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A91786
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A few ingredients against the venom in William Roger's book, stiled, The Christian-Quaker distinguished, &c.
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Richardson, Richard, 1623?-1689.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing R1394; ESTC R42313
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8,214
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24
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A Few Ingredients Against the VENOM IN William Roger's Book Stiled The Christian Quaker Distinguished c. HAving Read W. R's Book a like thing has appeared to me therein to that which at first arose amongst the Primitive Christians called Gnosticks mentioned in some Epistles though not under that Name as of Peter and Jude And among the first Protestants in those called Libertines and Antinomians which signifies such as were for Licentiousness and against Law For loose Liberty has been is and will be the Rise Progress and End of that Spirit in its Work and to gratify the Enemies of Truth in giving them Advantages and Arguments against it To anticipate which and the prejudice that may arise from it in such as cannot distinguish of Popish Imposition implicite Faith c. nor of the Latitude of our Charity and straitness of our Adversaries especially are these Words written Therefore First let it be considered That in several Ages God raised up extraordinary Men as Enoch Noah Abraham Moses the Judges David the Prophets Cyrus the Maccabees After in the time of the Gospel the Apostles and Disciples whose Declaration of the Gospel it was a Sin not to Believe and Obey God Commanding all to Repent and come to the Truth affording Means Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles gave several Commands as from the Lord. And What is Sin if it be not to be unbelieving and disobedient to God's Commandements The same word in Greek in which Tongue the Apostle Wrote Apeitheia signifies Vnbelief and Disobedience And the Spirit that now Rules in the Children of Unbelief or Disobedience cryes out Imposition Implicite Faith to believe as the Church believes Which because many in the Church of Rome streined too far Hosius Pighius Staphylus Stapleton Bellarmin and others See Jewel against Harding Art last for the Authority of their false Church calling Ignorance the Mother of Devotion and Applauding the Faith of the Catholick Collier That becoming of ill Fame amongst Protestants under pretence thereof a looser sort took occasion to cast off all Submission Obedience and Government not only in the Church but Common-Wealth also But the Sober of both sorts kept out of those extreams Vid. D. Potter V.C. Oxon. Ans to Char. Mist §. 6. p. 61. part 1. And neither denied the great Use of that Distinction as having ground in Reason and Nature between that Belief and Obedience which hath a more clear and full Knowledge and Perswasion and that which hath a less between that Unity of Faith and Obedience which is in the more knowing and that which is in the less knowing People Except this be admitted the Service of Government Mutual Society Help and Edification would be much impaired at least For if one Man receive not of nor deliver to another by Teaching and Believing 't is as if one Lived as an Eremite or Anchorite alone in a Wilderness or Wall under the Notion of excluding Tradition and Implicite Faith and Obedience and so all the Service in Magistracy and Ministry And I can easily Assent to such as say That the ablest and Knowingest Men in the World Receive something this way by other And again not the Ignorantest but that have an express particular distinct Knowledge joyned to the Assent of Belief Necessitate Medii in some Points most necessary It is a Maxim A Learner must Believe But all may Learn Who would take it for a good Reason in a Learner for refusing to be Taught any thing But not an absolute necessity of an outward Teacher Ad esse but ad bene esse as is said or to observe Order because he Knew it not nor Understood it as well as his Teacher Or for his Teacher to refuse to receive Mysteries Revealed because he had not a Distinct Knowledge of them by the Reason and Manner how they are True by a curious Disquisition Aug. contr ep Fund cap. 4. Orig. Arch. l. 1. Cyril Hier. cat 11. Which Primitive Teachers disowned reproved And so both Extremes are to be avoided One in the Defect despising Authority even the Highest and that even in a Young State seeking Liberty of Judgment before the Use of Judgment and ripeness of it As is defended by Protestant Teachers as