Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	gospel_n	word_n	3,444	5	4.1556	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33247	A looking-glass for religious princes, or, The character and work of Josiah delivered in a sermon upon 2 Kings XXIII.XXV : the substance whereof was preached April 5 1691 at Pershore in Worcester-shire ... / by Richard Claridge ...	Claridge, Richard, 1649-1723.	1691 (1691)	Wing C4433; ESTC R2252	26,502	40

of their Calamities which really are not Thus wicked Ahab charged the Prophet Elijah with being the cause of the sore Famine in Samaria Luke 4.25 1 Kings 18.17 when the Heaven was shut up three years and six months saying Art thou he that troubleth Israel Thus the innocent Apostles were accused for being Disturbers of the Publick Peace Acts 17.6 and Turners of the World upside down Paul was impleaded by Tertullus for a pestilent fellow Ch. 24.5 and a mover of Sedition And the Primitive Christians were traduced by the Heathen Persecutors Tertul. Apol. c. 37. p. 30. as the Pests and Enemies of Mankind and that they and their Doctrine procured all the Evils that so frequently befell the Roman Empire Hence arose that general outcry against the Christians in those days Cypr. Ep. ad Demetr p. 197. Arnob. adv gen l. 1. p. 1. when any misfortune happened Christianos ad Leones Away with the Christians to the Lions For 't was the Common Objection upon every occasion that they were the Authors of all publick Calamities But as then they who were born after the Flesh persecuted them who were born after the Spirit even so it has been of late among us and would 't is to be fear'd be so now had some Men the Power they formerly had Do not they object the distresses of the present Age to the Pious and Sober People of the Nation as if they were the Procurers of their Misfortunes and the Troublers of their Israel How often do we hear it urg'd That Dissenters are worse than Papists that 't will never be well in England so long as the Act of Indulgence stands and that Liberty of Conscience is Omnium malorum Fons the Fountain of all Mischiefs But alas poor Envious and mistaken Wretches Whom do they reproach and blaspheme and against whom do they exalt their voice and lift up their eyes on high Isa 37.23 even against the Holy One of Israel In compassion to their Souls I could wish they knew what spirit they were of and were convinced how contrary a Persecuting Temper is to the Example and Precepts of our Saviour and his Apostles and to the whole Genius Scope and Design of the Gospel Let them read the Scripture and shew me where Persecution is taught in Terms or Consequence and I will believe it then to be lawful to Plunder and Imprison my Neighbour yea to execute the Writ de Haeretico comburendo But till it be proved from Scripture that I may lawfully persecute my Neighbour purely for Religion and because he judges of Spiritual things otherwise than I do I will always believe a Persecuting Spirit to be Antichristian and as opposite to the Gospel as Darkness is to Light and Papal Cruelty to Apostolical Meekness To correct these Mens Mistakes is to shew them the true Cause of all their Troubles by resolving them into their proper Originals their Sins and Apostacies from God Thus Elijah told Ahab I have not troubled Israel 1 Kings 18.18 but thou and thy Fathers House in that ye have forsaken the Commandments of the Lord and thou hast followed Baalim And the ancient Apologists Tertullian Cyprian Arnobius and others took this as the most successful course to stop the slanderous mouths of their Adversaries The Heathen charg'd the Christians with their publick Misfortunes the Christians cleared themselves from those Aspersions and shew'd their Adversaries how to resolve their Evils into their true Causes such as Idolatry Debauchery and Ingratitude the crimes not only of the ancient Pagans but of too many Modern Professors of Christianity But some will ask perhaps Is it not a contradiction to say Christian Idolaters I answer No because there are a great many such in the World The Papists are gross Idolaters for to worship God by in or thrô any Image or Similitude of Saint or Angel as they do is gross Idolatry A late Popish Author endeavours to excuse this practice * A Papist misrepr and Represented p. 2. All the Veneration says he that the Papist expresses before Images whether by kneeling praying lifting up the eyes burning Candles Incense c. 