Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	church_n	heresy_n	schism_n	2,940	5	9.8144	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51914	Th' encænia of St. Ann's Chappel in Sandgate, or, A sermon preached May 3, 1682 before the right worshipful, the mayor, aldermen, sheriff &c. of the town and county of Newcastle Upon Tyne upon their erecting a school and a catechetical lecture for the instruction of poor children and such as are ignorant / by John March.	March, John, 1640-1692.	1682 (1682)	Wing M579; ESTC R27548	16,204	38

performed and this is one reason why Catechizing at this day is more particularly enjoyned in Lent But though it be a rare thing now a days to have Adults baptized yet such as are baptized in their Infancy do seldome understand their Baptismal Vow until they are well instructed in their Catechism Hence our Church according to her wonted prudence begins her Catechism with Questions relating unto Baptism such as are fit to remind the Catechumens of that Solemn Vow which their God-fathers and God-mothers made at the Font in their names And as these Catechetical instructions are useful for the better celebration of Baptism so they are not less useful for the due celebration of the Lords Supper For this end King James of happy memory at the request and with the approbation of his Clergy appointed Bishop O●eral then D●an of Pauls to frame that very useful part of the Church-Catechism which treats of both did Sacraments Here Catech●mens are taught more fully the ●ature and design of Baptism here also they are instructed in the nature and design of the Lords Supper what is represented by the Bread and Wine what are the ends for which this Sacrament was instituted what the benefits worthy Communicants receive and what qualifications are required in worthy Communicants How necessary then must teaching and Catechizing Children be which will thus help ●o f●● them for all the ordinances of Heaven 5. The necess●●y of teaching and instructing Children will yet further appear if we consider how much it will contribute to the good and welfare of the Kingdom Kingdoms as the Great Philosopher long ago observed consist of Towns Towns of Families and Families of such as either are or were Children so that to train up Children in the fear of the Lord is the best way to make good Families good Families will make good Towns and good Towns will make a good and an happy Kingdom By Catechizing the younger sort Children will understand their duty to their Parents Servants to their Masters Subjects to their Princes and all of them that duty which they owe to God If Children be well grounded in the principles of Religion they will not easily be tossed about with every wind of Doctrine they will not easily be drawn into Schism and Heresie or be so apt as many are to disturb the peace both of Church and State By such early instructions Religion will be best preserved in the purity thereof and more safely propagated to succeeding Generations All which do so eminently conduce to the welfare of a Kingdom that Catechizing cannot but be acknowledged a most important duty Hence the Athenians when they consul●●d the Oracle How they might make their Common-wealth most happy and prosperous Were answer'd They might make it so by hanging those things which were most precious at their Childrens Ears by which was meant instructing them in the principles of Piety and Vertue Having now shown you at large the great necessity of Catechizing I come in the next place II. To enquire who those persons are that must be taught and Catechized and they are Children come ye Children This word Children is allowed some Latitude in Holy Writ and does not only signifie those that are such in respect of their age but such also as are Children in respect of understanding Hence is that exhortation of St. Paul Brethren be not Children in understanding but in understanding be men Here such as are ignorant are accounted Children by the Holy Ghost though in respect of years they may be Men. It follows therefore that all Children as soon as they are capable of Instruction and all that are ignorant whether through the neglect of their Parents and Sponsors or their own default should diligently attend upon this most profitable ordinance of Catechizing We find in the Primitive Church Adults and such as were stricken in years among their Catechumens Nay we are told that Arnobius and St. Austin wrote many pieces of Divinity when they were Catechumens and St. Ambrose was but in his Catechism when he was chosen Bishop of Millaine I the rather mention these great examples that none whether young or old rich or poor married or unmarried may deprive themselves of the great benefits of Catechizing by reason of some unwarrantable bashfulness But if there are any who will not come and answer the Questions of the Church Catechism I know nothing should hinder them from being present at the Explications of it But if men are unwilling to go so far I can only add that they may be welcome to more private Instructions whenever they shall desire them King David in the Text solemnly invites such as are ignorant to come and receive Instructions So that it is their duty to come and it will be a dangerous aggravation of their sin still to continue in ignorance when the means of knowledge are plentifully afforded them and they solemnly invited to accept of them c. I hope they will be the more ready to come when III. They are told in the third place what Children and such as are ignorant are to be taught and that saith our Psalmist is the fear of the Lord The fear of the Lord is but another name for Religion For as our Psalmist tells us elsewhere the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom a good understanding have all they that do his commandments Solomon who may pass for a good Interpreter of his Fathers mind tells us the same that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdome and as it is the beginning of Wisdome so it is the end and perfection of it too and therefore in his Book of Ecclesiastes he makes this the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and which is the proper effect of it keep his Commandments for this is the whole duty of man Thus the fear of the Lord is but another name for Religion which like a perfect circle begins and ends with this one point King David does not invite those that are ignorant to come and learn the arts and methods of great Estates or procuring wordly honours but the fear of the Lord which will enable them to live holily in this world and happily in the next He would not have them come and hearken to a few speculative notions or some curious niceties but he would have them acquainted with the practical truths of Religion such as are able to make them wise unto Salvation Wisdom is the principal thing saith Solomon and therefore get Wisdom saith he and with all thy getting get understanding Now Behold the fear of the Lord that is wisdome and to depart from evil that is understanding The Church of England out of her pious care of all that are in communion with her has provided for those that are ignorant an exact Catechism which does contain all that is here meant by the fear of the Lord. In it you will not find any old wives

