Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
authority_n church_n great_a matter_n 3,615 5 5.4148 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A04365 A treatise concerning a Christians carefull abstinence from all appearance of evill gathered for the most part out of the schoolemen, and casuists: wherein the questions and cases of conscience belonging unto the difficult matter of scandall are briefly resolved: By Henry Jeanes, Mr of Arts, lately of Hart-Hall in Oxon, and rector of the church of Beere-Crocombe in Somerset-shire. Jeanes, Henry, 1611-1662. 1640 (1640) STC 14480; ESTC S103351 48,005 158

There are 3 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

locum any thing that is neere of kin unto or but bordring upon vice thinkes* Calvin Observe here the emphaticall gradation of the Apostle hate not onely the flesh but the garment spotted by the flesh not onely overspread quite covered but the garment that was but here and there a little spotted by the flesh Out of Christs garment there issued vertue which cured the woman that had the bloody fluxe but contrariwise out of this garment but spotted with the flesh Exit vis quaedam maligna there goeth a poisonous kinde of infection which soone will staine a soule with the leprofie of sinne But because as the old saying ●unnes praxis sanctorum est interpres pr●ceptorum I shall intreat you next to take notice how this precept hath beene exemplified And here in the times before Christ is very remarkable the couragious and undaunted resolution of Eleazar against but the appearance of an evill 2 Mac. c. 〈◊〉 v. 18. usque ad ●inem when he was besought to bring flesh of his owne provision such as was lawfull for him to use and but make as if hee did eate of the flesh taken from the sacrifice commanded by the King v. 21. why even this evill appearance this seeming this making as if he did eate of the flesh taken from the Sacrifice commanded by the King soe deeply disrelished him as that hee chose death before it For it becommeth not our age saith he in any wise to dissemble whereby many young persons might thinke that Eleazar being fourscore yeares old and ten was now gone to a strange religion and so they through mine hypocrisie and desire to live a little time a moment longer should be deceived by mee and I get a staine to my old age and make it abominable v. 24 25. But why mention I Eleazar Behold the example of one greater than Eleazar the example of the rule and patterne of holinesse unto the Church Christ Jesus God blessed for ever whose example in Morals matters of ordinary obedience amounts ever unto the authority of a command How exemplarie he was in this particular you may reade Mat c. 7. from v. 24. unto the end of the Chapter There you have him performing an action not for that omission of it would have beene evill but because in opinion of the Jewes it would have given shew of evill For if first you understand the words as most Interpreters doe of the tribute to be paid unto the secular Magistrate then sinfull it had not been in our Saviour to have refused payment of tribute unto Caesar For how could the Son to the living God who was King of Kings and Lord of Lords King of Heaven and Earth whose the earth all the fulnesse thereof was be justly tributary unto any mortall The Kings of the earth take tribute or custome not of their owne children however they expect obedience from them but of strangers because paying of tribute denoteth some degree or kinde of servitude The Children then are free verse 25 26. Therefore from all taxes and impositions justly was to be exempted Christ the sonne of David there was no reason hee should pay tribute unto Caesar nay more reason hee being of the blood royall should receive tribute from the Jewes than Caesar a forrainer having no title to the Crowne but that which the sword gave him not payment constant deniall of payment had not been you see morally evill in our Saviour and yet because it would have borne appearance of an evill of disloialtie and disobedience and so have drawn prejudices against and scandall upon his unspotted person holy and heavenly office and doctrine because seemingly it would have crossed a doctrine hee afterwards delivered Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesars therefore hee stands not to plead his priviledge but voluntarily parted with his right payed the tribute and to pay it wrought a miracle notwithstanding Peter least wee should offend them goe thou to the sea and cast an hooke and take up the fish that first commeth up and when thou hast opened his mouth thou shalt finde a peece of money that take and give unto them for mee and thee verse 27. Or if secondly with the learned Cameron you rather conceive to be here meant the halfe shekel which by prescript of the Ceremoniall Law Exod. 30 was by the Jewes to be paid for the use of the Sanctuary Why yet so also sinfull it had not been in our Saviour to have refused paying of it for first it was a ceremony and the Ceremoniall Law Christ was above Lord he was of the Sabbath Mat. c. 12. v. 8. Marke c. 2. v. 28. where it is manifest thinkes Cameron the Sabbath should Synecdochically signifie the whole Ceremoniall Law Then secondly this ceremony together with Sacrifices and all other Legall typicall ceremonies presupposed sinne in the partie to whom they were commanded and were a note or badge of the bondage contracted by sinne and therefore reach not unto Christ a man without sinne Thirdly as our Saviour well argues even as Kings of the Earth take not tribute of their owne Children so neither the King of heaven of his sonne therefore seeing this halfe shekel is a tribute to be paid to the King of Heaven for the Tabernacle of Witnesse 2 Chron. 