Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	church_n	faith_n	true_a	7,319	5	5.4231	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53999	Jerub-baal, or, The pleader impleaded being an answer to Mr. Croftons (lately published) plea for communion with the Church under her present corruptions, &c., entituled Reformation not separation by way of humble remonstrance thereunto : shewing, that non-communion with the Church of England in her liturgy and common-prayer, in those that (yet) joyn with her in the substantial ordinances and instituted worship of Christ, is no schism, and that such are unjustly called separatists : in a letter / written by T.P. for the private satisfaction of a friend, and by him published for common benefit.	T. P.	1662 (1662)	Wing P112; ESTC R7299	36,119	58

breach in tantum though not in totum a breach in yet 't is no interruption or breach of Vnion but rather a temporary intermission of Comfortable Communion What though the Trees of Righteousnesse have their Autumn-season their fall of the leaf the trees of the Vineyard as well as those of the Forrest There is still an Indeficient principle of life in them by vertue of their incision and ingrasture into their Common Root Christ the Tree of Life This is both defensive and offensive Armour against our Arminian Adversaries who daringly assert a Schism and Seperation here de possibilis that is that 't is possible for the truly Faithfull totally and finally to apostatize from Christ and thus of true Converts to become very Cast-awayes sad doctrine Might we receive what they obtrude for Orthodoxy verily we might betake our selves to our pen and write our faith vain all our prayers lost and our selves of all men most miserable If the foundation be destroyed what can the Righteous do But now here is the Beleevers Fort-Royal namely his Inviolable Conjunction with his Living Head Christ this is an impregnable bottom of Saint-stability groud of Christian-perseverance and guard against their total-final Apostacy Quatenus unimur munimur this Vnity is our Safety By vertue of this to speak a big word the State of grace is equally safe though not equally comfortable with the State of glory and the Spiritual State of the weakest equally safe though not equally comfortable with that of the strongest Beleever salvation being annexed to a Real Vnion with Christ which is grounded on the truth of Faith not to comfortable Communion with him which ordinarily attends the raised degrees and strength of Faith Conclude we then all the Members yea the very meanest of the Church Invisible to be in this sense Invincible Obeunt non pereunt dye they must perish they shall not cannot None of them is lost The second is that Vnion and Communion wherein all the Members of the Church Catholick-Visible the Professors of the true Religion throughout the world are by vertue of their Common Profession of One Lord One Faith Eph 4.5 One Baptisme Gospel-doctrine and worship united amongst themselves and joyntly concorporated with Christ as One Entire Body Catholick Now to apply this to our purpose 1. The Vnion that is between Christ and the Catholick visible-Visible-Church considered as a Collective Body of Professors is also un-interruptible admits of no breach She in this sense can neither by Universal Apostacy fall off nor by any Violence be broken off from her Common Head Christ True The Church hath her Moon-like waxings and weanings gradual though not substantial Changes SIONS Sun hath his Apogaeums and Perigaeums The Waters of the Sanctuary their Reciprocations they often ebb as well as flow The Churches Glory is frequently what by Intestine Corruptions and Divisions what by forreign Combinations against her and Torrents of persecution clouded and eclipsed insomuch that an ICHABOD might often seem best to become her whom yet her Lord hath dignified with this title of honour Christ-Mystical But the Light of the Church though often eclipsed was never as yet extinguished being continually renewed by the Auxiliary influences of the great Sun of Righteousnesse The Truth hath in no age wanted either Patron or Proselyte The Visible Church surely was very Consumptive when the whole Body seemed to be contracted to one Member abridged in a single Elijah that second Jerub-baal a Champion-Zealot for the Truth and yet even then were there no less than 7000 Non-Conformists in Israel 1 King 19.10.14.18 God had got their Hearts and now Baal shall not so much as have a knee Reflect we upon the Primitive Churches Sanguine Complexion under the Tyranny and ten Persecutions of the Heathenish Heroes when the whole earth was * Aug. in Psa 118. Vid. Corn. Tacit. Lib. 5. Annal. Tertul. Apolog advers Gent. purpled and scarleted with Martyr-blood when the very name of Christian was a Crime when he that professed himself a Christian dyed by a Sanguinary Law enacted to that purpose without either self-defence or conviction when thousands