Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	church_n	civil_a	society_n	1,332	5	9.1138	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54125	The continued cry of the oppressed for justice being a farther account of the late unjust and cruel proceedings of unreasonable men against the persons and estates of many of the people call'd Quakers, only for their peaceable meetings to worship God : presented to the serious consideration of the King and both Houses of Parliament : with a postscript of the nature, difference and limits of civil and ecclesiastical authority, and the inconsistency of such severities with both, recommended and submitted to the perusal of Cæsar's true friends / by the author of England's present interest, &c.	Penn, William, 1644-1718.	1675 (1675)	Wing P1270; ESTC R18856	19,683	36

to Ruin and their Persons to Goals Exiles and Abundance of other Cruelties What is this but to confound the Things of Caesar with the Things of God Divine Worship with Civil Obedience the Church with the State and perplex human Societies with endless Debates about Religious Differences nay is not this to erect new Measures to try the Members of Worldly Societies by and give an Accession to another Power then that which is necessary to the Constitution of Civil Government But that which ought to deter wise Rulers from assuming and exercising such an Authority is the Consideration of the pernicious Consequences of doing so For First It makes PROPERTY which is the first and most fixt part of English Government floating and uncertain no Conformity to the Church no Property in the State and doubtless the Insecurity of Property can be no Security to the Government 2dly It makes me owe more to the Church then to the State for in this Case the Anchor I ride by is not my Obedience to Laws relating to the Preservation of Civil Society but Conformity to certain Things belonging to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church to that though I may be an honest industrious English man a great Lover of my Country and an Admirer of the Government I live under yet if I refuse to profess the Religion that either now is or hereafter may be imposed I must neither enjoy the Liberty of my Person nor the quiet Possesion of my Estate 3dly This not only alters the Government by sacrificing Mens Properties for that which cannot be called a Sin against Property nor an Offence to the Nature of Civil Government if any Transgression at all but it narrows the Interest and Power of the Governours for proportionably what Number they cut off from their Protection they cut off from themselves and the Government not only rendering a great Body of People Vseless but provoaking them to be Dangerous to be sure it clogs the Civil Magistrate in his Administration of Government making that necessary which is not at all necessary to him as Caesar It is a Sort of DVVMVIRATESHIP in Power by which the Civil Monarchy is broken for as that was a Plurality of Men so this is a Plurality of Powers and to speak freely the Civil Power is but Lackey to run of all the unpleasant Errands the froward Zeal of the other sends it upon and the best Preferment it receives for its Pains is to be Informer Goaler or Executioner to some of the best Livers and therefore the best Subjects in the Kingdom Oh what greater Injustice to Caesar then to make his Government vary by such Modes of Religion and him to hold his Obedience from his People not by their Conformity to Him but the Church 4thly This is so far from resembling the Universal Goodness of God who dispenses his Light Air Showres and comfortable Seasons to all and whom Caesar ought alwayes to imitate and remote from increasing the Trade Populacy and Wealth of this Kingdom that it evidently tends to the utter Ruin of Thousands of Traders Artificers and Husband-men and their Families thereby increasing the Charges by increasing the poor of the Nation 5thly This must needs be a great Discouragement to Strangers from coming in and setling themselves amongst us when they have Reason to apprehend that they and their Children after them can be no longer secured in the Enjoyment of their Properties then they shall be able to prevail with their Consciences to believe that the Religion which our Laws do now or shall at any Time approve and impose is undoubtedly true and the Way of worshipping of God which shall at any Time be by our Laws enjoyned is and shall be more agreeable to the Will of God then any other Way in which God is worshipped in the World 6thly The Religion we are commanded Conformity to doth not make better Livers that 's a Demonstrative nor better Artists for it cannot be thought that going to Church hearing Common-Prayer or believing in the present Episcopacy learns Men to build Ships or Houses to make Clothes Shoes Dials or Watches Buy Sell Trade or Commerce better then any that are of another