Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	covenant_n	evil_a	great_a	14	3	2.1077	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26882	Catholick communion doubly defended by Dr. Owens, vindicator, and Richard Baxter and the state of that communion opened, and the questions discussed, whether there be any displeasure at sin, or repentance for it in Heaven : with a parallel of the case of using a faulty translation of Scripture, and a faulty lyturgy.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1684 (1684)	Wing B1208; ESTC R11859	46,778	44

men to Repentance that all the forementioned faults of good and bad men are recorded in the Scripture But it is partly for the exercise of National Repentance and partly for a warning to the living that good mens names tempt them not to sin Yea that shaming them is a mercy to us all to this day is evident in that where God recordeth any sin without laying some reproach upon it Satan maketh a snare of it to persuade us it is no sin What abundance have been emboldened to Lie because the Midwives in Egypt and Davids Lies are recorded without adjoyned reproof Polygamy is pleaded for as lawful by that reason and the Jews did so by Divorce and some by drinking to excess or overthrow of reason All of us take it for a duty to bewail the Nations resistance of Reformation and cruelty to the Martyrs in Q. Mary's days and such like as part of our National Humiliation 3. When pernicious Deceivers endanger the Church by their Sophistry and Reputation especially by publick Writings which survive them God hath named in Scripture Simon Magus and Elymas and the Party called Nicolaitans whom his Soul hated and largely described many throughout the New Testament especially Epist. to Gal. Col. 2 Pet. 2. Iude Rev. 2. 3. And all that were faithful to the true Faith did of old name with detestation the Ebionites Cerinthians Gnosticks Valentinians Basilidians Manichees Priscilianists and Arians Sabellians Paulinists c. And since the Reformation the soberest Reformers named with zealous renunciation the names of not only such as Caesar Vaninus and Pomponatius Valent. Gentilis Servetus whom they burnt but also those Captains of Sedition that were the Heads of dangerous Sects Tho Muncers case they commonly mention with detestation and Ionn of Leydens and the rest at M●nster as worse And yet Leo Juda tells us with what marvellous constancy Knipperd●lling endured his flesh to be pulled off by pieces with red hot Pincers scarce groaning or expressing grief The case of David George the Father of the Libertines as Beza calls him and Henry Nicols's the Father of the Familists multitudes recite with detestation II. But there are many things that stand up against this duty and turn men from it or make it doubtful in particular Instances 1. One is the great abuse of it by the Antients and the mischiefs done by that abuse It calleth for greatest grief to read it and to feel the fruit of it to this day which while I have recited out of the Councils and Church-History many cannot bear it The case of the Easter Contention in all the Christian World even in Brittain tells it us The shameful Catalogue of Hereticks in Philastrius yea many in Epiphanius tell it us So do the Controversies with the Audians Novatians Donatists the Nestorians Eutychians Monothelites the tria Capitula out of Theodorite Theodore Mops. and Ibas the Image Controversies the Corrupti●ol● and Phantasiasts and many more such And since the heat of the Lutherans such as Marbachius Heshasius Westphalus Gallus Ambsdorsius and lately Calovius and many still against the Calvinists The over-violent usage of the Remonstrants in Holland the strife at the City of Frankford between the Conformists and Nonconformists the Violences and Reproaches of Episcopal Presbyterian Independants Erastians and Anabaptists against each other in England with the evil means and long continuance and woful effects The Scots Covenants excluding from their publick Union there and here all the Diocesan Divines and Party even such as Usher Morton Hall Davenant c. These great abuses of over-doers and dividers make many charitable men think that it is best to mention no mens faults at all save u●ter Enemies 2. And another grand dissuasive is the certain abuse that bad men will make of it Malignant Spit-fires do already write books full of palpable Lies against other men of which I have had a notable part And in common speech and reproach make many that they converse with believe these lies And if we call each other to Repentance or confess our own sin impudent Malice will turn it to a common scorn and say they are all alike and worse than they confess 3. And another hinderance is that we think