were dispatched being nominis tantum et sectae rei guilty of a meer name Christian When Dioclesian that Infernal Wolf having upon a Hell-devised Oracle or Prophecy viz That if the Christians were but once cut off the Roman Empire would wonderfully flourish caused no lesse than 17000 to be massacred in one moneth did most wickedly boast De delet● nomine Christiano That he had everlastingly rased out of memory and utterly abolished the very name of a Christian yet could not the sword of violence ever intersect the line of Church-Succession yea the more they were mowed down the more they multiplyed Plures efficimur quoties metimur saith that Christian-Mecaenas * Apolog. adver Geut Tertullian Againe who could have expected any to have appeared for the patronage of the Truth under the Torrid Zone of Antichristian persecution and yet behold even then hath Christ his two Witnesses Rev. 11. Two though but two though the least number yet a number though a small yet a competent number a Quorum of Witnesses by whose testimony the opposed Truth should be protected and established so impossible a thing it is that Christ should ever be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without a Witnesse Call we to mind Modern Persecutors That English Lionnesse Q. M. with her Wolf and Leopard Brethren in iniquity Bloody Charis the fifth and the Duke of Alva both which died their souls red with blood they having destroyed of Protestants the one 50000 in the Low Countries the other 18000 in Belgia in six years time the French Massacre Anno 1572. Even all the conflicts between the seed of the Woman and the seed of the Serpent since the quarrel was first begun in Paradise which hath been fiercely pursued well nigh six thousand years All that time hath God uninterruptedly maintained a continued Series and Succession of Persons notwithstanding Captivities and hostile Cruelties Patriarks Prophets and all the Old-Testament-Professors Apostles Fathers Councels Confessors Martyrs and all New-Testament-Saints in and by whom the true Religion hath been professed preserved and successively though not alwayes very successefully propagated kept by some guarded by others and through good providence transmitted by all to us Isa 53.10 'T is impossible that Christ should want a Seed a Church or that Church a Guardian and Defendor of the Faith For the Church to be Christ-lesse and for Christ to be Church-lesse are equall impossibilities The Church Militant is Christs Sublunary Kingdom which admits of no Interregna or Vacancy There is in her though not an Infallibility yet an Indeficiency Subject she is to Corruption within but not to Interruption to Obstruction from without but not to destruction She is a house built upon a Rock Mat. 16.18 and this Rock is Christ the Foundation as well as Founder of his Church therefore she must needs

shall be saved Worship is necessary to Salvation How shall they call on him in whom they have not beleeved Faith is necessary to Worship How shall they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard Hearing is necessary to Faith How shall they hear without a Preacher Preaching is necessary to Hearing so that without Worship there is no Salvation without Faith no true Worship without Hearing no Faith and without Preaching no Hearing therefore a primo ad ultimum the Word preached is necessary to Salvation no Word no Life ah may this loathed Manna never fail from amidst our Brittish-Israel Thrice miserable are they whose Sun sets where the Sun of Righteousnesse never rose with healing in his Wings Solomon the great Sophi of the World hath long agoe read the Destinie of such Where there is no Vision ●●eunt pere●●t the people perish Prov. 29.18 a sad Exit There is Visio Salvifica in the Church Militant as well as Visio Beatifica in the Triumphant There be no true Saints who are not in this sense SEERS This is the first Communion wherein I am chargeable with no Breach while I professe my self a Christian All Professors throughout the VVorld are in this respect Communicants 2. Communion with the Church Visible by way of Participation or actual Enjoyment of the Ordinances and celebration of the instituted Worship of Christ in a particular place the Communion in question is I grant a Duty oblieging semper but not ad semper To explaine my self A Particular Church such as is the Church of England having her rise as such not from a Common Call by the Word onely for the Catholick-Visible Church hath her rise from that but from a Particular Providential Call for so I may term it whereby Persons whether Natives or Forreigners are called to inhabit reside or live there where there is fit Opportunity of enjoying the Publique Ordinances and celebrating the instituted Worship of Christ by way of Social-Joynt-Communion as Providence Opportunity or necessary Occasions shall vary the Obligation to Joynt-Communion must vary also Mr. Crofton cannot deny that there may be