Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	government_n	kingdom_n	3,695	5	5.8013	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78018	Conformitie's deformity. In a dialogue between conformity, and conscience. Wherein the main head of all the controversies in these times, concerning church-government, is asserted and maintained; as without which, all reformation is headlesse, and all reconciliation hopelesse. Dedicated by Henry Burton, to the honour of Jesus Christ, as the first-fruits of his late recovery from death to life; as a testimony of his humble and thankfull acknowledgement of so great a mercy: and published for the service of all those, that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ...	Burton, Henry, 1578-1648.	1646 (1646)	Wing B6160; Thomason E358_20; ESTC R201164	26,532	40

they give to their General or National Assembly supreme power not only over their Parochial Classical and Provincial assemblies but even over the Parliament it self For not only they take the power to appoint both time and place for the convening of their Ecclesiastical assemblies as 2. Book of Discipline chap. 7. But they say moreover in the same chap. For this Orders cause they may make certain Rules and Constitutions appertaining to the good behaviour of all the members of the Kirk in their vocation And this they do without the Civil Magistrate Nay more chap. ibid. They have power also to abrogate and abolish all Statutes and Ordinances concerning Ecclesiastical matters that are found noysome and unprofitable and agree not with the time or are abused by the people And again in the same book chap. 12. The National Assemblies of this Country called commonly the General Assemblies ought alwayes to be retained in their own liberty and have their own place with power to the Kirk to appoint times and places convenient for the same And all men as well Magistrates as Inferiors to be subject to the Judgement of the same in Ecclesiastical causes without any reclamation or appellation to any Judge civil or Ecclesiastical within the Realm Thus in reference to the Spiritualty or the Church they make no bones to set up in their National Assembly the same Papal power which the Pope himself claimeth over Kings Princes States Kingdoms Commonweals And Mr. Rutherford in his * Government of the church of Scotland chap. 20. p. 312. tels us That though none in this grand assembly have decisive voyces save only Commissioners yet the Acts of the Assembly oblige all the absents not present in all their members and that because whatsoever is by those Commissioners determined and concluded is matter necessary and agreeable to Gods word as being no lesse infallible then those decisions of the Apostles Act. 15. All which Conformity I commend to thee when in thy best senses And because thou art apt to be overtaken with a supine drowsines pleasing thy self with thy dreams of becomming a King when once thou art gotten up into the saddle or throne of a Kirk National-Assembly let me awaken thee by pricking thy dull sides that thou mayest be at least convinced of that spirit of Antichristian pride and tyranny of rebellion and treason in lifting up a Papal throne above the Kings and Kesars above Kingdoms and Commonweals to the enslaving of the whole Nation in their souls bodies and estates For whosoever shall not in all things conform to the constitutions of that generall Kirk assembly when once the horn is blown then ipso facto imprisonment confiscation of goods banishment and what not Now Conformity doth Gods word hold forth any such Kirk fashions What To overrule Civil States and Kingdoms What That all Kirk laws and constitutions mustneeds be such as are both necessary and agreeable to the Word of God What To set up in the Kirk an Oracle of Infallibility and a Pontifician supremacy and Antichristian tyrannie and all under the name of a Christian Presbyterian Kirk-government But because this perhaps moves thee not I will remit thee to the supreme Bar of this Kingdom there to receive thy doom in case thou dost obstinately and madly persist in thy importunate clamours to have that Presbyterian government set up and thereby our fundamental lawes priviledges and power of Parliaments liberties and freedom of all true bred English subjects brought under perpetual bondage worse then that either of Egypt or Babylon But I passe on 2. For us You may know Conformity that we are not the setters up of that Religion you charge us with but it is that which we find to be set up by Christ and his Apostles which they did without leave from the Civil power or from the Ecclesiastical or mixt Synedrion as before Secondly though the Kingdom of Christ be indeed over all the kingdoms of the world yet all the subjects of this kingdom as they are the subjects of this or that civill State so they owe civill obedience thereunto but as they belong to Christs kingdome they are free from the civil power in point of religion owing subjection only to Christ and if the civil power usurp over any of them they yield themselves to suffer with patience without resistance Conf. Conscience I like thee well for this yet But you tell us strange things of Church-assemblies Consc Not more strange then true Read their books and be wise And for our suffering which thou likest so well it is no more then what Christ and his Apostles both taught practised and wherein all the Martyrs followed them Conf. I will better consider of what you say But do you not condemn the Magistrate when you say he usurps over you Consc No I condemn him not that is for God to do who is the supreme Judge of the world Conf. Why what limits hath God set to the Magistrate Consc Read Deut. 17. 