Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	call_v	church_n	pope_n	3,846	5	6.3377	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09868	A sermon preached at the consecration of the right Reverend Father in God Barnaby Potter DD. and L. Bishop of Carlisle, at Ely house in Holbourne March 15. 1628. By Christopher Potter D.D. provost of Queenes Colledge in Oxford. Hereunto is added an advertisement touching the history of the quarrels of Pope Paul 5 with the Venetians; penned in Italian by F. Paul, and done into English by the former author	Potter, Christopher, 1591-1646.; Sarpi, Paolo, 1552-1623. Historia particolare delle cose passate tra'l sommo pontefice Paolo V. e la serenissima republica di Venetia. English. Selections.	1629 (1629)	STC 20134; ESTC S114961	32,999	132

the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the dignity not the duty which they affect Some too many pretending to be Physitians of the soule intend indeed to cure their owne povertie or necessitie as if the Church should be a refuge for needy persons or a sanctuary for malefactors Many that cannot thrive in any other course of life when they are driven to their last hopes and extremities at last shift themselves into the coat and calling of Ministers and he that knowes himselfe unfit in any other imployment to serve men yet thinkes himselfe fit enough to serve God in this sacred calling All these intruders and mercenaries shall bee sure to faile of their hopes and shall one day receive other kinde of wages then they did expect Now besides this inward calling which serves onely to settle our owne conscience it is needfull that the Church doe externally call and install us by some publique solemnitie before we may adventure upon the exercise of this holy function After grave and due examination of our life and learning if the Church of God do approve us if by the hands of such as are in authoritie shee ordaine and admit us then may we lawfully and safely enter upon this holy charge not otherwise Now here all our Reformed Churches are a●fronted by the Romish faction and proudly challenged just as the Priests of old challenged our Master Christ a Mat. 21. 23. Whence have you authority to teach and who gave you this authority They aske where is our lawfull vocation where our orderly uninterrupted succesion from the Apostles and blush not to affirme which is one of their unwritten traditions b M. 〈◊〉 letters cap. 11. and as true as Lucians true Histories or their Homilies out of the Legend that our Bishops in the beginning of Queen Elizabeths reigne consecrated themselves one another contrary to all Canons of the ancient Church and thence inferre that all our after-ordinations are pure nullities that we have no Ministers no Faith no Gospell no Sacraments Thus of old when Ieremy and Ezechiel went about to repair the ruines of the Church and to purge the worship of God from unsufferable corruptions and abuses the Priests of Israel and Iudah resisted called for their warrant and pretended themselves onely to be the Temple of the Lord and that the Law of God could not depart from them But for answer to our Adversaries we need not say that our first Reformers had an extraordinary calling from God we constantly affirme that those worthy Ministers who in the age of our Fathers first beganne this glorious worke of Reformation had that same ordinary vocation and succession whereof our adversaries vaunt so much But that vocation which the Romish Priests abused to the dishonour of God and the suppressing of his truth our Reformers according to their dutie and conscience used for the reestablishing of pure doctrine Thus Wiclif Hus Luther Zuinglius Oecolampadius Bucer Martyr c. the first purgers of the Church frō Roman superstition tyranny were al created ordained by the Church of Rome it selfe Priests or Doctors of Divinitie by an ordinary usuall publique vocation and that with a solemne adjuration that they should duly and diligently teach the truth of God in his Church according to his word And thus in our Church of England the consecration of every Bishop hath beene still solemnly and canonically performed by three other Bishops at the least as hath beene confessed by a Cudsemius in viv● effigie Sectae Calvinist cap. 11. some Papists and b Fr Mason de Minister Ang proved against the lies and slanders of others out of publique and authenticall records Now then we demand of our Adversaries Hath the Church of Rome any lawfull ordinary vocation or hath shee none If she have none her selfe why is shee so scrupulous to enquire of ours If shee have any our Ministers had the same being all at first called and ordained by her For howsoever the Church of