Selected quad for the lemma: state_n
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A52086
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A sermon of simony & sacriledge by Edward Marston.
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Marston, Edward.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing M814; ESTC R26803
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14,579
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26
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A SERMON OF Simony Sacriledge 'T is not to be forgotten tho' it be forgotten that whoever gave any Lands or Endowments to the Service of God gave it in a formal Writing as now adays betwixt Man and Man Sealed and Witnessed and the tender of the Gift was Super Altare by the Donor on his Knees Deo Ecclesiae Bp. Andrew 's Notes upon the Liturgy By EDWARD MARSTON an unworthy Priest of the Church of England sometime of Whitby in York-shire Ne diutina injustitiae impunitas amplius inolesceret accingam me viriliter stabo pro Castris Ecclesiae Clamare non cessabo quasi Tuba exaltabo vocem meam annunciabo populo scelera eorum raptoribus Ecclesiasticarum Possessionum peccata eorum Sanctus Theodardus Episcopus Trajectensis Martyr c. LONDON Printed for the Author 1699. PROVERBS XX. Verse XXV It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy and after vows to make enquiry MY Author telleth me in the Twentyfifth Chapter of this Book and the Eleventh Verse That A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver That is as the outside is Beautiful so the inside is far more precious as Gold excelleth Silver So are the words of Wisdom every where glorious yet being fitted with Time and Season they have an inward and secret Operation far more forceable and effectual than otherwise they would They be apples of gold with pictures of silver Now as these Silver Pictures I mean the Ornaments of Speech are not to be neglected so the Golden Substance which by a secret Opperation is directed to the Heart and Conscience is every where to be preferr'd Wherefore when I gave all diligence to speak unto you not only things profitable for Christians but seasonable for the Times we live in I was directed to this Choice concerning the Profanation of things Hallow'd and the dangers thereupon ensuing Towards the unfolding whereof I am depriv'd of that usual help which other Scriptures do afford Namely that current of Speech and sequel of Argument whereby one Sentence doth follow upon another in so good Consequence that the occasion and premises of the place do serve for a Key to open our Text But these Proverbs be certain Drops of Divine Wisdom or Golden Apples you may call them each making an entire Globe or Ball within it self whereof this is one We may divide it in the midst First The one half compasseth him in the Snare of Destruction who spoileth God of his Right in Hallowed things The Second Catcheth him who seeketh occasion to unwind himself out of those Vows which are solemnly made before unto God wherein the more he struggleth the faster he tieth himself For the first word is indifferently apply'd unto both parts and so make a double snare Laqueus est devorare sacrum Laqueus est post vota inquirere This kind of sanctify'd things intended by Solomon is by consent of all Expositors taken to be an inferior Degree whereunto we may descend by these few steps 1. That Sacred Majesty of God which is Holiness it self in the Abstract is then prophan'd by Man as much as in him lieth and injur'd in the highest degree when 't is Blasphem'd This is Destruction in it self with God who raineth Snairs upon such for their Portion and their Arrows shot against Heaven fall back upon their own pates And it were to be wished that this was also a snare of Destruction amongst Men. For Nature hath so prescribed and graven it in the Hearts of Men from the Beginning that Blasphemy is punishable by Death That Cursed Speech of Job's Wife Curse God and dye Job 2.9 was grounded upon a common receiv'd Maxim in that time of Nature that a Blasphemer must not live And that Heathenish King Nebuchadnezzar had no sooner acknowledg'd the Love of God but made a Decree that whosoever Blasphemed should die a violent Death But admit there be no such Law establisht and that upon this Charitable supposition that a Christian Kingdom will breed no such Monsters Shall this be imputed for a Want Not until those Monsters appear For in the Commonwealth of Israel there was no positive Law against Blasphemy until such time as a Blasphemer was discover'd Levit. 24.14 and then upon that occasion the Law was made So if this wicked Age wherein we live shall bring forth such Miscreants and execrable Wretches as shall dare to breath direct Blasphemy against the God of Heaven to the utter dividing and deing of him then I take it to be a thing not unworthy the highest Consultation whether that Judicial Law of God be a Pattern for us in this Kind For if we add to the Law of God concerning Theft for the better preservation of the Publick Peace let us not diminish the Law of the same God for the preservation of that Sacred Name whereupon the Publick Good both of Church and State doth immediately depend If the Civil Magistrate doth carry a Sword and not in vain not a Rod for Correction only but a Sword to punish with Death then let not that Sin which by the general consent of all Divines is of all Sins absolutely the greatest escape the edge of the Sword Thus much is inferr'd upon neccessary implication That 't is destruction in the highest degree to Prophane Holiness it self Yet this is not intended by the direct meaning of this Text. 2. As God is Holiness in himself so hath it pleas'd him to Communicate the same to his Church to make her not only a Catholick but an Holy Church To this end hath he Sanctify'd special Means that is separated them or set them apart from common use to effect Holiness in the Hearts of the People whereof there be Three Degrees First The Word and Prayer together with the Administration of the Sacraments have the first place wherefore the Arch-Ministers of the Gospel the Twelve Apostles leaving all other Business gave themselves to Prayer and the Administration of the Word Act. 6.4 To devour these is apparent Destruction For where these be wanting the People must needs perish Prov. 29.8 Yet such is the Malice and subtilty of the Serpent that rather than this shall stand entire he will so work that one shall devour another The time was when Prayer being turn'd into a Mass and the Mass into an Idol did swallow up the Preaching of the Word The time is that Preaching hath well-nigh swallow'd up Prayer as if there was nothing Holy in the Church but a Sermon Such is the Peevishness of our Corrupt Nature that where God hath combined such a lovely pair of Vertues together we cannot lean to the one but we must despise the other Whereas indeed there is such a sweet Concord and Harmony between them that whoso despiseth the one shall be depriv'd of the Comfort of the other They be the Ascending and Descending Angels of Commerce between God and us The Word teacheth us to know his