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church_n	day_n	sabbath_n	week_n	6,281	5	10.0050	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28368	A remonstrance against the non-residents of Great Brittaine, or, Non-residency condemned by Scripture, by strength of arguments, by fathers, councels, canon-law, by the iudgement of reverend and learned divines	Blaxton, John.	1642 (1642)	Wing B3177; ESTC R4482	34,053	62

Magistrates p 36. l. 4. r. 〈◊〉 t. p. 37. l. 5 r. had l. 28. r had he p. 47. l. 8. r. denegarent A REMONSTRANCE Against Non-Residents CHAP. I. Non-Residency described Answer IT is an ordinary absence of the Minister from his charge namely from that particular Congregation committed unto him They that ordinarily reside not upon their Cures are not Pastors for a Pastor is he that resides upon his cure and takes care of the people to instruct them in the knowledge and feare of God and recals them when they go astray and comforts them in perplexities of conscience CHAP. II. In what cases the Minister is permitted to be absent Answer FIrst Sicknesse The Councell of Mentz 25. Can. If a Bishop be not at home or be sick or upon some exigent cannot be present at his Parish let him procure one who upon Sabbaths and Festivall dayes will preach unto his charge and Aug. testifies Epist. 138. that he was absent on the like occasion Secondly Allowance of the Church to be absent for a time upon some necessary and publique commodity for the same Col. 1. 7. Epaphras is their Minister but Cap. 4. 12. He being absent saluted them And Ambrose though hee were Bishop of Millan yet went he twisce Ambassador into France to make agreement betwixt Maximus and Valentinian Thirdly If by reason of persecution he be enforc'd to fly and see no hope to procure the safety of his people This made Cyprian to absent from Carthage as he testifieth in his Epistles But from hence our Non-Residents cannot justifie their ordinary absence from their Cures First Sicknesse is not the cause of their absence for their health serves them to live at Cathedrals and from hence to compasse all the Kingdome for preferments Esau did never more greedily hunt after Venison than these men after Dignities Secondly nor have they Allowance from the Church to be absent from their Parsonages and Vicarages in such manner as they usually are If they preach once or twice in a whole yeare in their Cures we must beleeve that have done God sufficient service and that they deserve many hundred pounds per annū for these great performances Thirdly nor is persecution any cause at all of their absence for they will not be persecuted for the Truth Armenianisme Popery and new * Canons withall the ridiculous ceremonies of the Church of Rome they will as willingly swallow down if the minds and pleasures of the High Priests be made known unto them as they devoure 2 or 3 Steeples CHAP. III. Arguments against carelesse Non-Residency 1 Argument THat which is not honest and of good report is not to be practised by the Ministers of Christs Gospell For the Scripture teacheth us that we should do such things as are honest and of good report providing for honest things not only before God but also before men absteining from all shews of evill But this carelesse Non-Residency as it is practised by our lazy Cathedrall Priests and other Non-Residents is neither honest nor of good report Ergo I prove the Assumption First by Scripture Secondly by Councels Thirdly by the Canon Law Fourthly by the testimony of learned Bishops and judicious Divines First by Scripture Ezek 3. 18. Ier. 48. 10. Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently Esa. 62. 6. I have set watchmen upon thy wals O Jerusalem which all the day and all the night continually shall not cease Ye that are mindfull of the Lord keep not silence and give him no rest till he repaire and till he set up Jerusalem the praise of the World Acts 20. 28. c. Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the flock whereof the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own bloud for I know this that after my departing shall grievous Wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock Moreover of your selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw Disciples after them Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three yeares I ceased not to warne every one night and day with teares 1 Pet. 5. 2 3. Feed the flock of God which depends upon you carying for it not by constraint but willingly not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind not as though ye were Lords over Gods heritage but that ye may be ensamples to the flock Secondly by Councels The Councell of Antioch the 17 Canon If any Bishop by imposition of hands inducted into a charge and appointed to governe a people do neglect to take upon him that office and delayeth to go to the Congregation alloted unto him such a one shall be prohibited from the Lords Table till he be enforced to attend upon that charge or at the least somewhat be determined by a compleate assembly of the Ministers of that Province The Councell of Sardice the 14 Canon We remember that our brethren in a former assembly decreed that if any Lay-man remaining three Sabaths or lords-Lords-dayes that is three weekes in a City did not in the same City frequent the Church assemblies he should be excommunicated If then such things are not allowable in Lay-men much lesse in Ministers for whom it is neither lawfull nor convenient without urgent necessity to be absent from his Parish Church longer than the time above mentioned to this Decree there was not one Non-placet but every one saith it likes us well The 8 Councell held at Constantinople in the 24 Canon decreed that Ministers ought not to have their Substitutes or Vicars but in their own persons with feare and chearefulnesse performe all such duties as are required of them in the service of God The Canon Law doth conclude the same things Can. siquis vult Distinct 36. debent indesinenter c. The Bishop saith the Canon ought to be continually resident in Gods Tabernacle that they may learne somewhat of God and the people of them whilst they read often and meditate upon Gods Word Againe in the Canons intituled Pontifices Et si quis in Clero Episcopos qui Dominici gregis suscipiunt Curam c. The Bishops which take upon them to feed Gods flock ought not to depart from their duty lest they lose that excellent Talent which God hath bestowed upon them but rather strive with that one talent to get three more talents And in the 80 Canon of those which are termed the Canons of the Apostles there is expresse mandate that such whether Bishop or Senior who attendeth not upon their office in the Church shall forthwith be removed from that place The Calcedon Councell Canon 10. Let no man be ordained Minister of two Churches in two severall Cities but let him remaine in that unto which he was first called and if for vaine-glory he shall afterward go to a greater Congregation let him immediatly be recalled to his first charge and in that only

