Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	according_a	know_v	spirit_n	2,131	5	5.5761	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30961	The Winchcomb-papers revived wherein are contained some particulars concerning the govenment of the church, the liturgy and forms of prayer, the ordination and power of ministers, the administration of the Sacrament &c. : for the use of dissenting brethren.	Barksdale, Clement, 1609-1687.	1675 (1675)	Wing B810; ESTC R25862	79,287	210

an ingenuous answer I do not know every one Tr. O! how can you justify your self in this W. Why here 's a confession of the fault we lay to your charge you give the Sacrament you know not to whom We have done now H. We thank the Lord Brethren that the good work is so happily brought to a conclusion this day You hear what he confesseth he doth not know some of them who they are and yet he should know them to be visible Saints A good Shepheard knows his flock B. Hold a little my Masters and take me with you Have patience while I give in my Answer I do not know them and yet I do know them I know them not some of them by name I have no familiar acquaintance with them I do not know them in civil relations but I do know them and own them in a religious relation I know no hurt by them Tr. You Know no hurt by them Alas Alas poor creatures B. Hear me out I do not only know no hurt by them but I know much good by them their visible and cheerful profession of the true Christian Faith their reverent behaviour at their Prayers their humble Confession of Sins earnest desires of pardon hearty promises of new obedience An appearance of Faith and Repentance joyned with Charity and thankfulness satisfies me very well for the time till I find they do deceive me H. You are deceived with too good an opinion of them If I durst I could say somewhat against some particulars B. God forbid you should have hurt for telling any one a necessary truth For my part I think and hope the best of all that promise fair I Judge according to charity I know one may act the Saint to day and the Devil to morrow Let me tell you 't is the judgement of our Church after the Fathers that Christ delivered the Sacrament to Judas also who went out immediatly after to betray him and before that was discovered by his Master to be a Devill You will not grant this however you know Peter himself that was so zealous upon triall the very next day denied his Master yea denied him with cursing and swearing All the rest forsook him and fled Their strength was little and their knowledge was less witness the Disciples going to Emaus fools and slow of heart and the question proposed about the Kingdom Acts 1. What is the lowest measure of grace I will not determine Where I see any hopes or weak beginnings of Christianity I embrace and cherish them In the School of Christ there be many little ones that must be gently used and there be some great ones that must not be offended but upon great reasons Why should I not think better of others than my self when the B. Apostle calls himself the chiefest of sinners and less than the least of Saints He that hath beams to cast out of his own eve must not be picking motes out of his Brothers eye 'T is true the Brother must be admonished especially by the Minister but this must be done discreetly and orderly and with meekness of spirit He that obeys one or a few scapes the censure of the Many and may not be reckoned as an alien None is so but he that proves obstinate after the methods of Counsel and Reproof And verily Mr. H. it had been a good method for you to have admonisht me and the rest of the Congregation whom you are offended with and to have received our Answer before you condemn'd us in your Pulpit And that Answer will serve now In what we have offended God we ask his pardon In what we have offended you we will give you satisfaction Thus doing we shall not be excluded from Communion by any just sentence H. You have some that might be named that both before and after the Communion have shewed themselves no sober men B. That may be and I shall desire to be informed of them that I may labour to reform them or exclude them if they be proved open and notorious evill livers And I do often commend and endeavour to bring into better practice the Duty of fraternall Admonition and Correption which is now the more necessary because we want publick Discipline see D. Hammond of Fraternall Admonition Having declared my self thus I must conclude your Argument against my Communicants till you prove your Accusation better to be only an Argument of your own uncharitableness H. I cannot yet allow of your Call to Minister For Ministers truly called are appointed and ordained by the Godly people But you are not so appointed Therefore B. You will I hope hereafter allow me equall liberty to oppose your Orders I have mine from a Bishop assisted by his Presbyters according to Apostolicall Institution and the constant practice of the Church The People cannot confer on us our power They may approve and assent to our Calling and give testimony of our good conversation and receive us when we are sent unto them I am owned as a Rector of the People to whom I Minister W. We are servants of Gods people Paul I am sure saith so of himself B. He saith so and so doe I their servant for Jesus sake Let them acknowledge us their spirituall Rulers and Fathers in Christ and we will in all humble condescension be their Servants for Jesus sake Jesus himself our Lord and Master stiles himself a Minister or Servant of his Servants and he hath said He that will be greatest among you let him be Servant of all 'T is easy to distinguish between a servant by voluntary condescension and a servant by necessary subjection Tr. You said before that in case of prophaning the holy things you would confess a Minister deserves suspension Who shall suspend him but the Congregation What other power is there B. I confessed the prophaner of Holy things to deserve great punishment but after due Admonition and upon his obstinacy not else Yet I cannot see how the people have any Authority to sentence him Tr. Who would you have to do it Who B. To speak freely I would submit my self to my Ordinary the Apostolicall Bishop or if you like the Latin word better the President or Superintendent for whom I have spoken before And I am ready to joyn with you in a Petition that we may have an Apostolicall Bishop set over us as it was in practice of the antient Church H. You stand too much upon the practice of the Antient Church come to the Scripture B. I am sorry you value the practice of the antient Church so little Pray where is your maine strength in Scripture for your Independent or Congregationall Churches H. Let us read the famous Text Mat 18 15 16 17 18 19. 20. Out of which Text I frame this Argument If here be meant by the Church a Congregation from which lyes no Appeale then is the Independent Church founded upon this Text But here is meant a Congregation c. What else will

