Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	lord_n	privy_a	seal_n	1,129	5	9.0650	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91192	A Gospel plea (interwoven with a rational and legal) for the lawfulnes & continuance of the ancient setled maintenance and tenthes of the ministers of the Gospel: proving, that there is a just, competent, comfortable maintenance due to all lawfull painfull preachers and ministers of the Gospel, by divine right, institution, and expresse texts and precepts of the Gospel: that glebes and tithes are such a maintenance, & due to ministers by divine right, law and Gospel: that if subtracted or detained, they may lawfully be inforced by coercive laws and penalties: that tithes are no reall burden nor grievance to the people; the abolishing them, no ease or benefit to farmers, husband-men, or poor people, but a prejudice and losse. That the present opposition against tithes, proceeds not from any reall grounds of conscience, but base covetousnesse, carnall policy, &c. and a Jesuiticall and Anabaptisticall designe, to subvert and ruin our ministers, Church, religion. With a satisfactory answer to all cavils and materiall objections to the contrary. By William Prynne of Swainswick, Esq;	Prynne, William, 1600-1669.	1653 (1653)	Wing P3971; Thomason E713_12; ESTC R203238; ESTC R26600	128,273	175

his rejoycing an odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing unto God and wages in the self-same Text therefore no unlawfull robbery 5. Though the niggardly Co●inthians saved their purses by Pauls labour and free preaching yet they gained no honour but disgrace and sharp censures from him for it witnesse 1 Cor. 4. 11 12 14. Even unto this present houre we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place and labour working with our own hands c. I write not these things TO SHAME you but as my beloved sonnes I admonish you of their harsh ingrate despitefull carriage towards me which makes my condition so uncomfortable which he thus seconds 2 Cor. 11. 7 8. Have I committed an offence in a●asing myselfe that you might be exalted because I have preached the Gospell of God freely I robbed other Churches taking wage● of them to do you service And ch 12. 12 13 14 15. T●uly the signes of an Apostle were wrought among you in all patience in signes and wonders and mighty deeds For what was it WHEREIN YE WERE INFERIOR TO OTHER CHVRCHES except it be that I my self was not burdensome to you FORGIVE ME THIS WRONG Behold the third time I am ready to come to you and I will not be burdensome to you for I seek not yours but you c. And I will very g●adly spend and be spent for you though the more aboundantly I love you THE LESSE I BE LOVED Whence all may learn that it is a great disparagement stain and certain signe of want of love both to the Ministers and Ministry of the Gospell for any Church or people to suffer or enforce their Minister to hunger thirst be naked and to have no certain dwelling place and to labour working with his own hands that he may preach the Gospell freely to them and such kinde of ungratefull ungodly people who cause Ministers thus to spend and be spent for them will be so far from loving or respecting them for it that the more they love them in this kinde the lesse they will probably love them again as the Corinthians did Paul who traduced and slandered him as no true Apostle a weake contemptible Preacher and a very Reprobate in stead of commending him for his extraordinary paines and cost in preaching freely to them 2 Cor. 10. 10. 12. 11 12. 13. 6 7 9. Who then would hearken to or gratifie such perverse Beasts and unthankfull Hypo●rites though appearing in the shapes of Saints and notion of the godly party or rather un●odly faction against our Ministers and their maintenance 6 Though Paul thus laboured night and day with his own hands to maintain himself and preach the Gospell freely yet it followes not hence that all other Ministers now should do it 1. Because he being an inspired Apostle and able to preach by immediate inspiration and revelation from God without study or premeditation as is probable his labour in this kinde was no hindrance to his diligent constant powerfull preaching But no Ministers now being thus immediately inspired must study and meditate day and night for what they preach and examine their Doctrines seriously by Gods word before they vent them whence Paul enjoynes even Timothy himself 2 Tim. 3. 13 15 16. To give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine to meditate upon these things and give himselve WHOLY TO THEM that his profi●ing might appeare to all men and to take heed unto his doctrine which he could not do if he should labour night and day with his hands as Paul did to support himselfe and preach gratis wheresore he tels him 2 Tim. 2. 