Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	christian_a	church_n	communion_n	1,593	5	9.3126	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48116	A letter of advice to a young gentleman of an honourable family, now in his travels beyond the seas for his more safe and profitable conduct in the three great instances, of study, moral deportment, and religion : in three parts / by a True son of the Church of England.	True son of the Church of England.	1688 (1688)	Wing L1566; ESTC R7895	45,890	138

with all the Laws and Constitutions of our admirable Government both in Church and State is absolutely necessary not only for our own sakes but the Peace and Preservation of the whole Body 2. 'T is a strange Mistake then which some have run upon that nothing is to be admitted in our Publick Worship and Ecclesiastical Discipline and Politie of our Church but what is plainly exprest in the Holy Scriptures hereby excluding all human Laws and Constitutions in Matters and Things indisserent Which wild Hypothesis has been the Original of all those untenable Opinions now on foot and the very most of our unchristian Divisions which have almost torn in pieces our Church are owing to this unreasonable and groundless Conjecture Whereas on the contrary the Writers of the greatest Note and Eminence amongst our Brethren of the Non-conformity are forced to acknowledge that there are many Circumstances in the Public Service of God and the Government of the Church which must be regulated and order'd according to the Light of Nature and Laws of Christian Prudence as the holy Apostle directs in those general Rules Let all things be done decently in order and for Edification And do also confess that even in their own Assemblies and we know it to be true and certain there are many such Circumstances for which they have no express Rule in Scripture but do use them prudentially for the Honour and Interest of Religion and the Order Uniformity of Gods Worship Besides 't is observable that the Holy Scriptures treat chiefly of the Essentials of Faith and Worship and only mention the Governours and Government of the Church with some general Rules as before for the ordering of its Politie and Discipline Insomuch that many Persons of great Learning and Judgment are of opinion that there 's no one Set-Form of Government for the Christian Church to be found in the whole Bible but must be left to our Governours to order and appoint according to the Rules and Dictates of sound Judgment and Discretion Which the Learned and Judicious Hooker gives a most admirable Account of in his Ecclesiast Polit. Nor can this in the least impeach as some have vainly objected the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures or the Fidelity of Christ in not leaving a perfect Model of Church Government behind him For we have seen already that the Holy Scriptures were primarily intended to instruct us in the Fundamentals of Faith and Christian Morality and speak only overtly of Church Discipline and Government And for the Fidelity of Christ herein 't is plain that the Church in our Saviours Time was in her Minority which must afterwards by degrees grow up to a state of greater Liberty and Perfection What others have urged from the Form of Church Government under the Jewish Oeconomie concludes nothing For the Jews lived all under one Politie and in one Nation whereas Christianity is dispersed all over the World under many disserent Civil Governments and therefore the Circumstances of Religious Worship and Church Discipline must be suited to the State and Condition of different People within their several Jurisdictions as may appear most just and reasonable to the Judgments and Discretion of their lawful Governours Therefore 3. Tho every Person be obliged to hate and flie from Idolatry Heresie c. yet none should be affrighted from his Duty with meer Buggs and Scar-crows or the empty Appearances of Error without sufficient Grounds For tho our Liturgy and Set-Forms of Worship have been extreamly cavil'd at by some of our Adversaries yet 't is evident that neither the Prophets of old nor our Saviour and his Apostles nor the Primitive Fathers did ever find fault with the Stated Methods and Forms of Prayer but did practise and appoint 'em themselves and highly encourag'd them in others For there are many Set-Forms of Prayer Benedictions and Thanksgivings in the Writings of the Prophets our Saviour composed a Form of Prayer to be used by his Apostles and Followers tho they were doubtless as able to pray by the Spirit as the most Seraphick Enthusiast which Method also was observed by John the Baptist for the direction and assistance of his Disciples in God's Worship All which Stated Forms became Patterns and Presidents to the Churches of Christ in after Ages who had all their several Liturgies as we have nor is there any thing in our Service Book which is contrary to but most exactly conformable to those Rules 4. Let not the bare Pretence then of some small Errors in and about the Circumstances of Publick Worship prevail with any Man to separate from the Communion of his National Church seeing there have been and are as many and probably greater Errors in all the Churches of Christ in all Ages of the Gospel For tho our Blessed Saviour promis'd that the Gates of Hell should not prevail against the Vniversal Church that he will be with her to the end of the World send his Spirit to lead her into all Truth and abide with her for ever yet these Promises do only respect the Fundamental Doctrins of the Catholic and Universal Church of Christ or a People professing the Truth however they may err as all of them do in Opinions not essential to Religion And seeing every particular Church may be guilty of some Errors and Mistakes in outward Circumstances of Religion therefore fore he that will separate upon this Account can scarce hold Communion with any National Church upon Earth And those fickle and fanciful Persons might have had the same Plea to have separated from the Christian Church in the time of the Apostles that they have now from Us Nor is there any one that understands the State of our Church but will readily acknowledge that our Orders of Bishops Priests and Deacons and Set Form of Worship and Discipline are if not of Apostolical yet of Primitive Institution 5. No meer Inconveniences or circumstantial Errors or Defects and those only alledged not proved against Us can justifie or excuse a Departure from Us since I have made it fully evident that our Church holds and maintains all the Essentials both of Faith and of Worship For we have seen already that all Men are oblig'd to conform themselves to the Constitutions of their National Church tho some of the external Modes Forms be inconvenient disorderly and defective rather than not be of any Church at all And what they cannot reform without disturbing the Peace of the Church 't is their Duty to tolerate seeing there 's no National and Particular Church in the World as we have already observed whose Constitutions and Government are absolutely perfect Therefore 6. Those Persons are extreamly to blame that require greater Purity in Gods Public Worship than the Holy Scriptures have commanded or our Blessed Saviour and his Apostles or the Primitive Orthodox Fathers have recommended to Posterity And tho there were some things amiss in the outward Rules and Laws of Worship and Government Yet

