Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostolical_a	church_n	tradition_n	4,989	5	9.5918	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53733	Truth and innocence vindicated in a survey of a discourse concerning ecclesiastical polity, and the authority of the civil magistrate over the consciences of subjects in matters of religion.	Owen, John, 1616-1683.	1669 (1669)	Wing O817; ESTC R14775	171,951	414

of Worship and Obedience so far forth as it is from h●m and concerneth those things than any thing that comes from him by express vocal Revelation And this casts out of consideration a vain exception wherewith some men please themselves as though the men of this Opinion denyed the Admittance of what is from God and by the Light of Nature discovered to be his mind and will Let them once prove any thing in contest between them and their Adversaries to be required prescribed exacted or made necessary by the Light of Nature as the Will of God revealed therein and I will assure them that as to my concern there shall be an end of all difference about it But yet th●● I may adde a little farther light into the sense of the Non-Conformists in this matter I say 1. That this inbred Light of Reason guides unto nothing at all in or about the Worship of God but what is more fully clearly and directly taught and declared in the Scripture And this may easily be evinced as from the untoward mixture of darkness and Corruption that is befallen our primigenial i●bred Principles of Light and Wisdom by the entrance of sin so also from the end of the Scripture it self which was to restore that knowledge of God and his mind which was lost by sin and which might be as useful to man in his lapsed condition as the other was in his pure and uncorrupted estate At present therefore I shall leave this Assertion in expectation of some instance in matters great or small to the contrary before I suppose it be obnoxious to question or dispute 2. As there can be no Opposition nor contradiction between the Light of Nature and inspired Vocal or Scriptural Revelation because they are both from God So if in any instance there should appear any such thing unto us neither Faith nor Reason can rest in that which is pretended to be natural Light but must betake themselves for their resolution unto express Revelation And the reason hereof is evident because nothing is natural light but what is common to all men and where it is denyed it is frustrated as to its ruling Efficacy Again it is mixed as we said before and it is not every mans work to separate the Chaffe from the Wheat or what God hath implanted in the mind of man when he made him upright and what is since soaked into the Principles of his Nature from his own inventions But this case may possibly very rarely fall out and so shall not much be insisted on 3. Our enquiry in our present contest is solely about Instituted Worship which we believe to depend on supernatural Revelation the light of Nature can no way relieve or guide us in it or about it because it refers universally to things above and beyond that light but only with reference unto those Moral Natural Circumstances which appertain unto those actings or actions of men whereby it is performed which we willingly submit unto its guidance and direction Again Vocal Revelation hath come under two considerations First As it was occasional Secondly As it became stated First As it was occasional For a long time God was pleased to guide his Church in many concerns of his Worship by fresh occasional Revelations even from the giving of the first promise unto Adam unto the solemn giving of the Law by Moses For although men had in process of time many stated Revelations that were preserved by Tradition among them as the first Promise the Institution of Sacrifices and the like yet as to sundry emergencies of his Worship and parts of it God guided them by new Occasional Revelations Now those Revelations being not recorded in the Scripture as being only for present or emergent use we have no way to know them but by what those to whom God was pleased so to reveal himself did practise and which on good testimony found acceptance with him Whatever they so did they had especial Warranty from God for which is the case of the great Institution of Sacrifices it self It is a sufficient Argument that they were Divinely instituted because they were graciously accepted Secondly Vocal Revelation as the Rule of Worship became stated and invariable in and by the giving and writing of the Law From thence with the allowances before mentioned we confine it to the Scripture and so unto all succeeding generations I confess many of our company who kept to us hitherto in granting Divine Revelation to be the sole Principle and Rule of Religious Worship now leave us and betake themselves to paths of their own The Postmisnicall Jews after many attempts made that way by their Predecessors both before and after the Conversation of our Lord Christ in the flesh at length took up a resolution that all obligatory Divine Revelation was not contained in the Scripture but was partly preserved by Orall Tradition For although they added a multitude of Observances unto what were prescribed unto their Fathers by Moses yet they would never plainly forego that Principle nor do to this day that Divine Revelation is the Rule of Divine Worship Wherefore to secure their Principle and practice and to reconcile them together which are indeed at an unspeakable variance they have fancied their Oral Law which they assert to be of no less certain and Divine Original than the Law that is written On this pretence they plead that they keep themselves unto the fore-mentioned Principle under the Superstition of a multitude of self-invented observances The Papists also here leave us but still with a semblance of adhering to that Principle which carryes so great and uncontrollable an evidence with it as that there are very few as was said who have hitherto risen up in a direct and open opposition unto it For whereas they have advanced a double Principle for the Rule of Religious Worship besides the Scripture namely Tradition and the present Determinations of their Church from thence educed they assert the first to be Divine or Apostolical which is all one and the latter to be accompanyed with Infallibility which is the formal Reason of our adherence and submission unto Divine Revelations So that they still adhere in general unto the fore-mentioned Principle however they have debauched it by their advancement of those other Guides But herein also we must do them right that they do not absolutely turn loose those two rude creatures of their own Traditions and present Church determinations upon the whole face of Religion to act therein at their pleasure but they secure them from whatever is determined in the written word affirming them to take place only in those things that are not contrary to the Word or not condemned in it For in such they con●ess they ought not nor can take place Which I doubt whether our Author will allow of or no in reference to the power by him asserted By Religious Worship in the Thesis above we understand as was said before instituted

