Selected quad for the lemma: hand_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
hand_n	aaron_n	act_n	election_n	23	3	8.7627	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62876	Theodulia, or, A just defence of hearing the sermons and other teaching of the present ministers of England against a book unjustly entituled (in Greek) A Christian testimony against them that serve the image of the beast, (in English) A Christian and sober testimony against sinful complyance, wherein the unlawfulness of hearing the present ministers of England is pretended to be clearly demonstrated by an author termed by himself Christophilus Antichristomachus / by John Tombes.	Tombes, John, 1603?-1676.	1667 (1667)	Wing T1822; ESTC R33692	356,941	415

the Nations of the World to be a People near to him his peculiar Treasure above them all Statutes and Ordinances to walk by both with relation to Civils and Ecclesiasticks which they were indispensably bound to conform to without adding to or detracting therefrom That the management of all their affairs was singly to be bottomed upon and conform to these Statutes and Judgments is very frequently asserted in Scripture Exod. 21.1 Lev. 18.4 19.37 20.22 25.18 26.15 43. Deut. 4.1 5 8. 5.1 7.11 11.1 32. 12.1 26.16 30.16 1 Chron. 16.12 28.7 Psal. 89.30 Ezek. 5.6 36.27 Dan 9.5 Answ. It is granted that the Lord gave unto the people of the Jews Statutes and Ordinances to walk by both with relation to Civils and Ecclesiasticks or as usually they speak Ceremonials and that they were bound to conform to them and so much the Texts alledged do prove But that they were bound indispensably to conform to these Statutes without adding to or detracting therefrom and that the management of all their affairs was singly to be bottomed upon and conform to these Statutes and Judgments is not asserted in those Scriptures there being not one of them that saith that they were bound indispensably to conform to them Our Lord hath determined to the contrary in justifying his Disciples plucking the ears of Corn on the Sabbath Davids eating the shew bread and entring into the house of God and confirming his determination by the words of the Prophet Hosea 6.6 in his dissertation against the Pharisees Mat. 12.3 7. in which there was a dispensation with and detraction from the Laws of the Sabbath and the Shew-bread about Ecclesiasticks for a time in some Case And for addition to Laws Ecclesiastical the assemblies keeping other seven dayes besides those prescribed in the Law of the Passover 2 Chro. 30.23 and to civils that ordinance of David 1 Sam. 30.25 Shew that in both some additions might be by the Prince Captain or private persons to both sorts of Lawes with Divine approbation And that the management of all the affairs of the people of Israel both civil and ecclesiastical was not singly to be bottom'd upon and conform to those statutes and judgments but that in both sorts of affairs humane prudence and the Rulers Authority might order many things may be cleared from sundry instances of David Jehoshaphat Hezekiah and others which there will be occasion more fully to discusse in examining the allegations brought by this Author to prove the major of his first argument Ch. 1. of this treatise Sect. 7. The election or ordination of Levites is no rule for election or ordination of Ministers now Secondly saith he that persons were appointed by the Lord to be chosen by the Congregation for the publick administration of ordinances and worship cannot be denied Thus were the Levites Exod. 13.2 12 13. and 22.29 Numb 3.12 called therefore the Wave-offering of the Children of Israel Numb 8.9 10 11. because given up by them to the Lord as their offering by solemn ordination and imposition of hands Answer it is true that the Levites were wholly given unto God from among the Children of Israel to do the service of the Congregation but it is not true that they were appointed by the Lord to be chosen by the Congregation God saith Numb 8.16 in stead of the first-born of all the Children of Israel have I taken them to mee And upon what occasion God took the Levites in stead of the first born is to be seen in Exod. 32.26 29. Deut. 33.9 Saith Ainsworth annot on Numb 3.12 So that here appears no choice of the Congregation so as that it was left to them to take or to leave those It is true also that Numb 8.9 it is said that Moses shall bring the Levites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation it was therefore his business to present them and that he should gather the whole assembly of the Children of Israel together and that he should bring the Levites before the Lord and the Children of Israel that is some of the chief of them as the first born in the name of the rest shall lay or impose hands on the Levites saith Ainsworth annot on Numb 8.10 And then it follows v. 11. Aaron shall offer or wave the Levites before the Lord for an offering or wave-offering of the Children of Israel that they may execute the service of the Lord. And then Aaron was to make an atonement for the Levites and Moses should set the Levites before Aaron and before his Sons and offer them for an offering unto the Lord and that he should separate the Levites from