Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	life_n	live_v	love_n	9,426	5	5.6923	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70084	Truth maintained, or, Positions delivered in a sermon at the Savoy since traduced for dangerous, now asserted for sovnd and safe / by Thomas Fvller.	Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.; Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661. Sermon of reformation.	1643 (1643)	Wing F2475; ESTC R222778	73,801	126

the peeces thereof together And now since the Monopoly of the Popish Clergy ingrossing all matters of Religion to themselves is dissolved it is fit Protestant Ministers lawfull propriety in their calling should justly be maintained I Thus you may take off many honest Labourers in the Vineyard Farre be it from me especially if they be skilfull-Labourers such as will prune the Vines not pluck them up by the roots But this and what you say of those to whom God hath held out his Scepter is nothing to the purpose except you could prove where God in the Scripture hires or cals private men to make a publike Reformation EXAMINER And whereas you tell us that the supreame Power alone hath the lawfull calling as appeares in the Kings of Judah I answer that if so the Parliament were now in a dangerous K praemunire for you know that is suspended from us and yet our state goes on in their worke enabled as they say by their fundamentall power and constitution I shall not here dispute the emanations of this power in ordinances votes and orders they have made it appeare in their owne declarations onely this I read of an ordinance made by the Nobles and Elders of Israel those Lords L and Commons That whosoever would not come according to the Counsell which was taken for Reformations all his substance should be forfeited Here is no King of Judah's hand nor a Cyrus King of Persias but an ordinance of their owne to their owne people onely they have King Cyru's writ for their assembling and consulting Had Christ M and his Apostles waited in their Reformation for the consent of the Roman Magistrate the supreame Power they had not made that holy expedition they did Had Luther and Zuniglius N and Oecolampadius staid for the Emperours Reformation they had not shed halfe that light in the Germane hemisphere There was a time when God tooke part of the spirit of Moses and put it upon O the Elders TREATIS K If so the Parliament were now in a dangerous Praemunire I will not marre a meane Divine of him to make a meaner States-man by medling with matters in the Common-wealth I that maintaine that every man must stay in his calling will not step out of mine owne Let the differences betwixt our Soveraigne and his Subjects which consist in points of State be debated by the Politicians on either side the questions in law be argued respectively by their learned Counsell and the controversies in Religion be dispuputed by their severall Divines But alas such is our misery when all is done the finall decision is devolved to the Souldiers sword on either side and God send the best cause the best successe L Onely this I read of an Ordinance made by the Nobles and Elders of Israel those Lords and Commons By your favour it was a compleat act of state as confirmed by the royall Assent True there was no King of Judah's hand unto it because at that time Judah had no King and who can expect that the Sunne should shine at midnight when there is none in that Horizon Reasonable men will then be contented with the Moon-shine and see that here For Zerobabel shining with borrowed beames and a reflected light from the Persian King in which respect he is stiled Hag. 1. 14. the Governour of Judah concurred to this Ordinance by his approbation thereof Besides this there was also a triple consent of the Persian Kings First the grand and generall grant from Cyrus Ezra 1. 3. which still stood in full force as confirmed by Darius Ezra 6. 12. whereby the Jewes being authorized to re-build the Temple were also by the same enabled to settle Gods service in the best manner by what wholsome lawes they thought fitting Secondly a particular implicite grant in that the Persian King knowing thereof did not forbid it when it was in his power had it beene his pleasure and such a not opposing amounts to a consent Lastly they had a large expresse command from King Artaxerxes to Ezra chap. 7. ver. 26. And whosoever will not doe the law of thy God and the law of the King let judgement be executed speedily upon him whether it be unto death or unto banishment or to confiscation of goods or to imprisonment And now Sir I have the lesse cause to be offended with you for citing mangled and dismembred peeces in my Sermon seeing the Scripture it selfe finds as little favour from your hand for had you compared on place thereof with another you could not but have seen the Persian Kings consent to this Reformation Yea so observant were the Jewes of the Persian Kings that at the first issuing forth of their prohibition to that purpose they instantly desisted building the Temple having their soules so well managed and mouthed with the reines of loyalty that their Kings negative voyce checkt and stopt them as they were running full speed in so good an imployment so little doth the instance alleadged advantage your cause M Had Christ and his Apostles waited in their Reformation for the consent of the Roman Magistrate I answer First Christ and his Apostles were Christ and his Apostles I meane extraordinary persons immediately inspired Secondly the Reformation they brought was mainly materiall indeed being the Gospell without which there was no salvation Thirdly because they had not the Emperours consent to their Reformation they pacified his displeased sword by preferring their necks unto it not repining at the dearnesse of the purchase to buy the safety of their soules with the losse of their lives all the Jury of the Apostles John onely accepted followed their Master to Martyrdome and hence we truly deduced the patterne of passive obedience N Had Luther and Zuniglius and Oecolampadius stayed for the Emperours Reformation Luther was a Minister and so had his share in reforming so farre as to propagate the truth and confute falshoods by his pen preaching and disputations What he did more then this was done by the flat command at lest free consent of Frederick Duke of Saxony under whom Luther lived This Duke owing homage but not subjection to the Emperour counted himself and was reputed of others absolutein his owne Dominions as invested with the power of life and death to coine money make offensive and defensive leagues and the like And although this wary Prince long poised himself betwixt feare of the Emperor and love of the truth yet he always either publikely defended Luther or privately concealed him till at last having outgrowne his fears he fell boldly to publike reforming As for the states of Zurich and Basil wherein Zuniglius and Oecolampadius lived as those Cities in one Relation are but members of the Helvetian Common-wealth so in another capacity they are intire bodies of themselves and in these states the Magistrates did stamp the Character of civill authority on that Reformation which these Ministers did first set on foot by their preaching But if any extravagant action of