Rome hath adulterated and obscured her Catholique verities with intolerable superadditaments yet hath shee still notwithstanding power to conferre a lawfull vocation It is the consenting judgement both of c Con●il Nic. 1. Can. 8. Codex can Eccl. Af●ic can 68. H●eron di●l adv Luciferian Aug tract 〈◊〉 in Iohan. cont Epist Parm. l. 2. c. 13 Synod 7. act 1. Antiquitie and of the late b M●g Sent. lio 4. dist 25. ibi DD. S●hol Aqui● Suppl qu. 38. art 2 ●●llar de Sacr. in gen l. 1. c. 26 Romane Doctors that heresie it selfe may infect but cannot annull ordinations and that Clerkes ordained by hereticall Bishops are sufficiently in holy Orders and may not bee re-ordained For whosoever bee the instrument the principall Author of our holy charge is Christ the Lord upon him alone originally it depends and from him may be conveyed by polluted hands as the cleare water of a fountaine may passe through a filthy pipe or chanell and though it be vitiated in the passage yet t is not abolished And therefore that wee may retort this crimination upon the Adversarie albeit we confesse our Vocation to bee derived to us by the mediation of the Church of Rome not by her authority yet we both avouch our vocation to be holy and lawfull and challenge theirs to be sacrilegious For in the Romane Priesthood are confusedly intermingled things holy and profane it is partly a Rose partly a Nettle it consists of a double power one sacred to absolve sinners by the Ministery of reconciliation which we embrace and retaine the other impious to sacrifice againe Christ Iesus in the Masse which we reject and abominate So then the Rose we plucke and leave them the Nettle whatsoever they deliver in the name and by the commission of Iesus Christ we humbly receive it and use it to his glorie but for that which is authorized onely by the Popes warrant and institution wee leave it to them who are his servants and love to weare his liveries BUt in this question as in others our Opposers are long since victi triumphati reduced to a perpetuall silence by the learned labours of our Worthies M. Francis c De Minist Anglican Mason for our Church and for the forraigne Churches by the noble d De Eccles cap ult Mornay e De ●egit vōc Minist Sadeel and f De la voca ion des P●steurs Peter Moulin in a just Treatise of this argument But being now upon this discourse of vocation I may not wave this faire occasion to note the rare and exemplary calling Sinè ambitu more majorum of that Reverend man whose Consecration gives occasion to this meeting But because what I now speake of him must be spoken to him neither his modesty nor mine permits mee to say much Onely thus much I cannot forbeare Our deare Soveraigne his gracious Master hath honoured not Him so much as Himselfe and the Age in the freedome of

excellent matter of Christian meditation and discourse But the collections which they of the Popes side have drawne from hence are such and so frivolous that they are much more capable to move the spleene if the gravitie of the matter permitted then the judgement and are more properly confuted with a smile then with any strength of reason Here is one word in the Text pasce which the Cardinall Bellarmine hath so extended between his teeth that it hath a belly as large and fruitfull as the Trojane horse including whole armies of arguments for the Pope The Pope can desire nothing which this word will not give him He pretends to be a King as well as a Bishop and sayes his temporall power is as wide and broad as his spirituall And t is true sayes Bellarmine for Christ said to S. Peter Pasce id est Regio more impera play the Rex In the ancient Church when any heresie disturbed the publique truth and peace a grave assembly of Bishops was called and the Booke of God fairly laid open in the midst and out of it were all doubts determined Now Scriptures and Councills are needlesse for the Pope claimes to be supreame Iudge of all Controversies And * Lib. 4. de Rom. P. cap. 1. Bellarmine thinkes the claime to be well grounded upon this pasce in my Text. And t is a great wonder the Pope was never thought infallible in his judgement till this last Age since this * Ibid. c. 3. pasce implies that also so clearly And if the Heretiques doe not beleeve that he hath power to make new Articles of Faith and when they cry shame upon Pope Pius the 4. for adding twelve new Articles to the old Apostles Creed t is because they are ignorant and know not what pasce signifies Briefly this one word containes more matter then al the Bible besides it works miracles and makes the Pope omnipotent gives him all power not onely in heaven and earth but where God hath nothing to doe in Purgatorie For if you aske by what authoritie he takes upon him to pardon sinnes and soules after death to give or sell the Saints merits to dispense with oathes to depose Kings and dispose of their kingdomes or if he list to murther them If you looke into the Popes Lexicon you shall find that pasce expressely denotes all this authoritie and inables him to be not only a Prince or a Pastor or a Bishop but even a Butcher Well the repetition of these horrid fantasies shall bee their refutation Iustin Martyr saith well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a grosse errour ever caries its Iustin M. