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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	church_n	faith_n	tradition_n	5,437	5	9.2161	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30930	A sermon preached at St. Mary Le Bow, on Whitsunday, May xxxi, 1691 at the consecration of the Most Reverend Father in God, John, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and primate of all England / by Ra. Barker ...	Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.	1691 (1691)	Wing B777A; ESTC R17105	11,838	31

to shine into all the dark corners of our Souls that Christ's Sheep may hear his voice and not anothers that they may know him and follow him Should not Christ's Sheep know the mind of Christ and be instructed in the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ as Titus and the first Christians were taught that sound Doctrin that Edifying which is in Faith that Depositum which he committed to his Chuch And can we better express our love to our Lord or his Sheep than by giving them the Food which he hath appointed for them that sanctifying Word which is able to make them perfect and save their Souls And shall any be such Stewards of God's Grace as to hoard up this in a Napkin as too luscious and over-light Nourishment for Sheep Give them some latter Traditions some Pictures or Legends which may keep them Humble and Ignorant Better be lean than wander better starved than lost the Hireling may think so because he is to have the Fleece of such as die alone but the good Shepherd whose own the Sheep are knows very well that Sheep are more apt to wander through want of Food than through Plenty and he knows better how to prevent surfeiting than by starving can easilier teach Humility than see so many perish for want of Knowledge can there be a greater Error than to part with our Scriptures for fear of Error and because some wrest them must others not see them Because the Lambs suck must the Sheep do so too Good God that such Nonsense should pass for Reasoning that Christ's Sheep should have such Shepherds But secondly to feed doth include an Holy Zeal and concern for them to preserve and secure them as much as may be both from Sin and Error to watch for their Souls as they that must give an Account of them to the great Shepherd not suffering them to fall into the Hands of such and such there are who if they get them into their Hands will as St. Peter fore warns us make Merchandize of them through Covetousness and fained Words 2 Pet. 2. 3. such False Prophets such Damnable Heresies did he foresee were coming into the World And therefore he explains Feeding the Flock which is among you by taking the over-sight thereof being acquainted with the State and Condition of their Flocks their Dangers and Temptations their Capacities and Circumstances that so their Preachings and Instructions their Care and Inspection may reach them and come home to them may be suited to their several conditions and present wants The good Shepherd is as much concerned to fold his Sheep safely as to provide them with Plenty to preserve them Sound as Fat to take care of the Sick and Weak to recover the Lost and Wandering For which purposes he hath his Tarr and his Crook the Spirit of Meekness and a Rod of Power Power to Rebuke to Censure to Exclude for their own good and for the good of the rest St. Peter knew how to treat a dissembling Ananias Thus Feeding doth comprehend all that Spiritual Power and Authority which Christ left with his Church and which would not miss of its designed Effects if kept within its due Bounds and Measures and such as our Apostle hath taken care to fence it in with a due Respect to the Civil Rights and Interests of Kings and the Governors which are Commissioned by them such as is consistent with Modesty and Humility that Pitty and Compassion that unfeigned love of the Brethren which is due to our Fellow Christians as they are Christ's Sheep God's Lot and Heritage All which Expressions so far as I can gather from St. Peter's use of them are a safe and good state of the Case betwixt the Civil and Ecclesiastical Power which hath puzelled and endangered so many Undertakers in it some of which have felt the Weight of that Power which they themselves have unwarrantably advanced and understood at last what exercising the Authority of Kings and Lording it over their Brethren did signifie both in Christ and in St. Peter when they so earnestly forbad them If Pastor do signifie sometimes Spiritual sometimes Temporal Rulers it is altogether as unwarrantable and unsafe from thence to mix the Temporal with the Spiritual as to mix the Spiritual with the Temporal for Kings and Rulers may as justly hence make themselves Priests as Priests make themselves Rulers and Kings If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signified among the Grecians the Prince and chief Rulers may every Bishop claim as great Power and Authority as ever they exercised Then may every Christian make himself a King or Priest or what he will as he may pick up some Word or Expression used among the Poets or better Authors for the purpose he would have it But to return Feeding doth imply in the third place and according to our Saviour's use of it being exemplary and going before the Flock according to the Custom of those Countries and is expressed in our Apostle by being Examples to the Flock in all things shewing themselves Patterns of good Works in Faith in Conversation for a good Life is the surest Ground the best Disposition for the Understanding of our Duty gives the greatest Courage and Assurance in the Performance of it adds the greatest advantage and furtherance in the Success thereof I say it is First the surest Ground and best Qualification for the Understanding the business we go about They were the Holy Men of God saith our Apostle who in all Ages were moved by the Holy Ghost they that do his Will shall know of his Doctrin For is not our Religion a Practical Knowledge a Doctrin of Godliness the Work of Righteousness And shall we separate the Knowledge from the Practice the Doctrin from the Godliness That is would we walk in the ways of God without stirring one step All practical Things are gained by Practice and I am sure in nothing more than in Religion as it doth by degrees quit us of those Prejudices and