Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	common_a	dissenter_n	great_a	63	3	2.1077	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31806	A discourse about a scrupulous conscience preached at the parish-church of St. Mary Aldermanbury, London / by Benjamin Calamy ...	Calamy, Benjamin, 1642-1686.	1683 (1683)	Wing C212; ESTC R16631	28,500	49

Christ's Disciples quite lost amongst us and the continuance of these miserable Distractions amongst us upon such frivolous Accounts if compared with the Interests of Peace and Charity is a matter of sad consideration to all lively Members of Christ's Body and forebodes great evils impendent over our Church and State I doubt not to say that the Devil hath fought more successfully against Religion under the mark of a zealous Reformer than under any other disguise whatever The grand Enemy of mankind hath by various ways and means all along contriv'd and endeavoured to defeat the designs of Heaven for the good and happiness of men and as the divine Wisdom hath in several ages of the World manifested it self for the encouraging and promoting of true Righteousness and Holiness so hath the Devil always been at work to oppose what he could find most proper for the hindring the good effect of Gods Kindness towards us When the fullness of time came by the appearance of the Son of God in the World he was in a great measure dethroned his Kingdom overthrown and the last and most effectual means were used for the recovery of men out of his snare and power When therefore he perceived that by all the grievous Persecutions he raised against the Church it spread only so much the faster that at last the whole Heathen Idolatry fell down before the Cross of Christ when he was shamefully expelled out of his Temples and from his Altars his Oracles silenced and the Religion of Jesus prevailed every where He then betook himself to his old Serpentine Arts of dissimulation Since he could no longer oppose Christs Kingdom by open war he resolved to turn Christian and to set up for Christs Deputy and substitute here on Earth to fight against Christians under Christs Banner and by adulterating and corrupting the Christian Doctrine to spoil it of all its Efficacy to introduce his old Heathen Rites and Idolatrous Ceremonies as unwritten traditions from Christ himself or his Apostles and so under his Name and pretended Authority to exercise all that cruelty oppression and fraud which is so pleasing to his own infernal nature hoping to burn destroy root out all true Christians from the face of the Earth under colour of propagating the Catholick Faith and inlarging Christs Kingdom in the World When Christendom had long groaned under this miserable Tyranny it pleased God in many places of Europe but especially here in England to set on foot a Reformation of Religion which was happily and peaceably accomplished among us by the favour and countenance of publick Authority and the wise Counsel and Advice of our Reverend Bishops and other Ministers To nip this in the Bud the Devil raised that sharp Persecution in Queen Mary's days in which our first Reformers gloriously sealed what they had done with their Blood but this proving ineffectual that he might the better frustrate the ends of our Reformation himself would turn Reformer too A great cry was soon raised against our Church as not sufficiently purged from Popery our Bishops our Prayers our Ceremonies were all Antichristian and it was not long before all Ministers Tythes Temples and the Universities too were condemned as such and God knows they had well nigh reformed away all Learning true Religion and Worship of God and under the specious Pretence of paring off all Superfluities had grievously shaken the Foundations of Christianity it self insomuch that it came to pass as some of those who now dissent from us did then camplain That Professors of Religion did openly oppose and deride almost all that Service of God out of Conscience which other men used to do out of Prophaneness And what infinte mischief this rash and intemperate Zeal for reforming abuses and corruptions hath done to our Church and Nation if the experience of this last age will not sufficiently convince men it is not to be hoped that any Discourse should We little consider whose Interest we thus serve and promote we do his work who is most delighted with Srife and Confusion and every one can tell who that is and where he reigns To be sure by these uncharitable Separations we highly gratifie the common Eenemy whose great Design and Policy it hath all along been by the Follies and invincible Scruples of Protestant Dissenters to weaken and by degrees pull down the Church of England and then we all become an become an easie Prey to Rome If any now tell me that to prevent this great Mischief and Danger that ariseth from our Divisions it is not so necessary that the People should lay down their Scruples which they cannot well do since no one can at any time think or believe as he will as it is that the Impositions themselves the matters scrupled at should be removed and taken away and then Peace and Unity may be better secured To this I only answer these two things 1. I now consider things as they at present stand amongst us We have a Church setled and established by Law in which nothing that is sinful is enjoyned What the Duty of our Governours and Superiours is how far they may or ought to condescend to the Weakness or Scruples of others I shall not take upon me to determine that is another Question which belongs not to us But I consider now only what private Members of such a Church are to do and then I say scrupling the Use of some things prescribed by the Church will not justifie our leaving it nay as I shall shew afterwards it is our best and safest course to submit and comply with such Orders notwithstanding our Scruples But I add 2. If this were a sufficient Reason why the Constitution of any Church should be altered because some things are scrupled in it there never could be a setled Church as long as the World stands for since there will be always a difference in Mens Understandings and Tempers some weak and injudicious others peevish and proud there will consequently be many that shall scruple and be offended at the best and most innocent Constitutions And if the Ceremonies now in use amongst us had not been retained at our first Reformation those very Persons who are now so much dissatisfied with the Imposition of them would perhaps have been the first that should have then complained of the want of them Of which we have this notorious and undeniable Evidence in the late times when our Church was laid in the Dust when none of those Ceremonies or Forms which are now objected against were imposed or commonly used yet even then were men gathering Congregations out of Congregations purifying and reforming still further Scruples encreased Sects and Divisions upon them multiplied and never such Distractions and Confusions in Religion as in those days and without the gift of Prophecy one may foretell that if what is principally found fault with in our Church was now abolished yet those that are given to Scruples would at least in