Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	aaron_n	church_n	head_n	24	3	5.6847	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89681	An apology for the discipline of the ancient Church: intended especially for that of our mother the Church of England: in answer to the Admonitory letter lately published. By William Nicolson, archdeacon of Brecon.	Nicholson, William, 1591-1672.	1658 (1658)	Wing N1110; Thomason E959_1; ESTC R203021	282,928	259

they teach their children to sing Psalms And Augustine is of the same minde It was then no dull and heavy age such as we now live in in which a man shall scarce hear a Psalm in a shop or out of a childs mouth Now it may well be supposed that this they practised alone that they might be the better able to bear their part when they met in the Quire For here I shall make bold to tell you what I know is true by my own experience I have known Artisans by bearing their part at home grow so skilful in Psalmody that when they met in the Church one would bear the Base another the Trebble others the inner parts so skilfully so Harmoniously that I suppose had you been present you would never speak against a Quire more And this custome so prevailed that there was not any in Congregation but according to his voice could bear his part in such time in such tune that these six notes being curiously varied and carried from the ear to the spiritual faculties of the soul were able With rare divisions of a choice device The hearers soul out of his eares entice Du Bartas If I grate your ears too much upon this subject you must pardon me for from my childhood I have born a great affection to this divine art and glory in it that I am able to sing a Psalme or Hymne to the praise of my God in or without a Quire I come to your last exception 5. And the first was of National payments or spiritual profits as offerings Tyths and Mortuaries For the first and last of these I believe you have little knowledge beyond the names For what were offerings but free and voluntary contributions and I hope you will not be against such who would have your Pastours to be maintained by what the people should contribute But it seems in New-England you were quickly weary of this way for charity growing cold a better provision was made not onely by a proportion of Land but by a certain tax of mony which was laid on by the Magistrate Plain dealing pag. 19. both upon the Members of the Congregation upon all the Neighbours though no Members of the Church yea and others are beholding now and then to the general Court to study wayes to enforce the maintenance to the Ministry But this by the way Offerings were used in the Primitive Church and they were of two sorts Acts 24.17 1. Properly Alms for the Church then raised a stock for the relief of the poor Brethren to that purpose were they collected to which Saint Paul adviseth 1 Cor. 16. 2. Or else they were offerings which the Rich contributed for other uses being like the Jewish Therumaths which belonged to the Priests Out of these there was a treasury made and out of these Selden de decimis cap. 2. Sect. 1. Cap. 4. Sect. 1 2. those who first laboured in the Ministry were maintained and a treasury out of these offerings continued in the Church till such time as Ministers were provided by a setled maintenance then these stipes sportulae mensurnae divisiones ceased After I know none imposed by the Church if any were it was custome brought them in and time continued them and what was freely given might be freely taken And yet I could if I list acquaint you with constitutions against them 2. Mortuaries Mortuaries you needed not have named and I believe you would not had you understood the original of them In an old Synod of Ireland it appears that any man might bequeath his body to be buried in what Abby it pleased him In statut Synod Ms. cap. 9. Seld. cap. 9. of tyths and that the Abbot to whose Monastery the bequest was made should have the apparrel of the dead his Horse and his Cow for a Mortuary Abbots with us there are none and Abbies are dissolved and therefore we have nothing to do with this charge 3. Tythes To give you an answer to this charge I shall referre you to those who now receive them and keep such a buzzle about them I hope they are best able to defend their receipts since they grumble so much when they hear of the least news that they should be taken away Had you asked me when I was in possession of them and if you should ask me an accompt if ever I come to enjoy them again you shall see I can prove and will make my title good jure divino without which I suppose they of your party who pretend they may do nothing without an expresse text of Scripture cannot with a quiet conscience grow so pursie and fat with them You should do well to call them to accompt about this point and it will not satisfie us to tell us of publick Acts Statutes and other Ordinances in this behalf for then we shall tell them in your own words that these were faithlesse and fantastical fashions the illegitimatelegal off-springs of National Parliaments in this and in the Neighbour Nations Pray consult with them about it they are of age to answer for themselves I leave them and returne to your Paper SECT VII The words of the Letter THe fifth and highest degree of Church-deformity is the Oecumenical Church otherwise call'd Romane Catholique the which in apprehension of I know not how many Kingdomes is the very best though in the judgment of Christ Jesus it is the very basest because the beastliest and the most blasphemous of all the bastard-Churches constitutions that ever were till now Witnesse what is written Rev. 13.1 3 5 6. whose Pastors and other Presbyters the sin-pardoning Pope Cardinals Abbots and others were owned acknowledged for to be and that by not a few if not by them of the summond Councels yet in several Synods in sundry Countries Insomuch that Churches iniquities were so increas'd over their heads and their trayterous trespasses were so egregiously grown up to heaven as that the long-forbearing Lord could no longer forbear but was put upon it and as it were necessitated for to take vengeance on their inventions as on Aarons golden Calf and Samuels grievous connivency at the evils of his sons spoken of Psal 96.6 8. The Reply My reply to this Paragraph shall be very short since it concerns not us of the Church of England I had thought at first to have said something of an Oecumenical Church which you know we call usually a general Council but since you otherwise interpret your self that by it you mean the Romane Catholick I will not meddle with it For we no lesse then you are against all Papal usurpations Jun. de Eccl. Rom. cap. 17. I shall onely return you the judgment of Junius about this matter Ecclesia Romana quod divina habet omnia à Deo est quod corrupta habet omnia ●ib ipsa est quod divi●a habet omnia Ecclesia est quod eadem habet corrupta omnia Ecclesia corrupta est Ecclesia non

