Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	authority_n	church_n	zion_n	10	3	8.8384	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86890	A rejoynder to Mr. Drake or a reply unto his book entituled, A boundary to the holy Mount. VVhich being approach'd, is found so dreadfull, that the people do exceedingly quake and fear, lest they be consumed. By John Humfrey Master of Arts, and minister of Froome in Somerset-shire.	Humfrey, John, 1621-1719.	1654 (1654)	Wing H3705; Thomason E1466_2; ESTC R208675	155,461	285

discover them to be hypocritical yet here it is not the rule he goes by It is pity but the Lawgiver should be Lord over his own rule His reason is because Infants c. which is now seven times 2 Nor by visible profession or Church membership which way the Scripture goes because it is too loose for him The godly forsooth must not go the ordinary road of Christians lest the wicked come along with them His argument is as good as this I must not go the horseway because I am a man 3 He has found out a medium a middle way which before these times our Church never knew and he may be famous for the discovery seeing there is scarce a trace or footstep in the whole Word any else can find for it besides him We have had one Drake already famous for shooting the Gulph you shall now have another for cutting the Streights in this businesse of Admission In particular Page 71.72 Could not all the Art Mr. H. hath think of a medium participationis Ans 1. The whole Art Mr. H. professes is to be a humble follower of Iesus Christ who tells us of no medium here while he divides all his guests as I have said into the called and chosen Matt. 22.14 Which cloze being brought in unto this Parable may happily serve both to check Mr. D. that will be wiser than his Lord and help to direct us in the rule of our admission The servants can look but to the one who are Saints by calling as the Lord to the other who are Saints by Election 2. I doubt not but if Mr. D. finds out one medium there will be enough to find out more for if ever there were any Sects or Schisms in the Church they run upon this same account that they have found out the true medium as well as he If we maintained our profession we might have kept out our divisions but in the yielding the one we are lost in the other Mr. Drakes words here are but vain when we see these sad effects There is a wound made in our very bowels which the Church has received by her own sons while they have given the occasion of separation from her This is the whirlpool wherein she loses her Children whom as soon as she has fostered under her wings and with long travels gotten but out of the shell they presently leave her Even as those Ducklings that are hatch'd under a Hen let them but come once to see the waters they regard not at all the cluckings of their Mother but run themselves in the depths of their own imaginations P. ibid. Wee look at his rule of Church-membership or profession as a very loose principle c. Ans And what does he think of Christs action in admitting of Judas was that a loose action and are the Scriptures loose Scriptures what reason has he for this Because it will open a door for Infants c. Alas good man I Is this it and I pray what else As also for the wicked c. He should say in plain terms It is a loose principle because it is not his principle and then he had hit it For his instance of children which we have had now no lesse than eight times over merely out of penury in having nothing else Methinks I may only answer him with the Philosopher when he took another a-bed with his Wife that was extremely ill favoured O miserable man says he what necessity has brought thee hither O poor Mr. Drake what wretchednesse is this that he should have no other argument to make use of For his other instance if profession be Mr. H' s ground how dare he Excommunicate any Baptized person though most wicked I answer As the Priest durst shut up the Leper from the whole Congregation because of Gods special command 1 Cor 5.13 Indeed if the Priest would have kept him from the Ordinances when he was not to be kept from the Camp he had no warrant for it Though I dare not exclude any Church-member in statu quo while his right is good yet I hope I may where he has forfeited that right and is made no Church-member by Excommunication Because I must admit of him that is a professor therefore may not I exclude him that is for the present in the state of no professor It fares with children here as it does in their lands it is not for want of a right but want of a capacity they do not enjoy it but it fares with the Excommunicate as in mens forfeiture of their Estates Their whole right to it is lost for the present until there be a recovery by their repentance Page 74. Doth not Mr. H. know a man may be habitually worthy and yet not actually c. Dia he never hear of Real and Visible worthinesse c Ans For the former