Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A65399
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A reply by T.W. citizen of Chester, to a Vindication of Mr. M.H's Brief enquiry into the true nature of schism, from the exceptions of T.W. &c. By a person who conceals his name
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T.W. citizen of Chester.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing W128; ESTC R219277
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46,420
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51
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Ceremonies without any native worth or strength yet were made Terms of Communion in the Apostles days and continued for some time after The Ceremonies in our Church are of the same Nature only have so much worth and strength that they beat the pleasant fruit of Decency and Order they are falsly called New being Customs of great Antiquity in the Church and being enjoyned by the same power derivatively which the Apostles had by my Adversatys good leave cease to be needless It necessarily follows that all persons within the Jurisâ—iction of the English Church have the same Obligation to submit to her Terms of Communion as the Christians had to submit to the Terms o. Communion with the Apostles Seeing then that there 's nothing amiss in our Church i. e. not any thing that can give any just occasion to separate from her Communion Seeing too that She is a Church framed according to Scripture Rules and that her Terms of Communion are neither New nor Needless the Conclusion necessarily follows that whoever they be within her Jurisdiction that Separate from her Communion do Separate for Separation sake and have no other Motives thereunto than those in â—atâ— Vices of the mind mentioned by Mr. Hery viz Ambition Animosity c. to close this These men are Notorious Schismaticks from their own Principles thereby give themselves the Title of Arch-Rebels in Christs Kingdom I will tâ—â— this Question upon the Dissenters and Examin what account they can give or their being a Church framed according to Scripture Rules and whether all they impose as Terms of Communion be by express Rules in Scripture That Church cannot be framed according to Scripture Rules where the Priestly Office is exerciâ—ed without the Divine Mission my Author may as trâ—â—l â— affirm in respect of his â—atural Generation that be is an immediate Son of Adam as what be in his 31 p. affirms of Ordination viz. that their Spiritual Governâ—rs i.e. their Pastors derive their Authority from Christ which by the words subâ—oyned must be immediately from Christ for he says it is mere proper than to speak of deriving it from the Apoâ—lâ—â— c. No Commission was ever known to come immediately from Heaven without some extraordinary Testimony to evince the Truth of it The immediate Mission which these men pretend to requires an extraordinary Testimony or no man in his right Wits can believe or assent to its Authority or esteem it for any thing but mere Delusion or Usurpation The Cretian Church must be allowed to be framed according to Scripture â—â—les I keep to this Gentlemans term in that Church St. Paul appointed Titus to Ordain Elders in every City none in the Scriptural Churches as this Gent Phrases it was to enter upon the Pastoral or Priestly Office without Episcopal Ordination Our blessed Saviour saith Jâ—â— 10.1 Verily I say unto you he that entreth not by the door into the Sheep sold but climbeth some other way the same is a Thies and a Robber Not entring in at the Door signifies entring without that Authority which the Author of our Religion hath Ordained in his Church without this Mission i. e. Episcopal Ordination no man hath Authority to Preach the Gospel administer Sacraments or exercise any thing appropriate to the Priestly Office unless these men can manifest that they have this Mission they are so far from being a Scriptural Church that our blessed Saviour pronounceth them to be Thieves and Robbers By this account of the Frame of their Church supposing but not granting it to be a Church it appears to have no Foundation of a Scriptural Church but on the contrary is Condemned in the Hâ—ly Scripture Let it now be examined whether All they impose as Terms of Communion be by express Rules in Scripture 1. First Then I desire they 'l inform us where did our blessed Saviour or his Apostles appoint the first day of the Week for Celebration of the Public Worship 2. What precept have they in Scripture for choosing a Text as is now used to Preach upon or the erection of a Pulpit 3. What Divine Command have your Brethren for the Form of Public Penance the Stool of Repentance imposed by the Kirk of