Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	ghost_n	holy_a	spirit_n	3,926	5	5.5026	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12800	Cassander Anglicanus shewing the necessity of conformitie to the prescribed ceremonies of our church, in case of depriuation. By Iohn Sprint, minister of Thornbury in Glocester-shire, sometimes of Christ-Church in Oxon.	Sprint, John, d. 1623.	1618 (1618)	STC 23108; ESTC S117795	199,939	306

of the Law not in the time of the Gospel in as much as being pressed by the blinde and wilfull Iewes they were called the commandements of men Col. 2. Tit. 1. I would know here of my Brethren what maine difference there is betweene the inuentions of men and the commandements of men Seconly because they were abused to superstition and false doctrine many wayes and had very many euill and pernicious effects as I haue proued in the first reason of my first argument Numb 11. 12. which cannot be denied with any shew of contradiction Thirdly because they were notoriously knowen to haue bin so abused euen whersoeuer the Christian faith was planted in Italy Graecia Asiaminor Syria Coelosyria Iudaea Creta and may wee thinke that the famous controuersie and Councel at Ierusalem for deciding thereof about the false opinion about Circumcision was not notoriously knowen vnto all the Christian Churches which also prescribed some Iewish Ceremonies on occasion of abuse of other as also the tumult made on Paul by the furious Iewes at Ierusalem In a word wheresoeuer the Iewes were as they were scattered almost in euery part and new Iewish conuerts there must needes be knowen their notorious abuses of the legall Ceremonies and I much admire that my Brethren should denie this Fourthly Because they are of no profitable vse because of no vse at all I meane in themselues and in their nature being considered being as shadowes without a body weak rudiments without signification shewes without substance types and similitudes without an antitype yea resemblances of nothing Though I denie not but they were of necessary and very profitable vse in the Apostles practise but that was not in respect of any power in themselues or of any vertue which the Apostles gaue them by their iniunction but as meanes and weapons of necessitie to defend the Church from mischiefe and the Gospel from interruption which by no meanes they would haue practised without such necessitie the like I say of our Ceremonies These things being so cleere and euident it must needs follow that these Ceremonies in their nature must bee tainted with that formal and inseparable euil which the arguments of the depriued Ministers doe fasten on our Ceremonies so farre forth as they agree in these Circumstances alleadged which my Brethren fearing are faine to runne into their old and onely refuge That though they had been neuer so much abused and had been also in any other respect of no necessary vse yet this aagument toucheth them not because they were vsed by warrant of Apostolicall and diuine authoritie But that I may driue my Brethren from this their vltimum refugium I say their answere is of no force at all which appeareth by these reasons 1. Because the answere of our Brethren is barely affirmed without all shew of proofe or reason which is sufficiently confuted with a bare deniall and matter of this nature Eâdem facilitate comtemnitur qua probatur as the olde saying of Hierome is yea the Holy Ghost is silent and giueth not the lest touch to intimate that this action was peculiar to the Apostles and how can my Brethren speake so confidently where the Holy Ghost is silent 2. Because of the equall necessity of the Church in all ages and like care which God hath of his Church in giuing equall remedy who doth not onely command and inioyne duties for the purity and comely order of the Church but also prouideth remedies against the diseases thereof Now is there not a necessity for other things aswel as for these Primitiue Churches to appease dissentions schismes tumults interruption of the Gospell depriuation of Ministers arising from inconuenient and abused Ceremonies Must all other Churches besides these for euery inconuenient Ceremony or other thing of like nature with the Iewish Ceremonies suffer the Church to bee ouerthrowne and the Gospell interrupted did God giue them onely priuiledge thus to conforme and not to others in other cases or did he giue remedy to their euills and take it from vs If it seemed good necessary to the Holy Ghost in one cause for the good of the Church to giue way to the practise of inconuenient Ceremonies of this nature by what reason should it not bee still as good and necessary for other Churches in the like case in the sight of the same blessed spirit to practise the like Ceremonies 3. Because Saint Paul rehearsing his practise of conforming to the Iewish Ceremonies doth draw his practise thereof out of a generall doctrine 1. Corinthians 9. 