Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	church_n	ecclesiastical_a	supreme_a	1,721	5	8.3896	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44141	A correct copy of some letters written to J.M., a nonconformist teacher concerning the gift and forms of prayer by Matthew Hole ...	Hole, Matthew, 1639 or 40-1730.; J. M. (John Moore), 1641 or 2-1717.	1698 (1698)	Wing H2408; ESTC R19302	77,888	204

Ecclesiis The Apostles did set in order in the Church such things as had relation unto Order as Forms of Prayer and the like Dyonysius the Areopagite Eccl Hier. p. 77 who was Cotemporary with the Apostles testifies that there were then Forms of Prayer to which all the People said Amen And tho' some doubt hath been made whether the Book in which this is recorded be his yet 't is by all granted to be exceeding Ancient In the next Age to the Apostles Epist ad Trajan Pliny in his Letter to Trajan makes mention of set Forms of Hymns and Praises us'd by Christians at that time Soliti sunt saith he Carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem And both Ignatius and Justin Martyr speak of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Common Prayer that was used among them In the second and third Centuries we find Origen in his Book against Celsus Origen contra cels lib. 1.8 speaking of Christians using 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Appointed Prayers And in one of his Homilies citing a piece of Liturgy then in use Homil 11. Frequenter in Oratione dicimus Da Omnipotens da nobis partem cum Prophetis i.e. We often say in our Prayers give Almighty God O give us a Part with the Prophets St. Cyprian makes frequent mention of a Liturgy in the Church of Carthage telling us of the Ministers saying in the beginning of it Sursum Corda Lift up your Hearts and the People answering Habemus ad Dominum We lift them up unto the Lord. And the same is derived down and used in our Liturgy to this Day And Tertullian mentions the same Form of Abrenunciation that is still used in our Office of Baptism and withal adds That they had set Hymns for particular Times and Occasions Eusebius in the life of Constantine tells us that besides the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the established Prayers he ordered Forms of Prayer to be composed for the use of the Soldiers Euseb in Vit. Constant lib. 9. 〈◊〉 9 c. Which plainly shews his Approbation and Use of them If we go forward to the fourth and following Centuries we shall find our selves compass'd about with a whole Cloud of Witnesses St. Crysostome St. Ambrose St. Basil St. Austine with many others some whereof were Framers of Liturgies Besides many Counsils that decreed and established the use of them As Consil Laod. Can. 18. Carthag Can. 23. Milev Can. 12. If we come down to the Times of the Reformation we shall find all the Lutheran and Foreign Churches using Forms of Prayer for Publick Worship Yea if we come to Geneva and consult your beloved John Calvin the Father of Presbytery we shall find him using a constant Form of Prayer in his Publick Ministration And likewise composing Forms of Prayer for the use of Geneva which were approved of and established by the Authority of that City And for his Judgment of the use of Forms you may take it from himself who in his Letter to the Lord Protector thus declares himself Calv. Epist 87. For so much as concerns Forms of Prayer and Ecclesiastical Rites Valde probo c. I much approve that they be determined so that it may not be lawful for Ministers in their Administrations to vary from them By which you may see how far you do degenerate from the Principles and are gone off from the Practices of the first Founder of your Sect. Yea 't is well known that those who were styled Puritans or Presbyterians before the great Rebellion Conscientiously used and frequented the Publick Liturgy and inveigh'd bitterly against all separation from it Thus you see the Christian Church ever since the days of Inspiration hath every where Celebrated Publick Worship by Liturgies or Composed Forms of Prayer So that Extempore or Free Prayer was a thing unknown to the primitive and purer Ages of the Church and plainly appears to be a late Invention By whom it was brought in and for what End I shall accquaint you very shortly In the mean time what can it be ascribed to but to your Ignorance or Pride thus to set up your Self against the Judgment and Practice of the whole Christian Church in all Ages 2. But you ask Secondly Who are those Uninspired Persons that have a Commission to compose these Prayers and likewise who are they that have Authority from God to impose them For the composing these Publick Prayers that undoubtedly lies in the Power of the Church which from the beginning of Christianity hath ever exercised it For Christ sent forth his Apostles not only to teach but to Rule and Govern his Church That all things in it may be done Decently and in Order and to the use of Edifying And Beza as was before observed tells us that Forms of Prayer were one of those things that related to Order and were settled by them 1 Tim. 3. ● 2. St. Paul directs Timothy to take care that Publick Prayers be made or composed for the use of the Church of Ephesus of which he was made an Over-seeer Now this being a matter of standing use and benefit to the Church is derived down to their Successours with whom Christ promised to be to the end of the World And therefore we find that the Rulers and Pastors of the Church meeting in Synods and Convocations have upon Mature Advice and Deliberation framed these Publick Liturgies ever since Mile Concil Can. 12.23 The Milevitan Council forbids the admitting any other Prayers in the Church for the Publick Worship of God than those that are so made and so approved lest thro' Ignorance or want of Care something might slip in that was contrary to the Faith But who are they say you that have Authority to impose them upon all Ministers who residing with are presumed best to know the Necessities of the People The Composing of Prayers we see is in the Church the Imposing them lyes in the Chief Magistrate who is Supreme in his Realm in all Causes Ecclesiastical as well as Civil For the Church being incorporated into the State neither of them can be well govern'd unless the Prince be Supreme in both And therefore a great Man hath hath told us That the Church directing and the Sovereign Enacting have ever had this Power since the State became Christian Neither can we see how things can be better ordered than that what is well considered and tendered by the Church should be ratified by the Sanction and Authority of the Prince But you it seems think your self wiser than both and can order these things better by your present Conceptions than they upon all their Deliberation and that because you residing with can better know the Necessities of the People When Sir will you be so modest as to think the Rulers in Church and State better Judges of the general Necessities of the People than you or any private Person Is there any thing in the

