Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	worship_n	worship_v	zeal_n	45	3	7.7789	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30533	A message for instruction to all the rulers, judges, and magistrates to whom the law is committed shewing what just government is, and how far the magisrates power reacheth, and what the sword of justice is to cut down, and what it is to defend ... / E.B.	Burrough, Edward, 1634-1662.	1658 (1658)	Wing B6013; ESTC R25317	21,754	32

caused by force to uphold a house for other people to commit and practise idolatry in if the house were for any good purpose or honest practise as for poor or impotent people to dwell in or such like who had not houses of their own because of their poverty then that were a deed of charity to uphold it and the people of God would not deny it but could freely give their mony to such an use and end but because it is not to such an use but onely a place to commit Idolatry in and to worship God ignorantly in superstitions therefore it is a matter of conscience unto many and for a good conscience sake they rather suffer the spoyling of their goods and afflictions upon their bodies then to pay their money for such an use and end and herein the Magistrates doth great injustice in the sight of God and his Saints and contrary to reason and a good conscience in causing Innocent mens goods to be spoyled by cruelty to uphold a place of Idolatrous worship contrary to mens tender consciences for as I have said they do no wrong to any man but only peoples wills are offended and their blind zeal turned into rage and fury against the iust who worships God in spirit and in the truth and cannot uphold the houses of false worship and it is a shame unto the people and ministers themselves who cannot uphold their own worshiping houses and it is a reproach upon their God and their Religion who causes others to maintain their worshiping houses by iniustice and great oppression and will not themselves maintain the houses where they worship their God but people who fear God are greatly oppressed divers wayes to uphold worshiping places for others to worship in as in many parts of this nation is wofull testimony which is a shame to the Magistates by whose authority these things are done and a great reproach to the very name of Christanity that people against a pure conscience and contrary to good reason should be compelled to uphold and maintain a worship and ministery which they doe not partake off but their very enemies that persecute them whose consciences are defiled and not excercised and their worship and ministery which stands not in the excercise of a pure conscience but in vain traditions and superstitious Idolatry are the people of God forced to maintain with maintenance by oppression contrary to their consciences and the unjustness of these things cries for vengeance from heaven upon the ungodly rulers and people who causeth the iust and upright to groan by oppression and thus the law is subverted contrary to that end wherefore it was added and the government is abused contrary to that purpose wherefore it was ordained of God for the guiltless are condemned and judged and the guilty are set free the excercise of pure consciences are oppressed and the false abominations and Idoll worships are strengthened and defended and because of these things is the wrath of God kindled and shall not be quenched till it have consumed the wicked from off the face of the earth that the just God may be feared and his people enioy their freedome and liberty in the practise of the pure religion and the excercise of their pure consciences and this will the Lord bring forth in his appointed time according to his promise that his people may reioyce in him over all their oppressors and cruell taskemasters which doth uniustly oppress the seed of God And as concerning the maintaining of Ministers it is the same in nature and as uniust and unequall as upholding of worshipping houses for though many out of a good conscience do deny to maintain a professed Minister by paying to him so much or such a summe yet they do not hereby wrong him wilfully contrary to right in breaking any contract or Covenant formerly made with him by themselves or predecessors nor they do not withhold from him any thing which properly belongs to him as debt or due for his labour by any Covenant binding thereunto onely the most that can be said is that such a summe or gift was formerly given out of that estate to a man belonging to such a Parish and therefore now it is claimed as due by custome of many generations practise and so ought to be done as the maintenance to that man because of his labour in his Ministry now to this I answer what though it was formerly done such a summe paid and such a gift freely given by our Ancestors in the times of Ignorance and darkness that practise of theirs then doth not bind any now to do the same seing no record can appear that they bound themselves and their heirs for ever so to do and now hath the clear light of the gospell sprung forth and the light of the day hath discovered all the workes of Ignorance and though the man that claimes such a gift or hire as debt to him because of his labour let them pay him for whom he doth labour and who doth partake of his Ministery and labour and let others be free who for conscience sake cannot do it who knowes his labour not deserving of wages but to be deceit and abomination and deceiving of soules and sees himself to be a proud covetous man and an Idle person who maintaines himself by the fruit of other mens labours in the vanity of life and without the fear of the Lord and this makes the thing a matter of conscience to many that for no better use nor to no other end they should pay their money which cannot be justly claimed as a just debt but as a gift at most to the upholding of such men and such practises which are not according but contrary to God in labour life and practise and to uphold and maintain a man as a Minister of Christ which is not so but the contrary as by his fruits is made manifest and that in ministery worship which is not the worship and ministery of the true God but the contrary as doth appear this many of the people of God cannot do for a good conscience sake except they should transgress the light of Christ and the law of God in their own hearts and consciences and so bring themselves into condemnation by the Lord so let all men take notice hereof that though the people of God do deny to pay any thing to uphold and maintain such a worship and such ministers which are not the ministers of Christ nor the worship of the true God but rather gives their goods to the spoyler and their bodies to the prison yet this is onely for the exercise of a good and pure conscience and not out of wilfull wrong and iniury and their suffering is not as they are evill doers but as they are Saints for a good conscience sake because they cannot be subiect to the wills of uniust men in upholding and maintaining such things against their consciences but are willing rather to suffer