18 19. and that from v. 13. to the end of the chap. to wit the whole law of God So also what bonds and bounds their own conscience and the terror of the great Judge and their sacred oath and solemn covenant and stipulation with the people and not only Gods law but the civil lawes of the kingdome do put upon them you cannot be ignorant Conf. But what if the Civil state hath made a-law to inhibi● and restrain all men and that under severe penalty from the observation of any other form of Religion and Church government then that which it hath established by law with a necessity of uniformity and conformity thereunto imposed upon all the subjects of the kingdom Doth the Magistrate sin in seeing this law executed And without such a government what Order will you have in your Churches or what coercive power in the case either of heresie or schisme Consc Do you question the Magistrates sin when his law is against the law of God and the liberty of a Christian who is the subject of Christs kingdom For here we are to distinguish between a subject of Christs spiritual kingdom and a meer subject of the civil State He that is a meer subject of the civil state acknowledging no superior power above it his conscience though blind bids and binds him to obey but he that is a true subject of Christs kingdom being also a subject of the civil State owes a twofold obedience one to the Civil State another to Christ According to that of Christ Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods Nor doth the order or disorder in churches as churches put any difference between the having or not having of a civil power In the Apostolick churches there were both heresies and schismes 1 Cor. 11. 18 19. 1 Joh. 2. 19. whith the civil power took no cognisance of Nay it was and may be as apt to persecute the

* The Holy Ghost shall lead you into all truth Therefore the Apostolick Chair at Rome cannot erre Here Mr. Conformity cast your eye a little upon the Scripture and see there what one place you can finde to serve your turn that hath any more likenesse or probability in it for what you claim then those places which the Papists are not ashamed to build their Babel-Towre upon You have talked much of Jure Divino but are not able to crane it up higher then to Jure Humano and therefore I suppose it is that of late dayes since the House put their nine Queres to the Synod the mention of Jure Divino is quite husht And now Conscience challengeth you to produce but one testimony from Scripture for you which will not make you as ridiculous as the forenamed Scriptures do the Pope And for Synods they have no such authority as you speak of Give us one Scripture That in Acts 15. will not serve your turn And the Apostles sought not to humane authority and laws to confirm the Gospel or to give power to the exercise of their ministery Conf. Why Mr. Conscience you your self cannot shew us from Scripture a model of your way though promised and long expected and therefore why should you require one of us Consc We do not require so much of you but to shew us one only place of Scripture for you which you cannot do And for us though we do not give you such a model as you desire or rather dream of for no such model is left in the New Testament as was given to Moses and David in the Old which consisted altogether of externall things being shadows of the spirituall now under the Gospel the pattern whereof was Christ But this we both have done and yet further are able to do to prove our way with all our practises in every particular out of Gods Word which you are not able to do for any one of your practices much lesse for the whole way of your Classicall Presbytery as which hath no footing in Scripture For because you thus urge me shew us if you can in all the New Testament any one Nationall Christian Church Or shew us any one ground for either Nationall or Parochiall Christian Churches or yet any Church fixed to a place so that all people successively comming to dwell there be they what they will godly or prophane Protestants or Papists because inhabitants there must therefore make up the Church there whether Nationall or Parochiall Or shew us that Churches should come by naturall propagation or locall habitation and succession and not by spirituall generation only Or shew us in Scripture either rule or example for a Classicall Presbytery Or shew us in the whole Scripture a State church government allowed of God Or shew us out of the Word that the Apostles constituted no Churches without leave obtained from the civill State Or whether those Christian Jews that constrained the Galatians to be circumcised for