Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	aaron_n	apostle_n	succession_n	19	3	10.7447	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93917	A learned and very usefull commentary upon the whole prophesie of Malachy, by that late Reverend, Godly and Learned Divine, Mr. Richard Stock, sometime Rector of Alhallowes Breadstreet, London, and now according to the originall copy left by him, published for the common good. Whereunto is added, An exercitation vpon the same prophesie of Malachy / by Samuel Torshell.	Stock, Richard, 1569?-1626.; Torshell, Samuel, 1604-1650. Exercitation upon the prophecie of Malachy.	1641 (1641)	Wing S5692A; ESTC R184700	652,388	677

doctrine There may be an ordinary and externall succession of place and person without succession of faith and truth of doctrine Doctrine Manifest here in these Priests who held the places and did ordinarily succeed the Priests who were specially approved of God yet did not succeed them in faith and in soundnesse of truth And as it was in the times before often a succession of the one without the other And this is first manifest by the former doctrine for when it often happened that all the ordinary Priests such as had the outward succession were in errour God exciting extraordinary Prophets to reprove them as Isaiah Ieremie c. It must needs be that there was a separation of these two In particular it is manifest in the time of Elijah 1 King 19.14 So when wicked Ahaz was King 2 King 16.11 Vriah the high Priest corrupting the worship In the Church of the Jewes in Christs time it was so for they condemning Christ and his followers as schismaticall Joh. 9.22 and 12.42 This is further proved Acts 20.29.30 These had their succession from the Apostles and held the same seats the same places which the Apostles held yet had snot the same truth and faith So out of the Ecclesiasticall stories it is manifest that the Arrian Bishops as Eusebius Nicomediens and Eustathius and others did derive their succession of place persons seats and Churches from the Apostles For they were called chosen and ordained after the custome of the Church and had no new but the lawfull calling So of the Donatists and Paulus Samosatenus in the Church of Antioch succeeded Peter as well as they did at Rome And the Greeke Church judged by the Papists schismaticall hath her personall succession not onely 1200. yeares as they confesse from Constantines time but long before from Andreas the Apostle as Nicephorus lib. 8. Chronol cap. 6. Because the grace of God Reason 1 and the truth is not hereditary that men should leave it at their pleasure to their heires and successors as they can their places and seats for John 3. as the winde so the Spirit blowes where it lists Not living men can make others whom they gladly would partakers of their faith and truth how should the dead and departed living men more likely Because as in a common wealth new Lords new lawes Reason 2 and succeeding men have different mindes affections wills desires ends c. and so change many things so it is in the Church And though they should leave them it as an inheritance yet we see children hold not their patrimony but many spend all so of this And as is said of Himeneus and Alexander that they made shipwrack of faith 1 Tim. 1.19.20 So of others Then falls to the ground the doctrine of Popery Vse 1 making this externall and personall succession a note of the Church and by it would prove theirs to be the true Church But if there may be such a succession without true faith and if true faith onely makes a true Church then can it be no true nor certaine note Besides it is not certaine nor expressed in the word of God that the Pope was Peters successor no not in place but to be proved onely by tradition and not to be deduced out of the Word as Bellarmine de Rom. Pont. lib. 2. cap. 12. confesseth And so the maine point whereon the government and Hierarchy of the Papacie dependeth hath no word in the Scriptures to prove it and so the whole is hanged upon the conjectures of men as upon a rotten threed For the Scripture not affirming it what assurance can there be for matter of faith the matter must needs be suspitious and doubtfull Againe even the histories which is their proofe are in such various opinions that a man can hardly tell whom to follow touching Peters comming to Rome and his immediate successors Some say he came to Rome in the first yeare of Claudius the Emperour some in the second some in the fourth some in the tenth and it may be that none of these is true sure it is all cannot be true For his successors Tertullian maketh Clement his next successor Optatus nameth Linus and then Clement Irenaeus maketh Linus then Cletus then Clement If they differ thus what certainty where should faith finde any sure ground If then the succession at best is questionable and doubtfull if it may be certaine and yet be dis-joyned from the succession of faith as it is most certainly in them and true faith onely makes a Church then can this be no true note of the Church To teach us not to be deceived with the glorious shew and great boast of such succession Vse 2 specially when there is an apparant digression from the faith or a probable doubt of corruption in it For what succession soever be it never so long or glorious as a greater could not be then these Priests and people could have objected unto the Prophet yet if it be without truth of doctrine and true faith which is the very soule of succession it is nothing else but a very dead carkasse whereas true faith without any such outward succession establisheth and maketh a Church And indeed one of the purest and most excellentest Churches was without such a succession For the Church of which Christ in his owne person was Authour and Master in which the Apostle was brought up instructed had no succession And yet none will or dare deny that it was the best and purest Church For whom succeeded Christ and his Apostles Did he succeed Aaron and the Leviticall Priesthood Did he elect his Apostles out of them Nothing lesse For he succeeded not Aaron but Melchisedech being a Priest after his order not the others and so the succession was interrupted for many hundred yeares and so may be still And on the contrary there may be succession and no true Church when the faith is corrupt and not sound which made the Fathers when they speake of succession not urge a naked and externall succession but a true succession and such as was joyned with the succession of faith and religion * Non sanctorum filii sunt qui tenent loca sanctorum sed qui exercent opera eorum S. Hierom. They are not the children of the Saints who hold their seats but who follow their workes * Nonex personis fidem sed ex side persones probari oportet Tertul. lib. de Prescr avers Haeret. We must not prove the faith from the persons but the persons from the faith So say we let them prove the persons from the faith and not faith from the persons They have not the inheritance of Peter who have not the faith of Peter All which shewes they would not have us to stand upon the succession of the place and person but the faith and doctrine * Non habent haereditatem Petri qui fidem Petri non habent Ambr. lib. 1. de poenit c. 6. This wil prove

