Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A17304
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Israels fast. Or, a meditation vpon the seuenth chapter of Ioshuah a faire precedent for these times. By H.B. rector of S. Mathews Fryday-Street.
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Burton, Henry, 1578-1648.
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1628
(1628)
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STC 4147; ESTC S106964
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36,749
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58
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laudably to Absalon were as faithfull Seruants and Friends to the King as Hushai was to Dauid Are any afraid least the Kings Liege people should chuse such as are Popishly affected or of factious Spirits But such will stand most for the Kings supplyes They pretend so But who doe more hinder or preiudice the King in his necessarie and Royall Subsidarie Supplyes then such Factours The Lord Iesus seperate such factious Factours and miscreant Merchants both from the King and Kingdome of Israel that so this Noble Assembly of Ioshua and the Elders may giue and receiue reciprocall and mutuall Supplyes interchangeably Ioshua the Head receiuing from the inferiour principall Parts plentifull nourishment conueyed by the Naturall and Vitall Spirits And Israel the Body receiuing from Ioshua their Head a due motion preportionable to the capacitie of each Member conueyed by the Animall Spirits sweetly gouerning preseruing and protecting that so the Whole together may increase with the increase of God There is a Fountaine of an exhausted Golden Mine in the Bowels of all True-hearted English Israelites which as the Kings fauour like the Sunne-beames begets it in them so vpon all fit occasions they will be ready in Golden streames abundantly to supply their Noble Ioshua Hee needs no American-Slaues to digge and force it nor the Romane mercilesse Sword to rip it as once out of the Captiue Iewes Bowels But it will freely flowe from Loyall Israel to their Royall Ioshua And now O Noble Elders of Israel I know the Bees come not more loaden with Honey to the Hiue then you at this time with inlarged affections to minister abundant supply to your Ioshuah Doe it on Gods Name brauely and like your selues I am a poore Schollar and am ready to sell my richest treasure my Bookes rather then Ioshuah shall want And doe it so as by Gods blessing vpon Ioshua you the Elders and so vpon vs all by you many Parliaments may be called wherein you may testifie if occasion require the copious and perennious Treasure of your loue and loyaltie in the like kind How is that I meane not Sparingly but as Arannah like a Prince gaue to King Dauid For Vera liberalitas fundum non habet But I meane pardon my Zeale which makes me thus bold to speake in the genuine and naturall Genius of your tender loue and care for the safetie and securitie of our Royall Ioshua of the Crowne of the Kingdome of Religion and of Vs all But your liberall Subsidies are giuen for that end True But alas pardon still my redenesse I speake not as a States-man to aduise such a graue Senat but as a poore Minister of Christ and Watchman of Israel to petition rather What can either Money or Men or Munition doe so long as Achans trouble Israel There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee O Israel saith the Lord Thou canst not stand before thine enemies vntill ye take away the accursed thing from among you Till this hee done Isâ—ael must not looke to prosper We need no better warrant then Gods owne Word for it It is your Wisedome to follow it least the Canaanites preuaile ouer vs. And the vtmost extreamitie of the state of things calls vpon you to doe it instantly It drawes a circle about your Assembly as that braue Romane did with his Staffe about King Mithridates not to stirre or steppe ouer it till Ioshuas and Israels danger the accursed thing be remoued It is impatient I speake no more then what you all know farre better then I to abide the expectation of another Parliament you see all things are in such a Precipice and Israel so dangerously sick as if you the great Colledge of Physitians depart without curing of it all will haue occasion to deeme the case desperate and irrecouerable already drawing on a pace to a Dissolution vnlesse the Great Physitian doe mercifully and miraculously put to his Omnipotent hand For the Achans the Troublers of Israel hasten the ruine of all But who might those Achans be Your wisedomes cannot be ignorant of them yet because they are a mysticall knot of Iniquity and haue exceedingly insinuated themselues into the good opinion of many I humbly