Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A32820
|
The ivstification of the independant chvrches of Christ being an answer to Mr. Edvvards his booke, which hee hath written against the government of Christ's chvrch and toleration of Christs, publike worship : briefely declaring that the congregations of the saints ought not to have dependancie in government upon any other : or direction in worship from any other than Christ their head and lavv-giver / by Katherine Chidley.
|
Chidley, Katherine.
|
1641
(1641)
|
Wing C3832; ESTC R5068
|
79,911
|
92
|
children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt when Pharaoh vexed them h at which time God wrought their deliverance i separating wondrously between the Egyptians and the Israelites and that which was light to the one was darkenesse to the other Afterwards when Cerah and his Congregation rebelled against God and were obstinate therein k the people were commanded to depart from the tents of those with 〈…〉 l were the children separated from the parents and those who did not separate were destroyed by fire m and swallowed by the earth n upon the day which God had appointed * as 〈…〉 Noahs time who repented not were swallowed by wateâ— Moreover when God brought his people into the promised Land he commanded them to be separated from the Idolaters and not to meddle with the accursed things And for this cause God gave them his Ordinances and Commandements and by the manifestation of their Obediance to them they were known to be the onely people of God * which made a reall separation And when they were carried captive into Babylon aâ— any time for their sinnes God raised them up deliverers to bring them from thence and Prophets to call them from thence p and from their backesliding q And it was the practise of all the Prophets of God which prophesied of the Church under the New Testament to separate the precious from the vile and God hath declared that hee that so doth shall be as his mouth Jer. 15. 19. And we know it was the practise of the Apostles of the Lord Iesus to declare to the people that there could be no more agreement betweene beleevers and unbeleevers than betweene light and darkenesse God and Belial as Paul writing to the Corinthians doth declare when he saith Be not unequally yoked together with unbeleevers for what fellowship hath righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse and what communion hath light with darkenesse and what concord hath Christ with Belial or what part hath he that beleeveth with an Infidell and what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idolls for yee are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walke in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people Wherefore come out from among them and by yee Separate saith the Lord and touch not the uncleane thing and I will receive you and I will be a Father unto you and yee shall be my sonnes and daughters saith the Lord Almighty 1 Cor. 6. 14 15 16 17 18. Moreover they are pronounced blessed which reade heare and keepe the words of the Booke of the Revelation of Iesus Christ r among which sentences there is a commandement from heaven for a totall Separation s These things in briefe I have minded from the Scriptures to prove the necessitie of Separation and though the Scripture be a deepe Well and containeth in the Treasures thereof innumerable Doctrines and Precepts tending to this purpose yet I leave the further prosecution of the same till a fitter opertunity be offered to me or any other whom the Lord shall indue with a greater measure of his Spirit But Mr. Edwards for preparation to this his desperate intention hath sent these Reasons against Independant government and Toleration and presented them to the Honorable House of Commons which Reasons I thinke he would have to be get a Snake to appeare as he saith under the greene grasse for I am sure he cannot â—ake the humble petitions of of the Kings subjects to be a Snake for petitioning is a way of peace and submission without violence or venum neither can it cast durt upon any government of the Nation as he unjustly accuseth the Protestation Protested for that Author leaveth it to the Magistrate not undertaking to determine of himselfe what government shall be set ever the Nation for the bringing of men to God but leaveth it to the consideration of them that have authority And whereas Mr. Edwards grudges that they preach so often at the Parliament in this he is like unto Amaziah who bid the Prophet Amos to flee away into the Land of Juâ—â—a and not to Prophesie at Bethel the Kings Chappell and the House of the Kingdome * And though Mr. Edwards boast himselfe heare to be a Minister of the Gospell and a sufferer for it yet I challenge him to prove unto me that he hath any Calling or Ordination to the Ministry but that which he hath successively from Rome If he lay claime to that he is one of the Popes household But if he deny that calling then is he as void of a calling to the worke of the Ministry and as void of Ordination as any of those Ministers whom hee calleth Independant men which have cast off the Ordination of the Prelates and consequently as void of Ordination as a macanicall trades man And therefore I hope that Honourable House that is so full of wisedome which Mr Edwards doth confesse will never judge these men unreasonable because they do Petition nor their petitions unreasonable before they are tried and so proved by some better ground then the bare entrance of Mr. Edwards his Cavit or writ of Ne admittas though he saith he foâ—ched it from heaven for I know it was never there Neither is it confirmed by the Records of holy Scripture but taken from the practise of Nimrod That mighty Hunter before the Lord * and from the practise of Haman that wicked persecucuter * from the evill behaviour and malicious speeches and gesture of wicked Sanballet * and Tobias who were both bitter enemies to God and sought to hinder the building of the walles of Jerusalem But the Prophet Haggai reproveth not onely such as hindred the building of the Lords House but also those that were contented to live in their seyled Houses and suffer the Lords House to lie waste Hag. 1 AN ANSVVER To Mr. EDVVARDS his BOOKE Intituled REASONS against the Independent GOVERNMENT in particular CONGREGATIONS Mr. EDWARDS I Understanding that you are a mighty Champion and now mustering up your mighty forces as you say and I apprehending they must come against the Hoast of Israel and hearing the Armies of the Living God so defied by you could not be withheld but that I in stead of a better must needs give you the meeting First Whereas you affirme That the Church of God which is his House and Kingdome could not subsist with such provision as their father gave them which provision was by your owne confession the watering of them by Evangelists and Prophets when they were planted by the Apostles and after planting and watering to have Pastors and Teachers with all other Officers set over them by the Apostles their own Election yet notwithstanding all this provision the Father hath made for them it was evident say you they could not well stand of themselves without some other helpe This was the
