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A31352
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A Catholicks resolution, or, A serious enquiry whether it be better to turn Independent, Presbyterian, Romane? or continue what I am, Catholick? in matter of religion.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing C1500; ESTC R24131
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8,365
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18
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a Lyturgie or book of Common Prayer for the Church in his time St. Basil the like in his time St. Chrysostome the like in his time and so downwards untill Mr. John Calvins time 24. Whether I do not belâ—eve that Mr. John Calvin himself thought well of Common Prayers and particularly of our Common Prayer Book when he said Quod ad formam precum rituum Ecclesiae valdè probo ut certa illa extet à qua pastoribus in sua functione dâ—scedere non licet Concerning a Form of Prayer and Ecclesiastical Rites I very well like that there be a certain and constant one from which the Pastors of the Church may in no wise depart or vary 25. Whether I do not believe That every word in the Common Prayer Book is in the Bible either literally or rationally deduced thence v. g. for the Confession Almighty God Gen. 17.1 And most merciful Father Exod. 34.6 We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep Psal 119.176 We have followed too much the devises and desires of our own hearts Jer. 18.12 We have offended against thy holy laws Mat. 7.8 We have left undone those things which we ought to have done 1 Sam. 15.24 And we have done those things which we ought not to have done 1 Sam. 24.5 2 Sam. 12.13 And there is no health in us Psa 38.3 But thou O Lord have mercy upon us miserable offenders Luke 18.13 Spare thou them O God which confess their faults Prov. 28.13 Restore thou them that be penitent Ez. 18.31 According to thy promise declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord Mat. 11 18. And grant O most merciful Father for his sake Joh. 16.23 That we may hereafter live a godly righteous and sober life Titus 2.12 To the glory of thy holy name 1 Tim. 6.16 26. Whether I do not believe the Absolution Almighty God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be grounded upon John 20.23 27. Whether I do not believe the Lords Prayer with the Doxology Thine is the Kingdom Power and Clory is verbatim in Mat. 6 and without that Doxology in Luke 11. 28. Whether I do not believe those Versicles O God make speed to save us be not in Psal 102.13 Open thou my lips O Lord. And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Psal 51.15 I might be endless to answer therefore some of your Grand Objections I ask 29. Whether I do not believe Remember not Lord our offenses nor the offenses of our forefathers is a sincere prayer for the living and no sinful prayer for the dead viz. That God would not visit the offenses of our forefathers upon in their children and grounded upon Exo 20. and Ezek. 18. 30. Whether I do not believe From sudden death good Lord deliver us is a fervent ejaculation no idle desire that God would not take us away unpreparedly until we have made ready our Accounts 31. Whether I do not believe For all them that travel by land or by water all women labouring of child c. is a charitable prayer and answerable to the Apostles command Do good to all Gal. 6.10 Pray for all men 1 Tim 2.3 32. Whether I do not believe By thy holy Nativity Circumcision by thy Agony and bloudy sweat c. is obtestative and the sign of our Faith not affirmative and the sign of an Oath desiring God by these effectual means of the Actions and Passions of Jesus Christ to deliver us from those punishments which are due unto us for our sins 33. Whether I do not believe the first prayer in the Office of Matrimony That God would blesse this couple as Isaac and Rebecca proceeded rather from the holy Ghosts inspiration than from humane invention because if from man onely he would have gone upon reason and made the prayer thus blesse them as Abraham and Sarah or blesse them as Jacob and Rachel for Abraham was Gods first friend jacob was Gods great friend yet neither so nor so but as Isaac and Rebecca because Abraham had his Hagar one Concubine Jacob had his Zilkah and his Bilkah two at least Isaac never any but his Rebecca 34. Whether I do not believe That that prayer Prevent us O Lord in all our doings c. be not absolutely against those great points of Popery concerning works of preoperation and cooperation grounded upon that of