favour of God who can easily destroy them and the things they have or is beloved of them with a word with a blast If it be so in respect of men to live out of the favours of Kings and Princes who have their limited powers who are but men and have their breath in their nostrils as they have what is 〈◊〉 be out of Gods favour by whose breath they stand and live and w●●● with-drawing his breath they come to nothing If he be so able why doth he so suffer them It is from the abundance of his patience not w●●● of power which abused by them increaseth his wrath and their sinnes and will make that he will come the more suddenly and heavily upon them The heavier the weight is that is hung at the clock the wheels run swifter and the hammers strike sooner and smarter To teach every man to take heed how they offend or displease God as they love themselves or any thing they have Vse 3 seeing hee can so easily destroy both one and other Men are apt to make the power of great men either a bridle to restrain them from offending or a spurre to make them do the things they command even when they are unlawfull For who are we say they to withstand so great men Were their faith as good as their sense they might see there were cause to say so of God and would know it is a farre more fearefull thing to fall into the hands of God then into the hands of men And cast dung upon your faces The second particular in this verse for laying shame and ignominie upon them God makes men Ministers and others Doctrine 1 to be had in reproach because of their sinnes Even the dung These Priests had thought to have gotten love estimation and credit by bearing with the corruption of the people not reproving them for teir sacrifices they brought and their carelesnesse in Gods service but this God will turn to their shame When men think by unlawfull meanes to get credit Doctrine 2 honour and estimation among men the Lord he will turn it to their shame and reproach So here and so with them who built Babel Gen. 11.4 but it was their confusion To this we may apply that generall Psal 112.10 Hereto belong the examples of Haman Ester 6. and 7. And of Herod Acts 12.21 of Philat Joh. 10.12 From henceforth Pilate sought to loose him but the Jewes cried saying if thou deliver him thou art not Cesars friend for whosoever maketh himselfe a King speaketh against Cesar But see what Eusebius reports * Neque illud à nobis ignorari debet eum ipsum Pilatum qui servatoris neci interfuit in tantas calamitates incurrisse ut necessitate adductus sibi propria manu mortem consciscaret suorumque scelerum ipse vindex extiterit Eus hist l. 2. c. 7 We are not to be ignorant that the same Pilat who was interressed in our saviours death fell into so great calamities shortly after in the raigne of Caius that being driven by necessitie he slew himselfe with his own hand and became himselfe the revenger of his own wickednesse Because this wil manifest his power Reason 1 that he can beat them with their own weapons overthrow them by their own inventions Because he is zealous of his glory Reason 2 and to suffer this wo●●● obscure it It is against the honor of a Prince to let a subject grow by rebellion it argues either injustice or im●●●●encie This may shew the folly of those men Vse 1 whether they be private men or men in place Magistracie or Ministerie who thinke by unlawfull means to reconcile favour unto them to get a good name estimation or credit These men we may compare to him whom Hier. against Heloid speaks of out of the fable that when he could do no good to be famous for or so famous as he would he set Diana's Temple on fire and when none accused him for the sacriledge he went raving up down the streets himself crying that he kindled the fire And being demanded by the Ephesians why he did so Vt quia benè non poterā malè omnis bus innotescerem he answered Because I could not get fame by doing well I would get it by mischief But it was his shame ruine and so may these look for though they may prosper in it for a while as they in building of Babell yet shall they fall by it And that they would stop their mouthes withall will be the means to open them the wider specially if ever there fall a breach betwixt them they will shew them directly that they gained not by their courses and the contrary to that will follow which we read of David 2 Sam. 6.22 To teach every man to take heed how he seekes reputation and name by bad courses Vse 2 or by any the least unfaithfulnesse and sin Every man is desirous of a good name and it is more to be desired then silver and pretious things Prov. 22.1 If any man would have it let him labour for it by lawful means and by wel-doing If he seek it by forsaking his uprightnesse and sincerity of his place and profession I may say as 2 Kings 9.31 Had Zimri peace that slew his master So had such a one credit that left his honesty And God shall do to him as here is threatned A man may happily build up his house by oppression and usury and cruelty but in a few successions in a few years it comes to nothing holds not in the third heire A man may seek to rise like Haman and be aloft a while but he shall be cast downe A man may get a name a while but it will not last long partly because it is vana quia vani sunt filii hominum because it is not in himselfe but other * Merces congregatas in saccum pertusum ad thesaurum in alieno ere constitutum qua arcu non clauditur nec seras habet Bern. de adventu Domini Serm. 4. as wares put up in a broken bagge as a treasure laid up in anothers mouth not lockt in a chest nor made fast with barres as Bernard hath it And partly because God will cast dung into his face The best glory is for well doing that is in a mans selfe not in anothers power 2 Cor. 1.12 That is laid upon a good ground that is certaine and unmoveable It is from God and those who have his Spirit Vera gloria est à Spiritu veritatis True glory is from the Spirit of truth Dung in your faces The Lord had honoured these Priests very high they had dishonoured him he threatens marvellously and the more to disgrace and dishonour them The more God hath honoured and advanced men Doctrine either in Church or Common-wealth if they dishonour him he will dishonour them and lay the greater disgrace upon them So with these Priests none more honoured with God then they no