Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A01039
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An ansvvere to M. I. Forbes of Corse, his peaceable warning
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Calderwood, David, 1575-1650.
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1638
(1638)
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STC 11143; ESTC S102458
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22,575
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36
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called before the Earle of Murrey Regent and the Lords of privie Counsel who were present with him in Aberdene in Iulie 1569. and were requyred to approve by subscription the old Confession of Faith with all other Acts made concerning Christian Religion in the Parliamenrs holden at Edinburgh in August 1560. and December 1567. They were deprived for their refusall of all honours dignities functions preheminences faculties and priviledges within the said Colledge and of libertie to instruct the youth in any part within this Realme The Commissioner of the Kirk to the shirefdomes of Aberdene Bamfe pronounced the like sentence by the advice counsell and consent of the Ministers and Elders in these bounds But so it is that suâ—drie of these acts of Parliament whereunto they were requyred to subscribe were negative as you use the terme or a rejection of popish errours either in generall or particular as the denyall of the Popes authoritie and jurisdiction the annulling of all Acts made since K. Iames the first his time not agrieing with the word of God and contrarie to the confession of Faith then published the condemniâ—g of the Masse baptising conforme to the manner of the popish Kirk and the abrogating and annulling of all laws acts and constitâ—tions canons civill or municipall contrarie to the said true Religion So you see that even then they thought it not enough to require subscription to the Confession but also to abrenunce contrarie errours specially popish This Confession which you call the negative explaineth more particularly these acts And therfore in the title before it was called A generall Confession of the true Christian faith Religion according to GODS Word and Acts of Parliaments It were good that the like course were taken with you and your fellowes in Aberdene to that which was taken with these before you that is to remove you if you subscribe not that Confession which you seeme to despyte so much In the meane time I would have you content to call it not the negative Confession but the generall Confession as the title beareth To the second Chapter YOu saye divine authoritie appertaineth absolutely to the canonicall Scriptures conditionally to other writings and sermons to wit in so far as they have the trueth revealed in the Scriptures contained in them What if there bee no errour but all trueth which is contained wil you call them therefore absolutely divine Wee professe wee believe with our hearts confesse with our mouthes subscribe with our hands and constantly affirme both before God and the World that the Religion particularly expressed in the confâ—ssion of Faith confirmed by sundrie acts of Parliaments is Gods eternall Trueth and therefore you are bound to sticke to it howbeit wee hold not that or any other confession absolutelie divine For that testimonie whether by word or writ is called divine and hath absolutely divine authoritie which hath God himselfe for the author of it either immediatly by himselfe or by the ministrie of men to whom hee delivered his will by vision dreame or immediat inspiration of the Spirit Both the matter and diction are from GOD. If the testimonie of learned men agreable with the Scriptures might bee called divine absolutely and simply then there should be no difference betweene the holy Scripture the same writings of the learned The Manicheans saide that what Orpheus Sybilla and the Philosophers of the Gentiles foretold of Christ were of as great authoritie as the wordes of the Prophets Augustine answereth that if any trueth bee found in them it availeth to their conviction but not to bee holden in estimation or authoritie as the words of the Prophets For the Devills said hee spake true things of Christ yet were not of as great authoritie as the Angels See in Gratian dist 37. Sicut veri But it may bee in stead of conditionally divine you wold say in some regard or respect that is in respect of the trueth of the matter in which respect it cannot bee called conditionally divine because it is alreadie so farre divine And this is the expression of Divines Etsi enim verae Ecclesiae judicium testimonium dici possit divinum non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nis mirum quatenus cum Scriptura sacra proinde cum Spiritu sancto revelata Dei voluntate congruit tamen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 considaratum non est divinum sed humanum quia non est immediate a spiritu sancto inspiratum Alioqui omne juo dicium testimonium cujuscunque hominis congruens cum sacra scriptura esset divinum atque ita jamnulla esset differentia quoad authoritatem interscripta Prophetarum Apostolorum aliorum ecclesia Doctorum sacris literis consentanea scribentium So wee saye of our Confession of Faith it is not simpliciter divine but in respect of the matter trueth contained into it it may bee called in that respect and so farre only divine Where you saye if wee find in the writings of men any thing repugnant to the holy Scriptures wee ought to reject it correct it or amend it as our progenitours willingly professed in their epistle prefixed to their nationall Confession That epistle or preface seemeth to have beene written in name of the Barons Gentlemen Burgesses other Subjects professing the true Religion who after that they had in their Supplication to the Estates offered to prove the doctrine of the Roman Kirk to bee repugnant to the word of God were coÌ„manded to draw up the summe of that doctrine which they would maintaine and desire the Parliament to ratifie Within foure dayes after it was presented and read first before the Lords of the Articles and after before the whole Estates Some of the Ministrie were present standing readie to answere what might bee alleadged against it The Bishops and others of a contrarie mind were charged in the name of GOD to object against it if they could Everie Article was read by it selfe None would nor could object in the contrare The Eerle of Marshall protested that no Ecelesiasticall person should afterward have place to oppone considering that time was granted them to advise and none opponed in so free and peaceable a Parliament After that none opponed by argument The Confession it selfe without their epistle prefixed when it was exhibited by the Protestants as the title beareth before the Confession was authorized as a doctrine grounded upon the infallible Word of God as you may see where it is insert in the acts of Parliament Apparently you would have no Confession of Faith ratified and authorized or to stand firme and stable but that everie man may have libertie to impugne it This were to unsettle a Kirk or Estate After a Confession is ratified none should bee suffered to be members let bee office-bearers in that Kirk who refuse to subscribe or impugneth it private or publick in schooles or pulpits unlesse it be first corrected by the