the avoiding of persecution did well or no so to constrain and that only to avoid persecution or whether this example will warrant you to constrain all to conform to you either because conformity is free from persecution or because all must be persecuted that conform not Or lastly shew us what better rule or example the Scripture affords for wresting from the Magistrate through the force of importunity by men both many and mighty stirred up and egged on by a Colledge of Priests to reject Christ and his government and deliver him up to their wils to be crucified then that Colledge of Priests in Jerusalem who so incensed the people against Christ that nothing would satisfie them but he must be crucified so as the Magistrate is necessitated even against his conscience what through fear of Caesar on the one side and what for favour of the people on the other to gratifie them with a Barabbas in stead of Christ Now to all or any of these we desire your answer Conf. Sir I only urge this for the present that though the Scripture hath not expressed a power given to men by Christ yet we finde examples of it in the Old Testament as Jehosaphat Ezekiah Iosiah Asa Kings of Judah who reformed Religion and are commended for it as good Kings for their labour Consc They did not set up any new forms of Religion of their own head but they commanded the Priests and Levites to restore and repair Religion in all things according to the prescript and precise pattern given by God himself And note withall that the kingdom of Iudah or of David was a type of Christs spiritual kingdom and all the Kings of Judah were types of Christ So as no other Kings or States are to be paralleld with them But yet I say for all that they went not beyond the precise rule of Gods law as you may see by all those examples you alledge For Christ gave those Kings though types of himself no such power as you pretend Yea the Scripture every where in both the Testaments hath punctually preserved inviolate and entire that Kingly prerogative of Christ as being as incapable of being communicable to any humane power as his omnipotency is or his other offices as High Priest and Prophet For proof hereof Moses for all his wisdom and learning and piety though he were a great Prophet and a type of Christ yet had not this power granted unto him to frame the Tabernacle with all things pertaining thereunto as himself pleased but a strict charge God gave unto him saying See thou do all * things according to the patterne shewed thee in the Mount So David though a King and a man after Gods own heart yet was not entrusted for the framing of the pattern of the Temple for his son Solomon but * God gave him the pattern thereof both by the Spirit and in writing so carefull was God lest David should forget any thing which he delivers to his son Solomon to do in all things accordingly So in Ezekial we reade where the reformation of the Church under the Gospel is typed there is a pattern to be measured as Ezek. 40. 5. to which answereth that in Rev. 11. 1. a place worthy our best observation as pertinent to these times of Reformation which must be measured by the golden reed of the Word of God And for any the least dominion over the conscience by any humane binding law in matters of faith Christ would no more entrust the Apostles themselves then he did Moses and David And therefore * Paul disclaimed it And * Peter disswaded it to the Presbyters or Elders being himself an Elder And herein even servants must not be servants to men as being bought with a price and so Christs free-men And remarkable is that * Scripture where Christ speaking to the multitude and to his Disciples he tels them of the Scribes and Pharisees sitting in Moses chair and so to

truth as to censure or restrain either heresie or schisme or apostacie And Christs government is sufficient in all Church-cases whatsoever Conf. But who in a Christian civil State do not acknowledge Christ as superior Consc This is sufficiently resolved before Such as conform to a State religion or a State church-church-government make that the supreme law and lord over their conscience and so exclude Christs supremacie Enough is said of that But you cut me off from what I was about to adde Mans nature is too prone to idolize the Power so as to make it as the shadow of the bramble in Jothams parable under which to ease themselves of the labour to search into the Scriptures and so to come to know what they believe most men pinning their Religion upon the sleeve either of the Priest as the Papists do or also of the Magistrate as our common Protestants do wrapping all up in an implicite faith and blind obedience according to your Remonstrance that urgeth conformity to the religion and government of Christ already established or which shall be set up Thus it was enough for the Pharisees to say * We have a law and by that law Christ ought to dye Thus Christ must not be God because the Roman Senate according to their law formerly made had not first motion'd it or passed their vote for it before Tiberius Caesar had commended it to them namely to admit of Christ into their Pantheon to take place among their gods And