Keckerman others for there is an Age not only of Body but Mind and in order of Nature Authority Good and True that 's of God goes before Ripeness of Judgement The other in excess namely Folly by too much Credulity to admit any Authority alwayes and to prefer or equal outward Testimonies before Reasons drawn from the very nature of the Things themselves Both these are Censurable Now to the Adversaries which are of another Profession which may be apt to close with the Accusation of Popery in this particular taking Advantage against Us thereby an Argument to them Ad Hominem How can they without Condemning themselves who proceed to make use of an Outward Compulsion as do the Papists joyn with the Accusation of Us for Popery as Imposers for claiming and exercising only the same which the first Protestants did Sadeel Calvin D. Sparks Baxter others namely Disowning Succession of Ministers from the Papists and therefore an extraordinary raising up of Ministers or Apostles as they say immediately from God to raise up a Testimony a Reformation out of the Apostacy and Doctrin also immediately from the Spirit in the Interpretation of Scripture as well as in Practice and in his Power and Wisdom in taking Expedients in Church-Government and Censure And seeing We produce the same proof as They did or do that is Sadeel de leg vocat Ministr the power and efficacy of Doctrin and Government and the assent and answer of the Receivers of them and it They claiming but a Succession of mediate Ministers from the first Protestant Reformers by Tradition as in pretence Papists do their's from the Apostles with a Tradition of Doctrin in Scripture-interpretations which they must needs do if they deny an immediate Call and Teaching How can they deny the Lord the same Liberty in proceeding in a further Reformation and even the like proceedings in Church-Affairs in censuring the Libertine Principles that the subtil Adversary hath Sown and Raised in Our Times as in theirs as also in the Times of the Apostles Using no other Weapons than They viz. Spiritual And seeing 't is Confess'd by all Parties That God hath not used the same Form Idem advers Turrian soph loc 10.12 D. Sutclif false Sembl c. 1. and State in all Ages but different and manifold as in Outward Government in the World so in his Church How can they Libertines on the other hand deny him his Liberty having not tyed himself by promise to prescribe through his Servants what way he pleaseth in his Wisdom to appoint for restraint of their Licentiousness in a natural and proper Gospel-Way contrary to which it is against his Nature to proceed but according
to the Nature of that perverse and crooked Serpent who goes contrary to the Wayes of God putting Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness Flesh for Spirit and Spirit for Flesh Carnal Weapons for Spiritual and Spiritual for Carnal Apostate for Christian and Christian for Apostate Church Censure for Persecution and Persecution for Church Censure Self Will for Tender Conscience and Tender Conscience for Self Will. And knowing the Nature and Tendency of that Spirit to Persecution though complaining causelesly of Force and pleading so much for Liberty comparing in W. Rs. Book Part 4. Pag. 4. with Part 3. Pag. 64. I think there 's Reason enough given to put the Question viz. What he understands by Delivering to Satan For Satan signifying an Adversary or Enemy if as he gives to understand Paul understood not thereby the Devil according to common acceptation of ordinary Capacities who as they Write did Beset See Ps 78.49 1 Sam. 16.14 Judg. 9.43 Cave's prim Christianity Oecumenius and others Vex and Trouble those that were under Church Censure as such as were for that time Seized and in Possession of him or so What other Adversary will he find as a fit Expedient for the Destrustion of the Flesh Will he have him then to intend the Heathen Magistrate to Destroy their Body for no other Magistrate than Heathen then was as the Papists do now by their Magistrates and as the Tendency hereof is at this juncture accusing Us of Popery to expose Us to the People and Hypocrisy of masked Papists Popishly affected Officers and Time-servers and Self-servers to serve themselves of Us under such pretence But may not ordinary Capacities reasonably Answer That seeing the Christians Weapons were not Carnal but Spiritual not Outward but Inward the Delivery was to a Spiritual Adversary See Beza's large Notes on 1 Tim. 1.19.20 1 Cor. 5.5 for the Destruction of the Flesh Spiritually and Figuratively understood for Carnal Mind that the Spirit of the Mind might be Saved c. And if Consulting the Light to use his words do not tell him