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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	church_n	lord_n	word_n	1,985	5	3.8985	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92933	A Serious answer to a late book stiled, A reply to Mr. Robert Steed's epistle concerning singing wherein the chief scriptures and arguments are examined, and the weakness thereof shewed : together with an answer to the several reflections, and false charges, against both churches and persons, recommended to the elders, ministers, and members of baptized churches.	Kiffin, William, 1616-1701.; Steed, Robert, of Dartmouth.; Barrett, George.; E. M. (Edward Man)	1692 (1692)	Wing S2607; ESTC R42860	36,728	64

Example for 〈◊〉 Gospel-times 4. Though it be said Moses sung and the Children of Israel yet it doth not necessarily follow that they all lifted up their Voices together It is very improbable if not impossible for 600000 to sing together nor could Copies of it be suddenly dispersed among them all to learn it but rather that there was some other way where 〈◊〉 through the direction of the Lord the Song 〈◊〉 manag'd wherein they might all join though 〈◊〉 all lift up their Voices at one time But however supposing they did so yet it signifies nothing in the least to prove it a New-Testament-Institution And it is an Argument so manifestly weak and impertinent that we may wonder it should be mention'd as a Proof to warrant their Practice but any Pretence shall serve the turn when Person are resolv'd for a human Tradition Thirdly The next and last Branch of this general Enquiry to be considered is Whether it be enjoined by our Lord Jesus as a Gospel-Ordinance for all the Members of a Church both Men and Women to sing a composed Form read to them by listing up their Voices together Answ 1. To this we say That having already manifested that a composed Form of praying to or praising of God doth not comport with that Assistance of the Holy Spirit promised not only to assist us in our Preparation for such solemn Exercises but also to help us both as to Matter and Manner in the very time of that sacred Work and therefore to be rely'd upon and expected by all that desire spiritually to worship him according to the New-Testament-Direction and Dispensation and therefore not sutable but contrary to the Design of our Lord in his Ascension spoken of Eph. 4.8 Therefore we shall say no more to it now but refer the Reader to what was before declared neither can there be any true solid Reason given why if the Members of a Church of Christ may have a composed Form of Praises written and read to them to sing why may they not have a composed Form of Prayer read to them also for them audibly to repeat over as the manner of some is 2. All the Members may not lift up their Voices together because the Women are expresly forbidden to teach or so to speak in the Church Singing being for Teaching as hereafter will be declared Neither doth the Holy Spirit except this exercise of Singing with their Voices as if they were therein allowed Had this Liberty been granted or this as a Duty enjoyned them there 's no question but the Apostles who faithfully deliver'd the whole Counsel of God would have declared it and for any to make Exceptions where the Lord hath made none is to be adding to his Word or to be partial in his Law Obj. But they alledg to justify this Practice that Miriam and Deborah sung in the Congregation Answ 1. We desire it may be remark'd how they are still constrained to fly to Old-Testament-Instances to justify their popular Way of Singing they having not the least ground for it in the New Testament But herein how manifestly do they strengthen the Hands of them that are for Infants Baptism who fetch their strongest Arguments from the Old-Testament-Instances and Practices to prove it Which way of Arguing if it be allowed of how soon will the Worship of God according to the Gospel be perverted or changed from its Primitive Purity in all respects 2. It is plain as hath been declared Exod. 15.20 that Miriam and the Women did not sing with the Men they sung by themselves with Timbrels and Dancing If that Example be authentick to justify Womens Singing now then it must be by themselves with Musick and Dancing which as yet they dare not plead for now to be practised As for Deborah her Song was by an extraordinary Inspiration and it appears by the manner of her expressing it that she spake it or sung it alone though Baruch might join with her in Spirit neither is there the least Intimation in the Scripture that she sang in the Congregation But what a pitiful irrational Argument is this because a Woman extraordinarily call'd and inspir'd uttered or sung a Song by that extraordinary Inspiration on an extraordinary occasion therefore all the Women in a Church may ordinarily though under no such Inspiration sing a composed Song of another's making though they have no direction for it in the Word of the Lord but are rather commanded and enjoined to be silent there Surely it is a bad Cause that cannot be supported or pleaded for but by such incoherent groundless Inferences as these which they might be ashamed to publish 3. We find according to the Direction and Commandment of our Lord and Lawgiver a Psalm is to be manag'd after another manner in the Church of Christ For in 1 Cor. 14.26 where it is mentioned plainly with reference to the publick Worship of God in the Church it is most evident by the Context from ver 24 to 31. that there it is under the general Regulation of the Gift of Prophecy and the Exercise thereof limited unto one as farther appears from the 16th and 17th Verses without the least intimation of its being confined or restrained to any thing Musical or in Meeter in the Delivery of it Moreover it may be certainly concluded that if singing or uttering the Psalm was to be by lifting up of their Voices in Consort when the Apostle had by the command of the Lord limited them to one at a time in their Exercises in the Chu●●● 〈◊〉 would not have failed to have plainly told them that the Psalm was otherwise to be manag'd Obj. But to this plain and undeniable Testimony they earnestly plead that the Apostle speaks there of Prophesying not of Singing Answ To which we answer The Psalm is there plainly and evidently manifested to belong to the Gift of Prophecy as much as the Doctrine or Interpretation and is included in it He prophesy'd that uttered a Psalm as much as he that declared the Doctrine or the Exhortation Therefore it appears that singing or uttering the Psalm is plainly included in the Limitation of one at a time as well as the rest of those solemn Exercises which Psalm was from a special spiritual Gift as much as any other there mention'd For if the Psalm aforesaid might be one taken out of a Book or out of the Old Testament why so might the Doctrine or Exhortation be nothing else but a reading something out of a Book or out of the Scripture there being plainly as much ground for the one as for the other which would be a groundless Imagination Therefore Mr. Burroughs with others of the Godly Learned do own that the Psalm there spoken of was by special Gift and therefore for any to imagine it to be any of David's Psalms is to give up themselves to any Fancy or Supposition so they may contradict the Truth which is so apparently manifested in that Portion of the

