Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	king_n	kingdom_n	parliament_n	5,178	5	6.3666	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88698	Gallicantvs, seu Præcursor Gallicinii primus. Containing two addresses, the one to the King, the other to the Parliament. Tegether [sic] with a postscript about the affaires of religion, of most high concernment. By R. Lanceter, author of Gallicinivm, now in the presse.	Lanceter, R., 17th cent.	1660 (1660)	Wing L425D; Thomason E1041_1; ESTC R207925	27,361	35

necessary it is that my Address be first to your Majesty and thereto that I am especially called of God I can give evidence of sufficiently The whole drift of this my humble Addresse and Supplication to your Majesty is onely to vouchsafe unto your humble Suppliant an hearing tryall and examination to the utmost And if I be found an Imposter a Deceiver or one deceived accordingly to receive punishment and a reclaiming from error But if in the truth then to close with it as from God from on high visiting us in order to fulfill his promises unto the last Ages The Lord Almighty confirm and establish your royall heart more and more in all goodness and give you the light of the knowledg of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ An humble Addresse unto the High Court of PARLIAMENT To the Honourable Sir Harbottle Grimstone Speaker to the Honourable House of Commons in Parliament SIR THat it hath pleased God to bring home and restore unto his Kingdomes and Rights our gracious King and that in so peaceable a way of setling the Legislative power in the antient course of King Lords and Commons in Parliament and that the care is undertaken therein for Religion and the Church as well as for Laws and the Common-wealth I do heartily rejoyce and blesse the Lord for it and that I have lived to see the day and accordingly my constant and earnest prayers are for his grace and blessing to guid and crown all your righteous sanctions that there may be a sweet concurrence and continuance of your joynt endeavours herein to the settlement of all things in a blessed way And thenceforth his Majesty to reigne over us most happily unto the utmost date of the life of man I do withall acknowledge and professe that I am conscientiously perswaded that the power of Parliaments as thus in compleat concurrence of the three Estates is absolute and illimitable as to all things in order to the best provision for the good of the people the government of the State and whatsoever is within the circle of mans wisedome and power But as to Religion it not being of man but of God the wisedome and will of the highest powers on earth must of necessity be regulated and determined by the declared will and wisedome of God I do further acknowledge an abundant rejoycing in my heart in that I am so warrantably apprehensive that your hearts are towards Religion and the settlement thereof in the first place it being not onely right and due as being of the highest concernment but also as in true Christian prudence to precede in regard that thence indeed have you the true light into all other provision of Laws But withall I professe that what at present I see and find and what for future is the expectation of the generall part which ever incline to the worst even the will and liking of the flesh about the Religion worship and discipline in all likelihood to be established and imposed on all by the present authority even the same which was before these late Wars and which most mainely occasioned them I must I say and may professe and declare by warrant of his Majesties gracious Declaration for liberty to tender consciences that all will be no other but plaine and grosse Antichristianisme not to be endured by any that setteth his heart unto the truth of Christ In regard whereof I hold it better to declare my selfe aforehand to divert if it may be such Antichristian intrusions then to oppose the way of authority when their sanctions come abroad by being put upon that which the Apostles were forced to say Acts 4.19 Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more then unto God judge yee We find it most true which Christ foretold that that Generation should not passe till all things were fulfilled Mat. 24.34 For as in those times the Scribes Pharisees and other the Jewish Grandees exalted their owne wisedome above the wisedom of God to correct moderate and change the Laws and Ordinances of God as they thought best yea to reject the Commandements of God to establish their owne tradit on s Just such is the generation of men to this present day what arrogant affronts despite have they done to that wisedome of God yea his highest wisedome in Christ yea most proudly and disdainfully to the height of all impudence they say That the Church was but in its infancy as it was stated by Christ and his Apostles but that the better wits and wisedome of men have brought it now to a more perfect and compleat condition And all meerly by scornefully casting by the way of Christ to establish their owne inventions So that I may considently say that there is no one thing in all Religion Ordinances Worship and Discipline remaine intire and o● true Christian use and efficacy as Christ hath commended and committed them unto us A dreadfull case And yet to see the horrible blindnesse of men and hardnesse of heart that when they see and confesse that all is wrong and out of course yet they cannot have an heart and thought to look back to the rule of Christ to redintegrate all things by that infallible rule but wholly to look to the wayes of mans wisedome what was in these latter dayes what wise men have thought suiting best to the State and to the humours likings and acceptance of people what is gallant and specious in and unto the eyes anb eares of men wholly indulging the will of the flesh being no other but the turning ●he grace of our Lord into wantonnesse and utterly denying the Lord Jesus Christ This is all the Religion among us and all that can be hoped for so long as men will act in their own wisedomes quite without Christ meerly Antichristian and delusive to utter damnation The cause then of this dreadfull estate of the Church so called and of Religin amongst us being meerly from hence because that charge of Christ and the like hath been cast by namely To call none Father or Master upon earth but God and Christ but men have done quite the contrary Therefore it ever there be an heart to settle Religion aright of necessity it is to set by all our other Masters and turne wholly to the teaching and rule of Christ the alone heavenly wisedome of God And as himself usually said on such occasions Quid fuit ab initio so must it now be If we looke to what was done by our Fathers or in their dayes it may be well applyed unto us what is Job 8.9 We are but of yesterday and know nothing Sure we are that in order to the Jewish traditions and innovations about the Law Christ fell directly upon this alone remedy Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up He sayes not they must be well considered of and see what is sit and good and cast by the rest but he is

