Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	christian_a	time_n	true_a	2,835	4	3.9950	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15132	A most godly and learned sermon preached at Pauls crosse the 17 of Nouember, in the yeare of our Lorde. 1583.	Whitgift, John, 1530?-1604.	1589 (1589)	STC 25432; ESTC S114940	18,891	64

Then kings leaue of to be Princes when as such as ought to obey them cōtemne their lawes Therefore it is a principal point of obedience to obserue lawes and to doe that which is commaunded But some peraduenture will say must we obey the Prince in all things hee commaundeth Is there no exception What if he commaunde that which is against Gods commaundment The answere is easie and common There is no powre giuen to any man saith Basill either to cōmaund that which God hath forbidden or to forbid that which God hath commaunded therefore if any such cōmaundement happen to be thou must answere with the Apostles in the Acts that it is better to obey God then men But take this with thée also which Hierome noteth vpon this place that this Rule doth not onely belong to that obedience which is required in the Subiect towards the magistrate but in that also which is required in Seruants towards their Maisters in wiues towards their Husbands in Children towards their Parents for neither must the seruaunt obey his maister nor the wife her husband nor children their parents in those things which are contrary to Gods cōmaundements And therefore measure thy obedience towards the Prince and Magistrate by that which thou thy selfe requirest of thy seruant wife or children Certaine it is that thou must obey Magistrates and Lawes in all thinges not contrary to the word of God The second poynte of Obedience is to pray for Magistrates The people of GOD being in captiuitie were commaunded to pray for the long life of the King of Babilon and of his sonne S. Paul exhorteth that aboue all thinges praiers supplications intercessions and giuing of thankes bee made for all men for Kinges and those that are in authori tie Tertulian testifieth that in his time the Christians in all their assemblies prayed for the Emperours and Potentates of this world The people of God were commaunded to pray for Nabuchadonezer a forraine King and a Tyrant S. Paul exhorteth to pray for Kinges and Princes when they were as Augustine not̄eth enemies to the Church of Christ. The Christians in Tertulians time prayed for their Emperours and Magistrates being persecutors and shall not wee praie and exhorte to praie for her Maiestie our naturall Prince mercifull Christian and a constant defendor of the true Religion of the Church of Christ Here then is the Bishop of Rome condemned who is so far from praying for Princes that he curseth them and prayeth against them if they displease him neuer so little Likewise those fantasticall spirits are likewise here reprooued which dissalow and mislike this manner of yerelie celebrating this day to giue God thankes for the great and wonderfull benefits which we enioy thorough his goodnes by the ministerie of her Maiestie whome it pleased him as this day fiue and twentie yeares to place in the Throne of this Kingdome and to praie vnto him for her long life and prosperitie as though wee did it superstitiouslie or dedicated the day vnto her as to some Sainct whereas in deede wee doe but our duetie and that which is most lawfull for vs to doe Mardocheus as wee reade in the booke of Hester without anie expresse commaundement of God ordeyned that the Iewes shoulde yere lie celebrate and keepe holie the foureteenth and fifteenth day of the moneth Ader in remembrance of the deliuering of the Iewes by the ministerie of Hester from the blouddie conspiracie of Hammon And is it not lawfull for vs to celebrate this day and to dedicate it vnto God which by the ministery of Queene Elizabeth hath not onlie deliuered vs from the crueltie and tyranny of the Bishop of Rome but also opened vnto vs the dore of his Gospell and as yet keepeth it open and hath further giuen vnto vs that peace tranquillitie and aboundance of all thinges that of all people in the worlde wee are thought to bee the most happie and as it were an astonishment to our enemies But let vs not regard what they thinke or saie who either maligne and enuie this our felicitie or are pleased with nothing which they themselues do not deuise It is certaine that this our sacrifice of praying thankes-giuing is most acceptable to God and approued of al godlie men and I most hartely beseeche GOD that we may continue this exercise in this manner and vppon this occasion euen to the worlds ende and the Lorde blesse and preserue her Maiestie