Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A85264
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Wing-clipping no crime being an answer to B. Bird's reply to The wandering bird's wings clipp'd.
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Field, John, 1652-1723.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing F869; ESTC R177048
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12,346
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16
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that such having Food and Rayment should therewith be content and a sufficient Support to such I acknowledge ought not to be wanting in case they stand in need But that Tythes are Christian or that Melchisedec's receiving the Tenth of the Spoils which Abraham freely gave him proves Tythes Christian or a Gospel-Maintenance Ordered or ordained by Christ for his Ministers I deny For he said to them he sent forth Freely ye have received freely give And if B. B.'s Hearers freely give him the Tenths or Fifths I shall not quarrel with them for giving nor him for receiving But a forced Maintenance from them or to those who do not Esteem B. B. a Gospel Minister nor those whose Spirit Practice and Doctrin declare the contrary I say a forced Maintenance from any to such that are not Gospel Ministers is not Scriptural And his pleading for Tithes by a humane Authority or Law to force them is no Scripture Warrant for Payment thereof in the Gospel Day Altho its a Christian Duty for such Passively and Patiently to suffer when they are Prosecuted because they cannot for Conscience sake be Active in paying such a forced Maintenance to those that falsly call themselves Gospel Ministers as many have greatly suffered by such for a very small matter demanded But how agreeable to Christs Doctrin and his Ministers Example it was for B. B. or is for any such as he that do not Esteem us to be Christians to sue at Law spoile Goods Imprison till Death and endeavour to Ruin Men Widows and their Families for Tithes toward their Maintenance as some have I leave to the truly Wise to Judge and if he owns the Scriptures to be the only Rule of Faith and Practice let him produce one Scripture to shew that ever any of Christs Ministers so did to Jews or Gentiles that were or were not of them And I would have him know it s not the Law of the Land that ought always to oblige Christians and the People of God in every thing to be active in what it requires neither are they justly condemnable for concientiously refusing so to be in all things But B. B. saith p. 5. You may with as much Honesty pick their Pockets as keep them away I deny that for picking a Man's Pocket employs taking privily and thievishly that from him which he hath honestly got or laboured for And with-holding or substracting of Tythes is only keeping that which he hath honestly laboured and been at Charge for from him that did not labour for it P. 5. How easie is it for any Seducer and Deceiver to pretend a Commission This B. B. speaketh with respect to false Ministers and no doubt but he is very sensible that its easie for him or any Seducer and Deceiver as well as he to pretend a Commission to preach if they have a little Learning and can procure Induction and Ordination from a Bishop esteem themselves to be truly Ordained although they have not the Laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery and that they are Ministers of the Gospel and have a Right to the Tenths of the People as Pigs Hens Geese Corn Hay and Fruits and if they have it not Quarterly they 'll like the false Prophets of Old and like B. B. sue at Law trouble molest and prepare War against such then for treble Damages or Sequestration and O! the Spoil Ruin and Havock that these will make that is such as B. B. although I believe there are those of them that are more moderate and tender and conscientious and that rather incline to take them in kind than spend five times more than the pretended Dues to gain them so for I have known that above 50 l. have been taken for 20 s. demanded for Tythes and two Persecuted for 7 and 8 Farthings till the Charges have amounted to 17 l. And if any can believe these and such like Doings represents such Prosecutors true Gospel-Ministers that take the Holy Scriptures only for their Rule of Faith and Practice therein let them if they will for my part I shall rather believe that those that are called of God and ordained by Jesus Christ to this Work are his Ministers although B. B. is so offended with me for saying as he quotes me p. 5. viz. Concerning Ordination Thou sayest That God and Jesus Christ only have Power to make Ministers of the Gospel and ordain them to that Work Yea truly I am of that Mind and if he believes any other have Power to make Gospel Ministers and to ordain them to that Work I Dissent from him And his finding fault with this implies That he esteems Men have Power to make Ministers of the Gospel and ordain them to that Work and not God and Jesus Christ only Is this agreeable to the Holy Scriptures See John 21. where Christ says to his As my Father hath sent me even so send I you And said Paul I was sent of God By which it appears it was God and Christ that sent Gospel-Ministers But B B. quotes Titus 1.5 6 7. 1 Tim. 4.14 2 Tim. 2.2 And because Paul writ to Titus to ordain Elders and the Presbyters laid on their Hands and Paul advises Timothy to commit to faithful Men the things that he heared of him who shall be able to teach others B. B. would infer That the Presbyters or Bishops now the Tide is turned have Power to make Ministers of the Gospel and ordain them to that Work and is not willing to leave this only unto God and Jesus Christ but would have them esteemed so qualified as to make and ordain Ministers of the Gospel But if we have none of God's making nor God and Christ's ordaining I fear they will be such that will run when God never sent them and that will say Thus saith the Lord when the Lord never spoke by them and will not profit the People at all What he returns on me for asserting the true Ministers are Ordained by God and Jesus Christ I retort on him that we have nothing but his bare word for proof I did in my last with respect to Ordination advise him not to prevaricate nor evade but tell what Church of England it was from whence he and his Brethren first had their Ordination And the Reason I so advised him was because he said in his former We had Ordination in the Church of England before Rome departed from the Faith Upon which I asked him Whether it was a Protestant Church of England or a Popish that they had Ordination in before Rome departed from the Faith on which I advised him not to prevaricate nor evade but tell what Church of England it was And now he saith The Gospel was preached in this Island in the Primitive Times of Cristianity and that there were seven Bishops among the Britains at the time of St. Austin's Landing in Kent so that there was no need of going to Rome for Ordination But what 's this to the purpose