Perswasion and since these Things are Vseful if not Requisite in Civil Society is not prohibiting nay ruining such Men because they will not come to hear Common-Prayer c. distructive of Civil Society nor more obedient Subjects If any object Dissenters have not alwayes been so the Answer is ready do not expose them protect them in their Lives Liberties and Estates for in their present Posture they think they can call nothing their own and that all the Comforts they have in this World are hourly lyable to Forfeiture for their Faith Nope and Practice concerning the other World Is not this to destroy Nature and Civil Government when People are ruined in their Natural and Civil Capacity not for Things relating to either but what are of a Super-natural Import 7thly This deprives them of Protection that protect the Government Dissenters have a great Share in the Trade which is the Greatness of this Kingdom and they make a large Proportion of the Taxes that maintain the Government and is it reasonable or can it be Christian when they pay Tribute to Caesar to be preserved in an Vndisturbed Poss●ssion of the rest and that the rest should be continually exposed for the peaceable Exercise of their Consciences to God 8thly Neither is this a Conformity to True and Solid Religion such as is necessary to Eternal Salvation wherein most Parties verbally agree but for a Modification of Religion some peculiar Way of Worship and Discipline All confess One God One Christ One Holy Chest and that it is indispensably requisite to live Soberly Righteously and Godlikely in this present evil World yet is one prosecuting the other for his Conscience seizing Corn driving away Cattel breaking open Doors taking away and spoiling of Goods in some Places not leaving a Cow to give poor Orphans Milk nor a B●d to lye on in other Places Houses have been swept so clean that a Stool hath not been left to fit on nor so much as working Tools to labour for Bread To say nothing of the Opprobrious Speeches Bloody Blows and Tedious Imprisonments even to Death it self through Nastiness of Dungeous that many Innocent People have suffered for their peaceable Conscience only 9thly But this Way of proceeding for Maintenance of the National Religion is of an ill Consequence upon this Account Heaven is barr'd from all further Illuminations let God send what Light he pleaseth it must not be received by Caesar's People without Caesar's Licence and if it happen that Caesar be not presently convinced it is of God at this Rate I must either renounce my Conv●ct●ons and loose my Soul to please Caesar or profess and persevere in my Perswassion and loo●e my Life Liberty or Estate to please God this hath frequently oc●urr'd and may again therefore I

comes Imposition Force Cruelty Spoil of Goods Imprisonments Knocking 's Beatings Bruisings Stockins Whippings and Spilling of Blood for Religion What Church is that whose Officers are so far from cloathing the naked as to strip the clothed from feeding the hungry that they take their Bread from them and those poor Widdows and helpless Orphans too and so remote from visiting the sick and imprisoned that they drag away their Bed from under them and cast People into Prison for Conscience sake Nay they haled away an Honest Man from a Meeting to Goal at Reading but the other Day not permitting him to TAKE LEAVE of his poor Wife newly delivered and in a DYING Condition though she also desired it and liv'd but just by the Meeting-House where they took him In fine what are they that for no other Cause pass such dreadful Excommunications as render the Excommunicants little better then outlawed Persons subjecting their Civil and Natural Rights to their Pride Passion Interest or Revenge unless they will purchase their Enjoyment at the dear Rate of loosing their own Souls For what else can be the Conseq●ence of conforming to that I do not believe Is not this to destroy sincere Men and make and save Hypocrites Oh that such as are concern'd would soberly consider if any Thing is so Scandalous to True Religion as FORCE who can think that evidence Good that is extorted And what a Church is that which is made up of such Proselites or that employes such Means to make them O where is that Christian Meekness Patience and Forbearance How many have been ruined that were never exhorted and excomunicated before they were once admonished This is not to serve God but Worldly Interest it s quite contrary to Christ's Counsel and Doctrine He came to save and not to destroy Nature to magnifie his Grace You pretend to hate J. Calvin's unconditional Reprobation yet practise it If you say no Conformity is your Condition I answer that it s as unreasonable to require an impossibillity as cruel to damn Men for not doing it For as you say his Doctrine makes God to command them to repent that cannot repent and yet damn them if they repent not So you injoyn Men to relinquish their