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church_n bind_v earth_n loose_v 5,255 5 10.5190 5 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A63532 The true interest of the legal English Protestants, stated in a letter to a present member of the House of Commons concerning the test 1687 (1687) Wing T2714A; ESTC R219806 3,708 4

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tell it unto the Church and if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen man and a Publican Verse 18. Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven And whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven And the Church that we must hear must be always Visible if Christ be always with them or else it can neither command nor we hear them to Obey And without an Umpire Church we can never agree about the Sacrament nor any other of the many Controverted Texts and Sects growing from them And now I believe this may be enough though you still doubt Transubstantiation to make you think it your Duty to endeavour to Repeal these Test-Acts to remove such a Bait for Division between His Majesty and People As for the Declaration in the second Test-Act Of Idolatry for Invoking the Virgin Mary or Saints or Adoring Christ in the Elevated Bread of the Mass Where they suppose he is not I shall in brief only say That the seeking of Christ either by or without his mediating Favourites though it should be where he is suppos'd not to be can be no Idolatry Since Christ is every where as he is God and that no Pagan Gods are in the Hearts of any Christians And now having prov'd the unlawfulness I shall proceed to the Inconveniencies of the Test-Acts And what can be more improper then depriving the Government not only of the use of the Roman Catholicks in all Chargeable Troublesom or Dangerous Offices either Civil or Military but even of all other Subjects who may avoid such Imployments by saying I cannot take the Ingagements in the Test-Acts and therefore must not obey you How ridiculous were any Government that should not have a Power to suspend such Laws As for the Penal Laws against Non-conformists they were made to wear out the Opposers of Queen Elizabeths Title to the Crown But that Cause being remov'd long since it is certain that they have been contrary to the Primitive Doctrine and Practice of Christians Oppressive of mens Consciences and Families the Causers of Conspiracies and Rebellions and drivers of men to Hypocrisy If these then are their undenyable Attributes your Compassion Justice and true Protestant Interest will Ingage you to endeavour when you Sit again to get the start of all your Enemies in obliging His most Illustrious Majesty by taking off altogether the worst of Slaveries at least from the most Loyal of His Oppressed Subjects They are but a Contemptible Handful of People And therefore when God shall remove His glorious Majesty if you shall then find them worse then other Subjects you will be numerous enough to make what new Laws you please against them For they are not the twentieth man and have grown no faster here in this short time of Liberty than a great Body of them hath done amongst the Wise United Netherlanders with a hundred years Liberty where they are in Peace with a continued Fidelity to their Government when Invaded by the French of their own Religion But let what will happen it is the True Interest of the Church of England to stand or fall with its Duty Their King if he were a Heathen is the Lords Anointed as Cyrus was call'd in Isaia chap. 45. v. 1. and he is the Legal Head of the English Church by which he can model them to their Duty without force And now I have said enough to one so Wise as to know that God and the King must be Trusted with something For I should Apologize for so tedious a Letter from Your very Affectionate and most Humble Servant