Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	church_n	day_n	festival_n	1,263	5	11.0355	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36871	The history of the English and Scotch presbytery wherein is discovered their designs and practices for the subversion of government in church and state / written in French, by an eminent divine of the Reformed church, and now Englished.; Historie des nouveaux presbytériens anglois et escossois. English	Basier, Isaac, 1607-1676.; Du Moulin, Peter, 1601-1684.; Bramhall, John, 1594-1663.; Playford, Matthew.	1660 (1660)	Wing D2586; ESTC R17146	174,910	286

take a reciprocal Oath and in a paction of such importance there should also pass some publick contract things which are not practised so that hereby it evidently appears that this imagination of the enemies of Monarchy have not any foundation neither in Law nor Custome Some persons think they speak very finely in saying that the Authority of the King is an Usurpation of the Sword confirmed by Custome that if they could gain their liberty by the sword and confirm it by custome their Right would be as good as his and upon this they Phylosophy upon the Resolutions of States which are in the hand of God and teach us to follow the course of his Providence But by speaking thus they commit a double errour against conscience and against prudence As for conscience the antient constitution of the State confirmed by so many ages Statutes Oaths of Allegiance do suffice to learn all Christians that live under this Monarchy that it was God that established it and that by the command of God they are bound to defend the State under which they are born and whom the Body of the Kingdome hath sworn to maintain These discourses of following the Providence of God in matters of Revolutions of States are then only seasonable when the Royal Blood is extinguished or when Usurpation hath gained prescription through length of years but not when they are neer to overthrow the Estate and ruine the King these considerations are good when the evil is done and out of remedy but not when they are acting ill and when the obedience and loyalty of the subjects may remedy all The providence of God will never serve for excuse of the wickedness of men let us do that which we ought to do and leave God to do what he pleaseth and above all these moralities of revolution of States are worst in their mouths who labour to make this revolution in the State for it 's their duty to prevent this revolution with all their power posterity may excuse themselves by the providence of God in following a new form of State whilst those that introduced it shall be condemned by his Justice Besides all this there is a great want of prudence in this reasoning for in quarrelling the Rights of the King as usurpations of violence and custome they teach the King to quarrel at their liberties and priviledges for the same reason yea and by one much greater for the Priviledges of Parliament are much newer then the Royal Authority and the King may say they were obtained by force after many long and bloody wars he might cast off all prescription gained upon the unlimited power of the first Norman Kings and put himself into all the rights of their Conquests by another Wise subjects who would keep their priviledges ought by all means to preserve peace for there is nothing renders Kings more absolute then war Under a Royal Estate the principal means to preserve the peoples liberty is to maintain the only authority of the King dividing it amongst many they do but multiply their Masters For it s better to have one evil Master then many good ones CHAP. XIV How the Covenanters have no reason to invite the Reformed Churches to their Allyance since they differ from them in many things of great importance WE wonder exceedingly how our Enemies dare solicite the Reformed Churches to Covenant with them From whence comes this great familiarity Is it because of their great resemblance one with another It s that we cannot find As for obedience due to the King which is the principal point of the Covenanters we have made it already appear that the Divines of the Reformed Religion are as contrary to the Covenanters as they are to the Jesui●es their Brethren and Companions in blood and war This point being denied them they care not much for the society of any Church in other points of Doctrine This is the first and great Commandment of the Covenant to obey the people against their King maintain but this their fundamental maxime and they will give you leave to chuse your Religion but in many other things this faction differ from the Reformed Churches Concerning the Doctrine of the Lords Day they have a great quarrel against Calvin who is so far from constraining the Church to a Jewish observation of the Sabbath that he accounts that the Church is not subjected to the keeping of the seventh day a passage which Learned Rivet alledgeth and appro●●s and to both these doth Doctor Prideaux since Bishop of Worcester joyn who in a discourse of the Sabbath complains that the English Sabbatarians lean towards Judaisme and go against the common received Doctrine of Divines never considering into what captivity they cast themselves in establishing the observation of the seventh day under Christianity by the authority of a Mosaical Precept Master Primrose Minister of Rohan hath writ a very Learned Book full of profound knowledge upon this Subject whe●e amongst other things he proves at large how all the Reformed Churches are contrary to this opinion Although God hath no need of the errour of men to establish his service we so much love the reverence due to that holy day that we would not lightly quarrel at any thing thereupon Let every one enjoy his Opinion so that God may be served and the day which is dedicated to him be not violated neither by prophaneness nor superstition But since the Covenante● in this point are so contrary to the Reformed Churches and have so often condemned it by their writings the Assembly at London did very ill to plead conformity with these Churches in this Article and complain to them of the Liberty the King gave to poor servants to sport on Sunday after Divine Service So also for the Festivals although Mr. Rivet declares his desire that those daies which carry the Names of Saints should be abolished in England because of the abuses of these Festivals in the Church of Rome nevertheless he acknowledgeth and commends the Protestation of the English Church hereupon that they observe them not for the Service of Saints but for to glorifie God in imitation of the Primitive Church by the memory of those whom God was pleased to serve himself by to build up his Church and exceedingly blames those who accuse them of Idolatry for this observation King James of happy and glorious memory speaks thus in his Confession of Faith As for the Saints departed I reverence their memory in honour of whom our Church hath established so many daies of Solemnity as there are Saints enrolled by the Authority of the Scripture The Festivals of Saints scarce exceed the number of the Apostles and Evangelists Monsieur du Moulin his Champion defends this Confession of his Majesty Indeed saith he we condemn not this celebration of the memory of Martyrs and Saints we find the custome good of the English Church who have daies set apart for the commemoration of the Apostles

