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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15304	The schysmatical puritan A sermon preached at Witney concerning the lawfulnesse of church-authority, for ordaining, and commanding of rites, and ceremonies, to beautifie the Church. By Giles Widdowes rector of St Martins church in Oxford.	Widdowes, Giles, 1558?-1645.	1630 (1630)	STC 25594; ESTC S120720	21,327	48

flesh by covenant by troth plighted by Church-authority which is the essentiall vnion is the fundamentall cause of the signifying vnion which is the ring giuen in marriage to signifie that mā wife are no more twaine but one flesh T is expresse Scripture that t is granted to the Church to weare fine linnen white and cleane Rev. 19. 8. There is a similitude betweene the triumphant and militant Church and so an expression of the ones glory by the others signification and is it then contrary to decency and order to weare the surplisse Holy daies are contain'd in the Scripture The Lords passeover which we call Easter Levit. 23. 5. The feast of vnleavened bread Levit. 23. 6. The feast of first fruits Lev. 23. 10. to the 24. verse The feast of Trumpets Lev. 23. from 24 to the 34 verse The feast of Tabernacles Mordecai had his Holy day Hest 9. Iudeth had her Holy day Iudeth 16. Macchabeus had his Holy day Macchab. 1. 4. And seeing that Holy daies did not transgresse the fourth commandement before Christs comming the Apostles Agapae Festivall daies and our Church-holy-daies doe not transgresse that law We should bee very vnthankfull vnto God for the multiplying of his great mercies if we did not solemnely keepe them the reason is shew'd before In his rebus de quib nihil certi statuit scriptura divina mos populi Dei vel instituta maiorum pro lege tenendasunt D. August Epist 68. to Casulanus In those things which the Scripture hath not verbatim set downe the customes of Gods people or the institutions of our Predecessors ought to bee receiued for lawes so that they be deduced from Scriptures and be not contrary to Scriptures they are S. Augustines limitations Seeing then that the church hath authority giuen her let her exercise her authority Let all things be done For as long as the church is rul'd by Scripture Shee is the pillar and ground of truth 1. Tim. 3. 15. to the vnlearned to the catechised to the vulgar vnderstanding then S. Augustine being an infant in faith beleeues quia dixit Ecclesia because the church did teach him to beleeue As long as the church is rul'd by Scriptures Shee cannot erre hell gates cannot prevaile against her Mat. 16. 18. And therefore let all things be done decently in order whatsoever our well reformed church commands to be done Let the Priest weare the surplisse let little children to be baptized haue their Godfathers and Godmothers let the baptized be signed with the signe of the Crosse Let all communicants kneele reverently at receiuing the Lords Supper Let all bow in solemne assemblies at the name of IESVS Let them that are to be married be married with the Ring Let Holy daies be kept Let the Lord bee praised vpon Church Organs and on the Sabbath and Holy daies thus let him bee magnified with the musicall sound of all Church-bells Let the dead be honorably buried You haue a little booke of Articles which containes seven generalls all our church-traditions The first is concerning the church-yard Vicarage-house The second is concerning the Ministerie divine service and Sacraments The third is concerning Ecclesiasticall Courts The fourth concerning School-masters The fift concerning the parish clearke and Sexton The sixt concerning the Parishioners The seuenth concerning church-wardens Sides-men Let all these things be done For the doing of them well doth honour God and saue your owne soules But if church-offenders are growne hard-hearted stiffe-necked stubborne not to be reformed by neighbourly loue good counsell wholsome exhortation Dic Ecclesiae tell the church For all things must be done Decently and in order which is my fourth part of text Decently and in order Here is the manner how Gods command first secondly how the churches command is to be obeyed and this is Decently and in order On the outside by beauty Decently within and without according to rule In order Nihil peruerso ordine vel per contentionem vel per inanem gloriam faciatis so S. Hierome vpon these words where there is perversenesse ouerthwarting faction there is noe church-decencie factious contention and vaine spirited glory is noe part of this church-order Non temerè non indecorè non insanè ordine conueniente so S. Chrysostome Not rashnesse not vnseemelines not distemper is the decency or order that which is seemely is church-decency that which is conuenient is church-order Omnia cum pace disciplinâ so S. Ambrose the peace of the church this is church-decencie the discipline of the church this is church order The decencie of the church is opposite to vanity to sordidnesse to luxury The order of the church is opposite to confusion and troublesomenesse soe Pareus The decency of the church is that Gods temple should be all glorious at least very conuenient that church-vessells and the materiall parts of the church be cleane and comely that the