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	particular_a	universal_a	3,369	5	9.3348	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85020	The infants advocate of circumcision on Jewish and baptisme on Christian children. By Thomas Fuller, B.D.	Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.	1653 (1653)	Wing F2447; Thomason E1431_1; ESTC R202071	87,089	272

and not cover it he was to pay the owner for the losse of those his cattel which fell into it Parents having opened a pit of original corruption by the sinfulnesse of their nature if they labour not to cover it again as much as in them lies by using the ordinance God hath appointed for the same shall not the souls of their children if finally falling into that pit be heavily required at their hands Yea shall man be carelesse and cruel where God hath been so kind and careful in his instituting of Baptism Rom. 6. 3. That we may be Baptized into Jesus Christ his death as it followeth vers 6. that the body of sin may be destroyed To conclude Infants having the body of sin as well as adult persons and Baptism being appointed for the destruction thereof such parents are wanting to their own duty undervalue Gods ordinance and are cruel to the souls of the flesh of their body that deny Baptism unto Infants CHAP. XIV The Sixth Reason drawn from the constant Practice of Christian Churches in all Ages what credit is to be given to a Primitive Custome I Shall now be challenged by such who herein dissent in judgement from me for breach of promise starting from my own principles that having promised Reasons out of Scripture I flie now to Church-Practice and Ancient Tradition Wherefore to vindicate my self which is far more considerable the Truth herein I will first prove by Gods assistance by Reason out of Scripture that the Practice of the Catholique Church in all Places and at all Times especially in such matters wherein nothing appears contrary in Gods Word obligeth all conscientious Christians to the observation thereof And in the next Chapter we wil shew that the Baptizing of Infants hath been the uninterrupted Custome of the Church Be it premised that if we look on Customes simply in themselves we shall find them generally like the men of Sodom not ten good ones amongst the many thousands of them For what is Custome but the practice of most men time out of mind Now seeing most men yea all men by Nature Gen. 6. 5. have the imaginations of their hearts evil and that not for a day week or year but as the Text saith continually no wonder if Customes be commonly wicked Yea such errours and vices which at the first are soft and supple pliable to Reproof and sensible of Refutation contract an hardnesse by custome in continuance of time yea get an incrustation and such scales over them that they become impenetrable to Scripture and Reason brought against them And as Lahan deceived plain-dealing Jacob in his Marriage Gen. 29. 26. by pleading the custome of the Country so it is confessed that too many in all Ages in matters both of faith and fact have alledged Custome to Patronize their erroneous opinions and injurious practises But all this ought not to beget in us a neglect of such Customes which like Melchisedec are Heb. 7. 3. without father without mother without discent whose first original cannot be found out as practised in the Church time out of mind no remembrance or record extant to the contrary Now as Melchisedec in the same place is said to have neither beginning of dayes and what necessarily followeth thence nor end of life so it is but just and equal that such Ancient Customes in the Church which never had memorable Rise should never have Fall therein but that such which probably began at the first should constantly be continued till the last coming of our Saviour Here I plead not for such mis-shapen Customes which either run up all in length narrow and slender which though long in use never extended to any wideness in the Christian World or else so low and thick they only spread in bredth as many Popish Customes generally but not anciently used but never shot up to the just stature of Primitive Antiquity We only defend such wel-grown Customes which I call square ones the form of firmness and stability whose height and bredth are well proportioned put in ure by Christians at all times and in all places conceiving we can demonstrate it by reason from Scripture that such Customes must be presumed grounded on the word and will of God For proof whereof we produce Gods promise and Lo I am with you always unto the end of the world Amen Mat. 28. 20. Every operative word herein deserves our serious consideration I am with you unto the end I am A verb of the present joyned with words of the future tense to shew Gods Instantaneous assistance in every moment of extremity Psal 46. 1. God is our strength and refuge a very present help in trouble With you This cannot be meant only of the Disciples personally none of them living to the end of the world seeing John himself the surviver of the whole Jury died about the year of our Lord 102. It is therefore meant extensively of the Disciples as they were an immortal corporation With you Selves and successours persons and posterity As Christ John 17. 20. Did not pray for these alone so here he did not promise to these alone but to them also which should believe on him through their word These words To be with you import not only a promise of protecting them from all dangers but also of directing them in all doctrines necessary to be believed and practised for their salvation And this promise being made not so much to the particular persons as to the collective body of the Church is not so effectually performed to every individual Christian as to the Universal Church which amounteth from them all We confesse that notwithstanding the foresaid promise of protection and direction many good men have been guilty of great errours and have also fallen by Gods permission and just punishment of their sins into grievous dangers However Divine goodnesse so doubleth his Files about his Church in general that he will not suffer the same to be universally infected in all Ages with any one dangerous Errour And therefore a Church Custome in all times and places must be presumed conformable to the will of God because were it erroneous it were utterly inconsistent with that solemn promise which God hath passed to his Church to be with them unto the worlds end Such who on the contrary side are highly opinioned of their private Judgements and will not confide in the Universal Customes of the Church I know not whether therein they do shew more want of Charity in condemning so many Christians at once or plenty of pride in over-prizing their own judgements or store of profanenesse in doubting yea denying the performance of Gods promise so solemnly made of his protecting presence in the Church who surely will dispatch and destroy an errour therein before it grow up to be so long liv'd as to become a Custome What a high valuation S. Paul set on Church Customes appears by his expression 1 Cor. 11. 16. But if any man