Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	body_n	church_n	invisible_a	4,247	5	10.9779	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47442	A second admonition to the dissenting inhabitants of the diocess of Derry concerning Mr. J. Boyse's Vindication of his Remarks on A discourse concerning the inventions of men in the worship of God : with an appendix containing an answer to Mr. B's objections against the sign of the cross / by William, Lord Bishop of Derry.	King, William, 1650-1729.	1696 (1696)	Wing K534; ESTC R4453	121,715	288

amongst themselves and differ from all other signs I examin'd this as carefully as I could and found that they all agreed in those three things which I have before mentioned and that they differ'd from all other Signs peculiarly in this one thing That they obliged God by his Promise upon the due use of these Signs to give us the Grace or Spiritual Benefit signified by them It is this Promise annexed to these Sacraments that makes them so valuable and precious to us above all other Signs and without it they would be meer Ceremonies and might be omitted or supply'd on very Ordinary Terms Whereas now nothing but Necessity can excuse us from the use of them if we would enjoy the Promises of God annexed to them Mr. B. in his Vindication doth not deny the three things which I have named to be necessary to a Sacrament nor doth he think himself oblig'd to prove that we ascribe any of them to the Cross but he alledges that the account I have given of Sacraments is very Lame and Defective omitting several Considerable Uses of them which were the chief strength of his Arguments against the Cross Vind. p. 37. And p. 38. he adds That these sacred Rites that are appointed by God both in our first publick Entrance into the Covenant and our publick Renewal of it at the Lord's Table are design'd for several Uses and principally for the three following 1. As Representing Signs for Instruction concerning the Privileges and Duties of the Covenant and our Guilt and Polution c. 2. As Obliging Signs to Confirm and Ratifie the Covenant entered into and this both on God's part p. 39. and from us to God p. 40. 3. As Distinguishing Signs or Badges of our Profession and the Relations we thereby are invested in which afterwards he explains by Baptism being a Mark and Character of those that belong to that one Visible Body or Church of which Christ is the Lord and Head and opposeth it to that one Internal Baptism which he calls the certain mark of belonging to one invisible Church p. 43. The meaning of which Words is not easily comprehended since he doth not explain whether he means by a certain Mark of belonging to an Invisible Church an outward and visible Mark or how internal Baptism can be such a Mark whereas I think the generality of such as have written Considerately of these Matters have made the external Baptism a Sign and a Mean of the internal and of our Union not only to the visible but likewise to the invisible Church when duly received and only such as have in some measure imbibed the Socinian Doctrines have explained Baptism as a Mark of Union to the Visible Church in exclusion to the invisible These are the Uses for which he tells us Sacraments are design'd And p. 44. adds That the Cross is set up for several Sacramental Uses even the like as Baptism and the Lord's Supper are appointed for except that one use of their being Obliging Signs on God's part to ratifie his Promises And from thence infers p. 45. That the Cross is hereby made as much a Sacrament as Men can make a Sign of their own III. This would indeed have been a good Inference if he had prov'd that the Uses he has nam'd so far as they differ from the three parts of a Sacrament before laid down by me do not belong to any other Signs warranted in Scripture but only to the Sacraments But he has not in the least attempted it and it would be in vain for I shall shew beyond exception that all the Uses which he has named of Sacraments so far as they can be applied to the Cross are common to many other Signs Warranted by Scripture and not at all peculiar to Sacraments for the Cross cannot be made a Sacrament not a Human Sacrament it self which is indeed no Sacrament but a noise of Words to amuse common People with and affright them but by being set up for such Uses as are so peculiar to the Sacraments that they belong to them only and not to any other Scriptural Signs whatsoever That which has led Mr. B. into this mistaken way of Reasoning is That he consider'd what he conceives the Two Sacraments agree with another in and in what they differ from one another Vind. p. 38. But then quite forgot to consider wherein they differ from all other Scriptural Signs which if he had done he would have found that they do not differ from other Signs in any of the uses which he has named except that of obliging God by his Promise to confer some spiritual Grace He that would know what a Man is must not only consider wherein all Men agree but likewise wherein they differ from other Creatures All Men agree in Life and Motion but if any one would conclude from thence that whatever has Life as for example all Beasts have is a Man would be looked on as a very ill Reasoner and yet this is Mr. B's Method He found both the Sacraments agree in being designed for Representing Obliging and Distinguishing Signs of the Duties Privileges and Relations of the New Covenant whence he calls them Federal Rites and spends several Pages to prove them designed for these Uses and from thence would conclude that every Sign that represents obliges and distinguishes must be a Sacrament from the instance of the Sign of the Cross but with as little Reason as it would be concluded in the former Case that whatever had Life and Motion is a Man IV. Before I proceed further to the consideration of these Uses I must caution you first That I do not pretend to understand all the Designs of God in instituting Sacraments for they are Mysteries and God has no where told us that he has discover'd all his Purposes in them If we reflect on the Passover the great Sacrament of the Old Testament we shall not find that God did Explicitly discover the main design of it to the Jews which was to signifie and apply the Death of Christ to such as celebrated it and Who can be sure that there is not a hidden and mystical design in Baptism and the Lord's Supper of which we are not aware and of which at least we have not a clear and explicit Notion This Consideration ought to make us diligent in the use of them and modestly cautious in our discourses and explanations of them Secondly 'T is easie to observe that Mr. B. has not expressed the Uses of Sacraments in the Language of Scripture but in that of the late Systems of Divinity and interested Writers and seems rather to have regard in them to some late Notions and Prejudices particularly of the Socinians than to the Ancient Doctrine of the Church collected from the Word of God And indeed if it were not that I hope I may contribute something to clear the Notions of Sacraments to Vulgar Capacities and convince them of the Necessity of frequenting them which

