Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	kingdom_n	majesty_n	parliament_n	4,862	5	6.6563	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91570	The nevv distemper. Written by the author of the Loyall convert. Hilar. de Trin.Lib. 4. Hoc habet proprium Ecclesia; dum persecutionĕpatitur, floret; dum opprimitur, proficit; dum læditur, vincit: dum arguitur, intelligit; tunc stat quum superari videtur.	Quarles, Francis, 1592-1644.	1645 (1645)	Wing Q110; Thomason E17_20	19,252	30

been permitted nay unadvisedly undertaken by some of our Ministers who themselves are though little better wherein they have made many Proselites and left many of the vulgar who judge the victory to the most words indifferent Have they not after their disputations retired into their Innes and private Iodgings accompanyed with many of their Auditors and all joyned together in their extemporary prayers for a blessing upon their late Exercise How often hath Bow-river which they lately have baptiz'd New Iordan been witnesse to their prophanations How many daily make their private meetings and assemble in the City of London to exercise their Ministery How many have been convicted of Blasphemy and yet unpunisht How many times have their witnesses been taken against some of our most learned and religious Ministers for which some are plundered some sequestred and some imprisoned How many of our Ministers whose severity proceeded formerly against Fornicators Adulterers Drunkards Swearers and such like are now undone upon their revengefull witnesses and testimony appearing now for the better colouring of their malice well affected to the Cause All which in time will so encourage all Sects Factions Hypocrites and make Heresie so bold strong in this Kingdome that the true Protestant Religion will be under the detestable name of Popery even turned out of doores for company or at least so little favoured that it will be forced to s●rowd it selfe in corners as those Sectaries did before these troubles were Ob. I but when things are setled and Iustice done upon the Popish Faction these Sectaries with their Sects will vanish like the Mist before the mid day sun and a true reformed Religion will be establisht to us and our Posterity Ans You seeme by this Objection but a young State Physitian and a meere novice in the curing of a disease of this nature In some cases where the undisturbed humors keep their bounds distempers are quickly evaporated and being scatterd through the whole body every part breathes out some and Nature being able to truckle with the disease by her owne power relieves her selfe and in a short time rectifies the Body But upon a continuall confluence and gathering head of lawlesse humors she is so weakned that she hath no power to resist and lesse heart to struggle with her enemy but is forced to yeeld But the time you prefixe for the subduing of these numerous Sects is first when all things are setled secondly when the Land is cleared of Papists 1. For the first It is all one as if you had said When the body is in good health you will easily find a cure A rare Physitian In the meane while you will connive at this continued confluence of humors which makes it at length incureable 2. As for the second Take heed while ye goe about to cure a Fever you run not the Body Politick into a Dropsie with too much Phlebotomie But you will first cleare the Kingdome of Papists And who be they In your Accompt all such as stand for Episcopall Government a Government coetaneous with this our almost out-dated Religion All such as approve of the Book of Common Prayer a Forme establisht by many Acts of Protestant Parliaments All such as are passively obedient and loyall to his Majesty a duty commanded by Gods own mouth Of the Clergie all such as will not preach for blood although Ministers of the Gospel of Peace All such as will not take the Covenant to suppresse Bishops although they have formerly sworn canonicall obedience to their Ordinary All such as wil not encourage Subjects to resist the power of their naturall Prince although having taken the Oath of Allegeance and the late Protestation And to conclude all that have not contributed willingly bountifully and continually to this Warre and in a word that have any considerable Estates to pick a hole in If all Sects and Sectaries be not supprest till then we are like to have a comfortable Reformation But in case you onely meane such Papists as owne and acknowledge the doctrine of the Church of Rome Tell me what course would you take with them Either you must banish them or disinherit them or take away their lives 1. If banish them It must be done either with the Kings consent or against it If against it you resist the power and he that resisteth shall receive damnation Rom. 13. If with it you make the King guilty of perjury who hath sworne to protect all his Subjects in his Coronation Oath 2. If disinherit them It must be done either according to the known Lawes of the Kingdome or against them According to the Lawes ye cannot for there is no Law for it If against them you transgresse what you pretend to maintaine in all your Declarations 3. If take away their lives It must be done either for a Cause or without a Cause If for a Cause shew it that the world may be satisfied If without a Cause you are guilty of murther Which course soever ye take you have not Christ for your example who quietly suffered the two Caesars being Idolaters not onely to possesse that Kingdome but to usurp it because God permitted them and permissively placed them there When the Disciples askt our