is it not even so with us Must not Christ be King of the Jews only because by an act of State as before they will not have this man to reign over them And Christ must not be God because the Roman Senate had not pre-resolved it And so Christ must not be sole Lord over the conscience nor sole Law giver of his Church nor his Word the sole rule of worship of Christs Kingly government of his spiritual kingdom in the conscience and Churches of the Saints nor indeed Christs kingdom spiritual because the Sate hath made a law which must rule the conscience in point of forms of worship and of Church-government that Christs kingdom must be worldly perpetually entaild to a whole Nation making up one Nationall Church the form whereof worldly and the materials worldly as either no Saints at all or else all Saints because all nominall Christians and all this and much more because the civill State by the instigation of men Ecclesiasticall or Civill domesticall or forein hath so ordaind it Conf. Well Conscieuce I now perceive that fame is no lyar I have now heard thee my self and much more then ever I heard before and such things as my stomack is no way able to digest but that I must needs go ease it by acquainting those whom it specially concerns with what thou hast here delivered And so farewell Consc Nay stay Conformity and this withall take with thee First I would have thee know that speaking so freely to thee I was not so simple as not to imagine thou wouldst divulge all nay in truth I have spoken all this to thee to that very purpose that thou shouldst communicate it if possible so far as the Sun shines but first to thine at home as thou sayest But thus much let me intreat of thee 1. That thou wouldst not do any thing this way in malice lest thou adde to thy sin Secondly that thou wouldst speak nothing but truth and the whole truth and that without aggravations whereof there is no need especially when thou speakest to thy friends of Conscience and much more of things of this nature too harsh for delicate ears And thirdly assure them from Conscience that what I have here spoken to thee it is out of pure zeale for the honour of Christ out of pure charity to the persons concerned out of pure piety to see my native country in such a perishing estate and the honour of England to lie in the dust out of pure hatred of hypocrisie idolatry pride covetousnes ambition treachery and treason walking up and down in long robes And in a word to deliver if no more yet mine own soul in discharge of my duty to God and my country as a poor Minister of Christ by witnessing the truth and convincing error And for a close of all Conformity If thou desirest Peace with Truth as we all should do If thou wouldest have me to hold correspondence with thee and to give thee the right hand of fellowship If thou desirest that desirable reconciliation of our differences First renounce thy name of Conformity in thy sense and conform not to this world but to Gods word let that be the Cynosure or Pole-star of that Vniformity of Churches ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD as in our late Covenant And this thou shalt do if I say not if thou dost shake off the fear and favour of men the love of the world of honours pleasures riches preferments ambition of greatnesse of domination over Gods people Nor if thou castest out that old spirit of bondage under the Prelates lest it turn into a more dangerous tyrannie then that of the Prelacie as being more refined and going under the plausible name of Reformation Nor do I say if thou becommest a self denying man taking up thy crosse daily to follow Christ without all which notwithstanding thou canst not be his true disciple follower or enjoy true fellowship with him But this I say and urge as being the main Fundamental and Essential of a true right visible church of Christ If thou confessest Christ in all that he is If thou givest him his due honour in submitting thy conscience only and wholly to him with profession thereof and not to any humane power and as to the only Lawgiver of his church and kingdom to order and establish it with judgement and justice for ever and to his Word as the only law and rule of the government of that kingdom and the only Judge to appeale unto in all doubts and controversies of faith And if thou shalt confesse every church and congregation of Christ to be only and immediately under Christs jurisdiction and not subject to any other church or churches which are so many Sisters not Mistresses lest otherwise we set up the Spouse above or in stead of her husband Christ If I say thou wilt confesse and hold forth this in thy publike profession preaching and practice of it Then though thy Churches have many other defects yet if they have the beeing and constitution of true churches of Christ for matter and form I shall not scruple to hold communion with thee But otherwise so long as thou walkest not up to Christ in not acknowledging and avowing all that he is in not giving him his due honour in all things and especially in not setting him up in his Royal throne without a consort How can we entertain communion with you For * Farewell Religion where