Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	bishop_n	emperor_n	king_n	2,890	5	4.1642	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75616	Armilla catechetica. A chain of principles; or, An orderly concatenation of theological aphorismes and exercitations; wherein, the chief heads of Christian religion are asserted and improved: by John Arrowsmith, D.D. late master both of St Johns and Trinity-Colledge successively, and Regius professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. Published since his death according to his own manuscript allowed by himself in his life time under his own hand.	Arrowsmith, John, 1602-1659.	1659 (1659)	Wing A3772; Thomason E1007_1; ESTC R207935	193,137	525

For as some of Gods promises are made with the condition of faith and perseverance so his threatnings are denounced with the exception of repentance which though concealed for the most part is always included and sometimes expressed as in that place of Jeremiah At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdome Jer. 18. 7 8. to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it If that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them Be we admonished from hence First What to practise in reference to God to wit Truth in our promises to and covenants with him that so our returns may be answerable in kinde to our receits All his ways are mercy and truth Psal 25. 10. to us-ward therefore all ours should be truth and faithfulness towards him Thrice happy we whatever our outward condition prove if we be able to profess in the sincerity of our hearts as they did in Psalm the fourty fourth All this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsly in thy Covenant Our principal comfort flows from Gods keeping his Covenant of grace with us it should therefore be our principal care to keep touch with him § 8. Secondly What to look for in reference to our selves To wit an exact fulfilling of all promises and threatnings that are conditional according to their severall conditions Hath the faithfull and true witness said He that beleeveth and is baptized shall be saved but he that beleeveth not shall be damned Let no unbeleever then whilest he continueth in that estate expect salvation neither any that beleeveth and walketh in Christ fear damnation seeing he hath Truth it self engaged for his safety and seeing the faith of Gods Tit. 1. 1 2. elect according to St Pauls doctrine should go hand in hand with the hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began Let all that wish well to Zion make full account that in due time The mountain of the Isai 2. 2. Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow into it because it hath been promised of old Let them also know assuredly that the Lord will consume Antichrist with the spirit 2 Thess 2. 8. of his mouth and destroy him with the brightness of his coming because this commination standeth upon the file in holy Scripture and is not yet completely verified Former ages have seen Antichrist Nascent when the Bishop of Rome first usurped authority over all the Churches Antichrist Crescent when he began to maintain the doctrine of adoring Images and praying to Saints departed Antichrist Regnant when he exalted himself above Kings and Emperours setting up his mitre above their crowns yea Antichrist Triumphant when he once became Lord of the Catholick faith so as none might beleeve without danger more or less or otherwise then he prescribed To this observation made by one of our own learned countreymen let me add we our Dr Crakanthorp in his Vigilius dormitans chap. 13. § 24. selves have seen him Antichrist Cadent falling and waining ever since Luther Calvin Perkins and others were set on work by God to unmask him And no Exerc. 4. doubt if we do not our posterity shall see him Antichrist morient dying and giving up the ghost for the Lord faithfull and true hath not onely threatned his ruine but foretold that his day is coming EXERCITATION 4. Keeping mercy for thousands explained Men exhorted to trust God with their posterity Luthers last Will and Testament Iniquity transgression and sin what Six Scripture-expressions setting out the pardon thereof Gods goodness therein Faith and repentance the way to it Pardon in the Court of Heaven and of Conscience The equity and necessity of forgiving one another We are to forgive as God for Christs sake forgiveth us viz. heartily speedily frequently throughly A twofold remembrance of injuries in cautelam in vindictam § 1. THe sixth branch of divine goodness is the Lords keeping mercie for thousands which phrase admitteth of sundry notions worthy of diligent consideration First Keeping it as in a store-house God is said to be rich unto all that call upon Rom. 10. 12. him and we reade of the riches of his goodness These riches are laid up with him and kept as in a magazine to be made use of upon all occasions according to the emergent necessities of his people Whence it is that we also reade of their obtaining mercie and finding Hebr. 4. 16. grace to help in time of need Secondly Keeping it for the present age as well as having dispensed it formerly to predecessours Our fathers were all liberally supplied out of Gods forementioned Treasury as it is in Psalm the two and twentieth Our fathers trusted in thee Psal 2● 4 5. They trusted and thou didst deliver them They cried unto thee and were delivered they trusted in thee and were not confounded This should be no disheartning to us as if his Treasury were exhausted but encourage us rather as Pauls example did succeeding beleevers For this 1 Tim. 1. 16. cause I obtained mercie said he that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter beleeve on him to life everlasting Which is the next observable Thirdly Keeping it for time to come as well as dispensing it at present God hath mercy in hand and mercy in store We now say as it is in the Lamentations It is of the Lords mercy that Lam. 3. 22. we are not consumed because his compassions fail not The same will they have occasion to profess that shall come after us God keepeth mercy and mercy keepeth us Created goodness indeed being limited may be justly suspected of penurie Esau might have somewhat to plead for his saying Hast thou but one blessing my father But Divine goodness is like an ocean without either banks or bottome Our heavenly Father hath blessings reserved as well as bestowed many more blessings then one yea for many more persons then one as it followeth Fourthly Keeping mercy for thousands and that not of persons onely but as it is in the Chaldee for thousands of generations One generation goes saith the Preacher and Eccles 1. 4. another generation cometh but the earth abideth for ever Not one of all these generations but coming and going tasteth of mercy and the whole earth during Psal 33. 5. the time of these revolutions are still full of the Lords goodness When the ark rested Moses said Return O Lord unto the many Numb 10. 36. thousands of Israel He that charged his providence with the thousands of Israel is ready to charge it with the thousands of England both in this and after ages if they do not apostatize from him and so forsake

