Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	bishop_n	church_n	ephesus_n	1,251	5	11.4920	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11615	Calderwoods recantation: or, A tripartite discourse Directed to such of the ministerie, and others in Scotland, that refuse conformitie to the ordinances of the church. Wherein the causes and bad effects of such separation, the legall proceedings against the refractarie, and nullitie of their cause, are softly launced, and they louingly inuited to the vniformitie of the church.	Scot, Patrick.	1622 (1622)	STC 21857; ESTC S103208	18,004	58

diuerse Heads and Diuisions that Decencie and Order might be preserued and Confusion shunned This superioritie of Priesthood continued till the new Couenant of Grace in all which time if equalitie of Priests had beene conducible to the Weale of the Church without doubt the Lord of the Church would haue established it Secondly after this Ceremoniall Law our Sauiour Christ ruled his Church as chiefe Bishop of our Soules hee adioyned no Elders to himselfe at his death hee gaue command to his Disciples to rule the Churches where they should gouerne throughout the World Wee reade that they did excommunicate alone that they did ordaine Ministers alone and did by supreme Authority rule both the Affaires and Goods of the Church Beza confesseth that Peter alone strucke Ananias and Saphira that Paul ordayned Timothie and Titus that hee prescribed Lawes to them and their Churches this plat-forme of Paritie was not so much as heard of in the time of Persecution Saint Paul did write to the Bishops of Ephesus and Smyrna and to seuerall Bishops of other Churches to them hee giueth Directions and them hee reprooueth which had beene very vnfitting if his Authority had not beene aboue other Ministers All Records witnesse that seuerall Bishops succeeded the Apostles at Rome Constantinople Ierusalem Antioch Alexandria and other places All the Councells giue preheminence to Bishops and to the Councells the Fathers consent To come to later times they whom you magnifie aboue all others did protest by their Writings That if Bishops would leaue Superstition and embrace the true Religion they would most willingly submit themselues to their Episcopall Iurisdiction as most godly and expedient for the Church Melancthon did testifie much to this purpose saying That if the Authoritie of Bishops were reiected a greater Tyrannie would follow Zancheus greatly extolled Bishops Bullinger Glocer and diuerse other Learned Protestants in Swethland and Germanie with Camerarius and Sturmius did the like Beza himselfe complayneth That his wordes against Roman Bishops were wrested against our Bishops But suppose that Beza Daneus Carpenter Golart Perot Tauergues Polan Snecan and the like haue written all which you would haue maintayned or doe yet hold shall the Church of Great Brittaine allow what they haue written for Oracles No there is no reason they should For who would not bee ashamed to oppose those and their followers to the practice of the Primitiue Church of Iesus Christ his Apostles Fathers Councells Canons to all Writings of Antiquity and to the most part of our owne Times All these by Practice or Decrees haue annulled Paritie and consequently all kinde of Gouernment grounded vpon it All Legall Courses haue censured against you the Parliaments the most Honourable Courts in the I le of Great Brittaine or else-where haue declared against you the Church Assemblyes wherein as Members you had Voyces haue found the nullitie of your cause and all these ioyning in one haue enioyned you to obedience and conformitie There resteth nothing on your side but exclayming bragging and libelling which will neuer be otherwayes censured by the Wise then the fumosities of idle Dreame-venting Braynes who assuming to themselues an vncontrouled Liberty leaues all Lawes without defence and exposeth Magistracie to Obloquie at their pleasure But as all Legists and Schoole-men determine priuate much lesse publike Lawes are neyther grossely to bee ieasted at carelesly disgraced or fondly to bee dealt withall Consider warily of this Point least Iustice correct such by Roddes as will not bee ruled by Reason So I come to the Third Part of my Taske and then to an end THE THIRD PART I Haue shortly leuelled at if not hit the most materiall Accidents and Circumstances of the Controuersies which long haue troubled the Peace of our Church of Scotland with their bad Effects and how contrary your opposition is to the best Institutions of former times Now after I haue runne poste through the Fauours of your gracious Soueraigne I will vnfold my sincere Wishes and so close vp all His Maiesties prouident care fore-seeing that your violent Platformes would in the end procure the ouerthrow of your cause did so long giue way to your inconsiderate proceedings till without greater