encrease the number of her frends and conuert or ouerthrowe all her enemies The third poynt wherein obedience consisteth is in fearing and honoring of Magistrates The wise man saith my sonne feare God and honour the Kinge S. Paul likewise willeth that honour be giuen to whom honour is due and feare to whome feare is due Likewise Sainct Peter saith Feare GOD honour the King By feare and honour is comprehended not onely the outward gesture of the bodie reuerence of wordes c but also the inward good will and reuerence of the heart and minde which especiallie is required of all subiects towards their Princes and Magistrates The Kingdome of the Persians contynued verie long and greatlie increased Isocrates saith that the cheife and principall cause thereof was for that the Persians aboue all other nations did most of all feare honour and reuerence their King God graunt that wee may also performe our duety in this poynt as we haue iust cause to doe The fourth and last office of obedience is to helpe and relieue Princes and Magistrates when neede requireth Christ himselfe payed tribute to Caesar and the Apostle commaundeth tribute to be giuen to whome tribute is due Obedience then consisteth in obseruing of lawes praying for the Magistrate fearing and honouring of him and in paying vnto him tribute And thus much of the second part In the third I haue to declare who they be that are disobedient and offend against this commaundement of the Apostle There are three kindes of men giltie of disobedience The Papist the Anabaptist the conceyted and wayward person The Papist restraineth the authoritie of the Magistrate more then is conuenient The Anabaptist taketh it altogeather away The conceyted person obeyeth and disobeyeth at his pleasure The Papist restrayneth the authority of the Magistrate in two respects in the respect of persons in the respect of causes For hee denieth the Magistrate to haue authoritie ouer Ecclesiasticall persons especiallie ouer the Bishoppe of Rome hee denieth him also to haue authoritie in Ecclesiasticall causes but this error is soone confuted For that he hath authoritie ouer Ecclesiastical persons it is manifest Christ himself being an Ecclesiasticall person and the heade of the Church was subiect to Caesar as I haue before declared S. Paule saith Let euery soule submit it selfe to the Superior power be exempteth none and therfore Chrisostome expounding this place sayth Ista imperantur omnibus sacerdotibus Monachis non solúm secularibus c

Magistrate hath authoritie in ecclesiasticall causes in manner and fourme as I haue declared And therefore the Papistes in abridging this authoritie must needs be found guiltie of disobedience But I would to God it consisted herein only it reacheth further for whē they list they altogether take away the authoritie of the Magistrate The Bishops of Rome vsurpe vnto themselues power to place and displace Emperors and kings at their pleasure to deliuer their subiectes from their oath of obedience to mooue them to rebell against them and if that will not serue to suborne some priuilye and secretlye to murther them Pope Zacharie who liued seuen hundred yeares and more after Christ was the first that tooke vpon him that authoritie but diuers afterwards put it in execution Gregorie the seuenth did not onelye excommunicate Henry the fourth and animated his subiectes to revell against him by deliuering of them from their oath of obedience but when that woulde not serue sought also waies and means secretly to murther him by hiring one to let a stone fall frō the top of the church vppon the Emperours head as hee was praying but God preuented that practize by punishing the murtherer and crushing him in peeces with the same stone Paschalis the second continued the same course against the same Emperor and in the end caused his owne Sonne to rebell against him Alexander the third delt in like maner against Friderick the Emperor and betrayed him to the Turke So did Innocentius the fourth with the Emperour in his time and at the length poysoned him It were too long to reherse all examples which might be vsed in this matter doeth not experience teache vs that they contynue their practise euen at this time The Lorde defend her Maiestie from them and confound their deuises against her Certein it is that they are enemies to Princes and guiltie of disobedience The second kinde of men offending against this precept of the Apostle are the Anabaptists who thinke it not lawfull for Christians eyther to bee Magistrates or to obey Magistrates grounding themselues vpon that which the Apostle writeth in the fift to the Galathians Stand in the libertie wherin Christ hath made you free c and such like places forgetting that which followeth in the same Chapter Take heed you make not your libertie an occasion to the flesh whereby it appeareth that Christian libertie is not of the flesh but of the spirit not of the bodie but of the minde not of freedome from being subiect to men but from subiection to sinne and to death Lex spiritus vitae saith the Apostle liberum me reddidit a iure peccati mortis The lawe of the spirit of life through Iesus Christ hath made me free from the lawe of sin and death Rom. 8. 