Priests vestments be seemely that all church actions publique and priuate be void of lightnesse and superstition that church-teachers and hearers behaue themselues with diuine grauity modestie and piety as it becometh them that stand in the presence of God and his holy Angells Church order giues euery one his conuenient place to superiors superior places to equalls equall places to inferiors inferior places to euery church-necessary a necessary place Order obserues church-time as well as church-place and it staies not there but appoints who shall be church-teachers and who shall be church-hearers and to keepe both in order there are appointed times to pray to preach to sing psalmes to catechise to communicate to baptize c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 caueatur aedificatio ecclelesiae singulorum maximè promoueatur so Pareus The transgressing of church-decencie and order must be shun'd the edifying of the church and of all in the church must be carefully obserued And we must goe a little farther the beautifying and honour of the Church must be carefully regarded And wee must on a little farther The able gratious practise of the Church must be preferred aboue all the edifying beautifying and externall honour of the church S. Hierome saith that there is no church-decency no church-order where is peruersenesse and diuision and therefore Thomas Cartwright was noe true teacher of church decency and order let his 21 dangerous points of doctrine and his one and fifty vntruths falsifying of Scriptures fathers of the church Historiographers and other classicall Authors be witnesse as 't is obserued by D Whitguift in his booke against M. Cartwright S. Chrysostome saith where there is rashnes vnseemelinesse distemper that there is noe church-decencie noe church order and therefore the precise ones are noe teachers of church-decencie and order for they are rash to thrust that vpon vs for true religion which began at the 250 yeare after Christ and was put downe by the first Councell of Nice S. Ambrose saith that there is church-decency where is the peace and the discipline of the church

belieue our Church Regeneration is by infusion of grace by sowing the good seed it differs frō increase of grace perseverance Regeneratiō is ortus boniseminis the springing of good seed This good seed did grow in stony and thorny ground Regeneratiō is the individual act making Christians Increase of grace perseverāce preserue Christians And morall perswasion cannot regenerate stony and thorny hearts dead in sinne Therefore regeneration being the individuall act of God bound to his Church by his owne covenant iudge as our Church doth concerning the baptized that all baptized are regenerate The grace of Gods covenā● doth admit of noe Separatists for it did not separate but bind Isaac Ismael vnto God in obedience neither doth it separate but vnite the baptized vnto Christ As for the separating iudgement according to the mercifull decree of election who are the saved this belongs only to God to pronounce But let all Christians religiously pray and liue according to the grace of restitution and humbly submit their iudgments concerning the secrecy of personall election The Separatist sinnes against the 17. Article which sayth that Gods election is secret to vs for we know not the elect by their particular names He sinnes against the 35 article at the 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 10. 11. 15. 19. 20. 21. homilie For these doe charitably exhort the whole cōgregation to obey and honour God whereas the separatist is noe freind of Publicans and sinners but the vncharitable accuser of our Saviours pittied cōpany The Anabaptist is he whose purenes is a supposed birth without originall sinne And yet our bodies are parts of Adams nature that did sinne And no man was borne without sinne Christ only excepted His tenet is that infants must not be baptized Yet Isaac was circumcised the eighth day And to be circumeised and baptized are one and the same in effect And Abrahams Religion and ours are the same Gal. 3. 9. 14. 15. 16. 17. And therefore by a necessarie seale of the Covenant we must doe as Abraham did binde little children in covenant to God This Puritan sinnes against the 9 27 Articles The one affirmeth that infants are borne in originall sin the other that infants must be baptized If infants be borne without originall sinne then t is noe controversy That originall sin foreseene is not the meritorious cause of reprobation The sinner deserues the iudg intends punishment So 't is certaine that sinne is not the foreseene intending efficient of that preordain'd punishing decree And it is without question that Gods Supremacy may pardon or punish pro absoluto beneplacito only as he will seeing 't is the prerogatiue of supremacy he being supreame Iudg. But he cannot be iust in decree if he so reprobates but for sinne foreseene For the law was not that any should die in Adam if he had not eaten of the forbidden fruit and therfore this law in prevision transgressed is the meritorious efficient of reprobation The Brownist is he whose purenes is to serue God in woods and feilds He is a wildernes of purenesse His opinion is that Idolatry cannot be reformed without pulling downe of Churches But King Hezekiah commaunded the Levites to sanctifie the house of the Lord and to carry forth the filthines out of the sanctuary c. 2. Chron. 