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
A76080	Independency not Gods ordinance: or A treatise concerning church-government, occasioned by the distractions of these times. Wherein is evidently proved, that the Presbyterian government dependent is Gods ordinance, and not the Presbyterian government independent. To vvhich is annexed a postscript, discovering the uncharitable dealing of the independents towards their Christian brethren, and the fraud and jugglings of many of their pastors and ministers, to the misleading of the poor people, not only to their own detriment, but the hurt of church and state; with the danger of all novelties in religion. / By John Bastvvick, Dr in Physick.; Independency not Gods ordinance. Part 1	Bastwick, John, 1593-1654.	1645 (1645)	Wing B1063; Thomason E285_2; ESTC R200066	144,017	171

commands in the Lord. But that they should also afford them the honour of maintenance and take order there be a sufficient and competent yea an honourable allowance for their support and that as they minister to them spirituall food for their soules they should likewise minister unto them all things necessary for the maintenance of them and their Families that they may comfortably and without solicitous care follow their holy imployments and wait upon their severall Ministeries So that the place and imployment of the Presbyters is to teach and rule the people and this is their proper work and peculiarly belongs unto them and the imployment and place of the severall congregations under them is to hear and obey and therefore if the severall congregations do assume unto themselves the power of ruling they take more upon them then by God is allowed them and the Presbyters in yeilding unto it reject their own right and devest themselves of that authority that God hath put into their hands and by so doing in time may not only bring confusion into the Church but to all those Countries where such usurpations are tolerated I cannot but speak my conscience in this point And truly very reason dictates unto a man that they only should have the authority of commanding and ruling over the Churches to whom the power of the Keys is given Now it is given only to the Ministers and Presbyters as we see it in Iohn 20.21 and Matth. 18.15 16 17 18. Where our Saviour Christ established a standing government to be continued to the end of the world the violating and the overthrowing of the which was the cause of all those confusions both in doctrine and manners that is now come upon the world and was the cause not only of the rise but the growth of Antichrist And the reducing of it again into the Church the re-establishing of it will be the confusion of that Man of Sin and of all the Antichristian-brood and be a means of establishing truth and peace through the Christian world But it will not be amisse a little to consider that place in Matth. 18. If thy Brother saith Christ shall trespasse against thee go and tell him of it between thee and him alone if he shall heare thee thou shalt gaine thy brother but if he will not heare thee then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established And if he shall neglect to heare them then tell it unto the Church but if he neglect to heare the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen man and a Publican Verily verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall binde on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven In these words our Saviour Christ has respect unto the order and custome of judicature in those times in censuring mens manners and doctrines which among the Jewes was ordered and administred by an assembly and counsell of learned experienced and judicious men and by a Presbytery Consistory or Colledge of able men for governement chose and selected out of the people for this very purpose by such as could judge and discerne of their abilities the which assembly and company is by Christ himself called a Church because it did represent the Church and in this place Christ did establish the like to be continued in the Christian Church to the end of the world making his Apostles this representative body and their successors all the godly and holy Ministers and Presbyters and gives unto them the same power and Authority to judge and determine of all things belonging unto faith manners that was observed in the Jewish Church in all Ecclesiasticall Discipline For otherwise the Christian Church should be inferior to that of the Jews if they had not the same Priviledges for the censuring of manners and Doctrines and the same power of jurisdiction and ruling that they had Now all power of jurisdiction among the Jews was exercised not by the promiscuous multitude or by the whole Congregation nor by any particular man nor by two or three as the place above specifies but by an Assembly Senate Councell or Presbytery of understanding men assigned to that purpose which our Saviour himself calleth a Church and this government established in the Christian Church are the severall Presbyteries where all things are transacted by common and joynt consent and this was the practise of the Apostles at Jerusalem who did all businesse of publike concernment by common and joynt consent as is manifest in the first chapter of the Acts in chusing of an Apostle in Judas his place And in the sixt chapter in chusing of Deacons and in the 15. chapter in determining the question there in hand all in a Presbyterian way and by common consent And this is that government that God hath commanded to be perpetuateds to the end of the world in these words Whatsoever ye shall binde on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven So that the Presbyters onely have the power of the keyes and it is their place onely to ordain Ministers and Church Officers whatsoever Authority the people may exercise in the chusing of them as Paul writes unto Timothy and Titus and they onely are to judge and determine and to censure in matters of manners and doctrine and the people are to allow and approve it according to the Word of God Yea the very Synagogues of the Jews which were the same that our Churches are were governed by a Presbytery as our brethren acknowledge called by the name of the Rulers of the Synagogue who governed by joynt and common councell as is evident and manifest in that there were superior and inferior Judges Commanders and Rulers according as their yeares gravity and wisdome made them more eminent then others and venerable to the people as may appear in many places as Acts 18. ver 8. It is said there That Chrispus the chiefe Ruler of the Synagogue beleeved with all his houshould So that if there were a chief Ruler or Judge or a President there must of necessity be a Councell or Segniory of inferiour ones that had Rule and Authority over others as well as he as where there is a chief Justice or Judge there are other Judges joyned with him as all reason perswades and there must needs be a Court of Judicature where all things are transacted by conjoynt and common consent and agreement and so it was in the Synagogues of the Jewes who were subject to and ordered by the determinations and arbitrement of their Rulers and Governours So that the severall Churches or Synagogues under the Jews were in subjection to those Rulers and were governed according as by common councell they ordered And Mat. the 5. vers 22. And behold there came one of the Rulers of the Synagogue whose name was

