Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	body_n	church_n	fullness_n	4,230	5	10.3232	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70887	The Quakers vindicated from the calumnies of those that falsly accuse them as if they denyed magistrates, and disowned government; and as if both in principle and practice they were inconsistant with either. In which is shewed, that the true and sincere Quakers (so called, for of them I write) are in the spirit and principle in which the justice of magistrates is obeyed, and in which magistrates are to administer their government, and that by their practice in good works they fulfill all just and good government. And that they have God's authority for their meeting together to worship Him, ... And that people in matters of religion and the worship of God, should rather be instructed and led by the Spirit of the Lord in Gods authority, ... Also, several objections answered, as to the exercise of secular force and compulsion over the conscience in matters of faith, religion, and the worship of God. By Edward Pyot.	Pyot, Edward, d. 1670.	1667 (1667)	Wing P4316A; ESTC R25210	46,417	48

the Law of God in the conscience that so by Christians they may be obeyed for conscience sake And if the Laws of men do answer to the Law of God in the conscience will not every one then that resists the Power as well be made sensible of the wrath of God in his conscience as deserving of the wrath of men upon his outward man And by the opposite Commands of God and man are not the consciences of them that are required to obey deeply concerned and themselves greatly tryed for of necessity are not they forc'd into sore sufferings either by the wrath of God or by the wrath of man that is to say if man forbids that which God commands or if God forbids that which man commands must they not suffer either by God or man for in this case of necessity must not either God or man be disobeyed And if they obey the Laws of men contrary to the Law of God do they not then incur the wrath of God and if they obey the Law of God contrary to the Laws of men do they not then incur the wrath of men And although the Wrath of God be the greater yet is not the wrath of men very great and grievous to be born when it is executed But in this case must not the Lord be obeyed rather than man For as to Soveraignty is not the Lord higher than the highest and doth not the Lord regard the Oppressions of the Innocent who in their sufferings have none to flee unto but to himself only as it is written If thou seest the Oppression of the Poor and violent perverting ●les 8. of Judgment and Justice in a Province marvel not at the matter for He that is higher than the Highest regardeth and there be higher than they And doth not the wrath of man turn to the praise of God And the remainder of wrath will not he restrain And as to their eternal estate Are not the concerns of the soul greater than the concerns of the body and even in this life is not peace with God in the conscience more to be regarded than to be parted with to avoid sufferings by men For what is any man profited by ease liberty and pleasures in the body if to gain this he lose his soul and what would not a wise man part with or suffer to gain his soul And are not Magistrates as they are Christians prohibited by Christ from the exercise of authority and dominion over the Faith and Consciences of God's true Worshippers in the matters of Religion and the Worship of God as it is written Mat. 20. 25 26 27. The Princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority upon them but it shall not be so among you but whosoever will be Great among you let him be your Minister and whosoever will be Chief among you let him be your Servant Which cannot be understood that Christians should not be subject to the just Government of their Christian Magistrates in Secular things because in Secular things even Christians are bound in conscience by God to be subject to the just Government even of Heathen Magistrates May not this prohibition viz. But it shall not be so among you therefore be rather understood the prohibiting by Christ of Secular Authority and worldly Dominion to be exercised among Christians for the government of his Church in the Heavenly and Spiritual things of God And also because in the Government of the Church The Greatest is to be their Mark ● 44. Minister and the Chiefest to be the Servant of all and is it so in the Government of the Church by Secular Powers For is not the Church of Christ a Spiritual Body and must not its Government therefore be Spiritual even by the Divine Authority and Heavenly Dominion of Christ himself as the alone Head and Governor of the Church which is his Mystical Body and the fulness of him that filleth all in all And may not this therfore be of caution as well to Christian Magistrates as to Heathen Magistrates to take heed of exercising that Authority and Dominion among Christians over the Spiritual Body of Christ in the matters of Faith and Worship and the things of God relating to the inward man which by Christ are distinguished from the things of Cesar which they exercise and which may be given them of God to be exercised by them for their Civil Policy and the Government of the Politick Body in things Secular and relating to the outward man For is not the Power by which the Church is to be governed by the Father given to Christ as the only Head of the Church and hath not Christ in himself kept the right of Soveraignty in the Government of his Church and is not Christ himself ever present in Spirit with his Church for the administration of his Authority and Supremacy over the Church and in the exercise of his Soveraignty for the Government of the Church And doth not Christ instruct them and rule among them by his Word and holy Unction and his Commands unto them and by the operation of his Power in them and doth he not teach and govern them by the motions and ministries and conduct of his Spirit which abideth with them and dwelleth in them and by the vertues and efficacy of the gifts of his Grace which by him are distributed to them And herein doth not Christ reign and rule and teach and govern his Church himself and hereby is not God glorified in the Church by Christ throughout all ages as it is written Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Ephe● 21. Jesus thorowout all ages world without end Amen And though Authority and Superiority and Magistracy and Power justly derived and lawful Dominion in the exercise of Civil Power for the Government of the Politick Body be the Ordinance of God yet doth it therefore follow that the same is ordained of God for the Government of his Church For are the motions of the Spirit of Christ in his Church and the operations of the Power of Christ in the Members of his Mystical Body by Magistrates to be bounded and limited through the exercise of their Dominion over them and of their Authority upon them Are the gifts which by God are given for the mutual edifying of the Church to be ordered and disposed of by Magistrates have they power over and the government of the manifestations of the Spirit of God and all those different Administrations which are by the same Lord and which by the working of one and the same Spirit operateth severally in all for the benefit of the Body and the profit of every member Or had the then Heathen Magistrates the same Authority over the Power and Spirit which operated in the Apostles and primitive Christians as they were the Ministers and Servants of God in the exercise of their Ministry and Service of the Church which they had over

