Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n
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A37363
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A Seasonable advice to all true Protestants in England, in this present posture of affairs discovering the present designs of the papists : with other remarkable things, tending to the peace of the church, and the security of the Protestant relion [sic] / by a sincere lover of his King and countrey.
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M. D.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing D63; ESTC R18433
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50,826
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67
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Non-Conformity hath been the sad occasion of much disturbance in this Nation of Tumults and War and that it continues to dissociate our minds and interests one from another to the general unquietness of this poor Church is that which none can well deny II. That all unnecessary and avoidable actions and proceedings whereby strife debates envy hatred malice and variance are entertained amongst men are contrary to Gods Laws and the Blessed Rules of the Gospel That teacheth to be like minded one towards another chiefly in matters of Religion Rom. xv 5. To consult in all our Actions Love Mercy and Charity one towards another John xiii 34. Which teaches us to suppress all distasts and to study to advance the universal unity of the Christians amongst whom we live 1 John iii. 1. and to abstain from all actions whereby differences are maintained 1 Cor. xiii 4 5 6. III. That we are to comply with all Rules Rites and Ceremonies established in the Church if they be not directly against Gods Glory or the Salvation of Mens Souls or if they be not expresly forbidden in Gods Holy Word or contrary to it This is confirmed to us by Christs own Example who conformed to the harmless and indifferent Injunctions of Men to avoid all singularity for in the Celebrating of the Paschal Lamb he eat it not standing as Moses commanded but lying down upon a Couch Matth. xxvi 20. Mark xiv 18. He caused a Hymn to be sung which was a Jewish Ordinance Christ also conformed himself to the Synagogue-Worship established amongst the Jews by an Human Authority which our Blessed and peaceable Saviour was so far from disapproving that he expresly tells his Disciples that they who had made that Ordinance sit in Moses Seat all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do Matth. xxiii 2 3. And in many other particulars of as high an importance as those which cause you my Non-Conforming Brethren to separate from us this Divine Saviour teacheth you by his good Example to avoid singularity to observe the Rules and Orders appointed in the place where you live and not for such matters as endanger not in themselves your Salvation to cause that disturbance that will infallibly indanger the Churches Peace and Unity and beget in your Souls those passions vices and distempers which are not agreeable with our Christian Religion and present interest or our future hopes of Salvation IV. That all disobedience to the Magistrate in things not contrary to Gods Word and Will is unlawful and forbidden by S. Paul Rom. xiii 1 2. Let every Soul be subject unto the higher powers For there is no power but of God the powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation A passive obedience is not sufficient where an active is required and may and ought to be yielded And though you do not actually resist at present the Civil Magistrate all Non-Conformity is a kind of resistance take heed therefore that by this opposition you render not your selves liable to the Curse and so deserving the Damnation that is so severely threatned In the third Chapter to Titus verse the first he desires him to put his people in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates and to be ready to every good work And to the Hebrews St. Paul speaketh more pertinently to our purpose Obey them that have rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your Souls as they that may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you And St. Peter 1 Epist Chap. ii vers 13. calls upon you to submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man without the exception or distinction of Civil or Ecclesiastical matters and that for the Lords sake whether to the King as Supream or unto Governors for so is the Will of God Are these Commands of any force or Authority with you my Brethren Are you not thereby required to Conform to the Laws Rules and Constitutions of Gods Church amongst us enjoyned by Authority are not these Ordinances of Men which you ought to submit to Therefore none of you can refuse an obedience to them without violating Gods Laws and breaking the Sacred Rules of the Gospel I could instance many other Examples Precepts Commands and Entreaties out of Gods Holy-Word directed to you to wish require and desire you to be at Unity and Conformity with us your Brethren especially in the Publick Worship of God and to set aside all prejudice and partiality whereby you are hindered from seeing and embracing the Truth What is it therefore that keeps us at such a distance Is it your Consciences How can your Consciences oppose Gods Word and Will Is it Conscience that obliges you to be irregular in your practices and reject us as Prophane and Idolatrous who labor in all respects to be conformable to the Holy Precepts of the Gospel Is that Conscience in a word that teacheth you to be disobedient to the Laws of God and Man And to breed a disturbance in a Church and Kingdom for such frivolous and idle matters to the encouraging of our Enemies against us to conspire the ruin of our King and Countrey For Gods sake as well as for your own sakes and for Religions sake and the happiness of your Posterity deceive not your selves and think not to deceive God and man with this childish and empty excuse Let me tell you what I conceive to be the true causes of your obstinate Non-Conformity to the Church of England for the reasons commonly alledged of Conscience of Popery Superstition and the unjustifiableness of our Government and Liturgy by Gods Word are but meer pretences and empty excuses to cozen the weaker sort and to colour these following causes of our unreasonable Non-Conformity in the Eyes of the World CHAP. IV. The true causes why most part of our dissenting Brethren will not joyn with us in the Worship of our God enquired into In what particulars our differences chiefly consist and their grand Objection Answered IT is the usual custom of all malecontents to pretend one thing and to intend another and to veil over the foulest Actions with the most glorious covering in imitation of the grand Impostor who appears to us commonly in the garb of an Angel of Light Thus Korah and his rebellious Confederates who separated themselves from Moses and his Congregation pretended the Peoples Holiness and Priviledge and the Rulers Tyranny for their dividing from them Thus Absalom's Ambition was veiled over with a desire of doing justice more carefully to Gods People and freeing them from a tedious Attendance at David's Court. Thus Jeroboam the wicked Son of Nebat pretended the ease of the People for his Idolatrous Worship Thus the Quakers Fifth-Monarchy Anabaptists and many of the worser sort of Separatists whose Souls and Understandings God hath given over to
