Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A33134
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The Churches complaint against sacriledge, or, Sacriledge truely dissected and layed open wherein is briefly shewn 1. The just collation, 2. The unjust ablation of the riches and honours of the clergy.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing C4273; ESTC R35594
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15,292
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29
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The Churches COMPLAINT Against SACRILEDGE OR Sacriledge truely Dissected and layed open Wherein is briefly shewn 1. The Just Collation 2. The unjust Ablation of the Riches and Honours of the CLERGY Thou that abhorrest Idols Doest thou commit Sacriledge LONDON Printed in the Yeer 1643. OF Sacriledge REligion is as the Poles of the World or that Atlas which the Poets say holds up Heaven The necessitie of Religion in Stateâ— it stands on Earth and reacheth God It is that which poiseth Societies and States below for without the opinion of a Providence to oversee and reckon with us might craft and falshood would sway in the world alike with Men and Beasts the conscience of good and evill would be all one And it is that which enobleth man erects his affections and estates him in a happinesse above nature and in a word it procures all blessings upon us So that whether we aime at a Spirituall or which is more to these times a civill weale only Religion is mainly to be magnified And as Religion upholds States the Priest usually after the inward vertue of the Doctrine it self Of the priest to Religion is he upholds Religion Religion can neither plant nor sustaine it selfe alone and what support soever it have from the Prince or the laws of a Nation the Priest is as the soule of that power all circumstance and Ceremonies have their life from him and it is our consent in his holy Calling that keeps us from the singularitie of our owne imaginations Though man of himself be Religious to make men conspire in one Religion they must have some thing singular to hold to Though there may bee Religion and a Congregation there can hardly be a Church where there is no Precentor Of the meanes to set up the Priest Now the gifts whereby the Priest retaines our reverence are either Spirituall or Supernaturall as of Prophesiing and working Miracles or Naturall Externall as the endowments and gloryes of this World whereof the former shew where God is the later where he hath been and the former proceed immediately from the Spirit in the later men may concurre The order of these meanes in all Religions However God deales in truth he seemes not at so much cost for maintaining the World as for making it In nature we see every thing for its Creation requires a miraculous and divine hand but planted once God is not so conspicuous but leaves it to the soyle as it were to stand and grow by it selfe and so it would seeme to fare even with Religion it selfe which is such a superstruction above Nature though it be planted by God men must conserve it The Church is like the Garden of Eden which God madâ— and set our Parents to dresse and keepe it The severall formes of Religion which have swayed the world in their times in pretence at least have felt his arme and expected ours his arme of Divinitie and ours of munificence that the riches and braveries of this world whereupon men set greatest price might adorne their doctrine and not only the abstract and studious mindes but sensuall affections also thereby be musd and caught and all our lusts there find repose This is not only the mystery of Antichrist and Idolatry but the right of all Religion The Israelites at first had their Tabernacle and its attendants by Gods appointment glorious however Aarons inward devotion shone his Vestments and retinue too were very specious but the Temple of Ierusalem and the riches of the severall orders of the Priests thereof excessive and yet little enough to keep the people from Idolatry And Christianitie as much as it excels all other Sects for ought that wee know can but expect the same lot In planting of the Gospell indeed God shewed himselfe in signes and wonders hee powred forth his Spirit and accommodated it with a kindly soyle the munificent affections of men whereby it is growne in state and glory But though it was first propagated by such sedulity of the Spirit and God shewed himselfe therein as much as ever though Christ hath promised the Holy Ghost thereby to preserve to himself a Church upon earth unto the worlds end wee now want the sense and proof of Gods presence the Primitive times had and may conceive he lookes not still to be tempted to miracles Divine and humane meanes must concur That interest the Gospell hath gotten these outward worldly braveries after the plausiblenesse of the doctrine it selfe are the best evidence we have left for Christianitie the best at least we have to shew to one another Riches and honours now must serve for the Spirit The originall and right of our Hierarchy Those of the Ancient worthys that first propagated Christianitie had neither Diocesse nor Parish but the wide world before them they had nothing of their own yet such a Familiar had they of the Holy Ghost they could want nothing Then all planting the same doctrine every man had a care of all the Churches and looked to the watering too of what was planted and the people as conscious of the truth they heard took speciall order to preserve the same amongst them Heroicke mindes not knowing in the world better how to bestow their estates in testimony of their affection erected Churches and endowed them with priviledges gave them Tyths and Oblations unto a competence of maintenance they added superfluitie and with riches gave honour and sway to the Clergie Kings as was fore-prophesied became the Churches nursing Fathers and Queenes her nursing Mothers They made Religion the busines of States which now we make but a State instrument of They had a care to fortifie Religion against the corruption of nature and to recommend and seale their faith unto worse times as if by a holy kinde of Simony they would purchase the Holy Ghost and buy the Prince of darknesse out of his dominions They priviledged Churchmen to their owne cognizance to arme and hearten them against sinne that they might not only like Musitians play for a benevolence but that Magistrates themselves might not with more authoritie transgresse than the Priest rebuke them They held up degrees in the Church as objects still for industry in the Priest and reverence in the people a reverence which in a right way halfe performes Religion They constituted Bishops and Archbishops Churchmen for Church affaires one of most tryed trust and but one for expedition where the Law is agreed upon a single eye may see Justice or most easily answer for it Bishops for order at home and Archbishops further if we shall not seeme to be led by sounds as arches in metropolisses over other Bishops arches unto the King and unto forreigne Churches that though States differ the communion of Saints might be preserved the Church might keep at unitie and by united force repell heresie In no great Councell could the man of God bee baulked that they might be sure to serve God before themselves