24.6 Christ was certainly free and so might lawfully have refused to pay it● yet because the Jewes would have taken offence and at such his refusall and charg'd it with appearance of a profane contempt of the Law of Moses and the Sanctuary therefore he voluntarily paid it and so became a Jewe to the Jewes as under the Law to them that were under the law Notwithstanding lest we should offend c. And if this be the sense of the place what is said of this one ceremonie may be applyed unto all for one of the reasons ends why Christ observed the whole Ceremoniall Law was to prevent scandall to abstaine from all appearance of evill In nature saith Cameron there is appetitu● quidem unionis which causeth things to be moved and to rest often besides the proper condition of their particular nature whence sometimes light things are moved downewards heavie things upwards Unto this appetite of union in nature there is answerable in grace the desire to promote Gods glory which often inclineth and carrieth the godly beyond and besides the ordinary obligations arising out of their particular and personall conditions and relations And unto the measure of grace is proportionable the degree of the desire of Gods glory so that the holier any one is the more vehemently hee desireth the promotion thereof and if it require any thing to bee done of him why he will doe it although other wise by vertue of his particular and personall condition hee be not bound thereunto Therefore although Christ secundum specialem rationem personae suae if we eye the speciall consideration and dignitie of his person was not tied to keepe the Ceremoniall
ignorantiâ Tunc enim qui praebet occasionem scandali peccat peccata scandali activi quod nullâratione licet Ratio verò est quia nullâ justâ aut rationabili causâ excusari potest aliquis à peccato qui coram alio peccat vel exercet opus habens speciem mali ideò jure optimo dicitur tribuere occasionem peccandi quia tale opus ex se occasio est peccandi Vasquez opusculis Moralibus tract de Scandalo That appearance of evill in an action which is but imaginarie is onely ascribed thereunto by extrinsecall denomination from our owne or others misconceits and censures thereupon First from our owne And here if a man be in his owne conscience stedfastly fully and firmely perswaded that such an action is evill and unlawfull which yet in truth is not so See Dr Sanderson on Rom. 14.23 but lawfull what ought hee to doe Why wee must take into our consideration the nature of the action and the condition of the person that harbours this misperswasion of the action If the action in its nature bee not necessary but indifferent and arbitrary and the person mis-judging it be in respect thereof sui juris not determined therein by the command of any superiour power Why then he is bound in conscience during this his opinion to abstaine from the action For wee suppose it indifferent and a man may lawfully forbeare action where there is no necessitie of doing Wee suppose it although indifferent yet against Conscience and whatsoever is done repugnante conscientiâ with a settled reluctancie of a mans owne judgement and conscience against it cannot be of faith and whatsoever is not of faith is sinne Rom. 14.24 That is whatsoever action is done with a firme perswasion of the lawfulnesse thereof let it be quoad rem and essentially in it selfe lawfull nay necessary yet it becomes quoad hominem and accidentally evill unto him it is sinne Now that action may lawfully must necessarily be forborne that can be omitted but cannot be committed without sinne But now on the contrary if either the action be in its nature necessary or the person entertaining this misprision thereof be injoyned performance of it by some superiour power that can lawfully challenge obedience from him and so the action too though indifferent for its nature be yet in its use and unto him become necessary Why then this misperswasion of its unlawfulnesse cannot bind to abstaine from it for so it should oblige unto either omission of a necessary dutie or else disobedience unto lawfull authority both great sinnes And nulla est obligatio ad illicita There is no obligation unto things unlawfull can lye upon us But yet although this erroneous conceit of the unlawfulnesse of this action supposed to be necessary either in its nature or at least in its use because cōmanded by authority doth not obligaere that is so bind as that I must follow it yet it doth ligare so intangle and perplexe as that I cannot without sinne oppose it because whosoever goeth against his Conscience whether ill or well informed it matters not goes against the will of God although