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A48848
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A sermon preached at St. Martins in the Fields, on November the fifth, 1678 by William Lloyd ...
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Lloyd, William, 1627-1717.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing L2709; ESTC R20333
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13,102
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38
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intended not for them alone but for them also who should believe on him through their word I say therefore if our Saviour had any thought of Christians that should suffer from their Brethren as his Disciples did from the Jews I know not where to apply this but only to them of the Roman Church Of them only among Christians he had Occasion to say this They shall put you out of the Synagogues yea when they kill you they shall think that they do God service So that I have a twofold Consideration in these words First in relation to the Jews and Secondly to the Romish Christians First in relation to the Jews Christ said these words immediately to his Disciples that the Jews would Excommunicate Them and Kill them in pure Zeal for their Religion To pursue this in the Method that I propounded at first First the Cause of those Evils which the Jews did to the Apostles was meerly Zeal for their Traditionary Religion What their Zeal was you know is often spoken in Scripture S t Paul testifies of them Rom. 10. 2. They had a Zeal but not according to Knowledge They reckon'd it Zeal towards God Acts 22. 3. They were Zealous of their Law Acts 21. 20. But by the Law they meant chiefly their Customs So 't is explained Acts 6. 13 14. Those Jews that bore Witness against Stephen their Witness was that He blasphemed against God and against Moses Vers. 11. How did it appear In the the Thirteenth Verse He spoke against the holy Place and the Law What did they mean by the Law Even the Customs which Moses delivered them No doubt their Hebrew word was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their Cabalistical Rites their Traditionary Customs Quos Moses Tradidit which Moses delivered by word of Mouth That this was their meaning it appears by St. Paul's Explication Speaking of himself what he did when he was a Jew Gal. 3. 14. Saith he I beyond measure persecuted the Church of God and wasted it A Jew persecute the Church of God Wherefore did he do it He declares what I have said I was saith he exceedingly Zealous for the Traditions of my Fathers That stuck more with the Jews than the Scripture the Written Law of God They insisted much less upon the Law than upon the Traditions Yea they called their Traditions the Law as you have heard and contended for them as being Essential to Religion Saith the Apostle I profited in the Iews Religion above many of my Equals in my own Nation being more exceedingly Zealous for the Traditions of my Fathers So we have found out the Cause of this Carriage that follows The Jews Cause was the Defence of their Traditions Their Carriage it self was First to Excommunicate and Secondly to Kill those that convinced them out of the Written Word of God Since their Religion was founded not on Scripture but Tradition in those Points that were in Controversie between them and the Disciples The Disciples not owning but condemning those Traditions they lookt upon them as Men of Another Religion that is both as Heretics and Schismatics And as such They put them out of their Synagogues they cast them out of the Church they cut them off by the Sentence of Excommunication Even while our Saviour lived they had agreed among themselves that whosoever confessed him should be turned out of the Synagogue Joh. 9. 22. According to this Agreement when one born blind being cured by our Saviour confessed him and maintained it that he that cured him could be no other but a Prophet sent from God They were so moved at this Confession and so inraged at him that had received his Sight the more inraged because the matter was so evident that not knowing how at that time to revenge themselves otherwise for the People took Christ for a Prophet therefore they durst not meddle with Him they fell upon the Poor Man they took Occasion against him to turn him out of the Synagogue Iohn 9. 34. And the Matter was so notorious that some that did believe in Christ yet durst not confess him Iohn 12 4. They knew they ought but they durst not for fear of being turned out of the Synagogue 'T is known to them that are conversant in the Writings of the Jews that whensoever they had any cut off by their Censures it was their way to expose them with Contumelious Names They called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Heretics and Schismatics Secondly Whom they cast out for a Heretic or a Schismatic they lookt upon him as not worthy to live When St. Paul discovered himself to be a Christian they threw off their Clothes they threw Dust into the Air they cried Away with such a Fellow from the Earth for it is not fit that he should live Acts 22. 23. They would have stoned him if they durst but that the Roman Governour was present as you read there Vers. 34. By saying That he ought not to live their meaning was That it was a good deed to kill him which was the usual Effect of their total and final Excommunication The Effect of it was Killing with those horrible Circumstances that whereas he that was killed was judged an Enemy of God he that killed him was considered as having done God a great piece of Service which made this much different from any other kind of Death He that killed a Man otherwise knew he did Murther He that killed him for God's sake lookt upon it as a Sacrifice So far from being an Offence against God that it rather made amends for all his other Offences And whereas he that ordinarily kills a Man seeks nothing more but to be rid of him as soon as he can and therefore makes haste to put him out of his Pain Those that put Men to Death for Religion think no Death too severe Single Death is not enough It is too soon over They will make such a one feel how he dies Common Rage is but a blunt Sword in comparison of that which is whetted and edged with a Zeal of mistaken Religion First by the Sword of Justice If the Jews put one to Death for Religion it must be done by the Sanhedrim who were their Judges in Ecclesiastical things But the Sanhedrims way of putting Men to Death was by Stoning which was a very Unmerciful Death St. Stephen felt it He was thus put to Death for Religion And they stoned Stephen calling upon God When Herod that had no such Motive as Religion was yet pleased for Popularity to put St. Iames the Apostle to Death he only killed him with the Sword Acts 12. 2. If the Jews had had the doing of it it would have been done at another Rate Else possibly for Haste or for Concealment or the like when they could not intend those more exquisite Cruelties and so in those cases where the Sanhedrim had no power there they were for destroying by Assassination as you read Acts 23.