blessed Saviour Didst not thou sow good wheat Whence commeth it that there be tares His answer was The evil one hath done it His pleasure being demanded whether they should weed them up his Reply was No Let them alone untill the harvest and then he would separate them A good deed may be ill done when either against command or without warrant Though God hath permitted the evill one to plant Papists among us yet he hath not authorized us to root them up nor yet to take the lives of any untill their actions come within the danger and compasse of the establisht Lawes of the Land Ob. We have presidents for the rooting out of Idolaters in the Scriptures which warrant us to doe the like Ans You finde it no where but in the time of the Law at which time God immediately commanded it which kind of Warrants are now ceased Again In the time of the Law some were accompted Strangers And strangers had not the priviledges that brethren have Vsury was lawfull to be taken of strangers not of brethren Now in the times of the Gospel Christ hath made us all Brethren and called us by his own name Christians and what was lawfull then to be done to strangers is unwarrantable now to be done to Christians We are brethren Ob. Then Protestantisme and Popery may be consistent in one Kingdom and Gods name may be harmelesly prophaned with Idolatry and superistition in the same place where it is truly and sincerely worshipt Ans Your inference is not good It is one thing for a Prince to protect his subjects and an other to be partaker with them or to allow of their superstitions Kings cannot enforce Consciences though pitcht upon a false Religion All that Magistrates

can do against them unlesse for Seducing which a particular Statute made Treason is to punish their purses for not observing his Statutes respectively or for exercising their Religion contrary to his Lawes But well it were if such a necessity of Connivance had no such subject to work upon How happy had it been for this unlucky kingdom if his Majesties most prudent and pious offer two yeare since propounded to us had been accepted in this particular That all the Children of his subjects of that Religion should be taken from them and educated in the Religion of the Church of England By which means the whole Kingdom in a short space of time would have been peaceably reduced to an Vnity in Doctrine And if the same course were taken with othe Strectaryes an Vniformity in Discipline also But our Kingdom must not expect an universall and through Reformation in all particulars till Catechismes be more strictly used and the entercourse of Embassadours which cannot simply be avoyded and Legers be restrained and strict statutes made and executed against sectaries But to returne to our first matter Admit Episcopacy were a Government accidentally inconvenient and that a more fitting Government were discovered prepared and made ready to be set up It would be but a new untryed Government and not experimentally known what proportion it would beare without temporall Constitutions A horse may be well metled and conditioned and every way commendable for the saddle yet not draw well in a Coach or Chariot A great part of our Common-Law is bu●lt upon the Cases of Bishops insomuch that if that Government be changed there must be a necessary alteration of many Lawes of the land And what incovenience may arise from such an Alteration I leave to the Judgment of Lawyers being not unworthy of some Consideration But let these things be accompted not Inconveniencyes and that the Hierarchicall Government is fit to be demolished either for the abuse of it by some few exorbitant Prelates or for the mischiefes that follow in respect of it self in that it administers such occasion of offence yet the too sudden Execution of a busines of so great aconsequence and concernment gives a livelyer testimony of passion then discretion if polititions may have credit and savours of extremity which is opposite to all virtue and too much rashnesse the distemper of all serious and honorable undertakings Too sudden an Alteration in matters of small moment passes not without some inconvenience but in things of such a nature as a Government nay a Church government too the nursery of the whole kingdoms happinesse or misery it cannot be without imminent danger but the sudden alteration of a fundamentall government of the Church which necessarily carryes the state with it threatens nay brings no lesse then unavoydable ruine to both A Rashnes too much we feare relishing of private ends to demolish that government in twelve moneths which hath been setting up and maintained by as wise generations as ours above foureteen hundred yeares How happy had it been for this at that time prosperous but now miserable kingdom had we taken the advantage of that greatest blessing that ever gracious Prince confered upon unthankfull Subjects the Trienniall Parliament wherein we might every 3 years have inspected this new recoverd Kingdome and kept it alwayes in a perfect Crisis the approaching Terror whereof would not have afforded popular evils so long a time or liberty to root themselves or gather head against the peace and welfare of our happy Government through the benefit whereof we might have taken an advantageous leisure and mature deliberation to ripen every Bill and by degrees to rectifie every nonag'd Crievance and indeed what happinesse was there which we had not then an offerd opportunity to bring upon this now unhappy Land The Government of the State as in many things it was reduced into an excellent temper so questionlesse