the particulars in my frail memory I mentioned not Now Sir for the proceeding against me at Winchcomb the last week which together with a very frivolous report about the D. of Y. in the inquiry whereof methinks the Religion of an oath was made cheap was the business of the three Justices I must tell you what good people say That the new-saints there discover what they are by their pride and spightfulness That they procured warrant to fetch in some of my neighbours to swear against me for using the Common-Prayer-Book who are not so Book-learned that they can well tell when I use it when not That they some of them gave this false evidence that on the Monday sollowing the Dispute when Mr. Helme would not appear I had drawn to the Church a company you were one of lewd persons That the Justices have not obliged me by any humanity or charity toward me suffering me to be accused by such fellowes in my absence that But no more of this now To conclude this scribble I would have all know that I do forgive my Adversaries whom I have assayed to cool by kind letters and that I do not fear them that I am well affected to all Goverment by which I am protected and that I am so well opinioned of the present Governor that I believe he will at least tolerate that Religion wherein himself as well as we were once baptiz'd C. B. to Mr. G. December 24. 1653. SIR I have seriously considered both what you writ to me and what you said You said Let Ministers preach at home and take heed of Meetings It is good to be wise and wary but to omit the means and opportunity of doing good in our Callings even when there is some shew of perill to our selves I doubt will argue rather a timorous deserting of our Cause than a prudent wariness Ministers must not only labour single and in their own Cures but by a brotherly union and mutual assistance advance the work of their Master and procure the peace of the Church When so many unlearned new Teachers both single and united shew such zeal to make proselytes shall we that have gone through the Schools to S. Maryes and through university degrees have ascended the Pulpit and by a regular mission are employed in our stations shall we I say let the people lose the fruit of our long studyes shall we be cold and heartless and suffer our sheep to wander as if they had no shepheards You writ to me That the Truth and our Cause did not suffer by my Dispute but my friends fear is that I in my estate may suffer in defense thereof Truly Sir the grave judgment of you and other friends that I have done some service to a good Cause doth more comfort me than your fears of my suffering can discourage me I think upon the Psalmists words Trust in the Lord and be doing good I think upon Gods words to Paul Be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace For I am with thee I think upon Paul's words to the Philippians To you it is given not only to believe but to suffer I think upon Christ's words Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you for my sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad I need not comment upon these passages nor apply them Assure your self I am not afraid to suffer as a Christian My estate indeed is but small if it were great God forbid I should love it more than a good Conscience I am in hope to keep both safe and my hope is confirmed since I hear that at the very same time when our Adversaries were contriving to undo me and other of my worthy brethren The Generall was declared Protector who is said to be of a moderate and a gentle and obliging Disposition From whom I may justly expect such a preservation in my place whereby I may be able which is all my ambition to breed up my five little Boys to fear God to love their Countrey and to obey their superiours C. B. to D. C. December 30. 1653. MOst dear Sir I have born a loss which will make all that can happen seem but light unto me ô passi graviora so that the danger threatned moves me not But truly upon the late change which I hope will turn to the general good as well as mine I wrote to you that the danger I conceiv'd was past and therefore you might burn the letters No wonder that in the delivery of my papers to that man you receiv'd vile words and threats against me Such are the Civilities of some new-new-Saints that have sound out a Religion of another temper from His who as himself is meek and lowly so requireth all his Disciples to be like him and that are of another spirit than that whose fruits are long suffering and gentleness 'T was well you ventur'd not to deliver the other letter having had such experience Now Sir to answer your Question where I am prosecuteed I cannot only I conjecture I shall hear of my Adversaries at the Sessions and there I may hope well of the equity of the other Justices As for the Articles against me it seems by what I have learned concerning the examinations they will run thus 1. That he said he would out Mr. Helme though I think when they sought false witness to prove this they found none And indeed I do not use to threaten 2. That he hath sometime used some part of the Common-Prayer-Book Themselves use not the Directory and the Order of the 12. of November last protects all Assemblies but Popish 3. That he Christned such a mans child with the sign of the Cross in token that he should not be asham'd to confess the faith of Christ crucified 4. That he dined at an Ordinary with the D. of Y. at Winchcomb About whom there hath been much a doe among those Justices to the exposing of themselves and their office to much contempt among the people Terrible Articles But since the Dissolution the Men are not terrible so that I may banish them from my studies and return unto my Grotius or rather use the words of the Psalmist Return unto thy rest O my Soul for the Lord hath been good to thee The Lord taketh my part against my adversaries The Lord shall give his people the blessing of Peace To his gracious providence I commend you and all yours Testimonies pertinent to severall passages in the Letters and Dispute Collected out of Protestant Divines as they came to hand to be referred to their proper places by the diligent Reader Dr. HAMMOND Of Binding and Loosing Pag. 74. THey quite deform the primitime Institution of Excommunication who deny the Sacrament to Whole Congregations at once without any charge laid to all or any part of them save only that they are a mixt Congregation wherein there are some evill men which yet is not legally proved neither and they also who deny it to