to be infallible in point of Worship and Discipline which I think the most of them disclaim or for ever quit their Pretensions for a Separation from Us because of the little Errors which they have discovered in our Administrations Having thus fully answer'd the chief Objections of our Brethren for their unwarrantable Separation from the Church of England which I know will fully satisfie you We shall proceed Secondly To draw some clear and undeniable Inferences from the Premises for the prevention of all further Scruples in this Case And 1. It would be a strange Delusion and no less than absolute Prophaneness to cast off all the Publick Ordinances or neglect the Sacred and Solemn Worship of God because some things may be disliked or excepted against in their Administrations 2. The greatest Honour we can ascribe to God is to worship solemnly and devoutly in the Publick Assemblies of the Church And therefore it must be the most heinous Crime to make a Schism and Rent in any particular Church where Christ is effectually present by his Grace and Spirit Nor can any one have a sufficient Plea to withdraw from the Publick Ordinances in any Nation till Christ has deserted them which no Man can object against the Pure and Apostolical Church of England Wherein as before the whole World will acknowledge that the Word of God is purely preach'd and the Sacraments duly administred in that admirable Order and Vniformity which is scarce to be parallel'd in any National Church upon Earth Besides those who are so strait laced as to require absolute Perfection in the Administration of Divine Offices and Church Government must be guilty of that Popish Error in confining the Church with all its Priviledges and Immunities to their own Sect and Party and so cast off a considerable Part of the Catholick Church as the Church of England is at this Day which professes and practises all the Essentials of Faith and Worship Hence we also infer 3. That many great and unavoidable Mischiefs do always attend a wilful and unlawful Separation For a Scissure in and departure from a True Church as the Church of England is and none of our severest Adversaries can deny is most dishonourable and displeasing to God a scandal to Religion hinders the Success of the Gospel opens a wide Gap to Atheism and Prophaneness Heresie and Popery and is a dismal Presage of the removing of our Candlestick Mat. 12.25 Why then should any Persons withdraw and separate themselves from the Communion of our Church for the sake of a few Ceremonies and set up Altar against Altar and hereby put an Opportunity into the Adversaries hands to ruin both us and themselves But 4. Tho all Persons in this Nation are obliged to hold Communion with the Church of England seeing those pretended Defects in her are only modal and circumstantial which no Church in the World can be free from in this State of Tryal and Probation yet we are sorbidden to communicate with any Church in Sin And this is the true reason and ground of forsaking the Church of Rome because her Errors are Fundamental as we have seen already and the Conditions of Communion with her such as we cannot comply with unless we offer Violence to our own Reason and Conscience And we do always solemnly declare that if their New Articles of Faith and unchristian Practices did not hinder Us we should most freely and chearfully communicate with her nor do we further depart from her than she departs from Christ and her Self as to her antient Faith and Worship And again we have so much Love and Charity for our modern Dissenters in England that if any one has a truly tender Conscience so as after a diligent and faithful use of all convenient and necessary Means and Methods for his Conviction as earnest Prayer to God reading of good Books consultation with his Parish-Minister or some other Pious and Learned Divine of the Church of England he still remains scrupulous and unsatisfied yet rather than sin against his own Conscience we do not blame but pity him if he modestly withdraws from our Communion But I am afraid there are some who have not practised these Methods altho I have the Charity to believe that very many have and that most of those who have separated from our Communion have not done it through a wilful Obstinacy but meerly upon the account of Conscience 5. Our Brethren of the Non-conformity might do well to consider also that none gains any thing by a groundless Schism and Separation but that sort of Men whose chief Maxim to promote their own Ends hath always been Divide impera For 't is very observable that the Interest of the Reform'd Religion is daily weaken'd by our unchristian and intestine Divisions And 't is very certain that we cannot do our Enemies greater Service nor more precipitate our own Ruine than by crumbling our selves into Sects and Parties Insomuch that I am afraid that those who now separate from Us and in this juncture forsake our Communion will one day find and feel to their great cost not to mention the present Mischiefs that it were a thousand times better to swallow an innocent Ceremony than rend a Church seeing the greatest Sins shall have a lighter Punishment than Schism and Separation For the Eye that mocketh his Father and despiseth the Garment of his Mother the Ravens of the Valley shall pluck it out and the young Eagles devour it See further upon the Mischiefs of Schism Dr. Falkners Libertas Eccles from the beginning Which brings me to the Third and last thing Which will be to lay down some Rules by way of Caution and Advice which may secure you and by your Influence many others from a groundless Separation And 1. We must be subject to every Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake For they are Gods Ministers and the supreme Magistrate of these Kingdoms is invested with Sovereign Power and Authority to order and administer the Affairs of Government for the peace and benefit of Mens Souls as well as their Bodies and Estates Nor can this seem strange to any one who either understands the Scriptures or Ecclesiastical History For 't is plain that the religious Kings of Judah Israel as King David Solomon Asa Jehoshaphat Hezekiah c. and all the Christian Emperors as Constantine the Great and his Successors till the Bishop of Rome's Usurpation were as much concern'd in ordering of the Affairs of the Church as the Administration of Civil Government And indeed unless this Power and Soveraignty were allow'd to the Supreme Magistrate he should be unable to provide for the benefit of his Subjects nor could there be any such thing as Order and Vniformity in the Churches of Christ the Ecclesiastical Laws being only Bruta fulmina without the concurrence and enforcement of the Civil Power So that from hence it must needs follow that a cheerful Obedience to and a hearty Compliance