Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	book_n	church_n	time_n	2,698	5	3.9344	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43666	Ravillac redivivus, being a narrative of the late tryal of Mr. James Mitchel, a conventicle-preacher, who was executed the 18th of January last, for an attempt which he made on the sacred person of the Archbishop of St. Andrews to which is annexed, an account of the tryal of that most wicked pharisee Major Thomas Weir, who was executed for adultery, incest and bestiality : in which are many observable passages, especially relating to the present affairs of church and state / in a letter from a Scottish to an English gentleman.	Mitchel, James, d. 1678, defendant.; Hickes, George, 1642-1715.; Weir, Thomas, 1600?-1670, defendant.	1678 (1678)	Wing H1860; ESTC R10945	57,651	80

with many more and that in such an Extraordinary dreadful and terrible manner for my engaging to Prelacy and a Lordly Government over the Church of Christ contrary to which there lie so many ties and obligations on this Land that with the Grace of God I would not adventure to abide the terror of the Lord for all the stipends and preferments in Europe And truly the worst I wish to you or any Prelate in Britain or Ireland or their adherents is that they may have as sound a yokeing with their Consciences as I have had if they be not incorrigible Enemies of Christ Next upon serious search of the word of God and of Antiquity I am the more confirm'd in my Resolution Blondellus Salmatius Gerson Bucer yea the whole current of Primitive Fathers especially Smectymnuus have vindicated Presbytery against the whole World I want not many more solid Reasons to add only I suppose I could never be satisfied in them and therefore I forbear To conclude I do here before God and the whole World profess my disowning of Lordly Prelacy as it is now Established in our Land which I was once most fully engag'd into and my firm and resolute adherence to the Doctrine Worship Discipline and Government of the Church of Scotland as it was professed in this Nation from the year of our Lord 205. and downward for the space of 230 years and then since the year 1580. till the year 1610. and then from the year 1638. till the year 1661. and from thence downwards by many Godly in these three Lands till this very day is and more particularly to the point that Government of Christs Church by an equality and parity of Pastors and Ministers all of them with one shoulder carrying on the work of the Lord and exercising the Keyes of Order and Jurisdiction Doctrine and Discipline in Communi according to due Order and feeding the flock of God not as being Lords of Gods Heritage but ensamples to the flock yea I do here with all the Lords faithful Servants and Witnesses in these three Lands both in the present and some former Generations and with all the Lords Witnessing and Suffering Servants and people that have heen or now are in this Land or present Generation confess and bear my Witness and Testimony the cause of God and work of Reformation so much as was attained thereof how afflicted and born down now soever and to the confessions of Faith of the Church of Scotland and of the three Kingdoms and to the rational and trinational Covenant and that I do rather choose to suffer affliction with the poor suffering people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season esteeming the reproaches for Christ greater riches than all the pleasures and preferments in the World I desire you with your Brethren to consider those Scriptures and take them home to you Isa 66. 5. Zachary 11. 5. John 16. 2 3. John 9. 1 10. Remember your worthy Bedfellow that is this day I hope in glory shall bear Witness against you Farewell for ever Lordly Prelacy for I had never a joyful hour since I engaged therein and welcome welcome my dear Lord Jesus Christ I embrace thee with the arms of my Soul and thy Cross I profess this confess thee bearing my Testimony to thee and thy persecuted Truth and by thy blood and the word of thy Testimony and not loving my life unto the death I hope to overcome Cambre-Ile August 6. 1677. Sic subscribit Alex. Symer Minister of the Gospel at Cambre Unless you are vers'd in our Historian Buchanan you will wonder why this Learned Antiquarian should assert That the Government of our Church was Presbyterian from the first Plantation of the Gospel in 205. or rather 203. till the arrival of Palladius in the middle of the Fifth Century You must know therefore that all the Authority our Presbyterians have for this assertion is from Buchanan that furious Enemy of Bishops who in the Fifth Book of his History writes that the Church in the aforesaid time was not governed by Bishops but by the Monks or Culdees which were it true as it is false would prove that the Government of the Church in that interval was not Presbyteterian but perfectly Laical seeing it was long after that time that Monks were admitted among the Clergy and permitted to meddle with Church affairs But you may find a larger confutation of this groundless assertion of Buchanan in Archbishop Spotswoods History in the seven first Pages of the First Book But to continue my Narrative of Mr. Mitchel I proceed to acquaint you with other memorable things that happen'd between his Condemnation and Execution which was on Friday the 18. of January last in the Grass-market about Three of the Clock in the Afternoon Some time before the execution the Reverend Mr. Annand Dean of Edinburgh not discourag'd with the unthankful returns one of his Brethren had receiv'd from the Malefactor before out of his tender compassion to his Soul wrote him a very affectionate and pious Letter wherein he endeavour'd to shew him from the Gospel how contrary his Principles and Practices were to the Doctrine of Christianity and exhorted him to Repentance for that Un-christian attempt by which he design'd to take away the Life of one Sacred Person and grievously wounded another c. to all which he return'd this Answer SIR I Received yours and since my time is very short and so very pretious I can only thank you for your Civility and Affection whether real or pretended and I tell you I truly close with all the precepts of the Gospel to Love and Peace and therefore pray I both for Mr. Sharp and you But knowing both Mr. Sharp's Wickedness and my own sincerity and the Lord 's Holy Soveraignty to use his Creatures as he pleases I can only refer the manifestation of my Fact to the day of God's Righteous and Universal Judgement praying heartily that God may have mercy on you and open your eyes to see both the wickedness of all your ways and of your Godless insulting over an unjustly condemn'd dying Man and grant unto you repentance and remission of your sins I am in this your well-wisher James Mitchel The Dean in his Letter urged an excellent argument to convince him that the impulse which was upon him so many years to assassin the Primate could not come from God like the Impulse of Phineas and the Zealots because he fail'd in the attempt which never any person did or could do that was moved by God to do an Heroick Act. But you see the blind Pseudo-Zealot takes no notice of this Argument in his Answer wherein to shew what an implacable enemy he was to the Office as well as the Person of the Archbishop he mentions his Grace not by his Character but by his Name Having been told in the Prison that he would not be permitted to speak to the People before his Execution he transcribed