is no Lord of our spirits but God alone who onely is greater then our hearts as St John speaketh 1 John 3. 20. This made the good Emperour History of the Bohemian persecutions English in 8º chap. 39. § 2. Maximilian the second say That whosoever assumed to himself a power over the consciences of men set himself down in the throne of God His son Rodolphus who succeeded him in the Empire resolved to walk in his fathers steps yet was once unhappily wrought upon by the subtlety Ibid. chap. 40. § 1. of the Jesuites to give way to the passing of an Edict for shutting up the Protestants Churches during some time But that very day news was brought him that Alba Regia the chief city he had in Hungary was taken by the Turks Whereupon in great astonishment he is reported to have said I Expectabam tale quid postquam hodie Dei regimen quod est conscient arum usurpa●e coeperam Joh. Laet. compend hist pag. 666. expected that some such mischief as this should befall me seeing this day I began to usurp the government belonging to God which is of consciences § 4. II. In point of unaccountableness The greatest Princes upon earth do or should govern by laws to the making whereof others concur as well as they But our God is a law to himself He onely can write upon his imperial Edicts My reason for it is my will Yet because Stat pro ratione voluntas of the holiness of his nature his will is always most just so as he never enacted any thing but what is in it self equal and reasonable although perhaps to our shallow understandings it may appear otherwise as to our eyes turrets and steeples how upright soever if their height be exceeding great do often seem crooked and look as if they stood awry which should deter us from censuring any of his Decrees or Dispensations as some great but unhallowed wits are wont to do of whom Luther maketh this sober and sad complaint They require that God act jure humano according Luther de servo arbitrio cap. 173. to what the sons of men do commonly account right and just or otherwise that he would cease to be God Tell not them of the secrets of his Sovereign Majesty let him render a reason of his being God if he speak do or will any thing but what appeareth equal to men Proud flesh cannot vouchsafe the God of heaven so much honour as to beleeve any thing to be good or right which is spoken or acted above what the Codex of Justinian or the fifth book of Aristotles Ethicks defineth to be just I confess indeed that God often condescendeth in his holy word to give men a reason of some proceedings and to clear them up to our understandings but it is more then he needeth to do more then we ought to expect in all cases It will therefore be our wisdome to forbear playing the Criticks upon his decrees and administrations considering that he alone is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unaccountable not to be called in question for any of his doings and always remembring that of Paul Nay but O man who art thou that Rom. 9. 20 21. repliest against God Hath not the potter power over the clay Together with that of Job God is greater then man why dost Job 33. 12 13. thou strive against him for he giveth not account of any of his matters § 5. Thirdly In point of Almightiness In the Princes of this world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Authority and Power are often severed their authority may be great when their power to manage it is but small David was King yet could not act as he desired for the sons of Zerviah were too strong for him But in God they always go hand in hand for the accomplishing of what his wisdome hath designed Therefore I called it Omnipotent Sovereignty I know Job 42. 2. saith Job that thou canst do every thing and that no thought can be withholden from thee meaning that God cannot be hindered in the execution or bringing to pass of whatsoever he hath in the thoughts and purposes of his heart The Angel to Mary With God nothing Luke 1. 37. shall be impossible Paul to the Ephesians He is able to do exceeding abundantly Ephes 3. 20. above all that we ask or think Other Scriptures may seem opposite to these but are not God that cannot lie Tit. 1. 2. He cannot denie himself saith St Paul For 2 Tim. 2. 1● answer to these and the like instances we must distinguish of Impossibles They are of two sorts Impossibilia naturae Voetius Disp Theol. part 1. 〈◊〉 109. and Impossibilia naturâ First there are divers things impossible indeed to nature such as in the ordinary course of secondary causes cannot be done which yet to God are most feaseable for example working of miracles giving sight to such as were born blinde raising up children to Abraham out of the very stones in the street Secondly Some other things are impossible not to nature onely but in nature and that either in reference to the nature of God when they are such as argue imperfection in the doer as to sin and to die or in respect to the nature of the things themselves when they are such as implie contradiction as for a creature to be made independent The former Si ista passet Deus non esset omnipotens Magna in Deo potentia est non posse mentiri August lib. 1. de Symbol cap. 1. of these God himself cannot do not through want but through height and abundance of power He cannot sin lie or deny himself and that because he is Omnipotent it is for impotent creatures to be liable unto such kinde of imperfections as these are Neither can he do the latter yet is it not through any defect of power in God that such things cannot be done but through want of capacity in the things which are simply impossible So then when we ascribe Almightiness to God the meaning is that whereever divine Understanding can be a principle of direction and divine will a principle of injunction there divine power can shew it self an able principle of execution Or in plainer terms That God can do whatsoever he will and the onely reason why things that do either argue imperfection or imply contradiction fall not within the compass of his power is because they are such as for want of goodness or entity cannot become objects of his will § 6. Now if the perfection of God be so very high in regard of his Omnipotent sovereignty think of thine own lowness O man or rather O worm and no man and be confounded within thy self upon comparing thy servile condition by nature with his Sovereignty thy imbecility with his Omnipotence Adam indeed so long as he stood was an universal Monarch having dominion both over himself and