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A93682 A hand-kercheffe for a disconsolate soule, to wipe away his sinne, and to keep him from despaire, as though they had never been committed. / By Samuel Spinckes, minister of Gods word. Spinckes, Samuel. 1651 (1651) Wing S4981; Thomason E633_7; ESTC R206473 19,356 31

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causes and occasions of thy feare whether they be thy sinnes if any trouble thy conscience or thy temptations to sinnes thy weakenesses of faith and holinesse or the like so that hee upon view and sight of thy estate and arguments of thy faith and repentance though they be but weake may apply the promises of mercy the comfortable refreshing Oyle of the Gospel unto thy soule But yet heerein also heede and warinesse must be taken to what Minister and to what spirituall Father we doe repose and put our trust and confidence in for this so great a businesse for we must not send to the Schismaticall Anabaptist Brownist c. who preacheth and applieth all judgements and little or no mercy for then he may make the wound worse then it is but in this case send to the godly reformed Minister not to some up-start Trades-man or body Minister of which at this day are too many but know this that our life is hid with Christ in God Col. 3.3 For as Trees in the cold and stormy Winter so good men and women in tempests and anguishes of soule seem to be dead not onely to the world but even to themselves Whence note that Acts 20.9.10 Eutichus there is an Emblem of a Christian in temptation for he fell from an high loft and was taken up dead and so was reputed of all that ware present but saith the Text the Apostle Saint Paul laid himselfe upon him and imbraced him and so found life in him and set him on his legs so though a man fall high from heavenly grace even to the very pit of hell if it were possible yet he may be raised againe by some skilfull and painefull Paul by applying the comforts of the Gospel and so rightly shewing him that his life is not altogether extinguished and put out but hid onely in Christ and that the same is to be found againe in God But for those that thinke if there be any such that any man may as well absolve or baptize or use any other Ministeriall Function or Office in the Church but some if not too many could be contented that there were no Churches as well as the Ministers of God who onely are lawfully called thereunto I would have such to know that he that sent forth to baptize Mark 16.16 he sent also to remit sinnes saying as my Father sent me so send I you c. John 20.12.13 As therefore none can or ought to baptize though he use the same water and words 2. Cor. 5.7 and 10. vers but onely the lawfull Minister Heb. 5.4 I say he onely which Christ hath called and authorized to this Divine and Ministeriall Function So though others I confesse may comfort with good words yet none can absolve from sinne but onely Christ and those to whom Christ hath committed the holy Ministery and words of reconciliation 2. Cor. 5.18.19 and of their absolving Christ speakes in Luk. 10.16 He that heareth you heareth me In a doubtfull title thou wilt aske the counsell and advice of some skilfull Lawyer in perrill of sicknesse thou wilt enquire of the learned Phisitian and is there no danger in the dread and feare of damnation for a sinner to be his owne Judge Judicious Calvin teacheth this point of Doctrine most plainely Et si omnes mutuo nos debeamus consolari c. Although saith he we ought to comfort and confirme one another in the confidence of Gods mercy yet we see that the Ministers are appointed as Witnesses and Sureties to ascertaine our consciences of the remission of sinnes Insomuch as they are said to remit sinnes and to loose soules c. Beza highly commendeth this practice and Luther saith that he had rather lose a thousand worlds then suffer private confessions to be c. And our Church hath ever most soundly admitted and maintained the truth of this Doctrine and heerein I might bring in the visitation of the sick in our Liturgy but that is now abolished and for my owne part I never was against the abolishing of it only this I say and say of it if those in Authority had punished some of those that rent it out of the Churches before that Authority had made the same of no validity and use that then it would have made some and that a great many too have leaned more freely to them and their Authority who now I feare stand but as neuters and the not punishing of such hath been a great cause of the augmentation and encreasing of this civill uncivill and unnaturall Warre There was once much wondering when the Pope fell heere in this Kingdome as now they wonder to see the Prelates cast downe and so the world did once wonder to see the Masse cast away and disliked and now many wonder to thinke that the Lithurgy should be so swept away And for my part I pray God grant that the people doe not at last take a surfeit of that most Divine Ordinance of preaching for no violent thing lasts long Well but we all complaine of our present misery by the unhappy and bloody distractions of the Kingdome by this inbred and unnaturall Warre But yet few consider seriously or the cause whence they come for information heerein take and observe this that sinne is the onely cause of every affliction and of all punishments whether to private men or whole Kingdomes Esay 26.9 We by our sinnes have provoked God to anger and God shewes his anger by these judgements upon the whole Nation Deut. 6.15 King and Subjects have sinned and now King and Subjects are punished Deut. 28.63 Nay God causeth us to punish one another and he doth it either to reforme us or else to destroy us But I dare say God is the efficient cause of all Yea the cause of all causes all other causes are but Gods instruments now the instrumentall cause of these our distractions are wicked men 2. Chron. 22.2.3 God useth one sinner to punish another as Israels sinnes were punished by wicked Shishake and by idolatrous Asher Esay 1● 5 whom God calleth the rod of his anger and the staffe of his hand 2. Sam. 12.11.12.13 So God punished Davids sinne by wicked Absolon and King Rehobcams sinne by his rebellious people 2. King 14.16 and the sinne of the people by their King Jeroboam But yet though God do use wicked men for his instruments yet wicked men doe but wickedly even in the things wherein God useth them for naturally still they are but the Divels instruments to execute his will and their owne Divelish malice as ye may see Job 1.15 But to passe and goe where wee were for Absolution wee finde that Doctor Holland absolved Doctor Reynolds at his death who not being able to speake yet he kissed the hands wherewith he was absolved And so King James of blessed memory as I have credibly heard when hee lay on his death bed sent for a Reverend Bishop to come and give him his Absolution But yet I say