had not this unnaturall difference interposed it had in all things by the continued goodnesse and favour of His Sacred Majesty been perfected to the comfort of us and the happinesse of succeeding Generations The Government of the Church likewise might by the vertue of the granted Trienniall been narrowly and exactly searcht into The Governours strictly observed The Bad turned out and changed for better They that deserved punishment punisht according to their misdemeanours Others lesse offending through some neglect reproved and checkt and upon no amendment the next Trienniall proceeded against accordingly The Fig-tree was not presently cut downe Root and Branch but suffered till another yeare And punishments before an Admonition are too rashly and severely inflicted Thus by this graduall and Trienniall Course Mercy and Justice would have incorporated the Government of the Church had been establisht the peace of this Kingdome had been secured the bad Governours had been rectified or removed the good encouraged and honoured and Peace and Truth had kist each other But the multitudes of these our nationall sins were too great to permit so great a Blessing on this Nation as the benefit of this Trienniall Parliament God suffered Abraham to see the holy Land but for the transgressions of the people not to possesse it God shewed us a glimpse of that mercy which our sins made us unworthy to enjoy and snatcht it from us In which respect we are now left to our owne wayes and governed by our owne Inventions and what is worse we are neither penitent for our nationall sins nor our owne nor what is worst of all sensible of Gods Iudgements nor our owne miseries How often have our Moderne Ministers in their unmeditated prayers before the open Congregation given God joyfull thanks for these blessed times Eccles ● Whereas if their hearts had not been hasty to utter any things before God they might have rather petitioned for a removall of these his terrible judgements How often have they prayed for the continuance of these happy dayes whereas 〈…〉 had not their mouthes been rash they might better have deprecated those miseries How often have they in their Sermons blasphemously challenged God upon the forfeiture of his Justice to crowne their Cause with Victory How often instead of wholsome doctrine have they delivered such reports as their Consciences knew Fables and were before next Sabboth Lyes upon Record How often have they preached downe Subjection to Princes and encouraged the Sword to grow warme in the blood of Christians How often have they Articled against Orthodoxe able and learned Divines and crowded themselves into their Livings who upon my certaine knowledge some of them can neither make true Latine nor write good English and then lay their preferment upon the wisdome of the Parliament How many children above a yeare old because their fathers are suspected to be loyall to their Prince continue unbaptiz'd many parishes can witnesse How long time is it since the last Sacrament of the Lords Supper was administred let the people tell if their memories

Die Martis 22. October 1644. IT is this day Ordered by the Commons Assembled in Parliament That Master Ashurst and Master Gourdon doe from this House give thankes to Mr. Vines for the great paines hee tooke in the Sermon hee preached this day at the intreaty of the Commons at St. Margarets Westminster it being a day especially set apart for a publike Humiliation and to desire him to print his Sermon And it is Ordered that none shall presume to print his Sermon without being authorized under the hand writing of the said Master Vines H. Elsynge Cler. Parl. D. Com. I appo●●● Abel Roper to print this Sermon Richard Vines THE NEVV DISTEMPER WRITTEN By the AUTHOR of the Loyall Convert Hilar. de Trin. Lib. 4. Hoc habet proprium Ecclesia dum persecutionē patitur floret dum opprimitur proficit dum laeditur vincit dum arguitur intelligit tunc stat quum superari videtur OXFORD Printed by LEONARD LICHFIELD Printer to the Vniversity 1645. THE NEW DISTEMPER AS it is in a Principality or in a Republique The further it swerves from the first Constitution and Fundamentall Principles the faster it declines and hastens towards Ruine So is it in the Church The more she deviates and slips from her first Foundations the more she growes into Distempers and the nearer she comes to Desolation It hath been the wisdome of all Princes and Free States of former times to carry a watchfull eye upon the growing Inconvenients of their Kingdomes and Republiques That as evill manners daily breed diseases so the continuall making and execution of good lawes should daily be prescribed as Remedies left by too long neglect and sufferance the Body of the Commonwealth should grow so foule with superannuated evils and the humors waxe so prevalent that the desperatenesse of the disease might enforce them to as desperate a Remedy It is no lesse prudence and providence in those that are appointed by the Supreme power as under him chiefe Governours and Overseers of the Church to be very circumspect and not onely faithfully to exercise their Ministeriall Function by due and careful preaching of the Gospel but likewise diligently to discharge their office in governing that is in making wholsome Ordinances and duly executing them That the Inconveniences that grow daily in the Church may be daily rectified lest by too long forbearance they gather head and so become either incureable or else capable of Remedy with too great a losse The naturall Affection I so dearly owe to this my native Country to