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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	church_n	reason_n	2,125	5	5.7482	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64358	A discourse concerning the Ecclesiastical Commission, open'd in the Jerusalem-Chamber, October the 10th, 1689	Tenison, Thomas, 1636-1715.; England and Wales. Act concerning the submission of the clergy to the King's Majesty.	1689 (1689)	Wing T697; ESTC R1306	13,324	42

Case would bear may admit of Alterations and Improvements He who affirms the contrary believes a Visible Church on Earth may in some one Age be brought to Perfection even in Circumstantial Things which varie with Time and Place and Custom And he uses an Argument against all Reformation from the time of the Establishment of such a Scheme Upon this false Ground it was that Heath and Fecknam in the First Year of Queen Elizabeth oppos'd the Act of Uniformity objecting That these Changes were Departures from the Standard of the Catholick Church That Points once defin'd were not to be brought again into question That the Church should be constant to it self Forgetting the common Practice of their own Church Ours and every sound Church is constant to it self in Substantials and in the general frame of Forms of Worship but in Things of an alterable nature it ought not to be so Where Alterations are fit for the Edification of Christians the real Good of them will overweigh the accidental Evil of the Surmize of the Ignorant who may for a Week or two fansie that their Religion is chang'd Neither is such Change and Improvement a Reproach to Church-men They are not fickle who are constant in all necessary Things and in Circumstantials affect not Change but do it when Piety and Peace and Discretion require it The Church of Rome it self though She pretends to Infallibility has not show'd a stiffness against All Alterations She has made very many and might have made them for the Common Good of Christendom though she has fail'd extremely in it The Roman Breviary now in use is called by themselves The Restored or Reformed Breviary Their short Latin Service of the Canon of the Mass has been so often varied that it is now the least part of its self Nay the very Jesuites themselves in the disposition of their Bibles in their Library at Paris distinguish their Latin ones into Those Before and those After Correction 2. Our Constitution was review'd in LXI and yet notwithstanding that Review is capable of Another The Commissioners of that time did not add the last hand to that Work so as to render it uncapable ever after of being corrected and improved Some who have well considered All the Alterations and Additions then made by them which amount to the Number of about 600. are sufficiently convinc'd that if They had reason for those changes there is equal if not greater reason for some further Improvements If They had foreseen what has since come to pass I charitably believe They would not have done all that they did and just so much and no more And yet I also believe that if They had offer'd to move much further a Stone would have been laid under their Wheel by a secret but powerful Hand The Mystery of Popery did even then work and a Romanist has very frankly inform'd us of the Expectation raised in that Party in the beginning of the Summer of LXI They had some hopes cherished in them of Liberty of Conscience of the removal of the Sanguinary and then of other Penal Laws and of Forty Chappels to be opened for Them in and about the City of London Much more is understood by those who have penetrated into the design of a certain Paper called commonly The Declaration of Sommerset-House The Enemies of this Commission do seem to grant a need of Reformation in the Canons and Ecclesiastical Courts and They well understand and I wish from my heart that their Charity were equal to their Skill that the Book called Reformatio Legum was long ago prepar'd and has from that time been very well esteemed though not authoriz'd and put in execution It is true the present Church-men have given their Assent and Consent to the last Book of Common-Prayer but even part of that Consent is to the Preface of it in which it is set forth that there are in Churches Circumstantials which from time to time may admit of Alteration Neither can any Man reasonably think that when They Assented and Consented to the use of the Book as containing nothing that was unlawful They intended to declare that every Thing in It should be unalterable 3. For the Alterations and Additions now intended I verily believe they will conduce to the great good of this Church though as it is I am persuaded it is the best constituted Church in the World and that the Person reflected on as writing those words in a good mood did publish no more than was his settled Judgment But the best Church is not absolutely perfect in all Circumstantial Things nor can it ever be made so here on Earth I am in part of the Opinion of the Quaerist That the Prayers cannot be alter'd for the better by any meer human Composition This seems to be true of the Confessions at the beginning of the Service and at the Communion and of many other Forms but it ought not to be said of every Collect. But the great business as to the Liturgy is the adding to some Offices and preparing new ones which are wanting and the amending of Rubricks To instance publickly in any possible Alterations and Improvements is unseasonably to prevent the Commissioners and Convocation But Time will show by the Particulars that this Church may receive Great advantage and no prejudice by That Work which is by some so angrily tho' causelesly spoken against They must pardon me if so near after the mentioning of them I take notice of the French Papists who have in so many of their late Gazetts revil'd both the Commission and the Persons named in It. They are not apt to speak ill of a thing that would do hurt to us Good is intended and may be done to the benefit both of Conformists and Dissenters Conformists who purpose to continue such will naturally be glad if the House in which they resolve to live and die have all the strength and beauty added to it which can be given It by Commission Convocation and Parliament As to Dissenters for such as are either against All Forms or whilst the Healing of our Breaches is under consideration go on with fresh Ordinations or as the Quaerist relates the Story of some in Northampton like Novatianus of old oblige their Communicants to Vow or Swear upon the Sacrament that They will never return to the Communion of the Church of England we must leave Them to God. Better things are to be hop'd from some at least of this Generation and from many more in the next And if the Convocation do's its own reasonable part as I am confident it will to make an Union among Protestants let Those look to It at whose door the Fault lies in case the Separation continues They will surely be left without Excuse IV. Now because Things which may be done yet are not to be done at a time when they are not expedient It is my opinion that The

