Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	bind_v	law_n	power_n	1,223	5	5.0559	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75805	The Catholiques plea, or An explanation of the Roman Catholick belief. Concerning their [brace] church, manner of worship, justification, civill governement. : Together with a catalogue of all the pœnall statutes against popish recusants. : All which is humbly submitted to serious consideration. / By a Catholick gentleman.	Birchley, William, 1613-1669.	1659 (1659)	Wing A4242B; ESTC R42676	68,166	129

communion to these even of spirituall things and in the mean while not afford them so much as the liberty to possesse their own temporall goods The Lutherans believe our SAVIOUR to be as really in the Eucharist as he was upon the Crosse but doe not adore him the Papists both believe and adore for my part I should clearly either doe both or neither at least I shall never be brought to this partiality to cherish the one as brethren and persecute the other as enemies especially when I consider the Christian proceedings of the Protestants in New-England Virginia and the other Plantations in the Indies where we abhor to destroy the Natives though confessedly Idolaters but rather strive to convert them by holding out the truth in love Whether Papists are inconsistent with Civil Government BY the next Post I received from the same hand another Letter concerning the common objection that Papists hold many principles destructive to civil Society wherein the Recusant protesting first solemnly as in the sight of God and his holy Angels to use all ingenuity and candor in his relation of the Catholike Doctrine earnestly entreated me to give credit to his report in the matters of Fact and for the right to judge freely as I saw cause We will divide sayes he the main Question into two points as it relates either to our equals or Superiours for the first touching Commerce and Conversation we absolutely disclaim that scandalous opinion That no Faith is to be kept with Heretikes and flatly deny that our engagement promise or contract may lawfully be broken by our selves or dispensed with by any Power on earth to the prejudice of a third person of what Religion soever and for equivocation mentall reservation c. I am confident though I have not here any opportunity to look into Books that no Generall Council mentions either any such word or any such thing Schoolmen indeed dispute frequently such subtilties which by men of different principles and affections in Religion are easily mis-understood and often perverted but amongst Catholiques every one has liberty to deny them as he pleases without any prejudice to Faith and though those speculations generally deserve encouragement yet when they arrive at a certain degree of nicenesse they rather become an innocent curiosity than profitable employment and in such an infinity of opinions as Catholike Writers have leisure to publish it is impossible but that through passion unwarinesse or humane frailty some mistakes must escape and then the unhappinesse is that prejudice● and captious Readers applying their Whole study to find faults forget the good and wholsome notions they meet and remember nothing but the errours As to the second branch concerning our duty to Magistrates we deny sayes the letter any earthly power can dispence with our civill obedience and acknowledge our selves bound not only to the Law of Nature but by the expresse word of God to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars to be subject not only for fear but conscience sake What Christian Prince or State is there in the world whom the subjects serve with more fidelity than the Spaniard French and Italian all Catholick Dominions and particularly in England where we are some of Paul and some of Apollo and some of Cephas what comparison is there betwixt the behaviour of Catholicks towards H. 8. Edw. 6. and Eliz. and the fury of Lutherans and Calvinists in Germany and indeed wheresoever they are discontented yet there is a vast difference as to Government between these two cases to oppose by force the introducement of innovations by which the peace must needs be endangered and to attempt by force the extinguishment of an ancient Religion whereof the people are universally in quiet and immemoriall possession the one drives others out of possession the other maintains himself in the one invades his neighbours rights the other defends his own How many modern experiences the easiest argument to be understood and surest to be relyed on clearly resolve this question if we but consider the union of hearts and common interests of State between the Protestant and Catholick Cantons of Switzerland where very many Churches serve by turns upon the same day for the exercise of both Religions dividing every Sundny morning into 2 parts and assigning to each about 3 hours for their devotions wherein they are so punctual to maintain equality that if the Protestants have the first three hours one morning next week they are to have the last and this they continually practice without enterfering or offending one another To this so pregnant example sufficient of it self to clear the consistency of these two Religions I shall further add their fair comportment one towards another in many Provinces and Free-Towns in Germany but most remarkeable is their friendly and peaceable living together in Holland even during so long and dangerous wars with Spain Spain the chief protector of the Catholick faith Spain the most zealous propagator of the Pontificall authority to whose dominion if the Vnited-Provinces should again return certainly the Catholicks there might prudently promise to themselves all possible advantages yet notwithstanding so great occasion of jealousie the States than whom none are more vigilant over their true interest have not only with security but exceeding henefit to their Common-wealth tollerated the Catholikes of quiet conversation to live freely amongst them And on the other side the Catholikes ingratitude for so favourable a treating have exactly corresponded to the mercy of their Magistrates with a most constant sincere and faithfull obedience To none of these suspicions are the Recusants of England in the least measure obnoxious because whatever change of Government can happen they must expect but a milder degree of disaffection towards them at most a sufferance no encouragement or particular confidence and infallibly if the rigor of the Lawes made upon far different motives which are now no ways pressing were qualified to a temper of mercy that the Catholikes might enjoy but halfe the Liberties to which they were born they would be the most quiet and usefull Subjects of England since their Religion obliges to obey the lawfull commands of their Superiours not only for fear but conscience Nor did ever the very worst of them stir in any sedition at any time when they were admitted to but halfe the common rights of English-men nor were they many that ever attempted their own relief by enlarging their Countries peace all the rest sitting quietly and patiently under the burthens which the heavy hand of those times continually heapt upon them Now that the crimes though never so hainous of a few discontented desperate spirits should be imputed to their Religion whose principles expresly condemn such conspiracies seems extremely rigorous but when to those dishonorable imputations are joyned intollerable penalties both upon our lives and estates and not only against the then living Catholikes but all their posterity to this very day surely it must

