Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	book_n	church_n	time_n	2,893	5	3.6141	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93642	Groanes for liberty· Presented from the Presbyterian (formerly non-conforming) brethren, reputed the ablest and most learned among them, in some treatises called Smectymnuus, to the high and Honorable Court of Parliament in the yeare 1641, by reason of the prelates tyranny. Now awakened and presented to themselves in the behalf of their now non-conforming brethren. With a beam of light, discovering a way to peace. Also some quæres for the better understanding of Mr Edwards last book called Gangræna. With a parallel betweene the prelacy and presbytery. / By Iohn Saltmarsh preacher of the Gospel.	Saltmarsh, John, d. 1647.; Smectymnuus.	1646 (1646)	Wing S489; Thomason E327_20; ESTC R200661	20,628	47

be a friend be such an enemy to the State as to cut off like Nero the Tyrants wish so many thousand of their faithfull servants at a blow in such a juncture of time when they need so many Ought ye to work off so many choyce ones from this Cause till you have as many more of your way for their places and till as many Battels yeares experiments prove them as gloriously faithfull as these are is this faire dealing with the State You have brought forth before Israel and the Sunne many pretended sinnes and crimes of your Brethren Suppose they should write by your copy and bring forth the Assembly sins the crimes of all those of your way of all the Divines and others that you take in and rake back into the ashes of their unregenerate condition keep Almanacks for the yeares and dayes of their faylings watch their haltings in all things they say or do tell all the Stories of them they heare what would the next generation think of their Book and yours At this rate of writing they would not read one honest man of all their forefathers yet this is your course and method I have done for this time and I hope all that are not enchanted with the Gorgons head of Hereticks and Schismaticks and Church of England as your own Smectymnians say will read and judge I had said more to ye had you printed us more Reason and lesse Reviling and something more then Stories and Winter Tales And for our Licenser whom you so rayl at he is so much a friend to all the world of Beleevers as to give them the Scripture liberty of proving and trying all things and not to silence the Presse as some would and as the Prelates did silence the Pulpit And now let any age weighing all the differences excepting the Blasphemies c. and the nature of them nakedly without aggravations and fallacy of words bring forth a Book printed in such Letters of Blood as this Gangrena binde up all the Oxford Aulicusses the Mountagues the Pocklingtons and see if this Gangrena do not exceed them all this is Persecution and Prelacy sublimate And yet for all this I would not have the Civill power drawn against you if we had all the Magistrates on our side but rather that you may in the flowings of a more hevenly spirit with your head of waters and your eyes a fountain of teares write against your own Book and let the world see that Men in these times are not Infallible as you all conclude but may mistake their Brethren for Enemies some Truths for Errours and Zeal for Persecution as the very Iewes did when they crucified Christ as they thought for Blasphemy And some shall kill ye sayth Christ and think they do God good service A Parallel between the Prelacy and the Presbytery Quaere VVHether if we should reply to Mr Edwards in his own words and as Solomon saith answer him according to his c. we might not compare things as followeth and trace up their proceedings into the very mystery of Prelacy 1. The Prelates were ordained Ministers by the Bishops Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines that sit now are Ordained by the same power of Bishops to be Ministers and so by that power ordaine others 2. The Prelates when they had made Canons procured the power of the State to impose them upon all the Kingdome Quaere Whether may it not said the Divines now get the same power to what they decree and accordingly impose them upon the Kingdom 3. The Prelates composed one great Service-Book for direction to uniformity of worship according as they had ordered under penalties yet without the least word of Scripture to prove the truth of any thing in it Quaere Whether may it not be said Divines have composed one great book accordingly now for the like uniformity viz. the Directory to be observed under fines and penalties and yet without the least word or title of Scripture to prove the truth of any thing in it 4. The Prelates ordered that from that Book Prayers should be read to the people Quaere Whether may it not be said the Divines now have not east the Prayers of the Spirit into such Formes and Methods that a little invention will make them as stinted currant and legible Formes as before and accordingly read in divers places 5. The Prelates counted all that would not conforme to them Schismaticall and Hereticall Quaere Whether may it not be said the Divines now count not all so that will not be uniforme with them 6. The Prelates forbade all to Preach and Print that did not Preach and Print for their way of worship and Government Quaere Whether may it not be said the Divines now would not have all hindred from Pulpit and Presse that will not be of way of Worship and Government with them 7. The Prelates possessed themselves of the States power and favour Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now wholly labour after the same interest both in Parliament and other Counsels 8. The Prelates had their Licensers to stop all that write against their power and pompe Quaere Whether may it not be said the Divines now labour to engrosse the power of licensing only to themselves 9. The Prelates had for part of their Government Fines Pillories Whips Imprisonment Quaere Whether may it not be said the Divines now have those very things for part of theirs 10. The Prelates had Parishes for their Churches and Tythes for their maintenance Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now have the same Parishes now for Churches the same Tithes for maintenance 11. The Prelates called all other meetings but their Parish-meetings Conventicles Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now call the Churches and people that meet now together apart from them Conventicles as formerly 12. The Prelates called the Non-conformists factious troublers of the State Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now do accordingly call any that write or oppose their Presbytery factious and State-troublers 13. The Prelates ever accused their Non-conforming Brethren to the King and Councell Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now accordingly accuse their Non-conforming Brethren to the Parliament and other Councels 14. The Prelates had a designe to send all their Non-conforming brethren to strange Kingdomes as New England Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now endeavour to send their Non-conforming Brethren to other places out of the Kingdome 15. The Prelates ingrossed all the Preaching and preferring Divines to all places of honour and popularity in the Kingdom to themselves Quere Whether may it not be said the Divines now do accordingly preferre to all places of publique trust honour and employment as Vniversities Navy Armies Garrison-Towns Counties Cities c 16. The Prelates would not suffer men whom they called Lay-men to speak of the Scriptures Quere Whether may it not be