negative position but is only a rejection of sundrie popish errours particularly expressed with generall clauses for rejection of the rest as your selfe confesse in the 9 page Neither is it a great volumne How often doe your selfe call it a short Confession You saye it may bee gathered by that speach that hee did utterly disallow and annull that Confession Hee allowed it before both in his none age and majoritie Next it was necessarie for the discoverie of masked Papists and still is for masked Papists and Ministers to use such formes of speach I detest I abhorre c. It is strange that that should bee dislyked now which was thought necessarie then But suppose the forme of the Confession was disallowed by that speach yet could it not annull the former mandat A speach uttered in a conference holden out of the Countrie could not repeale the acts of Counsell made at home and his owne publick Proclamation Next that speach was uttered if uttered in a free discourse to such as were there present and was not delivered by way of precept charge or declaration to us M. Patrick Galloway in a letter dated the tenth of Februar 1604. and directed to the Ptesbyterie of Edinburgh hath these words Sundrie as they favoured gave out copies of things heere concluded Where-upon I my selfe tooke occasion as I was an eye and eare witnes to set them downe and presented them to his Majestie who with his owne hand mended some things and eeked other things which I had omitted Which corrected copie with his owne hand I have and have sent you heerewith the just transsumpt of it word by word But in that transsumpt there is no mention of such a speach nor the least inkling against the Confession of our faith which had beene verie pertinent and requisite if hee had intended either a recalling of his mandat or a declaration of his disallowance of that Confession But suppose hee had yet as I have said that could not bee a recalling of his royall mandat the Confession of faith beeing authorized by acts of Counsell acts of Assembly and Parliament neither could the Confession bee abandoned beeing alreadie received sworne and subscribed by the Subjectes universallie Doctor Andrews in his Tortura torti denyeth that hee might have given libertie of conscience in respect of his oath at his Coronation first in Scotland and then in England For then sayth hee hee should bee twise perjured Non semel perjurus esset quin bis si te andiat You would draw upon him a greater guilt that would have made him to draw others also into perjurie You prove next that the royall mandat was made voyde by his death and expyred with the royall breath and to this effect you cite the sentence following out of the glosse upon the 19 chapter of the first Booke of the Decretalls Morte mandantis expirat mandatum which as you have cited is false But these words of the glosse are received Mortuo mandatore re existente integra expirat mandatum The scope of the text is to determine that the jurisdiction of him that is delegate expyreth not by the death of him who delegated if there bee litiscontestation before his death because then the matter is not whole and untouched So likewise Iustinian sayeth of that mandatum that is contracted betwixt him that giveth and him that undertaketh the charge of anye businesse the Mandator and Mandatarius that the contract is loosed if the death of any of them interveene before entrie to execution Si adhuc integro mandato mors alterius interveniat Such like in authorative mandats if hee to whom commission was given to put it to execution depart before hee put it in execution there can bee no farther proceeding till another bee placed in his rowme But for the receiving the Confession of Faith the Commissions given were put in execution both in the 1580 and 1590 yeares The Confession beeing once received sworne to and subscribed could not bee recalled by the death of the King who was the first beginner and ringleader of the work Doth a house fall with the death of the Master builder Neither was that Confession received for the Kings Mandat or direction alone but for the act of Counsell also Now the Counsell never dyeth For politick bodies are immortall and continue by succession Nor yet for the act of Counsell but most of all and principally for the ordinances and directions of the generall Assembly And last of all this Confession of faith is nothing els but the first Confession enlarged with some generall clauses and rejection of popish erours To the third Chapter YOu thinke it not convenient that the negative Confession bee authorized at this time and subscriptions requyred thereto and that for the reasons expressed in the conference at Hampton Court and because of some ambiguities and no small difficulties therein How valide your reason is alleadged by you out of the conference at Hampton Court let the Reader judge No man complained of ambiguities and difficulties in it till such as you are began to pretend the same because apparently your eyes were dazeled with the light thereof and you saw perhaps that which you desired not to see Howsoever it is already sufficiently authorized and needeth not to bee authorized againe for want of authoritiâ—e And seeing it is authorized all the members of this Kirk ought to subscribe it and at this time especially when the frame of Religion was like to be altered If there bee any ambiguities they may bee explained to the subscribers Cavillators and tergiversators should be proceeded against as simple refusers We aggree to the words of the 18 article in the Confession of Faith but that maketh nothing against us who are already perswaded that our Confession is grounded upon the holy Scriptures It is true wee ought to bee busie instructing the people in the positive groundes of trueth but that hindereth us not to explaine to them points of heresie which were set downe for masked Papists and now Ministers themselves are leavened with Poperie Arminianisme Should not the true shepheard bee carefull to warne the sheep if they bee in danger of the Wolfe If any of us have given any other interpretation then the Confession of faith it selfe will beare wee shall bee ready to passe from it when wee shall be convinced You are sorie that some of us in printed workes condemne Episcopacie and the five Perth articles What any have writtten I trust they will bee ready to defend For the present I maintaine that by this Confession which you call the negative wee abjure Episcopacie For in this Confession wee protest that wee detest the Romane Antichrist his worldlie Monarchie and wicked Hierarchie The Popish hierarchie doth consist of Bishops Presbyters and Deacons that is baptising and preaching Deacons For it is so determined by the Councell of Trent in the 4. chap. de Sacramento ordinis Can. 6. Si quis dixerit in ecclesia