not for the thing he doth yet for the manner of doing it although not materially Ames de Conscientia l. 1 c. 4. yet formally and interpretatively because whatsoever the Conscience dictates a man takes for the will of God each mans conscience being a Deputy God to informe direct him Looke as hee who reviles wounds kills a private man mistaking him for the King is guilty of high treason against the King himselfe soe he that thwarts the judgement of even an erroneous conscience fights against God warres against heaven because what his conscience sayes hee thinkes to be the voyce of heaven The only way then for a man to rescue himselfe out of these difficulties is to rectifie his conscience to depose correct the error thereof so he shall escape contempt of the judgement of his owne conscience on the one hand breach of either Gods or mans lawes on the other An imaginary appearance of evill issues secondly from the supposalls of not onely our selves but others that censure it whose judgments are either misled by ignorance and weakenesse or else blinded through pride and prejudice such was that in the moving of Hannah's lips not afforded by her fact but onely fastned on it by old Eli his hasty censoriousnesse nor other appearance of evill was there in our Saviours healing the diseased his Disciples plucking and eating of the eares of corne on the Sabbaoth Day 't was not grounded on their actions but onely fancied by the Pharisees swelling uncharitablenesse what other is that appearance of evill with which some unjustly charge our ceremonies 't is onely conceived by their uncharitable pręjudice not really given by them This imaginary appearance of evill proceeds from either supposalls of proud or weake ones The censures or supposals of proud ones we may sleight our warrant is our Sauiours President when his Disciples told him that the Pharisees tooke offēce at his speech he made no reckoning therof but answered Scandala Pharisaeorum prorsus contēnenda nā qui non ex ignor ant●● aut infirmitaete sed ex malitia scandalizatur Non laborat tali altquà necessitate spirituali cui non possit ipse sine ●pe alteri●● proximi facile prospirere mut andoprauam suam voluntatem erg● alter non tenetur tunccum aliquo suo detrimento pros●icere Gregor de Valentia Quoties scandalum pass●vum alterius futurum est ex m●litia nu●l●● debet omit●ere opus quod nec est malum nec habe● speciem malipropter malitiam alterius quando opus illud utile est temporaliter vel spiritualiter operants quia non postulat ratio ut malitia alterius cum dam no nostro succurramus alias quilibet malitia sua possit nobis nocere ut omitteremus opus nobis utile malitia autem alterius nobis nocerenon debet Luissius Tunianus let them alone Mat. 12.13.14 and we warranted by his example may then be secure and regardlesse of many calumnies groundlesse exceptions against the government discipline and ceremonies of our Church for there hath beene so much spoken written concerning these subjects as that the pretence of weaknesse may seeme to bee taken away from those that are capable of information But what if this imaginary appearance of evill flow from the supposall of a weake one yet an holy one Why then it must be omitted but with this caution so it may be without sinne or as the ordinary glosse upon that 15. of Mathew v. 12.13.14 resolves it Salvatriplici veritate vitae justitiae doctrinae so the threefold verity of life justice and doctrine be preserved safe Nam per hanc triplicem veritatem saith Gregory de Valentia intelligitur omnis rectitudo immunitas à peccato in actionibus humanis Veritas namque vit● continetur in actionibus rectis quas
fained gods But what meane I to alleage the examples of either the Chuch of Rome or Bellarmine for take wee but a view of our owne Church the lives of her Worthies will yeeld store of presidents in this kinde but I will content my selfe with one most especially deserving our notice and imitation And it is the religious care that King James of blessed memory had to free and cleare our booke of Common-prayer not onely from faultinesse in it selfe but also offensivenesse unto men and by causing an explication to be made of those things in it which were excepted against how carefull and scrupulous he was in this particular you may read in his Proclamation prefixed to the booke of Common prayer wee thought meete faith hee there that some small things might bee explained not that the same might not very well have beene borne with by men who would have made a reasonable construction of them but for that in a matter concerning the service of God we were nice or rather jealous that the publicke forme thereof should be free not onely from blame but from suspicion so as neither the common adversary should have advantage to wrest ought therein contained to other sense than the Church of England intendeth nor any troublesome or ignorant person of his Church be able to take the least occasion of cavill against it c. To heape up other either testimonies or instances were to prejudice if not the authoritie of those before mentioned yet your esteeme of them as if you were not by them sufficiently perswaded and convinced my labour I suppose will be better spent