enemies and praying for them and seekes not vengeance upon their adversaries but they bear all things patiently and such are the servants of God and not transgressors of his law nor the iust lawes of man And if such doe suffer by a law that law is uniust and so is that Magistrate that executes that law and that suffering is not for evill doing but for a good conscience sake and the Innocent can rejoyce in such suffering but the executioners thereof shall howle and weep So that in all ages there was such suffering which was not for evill doing but for the exercise of a pure conscience and such sufferings there are at this day and this is because the unrighteous and the uniust beares rule which subverts the law and turnes true Iudgment backward and oppresseth the seed of God and rules over it in Tyrany and this is where darkness rules in the heart and Ignorance in the mind and true Iudgment is wanting for light is called darkness and darkness light and good is put for evill and evill for good and truth is called heresy and error is called truth and because of this the righteous are Iudged uniustly and falsly condemned and the guilty are set free and thus is Iudgment turned quite backward where the seed of enmity ruleth above the seed of God and such a government is not blessed but made a curse unto that dominion where it is seated and this is because such are set to rule and govern who are not ruled and governed by the Lord but are in the transgression of the Iust and righteous law and are uniust men and not reconciled unto God upon whose shoulders the government lyes and the execution of the law in their power who cannot minister true Iudgment nor discerne of different causes among men And therefore all magistrates are to weigh and be considerate in all these things and so to act and Iudge among men as they may give a good account unto God and all men and when a cause is brought before them to give Iudgment of or any accused unto them that they should execute the law upon they should by the spirit of the Lord first try into the ground and nature of such matters to know whether it be a wilful and purposed wrong or injury done between man and man or it be of ignorance or want of better knowledge or such like or whether it be a matter of conscience or about religion or the worship of God whereupon the controversy dependeth and if it be a matter of wilfull and purposed wrong or of ignorance then good reason and justice will teach a Magistrate to defend the Innocent from wrong or to restore his wrong by true iudgement that his person and estate be freed from all wrong and preserved and that the wrong dealer be restrained and punished and iudged iustly according to his offence but if it be a matter of conscience about religion or the worship of God then the magistrates with their law ought not to meddle therein or to iudge of such matters for these things concerning the things that are spirituall are out of their Iurisdiction and not in their power to iudge of and if the controversy between man and man depend about such causes not having reflection upon persons or estates but onely about spirituall matters then magistrates with their lawes ought not to Iudg in these causes but spiritual men ought onely to give their iudgments hereof as they have received from God and though men be in controversy about religion and the worship of God yet if they be men of peace not wronging one another in their persons or estates they ought to be both protected in a good government by the iust and righteous laws and here the sword of Iustice is laid onely upon the evill doer to be a terror and a punishment to him and to limite and restrain him from wrong dealing and this is the end wherefore it was ordained of God to be among men and not to be laid upon the conscience to oppress and afflict the tender consciences of the upright whose minds are exercised in the law of God for such should have praise that doe well by the sword of Iustice while it is a terror to all evill doers whatsoever and this is the perfect and wherefore the law was added and the practise of it herein by faithfull and Iust executors is well pleasing and acceptable to the Lord And now as concerning this one thing which is oppression in the Nation brought forth through the uniust and false execution of the lawes whereby many tender consciences are afflicted and not for any wrong or evill doing but for the excercise of a pure conscience Whereas many for conscience sake doth deny and cannot pay any thing to maintain a steeple-house or place of worship which the people of the world doe worship in and where they commit Idolatry neither can they for conscience sake pay any thing to uphold such worship and such a ministery and ministers which are not of Christ nor ever were sent of him but of Antichrist and such by which the people are led in blindness and error as manifestly doth appear through the whole land And yet the magistrates some of them being blind and Ignorant as the people doth compell many people by their Writs and orders and Iudgments to maintain a Priest and steeple-house which for conscience sake they deny to maintain and yet by authority from the magistrates are the Innocent mens goods spoyled by distress and great oppression excercised upon many poor people to maintain and uphold the ministry and worship of this generation which is not of God but against him and many hereupon are cast into prison and others have their goods taken from them by violence and great havock is made in the countries about this matter Now first it may be considered that to deny uphold and maintain a steeple-house and place where Ignorant people in tradition do meet to worship is not a matter of willfull or purposed wrong dealing or the breach of any bargin or contract between man man but it is a matter of conscience to the people of God for a good consciencie fake they cannot do such a thing as to maintain a place of worship which abomination is committed in by Ignorant rude people who are without the fear of God as daily is manifest it is not manifest that by denying of this they Iniure any mans person or estate in any thing which belongs unto him by lawfull bargin contract or otherwise neither is there any reason or equity in this matter that any should be forced compelled by Iniustice oppression to uphold a house of worship which others worship in and not they and they knowing that worship to be abomination to the Lord also and not the true worship of the true God and their is no Iustice nor religion in it that any should be