Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	archbishop_n	bishop_n	church_n	3,423	5	4.3453	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71253	The description and the practice of the four most admirable beasts explained in four sermons upon Revel. 4.8 : whereof the first three were preached before the Right Honourable James, Duke of Ormond, and lord lieutenant of Ireland, His Grace, and the two Houses of Parliament, and others, very honourable persons / by the Right Reverend Father in God, Gr. Lord Bishop of Ossory.	Williams, Gryffith, 1589?-1672.	1663 (1663)	Wing W2664; ESTC R33669	79,502	118

by any humane wit the same being omnia in omnibus all in all For First Here is God the Creator of all things and all that is knowable or may be known concerning God as that ineffable mystery of the Trinity or three persons in the one onely Essence of the Deity and therefore appointed to be read for the Epistle on Trinity Sunday and all the chiefest Attributes of God as 1. His Purity and sanctity in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 three times repeated to shew the three persons of the Deity the Father Son and Holy Ghost 2. His Power authority and dominion in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is set down in the singular number to shew the Vnity of the God-head 3. His Wisedome knowledge and providence in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because he seeth all things and all things are patent to his eyes attingit a fine usque ad finem dispouit omnia suaviter 4. His Omnipotency in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Almighty quia voluntas ejus potestas ejus because he can do whatsoever he would do he needs but say the word and it is done 5. His Eternity in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which crowneth all the rest of Gods Attributes that otherwise would be of no such value if it were not for this Eternity that makes him to be whatsoever he is for ever Secondly Here are the creatures of God and the chief of all Gods creatures as 1. The Lion which is the King of all the Beasts of the field 2. The Calf or the Oxe which is the most painful and most useful creature for the service of man and the most acceptable in the sacrifices of God 3. The Eagle which is the Lord and Master of all the Fowles of the Air and 4. Man which is the Prince and Ruler of all those and of all the Beasts of the field the Fowles of the air the Fishes of the sea and whatsoever walketh through the pathes of the seas Thirdly Here is Religion and the best of all Religions the Christian Religion most amply though enigmatically and mystically set forth unto us for 1. Here is both the natures and the offices of Christ and the chiefest things that he did and that we are to understand and believe for our salvation they are all here exprest unto us as 1. His divine nature under the notion of the Eagle and her lofty flight 2. His humane nature is noted unto us by him that had the face and appearance of a man And as his natures and the quality of his person are here thus mystically exprest so his offices that he was to discharge are here likewise in the same manner of the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks set forth unto us as 1. His Regal and Kingly office whereby he was to rule and govern his Church is here to be understood by the Lion which is the King of all the Beasts 2. His Priestly office whereby he was to teach and to instruct his people and to offer sacrifice unto God to appease his wrath and so to take away the sin of the world is here most aptly exprest by the Oxe or Calfe that was deemed the most acceptable sacrifice that could be offered unto God Num. 23.1 as you may see by the sacrifice of Balaam And as his natures and his offices are here thus to be understood so the chiefest things that he was to do and the chiefest points that we are to believe are likewise here fairly exprest under what is signified by these four Beasts as 1. His Incarnation by him that had the face of a man 2. His Passion by the Oxe or Calf 3. His Resurrection by the Lion 4. His Ascension by the flying Eagles Fourthly and lastly not onely the foresaid particulars concerning Christ and these main points of Christian Religion are hereby to be observed but also all the whole duty of man and the chiefest points that every Christian ought to discharge if he looks for eternal happiness are here exprest unto us under the qualities conditions description and practice of these Beasts as hereafter I shall more fully declare unto you And so you see here is sententia brevis a short speech but materia uberrima an Ocean of matter to sail over And do you think that I can passe through such a world of most weighty points within the compasse of one inch of time lesse then one little houre that cannot be by a far better head then mine Therefore I must crave leave onely to go as far as I can untill I shall have your Grace and this honourable audience leave to proceed at some other time unto the rest of these points And for our more orderly proceeding at this time I shall humbly desire you to observe these three points 1. The number of these Bests 2. The description of these Beasts 3. The practice of these Beasts 1. 1 1. The number of the Feasts sonr● Gen. 31.7 For their number it is said they were four Beasts And you must remember that sometimes a certain number is put for an uncertain as when Jacob said unto Laban Thou hast changed my wages ten times that is several times But here I take this number to be as it is set down to signifie four Beasts and neither more nor less 2. 2 2. The description of the Beasts The description of these Beasts is two-fold 1. Particular and proper to each one 2. General and common to them all 1. 1 1. The proper and particular description of the Beasts Touching their particular description we are to consider 1. Who and what they are that are thus exprest by these Beasts 2. Why each one of them is so exprest as they are here described unto us For the first Aug. de civit Dei●l 8. c. 3. I may truly say with St. Aug. Alii●atque alii aliud atque aliud opinati sunt several men have had their several interpretations of them and I finde four expositions of them to be most of all respected 1. Of the Papists 2. Of the Puritans 3. Of some latter Writers of the Protestants 4. Of the Ancient Fathers 1. The Papists interpreting this vision of the Militant Church do understand the same by Heaven and by the seat that was set therein they understand the authority of the Church of Rome by the Lamb or him that sate on the seat their universal Bishop the Pope and by these four Beasts they would have us to understand the 4 Patriarchships 1. Of Antioch 2. Of Ephesus 3. Of Jerusalem 4. Of Alexandria Which have always had the greatest power and cheifest authority next after the Church of Rome And by the 24. Elders that sate upon the 24. seats they understand the six Arch Bishops that were in every Patriarchship as 1. in Antioch The Arch-Bishop 1. of Mesopotamia 2. of Ninivee 3. of Babylon 4. of Assyria 5. of Parthia 6.