't is not at all done for the Image but is wholly reserv'd to the thing represented which he intends to honour by these actions But this will not do unless he could perswade us the Religious use of Images were enjoyned in the Second Commandment and all his superstitious Customs allow'd by it which will never be so long as we have our Bibles and see all Image-worship expresly forbidden therein There is also another sort of Idolaters who are more refined than the bigotted Romanists and yet are no less guilty in the sight of God than they Now the Idolatry of these men consists in Performing that unto the True God which hath a Similitue Show and Resemblance of his Service but is not so indeed because he (a) Deut. 12.32 requireth it not at our hands and therefore is but a (b) Col. 2.23 Will-worship or voluntary Religion a thing devised and done (c) Hos 13.2 according to our own understanding See Ainsworth's Arrow against Idolatry c. 1. p. 3 4. It were well if the Church of England could clear her self of this kind of Idolatry she knows the Dissenters charge has been often drawn up against her and proved by a Cloud of Witnesses And if she can make no better defence than hitherto she hath made it will be both her Wisdom and Honour to acknowledge her Guilt and return unto God by Repentance and Reformation The second Commandment saith the (d) Arrow against Idol c. 1. p. 4 5. Joh. 4.20 24. excellent Ainsworth (e) Deu. 12.32 4.1 2 5 6 c. bindeth to the true worship of the true God which is only (f) Psal 119.113 Isa 29.13 Col 2.23 22. as himself commandeth and by the Means Rites and Services that he ordaineth and it forbiddeth 1. All Inventions of our own to worship God by voluntary Religion Opinions and Doctrines of men 2. All Imitations of (g) Lev. 18.2 3. Deut. 12.30.31 Rev. 17.2 Heathens or Antichristians in their God services to do the like unto the Lord our God 3. All Imitation or Counterfeiting (h) 1 Kings 12.28.32 Amos 4.4 5. 5.21.22 23. Hos 8.14 of Gods own Ordinances and Institutions as to make Temples like his Temple Feasts like his Feasts Altars like his Ministers like his which was the Sin of Israel 4. All neglect of Gods Services or of the Means and Instruments by him ordained all irreligious profaneness or hypocrisie together with all communion with such kind of Idolatry all causes occasions and provocation thereunto Now when a Nation is overrun with Idolatry and other sorts of Wickedness to the great Dishonour of God and scandal of good Men it is the Business of Religious Princes to endeavour to retrieve the Honour of God and satisfie pious Minds by a general Suppression of Idolatry

with all his might He was not almost but altogether a Convert he had not a double Heart one for God and another for Baal dividing himself between true and Idolatrous Worship No he turned to the Lord with all his heart Thirdly The Rule he walked by in rooting out Idolatry and restoring the pure Worship of God not the High Priests Decretalls or the Canons of the Clergy or the Parliamentary Acts of the Sanhedrin but the Law of Moses according to which he strictly acted in all his Proceedings about the Reformation The Doctrinal Observations from hence are these First Those Princes are only Eminent in the sight of God who are truly Religious and turn to the Lord with all their heart Secondly There is more required of such Princes than their own private Assent and Consent to the true Religion they must promote it in their Dominions by all such ways as are commanded or allow'd of in Scripture Thirdly They cannot be capable of a greater Honour in this World than to be the Instruments of a Godly Reformation among their Subjects Fourthly The Word of God alone is the Rule to which both they and their People must attend in all matters relating to Religion First Those Princes are only Eminent in the sight of God who are truly Religious and turn to the Lord with all their heart For such are Vines of his own planting Kings set up by him to Rule in the fear of God they are his Darlings and Favourites Not that they can do any thing of themselves how Great and Potent soever they be to merit or any way procure the Divine Favour and Protection their very Exaltation to their Thrones being an Act of pure Beneficence But they are eminent in his Estimation upon the account of those Graces which spring from the Righteousness of Christ and do manifest themselves in an affectionate Zeal for God As for those Princes who are profess'd Enemies of God and Religion they may be said to be set up by God too because All Power is of God Rom. 13.1 But then we must remember what God himself says of such He gives them to a People in his Anger Hos 13.11 and consider in what sence they are constituted by him ut flagella Dei as the Scourge to punish the Rebellions of a Nation So that the Powers that be in the World whether Good or Bad are ordained of God that is Rom. 13.