Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	civil_a	magistrate_n	matter_n	3,433	5	6.0251	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57599	Loyalty and peace, or, Two seasonable discourses from I Sam. 24, 5 viz., David's heart smote him because he cut off Saul's skirt : the first of conscience and its smitings, the second of the prodigious impiety of murthering King Charles I, intended to promote sincere devotion and humiliation upon each anniversary fast for the Late King's death / by Samuel Rolls.	Rolle, Samuel, fl. 1657-1678.	1678 (1678)	Wing R1880; ESTC R25524	110,484	255

was occasioned by a Lye of David's that as we read 1 Sam. 22.18 The King i. e. Saul said to Doeg Turn thou and fall upon the Priests And Doeg went and fell upon the Priests and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linnen Ephod ver 19. And Nob the City of the Priests smote he with the edge of the sword both men and women children and sucklings and oxen asses and sheep Hear David's Confession ver 22. that it was long of him David said to Abiathar I knew it that day when Doeg was there that he would surely tell Saul I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy Fathers house Now had David been as deeply guilty of the death of so many Priests and other People as Saul was who commanded Doeg to kill them or as Doeg was who did so willingly execute that bloody command of Saul directly opposite to the Command of God 't is like he had been overwhelm'd with the sense of it but as the case stood he was not so because though he was not altogether unaccessary to the slaughter aforesaid yet he had so small a hand in it and was so very remotely indirectly and vnintentionally concern'd therein that his Conscience had not much to say to him concerning it For it fareth in such cases as these as it doth in some small and slender Errors in judgment which may be charged with dangerous Consequences at the long run they may possibly be no great prejudice to these that hold them or are deceived by them because they do utterly abhor those Consequences wherewith they are charged neither do they apprehend that they are chargeable with any such Consequences Ex. gr Suppose that be an Error that some have made such ill use of That Christ shall reign upon the earth a thousand years though Fifth monarchy-men have taken occasion from thence to raise Arms and rebel under pretence of bringing Christ to his Throne yet ought not all that ever were of that opinion or now are to be courted Rebels For there are and have been men of that perswasion who knew full well that the Kingdom of Christ upon Earth stood in no need of mens sins and Rebellion to set it up but would make way for its self when the full time was come God forbid that I should be so unjust as to charge every body with the death of the martyred King at any such rate as his Judges are charged with it but this I am bold to say viz. that the whole Nation at leastwise by deserving that so great a judgment should befal it as was the cutting off a good King or by not sufficiently bewailing that such a thing was done or notenough abhorring the tsinfulness of that fact are become so far forth accessary to it as doth give every man sufficient occasion to cast in his Lot amongst those that do fast and mourn upon every 30th day of January And now methinks I hear some people objecting against the Law which hath established a perpetual Fast upon that occasion to be celebrated every year and on such a day as if it were a thing of which no good account could be given or more than needs and concerning which the great God would say Who hath required this at your hands As if it did but kindle coals keep up revenge renew heats and animosities raise and disturb the Ghosts of the dead which should be at rest upbraid those who have received their punishment and upon the whole matter do more hurt than good Now to those who ask us Quo warranto do we keep our Anversary Fast on every 30th day of January To that I answer 1. We have frequent instances in holy Writ of Magistrates taking upon them to appoint Religious Fasts 1 Sam. 7.5 And Samuel said Gather all Israel to Mizepeh And they gathered to Mizpeh and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted all that day c. Which passage the Chaldee Paraphrase doth thus gloss upon viz. Hauserunt aquas e puteo cordis sui abunde lachrymati sunt coram Domino resipiscentes i. e. They drew waters out of the wells of their hearts and wept abundantly before the Lord but that by the way See also 2 Chron. 20.3 Jehoshaphat feared viz. because Moab and Ammon were come up against him and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a Fast throughout Judah See also Ezra 8.21 Then I proclaimed a Fast saith Ezra that we might afflict our selves before our God to seek of him a right way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance Also Esther 4.16 Go gather together all the Jews that are in Shushan said Queen Hester and fast ye for me and neither eat nor drink three days night or day I also and my maids will fast likewise and so will I go in unto the King which is not according to the Law and if I perish I perish See Jonah 3.5 So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a Fast ver 6. For word came to the King of Nineveh and he covered him with sackcloth and sate in ashes And he caused it to be proclaimed and published thorow Nineveh by the decree of the King and his Nobles c. All these Texts do manifest beyond all contradiction That even the best of Rulers and Magistrates such as Samuel Jehoshaphat Ezra c. have taken upon them to proclaim and enjoyn Religious Fasts when they saw causes for it which doubtless so good and knowing men as these would never have done if it had not belonged to them So then there can be no fault in Magistrates assuming to themselves to appoint a Fast and Fasts upon sufficient and meet occasions though some cannot endure to hear of Civil Magistrates their medling or making more or less about matters of Religion no though it be to promote it but I think they are more nice than wise in that particular But may some say Will the occasion bear a Fast viz. The Death of the King so many years ago To which I answer Why not Surely it will Great Judgments either incumbent or but impendent have been the occasions of Fasts So of Jehoshaphat's and of Esther's Fast and why are not great sins as much and as just an occasion of a Fast for they are causes and procurers of great Judgments Have we not as much cause to fast and pray in reference to that Guilt which is upon our heads as to War or other Calamities which do but hang or hover over our heads Now whereas some may think that though such an occasion as that may well bear a day or two once for all yet an Anniversary Fast upon such an account as this is too much I am not of their mind For why not Anniversary Fasts upon great and and publick sins as well as Anniversary Feasts upon great and publick deliverances and that appointed by Magistrates too Such was