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 owne conviction in its forehead I am sorie I have spent so much of my time and of your patience in moving this dunghill But these weeds and thorns lay in my way and I must needs cleare my passage I dismisle the Popes flatterers with my pitie and my prayers and say no more but this If they had any feare of God any shame of men any reverence to Antiquitie any feeling or care of conscience they would not dare thus profanely and leudly to dally with Scriptures or presume so to colour or cover their doctrine of devils under the name of God Thus farre I have digressed to follow the Theeves that would steale away the sense of my Text for so Gregory Nazianzene wittily sayes of Heretiques that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orat. 3 6. ●ive de T●eol 4. And now that wee have done with the corrupt Glosse we may goe forward by Gods assistance with the Text. It containes as we have said the renewing of Peters commission wherein the parts or points observable are two First the authoritie of it Iesus said unto him Secondly the matter or summary of it Feed my sheepe Our Lord first calls and inables him to his office then directs him in it First he gives him power to execute his charge Iesus said unto him secondly he gives him instructions how to execute it Feed my sheepe Of both these in order very briefly For the first Peter takes not upon himselfe the honor of the Apostleship till he was called by Christ his Lord and God as were the rest of his fellowes In that calling of the Apostles some things were personall and peculiar to themselves others generall concerning all their lawfull Successors Bishops and Pastors The Apostles had an immediate vocation from Christ in person our calling is not of men but t is by men their 's neither of men nor by men They had an universall mission an unlimited jurisdiction an infallible assistance of the Spirit the gift of tongues and miracles All these were priviledges extraordinarie and passed with their persons But the warrant and worke of this Commission generally and equally belongs to all us as well as to all them None may usurpe the charge of a Bishop or a Pastor till Iesus say unto him Feed my sheepe And hence we learne two leslons of great importance and consideration 1. The Author of all lawfull 1 vocation to the holy Ministerie is onely Christ the Lord. Onely Christ exclusively to all men not to the two other Persons in the glorious Trinity which all equally concur to this externall worke God the Father hath placed in the Church a 1 Cor. 12. 28. Apostles Prophets Teachers Pastors c. And God the b Act. 20. 28. holy Ghost ordained the Bishops at Ephesus and elsewhere c Act. 1 3. 2. Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the worke whereunto I have called them For it belongs onely to the d Mat. 9. 38. Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his harvest and who should appoint e Mat. 24. 45. Stewards over the House but he who is Master of the House Father of the family This consideration must first helpe to animate our feeblenesse and add unto us an edge and courage against all the difficulties and discouragements which we shall meet in our holy calling Everie good Minister must looke to bee Theologus crucis not Theologus gloriae when hee enters upon this warfare hee may not dreame of an easie or lazie life to passe his time in pompe or pleasure like the glorious Clergie of Rome but he must prepare to play the man and fight it out not onely with absurd and unreasonable men but even with beasts as Paul did at Ephesus yea with devills And therefore he must buckle himselfe to his worke and know that hee must eate his bread if not with the sweating of his browes yet which is much sorer with the beating of his braines Wherefore S. Paul wanting a word able to expresse the grievous paines of our Ministery sets it forth in two both very sore and heavie ones Our calling is a 1 Thess 2. 9 and 2 Thess 3. 8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a labor a travaile a tiring labour a miserable travaile a labour like that of reapers a travaile