Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A58493
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Remarks on The life of Mr. Milton, as publish'd by J.T. with a character of the author and his party : in a letter to a member of Parliament.
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R. E.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing R933; ESTC R13741
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33,766
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88
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Grace or Energy the good Father should have consider'd that this is the Definition of a Charm Thus the Socinians shew their Respect to the Church of England by Ridiculing her Description of a Sacrament and after some more prophane Raillery of the same Nature they conclude So that let them turn themselves which way soever they can they have turn'd the Gospel Sacraments into Charms and Spells If this be not villainous Dissimulation and dreadful Blasphemy there can be no such thing The Church of England pronounces no other Words over the Elements but those pronounc'd by our Saviour Matt. 26. 26 27. and by the Apostle 1 Cor. 11. And is that Mother-Churches Ritual and her Wonder-working Words Don't those Men know that the Church of England believes nor teaches no such thing as Transubstantiation nor ascribes no other Efficacy to the receiving of the Lord's Supper by Faith but what the Scripture ascribes to it But perhaps this is J. T 's meaning when he tells us as before that he ceases to wonder how so many Supposititious Pieces come to be charged upon Christ and his Apostles The whole New Testament is only Mother Churches Ritual Yet these are the Men that ought to have a Toleration tho' they impiously ridicule and blaspheme our Saviour and his Church whom they pretend to revere I have already taken notice of J. T 's Respect to the Church of England her Bishops Liturgy c. by his taking together all that Mr. Milton thought fit to bespatter them with yet he good Man is for sâ—…curing the National Church in her Worship and Emoluments tho' impertinently and without any relation to a History of Mr. Milton's Liâ—…e he brings him in comparing the Bishops to Five Gouty Toes with a Linen Sock over them and the Metropolitan Toe sending up a foul Stench to Heaven and calls them the Gulfs and Whirlpools of Benefices Their Liturgy he says is fantastical and senseless and in the Litany Neither Priest nor People speak any entire Sense of themselves thro' the 〈◊〉 and it is far from the Imitation of any warranted Prayer but has been the Pattern of many a Jig p. 48 49. If J. T. does not approve of these Sayings of Mr. Milton why did he take such Care to extract them from his Works and publish them in his Life And if he do approve them is he not a gross Hypocrite to wish the Church may be secur'd in a senseless fantastical Worship which is a Pattern for Jigs and in her Emoluments which send up a soul Stench to Heaven More might be said to prove the fraudulent hypocritical versatile Temper of J. T. and his Party but this is more than enough The last thing I shall take notice of is their mighty Declamations against Perscution the Reason of which is that they know themselves to be liable to all the Punishments appointed by those Laws which establish Christianity in the Nation but not that they are really against using Force in Matters of Religion which will be manifest if we consider the malicious and vindictive Temper which J. T. and the rest of his Party have discover'd against King William the Church of England and the Presbyterians for the Law enacted against the Socinian Heresie last Sessions Their Malice against the King has been sufficiently evidenc'd by their libelling his Administration in all their Pamphlets against Standing Armies and by J. T 's bringing the Argument in again by Head and Shoulders into Mr. Milton's Life p. 118. where from Mr. Milton's saying the Army meaning that left by Cromwell lately Renowned for the Civilest best Order'd and most Conscientious Army in the Universe did for no Cause at all subdue the Supreme Power that set them up if says he an Army deserving this Character was capable of enslaving their Country what may be expected from any other as most are of a worse disposition Their Malice against the Church of England I have just now prov'd and that this is the Cause of their Malice against the Presbyterians he fairly insinuates himself p. 79. Then let any reasonable Man judge whether a Party who have discover'd so much Malice and Rage against those that oppose them would not Persecute if they had Power to do it But I proceed to give a Proof of their Temper that way from matter of Fact as related by themselves in their Brief History Letter 4. p. 48. where we have an Account that the prevailing Party Persecuted their Brethren severely That those in Transilvania would admit none into the Ministry without obliging themselves before-hand by Subscription not to speak against Worshipping Jesus Christ They in Poland were more Rigid Depos'd and Excommunicated such as held Christ might not be Worship'd with Divine Worship which was so much the more extraordinary that the Persecutors did not think themselves oblig'd to call upon and worship Christ but only that they might lawfully do it And Socinus himself in his Premonition to what he wrote against Francis Davidis says It is a Sin to omit the Worshiping of Christ when we join with them in Worship who call upon his Name or when the Spirit moves us to do it and in their Answer to Milborn they own that the Question about the Invocation of Christ has very much divided them Nor can any Reason be given why they who are in a manner of the same Religion with the Mahometans as has been already prov'd should not according to Mahomet's Command in the 9th Chapter of the Alcoran Break Truce with their Enemies Kill them where-ever they meet them take them for Slaves detain them Prisoners and lay Ambushes for them And therefore it were but just that J. T. and such as he who are a dishonour to the Christian Name should be sent to their Brethren in Turky for there they will have no occasion to undermine their Religion seeing it is the same with their own but they may perhaps do them some kindness as to the Inspiring them with more Masculine Principles against Slavery for blessed be God we stand in need of no such Patriots for Liberty and Property in England there are Orthodox Christians enough in the Nation to defend that without the assistance of those who are for â—…cino 〈◊〉 Tho' J. 〈◊〉 sets up so â—…ously to be a Dictator here and may perhaps vie with Mahomet â—…or most ill Qualities he is not like to be imbraced as the Head of a Numerous Sect in Britain and Ireland therefore it were best for him to take a turn into the Ottoman Dominions and make a tryal of skill there the Turks have a long time look'd for Mahomet's Return and who knows but he may persuade them that he is the Man POSTSCRIPT I Thought to have concluded here but cannot omit taking notice that though the Socinians agree in tearing up the Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Religion they never could nor cannot yet agree among themselves in any one System or Confession of Doctrine Thus Valentinus
