Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	apostle_n	church_n	holy_a	989	5	4.8664	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35698	Some remarks recommended unto ecclesiasticks of all perswasions	Denton, William, 1605-1691.	1690 (1690)	Wing D1068; ESTC R14	74,373	48

any Foreign State or Power Upon this Popish Foundation which hath not the least ground in Scripture stands our Darling Ecclesiastical or Church-Discipline and Regiment a meer Popish Relick and Hierarchy set up only not to minister unto but to domineer contrary to Christ's Precepts and Examples And our Ecclesiasticks have not as yet made it their concern or business to endeavour a farther Reformation thereof tho' designed even from the beginning of the Reformation in Henry the Eighth's Days but are very well pleased to eat the Fat and drink the Sweet thereof And tho' they know that their Incroachments and Usurpations have been all got by Popish Priest-craft and by which they have for above 1000 Years cajoled and fooled both Crowns and People out of their just Rights and subjected Caesars and great Princes and Principalities to their own Empire And instead of a pure Gospel Government have Established to themselves a mighty Throne of Iniquity and Abominations fitted for Pride Domination self-ends and Interest c. Which Priest-craft togegether with Antichrist began to work in the Days of the Apostles even from Judas's Purse and continues to this very Day which is demonstrably made out as by many Histories so more punctually and particularly by Father Paul s Treatise of Beneficiary matters shewing how and when and by what Priest-craft all their Acquisitions Friars Annals Arms Spiritual Benefices Unions and Vacancies of Benefices Canons Cardinals Coajutors Commendam's Election of Bishops and Priests Exemptions Goods Ecclesiastical Appeals Monks Monasteries Indulgencies Investitures Pluralities Non-residence Excommunication Episcopal Audience Absolutions Dispensations Prebends c. were acquired used and abused A foul Mistake and Crime to think to Establish the Church with good Government taken from human Reason as if t were a Temporal State The Church and Kingdom of Christ as it is more Excellent than any other Kingdom in the World the Scepter of Righteousness being the Scepter of his Kingdom and to which Kingdom all other Kings and Princes ought to bow down and be subservient so it and the Government thereof differs from all other Governments and Kingdoms First It hath but one Head and that not by Election or Succession but by everlasting Continuation Secondly This Head chose his Church or Kingdom and not the Church him John 15.16 Luke 32.23 Thirdly The Laws of this Kingdom are more excellent and more unchangeable than the Laws of any other Commonwealth or Kingdom as being the Dictates and Precepts of Christ the onely and Eternal Head and are the unchangeable Copies and Expressions of his Immutable and most Holy Will Fourthly The Obligements and Conformity of every Member thereof unto these Laws are far more strickt and severe than in any other Commonwealth or Kingdom viz. That every one should love his Lord and King above all and his Neighbour and fellow Citizens as himself should abstain from all appearance of Evil and resist unto Blood striving against Sin c. Fifthly In the visible Government of his Church and Kingdom he hath appointed a Priesthood by irrevocable Ordination in which it is dissimular to all Temporal Governments as Officers of his Church and Kingdom to continue after his Ascension viz. Priests and Bishops and soon after his Ascension the Apostles added Deacons also by Ordination What Powers Christ gave them what Duties be obliged them unto are visible by their Commission written in great and indelible Characters viz. Go teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and so I am with you to the end of the world Matth. 28.19 20. and they were to Preach not themselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and themselves the servants of his Church for Jesus sake 2 Cor. 4.5 This is the Summ of their Commission and Authorities that Christ left them Christ well knowing that his Apostles and Ministers and their Successors were to gather him a Church from among both Jews and Gentiles all bitter Enemies to him and his Gospel and to Establish it in the Bosom of their Kingdoms did prescribe them such a Government and Laws as they might any where execute peaceably without prejudice to the Subjects of any Commonwealth or Kingdom either in their Lives or Fortunes no other Subjects being subject unto that Spiritual Regiment but onely such as embraced the Christian Religion In this Christian Church Christ ordained Officers to Teach Baptize Ordain and Administer his Sacraments but for what concerned Honesty and Dishonesty doing Good and working Wiekedness and breaking the Laws of Morality Christ gave many general Rules and Precepts to the whole Church who were to Govern its own Body and the Officers thereof and not the Officers the Church or Body viz. to love one another even our Neighbours as our selves c. And if any did trangress the Laws not peculiar to them as Men but as Christians if the Offence were private then they were privately to be admonished If publick then they that transgressed openly were to be rebuked openly but if after Friendly Admonitions and Reprimands private and publick they still continued incorrigible then not to own them as Brethren nor keep company with them with such no not to cat and in sine pursue and proecute them as Publicans and Heathens i. e. Sue them in the Civil Courts And this is the Summ of the whole Government and Discipline which Christ left to his Church and any other there is not extant in Scripture nor is there need of any more or other as is hinted before Let the Pope Prelate or Paesbyter demonstrate any other Form of Church Government if they can they know they cannot but they will pelt us with Stories of another Government and of its Antiquity and general Use thereof for many Ages Be it so let them derive it as high as they can from that very Day and Date the very beginning of Popish Priest-craft will appear which by good management heaping Pelian upon Ossa now one thing and then another it early arrived at that monstrous heap of Irregularities nay Impieties it is now at in the Irregular use of the same in both Churches Take it as it is with the best Construction can be made of it What Concord what Agreement had it with the Government set forth in the Gospel even the same that Light hath with Darkness and Christ with Belial To Day to burn Books and Tenets of Men as pious and learned and having as precious Souls to save as themselves and to morrow suspend and extravagantly punish Ministers and others for writing Rebukes of Sin or not reading a Book of Sports or for Lecturing Excommunicate others for not paying Fees or not observing the Orders of their Courts and of their Officers Chancellors Surrogates Archdeacons Officials Sumners c. And if an Excommunicate Person come into the Church in the time of Divine Service the Celebration thereof is to

