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A61267
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A sermon preached at the Assizes at Hertford, March the 9th, 1682/3 by John Standish ...
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Standish, John, d. 1686.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing S5217; ESTC R13596
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14,535
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38
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not onely conquer the World by his Armes but made Idolatry stoop to the Christian Faith in all Nations And afterwards Euseb in Vita by suppressing Factious Assemblies and demolishing their mock Temples by his Imperial Edict he reduced a World of Sectaries to the Unity of the Church By this one maine reason of their Separation you may judge of the rest and observe upon what slight and trivial grounds they set up Altar against Altar they tear the seamless Coat of Christ in pieces and make nothing to renounce a whole Article of their Creed viz. The Communion of Saints and consequently that we ought to prefer and reverd the Churches wholesome Laws before any lawless Sacrifice of Fools Eccles 5.1 To sum them up together then for they are seldom found of 〈◊〉 1 Meadle not with any of those ungodly men that are given to Change Laws or Governmend in State Doctrine or Discipline in the Church The next verse to the Text gives us such a poynant reason why we must not Meddle with such as these that I shall supersede all other arguments to drive the Nail home with a short Paraphrase onely upon That The words are these For their Calamity shall rise suddainly ver 22. and who knoweth the ruine of them Both sudden Calamity and certain Ruine the most terrible and most effectual Topicks in all argumentation Who knoweth the Ruine of them Both That is both Church and State Rebels Or we may construe it actively as the LXXII do both GOD and the KING will make them Examples and pay them their wages in an untimely end of Life and a never ending Death All sins indeed of the common size against God or man are not presently punished here to assure us of an after reckoning Arrian Epict. a Judgment to come For as the admirable old Soick observes truly the generality of men are apt to murmur and Charge God as well as his Vicegerent foolishly to reckon their deadness of Trade Dearths and Plagues Fires and Wars and other publick Evils as saults of Government as want of Providence in the one and Prudence in the other GOD knows all this saith he nor is CAESAR altogether ignorant thereof but both consider that if they should cut off all Offenders at a blow they would want Subjects to Reign over But then some Crimes such as Murther Treason and Rebellion are of such a Crimson dye daring nature and Goliah-like bulk that they do as it were send a Challenge to speedy Vengeance for they are destructive of Humane Society and strike at the Root and Foundation of all Peace and Policy and therefore least wickedness should grow outragious and masterless their Calamity shall rise suddenly that is they seldom go unpunished even in this World Time would sail me to recompt the numerous Instances in prophane story to this purpose and I shall content my self with two remarkable ones out of the Sacred Volumes The first is that of Absâ—lom and his Twenty-thousand Conspiratours against his Father DAVID 2 Sam. 18. who fell all in one day by the edge of the Sword Himself was caught and hanged most strangely in the thick Boughs of an aged Oak where Joah found and slow him Nor was the band of Joab onely in all this doubtless it was the LORDS doing Psal 118.23 and may be so much the more marvellous in our eyes who have since known the same Tree become a sacred shelter to guard the LORDS Anointed our dread Soveraign from those Blood-hounds that hunted for his Life that once proved a Gallows or Gibbet to that usurping unnatural Traitour The other is of Ecclesiastick Rebels that of Corah Dathan and Abiram who offered strange Fire of their own heads resisting and invading the standing Priesthood of Aaron and labouring to destroy the Old and introduce a New Government into the Church And what was the end of these Men Numb 16.29 Why even as Moses had foretold saying If these men die the common death of all men then the LORD hath not sent me ver 30.32 For so it came to pass that the LORD made a new thing He made the Earth open her mouth and swallow them up both they and theirs went down quick into Hell I add no more from Scripture because he must be a great Stranger in our Jerusalem St. Luk. 24.18 who knoweth not what certain Ruine at last overtook those sometime prosperous Rebels who put these three Kingdoms all in a Flame to make the more solemn Sacrifice to their own Lusts who first swept the Church with the Besom of Destruction Isa 14.23 and then I even tremble to relate what they did not fear to Act murder'd their KING took possession of his Throne St. Mat. 21.38 and seized on His Inheritance for though they exalted themselves as the Eagle and made their nest among the Starrs the Peers and Princes yet thence did I bring them down Obad. v. 4. saith the LORD Maugre all their Rotas and Republican Projects all their Arts and Arms to perpetuate the Usurpation GOD at length brought the Wheel of Consusion over Them and wonderfully setled Us upon the old and lasting Foundation as if He meant to fulfil that Prophesie in our times also where he saith I will overturn overturn Ezek. 21.27 overturn till He shall come whose RIGHT it is Once more I would not judge of Persons or Things merely by the Event because that is oft a fallible Rule But I knew the Man and upon unquestionable evidence know his story to be true who being in quality of a Major under the late Grand Usurper and then about to march for Worcester was heard to boast and make great brags as he was fixing his Pistols that he was going to hunt and pull down a Buck of the first Head meaning our Gracious Soveraign whom God long preserve This Man was ever after troubled and perswaded in his mind as he had often complained to his own Wife and Children that albeit he had escaped many and great dangers in several pitched Battels and other adventures in the Warrs yet he must at length come to some untimely end And so it deed it happened about nine years since for having ordered some of his Servants with Firelocks to take several Posts in the same Hedge and charged them to fire if they spied any Quarry One of the Servants whom he had ever found trusty and now proved too fatally true to his commands mistaking his Master for a Buck in the duske of the night and firing at all adventures shot Him in the right Temple whereat he bowed and fell and not long after Judg. 5.27 fell down dead Now whether it was right-aiming Vengeance that found him out in the dark to pay him in his own Coyn for cursing the KING in more than a Thought Eccles 10.20 or whether all this was but an ordinary blind Mischance I determine not but leave to God and
