Selected quad for the lemma: father_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
father_n	believe_v	faith_n	holy_a	10,213	4	5.4982	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49134	Vox cleri, or, The sense of the clergy concerning the making of alterations in the established liturgy with remarks on the discourse concerning the Ecclesiastical Commission and several letters for alterations : to which is added an historical account of the whole proceedings of the present convocation.	Long, Thomas, 1621-1707.	1690 (1690)	Wing L2986; ESTC R1029	58,819	80

Verb plural may have respect to divers precedent Nouns some whereof speak de rebus signis others de personis Now the Aegyptians for the conviction of whom God executed the Plagues before spoken of were not obedient to his word and so both Translations agree These and other Resolutions are so clear that I wonder how any Country-Minister much less one of the City should at this time of the day be ignorant of them but none so blind as he that will not see for it looks like a design in the Author to foment Prejudices and Mistakes in the Minds of young Men to keep up a Schism against the Church And so doth his next Plea p. 14. against the use of the Athanasian Creed whilst he restrains the Damnatory Sentences to one Article of the Creed which is to be referred to the whole for so says the Preface This is the Catholick Faith c. Moreover I think it not necessary to Salvation that every Man should believe that Article of the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father to the Son seeing there are several Articles in the Creed called the Apostles as we receive it now which in the most Primitive Times were not extant in that Creed for which consult Vossius Armagh and Dr. Pearson the late Bishop of Chester and therefore I cannot conceive that those Greek Churches were Hereticks and in a state of Damnation that held not the Filioque And to this purpose the Letter makes his second Quere Whether this be a fundamental Article of the Faith which except a Man believes he cannot be saved Seeing as he grants it is not made necessary by Athanasius himself nor was originally either in the Nicene truly so called or Athanasian Creed Nor is it so thought by our Church says the Letter which receiving the four first General Councils agrees with that of Ephesus which is the third which made a peremptory Decree against all Additions to be made thereafter to the Creed Concil Ephes Part 3. Art 6. Which shews that some Additions had been formerly made From whence says he it follows that nothing else was then accounted necessary to be believed but what was contained in the Nicene And so the Damnatory Sentences not appearing to be the Addition of Athanasius nor respecting any particular Article but what is fundamental and necessary to Salvation in the whole the young Man notwithstanding any thing that the Letter saith may Subscribe the Athanasian Creed with the Damnatory Sentences which are applicable only to such as obstinately deny the Fundamental Articles of the Christian Faith contained in that Creed And I desire the Author of this Objection to consider what occasion it hath given to the Antitrinitarians to proclaim their Blasphemies against the Blessed Trinity and consequently against the Christian Religion for a late Writer says That Athanasius was drunk when he wrote that Creed That it is setled by a Tyrannical Dominion and is a Superstition or Polity rather than true Religion That the Follies and Contradictions charged on the Doctrine of Transubstantiation are neither for Number Consequence or Greatness comparable to those implied in the Athanasian Creed And that the Trinity hath the same foundation with Transubstantiation and we must admit both or neither This Opinion of the Socinians hath been so confuted by our late Divines that I shall not repeat their Arguments so apt are our Adversaries of all sorts to improve the Objections of Dissenters into very dangerous and destructive Errors Page 15. This Country-Minister hath a very modest Request in behalf of himself and the Dissenters viz. That Presbytery may be restored to its ancient Priviledge and permitted to share in all Acts belonging to their Station What Acts those are he sufficiently intimates but doth not enumerate they must share in the Jurisdiction and Administration of Discipline in the issuing forth of Excommunications and in the power of Conferring Orders and this forsooth for the honour of the Bishops to take off whatever they may suffer by Misgovernment and I suppose they would quickly draw too much of that Odium upon themselves Wherefore as he doth so shall I leave these things to the mature consideration of the Convocation and how likely it is that the Church would not be the worse for these Alterations But concerning this he raiseth two Objections the first is Where are they that would come in upon these Concessions and Alterations And 2dly if they do come in what advantage this will be to the Church To the first he says 't is but to try and I say whatever the Church can grant and not be the worse for it hath been already tried and scornfully rejected though the Concessions were more than the Convocation can now with prudence and safety grant them for these will not stifle their clamours against the Church who have publickly declared that they expect greater things But in justice and integrity says the Letter these things ought to be granted for it was promised by their Bishops viz. that they wanted not due tenderness towards Dissenters but were willing to come to such a temper as should be thought fit when that matter should be considered and setled in Parliament and Convocation But as he says they promised it when it was not in their power and now the more is the pity it is not in their power to perform it but they promised no more than was fit to be granted i. e. upon great and important Reasons nor more than what should be thought fit by a Parliament and Convocation to which it is still referred 2dly He inquires what benefit this will be to the Church To which I answer None at all if as he says when kept out they are Enemies and when let in they will be no Friends but when they have more power and opportunity they may do more mischief S. M. E. C. T. Y. M. N. W. S. were in the Church in 1641 and did it more hurt than those that were kept out and there are still such among us as are not of us whose Names would make up as terrible a word as that of Smectymnuus but I forbear to call Names His third General is That there are such things in our Church as may be altered for the better Ans Thus some Men have attempted to mend the Magnificat but finding they could not do that they resolved to lay it aside And many an unskilful Architect hath under taken to repair a good old Fabrick and make it better but by pulling down Beam after Beam and after a lesser Stone a greater till the whole Fabrick hath been like to fall and then what perhaps was designed at first he perswades the Owners that there is a necessity wholly to destroy the old and erect a new one upon better foundations And thus the Country-Minister thinks he hath cleared the Point and may come in for a share in the imployment and benefit And first he ingageth to make easie and