framing of Indictments or the not quashing of them so easily and so frequently as they are reported to be 4. 4 4. Sacriledge The last frequent sin that I shall at this time desire you to cast your eyes behinde you to behold Gods detestation of it and his punishments that he poureth out upon the offenders is sacriledge which is the taking away and with-holding of those Revenues which God hath appointed and godly men have dedicated for the maintenance of Gods service and the religion of Jesus Christ and so the robbing of God himself both of his honour and service a sin so general that the custome of it hath quite taken away the sense of it and men think it to be no sin at all But I know what some may here say that now I plead mine own cause I will briefly answer as Samuel did unto the people 1 Sam. 12.3 and I say that I sued indeed for the Church right but I testifie before the Lord and your Grace and you All that I did it not to inrich my self for I thank God I have enough both for my self and my relation wife children and friends but I did it for the right of the Church and I resolved and vowed that whatsoever I recovered I would by the grace of God wholly bestow it upon the reparation of the Church so that recovering it I should be not one penny the richer and loosing it not one penny the poorer And I desired nothing but what I conceived to be the right of the Church because I know God loves not to be honoured with unjustly gotten goods But now finding that as the Prophet saith I have laboured in vain and I have spent my strength for nought and seeing the partiality and injustice of men I will with patience submit my self to that strength which is beyond my ability to oppose and study to serve my God another way because I see that as Davin saith the sons of Zervia are too strong for me because we that were faithfull to our King were fleec'd and bareshorne and left poor and beggarly and they that served the Beast and adheared to the long Parliament and were arrant rebels against our late good King have got all our Lands and our Monies to make friends withall and to keep us still under hatches and so though nos fuimus Troes yet now they are the men and without envy let then enjoy their prosperity so they forsake their iniquity and repent them of their former impiety And so desiring you to bear with this my just defence I shall proceed in this discourse for none other end but to discharge mine own duty and for the good of your souls to avoid the just wrath of God for a sin so highly displeasing unto God and to that purpose I shal desire you to read the 2 Mac. c. 3. where you shall finde how that when Simon the mutinous traitor both to God and his Country had informed Seleucus King of Asia of the riches and the treasure of the Church of Hierusalem and incited him to seize upon it and he had sent Heliodorus his treasurer to fetch it and Heliodorus came like a Fox pretending it was to visit and to reform the disorders of Phoenice and Caelosyria but Onias the high Priest perceiving that the goods of the Church was his errand his countenance was quite cast down and the people not enduring sacriledge ran some to the Temple some to the City Gates and some gadded up and down the streets as frantick men like Bacchus froes and all lifted up their hands and eyes and voices unto God for the defence of his Church and God heard their cry and did help them For Heliodorus was no sooner entred into the treasury to take away the spoile but there appeared to him a terrible man in compleat armour of gold mounted upon a barbed horse that ran very fiercely at the Kings Treasurer and trampled him under-foot and withall there appeared two other men of most excellent beauty and strength whipping him so that he was carried out of the place speechless and without any hope of life untill God restored him upon the earnest prayer of the Priest and people And to let you see how dangerous a sin is sacriledge to rob the Church Act. 5.5 the end of Ananias and Sapphira can bear witness for though their death was the punishment of their lying yet all must grant they were drawn to that sin by the cord of sacriledge And if a greedy desire of with-holding that from the Church which themselve● had given was sufficient to open such a window unto the Devil that he came presently to cast them as a prey to the Jaws of Hell how many foule fins do they commit and how many greivous plagues may they fear to fall upon their heads which take away from the Church that which they never gave And you may remember that when Egypt in the time of Joseph felt so extreme a famine Gen. 47.22 v. 26. that the fift part of the Land was sold to releive the Land yet the Patriarch in all the care that he had both of the Country and of the King to succour the one and to enrich the other never attempted the sale of the Lands of the Priests nor once to diminish any jot thereof And if the holy man in so great an extremity never ventured to take away the possessions of the Idolatrous Priests though it were to the releif of a whole Kingdome I wonder with what face dares any man in the world curtal the maintenance of Gods Church and take away those Lands and houses that by religious Princes and other pious men have been consecrated to Gods service But Foelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum You might be happy if you would cast your eyes behinde you and by the examples of Gods judgments upon other sacrilegious persons learn to escape the punishments of sacriledge because they are all written for our instruction And we read Celce the Constable of Gertrund King of Burgundy having under the authority of the King his Master enriched himself and enlarged his Territories with the Goods and Lands of the Church and being one day in the Church at his Devotion and hearing thee words of the Prophet that proclaimed a woe to them that joyn house to house and land to land he suddainly shricked in the Congregation and cried out This is spoken to me and this curse is upon me and upon my Posterity and so afterwards died most miserably And we read in the Annals of France that although Lewis the Sixt surnamed the Great was once the Protectour of the Church and had caused the Count de Claremont the Lord de Roussi and other great men that had pillaged the Bishopricks to restore their robberies unto the Church again yet in his old age when he began to pull the Church he was sufficiently punished for it by the suddain death of his Eldest