Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A35026
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The naked truth, or, The true state of the primitive church by an humble moderator.
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Croft, Herbert, 1603-1691.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing C6970; ESTC R225557
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74,185
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74
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when able and holy Bishops were elected and therefore reverenced and obeyed in all Spiritual matters by the greatest as well as by the least These diligently and publickly before the Congregation at set-times in the year chiefly at Easter examined all those who had been converted to the faith from infidelity that year and all those who baptized in the faith desired admittance to the Lords Table and upon approbation and confirmation of the Bishop fit persons only were publickly Baptized by him and at the Church door assoon as Churches were built where the Baptistery was placed and then brought into the Church and admitted to the Lords Table And no inferiour Minister did either baptize or administer the holy Communion unless it were by the Bishops order on urgent occasions These things are very well known to the Learned who are conversant in Ignatius his Epistles Iust in Martyr Tertullian Cyprian and other succeeding Writers And in short nothing was dore of any moment as is plain in Ignatius but by the Bishops directions But at length the number of Christians growing great and multitudes of Children daily Born and an Opinion growing up also that it was absolutely necessary for the salvation of Children not only to be baptized but also to receive the Holy Communion before death it was impossible for the Bishop to be at hand to perform all or to give particular order for all Necessity forced every Priest in his Cure to perform these Offices Yet in process of time the opinion of the necessity for Children to receive the Holy Communion before death declining and few or none admitted till the age of discretion and the necessity of Baptism for Children still continuing the Bishops suffered still all Ministers to Baptize but resumed to themselves again the power of Confirming and Licensing youth to the Holy Communion And Bishops only for a long time executing this Office it grew by degrees into an Opinion that Bishops only were capable to do it and that Confirmation was a Sacrament and such a Sacrament as inferiour Priests supposed then also to be of an inferiour Order were not to meddle with What errors will Men yea learned Men carried along with a croud slide into not willing to stand in opposition with a multitude especially when countenanced by the Bishop their Superiour And then succeeding learned Men having in their Infancy sucked in the error continue it in their riper learned years and endeavour to desend it as a certain truth and at last it passeth for an Article of Faith necessary to be believed Thus have I laid out before you the true State and Progress of this business of Confirmation Now I pray consider first Suppose Confirmation to be a Sacrament and to be administred by the Bishop only and none to be admitted to the Lords Table till Confirmed How is it possible for a Bishop of so large a Diocess as some of ours are some extended three or fourscore miles many forty or fifty personally to Confirm half the Youth in a Diocess if he duly examine each one as is most fit and necessary We see how this is performed in their Triennial Visitations not a quarter of those who are admitted ever come to the Bishop and yet the croud is great What is then done to those that come They are asked by the Bishop whether they believe and will perform those things their God-fathers and God-mothers affirmed and promised for them at their Baptism they answer Yes and so are confirmed But what those things are whether they understand and can give a good account of those things not a word of this Oh but the Curate who presents those Children to the Bishop assures him that they are fully instructed for it this is the thing we complain of and desire to be redressed that it may not be left to the discretion and care of every Curate seeing what pittiful Creatures are by them admitted And do we not see sometimes the Curate desiring to please the fond Mother Children confirmed so young as cannot without a Miracle be of a capacity to understand those divine Mysteries Besides it may often happen that a pious Child well fitted for the Holy Sacrament and perchance being weak earnestly desires it before his death yet must stay some years 'till next Visitation or take a long Journey to the Bishop for which he may want strength or means to support him But in the Primitive Times the Bishops confirmed every year their Diocess also was very narrow so that access to him was quick and easie and the work was as easie to the Bishop yea and easie also to the inferiour Curate to instruct and prepare them for Parents and Masters did then according to their bounden duty the great neglect whereof in these days will find some punishment at the last day made it their chief care to instruct their Servants and Children from their infancy in the Principles of Religion You see how impossible it is for a Bishop in a large Diocess and Triennial visitation to perform this necessary work as it ought and therefore in the second place consider how necessary it is for the Bishop to appoint some discreet conscientious Ministers as our Dean Rurals should be in several Circuits to examine and license to the Lord's Table For I pass it as granted that Confirmation is no Sacrament and if it were why may not Priests not Bishops perform it Certainly there is not one word in Scripture forbidding it or any colourable pretence against it nor can I discover the least ground of reason to forbid it inferior Ministers performing other Offices superior to it and certainly equal to it though it were a Sacrament which our Church denies There is nothing in the World can be pretended but that in the beginning Bishops did only perform it To this I answer That from the very beginning there were no other Priests but Bishops as I have shewed you and then Bishops did all other Ministerial Duties Preach Pray Baptise Catechise and in succeeding Ages when there were several inferior Priests not Bishops all but Confirming was ever transmitted to them and to Deacons also Preaching Praying and Baptizing nay Baptizing tolerated in necessity to Midwives I would gladly see any such thing in Antiquity and shall Confirming the meanest of all these be denyed Priests You will tell me there have been Decrees in some Councils to forbid it And will you be bound up to all the Decrees of Councils without Scripture or any reason for them If once we leave Scripture and hearken to the Doctrines of Men ever so holy ever so learned ever so Primitive we shall soon be wheedled into the Papists Religion and many other Errors which the Papists themselves now reject as I have declared at large before and therefore I forbear saying more now to this purpose but proceed to a third Consideration What will be the best means to prepare Youth for the receiving the holy Communion in every
