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scripture_n ancient_a church_n true_a 3,382 5 4.7270 4 false
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A53095 Ultimum vale, or, The last farewell of a minister of the Gospel to a beloved people by Matthevv Nevvcomen ... Newcomen, Matthew, 1610?-1669. 1663 (1663) Wing N914; ESTC R8564 50,710 82

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if you would not have the whole work of Grace in your souls decay and run to ruine If any of your now have a house in building and had laid the foundation begun to rear up the building and so let it stand by contented that your work-man should finish at his leasure when he could spare time when he had nothing else to do Would not all the world condemn you as very improvident men and negligent of your own concernments O that men were but as wise for their souls as they are for the world O why should you neglect your souls why should you suffer the building of Grace which God hath begun to rear up in your souls to decay and run to ruine as it will certainly do for Non progredi est regredi Not to go forward is to go backward O therfore be adding daily and doing something in your souls daily Could the Heathen Painter be so intent and industrious upon his trade of Painting that he could say Nulla dies sine lineâ and all that he might excell in that Art And shall not Christians be more intent upon and more industrious in their attendance to the work of Grace in their souls shall any day pass them without something done for their edification and for the carrying on of the work of Grace in their hearts unto more perfection O far be it far be it from every true Christan You Brethren building up your selves in your most holy Faith and praying alwayes in the Holy-Ghost keep your selves in the Love of God But you will say How shall we do that What can we do towards the building up of our selves Why the following Doctrines will tell you that the next whereof is this That the best of Christians have need of the Word of God for their edification and building up Therefore the Apostle here commends even the Elders of Ephesus who were themselves Officers of Christ and Builders in the Church of Christ the Apostle commends them to the Word of Grace so the Apostle exhorts Timothy 1 Tim. 4.13 Till I come give attendance to Reading to Exhortation to Doctrine Give attendance to reading to reading what certainly the holy Scriptures the Word of God Timothy was one that had known the Scriptures of a Child 2 Tim. 3.15 and that had received extraordinary Gifts of the holy Ghost by the laying on of the Apostles hands 2 Tim. 1.6 that was an Evangelist a Preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles yet even this Timothy though thus qualified gifted and imployed must still give attendance to reading not only reade now then a chapter but give attendance to reading if he means to build up others or to be himself built up in Grace and Holiness So that you see the best of Christans have need of the Word of God for their building up and edification That this was the design and scope of God in causing his Word to be committed to writing is clear in 2 Tim. 3.16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration from God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works There is the end why all Scripture was given that the man of God may be built up unto perfection And that this is the end why Christ hath instituted in his Church a publick Ministry for the opening and applying of these Scriptures is clear out of Ephes 4.11 12. And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ Now if the infinite Wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ did not know that the best of his Servants would need his Word for their edification and building up He would never have committed his Word first to writing and afterwards have appointed a continual preaching of it in his Church in season and out of season as a means properly subservient to their edification We may conclude therefore That the best of Christians have need of the Word for their edification and building up And this first condemns the Impiety of the Pope I say of the Pope rather than of the Papists for the poor People suffer under this Impiety of the Pope and his Clergy who deprive their Laity as they call them of the use and benefit of the Scriptures making it a Capital crime for any of them to have the Scriptures in any common or ordinary language Italian French Spanish or the like Satan himself could never have invented a more speedy and effectual way for the destroying of souls that this is They pretend indeed for this wickedness of theirs reverence to the Scriptures and care of souls they would not they say have the Scriptures polluted and prophaned by being made common and handled with unwashed and unholy hands therefore they suffer none to deal with the Scriptures but men in holy Orders and they are afraid lest by putting the Scriptures into vulgar hands they should but put a knife into the hand of a child or mad-man wherewith to wound and destroy themselves wresting the Scriptures to their own destruction But O how foolish is the wisdom of man when it would exalt it self above the Wisdom of God! Did not God know how to provide for the Honour and Majesty of his Sacred Word and for the good and well-fare of poor Souls if the Word were exposed to the view and use of the meanest and lowest of People Why then were the Scriptures of the Old Testament written to the Church of the Jews in the Hebrew tongue which every man woman and child spake and understood and why where the Scriptures of the New-Testament written to the Churches of the Gentiles in the Greek tongue which was the proper and maternal language of most of the Churches we reade of in the New-Testament and generally understood by all to whom the Gospel was at first preached and what mean all those Commandments both in the Old New Testament for reading meditating and searching the Scriptures and those promises of Blessing to them that so do made and given promiscuously unto all if all may not yea ought not to reade the Scriptures And why did the Apostles guided by the Spirit of God direct and intitle their Epistles not to Bishops and Church Officers only but even to the whole Church the Plebs and all if the Plebs might not reade the Scriptures And why doth John write his Canonical Epistle to the Elect Lady and to Gaius a private Christian if Ladies and private Christians might not reade Canonical Scripture And why do Chrysostom Hierom Austin and others of the glorious Lights of the antient Church so vehemently exhort their People and Auditors to the reading and study of the Scriptures had these men no care of the Honour of the Scriptures or the good of the Soul Apage Away with these pretences the true reason why the Pope and his Accomplices do so studiously smother the Scriptures from