known beforehand but are also read week after week and year after year And if by might and power any should be forc'd astray to worship God in that manner which is contrary to the Law of God in their consciences though highly esteemed amongst men would not even their Prayers be their sin for doth not Solomon say He that turneth away his ear from hearing the Law even his prayer shall be abomination And he that causeth the Righteous to go astray by an evil way shall fall ●● 28. ●0 into his own pit And is not their sin great and will not their stripes be many who either by force or subtilty are either drawn or driven to worship God after that manner which is contrary to their knowledge and conscience And if by the force of Might and Power any should be driven contrary to God's witness in their consciences will they not hereby be run into transgression and Rebellion against God and will not the Witness of God in them in their own consciences be their condemnation And is not Rebellion as the sin of Witchcraft and Transgression as Wickedness Idolatry And are their own consciences pure and without offence and tender and in the feeling of anothers conscience or rather are not their consciences reprobated without remorse and unsensible who by force would defile and offend and even wound and wrack the consciences of others And do not they sin against Christ the Head who so sin against his Body the Church and who grieve his Spirit and oppress his Members by imposing rigorously upon them heavy burdens which they are not able to bear even to the wounding of their consciences if they submit and as much as in them lyeth to destroy their souls for whom Christ died And if the doubtful thoughts of them that are weak in the Faith in things that are lawful in themselves are not to be judged as it is written Rom. 14. 1. Him that is weak in the Faith receive you but not to judg his doubtful thoughts see the margent Is the faith and certain knowledge of God's true Worshippers then to be judged as to the manner of God's Worship which they assuredly believe to be the will of God and certainly know to be of the Lord and required of them as his Law unto them Was the noise either of Hammer or Ax or of any Tool of Iron heard in the House of God whilst it was in building by Solomon And are the Laws of men then and their Penalties and Punishments to be the Foundations now on which God's Spiritual House is to be built or is the matter for the House of God now to be hewen out and hammered and prepared by armed-men and the noise of the clattering of Arms with which the peaceable Meetings of the Quakers have been often assaulted and broken up and their Bodies hurt and bruised Is Force and Violence exercised by men on the Body the way of God to save the soul Did not the Prophet in the power of God and in the might of his Spirit declare against them who built up Zion with blood and Ierusalem with wrong And is it not uncharitable among Christians and against the Law both of Love and Equity and that which they would not be done unto themselves for one to impose upon another as to their Faith and Conscience in the matters of Religion and Worship contrary to the Law which rules in their Consciences and to that which they believe to be the Will of God and to that in which they are not to themselves but to the Lord and to that in which the Lord hath received them and doth accept of them For doth not the Royal Law command to love thy neighbour as thy self and hath not Christ to his Disciples ●● 2. commanded saying Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you do ye even so to them for this is the Law and the Prophets ●att 2. Are not even Gainsayers by sound Doctrine both to be convinced and exhorted and in meekness are not they to be instructed who oppose themselves and are not even unbelievers and them that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be gathered by the Word of God preached and to be won by moderation and soberness and by the good conversation of them that believe And is not the Word of God of more force inwardly to execute the righteous Judgments of God for disobedience and to convince perswade and compel to obedience than all the force and strength of men for is it not therefore by the Lord likened to a Fire and to a Hammer which breaks the Rocks in pieces reader Ier. 23. 29. 20. 9. 6. 11. 5. 14. Isa 49. 2. 30. 30. 11. 4. And was not the Baptism of Repentance which by Iohn was preached as an Ax from God in his hand for the cutting down of fruitless Trees and were not they prickt in their hearts with the force of the Word and the authority of the Doctrine which by the Apostles was preached And did not Foelix tremble before Paul when he reasoned of Righteousness and Temperance and of Judgment to come And is not therefore the matter for the building of the Church of God to be prepared by the Ministry of his Word in God's Authority rather than by the force and terror of men And are not even those that oppose themselves to be subdued by the Gospel of Christ unto the obedience of God in his Spiritual Service and Worship For is not the Gospel of Christ the Power of God And is not the Authority of the Word and the Force of the Gospel in which the Power of God is made manifest the means by God appointed to satisfie doubts and to decide Controversies in matters of Religion and manner of Worship For is not the Word of God both quick and powerful and the Sword of the Spirit and sharper for the convincement of Gainsayers than the two-edged Swords of men for doth it not pierce to the discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart and inwardly force and compel where the Force of men can neither reach nor enter And if Power in Magistrates over the Faith and Consciences of God's faithful and true Worshippers in the matters of Religion and Worship be pretended unto as they are Magistrates may not then Antichristian or Heathen Magistrates pretend to the same power to over-rule the Faith of their Subjects and compel them to their Religion and by their penalties and punishments to force their Consciences to worship Idols And if such power in Magistrates be pretended unto as they are Christians are we not to distinguish between the Office or Authority of Magistrates in the administration of their Civil Power as Rulers and Governours and the Religion of Magistrates as they are Christians by which they have fellowship in the Church as Members of the Spiritual Body of which Christ only is the Head among them that