Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A65534
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A brief and modest reply to Mr. Penn's tedious, scurrilous and unchristian defence against the Bishop of Cork
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Wettenhall, Edward, 1636-1713.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing W1489; ESTC R38532
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21,311
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30
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as his Brethren uses to make Scripture for us as well as wrest it But as to the Interpretation by him advanced Though here be a Doubt or Ambiguity raised where there is none yet suppose not admit the Text doubtful However let that be the sense of it which the Saints in Scripture ever understood to be such If then they in whom CHRIST JESUS was already come and in whom he dwelt continually even by the power of his Spirit did notwithstanding this some of them dayly others every Lords-Day celebrate this his Supper Then this shewing forth his Death till he came was not by them understood of his Inward and Spiritual but of his Second Outward coming to Judgement For in such Case feeling so fully his being come in their Hearts they would have desisted But notwithstanding their having received the Holy Ghost and CHRIST's dwelling in them by his Spirit they in some places and while the Disciples dwelt together in Common dayly Celebrated the Lords Supper Acts II. 46. and in others where they were dispersed amongst the Heathens they met on the First Day of the Week to Celebrate it Acts XX. 7. Therefore the Saints in Scripture had no such Notion of our LORD 's coming in this case nor did they understand it as Mr. P. has wrested it of an inward but of an outward coming as the Church Universally has ever taken it since that day to this present Mr. P. has another touch which may stumble some for laying aside Baptism and the Lords Supper These visible Signs saith he which the Bp. calls the Badges of Christianiiy are not made an Article of any of the antient Creeds Had they been of that importance they are by some esteemed we cannot think they would have been forgot by the Compilers of those Creeds Answ Nor were they forgot Mr. P. either was never Catechised as he ought to have been or has forgotten what he was taught to be the meaning of that Article I believe the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints That is in short I believe all the Faithful are made one Body by Communion in the same Faith Covenant and Ordinances of Worship especially Baptism and the Lord's Supper But in the Constantinopolitan Creed which was Compiled about the Year 379 or 380 when Re-baptising of Hereticks had been for some time matter of Controversie and had turmoil'd the Church it is exprest I believe one Catholick Church I acknowledge one Baptism for the Remission of Sins That is Persons being once Baptised and thereby ingrafted into the Church ought not to be Baptised again which is the true sense of one Baptism and not what Mr. P. suggests Further were Mr. P. such a thorough read Man as he would seem the Creeds of the Waldenses to whom he would have us as he pretends more conformable might have satisfied him in this point In one of which presented by them to Uladislaus King of Hungary extant in Fascic Rerum expet fugiend p. 162. there are two distinct Articles one of Baptism the other of the Eucharist too large to be here inserted And in another more brief which is to be seen in Hovedens Annalls fol. 319. we have these words We believe that no man is saved who Eats not the Body of CHRIST which Body is not Consecrated but in the Church and by a Priest We believe also that none is saved unless he be Baptised and that Infants are saved by Baptism This Creed is also produced by Arch-Bishop Usher in his learned Book De success stat Christ Eccl. cap. 8. To mention the Creeds of other Churches would signifie little in Mr. Ps. opinion and the Bp. knows not how much Authority he will allow the poor Waldenses now when he finds they are against him but let him take it as he pleases he must know the consent of all Christians from the time of the first Institution of the Lord's-Supper as has been shewn runs against this his Perversion of the Text. To summ up all in brief that has been now said of the Sacraments The Bp. says to Renounce or cast off the outward Badges of the Profession of Christianity which our LORD CHRIST Instituted and his Apostles delivered and which the Apostolical Churches received and constantly practiced which all Christian Churches ever since have held to is to renounce or cast off the outward Profession of Christianity Put M. P. and his Party renounce or cast off these outward Badges of the Profession of Christianity which Christ Jesus appointed and his Apostles delivered which the Apostolical Churches received and constantly practiced which all Christian Churches ever since have held to Therefore Mr. P. and his Party have recounced or cast off the outward profession of Christianity that is outwardly are no Christians As to their Hearts the Bp. leaves them to GOD and Judges not And thus as to the Sacraments The last Point which the Bp. thinks of moment in Mr. Ps. Book yet remaining untoucht is The great difference or Ground of Dissent betwixt the Quakers and the Establisht Church and this Mr. P. tells us is the great Carnality and Emptiness both of Ministers and People under the profession of Religion amongst us A humane and lifeless Ministry and Worship together with the great Worldliness of Professors The Ministry being made a Temporal Preferment Turning Alms into Dues and by Law making Gifts Rents p. 97 98 99. c. 1. As to Carnality Mr. P. must not be offended if he having exempted himself and Party from all this Guilt and charged it upon the Establisht Church and Ministry the Bp. hereby enforced speak out He says then that if Eating the Fat and Drinking the choicest be Carnality if minding worldly Gain and being so intent on it Day and Night as to pass most Days in the Week without a Prayer to GOD either in publick Assembly or Family if the slyest ways both to get Money and keep it be worldliness he knows no sort of People according to the degree of each more given to these Vices than the Quakers There is nothing to be Eaten which is better than Ordinary that comes into our Markets here which the People observe not presently bought up by the Quakers They are still the earliest and best Chapmen every Market-Day for such Commodities and much good may they do them The Bp. could mention more scandalous Particulars or Instances both of Carnality and Worldliness amongst them but it is not agreeable to his Temper And indeed how they should be a Heavenly minded People who so much restrain Prayer that is lay a side forbear or neglect it as to common Practice at least have done so till of very late Years and defended the same as the Bp. could speak upon his own knowledge is not accountable Next as to the point of their being Spiritual because we of the Establisht Church are often taxed of want hereof and so charged of being unable to understand the Works of the Holy