Churches So we do as boldly in the fear of the Lord declare that the Way of common Singing which they contend for is after the Rudiments of the World after the Traditions of Men but not after Christ It is their lawless Liberty they take thus to accuse and represent us without cause in this Epistle and the like that hath necessitated us for Truth 's sake that 〈◊〉 may not suffer by such false Reports to declare ●uch things concerning some of them which otherwise we should have buried in oblivion But it was not enough it seems that we should be thus scandalously represented by Mr. Wh. in the Epistle that did not give a sufficient vent to their Indignation when we look into the Book where we might expect nothing but Answers to his Arguments there also as we said before we must be exercised with the reading their needless causeless Reflections on Mr. Steed and with their most false slandering of the Baptized Churches in their first gathering We shall say little to their taunting Reflections against him or their imperious treating of him in their Answer to him Only whereas they impertinently say that Mr. Knowles preach'd up the Singing they plead for in the Forenoon and that he preach'd against it in the Afternoon We upon enquiry of the Members of that Church that were present at that time in the Assembly find it to be utterly false a meer Invention put into the Head of some unwary Person to vent which Mr. Wh. and Mr. Keach greedily take up to proclaim without Modesty Sobriety or Verity on which we may with great cause use their own exclaiming Expression Sad Case But it is not with Mr. Steed only that they thus deal but they exhibit a very grievous and a very false Charge against those of the same Profession that were more ancient in it than the Authors of this Reply who vent this Scandal or any of those that by their Epistle have commended the same When those ancient Brethren were convinced of their duty That Believers upon Confession of their Faith were the only Subjects of Baptism and accordingly sate down together in Communion as a Congregation or Church of Christ and many in the Nation began to enquire into the truth thereof they met with many harsh Censures and false Charges cast upon them to make the Truth of Christ contemptible viz. That they were corrupt in the Doctrines of the Gospel That they denied Subjection to Magistates that they held that to maintain Ministers was Antichristian c. They to clear themselves and to take off those false Charges did think it their duty to publish to the Nation a Confession of their Faith which when drawn up was read in the Churches being then seven in number and consented to by all the Members not one dissenting and subscribed by two of each Church in the name of the rest Which Confession of Faith was five times printed in that year 1644 and from that to the year 1651 without the least alteration of any one Article of what was first printed which Confession gave such general Satisfaction to most Christians of all sorts of differing Perswasions from us that it took off from many that Prejudice and Offence that was formerly taken by them against our Profession What the Judgment of those Churches 〈◊〉 their first Constitution was concerning the Maintenance of Ministers may be seen in the 38th Article in these words We do believe that the du● Maintenance of Ministers should be the free and voluntary Communication of the Church That according to Christ's Ordinance they that preach the Gospel should live on the Gospel c. And accordly they did then and we have ever since made it our Practice as a Duty required of all the Members of the Church that are able to give True it ●s that our Churches since the first have not been filled with many of them that have the Riches of this World the Poor receive the Gospel But this we can say with comfort and appeal to the Lord herein That according to our Abilities we have given to the Maintenance of our Ministers nor have any had any just cause to complain to the contrary that we know of although it hath been and is our trouble that we have not been able to make so great a Provision for them as we desire Herein we would be understood in this that we now assert concerning the Churches that we mean principally as they were in the beginning And we do find to our great Grief that which was then falsly charg'd upon us by those that did not know us is now as falsly with a far greater Aggravation of their Sin charg'd upon us by some of us who might have satisfied themselves had they perused our Confession of Faith But either they were willingly ignorant or negligent in enquiring but resolv'd to calumniate and therefore in the 9th Page of the said Book they charge us with the same things in these words It is a Question whether the said Baptized Churches in those times did not as unanimously conclude and declare too that for a Gospel-Ministry to have a yearly Allowance or a competent Maintenance was a humane Invention or Anti-christian We speak say they in part upon our own Knowledg and by good Information we have had from others To this Charge we answer That nothing can be more falsly asserted or more slanderously uttered For if this their Charge have the least shadow of Truth against the Baptized Churches in their first beginning here in England they must needs be the grossest fort of Hypocrites in professing the contrary by their Profession of Faith and yet believing and practising quite otherwise to what they solemnly professed as their Faith in that matter And we believe they cannot give one true Instance that any Church of the Baptists that are sound in the Faith ever did in the least conclude or declare against a competent Maintenance for a Gospel-Ministry as a humane Invention or Anti-christian since those times To conclude as to this matter concerning their unworthy Reflections and false Accusations tho we might instance in mo●● 〈◊〉 one sort or other in that Book we must declare that we do wonder that any Persons professing Piety would commend that Book as a sober Discourse ●●●●out any Limitation or Exception against 〈◊〉 gross and fulsom Slanders which with so much Confidence are delivered whatever their Judgments be concerning the Controversy about Singing Moreover We hope the Baptized Churches their Elders Ministers and Members do hereby at least see great cause to suspect and to be very cautious in believing that Spirit that would perswade them to the way of common or popular Singing which would make way for its Entertainment by such notorious Falshoods and abominable Slanders which were certainly devised by the Father of Lies thereby to offend or stumble the Weak tho otherwise honest and well-meaning Having now answered to some of their unrighteous and scandalous