who not only despised the Authority but destroyed the very Life of that excellent King of whom we have been speaking But there is one cause more of mens despising the great sin of Sacriledge and making nothing of it viz. A great mistake which they are and have been under as touching the holiness of Persons viz. That they know and acknowledge no holiness of Persons but that which the Scripture intends when it saith without holiness no man shall see God Whereas most evident it is both from the Old and New Testament that Persons are very often called holy upon a much more laxe large and loose account Ex. gr 1. Vpon account of being dedicated though not by themselves to God yet by God to himself to his own use and honour Luke 2.23 Every Male that openeth the Womb shall be called holy unto the Lord. Surely that is not meant of a saving but of a ceremonial Holiness of a typical rather than of a substantial Holiness 2. Vpon account of Gods external Adoption of a people to the title and outward priviledges of his Children and Holy ones Hence it is said of the Jews or Jewish Nation though it were not savingly true of all or of the most of them 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are a chosen Generation a holy Nation a peculiar People c. The reason of which Apellation is because they were Israelites to whom pertained the Adoption and the Glory and the Covenants c. Rom. 9.4 Not so far forth as that all of them were thereby finally sav'd but only put into a much better capacity for Salvation than others were who did not enjoy the same priviledges 3. Vpon account of meer profession and outward appearance men are often called in Scripture Holy and Saints which is all one c. So 1 Thes 5.27 Let this Epistle be read to all the Holy Brethren So he calls the whole Church So Heb. 3.1 Wherefore Holy Brethren partakers of the Heavenly Calling c. So we find the word Saints scattered so freely and us'd so commonly in Saint Pauls Epistles that we may rest assured it is not there applied to them only who are Saints indeed Rom. 12.13 Distribute to the necessity of the Saints i.e. Of all poor persons professing the Christian Religion for they could not search or judge of their hearts Rom. 15.25.26 Rom. 16.15 With innumerable other Texts to the some purpose 4. Vpon the account of federal Holiness are they called Holy who are not all so in strictness of speaking or i● relation to eternal Life So 1 Cor. 7.14 Th● unbelieving Husband is sanctified or rendre● holy by the Wife and the unbelieving Wife is sanctified by the Husband else were your Children unclean but now are they holy meaning federally not savingly holy as the unbelieving Wife is said to be sanctified by her Husband not savingly for so many never are but federally 5ly and lastly Persons may be called sacred upon the account of their being inviolable or such as do not lie open and exposed so as common persons do but there is a noli me tangere upon them Touch not handle not hurt not to be sure Touch not mine annointed and do my Prophets no harm So the Feast of Jubile was called Holy because inviolable Lev. 25. Now though none but religious and godly Kings be holy so as is meant when the Scripture saith Without holiness none shall see God yet every King professing the Christian Religion is sacred upon the five accounts last rehearsed and in a peculiar manner upon the last of them viz. As being more inviolable and unapproachable for the matter of hurting more guarded from the violence of men by the sacredness of his Office and Supremacy of his Condition than Subjects are Yea and upon one accompt more 6ly ●ings and Rulers as they have more of the Image and Stamp of God in point of Authority therefore called Gods in Scripture and they are set apart by God for his more especial service as his Deputies and Vicegerents upon earth may and ought to be counted sacred persons Now being Sacred the injury done to such especially the destroying of theirlives may very fitly be stiled Sacriledge Now when I have spoken to two things more viz. 1. That Sacriledge is a very great sin and 2. That this Regicide was very great Sacriledge I shall dismiss this 4th Article and proceed to another May not the heavy judgments of God inflicted for Sacriledge be alledged as a great proof of the hainousness of that sin for though God hath now and then signally punished sins seemingly but small yet it is possible they might be really much greater all things considered than we know of yet ordinarily they are great and hainous sins for which God visiteth men with great and heavy Punishments And such are the Judgments which God hath inflicted for Sacriledge witness Mal. 3.9 Ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed me even this whole Nation Witness also what we read touching Eli and his Sons 1 Sam. 2.25 When Hophni and Phineas took away pa●● of the Flesh which the People brought fo● offerings to rost for themselves Eli th●● expostulated with them If one man sin against another the Judge shall judge him b●● if a man sin against the Lord who shall entreat for him Where their Sacriledge i● spoken of as so great a sin and so immediately against God that they would find it hard to get any body to intercede for them though in Law-suits betwixt man and man Advocates and Council a● they are called are allowed on both sides In Jer. 7.16 God said to Jeremy Pray no● you for this People neither make intercession to me for I will not hear thee And in Exod. 32.10 The Lord said to Moses let me alone that my wrath may waxe hot against them and that I may consume them Now Eli spoke to his Sons as if their sin had made God so angry that he scarce knew what mortal man would dare to intercede for them or be suffered by God to stand in the gap Yea the following words are very severe viz. Notwithstanding they hearkened not to the voice of their Father because the Lord would slay them i. e. God was so provoked by their liquorish Sacriledge that he was resolved not to prevent their ruin by any special interposure of his Grace nor yet to put their Father upon what further means he might have used for the reclaiming of them viz. By hard blowes instead of soft words Yea so angry was God with Eli's Sons for their Sacriledge that it reached not their heads only but also run down upon the Skirts of their Father Eli for not punishing of them at an otherguess rate than his tender over-indulgent heart had suffered him to do because he smote them not as with Rods God smote him and his as with Scorpions 1 Sam. 2.34 This shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon thy two Sons on Hophny and Phineas