19. The generall doctrine is this That though hee were free from all men as euery faithfull Minister is yet he made himselfe the seruant of all men as in this sense euery faithfull Minister should doe to winne the more From this ground he deduceth his particular practise vers 20. of becomming a Iew vnto the Iewes that is of practising the Iewish Ceremonies for the Iewes sake to auoide their scandall and to winne them to the Gospel shewing and declaring that out of this generall doctrine any godly and sincere Minister of the Gospel might lawfully and ought needfully to conforme to the like Ceremonies of the Iewes in the like case to win them and to gaine liberty to the Gospell Therefore I conclude the Apostles practise of Iewish Ceremonies was not peculier to them as arising from meer Apostolical authority and that the practise of like inconuenient ceremonies in the like case is lawful needful 4. Because the same Apostle declaring his withstanding of the practise of Iewish Ceremonies in other cases doth specifie the reasons thereof namely 1. They would compell men vnto it Galat. 2. 2. and bondage their Christian liberty Galat. 2. 4. with Act. 15. 1. 5. 10. 19 3. And it was not the right way to the truth of the Gospel Galat. 2. 14. Therefore I conclude they practised the Iewish Ceremonies by a certaine and standing reason and not alone by Diuine or Apostolicall authority If they had not beene Apostles by these reasons they would haue practised them in these cases or the like 5. Because by this means any shifting disputant may shift off al necessity of the practise of any part of Apostolical discipline and order namely of excōmunication of obstinate offenders because a matter peculiar to the Apostles as Erastus Erast de excom in Thes fol. 46. Thes 58. others doe or of the Churches meeting on the First day of the weeke as many Libertines and Sabbatarians do things of like nature yea also of our particular assurance of true grace iustification remission of sinnes and saluation which we vsually ground from the example of the Apostles Rom. 8. 38. 39 Gal. 2. 20. 1. Tim. 1. 1. 15. which yet the Papists put off with this our Brethrens answer It was peculiar to the Apostles it was of speciall reuelation For Bellarm. de iustificat lib. 3. cap. 9 in resp ad 7. testimon Staplet de Iustific l. 8. c. 24. f.

for answere I say there is agreement betweene them in the most part of those many things whereby our Ceremonies are vrged and accused to be simply euill and vnlawfull as before appeareth so that this obiection is nothing to the pointin question or to giue direct answere to this argument For my allegation of these things doeth confirme thus much Namely that it is good and necessary to practise inconuenient scandalous and hurtfull Ceremonies in a case of superior reason namely of procuring the Churches peace and libertie of the Gospel and the like which no man will deny and I seeke no more For admit these Ceremonies with vs in controuersie to be inconuenient hurtfull and scandalous more or lesse it skilleth not so long as they bee of no other nature then those Iewish Ceremonies prescribed and practised by the Apostles as hath beene prooued they are not how will it be auoyded but that in case of superior reason as of auoyding depriuation of the Ministrie they may lawfully and needfully be practised and that according to the minde of the holy Ghost and the direction of the holy Scripture Obiection But the Church of England hath not the like causes and reasons to prescribe and enioyne the present Ceremonies as the Apostles had to prescribe the Iewish Answere First this obiection is nothing to the poynt in hand For the question is heere not whether our Church doth well to prescribe these Ceremonies But whether such Ceremonies being prescribed as the Church conformed to by the Apostles decree in a case of necessitie ought not to be conformed to by our depriued Ministers in a case of like or greater necessitie Secondly But the Church of England in prescribing Preface to the book of common Prayer tit Of Ceremonies these Ceremonies professeth a respect of winning and profiting two sorts First Some thinking it a matter of great conscience to depart from a piece of the least of their Ceremonies Secondly some new fangled would innouate all things and despise the old nothing liking them but that which is new therefore they thought it expedient to take away some such as were most apt to bee abused to superstition and to retaine others and in their practise they tooke away so many ceremonies as time would serue quietly to doe it the rest were reserued to keepe order and quiet decipline in the Church Which is further noted to King Edwards answere to the Deuonshire and Cornishe rebells who being Ans to 3. Artic. Act monument Papistes would haue the Masse in Lattine To whom the King replyeth that the good things in the Masse-bookes were onely translated into English for their sakes onely the superstition taken out Obiect The Apostles Acts 16. 