among the Children of Israel and the Levites should then be Gods v. 13 14. The reason of the laying on of the hands of the Children of Israel upon the Levites was to signifie their obedient yielding them to God in their stead to do the service of the Children of Israel in the Tabernacle of the Congregation and to make an atonement for the Children of Israel that there might be no plague among the Children of Israel when the Children of Israel came nigh unto the Sanctuary v. 19. But these were not the Priests they were distinct from the Levites to wit Aaron and his Sons who were called of God Heb. 5.4 without the Prophets laying on of hands Now it was the Priests office to do that work in which was the worship of God to wit the offering Sacrifice sprinkling the blood and such other duties the Levites were imployed to do other services as the bearing of the utesils and such like in respect of which they were to attend on the Priests Deut. 10.8 therefore it is said by God v. 19. I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his Sons So that the choice was Gods the presenting Moses his act the yielding them by imposition of hands signifying their offering them to God in stead of themselves was the act of the first-born the wave offering and cleansing them Aarons act which may more truly be called their solemn ordination than the imposition of hands by the first-born But were it true that in this act of imposing their hands there was election and ordination this wa● not a successive election or ordination as is when one dies and another is chosen and ordained in his room as oft as there is such vacancy when one Minister dies and another comes in his stead For this election or ordination if it may be so called was but once and of the whole company together and so is no pattern for election or ordination of Elders successively by a particular Congregation or the major part of them Sect. 8. The Texts enjoyning the observation of things appointed prove not that some things undetermined might not in Gods worship be ordered by men Thirdly saith he that persons thus invested into the office of Priesthood were not left to the liberty of their own

must hear no meer gifted Brethren no Itenerant Preachers though approved by Tryers none but their own Officers and those rightly chosen and consequently they must before they hear them know their Election to be right and the particular Church electing them to be rightly instituted which tends to such dictraction of peoples minds and alienation of them from hearing as can end in nothing but meer Irreligion and make men Seekers or Quakers the mischiefs of which are too too conspicuous But I shall more directly answer this Argument and that so much the rather because the Text John 10. is abused by Papists to prove that they are not right Shepherds who have not authority from the Pope whom they make the One Shepherd v. 16. as Hart in his Conference with Dr. Rainold Chap. 6 from whom all Bishop● derive their power and all the Sheep are to hear and by Quakers and others to prove that they are not true Shepherds nor to be heard who receive any maintenance by Tithes or other stipend because they that do so are by them judged Hirelings and not Shepherds v. 12. It is granted that Christ is the door Joh. 10.9 but it may be doubted whether Christ be meant by the door Joh. 10.1 the reason of which is because then Christ should be said to enter by himself and the door to enter by the door To avoid which Maldonate in his Commentary conceives the door v. 1. not to be the same with the door v 9. but the door v. 1. to be the Scriptures of the Prophets wh●● foretold of the good Shepherd Ezek. 37.24 34.23 Jerem. 23.5 30.9 Isa. 40.11 by vertue of which Prediction he entred And indeed the whole purport of the Parable doth tend to this that he onely was the good Shepherd that is the Messiah foretold by the Prophets and that all other that pretended to be the Messiah or good Shepherd such as Theudas and Judas of Galilee mentioned Act. 5.36 37. and if there were any other like them were but Thieves and Robbers Strangers Hirelings though they took on them to be Shepherds they were but false Christs such as Christ foretels should arise Mat. 24.24 But let it be granted that the door is the same Joh. 10.1 and 9. the entering in v. 9. cannot be meant of entring into the Ministery lawful election of a particular Instituted Church For then it would follow that every one that enters into the Ministry by by election of a particular Instituted Church shall be saved and go in and out and finde pasture which is manifestly false Therefore entring is meant of every True believer and is by faith in Christ who is the right door by whom that is by his Doctrin men come to be his Sheep and he is their Shepherd But be it that the entring be into the Ministery and that entring be by vertue of Authority derived to them from him how is it proved they are not authorized by Christ immediately who work not Miracles Have not many especially in cases of necessity been Ministers of Christ by immediate inward call who have not wrought Miracles It were hard to conclude of Petrus Waldo and many other Reformers that had no power of working Miracles that