Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	commandment_n	neighbour_n	table_n	3,804	5	9.1418	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50959	A treatise of civil power in ecclesiastical causes shewing that it is not lawfull for any power on earth to compell in matters of religion / the author, J.M.	Milton, John, 1608-1674.	1659 (1659)	Wing M2185; ESTC R13133	23,223	97

then that licence in these things be made outwardly conformable since his part is undoubtedly as a Christian which puts him upon this office much more then as a magistrate in all respects to have more care of the conscientious then of the prophane and not for their sakes to take away while they ptetend to give or to diminish the rightfull libertie of religious consciences On these four scriptural reasons as on a firm square this truth the right of Christian and euangelic liberty will stand immoveable against all those pretended consequences of license and confusion which for the most part men most licentious and confus'd themselves or such as whose severitie would be wiser then divine wisdom are ever aptest to object against the waies of God as if God without them when he gave us this libertie knew not of the worst which these men in thir arrogance pretend will follow yet knowing all their worst he gave us this liberty as by him judgd best As to those magistrates who think it their work to settle religion and those ministers or others who so oft call upon them to do so I trust that having well considerd what hath bin here argu'd neither they will continue in that intention nor these in that expectation from them when they shall finde that the settlement of religion belongs only to each particular church by perswasive and spiritual means within it self and that the defence only of the church belongs to the magistrate Had he once learnt not further to concern himself with church affairs half his labor might be spar'd and the commonwealth better tended To which end that which I premis'd in the beginning and in due place treated of more at large I desire now concluding that they would consider seriously what religion is and they will find it to be in summe both our beleef and our practise depending upon God only That there can be no place then left for the magistrate or his force in the settlement of religion by appointing either what we shall beleeve in divine things or practise in religious neither of which things are in the power of man either to perform himself or to enable others I perswade me in the Christian ingenuitie of all religious men the more they examin seriously the more they will finde cleerly to be true and finde how false and deceivable that common saying is which is so much reli'd upon that the Christian Magistrate is custos utriusque tabulae keeper of both tables unless is meant by keeper the defender only neither can that maxim be maintaind by any prooff or argument which hath not in this discours first or last bin refuted For the two tables or ten commandements teach our dutie to God and our neighbour from the love of both give magistrates no autoritie to force either they seek that from the judicial law though on false grounds especially in the first table as I have shewn and both in first and second execute that autoritie for the most part not according to Gods judicial laws but thir own As for civil crimes and of the outward man which all are not no not of those against the second table as that of coveting in them what power they have they had from the beginning long before Moses or the two tables were in being And whether they be not now as little in being to be kept by any Christian as they are two legal tables remanes yet as undecided as it is sure they never were yet deliverd to the keeping of any Christian magistrate But of these things perhaps more some other time what may serve the present hath bin above discourst sufficiently out of the scriptures and to those produc'd might be added testimonies examples experiences of all succeeding ages to these times asserting this doctrine but having herin the scripture so copious and so plane we have all that can be properly calld true strength and nerve the rest would be but pomp and incumbrance Pomp and ostentation of reading is admir'd among the vulgar but doubtless in matters of religion he is learnedest who is planest The brevitie I use not exceeding a small manual will not therfore I suppose be thought the less considerable unless with them perhaps who think that great books only can determin great matters I rather chose the common rule not to make much ado where less may serve Which in controversies and those especially of religion would make them less tedious and by consequence read ofter by many more and with more benefit The end