Scotland and the Presbyterians in England These are I suppose Terms of Communion with you I am not disputing against the Practice of these things but hence it appears how unreasonable and false that Principle you so much contend for is to wit that nothing is to be done about the Worship and Service of God without Rules and express Command in the Holy Scripture But I farther demand of you 4. What Divine Warrant or where in Scripture did your Predecessors find those three significant Ceremonies imposed without the Regal Authority at the taking the Solemn League and Covenant which you at this day justifie First the Takers must be uncovered 2ly they must stand up 3ly The right hand must be lifted up bare all these Ceremonies in this Religious Solemnity signifying the Submission and Assent of the parties to that Rebellious Covenant were Instituted by the Presbyterians In his 37 p. he says We desire the Rules of the Gospel may be carefully looked into and a model of Government and Worship taken from thence such as may be likely to answer the great ends of Church Societies c. Here 's our Government and Worship supposed to be inconsistent with the Rules of the Gospel thence a necessity of Reformation and who can deny so fair an Offer The Model these good men will set up shall be a Model for Church Government and Worship not like our Vnscriptural Church but taken from the Rules of the Gospel But here it s demanded 5. What Rule or Command is there in all the Sacred Scriptures for private and Unauthorized persons such as these men are under pretence of Reformation to supplant a Catholic Church truly Reformed in Government and Worship to primitive purity as I have shewed and established by all the Authority that can be had on Earth from God or Man Conceited men Think ye that those Pious Martyrs who Reformed our Church inspected not the Rules of the Gospel as carefully and Conscienciously as you and are not the â—reat ends of Church Society answered viz. the Christian Faith truly professed and maintained the Holy Sacraments duly administred and such an Unity and Christian Charity observed and practiced according to the Rules of the Gospel in our Church as exactly and amply as in any Church on this side Heaven His next words in p. 38. are That nothing may be imposed but what is either expressly commanded or has a natural and proper tendency to promote that which is so c. This is Answered before He saith farther Then would the Worship and Service of God appear like itself Rational Grave and Majestical becoming reasonable Creatures c. Here are all men to be perswaded that the Worship and Service in their Conventicles is eminently more Rational Grave and
bottom of his 35 p. he says Ignatius charges the Bishop to take Coâ—â—nizance of every Member of his Church not excepting the very Servants and that it was the Custom then in every Congregation to receive the Sacrament every Lords day and that they never received it but from the Hand of the Bishop Hence he concludes that such Bishops must be the Pastors of single Congrezations and adds that this Argument has been copiously mannaged by Blundel Baxter Owen Clarkson and others This Gent. as in all other Quotations leaves me to find this I have met with the passage in St. Ignatius's Ep. to Polycarp Bishop of the Smyrmans where he saith Converse with all man by man as God shall enaâ—â—e thee he saith further Let nothing be done without thy Sentence c. A little farther he saith Let Congregations be gather'd more frequently and take the names of all Persons Let neither Men nor Maid Servants be despised by thee And in the same Ep. he saith Be mindful of the Bishop that God may be mindful of you I could give my Life for those persons who are Subject to the Bishop Presbyters and Deacons Let the Reader consider all the parts together and then Judge how reasonably Congregational Bishops can be hence inferr'd 1. It is evident that Polycarp was not Bishop of one Single Congregation only by these words call the Congregations together c. in the Plural Number 2. His Jurisdiction and Authority over the Congregations is manifest in these words Let nothing be done without thy Sentence 3. The Subjection 〈◊〉 to the Bishop from these Congragations contain'd in this Exhortation to them Be mindful of the Bishop that God may be mindful of you 4. The Distinction of the three Sacred Orders in the Church about which these men have made such a bussle in the world are plainly set down and overthrows all their pretentions to Congregational Bishops for saith he J could give my life for these persons who are Subject to the Bishop Pres yters and Deacons Here is a plurality of Congregations and a plurality of Presbyters and Deacons and but one Bishop