4. That no man that warreth a spiritual warfare as he and other Ministers do intangleth himself with the affaires of this life that he may please or serve him who hath chosen him to be a Souldier A direct inhibition to Ministers to follow Pauls Precedent who cannot serve and please God in their Ministry if they labour day and night in Mechanick trades for their living And upon this ground which is very observable the very Apostles themselves Act. 6. 3 4 5 6. Calling the multitude to them said IT IS NO REASON pray marke it that we should leave the Word of God and serve Tables much lesse worke day and night at a Mechanick trade wherefore br●thren looke ye out seven men of honest report full of the holy Ghost and wisdome whom ye may appoint over this businesse BVT WE WILL GIVE OVR SELVES CONTINVALLY TO PRAYER and TO THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD And THE SA●ING PLEASED THE WHOLE MVLTITVDE From which Texts it is clear 1. That the Apostles themselves resolve that they could not exercise the very antient office of a Deacon in serving Tables and attending on Widowes and other poor aged impotent Saints without neglecting or giving over preaching of the Word much lesse then can Ministers labour day and night with their hands at some Trade to maintaine themselves and Families without neglecting and desisting the Ministry 2. That the Apostles and Ministers ought to give themselves wholly and continually to prayer preaching meditation reading and their Ministeriall duties and must not therefore attempt or intermeddle with secular Imployments and Callings 3. That the Apostles themselves have punctually resolved and all the primitive Christians unanimously assented to it that IT IS NOT REASON that they should leave preaching the word of God so much as to wait upon Widowes and poor people at their tables whereupon they elected seaven Deacons to discharge that office Therefore it is far lesse reason and they are most wicked and unreasonable men without faith or charity from which God deliver us and all his Ministers 2 Thess 3. 2. who urge it to enforce all our Ministers to neglect and forsake their Ministry Preachings Studies now to follow handicraft Trades to get their livelihood that so they might preach freely to the people without any recompence 2. All godly Ministers and people in all ages and the very Objectors themselves of late years have extremely condemned censured our Bishops and Prelaticall Clergy together with Popes Popish Prelates and Clergy men for intermedling with and executing civill Offices Imployments and worldly affaires which necessitated them to neglect the preaching of the Gospell and their Ministeriall duties whereupon not only many ancient and late Councels Synods but Acts of Parliament have specially prohibited them to be Privy Counsellers of State Judges Justices of the Peace Lord Chancellers Treasurers Keepers of the Privy Seal Stewards of Courts Commissioners and our very last Parliament by severall late Acts disabled all Bishops from sitting as Peers in Parliament and them with all other Clergy men to execute any temporall Office as incompatible with their spirituall Function and an impediment to their Ministry according to the old proverbiall verse Pluribus intentus minor est adsingula sensus Which I have proved at large by testimonies in all

cannot deny The sole question then is what this share or portion ought to be and who shall determine it in point of difference I confesse the Apostle doth not decide either of these in Terminis those Texts being General and all in the plural number All good things your carnall things comprising all such things out of which Tithes predial mixt or personal as Canonists and Lawyers distinguish them are or may be paid Wherefore every faithfull Christian and spiritual Son of God and of faithfull Abraham whose footsteps and prefidents they are to follow in all doubtfull cases admit this one to satisfie his conscience and judgement in this case must and will resort to the prefidents of the Eminentest Saints in former ages and Gods own prescripts in other expresse Texts and there finding the very Father of the faithfull Abraham giving and his Grandson Jacob vowing A TENTH OF ALL GOOD THINGS from his own people for the maintenance of his Priests and Levites under the Law and they cheerfully rendring it untill and in Christs own time and that the very Pharisees and Scribes though Hypocrites were so just as to pay tithes of all and Christ resolving that they ought to do it and not leave it undone and that none before the Apostles dayes ever gave lesse than a Tenth part as the premises largely evidence must and will necessarily conclude from all these sacred Directories that the ordinary and constant standing Portion and proportion of all his goods and carnal things here prescribed and intended by Gods Spirit in the tenth part and in extraordinary cas●s more when Gods glory the Ministers Necessities the Defence or Propagation of the Gospel require it and when he shall further read in the Gospel it self that speech of Zacheus the converted Publican Luke 19. 