next Objection against the Injunction of publick Forms of Prayer is That it hath not only silenced many godly Ministers but hath set up and encouraged a lazy Ministry in their stead This is your beloved Topick upon which you delight to insist and upon all Occasions recur to For I find you Decking and Adorning your silenc'd Brethren with all the fine Feathers of able painful and godly Ministers whilst you set forth the regular Clergy in the blackest and most odious Shapes that your Talent of Variations can represent them Here you call it a Lazy Ministry as if it consisted of a Pack of idle Drones that will take no pains and are good for nothing At other times you stile it a lame Ministry that can't go without Crutches and sometimes a purblind Ministry that can't see without Spectacles 'T is much you had not added the other common Epithets of Ignorant Sottish and Scandalous Ministry which are the usual Complements you pass upon the conformable Clergy It seems Sir you are not so far silenced but you can open your Mouths in rude and railing Accusations For one of your silenced Brethren tells us That Forms of Prayer have let in such Ministers into the Church of whom all that have any concern for the Glory of God and the Church's Repute have cause to blush and be ashamed Now Sir If you had any Modesty left you could not but blush and be ashamed of such false and impudent Calumnies To tell you it s against the Rules of Civility and good Manners thus to call Names and asperse any would perhaps but little affect you who have been so little bred to them Or to say The Principles of Reason and Morality if hearkned unto would teach you better things will be as little regarded since you are arrived to higher Attainments than to be brought down to common Reason and dull Morality Let us hear then what the Holy Scriptures for which you pretend a great Veneration teach in this Matter and learn from thence how we are to order our Words and Actions towards each other and there we find many strict and severe Cautions against evil Speaking Lying and Slandering Titus 3.2 Speak evil of no Man saith the Apostle And Charity is so far from Speaking 1 Cor. 13.5 that it thinketh no evil Indeed there is scarce any Sin marked with a blacker Brand of Infamy than this of evil Speaking and Slandering our Brethren And according to the different Degrees and Stations of the Persons evil spoken of does the Guilt of this Sin increase to speak evil of the Ruler of the People Jude 3. is mounted up to Blasphemy and to speak evil of Dignities is part of the Character of those Persons whom God reserves for the Punishment of the last and great Day Now there are no Men of whose Reputation we ought to be more tender than of those that Minister about Holy Things For the Success of their Ministry depends much upon the Honour and Esteem they have in the World and to Vilifie and Defame them is to render their Persons useless and their Office contemptible Yea the Relation they bear to Christ as his Embassadours ought to secure them from Obloquy and procure to them the Veneration of Mankind For as the Honour so the Contempt too cast on them will redound to him that sent them And therefore the Apostle gives a strict Charge so to account of them 1 Cor. 4.1 as the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries of God And upon that account to think them worthy of double Honour 1 Tim. 5.17 And does not this very well consist think you with those black Calumnies and foul Aspersions which you are won't to load them withall You will do well Sir to consider whose Character it is to be the Accuser of the Brethren and whose Work you are doing whilst you thus lessen and revile the Ministers of Christ You know the Devil hath his Name from a Calumniator and they who delight in venting Lies and Slanders derive their Pedigree from him who was a Liar from the beginning and the Father of them But let us see what Colour of Truth there is in these vile Reflections Are the Clergy then unfound in their Principles No this is not much pretended What then are their Abilities too Slender and Insufficient for their Calling This they will scarce say neither I am sure they cannot say it with any Colour of Truth the Generality of those within the Church being Men of far greater Worth and Learning than they who have shut themselves out of it Is it their Lives then that have given this Offence Yes this is the main Point they insist upon For some say they are Scandalous and others Lazy But Sir is there any Church upon Earth that is without Blemish and without Spot Is it not the sole Priviledge of the Church Triumphant in Heaven to be Presented pure without Spot Ephes 5.27 or Wrinkle or any such thing Was there not a Judas among the Twelve Apostles and will there be no disorderly Brother among so many thousand Brethren Are all Saints think you that go to Conventicles No 't is obvious they are as great Sinners as any of the Galileans tho' they pretend such things Will not Tares spring up among the Wheat and continue so too there being no Separation to be made between them till the Harvest And therefore all Separation now upon pretence of greater Purity is rather a piece of the Vain-glory of a Pharisee than the Mark of a true Christian Besides Sir you must not be too credulous of evil Reports For some are vented out of Malice and others are spread upon Design And therefore the Apostle exhorts not to believe 1 Tim. 5.19 or take up an Accusation against an Elder without good Grounds and the Testimony of two or three Witnesses But if you know any for certain to be loose in their Lives and lazy in their Calling Why do you not take the Advice and Method of our Saviour to reclaim them which is privately to admonish them and tell them of their Faults and if that will not do to take one or two more and if that will not prevail you are to acquaint the Church where Christ hath appointed Rulers either to reform or remove them Math. 8.15.16 This is the direction that Christ gives in this Matter Not to whisper about in Corners or to take pleasure in publishing the Failings and Infirmities of other Men for this is to rejoyce in Iniquity 1 Cor. 4.13 whereas Charity casts a Veil and covereth a Multitude of Sins and will rather hide than disclose anothers Nakedness Yet after all you will be hard put to it to find out an abler or better Clergy for the number of them in any part of the Christian world than that which you so unhansomely asperse The word of God being no where more diligently and faithfully Preached The Sacraments more