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A30992 The authority of church-guides asserted in a sermon preach'd before our Late Gracious Sovereign King Charles II, at Whitehall, Octob. 17, 1675 / by Miles Barne ... Barne, Miles, d. 1709? 1685 (1685) Wing B856; ESTC R12523 19,284 35

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withstood the murmurings and ingratitudes of a rebellious People freed us from the Slavery and Tyranny of our Egyptian Task-masters brought us out of a Wilderness of Confusion and placed us within the prospect of a Canaan of Peace and Order and yet to his lawful Successor the mighty Joshua Providence decreed the full possession of those Blessings which he the lamented Moses only liv'd to have a sight of And what may we not promise to our selves under his most auspicious Reign and in nothing more auspicious than in the peaceable devolution of the Crown upon his Head after so many bold and wicked Attempts to cut off his Succession this seems no less miraculous than his Predecessor's Restauration may his Subjects learn from hence That Kings are of Divine Right and dread the Vengeance of that God by whom they reign may they never forget the miseries they have escap'd nor grow weary of the benefits they are sure to enjoy under his wise and steady Conduct may his Reign be long and prosperous and to compleat his Happiness may all his People give him the same dutiful Obedience now he is King which he so religiously paid to his Sovereign when he was the highest of Subjects and to say no more may he live to accomplish those glorious things for this Nation for which he seems to be design'd by that special Providence which has attended him through the whole course of his life and has now plac'd him on the Imperial Throne 2 Pet. Chap. 3. ver 16. In which are some things hard to be Vnderstood which they that are unlearned and unstable Wrest as they do also the other Scriptures unto their own Destruction THE clearness of Scripture in all points necessary to Salvation to all such as sincerely endeavour to believe and find out the True Sense thereof as it is a Principle which suits very well with the nature and design of a Rule with the Justice and Goodness of God in propounding it as such and hath been urged with some success against those who plead a necessity of having One Supreme infallible Judge to decide and determine all Controversies which shall happen to arise concerning that Faith which was once deliver'd to the Saints Whose Decisions and Determinations say they ought to be Receiv'd by all the Sons of the Church for as much as the Church is the same in all Ages with equal Assent and Veneration with those of the Apostles And this to be the only sure way to keep the Vnity of the Faith in the Bond of Peace Whereby on the other hand 't is said New Articles of Faith may be daily imposed the Doctrines of men pass for the Commandments of God and humane Inventions receive the stamp of Divine Authority whereby men seem precluded the genuine methods of coming to the Knowledge of the Truth and those Precepts of searching the Scriptures seeking the Kingdom of Heaven trying the Spirits are rendred Ineffectual whereby men are so far from being able to give an account of their Faith that their Vnderstandings are enslav'd by a Principle of blind Obedience so far from being led into the ways of Religion by the cords of men that they seem rather to be driven like Beasts and acted like Puppets as 't is phras'd by a late Author As this Doctrine of the Clearness of Scripture hath prov'd successful to the beating down the pretences to an absolute Infallibility and uncontroulable Soveraignty over the Consciences of men so on the other hand hath it mightily embolden'd the Patrons of Liberty not only to despise their Ecclesiastical Superiors to throw off all obedience to Christ's Ministers Whom He notwithstanding a little before his Return to his Fathers Court for the further negotiating and advancing the affairs of His Church Anointed and Ordain'd to perform the Apostolical Offices of Preaching the Gospel Remitting Sins Inflicting Censures Ministerially conferring the Holy Ghost Deciding Controversies and Administring the Sacraments in his stead here on earth till his second coming but likewise to invade their Function usurp their Sacred Calling especially that part of it which consists in Preaching and Expounding the Word For say they since 't is confess'd the Scriptures are sufficiently clear to all unprejudiced minds such as are free from the clogs of Passion and Interest Why should these pretended Ministers of Christ take so much upon them Are not all the Congregation Holy and Learned as well as they Are they the only Temples of the Holy Ghost And doth the Spirit of Prophecy reside solely in their Breasts During the Dispensation of Moses 't is confess'd there was a necessity of an Aaron all along under the Legal oeconomy the Priests Lips did preserve Knowledge and likewise during the Reign of the Prophets there was an appropriate Ministry But the case is quite different under the Gospel God having made clearer discoveries of himself and poured out more liberally of his Spirit upon all Flesh The sense of the Law that was Doubtful Typical and Mysterious the Prophecies were industriously couch'd under dark Parables and deliver'd in obscure sayings But then the light the glorious light of the Gospel as 't was universal 't was likewise so clear that any one that runs may read Why then should we not assert that Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and since we have a Command to work out our own Salvation Why should we pin our Faith upon other mens sleeves Thus these men under the goodly Pretences of Christian Liberty become enslav'd to spiritual pride and conceitedness plead the Prerogative of the Gospel in prejudice of Christ's own Ambassadors urge for their own private Conceptions clearness of Scripture to their own Confusion and pry so long into the Doctrines of Theology till at length they light on those hidden Mysteries which they being Vnlearned and Vnstable Wrest unto their own Destruction The way thus prepar'd my Text yet leads me into these following Considerations 1. That the clearness of Scripture doth no ways lessen the Authority or take away the Necessity of Spiritual Guides 2. That though the Scriptures be clear in themselves yet private men abandoning their Lawful Guides and following their own Corrupt Fancies may deprave and distort them to their own Destruction 3. That for preventing Mistakes from rising and suppressing Errors when risen 't is the duty of Private men to submit their Judgments in matters of Religion to the Determinations of those whom God hath constituted to be their Spiritual Guides and Governours unless it manifestly appear that such Determinations are contrary to Gods Word I. I begin with the First That the Clearness of Scripture c. For if the Scriptures be so Clear and Self-evident as is pretended then may men with greater security rely on the Directions of their Guides and they have the less Reason to suspect their Conduct in those things wherein they themselves being Judges they cannot be mistaken if they sincerely attend them the clearness of the Law