controverted Cases are not matter of Censure And these are Controversies 4. But the greatest impediment of all is the Natural selfishness Pride and Impatience that is in all so far as they are unmortified and unhumbled and interessing God and his Truth and Cause more deeply than is just in the interest of our selves our Parties and our Opinions To these four Cases I briefly say 1. The avoiding of the contrary extream hindered not God and good men from mentioning Diotrephes Demas the Nicolaitans and all aforesaid 2. If we shall omit all duty that men will abuse we shall do none or next to none Repentance is most honourable except Innocency And they would reproach men less if they more confest their sin themselves And a true Confession is a true description of the Case and shameth them that make it worse then it is or lay the fault of the Guilty on the Innocent 3. What Heresy or sin almost is not controverted Satan will make a Controversy of all if that shall serve Arrianism is a sad instance and Socinianism which is much worse and Popery is more disputed for than they all 4. God hateth the Proud and will abase them and pardoneth none but the Penitent and he that sinfully saveth his Credit shall most lose it Repentance is a great hard necessary work we can easily call other men to repent III. Having told you my judgment I will as this worthy Brother adviseth yet further review my own actions I am one of those that have formerly imitated Austin in some Confessions and Retractations but I cannot make every scornful expectants Opinion my measure nor retract all that every extream'd Opposer or Dissenter doth dislike And I am one that long and very dearly endeavoured to have prevented those Overturnings which I bewail and at that time I thought them a sin so great as I will not now describe and took in the prognostick of their Consequents in which I have only been thus far mistaken that Gods wonderful mercy hath hitherto made them much easier then I expected I mentioned them most openly and plainly then to convince the Guilty and save the Tempted and I have oft since made some mention of them not to call the dead to Repentance but the Societies in their humiliations and the Nation and to preserve the living from the guilt of participation and imitation But I find that some much mistake me and think that all the Persons that I have named I mention as intolerable or make them worse than they are and equal the better with the worse yea make the Welsh Itinerants worse then ignorant vicious meer readers All this is far from my words and thoughts When Clement Writer wrote two Books against the Scripture the

Bishop of Lincoln the Bishop of Hereford Dr. Peter Moulin Dr. Stillingfleet and many more have done is known Your Mr. Mat. M●ad once commended a Conformist for a Benefice to me with these words I take him to be the holiest Man I know I have loved him the better ever since for his Candor Charity and Impartiality SECT 6. An Expository Advertisement about naming faulty Persons AS all men ought to have a just regard of their own and their neighbours reputations so the over-much tenderness of the guilty and the proud doth make it a matter of much difficulty for an impartial man to know whether and when he should name or make known the persons whom he doth oppose or blame Though the resolution seem easie both to them that have no charity to caution them and to them that will do no duty that displeaseth others Being called to review my own practice in this I shall give the World an account First of my Judgment in it and then of my doings I. I take such a nomination to be a duty in these cases following 1. In case of necessary defence of the Truth against some dangerous Errour of some men otherwise pious and tolerable the greatest Pillars of the Church have usually named them I hope all those Iudaizers that Paul so sharply writeth against were not in a state of damn●tion Doubtless Peter and Barnabas were not Gal. 2. nor I hope Demas nor all the rest that he saith were not like-minded to Timothy but sought their own and not the things of Jesus Christ And I hope the like of Diotrephes much more assuredly of Iohn that blamed him though that beloved Disciple is thrice named as culpable seeking to be greatest and offering to call for Fire from Heaven and forbidding one to do Miracles in Christs Name And Peter oft and once tremendously Matth. 