present Faith and Worship and conform to yours which is not in their Power to do yet damn them in a temporal Respect if they refuse it For you make such an unavoidable Dissent punishable with the Destruction of Mens Liberties and Estates You had better leave off valuing your selves upon the Mercy and Well-Natur'dness of that Tenet of the universal Love of God to Mankind till you love more then your selves and abominate the Church of England's being such an Elect to the Civil Government as utterly reprobates the rest as you pretend to detest the like Injustice in J. Calvin's Notion of Election and Reprobation And the Truth of it is this helps on Atheism as much as any Enormity in the Land when Witty Men not willing to take Pains to examine after the Truth and Excellency of Religion behold Men that call themselves Christ's Ministers and the Apostles Successors and Followers to affect and seek Government and yet twice deny it when they go to receive it that some others grow Lordly live Voluptuously and watch after the biggest Preferments not being excited by most Service for God but Earthly Power and Wealth for themselves and at the same Time persecuting Men of more Self-Denyal for Matters of Opinion about Faith and Worship towards God so that No Conformity to this Church No Protection from the State Which among Protestants is so much the more unreasonable because they by these Courses implicitely own and assume the highest Infallibility and Perfection and yet deny any such Thing for it supposes that nothing is Truer nothing Perfecter or else they both persecute Men to embrace a Fallible and Imperfect Religion and with cruel Penalties provide against any Thing more True or Infallible the greatest Injury to the World that can be for it is a plain Endeavour to frustrate all those excellent Prophesies and gracious Promises God has given and the holy Scriptures declare of the latter Dayes To conclude I shall desire Men of this Unnatural Unreasonable and Unchristian Spirit to consider 1. What Church was that which John saw riding upon the Powers of the Earth employing their Authority to force CONFESSION TRIBUTE and SUBJECTION to her 2. What that Church was which dyed her self in the BLOOD of them that believed not in her against whom the poor Souls under the Altar whose Bodies had been beheaded by her cryed to God 3. What Church it was that would suffer none to Buy Sell or Traffick without having her Mark CONFORMITY to her in their Forehead or right Hand that is either those that heartily and openly confest her or those that basely complyed for Fear 4. What Church is that which Trades in the Souls of Men Read Revelations Chap. 13. 18. 20. 5. Whether this Church reigns not wherever Mens LIBERTIES and PROPERTIES with all the Comforts of this Life are exposed and sacrificed for Matters of FAITH and WORSHIP to Almighty God Weigh these Things you great Church-Men of the Age in the Fear of that God who made Heaven and Earth and think not to make thus cheap of the Lives Liberties and Estates of Free-born English People and Harmless Christians for their peaceable Conscience without being accountable to that Great Lord in the Terrible Day of his Judgment that draws on upon the World No Plea you have shall be able to justifie these things or fence off the heavy Stroak of that Just Judge unless you repent 'T is not Succession in Name but Nature that makes the true Christian Minister and Bishop And where the Divine Life and Holy Qualifications of Christ and his Apostles are wanting there can be no Succession but what is as proper to the false Church as the true the Counterfeit as the Christian Be not deceived God will not be mocked such as you Sow such shall you Reap Remember Christ's Words Blessed are the Poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth Blessed are the MERCIFVL for they shall obtain Mercy Therefore Reform and let your Moderation be known unto all Men for the Lord is at hand Even so come Lord Jesus ERRATA Pag. 18. Line 33. for Injustice read Injury p. 20. l. 11. dele and. p. 20. 31. read Heaven is hereby barr'd as much as in Men lyes from p. 22. l. 22. for the read though p. 25. l. 15. read revenged p. 28. l. 25. read Chains ☜ ☜ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☞ ☜ a Mat. 11. 29 b 1 Pet. 3. 2. 2 Cor. 11. 2. c Phil. 4. 8. 1 Pet. 1. 15. d Mat. 16. 24 e 2 Cor. 4. 6. f Luke 6. 37. g Mat. 5 44. h Rev. 14. 4. i Phil. 2. 6. k Eph. 1. 22. Col. 1. 118. l Job 19. 14 15. m Rom 8. 17. n Heb 2. 11. o Tit. 2. 14. p Acts 20 28. q Rev. 14. 3. r 1 Pet. 2. 9. s Heb. 12 23. t Col. 1. 24. u Rev. 21. 9. w Joh. 18. 36. Mat. 22. 2. Luke 13. 2. Joh. 18. 36. Luke 17. 21. Tit. 2. 12. Mat. 26. 52. Mat. 27. 20. Ver. 27. c. Ver. 29. ver 48. Luke 23. 34. Mat. 26. 53. Mat. 5. 44. 45 46 47. Luke 9. 53 54 55 56. Luke 9. 49 50. Mat. 13. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Ver. 36 37 38 39. Joh. 15. 12. Phil. 3. 15.