to be reconciled with us and their own duty by all the Reasons and Commands of God and Man You know and may easily discover in your usual hearers if you please to give your selves the trouble several wicked vices as pride selfconceitedness hypocrisie hatred malice envy c. which their Non-Conformity alone hath bred and nourished in their Souls You know that the blessed rules of the Gospel and the sweet temper of Christs Religion requires from you another disposition and other carriage than many of you and most of your followers exprest to us your Brethren and your Christian Governors If you have a sincere regard to Religion and a desire to advance Gods Glory on Earth you will at last endeavour a reconciliation for fear of the mischiefs which our separation from one another is like to bring upon us all Remember that a compliance with your Peoples Non-Conformity is no longer seasonable in regard of the obstinacy of those that continue in it against all Law and Reason You have sufficiently complied with their humors do you now comply with your obligations to God and Man you have had a care of the salvation of their Souls now look to the preservation of your own and run not your selves into the remediless sin of a wilful denial and opposition of God truth to the last The Apostles in their yielding to the Jewish mistakes laboured always to make them sensible of their Error by minding them still that Moses Ceremonies were not needful to be observed and at last told them plainly That they were a denyal of Christs coming in the Flesh Galat. It would become your Learning and Integrity my reverend Brethren to deal thus plainly with your Congregations if you would be true followers of the Holy Apostles Tell them that Conformity to the Church of England is no such a Crime as they have imagined that they are bound to obey Mans Laws when they are not contrary to the Commands of the Gospel That they should be reconciled with our Worship and Church and strive to Conform as near as they can to what is required from them Tell them that Schism and Separation from the approved way is a grievous sin That their Souls are in danger of Damnation by resisting and disobeying the lawful Commands of their Superiors under God That they should take heed of not persisting obstinately in their errors and not to refuse obedience to the least Command of the Gospel when discovered to them Tell them to be more in love with Truth than with Faction more desirous of meeting with the rest of their Brethren in Gods Worship than fond of their private and unlawful meetings where the Gospel may be Preached it is true because it is in opposition to their other Brethren and to the Authority of the Nation they are not warrantable by Gods Word Tell them in short that the Blessed Gospel of our Saviour as well as his Interest and our Glory requires us all to joyn and unite together in all Acts of Piety on Earth that we may avoid the Devils temptations and be more fit to unite together in Heaven to sing oraises to our great God and Redeemer Our Blessed Saviour who is dead for you as well as for us and is gone to prepare a place for us in the glorious Mansions of Eternity intends not to receive you by your selves and appoint your aboads distinct from the rest of Christians why are you so serupulous or so superstitious as for trivial matters now to divide from us in that Worship which is to prepare us for Gods presence O my Brethren did we but consider how ridiculous our Nation appear to our Neighbours and to the Blessed Angels above and how pleasing our Divisions are to our Enemies of Rome we should doubtless blush for shame to have hitherto encouraged a separation so childish and ill grounded for no other cause but the humor and mistakes of the vulgar sort seeing that it renders us liable to the reproach of Men and Angels and causeth us all to be in danger of the ruin of our worldly interest and what mischiefs it causeth to the Souls of men do you judge If the respect to Religion be pretended examin whether this pretence can avail against an apparent Duty or excuse you from a submission to the Laws of God and Man examin whether at present you draw not more evil upon the heads of your Followers and Religion it self by an opposition to Conformity than you would by yielding to Reason and Law and to your Christian obligations I know that some prophane and vicious persons refuse to be conformable for other reasons because they have cast off all respects for their God and Religion I know the Jesuits and the disguised Papists amongst you will not Conform to our Church but exclaim against our Religious Worship because they have a wicked design to manage the ruin of the Nation But I intend not these lines for their benefit and perusal but only for such of our Non-Conforming Brethren whose hearts God may at last move with a sence of their duty to joyn with us in Gods Service They that hereafter shall refuse and continue in an obstinate refusal and in their usual clamors against us may justly be suspected for Papists or some hired to promote the Jesuitical design the overthrow of Church and State Were the differences in Religion between us in the Fundamentals a Separation would be well grounded But we all agree in the chief Articles of our Faith we embrace together the same Religion and Belief we worship the same one God Creator of Heaven and Earth and expect Salvation through the Merits of a Crucified Christ we subscribe to the same Covenant of Grace and acknowledge but two Sacraments as Seals we look upon the Holy Scriptures as the only infallible Rule of our Faith and Practice In a word we agree in all the essential parts of the Christian Religion many of the circumstances in which we disagree are so inconsiderable that if we had not an earnest desire to contend they would not be able to cause any dispute much less to disturb the publick peace The chief differences are about Church Government and Gods Publick Worship for the latter they are so frivolous idle and impertinent that I shall say no more in vindication of our practices than hath been already said but for the Government we agree in the chief Principles and Maxims though we differ in the conclusion For we all say that in all Church Governments amongst Christians that there is a regard to be had to the Models allowed of and appointed by the Holy Apostles and Primitive Fathers That the Rules of the Gospel ought not to be opposed but obeyed in the prescribing of Laws for the preservation of Christian Societies That in all Church Government there is a special regard to be had to the end of all Government which is the safety of the whole to keep it