Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	henry_n	king_n	queen_n	22,548	5	7.7438	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26911	The defence of the nonconformists plea for peace, or, An account of the matter of their nonconformity against Mr. J. Cheney's answer called The conforming nonconformist, and The nonconforming conformist : to which is added the second part in answer to Mr. Cheney's Five undertakings / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1680 (1680)	Wing B1238; ESTC R10601	97,954	194

know any thing of their peoples gross Ignorance Infidelity Atheism yea or Scandal who can know so few of the persons much less can the Bishop 10. Do you think that it is exercise enough of this Discipline when about 5000 in a year only communicate to leave 20000 or 30000 more as members of the Church in that Parish that use not to communicate or else may come when they will extraordinarily to save them from the Law though utterly unknown to the Minister And so proportionably in Parishes half as big And how is it possible this can be amended rebus sic stantibus And would not so many good men amend it were it possible Oh draw not the guilt of so many and such things on your self without cause Were it as small a thing as the Israelites High Places if you cannot amend it do not become the open defender of it Iudas himself at last accused the Pharisees and High Priests and justified Christ. I do not think he would have written a Confutation of Christ's reproofs recited in Matt. 15. and 23 c. How can you pray for a Reformation of that which you think needeth none And hath the Church and Cause of holy Discipline lost so much of your prayers too If you say to God as you do to us What more would we have I am glad that God hath a firmer people that will pray for more § 4. You say As to the Chancellor and his Office it is less matter by whom Excommunication be done so it be honestly and soundly done He is a Christian he is a man of Knowledge and Learning he is authorized by the Laws of the Kingdom his Office is incorporate into the Government of the Nation Though he may not bind and loose as a Pastor he may as a Christian authorized by the King See Matth. 18. 15 c. Ans. This is a great business 1. Why said you before that the Power of the Keys belongs to the Pastors c But you meant not only to them 2. Is it the same sort of Excommunication and Absolution which belongs to the Pastor and to a Lay-man If not you say nothing to our business For our Laws Canons and Church pretend here no difference I confess that there are three acts of separation which the Magistrate may do 1. He may command Bishops and Pastors to do their Office faithfully in excommunicating notorious impenitent criminals 2. When they are excommunicated he may forbid them intruding into the Church 3. He may judge the flagitious to be stigmatized or be taken as out-lawed and forbid men to be familiar with them But the Power of the Church is a power of judging what individual persons are fit or unfit for Baptism the Eucharist Church Entrance and Church Communion is the Church is the Porch of Heaven and as a preparation to the final judgment And it is not another sort but this sort which the Lay-Chancellor pretendeth to exercise in the Bishop's name I have been thought by some to give my self too much to Magistrates in Church-matters But I am far from your mind for the reasons following 1. It is notorious that in Scripture Christ hath instituted a special Office to use these Keys and do this work which he would not have done had he left it common to any others 2. The Power of the Keys is so much of the essential comprehensive title of that Office as that it is nullified when it is made common 3. If this part may be done by the Lay-men or Magistrate no man can give a reason why any of the rest may not even not only to be the stated Teachers of the Church and their Guides in Worship but also Baptizing and administring the Lord's Supper As it is more to be the Law-makers than the Cryers and the Judge than the Marshal so it is more to decree who shall have the Sacraments than barely to deliver it them which the Deacon may do And so we shall have not only Lay-Baptizers but Lay-Preachers Lay-Administers of the Lord's Supper or by contradiction Lay-Priests 4. You plead for Conformity and may easily know that the Church of England abhorreth this Opinion 5. When King Henry the Eighth was called Head of the Church to avoid the Papists calumnies Queen Elizabeth and King Iames have published their disclaiming of that power of Word and Sacraments called that of the Keys and if my Ears deceived me not I have heard our present King profess the same 6. The judgment and practice of the Churches of all Ages and places since Christ is against you I think Helvetia it self not excepted And should this be nothing to you who call on us to reverence the Old Conformists 7. The reason of the Institution fully satisfies me It was not meet so great a trust should be placed in unfit men As in case of Ordination it must be men that are able to try the persons as to skill and life that must be trusted with so weighty a business and also such that can have leisure to attend it and therefore as an Office are empowered for it and separated to it lest it miscarry so as to Baptism Absolution Excommunication it must be done by men 1. That are capable of full acquaintance with the person witnesses and cause 2. And that can try and judge of it 3. And especially of the persons Faith and Repentance for it is on these that the sentence must pass No Baptism without Faith No Excommunication without obstinate Impenitence No Absolution without Repentance 4. It must be by men fit to exhort them to Faith and Repentance and confute their Errours and pray for them that God would give them Faith and Repentance 5. And it is so great a part of the world and all the Church of Christ that this or much of this must be done for that reason shewed it needful that it be made the work of a great and special Office And if so then those men that do it 1. Must be tryed as Ordained Ministers be 2. And Ordained to the Office of doing it 3. And profess to do it as such Officers 4. And not lacerate that Office and change it by taking a part of it and leaving the rest And so they must be no Lay-men I could with that you had studied and consulted better before with such more than Erastian singularity you had pleaded for so dangerous a thing as Church-Levelling or so much overthrow of the necessary sacred Office and set your self against the judgment and practice of the Christian Church But all men have their hour of temptation and all do not overcome § 5. You say The Excommunication is of no force till published by the Parish-Minister who hath power if he please to make it his Text and declare the nature use and ends c. Ans. 1. I had rather have a better Text. 2. It is of force if another publish it 3. It 's part of the true Charge of the Minister himself