Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	act_n	parliament_n	power_n	3,251	5	4.9929	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93344	An alarum: to the last warning peece to London by way of answer: discovering the danger of sectaries suffered: and the necessity of order, and vniformity to bee established. Wherein the Presbiterian way of government, and the Independant liberty, is compared.	Smith, George, 1602 or 3-1658.	1646 (1646)	Wing S4033; Thomason E339_6; ESTC R200848	17,531	24

Conventicles or wayes of worship but his owne if he have any use of his Conscience in his worship of God he must acknowledge that if the Lawes of the Land should bind him in the least to practise contrary to his owne understanding he cannot obey them without being guilty of wilfull sin against God for whatsoever is not of faith is sinfull The Parliament is betrusted to make lawes to rule men in the practise of Religion and it is the Office and duty of the supreame powers so to doe the Civill Majestrate is to command order in the worship of God by a Law with this limitation that it be either in such things as are commanded in Scripture or in things of indifferency not forbidden tending to decency and order and this is warranted 1 Cor. 14.40 Titus 1. 5. Now it is understood that these commands or Lawes of the Magestrate must bee in nothing but for order not urged as matter of ho●inesse nor necessary to salvation but decency and comelinesse as may most conduce to the glory of God peace of the Church winning of them without and agreeable to the constitutions of the Kingdome and this is proved Romans 13. 5. and 1 Pet. 13. 14. Submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as supreame or unto the Governours or unto them that are sent by God for the punishment of evill d●●●s and for the praise of them that doe well for so is the will of God No man endued with right reason but will say there is some necessity of a Government if of a Government then a uniformity else it will be confused therefore there is necessity to suppresse all Conventicles and that all men shall hold sound Doctrine observe such order time place and publike gesture as the Parliament by advice of the Assembly shall appoint and no man that hath any use of conscience in any thing but will acknowledge that he is bound in conscience to obey the lawes of the Land in which he lives in all indifferent things or he is turbulent and deserves censure even for matters concerning worship he that hath the use of conscience will make conscience of the duties of both Tables as well as of one there is doubtlesse a conscience towards God and a conscience towards man this was the Apostles practise and must be our Rule I exercise my selfe to have alwayes a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men Acts 24. 16. but if a man have an erring Iudgement and so an erring Conscience causing doubt let him search the Scriptures not stand on his owne wisdome but he●re reason from o●her with patience without prejudicate oppinions as desiring satis●sfaction in the truth till he be fully perswaded we must not seek to bring truth to our understanding but bring our understanding to the truth that we may have assurance what is duty and what not that so what we do or not do may bee of faith and neither sin against the Lawes of men nor against our owne consciences REgarding more that themselves be pleased by uniformity then God displeased by Hypocresie c. and this makes you lyable to be wrought upon by meere state religious persons such as only personate Religion to bring their owne ends about whose Religion is indeed prudently to desemble these frame Oathes and Covenants for you in such ambiguous expressions like Delphian oracles that they shall seeme to be bound to do or establish any thing they shall desire c. We are pleased with Uniformity as it is pleasing to God but displeased with hypocrisie because it is hated of God but because hypocrisie is alwayes cherisht among Separatists and Sectaries therefore they ought not to bee tollerated the Apostle commands to marke them that make divisions and avoyd them Romans 16. 17. and our Saviour Christ brands the Pharisie for an hypocrite that stood praying and justifying himselfe That hee was not as other men Luke 18. 11. uncharitable separation from the Assembly of the Church hath of old beene observed as a badge of hypocrisie thus did those hypocrites spoken of by the Prophet Esay 65. 5. Stand by thy selfe for I am holier then thou Hence it is that our Sectaries at this day boast of their holinesse they need not confesse sinne they cannot sinne they have the seed of God in them c. others boast of the over flowing of the Spirit in them and of new Revelations c. others exault themselves in the highest garbe of pride in uncharitable censorious Iudging that they d●clare themselves as Sodome but we know where God is there is love where Gods spirit is there is meeknesse humility and peace There is a unitie of the Spirit in the blood of pe●ce Ephes 3. 4. therefore there ought to be uniformity in spirituall worship without conformity there cannot be unity therefore the Apostle calls soundnesse of Doctrine a forme of Doctrine Rom. 6. 17. and a forme of s●und words 2. Tim. 1. 13. God is one Christ is one the Spirit is one three and but one one Lord on faith one baptisme there is but one head Christ but one body the Church the head cannot be divided nor may the body this is the apostolicall Doctrine and he that walkes contrary is branded by the Apostle Rom. 16 It is not state Religion as sectaries would have it to bind men to holy uniformity nor to frame othe● and covenants to binde men to endeavor for Reformation of evills whether in practise or in Iudgement to bind us to one way of uniformity in worship we have not only Divine precept but Gods owne promise that he will give us one heart and one way for our good and the good of our Children after us Jer. 32. 29. he that goeth on in a contrary way is seduced or he is a desembler these are no Delphian Oracles but divine truthes though it please the Pamphleters Ethnickticall humour to use heathenish alligories The Pamphleter falls upon the Scotch papers lately printed and truths manifesto c. things published by private men not by the Nation he accuseth the Nation as endeavouring to alienate the affection of the people from the Commons of Parliament and to engratiate the endeavours of that Nation c. I beleive the Pamphleter speakes the sence of the rest of his faction to accuse awhole Nation by particular mens Acts to raise difference though I will not Iustifie the printing those papers nor any other thing to the prejudice of the Parliament or any of the English Nation but think it better that such things had beene forborne And am bound to justifie all just exceptions by the Parliament of England against them but the Parliament hath never charged the Nation of the Scotts with evill as seditious Sectaries doe who foment jealousies on purpose to make differences that they may carry on their own designe of lawlesse liberty to which our brethren of Scotland and our solemne Covenant