unanimously agreed upon this following Explanation to declare and witnesse to the world the perfect consistency of their Religion both with civil Government and civill society joyning also in the same Paper the like expressions of their Belief concerning some few other points which they were informed to be more obnoxious to exception than the rest As the undervaluing of holy Scripture and over-valuing the authority of the Church Invocation of Saints and Angels and worship of Images and above all the proud opinion of Merits This Paper they drew up as a preparatory to a more full and perfect clearing of their Faith from those prejudices and misunderstandings which ordinarily men of different perswasion entertain especially in Controversies about matters of Religion The Paper containing certain Doctrines of the Papists and by them delivered to divers persons of quality for their particular satisfaction WE believe the holy Scriptures to be of divine inspiration and infallible Authority and whatsoever is therein contained we firmly assent unto as to the word of God the Author of all Truth But since in the holy Scriptures there are some things hard to be understood which the ignorant and unstable wrest to their own destruction we therefore professe for the ending of controversies in our Religion and setling of peace in our Consciences to submit our private judgments to the Iudgment of the Church represented in a free Generall Council 2. We humbly believe the sacred Mystery of the the Blessed Trinity one Eternal Almighty and Incomprehensible God whom only we adore and worship as alone having Sovereign Dominion over all things to whom only we acknowledge as due from men and Angles all glory service and obedience abhorring from our hearts as a most detestable Sacrilege to give our Creators honour to any creature whatsoever And therefore we solemnly protest that by the prayers we addresse to Angels and Saints we intend no other than humbly to sollici●e their assistance before the Throne of God as we desire the prayers of one another here upon earth not that we hope any thing from them as original Authors thereof but from God the Fountain of all Goodnesse through Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Redeemer Neither doe we believe any divinity or vertue to be in Images for which they ought to be worship'd as the Gentiles did their Idols but we retain them with due and decent respect in our Churches as instruments which we find by experience do often assist our memories and excite our affections 3. We firmly believe that no force of nature nor dignity of our best works can merit our Justification but we are justified freely by grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ And although we should by the grace of God persevere unto the end in a godly life and holy obedience to the Commandements yet are our hopes of eternall glory still built upon the mercy of God and the merits of Christ Jesus All other merits according to our sense of that word signifie no more than Actions done by the assistance of Gods grace to which it has pleased his goodnesse to promise a reward a Doctrine so far from being unsuitable to the sense of the holy Scriptures that it is their principal design to invite and provoke us to a diligent observance of the Commandements by promising heaven as the reward of our obedience 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godlinesse is profitable to all things having the promise of this life and of that which is to come And Rom. 2. 6. God will render to every man according to his deeds to them who by patient confidence in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortalitie eternall life And again Rom. 8. 13. If you live after the flesh you shall die but if through the spirit you mortifie the deeds of the body you shall live And Heb. 6. 10. God is not unjust to forget your work and labour of love which you have shewed for his name c. Nothing being so frequently repeated in the Word of God as his gracious promises to recompense with everlasting glory the saith and obedience of his servants Nor is the bounty of God barely according to our works but high and plentifull even beyond our capacities giving full measure heaped up pressed down and running over into the bosomes of all that love him Thus we believe the merit or rewardablenesse of holy living both which signifie the same thing with us arises not from the self-valu● even of our best actions as they are ours but from the Grace and Bounty of God and for our selves we sincerely professe when we have done all those things which are commanded us we are unprofi●able servants having done nothing but that which was our duty So that our ●oasting is not in our selves but all our glorying is in Christ 4. We firmly believe and highly reverence the Moral Law being so solemnly delivered to Moses upon the Mount so expresly confirmed by our Saviour in the Gospel and containing in it self so perfect an Abridgement of our whole duty both to God and man Which Moral Law we believe obliges all men to proceed with faithfulness and sincerity in their mutual contracts one towards another and therefore our constant profession is that we are most strictly and absolutely bound to the exact entire performance of our promises made to any person of what Religion soever much more to the Magistrates and Civil Powers under whose protection we live whom we are taught by the Word of God to obey not only for fear but conscience sake and to whom we will most faithfully observe our promises of duty and obedience notwithstanding any dispensation absolution or other proceedings of any forein Power or Authority whatsoever Wherefore we utterly deny and renounce that false and scandalous Position that Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks as most uncharitaly imputed to our practices and most unjustly pinned upon our Religion These we sincerely and solemnly professe as in the sight of God the searcher of all hearts taking the words plainly and simply in their usuall and familiar sense without any Equivocation or Mentall Reservation whatsoever THese expressions concerning four of the most offensive points wherein the Papists differ from us have I confesse given me a great and unexpected satisfaction And though I remain in the same mind as to the erroneousnesse of many of their Tenets yet I see we may easily be too passionate in the degree of detesting any different opinion since every errour is not presently to be censured as an unsufferable abhomination and too severe in the degree of persecuting the dissenters from our own judgements as if they were unworthy to breath the same ayr with our selves Certainly many Protestants who quietly enjoy a just and unmolested freedom approach very neer to the first assertion of the Papists whilst some both Writers and Discoursers professe to submit their private judgements unappealably to a truly-free Generall