they were not Ministers of Christ that I say nothing of gifted Brethren that they were Thieves and Robbers because they had no immediate calling by a particular Instituted Church Sure this would be to offend against the generation of Gods children who in the darkest times of Papal Tyranny took upon them to Preach the Gospel without a praevious election of a particular Instituted Church But how doth he prove that those that receive authority to Preach the Gospel mediately from Christ have it from some particular Instituted Church of Christ He alledgeth no other but this that to a particular instituted Church of Christ power is solely delegated for the electing of their own Officers But what then may not for all this power be given to some others to choose send and ordain Preachers for the unconverted who yet may be Ministers of the Gospel and may be heard as such Yea may not some others ordain Elders for particul●● Instituted Churches Sure when St. Paul left Titus in Crete that he might set in order things that were wanting and ordain Elders in every City as he had appointed him Tit. 1.5 giving him direction whom to ordain he left it to him to choose Preachers for Instituted Churches who were to be heard and this by power delegated by Christ to him and therefore power is not solely delegated to a particular Instituted Church of Christ for the electing of their own Officers but that they may be chosen and ordained by some other for them by vertue of an authority derived t● them from Christ. But how proves he the power for electing their own Officers delegated solely to a particular Instituted Church of Christ He saith it is according to the tenour of the ensuing Scriptures whereof one is Acts 6.5 and that relates onely one act of choosing the seven Deacons by the whole multitude of the Disciples at Hierusalem who cannot be well counted such a particular Instituted Church as made up one Congregation to meet every Lords day for all Ordinances they were too numerous to be such nor were they organized under fixed Officers with such constitution as is now made necessary to a particular Instituted Church Nor did they choose the Deacons upon any conceived power delegated from Christ by vertue of any rule established by Christ or his Apostles which should be perpetual in all ages to all Churches but upon advice of the Apostles for their more liberty to attend on other work of more importance and their own liking nor if it were to be a perpetual rule for all Churches in all ages can it be any rule for choosing other Officers besides Deacons there being a peculiar reason why they should choose Deacons whose honesty prudence and mercifulness was to be discerned and not other Officers whose sufficiency to Teach and Orthodoxie were to be considered of which the whole multitude of Disciples then and the major part of a particular Instituted Church are rarely now competent Judges The other text Act 14.23 hath no colour to prove such a delegated power but from one word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which our Translation renders when they had ordained Beza after others Per suffragia creâssent Had created by suffrages and because the word arose from a custom among the Greeks of choosing their Officers by Suffrages or Votes signified by the stretching out of the hand conceives that Paul and Barnabas did not create the Elders in the Churches without the Churches election signified by stretching out of their hands to shew their consent to the elected and thence is inferred that so it should be now But this is but one example though it is not to be denied that in after ages which were times of Persecution the Elders were

Kingdom of Christ and the real owners of his Authority and Power Answ. That Bishops or Presbyters should be chosen by the common Suffrage of the Church of Christ in each City or Parish or select Congregation I find not to be the appointment of Christ in the Scriptures alledged or any other the impertinency of the Allegations to this purpose is shewed before Chap. 2. Sect. 3. In this Chap. Sect. 6. besides what is said in answer to the Preface Sect. 7.22 the only text not before considered Acts 9.26 27. and 16.17 if it were alledged were altogether impertinent there being no election of St. Paul but to be an Apostle and that by Christ not the Church on whom Ananias laid hands at the appointment of Christ only That he might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost and to remove the fear of him and non credence of his being a Disciple Barnabas and no other we read of took him and brought him to the Apostles declaring how Christ had converted him Which are altogether impertinent to prove election of Ministers by the common Suffrage of the Church and Ordination thereupon to be the appointment of Christ. It is granted before in the answer to the Preface Sect. 22. that there are relations in antiquity of the election of Bishops by the people which could be no other way then in times of Persecution when the Emperors were Infidels yet withal that even then things grew into such heats that sometimes the Emperor was fain to interpose for quietness and after when Wealth and Power by favour of Christian Emperours