Were they a Protestant Church of England And was it before Rome departed from the Faith This is that he is to prove if he can or can he prove a Succession of Bishops from the Apostle's Days without going to Rome I tro not And for a Retreat thither he begins to provide saying p. 6. Notwithstanding the Corruptions in the Church of Rome their Ordination might not be so far corrupted but that it might give Men a lawful Call to preach the Gospel and to reject their Errors So she may be corrupted yet this corrupt Romish Church may give Men a lawful Call to preach the Gospel and then those so lawfully Called may turn against her and take her Tythes Profits Glebe-lands and Church-lands from her turn her out and call her Whore into the Bargain And hold they are true Sons ordained of the corrupted Whore that 's apostatized from the Christian Faith and Doctrin to preach the Gospel to rail at her to revile sue and molest others and in scorn with design to blacken them as B. B. doth the Quakers saying Your Synagogue will in a little time be annexed to the Mother Church and to believe as the Church of Rome believes which saith he p. 2. is a Popish Foundation of Faith Then let B. B. consider Whether he is not already joined to his Mother whatever his Synagogue is And whether he hath not a Popish Foundation of Faith if he believe as the Church of Rome doth and That they have Power to make Ministers of the Gospel and ordain them to that Work Let the Sober and Judicious determin Whether this be agreeable either to Truth or the Scriptures of Truth And seeing B. Bird is so highly offended with me for saying God and Jesus Christ only have Power to make Ministers of the Gospel and ordain them to that Work I will refer him to Jus Divinum Ministerii Evangelici published by the Provincial Assembly of London his quondam Friends saying on this Subject p. 168. For we know it is the Prerogative Royal of the Lord Jesus Christ to appoint Offices and Officers in his Church It is Christ ONLY that institutes the Office and that furnisheth and fitreth Men with Graces and Abilities for the Discharge of so great an Imployment with willing and ready Minds to give up themselves to so holy Services It is Christ ONLY that sets the Laws and Rules according to which they must act And seeing B. B. is such a busie and officious Scribler that busieth himself in others Quarrels let him quarrel with this also if he please and seek to confute it Concerning Baptism P. 5. B. B. saith Christ's Ministers baptize with Water in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost according to their Commission Mat. 28.19 And administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to his own Institution 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26. Answ I deny that those that baptize with Water do it according to the Commission which Christ gave to his Disciples Matth. 28.19 20. I may repeat the foregoing Words and the Commission All Power said Jesus is given unto me in Heaven and Earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you to the end of the World Amen Now observe there is no mention of Water therefore they that baptize with Water do it not according to the express Words of Christ's Commission Again observe That Teaching goes before Baptizing and that Infants are not capable of such Teaching and the end of their Teaching was to observe all things whatsoever Christ commanded which Infants are not capable to do nor any according to B. Bird for he saith We may not live without siin and that its impossible to keep God's Commands And if this Priest Bird be not made and ordained a Minister by God and sent by Jesus Christ he is not Commissioned to either Teach or Baptize And till he proves himself a Gospel Minister truly Ordained and rightly Commissioned to Preach and Baptize with Water I need not enlarge on this Head only I do acknowledge for satisfaction of others That I do believe that Christ's Ministers are to teach all Nations baptizing them in or into the Name of the Father the Son and Holy Ghost and that all those that are so Baptized are in through and by that Name Power and Spirit made Members of that Body of which Christ is the Head and of that Church which is in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Concerning the Supper I do also deny that 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26. proves Christ Institution of the Supper but is a Repitition of what Christ did before his Crucifixion at the close of the Feast of the Passover and none of the Evangelists that give an account thereof make any mention that Christ said As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew forth the Lords death till he come Luke 21.9 doth indeed give an Account that Christ said Do this in remembrance of me but limits no time And Goodwin in his Antiquities Lib. 3. Cap. 2. p. 110. shews it was a Jewish Rite or Ceremony which Christ using altho' he varied something from their Form as being minded to spiritualize his Disciples and by that to shew forth to them that his Body was to be broke and his Blood shed for them and the Sins of the World Yet he told them as we may read John 6.53 to 57. Jesus saith Verily verily I say unto you Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you And also saith He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him Which plainly shews none can have Life in them or be true Christians but who so do and those that so do he dwelleth in and they in him And no doubt but those in whom he dwells will by his Spirit which he saith to his Disciples shall bring all things to your remembrance have these things brought to their remembrance and it will keep them as they live therein in a living and sensible remembrance of the great Love of God in sending his Son and the great Love of Christ in having his Body broke and his Blood shed for us and this Spirit will fill the Hearts and Mouths of such with a Hymn of Praises and a Song of Thanksgiving unto the Lord God and the Lamb that was dead and is alive and lives for evermore So by these the substance is enjoyed and then what necessity is there for such to retain the use of the outward and visible Sign when the inward and Spiritual Grace is receiv'd Or can any think that the Spirit will not do what Christ said it should Or that the use of the Sign is of absolute necessity to bring them to the right performance and