which my soule alwayes hath doth and will for ever wish as much happinesse as heaven can please to give permits me not to think our Church in so forlorne and desperate a Case but that it may be capable of a wholsome Cure Yet Sense and Reason flying with the naturall wings of Love and Duty bids me feare that those unnaturall Humors Pride Negligence Superstition Schisme and that Harbinger of Destruction Security have so long been gathering and now setled in her that she cannot without long time and much difficulty or else especiall providence and divine mercy be restored For the hastning whereof accursed be that unworthy Member that shall not apply the utmost of his endeavour and diligence and not returne the best of those Abilities he suckt from her in health to her advantage in this her great and deplorable extremity of Distemper The wearyed Physitian after his many fruitlesse experiments upon a consuming Body advises his drooping Patient to the place of his birth to draw that Ayre he was first bred in The likelyest way to recover our languishing Church is to reduce her to her first Constitutions that she may draw the breath of her first Principles from whence having made so long a journey her returne must take the longer time The Physitian requires not his crazie Patient to take his Progresse thither in a rumbling Coach or a rude Waggon they are too full of motion for a restlesse body nor to ride Poste the swiftnesse of the passage makes too sudden an alteration of the Climate but in an easie-going Litter the slownesse of whose pace might give him a graduall change of Ayre The safest way to reduce our languishing Church to her first Constitution is to avoid all unnaturall Commotions and violence in her passage and carefully to decline all sudden alterations which cannot be without imminent danger and to use the peaceablest meanes that may be that nothing in her journey may interrupt her and prove too prejudiciall to her journyes end The disease of our distempered Church God be praised hath not as yet taken her principall parts Her doctrine of Faith is sound The Distemper onely lyes in her Discipline and Government which hath these many yeeres been breeding and now broken forth to the great dishonour of her Mysticall Head Christ Jesus to the unhappy interruption of her owne Peace the Legacie of our blessed Saviour to the great disquiet of our gracious Soveraigne her Faiths Defender to the sharp affliction of his loyall Subjects her faithfull servants and to the utter ruine and destruction of this Kingdome the peacefull Palace of her Glory 1. As for her Discipline In the happy dayes of Edward the sixt when all the Romish Rubbish and Trumpery was scavengerd out of this the new Reformed Church and the wholesome doctrine of undubitable Truth was joyfully received into her gates being for many yeeres clos'd with Ignorance and Error the piety and providence of her newly chosen Governours whose spirituall Ab●lities and valour were after characterd in their owne blood thought good in the first place to make Gods Worship the subject of their holy Consideration To which end they met and finding in the Scriptures no expresse forme of Evangelicall Discipline in each particular and therefore concluding it was left as a thing indifferent to be instituted according to the Constitutions of every Kingdome where Religion should be establisht they advised what Discipline might best conduce to the glory of God and the benefit of his people They first debated and put to the question Whether the old Lyturgie should be corrected and purged or whether a New should be contrived Cranmer then Archbishop of Canterbury a pious moderate and learned Father of the Church and not long after a glorious Martyr finding that the old Lyturgie had some things in it derived from the Primitive Church though in many things corrupted conceived it most fitting for the peace of the Church not to savour so much of the spirit of contradiction as utterly to abolish it because the Papists used it but rather enclined to have the old Garden weeded the Errors expunged thereby to gaine some of the moderater sort of that Religion to a Conformity But Ridly Bishop of London a man though very pious yet of a quicker spirit and more violent and not many yeares after suffering Martyrdome too enclined to a contrary Opinion rather wishing a totall abolition of the old Liturgie and

will be ready to hearken to this or such like humble and reasonable Petitions for the extirpating this jelousie viz. That when any Bishop dyes or is translated he would give liberty to the whole Clergie and Freeholders of those Diocesses to choose nominate present foure learned and religious Divines most unblameable in life and doctrine able for government and diligent in preaching Of which foure His Majesty to prick one which may be consecrated Bishop of the Dioces By which meanes both His Majesty and His People having an interest in him he will be equally engaged who in cases of difference may become rather a Mediator then Partaker and receiving just power from the King may execute it as uprightly amongst his people Ob. But they are Lords and lord it over Gods Inheritance Whereas 1 Pet. 5. 