Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A38779
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The voice of King Charls the father to Charls the son, and the bride say come being an invitation of King Charls to come in peaceably and be reconciled to his father's minde and shewing the integrity of His Highness Oliver Cromwel ... / by Arise Evans.
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Evans, Arise, b. 1607.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing E3471; ESTC R26694
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43,143
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81
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not these men but I hate the evil Spirit that is in them and loving them I discover their wickedness if so be by it they come to repent and amend for a flock of Geese teacheth better doctrine then such men do And if you observe their goings their chief going before the rest following with their mutual chattering without division you shall finde that in all their wayes there is better order among the Geese then Withers Lily and Walker would have to be among men in the World Therefore God is pleased to judge such rebellious men by those Creatures which we count most foolish as we commonly say of one that is silly He hath no more wit then a Goose speaking as if a Goose had no wit but one Goose hath more wit then them three The Author's judgement touching Baptism BUt why do I trouble my self with these men it is onely to warn them to repent and to warn you not to believe such seducing Spirits that would divide the head from the body in Churches Kingdoms and Families for the end of my discourse is to bring all men to godliness order and unity under one visible Head or King as Jesus Christ hath said John 10. 16. 1 Pet. 2. 13. And now I must tell you That through the darkness which came upon the Church some hundred yeers agoe by reason when the corrupted Clergy who were without conscience or honesty got the power and records of antiquity into their own hands they destroyed Records which shewed the ancient Apostolical Custome of the Church that they might put upon us such a seeming Divine Law as pleased them and made most for their lazy ends and profits and through the malice and subtilty of the Serpent wrought much mischief by the corruption of the Popish Clergy for the destruction of mankinde yet unawares to them God hath reserved so much of the Records as clearly confuteth their practice in the Fundamental Point of our Religion even Baptism about which controversie begotten by the laziness of the Clergy many thousands lost their lives and themselves will come to ruine I finde that though Infants were baptized in old times by their sureties undertaking for them or christened which is a more proper word for them as I shall make it appear by St. Augustines own confession yet I finde that that which now we call confirmation or bishoping by the ancients was called The Baptism but our late Prelates being Lordly minded though they unjustly raised their hire above their Predecessors yet thought it too much labour and abasement for such as they were to baptize their flock again in Water being content to let that stand for Baptism which they received in their Infancy and onely to lay their hands upon them using a few words over them and so let them go making as though they could create a new Sacrament without its Element which properly is Water which is as if they should invite men unto the Communion-Table and then use the same Words as if they gave them Bread and Wine but give them nothing or just as Saint James saith Jam. 2. 13 14. If one see a man naked and destitute of daily food and say unto him Depart in peace be thou warmed and filled yet he gives him neither clothing nor meat and what is the poor man the better for his good words so your bishoping in like manner was unprofitable and the people finding it so did not esteem it nor did they care whether they had it or not for without Water it was but a starving of their souls And if the Bishops being ancient durst not for fear of danger go down into the water they might have commanded others to baptize the people Act. 8. 14 15 16 17. Act. 10. 48. Jeremiah fore-seeing the darkness that came upon the Church sends us to seek the good old way and bids us walk in it saying Then we should finde rest to our souls Jer. 6. 16. And when the Church had lost the way of Christs worship she enquir'd of him how she should come to his Saints rest he answereth her saying If she knew not the way to finde out their rest she must follow their foot-steps and so come to finde out their rest Cant. 1. 7 8. and this method is taker from shepherds which in time of snow finde out their sheep by following their foot-steps Therefore I say we must search the Scripture withal because we cannot agree in the understanding the Scripture for to help our understanding we must take notice how the Church did walk in those ages after the Apostles time when it came to its highest perfection by so doing we shall rightly understand the meaning of the Scripture which is the Apostolical rule of worship And I finde that Saint Augustine mistrusting the knavery of the Clergy that should follow in his discourse by God's providence did hide some things in secret which secret being now opened may shew us what they then did in what is most considerable and greatest in question now among us for so you shall finde it in the matter of Baptism if you observe Saint Augustine Confession 1 lib. chap. 11. saith he speaking of his Christening I was then signed with the sign of his cross and seasoned with his salt so soon as I came out of my mothers womb Whence it is clear this was his Infant-Baptism for you shall finde in the same Chapter that being come to some discretion and falling sick how earnest he was to have Christ's Baptism and speaking of Pontitianus Confession 8 lib. chap. 6. saith he He was both a Christian and baptized too Hence you may draw this conclusion that then they were called Christians from their Christening in their Infancy but not baptized Christians until they were manifest Believers and that they were baptized by their own consent and their Baptism was in those times deferred until men came to sobriety and that the heat of youthful lust and sin was almost overcome and commonly until they were married otherwayes though they were never so learned except they believed and were tempered or were in dying they were not admitted to have it as you may see if you will read and observe Saint Augustine's Confessions and the Rubrick that goeth before the Baptism in the book of Common prayer you shall finde that they say that in the old time the people were baptized at Easter or Whitsuntide and at no time in the yeer besides and if we compare this with Saint Augustine this must needs be their rebaptizing for Infants were not kept so long without it as you see by St. Augustine and see he was rebaptized at Easter and I am sure he was then about 30 yeers of age for he had a son was then 15. Confes. 9 lib. chap. 6. Here it is clear that the ancient Church though they baptized or christned their Infants by their sureties yet after they came to be men then they were baptized