Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A87186
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Considerations tending to the happy accomplishment of Englands reformation in church and state. Humbly presented to the piety and wisdome of the High and Honourable Court of Parliament.
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Hartlib, Samuel, d. 1662.
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1647
(1647)
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Wing H981; Thomason E389_4; Thomason E397_25; ESTC R201517
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28,652
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73
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CONSIDERATIONS TENDING To the Happy Accomplishment OF ENGLANDS Reformation in Church and State Humbly presented to the Piety and Wisdome of the High and Honourable Court of Parliament Right Honourable Senators AS I have been long agoe convicted of this Truth that my Life is not mine own but Gods and that God appoints the Vse of it to be returned unto Him in Christ through his Body which is the Church visible So I make account that I can have no true delight in the enjoyment of this Earthly Life of mine any further then I find my selfe Vsefull to others thereby in Christs Way Therefore I dare not desire either the continuance or comforts thereof any longer then I may be serviceable therein to the Common-wealth of Israel And although I know not what service in this Kind I have hitherto done or may do hereafter for I am no competent Judge of this matter yet I am comforted herein that I have the testimony of my Conscience assuring mee that I have sincerely spent and laid out my selfe wholly to this effect And that although I have been carelesse of my selfe as to this world sine invidia lucri yet I have seen alwayes Gods hand in the midst of many straits and difficulties supporting me and shewing a way to proceed when I found my selfe at a stand Now because of late this hath been more eminently apparent then ever by the speciall Providence of God in moving the Goodnesse and Justice of the Houses to Order my present maintenance and future support I thinke my selfe highly obliged by all the bonds of Gratitude to be so much the more Zealous Free and Earnest both towards God and Men to endeavour the Advancement of his Glory and your Felicity which I am fully perswaded may be done by such Motions and Proposalls as these are which some who are not much swayed by the Interests of flesh and blood having concurred with me to put to Paper I suppose may have an effectuall influence upon those Honourable Friends of mine in the Houses who are pleased to looke upon me as a Servant to every one for the Publick Good of All. Therefore in requitall of their care for me I find my heart inlarged with cares for them and by the advantage of most thankful Affections and Respects I would gladly give you All occasion to be Instrumentall towards Your own Happinesse and the perfect Wayes of such a desired Reformation both of Church and State as may by Gods blessing thereon in due time ferment the rest of the world Which by the ensuing Discourse will appeare in some measure feasible if the Things offered therein can be set afoot here I say if they can bee set a-afoot here not that I doubt of the Possibility thereof in themselves for I know that elswhere the Matters here mentioned have been practised by piece-meale and therefore there is no reason why they may not be all at once jointly made use of amongst Vs but that I am somwhat in doubt of the season Whether the Spirits of this Age bee not too much as yet to say no more discomposed and scattered to entertaine such Overtures But let Men be as they will such seeds as these must be sown in their hearts and presented to their thoughts Who knoweth what they may worke Sure I am the effect is in Gods hand and he can make this honest endevour to become as it is intended without partiallity a Help and Expedient to that Regular Settlement which all such as are upright in heart wish and long for And I hope that such as seek not to make their own will but the Word of God the sole Rule of our Reformation will all contribute to such designes as these for the composure of needlesse differences And that the Lord who is Wonderfull in Councell and Excellent in VVorking may bring all this to passe I shall not cease to be restlesse before his Throne with my Prayers who am the meanest of all that serve the Publick but in truth and as long as I breathe professedly Right Honourable Senators Your most obliged humble and faithfull Servant SAMVEL HARTLIE A BRIEF DISCOVRSE Concerning The Accomplishment of our REFORMATION Tending to shew That by an Office of Publike Addresse in Spirituall and Temporall Matters the Glory of God and the Happinesse of this Nation may be highly advanced WEE have exceeding great cause to blesse the Lord our God who hath blessed us in many things farre above our fore-Fathers but chiefly in this that we have the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ revealed unto us more evidently then ever they had in former times And although many of our neighbour-Nations partake of this great blessing with us yet in Two Things the people of this Island and chiefly that of England doth exceed all the rest First herein that this Parliament and such as joyne with it in this Publike Cause are more solemnly and strongly engaged to advance the Glory of God by the Reformation of this Church and State then any other Protestants are Secondly in this that God hath put into the hands of this Parliament sufficiently all the Meanes and Advantages that may enable them to discharge their duty in order to this engagement If then this good and mighty hand of God which hitherto hath done so many and so wonderfull things for Us will graciously continue to lead our Leaders on in the way wherin they are entered till they finish their course succesfully it is evident that our Happinesse may be compleated for our Age in a full measure and without interruption propagated afterward for many Ages unto our Posterity And lest we should seem to be carelesse of so great an Advantage let us look upon our State to make a discovery of Gods dealing with Us to the praise of his Name and the increase of our hopes First then this our making of a Nationall Covenant in so solemn a manner with Almighty God with our Neighbour-Nation and with each other in reference unto God as it is an extraordinary engagement to bind our soules unto his publike Service so it hath been from him to Us the conveyance of an extraordinary blessing upon our proceedings by Scattering all our adversaries before Us and breaking al their plots and enterprises against Us by which meanes also our engagement towards God is more strongly confirmed and increased because he hath not onely delivered Us from the deadly feares of our most dangerous and desperate Enemies but hath manifested his acceptance of our Persons and approved of our wayes and undertakings by a successe which is every way admirable In the second place the Advantages which by this successe hee hath put into our hands to effect that whereunto wee are engaged are no lesse obliging towards the Advancement of his Glory then the Covenant it self For this very tye whereby God hath bound Us to himself before other people Nationally and called upon Us to make a solemne Profession of our purpose to