very unlike the Holy man in the Text a man after Gods own heart who though he had another employment and that a very difficult and troublesome one yet invites such as are ignorant to come unto him and professes his readiness to teach them the fear of the Lord. Nay I will add that we must also forget that obedience which we owe the ●hurch of England for she has enjoyned this office upon the Curates of every Parish under the heaviest penalties that are in her power to inflict viz. a sharp reproof for the first offence a suspension for the second and excommunication for the third 2. This duty of teaching and instructing Children is a duty peculiarly incumbent on School-masters Our Church therefore requires of all School-masters that they have a Licence before they undertake a School and before they can get a Licence they must subscribe the Articles of our Church and thereby solemnly engage themselves to teach their Scholars sound doctrine as well as good literature School-masters are as I may speak Ministers Ushers and must prepare their Youth for the higher Instructions of the Temple Hence it was a very good Inscription which was written on the Walls of Pauls School in London Schola Catechisationis in optima fide Christi Intimating that this famous School as all others ought to be was designed by the Founders of it for a nursery of Piety and for the Catechizing Children in the True Faith of Christ. Nicephorus reports of Constantine and Theodosius that they took more than ordinary care in the choice of fit Masters for Children One great cause of Julian's Apostasie was his having two Pagan School-masters Libanius and Iamblichus Such School-masters therefore as do not instruct the youth committed to their charge in the true Religion they forget the very end for which Christian Schools were erected they transgress the Canons of the Church and sadly disappoint religious Parents of their pious hopes and choicest comforts All other learning without this fear of the Lord availeth nothing nay it will only qualifie men to do more mischief in this world and be more miserable in the next 3. Parents also must take care their Children be taught the fear of the Lord. St. Paul lays this injunction on them and commands them to bring up their Children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. As they have been instruments in making them Children of Wrath by Natural Generation so must they endeavour to make them the Children of Grace by Spiritual Regeneration St. Austin has left this character of his Mother Monica that she travelled with greater care and stronger pain for his Spiritual birth than she had done before for his Natural 4. All Masters of Families must take care that their Servants be taught this fear of the Lord. We find God Almighty highly commending Abraham and thinking him worthy to be acquainted with the secrets of Heaven upon this very account I know him saith God that he will command his Children and his houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord. Holy Joshua engages not only for himself but for all his Family as for me and my house we will serve the Lord saith he I cannot pass by a remarkable saying of Lewis the Ninth that pious King of France who being found Catechizing a Scullion-boy that belonged to his Kitchen and being asked the reason he returned this most Christian answer I know there is not the meanest person in my Family but he has a Soul as precious as mine own and such as was bought by the precious blood of the Son of God Thus ye see Parents and Masters of Families must take care their Children and Servants be taught this fear of the Lord. And if they will discharge a good Conscience in this particular they must teach their Children and Servants by their holy examples and wholsome instructions at home and as they have opportunity they must send them to the Church to be Catechized by the Minister and because most Parents and Masters of Families are too apt to sleight this most useful ordinance of Christ. I shall set down the words of that Canon which our Church has provided in this particular If Parents and Masters of Families do not send their Children Servants and Apprentices to be instructed in the Catechism for the first offence they shall be punished by the Ordinary with Suspension and after a months obstinacy with Excommunication 5. This duty is in a peculiar manner incumbent upon God-fathers and God-mothers these are ordinarily called Sureties because they have bound themselves by a sacred obligation to secure God and his Church that their God-children shall be brought up in the fear of the Lord And in order hereunto they solemnly promise to instruct them concerning their Baptismal Vow to see they be vertuously brought up and learn all such things as a Christian ought to know and believe in order to his Souls health These must remember therefore that as their Charity is great in undertaking so important a trust so their Sin will be as great if they deal falsely with God and prevaricate with his Church 6. This duty is also incumbent upon Magistrates and such as are in Authority they must take care that such as are committed to their trust be taught the fear of the Lord. This was the practice of King David in the Text and it will be the honour as it is the duty of all Magistrates to follow his example St. Paul commands us to pray for Kings and all that are in Authority that under them we may live quiet and peaceable lives in all Godliness and Honesty Magistrates must not only secure the publick peace and quiet of the Kingdom but they must take care of Honesty and promote Godliness and Religion in the World This is so plain a truth that Aristotle learned it in the School of Nature for when he comes to reckon up those things which most conduce to the happiness of a Common-wealth he names these six Food Arts Arms Money Justice and which I should have named first the care of Divine things Now this they must do by the lustre of their Example and the influence of their Authority They are styled Gods in Scripture to denote they should be holy as God is holy They are styled Shepherds and if they will be faithful they must secure Christs flock from the fury of Wolves and the subtilties of Foxes they are further called Nursing Fathers and must take care their Children be fed with the sincere milk of the Word Indeed they must not usurp the Pulpit or invade the Ministerial office no man taketh this honour upon him but he that is called as Aaron was but yet it is their duty to defend the Faith to encourage Gods Ministers by allowing them an honourable maintenance and speaking comfortably unto them so long as they teach the good