I do know it is a good distinction as applied to the Receivers though I believe it no wayes concerns the rule of our admission But for the latter I must confesse I have heard of the Visible Church Saints by calling Professors c. but this Visible worthinesse as distinguished there-from I have not lightly read of but in him though I willingly in opposing him make use of the terms as brief and very significant of his meaning that is as Exotick to the Scriptures as the expression And now methinks I see many pious men conscious of their own uprightnesse as so many Iobes ready to stand up and justifie themselves behold therefore I shall be as another Elihis formed out of the Clay I have heard you say we are innocent our way is righteous But where are your Scriptures Where is any precept for it or example in the Word doth it seem good to you to put a yoak on the Brethren when you are not sure it seemeth good also to the Holy Ghost Is there any thing worthy all your labours watchings and pious designs that has not clear Authority from Christ Or is there any such thing worthy our Churches troubles and alterations Have ye been so tender of your own consciences about some circumstances at this Table formerly that you should not now leave the substance of the duty free unto others And have you in the issue found any such fruits and blessed effects as you have expected in laying this foundation whereof our spiritual enemy takes advantage to bring a burden upon our own Souls perplexities to tender Consciences displeasure on the general and accidental danger to us all in opening the door to our endlesse separations How hath the Lord Covered the Daughter of Zion with a cloud and cast down from Heaven to Earth the beauty of Israel Reproach and Division hath broken our hearts wee looked for some to take pity and there was none and for comforters and have found none Turn thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned Renew our days as of old Pag. 75. Upon that allusion of mine about the

Onion out of pleasant he brings bitter whether the man be more flat or spiteful let others judge I am sure the Embleme of the Spider sucking venom out of those flowers the Bee does honey is lively represented in this place For the sense of his words which are a censuring of all us that hold for a free offer of Christ at this Sacrament to be opposers of the Church and the Wicked and his party only the godly I answer him humbly in the words of Christ Luk. 9.55 You know not what manner of spirit you are of It is not so easie a thing to discern between the right hand and left hand of Iesus Christ It is not your part to sever the Sheep and the Goats to write Doomsday and the book of Iudgement It was a kind question of Joseph to his brethren How does the old man is he yet alive I will ask my virulent opposer the same question Sir What think you of the antients of our Church and their former practices How have they done a long time Is your Father well the old man of which you speak Are they all of them of the wicked Is this your kindnesse to them in their age to bring down so many grey judgements with sorrow to the grave For the manner of his expression with his dagger of that text Ez. 13.22 though used by roat before to Mr. Prynne I must confesse it is very grievous to me Mine eyes cannot look upon it but they affect my heart O Lord Do thou bow down thine ear and hear open thine eyes an behold for me the reproach he has spread here with p. 92 93 94. c. before the world See Lord if thou wilt allow such language and such spleen in one of thy children and not reprove him for it Rebuke him O Lord yet not as a Son of Ashur but as a Son of Iudah Let all bitternesse and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be you kind one to another tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Sect. 10 MY Fifth Reason was drawn from the uniformity of the service of God If the Lord has appointed all his ordinances in common for the visible Church why would man sever what Christ has joyned The strength of this truly rednced to its fountain issues from Gods precept and our duty which so long as they must stand the question may not need so great debate whether we must obey rather God or man There was no Nation like the Jews unto whom the Lord gave his Statutes sayes Moses it was the whole people the whole Church to whom the Statutes were given Amongst these Statutes they had the Passeover which you may see to whom it belongs Exod. 12.3 Speak unto all the Congregations Mark it is not here a general institution as of any other ordinance so that the whole Iewish Church or all the circumcised is the adequate subject if I may use those words of this duty Compare it with Numb 9.3 and God sayes he that did not keep it should be cut off Will any man now imagine unlesse Mr. Drake that none but the regenerate were to eat thereof Turn then to the Gospel and do we not likewise