Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	great_a	king_n	people_n	5,724	5	4.8029	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09445	Of the calling of the ministerie two treatises, discribing the duties and dignities of that calling. Delivered publickly in the Vniuersitie of Cambridge, by Maister Perkins. Taken then from his mouth, and now dilligently perused and published, by a preacher of the word with a preface prefixed touching the publishing of Maister Perkins his workes, & a catalogue of all such particulars thereof, as are to bee expected.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626.	1605 (1605)	STC 19733; ESTC S102894	75,919	204

vnto the Church her tenthes againe But as Popish Abbies stole them so a popish state kept them and to their shame some of th●se good Professors of our Religion haue restored such as were in their bands and there is hope that all our Professors vnlesse they care not to be accounted hipocrits will make some conscionable restitution We doe not craue that they wold with Zacheus restore ●oure●old though it is apparant that the Tenthes were got from vs in old time by most false and forged Cauillations we onely craue our owne we would aske no more nor willingly take lesse for our whole dutie is still required then why should not our whole due be payd And yet that the world may learne of vs contentednes as well by our practise as our doctrine we would for the present take in good part and rest contented with a part of our owne and some competent portions out of the Impropriations proportioned to the quantitie ●f the charge imposed and the gifts and paines required would for a time bee a reasonable satisfaction to our Ministerie vntill our state found it selfe either better enabled or more straightly tied in Conscience to full restitution But as I sayd this is a worke of God himselfe f●r if man could doe it so many Parliaments would not haue slipt it but some of them would haue ete●nized it selfe with this honorable name to all posterities The Parliament that restored Impropriations but till that or some other course as good be taken it is both vnseasonable and vnreasonable to complaine of the Ignorant or to c●aue a learned Ministerie For shall the Oxes mouth be mousled which treads out the corne or shall a man goe to warre at his owne cost and hath not God ordained marke it is his Ordinance that those who teach the Gospell shal liue of the Gospel But alas how shall the Ministerie of England liue of the Gospell when my small experience can showe that in one Corner of one County of this Kingdome wherein there are some 150. parishes or parochiall Chappell 's almost a 100. of them if not a full 100 are Impropriate and amongst them I can showe the most parishes haue but 10. pound or thereabouts some 8. li. some 6 li. some 5 li. some 4 pound some not 4 pound yearely liuing for the Minister and those impropriations worth some 300 pound many 200 pound almost all 100 pound per an yea there is one worth 400 pound per an where there were but 8 pound left for the Minister vntill of late with much adoe 10 pound more was obtained for a preacher and so there is out of 400 pound 8 pound shared for a Minister and 10 pound carued for a preacher in that parish where there are 2000 Communicants Of all the rest the Crowne hath some 100 pound rent or not so much and the remainder of 280 pound being a rich liuing for a worthy learned Minister a competent liuing for 2 and more then some 7 painfull and able Ministers 〈◊〉 I knowe not what becomes of it vnlesse it goe to the feeding of Kits and Cormorants Are not these goodly liuings for learned men and may not wee expect a learned Ministerie where there is such maintenance and I hartely wish that other countries be not able to showe the like Presidents haue the rather made relation heereof that our high Court of Parliament may see how great cause they haue to goe forward with that motion already by them made for the establishing of a learned Ministerie But if they bring it not to passe what then remaineth but to hope that the great God of heauen will put into the hart of the God on earth our noble King into wh●se hands he hath put the sword of soueraigne authoritie an irreuocable and vnresistable resolution to execute his supreme power for the reformation of this euill which as Maister Perkins saith in this treatise may well be called the Kings euill for it will hardly be healed but by the will and powere of a king In the meane time this Treatise of that worthy man may be a motiue to our zealouse professors who haue any impropriations in their owne hands to excite and prouoke them to a conscionable restitution in whole or in part as their estates may beare or their conscience shall mooue them For heerein are layd downe and mixed together both the duties to be done by faithfull Ministers and the Dignities due vnto them for their duties and so seeing the dignities of that calling to bee most honorable and the duties so chargeable it cannot but grieue their Christian harts to see the maintenance