Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
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A44927
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A discourse of pluralities (with the appendant non-residence) evincing the great evil and necessary duty of forsaking them by him that would approve himself a faithful minister of God.
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Hughes, William, b. 1624 or 5.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing H3340; ESTC R30349
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19,100
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34
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therefore ought to watch so as we speak is clear by Hebr. 13.17 Hebr. 13.17 They watch for your Souls as they that must give account And then what man may safely dare to take another and a distant Cure where he can never do the Watchmans part For being absent he can give no warning for want of warning the Sinner dieth in his Iniquity and the blood of him so dying will God require at this false Watchmans band Ezek. 3.18 Ezek. 3.18 If Personal Attendance were no Duty why should our Saviour brand that Shepherd for an Hireling that fleeth when the Wolf is coming John 10.12 And John 10.12 what 's the difference 'twixt fleeing from and not coming at the Flock Both equally expose it unto danger yea may not they be strictly said to flee and leave the Sheep who after their Induction come not at them save to fleece them Was not Peter bound if he lov'd his Lord to feed his Lambs and Sheep in Person John 21. John 21. nothing more manifest But to produce more Scripture-Testimonies would be the pouring water into the Ocean I shall therefore beg Non-Resident Pluralists to observe with sadness what a dreadful Wo God hath denounced against those Shepherds that feed themselves Ezek. 34.2 c. and not the Flock in Ezek. 34.2 3 4 to vers 11. Son of Man Prophesie against the Shepherds of Israel Prophesie and say unto them Thus saith the Lord God unto the Shepberds Wo be to the Shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves should not the Shepherds feed the Flock Ye eat the fat and ye Cloth you with the Wool ye kill them that are fed but ye feed not the Flock The Diseased have ye not strengthened neither have ye healed that which was sick neither have ye bound up that which was broken neither have ye brought again that which was driven away neither have ye sought that which was lost but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them And they were scattered because there is no Shepherd and they became meat to all the Beasts of the Field when they were scattered My Sheep wandred through all the mountains and upon every high hill yea my Flock was scattered upon all the face of the Earth and none did search or seek after them Therefore ye Shepherds hear the Word of the Lord As I live saith the Lord God surely because my Flock became a prey and my Flock became meat to every Beast of the Field because there was no Shepherd neither did my Shepherds search for my Flock but the Shepherds fed themselves and fed not my Flock Therefore O ye Shepherds hear the Word of the Lord Thus saith the Lord God Behold I am against the Shepherds and I will require my Flock at their hand and cause them to cease from feeding the Flock neither shall the Shepherds feed themselves any more for I will deliver my Flock from their mouth that they may not be meat for them And surely if Non-resident Pluralists are not quite past feeling they must be sensible that they are the men concerned therein Personal neglects are there complain'd of and that 's their guilt and unavoidably so And Personal Vengeance is there threatned on all such Delinquents from which by timely Repentance may the Good Lord deliver them So much for the first Argument Pluralities war against the Scriptures wherein we have spent more words because it is of greatest consequence the rest will be dispatched sooner 2. Antiquity is an utter Stranger hereunto § 4. 2d Argument against Antiquity I may safely say a bitter Enemy to the Roots and Seeds hereof Sloth Pride and Covetousness in the Ministers of the Gospel Rebukes both frequent and severe against these Vices as well as others may be met with in the Ancient Fathers But not one Title about that we now are dealing with The truth is This Piece of Naughtiness was only in the womb not midwif'd into the world as yet T will not serve the turn to tell us That the Church was under Persecution in those Elder days and then there was not such Provision made for Ministers as hath been since For though some part hereof be true the whole is not I hope at Constantine's time there was no cause to complain in either of those respects Both Cruel Persecution then was gone and Great Prosperity did succeed it but how much to the Churches benefit let the Reader judge by St. Jerome's words Part 3. Epist 43. de vita CaptrMon He tells us That the Church of Christ did thrive by Persecutions was crown'd with Martyrs but when Christian Princes were in power Her riches did indeed increase but vertues decrease And this was that which gave occasion to the well-known Proverb piety was brought-a-bed with Plenty and the Daughter choak'd her Mother But notwithstanding such degeneracy then we have no notice that this foul Corruption of Church-mens Spiritual Bigamy did any where prevail in the Church for the first Six hundred years No instance can be found upon my best enquiry of any Ministers taking two Wives at once or rather a Concubine to his Wife Hist of Couns of Trent lib. 2. ad sin Anno Dom. 1546. Engl. Edit page 217. to vex her I mean a Second Church unto his former A learned and excellent Author faith this boldly Never any thought to hold the Title of an Office or enjoy the Profit without doing Service but only after the year seven hundred in the Western Church And as before a Person was chosen sit for the necessity of the Church so afterwards a Degree Dignity or Emolument was fitted to the Quality of the Person from whenoe arose the exercising of the Ministery by a Substitute Behold by this the Venerable Hoary Hairs of Curates and their Masters Pluralists with whom the Christian Church was utterly unacquainted till Popery had invaded it and the Universal Bishop gotten to be Tyrant over it It should seem indeed that some such Creatures were creeping into the Church before about four hundred and fifty years after Christ but they were quickly disorder'd and as soon repuls'd by the Council of Chalcedon Infr. Argument 3. consisting of six hundred and thirty Bishops as we shall hear anon And the Attempt was reinforced near two hundred years after this Council but Gregory the Great then Bishop of Rome and just before the Man of Sin was mounted on his Throne Dist 89. c. 1. Singula crush'd it in the Shell as may be seen by his Letter extant in the Decrees wherein he Orders That the several Duties belonging to the Church should be committed unto several men and that no one Person how well soever experienced should at one time hold a double Service Thus long you see the Ancient Church was not acquainted with our Pluralists or laid their Ax unto the very Root thereof when once they found it T is true that some time after as also hath