the ordering of all mens hearts in his hands did so dispose of all things that by their owne principles they should give toleration of all Religions in their severall countryes and jurisdictions so that his people being scattered here and there through other nations by their sinnes yet found this favour that they also for the most part enjoyed the liberty of their Religion though they met sometimes with most hot persecutions but all this is ever to be ascribed to God alone as I said before and to his over-swaying providence and guidance who ever preserved those that trust in him and served him according to his revealed will though it be in Babylon it selfe and therefore it is not to be attributed to the good nature of the Heathen neither would that toleration now be tolerable in Christians who have learned Christ otherwise than to set up any Religion but that which he the King and Prophet of his Church hath taught them But now I will briefly answer to what they pretend out of Scripture and runne through the severall Objections drawne from thence And first to begin with that of Joshua 21. where he saith choose you this day whom you will serve c. In these words by their favour there is no toleration of many Religions for he was to follow the law of God and not to decline from it neither to the right hand nor to the left Joshua 1. and by that law he was forbid to suffer or tolerate any Religion but that which Moses had taught them and therefore those words were a meere scrutiny and to find out those that were idolaters to punish them as any wise governour may at any time make use of the like Query to find out men not well affected to Religion or to their Country that by this meanes they may be brought to condigne punishment As if now any Officer or Commander under the Parliament should say to a company of men that he were jealous of being desirous to discover them and find them out choose you this day who you will serve whether the King or the Parliament but for my selfe and my house we will serve the Parliament would not any by and by gather that he spake this onely to find out Malignants to punish them Even so Joshua a wise and religious governour did the same not that he over intended to give them a toleration of all religions for that had been against the law of God and against their owne example for in the 22. of Ioshua we read that because the people had built but an Altar on the other side of Iordan they intended forthwith to make war upon them a president to teach christians that they may fight for their religion and they had gone out to battell against them and had destroyed them had they not given a satisfactory answer that they had no intent to bring in any innovation in religion and therefore this is but a poor cavill Now for that they pretend out of Gamaliel's speech Acts 5. ver 38 39. where he sayth Refraine from these men speaking of the Apostles and let them alone for if this counsell or this work be of men it will come to nought but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it least happly ye be found fighters against God Ergo all Religions are to be tolerated This Objection has sufficiently shewn that our brethren the Independents that thus argue may well be made fellowes of Gotham-Colledge as knowing not as yet their Primer in polititicks nor their Catechisme in divinity For who knowes not that it is as easie with God who is of infinite wisdome out of mens foolishnesse to procure safety for his owne people as it was for him out of Achitaphels wisdome to bring destruction upon himselfe and to turne his wisdome into foolishnesse for that which Gamaliel spake was neither as a wise man nor as a Christian for he would never be thought a wise man that hearing of any commotion in the Kingdome and had the power in his hands to suppres it should say if it be of men it will come to naught but if it be of God if we shal oppose it we shal be found fighters against God and therefore let us let them alone would not all the world think this man a Ninny that should thus speak and a man unworthy to sit in counsell in any State whereas a wise man if he hears of any insurrection he will forthwith use the weapons of his right hand and first seek God by prayer and in his Ordinances and then betake himselfe to the weapons of the left hand and use the sword to suppresse them and this man would be thought a wise man that should so doe and not he that with Gamaliel should say if it be of men it will come to nought and so let them goe on to doe mischife Neither did he answer as a christian for what christian that should heare of any new monstrous Religion newly printed newly come forth as there are many at this day to be sold about towne and Country for pence apiece and should understand that some of those ancient heresies were againe revived as that of the Arians Pelagians or Nestorians should say let them alone for if they be of men they will come to nought but if they be of God ye cannot overthrow them lest you will be found fighters against God and so let the seducers goe on without questioning them or suppressing their heresies would not every man that hath any feare of God in him say surely that man that should thus answer did not speak like a christian for a good christian like the good Bereans would say come let us sit downe and examine these new doctrines newly brought into the world by the holy Scriptures and let us follow the example of the Apostles Act. ch 15. in that assembly and search the Scriptures and if we find them not to be grounded on the Word of God nor to be of God let us forthwith as God himselfe hath commanded suppresse them and not say without examining of them as wise Gamaliel let them alone that was not God's method for God sent his people to the law and to the testimony Isa 8 and proclaimes that all that speak not according to them it is because there is no light in them and that all opinions not grounded on the Word are but darknesse and errour and therefore they are not to be tolerated or suffered so that for any man to gather a toleration of all Religions from Gamaliels speech is but to prove himselfe a meere groll and as little to the purpose is that they urge out of the words of our Saviour Matth. 22. where answering the Sadduces he saith Ye doc erre not knowing the Scripture nor the power of God v. 29. From whence the Independent brethren conclude a toleration of all Religions for our Saviour say they onely convinced them of their errour and yet tolerated