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A49585 Large and sure foundations 1693 (1693) Wing L437; ESTC R16686 19,344 15

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This will dishonour Christ to take in Erronious Persons if they hold and practice the Essentials of Christianity R. No But it 's for the Honour of Christ to be so Compassionate and extend his Grace so far as to receive such and his Churches are made for the curing of such and therefore the Pastors of Churches should not be such though the People may If we have not the Errors of such may we not have sins as provoking as their Errors If many besides those that are most Orthodox have true Faith and Love and the Spirit of Christ why should they not be Received In the House of God there is Room for all of several Perswasions that have the Wedding Garment Ob. The Apostle saith Gal. 5.2.9 Behold I say unto you that if you be Circumcised Christ shall Profit you nothing c. R. True 2 Pet. 2.1 2. Tit. 3.2 For they added to the Foundation somthing that destroyed it Such are to be Cast out and all that shall bring in Damnable Heresies A Heretick after the first and second Admonition is to be Rejected Ob. Our Lord severely threatens Churches for suffering those that taught the Doctrines of Balaam Rev. 2.14 15.20 and of the Nicolaitans R. True For those were great sins against the Plain Commands of Christ and such Persons were not to be Born 1 Cor. 5.5 but be proceeded against by Church Censures as the Incestuous Corinthian was Ob. To what end then serve the Confessions of Faith of our and other Reformed Churches in which are many useful Truths besides those that are absolutely necessary if all are not to be kept out of their Churches that will not own them R. They are useful to shew the Truth those Churches have attained to Tim. 4.6.7 Heb. 5.12 1 Cor. 3.1 2 12. Acts 20.27 Mat. 28.20 and which they are to promote For it 's plain we must go on to Perfection and not be always Babes yet Babes and imperfect ones are not to be kept out We are not to stay only on the Foundation but must Build Gold and Precious Stones upon it and make known all the Councel of God and teach the Baptized all that Christ hath Commanded But we must not imagine these Confessions were made that all who are Ignorant or differ in any thing from them should be kept from Communion with them for there are several degrees of knowledge and of means to get it They that have more are to own it and they that have less are not to be rejected as cut off from Christ Where God gives much he requires much and where little he requires but little Our Practice confirms this for the Articles of the Church of England are not required to be Subscrib'd unto by Private Christians but only by the Minsters who are to teach others and ought to have more knowledge than they And some say that they Subscribe them not as Articles of Faith but of Communion that is they will hold Communion with those that hold them which seems scarce tolerable in Ministers tho it may be enough in private Persons that Subscribe them not Against Fisher §. 14. And Arch Bishop Laud saith our 39 Articles are not declared to be Fundamental but onely not Erroneous or Superstitious nor imposed under Pain of Damnation but for a peaceable Consent And whereas the fifth Cannon Excommunicates all that hold them in any part to be Erroneous or Superstitious it s to be understood of those only that affirm it boldly and publickly and not of those that hold it privately Secondly That no Churches may impose Ceremonies and Unnecessary Things upon such that they may be received into Communion with them For if any useful Truths Revealed by God may not be impos'd on those that hold the necessary Fundamental Truths to the end they may be admitted into Communion with them much less may Ceremonies and Things invented by men and not appointed by God especially when they are suspected or judged unlawful by many be imposed on them for that end This is plainly unlawful and is the Cause of abundance of Divisions and Offences If any say the Rulers of the Congregation or Church as we use to speak may appoint divers things never appointed by God Thorndike of Relig. Assem ch 9. p. 212. and many with him if indifferent and not sinful in themselves and require them to be owned and practised by all that shall be suffered in their Communion and that they that oppose such things resolutely are not to be born with but opposed because such are Enemies to Publick Order that it 's not lawful to Dispence with Publick Order for their sake that are Weak for so there will never be any Order It 's clear by what is laid down they may not and that these and all other pretences are Vain For if Persons holding all necessary Truth Rom. 14. clear for this Daven on Col. 2.20 The Naked Truth c. may and ought to be received without owning many useful Truths revealed by God then they that hold all necessary Truths and many other useful Truths too ought to be received without owning or practising such things as were never appointed by God and they judg though perhaps Erroniously to be sinful or at least very doubtful and Inconvenient For if many of Gods useful Truths are not to be pressed as Conditions of their Communion much less may Ceremonies and needless Laws of weak if not worldly men be pressed as necessary to it Mr. Chillingworth is clear in this and 't is a wonder Arch Bishop Laud and King