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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43610	The black non-conformist discover'd in more naked truth proving that excommunication & confirmation ... and diocesan bishops are ... of human make and shape, and that not only some lay-men, but all the keen-cringing clergy are non-conformists ... / by Edm. Hickeringill ...	Hickeringill, Edmund, 1631-1708.	1682 (1682)	Wing H1796; ESTC R3140	128,573	98

Ay ay that 's the right and only way of return to God for manifestation of any Naked-Truth by his Servants to glorifie his Name for the same And why should not the Sanhedrim have glorified God for the same as well as the people Had not they Souls to save as well as the people What was this Sanhedrim or High-Court of Justice made up of Who were the Members of this Council It is answered Acts 4.1 The Priests Ay Ay I should have wondred else at a piece of mischief if I had not found the Jewish-Priests there in the first place next the Captain of the Temple and the Sadduces A fine medley of Priests Soldiers and Atheists for so were the Sadduces the Jewish-Church was like to be well govern'd nor do I wonder they went about in the next Verse Acts 4.2 to suspend the Apostles ab officio or silence them from Preaching being grieved good hearts that they taught the People Whereupon they put them in Jayl for that Night designing to get all or a greater number of their Council together upon so good an occasion too And then appears a great Motley crew made up of Rulers and Elders and Scribes and Annas the High-Priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all the High-Priests Nephews Cousins and Cousin-Germans This is only to show you what the Church was that our Saviour speaks of Matt. 18.17 Tell it to the Church is as much as to say in England Complain in Westminster-Hall Sessions or Assizes For want of the knowledg whereof Excommunication has been counted a sacred Ordinance and every little gather'd Church as well as the great took upon them the Government and thought themselves some-body and would have power over their own Members to interdict deprive cut off c. and woful work they made with it Johnson and others that fled to Holland and had a gathered-Church and cut of and cut off Hereticks and wrong Believers till he left himself alone or but with one that just jumpt with him in all things And indeed as in the Mathematicks when a crooked Line deviates from a streight Line the further it reaches in length still the greater distance and more irreconcileable so here this Text of Matt. 18 17. being mistaken and wrong construed the longer the error lasts the greater mischief and the harder to be reconciled For this Interpretation has leaven'd not only Diocesan Synodical but Presbyterian Independent and Congregational-Churches till they have fought one another with this Spiritual-Weapon most Bloodily and they knew not wherefore they are mistaken in the words of their Commission Father forgive them they know not what they do I deny not but that a Bigot Papist Protestant Presbyterian or any other Sect that believes the Church has this power at this day to bind and loose and knows no better than the old Traditional-Interpretation of these words Tell the Church have and may still if they please be frighted out of their little Wit with the thunder of Excommunication thinking it Jure Divino and that the Thunder comes from Heaven But I doubt not but to prove how far it is a meer earthly Cracker and a Bugbear and frights none but Women and Fools were it not for the Writ de Excommunicato capiendo that follows in the Rear of it I know well how the Emperor Theodosius the younger was frighted out of his little Wit because a silly Monk had Excommunicated him and could not eat drink nor sleep till he absolv'd him there has and will be Bigotted Fools and Coxcombs to the Worlds end Nay men that are in all other things wise yet if they once be possessed with the Spirit of Bigottism and Superstition and be Priest-ridden not minding what the Holy Scriptures say but what comments the Priests for their own lucre and to uphold their Prelatical Hierarchy Dominion and Usurpation put upon it are easily Bugbear'd with this cracker of Excommunication as was that bravest of Men and Warriours the Emperor Theodosius the Elder Excommunicated by Ambrose the greater sinner of the two Not but that the Emperor might be in fault in some fault as what great Warriour and Conqueror as he was can possibly be innocent and have hands clean from any stain of Blood but whether he was in fault or no is not easie to determine read the Story in Nicephorus and though the Emperor did command the Soldiers to humble the City that were certainly Traytors and were Guilty laesae Majestatis in abusing most shamefully the Statues and Picture of his dear Wife and Empress and possibly the Soldiers might they are apt enough to exceed their Commission when there is good plunder in the case But the poor Emperor must pay for all and smart for all For indeed he was not Emperor but a Bigot I mean he did not know his own Strength Power and Authority but suffered himself to be nuzzled by Ambrose that formerly had been a Captain and now was made Bishop of the same Town Milan that he had formerly been Governour of but he forgot not his stout heart though he had put on his Canonical-Weeds read but the Story it is too long here to insert but you will then with me pity the poor Bigot Emperor got into ill-handling and under the clutches of a Priest that well knew the Ascendant he had over him For even in these days a Bishoprick begun to be a stately business and not only a good but a great thing and had been so of 100 years standing namely ever since the good Emperor Constantine had been so wonderfully Enamour'd of them Bishops and therefore he made them rich and riches are apt to make men proud and pride is apt to make men fall And there 's an end on 't But if the Sanhedrim or Synagogue had been a Spiritual-Court only as men make it that thus Construe Tell the Church then certainly it was a Bloody Court as well as a Bawdy Court for St. Paul confesses that he had a Commission from thence to Imprison men and put them to Death which surely was Law or else King Agrippa and Festus the Roman-Governour would have chastised him for it when he confest Acts 26.10 that many of the Holy men he shut up in Prison having received Authority from the Chief-Priests mark that and when they were put to Death he gave his Vote for it and punisht them oft in every Synagogue or Church so that I say Tell it to the Church or Synagogue is Complain to the Justice and no more And it is strange indeed that Christ should in those Words of Matt. 18.17 set up a new Jurisdiction in the World and the Apostles who at that time knew nothing of nulling any of the Law of Moses or that Christ should die and yet should make no exception to it or question to have it more explain'd if it were to be a standing Sacred Ordinance to vouch Excommunication to the Worlds end And as strange that none of the

