Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	apostle_n	church_n	time_n	1,801	5	3.9369	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92025	A reply to the answer of Anonymus to Doctor Gauden's Analysis of the sense of the covenant: and under that, to a later tract of one Mr Zach. Crofton of the same fraternity with him. By John Rowland Oxoniensis, CCC. Rector of Footscray in Kent.	Rowland, John, 1606-1660.	1660 (1660)	Wing R2070; Thomason E1038_4; ESTC R207862	40,193	52

that hath made such a rent in the Church for the devil and all his works to enter by against which we covenanted in Baptism and being you can finde no shelter for it in the New Testament you have recourse to the Old and there you are in as bad a case for unless you will make use of Korah and his Conspiracy I know not what precept or pattern you finde for it for you produce none onely you make a question Is there no precept nor pattern for covenanting against our English Episcopacy and you make your own answer There is not any for it I say nor is it much material that he hath found none against it for we can finde no such Episcopacy in the New Testament nor warranted by it But we can finde patterns of Episcopacy both in the Old and New Testament that were not barely typical but an excellent form of Church-Government by High Priests Priests and Levites by the apostles extraordinary in whose room our ordinary Bishops succeeded under whom were the 70. the Presbyters in a large sense sometimes called Bishops also and under them the Deacons This is as clear from the New Testament as noon day in the Acts of the Apostles St. Paul to Titus and Timothy c. and he must wilfully shut his eyes that sees not the distinction of these Offices in the Church which continued from the primitive times until this late Covenanting way pat the Church of God into a confusion and sought to destroy all order and uniformity and I think they are no little proud of it that without either Precept or Pattern were the first inventers of it and would fain propagate it to future times but I hope they will be deceived for it hath cost men so dear already that it is probable they will take warning and learn to be wiser hereafter We have shewed you ground enough for establishing Episcopacy shew us as much if you can for your Piesb terial Government The Covenant is not onely against his adored Episcopacy but in the full latitude extended against Popery heresie schism c. how chance then you break it by being so schismatical profaneness and whatsoever is contrary to sound doctrine c. and for Preservation and Reformation of Religion c. It s well you put Preservation first and we wish you had done so for where you begin to resorm you destroy all witness your information of the Liturgy casting it quite out of doors You say it was not made onely against Episcopacy but it was principally as if that were worse then Popery for you must it seemes stretch it in its full latitude to take in Popery heresie or any thing else and had it not been that Episcopacy stood in your way which you knew not how to remove your Covenant had never been made against any of the rest or else surely you would as there was always cause enough have entred into it long before but Popery heresie schism and all that you were pleased to make to depend upon Episcopacy in the Covenant were onely added to perswade the people who understood no better that Episcopacy was the foundation of them all You have put in also many sweet ingredients to make it go down the better to maintain true Religion You have maintained it fairly Defence of His Majesties person And did you not well defend him Ad populum phaleras And why are you so offended with the Doctor to throw off and abominate the Covenant meerly for onely one single Clause for extirpating the late Hierarchy if so intended You did intend it sure enough and therefore is that single Clause sufficient were it not safer to throw the Covenant away than to take it when the poison lies close in it is discovered Speak I pray you or else let some men of more reason and religion answer for you For the Doctor to desor be particularly what Episcopacy he would have retroduced I think you understand his meaning or let me tell you such as it was before your Covenant drove it out onely with this limitation that particular mens errors should not be imputed to the Government which allows them not but declaims against them You say you might leave it to all sober Christians how little your Covenant differs from the Covenant of Baptism c. wherein every man stipulateth to deny all ungodliness and to live soberly c. If you will leave it so I am certain you will be condemned by them for it for they were no sober Christians that penned the Covenant but hot-spurs and fiery zealots who will force all men to be guided by what they please to set up as Nebuchadaezar did his golden image that every man must fall down and worship it do you say how little your Covenant differs from the sacred Covenant of Baptism You gave that Epithere Sacred to your Covenant before and do you th●nk they are so much of a kinde because of that they differ toto coelo they are no more like as the Proverb is than chalk and cheese and I believe I may safely call it blasphemy to compare the factious Contrivances of seditious men to Gods sacred Ordinances And what you insist upon concerning the Baptismal Covenant to strengthen yours is but vain babling for it signifies nothing to any understanding man Do true Christians truly entred in o the Baptismal Covenant