From his not reading or concealing the most material parts in this Ep. wherein lye the true Sentiments of St. Ignatius how Triumphantly does he conclude for Congregational Bishops whereas the whole is altogether against it Then he glories in the copious management of this Argument by Blundel Baxter Owen Clarkson and others Alass all these have been judiciously Answered by Bramhal Hammond Morris Stillingfleet Dodwell c. In his 36. p. saith he It is observable in the passage cited out of Irenaeus the Presbyters are said to have their Succession from the Apostles and infers from thence that the Presbyters are the Apostles Successors as well as Bishops and must conseq ently have the same power How frequently in the writings of the Fathers and in Scripture are Bishops called Presbyters as that word signifies Seniority or Dignity and are not they sometimes called Deacons too but as it would be very absur'd to infer from hence an Equality of Bishops and Deacons so would it be unreasonable to conclude concerning Bishop and Presbyter That our Author is mistaken in St. Irenaeus's sense of the word Presbyter appears by the words immediately subjoyned which are these Qui cum Episcopatus Successione Charisma veritatis certum Secundum placitum Patris acceserâ—nt L. 4. C. 43. Who that is the Presbyters above mentioned with the Succession of Episcopacy have received the Infallible Gift of Truth according to the Will of the Father It is plain that no other can be here ment but those of the highest Order in the Church Bishops My Author p. 37. accuseth me that I designed not fair dealing with Mr. H-ry it was a great omission in me I therefore take his thô very sharp Rebuke very kindly Mr. H-ry in his 19 p. Parag. 6. very Orthodoxly saith Separation from Communion with those that we have joyned our selves to without a Cause give me leave to call it Separation for Separation sake without any regard had to any think amiss in the Church we Separate from or any thing better in that we joyn our selves to is Schism Then he proves the truth of this Proposition from his own description of Schism and then concludes When we quite cast off Communion with our Brethren out of Ambition Animosity to their persons affectation of Novelty and Singularity and the like Now our Author lest this truth so plainly set down by Mr. H-ry should carry too sharp an edge upon 'em in p. 37. brings in his Insinuation as he in vain supposeth to guard them from the stroke they must naturally receive from the applying of it to them For says he We all grant that for persons wilfully to with-draw themselves from such particular Churches as are framed according to Scripture Rules and impose no new and needless Terms is to act Schismatically because such wilfull Separation cannot be without the breach of Charity The difficulties which my Author which indeed are none at all would put lyes in Churches framed according to Scripture Rules c. It is Schism in Mr. H-ry's Judgment to Separate from a Church without any regard had to any thing amiss Let it be Examined if in our Church there be any thing amiss Are not all the Arcicles of saving Faith truly taught No just cause of Separation the Holy Sacraments duly Administred the Moral precepts and all the Rules of the Christian Religion plainly and constantly recommended unto us and prest upon us for our Excercise in the whole Course of our lives in the Sermons of our Clergy in all our Churches are not all things pertaining to a Godly Life and Salvation by our Church fully exhibited to us so as that no man can miscarry but by his own fault Here then sure can be nothing amâ—ss Can these men maintain and justifie then the truth of their Doctrine and separate themselves from us without pronounceing themselves Schismatics either their Doctrin is not true or these men are Schismatics in practice by their own shewing All the false and shiftless pretence they have is that the Church of England is not framed according to Scripture Rules and imposeth new and needless terms and therefore Separation from such a Church is no Schism That our Church is truly Apostolical and as truly framed as Jerusalem Antioch Alexandria and all other Primitive Churches according to Scripture Rules according to Christ Jesus's own Institution is fully proved in these papers So that that Objection is clearly Answered and is indeed vain and frivolous Now let his other as vain and frivolous Objection be considered viz. the Imposing new and needless Terms by which is I suppose meant Geremonies I must here crave leave to mention what I have before viz. the Love-â—cast the Holy kiss had no intrinsic vertue in them were no Essentials of Religion see his p. 2. mere Ceremonies and as this Gent. calls our