Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	heathen_a	let_v	publican_n	2,742	5	10.9981	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43619	The fourth part of naked truth, or, The complaint of the church to some of her sons for breach of her articles in a friendly dialogue between Titus and Timothy, both ministers of the Church of England / by a legal son and since conformist to the Church of England, as established by law.; Naked truth. Part 4	Hickeringill, Edmund, 1631-1708.	1682 (1682)	Wing H1806; ESTC R14467	65,265	43

your Condition and believe a Priest confined by Lawful Matrimony may be as good a Member of the Church as a Town-Bull Tim. Yet we do not read that many of the Apostles were married Tit. Not that they made use of the Romish Remedy allowed to Priests unmarried Tim. God forbid any should think so they were holy Men. Tit. And Men in perpetual Travels to publish the Gospel to all Nations and under sore and continual Persecutions But if not many yet if any of them took upon them the holy and honourable Estate of Matrimony that is sufficient to justifie this Article of our Church encouraging her Clergy to the same In the Exhortation after Marriage But St. Peter himself was saith our Church a married Man And how the Popes come to lay claim to more Prudence Continency and Holiness than was in their pretended Predecessor I am to learn steadfastly believing none of them ever had such Measures of the Spirit of Purity and Infa●ibility as he was endowed with And I do farther believe that the licentious Practices of the Romish Priests and Jesuits of this kind suitable to their Principles hath been a great means of promoting Debauchery to so high a degree amongst us For if a Priest may keep a Whore why may not a Nobleman or a Gentleman do the like Nay some of our Lay-Hectors do not stick to aver that it is more pleasurable more prudent and as lawful to keep a Courtisan than a Wife And others that are married have by these Doctrines of Demons been so perverted and drawn away to Licentiousness as to rob their Families to maintain their Misses And from whom do they learn such Gospel but from Rome and her Agents with us Yet we must believe these Men under an inviolable Vow of Chastity Tim. In troth I am of your mind therefore I resolve Coelebacy no farther than I find it consistent with true Chastity and Honesty Tit. And while you can keep that Resolution I have nothing to say against it For you may marry or not marry as your Prudence shall direct and as it shall most promote an holy and godly Life saith our Church to whose Wisdom in this I subscribe Tim. So shall I for I think she is in the right Tit. 'T is but newly come on you then for but just now you thought she was in the wrong and the Church of Rome was in the right Tim. But I see my Errour Tit. 'T is well amend it too and I am satisfied but had you persisted in it I would have read the next Article to you my self to let you see what Punishment you deserved But now you may proceed to it as you have to them before ART 33. Tim. That Person which by open denunciation of the Church is rightly cut off from the Vnity of the Church and Excommunicated ought to be taken of the whole multitude of the Faithful as an Heathen and Publican until he be openly reconciled by Penance and received into the Church by a Judge that hath Authority thereunto Tit. Methinks I tremble at the very hearing of this word Excommunication It carrying in it the most severe and utmost punishment the visible Church can inflict upon any Offender Tim. What think you of suspension ab offieio beneficio or of deposition Tit. I look upon them as great Punishments and such as the Church may and ought upon just occasion to inflict But this Take him Goaler nay take him Devil all other are Fleabites to this Tim. As severe and sharp as 't is I wish it were more in use than ' t is Tit. Not too brisk with your Bulls 't is dangerous to play with edg tools It hath been too common to the great reproach and injury of our Church when at the command of a passionate Commissary the timorous Priest hath delivered over several to Satan for not answering immediately to their names though in Court at the same time And the fault lying rather in the voice of the Apparitor than any obstinacy in them Tim. A light Offence truly Tit. But an heavy Sentence and not to be taken off neither without paying their Fees as if that were the matter chiefly designed Tim. Had I been the Priest I should have paused a little ere I had pronounced Sentence Tit. And any one else who considers to whom it belongs to Excommunicate who are to be Excommunicated for what causes and the nature and end of Excommunication Tit. Pray for my satisfaction will you speak a little to these particulars for I am taken with them much Tim. I shall and as briefly and fully as I can Ex subno I say 't is to be considered 1. To whom it belongs to Excommunicate and here I find the Commission given to the Disciples of Christ Matth. 18.17 whom no lay Chancellour or Comminary can represent nor any but such as are in holy Orders as Bishops Priests c. And as the Constitution of our Church is I think Bishops only who are in chief Authority can Excommunicate and are the fittest Judges when and where that a Commissary's Sentence is to be pa●…ed Though our Chancellours in our ordinary Courts take upon them to be Judges and to direct and command the Priesthood in this case Which to allow is neither better nor worse then to give the Government of our Church into Lay-hands a thing which we decry'd in the Presbyterians 2. For those that are liable to this Censure they must be more than ordinary Criminals this Censure is not to pass upon common and trivial occasions that makes it contemptible And I find there are three sorts of men Excommunicable by Scripture rule First Such as pervert the sound Doctrine of Truth as did Hymeneus and Alexander 1 Tim. ●… 20 Secondly Such as are defiled with notorious wickedness as the incestuous Person at Corinth 1 Cor. 5.1 5. Thirdly Such as obstinately persist in their Crimes and Offences after a double admonition or treble rather privately by himself after that before two or three and if that fails then openly before the Church and if he will not hear the Church then let him be to thee us an Heathen man or a Publican Matth. 18.15 16 17. Where our Saviour plainly teacheth us that as this must be the last remedy so he would have his Disciples and those that succeed them proceed to it with all caution and care endeavouring first by all other means to gain the Offender to Repentance Would to God all our Excommunications were always for such Causes and proceeded with such Cautions and Endeavours It would render both the Sentence more formidable and our Church more honourable Tim. I am fully of your mind for I perceive 't is a thing of weight Tit. 3. That is the next particular the Sentence it self Excommunication carries no less in it than the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 5.5 and 1 Tim. 1.20 a delivering to Satan Hammonds Annot. on 1 Cor. 5.5