3. and 18. 18. and 21. 26. Did vse the Iewish ceremonies voluntarily without compulsion of any superior authority or Law to stoppe a scandal with the weake brethren of the Iewes If therefore that be pressed for the vse of our ceremonies it will proue a necessitie of vsing them out of the case of depriuation aswell as in that extremity and that a man must practise them voluntarily without any compulsion or hazard of Ministry Ans First though the cases of the Apostles practise in Act. 16. 18. 23. were voluntarily performed that is without commaund of any superior authority yet the case of practise in Acts 15. 28. 29. Was inioyned decreed and commanded Acts 16 4. and 21. 25. And that by the rule of necessitie then which there can hardly be a greater argument of compulsion Act. 15. 28. Secondly and besides the very cases alleadged were done by compulsion also of preuenting the Iewes offence yea in a case of danger also of depriuation to the Apostles if they had not conformed as appeareth by the tumult made by the Iewes Acts. 21. 27 28 29 30. Vpon a supposition of those Iewes that Paul taught non-confirmitie vnto the Iewish ceremonies Verse 21. By the which tumult they raised it came to passe that Paul was indeed depriued from any free vse of his Apostleship in Iudea til he came to Rome as appeareth in the sequell of the history And if there were no Law for depriuation of Ministers yet if the execution of their office were in hazard I doubt not but they should conforme for compulsion may aswell be vsed without Law as with Law Obiect Those ceremonies were practised but once or twice vpon extraordinary occasions But ours are vrged for a perpetuity and vpon an ordinary and standing reason and are like to continue without euer remoouing them Answ Neither doeth this obiection come neere the poynt in hand which prooueth that such ceremonies as ours are in themselues not simply euill nor of noe other nature then those ceremonies enioyned and practised by the Apostles which therefore in a case of necessity may bee practised by vs yet I answere Touching the ceremonies practised by the Apostles First it is true they were not alwayes by them practised but vpon certaine occasions Howbeit they were alwayes practised by them when they met with the same occasion of necessity and would oftner haue practised them if by the like necessity they had beene driuen to it which shewes the necessity of conforming to inconuenient ceremonies in the case of depriuation Secondly when the Apostles decreed the abstaining from blood and strangled it was inioyned without limitation of time whereupon a man might haue made this obiection vnto their decree and say They are vrged for a perpetuitie and vpon an ordinary and standing reason namely of necessity and fitnesse and are not euer like to be remooued Thirdly also some of the prescribed Iewish ceremonies endured longer in the Church then on the sudden may be imagined For it is obserued that Christians abstayned from blood and strangled till the time of Tertullian Origen Whitaker de Ro. pon cont 4. quest 7. fol. 832. 833. Syrill Eusebius Councell of Ganga yea of Augustine 400. yeeres after Christ 2 Concerning our ceremonies it is vntrue that they are vrged for a perpetuity for the preface of the common prayer booke expresly saith of the ceremonies prescribed thus they are retained for a discipline and order which vpon iust causes may be altered and changed and therefore not to be esteemed equall to Gods Law And for the continuance of practise of our ceremonies I suppose noe sound Protestant will pleade for the necessity of their practise or continuance longer then the reason of necessity doeth hold Our case is rather to be matched with the time of Pauls refusing Obiect part M Parker 2. sect 14. fol. 71 to circumcise Titus and of his reproouing Peter for his dissimulation in cōforming to the Iewes Ga. 2. 3. 11. 13. Answ This can by noe meanes hold as appeareth because Paul in a case of hazard of his Ministry disquiet of the Church and interruption of preaching the Gospell which is our case did circumcise Timothy Acts 16. 3. But did vtterly refuse as also all the