so See Beza's lesser Notes with whom agrees Marlorat Why can he not consult the Marginal Notes for this as well as for the Women in the Kings and clear it to Us That he intends no outward Force about Religion to satisfy Friends having given them more cause hereby to Question it than G. F. because he has not impertinently expressed it to his Mind in Part 4. Pag. 66. though in abundance of places in his Books All his proof is all Negative which proves nothing against Hundreds of Affirmities proving the contrary But his Light denying the Apostles delivering to Satan to be to a Spiritual Adversary the Devil concludes it was to an Outward Carnal for there 's not a Third So joyning to the Papists who have an Outward Devil an Vgly Tormentor in their Inquisition in imitation like other things in the Apostacy So in imitation of the Primitive Church who had no Magistrates and so only Spiritual Censures their Priests appropriating the Church to themselves claim an exemption from Magistrates Power even in Temporals and yet according to the confused Nature of that Spirit Punish others by them for Spirituals In like manner there remains in their Qunneries some imperfect Footsteps of Womens Services in the Primitive Times Polydor. Virgil. as is confess'd by themselves as in the Women that wove Hangings for the Grove in the Jews Apostacy to Idolatry is shewn some Footsteps of Womens Services in the Temple formerly as in false Prophetesses Sowing Pillows c. of the true Prophetesses by which imperfect Footsteps things may sometimes be traced upwards But that 's not all to prove it For both the Scriptures and Histories Declare that God had his Services for Women which is so much struck at both without the Law under the Law and under the Gospel and is generally confess'd Many Protestants as well as Papists acknowledge B. R. Montague appar 3. J. Maxwel and others That those call'd Sibyis that Prophesied of Christ were endued with the Spirit of God To pass by Deborah Hulda c. and come to such as are specially opposed here such as had a part in outward Services distinct Beza speaking of Anna sayes Such Honourable Widdows whereof mention seems to be made Beza's larger Notes on luc 2. 1 Sam. 2.22 Were employed in many dayly Ministeries of the Temple and of the Poor which manner in some sort the Apostles after retained Junius that Translater of the Bible speaking of that manner of Deaconesses in the primitive Times desires Jun. Eccles lib. 2. cap. 4. The Restitution thereof in his Time Such a Restitution in our Times makes this ado Josephus describes a Womans House in the Temple Joseph de bello Jud. l. 6. c. 6. for themselves and strangers that were Women Cave Bucan Gualter and others confirm the Vse of Deaconesses in the Gospel-Times Sutclif ibid. and Presbyterians desired them So that the thing is without all Question as may be fully cleared hereafter For the endeavouring of the promoting of which Restitution how the Enemy busles to hinder it In this Book carping at the Allusions from Scriptures in Favour of it as not Material Whereas we find in Scripture many more used by the Apostles against the Jews and may well suppose many more while they Reasoned with them from the Scriptures One speaks of Fifty Turrianus Ch. 2.23 out of the Book of Isaiah onely As Matthew alludes for the name Nazarene signifying A Branch to the Prophets speaking of the Branch Paul alludes to Sarah and Hagar Jerusalem and Sinai as types Psal 110. is alledged to prove Christ's Everlasting Priesthood c. How would those Proofs take with these Men in these Times who so deride Examples of Vertuous Women to be mentioned for Encouragement as those that Lamented Jephtah's Daughter The Question is Whether that Humiliation was not a Religious Act. And Was not Rahab a Vertuous Woman Heb. 11. ver 31. And Why not then Micah's Mother which he calls That Abominable Quotation nay more Religious also seeing She Dedicated the Silver to the Lord and What she did she did it to the Lord Sebomenai Ch. 16.13 13.50 though Ignorantly The Woman in the Acts were Devout or Religious though they had zeal without Knowledge And nothing is proved against her being Vertuous And it seems there was a Religious House for Micah had got a Levite and an Ephod c. And the Images were Teraphim which Jerom Jerom. on 1 King 22. 6.16 and Aquila say were Cherubim and Seraphim which were the Ornaments of the Temple and that they were Furniture So Hamahalzen the Persian J. Gafferel cur sect 5. and Ornaments for Priests as the Ephod c. See Hos 3.4 But I shall not stand to Excuse nor Dispute that Though it may seem the Lord winked at that time of Ignorance when the Word of the Lord was