8. Behold Lord THE HALF OF MY GOODS I give to the poor And how the first converted Christians and Jews in the Apostles dayes sold their Lands and Houses and brought and laid the money at the Apostles feet Act. 4. 5. His conscience which must not guide the Word and Spirit of God as most mens consciences do now but the word and spirit it and him too will and must from thence conclude that he must not give his faithfull Minister lesse than a Tenth part of all and in cases of extraordinary necessity share even half his goods yea the price of all his Lands and Houses between the Ministers and poor Saints of God specially in times of persecution when as he ought to hide and feed them too as godly Obadiah did an hundred of the Lords Prophets in the dayes of Jezabel at his own charge with the hazard of his Office and Life 1 Kings 18. 4. 13. And if any mans conscience in a settled Christian Realm or State be so obstinate or froward as not to submit to the lowest proportion of a tenth which all Ages and most or all setled Christian Realms have unanimously agreed upon and confirmed by publike Edicts as well Civil as Ecclesiastical whereof there are neer thousands in print the Christian Kings and Magistrates who are to determine all controverfies of this nature and state the due just proportion of this Debt and Duty between the Minister and the people where it is not publikely decided and may justly enforce the due payment of it when and where it is determined by positive publike Laws as a just Debt as they do in all other civil Debts and Accompts in controversie before them as I shall prove in due place even by these very Texts though John Canne denies it in his VOX praeterea NIHIL p 14. To these I shall subjoyn that noted Text in 1 Cor. 9. 13 14. which John Canne cites by piece-meal as the Devill did scripture leaving out the principall branch Mat. 4. 6. Do ye not know that they which Minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple and they that wait at the altar are ●artakers with the altar EVEN SO HATH THE LORD ORDAINED this Canne omits that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel I have urged this Text before for proof of the first I shall here apply it only to the second Propositions confimation as to Tithes 1. Then we have here A DIVINE GOSPEL ORDINANCE made by the LORD OF HOSTS himself not repealable by any Army or Powers on Earth as well as PARLIAMENTARY ORDINANCES for the Maintenance of the Preachers of the Gospel and let Canne the poorest Preacher of the Gospell ever yet knew in England except one of his fraternity who heard him once preach an assize and Fast Sermon too at Chard deny our Ministers to be able Preachers of the Gospel at the peril of his Soul though he denies them to be lawfull Ministers of Christ and censures them as ANTICHRISTIAN and POPISH But why so Because forsooth they had their Ordination from Rome and by consequence are TRAYTORS and FELONS too by the Statute of 27 Eliz. c. 2. for which they might be legally executed for Treason and Felony if the State were pleased to interpret the Statute contrary as he conceives to the Letter and form of it the words whereof he both curtals and misrecites just as he did this Text p. 5. To do him and his b●st friends a kindnes vindicate the lawfulnesse of our Mi●isters calling again●● this ordinary slander and convince him of his grosse mistake I shall truly recite the Statut● Thus intituled JESUITES and PRIESTS in England shall depart and NONE SHALL COME INTO THIS REALM If so then many Dippers and Speakers Administrators Members in Anabaptisticall Congregations many New-lights and Gifted-brethren in separate Congregations many Shakers Quakers Ranters Broachers of new Notions Errours Blasphemies throughout the Realm many new-Polititians Levellers Agitators and Soldiers in the Army if not some Officers all the late converted pretended Jews dipped in Anabaptisticall Congregations discovered and known to be disguised Jesuites purposely sent from Rome by the greatest sticklers against our Ministers Tithes and Calling must presently depart and none of them return into the Kingdome as many have lately done or else be executed for Traytors But why so what is their crime work and imployment here and by what marks or fruits shall we know and discover both them and their confederates Let the words of the Statute compared with all our late troubles and changes resolve the ignorant and incredulous that there are many such amongst us and of John Cannes fraternity W●ereas divers persons called or professed JESUITES these Canne wittingly conceals and therefore is a Felon by the law SEMINARY PRIESTS and other Priests which have been and from time to time are made IN PARTS BEYOND THE SEA BY OR ACCORDING TO THE ORDER and RITES OF THE CHURCH OF ROME and when Canne can prove that all or any of our Ministers were thus made as he hath confidently averred in print to those he cals the Higher Powers and Supream Authority of the Nation Let them