so miserable This Treatise I first of all send to you and vnder your names to the world and to you first for as I am sure you loued the Author and honored those excellēt gifts of God in him so you cānot but accept this after birth of his as a fatherlesse child for the fathers sake And for my selfe to conceale all personall and priuate respects in the name of many thousands in the Northeren Countries I praise God for the good done in those parts by your painfull courses and religious care not doubting but if your selues or the like be imployed there to asist our Honourable and Religious Lord President that the multitude of Popish Priests there lurking will bee daily lessened the number of painfull preachers augmented Poperie put d●wne and the Gospell maintained more and more Which blessing God grant to that and all other Countries of this Kingdome for his mercies sake giue vnto you all others in your place the spirit of courage and constancie in these declining daies that beeing faithfull in your great charges vnto the end you may receiue the Crowne of life for which he hartily prayeth who will euer rest Your Worships in the Lord W. Crashawe A TREATISE OF the dignitie and dutie of the Ministrie Esay 6.5 Then I said woe is me I am vndone for I am a man of pollut●d lips and dwell in the midst of a people of polluted lips for my eyes haue seene the king and Lord of hosts 6 Then flewe one of the Seraphins vnto me with an hotte coale in his hand 7 Which he tooke from the alter with the tonges and touched my mouth and saide Loe this hath touched thy lips thy iniquity shall be taken away and thy sin shall be purged 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shal● I send who shal go for v●●●hen said I here am I send me and he saide goe IN the fiue former Chapters are contained such Sermōs as the Prophet had made vnder Vzziah king of Iuda At this Chapter begin such as he preached in the raign of Iotham so forward But before he either preach or prophecie of any thing in King Iothams dayes or his successors the Lord in this Chapter giues a new cōmission to the Prophet a new confirmation to this calling the old

he saith certainly God speakes in this man This is the euidence and demonstration of Gods spirit It is thought good commendation before the world when men say of a Preacher surely this man hath showne himselfe a proper scholler of good learning great reading strong memory and good deliuery and so it is and such commendation if iust is not to be contemned but that that cōmends a man to the Lord his God to his owne cōscience is when he preacheth so plainly to the capacitie and so powerfully to the conscience of a wicked man as that hee thinkes doubtlesse God is within him Art thou therefore an Angell of God then magnifie the spirit of God and not thy selfe in thy preaching of his word The next vse is for the hearers and they are heere taught that if their Ministers be Angels sent them from God then are they to heare them gladly willingly reuerently and obediently gladly and willingly because they are Ambassad●rs reuerently and obediently because they are sent from the high God the King of Kings and doe deliuer his embassage God saith the people must seeke the law● at his mo●th and good reason for if the lawe be the reuealed will of God and the Minister the Angell of God then where should they seeke the will of God but a● the mouth of his Angell The reason therefore followeth well in that place ● they should seek● the lawe at his mouth for he i● the messenger of the Lord of hosts and this ●●st all christians doe not onely if their doctrine be pleasing vnto them but though it crosse their corruptions and bee quite contrary ●o their dispositions yea though it bee neuer so vnsauorie and h●rde vnto nature yet in as much 〈…〉 message from thy God and King and ●he ●eather the Angell or messenger of that God therefore both he and it must be receaued with al reuerence with the very obedience of the hart and soule And this is the cause why a con●●nient reuerence 〈◊〉 honour is to bee giuen of all good christians euen to the persons of Gods Ministers especially when they adorne their high calling with a holy life euen because they are Angels of God Saint Paule teacheth that womē ought to be modestly attired in the congregation because of the Angels it is not only because the holy Angels are present and alwayes beholders of our seruice of God but euen because the Ministers which are Angels and messengers sent from God are there deliuering their message and Embassage rece●●ed from God And th●s wee haue the first title giuen to the Minister he is an Angell Secondly he is an 〈◊〉 that is one that 〈◊〉 to deliuer 〈◊〉 the reconciliation made betwixt God and ma●● I say not the author of that reconciliation for that is the godhead● 〈…〉 of the 〈…〉 for 〈…〉 second person Christ ●esus 〈◊〉 the 〈…〉 for that is the holy Ghost nor 〈…〉 of it for 〈◊〉 the glad ●idings of the gospell 〈◊〉 I say he is the ●●●●●preter of it that i● first one that 〈◊〉 and explane the couenant of grace and rightly lay downe