Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	article_n	church_n	creed_n	2,425	5	10.1630	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70803	A decad of caveats to the people of England of general use in all times, but most seasonable in these, as having a tendency to the satisfying such as are not content with the present government as it is by law establish'd, an aptitude to the setling the minds of such as are but seekers and erraticks in religion an aim at the uniting of our Protestant-dissenters in church and state : whereby the worst of all conspiracies lately rais'd against both, may be the greatest blessing, which could have happen'd to either of them : to which is added an appendix in order to the conviction of those three enemies to the deity, the atheist, the infidel and the setter up of science to the prejudice of religion / by Thomas Pierce ...	Pierce, Thomas, 1622-1691.	1679 (1679)	Wing P2176; Wing P2196; ESTC R18054	221,635	492

easily he may and very many there are that do so as it never shall run out either at his Tongue 's or his Finger's end is no body's Enemy but his own is a regular Citizen and a good Subject living friendly with his Neighbours and in an uniform Obedience to his Superiors Whereas a Schismatick as he is such does also offend against Peace and Charity and cannot possibly keep his Schism unto himself but needs must hurt others with it because 't is publick in its own Nature and cannot be Schism unless it be so For he separates himself from the publick Worship affronts the Governors and scorns the Government of the Church cuts himself off from the Communion of the Body of Christ sets up Altar against Altar Dan and Bethel against Jerusalem and Sion sets up a Ministry of his own making against a Priesthood ordain'd by God abetts a Conventicle prohibited by God and Man against a Church set apart by the Laws of Both like Jeroboam downright whose Sin consisted in This especially that he made Israel to Sin Now an active Divider in and of the Church of God must needs be worse than any other who is but passively divided and cut off from her And to destroy a whole Society by subverting the whole Legislative power must needs be worse than to violate a particular Law And That which makes way for all the Haeresies in the world as well as for all the Immoralities of life which Schism does evidently do must needs be worse than any Haeresie which does onely make way for itself And so a Schismatick is the more impious and the more mischievous of the two Again a Schismatick is worse than a simple Haeretick as such not for this reason onely because a vitious Practice is naturally worse than a wrong Opinion though that is reason great enough but for this other reason also not so commonly observ'd as I wish it were because a Schismatick ipso facto is mostly an Haeretick into the Bargain For besides his renouncing the Ninth Article of the Creed that Form of sound words deliver'd to us by Christ's Apostles The holy Catholick Church and The Communion of Saints duly expounded and understood I say besides That He flatly despises and detests for 't is a little thing to say he disowns and disbelieves That principal Doctrin of the Gospel That Fundamental of Christianity That great Essential to All Religion that we must heartily submit to every Ordinance of Man and that as well for the Lord's sake as for our own nor onely for fear of Wrath but for Conscience sake § 5. Why I chuse to call This a principal Doctrin of the Gospel a Fundamental of Christianity and the great Essential to All Religion I seem to my self to have so many and great Reasons that if they were every-where urged and laid to heart especially by the Parties who are the least aware of them but most concern'd to take them in they might suffice to put an end to those numerous Schisms which now do threaten to put an end to our whole Religion The Doctrin of Obedience to humane Governours and Laws is certainly the aptest of any other next to that of our Obedience to God himself whereof this Doctrin is a most necessary part too to keep the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace and to congregate into one Body the most disjoynted and scatter'd Members in Church and State A Doctrin laid for this purpose by God the Father from the Foundations of the World and that in the Law of the first Creation A Doctrin propagated by Moses as Taught of God to teach others A Doctrin perfected by Christ as by the Wisedom of the Father who pray'd his Followers might be one even as his Father and He were one Joh. 17. 11. which yet without Obedience to this very Doctrin can never be A Docctrin inculcated and inforced by God the Holy Ghost as by the Spirit of Love and Meekness of Peace and Vnion A Doctrin extended to All Authority upon Earth not onely Regal in the first place 1 Pet. 2. 13. but Ecclesiastical in the second Heb. 13. 17. To summe up all in a word There is not a Doctrin in all the Gospel either more earnestly or more assiduously either more plainly or more expresly prescribed to us and that under pain of Damnation too than that of our uniform Obedience to All that are over us in Authority I say to All not onely to the Best the Good and Gentle but as well to the worst and most froward Governours § 6. It is not onely most foolishly but most nefariously pretended that the Piety or Impiety the Religion or Irreligion of them that are over us in the Lord can either widen or contract our divine Obligation to strict Obedience For never was any incarnate Devil more incomparably impious than those Emperours of Rome Tiberius and Nero whom yet our Saviour and S. Paul commanded their Followers to obey and obey'd Themselves For Obedience to Magistrates being of Divine right strongly founded upon the Will and the Word of God and even a part of our Obedience to God Himself whilst it is paid to that Authority which God has commanded us to pay an Obedience to cannot possibly be due to the men as men or to the Good as they are Good but to the Magistrates or Masters reduplicativè as they are such 'T is due to the Governours as they are Governours and as the Ordinance of God let their Practices and Opinions be what they will § 7. 'T is true when our Governours are Vsurpers or being None do command us what God forbids There there lies an Exception to our Obedience due to God rather than Man But This Exception makes strongly for all I have hitherto said and that by virtue of the old Axiom Exceptio firmat Regulam in non exceptis So that by this Rule and Reason that when God and His Deputies do stand in competition for our Obedience God must have our whole Active and His Deputies our Passive Obedience onely It cannot but follow that when our Governours are rightfull and do onely command what God does no-where forbid or do onely forbid what God does no-where command us There we must obey God by obeying Man there being no other way of paying God our Obedience in such a case For There our Governours Command is the Command of God too There the very same Law which is immediately Humane is also mediately Divine Because we There are commanded by That Authority upon Earth which in the Old and New Testament God has commanded us to obey Nor is there any one Duty belonging to us as Men or Christians which God is pleas'd to make a stricter Provision for We are no more commanded to fear God than to honour the King nor are we more forbidden to worship Idols than to resist or disobey such as are over us in Authority § 8. This I do the