St. Paul Eph. 2.8 and so no kin to the Mass Book 34. VVhether I do not believe the Creed of the Apostles is every word in the Scripture viz. I believe Mark 9 24. in God John 14 1. the Father 1 Cor. 1.3 Almighty Gen. 17.1 maker of heaven and earth Gen. 1.1 and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord Rom. 1.3 which was conceived by the holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary Luke 1.35 suffered under Pontius Pilate John 19.1 was Crucified John 19.18 Dead John 19.30 and Buried John 19.42 He descended into Hell Act 2.27 the third day he rose again from the dead 1 Cor. 15.4 He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right-hand of God Mar. 10.19 From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead Act 10.42 And in the holy Ghost Mat. 28.19 The holy Catholick Church the communion of Saints Ephes 5.27 the forgiveness of sins Col. 1.14 The Resurrection of the Body 1 Cor. 15.35 and life everlasting John 10.28 36. VVhether I do believe the Feasts of Christmass Easter and whitsuntide have been observed by the purest and Primitive Churches and commanded upon as to observe the same Clem. ep decret Telesph p. 117. Cyprian de Nativ Christi Nazian Orat. 38. Chrysost hom in Nativ Christi The Church of Helvetias confess c. 24. The Church of Bohemia c. 15. The Church of Bremen Regist 2. fine the Church of Auspurge confess act 4. 37. Whether I do not believe The Lord bâ— with thee and with thy Spirit equivalent to â—â—uth 2.4 38. Whether I do not believe St. Paul spake Scripture when he said and bid us pray with the spirt aâ—d with the understanding and whether I do not sometimes pray without the understanding when I think I pray by the spirit 39. VVhether I do not believe That therefore I have done very ill to excommunicate the English Common Prayer Book which by most Divines hath been cal ed optimum Breviarium and so instead of it have set up a Directory which speaks nothing so much as the sixth sence and hath no better Derivation than from the Directarii But I am in earnest and earnestly desire of Almighty God that if the Presbyterian be determined to go on in his opinion yet that we may joyn together in all Christian affection and so meet in heaven in everlasting Union for till I am convinced upon the former Queries I am resolved never to be of their communion upon earth though I wish them increase of sanctity while they live and eternity of happinesse when they dye through Iesus Chriâ—t Amen III. Whether Romane I Am
A Catholicks Resolution Or a Serious ENQUIRY Whether it be Better To turn Independent Presbyterian Romane Or continue What I am Catholick In Matter of RELIGION London Printed Anno Dom. MDCLXVIII I. Whether Independent OF all Religions I think I could make somewhat among Them for what Learning I have will help maintain their Ignorance and my being a Proselyte will promote their Confidence It 's probable I could frame as plausible a Discourse of the Reasons inducing me to be of that Persuasion as some they have admitted But before I joyn with them I shall wait a resolution of the following Queries And 1. Whether I can easily joyn with such as would Paganize and make Antichristian all the Churches of Christ in the whole world except themselves 2. Whether that be a false Church that converts their Members before they come to be of their Party 3. Or that which would propound a better way for Ministers maintenance than God who hath ordained That they that serve at the Altar should live by the Altar 4. And that set up such to be Preachers as have no art nor knowledg in the Tongues 5. That make the whole essence of the Ministerial Call to consist in Election of the people without Ordination 6. That cry down Bishops because they cannot preach to all their Flock at once and yet themselves gather Churches from York to London so that many do not see the face of their Pastor once in a year 7. Whether under that Notion all Heresies have not crept into the Church 8. Whether I shall joyn to that Party who never yet could set bounds to themselves but do still expect some new Discoveries for Modification and whether my consent go that not be more dangerous than the Oath of c 9. Whether I shall submit to that Party that hitherto neither the most Religious the most Learned nor the major part of any Nation ever yet submitted to 10. Whether the first and best of our Reformers ever thought of or practised such a way 11. Whether were I now to die I could take comfort in their Absolution seeing not one of them is authorized thereunto And 12. That would persuade us that all our Martyrs for the