Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	church_n	holy_a	speak_v	5,242	5	4.8510	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65715	A sermon in confutation of R. H. the author of The guide in controversies Shewing that his most plausible arguments produced against Protestants, do more effectually conclude for Judaism against Christianity. By Daniel Whitby, D.D. chantor of the church of Sarum.	Whitby, Daniel, 1638-1726.	1679 (1679)	Wing W1736A; ESTC R222007	21,763	39

many Synods so often weighing the Adversaries reasons and evidences was not sufficient for setling such a point at least as to the obedience of future silence and noncontradiction and as to suffering the Church to enjoy her peace what can hereafter be sufficient Or can we ever hope that any Controversie shall be finally determined or ended by any future Council if this of the Messiah is not by these forepast Can there be any ground here to question the integrity or lawful proceedings of so many Councils all concurring in the same judgment for a Corporal presence saith the Romanist that Christ was a Deceiver saith the Jew Or could there be any new light in this point attainable in those times by the private person or Christian Convert which those Guides of the Jewish Church who condemned your Jesus were not capable or had no notice of 2. They who so often and so unanimously condemned your Saviour and his Doctrine saith the Jew were the Church-Guides by God appointed Levit. x. 11. Deut. xxxiii 10. Mal. ii 7. Ibid. to teach the Children of Israel all the Statutes which the Lord had spoken to them by the hand of Moses to teach Jacob his judgments and Israel his Law and by whose lips the knowledg of it was to be preserved They were the men who are in Scripture styled the Messengers or the Ambassadors of the Lord of Hosts that is the men appointed by him to declare his message to the people Deut. xvii 8 12. They were the men Ordained to Minister before the Lord in every Controversial matter 2 Chron. xix 8. men who were set for the judgment of the Lord and for Controversies In Controversie they shall stand in judgment Ezek. xliv 24. Deut. xxi 5. saith the Lord and by their word shall every Controversie be tried Deut. xvii 12. Wherefore to act in opposition to the judgment of these Guides must be to act presumptuously as God himself declares to despise the verdict of Gods Messengers and in a Controversial matter of the highest moment to reject the sentence of those men who are by God Ordained to define it and by whose words according to his Ordinance it must be tried 3. As for the common people who in this matter did oppose their private judgments to the Decrees of their Church Guides not acquiescing in their Conciliar determinations that your Jesus was not the true Messiah they saith the Jew must act against that Rule which both the Law of Moses and the Prophets have prescribed for by that Law they are commanded under pain of death when any Controversie should arise among them to go to the Priests and Levites and to the Judg then living Deut. xvii 8.12 to enquire the sentence of judgment from his mouth and to do according to the sentence which they shall shew them and according to all that they inform them not declining from it to the right hand or the left Hag. ii 11. Mal. ii 7. They by the Prophets are instructed to ask the Priests concerning the Law and to seek the knowledg of it from their mouths They therefore stood obliged to assent to the determinations of the Sanhedrim and the Conciliar Decrees of Priests and Levites Scribes and Pharisees confirmed by the High-Priest and so they were obliged to believe that according to the true intent and meaning of the Law your Jesus could not be the true Messiah And consequently they must err who quitting the Decisions of the Pharisees and other Rulers of the Church embrace that Tenet of the ignorant and giddy multitude Thus the Jew pleads from Scripture against our Blessed Lord. And if you do compare these pleas and others of like nature which might be offered from the Scriptures by the Jew with what the Romanists do offer for the infallibility of any of their Councils you will soon find that all their pleas for this infallibility from the New Testament are paralleled or rather over-ballanced with places of like nature in the Old which do more strongly plead for the infallibility of the High-Priest and Rulers of the Jewish Church For 1. Matth. xxviii 20. Doth the Romanist plead Christs promise to be for ever with his Church Answ The Jews had equal reason to expect Gods presence among them Exod. xxix 42 43 44 45. Mic. iv 7. Psal cxxxii 13 14. 2 Chron. vii 16. because he promised to dwell among the children of Israel to meet them at the Tabernacle of the Congregation and there speak with them to Reign over them in Zion from henceforth and for ever He chose Zion for his habitation and said of it this is my rest for ever here will I dwell and of Jerusalem that he would put his name for ever in that place and that his eyes and his heart should be there for ever 2. Matth. xviii 20. Do they add that Christ hath promised that where two or three are gathered together in his name he will be in the midst of them Answ Psal cxxxiv. 3. Exod. xx 24. God also promised to the Jews that he would bless them out of Zion and that wheresoever he did record his name there would he come and bless his people 3. Luke x. 16. Matth. xviii 17. Do they alledg these sayings of our Lord to his Disciples viz. He that heareth you heareth me He who neglects to hear the Church shall be accounted as a Heathen and a Publican Answ Deut. xvii 12. God also said that he who will not hearken to the Priest that stands to minister before the Lord even that man shall die for his presumption 4. Heb. xiii 7 17. Do they say that Christs Apostles commanded Christians to obey those that had the rule over them and to follow their faith Answ Matth. xxiii 3. Our Jesus did command his hearers to do all that the Scribes and Pharisees did say unto them and that because of their Authority derived from Moses Deut. xvii 10. and God himself commanded all his people to do according to all that they should be informed of by the Priests And 5. John xvi 13. Chap. xiv 26. Do they plead Christs promise made to his Apostles that he would send the Spirit of Truth to guide them into all Truth Answ Whereas this promise doth personally belong to the Apostles John xiv 26. John xvi 13. and not to their Successors for it is a promise to bring to their remembrance by his Spirit what he before had said to them and to shew them things to come to which Spirit of Prophesie the Roman Doctors do not now pretend I say whereas this promise did belong to the Apostles only God stood obliged by Covenant to cause his holy Spirit to remain among the Rulers of the Jewish Church Hag. ii 5. For thus he speaks according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Aegypt so my Spirit remains among you

