Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A35026
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The naked truth, or, The true state of the primitive church by an humble moderator.
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Croft, Herbert, 1603-1691.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing C6970; ESTC R225557
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74,185
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74
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Blood-shed among Christians Brother Fighting against Brother and Murthering each other Can there be any thing more irrational than to endeavour to promote the truth of the Gospel contrary to the Laws of the Gospel to break an evident Commandment to establish a doubtful Truth I say doubtful to him on whom it is imposed though seeming clear to him that imposes it If it were fully express'd in Scripture-words there would need no new Expression no new Article if it be not fully exprest in Scripture but deduc'd from Scripture-Expressions then what one Man thinks clearly deduc'd another may think not so I mean not another ignorant and weak but as learned and as able VVhat more common than in Divinity and Philosophy Schools One crys this is a clear Demonstration another crys no such matter but flatly denies it Mens understandings are as various as their Speech or their Countenance otherwise it were impossible there should be so many understanding and moderate yea and conscientious Men also Papists Lutherans Calvinists all in such Opposition one against another all believing Scripture yet so differing in the deductions from Scripture Truly I think him very defective in Charity however he abound in Faith who thinks all Papists or Lutherans or Calvinists malitiously or wilfully blind As for my part I think nothing can be more clearly deduc'd from Scripture nothing more fully express'd in Scripture nothing more sutable to Natural Reason than that no Man should be forc'd to believe for no Man can be forc'd to believe you may force a Man to say this or that but not to believe it First as to Reason If you bring a Man an evident Demonstration and he hath a Brain to understand your Demonstration he can't but assent to it If you hold a clear Printed Book with a clear Candle to a Man of clear Eyes and able to read he will certainly read but if the Print be not clear or the Candle or his Sight not clear or he not Learned to read can your force make him read And just so it is with our understanding which is the eye of our Soul and a demonstration being as a candle to give light if then your demonstration or deduction or his understanding be not clear or he not learned you may with a club dash out his brains but never cleer them He then that believes the Scripture can't but believe what you cleerly demonstrate from Scripture if he hath cleer brains if he hath not your force may puzle and pudle his brains more by the passion of anger and hatred make him abhor you and your arguments but never lovingly embrace you or them and thus you may hazard his Soul by hatred and your own Soul also by provoking him to it but never save his Soul by a true belief But perchance you will conclude he doth not believe the Scripture because he doth not believe your arguments from Scripture a strange conclusion but what then would you can you force him to believe the Scripture can you drive saith like a nail into his head or heart with a hammer nay 't is not in a mans own power to make himself believe any thing farther then his reason shews him much less divine things this is the peculiar work of Grace and if Faith be the gift of God your Argument cannot give it nor your Hammer force it Arguments may be good Inducements and if right will prevail with those to believe whom God hath ordained to Eternal Life but no other Preaching the Word is the means God himself hath appointed but as for force I can't find in the Gospel either commandment or countenance given for it If the Scripture command to speak the truth in love to instruct our Brother in the spirit of meekness if we are to pray and beseech him to receive the grace of God can any thing be more contrary to Scripture Rule then force and violence to what purpose then is force since it cannot make him believe the Gospel and if he doth believe the Gospel he will I am sure he cannot chuse but believe what you cleerly shew him is contained there supposing his brain to be clear and I am also sure if he believe what is cleerly contained he need not believe any thing else The Scripture is our Rule of Faith compleat and full the Scripture it self tells us so Iohn 20. 31. These things are written that you might believe and believing ye might have life and our Saviour tells us That in them we have Eternal Life Iohn 5. 39. and the 2d Tim. 3. 15. St. Paul tells us The Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Iesus all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works And I beseech all men further to consider what is said Deut. 12. 32. Thou shalt not add thereto nor diminish from it and likewise how they will avoid the Curse in the last of the Revelation if they add to the words there written and surely 't is the same Crime to add to any other Book of Scripture If it be answered They do not require us to believe it to be Scripture I reply They require men to believe it as Scripture with Divine Faith which is as bad they make their own words equal with Gods word or if they say they require not Divine Faith then I am sure it is no matter of Salvation whether I believe it or no humane Faith cannot save Thus you see how impertinent how irrational how impious it is to require a man to believe any thing more than is cleerly contained in Scripture and if it be cleerly contained there he that believes Scripture and sees it cleerly contained there can't but believe it if he do not see it cleerly contained there you can't force either his sight or his Faith Your force may make him blinder but never see cleerer may make him an Hypocrite no true Convert Again I desire all men soberly to consider Are not the prime and most necessary Principles of Faith the Trinity three Persons and one God the Incarnation of Jesus Christ the same person to be God and Man the Resurrection of the Dead that we shall rise with the same Body when one body may be eaten and converted into several bodies and such like Are they not things far above the highest reason and sharpest understanding that ever had Man yet we believe them because God who cannot lye hath declared them is it not then a strange thing for any man to take upon him to declare one tittle more of them then God hath declared seeing we understand not what is declared I mean we have no comprehensive knowledge of the matter declared but only a believing knowledge our Faith not our Reason reaches it the Apostles by the Scriptures teach us this not