I find the Socinian Notions too much encourag'd by some have very much shaken I should think what I have before said alone sufficient to Answer Mr. B's whole Discourse concerning them and to shew it to be of no force But whilst Men are made to look on Sacraments as primarily designed to bind us to our Duty to God and not rather as Pledges and Conveyances of his Grace to us they are apt to be deterr'd by having their Duty set before them in so strong and the Grace to perform it in so weak a Light whereas if Men look on them principally as Tenders of Grace and Assistance to perform their Duty better and more easily than they did before and consider this as the proper and peculiar effect of them as Sacraments and that which distinguishes them from all other Signs as I have and shall prove it is this will encourage them to come to them cheerfully and bind themselves readily to that Duty which they here hope for Grace to discharge in which hopes God will not deceive them But Mr. B. has so order'd the matter that he has perverted most of those Scriptures that give us this hope and assurance to a quite different purpose so that in the relation I stand towards you I am obliged to instruct you in the orthodox sence of them and vindicate them from the Socinian glosses he thus puts on them I proceed therefore first to shew you That the Sacraments are primarily signs of God's Grace and not properly of our Duty tho' they imply it This I think necessary to do to make you understand the true nature of Sacraments for otherwise I must let you know it is not necessary to the point in dispute about the Sign of the Cross for whether the Sacraments are immediately signs of our Duty or no it is plain as I shall shew you in the Second place That the Scripture warrants us to use other signs of our Duty besides them And in the Third place That the Cross is such a sign as the Scriptures warrant Sect. II. That the Sacraments are Primarily Signs from God to us of his Grace and not properly of our Duty either as required by God or profest by us tho' they imply it I. THIS is plainly the Doctrine of our Church in her Catechism and Articles In the first She teaches That a Sacrament is an Outward and Visible Sign of an Inward and Spiritual Grace given unto us by God restraining the Sign to this Grace of God And in her Articles she declares That Sacraments be not only badges or tokens of Christians Profession but rather they be certain sure Witnesses and Effectual Signs of Grace and God's good-will towards us by which he doth work invisible in us Art 25. And again Baptism is not only a sign of Profession and Mark of difference whereby Christian Men are discerned from others that be not Christened but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new birth whereby as by an Instrument they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church c. Art 27. And further The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have amengst themselves one to another but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's Death insomuch that to such as rightly worthily and with Faith receive the same The Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ c. Art 28. In all which places our Church makes the Grace of God effectually Communicated to us in the due use of the Sacraments to be properly and principally signified by them To these Articles I suppose you do assent they being approved by the Heads of Agreement which Mr. B. asserts to be the Common Principles wherein both the Presbyterian and Congregational Divines are agreed Rem p. 142. II. Besides this Authority of our Church I think most Divines that have written to purpose on this Subject distinguish between the things signified by a Sacramental Sign The things pre required in us to the use of it and the Benefits Consequents and Effects of it Thus in the Lord's Supper the things properly and immediately signified are the Body and Blood of Christ which are therein communicated to us The things pre-required in us are to Examin our selves to have a lively sense of God's Mercy in Christ to have a thankful remembrance of his Death and be in Charity with all men These are the Wedding Garments to make us acceptable Guests at this Feast Lastly the Benefit or Effect of this Sacrament is The refreshing our Souls by the Body and Blood of Christ as our Bodies are by the Bread and Wine I might instance the same in the other Sacrament of Baptism but an Example will make it plainer for both We will suppose then a King grants a Pardon to a Rebel under the Great Seal Now the Great Seal in this case signifies as every body knows the King's Favour and Grace to the Person to whom it is granted this is the direct proper and immediate signification of it But it is supposed or pre-required that the person so favoured is willing to accept of the Pardon granted by it and that he is resolved to be a faithful Subject for the future The Consequent of this Pardon is that he who has it shall enjoy his Liberty Estate and Life as formerly Now if any should argue from this that the Great Seal is a sign of our Submission and Allegiance and of the enjoyment of our Liberty Property c. it would be in effect the same as if they should say that a red Sky at Evening in Harvest which properly signifies a fair day to follow is a sign of the Obligations which Husbandmen lye under to imploy their diligence in the season offer'd to preserve the Fruits of the Earth and of full Barns and encrease of Wealth because these are all Antecedents or Consequents of the fair day which such a Sky properly and immediately signifies III. Mr. B. in opposition to this Doctrin takes some pains to prove the Sacraments designed to represent our Duty to us and to signifie our Obligation to perform it and applies several places of Scripture to this intent But I desire you to observe that the thing Mr. B. ought to prove is that they are Signs from us to God for tho' they represent our Duty to us they may still be Signs from God to us signifying his Will requiring us to perform such Duties and not from us to God signifying our Intention and Resolution to perform them for it is necessary carefully to distinguish between God's signifying his Will to us by certain signs which require or represent our Duty and our professing Obedience to him in such significant Actions as are proper to express it The former God doth in many Types and Signs in the Old and New Testament besides the Sacraments which signifie them only by Consequence and Implication not directly and the