29. 5. And our Saviour whipt the buyers and sellers out of the Temple though it was prophan'd yet without any pulling downe he calls it the house of prayer Mat. 21. 12. 13. This Puritan sinnes against the 35 Article at the 1 homily which teacheth a decent keeping of the Church Loves familist is he whose purenes is to serue God as wel at his Neighbors charge as at his owne Omnia sunt Communia no one saith that the things which these Loue-Masters possesse are their owne but all are Common Yet S. Paul saith that he is worse then an Infidell that provideth not for his owne family If he be poore his poore purenes must not labour with his hands to get his liuing though he be a Mechanicke he must only meditate on the word Yet the text saith he that will not Labour let him not eate He in his conceipt is a greater S. then S. Iohn the Baptist and that he is in persecution for the Gospell and therefore Ananias doth sell his possessions that the poore brother may participate of his brotherly kindnes Concerning S. Iohn our Sauiour saith that he was as great a Prophet as any borne of a woman Concerning Ananias S. Peter saith that he dissembled with the holy Ghost Concerning this poore Saints persequution for the Gospell his punishment is iustly to be inflicted on him for abusing the gospell with his deceipt to maintaine idlenes His neighbour seduc'de to sel is vndone this is iniurie which must not escape vnpunished This Puritan sinnes against the 38 Article For this truth is to be beleeu'd that as in persequution the rich did releiue the poore Saints So in the time of peace all able men must labour to preserue the Common wealth Here note that Loues-familist in the 38 Article is called the Anabaptist and t is true subiectiuè sed non formaliter The same man may be Loues-familist and the Anabaptist but to be formally the Anabaptist is not to be Loues-familist their definitions differ The Precisian is he whose purenes is not to sweare before a Magistrate yet this kind of swearing is commanded Deut. 6. 13. He teacheth that vnlawfull swearing is a greater sinne than murther God indeed is greater than man Hence is the compare But the effect destructiue is greater by murther for thereby mans life is destroyed but vnlawfull swearing cannot wound so deepe And God commands that the Murtherer die the death blood must be shed for blood he deales not soe seuerely with the swearer This Puritan sinnes against the 39. Article which teacheth that t is lawfull to sweare before a magistrate The Sabbatarian is he whose purenes is to preach downe all holy dayes Preaching the instrumentall directing cause to keepe holy the sabbath day he makes to be the keeping holy the Sabbath but Gods holy worship common praier is this keeping holy the sabbath day For preaching the holy direction teacheth holy worship common praiers to be the holy practise of that day to praise the Lord for our Redemption c. This is the sole principall end of preaching on the Lords day The Sabbatarians preaching is a Sylua synonymorum Tantologies Iterations His praying is too much brainsike babling His opinion is Labour thou sixe dayes therefore there must be noe holy dayes but the Lords day T is true in an vnderstanding iudicious sence Thus. Thou must praise God for the Creation Redemption Restitution and preseruation of the world To praise God for these causes onely the 7. day is set apart which is not the Iewes Sabbath the sabbath only for the creation But this is the day following when Christ rested from subduing sinne hell and death when

vnworthynesse of Gods favour and blind ignorance not in the necessary precepts of saith but in Contingents with what particular blessing when where and how God will blesse sinners Prayers at Baptisme doe regenerate though you denie this T is the text Aske and you shall haue To pray is to Aske To be Regenerate is to haue The blessed Apostles did confirme the Churches which they before had converted Act. 14. 22. Act. 15. 32. For confirmation is a Principle of the doctrine of Christ next to baptisme Heb. 6. 1. 2. Therefore S. Peter and S. Iohn did pray impose hands to confirme the Church with the holy Ghost Act. 8. 17. And little Children being more weake in the state of Grace then such Converts must necessarily be confirmed by the Bishop the Apostle of the Diocesse though not by miraculous yet by seaven of the holy Ghosts gifts We must pray for the dead Thy kingdome come Oh Lord raise the dead prisoners in the graue And herein we pray for their soules and bodies God be with them to comfort their soules deprived of their bodies I say to comfort them with hast'ning the Re-vnion and the consummate ioy of soule and body Thus the Primitiue Fathers Iunius B. Bilson Mornay Chameirus This is not to defend Purgatory but the receaued answere against Purgatory These things being thus answered obserue that this Puritan would obstinately cast out of the Church Gods sauing mercy saving hope saving charity and the seauen guifts of the holy Ghost And what then is his religion but faction But marke those that cause diuision in the Church contrary to the doctrine which you haue receiued For they that are such serue not the Lord Iesus but their owne bellies and with faire speech and flattering deceiue the hearts of the simple Rom. 16. 