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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	authority_n	church_n	elder_n	3,463	5	9.7366	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93467	A solemn exhortation made and published to the several churches of Christ within this province of Lancaster, for the excitation of all persons therein to the practise of their duties, requisite to the effectual carrying on of church-discipline; and in it the edification of our churches, and the reformation of religion. / By the provincial synod assembled at Preston, Feb. 7. 1648.		1649 (1649)	Wing S4440; Thomason E542_7; ESTC R205958	7,961	16

God hath been exalted and his unsearchable wisdom and rich mercy magnified in not onely the redemption of our lives liberties and estates from the common enemies and the full subduing of them once and again before the Lord and before his people but the bringing forth out of all those perplexed dangerous difficult and cross occurrences of great advantage to us as in many other respects so especially in the establishing of Church-Government in that good measure in which it is setled The progress whereof in this Province we have much cause to admire and study thankfulness for And we confess the greatest defects that now remain concerning it are in the practise of it which is our part and that the unfitness unsetledness averseness and remissness of mens spirits in relation to it is now the great obstruction at which it sticks And we may be jealous lest as the want of love to the Truth hath through the just Judgment of God been a wide inlet in many places to damnable Heresies so the want of a heart in us to use this price in our hand of Church-power may lay us open to destructive disorder We observe also That as mans corruption and Satans malice concurred to hinder Church Discipline while the work of discovering clearing up and publique authorizing of the rule was in hand by raising and keeping up of differences in judgment with hot and doubtful disputes concerning it unworthy aspersions and contempt cast upon it anticipations of mature direction of authority about it by some brethrens rending from our Churches and setting up ways of Discipinle dissonant to it private politique designings under pretences of it a common hatred to Reformation and strictness imposed by it disaffection and discouragement to it by many in places of Power expectation and endeavors for a legal Toleration and an assuming of liberty in Religion for the present the fruitful mother of all Atheism Error false Religion and Profaneness so do they still concur by the same arts and means and that with a higher hand to hinder the putting of it in practise so that by the short experience we have had and the present face of things we may very probably make account to meet with yet as much yea more difficulty in the carrying on of this Discipline then was found in the establishing of it which some men whose counsel is flesh and blood discerning may perhaps take occasion thence to languish in their activeness or wholy to refrain from acting or to stand off from joyning in it and happily to blame the godly forwardness of others but we wish such men better counsellers and hope all those who are acted by principles of conscience and spiritual interest will from the apprehension of such difficulty collect an obligation to more diligence and thence address themselves with greater zeal courage and resolution to the work All these mighty engagements and impulsives brethren and beloved being with serious and right Christian consideration weighed we beseech and exhort you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ That the Government and Discipline of the Church ordained by Christ and set forth summarily by authority in the Ordinance of Parliament of 29. August 1648. be presently faithfully constantly and impartially put in practise in all Church assemblies by all Ministers ruling Elders and other Christians according to the Power or Commandment delivered to them in the Word of God respectively with all other known duties of Religion coming within the cognizance of the said Government and in particular as conducing or necessarily concomitant thereunto these following First That in such Congregations as are not provided of ruling Elders and may afford any number of persons duly qualified for that Office the Minister and People do without delay or excuse proceed with due solemnity to elect such Elders and that the persons so elected take upon them the said function as thereunto called of God and that the Classical Presbytery to which that Congregation appertained or if that be not the Ministers and others nominated by Ordinance of Parliament of 2. Octob. 1646. as sit to be of that Classis proceed to constitute that congregational Eldership to which the said persons are so chosen and the Eldership so constituted to address themselves to the Execution of the Discipline in their Congregation with all diligence and to associate themselves as they have opportunity to the Classical Presbytery which they belong unto That the Ministers of the Gospel give themselves continually to prayer and to the Ministry of the Word that they study to shew themselves approved to God workmen that need not to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth that they be eminently and exemplary holy and blameless in their conversation that they be quick sightedly watchful against the springing and spreading of Errors and the breaking out of Divisions within their flocks and that they labor to instruct by way of catechising all the young and weak in knowledg within the same That the Ministers and Elders set themselves diligently to the oversight of their Congregations to discern into and help them in their knowledg and spiritual estate and to discover direct and correct their conversation therein passing over none that profess Christianity within their bounds uncast our of the Church and endeavoring the recovery of those that are cast out That they constantly meet in publique that they may be ready for the addresses of the people and to consult on and apply such means as may be effectual for the edification of the congregation or any member thereof That they rule with diligence and impartiality in the application or releasement of Church censures as the condition of any shall require That they punctually observe the meetings of the associated Presbyteries Classical and Provincial that in matters too hard for their single Elderships or wherein they are appealed from they may reap the benefit of joint counsel authority and prayer and mutually afford the same and that none of them detract grow weary or suffer themselves to be diverted from frequenting such assemblies although the affairs of Church-discipline being so newly entred upon be for the present somewhat extraordinarily pressing The Classical Presbyteries being that one special work of theirs is to superintend them that have the oversight of others are besought to take special care that the Ministers and ruling Elders within their respective Divisions be sufficient for their callings industrious in the execution thereof and unblameable in their walking in which respects their accutest vigilancy is required that the unworthy be timely prevented the negligent or offensive regulated and the unreclaimable ejected All Christians whatsoever are exhorted That they beware of giving any offence to any either by manifest sin or by the appearance of evil remembering that double heavy woe which in the sentence of our blessed Saviour offences bring to wit one to the world another to the offence giver That they carefully avoid all rash or groundless taking