find the Sacrament instituted thus for the whole Church The Lords words are Doe this Drink ye all of it a standing precept to all the Twelve as representatives of the Vniversal Church as visible while Iudas is amongst them and it is exprest They all drank of it Out of Sion shall go forth a Law upon this obligation we find the whole number of Professors breaking bread every week Act. 20.7 and daily Act. 3.46 but we find not a word about any discrimination at it Is not this then a general command for the visible Church and was not here the practice common Again 1 Cor. 11. you have the whole institution repeated and enjoyned till Christ come ver 26. And then ver 33. he concludes directly thus When you come together to eat tarry for one another He speaks no doubt unto the persons he reproves which we may see how vicious they were and yet their comming he holds to be good that must still be done but directs them to carry themselves better there which likewise ought not to be left undone One would never think it should have needed to come under proof that this is a duty belonging in general to the visible Church or that any should hold that it is a precept onely for the regenerate and Elect if we did but consider that Saint Paul is so far from making distinction of these Corinths at it that he brings it in the Chapter before as an ordinary privilege without any dispute even as freely as the very Manna and the rock which rock was Christ Unto this I will adde only those words Gen. 17.10 This is my covenant you shall keep Every man-child among you shall be circumcised from whence it appears the condition and keeping of the Covenant is either inwardly in the grace or out wardly in the administration If a man be not inwardly in covenant to keep it effectually in the grace yet so long as he is externally in covenant he must keep it still in the administration that is in the Ordinances It is therefore as I am afraid very dangerous to hold with Mr D. let the pious judge between us that it is onely the regenerate for so he speaks it not every mans duty to receive for this opens a door unto neglect making mans impotency a sufficient reason to nullifie Gods precept and to justifie one sinne with another I shall therefore here produce you Mr. Perkins for we must be plain herein in his Cases of Conscience whose authority I hope will go he layes down these three rules 1 Every man of years living in the Church and being baptized is bound in conscience by Gods command Take Eat Doe ye this to use the Lords Supper You see here Church membership is the rule this Eminent man went by and yet I hope was not one of the wicked for all Mr. D's censure 2 Every man is to receive it often 1 Cor. 11.26 considering it is nothing but the shewing the Lords death He comes up to our very ground herein as a visible Gospel 3 Every man is to receive and use the Lords Supper according to the laudable custom of his own Church c. Nothing can be more full and honest Indeed it is true if a man live in any known sin he ought to repent before he come he must come and come worthy he must come worthily yet he must come whether he be regenerate or unregenerate he must obey still our necessity of sinning cannot evacuate Christs authority or mans duty When an Action hath evil in its own substance it is to be omitted but when the Action is of its self the matter of a precept and so hath evil externally cast on

it by the Agent that doth it here the Action is not to be omitted but the Agent to be reformed For Mr. D's answers here they are trifles p. 75 76 77. 1 He brings in Infants again which is the ninth time and he is confident to extricate himself by the same ga● But he is a little mistaken for I have put him in two such thorns that he shall sooner prick himself to the bone than fairly get out of it 2 He says six parts of time are common yet not the seventh 3 He says on 4 He is very fine The whole Ordinances he distinguishes into parts they are not applicable universally and so the Sacrament Where if the man be serious I answer 1. Mr. D. must not part those actions Christ has joyned 2 Moses makes no doubt of applying the Covenant universally to the people and it is in my mind that that passage may do much 3 The Word it self or covenant is applicable to all in the whole parts of it uppon its own terms that is conditionally 4 If this will not serve Take but the language of the Covenant aright Mar. 16.16 Here is Christ If thou truly acceptst of him thou shalt be saved If thou do not the Word declares and the Sacrament seals to thee unlesse thou repentest thou shalt perish and then all the difficulty is over and our scruples done P. 78. If doe this be universal leaving those two other things like the rest then it were a sin to perswade any to forbear though a Zimri Actually drunk c. Ans 1. His instances are ipso jure Excommunicate 2 As Christ says Doe this Paul says Put away from you