in That and onely That Meddle not then but avoid all those that have actually changed the Doctrine of Faith and not to mention others now I shall onely instance in and caution us all against Two formidable Parties which are the great Temptations of this our age to allure and seduce men from their received and most holy Faith First Meddle not with the Church of ROME who though she cry her self up for the Eldest Sister among the Churches and plead Antiquity for all her Errours yet they that have perused the most ancient Greek and Latine Fathers and other Writers nay they that can but read their English-Bible may easily see how unconstant what an Apostate she hath been of latter times Once indeed we grant her Faith was famous and spoken of throughout the World as St. Paul witnesseth Rom. 1.18 but since she is degenerated she hath removed the old Land-Mark she hath espoused corrupt Principles and Practices and sought out many many New Inventions Eccles 7.29 Let Her make out that new found Name of a Roman-Catholick to be better sence as she useth it then a Particular Universal and tell us by what Logick she arrogates to her self that Indefectibility promised onely to the Church Catholick Let Her once fairly demonstrate that Christs Kingdom was indeed of this World St. -Joh 18.36 and St. Peter by Him constituted his sole undoubted Vice-Roy nay let Her convict St. Peter Himself of Heretical Modesty at least because he proclaimeth not Himself but the KING SUPREAM for otherwise 1 St. Pet. 2.13 instead of the true ROCK she doth most manifestly build upon the Sand. Let Her produce any manner of evidence for the POPE's Universal Monarchy in the first five hundred years ELEUTHERIUS who flourished in the second Century acknowledgeth LUCIUS the first Christian KING of England and in all the World to be Gods immediate VICAR in his own Dominions Speeds Chron. and GREGORY the Great who lived in 570 saies expressly if any man call himself Universal Pastor or Head of the whole Church he is the forerunner of ANTICHRIST and why are not they as Infallible as their Successors Let Her shew any ground for Idol Worship in the Holy Scriptures or the primitive Writers Tertullian Lactantius and several others do plainly condemne it even in their own Notion Let Her acquit her self of the many senceless absurdities and contradictions of TRANSUBSTANTIATION and tell us by what warrant of Antiquity she denies the Cup in the Eucharist to the Laity St. Mat. 26.27 contrary to a palpable command Drink ye All of it There had been more pretence of reason for denying them the Bread Lev. 17.11 or Body because the Life is in the Blood besides that it is no where in the Gospel said Eat ye All of That She professedly edifies the People in Ignorance 1 Corinth 14. by Praying and Prophesying in an unknown Tongue she makes no other use or accompt of CONFESSION then what professed Drunkards do of Vomiting She abuses and cheats the World for filthy Lucre's sake with that gaineful Dream of Purgatory and those more dangerous delusions of Indulgences in a word she absolves natural Subjects from all Oaths and ties of Obedience deposes KINGS and disposes of their Crowns to mention no more and then we will confess it is not She but We that are given to Change the Faith but not till then 2. Meddle not with the Enthusiast on the other hand whatever his Sirname be though it be Legion for they are Many They will teach you strange and desperate Doctrines such as Absolute Reprobation without any prospect of man's Fall of a Light within them whereby they read the will of God more certainly then by the Lampe of this Word of Gods being the Author of mens sins as that lying Greek said of Old 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That Gods Grace is irresistible to some and equally Impossible to others that men may be saved by the strength of their own natural Powers without the special Grace of God merited by Christ that Christ himself had no Being at all before he was born of the Virgin Mary or at the best that He was onely the First-born of Gods Creatures with many more such frightsub Blasghemies And as the summ of all the rest they will insinuate that Jesuitical and Traiterous Position of taking up Armes by the KINGS Authority against his Person holding it lawful to arraign and condemn Majesty it self at the Barr of his own Subjects in a Mock-Court of Justice such a horrid Doctrine as I believe Jews themselves would never have own'd or practised had they been convinced that JESUS was their lawful KING Meddle not with them for they have forsaken the right way 2 St. Pet. 2.15 yea Wo unto them saies St. Peter for they have gone in the way of Cain and followed the errour of Balaam New Lights indeed they are but all wandring Stars St. Jude v. 13. of an irregular motion and running out of one Heresie into another being constant to nothing but the incorrigible temper of mad Prophets and Rengious Murtherers Thirdly and Lastly For yet thou lackest one thing and if thou wilt be perfect Meddle not with Schissmaticks St. Mat. 19.21 that are given to change the received ancient Discipline for some new fangled Model of their own and rashly depart from the Communion of the Established Church Were not our Church-Government legible all along in Ecclesiastical story to the Apostles times And did we not find the Original of their several Projects in the Annals of the very last Age there might be somewhat pleaded in their excuse Let one Instance serve for all that the Cross in Baptism that great Scandal and stumbling Block as they would make it is no new thing St. Austine or St. Cyprian can tell them at large and the old the excellent Rule of the Primitive Church about such Rites was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Nic. Let the ancient Customs prevail There is indeed no Prescription against Truth as Tertullian observes neither Space of Time nor Patronage of Learned men nor Priviledge of Countries and our Saviour calls himself the Truth not the Custome but yet however in things harmless and decent and tending to edification Custome and Antiquity are like the gray haires of old Men Prov. 20.29 so far from contempt or reproach that they are their Beauty Crown and Glory And it is a very hard case that men should be so superstitiously affraid of Popish abuses on the one hand as to incurre a more dangerous mistake on the other Rom. 1.16 Rev. 7.2 c. 16.2 and profess they are wholly ashamed of the Cross of CHRIST and that they will rather suffer the mark of the Beast than the Seal of the living God to be set upon their Foreheads Constantine's Name will be for ever Great for making the Cross his Standard in vertue whereof He did