A Solemn Exhortation made and published to the several Churches of Christ within this PROVINCE of LANCASTER FOR The Excitation of all persons therein to the practise of their Duties requisite to the effectual carrying on of Church-Discipline and in it the Edification of our Churches and the Reformation of Religion BY THE Provincial Synod assembled at Preston Feb. 7. 1648. LONDON Printed for LUKE FAWNE and are to be sold at his shop at the signe of the Parrot in Pauls Church-yard M.DC.XLIX feb 1648 A Solemn Exhortation made and published to the several Churches of Christ within this Province of Lancaster THE Government of the Church of Christ which he himself instituted being in this Province lately restored to the hands of those his Officers unto whom he himself committed it He who is the Head of the Church to whom God the Father hath given all power in Heaven and in Earth having stirred up and stood by the honorable and pious Parliament whose Acts will be renowned to wrest it out of the hands of those that usurped depraved and mis-administred it and with the Advice of the Reverend Assembly of Divines to deliver it vindicated and purged from the former depravements and confirmed with their civil Sanction to those his servants unto whom by his Will and Testament he had assigned it The faithful Execution of this Government now rests upon the charge of those Officers with whom it is so both by divine Commission and humane Injunction entrusted and the diligent improvement of it to spiritual advantage remains upon the care of those Churches and Church members over whom it is placed and to whose benefit it is appointed to be subservient and if either the Execution of the one or the improvement of the other be slacked the effect of it will faile and great will be the fail thereof We of this Synod called by the aforesaid Authorities opening a way to the Churches whereunto we severally appertain to design us to the present inspection of this large Association of Churches for their edification having set our selves to finde out and pursue what within the extent of our power may be conducible thereunto have quickly apprehended the promoting of the aforesaid due execution and improvement of Church Government to be mainly necessary to that end and not only taking notice of but laying to heart the flow proceeding of it among us more especially in some places and more particularly in some duties have thought meet amongst other means for the putting on thereof to address our selves by way of exhortation to all our Churches and in them to all our Brethren both publike Officers and other Members beseeching the God of all Grace through Jesus Christ That this our service may be acceptable and profitable to them being sanctified by the Holy Ghost The matter dearly beloved in our Lord of Church Discipline which we perswade were it either Arbitrary or of a temporal concernment we should have passed it over in silence at this time but when we consider that it is one of those Commandments which our Lord Jesus Christ before his ascending up to Heaven through the Holy Ghost gave unto the Apostles whom he had chosen and whom he charged to teach all Nations made his Disciples to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them and that it hath the Church of God and the souls of men purchased by his precious blood for its object The restoring and preserving of the purity of Christs Ordinances the verity of his Doctrine the orderliness of mens Conventions the Peace and Union of Christian Brethren and Churches in Judgment heart and practise for its end and that ignorance error and iniquity are the enemies against which it draweth forth and weildeth its weapons we cannot but speak and yet withal judge a little speaking for this to them to whom we speak may suffice The miserable disorders errors and offences which like a flood have broken out continued and risen to so great a height among us to the high dishonor of the Name of God the great hinderance and shame of the Gospel and the trampling of the holy things and precious pearls thereof under the feet of dogs and swine the subversion of many fouls the vexation of others the disturbance of our Churches peace and the errecting of many walls of partition betwixt brethren the decay and discouragement of the power of godliness the opening of the reproachful mouths of the enemies of Religion the advancement of Satans seat amongst us the pulling downe and continuing of many nationall Judgments and the rendring of Reformation so extremely difficult These these O Brethren are the deplorable fruits of the want of this Discipline which but to mention may make all pious cars to tingle what then may the seeing and enduring of them so long move in our hearas And how great a guilt shall we incur if we shall be now wanting in our places either to the setting up or diligent practise of this Discipline And here as we cannot excuse our selves in our own consciences so we desire not to conceale that in the late Prelaticall Usurpation we are conscious to our selves of departing from our duty in complyance with the mis-proccedings thereof we judge our selves for it and we do earnestly desire that our failings herein may be so far from becoming a president for future either to our selves or others that the remembrance thereof may be to both for time to come a Caveat and an incentive to obfirmed fidelity and diligence in all our disciplinary duties and that whatsoever sort of men may come hereafter to carry themselves in way either in neutrality discountenance prohibition or opposition to us therein we may yet acquit our selves in the same We would not have to he forgotten how long the work of the Reformation of this Church in point of Discipline hath stayed and stuck behind those of Doctrine and Worship which hath been our great stain and tryall With what prayers tears solicitations and testimonies by preaching writing practising and suffering our Predecessors and we have striven for the effecting of it What expectations and hopes of late have bin conceived of it What undertakings gone about and adventures made for it What delays and obstructions have been interposed How much and many ways Satan and wicked men have stood against and retarded it What contestations and conflicts have been encountred What costs not onely of wealth but of blood expended for the attainment of it What a publique solemn and soule-binding Covenant and Oath hath been takin by us and most people in this Nation sincerely really and constantly to endeavor the same By what slow steps through the violent and hazardous oppositions made against it the intervention of other urgent affairs and the intermixture of humane frailties the Parliament the Assembly of Divines and the several Church Assemblies in their respective endeavors about it have proceeded And how in and above all the most mighty hand of