Hundred and Sixteen Pounds Fifteen Shillings and Ten Pence in Kine and Horses which the Justice keeps to his Own Use and Work as his own also Corn Brass Pewter Bedding and such like Goods William Hall of Congleton Shoemaker was fined Twenty Pounds by Will. Knight Mayor and two Justices for having a Meeting at his House for which his Mare was distrained when his Wife was riding on her And some time after they seized on his Shoes in his Shop And another time in his Absence with Mathooks brake open the Doors of his Dwelling House and took away Two Cart-Loads of Goods whereupon William tendered an Appeal but the said Magistrates denyed it Sometime after the Mare of her own accord came Home in his Absence his Wife let her in now notwithstanding that upon their Crying the Mare he went with two of his Neighbours and acquainted the Chief Magistrate that he had the Mare and she was in the Field without any Lock to hinder them from her and if they had more Right to her then he they might fetch her otherwise if they pleased he would joyn Issue with them to try whose the Mare was which they refused and committed him to the Goal and Arraigned him for his Life as a Fellon but was acquitted by the Judge and Jury Taken from several in and about Nantwich by Warrant from Justice Manwaring for Eighty Seven Pound in Fines Goods to the Value of One Hundred and One Pounds in Kine Bacon Bedding Brass Pewter Corn Cloth Shoes and Cheese And from one Man was taken the very Beds they lay on to the Dunghil which they also carryed away Some of the Sufferers appealing the Jury acquitted them but the Justices would not receive their Verdict but at the next Sessions the Justices gave Judgment for the Informers and not contented with this they gave them TREBLE Cost Note the Cheif Informer in these Sufferings was one John Widdowbury of Hanklow called an Esquire who did it to be revenged on Thomas Braisey one of the Meeting for demanding Forty Pounds of him which he owed unto Thomas Braisey upon Bond which that he might as appears defraud the said Thomas Braisey of he hath since by reviving an old Excommunication sent him to Prison and swears he will send his Wife after him from her four SMALL Children Witnesses Henry Fletcher Jonathan Fletcher Samuel Ellis York-Shire HAving in a former Narrative acquainted you that Goods to the Value of Two Thousand Three Hundred Eighty one Pounds Ten Shillings by the late Act against Conventicles have been taken from us with some other of our heavy Pressures and Sufferings in the County of York for the Exercise of our Consciences towards God and having yet obtained no Redress but rather an Increase of our Sufferings One having since dyed in Prison at York where Twenty four yet remain Prisoners and some Hundreds of Families like to be ruin'd by Prosecutions both in Temporal and Ecclesiastical Courts because for Conscience sake we cannot conform to the Religion and Worship imposed on us nor deny the Religion and Worship which we have been taught by the Spirit of God according to the Holy Scriptures and our constant adhering to the Religion and Worship in Spirit which we believe God requires of us can injure no Man but the Denyal of it would greatly injure us because every Man must give an Account to God for himself Oh why then should we by Law be exposed to Ruin and Destruction for the Exercise of our Consciences towards God since by our Ruines none are like to be raised unless it be a few Informers Paritors and other inferior Officers in the said Courts but the Dammage that may come to the King and the whole Nation by Discouraging Persecuting or Ruining an industrious innocent People is like to be very great Therefore we desire that you would be pleased to put a Stop to the vexatious Proceedings of the said Informers and Courts and confirm to us your selves and Posterities the Liberty of our Consciences towards God that we all may worship and serve him as we believe he requires us so shall we be accepted of him and receive his Blessing and Peace and Tranquility in the whole Nation Witnesses John Whitehead John Hall In divers other Counties in this Nation there are many more Instances both of great Havock and Spoil of Goods impoverishing and ruining many innocent Families in their Trades and Livelihoods which for Brevity sake is at present here omitted A Postscript Wherein The CIVIL and ECCLESIASTICAL AVTHORITY is briefly considered in their Natures Difference and Extents not Vnseasonably to the present Posture of Affairs OUR Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did long since distinguish the Things of Caesar from the Things of God in his plain and notable Answer unto that ensnaring Question of the Jews about paying Tribute to Caesar Render saith he unto Caesar the Things that are Caesar 's and to God the Things that are God's that is Divine Worship and all Things relating to it belong unto God Civil Obedience to Caesar God can only be the Author of right Acts of Worship in the Mind this is granted by all therefore it is not in the Power of any Man or Men in the World to sway or compel the Mind in Matters of Worship to God where this is attempted God's Prerogative is invaded and Caesar by which VVord I understand the Civil Government hath all for he doth not only take his own Things but the Things appertaining to God also If any should ask me What are the Things properly belonging to Caesar I answer in Scripture-Language To love Justice as Judgment relieve the Oppressed right the Fatherless be a Terror unto Evil-doers and a Praise to them that do well for this is the great End of Magistracy but perhaps my Answer shall be reckoned too general and ambiguous and a fresh Question started Who are the Evil-doers to whom the Civil Authority ought to be terrible But this ought in my Judgment to be no Question with Men that understand the Nature of Civil Authority for those are the Evil-Doers that violate those Laws which are necessary to the Preservation of Civil Society as Thieves Murderers Adulterers Traytors Drunkards Cheats Vagabonds and the like mischievous and dissolute Persons Men void of Virtue Truth and Sincerity the Foundation of all good Government and only firm Bond of human Society whoever denies me this must at the same Time say that Virtue is less necessary to Government then Opinion and that the most Vitiated Men professing but Caesar's Religion are the best Subjects to Caesar's Authority consequently that other Men living never so honestly and industriously having else as good a Claim to Civil Protection and Preferment shall meerly for their Dissent from that Religion a Thing they can't help for Faith is the Gift of God be reputed the worst of Evil-doers which is followed with exposing their Names to Obloquie their Estates