Ghost which they feel Mr. P. must give the Bp. leave to be a little more particular also on this Term. Let Mr. P. then know that whatever mens attainments may be it is not good to boast so much of their being Spiritual and greater boasting certainly there cannot be than for men to claim Spirituality to themselves alone and pronounce all the rest of the Christian World Carnal To speak to the true Notion of Spirituality such Spiritual Persons as Mr. P. pretends to be and as the Apostle speaks of 1 Cor. XI the place so much insisted on by Mr. P. p. 53 And ever and anon alluded to by him and his followers neither Mr. P. is nor any Person that we know now living Namely they can none of them Preach in demonstration of the Spirit and Power vers 4. They have not those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit as that they are able to speak with Tongues and Prophesy or to Heal the Diseased by word or touch or to tell us the secrets of mens Hearts Which Miraculous powers were the demonstration of the Spirit their intended They cannot by such works convince the World that they have Mysteries and the Wisdom which has been hidden from the very Princes and Wise-men of the World revealed to them by the Spirit of GOD as those Persons had vers 10. The knowledge of CHRIST Crucified and GOD's design of saving Mankind by him of making him to us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption 1. Cor. I. 3. The Mysteries St. Paul delivered to the Corinthians were not by our Quakers attained by any other Revelation than that of Scripture nor could they ever have been attained unto much less proved by Mans Wisdom or natural abilities and methods ver 13 14. But thoâ—e things Paul and others then spiritually received namely by Revelation of the Spirit as vers 10. Now such Spirituality as this Let Mr. P. pretend to what he will is long since ceased and it was foretold it should cease Whether there be Prophesies they shall fail whether there be Tongues they shall cease whether there be Knowledge of such inspired kinds as above it shall vanish away 1. Cor. 13. 8. Accordingly all these as to what was Immediate and Extraordinary we see long since not to have been in the Church And further as to those Heroick or Transcendent degrees of Holiness or of all Christian Virtue so suddenly infused into many Primitive Saints and accompanying the aforesaid Miraculous Gifts at the first great effusion of the Spirit whereby men were after a sort created Saints of the first Magnitude the Bp. is well assured that the experience of Mankind has long amply convinced the World this kind of Spiritual men are ceased People are now made holy by the use of outward means and grow up in Grace by degrees Yet in both cases as to Gifts as well as Holiness there are those who by Analogy and Proportion may be still termed Spiritual that is there are Persons who by Study and Industry attain to speak with Tongues c. Others who having from the Holy Scriptures which were Indited by the Spirit of GOD learnt the mind of the Spirit and been in their Hearts perswaded of the Truths and Duties they have thence learnt and felt their Souls strongly moved by the power of the Spirit under the Ministry of the word to the Performance of such Duties have yielded themselves and submitted to the Conduct of the Holy Ghost leading them by Scripture into all Truth as well as Holiness They allow themselves in no known Sin nor in the neglect of any known Duty If they are overtaken through human frailty by any Evil they immediatly repent and return with new Zeal to their Duty purging themselves to their power from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit Now having their Hearts habituated to such new Life which by the power of the Spirit they have been brought over to these Persons may justly be called in their degree Spiritual And having their Passions mortified their Sense and Belief of true good changed their Counsels and Wills by such belief guided and governed they do certainly judge at another rate in all cases of Practice than they themselves did or the vain giddy worldly wicked part of Mankind do They have their daily frequent retirements to Devotion and besides their Hearts even amidst their common business much with GOD. Their thoughts and affections dwell much in Heaven and they are ever and anon in their Souls breathing and secretly gasping after their Country Now let such Persons as these be allowed to be Spiritual and if so the Bp. says he doubts not but there will be found more such who are no Quakers than who really are Particularly the Bp. claims to be such a one himself and Challenges Mr. P. to prove the Contrary And being in this sense which is all by any can be justly pretended to a Spiritual Man he is able thus Spiritually to discern the things of GOD to discourse of them with feeling and favour and he thanks GOD he is no stranger to such Light and Operations of the Holy Spirit let Mr. P. censure of say what he pleases In the mean while the Bp. does not Monopolise Spirituality either to himself or the Church he his of But touching both rather chooses to take up the words of the Holy Apostle 2. Cor. X. 12. We dare not make our selves of the number or compare our selves with some that commend themselves but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves amongst themselves perhaps are not wise And thus much as to the Quakers imputing 〈◊〉 Carnality to those of the Establisht Church and ingrossing Spirituality to themselves 2. As to our Emptiness The Bp. craves pardon if he be at a loss what Mr. P. means hereby If Emptiness signifie the Ministers Sermons being barren with little Substance or solid Matter in them the Quakers are much more guilty as far as ever the Bps. Experience could reach Witness the first things they Published if compared to the Printed Sermons of the Conformable Clergy Since Mr. Ps. Accession to them it must be confest he has much improved them and brought them to Write what looks like Sense and Coherence But the Bp. would willingly know of Mr. P. what there was in Betty Wheadons holding forth who on a certain day spoke in their Meeting after Mr. P. at Cork and would be heard when he put his Hat before his Face and Laughed And whether She be the only Person from whom in their Assemblies he has often heard such Stuff Let Mr. P. be ingenuous and no more of this Lastly That the Altars being made a provision for those who with wait on the Altar should alienate any Mens minds from Religion seems as monstrous and unreasonable injustice as well can be imagined and if there be any truth in that of the Apostle 1. Cor. IX 13 14. most contrary to GOD's Ordinance It appears that