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bad Princes are Gods Ordinance of Wrath and Permission Good Princes of special Love Choice and Approbation The first are given in his Displeasure the latter in his Good will to a People There is much Controversie among the Learned about the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Power Ham. Annot. ● loc Chrystost Theophil in lo● Sherlocks Cas● of Alleg. Baxters Annot Clarks Annot● and therefore must not pass without a little Examination Some take it for the person invested with the Power of Government others for the Office of the Prince not his Person some understand all manner of Power right or wrong if it gets the Possession and have the Administration of Affairs Others understand Authority or Right to Govern observing a Criticism between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some think will not bear the Test And others comprehend both lawful Authority and the Persons exercising it But whether we take it for Legal Authority or usurped for the Person or the Office of the Prince or for both the thing is much the same for Authority it self is certainly Gods Ordinance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the persons exercising it are placed so by his permissive or Effective Providence How far the People are interested in placing or displacing of the Supream Magistrate and whether he be not inferiour to the whole Community thô superiour to the Individuals are improper Enquiries when the Government is settled in Excellent hands and Liberty and Property secured I shall only mind you of Gods special Designation upon some Persons and the turning of the Peoples Hearts unto them after a most wonderful manner and his manifest Abdication of others as utterly unfit to Govern sending a Blast upon all their Attempts while the others Enterprizes are blest with an unaccountable Success and again that the people have sometimes a mighty stroke under Providence in the Disposal of Crowns and at other times they stand amazed to behold their Unconcernedness in the Revolutions of the World There is an Objection to one part of this Discourse that if all Power be of God and the Powers that be are of his Ordination how doth he then complain in Hosea They have set up Kings ch 8.4 but not of me they have made Princes and I knew it not To which I answer that All Power is of God notwithstanding and Government is his Ordinance although the people set up Wicked Kings and make Princes such as he knows not that is approves not His permissive Providence tolerates what his Effective Providence allows not We must therefore distinguish between Soveraign Authority and the manner of acquiring and administring of the same John 19.11 Authority it self or Power to Govern is from God but yet the Throne may be ascended by unlawful steps or being lawfully mounted it may be filled with Apostacy Cruelty and Violence and so the Person sitting thereon may be disowned by God as a Tyrant or Usurper Or thus it may be answered this place in Hosea respects the Israelites revolt from Rehoboam to Jeroboam Kings 14.7 8. and if we weigh the thing well the Translation of the Kingdom was from God and so Jeroboam was a King of Gods setting up and the People did their Duty in transferring their Allegiance to him But his falling away immediately after he was made King from the true Worship of God to that of the Golden Calves Kings 12.28 ● 30.14.9 16. which he had set up in Dan and Bethel and causing the People to sin therewith was from the Devil and so God renounces him But thô the Authority of Kings generally speaking be of God and the Bad too often make a greater Figure in the World than the Good yet the Good are his choice his excellent Ones who with Josiah are truly Religious and turn to the Lord with all their heart But how may poor revolted Mortals be said to turn to God have they any Power to turn themselves before they are turned I answer No they have not in their Natural Unrenewed State any more Power to turn themselves spiritually to God than the Ethiopian has to change his skin Jer. 13.23 or the Leopard his spots God must first turn to them before they can turn to him yea he must turn them 31.18 or they can never be turned for no less Power than Omnipotence can convert a Soul But when the Soul is effectually converted then it will turn to and clasp about God The motions