3. forbids it Be not Lords over Gods inheritance and Christ Luk. 2● 25. sayes The Kings of the earth exercise Lordship but it shall not be so with you Ans Our Bishops were Lords as they were Peeres of the Land and as Peeres they had Votes in Parliament which being taken away they are no more now then what the dignity of their Calling and their owne Merits make them As for that place in S. Peter thus it is meant Ye shall not be Lords over Gods inheritance that is Tyrants Lords and Rulers being at that time none but Heathens and Persecutors whose tyrannie made the very name of Lord terrible and odious So that in that place by Lordship is certainly meant Tyrannie Neither can this imply a Parity in our Church for without a Superiority and Inferiority there can be no Government A Parity cannot be considered in order of Government but onely in the work of the Ministry In this all are fellow labourers In the other some command and some obeye S. Paul and Timothy had an especiall command and charge over other Ministers As for that place in S. Luke which you all edge The Disciples striving who should be the greatest among them our blessed Saviours answer was to this effect Let Kings exercise power and authority over their vassals as indeed their tyrannie made them little better but it shall be otherwise with you You are all fellow-servants to me that am your chiefe Lord and Bishop of your soules whilst I am here all superiority lyes extinct Christ was then the onely Governour and the Root of Government was in him But at his departure he gave some to be Apostles some to be Pastors c. and yet all those degrees were equall in respect of the work He himselfe said Ye call me Lord and so I am and yet Luk. 22. 27. I am among you as he that serveth whereby it manifestly appeares he intended a parity of the workers in respect of the worke not a parity in the government in respect of the workers Ob. Bishops whose office is to promote Religion and to advance the Gospel as is pretended and to encourage Preaching as the ordinary meanes conducing thereunto are so far from so doing that instead thereof they silence godly Ministers and put downe weekly Lectures which were set up at the proper charges and the piety of the people and to the great establishment of true Religion Ans Here lyes a Mysterie being the most crafty advantage the devilever took of popular piety Admit the piety of the honest hearted People was the first motive to these weekly Lectures how was that piety abused by those weekly Lecturers They were chosen by the people their maintenance consisting most of Gratuities came from the people which ebbed or flowed according as their Lunatick doctrines wrought upon the people Those Lecturers whose whole subsistance thus proceeded from the people must for their owne better lively hoods please the people And what more pleasing to the people then the preaching of Liberty and how should Liberty be enlarged if not peeced with Prerogative Then down goes Authority and up goes Priviledge Downe goes the Booke and up goes the Spirit Downe goes Learning and up goes Revelation who gaining credit in the weak opinions of the vulgar grew the Seminaries of all Ignorance and the nursing fathers of all Rebellion These are those godly Lecturers that Bishops put downe who never lost themselves so much as in not setting up better and more orthodox in their roomes which had taken away the ground of this Objection Ob. Our Bishops being proud idle covetous and Popishly affected are therefore fit to be extirpated Ans Admit some be so therefore such among them as are humble diligent charitable and enemies to Popery perish Shall they that are bad have more power to pull downe a setled Government then they that be good to keep it up Did Moses the man of God extirpate the Government of Priesthood because Aaron had a hand in the peoples Idolatry Or will you undertake that the Elders in a Presbyteriall Government shall be all faultlesse Let the guilty receive their respective punishments and let others take their office But the innocent to suffer with the guilty is a point of high injustice But admit this Government by Bishops had nothing to plead for it neither prescription nor continuance without Intermission nor the Authority of Parliaments in all Ages yet considering it is now a Government in Being it seemes not consonant to Reason or policy to extirpate it or take it away before an other Government be pitcht upon To pull downe one maine Pillar before another be made fit to supply the place and to support the roome is the next way to pull the Roofe upon our heads Hath not Episcopacie been long voted downe And is not the Assembly at this time divided and in controversie nay puzzled what Government to set up in the roome of it By which means occasion is administred to all disorder Liberty lyes open to all Schismes Sects and Heresies and Sectaries grow bold to vent their giddy headed opinions without controlment confirming themselves in their owne Errors infecting others with their new fangled and itching doctrines the nature whereof is like a Tetter to run till it over-run the whole Body Have not our eyes beheld all this which if these unsetled times should long continue as God forbid would gather such head and strengthen this our confused Kingdome that if her issue of blood were stopt in one place it would break forth in another and like Hercules his Monster if one head were struck off another would arise to the utter confusion of the true Protestant Religion which already begins to be the least part of this tottering Kingdoms profession and rather conniv'd at then exerciz'd by some Are not complaints preferd against Brownists and Separatists See a book Intituled ●hesumme of a 〈◊〉 at 〈◊〉 in Essex 〈◊〉 11. 1●43 unheard Nay are not men afraid to complain against them for feare of punishment Have not profest Anabaptists challenged our Ministers to dispute with them in their owne open Churches Have not their disputations