Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	place_n	scripture_n	word_n	9,705	5	4.5641	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51956	The Church of England and the continuation of the ceremonies thereof vindicated from the calumnies of several late pamphlets, more particularly that entitled, The vanity, mischief, and danger of continuing ceremonies in the worship of God, subscribed by		1690 (1690)	Wing M65; ESTC R4181	64,933	67

Lords Day hath met with many and great Enemies among the Ritualists Pag. 〈…〉 I know of no Men in the Church of England that are Enemies to the Lord's Day and if any such there are they never learn'd it from their Mother It sufficeth to my purpose that nothing is constituted or used in our Church to hinder or discountenance the most pious and religious observation of it but so far on the contrary that our publick Worship is appointed to be every where observed on it Neither am I or any other in her Communion I suppose against the most strict and Christian observation of the whole day which is reconcileable to the necessities and infirmities of this life provided always that it be not accounted nor used as a Jewish Sabbath nor observed by way of obedience to the fourth Commandment of the Decalogue The Scripture hath its share of contempt from Ceremonialists Pag 〈…〉 of the truth hereof the Impositions of Rome are a full proof What are the Impositions of the Church of Rome to us Who is bound to justifie all things in use in that Church Let our Author if he be at leisure and so please try his hand with them and see what Defence they will make As to us either let Men write to the purpose or not trouble themselves abuse the ignorant and harden the prejudic'd or tell us particularly which are those Impositions which are Terms of Communion and which are Scriptural and unscriptural or otherwise he and such like who make precarious suppositions and from thence deduce Inferences as much inconsequent must expect to hear that their pretended preciseness is childish and the wresting alledged places of Scripture from their genuine senses to their own purposes is no other than impertinency which is no reflection on the sacred Scripture but on those superstitious and scrupulous Persons who desiring to seem more holy than others raise doubts under pretences of Conscience and to appear more wise and understanding in the Scriptures as if they could see those things there which no Man could ever do before quote them tho improper to prove what they design 2. 〈…〉 4. Mischiefs in promoting an increase of all kind of wickedness What our Author says upon this Head is of a piece with the rest of his Pamphlet magisterial assertions without Proof or Reason precarious suppositions and idle beggings of the Question intermix'd with scurrilous reflections is stuff'd with bitter Railings 〈…〉 These are part of his words The most immoral Men if they did pretend zeal for Ceremonies and were furious against Dissenters did pass for good Christians and true Sons of the Church I might as well viz. with no less truth and reason say that amongst the Dissenters The most immoral Men if they did pretend zeal against Ceremonies and were furious against Conformists did pass for good Christians in their own phrase true Professors and the seriously Godly and in the Dialect arriv'd here the last year sound Protestants and with at least equal pretence subjoin his words 〈…〉 This false measure hath hardened abundance in their evil ways mightily cherish'd and increas'd Vice in the Land If he is not satisfied with this way of answering let him alter his way of writing when he can make good his words I shall easily do mine He adds Conformity to Ceremonies hath been a Cloak that hath covered the most filthy Abominations Had this been true Dissenters would never have been so numerous The changing one word putting Opposition for Conformity and reading it thus Opposition to Ceremonies hath been a Cloak that hath covered the most filthy Abominations will make the Sentence much truer and this Assertion of mine needs no other proof than the allowance of what he insinuates plainly enough in these words A Ceremonial War hath been once fatal to Clergy men 〈…〉 7. 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 2 to be true They assure us That the Rebellion against King Charles the First was raised to oppose Ceremonies and elswhere to the same purpose the words are plain and admit of no other interpretation I therefore challenge him to give the like instance or proof of Conformity to Ceremonies being a Cloak to cover the most filthy Abominations 〈…〉 which if he doth he shall carry his Cause 6. Hindring a world of Good It cannot be proved that Ceremonies in Worship ever did any good 〈◊〉 25. We in the Church of England as I have said have no Ceremonies in use or enjoined in our publick Worship unless kneeling at Prayers and standing at the Creed and Gospel he called Ceremonies and if they be they may do so much good as to testifie our inward humility and devotion in the one our resolution to stand by maintain and defend the other and our Communion with the Primitive and divers Modern Christian Churches in both and this if Men were not contentious though short might be a satisfactory account of two ancient and Catholick and even in themselves decent Postures What good more would our Author have of them They hinder Reformation Love and Communion of Churches 1. They hinder Reformation In the Reformation of the Church of England from the Novelties and corruptions in Doctrines and Practices tending to Idolatry Superstition and Schism from the Primitive and Catholick Church of Christ great care was taken to prevent the Papists still continuing in the Communion of the Church of Rome from accusing us of injustice and perverseness in abolishing any thing which was innocent and decent in it self made venerable by Antiquity and Catholick by the use of the Universal Church or merely because they used it which prudent and Christian moderation as it was designed to justifie our Reformation from the imputation of Schism or unnecessary separation and prevent the giving a scandal to them or throwing a stumbling-block before them which might hinder their coming over to our Communion So it was attended with so good success that it became more generally and universally received through this Kingdom than in those places where it was brought in by force and accompany'd with Tumults and Rebellions as in Scotland Switzerland the Low-Countries c. Insomuch that had not that politick King of Spain Philip II. prevail'd with the Pope by his Bull to prohibit the Roman Catholicks here in Queen Elizabeth's time to frequent our Churches it is with great probability conjectur'd that her happy Reign would so far have out liv'd Popery as that it would no more have been openly professed in this Kingdom And agreeably hereunto I remember a Clergy-man of my Acquaintance who liv'd some years in Ireland affirmed in my hearing that if Kneeling at the Sacrament the use of Godfathers and the Sign of the Cross at Baptism were abolished in Ireland it would breed such a prejudice in the Irish a People very tenacious of their first Principles against the Protestant Religion that they would very hardly be brought over to it and that one of the