sorts must be the Preliminaries It 's very reasonable to think that it will be a long while ere a People zealous for the Christian Religion express'd in the Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England can think of coming to a Treaty with those who are for a Common-wealth It 's pleasant to find those who have so well and so justly baffled the Doctrine of the Jure Divino-ship of Kingly Government exclusive of all others fall into the same dotage themselves as to a Commonwealth And thus J. T brings in Mr. Milton p. 120 saying That Christ forbad his Disciples to admit of any such Heathenish Government as that of Kings from that Scripture The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and they that exercise Authority upon them are called Benefactors but you shall not do so This Text hath been often and properly urg'd against Lording it over the Faith of Christians and domineering over God's Heritage which the Apostles themselves disclaim 2 Cor. 1. 24. but there seems no reason with deference to Mr. Milton's Judgment to apply it against Kingly Government any more than against that by States for whereas Luke calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kings Matthew calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies any other Princes or Rulers Mark calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those who are accounted to Rule and great ones so that at this rate of arguing no sort of Magistrate must be allowed at all not so much as a Mayor in a Country Corporation who in respect of the Inferiour Burgers and Townsmen may well be accounted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then let J. T. see to it how he will be able to defend any Commonwealth that ever was or haâ—… now a Being in the World against this Anarchical Interpretation or how he can justifie any sort of Magistracy amongst Christians which alone shews the Principle to be absurd destructive of Human Society and Introducive of Confusion whereas God is a God of Order Besides it is ridiculous to call Kingly Government Heathenish when it was the Government of the Jews and approved of by God himself who gave a Law to direct their Kings in their Administration Deut. 17. v. 14. Our Saviour commanded Tribute to be paid to Gaesar and did not disown but plainly confess his Right to be King of the Jews himself tho' he declared that his Kingdom was not of this World And the Apostle 1 Pet. 2. 13 14. commands submission to every Ordinance of Man whether it be to the King as Supreme or unto Governours without any surmise or hint that when Nations became Christian they should reject Kingly Government On the contrary it is a plain and Authoritative Injunction to Christians to behave themselves peaceably under whatever Form of Government Providence should cast their Lot not to use their Liberty for a Cloak of Licentiousness but to Fear God and Honour the King than which there can be nothing that more directly condemns the Practice of J. T. and those of this Kidney who speak and write reproachfully of all Kings witness their Healths that the Thrones of Kings may be upon their own Heads and their Crowns under the Peoples Feet and their sly and malicious Inclinations in their Pamphlets about Standing Armies and others against His present Majesty's Person and Administration tho' the best King that ever England had It 's scarcely to be supposed That one of J. T 's changeable Temper is capable of good Advice but it were to be wish'd that those who think a Commonwealth the best Form of Government would consider that the time wherein Mr. Milton liv'd and ours is different the Constitution was then dissolv'd the King beheaded his Issue banish'd the Bishops and their Form of Church Government pull'd down so that the People had then a fair Opportunity to form themselves into a Commonwealth without any further Bloodshed or Trouble and therefore Mr. Milton and other Men might less scruple to do all that in them lay to erect that sort of Government here but the Case is now altered our Kingly Government is administred by the greatest Prince of the Universe the Champion and Restorer of our Religion and Laws both of which have their free Course every Man may sit under his own Figg-Tree secur'd in his Property the Bench is filled with upright and learned Judges â—…ost of the Episcopal Sees are adorn'd with Persons of Learning and Probity and Dissenters have their Liberty to worship God as their own Consciences direct So that to disturb such a Government as this by endeavouring to set up another Form must unavoidably throw us into an Intestine War which would quickly prove more fatal to us than the tedious War which we are just now come out of If the Commonwealth Party had been able to have effected any thing their Season was when the late King run away and before the present Government was establish'd by the Convention but to offer to disturb a Government settled upon so good a Foundation and with which the People are so well satisfied is certainly contrary to all Laws Humane and Divine Another Reason J. T. had to promote the publishing Mr. Milton's Life was his pleading for Liberty to Lutherans Calvinists Anabaptists Arians Socinians and Arminians And his disapproving the Terms of Trinity Trinunity Coessentially Tripersonality and the like as the Notions of Scholasticks who make a Mystery of that in their Sophistick Subtleties which is in Scripture a plain Doctrine P. 144 145. A little lower he brings him in commending the Authors and late Revivers of all these Sects or Opinions as Learned Worthy Zealous and Religious Men. This pleases J. T. so much that he is in a perfect Extasie and says He never met with any Person who spoke with so much disinterestedness and impartiality of our various Sects except Thomas Firmin Tho' at the same time Mr. Firmin as I am informed was so much dissatisfied with him that he refus'd to give him any Countenance But J. T. thinks this stroke of his Pen necessary to conciliate a Respect to himself and his Books among those to whom Mr. Firmin's great Charity rendred his Name Savory He is however so just as to quote Mr. Milton's Restriction too viz. That the best Method to prevent the increasing of Popery in this Nation is by the Toleration of all kinds of Protestants or any others whose Principles do not necessarily lead them to Sedition or Vice But what will J. T. say if it be proved that his Principles and those of his Party do necessarily lead them to Sedition and Vice I am afraid they will scarcely be able to evince the contrary from their Practices We have heard already what loose Principles as to the dissolving of Marriage J. T. has endeavour'd to propagate Nor do I see what good Morals we are to expect from such as deny the Godhead of Jesus Christ by which they make him a Lyar who