Selected quad for the lemma: power_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	church_n	minister_n	ordination_n	2,890	5	10.2282	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09445	Of the calling of the ministerie two treatises, discribing the duties and dignities of that calling. Delivered publickly in the Vniuersitie of Cambridge, by Maister Perkins. Taken then from his mouth, and now dilligently perused and published, by a preacher of the word with a preface prefixed touching the publishing of Maister Perkins his workes, & a catalogue of all such particulars thereof, as are to bee expected.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626.	1605 (1605)	STC 19733; ESTC S102894	75,919	204

draw neere to God by entring into fellowship with his holy Prophets and godly Ministers And further if when they preach thou belieuest then GOD hath mercy on thee then learne what reuerence they and theyr word is worthy of which is thus accompanied vvith Gods mercy and forgiuenes and then learne to heare the Word with feare and trembling for it is Gods word and not theyrs when a true Minister sayth vnto thee on a true ground I denounce thee a sinfull man and vnder the curse or I declare thee to be righteous and a child of grace it is all one as though God from heauen had said so vnto thee If any man aske But is it not as good if anoth●● man pronounce forgiuenesse vnto mee vpo● my repentance I aunswer yes vndoub●edly if it be in extraordinary times or places wh●● there are no Ministers for otherwise cer●ainly this blessing is principally tyed vnto the Ministers calling for it is not sayd of any priuate mens calling any where in the Scripture as it is heere said of the Ministers If an Angell an Interpreter come to a man and declare vnto him his righteousnesse the●● marke the conexion then will GOD ha●● mercy on him and will say Deliuer him c. Whence comes this blessing from this promise of God If then other callings will challenge ordinarily the same blessing then must they haue the same promise Besides other Christians being priuate men though they be sanctified haue a good measure of knowledge yet haue they not the same spirit of discerning that godly Ministers haue nor can so fully and truly iudge when a man hath repented when not and therefore cannot so trulie pronounce the sentence of the Law or Gospell nor haue they abilitie ordinarily by their good conference and Christian counsel to con●●rt a soule but to confirme one conuerted but that power ordinarily belongs to the publick Ministery of the word therfore it followeth that ordinarily they haue not the power to pronounce the sentence of binding or loosing vpon any man I cōfesse in times or places where no Minister can be had God blesseth the labours of priuate men that haue knowledge somtimes euen for the conuerting of a man to God for comforting him at the howre of death and giues a vertue and power to that sentence which they shal pronounce one vpō anothers repentance but as this is extraordinary in the want of ordinary Ministers so in that case a priuate man of knowledge godlines is made a Minister for that time to himselfe or to another euen as a priuate man in cases of extreame danger when no magistrate is present is made a magistrate himselfe to defend his owne life So then as in vvant of a Magistrate the sword of the magistracie is put into the hand of a priuate man so in the want of Ministers the keyes of the Ministerie are committed and put into the hands of priuate men as in dayes of persecution that then they may vvith comfort admonish and aduise and with power pronounce mercy and forgiuenes one vnto another vpon theyr true repentance Yet alwayes remember that in so dooing a priuate man is as a Minister for that time and in that case but ordinarily and alwayes in setled Churches this power pertaineth to the Ministerie is theirs alone by ordination and to them belongeth the promise and the blessing that when hee hath declared to a man his righteousnesse then God will haue mercie on him And thus wee see also the blessing of God vpon the function of the Ministerie and conexed thereunto by the mercifull dispensation of God It followeth And will say Deliuer him that he goe not downe into the pit for I haue rece●ued a reconciliation The fift and last part of this description is the Commission and authority giuen vnto him which is so great as neuer was giuen to any creature and is thus when a Minister of GOD hath declared vnto man his righteousnes hath brought him to the state of grace and God in his fauour hath had mercy on him then God saith to the Minister Deliuer that soule from hell for I haue pardoned him in Christ I am reconciled to him In which words authoritie is giuen to a Minister of God to redeeme a man penitent from hell damnation not that he is the meanes of working out this redemption for that wholy and onely is Christ himselfe but hee is Gods instrument and Christs instrument first to apply those meanes vnto him secondly to pronounce his safety and deliuerance when these means are vsed Here is the principall honour of all belonging to that calling and it is the greatest that euer was vouchsafed to any creature Man 〈◊〉 Angell for it is a plaine Commission to goe and deliuer such a man from the power of hell to redeeme him into the state of Gods children and to make him heyre of heauen Angels ne●er had this Commission they are Messengers sent out for the good of those whom Ministers haue redeemed and they haue brought many comfortable messages vnto them but it was neuer said to any Angell Deliuer that man that he goe not downe 〈◊〉 the pit as it h●●r● is saide vnto a Minister nor any men but Ministers haue this Cōmis●ion To some callings God saith work● thou for man build him houses prouide him sustenance to the Phisition heale that man to the Lawyer do that man iustice to the souldier fight for him to the Magistrate defend him to the King gouerne him and see that euery one doe his dutie ● to none but to the Minister dooth he say Deliuer him that he goe not down into the pit If this be so then for the vse first Ministers must learne heere that if they will haue the honour of Redeemers then must they doe the dutie of redeemers they must pray earnestly for the people for that is one meanes whereby they redeeme men They must say with Samuel God forbidde that I should cease to pray for you They must mourne for the impenitent vvhen they will not turne to God So did Dauid his eyes gushed out with riuers of waters because men kept not Gods law And Ieremie who w●shed a fountaine of water in his eyes that he might weepe for the sinnes of the people They must priuatly conferre ●●site admonish and rebuke and principally they must preach and that in such good manner and in so diligent measure as that they may redeeme and winne soules and the end that they must ayme at must be to winne soules Some preach for feare of the law to auoyd censure or punishment some for fashion sake that they may be like to others some for ostentation sake to win credite and prayse some for ambition to rise in the world all these forget theyr cōmission which is Deliuer him from hell This should be the end of their preaching to deliuer a soule from hell and what should Commissioners doe