many Members of the Vniversal Catholick who yet never had opportunity of associating themselves with or of Joynt-Communion in the Solemn Publique Worship he speaks of in a Particular Church and many have had it who have been deprived of it as Merchants and Marriners professing the true Religion who in pursuance of their Secular Callings are distanced from a true Constituted Church some of them living in Spaine others in India others in Turky c. or such as through sickness are kept from the Enjoyment of Publick Ordinances c. We cannot say that Communion with a Particular Church in such Persons under that providence is an Indispensable duty or Non-Communion Schism unless we also say which were very hard that they are bound to an Impossibility Providence gives a Dispensation as it were in case of Necessary and Inevitable Non-Communion In a word Where Opportunity is serving Violence not obstructing Corruptions not barring no Necessity hindering there Joynt-Communion in Solemn Publique Worship is an Indispensable duty otherwise That which gives a Call gives also a Discharge viz. Providence Those that disclaim all Church-Fellowship out of a peevish petulancy slighting all opportunities thereof are justly to be disclaimed as Self-out-lawed such as the Vagrant Seekers c. led by the Ignis Fatuus the wild-fire of their own deluded Fancy Surely Communion of Saints is no Article of their Creed the maintaining of which should be in our respective Capacities every ones endeavour But to proceed Sir I own an Obligation lying upon me whereby I am bound to communicate with the Church of England whereof I professe my self a Member she being as is acknowledged a True Church notwithstanding her many Corruptions in these Parts of Gods Real-Solemn Publick Worship wherein Violent Impositions Prevalent Corruptions or some or other Inevitable barrs necessitate not a withdrawment and Non-Communion and if I should not I should greatly sin But what does this make for Communion with her in her Liturgy and Common-Prayer Yes sayes Mr. Crofton 'T is an Act of Solemn Publick Worship c. and therefore matter of duty That is next to be tryed The Second Thing to be distinguished is Solemn Publick Worship Religious Worship may be said to be Solemn and Publick in respect of a threefold Community or Solemnity viz 1. Personal In respect of Persons worshipping 2. Local In respect of the Place of worship 3. Real In respect of the Matter and Constitution of worship 1. That Worship which is celebrated by a Plurality or Society of Persons wheresoever convented is Solemn and Publique in respect of Persons now our English Liturgy-Service may I confess in this respect passe for Worship Solemn and Publique and so may the Popish-Masse-Service too 2. That Worship properly is in respect of Place Solemn and Publick the particular Place whereof as well as the Worship it self is appointed of God Now the Jewish Worship celebrated in the Temple Tabernacle was in this respect as shall appear by and by the onely Solemn and Publique Worship in the world 3. That Worship whereof God is the Author as well as the Object the Word the Rule as well as the Matter The Catholick-Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles That Worship which Christ Himself the Churches Lord-Regent and Law-giver did appoint and institute which the Apostles His Seminary Disciples did by vertue of Authority derived from Him commend and command which the Gospel the Christian Churches Directory doth Licence and Warrant which hath been by a Continued Series and Succession of Christian Professors Faiths Defenders from Christ and his Apostles uninterruptedly maintained and at length through the Current of Sixteen hundred years happily as to substance at least transmitted and conveyed to us is in respect of Matter Authentique Constitution and Reality the onely Solemn Publique Divine Worship in the Christian world Now to apply 1. Communion with the Church-Visible in that Worship which is in respect of Matter and Authentique Constitution Solemn and Publique namely That which was instituted by Christ Himself the Churches Publique Head preached and pressed by the Apostles the Churches Publique Guides recorded as the onely Evangelical Worship in the Gospel the Churches Publique Rule and in conformity to this Rule observed and performed by the Primitive Christians for the first two hundred years the purest Ages of the Christian Church This and all other Churches Publique Example is I readily grant an Essential Part of the Sanctification of the Lords Day and a Positive indispensable duty to be upon perill superseded or intermitted upon no less Warrant or Authority then that which imposed it with this assurance that God will have mercy and not sacrifice In Conscience whereof I own my self oblieged to joyn with some Society in a Particular True Church a Part of the Church Catholick-Visible while opportunity serves and no Real Inevitable Obstruction