Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bishop_n	call_v	presbyter_n	12,456	5	10.4226	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49587	A discourse of paying of tithes by T.L. ... ; together with an appendix ...	Larkham, Thomas, 1602-1669.	1656 (1656)	Wing L441A; ESTC R41027	20,618	58

to separate betweene the precious and the vile and bemore faithful in their trust and then God will teach men to be more forward to pay them their due and to allow them at least competencies if they be not convinced of this truth of the Divine Right of paying of tythes which I wish were more searched into as all truths ought to be without partiality Object Object But it will be an act of injustice to take away from men that which is their proper right by the ancient Lawes of men and which men have bought and paid for and to give it to such as have no right thereunto whose it never was in any ones opinion for indeed if tythes be not the Lords as hath formerly beene shewed they are they must needs be theirs whom Law and possession hath setled them upon Now to take tythes from them that claim them receive them as their right by Law which determines propriety without allowing a valuable consideration may seeme to be great iniquity Sol. Sol. To which I answer that if to withhold goods from the owner be a sin and forbidden as it is in the Word of God then it can be no sinne in the Magistrate to judge the restoring of them to the rightful owner and to turne the streame into its proper channel The case is the same touching tythes whether you look upon them as due by the Moral Law to Ministers or as devoted in the elder times of the Gospel-Church though for my part I rather believe the former but we will not make more questions then need to divide the worshippers of God The scope of this Tract being to evince the duty of this present Power to take tythes away as now they are payable and to put people into a capacity of doing their duty Object Object But if the Lawes of men do not compel persons to do their duty they will be re●●isse and negligent c. Sol. Sol. To which I answer The Churches are to take cognisance of miscarriages in their proper and peculiar members and they have not the power of the Keyes committed to them in vaine it is not sword work either Military or Civil to force peoples consciences but the work of the Spirits sword as hath formerly beene hinted Quest Quest But what course then shall be taken to provide for such as are to instruct the world Answ Answ I answer Churches may send out members and the State if they see it fit may out of Gleeb-lands so called or other devoted Revenues or by Taxes and Rates allow such or any others whom they shall judge meet for that work of preaching whether Church-officers or others a convenient stipend or pay provided that Church-members be not robbed of that which they are carrying to the Lord as his portion by his owne appointment and ordinance There may be many wayes thought upon to furnish the Nation with able godly Teachers and Preachers either fixed or itinerary which may be authorized and maintained in this excellent needful imployment if they be not Church-officers and if they be Church-officers then care is taken for them already by the Ordinance of God as hath beene shewed and indeed such only are fit unlesse in case of extreme necessity for that work of publike preaching and it will tend much to the making of peace among Professors of Religion and it is very suitable to the ancient practice of the Church in the times after the Apostles Athanasius against the Messalians writeth that there were diverse Bishops in some one Church though not in that of Alexandria And D. Sutliffe de pont lib. 1. chap. 5. saith that Paul towne by towne appointed Presbyters and Bishops And Epiphanius cont haeres lib. 2. haeres 27. And Eusebius also in his Ecclesiastical story reckons both Peter and Paul for Bishops at Rome both at one time But I lay not much weight on these things Only to shew you that if in one particular Church there be divers Ministers Bishops Presbyters Elders call them by which of these names you will there may be a sparing of some of them by course to instruct the world and yet they may be ready also to preserve good order in the particular Churches to whom they do belong and to propagate the Ordination for the perpetuity of Churches respectively others to succeed them from time to time upon the election of the members of each Church of fit men so to be presented to them to receive Ordination And as Calvin lib. 4. cap. 3. sect 8 15. lib. 4. cap. 4. sect 1. affirmeth that from among the company of the Presbyters some were chosen to be Pastours and Teachers and the rest were Overseers and Censurers of the behaviours of the people so why may not these by course or some of them be chosen to preach and teach abroad and receive their livelihood from the Churches to whom they do belong out of the tythes paid in to them by the members and due unto them as Ministers of those Churches For I would not have you think that one man should scrape hundreds together from the Church as some Parsons so called now do but that tythes should be brought into Gods store-house as we read they were commanded to be Mal. 3.1 and so imployed to the service of God in maintaining Ministers and Church-officers But I am sensible of the running of my Pen. I therefore returne to the Answer to the Question viz. that men of small reach may easily finde out wayes for instructing the world that do not submit to any Church Bishops or Ministers of old had the care of both Cities in which they lived and Countries adjoyning and besides Church-members and others live promiscuously together in most places if they do not care may be taken without so much ado for teaching and instructing all Whole Cities or townes were not Churches in ancient time neither ought they to be so now We read of the Church of Smyrna one of the seven Churches of Asia where Polycarpus was Pastor as soone as he was knowne to be a Christian was martyred by the rage of the multitude and that as Eusebius Eccles hist lib. 4. cap. 15. recordeth in the sight of his owne people The whole Cities there were not Churches if they had been how could the Church of Smyrna writing to other Churches of the foresaid martyrdome entitle her selfe the Church of God which is at Smyrna And yet I will not deny but there might be some few here there in the town and hamlets thereabout which belonged to the Churches in the greater towns and cities but not as now where Tavistock town is one thing and Tavistock parish another because it is supposed all that are within the precincts of the parish must needs be members of the Church there and so hath it beene accounted formerly but I must confesse without fear it is otherwise now And why may it not be so in other places I teach all in