worship vain That they transgressed the commandment of God by their Traditions That notwithstanding their instructions the people were as sheep without a Shepheard Matt. ix 36. Matt. xv 14. or only had such Guides as would most certainly if they submitted to their guidance lead them to the pit Hence therefore I infer 1. That even those Spiritual Guides who are by Gods appointment constituted to instruct his people and to feed his flock for such our Lord acknowledged the Scribes and Pharisees and Rulers of the Jewish Church to be may scatter and destroy that flock And they who are set for the judgment of the Lord and for controversies may violate corrupt pervert that Law they should interpret they may be partial in it they may depart out of the way they may make the Commandments of God of none effect and his whole worship vain by their traditions they may cause their sheep to err stumble and go astray and that so dangerously that they who are led by them shall be destroyed with them and find no entrance into bliss And hence I hope I may assume the boldness to conclude against the Infallibility of our Spiritual Governours or the concurring judgments of the major part of them which is sufficient to root up even the foundations of the Romish Babel 2. Hence I infer that notwithstanding all the formentioned Scriptures which say it was the duty of the people to ask of their Spiritual Guides the meaning of the Law and seek the knowledg of it at their mouths and to enquire after their judgments in all those Controversies they were not able to resolve I say hence I infer that notwithstanding this the people were not absolutely obliged to rest in the decision of the major part of these Church Guides or bound to practise all that they approved for then an obligation must be laid upon them not only to err in judgment with them to countenance false Prophets and to speak peace to themselves when there is no peace but also to violate the Law and to comply with their false glosses and corrupt interpretations of it nay which is more unreasonable they must be then obliged to be destroyed to fall into the pit and to exclude themselves from the enjoyment of Christ Kingdom Whereas it is a contradiction to say that God obligeth any Person to transgress his Law and it is little less than Blasphemy to say h● doth require them to destroy themselves to fal● into the pit or to deprive themselves of the enjoyment of his Kingdom Hence therefore I infe● this Corollary That neither are all Christian people Churches 〈◊〉 Nations absolutely bound to rest in the decisions of th● major part of Christian Bishops or to practise all th●● they approve and impose Which proposition overthrows that absolute and blind obedience to their Church Guides or Councils which Romanists ●● stifly plead for 3. Hence it is also evident that private persons or that the minor part of the whole Church may have sufficient ground either from reason or clea● Scripture for their refusal of assent and of submission to the Authority and definitions of the major part of their Church Guides for the Jews were bound to believe Christ to be the true Messiah although the High Priest and the Elders had pronounced him a deceiver and a Malefactor They were obliged to believe his Miracles were wrought not by Belzebub but the Spirit of God that Christs Kings was not of this world that John Baptist was that Elias which was for to come and that to eat with hands unwashed to heal the sick to pluck some ears of Corn upon the Sabbath day were not unlawful actions although the major part of their Church Guides taught and believed the contrary Matt. xv 5. They were obliged not to void that Law of nature which required Children to relieve their own distressed Parents and therefore stood obliged not to comply with those traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees which made the word of God of none essect and would not suffer them to yield obedience to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark vii 8. And seeing they had many traditions and decrees of the like nature which obtained amongst them and only were rejected by the Saduces and the Disciples of our Lord in none of these could they comply with their Church Guides without the violation of that Law of God which sure they had sufficient ground and reason to observe In a word in all those cases in which they were not bound to rest in the decisions of the major part of their Church Guides or practise what they did approve that is in all the cases mentioned in the former head they must have had sufficient ground either from Scripture or from Reason for their refusal of submission to them Now these three inferences do fully justifie the Reformation of the Church of England 4. From what hath been discoursed we may see the weakness of those pleas the Roman Doctors make in their own defence and of the Arguments they use to shew that 't is impossible they should be guilty of those corruptions in Doctrine or in manners which we charge them with For their most specious pretences are to this effect that we confess the Church of Rome was once both true and Orthodox shew then say they how we did cease to be so whether by Schism or Heresie With Schism you cannot justly charge us R. H. Rational account disc 3. Chap. 5. §. 63. p. 203. for that can never be of a much major and more dignified part in respect of a less and inferior subject to it because this main body in any division is rightly taken for the whole from which a separation is Schism and to which every Member ought to adhere as to the body and head here upon earth to which it belongs we therefore being the much major and more dignified part of the Church cannot be Schismaticks in reference to Protestants who are and were at their departure a less and an inferior body to us If Heresie be the crime charged upon us by what Church were we condemned what body of men before you found fault with those corruptions which you pretend to reform for sure it was not possible for so many errors and corruptions to come into the Church and no one take notice of them could this be so where was the watchful eye of providence over the Church But if we could suppose this providence was unconcerned for preservation of the Church could all the Pastors fall asleep at once or could they all conspire together to deceive their Posterity Moreover since God will always have a visible Church what can you mention besides that which holds Communion with the Church of Rome as the then present visible Church of Christ when you began your reformation except perhaps some Eastern Churches which you dislike almost as much as that of Rome And if that Church could teach such