Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	authority_n	church_n	true_a	2,292	5	5.6438	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34183	Episcopalia, or, Letters of the Right Reverend Father in God, Henry, Lord Bishop of London, to the clergy of his diocess	Compton, Henry, 1632-1713.	1686 (1686)	Wing C5666; ESTC R4911	21,581	113

manner suitable Such a spirit then ought to appear in you as that nothing seem to be done out of Malice Revenge or Enmity but whatever remedy you find needful or your duty to apply that you do it not as a tormenter but as a good Physician who may give bitter Potions and disagreeable to the Palate for saving the Man who if not sensible of his own illness it renders his case more desperate and may require severer Medicines The Chirurgion when he Cauterises Lances or Cuts off a Limb does it for the good of him he thus uses A Furnace of Affliction may be applyed tho Fire and Fagot be unlawful Whatever you do let the spirit of love and sobriety direct you in it thus you cannot easily correct amiss For a Minister of the Gospel ought not to act without fear or wit One great work there is still to do in order to make our attempts successful and that is to walk uprightly our selves However the duty is incumbent upon them and that the unworthiness of the Minister be no just excuse for their forbearance yet by the subtilty of the Devil and the deceivableness of Lusts such objections will perswade Men to abhor the Offerings of the Lord. Therefore as in Religion we cannot expect a blessing upon our endeavours unless we please God so neither in prudence may we hope to prosper unless we bear a Conscience void of offence towards Man Pray then Earnestly for the Assistance of Gods Holy Spirit and in your Prayers I beseech you forget not Your assured Friend and Brother H. London 1684. Good Brother YOU see with what Difficulty we persuade Christians to do that of which in former Ages and in most Churches except ours at this Day it is counted the severest Penance to be debarr'd So that either some new Gospel is crept in amongst us or else we have shamefully perverted the Old One. To say we desire to be at Union and yet refuse that Bread which Sacramentally makes us so to say we expect to partake of the Benefits of Christ's Body and Blood and yet reject the Communion of them to expect the end and avoid the means is such a piece of Contradiction that we are not to wonder at any Absurdity after this If it be possible then let us use all our Endeavours to recover the People from so Fatal a mistake and the Reputation of our Church from so foul a Reproach See that your Church-Wardens do their Duties in this particular which if they be men of Conscience they cannot refuse And I must desire your Hand to the Truth of what they present And I pray read this to your Congregation at Morning and Evening Service that it may not be pretended that timely Notice was not given to prevent an Easter Presentment Fulham March 19. 1684. H. London THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON'S SIXTH LETTER TO THE Clergy of his Diocess 1685. Good Brother I Have been the more careful to repeat to you the Substance of that Conference we held the last Year because it will be impossible for me this Year to appoint a time of Meeting tho I have reason to hope I shall not wholly be detain'd from you However I wish your whole two Years intent upon a Reformation in this particular may be able but in some measure to recover our decay'd Discipline Canon XIII It is not only ordained in this Canon that Sundays and other Holydays shall be observed as they are appointed by the Church and in the 64th Canon that Parsons and Curates shall bid Holydays under pain of Censure but from the beginning of the Reformation it has been enjoyn'd to do the like as may be seen in the Injunctions of Edward the 6th 1547. and in those of Queen Eliz. 1559. as likewise the first of Eliz. Sect. 4 and 5. where the Archbishops and Bishops are in God's Name earnestly required c. So that in this case there is a Rule for us to walk by and therefore it was worth our consideration to examine First Why And Secondly How we should follow it First The Inducement to this performance is grounded upon Authority sufficient to prevail with any meek and quiet Spirit to acquiesce and to stop the Mouths of those that are otherwise For if there be no harm in the Practice the Authority of the Church under whose immediate Discipline we live is a sufficient ground for our Conformity But we have the Churches Practice from the beginning It is true indeed for the first three hundred years it does not appear that there were more days observ'd than the Lord's Day Easter Ascension Whitsunday and Christmas-day this last seeming not of quite so ancient Observation as the former tho' we are told by the Emperor Constantine in a Letter recorded by Socrates that Good Friday was appointed by the Lord himself But this ought to be no Objection against the Addition of a few more in after Ages For when the Church was at ease Christians were more frequently called from their Devotion to the business of the World which would certainly swallow up the whole Man were not set and appointed times ordain'd for serving God and calling to mind the wonderful things that he has done for us In times of Persecution every day was a Holyday and every hour the Example of some blessed Martyr pass'd before Mens Eyes the Memory of which again was refresh'd when they Assembled at the Martyria but in prosperous days all these things would be forgot were not the Fundamental Dispensations of our Religion and th● great Examples of the blessed Apostles every Year in their turns set before us And therefore if Authority were wanting the reasonableness of the Practice would induce us to it Not to urge the Morality of the 4th Commandment can we imagine a more effectual way of Imprinting the Remembrance of the great Mysteries of our Religion in the Minds of Men and to convince them that it is in the power of Man so far to come up to the Merits of them as the Gospel under the favorable acceptance of God exacts at our Hands then by setting apart solemn times for the Remembrance of those great Mercies the Gospel has dispenced to us and by setting forth the power of God's Spirit in the Example of the holy Apostles who were Men of like infirmity with our selves But when we consider the Benignity of his Wisdom which has so disposed the course of the World that what in Duty and Gratitude towards our Maker we are bound to do falls out to be the indispensible support of Humane Nature We can never despise the Observation of days as it is consistent with Christian Liberty but we must at the same time in our Hearts despise Religion it self For to allow of a time of Refreshment for the wearied Limbs of the Labourer and a Relaxation to the Man of Business and not to make use of that Occasion to stir up to Spiritual Exercise were to level us with the