Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	bishop_n	presbyter_n	3,386	5	10.4987	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44227	Vindiciæ Carolinæ, or, A defence of Eikon basilikē, the portraicture of His Sacred Majesty in his solitudes and sufferings in reply to a book intituled Eikonoklastes, written by Mr. Milton, and lately re-printed at Amsterdam.	Hollingworth, Richard, 1639?-1701.; Wilson, John, 1626-1696.	1692 (1692)	Wing H2505; ESTC R13578	84,704	160

but Repetition and therefore soon answered And truly here he is better than his Word for either he gives it no Answer at all or where he does it is so perfunctory that he only justifies the Proverb of Canis ad Nilum As witness that Repetition of which he shews not one and for the Matter which is full and unanswerable he mumbles it as a Cow does Thistles but dares not chew it for fear of pricking his Chops But we 'll see what he says After an abusive and strange apprehension of Covenants as if Men pawn'd their Souls to them with whom they Covenant he digresses to plead for Bishops first from the antiquity of their Possessions here since the first Plantation of Christianity in this Isle next from an universal Prescription since the Apostles till this last Century But what saith he avails the most primitive Antiquity against the plain Sense of Scripture which if the last Century have best follow'd ought in our Esteem to be first And yet it has been often prov'd c. that Episcopacy crept not up into on Order above Presbyters till many years after the Apostles were deceas'd Abusive he said But wherein For neither is it the way of his Majesty's Pen nor can any forc'd Interpretation bring the words to any thing like it For if the Contrivers and Imposers of the solemn League and Covenant did not reciprocally pawn their Souls to each other they call'd God as a Witness and Avenger of the Perfidy When Laban and Jacob made a Covenant between them they set up a Pillar and a heap of Stones And Laban said to Jacob Behold this Heap Gen. 31. v. 51 52 53. and behold this Pillar be they a Witness betwixt me and thee and the God of our Fathers judge betwixt us And Jacob Swore by the Fear of his Father Isaac i. e. By that God whom Isaac his Father fear'd whereas Laban on the other hand was an Idolater And yet the Oath was Religious and binding for it was not the God of Nahor or the Pillar and heap of Stones that made any thing in it but the true God that was represented by it Not that I say that the Covenant was Religious or obligatory to any but the exacters of it as I shall shew presently but to take notice of that Saying of our Answerer As if Men pawn'd their Souls to them with whom they Covenant Which in other words make this As if any Man should be so ridiculous as to believe the Houses who knew the Scots were afraid of being left in the lurch and therefore would not come in without it meant any thing more by it than to serve a turn And truly so far he was in the right for there is a great deal of difference between a Heart-Oath and a Lip-Oath a Book-blowing as the Scots call it and the Tragedian more expressively Jurata lingua est mente juravi nihil Nor have I sooner got over one if than another lies in my way The King saith he pleads for the Bishops from their Antiquity c. But what avails Antiquity against Scripture which if the last Century have best follow'd ought in our esteem to be first But if they have not best follow'd it what then And if he has not prov'd that they have so done as he has not I say he has said nothing to the purpose But the matter concerns Churchmen and I leave it to them with this for my self St. Paul left Titus in Crete Tit. 1.5 That saith he thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting and ordain Elders in every City as I had appointed thee And when the Presbyters shall shew half that Authority for Jurisdiction and Ordination I shall begin to believe there may be something in it and that the Words Bishop and Presbyter are but Synonoma's though in the mean time I am and shall be Nullius in verba The next thing he takes notice of is that His Majesty says He is unsatisfied with many Passages in the Covenant some referring to himself with very dubious and dangerous limitations for binding Men by Oath and Covenant to the Reformation of Church Discipline and Government To which our Answerer says First those Limitations were not more dangerous to him than he to our Liberty and Religion and cunningly slips the Cart before the Horse for well he knew Religion was but the Pretence whereas the design was under the name of Liberty to warrant Licentiousness and therefore it was but good Manners that the Hand-maid waited on the Mistress Next that which was there vowed to be cast out of the Church an Antichristian Hierarchy which God had not planted but Ambition and Corruption had brought in Apoint not to be argued but of Moral Necessity to be forthwith done And whether the King had not ground enough for the words before let any Man judge They Swear to endeavour to preserve the Rights and Privileges of Parliament Art 3. c. without the least Limitation or so much as stating what they are where by the way we may note that the Privileges of Parliament whatever they be have got the Precedency of His Majesty's Person But when they come to the King they swear to endeavour to preserve and defend the King's Person and Authority in the Preservation and Defence of the true Religion and Liberties of the Kingdoms i. e. So long as they shall say he defends them Which is not so much as they Swear to do for any ordinary Person that enters into this Covenant Art 6. whom they vow absolutely to assist and defend but here they undertake no more than barely to endeavour to defend the King and that with a Limitation Now suppose the certain safety of the King's Person came in competition with any of their real or pretended Privileges Which was to have the Preference Or that the Houses having gotten all the Power into their Hands should have said as they did afterwards that he did not preserve and defend the true Religion and the Liberties of the Kingdoms might they not also have said We are free of this Oath and so rather suffer his Person to perish or actually to destroy him than violate a Privilege For my part I take them to be doubts well worth the solving And for the dangerous part of it there is an Article in it Art 4. To bring all Delinquents to such Punishment as the Supream Judicatories of both Kingdoms respectively shall judge convenient Nor was that Article put in to no purpose Milton 202. and Cromwel nick'd his business with it when to bring on the Commons to those Votes of Non-addresses he told them they were obliged by the Covenant to bring all Delinquents to Punishment And I saith he impeach the King as the grand Delinquent of the Nation And now tell me any Man where the King judg'd amiss when he said some Passages in this Covenant referr'd to himself with very doubtful and dangerous