in demonstrating unto you the expediencie of that which may seeme rigour in this doctrine in discovering unto you what good reasons Saint Paul had to exact so great a measure and so high a pitch of abstinence from sinne Those that I will specifie shall bee drawne from God from Satan from our selves from our Brethren First from God wee have these two our Relations unto him our Danger in offending of him First our Relations unto him he is our Father our Soveraigne Christ Jesus is our spirituall Husband Now a dutifull child declines not only disobedience but whatsoever hath the colour of it an obedient and loyall subject startles at not onely treason but also whatsoever may occasion suspicion thereof a faithfull chast wife abhorres not onely adultery but whatsoever may make her husband justly jealous others but suspicious of her chastity And shall not every child of God every one that professeth subjection unto heaven be fearfull of the appearance of disobedience and undutifulnesse to so indulgent a Father as God of the appearance of Treason and Rebellion against so Almightie a King as God Doth it not befit the Spouse the Church every member of Christ to dread all shews and signes of disloyalty and unfaithfulnesse to soe loving a Spouse as Christ Jesus * Sueton de Jul. Caesar c. 74. Did Julius Caesar but an earthly Potentate thinke it not enough that his wife was without a fault unlesse withall shee was without so much as the suspicion of a fault And will not Christ thinke you who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords expect as great unblameablenesse in his Spouse Plutarch in the life Pompey Theophanes Lesbian to diswade Pompey from flying into Parthia tels him that his wife would be liable to a great deale of danger amongst those barbarous people and though said hee they proffer no villany unto her yet it is an undecent thing to thinke that the wife of Pompey might have beene dishonoured To di●wade us from the appearances and occasions of sinne it should me thinkes be an effectuall argument that our soules which are married unto Christ in righteousnesse judgement and holinesse will hereby bee obnoxious to danger of pollution what though they be not actually defiled yet it is an undecent thing to thinke that the spouse a member of Christ might have beene dishonoured might have beene foyl'd with a lust ravished vanquished by Satan defiled with sinne If from these appearances of evill our Relations to God cannot draw us yet mee thinkes in the second place our danger in offending of him should drive us for hee is a consuming fire unto as the workes so also the workers of impiety and how can wee then but be afraid to venture on not onely what we know doth but what we feare others suspect may deserve the wrath of so sinne-revenging a God That we should abstaine from all appearance of evill may secondly be gathered from Satan from the consideration first of his crueltie and malice against us Secondly of his temptations of us First from the consideration of his cruelty and malice against us which the Scripture shadoweth out by terming him a Mat. 13.39 the Enemy by way of excellencie the b Rev. 12.10 Rev. 9.11 Malach. 3.11 Joh 8.44 1. Joh. 3.15 1 Pet. 5.8 Rev. 12.9 envious man the Accusar the Tempter the Destroyer the Devourer a Murtherer frō the beginning as also by comparing him unto a roaring Lyon unto a great red Dragon an old Serpent Now me-thinkes we should feare to come not onely under the power but also into the sight of such an adversary and yet by rushing upon the shewes the occasions of evill what do we but hazard the surprizall of our soules by him This will be more apparent from the consideration 2 of Satans temptations of us of his Temptations of us to sinne of his Temptations of us to despaire or at least discomfort for sinne because in both sorts of temptations hee goes about by these appearances of evill to wreake his malice upon us For first in his temptations of us to sinne they are first the bate by which hee allures Secondly an argument by which hee perswades us thereunto Thirdly an encouragement whereby he is heart'ned to persist in tempting of us First then the appearances of sinne are a baite whereby Satan allures us unto sin which if wee bite at our consciences will soone be enlarged to swallow sinne it selfe Satan well knowing that Gods children would even startle at your grosse and more hideous sinnes such as are Idolatry Adultery Drunkennesse and the like therefore chiefly plyeth them with enticements to the signes shewes and occasions of them for these will smooth the passage unto the sinnes themselves Of this we have a remarkeable instance in Alippius who as Saint Austin relates Confess lib. 6. cap. 8. being drawne by his friend's importunitie to accompany him unto the Roman Gladiatorie Games yet resolved though he were present with his body to be absent in his heart and for that purpose to keepe his eyes shut that hee might not defile them with so barbarous a sight yet at last upon a great shout that the people gave at the fall of one of the combatants his curiositie made him behold the occasion and thereupon hee presenly became an applausive spectator of that bloudy inhumane