Selected quad for the lemma: hand_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
hand_n	ghost_n	holy_a	imposition_n	5,347	5	10.7351	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B00623	The peoples plea for the exercise of prophesie. Against Mr. Iohn Yates his monopolie. / By Iohn Robinson.	Robinson, John, 1575?-1625.; Yates, John, d. ca. 1660.; Brewster, William, 1566 or 7-1644, printer, attributed name.	1618 (1618)	STC 21115A; ESTC S94919	38,827	88

afterwards be called to minister And that M. Yates may haue for the caling of our prophets wheron to insist thus we practise After the exeercise of the publick Ministery ended the rulers in the Chur. do publikly exhort and require that such of their own or other Church as haue a gift to speake to the edificatiō of the hearers should use the same this according to that which is written Act. 13.14 c. where Paul and Barnabas comming into the Synagogue the Rulers after the work of the ordinary ministery was ended considering them not as Apostles which they acknowledged not but onely as men having gifts sent unto them that if they had any word of exhortation to the people they should say on M. Yates ARG. 3. FRom the true causes of prophesy in the new testament which are two either immediate revelatiō or imposition of hands the first is Act. 2.17 10.44 the second Act. 8.17 19.6 third cause of publick prophesy cannot be giuen therefore ordinary prophesy in publick out of office being neyther by immediate revelation nor imposition of hands is vnlawfull You may say the contrary but it will be without all warrant of the word ANSWER IN this Arg. are sundry errors Logicall Theologicall And first why doth he not make Christs breathing vpon the Apostles Ioh. 20. and the descending and sitting of the cloven fiery tongues vpon them Act. ●… causes of prophesy as well as imposition of hands Secondly imposition of hands is no cause at all of prophesy to speake properly as M. yates should doe affecting the name of a Logitian It is no naturall cause for to imagine that men tooke the holy Ghost in their hands and reached it to others were ridiculous neyther is it a morall cause as in which there are propounded no Arguments and motiues of perswasion It is ineeed no more then a signe denoteing the person not a cause effecting the thing Thirdly if it were a cause yet should it not be made the member of a division opposed to revelation but a cause or means subordinate vnto it as vnto the end since it serued to the conveing of the spirit by which spirit all reuelation is and by revelation all prophesy extraordinary by immediate revelation ordinary by mediate both which thē were in the Church as is the latter now euen in men out of office by meanes of their study and Gods blessing upon the same else could there never be lawfull office Pastor or Teacher chosen in the Church to the worlds end The gift of prophesy comes not by the office but being found in persons before makes them capable of the office by due means ARG. 4. M. Yates FRO Modistinction of spirituall gifts 1. Cor. 12.4.5.6 verse gifts administrations and operations All these are to be referred to that general vers 1. Gifts therefore in this place must be but one kinde of spirituall gifts and be distinguished from the other two The first then are meerly gifts the second gifts offices together the third rather the effect of a gift then the gift it selfe and therefore the Holy Gost knowing how to speak aptly gives more to the effect then the cause the worke then the worker for in truth miraculous workes exceede all the vertue that possibly can be imagined to be in a mere creature and therfore it is only a passiue beliefe or faith whereby man is rather a patient then an agent in the worke These 3. generall heads are deuided again or rather exemplified by many particulars first verse 8.9.10 all lay downe a kinde of spirituall gifts first a word of wisdome 2. a word of knowledge 3. of miraclous faith 4. of healeing 5. operations of great works 6. prophesying 7. discerning of spirits 8. of tongues 9. of interpretation That some of these gifts are extraordinary no wise man will deny yet that I may proue them all extraordinary cōsider 3 things First the cause secondly the effect thirdly the subiect The cause without al doubt is the spirit yet question may be of the maner measure For maner whether the spirit alone or the spirit assisting our industry and pains I say alone because all these effects depend equally vpon the same cause and I haue no reason to say that prophesy should be more by my pains and industry then strange tongues or any other gift for then I should magnifie the Holy Ghost in one gift more then another That which is geuen by the sole operation of the spirit is more then that which is come by through ordinary paynes I Blesse God for his ordinary prouidence where my hand goes with the Lord in my ordinary affayres But wherin I find the Lord do for me where I had no hand there I ought to magnifie him much more so in these gifts if some were ordinary some extraordinary then the spirit should not haue equal praise in thē all The orator prouing Caesar to deserue more prayse for his clemency towards Marcellus then all his famous victories vseth the maner of the cause to shew it In thy warrs O Emperour thou hadst Captains and souldiers vertue and valour weapons and munition c. but sparing Marcellus thou alone didst it to thee alone it belongs and all the glory of it so if prophesy in this place aboue all the rest must come in for an ordinary gift then may I say O blessed Spirit Prophesy is thy gift yet do I acknowledge thy ordinary blessing upon my labours in this but as for strange tongues and the rest I acknowledge they are thy meere gift without all paine and labour of mine therefore the greater praise I giue thee Were not this to diminish prophesy in regard of the rest which the H. Ghost prefers before them all and therefore did shew as great power in that gift as in any other The manner thē being all one in giving the second question is whether they were given in the same measure I answer No Rom. 12.6 and hereupon the Apostle commanded that one Prophet should be subiect to another willingly yeeld place to him that had the greater measure I leaue the cause come to the effects which learned men cannot distinguish I will shew you my iudgement follow it as you please To the two first gifts is given a word by words we expresse our meanings therfore the spirit doth not onely giue a gift but an ability power to utter that gift for the greatest good of the hearers Brother it is the part of a divine to study for apt and fit words and indeed when God hath given us learning by exceeding great paines yet wee find great imperfection for want of words Now here I learne that the Spirit of God did extraordinarily supply this want by giving unto men excellent utterance of heavenly things The first two gifts are wisdom knowledge wisdom is a holy understanding of heavenly things with a prudent application of them to their severall vses Knowledge or