the meanes how this reconciliation is wrought Secondly one that can rightly and iustly apply those meanes for the working of it out Thirdly one that hath authoritie to publish and declare it when it is wrought and by these three actions hee is Gods interpreter to the people then he is also the peoples interpreter to God by being able to speake to God for them to lay open their wants nakednesses to confesse their sinnes to craue pardon and forgiuenes to giue thankes in their names for mercies recea●ed and in a word to offer vp all their spirituall sacrifices vnto God for them and so euery true minister is a double interpreter Gods to the people and the peoples to God In which respects he is properly called Gods mouth to the people by preaching to them from God and the peoples mouth to God by praying for them to God and this title sheweth how great and glorious a calling this Ministerie is if it be rightly conceiued Now then for the vse of it First if euery true Minister must bee Gods Interpreter to the people and the peoples to God then hence we learne that euery one who either is or intends to be a minister must haue that tongue of the learned whereof is spoken in Esay where the Prophet saith first in the name of Christ as heare the great Prophet and teacher of his Church and secondarily in the name of himselfe and all true Prophets while the world endureth The Lord God hath giuen me a tongue of the learned that I should knowe to speake a word in season to him that is wearie where note the weary soule or troubled conscience must haue ● word in season spoken to him for his comfort and that cannot bee spoken without the tongue of the learned and lastly that tongue of the learned must bee giuen of God Now to haue this tongue of the learned which Esay speakes of what is it but to bee this Interpreter which the holy Ghost heere saith a minister must bee But to be able to speake with this tongue is first to be furnished with 〈◊〉 and learning Secondly with diuine knowledge as farre as it may by outward meanes bee taught from man to man but besides these hee that will speake this tongue aright must 〈◊〉 inwardly learned and taught by the spirit of God the two first he must learne from men but the third from God a true Minister must be inwardly taught by the spirituall scholler and the holy Ghost Saint Iohn in Reuelation must take the booke that is the Scripture and eate it and when he hath eaten it then saith the Angell hee must goe preach to nations tongues people and to Kings which was done not that Saint Iohn had not eaten that booke in the comming downe of the holy Ghost the very end of whose comming was to teach them spiritually but that in him Christ might teach his Church for euer that no minister is fit to preach to nations and to Kings vntill they ●a●e eaten the booke of God that is till after and besides all the learning that man can teach them they be also ●●ught by the spirit of God himselfe and this teaching is it that makes a man a tr●● interpreter and without this he cannot be for 〈◊〉 can a man be Gods interpreter to his people vnlesse he kn●we the minde of God himselfe and how can he knowe the minde of God but by the teaching of the spirit of God Indeede we bee mans interpreter by humane teaching and may interpret the Scriptures truely and soundly as a humane booke or storie for the increase of knowledge but the diuine and spirituall Interpretation which shall perce the hart and astonish the soule of man must bee taught by the inward teaching of the holy Ghost Let no man thinke I heere giue the

behold how thou art beholden to a godly Minister who when Adam had lost both himselfe and thee that Iewell of righteousnesse which was and is the whole wealth of thy soule can truly tell thee where it is and howe it is to be had againe and who when the deuill haleth thee to the barre of gods iustice to receaue triall for thy sinnes can drawe thee there such a declaration as the deuill himselfe shall not bee able to answere and who when thy soule is sicke to death euen to damnation can heale the deadly wounds thereof A good Minister therefore is worthy as the Apostle saith of double honour whose duty we see is to declare vnto man his righteousnesse And to conclude this point also the consideration of the height of this office of a Minister may encourage fathers to dedicate their sonnes to this holy calling for the Phisitions care for the body or the Lawyers for thy cause are both inferior duties to this of the Minister A good Lawyer may be one of te●●e a good Phisition one of 20. a good man one of 100. but a good Minister is one of a 1000. A good Lawyer may declare the true state of thy cause a good Phisition may declare the true state of thy body No calling no man can declare vnto thee thy righteousnesse but a true Minister And thus wee see the office or function of a Minister Now followeth the blessing Then will he haue mercy vppon him The fourth generall part of this discription is the blessing which God giueth to the labours and function of a true Minister then that is