break it by wilful and presumptuous sins Because the Doctor said we break our Covenant in Baptism by wilful and presumptuous sins did you never sin wilfully since you were baptized is all weaknesses with you who I might say have wilfully and maliciously contrary to Gods Law fallen away from your due obedience to your Governors and erected a Covenant a Calf in Horeb to make your selves famous amongst the congregation and to exalt your selves above your Superiors you take too much upon you ye sons of Levi. You say you have insisted upon this the longer because of the Doctors words That by repentance we renew our Covenant in Baptism surely say you no more then it renews the remission of our sins which no repentance but Christ in Baptism hath bestowed upon us once for all Thus you trifle away the time by sinister interpretations of what will admit a very safe and Orthodox construction for without Christs merits all Baptism and Repentance is of none effect yet you have a very acute nose that you can smell here a strong savour of Arminianism and Popery I shall make amends by brevity in the rest You need not have croubled us with so much idle discourse as you have done Whereas the Doctor saith That there is neither Law of God or man requiring or comprobating any such Covenant at the best it is but a matter of Will-worship of human private invention c. an Engine framed of purpose to batter down Episcopacy to seize their Estates and the Church-patrimony to the great enrichment of some sacrilegious Protestants to the great joy of

as you do onely mention it and no more but for any Covenants they entred into without their Princes consent if you knew of any you should have mentioned that or else hold your peace but it is clear you could finde none which is sufficient to shew your falshood and folly and blasphemy in the close who dare compare your Covenant with our sacred Covenant made with God in Baptism wherein we are sprinkled with the blood of Christ and spiritually washed from the guilt of original sin Give me leave to make a short digression if it be any to shew how hurtful it is to binde the King and his Subjects to stand to the Covenant We honor our Kings here as Christs Vice-gerents upon earth and although they are compassed with human infirmities and are restrained by good Laws from doing wrong because of the largeness of their power yet they ought not to be bound with Saint Peters bonds or hindred from doing any good they can You know that God hath given to the Kings of England a miraculous Gift of Healing most scroffulous Tumors called The Kings Evil for every good gift comes from God and that many hundreds have been healed by His Majesties touching of them since His happy Return who could finde no remedy before from Chyrurgions or Physicians and divers perished for want of help and if the Christian Kings of France can do the like it is but a farther Confirmation of the certainty and lawfulness of it now when they perform these Cures some worthy Bishop or Episcopal Divine waiteth on them repeating the Promise of our blessed Saviour to his Church over which the King is held by us to be Supream in his Dominions They shall lay their hand upon the sick and they shall recover Mark 16.18 If your Covenant will not allow this to be done by them but that poor people must perish for want of Cure when God hath so graciously provided it for them how do you think it possible the people will endure such a Covenant I have been told that some sons of Belial should speak evil of it who would speak no better of Saint Pauls Napkins or of the shadow of Saint Peter passing by I do not finde that this way of healing was practised here at least so frequently before Edward the Confessor's dayes who is well represented on the Royal Exchange under a double capacity of King and Priest with a Crown on his head and a Bible in his hand and from him it descended to his Successors yet if I forget not I have read something of King Lucius to this purpose who was the first Christian King here when Joseph of Arimathea lived in this Island But should any man ask a reason why the King doth not cure all Diseases as well as that or why it was not practised so often at least in former days it would be to tedious to discourse of Sympathies and Antipathies of Thora and Antithora or of such providential wayes wherewith our good God doth always supply mankinde with helps against all defects and inconveniences where we stand in need One may as well forbid the use of the Mariners Compass as if it were performed by sorcery or inchantments because we cannot give a certain reason why the Loadstone should attract iron as it doth or the Needle should point alwayes to the North. I shall onely assign two reasons of His Majesties curing the Evil. The first shall be that it is very probable that this Evil is more frequent and increaseth more now than it did of old by reason of change of Diet or from what cause soever it may proceed wherein we differ from the Ancients and therefore God hath furnisht us with this remedy against it And secondly Christianity waxing cold and men being more subjoct to rebel against the Supream Magistrate than of elder times for so Saint Paul writes to Timothy That in the last dayes perillous times should come that men should be Traytors heady high-minded c. 2 Tim. 3.4 And Saint Peter saith 2 Pet. 3 3. There shall come in the last dayes scoffers walking after the rown lusts such as despise Government chap. 2.8 presumptuous not being afraid to speak evil of Dignities and therefore 1 