Vnwholsome Formes and so condemned before why are unwarrantable words taken up again as Classicall Provinciall Nationall Triers Directories which are no more formes of wholsome nor Scripture words 16 Reproaches no Arguments If confident slightings and scornfull denials be sufficient answers to us and our arguments never any man hath better defended Episcopacy or more strongly confuted those that oppose it Quaere If confident sleightings c. were counted no sufficient answers from the Prelates to the Presbyters why are Presbyters sleightings counted so sufficient arguments for their Dissenting Brethren now and if to raile be to reason and to revile be to refute Mr. Edwards and some of his brethren have as strongly confuted us as the Prelates did formerly them 17. Prelates impropriate Orthodox In impropriating to the same party the praise of Orthodox as if to speak a word or thinke a thought against them were no lesse heresie then it was in former times to speak against the Popes Supremacy or the Monks fat belly Quaere 1. If it were so ill taken by the Presbyters then that the Prelates impropriated the name Orthodox how may it be taken now by all the rest who are cast out as Hereticks and Schismaticks while they walke abroad cloathed only in the name of Orthodox Divines 2. If the Popes Supremacy and the Monks fat belly and the Prelates could not bear a word nor a thought against them are not some Divines working for a supremacy and a revenew against which it may prove as great a crime to speake 18. All not of their opinion are factious Sure the man thinks he hath obtained a Monopoly of Learning and all Knowledge is lockt up in his bosome and not only Knowlege but Piety and peaceableness too for all that are not of his opinion must suffer either as weake or factious if he may be their judge Quaere 1. Whether do not they who hold all other in Schisme and Heresie and a company of Mechanicks who conforme not to them conceive they have the Monopoly of learning as once the Prelates did and who are these now 2. Whether do not they who look on their Brethren that dissent as Troublers Factious Schismaticall conceive all Piety and peaceablenesse to be lockt up in their own bosomes and who are they and who are the weak and factious if they may be judges 19 Prelates pathes causes of divisions It is no wonder considering the pathes our Prelates have trod that there are divisions in the Nation the wonder is the Divisions are no more no greater Quaere If the usurpation Tyranny Persecution of the Prelates were reckoned for the supreame division-makers in the Kingdome when the Non-conformists were the only Separatists Why doe they not finde out some other or such like cause now in some other place rather then amongst their dissenting Brethren themselves whom they now only accuse of division and faction but this is the difference of being Parties and Judges we naturally spie out faults furthest from our selves 20 Where is the Church of England We desire him to tell us what the Church of England is for it doth not please him that we should call the Convocation the Church of England much lesse the Bishops or Archbishops Quaere If it was so hard to finde out the Church of England in the Prelates dayes surely it is hard to finde it out now then it seemes neither Synod Bishops nor Archbishops were the Church Then Quaere where is the Church now not in the Assembly they are but consulting how to build the Church not in the Presbytery for that is a Church unbuilt yet not among the Parishes they are not Scripture Churches or Congregations as the same Smectymnus sayes then where is the Church of England 21 The name of Church is the Gorgons Head But these Episcopall men deale as the Papists that dazle the eyes and astonish the senses of poor people with the glorious name of the Church the Church the holy mother the Church this is the Gorgons Head that hath enchaunted them and held them in bondage to their errours all there speech is of the Church the Church no mention of the Scriptures of God the Father but all of the mother the Church Quaere 1. If the name of Church then the Mother Church the Church was such a Gorgons head by which Prelates as well as Papists enchanted thousands of People to believe why is that very thing or device taken up in another forme to enchant with still viz. The Church of England the Orthodox Churches the Reformed Churches 2. If the Mother Church was so much spoken on before and the Scriptures so little why is not the Church of England the Reformed Churches the Orthodox Churches and Divines lesse spoken on and the Scriptures more 22 An ill Custome to say Church of England and Conformity It hath been the custome of late times to cry up the holy mother the Church of England to call for absolute obedience to holy Church full conformity to the orders of holy Church neglecting in meane time God the Father and the holy Scriptures Quaere If it hath been the unwarrantable custome of late times to cry up the Church of England and absolute obedience to the Church and conformity why is this custome still kept up conformity obedience and uniformity as much called for still as before why is not the word more spoken on and the Reformed Church lesse why is not free Christian liberty peaceable forbearance of each others differing opinions and practices in unity more heard among us and obedience conformity and uniformity lesse 23 To call Schismaticks and Hereticks the Bishops Practice Only there is one practice of our Bishops that is their casting out unconforming brethren commonly known in their Court language by the name of Schismaticks and Hereticks Quaere 1. If the Bishops did practice the casting out the Non-Conforming Brethren whither ought any such practice to be taken up by the Non-Conforming Brethren against Brethren now not Conforming to them 2. If all the Non-Conforming Brethren were in their Courtlanguage Hereticks and Schismaticks whither ought not such names to be sent packing to Court againe rather then taken up by the same Brethren who were so much called so themselves Hereticks and Schismaticks that they have taken it up against others 24 Heresies and Schisme harsh words But we had hoped the refusall of the use of a Ceremony should never have been equalized in the punishment either to Heresie or Schisme Quaere If you hoped that the refusall of a Ceremony would not have been punished with heresie and schisme from Bishops may not your Brethren hope much more from you that their dissenting from you in things of outward Cognizance and forme as Church Order and Bapisme would not be so branded for heresie and schisme by you who glory in a more Gospel way as you were branded your selves of late 25 Heavie censures for Non-Conformity I