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A49508 An apologie for our publick ministerie and infant-baptism written som years ago for private satisfaction of som dissenting brethren and upon request enlarged and published for the same ends / by William Lyford. Lyford, William, 1598-1653. 1652 (1652) Wing L3544; ESTC R24102 42,825 54

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AN APOLOGIE For our Publick Ministerie AND Infant-Baptism Written som years ago for Private satisfaction of som Dissenting Brethren and upon request enlarged and Published for the same ends By William Lyford B.D. and Minister of the Gospel at Sherborn in Dorcetshire DEUT. 12.19 Take heed to thy self that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth 1 THES 5.12 13. Wee beseech you brethren to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and esteem them very highly in love for their works sake and bee at peace among your selves Lux. 10.16 Hee that heareth you heareth mee and hee that despiseth you despiseth mee LONDON Printed by William Dugard 1652. To my loving Christian friend Mr John Raymond wisheth increas of Grace SIR ACcording to your earnest desire and my promiss I have sent up unto you the heads of those Reasons with large additions which four years ago I tendred to som of our Church-forsakers with hope to have gained them to unitie and communion with us But by that time Houspreaching was counted a fine knack and our English people taught to question the Calling of their Ministers to call them by new names Baals Priests the black guard Antichristian Priests c. And then 't is high time to set up themselvs if they had lived in the primitive times when Christians did meet in dens and secret places for the worship of Christ with hazard of their lives they would have counted it a blessed privilege to enjoy the free use of the Ordinances in publike Assemblies but now that libertie is granted it is despised our people are wanton and unthankful Surely our Lord Christ was no Corner-creeping Preacher Hee disclaimed it I spake openly to the world I ever taught in the Synagogue whither the Jews resort Joh. 18.20 and in secret have I said nothing Neither doth hee allow it in his servants whom hee forwarns not to seek him in Corners Mat. 24.26 if they shall say unto you Behold he is in the desart among those which withdraw themselvs from the publike professors Go not forth Behold hee is in the secret Chambers Believ it not When men shall say unto you in such a hous or Chamber there is one that hold's forth Christ most sweetly in a Gospel-way let us go to him Go not forth saies the Text Believ it not How should any believ it for what one new sweet Doctrine concerning Christ his person or offices ●ave yee learned there which yee were not taught before Have yee ●y your new way gotten farther assurance of your salvation Have yee thereby grown in grace and more escaped the corruptions that are in the world through lust or are yee more intangled in the same What Christ sweetly held forth and yet no savour of that knowledg stick upon your souls I demand with S. Paul 2 Cor. 11.4 Hee that cometh and preacheth doth hee preach another Jesus whom wee have not preached or another spirit or another Gospel which yee have not accepted Christ held forth in private is it the same Christ or another the same way of Justification the same spirit of sanctification which wee have taught or another if another I boldly affirm it it is a fals Christ a fals Gospel a fals spirit But if the same why do people desert the Ordinance as if it were not the same Yes becaus other men have a better way of Teaching Christ and wee go not from one Christ to another but to the same Christ held forth in a sweeter manner Answ If that bee the intent then it is your wisest and surest way to partake of both viz. of the Blessing of God in the Assemblies and of the help of anothers gifts either before or after the publick by which means you will avoid the scandal now given which an honest man will make conscience to do and you 'l bee sure to meet with Christ if hee bee any where manifested SIR You may remember that I have often invited the people to com to mee and open their doubts which som have don especially when self-examination of our spiritual estates was more in use amongst Christians Yea I have offered that if any soul could think of any matter or Text which might serv to answer their doubts to eas their scruples to direct their Consciences in particular Cases or to inform their mindes in any point or Text not usually handled that they should chuse the way to acquaint mee with their desires and I would studie to answer their expectation I do not remember that any made use of this liberty besides your self who once desired mee to preach upon that Text Joh. 6.44 which I readily did in two Sermons and shall as readily do the like for any soul in the Congregation I have not used to trouble their heads with Controversies of the times but when I had finished my Bodie of Divinitie which was the subject of my morning Sermons wherein I aimed chiefly at Laying of foundations as in the afternoons Sermons going through som entire piece of Scripture as the whole Epistle to the Galatians wherein I aimed especially at larger Applications for instruction in holiness and trials of our spiritual estate In the year 1647. The Testimonie of the London Ministers against the Errors of the times coming forth I to avoid suspicion of loading the times with Errors did take the Opinions as they were there drawn up to my hands and upon each head I laid down one or two distinctions very breifly not by Obj. and Sol. that so by sorting every thing apart the Chaff by it self the Wheat by it self Heb. 5.14 my people might have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil and see in which side of the distinction lay the Truth and in which the Error Phil. 1.10 and so neither condemn all nor imbrace all things in the Lump but bee able to discern things that differ In all which as in the cours of my ministerie with all caution and tenderness avoiding this Never to encourage any thing of the flesh nor discourage any thing of the spirit in my Hearers The which exercises if God bee pleased to restore my health I intend shortly to revise and publish Learned men will wonder why I should come forth now in the Fag end of the day with a stale Controversie But so long as sin reign 's we ought not to bee silent Varietie of Books though for matter the same is of good use You see that notwithstanding all the Ammunition in the * Common-wealth or Nation Kingdom there is new made daily some are naked or the old is lost so it is in Books which are more needful then Arms all com not into all hands many would read little if Books were not new It 's noted of the Arrians that they got the sway of the world and overtopt the Orthodox partly by their subtilty crerping into Emperors Courts partly