short work of it and would not have his Country-Brethren to be obliged to their daily labour in the Service of the Church but to be left free to attend it how and when they please to perform one part of the Service at one time and another at another and to be left to their own discretion and not tied up to Forms and to do what is commanded them Thus he pleads for himself and fellow-labourers whom he thinks fit to share with the Master-builders and to that end he thus mis-represents them p. 20. That they are ready to impose such burthens on others as they will not touch with themselves That they only walk from a warm House to a Cathedral and for half an hour turn over a Service-book hear a Sermon and return to a warm Room and good Fare and know not what it is to do the Service of a Cure perhaps all their life This would be very edifying Doctrine in a Conventicle but not so acceptable when a Country-Minister shall preach it to a Convocation which consists of the select Clergy of the Land who are for the most part obliged to the Service of God in Cathedrals or in their own Churches and moreover to all those Services which the Country-Minister is bound to do And which is as difficult a work as any of the other to Oversee those Labourers least they do more hurt than good by their Idleness Ignorance or Immorality for too many such there be who if they were kept to their daily duty might be restrained from many inconveniencies which are more prejudicial to their Lives than the appointed Service of God would be And doubtless the Convocation will not be of the Country-Minister's mind p. 21. That he should be left to his discretion to read one part of the Service one day and another another and in the Afternoon to leave out the first Lesson or the like leaving out on Sunday the Communion-Service and shortning the Liturgy at the Lord's-Prayer For which he gives this reason That it was composed peculiarly with respect to a State of Persecution For which cause it ought rather to be continued for he asks the Question p. 27. Are we without danger and if not have we less danger to fear now when we are divided than when united But why must the Communion-Service be left out when the Primitive Church did communicate at their daily Assemblies And it is the Peoples fault that the Communion is not Administred every Sunday in the Parish-Churches as well as in the Cathedrals so that the reading that Service minds the People of their backwardness to partake of so great a Blessing and both minds and prepares them for it But I see not to what end these Offices should be shortned except it be to yield to the Country-Minister's extemporary Prayers and tedious Sermons which if left to his discretion would doubtless be the consequence And his desire That the first Lesson or the like may be left out in the Afternoon that Men may fodder their Cattel when I suppose the turning of the Afternoons Sermon into Catechizing may better answer that end and be more profitable to the People both young and old and it is more agreeable to Order and this course would neither hamper their Consciences nor expose them to the rash Censures of those whom he calls their not over-laborious Brethren Which Epithet some such Country-Ministers as himself may deserve p. 19. he would have some of the Convocation sent down to some Country-Parishes to ease the poor Ministers by reading Prayers and Preaching c. As if the Members of the Convocation never did perform the intire Service of the Church in Praying and Preaching The Country-Minister might consider that a great part of them have travelled some a hundred some near two hundred Miles to meet in Convocation to consult for the common benefit of the Clergy and sit sometime near the whole day in a cold place in the depth of Winter And some Country-Ministers now of the Convocation do now see in what great ease and plenty the City-Ministers live who have their Readers and Lecturers and frequent Supplies and sometimes tarry in the Vestry till Prayers be ended and have great Dignities in the Church besides their rich Parishes in the City Having pleaded for the shortning of the Liturgy he pleads p. 22. for the prolonging of it by adding an Office to receive Penitents after an Apostacy and in case of notorious Scandal this may concern the Country-Minister 2. For receiving persons Absolved after Excommunication this as he desires is left to the discretion of the Priest that Officiates 3. An Office for the Prisoners which is provided for by the Bishops who generally appoint able Men for that charitable Office So that all this notwithstanding he concludes in the words of Dr. Featly c. concerning the Liturgy as it stood before the 600 Amendments in 1661. That the Book of Common-Prayer is the most compleat perfect and exact Liturgy in the Christian World and such as a Godly Man may with a good Conscience use and not only lawfully but comfortably joyn in Wherefore it having already received so many Amendments there should be some important Reasons given why it should admit of more for his May-be's are no Arguments It may-be some things are obscure and too doubtfully express'd It may be in its Phraseology liable to misapplication It may be too fanciful And all these May-be's may not be if the most exceptionable Expressions in the whole Liturgy be allowed as the Preface to it says such just and favourable construction as in common equity ought to be allowed to all humane Writings Page 23. Our Author comes to enquire more nicely into it but whether more wisely let the Reader judge He instanceth first in what he thinks obscure As in the Prayer for the Clergy Who alone workest great Marvels send down c. of which Who dares deny saith Dr. Comber that the assistance granted to the Ministers for the conversion of sinners are as marvellous as was the Creation of Light out of Darkness or the Resurrection from the Dead see Ephes 1.19 So in the Collect for Trinity Sunday Who hath given us Grace in the Power of the Divine Majesty to Worship the Vnity This is not obscure to any that acknowledgeth the Trinity which is to be worshipped in the Unity of Divine Majesty As when in the Litany we pray O holy blessed and glorious Trinity three Persons and one God In the Preface at the Communion for Trinity Sunday that which we believe of the Glory of the Father the same we believe of the Glory of the Son and of the Holy Ghost without any difference or inequality viz. as to the Godhead Christ having said I and my Father are one And the Church in all Ages hath professed the same belief in the Father Son and Holy Ghost and ascribes the same Glory to each of them in the Tresagion In the Prayer