12. When St. Paul was so protected by the Magistrate that they could not come at him in a Legal Judicial way then they resolved to Assassinate him They bound themselves under a Curse that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul And they were more than forty of the Jews that had made this Conspiracy Those were of the Cannitae or Zealots as they called them Men that took upon them the Cause of God to avenge him of his Enemies whether it were to kill any single Person or a Family or a Nation if they were able to compass it They stuck at nothing that stood in the way of their bloody and barbarous Sect disguised under the mild and sacred Name of Religion I shall not shew nor will it be greatly material to tell you what Reaks they played among the Jews nor what Havock they made of the Christians of those times I have shewn you enough of their Way and of their Principle which suits the immediate scope of my Text. This together with the rest that I have said was that measure that the Apostles of Christ were to expect and to receive from the Jews upon the account of Religion that is indeed of Tradition against Scripture But now I come to consider the Time when this Prophesie was to be fulfilled I have shewn you that besides the Completion in that Age it is as capable to be extended to any future Age any Age before the Resurrection for even That lies within the reach of these words Venit Hora The Hour comes in my Text. The Hour cometh saith our Saviour when they that are in their Graves shall hear the Voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth John 5. 28. The Notation of that word then it is plain is large enough to extend even till the Resurrection And if our Saviour spoke this First of the Jews in the Apostles times of whom should he intend that they will do this in Future Ages Could he mean this of the Unbelieving Gentiles Saint Austin says No in his Book Contra Literas Petiliani For saith he They do not use Excommunication nor when they kill do they think that they do God good service What then Could it be said of the Jews in after-times Much less For they were in no condition to kill They have been killed in every Age both by Heathens and by Merciless Christians But for them to kill Christians it hath not been in their Power at any time since the Destruction of Ierusalem Of whom then are we to understand this If not of Gentiles nor of Jews 't is surely meant of some kind of Christians in Future Ages So the same Saint Austin doth understand it in his Book Contra Epistolam Gaudentii This he says is to be understood of Heretical Christians They will be ready to kill the Orthodox Christians whensoever they have them in their Power But how shall we know who are Heretics We know who they are that are given to Kill among Christians upon the account of Religion I dare appeal to themselves in the Roman Church whether any but themselves either Teach or Practice this among Christians at this present Day First I am sure for the Cause which these Jews had they also have it They have the same Zeal that those Jews had for Unwritten Traditions And as the Jews called theirs by the Name of the Law so the Papists make bold to call theirs The Vnwritten Word of God So they call it expresly in the fourth Session of the Council of Trent All that which they chiefly contend for is wholly founded on their Unwritten Traditions Run through all those Points that they have added to the true Christian Faith What Pretence or what Colour have they for the proof of them For many they do not so much as pretend a word of Scripture For some they do But God knows very wretchedly and absurdly For every one of them the true Bottom is nothing else but Unwritten Tradition Is there any thing else for seven Sacraments of Christs Institution For their Picturing of God the Father and of the Trinity For their Worshipping Images For their Denying the Cup to their Laity For their Doctrine of Purgatory For their Indulgences and the like The learned Writers among them do acknowledge even while they maintain these Traditions while they endeavour to prove them that there is no Proof for these out of Scripture For all the rest of their Doctrines they may have some Colour but they have no manner of Proof for any of them but what the Jews had against Christ himself and as Christ convinced the Jews so Our way to convince them is by Scripture But what Return have we for it First Excommunication to be sure Let any among themselves argue any thing against their Tradition Let him offer to name Scripture against it Nay let him own his right to read Scripture 't is enough to bring him under the Sentence of Excommunication As for us that do all this we are cut off from their Church at one stroke We are Excommunicated in a heap We are Anathematized in Bulla Coenae by his Holiness in Passion Week 'T is his Charity to us at those times when he most solemnly betakes himself to remember the Death of Christ in that Sacrament And being so Excommunicated and Accursed by him as we are you must not wonder at the Names which they are pleased to give us They call us Heretics and Schismatics in their modest Appellations Yea Infidels and Atheists whensoever they please And whether they do not treat us like such that comes next to be considered Do I say they treat us like such No I know they do much worse Except at the first Conquering of the Indies when the Spaniards killed some Millions I say Millions of that poor miserable People Except that time they have dealt more favourably always with Heathens than with us They kill none usually where they are Masters but only Heretics And they killed not even those as they do Heretics in those Countries which are wholly under the Dominion of Popery As namely in Spain and in Italy in those Parts where they have the Inquisition Whosoever there sides with Scripture against their Traditions is no sooner discovered but hurried away to Prison where no Friend is suffered to come at him no Relief to come near him no Hope of better in this World All which taken together make it Hell upon Earth and the rather for from thence there is no Redemption Well he may scape by Dying there But if ever he comes forth 't is to be burnt If one dies there in the Popes Slaughter-House or if one scape coming thither which is impossible but by not being discovered if he be discovered after death they will not allow him Burial Or if he be buried first then they dig up his Body to be burnt So that whether one dies in their hands or no 't is all one