inward man is renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 the faith hope obedience charity humility and patience of many by this fiery trial hath been made more conspicuous SECT 1. The words of the Letter Of the vile and virulent head the Pope 1. FIrstly hath not the long provoked Lord begun in this Island and in Ireland to pull down lowest that loose that lofty and lawlesse Church which the corrupt Clergie had lifted up highest namely the Oecumenical or Romane Catholick Church whereof the sinne-pardoning or rather soul-poysoning Pope was the Vile and Virulent head who was therefore and upon that account publickly declared and generally though not universally beleev'd to be a horrible Monster as well as a very abominable beast because of his ten hornes Witnesse what is written Revel 17.3.5 The Reply To what you say of the vile virulent head the Pope I assent and so did and do all Orthodox Divines of our English Church holding his claim to be Universal Bishop to be Anti-Christian profane proud foolish blasphemous by vertue whereof he doth ingrosse to himself full power and authority over all Christians in the world both Ecclesiastical and saecular the principal actions whereof are 1. To frame and set out for all Christians the rule of faith and good manners to point out the books of Canonical Scriptures and the traditionary word and to deliver the sense and interpretation thereof and to determine all controversies in religion with an unerring sentence 2. To prescribe and enact laws for the whole Church equally obliging the conscience to obedience with the divine Law 3. To exercise external power of directing and commanding and also of censure and correction of all Christians 4. To grant dispensations indulgences absolution from oaths and vows 5. To canonize Saints institute religious orders to deliver from Purgatory 6. To call and confirm general Councels 7. To dethrone and conculcate Kings c. All this we disclaim as well as you and you needed not have said that it begun in this Island and Ireland as if it begun with you for it begun more then one hundred years since assume not therefore that to your selves which was done to your hands to take down this head was the work of the National Church you so slight and had it not been done to your hands I doubt whether all the power you could make had ever been able to have done it And for this that head being of a revengeful nature hath ever since been plotting which way it might unroot us that unrooted it For the proof of this I shall acquaint you with what a friend acquainted me and others about five years since A good Protestant he is now but about 30. years before was as he confess'd reconciled to Rome by one Meredith an ancient and learned Jesuite for he was one of those that Dr. Featly had to deal with in France This man told him that in England they had been long and industrious about their work of conversion but it went on slowly and so would till they took a wiser course Two things there were that must be done before they should bring their businesse to a full effect They must first find a way to remove the Bishops and Ministers in whose room they must bring it so about that all should have liberty to preach Then secondly they must get down the Common Prayer book and suffer every man to use what prayer he list Thus much the man offer'd to make good upon his Oath before any Magistrate he should be call'd And now I pray tell me out of what shop do you think your work comes That generation are a sly subtle people as the devil they can transform themselves into an Angel of light If many printed books lye not there have been many among you and they know to insinuate their poyson under guilded pills Positions they have many like your's and beware least when you think you suck in the Truth you drink not poyson Verbum sat Sapienti They owe us a splene for casting off their head and they will never give over to seek a revenge We were the men that cut it off and take heed least unwittingly you set it not on again 'T is too true I speak it with grief they have won to their side in the time of our dissentions more proselites then they did in divers years before The Laws are now silent and any man may be now any thing so he be not an old Protestant of the Church of England that if he professe then there will be a quick eye upon him An Ordinance shall be sure to reach him which for ought I heard is but brutum fulmen to a Papist Boast not then of your taking down that same vile and virulent head the Pope when it is permitted to stand in more favour then a Protestant whose work hath been to take down that abominable beast with his ten horns as you call him SECT 2. The British King the Violent Head Mr. Matthews 2. SEcondly hath not Christ hid his face from and bent his brow against the National Church as being that very next naughtinesse Whereof the British King was although not an invincible yet a violent Head which was therefore lesse victorious and more vincible partly because the head not only of a very uncanonical but also of a very unspiritual corporation and partly because of the said national-corporations inconsistency with the Scripture precepts Matth. 18.17 1 Cor. 14.23 which doth require its ordinary congregating in one place seconded and aggravated by its notorious inconformity to the Scripture patterns Eph. 2.19.22 Philip. 2.15 Revel 5.9 where the Scripture Combinational Church is call'd not a whole nation but a holy City a growing Temple a Spiritual house or a sin-enlightning and a soul-enlivening Church gathered built framed cull'd and call'd out of and from a carnal and crooked nation which was both dark and darknesse it self witnesse what is written Ephes 5.8 The Reply That Christ hath hid his face from and bent his face against this National Church you have reason to lament and grieve and not to stand by and clap your hands at it Rather take up the Lamentation of David for Saul and Jonathan The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places how are the mighty fallen 2 Sam. 1.19.20 Tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon least the daughters of the Philistims rejoyce least the daughters of the uncircumcised Triumph c. Posterity will have cause to mourn when you and they shall be invaded and set upon by those uncircumcised Philistims of Rome who will smile at the armour wherein you trust and the speares you brandish against them as a dart of a bulrush 'T is not your Sophisms that will prevail with them nor your popular arguments that they will regard and they as smoke being vanished set upon you they will with armour of proof and so inviron you that