17. 18. The third thing in which this Puritan is Nonconformist is the Canons of our reformed Church These 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 24. 29. 30. 31. 48. 49. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 60. 61. 73. 127. c. But who is this Puritan What is his name Mr Rogers in his Preface to the 39 Articles saith that since the suppression of Puritans by Arch-Bishops Parker Grindall and Whitegift none will seeme to be such irregular Professors But the eie that beholds their daring oppositions in the Church may very well beleeue that such Rebellions are taught in their Conventicles What Rebellions Their teaching against the Kings Supremacie a reiecting of our Reformed saith a refusing of Gods holy worship written which is the Common Praier-booke a despising of Canonicall obedience a repugning against our Reformed Church Yet this seditious Schysmatique would be the most true Reformist of Church and Religion but read the Suruey of the Pretended holy discipline and hence it is euidently proued that he knowes not what he is nor what he would be Therefore for his better edifying let him learne to beleeue to pray and obey according to the vnderstanding Rules of this Reformed Church For the 39 Articles are true precepts of faith all Collected out of holy writ The Common praiers are godly praiers The Canons are true wholesome lawes Therefore he that will not beleeue pray and obey according to this established estate of Church gouernment is noe pure man in heart He studies Consusion of Church and Common-wealth The specificall kinds of this Puritan promise neither truth nor goodnes and therefore let noe man fauour their vnrighteous dealing and let our Church stand fast in her faith instruct correct rebuke that this Non-conformist may be a true Reformist The species specificall kinds of this Puritan are these 1. the Perfectist 2. the factious Sermonist 3 the Separatist 4. the Anabaptist 5. the Brownist 6. Loues-familist 7. the Precisian 8. the Sabbatarian 9 the Ante-disciplinarian 10. the Presuming Predestinatist These ten kinds in their opinions are the best Christians and every one differs in the Reciprocall Quatenus i. e. in his proper essentiall Quality from other as much as white and blacke yet the same subiect of inhesion man may be all these ten as the same eie is white and blacke though whitenes and blacknes differ essentially The Perfectist is he whose purenes is continuata perseverandi actio sanctificans neuer to sinne after baptisme This is the Nouatian Catharist But St Paul did sinne after baptisme Rom. 7. This is a perfect keeper of Gods law Thus he is a Papist But S. Paul could not doe the good which he would but the evill which he would not His opinion is that a Christian sinning after baptisme is damned Our Reformed faith is That by the grace of God he may Repent and amend and thus S. Iohn if we confesse our sinnes he will forgiue 1. Iohn 1. This Puritan sinnes against the 16. Article The factious Sermonist is he whose purenes is to serue God with sermons and extemporary praiers made according to his supposititious inspiration His opinion is vaine glory Preachers Compos'de not according to his hasty rule he sayth are vn-worthy and therefore they must not be heard to preach nor resorted to at holy Communion Then S. Peter if vnworthines might depose Preachers should neuer haue preach'd after his forswearing his master Our reformed faith is that we may vse the ministery of vnworthy Ministers And t is strange that he commends himselfe to be worthy whereas S. Paul is not a teacher of his opinion 2. Cor. 2. 16. in these words Who is sufficient for these things This sinneth against the 26. Article Another opiniō of his is that preaching is better than Praier But both being most necessarie Preaching for to instruct the people and praier to worship God instrumentally to cause regeneration by baptisme c. It followes that this Sermonist is a peeuish disturber of Religion A third opinion of his is that priuate Praier made by a tardy commer to Church is the sacrifice of fools As if too late cōming to Church were not a sinne to be repented of and that one soe ill prepar'd to ioyne with the congregation should not pray for remission and Gods blessing and then praise the Lord with the whole Assembly The Separatist is he whose Purenes is Pharisaicall He commends himselfe in the Temple to be farre aboue all others for holines Our Sauiour sayth that the Publican repenting was more iust than he Luke 18. 14. His opinion is that only he is the Elect the Regenerate and faithfull child of God And that all others are reprobates the wicked the vnregenerat and the damned But Gods iudgments are vnsearchable Rom. 11. 33. And who art thou that iudgest why dost thou Iudge c Rom. 14. 4. 10. 11. 12. 13. The iudgment of our Church is that al that are baptized are regenerat Thus Seeing that this child is regenerat grafted into the body of Christs congregation c. And the Church regulated by scriptures is the pillar and groūd of truth 1 Tim. 3. 15. therefore