Entanglements which debase our Understandings and Affections clog our Inclinations and discourage our Attempts as it gives us the true Relish of the Ease and Pleasure of Religion as it gives God's Spirit the Opportunity to concur and work with us 2ly As it gives Courage and Assurance in the performance of our Duty St. Peter stiles such an one a Living stone and doth not think himself lessened by our Saviours comparing the practical Christian to the house built upon the rock He that loves Goodness may with confidence and a good grace recommend it he that hates Vice may with boldness and ex animo reprove and out-face it How sneakingly how coldly must that Man act who is bound to reprove what he dearly loves and recommend that which he hath no relish for no acquaintance with Is not this acting of a Part and turning our very Churches into Stages If our business be Religion for God's sake let us be religious 3dly This gives the best Advantage and

their Affections and there is no coming at their Understandings but by them we lose our labour if we think to storm that Fort without gaining these Out-works and seeing it is so we must speak to Men as they are capable of hearing perhaps it is thus on purpose to teach us that Love is as valuable as many Truths that it is the way of gaining all Hath not God commanded us to follow the Truth in Love hath he not resolved that he will teach the meek his ways that he will not accept all Knowledge all Faith and what can Truth it self aim at more without Charity It is not the prerogative of Truth to convince it is but the Way not the End we water but God gives the increase we propose but God convinces we rebuke but it is God who gives Repentance What Pride what Presumption then is it for any to be angry and peevish if so soon as they have watered the increase doth not appear if upon their proposing the Person is not presently convinced if upon their rebuking he shew no Repentance And shall any do well to be angry in these cases Doth not all such Passion fly in the face of God himself who is pleased to withhold his Concurrence either because they proceed not in his way did not rebuke with Meekness or because they claimed too great a share in it themselves they must have them to be their Converts or lastly because God knows better than we when to interpose and bestow his Mercy that the power may be of God and not of Man that it may answer his ends rather than theirs I have been the longer upon this because I do believe that our feeding in Love is loving of Christ the Object different but the same Affection for that very Union which makes Christ to be one with them makes our Love of them to be our Love of Christ and that Feast of Love which we are going to partake of makes us to be one with Christ as it unites us in Love and Good-will towards each other whereby we being many become one Body one Church the members of Christ and of each other To conclude all Suffer I beseech you a word of Exhortation and let me once twice and a third time inforce this Duty that if you love Christ that as you love Christ that as you desire your Love may be approved and inlarged by him you would feed and thus feed his Sheep gathering the Lambs with your Arms and carrying them in the Bosome gently leading those that are with young and fetching back the lost upon your shoulders These are the Expressions which God by his Prophet and Christ in his Gospel are pleased to make use of setting forth thereby their great Care and tender Concern for their Sheep and can you take a better Course Can you follow a better Pattern than to be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful than to be sent as Christ himself was to seek and to save May you so faithfully discharge this great Duty that Christ may own and bless whatsoever you do for him and his and the God of Peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect to do his Will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight to whom be Glory for ever Amen FINIS Books Printed for James Adamson I. A Defence of Diocesan Episcopacy in answer to a Book of Mr. David Clarkson lately published Entituled Primitive Episcopacy by Henry Maurice D. D. Octavo II. Vita Reginaldi Poli Cardinalis ac Cantuariensis Archiepiscopi Acta Disceptationis inter Legatos Angliae Galliae in Concilio Constantiensi de utriusque Gentis Dignitate Praerogativa in Conciliorum Tomis desiderata Libri Rarissimi olim quidem Editi sed paucis noti ac nullis facile obvii Octavo III. Pauli Colomesii Observationes sacrae Editio secunda auctior emendatior accedunt ejusdem Paralipomena de Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis Passio sancti Victoris Massiliensis ab eodem emendata Editio quarta ultima longè auctior emendatior Oct. IV. The Travels of Monsieur de The venot into the Levant In three parts viz. 1. Into Turky 2. Persia 3. The East Indies Folio V. Mr. Chillingworth's Book called The Religion of Protestants a safe way to Salvation made more generally useful by omitting Personal Contests but inserting whatsoever concerns the common Cause of Protestants or defends the Church of England with an exact Table of Contents and an Addition of some genuine Pieces of Mr. Chillingworth's never before printed viz. against the Infallibility of the Roman Church Transubstantiation Tradition c. And an Account of what moved the Author to turn Papist with his Confutation of the said Motives Quarto VI. A Treatise of the Celibacy of the Clergy wherein its Rise and Progress are Historically considered Quarto VII A Treatise proving Scripture to be the Rule of Faith writ by Reginald Peacock Bishop of Chichester before the Reformation about the year 1450. VIII Doubts concerning the Roman Infallibility 1. Whether the Church of Rome believe it 2. Whether Jesus Christ or his Apostles ever Recommended it 3. Whether the Primitive Church knew or used that way of deciding Controversies IX A brief Historical Account of the Behaviour of the Jesuits and their Faction for the first twenty five Years of Q. Elizabeths Reign with an Epistle of W. Watson a Secular Priest shewing how they were thought of by other Romanists of that time Quarto X. A brief Examination of the present Roman Catholick Faith contained in Pope Pius his new Creed by the Scriptures Ancient Fathers and their own Modern Writers Quarto