craue leaue that by the diuine Lot of Gods word I may a little discouer them All Achans as I said are Diuiders first betweene God and Israel and secondly as a consequence thereof betweene Israel themselues and that especially while they mainely labour to diuide the Head from the Body Ioshua from the Elders of Israel And saith Christ A Kingdome diuided against it selfe cannot stand These Achans which trouble our Israel are of sundry sorts as first Iasuites and Seminary Priests These are the ring leading Achans Of such the Lord saith in Deuteronomy that because they seduce the people from God they shall be put to death These as they diuide God from vs hiâ— seruants so they diuide the Subiects from the King This was wont to be Treason but now a dayes it would passe for good Religion The second kinde of Achans troubling Israel are Idols â—f Achans wedge and Babylonish garment troubled all Israel as an accursed thing how much more Popish Idols shall wee halt betweene two opinions betweene God and Baal Either goe after the Lord onely if indeede he be God or if Baal be He goe onely after him said Eliah King Asa spared not his owne Mothers Groue and Idol but brake them downe yea for their cause deposed her from her Regency Oh for the like zeale for God! But certainly if these Idols and Masses Images and Popish Trumperies be not speedily abolished thou canst not prosper O Israel nor stand before thine Enemies Downe therefore with Popish Idols O Ioshua and the Elders of Israel which cease not to cry of our Ierusalem Downe with it downe with it euen to the ground Spare not these Brats of Babylon that dare perke vp so neere to Gods Arke threatning to shoulder it out of doores But you know what befell the Philistins Dagon and you may remember what befell the Romish Dagon in the Black-friers vpon their fift of Nouember So iealous is our God Hee cannot brooke a corriuall But some hauing beene Protestants formerly in which Religion they were baptized comming afterwards to be inueigled to Popery and thereupon making a solemne vow sealed as they call it with the Sacrament of the Altar neuer to alter this their new couenant make such a conscience hereof as if it stood not with faith and honesty to breake it But doe they not know vnlesse Popery hath altogether blinded their eyes that any such couenants or vowes ought neither to be made nor much lesse to be kept which haue any commerce or relation to Idolatry Doth not our Precontract to Christ in our Baptisme to forsake the Diuell and all his workes frustrate and make void all second contracts with Antichrist for the setting vp of Idolatry one maine worke of the Diuell Nothing therefore ought to impeach our
necessity should inforce either honest men to purchase the Church with mony or to permit theeues robbers to possesse all entering into the sheepfold another way This you aymed at And why did it not succeed well It was among other things thought of What if it had bin not only thought of but concluded enacted not among but before all other things Dimidium facti qui benè coepit habet A thing well begun is halfe done The heathen began alwayes their great reformations enterprizes with GOD they were first for Religion then for the Republicke Omnia post Religionem ponenda semper nostra Civitas duxit saith one of Heathen Rome Our City euer iudged all things to bee ranked after Religion A Iove principium Musae sang the Poet. And Dii caeptis aspirate meis c. should not Israel much more Did the Shunamite loose any thing by seruing the Prophet first of her handful of meale and poore remnant of oyle in her â—ruse notwithstanding her present extremity Yea hath it not beene the ancient customes of Parliaments in England euer to begin not onely to treate but to conclude of and settle the state of Religion before matters of the Republicke came to be handled If wee revolue the Annales of those ancient times of Egyptian darknes ignorance in coÌ„parison of the present resplendent light of Israel we shal find therein such noble steps of piety towards God in this kinde as may make our Israel to blush if it doe not kindle an emulous zeale of imitation in a parallel at the least Let me for the purpose heere insert the words of that precious Bishop Iewell Neither is it saith hee so strange a matter to see Ecclesiasticall matters debated in Parliament Reade the Lawes of King Inas King Alfred King Edward King Athelstane King Edmund King Edgar King Canute and yee shall find that our godly forefathers the Princes Peeres of this Realme neuer vouchsafed to entreate of matters of Peace or warre or otherwise touching the common state before all controversies of Religion and causes Ecclesiasticall had bin concluded King Canute in his Parliament