were added to Bishops sometimes bloody frayes and other evils made that Election so turbulent that it was found necessary to put it into the hands of fewer until the investiture of Bishops being wrested from the Emperours the Popes seized on it leaving the election of the inferior Clergy unto the Bishops or Patrons that had endowed the Ministers with Estates except in cases reserved to his Romans But where the Reformation is with the consent of Princes much of the power usurped by Popes is recovered by them in other places the people either chuse or consent to the election which being made the whole essence of the Ministerial Call by Congregational men and by Divine Right their opinion is opposed by the London Ministers in their Jus Divinum Ministerii Evangelici Printed 1654. Chap. 8 9. Nevertheless the Testimonies produced by this Author are not fully to his purpose those out of Clements his Epistle are not home the former speaks of constituting and appointing Ministers after the Apostles by other famous and discreet men as it is in Burtons English translation of that Epistle with the good liking and consent of all the Church which is less then Election constituting their Call The other contains only a voluntary offer to prevent breaches which is nothing to the asserting of a power in them rightly seated if it were such it would be more then this Author I think would yield that upon the command of the multitude a Minister is to relinquish his place The words of Luther Bullinger and perhaps the rest of the Protestants whose words are not set down meant no more than the not obtruding Ministers on the Churches of Christ as the Monks and Popish Bishops did who put on the People Priests unable to Preach the Gospel such as fed themselves and not the flock without choice or consent of the people Which if it be any where practised is unjustifiable as on the other side where people are corrupted with Error or Factiousness or Carnal Relations and S●lf aims or are unskilful to judge of the disposition and abilities of a Minister it is unsafe or rather more dangerous to intrust the Church of Christ though a gathered Congregation with the election of their Minister by Common Suffrage without intervention of some discreet and able Ministers to ratifie or disanul it What Cyprian saith upon the occasion of the lapse of Basilides and Martialis Bishops in Spain of their rejection and the election of Sabinus and Felix was agreeable to the Canons then in use and to the state of those times what he saith of Divine Authority is not rightly proved The Scriptures of the New Testament and Old prove no Divine Institution of a certain way of electing or rejecting Ministers so as that there may not be variation from what he saith was in his time yet it is meet that according to the sayings of Cyprian Lambard Gualter or others respect be had to people that they be heard what they can say for or against their Minister and that he who is criminous or insufficient be not imposed on them to their souls hurt What our Reverend Fathers and Ministers of the Church of England say to these things may be seen in Whitgift's Answer to the first Admonition and Defence of the Answer Tr. 3. p. 170. Bilson of the perpetual Government of Christs Church Chap. 15. Andrews respons ad Bellarm. Apolog. Chap. 13. p. 313. after King James his Premonition Hooker Eccles. Pol. l. 5. sect 80. Field of the Church l. 5. c. 54. If the Prelates do any thing unjustly therein they must give an account to God the Ministers who consent not thereto are not chargeable both may be accounted as Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ and the real owners of his Authority and Power notwithstanding what is objected against them especially if the evil be either from the defect or iniquity of Laws Canons and Customs whereby that redress of Grievances in this kind which even the Prelates have complained of is stopped I confess that the continuance in force of so much of the Popes Canon Law or our Common Law as hinders a godly and able Ministry in every Parish hath been deplored and much endeavour hath been to amend things But the experience that hath been of the difficulty therein even when Congregational men have been most industrious to rectifie things should methinks abate the censures of this Author and rather cause men quietly to wait for a remedy using the benefit of the Ministry we have than by separation and popular election in gathered Congregations make things worse than they are Sect. 8. Prophesying is not opposed by the Ministers But this Author hath not yet done but tells us To these many other institutions of Christ may be added which they subject not to What should I mention 6. That Royal Command of our Soveraign King and Lawgiver which the profound self-philosophically wise but indeed foolish and unlearned Doctors of this day wrest to the countenancing of the disorders and confusion of Antichrist darkness so gross that it may be felt that all things be done decently and in Order 1 Cor. 14.40 viz. that the Saints may Prophesie one by one and ought to admonish exhort and build up one another in their most holy faith Rom. 8.26 and 12.6 1 Cor. 4.17 and 5.4 and 11.23 Ephes. 4.7 11 12. 1