the rest what wether this wind will bring who seeth not Moreouer whereas vvee propound such interpretations and doctrines as we gather from the Scriptures by discourse of reason and so may erre they on the contrary every one of them delivered doctrine by immediate inspiration of the spirit in which by reason of the divine impression which it made in their hearts differencing it from all both humane collection and Diabolicall suggestion they could not erre or be mistaken but knew infallibly when and wherein they were moved by the H. Ghost Befides there is not like reason of strange tongues and prophesie for the consideration in hand since the Church is not built upon the foundation of strange tongues as upon the foundation of prophesie neither was the matter of the speech inspired but the language onely except the same persons were Prophets also Lastly if there were the like reason of tongues and prophesie yet except men might erre in a tongue and deem themselues inspired extraordinarily when they were not which were absurd to affirme it could not evince any possibility of erring in doctrine by extraordinary Prophets The last Argument in my booke I take from v. 37. 38. If any man think himself to be a prophet or spirituall let him acknowledg that the things that I write unto you are the commandements of the Lord But if any be ignorant let him be ignorant M. Yates taxeth mee for making a Prophet and spirituall man all one since by a spirituall man is meant such as excelled in any spirituall gift prophesie or other But without cause since I neither mean more nor need more for my purpose then that a Prophet bee included in the generall of a spirituall man But wherefore doth he not answer the Argument or minde where the force thereof lieth which is in the words following let him acknowledge that the things that I write are the commandements of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant let him be ignorant The extraordinary prophets were guided as immediately infallibly by the revelation of Gods spirit as Paul himself might as wel haue required of him to acknowledg that the things which they speak were the commandements of the Lord a● hee of them neither was it possible that they or any of them should bee ignorant that the things which hee spake were the commandements of the Lord. Which Argument is also much strengthened and made in my iudgement unanswerable by that which we finde v. 36. Came the word of God out from you or came it unto you onely which words the Apostle doth not direct unto the women as M. Yates misconceaveth with great errour and contrary both unto reason and to the expresse Greek text which will not beare it but to the Prophets with whom hee dealeth and that by way of comparison with himself frō whom to wit by immediate revelation the word of God came after a sort to the Corinthians VVhich plainly proues that they could not bee extraordinary Prophets from whom the word of God came unto the Church as well as frō himselfe they being inspired immediately by the Holy Ghost as well as he The Christian Reader may finde besides these other reasons from this Scripture laid down by our worthy countryman M. Cartwright in his Confutation of the Rhemists Sect. 5. for the iustification of this exercise as ordinary and continuall The other Arguments in the same place of my booke to the same purpose though M. Yates could not but take knowledge of yet hath he not thought good to meddle vvith One of them only I will annex in this place word for word as there I haue set it downe It is the commandement of the Lord by the Apostle that a Bishop must be apt to teach and that such Elders or Bishops bee called as are able to exhort with sound doctrine and to conuince the gain-sayers 1. Tim. 3.2 Tit. 1.9 Now except men before they bee in office may bee permitted to manifest their gifts in doctrine and so in prayer which are the two maine works requiring speciall qualifications in the teaching Elders Acts 6.4 how shall the Church which is to choose them take knowledge of their sufficiency that with faith and good conscience they may call them and submit unto them for their guides If it be sayd that upon such occasion triall may be taken of mens gifts he that so saith grants the question but must know besides first that mens gifts and abilities should be knowne in some measure before they be once thought on for officers and secondly that there is none other use or triall of gifts to wit in and by the Church but in prophesying for every thing in the Lords house is to bee performed in some ordinance there is nothing thrown about the house or out of order in it and other ordinance in the Church saue this of prophesie is there none wherein men out of office are to pray and teach c. Lastly M. Yates in denying this liberty besides other evils reproveth the practise of all reformed Churches and of the Church of England with them It is not onely permitted as lawfull but required as necessary where liue that such as haue bent their thoughts towards the ministery should before hand use their gifts publickly in the Church and intollerable bondage it would bee thought by them to haue pastors ordained for them as all there are unto the places in which they are to minister of whose ability in teaching they had not taken former experience And not onely so but it hath been further decreed in solemne Synod that in all Churches whether springing up or grown to perfection the order of prophesie should be observed according to Pauls institution and that into that fellowship to wit of Prophets should be admitted not onely the ministers but also the Teachers and of the Elders and Deacons and even of the very common people exipsa plebe if there were any which would confer their gifts received of the Lord to the common benefit of the Church c. Harmon Synod Belg. de prophetica Ex Synodo Embdana Can. 1.2 And for England it selfe what will M. Yates say to the Common Places as they are called or Sermons as indeed they are in the Colledges not onely permitted unto but imposed upon divers who never receved order of Priesthood VVhat to such as Preach by the Bishops licence without any such order yea to all such as are ordained and called ministers but haue not actuall charge and so are like the Popish accidents in the Sacrament without a subiect Lastly it might be shewed if need were that greater liberty then he alloweth is used by divers in the Romish Church the Spirituall Egipt and house of bondage for Gods people so as the bondage of the very Hagar of Rome is not so great in this case as he would bring upon Sarah her selfe The Lord giue unto his people courage to stand for this liberty amongst the rest wherewith Christ hath made them free and unto us who enioy it grace to use the same unto his glory in our mutuall edification Amen FINIS