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A61267
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A sermon preached at the Assizes at Hertford, March the 9th, 1682/3 by John Standish ...
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Standish, John, d. 1686.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing S5217; ESTC R13596
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14,535
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38
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which Lawless Miscreants we are here caution'd against in the Text for they are Invaders of their Superiours Rights disturbers of the publick Peace and sworn Enemies to Government Rom. 13.2 the Ordinance of God And therefore to shut up this first Stage From all their Seditious Principles Privy Conspiracies and open Rebellions against the Lords Anointed Good Lord deliver Him and Us Secondly Meddle not with them that are given to Change their God their Religion and Faith I mean that good old Way those beaten Paths visible all along to the Apostolical Age. What Rebells are in State Hereticks and Schismaticks are in the Church By Hereticks I mean such as stifly and obstinately maintain and propagate Errours about the Christian Faith soundly and generally held by the Catholick Church By Schismaticks such as scornfully separate from the received ancient Discipline and set up some new Model of their own 1. Then Meddle not with them that are given to change the primitive Faith We must have a special care of bartering away our precious Faith 2 St. Pet. 1.1 as St. Peter calls it either for the Traditions of men or Doctrines of Devills Rom. 16.17 I beseech you Brethren says St. Paul mark them which cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them And knowing that fair means will not always doe He hath elsewhere left a solemn Execration upon Record to affright us from Heretical Teachers saying Though We or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel Sal. 1.8 then that we have already Preached let him be Accursed His words are full of Emphasis it is not though I but though We that is though Peter and James and John and I and all the Apostles should combine together to forge a new Gospâ—l nay though an Angel from Heaven should be in the Plot let him also be Anathema And lest we should think He speaks unadvisedly as led by humane Passion more than by any Divine Warrant He repeats it over again in the very next verse As we said before so say I now again ver 9. if any man Preach any other Gospel unto you then that ye have received let him be Accursed Whereupon Vinc. Lerinadu Haeres saies good Vincentius in a holy Zeal if any man presume to teach Novelties in the Faith contrary to the ancient sound Doctrine let that elect and chosen Vessel that profound Doctor of the Gentiles that Trumpet of the Apostles who whilst he preached on Earth was caught up into the third Heaven cry out in his writings still against him Let him be twice Accursed Let him be rejected and Excommunicated least the Infection of one Sheep and much more the Defection of one Shepherd endanger the whole Flock of Christ 1 Tim. 6.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The same Apostle chargeth his Son Timothy O Timothy keep that which is committed to thy Trust avoiding profane and vain Novelties as St. Chrysostome and the vulgar read it which I can't let pass without Vincentius his excellent Paraphrase thereon Keep the Depositum that which is recommended to thy Charge and Trust Id. Ibid. not that which is of thine own Invention that which thou hast received not what thou hast devised a matter not of Wit but Doctrine not of private Usurpation but of publick Tradition thou receivedst Gold free from all mixtures of Brass or Lead Fraud or Feculency and therefore be sure to pay Gold And again O Timothy O Preacher O Priest Shew thy self if thou wilt and canst a cunning Bezaliel in the spiritual Tabernacle fall to work with the Precious Jewells of Divine Doctrine fit them faithfully adorn them wisely add splendor grace and beauty to them Let that be understood more clearly by thy Exposition which was before believed more obscurely But be sure it be the same of the Old stamp and no adulterate Doctrine His meaning is that such things only must be taught and held for matters of Faith both by Priest and People as have been always owned by the Catholick Church from the express Word of God for understanding the true sence whereof in case of Disputes we are to follow Antiquity Vniversality and Consent as he adds afterwards Now that our Church of England is hated by both her Extremes 2 Tim. 1.13 for holding fast this old Form of sound words in their primitive Purity that very Faith whereof our Saviour is the Author our Soveraign the Defender and not admitting their Novel Opinions into her Creed will appear by and by For it seems not unreasonable to satisfie one Enquiry first Quest Why God will suffer so many Heresies and Impostures in the world from time to time to prejudice and countermine his most holy Truth I answer in the words of Moses Deut 13.1 Answ 2. If there ariseth a Prophet or Dreamer of Dreams and giveth thee a sign and the signe come to pass and then he entice thee to go after other Gods thou shalt not hearken to that Dreamers words for the Lord your God proveth you whether ye love the Lord with all your heart and with all your Soul A very clear Account of the whole matter God suffers false Prophets to make true Predictions sometimes and then to entice his people to the Worship of Idols merely and on purpose to try their Constancy whether they will by any means or artifices be tempted from his service and change their God Now Heresie under the Gospel bears Analogie to Idolatry under the Law both imply a setting forth of strange Gods Act. 17.18 And therefore St. Paul gives much the same reason hereof with that of Moses saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there must be also Heresies among you 1 Cor. 11.19 that they which are approved may be made manifest There Must be Good and Evil Life and Death true and false Religions set before men else there would be no Choice no Vertue but all Necessity there being no such thing as Victory without Enemies no credit in vindicating truth were there no Errour in the World Therefore it is that God permits men oftimes of subtile heads rational learning eloquent speech pleasing converse and exemplary lives tâ— set up for Hereticks in their several ages as a Touchstone to prove his own Servants Faithfulness to shew whether they love or flatter Him whether they hold their Religion by chance or choice whether a well-contrived Fable learned Cheat or specious Imposture can perswade them out of their Christian Name that they which are approved may be made manifest For he onely is a true and Catholick Christian who preferres nothing before the Catholick Faith Vinc. Ler. Ib. Not any private man's Love nor his Wit nor his Eloquence nor his Philosophy nor his Authority no nor that Dagon of his Infallibility but despising all these is fixed and immoveable in that Faith he finds the Church Vniversal hath ever held and resolves to hold and live and die
