Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	behaviour_n	church_n	great_a	41	3	2.1574	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61101	A Protestants account of his orthodox holding in matters of religion at this present in difference in the church, and for his own and others better confirmation or rectification in the points treated on : humbly submitted to the censure of the Church of England.	Spelman, Henry, Sir, 1564?-1641.; Spelman, John, Sir, 1594-1643.	1642 (1642)	Wing S4940; ESTC R12772	24,078	35

Church of God confusion When now there is so great offence taken at divers Ordinances of our Church what is there in any of them so erroneous or corrupt as to discharge ones conscience from the terror of these Precepts and from the obedience that they command Is there any thing in the Ordinances of our Church against the expresse command of God If there be Why do not the offended shew it that they may justifie themselves vindicate Gods Truth and stop the mouthes of all gain-sayers But when instead of things expresly crossing Gods Commadments they finde no exceptions but what at the most are disputable grounded upon inferences and collections and those not generally received nor yet all approved by the judgement of any particular Church but late imaginations of men of a few and them private men whether it be meet in the sight of God upon such grounds to follow men or indeed ones own self rather than God every one may judge And were that granted which indeed cannot be proved nor may be granted that the Ordinances of our Church are superstitious How yet will that warrant the disobeying of them to a conscience that is guided onely by the Word of God For where is superstition by the Word of God forbidden Or where is it there described Though then we grant superstition to be the foulest corruption a Christian Church can be depraved with and neerest approaching to Idolatry yet being a corruption discovered by the judgement of the Church rather than any expresse Word of God With what warrant can any mans conscience against Gods expresse command disobey the Ordinance for fear of superstition when concerning it he hath received no command from God especially when disobedience being like the sinnes of Witchcraft and Idolatry he commits a sin that is equall to them and onely to avoid superstition which is lesse than either Nay that is not all but while he disturbs his duty with false apprehenhensions of superstition he with his disobedience commits the superstition which he fears for when superstition properly is an over-strict religious insisting upon the doing or not doing of that which in it self is but indifferent his own scrupulousnesse not to kneel not to bow not to stand up not to be uncovered not to answer c. according to the use of the Church is not onely disobedience but very superstition it self placing Religion in that wherein there is no Religion to be placed and teaching the conscience more to fear pollution from without by things externally enioyned than to fear it within from the haughtinesse stubbornnesse or self-conceitednesse of the heart than which nothing doth sooner defile the actions of a man and make his Religion vain But will he say His conscience cannot be satisfied but that the Ordinance of the Church in some things is superstitious so as he may not submit unto it We must answer Let him use the liberty of his consci●nce but let him withall take heed he use it not for a cloke of maliciousnesse for if through weaknesse of conscience he takes offence at the Ordinance of the Church as superstitious which otherwise he knows himself tyed to reverence and observe let him in true humiliation of his soul behave himself like one afflicted that laments the breach between the Church and him let him labor for satisfaction by the help of those whose integrity in that behalf shall not by any aversenesse to the Ordinance be suspected let him forbear rayling language on Governours and contemptuous behaviour towards the Ordinance that so though he cannot be conformable he may not yet become refractory but may be piously embraced of the Church till in the spirit of meeknesse he be at last restored to his strength But if he will not do thus but will contend hold his own opinion sufficient to oppose against the Judgement of the Church adde contempt to his non-conformity seek to poss●sse others with his opinions glory in their association and towards the Governors of the Church be as one of those that controll the Priest yea that controll the whole Priest-hood that man in pretending conscience lyeth unto the holy Ghost he is not prest with conscience but a lift up heart self conceited and affecting singularity hath seduced him and makes him maintain an affected scruple of his own before the iudgement yea and the peace of the whole Church From these generalls we come somewhat more particularly to consider that which some affirm that for remedy of the corruptions of the Church any Assembly representative of the whole Body of any State seeing it implicitely comprehends all Orders Degrees and Conditions that are parts of the State have full power and authority of doing whatsoever any order or part of the State may do and that therefore they as well as the Clergie may in that State determine what form of Ecclesiasticall Government what discipline what Ceremonies are most fit for the Church and most agreeable to the Word of God Who knows not but that by the same reason they may as well determine what Doctrines are most agreeable to the Word of God but we shun captiousnesse and seek our own and every ones clear satisfaction It is true a Body representative of the whole State hath the power of the whole State to do whatsoever the whole Body of the State if it could be all assembled could do but the whole State if it were gathered together in one and the whole Clergie in it could not by their promiscuous Vote determine of any thing that God hath subjected to the judgement of the Clergie onely Some argue That the whole State be Christians and every true Christian a spirituall man The Spirituall man judgeth all things And it is true but that judgement is onely as to himself to discern and judge for his own right governance but not to binde others therewith he may exercise such judgement as grace administreth but cannot exercise directive judgement for that is not to be practised but by especiall Commission of Authority It was the ground of Corah's fearfull sinne that because all the Congregation were holy every one of them and the Lord among them that therefore Levites and Lay-men might offer Incense as well as the Priests one without lawfull authority may not more meddle with decreeing the suppression of vice and encouragement of vertue in a way that belongs onely to the Jurisdiction of another then might the sonnes of Sceva use the authority of Christs Name to casting out of devills Therefore particular men must have expresse Warrant before they can decree any thing And were it granted that they if known might in this life exercise directive judgement in Ecclesiastique affairs yet being so small a number in respect of worldlings and it being impossible in this world to distinguish them or to avoyd but that while they vote together with worldlings their votes will be over-ruled by worldlings for these causes the being inwardly a

