Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	apostle_n	church_n	creed_n	6,767	5	10.3283	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52055	Smectymnuus redivivus Being an answer to a book, entituled, An humble remonstrance. In which, the original of liturgy episcopacy is discussed, and quæries propounded concerning both. The parity of bishops and presbyters in scripture demonstrated. The occasion of the imparity in antiquity discovered. The disparity of the ancient and our moderne bishops manifested. The antiquity of ruling elders in the church vindicated. The prelaticall church bounded.	Smectymnuus.; Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.; Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.; Young, Thomas, 1587-1655.; Newcomen, Matthew, 1610?-1669.; Spurstowe, William, 1605?-1666.	1654 (1654)	Wing M784; ESTC R223740	77,642	91

sed malus tantùm quia Antiprelaticus But he upbraids us with our Divisions Subdivisions so do the Papists upbraid the Protestants with their Lutheranisme Calvinisme and Zuinglianisme And this is that the Heathens objected to the Christians their Fractures were so many they knew not which Religion to chuse if they should turn Christians And can it be expected that the Church in any age should be free from Divisions when the times of the Apostles were not free and the Apostle tells us It must needs be that there be divisions in Greg. Naz. dayes there were 600 Errours in the Church do these any wayes derogate from the truth and worth of Christian Religion But as for the Divisions of the Antiprelatical party so odiously exaggerated by this Remonstrant Let us assure your Honours they have been much fomented by the Prelates whose practice hath been according to that rule of Machiavil Divide Impera and they have made these divisions afterwards complain'd of that which their Tyranny and Policy hath made It is no wonder considering the paths our Prelates have trod that there are Divisions in the Nation The wonder is our divisions are no more no greater and we doubt not but if they were of that gracious spirit and so intirely affected to the peace of the Church as Greg Naz. was they would say as he did in the tumults of the people Mitte nos in mare non erit tempest as rather then they would hinder that sweet Concordance and conspiration of minde unto a Government that shall be every way agreeable to the rule of Gods Word and profitable for the edification and flourishing of the Church A second thing we cannot but take notice of is the pains this Author takes to advance his Prelaticall Church and forgetting what he had said in the beginning that this party was so numerous it could not be summed tells us now these severall thousands are punctually calculated But we doubt not but your Honours will consider that there may be multi homines pauci viri and that there are more against them then for them And whereas they pretend that they differ from us onely in a Ceremony or an Organ-pipe which however is no contemptible difference yet it will appeare that our differences are in point of a superiour Alloy Though this Remonstrant braves it in his multiplied Queries What are the bounds of this Church what the distinction of the prefessours and Religion what grounds of faith what new Creed do they hold differenc from their Neighbours what Scriptures what Baptisme what meanes of Salvation other then the rest yet if he pleased he might have silenced his owne Queries but if he will needs put us to the answer we will resolve them one by one First if he ask what are the bounds of this Church we answer him out of the sixt of their late founded Canons where we finde the limits of this Prelatical Church extend as farre as from the high lofty Promontory of Archbishops to the ●erra incognita of an c. If what Distinction of professors and Religion we answer their worshipping towards the East and bowing towards the Altar prostrating themselves in their approches into Churches placing all Religion in outward formalities are visible differences of these professours and their Religion If what new Creed they have or what grounds of Faith differing from their Neighbours we answer Episcopacy by divine right is the first Article of their Creed Absolute and blinde obedience to all the Commandements of the Church that is the Bishop and his Emissaries election upon faith foreseen the influence of works into Iustification ●alling from grace c. If what Scripture we answer the Apocrypha and unwritten Traditions If what Baptism a Baptism of absolute Necessity unto salvation and yet unsufficient unto salvation as not sealing grace to the taking away of sinne after Baptisme If what ●u●harist an Eucharist that must be administred upon an Altar or a Table set Altar-wise railed in an Eucharist