people and honour to the Church then now they are I most humbly beseech all in the spirit of meekness and humility to consider these things laying aside the veil of pomp and vanity which blinds their eyes and hinders them from discovering the naked truth and simplicity of the Gospel I call the Searcher of all hearts to witness I wish unto all Clergy-men both double honour and double maintenance also I can't think any thing too much for those who conscienciously labour in the Ministry But seeing as I said there is no hopes of regaining the Church maintenance we in prudence should seek out such helps as may be had And truly I have great reason to hope that were this rule observed of putting only grave discreet and consciencious persons into the Ministry whether University men or not it matters not so as fully instructed in the Doctrine of the Gospel by sound Commentators many persons of good rank and Estate would think it no dishonour but rather a high honour to enter into it as they did in the Primitive time Iulian neerly related to the Roman Emperour and afterwards Emperour himself thought it an honour to be admitted a Reader one of the lowest Offices in the Church And for the better advancing this business and fitting all sorts of men with convenient Knowledge for the Ministry I humbly conceive it very fit there should be one good and brief English Comment of Scripture selected and compiled out of those many voluminous Authors laying asid all impertinent criticismes abstruse questions nice speculations and the like setting down only the plain and most obvious sence in matters of Faith and good life necessary to salvation such a book to be set forth by Authority with a command that no man in Sermons Exhortations or Catechisings teach any thing contrary to it and what ever Learning beyond that is brought into the Pulpit let it rather be exploded then applauded for if any countenance be given to excursions there will be no end the itch men have to shew their Learning will soon bring us again into the vain unedifying practice we now are in I humbly conceive it fit also that the book of Homilies be reviewed not to correct any thing in them for they are most excellent sound Exhortations containing the true Primitive Spirit but to add to them what ever is wanting to the necessary Doctrine of Faith and good manners to teach every person how to behave himself in his several vocation and these commanded to be read once over every year for I have observed several even good and conscientious Preachers to take quite another method and preach on this or that Chapter and so in the whole year yea perchance in two or three years never preach on the duty between Man and Wife Parents and Children Masters and Servants Magistrates and Subjects or omit to treat of Pride or Malice or Cheating or the like by reason of which omissions several in the Congregation are ignorant in necessary duties though rightly instructed in many things unnecessary I expect that many will cry out of this as a means to introduce laziness into the Ministry and a hindrance from exercising those Talents God hath endowed them with To this I answer First That I had rather the Ministers should be lazie then the People ignorant in their duty But secondly I answer That besides Pulpit Preaching the Minister may find enough to do to keep him from laziness and exercise the best that is the most useful Talents of a Minister to visit and comfort the Sick and Afflicted to compose Differences and reconcile Janglers to examine and instruct the meaner and duller part of his Flock who are not capable of Pulpit preaching to whom they must inculcate both Doctrines and Admonitions ten times over and scarcely so make them apprehend any Spiritual matters Experience only can raise a belief how extreamly dull the common people are in the mysteries of Faith and but little quicker in the principles of a good life Christ dyed to save these poor vulgar Souls as well as those of the Gentry and more learn'd yet the labour of most Ministers is to entertain those that know enough and are very lazy in Catechising those poor souls that know nothing let these be fully instructed and then for me let them shew their Talents by preaching as often as they please to others All that I labour for is that those may have it who most want it either by injoyning such Homilies as I mentioned to be yearly read or such Sermons to be yearly preached I am no enemy to true Apostolical preaching God forbid I should but to vain Scholastical useless preaching to have the Pastor who should daily watch over his Flock sit in his Study all the Week long picking from that or this Quaint Author a few beautiful Flowers and then come on Sunday with his Nosegay in his hand to enterâ—ain Ladies and Courtiers for my part I count this far more sinful laziness then to read a Pious Homily on Sunday and all the Week after go up and down from house to house taking pains to instruct and exhort such as I mentioned But these shall be called dumb Dogs yet surely by none but barking Curs who are wholly ignorant in true Apostolick Preaching Pardon me if I return them their due who speak evil of that they understand not They will Object The Apostles and Primitive Disciples did not read Homilies but Preach'd themselves Neither do I desire that any one Homily should ever be read so as we had the true Apostolick preaching both oâ— Sundays in publick and Week-days also in private where there is need But I am sure such pious Homilies as I mentioned are no ways contrary to the Apostolical and primitive practice and are far more useful then such preaching as we have now adays And I am also sure that in the purest and most primitive time Homilies under another name were read in the Churches that is the Epistles of Apostolick godly Bishops written to other Churches were read in the Congregation with great Veneration Shall the name of Epistle make the one applauded the name of Homily make the other reproached the contents and the intent being the same to stirr up the people to godliness If this will satisfy let the Homilies be styled Epistles to such or such a Church and then I hope they will pass for current But you will say The Compilers of our Homilies are not of equal authority to those primitive Epistlers Let that pass but I am sure they are of far more authority then most of our Preachers I pray consider how many giddy Youths are of our Ministry how many of greater age but of as little gravity or discretion how many that vainly preach themselves and their own abilities not Christ and his Gospel how many that preach piously and yet not usefully but as I said before many things unnecessary omitting many necessary Summ up all these