inconuenience to the Church and State hee could not forbeare to represse them in which course I pray you consider with mee what Legall course hath his Maiesty taken what Lenitie hath hee vsed what mollifying Balmes of louing Admonition hath hee applyed to so long festred Sores Hee hath called many Generall and Prouinciall Assemblyes for settling or remoouing many needlesse Controuersies amongst you Hee hath in Royall Person beene present with you perswaded you by many Learned Orations graue Exhortations and Princely Admonitions Hee hath oft times confuted your vngrounded Assertions with Reason when hee might haue repressed them by his Royall Authority What vnseemely misdemeanour wee haue seene in the presence of such a King my Penne without blushing is not able to expresse Yet these hath his more then Humane Clemencie ouerpast and by the Load-stone of infallible Demonstrations and inuincible Arguments hath drawne the most Iudicious and Learned amongst you to assent to the Truth and leaue such factious courses Witnesse hereof were Learned Master Rollocke Master Nicholson and Master Cooper whose Workes will pleade their cause The first of these vpon his Death-bed did expostulate with his dearest Friends how much your hard censure of his honest Labours in the Affaires of the Church had shortened his dayes The last two after they were preferred to the place of Bishops and euer before had painefully laboured in the Lords Haruest were so detracted by your vniust Calumnies and profited so little in their sincere Intentions that very Griefe in the Autumne of their age did consummate their dayes But yet if I should insist vpon his Maiesties Clemencie towards you I should exceede my limitted Taske Hee hath spared the Liues of such of you as were guilty of High Treason hee hath vpon submission recalled such as were banished and eyther restored them to their owne or better Places Finally hee hath left nothing vndone that may make his Kingly Wisedome admired his Mercie aduaunced and you in case of further Contumacie vncapable of the like Royall Fauour hereafter I speake not this to aggrauate your Faults neyther fawningly to insinuate vpon Maiestie but least any of you should surmise that you haue beene wronged that the Lawes haue beene rigorously extended against you or that his Maiesties proceedings hath beene iniurious towards you But as I am in good hope of you so my earnest Wishes are that my friendly counsaile may seize on your future actions You know or may know that hitherto you haue onely procured a fruitlesse Reformation and in the end without doubt you will bee the cause of greater Euils if by more wholesome aduice you obuiate not the Dangers to which your inconsiderate Zeale hath subiected you the Axe of Iustice threateneth the Roote of the fruitlesse Tree of your disobedience and eminent

doth not teach but correct another In the meane time what Preaching is or who may be sayd to preach you make no question but sure I am that many of you that call hotely for a Preaching Minister are the first that ought to be sequestred from so holy a Function These Errors and mis-proceedings you doe fortifie and intrench by being addicted to your owne Opinions and impatient to heare contradiction or arguments that applaud not your humors I know some of you thinke it a tempting of God to heare or reade that which with good reason may bee sayd or written against you as if there were a quod bonum est tenete without omnia probate going before This may suffice to offer vnto you a view and consideration whether in these things you doe well or not and to asswage the partialitie of your followers I know you haue the gift of Exhortation and I suppose charitably that you haue Zeale and hate of Sinne but take heede you want not Knowledge and Loue Where the noyse of Contention is so great that the Truth cannot bee heard it is to bee wished the Preachers were dumbe or the Hearers deafe The last cause of such Controuersies is the vndue publishing and debating of them which Point needeth no long Discourse Onely I say That Characters of Loue are more proper for Debates of this nature then Fire-brands of Zeale That all direct or indirect Glances at mens persons were euer in the like cases dis-allowed That whatsoeuer is pretended the People are not fit Iudges but rather the quiet priuate Assemblyes and Conferences of the Learned Qui apud in capacem loquitur non disseptat sed calumniatur The Presse and Pulpit would bee freed from these Contentions neyther Promotion on the one part or Hate on the other should continue these Challenges and vnwarrantable Cartells That further all Preachers ought to bee of such good temper that in matters of Controuersie they may in Wisedome and Conscience dayly inculcate and beate vpon Peace Silence and Cessation But because I shall haue occasion to speake of this more fully hereafter I end the