Our future danger from the continuance of Ceremonies and that in respect of the account we must give to our Judge Our Author it seems would have the World believe that we have many or at least some very dangerous Ceremonies in the Church of England whereas except kneeling and standing are such as I have already observ'd and his tautologies have often forc'd me to repeat there are no Ceremonies enjoyned to be observed by the Congregation in our Publick Worship and all the Ceremonies the Clergy are appointed by our Church to use in all her Publick Offices joyntly taken if Ceremonies are taken in that sense in which they include not Baptism and the Holy Communion exceed not three and those three are so inoffensive in themselves and innocent in their signification that none of the Dissenters could ever yet prove them unlawful and our Author who hath shewn malice enough by his railing thought fit to pass over that Topick in silence retained for so good ends and purposes and tend so much and evidently to Devotion Decency Order and Uniformity the Piety and Wisdom of our Reformers in reserving them and only them out of such a Multitude deserve not only to be commended but admired neither is it to be supposed that those Holy Men most of which either dyed or suffered Banishment in the Cause would clog and burthen that Doctrin and Reformation with evil or unprofitable Ceremonies which they were forced to espouse with the utmost peril of their Lives and Fortunes How will you at that day lift up your Faces before your Master and your Judge when he shall demand of you what is become of those his Lambs 〈…〉 which you drove into the Wilderness by needless Impositions Instead of other answer to this Question I shall ask another How will you O ye dissenting and seducing Teachers at that day lift up your Faces before your Master and your Judge when he shall demand of you what is become of those his Lambs which you have enticed and enveigled away from their own proper Pastors and Folds into the Wilderness by your needless oppositions to things lawful and indifferent by your perverse separation from a decent Establish'd Order and by your scandalous Schism from my true Church and making mischievous divisions in it Rom● 17 ●● upon the specious pretence of Conscience when the true inward Motives were pride sensuality and interest and the effects have been prejudices censures malice railings seditions rebellions c To conclude notwithstanding all those dreadful denunciations of vengeance that our Author useth to affright our Clergy or the Members of our Church I doubt not but that it will be far more tolerable both for our Reformers who continued our present Rites and Ceremonies and the Clergy who since did and yet do use them in the Day of Judgment than for those who out of Pride and Interest oppose them upon their account make an unnecessary Separation from the Church or like our Author seditiously and schismatically libel the Government and Church to encrease the Enemies and endanger the Peace of both Some Considerations on the Author 1. HAD not our Author by an ambiguous if not fictious Subscription obtruded himself upon the World for a Clergy-man of the Church of England I should as well as others for ever as I did a long time have let his Pamphlet lye neglected upon the Booksellers Shop windows as being what the Title Page shews it a fardle of malice and railing prejudice and passion for such usually are the Pamphlets of our Adversaries and therefore fitter to be answered by silence and contempt than any other way If we take liberty to wave the Subscription and judg of the Author by his work he seems to be really though disguised a Jesuit or at least a Regular of some other Order in the Romish Church Commissioned as an Emissary and sent hither to disturb our Peace and this we may the more readily believe if we remember That the Church of Rome esteeming the Church of England because so like the Primitive both in Doctrine and Discipline and the only Church able to convince her of her corruptions and novelties her greatest and most invincible Enemy which since her Champions could neither by their Pens confute 〈…〉 nor by their Swords destroy they made it their business to weaken by divisions pursuant to which proposed Method long since in the beginning of Queen Elizabeths Reign they set patterns to the Dissenters to make long extemporary Prayers to decry set Forms rail against our Liturgy Ceremonies the pretended corruptions of our Church and Popery it self for which good service one Faithful Comyn 〈…〉 in particular was rewarded by the then Pope with 2000 Ducats On the same errand were many other Jesuits sent over into these Kingdoms in the Reign of King Charles I. which how well they succeeded is but too well known And our Author following the same labour it is but rational to suppose him set on work by the same Master carrying on the same design and expecting the same issue and hoping for the same or the like reward 2. Or since the Pamphlet contains weak or rather no Arguments but instead thereof strong calumnies its Style is Fanatick-cant intermixt with down-right scurrilous railing and is with no less impertinence than conceited confidence proposed to the Convocation we may suppose our Author to be some small retailer of the Geneva-Discipline and Government who having read a Systeme or two where that Model is laid down as Orthodox Divinity is therewith so captivated and possessed with it that all others must be censured condemn'd and abolish'd to make room for it and being fully persuaded of the truth of those notions he judges every thing lawful or unlawful as it suits or disagrees with them neither will the subscription though in unusual terms By P. M. a Minister of the Church of England make it much less probable for Presbyterians besides an envy to the Episcopal Order because it is superior to their own and Antimonarchical Principles may have learned of their elder Brethren the Jesuits the useful art of Equivocation by virtue whereof our Author if he believes his own words in pag. 36. Our Brethren meaning the Dissenting holders forth have according to the Act of Indulgence subscribed our Doctrine and thereby are incorporated into the Church of England perhaps may think it in some sense to be reconcilable to truth and to this conjecture the use of that affected word Minister which as in use formerly in the Jewish Synagogue 〈◊〉 20. signified him who kept the Book and prompted the Reader according to its derivation a Servant and in the Christian Church a Deacon or Alms Keeper adds a great probability 3. But if our Author be really such as he designs to be thought a Clergy-man in the Church of England though a Minister or Deacon in the lowest Station he hath degenerated yet lower and become guilty of the