pretenders Preach not one farthing better many much less I do not say much worse than when they were poor Priests Peter set ope ' the Prison-Doors and made a Goal-delivery But some the Goals would fill if they might have their Will Peter said indeed Silver and gold have I none And these indeed scarce know when nor think they have enough In short as I said once before I protest I do not know wherein St. Peter's pretended Successor imitates Peter but in denying his Master I wish I could see him on the stool of Repentance and weep as Peter did weep bitterly Instead of making others weep with their Inquisitions High-Commissions and their Tricks and Shams making the poor Widow and Orphans weep and curse them Apostolical men Successors and Imitators of the Apostle For shame no more With what Forehead I hate the Impudence more than the Hypocrisie Paul labour'd with his hands to get a Living others labour to undo men and their Families Paul had a Viper on his hand did him no hurt others have Vipers in their hearts and do as much hurt and mischief as in them lyes Paul raised Jairus's Daughter to life these breathe nothing but Goals Pillories Excommunication and Destruction Paul Excommunicated Swearers and Blasphemers and some Popes History says and Apostolical men would Blaspheme upon occasion Curse and Swear like Hectors But what and wherefore in nomine Domini do these men pretend Right to Excommunicate because St. Paul did it or the Primitive Church of Corinth that had both St. Paul's special order for it and his Spirit and his Sentence 1 Cor. 5.3 4. They had Gifts of the Holy-Ghost particularly that without which no man was so impudent to bind or loose or pretend to the power of the Keys in the Primitive times that wanted it namely the Gift of Discerning of Spirits St. Paul could see through a man into him into his very heart so could St. Peter and therefore did that which is a sin in any of us to do that have not the gift of Discerning of Spirits Therefore St. Paul called the Conjurer Elymas Enemy of all righteousness and Son of a Devil and St. Peter by his Spirit perceiv'd that Simon Magus was in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity The Pope and Popelings are ready enough at calling of Names but clavis errans they Nick-name men and call him a Child of the Devil that is more a Child of God a thousand times than themselves and yet they 'l be doing their endeavour and good-will to deliver them to Satan and yet God will not suffer Satan to take one of them that they Excommunicate that we know of no signs nor marks on 't but rather as they say of the Foxes proverbially The more they are curst the better they thrive Take him Satan Satan will not then take him Magistrate he must Whereas the Apostle Paul that made the Church of Corinth Excommunicate the Incestuous person it was for the destruction of the Flesh and Diseases as they did Job when God Excommunicated him or delivered him to Satan either kill'd him or brought him nigh unto the Grave if great Godly sorrow did not intervene Away with this Mimickry and Pageantry and Apish Imitation If we have the Spirit of the Apostles we are Apostolical men indeed they Peter and John Acts 8.17 Layd their hands on the Disciples and they received the gifts of the Holy-Ghost So the Pope and Cardinals c. they will be imitating and seem to do something and they 'l Confirm by Laying on of Hands but not that neither right according to their own Rubricks as I 'le show by and by but cui bono Away with Lying and Vanity let God be True and every man a Lyar I would appeal to any mans Conscience If ever he received any Gift of the Holy-Ghost by such Imposition of Hands and speak the Naked-Truth now and do not cogg lye and flatter your self nor dissemble any of you that ever was B Be-Pop't or that any Pope would tell truly and not lye Whether he felt whilst he was at it with Imposition of Hands that any vertue went out of him as it did out of our Saviour when he did the Woman good Away Away with Folly and Pageantry at this time of day God will not be mocked And every Plant that my Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out saith our Blessed Redeemer and I believe him let Hell and the Pope think themselves never so cock-sure and culminant 'T is readily granted that if any man was a Heretick they should avoid him or reject him and cast off his Company in ordinary Conversation and if any Brother walked disorderly they should not eat nor drink nor dine nor sup with him that he might be ashamed But to think that God or good Men the Prophets Christ or his Apostles did ever in the Old or New Testament command any Men Synod or Synagogue Church or Court that they should shut the Church Doors and shut out the worst of Sinners from the Sacraments or Communion or hale them into Church either by the Head and Ears or which is the same Excommunicate him or put him out of Commons or the Communion of the Church the only Food and Cure of our Souls and made on purpose for Sinners is an opinion as senceless and groundless as it has been baneful and mischievous to all Societies and the Peace of Christendom I grant though sacra sacris and Holy things ought not to be cast to Dogs therefore the Text says Examin your selves and so eat of this bread and drink of this cup. Examin himself It is not said examin him Priest and confess him you Priest and Catechize him John Presbyter nor you Lay-Elder But let him examin himself and so let him come but sao piculo at his own Peril But the Church nor the best of men are not defiled with communicating with the vilest of sinners Was there ever any better than our Blessed Saviour or worse than Judas yet Christ eat the Passeover with him and probably the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper yet he then knew him and had Publisht him a Traytor whom before he call'd Devil I hate the Puritanical Pharisaical Hypocrisie of any Religion they shall be defiled with communicating with Sinners Drunkards c. And yet St. Paul and the Church of Corinth as good as the best of them are not commanded to forsake the Lords-Table though we read that some came thither Drunk and to fill their Bellies with the Bread and Wine 1 Cor. 11.21 Alas every man has enough to do if he mind it well to look after his own Preparation but that any that had not the Gift of Discerning of Spirits nor these neither did Excommunicate or forbid the Communion to any in the Old or New Testament I boldly say 't is false Nor can they prove but that he that was delivered to Satan did also come if he could for Diseases