalls or fall into divisions among themselves they should make the name of God and that holy profession which they had undertaken to be blasphemed among the heathen ordaining them moreover to make prayers and supplications for all in authority and to give them obedience for conscience sake indeed the Gospell is called a law of liberty because through Christ it freeth us from the bondage of sinne the slavery of Satan and the feare of death not because it dischargeth us of our Christian duty and obedience to the Magistrate in which case it giveth no liberty nor exemption From whence we may conclude that if Christ and his Apostles subjected the beleevers of those times both by their precept and practise to unbe●ieving powers It was never their meaning to exempt the faithfull of our times from their due obedience to Chrsitian and believing Magistrates Secondly these Evangelicall rules for the ease of tender consciences respected especially indifferent things The Christians of those dayes consisted of two sorts the converted Jewes and converted Gentiles The Jewes trained up in the Ceremoniall Law which they knew was appointed by God made a conscience of meats and dayes and other rites and rudiments of the time as yet not convinced that they were abolished by the comming of Christ These were then the weake Christians On the other side the Gentiles were fully instructed in their liberty that they might use them or not use them as they pleased They were then the strong Christians The Apostle therefore to lay the foundation of charity aright and preserve these dissenting brethren in the unity of the Spirit and bond of Peace giveth these rules about indifferent things That the strong should not despise the weake nor the weake censure the strong because whether they eat or eat not they do it to the Lord and are of him accepted and being both accepted of the Lord they