Quaeries as ASSUMING men as men who will think themselves BOUNDIN HONOUR to defend what they shall have done as men who have Tenderness and Moderation enough to part with any thing but their Church = Preferments As Men who have a Latitude to conform to a Church de Facto which has Power on its side These are very hard words whosoever gave them and proceed from a Temper ASSUMING enough to say no worse of it There is a great deal of Spite in them but not a grain either of Truth Justice or Charity So far are they from Assuming that I have ground to say They have declared among themselves That notwithstanding the offer of their present Opinions they would not conclude themselves but reserve a liberty of changing their minds if in Convocation any cogent Reasons which they had not yet thought of were brought before them If they were such as that Paper represents them yet why is it a Point of Honour to defend mere Proposals And then I would know by what Instances it appears that they are truly such as they are there represented MEN who conceal their own inclinations till it is time to show them MEN likely to do the Church of England a good turn when opportunity serves and which perhaps they imagine now they have Men ready to sacrifice their Consciences to their HONOURS and PREFERMENTS They must needs have a great defect in their Memories who have forgotten the time when these very Men with true Christian Courage hazarded all that was dear to them in this world in order to the support of this Church and the true Religion professed in it by refusing to read a Declaration which was I believe on purpose framed for the overthrow of our Establishment As to the LATITUDE with which they are charg'd they did not show it when they were tri'd and now God be thank'd they have no Temptation to it and I fear there may be in those who are without cause their Enemies a sort of NARROWNESS that is not more commendable They have indeed this LATITUDE in them That provided Good be done to the Church they would rejoice in it though even those who are their Adversaries should happen to have the doing of it For their NUMBER it is again said falsly and absurdly as well as spitefully That as it may happen our Church may be chang'd and alter'd and transformed by NINE men That number of the Quorum does by one exceed that of the intire Body of those who by Order review'd the second Book of King Edward the Sixth in the first of Queen Elizabeth for as Cambden where above-cited does assure us there were joined with Dr. Parker no more than seven Persons but six saith Mr. Fuller forgetting Dr. Bill though after consultation with these the consent of others was to be desired Neither is it at all probable that the Nine of the Quorum should at any two Meetings be but just Nine and those the very same Men. But supposing the Commissioners to be Men of ill Design yet neither have the Quorum of NINE nor yet the whole Thirty together Power given Them to Change Alter or Transform any thing but only to offer what in their present Opinion is fit to be offered to the Convocation to be there debated and after such debate to be approved or rejected I confess there are some Great and Excellent Men who are not named in this Commission Neither have we such Hopes as we most earnestly wish we could have had of their appearing in Convocation But whatsoever the Cause of that may be for it becomes not me to judge Them and whatsoever the Suggestions of the Quaerist are the Commissioners design nothing so unreasonable as to fear it would not pass in a Free Convocation if Those Reverend and Iudicious Prelates were present For those Reverend Fathers of the Church have declared Their Opinions in Conversation That Great Improvements might be made both in our Offices and our Discipline and ought in due time to be so and particularly towards Dissenters They solemnly told King James That they wanted no due Tenderness towards Them but were willing to come to such a Temper as should be thought fit when that Matter should be Considered and Settled in Parliament and Convocation And I am confident They All sincerely meant the same thing they so publickly declared In the Commission it self III there is no unreasonable Thing design'd neither is it at all probable that the Commissioners should pervert the good Ends of It. But by both the Support and Improvement and Well-being of the Church is directly aim'd at The Design of the Commission is set forth in these Words in the Body of It. Whereas the particular Forms of Divine Worship and the Rites and Ceremonies appointed to be us'd therein being Things in their own Nature Indifferent and Alterable and so acknowledg'd It is but reasonable that upon weighty and important Considerations according to the various Exigences of Times and Occasions such Changes and Alterations should be made therein as to those that are in Place and Authority should from time to time seem either necessary or expedient And Whereas the Book of Canons is fit to be review'd and made more sutable to the State of the Church and Whereas there are Defects and Abuses in the Ecclesiastical Courts and Jurisdictions and particularly there is not sufficient Provision made for the Removing of Scandalous Ministers and for the Reforming of Manners either in Ministers or People and Whereas it is most fit that there should be a strict Method prescribed for the Examination of such Persons as desire to be admitted into Holy Orders both as to their Learning and Manners We therefore out of Our Pious and Princely Care for the Good Order and Edification and Unity of the Church of England committed to Our Charge and Care And for the Reconciling as much as is possible of all Differences among Our Good Subjects and to take away all Occasions of the like for the future have thought fit to authorize and empower you c. and any Nine of you whereof Three to be Bishops to meet from time to time as often as shall be needful and to prepare such Alterations of the Liturgie and Canons and such Proposals for the Reformation of Ecclesiastical Courts and to consider of such other Matters as in your Judgments may most conduce to the Ends above-mentioned In pursuance of the Sense of these Expressions it may be shewn That All Churches in process of time though as well constituted at first as the Case would bear may admit of Alterations and Improvements That our Constitution was Review'd in Lxi. and yet notwithstanding that Review is capable of this which is now intended That what is now design'd is for its Support and Advantage with respect both to Conformists and Dissenters 1. All Churches in Process of Time though at first as well constituted as the Age and