If the heathen Oratour must be seen in all the arts and nooks of learning the Christian Doctor had need bee bard no field of knowledge for the soule he is to look to is thrice more worth than the goods of Fortune Our Brethren of Scotland and all it seems are out who take their Church-men along in their weightyest affaires and their Sermons here in England they say savoured of some thing more than pure preaching of the Gospell The Clergie are men men of liberall education they wade through the Arts ere they come at divinity wherby me thinks they should be capable of human affaires with other men And Divinity can bee no hinderance Perhaps they are better seene in Ecclesiasticall matters and therefore may arrogate them as their peculiar but for us to exclude them our Councells as an abject generation who have the deepest share in Gods promise of assistance and give the best Authority to resolutions comming in the Name of God cannot proceed either from good policy or Religion The Priest-hood amongst the Iewes had a hand in all Temporall affaires and in matters meerely of order and governement and no way Typicall Iewes as hath beene said may bee Presidents for Christians The Apostles perhaps at first exercised none other Authority but the Spirituall power of excommunication to withhold the Ordinances and forbid Communion which delinquents and left further censures to the Secular Magistrate But when Princes received the Gospell they requited the Ministers thereof with a share of their power and magnified their authority with the glory of these Ministers Perhaps it had been sinne in them at first not to have honoured the Gospell but for us to devest it is more out of question Their Voyces in Parliament c may seeme matters of small moment for the publike peace But besides the dishonour to Religion they are of dangerous consequence for the same reason that shall invalid them may as well overthrow the whole Fabrick of the Church And it is to be feared it is some mens aime to effect that by degrees which at once they find not feasable The Prelate spoke not by rote who said they would serve them as High-way men doe honest Travellers first gag and bind then rifle them Thirdly they pretend a convenience in pulling down Order and Government in the Church to buy in Impropriations and set up preaching Preaching in deede and labouring in the Word have high Attributes in Scripture as of introducing grace and working faith c. and the Gospell at first being committed to the bosomes of men the only way then of propagating thereof was Sermon-wise by a kinde of Preaching Christ thus taught the people and instituted his Disciples to this Annunciation But their preaching was not the same in use with us theirs had its Authoritie from the Spirit they spake by which wee borrow from their writings Any way of publishing and promoting the Gospell is preaching in the Scriptures sense as well as our exposition of Scripture the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 involves them all nor can the foresaid Attributes be appropriated to that which we call preaching Saint Paul laboured in the Gospell before there was a Gospell written hee laboured by word and writing by constituting Canons and in seeing them observ'd and now not only extemporary Expositions but all effectuall meanes for the propagation of the Tenor thereof is the Ordinance of God and no doubt his free Spirit accordingly conferreth grace and faith by them Whether they bee Doctrinall by word and writing by catechisme to young beginners by reading of the Scriptures Apochryphall Bookes divine Homilies or other profitable discourses or after institution magisteriall by enacting and establishing good lawes as Kings and Emperours we know being converted by their Edicts in an instant more advanced the Gospell than private Preachers with many Sermons in many ages though otherwise they had extraordinary assistance of the Spirit The Gospell may and must be preach'd in every Court that is Christs law must be there preserved and though that bee not the proper place for teaching there may happen to bee as effectuall Sermons for the promotion of the Gospell from the Bench as from the Pulpit where men of power meet and draw things to a point there there is preaching powerfull Thus some particular Bishops have had the oportunitie to doe more good than all the Clergie in their Diocesse againe Neither in words alone but in workes of pietie and businesse of State Christ may be advanced Lay-men may but Ministers more especially must thus Evangelize Our preaching and practising and writing and Government are all twines of that Mother preaching in Scripture Let preaching be the eldest and the fairest sister their dowties and their vertues may be alike we must not set too great a price on one to disparage the rest or because preaching was first of all reduce Christianity to its principles and hold there This were as if because Writing was before Printing and then had high elogies amongst the ancients we should renounce the benefit of Printing to hold to Writing only or prefer it before Printing This is the grand imposture and illusion of the Age. Preaching is cryed up nought but Preaching God knowes a sorry kind of Preacding when nobler helpes should share It s to bee feared they would serve the Clergie as the Fox in the fable did the Crow commend their voices till they let goe their morsells where wee heare knowledge is confined wee cannot thinke libertas Prophetandi shall have its scope As in Reason we excell beasts Elocution whereby we readilyest conveigh our conceit to others exalts us amongst men Sermons may be most apposite to the maladies of the hearers and best fit for their affections they most readily catch and transport furthest The Preacher like as skillfull Physition can varie his recipe according to the exigence of the patient hee can cast his discourse into what mould or forme he please he can insinuate and creepe upon particulars how ever prepossess'd and as occasion serves invade or surpâ—ise the Affections he can give food to healthy and physick to diseased minds And the very act of Preaching the countenance and gesture adde life to words and have a singular energie over bare reading for thus they make all they deliver new as it were and their owne when the other way it seemes but flat and borrowed they set forth Christ and his Doctrine with more pompe unto our soules and in pressing Scripture make it like bruised Spices more ravishing Yet its long of us and our corrupt affections if Sermons carry it we are more for sauce than meate more tickled with the momentany dresse and relish of the workeman than the meate which endureth As diseases are commonly alike in different men the same remedies were wee attentive might serve our severall soules as doe our bodies God no doubt was both able and willing to prescribe Catholike Remedies for all our Maladies in his Word