GALLICANTVS SEU PRAECURSOR GALLICINII PRIMUS Containing two ADDRESSES The one to the KING the other to the PARLIAMENT Tegether with a POSCRIPT ABOUT The affaires of RELIGION of most high Concernment By R. Lanceter Author of GALLICINIVM now in the Presse LONDON Printed for Nathaniel Ranew at the sign of the Angell in Pauls Church-yard 1660. An humble Addresse and Supplication to the Kings most excellent Majesty Charles the Second by the grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. Blessed be God even the Father who onely doth great wonders that he hath so wonderfully brought and established your Majesty in your just Rights and Sovereignty The s●me Lord blesse preserve and guide your Majesty in this great and high Calling and Charge whereinto he hath brought and setled you And withall advance your Throne into the high calling of God in Jesus Christ that you may be truly and compleatly glorious both in the Father and in the Son May it please Your Sacred Majesty WHEREAS it hath pleased Almighty God to traine you up long in the Schoole of affliction and no doubt to fit you thereby for some speciall and extraordinary work of his as it hath been his usuall way towards such as he hath designed for the most gratious archievments And accordingly hath abundantly manifested the power of his grace upon your Royall heart by those many signall testimonies thereof already shewn forth whereat all your good subjects exceedingly rejoyce and praise the Lord. That it may appear that as your Majesty hath set your heart towards God so himselfe hath set his heart towards you to advance your Throne above all the Kings of the Earth and above all that ever were before you You may please to see the evidence hereof in what the Lord is pleased here to present you with Wherein your Majesty becoming highly instrumentall if it be found to be truly of God never was King or Potentate on earth called as yet to that place of eminency with God as is your Majesty hereby It hath pleased the Lord Almighty who hath ordained the times and seasons for the bringing to passe his mighty Works and for the discovery of the hidden things of darknesse to exercise your humble Suppliant Subject and Servant in the reluctance with that darknesse all the time that he exercised your Majesty with afflictions And now upon your deliverance out of them to have also given him a release from those chaines of darknesse so far as to present your Majesty with that light into which he hath escaped The summary tender whereof is under these three heads 1. That it is not possible that either at present or in former times for many hundreds of yours either we or any other Nation called Christian or any other Nation or Party in the World can be the Church of Christ and people of God or in way of salvation but absolutely either Antichristianly or Diabolically in state of wrath and damnation 2. That it is not possible that any or all the wayes that men do or can devise to state and settle Religion and the Church in the wisedome that they act in can ever do it aright and make the case better then it is but in all likelihood to render all still worse and more Antichristian 3. That yet there is a way not new but layd of old by Christ wherein the Primitive Apostolicall Church constantly walked but ever since utterly lost in the World as to a Church-way such a way as is most cleare easie undenyable which all the World will grant if once they see it to be the truth of God the onely way to make all Churches Churches of Saints and all people to live blessedly an happy people both here and hereafter This the Lord hath reserved to be manifested in your dayes and your selfe for such a time and commendeth the same to your Royall care for the advancement of his glory in the Son and of your Majesties Throne in both I am not mad or a Fanatick but I speak the words of truth and sobernesse I have been in the Ministeriall Calling about thirty years in your County of Norfolk I have lived to see and with much reluctance and grapling with have passed through the calaminities of these times especially the distractions and monstrous emergencies in the notion way and pretence of Religion I have been ever formerly conformable in all things both as to Doctrine and Discipline as an obedient son of the Church of England And during these times while the truth of Christ was more and more obseured by the devices of men I have given my selfe into all my utmost endeavour to clear up the saving truth unto my own soul and consequently to the consciences of all others especially of my Charge In this my search and incessant study finding my selfe more and more confounded and the truth hidden from me in the abundance of the rubbish of mans wit and devices cast upon it It pleased God to recall me from the wisedome of men to that of himselfe in his word and to cast my self upon the pure discovery of truth in those heavenly Oracles which being the way of his own Ordinance it pleased the Lord to meet me therein and by revealing his Son in and unto me to vouchsafe me in the knowledg of him that light of truth which is not possible to be found in all the works of men whatsoever And being convinced by the clearnesse thereof and also by imparting the same to others of best judgment and piety that it was indeed the onely saving truth but yet wholly unknown and quite crosse to the opinion and way of the World I thought it my duty and thereunto also I discerned my selfe especially called to publish the same to the World as being of the highest concernment unto all that possibly can be imagined both for this life and for that to come Now may it please your Majesty hence is my present Addresse and Supplication unto you in the first place 1. For that intending the Dedication of this Work to your Majesty it being so high an undertaking might be too bold a daring to presix your name thereto without your good liking and consent 2. For that understanding that your Majesty together with your high Court of Parliament are setting your eyes to the affaires of Religion and that to the settlement thereof in such a way as I cannot in conscience close with therefore I thought it better to appeare beforehand in the case possibly some good may come thereby then to be found an apposer of authority afterward 3. For that considering that the things which I come forth with are of the highest concernment that ever came forth even the same with those of Christ and his Apostles which the World hath so long lost and have the like need of again and consequently of especiall concernment unto your Majesty in many regards both respecting God your place and people