A DISCOURSE OF PLURALITIES With the APPENDANT NON-RESIDENCE Evincing the Great EVIL in TAKING And Necessary DUTY of FORSAKING Them By him that would approve himself a faithful Minister of God Take heed unto your selves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers Act. 20.28 For the love of Money is the Root of all Evil but thou O man of God flee these things 1 Tim. 6.10 11. LONDON Printed for Thomas Parkhurst at the Sign of the Bible and Three Crowns in the lower end of Cheapside 1680. TO THE READER Curteous Reader THere was lately Published a little Piece Intituled An Endeavour for Peace among Protestants the aim whereof was upon Christian Charitable and Safe Condescensions on the Churches part as the Author thought to reconcile unto her Communion those who most unhappily had been so long Dissenters from it What the success thereof will prove 't is only time can afford a Judgment But the mean while 't is very evident That Pluralities the Possessors and Abettors whereof are both so numerous and so powerful must be Back-friends to the Design which is built on Self-denial besides the many other Injuries that they are guilty of towards God our State and Church therein as will be seen hereafter If therefore this Discourse which owneth its Original meerly to those Thoughts shall by the Almighty's blessing prosper any thing towards the Cure of such an Evil the Author will receive an Ample Reward However his Work is with the Lord and Labour shall not be in vain in him But his Prayer must be That Gospel Ministers may ever serve the Lord Jesus and not their own Belly not seeking their own but the things which are Jesus Christs and that these Papers may be serviceable to the purpose whereto all good men whether others hear or do forbear will readily say Amen AGAINST PLURALITIES ALthough I nothing doubt §. 1. Introduction but that some good and honest minds what with the laws connivance at it others example in it and their own defect of serious thoughts about it have been unhappily snared in the foulest guilt of holding More-Cures-than-one the very distance whereof bars all possibility of their discharging duly the Duties that belong unto them yet there is cause to fear that in the Crowd of such Delinquents there may be others found who are plainly of their number on whom the blessed Paul imprints that blackest Character of Suppposing Gain Godliness And certain 't is that this Vnchristian Practice gives but too much occasion to the People for crying out of All therein engag'd in St. Peters words That through Covetousness they do make Merchandise of them For who can see a Person setled in a Benefice which doth not only comfortably support him and his Family but hath to spare the common Case and here reflected on yet grasping on another that he cann't attend one but will be apt to conclude 'T is not the work of Christ but Mammon of Vnrighteousness whereto he is a Votary And how many such sad Spectacles may a little Traveller in this Kingdom meet with and yet the wonder is not great if now as heretofore and in this Church as well as in the Primitive men shall be found and in the Sacred Office who serve not our Lord Jesus but their own Bellies The fairest Crop of Wheat may have some Tares therein Honey it self is not without its filth and scum nor is the richest Ore quite free from Dross It ought not therefore to cast a worse reflection on the English Clergy that some bad men creep in among them than 't was disgraceful to the Blessed Apostles that Judas was of their Society 'T is pity any should be so like him as to pretend Christs service when they only mean their own by carrying of his Bag. And those concerned ought to bestow sad thoughts upon it that though that wretch made shift a while severest Vengeance was not long in overtaking of him yea 't is observable that his Hypocrisie was no sooner manifested than Notoriously stigmatized also John 12.6 A fair direction for guiding us upon the like occasion who may not therefore spare their open great miscarriage that seeming to be Christs Disciples do tread so plainly in his Steps that did betray him I will not say to the Non-resident Pluralist as Nathan did to David Thou art the man yet cannot but with grief observe they are too like in this respect Both seek their own and not the things which are Jesus Christs For 't is notorious §. 2. Case stated that we have great numbers of those Ministers in this distressed Church whom a Single Cure of Souls sufficient to make a serious man cry out with Paul Who is sufficient for it although endowed not only with a Competent but abundant Maintenance cannot content but they must seize upon another the remote distance whereof besides the most important and tremendous work belonging thereunto makes it impossible that both should be attended by them A course so evil in it self and of so bad and fatal Influence both on our Church in general the particular Congregations that are concerned and those Ministers own Immortal Souls that words are wanting fully to Express the vileness of it Surely 't is no rash Sentence in him that saith Pluralities are the Pest of the Church and Bane of our Religion Which I shall hope will not be disappointed of all good mens Suffrages even those that hitherto may by surprise have been entangled in this snare when once they hear what Cogent Arguments lye against it and what Clear Answers unto all Pleas for it Of both these in their order and as briefly as the Case will bear The Arguments are these that follow 1. § 3. Arguments against Pluralities They war against Scripture 2. Antiquity is a Stranger to them 3. They are doom'd by Councils 4. Are against Justice 5. And Charity 6. And Honour 7. And Prudence 8. Serving only to Vice and naughtiness 1. 1. Argument against Scripture Pluralities make open War against the Scriptures I mean not only because there is not in them any Title of Precept or Example to encourage them but they are plainly condemned there Should any ask for a Particular Law in Terms unto this purpose it might not happily be absurd to answer that Ap. Plutarch Romul as Romulus made not any such against Parricide because he judged so great a Villany was not incident unto human nature so probably the Sacred Pen-men might in this case forbear as being loath to think that such a Monster should e're be hatch'd in the Church of Christ And give me leave to note it that as Rome could not afford an instance of that Unnatural Barbarism until about six hundred years were past from the building of that City So Christianity was not pesterd with this grievous Plague till full as many years or more had been elapsed from the first Birth and Infancy of the same