such a person We do not deny from Christs universal Pauls exception 3 Though there is no occasion that may make us commit a sinne yet are there many occasions sometimes of forbearing a duty A man may leave his gift at the altar and go and be reconciled but he must not take away his gift from the altar The businesse may be deferred that must not be wholly left undone If I know my brother evil I think I may admonish him to repentance and give him instructions of preparing himself better against next Sacrament so long as I do but bind the obligation more on him but if I advise him upon such reasons as will wholly keep him away my advise is evil Affirmative precepts do bind universally as well as Negative but not ad semper against all occasions I may in prudence I think advise my brother of such an occasion for the advantage of his soul but if I tell him it is not his duty I make my self Lord over Gods command As the Church has alwayes attributed much unto prudence in the ordering this solemnity especially as to her more seldom and frequent administring so may her Members happily take some example as to their receiving Forbearance on necessary Numb 9.10 or pious grounds Matt. 5.23 reaches but to the ad semper and may be lawfull but for to hold it is not a mans duty while unregenerate this reaches the semper and looses the bands of Gods command Let this zealous man take heed it be not laid to his charge I will adde If the man be carelesse and regards not his comming but being conscious of his evil life he thinks he shall eat his damnanation and so layes it by which is the case of thousands I think we are here to set our faces against such and to let them know that it is not mans wickednesse can void or annihilate the authority of Christ so that they are still for to come and the obligation lies on them to apply the Covenant for their repentance O my vile soul why doest thou fly This shews the guilt that is on thy conscience and wouldst thou hide thine own eys from it Come man and see what thou hast done Here is Christs blood which thou dost shed with thy transgressions and will not this melt thee See how the corps doth as it were bleed at the presence of the Murderer and will it not melt thee if it does not it shall rise up against thee Behold here is sealed to thee eternal condemnation unlesse thou repentest and sincerely comest in to Iesus Christ Lay it well to heart man and think on it there is no way besides left thee for to escape it Pag. ibid. He grants though an unregenerate man sins in all his duties yet must he do them But sayes There is not par ratio in order to receiving 1. Because it is not his duty,2 It cannot convert him Ans The former of these I have spoken to all this while and shall thus enforce it If the Sacrament be not the duty of an unregenerate man then must regeneration be a qualification required in the precept as necessary to receiving and so be essentially antecedent to the Sacraments but regeneration is not essentially antecedent to the Sacraments For 1. Then Baptism was not administred validly and according to rule to many by the Apostle Acts 8.13 Iohn 6.66 with Iohn 4.1 Acts 20.30.2 Then such as were baptized before they were regenerate supposing they came to be afterwards regenerate were to be baptized again because their former baptism had not its essentials 3 Then can no man administer either Sacrament to any but himself for he cannot act in faith seeing he is not sure others have the essentials 4 Then can no doubting Christian himself receive for he cannot act in faith so long as he is not fully perswaded of his own regeneration The truth is then though regeneration is a qualification necessary to the receiver in regard of other ends to wit for the obtaining the entire benefits of the Covenant sealed yet not absolutely necessary to receiving Even as saving faith is necessary to the hearers of the Word for the obtaining the effectual benefit of salvation yet not absolutely pre-requisite to hearing for faith may come by it If it be an evil to set up our posts with Gods posts what is it to remove Gods posts to set up our own The Lord Iesus says plainly Drink ye all of it but Mr. D. says No It is not every mans duty The second follows necessarily upon this if it be every Church members duty of age as Mr. Perkins and Divines commonly tell us then it may tend to his good as sure as all Gods Commandements are good and if it does him not good it will be his sin For my part I am very sorry to see how men for the sake of this are forc'd upon it to deny the other When Christ says Believe there goes a power with his precept as when he said Lazarus Come forth Else it were vain for us Ministers to act that are but earthen instruments And shall Christ say Take and we make nothing of it Is this it men so earnestly contend for to make the word of Christ an empty word as if it could not quicken us Alas Sirs this is nothing