Protestant Cause did worship God in a wrong way and therein condemn the Generation of the Just Could Answer be brought in to this Jury of Questions That they are Not guilty I could then better believe them and relieve my self For the present my Conscience not being satisfied I shall with them Catholick Charity and pray That as they would shun the Fâ—ock of Superstition on the one hand they would likewise avoid the Shelve of Separation on the other And O thou that alone art an Independent Being teach all thine to depend upon thee for counsel and direction and not to despise the Churches Communion II. Whether Presbyterian IT is a Thriving way and I am poor the tentation therefore is strong but better enjoy peace of Conscience than the spoils of violence I shall yet propose some cases of conscience and upon their true Resolves I shall either shake hands with him or continue what I am 1. Whether I do not believe That Christ taught his Apostles to pray and say Our Father which art in heaven 2. Whether I do not believe That the Apostles did pray and say as Christ taught them Our Father which art in heaven 3. Whether I have done well to expunge and obliterate that Prayer Our Father which art in heaven 4. Whether I do not believe That Christ sent his Apostles as his Father sent him Joh. 20.21 5. Whether I do not believe That the Father sent Christ to be the chief Bishop of our Souls 1 Pet. 2.25 6. Whether I do not believe both these missions to be jure divino 7. Whether I do not therefore believe Episcopacy to be jure Divino 8. Whether I do not believe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be a different word from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 9. Whether I do not believe Bishop to be the name of office and dignity Presbyter to be a name of order and duty 10. Whether I do not believe Bishops are sometimes called Presbyters because they were Presbyters before they were Bishops 11. Whether I do not believe Presbyters qua Presbyters are never called Bishops 12. Whether I do not believe that St. Paul spake and did divinely when he constituted Timothy Bishop of Ephesus and Titus Bishop of Creet to oversee and if need were to rebuke the Presbyters there 13. Whether I do not believe St. Jerome spake piously when he said Nisi exors quaedam ab omnibus eminens potestas Episcopo ducetur tot essent Schismata quot Sacerdotes That unless an extraordinary and peerless preheminence were given to the Bishop there would be as many Schisms as Priests 14. Whether I do not believe King James spake politickly and prudently when be said No Bishop no King 15. Whether I do not believe the Primitive Church and so the Church successively untill of very late years one century and less than an half was governed by Episcopacy 16. Whether therefore I do not believe I have done very ill to shoulder out Episcopacy that I might get into his Chair 17. Whether I do not believe that Thebulis and Aërius were therefore called Hereticks because they would have had an ecclesiastical parity Bishop and Presbyter all one 18. Whether I do not believe The Canon of the Apostles distinguished the three degrees of Bishops Presbyters and Deacons and gave the superiority to Bishops Can. 4 6 7 19. Whether I do not believe Thebulis and Aërius did therefore phansie an ecclesiastical parity because they could not be made Bishops which they earnestly affected Epiphan Haeres 75. 20. Whether I do not believe the Church of Jerusalem was called a Virgin Church and never corrupted until by Thebulis because he was not made a Bishop Eus l. 4 c. 22. 21. Whether I do not believe Ignatius lived in the Apostles days and saw Christ in the flesh and being yet a Bresbyter writ to the Antiochians to remember Evodius their Bishop who first from the Apostles received the superiority above the Presbyters and after being Bishop himself and going to suffer under Trajan writ to the Clergy and Presbyters there That they would be diligent in feeding their floâ—k untill God did show unto them Him that should rule over them after his death And in another Epistle ad Sard. thus Presbyters be obedient to your Bishops Deacons be obedient to your Presbyters Laymen be obedient to all And after all concludes thus My soul for theirs that observe this order The Lord be with them 22. Whether I do not believe Aërius was the first that voted down all Fasts Vigilantius the first that voted down all Feasts appointed by the Church both Hereticks and therefore whether I may not fear I am something Heretical in following their steps 23. Whether I do not believe that S. James set out