faces towards Zion why then do we fall out about the way God is able to bring us together and the Parliament have power to enjoyne it that we may serve God with order and comelinesse in one way if we would but deny out selves and seeke God God would bring it to passe That Sectaries and Heretickes should have a liberty or tolleration to worship God according to their wills and erring conscience would be the greatest dishonour to God that may bee and necessarily would be the ruine of Church and state if all should have liberty then why not Papists who have assaulted us why not Turkes and Pagons have not they conscience to plead for as well as others what were this but to set up a nursery or Accademy for all Heresies would not God then spew us out of ou● land and remove his Candlestick from us God and Beliall cannot dwell together if such withdraw from us we shall be the stronger not the weaker As for the Army it consists not of such they are and will be friends to the publike they fight for God and their Country to settle peace not to begin Warre nor to give it over till they have perfected what they have by Gods blessing beene prosperous in the l●sse of Sectaries cannot make us distracted at home nor destitute of friends abroad but contrary for Sectaries are but the Jesuites Apes to bring fuell to the fire of contention at home and abroad or the Iesuites stalking horses by which they ensnare us who seeke to ●ffect their worke thereby it is their maxime by dividing us to master us it concernes two Kingdomes to be wary and discreet the designe is against both therefore mee thinkes a Nation that really intends to helpe should not obstruct in any case at such a time when the prejudice will returne upon it selfe while united both are safe but devided both are ruind IF you have a minde to be vassallzed be still importunate to suppresse all privat meetings or Conventicles and compell all sorts of beleivers to worship God as you and your abbettors shall approve you cannot want the assistance of them who are or would be Lords over their Brethren and when by your means they have prevailed over those you and they are pleased to call Independants or Sectaries your selves must be the next in order to be their slaves and Vassalls c. That wee may not be vassallized nor circumvented by false Brethren who are crept in to Spie out our liberty to bring us into a bondage by useing liberty as an occasion to the flesh Gal. 5. 13. and a cloak of malitiousnesse 1. Pet. 2. 16. we adresse our selves by Petitions and humble supplycations to the Parliament into whose hands wee have committed our selves betrusted them with out Religion Lawes Liberty lives and all And to petition is the peoples Birth-right The stander by some times sees more then the gamster And he that weares the shooe best knowes where it pincheth t' is the subjects liberty to make knowne his greivances and that time is fittest when apparent prejudice is intended Then to supplicate is unseasonable Nor do the Presbiterians petition to suppresse all privat meetings of the Godly Godforbid for it is the joy and rejoycing of Christians to meet sometimes in privat to conferre to read to pray to sing Psalmes c. But those that meet at Conventicles at the time of publike worship such as wholly separate from the great Congregation to heare erronious Doctrines and to preach their owne fancies and grose heresieis where ignorant uncalled and ungifted men usurpe authority and creepe into Widowes houses under pretence of long prayers devoure them and sow seeds of sedition in the Kingdome These the Presbyterians doe petition against as dishonour of God! and obnoctious to the State who live like Stoicks to their owne will Iudge all men vile and uncleane but themselves these ought to be suppressed my prayer shall ever be for their conversation and endeavour for their suppression that God will worke the one and the Parliament command the other If it were the sinne of the Church of Pargamus to suffer them that held the Doctrine of Balaam who caused Balak● to cast a stumbling block before Israell and those that held the Doctrine of the Nicholaitans Reu. 2. 14. 15. Then it is the duty of the Church of England to suppresse them not compell the conscience of any to worship God as the civill or Ecclesiasticall power shall approve but to suppresse their turbulent practises it is one thing to compell the Conscience and an other thing to punish a wilfull obstinate fact a man may refuse to doe a thing out of scruple and weaknesse but he that will do the direct contrary is obstinate and turbulent and lyable to the sword of the civill Majestrate this is not to Lord it over their Brethren for among Brethren there must bee distruction of persons for place and command in discipline and order all that are godly will assent thereunto and be assistant to execute just punishment upon obstinate offenders nor shall wee thereby enthrawle our selves but the contrary for while such seducers and wilfull offenders are suffered wee shall incur Gods displeasure which is the way to be made slaves and Vassalls to the worst of our enemies For remedy hereof we cast our selves on the Parliaments wisdome by advice with the Learned and godly Assembly called together by the Parliament to that purpose But there is good hopes the Commons of England now in Parliament who are chosen for the preservation of all just liberties will in no measure countenance so unjust and dangerous a designe certainly they cannot so soone forgot the vigorous assistance they have alwaies had in the greatest necessities from this people c. Observe how he winds himselfe like a Serpent by insinuating sophestry for thus he argues the Parliament are the preservers of all just liberties therefore they will maintaine any unjust libertie to licentiousnesse but thus is truth the Parliament are preservers of the subjects just liberties but they are suppressors of all unjust liberties therefore they will surely suppresse licentious libertines the pamphleter is so audatious that hee dares call the Presbyterian way of government a dangerous and unjust designe though the Parliament as hee knowes have after severall debates voted it and ordered it and since declared to the world to be the way resolved to settle Sectaries make great boast of their vigorous assistance to the Parliament t●at which is but little in substance hath need of helps by Orations like the blowing of a Pharisaicall Trumpet Those that have out done any sectary say nothing of their doings it is sufficient to them that God sees and knowes The Parliament neither are nor can be be trusted to make lawes to rule men in the practise of Religion and that he that is most vassallized in his judgment with an opinion of uniformity and of a necessity of suppressing all private