Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A57858
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A just and modest reproof of a pamphlet called The Scotch Presbyterian eloquence
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Rule, Gilbert, 1629?-1701.
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1693
(1693)
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Wing R2222; ESTC R25107
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43,938
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42
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their people are generally of better Morals than they are who leave them That we condemn making use of Books in composing Sermons is false We disprove Repeating of other Mens Sermons as it is known some of their most eminent Men have done and that ordinarily But there is an other use of Books then Transcribing large parcells of them If any of ours have done so let them bear their blame I am sure it is not so common with us as it is with his own party After all these Falsehoods he hath the impudence to say that these things are too well known to be denied among us I appeal to all the Nation if ever they heard of most of his Stories till his Book brought them to light yea it is known among us that many of them are down right Lies Our Author in his second Section having said so much against Presbyterians without Book in his first will now make surer work and expose them out of their Printed Books which every one may Read and Judge whether he dealeth fairly with them or not But even here his Candor will be found short of that which becometh a Christian for he chargeth some things on the Presbyterians on account of things written by Men who were as opposite to the Sober Presbyterians as to Episcopal Men what is in others of their Books he doth often misrepresent But the thing will appear more clearly in particulars to be observed as we go along The first he dealeth with is a Sermon of Mr. William Guthry who was an eminent Servant of God he hath now been Dead 20 or 30 years The Sermon be saith is fall of Curseâ— and he citeth one passage in it which I am sure no Presbyterian will approve He saith that Sermon is mightily applauded in the West He is not ashamed to Reproach the Living and the Dead For all that knew Mr. William Guthry will averr that such horrid and rude expressions are not like to have dropped from his mouth I have indeed heard of a Sermon that went under Mr. Guthries Name which was pretended to have been written from his Mouth but by some ignorant and unskilful person and Printed without his Knowledge whether this may not be the Sermon he speaketh of I know not that Sermon I have never seen and therefore cannot tell how faithfully the words are cited by our Author And surely if the people in the West were so taken with it we should have heard more of it I cannot meet with any person who knoweth any thing of it His next citation we are little concerned in Mr. Walwood was one of the Hill Preachers who did not much favour the Soberer sort of Presbyterians neither do I know the truth of what is alledged having never seen that Sermon He cometh next to some of the Sermons that were Preached before the Parliament where he unmannerly and calumniously Reflecteth on a person of great worth and Honour His Majesties high Commissioner the Earl of Melvill others of them which were also Printed he taketh no notice of He falsely as well as in a wickedly scoffing strain asserteth that these Sermons were carefully kept from Malignant Hands For they were exposed to publick Sale and called in the streets as other Prints use to be So that every one who pleased might have them That these Sermons Extol Presbyterian Government with Epithites due to the Gospel as Christs Bride c. is impudently asserted He is challenged to shew where this is done They commend Christs Bride Gods House c. But do never give ground to think that they mean only of Church-Government but evidence that they mean the Reformation of the Church in Doctrine Worship and Discipline whereof Presbyterian Government is but a part and not the chief part These Preachers spake to a Parliament who had under consideration the Christian Reformed Religion contained in the Confession of Faith and therefore had good ground to put them in mind of the great weight of what was before them though Presbytry had deserved no regard What he citeth out of Mr. Spaldings Sermon is very applicable to what I have mentioned Indeed if the Reader will allow all this Mans glosses on these Sermons and think that they mean whatever he fancieth they may be lookt on as absurd enough But let this be observed once for all that tho' Presbyterians never thought that the whole of the Interest of Religion nor the chief part of it lay in the setting up Presbytry yet they look on it as Christs Ordinance and therefore the setting it up is one thing that belongeth to building of the House of God And if he can disprove this Notion of things let him produce his strong Reasons He next dealeth with Mr. Rules Sermon Where first he quarreleth with the Text and from it observeth that their the Presbyterians Texts are generally out of the obscurest places of the old Testament where an intelligent Reader will laugh at his Folly unless he can make it appear first that Mr. R. is Presbyterians in general or either that he always hath such Texts or Presbyterians generally do as he did at this time in chusing their Texts 2. That Isai. 2. 2. is one of the obscurest places of the Old Testament He next affirms that Mr. R. taketh it for granted that the Mountain of the Lord there spoken of is expresly meant of Scottish Presbytry How he can make this appear is hard to guess for no such thing is said or hinted or implyed in any part or passage of that Sermon Yea nor is Presbytry so much as once mentioned either expresly or by circumlocution in it but what the Parliament is there exhorted to is to settle the true Religion among us and to establish the Church in Purity To which we deny not the setting up of Presbytry doth belong It is then a strange notion that he hath that to us the only true Religion is Scotch Presbytry but he thinketh his Tongue is his own who is Lord over him Let any Man read that Sermon and compare it with this Authors Marginal and other Notes he hath on it and he will find that the Man can find no way to reach it but by his own Additions to it not by any thing brought out of the Discourse itself And it may be observed that in that Sermon the Preacher did purposely shun mentioning our differences but pressed in general a Reformation of the Church by Scripture as may be gathered from the Conclusion of his Sermon in these words I have not in this Discourse been very particular in bespeaking your care and zeal for the things controverted among us Partly because time doth not allow to insist on such Debates And partly because I am confident they were Men cordially for the advancement of the Life and power of Religion they would readily fall in to accord about the things that have been the matter of our differences These considered all his quibbles against this Sermon