holden at Winchester vpon Christmas day after sundry lawes orders made touching the Faith the keeping of holy-dayes publick prayers learning of the Lords Prayer Receiuing the Communion thrice in the yeare the manner and forme of Baptisme Fasting and other matters of Religion in the end thereof saith thus Iam sequitur Institutio legum saecularium Now followeth an order for Temporall Lawes Thus wee see saith the good Bishop that the godly Catholicke Princes in olde times thought it their duety before all other affaires of the Common-weale first to determine matters of Religion and that euen by the Parliaments of this Realme Such were the auncient Princes and Elders of this Kingdome in times past Their care of Religion in the first place in their Parliaments was the onely way to bring on the better successe for their Civill affaires Wherein also the reverend Prelates furthered all good Acts by their counsel when required although they had not negatiue voyces in Parliament as D Iewell in the foresaid place and also Bishop Bilson in his booke of Christian subjection and Antichristian Rebellion doe plainely show the Parliaments of this Land hauing euer had this power as well in matters of Religion as of ciuill Policy to establish good and wholesome Lawes for both Not that our Parliaments haue power to make new Articles of the Faith to establish what Religion they please but it is in their power yea and their duty too taking the Word of God for their guide and rule to establish the true Religion taught therein and to abolish all false Religions coÌ„trary thereunto Where then should a Parliament begin but with God but with Religion if euer they looke that GOD should giue a happy successe to their ciuill affaires therein Especially the Parliaments of these our times wherein the cloudes of Pelagian heresie mounting to the toppe of mans aery imagination by casting a false shaddow vpon the pure doctrines of the Church of England deriued vnto vs from the Fountaines of Scripture by the Conduits of the prime Reformers of Religion and continued vnto vs euer since by the vninterrupted pipes of the most learned and illustrious Martyrs Prelates and Doctours of our Church would bring our Meridian light of the Gospell to a twylight by intermingling with it the Egyptian fogs of the Church of Rome So that if our Parliaments would repaire the ruinated Edifice of the Republicke let them begin to make good and strengthen the maine pillars and Foundation whereon it standeth and that is Gods Temple Religion which through vndermining Pioners is shrewdly shaken who goe about to erect the towre of Babel instead thereof In the Name of GOD therefore pardon by boldnesse some must speake out else the stones would cry yet I take not vpon mee to teach the Elders of Israel They can best judge of what I say and the Lord giue them vnderstanding in al things whensoeuer the Elders of Israel shall meet againe in Parliament and I trust God will put it into the heart of our Ioshua in due time to summon a Parliament for the glory of God and the good of Israel I trust to see both Ioshua and the Elders of Israel agree in one in the first place to establish the Religion of Christ so long and happily hitherto avowed and maintained in the Church of England The establishment whereof necessarily dependeth vpon the abolishment of two maine troublers of Israel to wit Antichristian Idolatry and Arminian heresie While these two stand neuer let Israel looke for any good To omit many godly Kings of Israel as Iehosnaphat Ezechiah Iosiah who destroying Idolatry prospered remarkeable is the example of Asa who in rooting out of Idolatry spared not his owne Mother Maachah remouing her from being Queene because shee had made an Idole in a groue and Asa cut downe her Idole and stamped it and burnt it Insomuch as King Asa prospered in warre and his Land had peace to the 35 yeare of his raigne vntill he made a league with the King of Syria not relying on the Lord and being depraued by Hanani the Seer hee put him in prison and oppressed some of the people Againe so long as Arminian bookes are vnpurged and the Trueth vnpriviledged to passe abroad your Parliaments O Israel cannot prosper To the repurgation of these if you adde out of euery Impropriation a sufficient maintenance to the Ministery if you castigate Simony if possible by some wise godly restrictions better executed if with these reformations you conclude your first Session of Parliament without any mixture of your owne ciuill matters all other grievances shall fall mole sua as the wals of Iericho at the voyce of the rammes hornes Our Ioshua shall be honoured with subsidiary streames of loue duty flowing from the hearts of the best subiects in the World out