Scripture where it 's commanded for Subjects to take up Arms for Religion against their Soveraign He returned this Scripture Stand fast therefore in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free Gal. 5.1 But we maintain against him that both Saint Peter and Saint Paul preserved themselves more stedfast in their Christian Liberty in suffering death than all the Armies of the Covenanters in fighting and that they take the waies not to establish but to shake and overthrow their liberty in Christ We need not prove that Saint Paul in this Scripture never meant to speak of fighting but to preserve the spirit free from superstition Christian Liberty consists not in shaking off the yoke of Superiour Powers but of that of Error and vice and that liberty which our enemies have assumed to present their Petitions to their King upon their Pikes point and in the end to kill him was not the liberty from which Christ had made them free Let them learn the Lesson of Saint Peter to carry themselves as free and not using their Liberty for a Cloak of Maliciousness CHAP. IV. The Evasions of the Covenanters upon the Texts of Saint Paul Rom. 13. And how in Fine they refuse the Judgment of Scripture THE Apostle commands Rom. 13.1 That every Soul be subject to the higher Powers for there is no power but of God The Powers that be are ordained of God To this Scripture some of them answer that evil Kings are not ordained of God having learned this Doctrine of Goodman but therein they directly contradict Saint Paul who spake of the Powers then in being they that were then when Saint Paul wrote this Epistle were one of the three Nero's Successors of Tyberius the best of them were nothing worth a child is capable to distinguish betwixt the wickedness of a Prince and his authority the first whereof is of himself the second is of God and it 's of the power that Saint Paul speaks of without distinction of persons As for the following verse where Saint Paul infers thus Whosoever therefore resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation Buchanan and his followers answer that this Command was but for a time whilst the Church was in it's Infancy weak and under the Cross incapable to resist their Prince but if Saint Paul had lived now and were to write a body of Common-wealth he would speak far otherwise and would leave Kings to be punished of their Subjects and this is that Buchanan assures us upon his word Likewise one of the best writers of the Covenanters affirms that Saint Paul spake to some particulars dispersed in the condition of the Primitive Church who had not means to provide for their safety if this License were lawful men might reject all the Doctrines of Saint Paul's Epistles as written to particulars and the Masters of the Covenant would make a way to exempt themselves from many duties commanded by Saint Paul which would very ill accord with their intentions So when the Apostle saith Rom. 12.9 10. Let Love be without dissimulation abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love preferring one another there is some appearance that they take this Command addressed to some particulars and not to them since they give themselves the liberty to do the quite contrary There is in these Epistles some Commands provisional moveable according to the times and persons as those which concern the outward Order others which are purely personal as the Command made to Timothy to come to him before Winter but the Moral Doctrines are immoveable and vary not according to the Times since that reason of Saint Paul given that the Powers that be are ordained of God is a Truth perpetual and universal and the Command not to resist the Powers ought also to be general for all Ages and all people so likewise this reason is perpetual That the Magistrate beareth not the sword in vain but to do justice and this other ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for Conscience sake Wherefore the Command grounded hereon to be subject to the higher Powers not resist them is of perpetual necessity and obligation And since to resist the powers is to resist the Ordinance of God may we not ask of our new Divines why the strong and not the weak are permitted to resist the Ordinance of God It 's enough to have a good sword to exempt a man from the Commands of the Gospel The Covenanters might defend this interpretation of the Text of Saint Paul by the authority of Cardinal Bellarmine who saith that if the Christians long since did not depose Dioclesian Julian the Apostate Valens the Arrian and others it was because they wanted temporal forces otherwise of right they might which is the language of our Covenanters but this opinion draws along with it three inconveniencies First That it blasts the primitive Church and deprives the Martyrs of their honour for it 's little worth praise to suffer for the Gospel when a man hath a will without means to rebel their obedience to their Soveraigns was then nothing worth since it was forced and all their protestations of subjection in the writings of the Fathers of which they are full ought to be imputed to weakness and hypocrisie This likewise is to accuse Saint Paul of want of sincerity as if he taught patience and obedience to Kings only to accomodate himself to the Times and not to obey God but he clears himself sufficiently of this accusation saying that we must not only be subject for wrath that is to say for fear of punishment but also for Conscience Moreover this Doctrine is pernicious to the Church for if it were embraced it would render Christians suspected and hateful to their Soveraigns as persons who would subject the Conscience of their Prince to theirs and submits to them only out of weakness and wait only an occasion to cast off their yoke which would oblige Kings ever to keep them weak and to impose heavy burdens upon them and so prevent their rising Also this Doctrine is pernicious to the profession of the Gospel for it would much hinder the conversion of Pagan Kings since that turning Christians according to the Mode they should lose their authority there being no Pagan Religion which teacheth Subjects to resist their Prince by Arms which would also indure Christian Kings of a diverse Religion to hinder with all their might the Conversion of their Subjects Blessed be God that there are none but the Jesuits and Covenanters that maintain so destructive an Opinion The Reformed Churches and the most part of the Roman Church give no jealousie to their Princes hereupon The holy prudence of the Apostles saw well that even besides Conscience the Counsell the most profitable for the conservation of the Church and the propagati●● of the