for transgressing your humane Laws which they ignorantly conclude erroneous and shall not you perish for transgressing my Divine Laws which you know to be good and holy had I mercy on you and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servants with the same measure you meeted it shall be measured to you again I tremble to go farther but most humlby beseech you for Christs sake endeavour to regain these stray sheep for whom he shed his precious blood and think it as great an advantage as great an honour to you as it was to St. Paul to become all things to all men that you may gain some as doubtless you will many though not all and the few standers off will become the more convinced and at long running wearied out and gained also Thus having reduced all into one fold in true faith and Christian charity the present generation will much forget the succeeding generation will be wholly ignorant of these erronious fancies and all animosities being quite exinguished wholsome edifying Ceremonies may be easily introduc't again with comfort to all which are now irksome and grievous to many And so I pass on to the second matter The Church Service contained in the Book of Common Prayer whereof briefly because what I said before may be applyed to this also Concerning Church Service I will not here enter into the dispute whether it be lawful for a Church to have a set form of Prayer supposing that there are none but either highly fanatick or higly factious that affirm it unlawful and with such I have no reason to expect that reasonable Arguments should prevail for enough hath beeen already printed to this purpose I may also suppose that there is nothing contained in our Book of Common Prayer that is directly contrary to the Word of God for had there been any such thing we should have heard of it long since which I never yet did from any sober man And truly I might in the third place suppose that a Book of Common Prayer being no way contrary to the Word of God the use of it is far more conducing to Piety then to suffer extemporary prayer to be used generally in Churches experience hath fully declared it in our late confused times when a man should have heard in many Churches such extravagant such wild such rash such blasphemous expressions as would drive any sober conscientious person out of their Churches Can you with reason expect it otherwise when half the Churches in this Nation have not a tolerable maintenance to support men of parts and discretion fit to perform so solemn and holy an Office Had we the holiness the zeal the charity the humility of the Primitive times when men forsook all the World daily sacrificed their lives for the Service of God we might hope that God would graciously pour down upon us as he did on them the special gifts of praying and prophecying but now when most serve God for gain and would neither open nor shut the Church doors for nought as Malachi saith we must not expect those gifts and graces And therefore I conceive it absolutely necessary to have some form prescribed to be used by all for were there liberty left to the more able and discreet most would suppose themselves to be such few discovering their own weakness and were it left to the Bishop to licence as he saw fit it would prove a very great cause of our heart-burning among his Clergie and hatred towards himself yea and rebellion against him and the laws But now in Christ I humbly beseech the Governours of the Church calmly to consider Were it not better to have such a form of Service as would satisfie most The Fathers of our Church as I said before when they reformed this Nation from Popery were desirous to fetch off as many as they could retaining for this cause all the Ceremonies and Forms of prayer they could with a good rectisied conscience and therefore they prescribed that form of second service to be said at the Altar as carrying some resemblance to the Mass then the peoples delight which being now become the peoples hate should for the same resemblance according to the same rule of reason be now taken away We commend our Forefathers for doing piously and wisely and yet we will not imitate them they endeavoured to please and gain the people we will needs displease and lose them Certainly we cannot do our Forefathers a greater honour then to observe their rule of reason to confirm to the Times and therefore they are grossly mistaken who think it a dishonour to them 〈◊〉 us to take away what they have established when we keep close to the reason wherefore they did establish it Wise Physitians by the same rule of reason prescribe things clean contrary according to the temper of their Patients hot or cold Some other things I could mention in the Book of Common Prayer though no way ill in themselves yet fit to be altered and would obviously appear so to every wise man once resolved to compose such a form as would take in most of this Nation which I humbly conceive Governors should in conscience endeavour becoming all things to all men to gain some though not all yet happily gain all in process of time for the reason before specified But though I desire such a form of Service such Ceremonies also to be established as may give most general satisfaction yet I desire what is established may be generally observed and not a liberty left as some do propose to add or detract Ceremonies or Prayers according to the various opinions and humours of men for certainly this would cause great faction and division those that are for Ceremonies would run from their own Church to others where they were used others to some fine fancied Prayers of such as they approve of and thus some Churches would be thronged others deserted and no account could be taken by the Pastor of this Congregation Atheists also and Papists under pretence of frequenting other Churches would abandon all This course say you would bring but few into the Church and perchance drive some out who having been long bred up to such and such Ceremonies would have small devotion to frequent the Church if all or many were abolished To this I answer That certainly his Religion is vain that would abandon the Substance for want of the Ceremonies which he acknowledgeth to be no way necessary but only more satisfaction to his mind Surely a very ignorant mind who hath not learnt That obedience is better then sacrifice and whole burnt offerings And surely a very uncharitable mind who would not leave ninety and nine unnecessary Ceremonies to bring one sinful strayed Sheep into the Congregation and convert him from the error of his non-conforming way I profess I am amazed to see how many men of a very good sence in most things so zealously erroneous in this business of Religion seeing the