they visite their Congregations but once or twice in the yeare and then having gathered up the profits of their Livings they speedily returne to their Dennes of idlenesse that they may consume the same in rio●ous living I conclude therefore that they are not the faithfull Ministers of Christ and consequently that they ought to be reformed or removed Faxi● Deus 6 Argument against Non-Residency ALl Faithfull Ministers of Christ Iesus are and must be painefull and laborious in their Ministeriall function But Non-residents are not painefull and laborious in their Ministeriall function Ergo they are not the Faithfull Ministers of Christ Iesus I prove the Proposition First That they are laborious in their Ministery the examples of Christ his Apostles Prophets Euangelists Bishops and Martyrs of the purest time do abundantly prove It was Christs custome to enter in their Synagogues on the Sabbath dayes and to read and expound the Scriptures to the people It was S. Pauls manner to reason in the Synagogues and to open the Scriptures on the Sabbath dayes Vpon Sunday saith Justin Martyr all the Christians that are in the Cities or Countries about meet together and after some Commentaries of the Apostles and writing of the Prophets have been read the Senior or President doth by a Sermon exhort the people and ad monish them to the imitation and practise of those Divine truths which they had heard and read unto them And Saint Austen telleth us of Ambrose that he heard him rightly handling the Word of God unto the people every Lords day Yea it should seeme by the Homilies of Saint Chrysostome that hee did oftentimes preach daily unto the people and therefore wee frequently meet with his {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} yesterday this and this I taught you and Origen intimateth this frequency of expounding the Scriptures in his time if saith hee you come frequently unto the Church of God and there attend unto the Sacred Scriptures and to the explication of those heavenly Commandements thy soule will be strengthned as thy body with food I will close this point with the assertion and profession of holy Austen that hee was never absent from his Episcopall service and attendance upon any licentious and assumed liberty but onely upon some other necessary service of the Church Secondly as faithfull Ministers are painfull in their ministry so they must be painf●ll and laborious There are no names given unto Ministers but they are words of employment and of labour For preaching comes of Praeco to be a proclaimer in the market place so are they called Trumpeters for that they must blow the silver Trumpet of the Lords word that it may sound and ring in the eares of the people Cryers so as they m●st be no tongue tyed fellowes for they are no fitter for this office then is a blind man to be a Pilot they must be as Shepheards which in Juda were faine to watch all night to preserve their flocks from Wolves Watchmen who must take heed least through their sloth the Fort be surprized Embessadours having a great message to deliver from the King of Heaven Angels as Christ is called the Angell of the great Covenant and Revel. 3. Write unto the Angell that is the Minister of such a Church workemen because they be builders of mens consciences Stewards to provide meat for the Lords inheritance we are Stewards of no meaner a gift than the grace of God and the wisdome of God that grace which by Saint Peter is called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} a manifold grace and that wisdome which by Saint Paul is called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the manifold wisedome of God We are the depositaries and dispencers of the most precious treasures which were ever opened unto the sonnes of men the incorruptible and precious bloud of Christ the exceeding great and precious promises of the Gospell the word of the grace of God and of the unsearchable riches of Christ Now it is required of Stewards that a man be found faithfull that he defraud not Christ of his purchase which is the soules of men nor men of their price and Priviledge which is the bloud of Christ that hee neither favour the sinnes of men nor dissemble the truth of God Ministers are the light of the world and therefore their duty is to shine forth by heavenly Doctrine to enlighten Gods people they are the salt of the Earth and therefore their duty is to season with wholsome Doctrine the weake soules that bendto corruption they are builders and therefore must edifie the body of Christ the house of God They are Captaines and therefore it is their part to fight Gods battailes and as good Leaders and Chieftaines to instruct Gods people well in this spirituall warfare In Saint Pauls time it was a curse of damnation not to preach which cannot be appropriated to Paul himselfe it being a duty required of all that labour in Christs Vineyard and 2 Tim. 4. 2. He adjureth Timothy to preach insta●tly so that as John as the forerunner and Timothy as an Evangelist were to preach with vehemency so are we as Pastors to crie the same crie for it never yet pierced deep enough nor entred farre enough to make men watchfull over their lives The assumption is too true the Conclusion therefore must of necessity bee yeelded unto viz. that Non-Residents are not the faithfull Ministers of Christ and consequently that they ought to be removed CHAP. IV. Answereth the Objections made by Non-residents for the maintenance of their idlenesse Obje 1. THough Non-residents bee ordinarily absent from their people yet there is no place of Scripture expressely condemning Non-residency as a sin Answer We have the authority of Gods Commandement Acts 20 28. binding all Pastors carefully to attend unto the flockes of which the Holy Ghost hath made them Overseers and this not at the quarter or halfe yeeres day to gather in the profits and to feed themselves but to feed the flock the Church of God which Christ hath purchased with his bloud I would know whether this precept requireth the personall presence of the Pastor or no if any man say that hee is as good as present in his sufficient substitute I answer that the most doe not prove it so sufficiently but some rakeshame of men some Ieroboams Priest of the basest of the people that cannot tell otherwayes what to do with himselfe But if they did the Text is not satisfied which requireth his owne attendance neither injoyneth a Pastor to see his people fed but to feed them I would further here demand whether that Commandeme●t given to Archyppus belong not to all the Pastors of the New Testament Take heed to the Ministery that thou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfill it which if it doe as no forhead