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	law_n	power_n	3,425	5	4.9548	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66931	A declaration of the brethren who are for the established government and judicatories of this church, expressing their earnest desires of union and peace with their dissenting brethen.	Wood, James, 1608-1664.	1658 (1658)	Wing W3397; ESTC R39139	8,387	13

our just grounds of fear while some of them did endeavour to enervate the power of Church-judicatories by procuring an Order putting the power of giving Testimonie to Intrants which is due to Presbyteries only who are authorized to judge of their Call and to try and ordain them in the hands of some select persons of their own choosing And when it pleased the Lord to break that snare their leading men have again of late attempted the utter ruine of this Church and of these who differ from them Under the pretext of seeking a commission for plantation of Churches they projected to have the power of disposing the legall maintenance of Ministers put in the hands of that Commission though they know such a power was never given nor assumed by such a Judicatory but that it is contrary to the order established by the Law of the Land the great design thereof being not only to call the Authority of the late Assemblies in question as they expresse in their desire but to have the maintenance put in the hands of men to their mind who were the proposers of the Overture that so they might discourage all who are opposite to them from the Ministrie But not contenting themselves with this they have further proposed and projected to have it imposed upon us That there should be a particular Visitation appointed in every Synod consisting of equal numbers of both Judgements the one half to be chosen by the one party and the other by the other party respective with power given them from the Synods for purging and planting Ministers and Elders and composing present and future Divisions in Presbyteries and Congregations within the bounds of the Synod And that there should be also a general Committee of Delegats from the several Synods of equal numbers chosen as aforesaid and anthorized by Synods without whose previous advice and consent the respective Synods may not reverse any thing done by the aforesaid Visitators and such Visitation and Committee to continue only till the present differences be healed or till the Lord in providence minister some better way for settling peace among use These projects we look upon as setting up in effect a new Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction and a plant which is not of Gods planting and not only suspending the established Church-government sine die but totally subverting it to make way for the projecters their domination in the Church and over their Brethren For this course projected by them doth clearly take away the power of Synods and Presbyteries not only in the matter of our present differences and in the matter of purging and planting Ministers and Elders wherein the chief exercise of their power consisteth but in all suture divisions And what may not men affecting preheminence make a matter of difference that they may continue themselves in power It laieth also for a foundation an universal imputation upon the Synods and other Church-judicatories as not worthy to be trusted with the Work committed to them by Christ and that they will not be so faithful in the Work of Reformation nor in composing any difference which may arise hereafter of what importance so ever as these Delegates chosen after a new mould So that a preparative is led to lay aside Synods and Presbyteries when any party pleaseth to quarrel them and they must lend their power to give some shaddow of Authority to any Party who pleaseth to tread upon them It is a tyrannicall imposition upon Synods that they must give their power to persons whom they have not liberty to choose nor power to call them to an account and must set up a jurisdiction above themselves with at least a Negative voice to frustrate all their actings if these Delegates please Yea not only is a Negative voice required to be given them in or over all the Judicatories of this Church which by parity of reason cannot be denied to any Party that pleaseth to make a rent if so be it be given to our Brethren who are so few in number in comparison of the body of the Ministrie of this Church and very few or none at all of them being in some Synods But hereby also a way is laid for perpetuating differences and contentions by yoking Parties of equal numbers together in debate who probably will not cede to other and so in stead of composing the breach shall be widened Nor do we see here any desire or purpose to put an end to this arbitrary jurisdiction but for any thing we know it might be perpetual and the Synods never return to their due liberty if those proposals once took place for not only were it in their power to continue present differences so long as they please and consequently to continue that extra-judicial power to compose them much more if they must be continued for composing any future divisions they shall be pleased to start But if in processe of time this way shall not please them they in stead of recurring to Christs own institutions do give us an hint of some better way which they expect may be ministred for setling peace As we are confident that upon these and many other weighty considerations all who cordially own the Church-government as of divine right will be ashamed of such encroachments So we heartily wish those who have had hand in them may lay to heart their carriage toward their Mother-church whose interests they are bound by the oath of God to maintain And though we doubt nothing of their unwearied endeavours if they persist in their former temper yet again to set on foot and prosecute those their purposes and that they may pretend to prosecute them as the only expedient to draw us to Union which is in effect to cast all Christs interests among us under their feet and to force us to what terms of Union they please when they shall have us in their power Yet for our part we resolve in the power of the Lords Grace never to accord thereunto nor recede from the established Government be the hazard what it will But what ever may be the Lords purpose to permit men to do to that Government we will never buy peace at so dear a rate as the ruine thereof nor be accessory thereunto by any deed of ours We have expressed our thoughts more fully in these things without any purpose to defame or irritate our Brethren or to charge these destructive courses upon all of them but meerly for our own vindication and justification in our adhering to our principles in opposing these encroachments and for our own exoneration before the world and to our Brethren if so be they will seriously ponder and weigh the tendency of these courses and being wearied of those unpleasing unprofitable and scandalous contentions they will give proof of their love to peace and to the wel-fare of their Mother-church and Christs precious interests in her by thinking upon an aggreement with us in the Lord. And albeit our Brethren