best comply with the Common-wealth For God in that generall warrant Let all things be done decently and in order puts as I may say the Cloath and Sheeres into the hands of the Church and Christian Princes to cut out and fashion each particular decency and order so as may shape and suit best with the present Time and Place wherein such a Reformation is to be made These parts therefore are to be acted in a Reformation by the supreame Power First he is either by his owne Motion or at the instance and intreaties of others to call and congregate such Assemblyes Secondly to give them leave and liberty to consult and debate of matters needing to be reformed Thirdly to accept the results of their consultations and to weigh them in the ballance of his Princely discretion Fourthly to confirme so much with his Royall Assent as his judgement shall resolve to be necessary or convenient Lastly to stamp the Character of Authority upon it that Recusants to obey it may be subject to civill punishments But now all the question will be what is to be done if the endeavours of Subjects be finally returned with deafnesse or deniall in the supreame Power In this case a pulike Reformation neither ought nor can be performed without the consent of the supreame Power It ought not First because God will not have a Church reformed by the deforming of his Commandement He hath said Honour thy Father and thy Mother and requireth that all Superiours should be respected in their places Secondly the Scripture rich in Presidents for our instruction in all cases of importance affords us not one single example wherein people attempted publiquely to reforme without or against the consent of the supreame Power and in this particular I conceive a negative Argument followeth undeniably wherefore seeing the Kings in Judah there the supreame Power were alwayes called upon to reforme commended for doing so much or condemned for doing no more and the people neither commanded to remove nor reproved for not removing publique Idolatry without the consent of the supreame Power it plainly appeareth that a publique Reformation belongeth to the supreame Power so that without it it ought not to be done As it ought not so it cannot be done without the consent thereof for admit that the highest subordinate Power should long debate and at last conclude the most wholsome Rules for Reformation yet as Plato said that amongst the many good Lawes that were made one still was wanting namely a Law to command and oblige men to the due observing of those Lawes which were made So when the best Resolutions are determined on by any inferiour Power there still remaines an absolute necessity that the supreame Power should bind and enforce to the observing thereof For instance Some Offenders are possessed with such uncleane Spirits of prophanenesse that none can bind them no not with Chaines of Ecclesiasticall Censures onely outward Mulcts in purse or person can hold and hamper them Seythian slaves must be ordered with whips and a present prison more affrights impudent persons then Hel-fire to come In the Writs De Excommunicato capiendo de Haeretico comburendo such as flout at the Excommunicato and the Haeretico are notwithstanding heartily afraid of the Capiendo and the Comburendo Wherefore in such cases the Church when it is most perfectly reformed is fame to crave the aid of the State by civill and secular penalties to reduce such as are Rebels to Church-Censures sometimes inflicting death it selfe on blasphemous Heretickes and this cannot be performed by any subordinate Power in the State but onely by the supreame Power Otherwise Offenders if pressed by any inferiour Power would have a free Appeale and no doubt find full redresse from the supreame Power without whose consent such penalties were imposed on them Now if it be demanded what at last remaines for any to doe in case the supreame Power finally refuseth to reforme Thus they are to imploy themselves First to comfort themselves in this that they have used the meanes though it was Gods pleasure to with-hold the blessing Secondly they are to reflect on themselves and seriously to bemoane their own sinnes which have caused Gods justice to punish them in this kind If a rhumaticke head sends downe a constant flux to the corroding of the lungs an ill affected stomacke first sent up the vapours which caused this distillation And pious Subjects conceive that if God suffer Princes to persist in dangerous errours this distemper of the head came originally from the stomack from the sinnes of the people who deserved this affliction Thirdly they are to reforme their selves and Families and if the supreame Power be offended thereat to prepare themselves patiently to suffer whatsoever it shall impose upon them having the same cause though not the same comfort to obey a bad Prince as a good one By the way a word in commendation of passive obedience When men who cannot be active without sinning are passive without murmuring First Christ set the principall copie thereof leading Captivity captive on the Crosse and ever since he hath sanctified suffering with a secret soveraigne vertue even to conquer and subdue persecution Secondly it hath beene continued from the Primitive Church by the Albigences to the moderate Protestants unlesse some of late ashamed of this their Masters badge have pluckt their cognisance from their coats and set up for themselves Thirdly it is a Doctrine spirituall in it selfe It must needs be good it is so contrary to our bad natures and corrupt inclinations who will affirme any thing rather then we will deny our selves and our owne revengefull dispositions And surely the Martyrs were no lesse commendable for their willing submitting to then for their constant enduring of their persecutors cruelty And it was as much if not more for them to conquer their owne vindicative spirits as to undergoe the heaviest tortures inflicted on them Fourthly it is a doctrine comfortable to the Practisers bitter but wholsome Yet it is sweetned with the inward consolation of a cleere conscience which is Food in Famine Freedome in Fetters Health in Sicknesse yea life in death Fifthly it is glorious in the eyes of the beholders who must needs like and love that Religion whose professors where they cannot lawfully dearly sell doe frankly give their lives in the defence thereof Lastly it is a Doctrine fortunate in successe By preaching of passive obedience the Dove hath out-flowne the Eagle Christ's Kingdome hath out-streatched Caesars Monarchy Hereby the wisdome of the East was subdued to the folly of Preaching The Sunne of the Gospell arose in the Westerne parts The parched South was watered with the dew of the Word The frozen North was thawed with the heat of Religion But since the Doctrine of resisting the supreame Power came into fashion the Protestant Religion hath runne up to a high top but spread nothing in breadth few Papists have beene reclaimed