in which there is such a presence of ●hrist though Modum nesciunt as makes the place of its Administration the throne of God the place of the Residence ●f the Almighty and impresseth such a holinesse upon it as makes it not only capable but worthy of Adoration If what Christ a Christ who hath given the same power of absolution to a Priest that himselfe hath If what Heaven a Heaven that hath a broad way leading thither and is receptive of Drunkards Swearers Adulterers c. such a heaven as we may say of it as the Indians said of the heaven of the Spaniards Unto that heaven which some of the Prelaticall Church living and dying in their scandalous sinnes and hatefull enormities go to let our soules never enter If what meanes of Salvation we answer confession of sinnes to a Priest as the most absolute undoubted necessary infallible meanes of Salvation Farre be it from us to say with this Remonstrant We do fully agree in all these and all other Doctrinall and practicall points of Religion and preach one and the same saving truths Nay we must rather say as that holy Martyr did We thank God we are none of you Nor do we because of this dissension feare the censure of uncharitableness from any but uncharitable men But it is no unusuall thing with the Prelates and their party to charge such as protest against their corrupt opinions and wayes with uncharitablenesse and Schisme as the Papists do the Protestants and as the protestants do justly recriminate and charge that Schisme upon the Papists which they object to us So may we upon the Prelates And if Austin may be judge the Prelates are more Schismaticks then we Quicunque saith he invident bonis ut quaerant occasiones excludendi eos aut degradandi vel crimina sua sic defendere parati sunt si objecta vel prodita fuerint ut etiam conventiculorum congregationes vel Ecclesiae perturbationes cogitent excitare jam schismatici sunt Whosoever envie those that are good and seeke occasions to exclude and degrade them and are so ready to defend their faults that rather then they will leave them they will devise how to raise up troubles in the Church and drive men into conventicles and corners they are the Schismaticks And that all the world may take notice what just cause we have to complain of Episcopacie as it now stands we humbly crave leave to propound these Queries Queries about Episcopacie WHether it be tolerable in a Christian Church that Lord Bishops should be held to be Iure Divino And yet the Lords day by the some men to be but Iure Humano And that the same persons should cry up Altars in stead of Communion-Tables and Priests in stead of Ministers and yet not Iudaize when they will not suffer the Lords Day to be called the Sabbath-day for feare of Iudaizing Whereas the word Sabbath is

of God hath alwayes been as diligent to resist novelties of words as her adversaries are busie to invent them for which cause she will not have us communicate with them no● follow their fashions and phrase newl● invented though in the nature of the words ●ometimes there be no harm Le● us keep our forefathers words and we shall easily keep our old and true saith that we had of the first Christians let them say Amendment A●sti●ence the Lords Supper the Communion-Table Elders Ministers ●uper-inten●●nt Congregation So be it Praise ye the Lord Morning Prayer Evening Prayer and the rest as they will Let us avoid those novelties of words according to the Apostles prescript and keep the old terms ●enance ●ast Priests Church ●ishop Mas● Ma●●in ●ven-Song the B. Sacrament Altar Oblation Host Sacifice Hal●elujah Amen Lent Palm-●unday Christmass and the words will br●ng us to the faith of our first ●postles and condemn th●●● new Apostates new faith and phrase Whether having proved that God never set such a Government in hi● Church as our Episcopal Government is we may law●ul●● any l●●ger be subject unto it be present at their Courts obe● th●ir Inju●ctio●s and especia●ly be instruments in publishing and ex●c●ting their Excommunications and Abs●ustions ●nd ●hus we have given as we hope a sufficient answ●r an● brief as the matter world permit to t●e Remon●●rant With 〈◊〉 though we agree not in opinion touching Episcopacie and Liturgie yet we fully consent with him to pray unto Almighty God Who is great in power and infinite in wisdom to poure down upon the whole Honourable Assembly the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of Counsel might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord That you may be able to discern betwixt things that differ seperate between the precious and the vile purely purge away our dross and take away all our tin root out every plant that is not of our heavenly Fathers planting That so you may raise up the foundations of many generations and be