2. Christ himselfe obeyed the Ciuill Magistrate Peter and Paul commaund Christian Seruants Children Wiues and Subiects to obey their Maisters Parentes Husbandes and Magistrates The Gospel doeth not destroy common-welthes but establisheth them And Christian religion taketh from no man that which is due vnto him Therefore the opinion of the Anabaptists is of it selfe absurd and needeth no confutation The third kinde is of those that are conceited and wayward who onely obey when they list wherein they list and so long as they list men delighted with singularitie whome nothing can please but that which themselues doe inuent Of whome the Apostle S. Peter speaketh when he saith Dominationem contemnunt audaces praefracti qui gloria praecellentes non verentur maledictis incessere They dispise authoritie they are presumptuous and stande in their owne conceit which feare not to speake euill of them that excell in worship They contemine Lordship and Superioritie He saith not that they condemne Lordship and Superiority but that they contemne it being bold wilfull and froward which are not afraide to speake euill of those that are in authoritie The Apostle Iude in like manner writeth of them in his Epistle S. Paul giueth vnto them these titles Louers of themselues disdainefull proude cursed speakers disobedient vnthankfull calūniators fierce rashe heddie hauing a forme of godlines but denying the force thereof they creepe into houses liuing at other mens tables speciallie into womens houses loaden with sinne alwaies learning neuer stayed in any opinion S. Augustine also speaketh of these kinde of men when he saith Non iam vt vetus prouerbium fertur quod volumus sanctum est sed etiam quando volumus quàm diu volumus Not now as the old Prouerb is is that holy which we fancie to be holy but the same also when wee fancie and so long as we fancie For nothing is holie but that which they wil haue to be holie and that when they will haue it holie and as long as they will haue it holie and not otherwise I my selfe doe knowe and am able to proue that some things are now holie in their iudgement which before they compted vnholy and likewise something now to be vnholie which heretofore they haue set downe to be holie But these are holie ones and may not bee touched Therefore I will cease to speake anie more of their persons and come to the qualities and notes whereby they and al other disobedient persons may be discerned and knowen It followeth in the Apostle admonish them that they speake euill of no man that they bee not contentious And the Apostle Iude speaking of disobedient persons saith they are murmurers and quarrilous wherby I gather that there are two notes by the which disobedient persons may bee knowne Euill and slaunderous speaking and contention else the Apostle woulde not haue giuen Titus speciall charge to warne disobedient persons of these two crimes Well then those that are disobedient may bee knowne by their euill speaking of Magistrates and by contending against orders and lawes Touching the first the nature of man it selfe is prone and bent to speake euill of two kindes of persons principallie of those which haue gouernement in the Church as of Bishops Preachers c. And of those which haue gouernement in the common wealth as of Princes and Magistrates the deuill also prouoking thereunto For by speaking euill of the one the Religion that they professe and preache is slaundered the good successe of the Gospell hindred and by speaking euill of the other contempt of superiours is wrought in the harts of the subiects whervpon springeth all disobedience That Bishoppes and preachers and such as haue gouernment in the church haue bene alwaies subiect to the slaunderous tongues of disobedient persons it appeareth by the example of Christ him selfe who though he neuer offended eyther in life or doctrine yet could hee not auoide the malitiousnes of the tongue They called him Samaritane they sayd he had a deuill they accused him for keeping company with Publicans and sinners Therefore in purging of himselfe he faith not which of you accuseth me of sinne but which of you can conuince