James before him were not so but acted quite against this Principle which they highly own'd * K. Cha. at last saw this Anno 1642. Answ to the 19 Propos would have tender Consciences exempt from such Ceremonies at are judged by some sober men to be indifferent and by others absolutely unlawful 'T is related in the Life of Mornay du Plessis that in the Year 1591. he Discoursed with an English Bishop how ill it was for them in England to Silence and Punish Ministers for not using the Ceremonies and that in the Year 1608. he wrote to the Lord Carew our Embassadour to excite King James to procure an Union of all the Protestant Churches and said the King stood too much upon petty differences among his own Subjects and pressing the Ceremonies upon them And in the Year 1615. du Moulin was sent to the King about means to Unite all the Reformed Churches But our great sin and misery is that many who are for a great largeness as to useful things taught by Christ are for great strictness as to Ceremonies and things taught only by Men. A Notorious Practice against this plain Truth Some possibly are too strict in pressing the necessity of many useful things taught by God as Conditions of Communion but large as to things indifferent prescribed only by Men. This is a far less Fault But the God of
Christian World for want of this Of old to pass by many others year 192 Victor Bishop of Rome who Excommunicated the Churches of Asia for not keeping Easter on the Lord's Day year 257 Stephen Bishop of Rome who Condemn'd Cyprian and his Followers for re-baptizing those that had been Baptiz'd by Schismaticks year 663 The Saxon Christians in England who so oppos'd the Scotch who kept not Easter after the Roman way that they would not receive Consecration from them nor the Eucharist nor give it to them nay and question'd the Baptism Administred by them year 692 The Latine and Greek Churches separated about Fasting on Saturdays eating Blood Unleaven'd Bread in the Eucharist c. Their Quarrel encreas'd under Photius upon the Nice Dispute of the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son and not only by the Son tho' the Superiority of the Bishop of Rome over the Bishop of C. P. was in the bottom years 1054. 1213. 1274. Leo IX Excommunicated the Greeks and Humbert wrote against them And the Latins when they took CP Imprison'd and cruelly us'd the Greek Priests for not using the Roman Ceremonies and the Greeks abhor'd them scrap'd the Altars where they had said Mass c. An Union was made at the second Council at Lyons but the Greeks so oppos'd it at CP that Michael Palaeologus the Emperor who procured it was so hated that when he died he was not suffered to be publickly Buried year 1439 And Union made again at Florence but Marcus Ephesius and Geo Scholarius oppos'd it and it came to nothing year 1564 The Roman Church is yet grown higher enjoyns the Council of Trent and the Creed of it and Damns all that own it not 'T were well if by these Miscarriages Protestants both here and abroad had ●nt●●● more Wisdom and had avoided those Contests that have been among them God grant we may be Wiser for the future 10. Tenthly This must needs be most agreeable to Princes and Rulers that unfeignedly endeavour to Promote the Kingdom of God Not to say there 's a Moral impossibility of Peace in a State without a strict Uniformity in the Church Not to force Men to the same Opinion and Practice in all things and to vex and destroy all that differ from them whether upon right or mistaken grounds This Course hath been long taken by most and will not do and no wonder for it 's not of God not according to the clear Truth laid down in Scripture by our Great Teacher sent by God nor according to the Rules of true Wisdom For what Wise and Great Prince would be at the head of a Party only and tempt all others to hate him What great Things can he propose to do in the World or have any hope to effect Whereas the other way is of God speaks Universal Goodness and can be grievous to none but to blind Superstitious People and to such Mean and Wicked Persons whose United Carnal Interests lead them to Sacrifice the welfare of the World to their particular Lusts which at length oft ends in their own ruine But when God shall arise to do good to the World which we hope he will tho' we deserve it not he will raise up Heroick Princes and enable them to break the Yoaks of Superstitious and Designing Men and promote Truth and Love who shall Cherish the Good Protect the Peaceable People of all sorts from their Mistakes by all fair means and tread down none but those that Fight against these things And it 's evident that Statesmen oft-times have Larger and Righter Thoughts than many that pore on Books and refine upon Religion and oft prove like the Princes that delivered good Jeremiah from the hands of those Priests and Prophets that would have destroyed him for speaking the Truth which God sent him to do Jer. 26.10.16 This main Principle and the Plain Consequences from it may be displeasing to divers but it is a Great Truth of God and will prevail in his due time FINIS ERRATA PAge 1. line 28. after Holy Scriptures add a Colon p. 2. l. 14. after Gods Church add a Colon l. 49. for chose read chuse p. 4. l. 8. to such as necessary add a Comma at such p. 5. l. 10. for any useful read many useful l. 39. for Muolin r. Moulin p. 6. l. 6. after themselves add a Comma p. 7. l. 12. for others ore r. others are