Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	article_n	church_n	faith_n	2,312	5	5.7145	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45174	Cheirothesia, or, A confirmation of the apostolicall confirmation of children setting forth the divine ground, end, and use of that too much neglected institvtion, and now published as an excellent expedient to truth and peace / by Jos. Hall ...	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1651 (1651)	Wing H372A; ESTC R40542	23,459	98

likewise upon the formerly Baptized otherwise had not this been familiarly known both in the Practice and use of it Imposition of hands had never been recorded for a point of the Ancient Catechisme of Christs Church The succeeding hands then were also imposed but to what purpose Surely no Man can think the end of this act could in them be other then Holy Spirituall as they in their calling succeeded those Prime Founders of the Church so this act also succeeded theirs though not in giving the visible Graces of the Spirit which in thē was miraculous yet in obtaining an increase of invisible Grace to the Receiver as theirs also more effectually did For certainly we shall grosly mistake this whole act if we shall conceive it to have been onely a dumb or dead Ceremony completed in the motion of an Hand and touch of an Head there was withall a life and vigour put into it by the zealous Prayer of the godly Pastor and Congregation which might not returne to him without a Blessing Neither was it otherwise of old When the Patriarch Jacob laid his hands upon Ephraim and Manasses Head it was not without a fervent apprecation God before whom my Fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk the God which fed me all my life-long unto this day the Angell which redeemed me from all evill blesse the Lads It was not the bare hand of Moses laid upon Joshua that could replenish him with the spirit of Wisdome without his Prayers Yea our blessed Saviour himself to whom all power was given in Heaven and in Earth when he touched the dumb Man and said Ephatah he lookt up into Heaven as thence fetching his Cure The Apostles when the seaven Elected Deacons were presented unto them did not without solemne Prayer lay their hands upon them When Barnabas and Saul were separated by the charge of the holy Ghost to the great worke of God to which they were Designed Hands were laid on them but withall Prayers were made for them So in this very case when the Baptized Samaritans should be confirmed by Peter and John their hands were laid on with Prayers These these are they which gave Virtue to the Hands which certainly without these being but Flesh could have no Spirituall Operation upon the Soul but being thus seconded could not but be available to the furtherance of Grace in the Receiver This is the practice which Holy Cyprian tells was successively continued in the Church who speaking of the Samaritans Baptized by Philip and confirmed afterwards by the Prayers and Imposition of the Hands of the forementioned Apostles addes Quod nunc quoque c. which is still saith he practised amongst us That those which are Baptized in the Church are by the Governours of the Church presented unto us and by our Prayers and laying on of our Hands receive the holy Ghost c. It is utterly needlesse to cite any further proof of this Point or any particular Attestation to the act of Confirmation done with great consent and allowance in the Primitive times when S. Jerom in his Dialogue against the Luciferians having said That by the imposition of Authorized hands the holyGhost was still convayed to the Baptized addes Dost thou ask me where this is written In the Acts of the Apostles but if there were no Authority of Scripture at all for it the consent of the whole world to this point might well challenge the force of a precept Thus he Since therefore it is undeniably certaine that after the miraculous Gifts were ceased yet still this practice of Imposition of hands was with the generall approbation of the Christian Church continued to succeeding Ages I ask when and why it ceased Have we any warrant for banishing it out of the Church of God Have we any just ground of reason to forbear and discontinue the use of it Have we lesse need of Grace or Confirmation then our Forefathers Or is the power of Gods Ordinance abated and now languisheth with Age Or are we lesse qualified to performe this gracious act then our Predecessours Surely the Church of England which to Her eternall praise and honour be it spoken hath ever been studiously carefull to maintaine all Apostolicall constitutions and practises above all Her Reformed Sisters hath not failed to hold out this Holy Ordinance and to recommend it in the most Ancient Simple and Inoffensive Forme to all Her obedient Children Neither doe we finde that the present times though too ful of Distraction and Quarrell have ever declared any Opposition to or Dislike of that never-interrupted never-disallowed Institution so as we have just reason to think that it both should and doth continue in its full right and vigour Sect. 9. But lest the discontinuance of the act together with some prejudice of the otherwise affected should have worne out of the mindes of Men the Memory of that Laudable and Godly Practise it will not be amisse to recall unto our thoughts the Wise and Exemplary Order wherein that Holy Rite was injoyned to be administred First therefore having removed away all the trash of Superstitious and frivolous Appendances as the Crosse the Chrisme the Stripe the Fillet and the rest as aiming onely at the Originall simplicity of that Religious Ceremony Secondly having removed away all opinion of a Sacrament for which the Church of Rome hath unjustly strugled and therewith disclaimed all derogation from the power and vertue of Baptisme And thirdly having solemnly professed against the misconceit of an absolute necessity of this rite to Salvation in them which die after Baptisme before hands can be laid upon them the Church of England hath piously ordered the Imposition of hands so to be Administred as may be to the greater edification of those that are to receive it and therefore hath ordained that none should be confirmed but such as can give account of having learned the Articles of the Faith the Lords Prayer the Ten Commandements and that initiatory Catechisme which is purposely appointed for their preparation wherein this Church hath judiciously and not without good ground both of Reason Religion reformed that common Errour and Abuse of the Church of Rome which commonly casts away their Confirmation upon Babes in the Cradle of their first infancy For though some of their Doctors are willing to limit this act unto the age of their puberty which is the twelfth year others to the seventh that so the Child may at least remember though yet he understand not what was done to him yet the most are of opinion that there is no cause to deferre their Confirmation till they come to the use of Reason and doe practise accordingly so as Alphonsus Vivaldus tells us that commonly in Spaine all Children of two or three years old are wont to be confirmed and Petrus a Soto and Cassander professes it to have beene the ancient Order of the Church that forthwith after their Baptisme