Pet chap. 2.13 he commands all Submit your selves to every Ordinance of man to the King as Supream and verse 17. Fear God honour the King Now that Subjects might live more peaceably in obedience to the King this may be none of the least occasions God having hereby discovered unto us that he hath bestowed upon the King this divine Vertue of Healing some of the most general and spreading Diseases amongst the people more than he hath given to any other men I would we knew the extent of your Covenant if we must obey it I do not see but most degrees of Honor the Nobles as well as of the Clergy must be levelled by it It may be the Order of the Garter will be allowed for no better than an old Popish Ceremony fit to be abolished if you may tanquam ex cathreda interpret the sense of your Covenant which you hold to be as infallible as Rome doth her Church all must believe it under pain of damnation call but your Covenanters the Church and I find no difference But to return to Episcopacy methinks it is high time Bishops should be restored with more power than formerly which will be but moderate Episcopacy in regard of the great increase of Schisms and Heresies and the dangerous times we are fallen into But whom do you call your dear Mother of the Church of England Pray what is she Here according to your scurrilous way of jeering you proceed to speak non-sense it seems you are but an ungracious disobedient son your Mother is grown poor by many of your plunderings and sequestrings and now you will not know her Doth not St. Paul call himself the Father of those Churches he had begotten in Christ and why then cannot the Church of England spiritually and metaphorically be called our Mother whose breasts we suck in the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist The Scripture saith That Kings shall be the Churches Nursing Fathers and Queens Nursing Mothers Are you such a Critick and understand not that or will you quarrel with the Scripture for it As for your Post-script of Doctor Vshers Model of Reformed Episcopacy the Learned Doctor Bernard being now living is able to give the best account of that but I hope I have given you a good account of all the rest POST-SCRIPT THe Reader may if he please for his own better satisfaction compare the Arguments of Anonymus with those of Mr. Zachary Crofton who is reported to be the Goliath of the Covenanters in London and he shall finde them to be birds of a feather having little more to say for themselves Qui utrumvis recte noverit ambos immo omnes noverit answer one and answer them all I would counsel them if they will take my advice to live peaceably and not to disturb the Church of God whereof they are members considering how dangerous Schisms are to let in Popery Judaism Turkism Paganism and all manner of impiety to the subversion if it were possible of the Christian Faith we are all as brethren travelling to the Heavenly Canaan Let us remember that Charge Joseph gave to his brethren going to their earthly Canaan See that you fall not out by the way God grant us all a right understanding in all things There are others since Zach Crofton that plead for a Reformation of our Church in Doctrine Worship and Discipline let them by strength of Argument prove the necessity the pretend and let us have the same liberty in an amiable way to defend it and I doubt not of a good issue always with this proviso That the Covenanters shall not when they are at a loss run back to shelter themselves under their Covenant as they use to do We know what Ajax said of Vlysses Et quaerre censciui Arma they need not blaze it about so much to perswade the people things are so extream bad in the Church of England their best way will be if they mean peaceably to make their Addresses to the reverend Bishops and by their advice if there be any thing that will not agree with these mens queezy stomachs something may be more fully explained to give them satisfaction which I believe for my part is impossible for any men to do they are so inconstant in their judgements and resolutions and that it would not please them long if they were suffered to make the Alteration themselves they will stand to nothing unless their Dalilah the Covenant may be allowed to be Supream Governor and that is the main reason of the great noise they make for want of Reformation which if there were such necessity for it as they would make the world believe there is nothing hinders more than their Solemn League and Covenant for to what end should the wisest men upon the earth alledge Scripture Councels Fathers to confirm any Truth if when all is done it will not square with their Lesbian Rule their leaden Covenant which will bend every way and which alone they will admit to be the measure of it it shall be held by them for no Reformation at all Wherefore all that are dis-satisfied with our Church in Doctrine or Discipline must renounce the Covenant if they expect any thing to be amended and which is the readiest way to set things to rights rest in the wise and pious determination of our Ancestors who setled Episcopal Government here the livelyest pattern this day in all the world whereby all erronious and heterodox Opinions may be kept down and Religion setled and continued according to the true Rule which is the word of God My Coronis shall be an Hexastick of Sir John Sucklings never to be forgotten IF I were of your Covenant Then you would call me John of Gant Or one of high renown But now I am John for the King You will call me a poor Suckling And so you 'l cry me down FINIS