Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	form_n	prayer_n	set_a	6,981	5	11.4340	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85427	An apologeticall narration, humbly submitted to the Honourable Houses of Parliament. By Tho: Goodwin, Philip Nye, Sidrach Simpson, Jer: Burroughes, William Bridge.	Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1643 (1643)	Wing G1225; Thomason E80_7	16,409	36

us or that may give satisfaction unto all Queres possible to be put unto us yet we found principles enough not onely fundamentall and essential to the being of a Church but superstructory also for the wel-being of it and those to us cleare and certaine and such as might well serve to preserve our Churches in peace and from offence and would comfortably guide us to heaven in a safe way And the observation of so many of those particulars to be laid forth in the Word became to us a more certaine evidence and cleare confirmation that there were the like rules and ruled cases for all occasions whatsoever if we were able to discerne them And for all such cases wherein we saw not a cleare resolution from Scripture example or direction wee stil professedly suspended untill God should give us further light not daring to eeke out what was defective in our light in matters Divine with humane prudence the fatall errour to Reformation lest by sowing any piece of the old garment unto the new we should make the rent worse we having this promise of grace for our encouragement in this which in our publique Assemblies was often for our comfort mentioned that in thus doing the will of God we should know more A second Principle we carryed along with us in all our resolutions was Not to make our present judgement and practice a binding law unto our selves for the future which we in like manner made continuall profession of upon all occasions We had too great an instance of our own frailty in the former way of our conformity and therefore in a jealousie of our selves we kept this reserve which we made open and constant professions of to alter and retract though not lightly what ever should be discovered to be taken up out of a mis-understanding of the rule Which Principle wee wish were next to that most supreame namely to be in all things guided by the perfect wil of God enacted as the most sacred law of all other in the midst of all other Laws and Canons Ecclesiastical in Christian States and Churches throughout the world Thirdly we are able to hold forth this true and just Apologie unto the world That in the matters of greatest moment and controversie we stil chose to practice safely and so as we had reason to judge that all sorts or the most of all the Churches did acknowledge warrantable although they make additaments thereunto For instance Whereas one great controversie of these times is about the qualification of the Members of Churches and the promiscuous receiving and mixture of good and bad Therein we chose the better part and to be sure received in none but such as all the Churches in the world would by the balance of the Sanctuary acknowledge faithful And yet in this we are able to make this true and just profession also That the Rules which we gave up our judgements unto to judge those vve received in amongst us by vvere of that latitude as would take in any member of Christ the meanest in whom there may be supposed to be the least of Christ and indeed such and no other as all the godly in this Kingdome carry in their bosomes to judge others by We took measure of no mans holinesse by his opinion whether concurring with us or adverse unto us And Churches made up of such we were sure no Protestant could but approve of as touching the members of it to be a true Church with which communion might be held Againe concerning the great ordinance of Publique Prayer and the Lyturgie of the Church whereas there is this great controversie upon it about the lawfulnesse of set formes prescribed we practiced without condemning others what all sides doe allow and themselves doe practice also that the publique Prayers in our Assemblies should be framed by the meditations and study of our own Ministers out of their own gifts the fruits of Christs Ascension as well as their Sermons use to be This vve vvere sure all allowed of though they superadded the other So likewise for the government and discipline in the Churches however the practice of the Reformed Churches is in greater matters to govern each particular congregation by a combined Presbyterie of the Elders of several congregations united in one for government yet so as in their judgements they allow especially in some cases a particular congregation an entire and compleat power of jurisdiction to be exercised by the Elders thereof within it selfe Yea and our own Master Cartwright holy Baynes and other old Non-conformists place the power of Excommunication in the Elde●ship of each particular Church with the consent of the Church untill they do miscarry and then indeed they subject them to such Presbyterial and Provincial Assemblies as the proper refuge for appeales and for compounding of differences amongst Churches which combination of Churches others of them therefore call Ecclesiae ortae but particular congregations Ecclesiae primae as wherein firstly the power and priviledg of a Church is to be exercised And vvithall vve could not but imagine that the first Churches planted by the Apostles were ordinarily of no more in one city at first then might make up one entire congregation ruled by their own Elders that also preached to them for that in every city where they came the number of converts did or should arise to such a multitude as to make several and sundry congregations or that the Apostles should stay the setting up of any Churches at all until they rose to such a numerous multiplication as might make such a Presbyterial combination we did not imagine We found also those Non conformists that wrote against the Episcopal Government in their Answer to the Arguments used for Episcopal Government over many Churches brought from the instances of the multitude of Beleevers at Jerusalem and other places and cities mentioned in the New Testament to assert that it could not be infallibly proved that any of those vve reade of in the Acts and elsewhere vvere yet so numerous as necessarily to exceed the limits of one particular congregation in those first times We found it also granted by them all that there should be several Elders in every congregation who had power over them in the Lord and we judged that all those precepts obey your Elders and them that are over you were to be sure and all grant it meant of the Pastours and Teachers and other Elders that were set over them in each particular congregation respectively and to be as certainly the intendment of the holy Ghost as in those like commands Wives obey your owne husbands Servants your own governours to be meant of their several Families respectively We could not therefore but judge it a safe and an allowed way to retaine the government of our severall congregations for matter of discipline within themselves to be exercised by their own Elders whereof we had for the most part of the time we were abroad three