16. rebuk't by Christ. The sins of Noah and his Sons Lot and his Wife and Daughters Sarah Abraham Isaac Iacob and his Sons Moses Aaron Miriam many Judges Eli David Solomon Rehoboam Asa Hezekiah Iosiah and many more are left on Record in Scripture with their names by him who is LOVE it self and hareth uncharitableness And though we believe not all that Bernard Walaf Strabo and such others though good men believed of Peter Bruis Henricus and other Albigenses Waldenses and Bobemians much less all that Tho. Waldensis saith against Wickliss the wisest Reformers have seen cause to mention some of their mistakes Luthers first mistakes while he disowned not the Papacy and his after sharpness against Carolostadius and Zuinglius are recorded by many that dislike them as he recordeth his distaste of those aforesaid and many more whom he dissented from All that are contradicted by name are not taken by sober men to be graceless or intolerable Swenkfeldius was a man of honour and his Character was that he had an honest heart but not a regulated head and yet the generality of Reformers cryed down his Errours and Sect. The Calvinists write for Communion with the Lutherans and the Moderate Lutherans love the Calvinists yet they write against each other by name as too many Volumes openly shew George Major was a wise and good man though Schlusselburgius and such others number him and his followers as Hereticks as Ca●●vi●● doth the Calixtines Nicholas Gallus and Am●sdorsius were noted Divines and Century Writers though they so used Major and maintained that Good works are not necessary to Salvation for which wiser men did write against them Mat. Flac. Illyricus the chief Century Writer was a Learned Zealous Protestant and yet many more than Melancthon and Beza have left as a blot upon his name that he was so fierce against Ceremonies and unpeaceable and that he maintained that Original Sin is the substance of the Soul Andrew Osiander was a very Learned Protestant high in favour with his Prince yet he and all his followers greatly opposed by the Orthodox Reformers for maintaining that we are justified by Gods Essential Righteousness made ours And Fu●ccius sped the worse for following him though it was for State-Councils that he died How high a Character doth Melancthon and many other the greatest Divines give of Hubertus Languetus as an Honourable Learned Pious Excellent Man and yet it 's now scarce denyed but it was he that wrote Iunius B●●tus though it was long falsly charged on Beza and the Noble ●● Plessis Doubtless Cassander Erasmus Wicelius and Gr●tius were men of great worth that yet for peace owned the Roman Church and Corruptions so far as is not to be justified or overlookt All the Germane Prophets or Fanaticks that Chr. Beckmans Exercitations name and copiously confute were not ungodly or intolerable men Whatever the Pa●●c●lsians Weig●lians and many of the rest were I know not but sure Th●ulerus was a godly man and Grotius commendeth Iohn Ar●di and his followers as men of piety and peace and notwithstanding his vain affected words Iacob Behmen seemed a pious man and I loved many of his chief Followers in England of my acquaintance because their Spirit and Writings were all for Love and Peace and their difficult Gibberish made me fearless of their multiplying or ever doing any great hurt And the Papists quite out-do us in naming their Opponents and their Errours and yet not renouncing Communion with them but keeping them in the bosom of their Church as whole loads of Books written by the Schoolmen and several Sects and Orders against each other shew And specially the Controversies between the Seculars and Regulars sharply handled by Watson in his Quodlibits and divers others And newly Peter Walsh that calls himself Valesius and S●rjeants and his Blaklows Controversies tell us more But none more than the Jesuists and Jansenists did we differ about half as many and weighty points as are recited in the Iesuites Morals and their Charge against the Iansenists we should scarce think each other fit to be Members of one Communion And naming Opponents is oft necessary to make the Reader know what Books we write against for distinction sake 2. And there is yet another great cause of naming faulty men both otherwise godly and heretical The Duty of a Publick or National Repentance oft requireth the mention of publick sins and sinners specially if they be our own God long forbeareth the publick National sins of Ancestors to see if Posterity who are the same Na●ion though not the same Persons will prevent his Judgments by Repentance In which case they must confess their own and their Fore Fathers sins This was the due practice of the Church of Old as Psal. 78. 107. and many other shew and the prayers of Ezra Daniel and others they named many and bewailed more of their National and Fore Fathers sins and if they do not Christ will name them for them as he did the blood shed from Abels till Zach●rias and will revenge all together on the Impenitent Generation Matth. 23. It was not to call dead