first Part of this Discourse THE SECOND PART IT is not vnknowne to you how dangerous and hurtfull the effects of the long stirres about the Gouernment of the Church of Scotland haue been and had proued in Church and State if the sedulous Animaduersions of a wise and fore-seeing King had not preuented the same I cease to speake of the scandall that hath beene giuen to Religion thereby how many wicked or ignorant people haue beene confirmed in Atheisme how many weake Christians haue beene discouraged in the progresse of their Profession what Sects and bad Opinions haue growne vp in corners these that should and without doubt would haue repressed them being by Domesticall Brawles thwarted and hindered All of sound iudgement may perceiue what aduantage the common Enemy hath taken that by such preposterous Anarchie Learning was not onely contemned but the Rewards thereof diminished the ancient Discipline of the Church ouerthrowne the Ignorant made Iudgers of the Rewards of Learning and the Learned Fathers of the Church Markes for Licentious Youths armed with Malice to shoot at The height of this Fury hath extended it selfe beyond Confusion Tumult and Scandall how oft haue these tumultuous Practices reached to the height of Lease-Maiesty by intending to conferre your head-lesse Gouernment on whom you pleased and how you pleased without the Authoritie of any Supreme Power If I might instance this by bringing those vpon the Stage whose Errors you haue followed rather then their Goodnesse I might aske you what Fennor did in his Booke entituled Axiomata Coelestis Canaan Beza in his Booke de Iure Magistratuum in subditos Coppinger and his followers in England Or to come home to our selues what did Knox in his Letter written from Diepe or in his foure inuenomed Positions blowne out by the second blast of his foule-breathed Trumpet To descend and come to our owne Times mine owne Eyes did behold that bold head-lesse Insurrection knowne by the seuenteenth of September But praysed be God that Fire was soone quenched and that Fruit rotten before it was ripe although some of the Prime Nobilitie were inuited or rather coniured if it had beene possible to take Armes in defence of your lame Cause But let that blacke prodigious Day bee inuolued in darke Hieroglyphicks and buried in perpetuall silence least future Ages heare of it or Erostratus complayne that hee is robbed of his Fame for burning Diana's Temple Lastly and more lately from the ashes of these combustible Practices did Phoenix-like arise that deformed wrested Pamphlet maliciously dispersed but alreadie learnedly confuted and defaced by that Reuerend Father Doctor Lindsay Bishop of Brighen But here I will stay my hand and play no more at this Weapon least I turne the Point against my selfe or by thrusting home giue the Veine to some of your Vitall parts You know my meaning they were not the greatest sinners vpon whom the Tower of Siloah did fall Vnus peccat alter plectitur but I will gently close with you in generall tearmes and onely tell you That these Ryots of singular Insolencie were sufficient to haue exasperated the most mercifull Prince to haue rooted out the memorie of such Spirits who vnder pretext of Reformation neuer aymed at other end in contempt of Regall Authoritie then Translation of Church-Gouernment to confused Paritie orderlesse Synods and to Mechanicke Parochiall Sessions What this Reformation did profit in building of Gods house or repayring of it as you pretended and what strange fruits it had produced before this time if God by his seruant our Soueraigne had not wrung the Sword out of your hand let sound Iudgement giue Verdict If you will goe a little along with me and suruey vpon what grounds these proceedings misdemeanors were builded you shall finde they had none at all but imaginary Speculation vnable to vphold a quiet minde much lesse both Church and State First there can bee nothing more absurd more against all Law Practice and Reason then the paritie of Church-Gouernment or Parochiall Iudicature which you haue so long maintained and which was vpon false Grounds broached to ouerthrow the Bishops and auert the ancient Discipline of the Church To make this cleare I aske you if there can be any Gouernment without Superioritie and Distinction of Places Can Ciuill or Spirituall Estates bee better gouerned then by one armed with Power and Eminencie aboue others Is not Gods owne Citie Spirituall Ierusalem a gathering and vniting of Saints into a Diuine Pollicy whereof the forme is Order which as in all actions so in the Gouernment of the Church is most necessary Hence Paul reioyceth of the Colossians Faith and Order Looke backe againe and behold when Almightie God gaue Magistrates and Lawes to his Church hee appointed vnder the supreme Magistrate one High Priest to haue the Superintendencie of the Affaires of the Church and vnder him