unlesse it doe take hold of mens consciences and be received amongst all Churches the offending Churches will sleight all such Excommunications as much as they may be supposed to doe our way of protestation and sentence of Non-communion On the other side let this way of ours be but as strongly entertained as that which is the way and command of Christ and upon all occasions be heedfully put in execution it will awe mens consciences as much and produce the same effects And if the Magistrates power to which we give as much and as we think more then the principles of the Presbiteriall government will suffer them to yeeld doe but assist and back the sentence of other Churches denouncing this Non-communion against Churches miscarrying according to the nature of the crime as they judge meet and as they would the sentence of Churches excommunicating other Churches in such cases upon their own particular judgement of the cause then without all controversie this our way of Church proceeding wil be every way as effectuall as their other can be supposed to be and we are sure more brotherly and more suited to that liberty and equality Christ hath endowed his Churches with But without the Magistrates interposing their authority their way of proceeding will be as ineffectuall as ours and more lyable to contempt by how much it is pretended to be more authoritative and to inflict a more dreadful punishment which carnall spirits are seldome sensible of This for our judgements And for a reall evidence and demonstration both that this was then our judgements as likewise for an instance of the effectuall successe of such a course held by Churches in such cases our own practice and the blessing of God thereon may plead and testifie for us to all the world The manage of this transaction in briefe was this That Church which with others was most scandalized did by letters declare their offence requiring of the Church supposed to be offending in the name and for the vindication of the honour of Christ and the releeving the party wronged to yeeld a full and publique hearing before all the Churches of our Nation or any other whomsoever offended of what they could give in charge against their proceedings in that deposition of their Minister and to subject themselves to an open tryall and review of all those forepassed carriages that concerned that particular which they most cheerfully and readily according to the fore-mentioned principles submitted unto in a place and state where no outward violence or any other externall authority either civil or ecclesiasticall would have enforced them thereunto And accordingly the Ministers of the Church offended with other two Gentlemen of much worth wisdom and piety members thereof were sent as Messengers from that Church and at the introduction and entrance into that solemne assembly the solemnity of which hath left as deep an impression upon our hearts of Christs dreadfull presence as ever any we have been present at it was openly and publiquely professed in a speech that was the preface to that discussion to this effect That it was the most to be abhorred maxime that any Religion hath ever made profession of and therefore of all other the most contradictory and dishonourable unto that of Christianity that a single and particular society of men professing the name of Christ and pretending to be endowed with a power from Christ to judge them that are of the same body and society within themselves should further arrogate unto themselves an exemption from giving account or being censurable by any other either Christian Magistrate above them or neighbour Churches about them So far were our judgements from that independent liberty that is imputed to us then when we had least dependency on this kingdom or so much as hopes ever to abide therein in peace And for the issue and successe of this agitation after there had been for many dayes as judiciary and full a charge tryall and deposition of witnesses openly afore all commers of all sorts as can be expected in any Court where Authority enjoyns it that Church which had offended did as publiquely acknowledge their sinfull aberration in it restored their Minister to his place again and ordered a solemn day of fasting to humble themselves afore God and men for their sinfull carriage in it and the party also which had been deposed did acknowledge to that Church wherein he had likewise sinned Thus we have rendred some smal account of those the saddest days of our pilgrimage on earth wherein although we enjoyed God yet besides many other miseries the companions of banishment we lost some friends and companions our fellow labourers in the Gospel as precious men as this earth beares any through the distemper of the place and our selves came hardly off that service with our healths yea lives When it pleased God to bring us his poor Exiles back again in these revolutions of the times as also of the condition of this kingdom into our own land the pouring forth of manifold prayers and teares for the prosperity whereof had been no small part of that publique worship we offered up to God in a strange land we found the judgement of many of our godly learned brethren in the Ministery that desired a general reformation to differ from ours in some things wherein we do professedly judge the Calvinian Reformed Churches of the first reformation from out of Popery to stand in need of a further reformation themselves And it may without prejudice to them or the imputation of Schisme in us from them be thought that they comming new out of Popery as well as England and the founders of that reformation not having Apostolique infallibility might not be fully perfect the first day Yea and it may hopefully be conceived that God in his secret yet wise and gratious dispensation had left England more unreformed as touching the outward form both of worship Church government then the neighbour Churches were having yet powerfully continued a constant conflict and contention for a further Reformation for these fourescore yeers during which time he had likewise in stead thereof blessed them with the spiritual light and that encreasing of the power of Religion in the Practique part of it shining brighter and clearer then in the neighbour Churches as having in his infinke mercy on purpose reserved and provided some better thing for this Nation when it should come to be reformed that the other Churches might not be made perfect without it as the Apostle speaks We found also which was as great an affliction to us as our former troubles and banishment our opinions and wayes wherein we might seem to differ environed about with a cloud of mistakes and misapprehensions and our persons with reproaches Besides other calumnies as of schisme c. which yet must either relate to a differing from the former Ecclesiastical Government of this Church established and then who is not involved in it as well