Testimonies of the writings given by divine inspiration We have here the full substance of what is pleaded for and might the Advice of this Noble Emperour be admitted we should have a readier way to expedite all our present Differences than as yet seems to be provided for us The great Basil speaks yet more expresly than Constantine the great lib. de confes fid 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. It hath the manifest guilt of infidelity and pride to reject any thing that is written or to add or introduce any thing that is not written which is the summ of all that in this matter is contended for To the same purpose he discourseth Epist. 80. ad Eustath where moreover he rejects all pretences of Customs and usages of any sorts of men and will have all differences to be brought for their Determination to the Scripture Christstome in his Homily on Psalm 95. speaks the same sense saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who is it that promiseth these things Paul For we are not to say any thing without Testimony nor upon our meer Reasonings For if any thing be spoken without Scripture Testimony the mind of the hearers fluctuates now assenting anon hesitating sometimes rejecting what is spoken as frivolous sometimes receiving it as probable But where the Testimonies of the Divine Voice comes forth from the Scripture it confirmeth the word of the Speaker and the mind of the Hearer It is even so whilest things relating to Religion and the Worship of God are debated and disputed by the reasonings of men or on any other principles besides the express Authority of the Scriptures no certainty or full perswasion of mind can be attained about them Men under such actings are as Lucian in his Menippus says He was between the Disputations of the Philosophers sometimes he nodded one way sometimes another and seemed to give his assent backwards and forwards to express contradiction It is in the Testimony of the Scripture alone about the things of God that the Consciences of those that fear him can acquiesce and find satisfaction The same Author as in many other places so in his 13 Homily on the 2 Epist. to the Corinth expresly sends us to the Scripture to enquire after all things as that which is the exact Canon ballance and Rule of Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Among the Latines Tertullian is express to the same purpose In his Book against Hermogenes Adoro said he plenitudinem Scripturum quae mihi factorem manifestat facta again Scriptum esse hoc doceat Hermogenis officina aut timeat rae illud adjicientibus aut detrahentibus destinatum I Adore the fulness of the Scripture And let Hermogenes prove what he saith to be written or fear the Woe denounced against them who add to or take from the Word And again in his Book de Carne Christi Non recipio quod extra Scriptuream de tuo infers I do not receive what you bring of your own without Scripture So also in his Book de Praescriptionibus Nobis nihil ex nostro arbitrio indulgere licet sed nec eligere quod aliquis de arbitrio suo induxerit Apostoles Domini habemus authores qui nec ipsi quicquam ex suo arbitrio quod inducerent elegerunt sed acceptam a Christo disciplain ani deliter Nationibus assignaverunt It is ● lawful for us in these things to ind●● unto our own choice nor to choose what ● one brings in of his choosing We have Apostles of our Lord for our Examp●● who brought in nothing of their own min● or choice But having received the Discipl● of Christian Religion from Chrsit t●● faithfully communicated it to the Nation ● Hierome is plain to the same purpose i● sundry places So Comment in 23 Matt● Quod de Scripturis authoritatem non habet ea●dem facilitate contemnitur qua probatur Th●● which hath not Authority from the Scripture● is as easily despised as asserted Comm. i● Hagg. cap. 1. Sed alia quae absque autho●●ritate testimoniis scripturarum quasi traditione Apostolica sponte reperiunt atque confingunt percutit gladius Dei But those other things which without Authority or Testimony of the Scriptures they find out or faign of their own accord as of Apostolical Tradition the sword of God smites through It were easie to produce twenty other Testimonies out of the Ancient Writers of the church giving sufficient countenance to the Assertion contended about What account our Author gives of this Principle is now very briefly to be considered First therefore pag. 174 175. he re●es it as a pretence wild and humoursome ●ich men must be absurd if they believe ● impudent if they do not seeing it hath ●t the least shaddow or foundation either ●m Scripture or Reason though it be ex●●esly asserted either in its own terms or ●onfirmed by direct deductions in and ●om above forty places of Scripture ●nd so much for that part of the as●ault The next chargeth it with infinite follies ●nd mischiefs in those which allow it And 't is said that there can never be an end of alterations and disturbances in the Church whilest it is maintained The contrary whereof is true confirmed by Experience and Evidence of the thing it self The admittance of it would put an End to all disturbances For let any man judge whether if there be matters in difference as in all these things there are and ever were the bringing them to an issue and a setled stability be not likelier to be effected by all mean consenting unto one common Rule whereby they may be tryed and examined than that every party should be left at liberty to indulge to their own Affections and Imaginations about them And yet we are told p. 178. that all the pious Villanies that ever have disturbed the Christian World have sheltered themselves in this grand Maxime that Jesus Christ is the only Law-maker to his Church I confess I could heartily desire that such expressions might be forborn For let what pretence men please be given to them and colour put upon them they are full of scandal to Christian Religion The Mixime it self here traduced is as true as any part of the Gospel And it cannot be pretended that it is not the Maxime it self but the abuse of it as all the Principles of the Gospel through the Blindness and Lusts of men have been abused that is reflected on seeing the design of the whole Discourse is to evert the Maxime it self Now whatever Apprehensions our Author may have of his own Abilities I am satisfied that they are no way competent to disprove this Principle of the Gospel as will be evident on the first attempt he shall make to that purpose let him begin the tryal as soon as he pleaseth In the third Section we have an heap of instances raked together to confront the Principle in its proper sense before declared and vindicated in no one whereof it is at all concerned