when a man by the preaching of the lawe is brought to true humiliation and repentance and by the preaching of the Gospell to true faith in the Messias then wil hee that is God haue mercy on him that is on the penitent and beleeuing sinner Behold heere the admirable simpathy and the cooperation of God and the Ministers office Man preacheth and God blesseth Man worketh on the hart and God giues grace a Minister declares vnto man his righteousnesse and God saith so be it he shall be righteous a Minister pronounceth mercy to a penitent sinner and forthwith God hath mercy on him Heere we see the great and glorious account which God makes of the word of his Ministers by them truly taught and rightly applied namely that he as it were tieth his blessing vnto it for ordinarily till a man knowe his righteousnesse by the meanes of an Interpreter God hath not mercy on him but as soon as he doth knowe it then as wee see heere God will haue mercy on him and wil say deliuer him c. This is no small honour to Ministers to their Ministerie that God himselfe giues a blessing vnto it and worketh when they worke and as it were stayeth waiting when they declare vnto a man his righteousnesse and then hath he mercy on him so powerfull and so effectuall is the word spoken by a Minister of God This is that which Christ auoucheth whatsoeuer you binde in earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer you loose in earth shall bee loosed in h●auen Will you knowe the meaning heereof read Saint Iohn whose sinnes soeuer you remit they are remitted whose you retaine they are retained will they haue the meaning of both read Esay God destroyeth the tokens of Sou●● sayers and makes v●sards and Astrologers Fooles ●●●neth worldly wisemen backward and makes their knowledge foolishnes but he confirmeth the word of his seruants and performeth the counsell of his Messengers Thus God bindeth and looseth with them remitteth and retaineth with them by confirming their word and performing their counsell for example A true Minister seeth a sinner hardned in his sins and stil rebelling against the will of God he therefore declareth vnto him his vnrighteousnes his sinne denounceth vnto him the miseries curses of Gods iustice as due vnto him for the same heere he binds on earth here he retaines on earth this mans sins are likewise bound and retained in heauen On the other side he seeth a man peniten● and belieuing hee pronounceth forgiuenes of sins happines vnto him for the same he looseth him from the band of his sinnes by declaring vnto him his righteousnes this mans sinnes are likewise loosed remitted in heauen and God himselfe doth pronounce him cleere in heauen when the Minister doth on earth Thus God confirmeth the word of his seruaunts and performeth the counsell of his Messengers The vse of this doctrine is first for Rulers and great men of this worlde this may teach them to be nursing Fathers nursing Mothers vnto the Church whose authority they see is so great ouer them as that their decree stands ratified in heauen Therefore though their place be great they be Gods vpon earth yet must they withall acknowledge that in iustifying a sinner in interpretation in declaring vnto man his righteousnes in binding loosing their power also is immediate from God aboue theirs and they themselues as they are men must submit themselues to this powerfull word of the Ministers to be taught by it and to be reconciled by meanes of it and highly must they receiue it for though a man speake it yet is it the word of God this is to licke the dust of Christs feete which the Porphet speaketh of not as the Pope would haue it to hold the stirrop and lead the horse and hold the water to the Pope to kisse his toes to hold their kingdoms of him as tenants at will or by curtesie but reuerently to acknowledge the ordinance to be Gods the function and duty to be high and excellent to acknowledge the power of their keyes censures being rightly applied their promises their threatnings to be as from God and to submit to them accordingly Secondly Ministers themselues here must learne when they take the word of reconciliation into their hands and mouthes to call to mind whose it is euen the Lords and that hee worketh with them hath the greatest hand in the work and that therfore they must vse it in holy maner with much feare reuerence It is not theyr owne they may not vse it as th●y list And lastly Hearers are heere taught first ●o see how mad such men be which carelesly ●nd fildome heare sermons but vpon any oc●asion fly to wisards and charmers which are ●he deuils prophets for see the difference of ●hese two the wisard and charmer hath socie●ie with the deuill the Preacher with God the ●harmer hath his calling from the deuill the Preacher his from God the charmers charme 〈◊〉 the deuils watchword when he charmeth the deuil doth the feare the Preachers doctrine is Gods watchword when hee truly applyeth it GOD himselfe ratifieth and makes it good wherefore let all men feare to haue thus to doe with the deuill by seeking to his slaues let them