not onely conquer the World by his Armes but made Idolatry stoop to the Christian Faith in all Nations And afterwards Euseb in Vita by suppressing Factious Assemblies and demolishing their mock Temples by his Imperial Edict he reduced a World of Sectaries to the Unity of the Church By this one maine reason of their Separation you may judge of the rest and observe upon what slight and trivial grounds they set up Altar against Altar they tear the seamless Coat of Christ in pieces and make nothing to renounce a whole Article of their Creed viz. The Communion of Saints and consequently that we ought to prefer and reverd the Churches wholesome Laws before any lawless Sacrifice of Fools Eccles 5.1 To sum them up together then for they are seldom found of 〈◊〉 1 Meadle not with any of those ungodly men that are given to Change Laws or Governmend in State Doctrine or Discipline in the Church The next verse to the Text gives us such a poynant reason why we must not Meddle with such as these that I shall supersede all other arguments to drive the Nail home with a short Paraphrase onely upon That The words are these For their Calamity shall rise suddainly ver 22. and who knoweth the ruine of them Both sudden Calamity and certain Ruine the most terrible and most effectual Topicks in all argumentation Who knoweth the Ruine of them Both That is both Church and State Rebels Or we may construe it actively as the LXXII do both GOD and the KING will make them Examples and pay them their wages in an untimely end of Life and a never ending Death All sins indeed of the common size against God or man are not presently punished here to assure us of an after reckoning Arrian Epict. a Judgment to come For as the admirable old Soick observes truly the generality of men are apt to murmur and Charge God as well as his Vicegerent foolishly to reckon their deadness of Trade Dearths and Plagues Fires and Wars and other publick Evils as saults of Government as want of Providence in the one and Prudence in the other GOD knows all this saith he nor is CAESAR altogether ignorant thereof but both consider that if they should cut off all Offenders at a blow they would want Subjects to Reign over But then some Crimes such as Murther Treason and Rebellion are of such a Crimson dye daring nature and Goliah-like bulk that they do as it were send a Challenge to speedy Vengeance for they are destructive of Humane Society and strike at the Root and Foundation of all Peace and Policy and therefore least wickedness should grow outragious and masterless their Calamity shall rise suddenly that is they seldom go unpunished even in this World Time would sail me to recompt the numerous Instances in prophane story to this purpose and I shall content my self with two remarkable ones out of the Sacred Volumes The first is that of Absâ—lom and his Twenty-thousand Conspiratours against his Father DAVID 2 Sam. 18. who fell all in one day by the edge of the Sword Himself was caught and hanged most strangely in the thick Boughs of an aged Oak where Joah found and slow him Nor was the band of Joab onely in all this doubtless it was the LORDS doing Psal 118.23 and may be so much the more marvellous in our eyes who have since known the same Tree become a sacred shelter to guard the LORDS Anointed our dread Soveraign from those Blood-hounds that hunted for his Life that once proved a Gallows or Gibbet to that usurping unnatural Traitour The other is of Ecclesiastick Rebels that of Corah Dathan and Abiram who offered strange Fire of their own heads resisting and invading the standing Priesthood of Aaron and labouring to destroy the Old and introduce a New Government into the Church And what was the end of these Men Numb 16.29 Why even as Moses had foretold saying If these men die the common death of all men then the LORD hath not sent me ver 30.32 For so it came to pass that the LORD made a new thing He made the Earth open her mouth and swallow them up both they and theirs went down quick into Hell I add no more from Scripture because he must be a great Stranger in our Jerusalem St. Luk. 24.18 who knoweth not what certain Ruine at last overtook those sometime prosperous Rebels who put these three Kingdoms all in a Flame to make the more solemn Sacrifice to their own Lusts who first swept the Church with the Besom of Destruction Isa 14.23 and then I even tremble to relate what they did not fear to Act murder'd their KING took possession of his Throne St. Mat. 21.38 and seized on His Inheritance for though they exalted themselves as the Eagle and made their nest among the Starrs the Peers and Princes yet thence did I bring them down Obad. v. 4. saith the LORD Maugre all their Rotas and Republican Projects all their Arts and Arms to perpetuate the Usurpation GOD at length brought the Wheel of Consusion over Them and wonderfully setled Us upon the old and lasting Foundation as if He meant to fulfil that Prophesie in our times also where he saith I will overturn overturn Ezek. 21.27 overturn till He shall come whose RIGHT it is Once more I would not judge of Persons or Things merely by the Event because that is oft a fallible Rule But I knew the Man and upon unquestionable evidence know his story to be true who being in quality of a Major under the late Grand Usurper and then about to march for Worcester was heard to boast and make great brags as he was fixing his Pistols that he was going to hunt and pull down a Buck of the first Head meaning our Gracious Soveraign whom God long preserve This Man was ever after troubled and perswaded in his mind as he had often complained to his own Wife and Children that albeit he had escaped many and great dangers in several pitched Battels and other adventures in the Warrs yet he must at length come to some untimely end And so it deed it happened about nine years since for having ordered some of his Servants with Firelocks to take several Posts in the same Hedge and charged them to fire if they spied any Quarry One of the Servants whom he had ever found trusty and now proved too fatally true to his commands mistaking his Master for a Buck in the duske of the night and firing at all adventures shot Him in the right Temple whereat he bowed and fell and not long after Judg. 5.27 fell down dead Now whether it was right-aiming Vengeance that found him out in the dark to pay him in his own Coyn for cursing the KING in more than a Thought Eccles 10.20 or whether all this was but an ordinary blind Mischance I determine not but leave to God and