spirituall man can nothing more avail him in that point than if he were not so And for this last cause it nothing also avails though the Clergie themselves actually vote amongst seculars for where the carriage of matters cannot certainly follow the votes of the Clergie but be subject to the votes of the Seculars their votes so given cannot have the authority of Ecclesiastique votes but of Lay. And both for the peace of private consciences and also for the peace of the Church it would advisedly be examined whether the votes of Clergy-men chosen by the Seculars say by the Body representative of a whole State be of more authority for deciding matters of Religion in question than the votes of the Seculars themselves that chose them be for when by the expresse Word of God The spirits of the Prophets are to be subject to the Prophets the Prophets must either all of them together hear and determine or all of them freely make choice of such of their Brethren as shall do it for them lest if the secular power assume the choice of the men they by assuming the choice of those that shall give the Clergies vote assume the giving of their vote and upon the matter reject the vote and judgement of the Clergie for the few men that so be chosen have no authority of themselves to judge by themselves but have the authority of those onely that made the fiduciary commitment of power to them and if they that committed the authority be Seculars then is the judgement and executing of the spirit of Seculars only And it would further be taker into consideration Whether as the Bishop of Romes usurpation of the authority of the universall Church manifested him to be the great spirit of Antichrist so in every particular Church any usurping or undue assuming of the authority thereof will not amount to an inferiour exercise of the same spirit Now whereas it is conceived that Forms of Government Ecclesiastique are not tyed to the Judgement of the Clergie but are arbitrary as the State shall judge expedient it is not denyed but that Church-Government may be accommodate to the occasions of the State but then those cautions are to be observed 1 That as the State is Judge what form of Church-Government will be most commodious for the well-fare thereof so the Clergie be Judges whether the form desired be safe for the Church and agreeable to the Word of God otherwise the one may be oppressed while the other is accommodate Therfore we see that upon every change and remove of the Camp not onely the taking down and folding up of the Tabernacle and all things belonging to it was committed to the Priests but even the utmost act of carrying of it when all was disposed and ordered by the Priests was given in charge to those onely that were Levites And whereunto are helps in Government reckoned among Apostles Prophets Teachers and other Members which Christ hath set in his Church if the Government of the Church be to be managed by those that are not to be numbred among them And if among Pastors which God hath set in his Church he hath ordained some to be helps in Government how dangerous a matter will it be for those that are not of their calling to iustifie them out of their authority and in that point usurp their Function Moses hath long since put terrour in the case when with a Propheticall spirit praying for Levi he saith Smite thorow the loyns of them that rise up against him And the Prophet likewise where speaking of the Church he saith No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue that crieth against thee in Judgement thou shalt condemn And our Saviour himself where he saith to his Apostles What ye binde on earth shall be bound in Heaven Another Caution to be observed is That in accommodating Church-Government to the frame and occasion of the State nothing be disestablished or unsetled that seems to have been setled by any authority of the Scripture Therefore whereas we see there the Government of the Church first setled in the hands of Bishops that is of Pastors that had authority over Pastors To rebuke with all authority Not to suffer themselves to be despised a To ordain Elders b To receive accusation against them c To charge some to preach no other Doctrine d To step the mouthes of unruly deceivers e To set in order things that are wanting c. And we finde not any other form of Church-Government neither in the Scripture nor in the practice of the Universall Church as well where the Pope never ruled as where he did that therefore men make not such an accommoda●ing as by an entire rejecting of the Ordinance set on foot by the Apostles themselves so appearing in the Scripture and Universally so followed by the Church they reiect both the Judgement of the Universall Church and also of the Spirit of God revealed in the Scripture For as in the change of the Sabbath from the Saturday to the Lords Day the Church hath clearly shown that she had power to make such a change but that change being once made for important causes the like whereof hereafter can never happen that power of hers once lawfully used can never lawfully come to be used again because there can no more such ground and cause to do it come again to passe So it is likewise in point of Episcopall Government though the whole form and frame of it is not so expressely prescribed but that the Church may in many things have power of making therein accommodations to the times and exigence of State yet may not those acts of accommodation amount to such a height as to subvert or abolish the Government which by the iudgement of her Members than infallible was set on foot because no judgement of her present Members now can come in any competition with her first And if any State shall so accommodate it self the accommodators may perhaps be found fighters against the Spirit of God manifested both in the Scripture and in the Judgement and practice of the Universall Church of God One further particular depending upon these points and necessary for every one to have his conscience clear and well assured is the lawfulnesse of the Liturgie of our Church concerning which these considerations present themselves The Church being freed from the tyranny of the Heathen persecutors and setled in peace it was necessary that God that had done so great things for her should be honored not onely by the private devotion of her single Members but also with the publike service of her greatest Congregation And seeing that in the Church Jerusalem ever since Christianity becoming inhabited without walls occasions the making of as many places of Worship as there are places of severall cohabitation it was necessary both for observing decency and order for avoiding confusion and for