called the Repairers of breaches and Restorers of paths to dwell in Even so Amen A POSCRIPT THough we might have added much light and beauty to our Discourse by inserting variety of Histories upon several occasions given us in the Remonstrance the answer whereof we have undertaken especially where it speaks of the bounty and gracious Munificence of Religious Princes toward the Bishops yet unwilling to break the threed of our discourse and its connexion with the Remonstrance by so large a digression as the whole series of Historie producible to our purpose would extend unto We have chosen rather to subjoyn by way of Appendix an historical Narration of those bitter fruits Pride Rebellion Treason Unthankfulness c. which have issued from Episcopacy while it hath stood under the continued influences of Sovereigne goodness Which Narration would fill a Volume but we will bound our selves unto the Stories of this Kingdom and that revolution of time which hath passed over us since the erection of the See of Canterbury And because in most things the beginning is observed to be a presage of that which follows let their Founder Austin the Monk come first to be considered Whom we may justly account to have been such to the English as the Arrian Bishops were of old to the Goths and the Jesuits now among the Indians who of Pagans have made but Arrians and Papists His ignorance in the Gospel which he preached is seen in his idle Judaical consultations with the Pope about things clean and unclean his proud demeanour toward the British Clergy appears in his Council called about no solid point of faith but celebration of Easter where having troubled and threatened the Churches of Wales and afterwards of Scotland about Romish Ceremonies he is said in fine to have been the stirrer up of Ethelbers by means of the Northumbrian King to the slaughter of twelve hundred of those poor laborious Monks of Bangor His Successors busied in nothing but urging and instituting Ceremonies and maintaining Precedency we pass over Till Dunst●n the Sa●nted Prelate who of a frantick Necromaacer and suspected fornicatour was shorn a Monk and afterwards made a Bishop His worthy deeds are noted by Speed to have been the cheating King Eldred of the treasure committed to his keeping the prohibiting of marriage to the increasing of all filthiness in the Clergy o● those times as the long Oration of King Edgar in Stow well testifies In Edward the Confessors dayes Robert the Norman no sooner Archbishop of Canterbury but setting the King and Earl Godwine at variance for private revenge broach't a Civil War till the Archbishop was banisht Now William the Conquerour had set up Lankefrank Bishop of Canterbury who to requite him spent his faithful service to the Pope Gregory in perswading the King to subject himself and his State to the Papacy as himself writes to the Pope Suasi sed non persuasi The treason of Anselm to Rufus was notorious who not content to withstand the King obstinately in money-matters made suit to fetch his Pall or Investiture of Archiepiscopacy from Rome which the King denying as flat against his Regal Sovereignty he went without his leave and for his Romish good service received great honour from the Pope by being seated at his right foot in a Synod with these words Includamus hunc in orbe nostro tanquam alterius orbis Papam Whence perhaps it is that the See of Canterbury hath affected a Patriarchy in our dayes This Anselm also condemned the married Clergy Henry the First reigning the same Anselm deprived those Prelates that had been Invested by the King and all the Kingdom is vext with one Prelate who the second time betakes himself to his old fortress at Rome till the King was fain to yield Which done and the Archbishop returned spends the rest of his dayes in a long contention and unchristian jangling with York about Primacie Which ended not so but grew hot between York and London as Dean to Canterbury striving for the upper seat at Dinner till the King seeing their odious pride put them both out of doors To speak of Ralph and Thurstan the next Archbishops pursuing the same quarrel were tedious as it was no small molestation to the King and Kingdom Thurstan refusing to stand to the Kings doom and wins the day or else the King must be accurs'd by the Pope which further animates him to try the mastery with William next Archbishop of Canterbury and no man can end it but their Father the Pope for which they travel to Rome In the mean vvhile marriage is sharply decreed against Speed 448. and the Legate Cremonensis the Declamour against Matrimony taken with a Strumpet the same night In King Stephens Reign the haughty Bishops of Canterbury and Winchester bandy about Precedency and to Rome to end the Duel Theobald goes to Rome against