you so void of true piety towards that Honourable House or judge you that House so void of common Reason being as they are indeede the very Eyes of the whole land the Eares of the whole land and the Tongue of the whole land yea the hand and power of the whole land being so as I conceive in my simplicity would you have them I say to be blinde of one eye and to looke upon the Petitions and complaints of some of the people of the land and not upon all would you have them so partiall would you have them also deafe of one â—are that they should not hearken to the cries and petitions and complaints of all the Kings subjects one as well as another would you have them also so defective in their tongue that they should not be for the praise of them that doe well as well as for the punishment of evill doers nay seeing they are called Gods * would you have their hands so shortned that they should not once stretch them forth to support and helpe the poore afflicted members of Jesus Christ Then indeede you would have them very unlike unto Moses even as unlike as your selves are unto Aaron Would you have this House to exercise their power upon persons before they have made due triall of the cause by hearing witnesses speake on both sides truely Mr. Edwards if you would as it appeareth plaine it is your minde then I will submit to the judgement of both the Houses of Parliament whether you be not a man void of common Reason for he is a foole that judgeth a matter before he know it And you are not onely void of Reason your selfe but you would have the Parliament to be like you for if the Parliament should judge a man before they heare his cause they would be like the Court at Lambeth which were used to sit in the high Priests Hall judgeing matters without due triall Further you say you are perswaded that it will never be said of this Parliament that they opened a doore for Toleration For Answer to this I must tell you that I conceive they may receive a Petition and yet not open a doore for Toleration I meane for such a Toleration as you here speake of for setting up Churches against Churches for that is not the Toleration that we pleade for but your evill conclusion And therefore you may pray if you will that that doore may be kept shut And we will pray also that all doores may be kept shut that will let any evills into the Kingdome in processe of time least that any succeeding generations should have cause to write in their Chronicles of this Parliament as it was written of Naaman the Syrian that is as you say it will be said of them but they granted a Toleration Moreover we desire nothing at their hands that may cast a darke shadow upon their glorious light But that which we desire is liberty of conscience to practise Gods true worship in the land wherein we were borne which will be no blemish to any Christian Magistrate to grant nor for any Counsell of state to establish And therefore you should not have concluded this your Discourse against independancie and against Toleration before you had offered it to the triall before some lawfull Committee chosen by the Parliament to heare both you and them and then if you could have maintained your Churche of England which you plead for with your Synods and Counsells Ceremonies and Booke-worship Canons and Sensures Citations Degradations and Excommunications with your Absolutions to be founded upon the substance of that Worship and Discipline which you say Calvin affirmeth is expressed in the Scriptures then you might with the more shew of honesty have admoninished the Parliament to have cast out their Petitions but till then you may lay your hand upon your mouth and never for shame affirme that the granting of Toleration unto us to worship God without molestation will be setting up Churches against Churches Neither ought you to have concluded against them before you had proved their way of worship to be contrary to the word of God or not to have footing in his word as yours hath not for except you had done this you have small cause to rejoyce in your thoughts in respect of the accounts that you are to give about this coutraversie for your contraversie can be conceived at the best to be but the contraversie that Paul had when he went unto Damascus which was a Contraversie against Christ * though Christ in his rich grace pardoned him when hee had smitten him downe and driven him out of himselfe and made him to confesse that he knew not Christ in these words where hee saith LORD WHO ART THOV and further acknowledged that he knew not the will of Christ by asking him with these words WHAT WILT THOV HAVE ME TO DOE thus you may see though the controversie was against Christ yet Paul was reconciled to God the Father by Iesus Christ the Sonne and endued with the holy Ghost which made him a Minister of the New Testament which all his humane learning could not doe And Paul might have boasted that he was stirred up by the Spirit of God against the way of Christ as you boast that you are stirred up by Gods Spirit against the way of Separation But that would not have justified Paul much lesse shall it justifie you for Paul did that hee did out of a zeale to maintaine the Law of God But yours is to maintaine the Law of Sinne even the Law of Sathan Paul persecuted those that he did conceive to be evill but you persecute those that you acknowledge good men and such as have beene active and famous for God And therefore you have no neede to boast of the Spirits enabling you all along and that above your owne strength as you declare for it may plainely appeare unto all men of understanding that it was the very spirit of delusion And therefore you may justly expect Censures and Reproaches as you say you doe because your way in this action was not pleasing to God But for my part instead of censuring you I would rather reprove you and admonish you rather than reproach you and pray that God might turne you And if God would be pleased to give you that reward of your labour which hee gave unto Paul even to strike you downe and to make you to heare his voyce and learne to know him and what he would have you to doe then it would turne much to the praise of God and to the comfort of your poore soule if you be a chosen vessell unto him which is the thing you pretend you aime at and then you shall be sure to gaine truth and love and peace and holinesse in all your after discourses when you shall speake with a new tongue and expresse the language of Canaan And now Mr. Edwards for conclusion of the whole I doe here affirme that if