Prophesie but of the Press also A shrewd sign that they disguise the truth and are afraid to be discovered and that they do distrust the Judgment of the World upon such their Actions For it is a derogation to Faith to dread the publishing of Truths All the World hath ever complained of the Vices Incroachments and Male-government of the Clergy attributing the cause of all State Distempers to be that the Clergy did creep into and busie themselves in the Courts of Princes and in the Affairs of the World being Judges Chancellors Secretaries Treasurers What not there being but few Officers of State into which some Ecclesiasticks have not insinuated themselves and crept in which is to ridicule Religion and shamefully to confound Spiritual and Temporal things together which is altogether Unapostolical This I am sure is forbidden by St. Paul and the whole tenor of the Scripture who thought it necessary that a Soldier of the Church should abstain from Secular imployments 2 Tim. 2.4 for Christianity is a continual Warfare they would take it very ill if one should say that Priesthood were not Jure Divino and happily well they may and I doubt they will take it as ill if we say that because it is Jure Divino therefore no Priest from the Presbyter to the Pope ought to busie themselves or take any Secular Imployment that may any way impede their daily Ministrations distract or avert their Thoughts or necessarily enforce their absence Vid. Canon Apost 7.80 And in the Ecclesiastical Laws there is a whole Title Ne Clerci vel Monachi secularibus negotiis innisceant Pope Clement the Seventh to serve a turn made all demonstration that he had laid aside all thoughts of Temporal things I could wish our Priests would do it in good earnest And St. Chrysostom hath a long discourse complaining of Clergy-men leaving the care of Souls and become Proctors Economists c. Preaching things unbeseeming the Ministery And it is not only against Precept Divine but against Moral and Natural right as appeareth Luke 10.7 and Matth. 10.10 1 Tim. 5.18 It is the labourer the workman not the lasie drone and loyterer that is worthy of his hire his meat and his reward It is they who minister not they who do not minister about holy things that have right to live of the things of the Temple and they that wait not they that do not wait at the Altar not at the Court or on secular Imployments that have right to be partakers of the Altar for the Lord hath so ordained that they which preach not they who preach not the Gospel should live of the Gospel 1 Cor. 9. 13 14. For Priesthood was at first instituted not for Honours nor for Dignities nor for Rewards as now used and have been so used many hundreds of Years but for Ministeries and Charges called by St. Paul Works and those that excrcise them called by Christ Workmen tho Priest-craft hath turned them into Benefices For Priests are most properly God's Workmen And St. Paul's practice was anserable to his Doctrine and the charge is given Rom. 12.7 8. to wait on that office whereunto we are called whether to prophecy let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith or ministery let us wait on our ministery or be that teacheth on teaching c. Where there is a Commandment there lies a Bond upon the Conscience to do To Preach the Gospel there is a Duty ever binding a Minister with a woe annexed if he Preach not Moreover the work of Preaching is so much more excellent above all other Acts of the Ministery that for my part I cannot imagine what that great and important business of the Ministery can be to which it can become preaching to submit I am sure not Sacraments and if not Sacraments I am sure nothing more excellent Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the Gospel 1 Cor. 1.17 he might as well have said not to domineer not to do any thing in this sense comparatively as he desires to be understood Besides is there any thing more honourable Hear the same Apostle 1 Tim. 5.17 the Elders that rule well are worthy of double honour Call it Reverence or Maintenance or both however a specialty in it belongs to them that labour in the Word and Doctrine And it is most certain that more sound honour is to be gained in the Hearts of the People by Preaching than by all outward helps whatsoever What say I honour amongst Men yea more comfort to their Consciences and glory in God's Kingdom Hear Solomon Prov. 11.30 he that winneth Souls is wise and Daniel 12.3 they that turn others to righteousness shall shine as the Stars in the firmament And Paul 1 Thess 2.19 What is our hope our joy our crown of rejoycing are ou not it in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming What comfort like this when a Minister comes before the Lord the great Shepheard of the Sheep with the word of Isaiah applied to our Saviour Lo me and the Children thou hast given me Isai 8.18 the Sons and Daughters which by thy blessing I have begotten unto thee in the Gospel One of the Apostles on whose Shoulders lay the care of all the Churches yet denounces woe to himself if he preach not the Gospel And Timothy hath that charge laid on him with an heavy adjuration to preach the Word 2 Tim. 4.1 2. Besides their very Priesthood obligeth them to be Watchmen and therefore to watch continually on their Ministry and if any of their Flock miscarry thro' their unwatchfulness their blood will be required at their hands and they cannot be ignorant that Sathan with millions of sins and stratagems are ever besieging inticing clamoring haling rebelling intruding with Love with Strength with Law with Arguments with Importunities always importuning and diverting their Flocks from the right way and therefore they ought always to stand Sentinel to forewarn and help Certainly if the Apostles were so Puritanical so Phanatical so Whiggish and so scrupulous of entertaining any Imployment tho' never so Pious and Charitable that might any way in the least hinder the main end of their Duty viz. to preach the Gospel I humbly conceive that our Bishops and Priests accounting themselves successors of the Apostles and sent as they were sent ought also to follow their Doctrine and Examples as well in this particular as in any other And sith the Lords provision for Levites was so made that they might attend the Altar and wait continually on the Sanctuary without the distraction and cumber of any civil Imployments I cannot see how plunging conflicting earthly Imployments can consist with the duty and charge of a Minister and execution of his Commission seeing to preach the Gospel being a duty ever binding Ministers with a Woe annxed if they preach not Woe to the idle shepherds if they preach not Ezek. 34.2 as heavy as to those that are at ease in Sion They cannot