Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	bishop_n	church_n	presbyter_n	1,031	5	10.3609	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86962	A modest offer of some meet considerations tendered to the learned prolocutor, and the rest of the Assembly of Divines, met at Westminster, 1644. Concerning a form of church-government. By Jos. Hall, D.D. late Bishop of Norwich.	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1660 (1660)	Wing H395; Thomason E1034_13; ESTC R209040	9,313	14

Polycrates Egesippus Clemens Eusebius Jerome instance in those persons who succeeded each other in those first Sees If you tell me of the difference betwixt the Episcopacy of those first ages of the Church and that of the present times I do willingly yield it but withal I must add that it is not in any thing essential to the calling but in matters outward and meerly adventitious the abatement whereof if it shall be found needful diminisheth nothing from the substance of that holy Institution What can be more express than in the ancientest of them the blessed Martyr Ignatius the mention of the three distinct degrees of Bishops Presbyters Deacons encharged with their several duties which were yet never intermitted and let fall to this present day How frequently and vehemently doth be in his genuine Epistles twice in that to the Ephesians call for due subjection to the Bishop and the Presbytery How distinctly doth he in his epistle to the Magnesians name their Bishop Dama and their Presbyters Bassus Apollonius Stephanus How doth he in his epistle ad Trallianos set forth the Bishop 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Presbytery 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And if any man shall be so unjustly scrupulous as to call into question the credit of this gracious Author reserved no doubt by a special Providence for the conviction of the Schisms of these last times therein out-doing Vedelius himself who floudy assereth some of these Epistles whilst he rejects others as suppositious let him cast his eyes upon the no less famous and holy Martyr and Bishop Polycarpus who as Irenaeus Iren. adver haeres lib. 3. cap. 3. an unquestionable Author tels us one whose eyes beheld that Saint did not only converse with those that had seen Christ but also was by the Apostles constituted in Asia Bishop of the Church of Smyrna Let him if he can deny Cyprian the holy Martyr and Bishop of Carthage writing familiarly to the Presbyters and Deacons there somtimes gravely reproving them somtimes fatherly admonishing them of their duties in divers of his Epistles Let him deny that his contemporanie Cornelius Bishop of Rome acknowledgeth 45 Presbyters committed by the Catholick Church to his charge Shortly let him if he stick at this truth deny that there was any Christian Church of old any History All which duly considered I would fain know what reason can be shewed why that ancient yea first Government by the Bishop and his Presbytery received and with all good approbation and success used in the Primitive Church and derived though not without some faulty omissions and intertextures which may easily be remedied until this present day should not rather take place than a Government lately and occasionally raised up in the Church for necessity or convenience of some special Places and persons without any intention of an universal rule and prescription If you shall say that this Government by Bishops hath been sound by sad experience hitherto a block in the way of perfect Reformation destructive to the power of Godliness and pure Administration of the Ordinances of Christ give me leave to answer That first I fear the Independent Party will be apt to say no less of the Presbyterian boldly pressing their defects both in constitution and practise and publickly averring the exquisitely reformed way to lie betwixt the Episcopal and Calvirian which they have had the happiness to light upon neither want there those who upon challenge of further illumination ●ave those Semi-separarists as coming far too short of that perfection of Reformation which themselves have attained 2. I must in the fear of God beseech you here to make use of that necessary distinction betwixt Callings and Persons for it oftentimes fals out that the Calling unjustly suffers for that whereof only the Person is guilty Let the Calling be never so holy and the Rules of Administration never so wise and perfect yet if the Person in whose trust they are be either negligent or corrupt or impotent in ordering his passions and carriage it cannot be but all things must go amiss and much disorder and confusion must needs follow to the Church of God and if such hath been the case in some late times why should the blame be laid upon the Calling which both is innocent and might have been better improved Give me a Bishop such there have been and such there are let Dr. Potter the late Bishop of Carlile for instance be one that is truly conscionable pious painful zealous in promoting the Glory of God ready to encourage all faithful Preachers and to censure and correct the lazy and scandalous careful of the due imposition of his hands meek and unblameable in all his carriage and now tell me how the Government of such an one regulated by the holy and wholsom Lawes of our Church can be said to be obstructive to the success of the Gospel or to destroy the power of Godliness Certainly if all be not such the fault is in the men their Calling doth not only admit of but incites them to all vertue and goodness whereof if they be defective let the Person take off the blame from the Function Neither doubt I to affirm that it may well be made good that the perfectest Reformation which the Church of God can be capable of here upon earth may consist with Episcopacy so regulated as it may be if it please the High Court of Parliament to pitch upon that course And indeed how can it be conceived that the careful inspection of one constant prudent and vigilant over-seer super-added to a grave and judicious Presbytery should be any hinderance to the progress of godliness especially when he is so limited by the bounds of good Lawes and Constitutions that he cannot run out without the danger of a just censure There are already many excellent Rules of Government if they were awaked an dactuated by full authority and where there is any deficiency more might be easily added to make the body of Church-Lawes compleat To give a tast of what may be effected with very little or no alteration of one Form of Government to another I remember one of our Brethren of Scotland in a Discourse tending to the advancing of the Presbyterian way tels us that Dr. Momague the Late worthy Bishop of Winchester asked King James of blessed memory whose sweet affability the world well knew How it came about that there were so few Heresies and errours of Doctrine broached and prosecuted to the publick disturbance of the Church of Scotland Unto which the wise and Learned King is said to have returned this Answer That every Parish hath their Pastor ever present with them and watching over them That the Pastor hath his Elders and Deacons sorted with him that he with them once a week meets at a set time and place for the censure of manners or what ever disorder falls out in the Parish so as he by this means perfectly knows his Flock and