live reformed under his Ordinance as Members of Christs body hath obliged Us before others to mind not Our selves alone but the Communion of his Saints also in all the Reformed Churches Then this other Advantage that by our successe hee hath made our Parliament eminently Honorable and his great Trustee of the greatest and most uncontroulable Power and Authority which is in any Protestant State on earth doth bind Us so much the more to bee mindfull of his Honour to advance it with all the power and authority which hee hath bestowed upon Us. Moreover this that hee hath put into the hands of our Parliament the right and priviledge to Set a worke to Addresse and to Dispose of more large Spirituall Talents and Intellectuall Abilities and of more plentifull Temporall Meanes and Helpes for Spirituall Uses then other Nations have and withall that offer he doth at this time also more convenient opportunities and occasions to Us then to any others to improve all these blessings to his Glory to our owne Good and the Comfort of many This â— say that God doth all this for Us by our Parliament is evidently a more effectuall drawing and engaging of Us to himself then is our voluntary binding of our selves over unto him by our Nationall Covenant Therefore as we may gather that our guilt for this reason will bee above other Nations extreame heavily increased upon Us in case we neglect the duties of so many and strong Obligations so we may hope that our Happiness in case we answer this great call and discharge the trust which God hath reposed in Us faithfully will be upon Us and our Posterity more then upon others for ever also increased From which Consideration we must conclude That Three Things will be required of Us to acquit our selves of all these engagements The First is that which the Nationall Covenant doth bind Us unto within and towards Our selves for the redresse of Publike Evils The Second is that which the Universall Kingdom of God in the world and the Church Visible doth require of Us towards all for the addresse of every one to partake of Publike Blessings And the Third is that which the Communion of Saints doth oblige Us unto toward our Protestant Brethren at home and abroad for the Common Advancement of Religion and against the Common Enemies thereof Upon the Conscionable performance of our Duties in these Three Relations the continuance and enlargement of our Happines will consist Let us then briefly consider of the Ways by which wee should acquit our selves of these engagements The Nationall Covenant doth bind Us for the redresse of our Evils to settle our Church our Civill State and our particular Persons in a Reformed condition The Reformation of our Church is specified in the settlement of Truth by a Common Confession of Faith and Catechisme in the settlement of Righteousnesse and good Order by a Common Directory for Worship for Government and for Discipline and in the overthrow of Error of Unrighteousnes and of Disorder by the abolishment of Popery of Prelacy of Superstition of Heresie of Schisme and of all Profanesse The Reformation of the Civill State is also specified in the maintenance of that Authority whereby Justice is to be administred unto the Nations in the preservation of that Peace and Unity which is setled between the Kingdomes in the suppression of all evil Instruments that disturb the Publike Peace between the King and his People or between the two Nations and in the faithfulness of every one to persevere in these endevours and to maintaine those that prosecute the same And the Reformation of Our particular Person is specified lastly in the Humiliation of every one for his own sins the sins of the Nations and in the care which every one of Us doth bind himself unto to Reforme his own life according to the Gospel of Christ and to watch over all those that are under Our charges to the same effect Now when all this is done and Nationally agreed unto as is expresly mentioned in the Covenant yet even then all will not be done which of Us Nationally God doth require for the Advancement of his Glory For the very Reformation itself if truly compleated will oblige the Nation more effectually then ever hitherto it hath bin to mind a further Interest both in the generall Communion of Saints and in the Universall Kingdom of God For then Christs saying wil take place in Us Luk. 12.48 Vnto whomsoever much is given of him shall bee much required and to whom men have committed much of him they will aske the more Therefore whatever blessing through redress of our Evils in our Reformation shall be attained by Us or advanced to Us within this State God will not conferre it upon us that it should rest there and lye dead as a Talent buried in the ground but he will expect that we should trade with it and make it usefull in his service towards All for the enlargement of his Kingdome because the maine engagement which hee doth put upon those whom hee hath delivered from their Enemies is this namely That they should serve him without feare in righteousnesse and holinesse all the dayes of their life Luk. 1.24 25. For if by this Reformation of our Church State and Lives he doth intend to convert Us unto himself Hee will not doe it upon any other termes then it was done to his Apostle Peter to whom he said Tu Conversus confirma fratres When thou art converted strengthen thy Brethren Luk. 22.32 So then our Obligation to the whole Body of Christ for whose sake God doth all things to every one will not be satisfied by that discharge of our duty to the Body of this Nation but that which in this Nation is brought home unto God by the Truth and Settlement of the Holy Profession therin must be according to the Rule offered up again unto him dedicated unto his service and applyed unto the use for which he hath bestowed it upon Us else wee shall rob him of the fruit of all these blessings and deserve to be deprived of the same For God dealeth with a whole Nation in respect of his Kingdom as he doth with a single Man Hee doth not give to any particular man the gifts of his Spirit for himself alone but he giveth them as the Apostle saith To profit withall that he should minister the same unto others as a Steward of his Grace even so wee must judge of the Nationall blessings bestowed upon Us in the hand of the Parliament that Gods undoubted meaning is not that wee should ingrosse his gifts as our own peculiar to our selves alone but that wee should become faithfull Stewards thereof for the Universall Kingdome of his Son that it may be propagated and for the generall Communion of his Saints that it may be entertained It will be therefore the Wisdome of Us all that make Conscience of our wayes both in the Parliament and in