here hee doth Whom shall I send for the Lord meaneth not such as beare the name of Leuites or Priestes in the olde or of Ministers in the newe for there were alwayes more of them who some for preferment sake some for their ease and some for a refuge how to liue are willing to enter that function and accordingly in that calling seeke not the Lord but themselues and their owne ends But heere the Lord inquireth for such men as first purely doe seeke and vndertake that function therein to honour God to gather his Church and then in all their labours and ministeriall duties truly and faithfully endeuor to the same ends Preaching Gods word and as Gods word diligently prouing exhorting and admonishing and shining before their people in good works for such men it is no maruell though the Lord light a Candle at Noone day and make open Proclamation to seeke for them saying Whom shall I send for such a man is as Iob saith One of a thousand for ●ome wāt abilitie to discharge their duties as S. Paul saith Who are sufficient for those things And some want willingnesse to vndertake the labour as God here complaineth Who shall goe for vs Now to make vse of this doctrine to our Church It were to be wished that in these daies for our christian Churches the Lord had not as great cause to cry out in the want of able faithfull and godly Ministers Whom shall I send and who shall goe for vs But alas this want is too apparant and his blemish is too notorious and it is a worke worthy the labour of kings and princes to reforme it and is a kings euil nor to be healed but by the power of a king for as long as there are so fewe and meane preferments for painefull Ministers there will neuer want abundance of such Ministers as doe want either conscience or abilitie to discharge their duties In the meane time till God put into the hearts of Parliaments and Princes to looke to this great and needfull worke let vs Ministers learne our duties and first wee who are in the Vniuersities are here admonished to look to our selues By Gods blessing we are many and daily grow more and more let vs therefore so furnish our selues as that when God or his Church shall say Who shall goe for vs and whom shall I send then he may finde many amongst vs whom hee may send to that great worke of the Ministerie and let vs feare to bee such as that God may affirme of vs as in the dayes of Iob that hee cannot finde one of a thousand Secondly all Ministers learne here not to content themselues with the name and title of Ministers but labour for the substantiall ornaments thereof nor to be willing to take the honour and li●ings and to refuse the burthen and 〈◊〉 of the Ministerie For else let them know God hath no neede of them for had the Lorde pleased or contented himself with such kinde of men as seeke to bee Ministers for themselues and not for his sake or being Ministers doe feede themselues and not their flocke or preach themselues and not Christ then had he not needed to haue made this Proclamation for all Ages haue yeelded store of such But contrariwise he that is painefull and faithfull in this Function let him know that God and his Church hath neede of him Lastly here the Romish Cleargie are iustly to bee taxed whose number is infinite but it is lamentable to see howe fewe among them be such as the Lord here seeketh for Their Orders of Regulars are exceeding many beside all their Secular Priests and it is almost incredible how many thousands there be of Dominicans or Franciscans or in some one of their orders and yet amongst the many millions of their Monkes there is scarce to bee found one of many who for his learning other gifts is fit to be sent to the work of God nay their ignorance was palpable and rediculous to the world vntill of late being by Luther and others of our Church made ashamed thereof they haue laboured especially the Iesuits to become learned How foule a thing is it that amongst so many the Lord should haue cause to complaine Whom shall we send The Iesuits indeed many of them are learned but for other qualities they are fitter to be plotters practisers in State matters Spies or In●elligencers reconcilers seducers and subuerters then Ministers and fitter to be instruments of pollicie to euil kings then Ministers of the Gospel vnto God But take away them and some fewe selected Monkes and those but few out of many millions● then euen for learning also God may cry and call proclaime in their Monasteries Whō shal I send And if it be a shame and miserie to a Church to want such as God may send or to haue but a fewe then the Romish Church is shamelesse which shames not to haue so many and yet amongst them all whom God may send almost none In the next place By this inquirie and question made by God Whom shal I send and who shall goe for vs The Lord would teach vs that no man is to vndertake this function vnlesse God call and send him therefore here are condemned the prophaine fancies of the Anabaptists and all like them who thinke that any man vpon a priuate motion may steppe foorth and vndertake the duties of a Prophet to preach and expound c. Oh but say they these motions are from Gods spirit surely they can say litle for themselues who cannot say so much but that cannot serue their turne for if we say contrariwise nay but they are from the diuell or at the least from your owne vanitie and pride how can they disproue it Againe might not the Prophet haue alledged that with a better pretence and colour then they yet he stayeth till God here call him euen so all good Ministers are to stay Gods calling If any aske how he shall know when God calles him I answere God calleth ordinarily by his Church her voice is his therefore whensoeuer the Church of God saith vnto thee thou shalt bee sent and thou shalt goe for vs euen then doth the Lorde call vs out to this holy function Thirdly let vs obserue how the Lord saith Who shal I send who shal go for vs Some Interpreters gather out of this Chapter an Argument for the Trinitie of persons as namely out of the third Verse where the Angels sing Holy Holy Holy Lord God c. But it is not sound inough to ouerthrowe our stubborne enemies the Iewes and therfore it seemes those Diuines are of a sounder and wiser iudgement who seeing we haue other places pregnant and plaine enough therefore thinke it no good discreetiō to vrge this or any such place which may probably admit another Interpretation least that the Iewes finding the weaknesse of the argument doe iudge all our proofes to be as weak and so