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soul_n	blood_n	sin_n	spirit_n	3,729	5	4.8546	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41439	A full survey of Sion and Babylon, and a clear vindication of the parish-churches and parochial-ministers of England ..., or, A Scripture disproof, and syllogistical conviction of M. Charles Nichols, of Kent ... delivered in three Sabbath-dayes sermons in the parish church of Deal in Kent, after a publick dispute in the same church with the said Mr. Charles Nichols, upon the 20. day of October 1653 / by Thomas Gage ...	Gage, Thomas, 1603?-1656.	1654 (1654)	Wing G111; ESTC R5895	105,515	104

Antichristian or Babylonish which I prove thus Those who by their life and Doctrine have witnessed against Antichrist could not be Antichristian But our Bishops since the Reformation have witnessed against Antichrist Ergo They were not Antichristian The Minor is clear in Cranmer Ridl●y Hooper Latimer Farrar Iewel Pilkington Sands Babington Abbot Davenant Hall Morton Usher and Dr. Brownrigge in his sound and Orthodox Divinity taught and professed publickly in Trinity Colledge in Cambridge against the unsound and corrupt Divinity taugh● and professed in Rome But thirdly I answer that they did indeed Ordain our Ministers not qua Lord Bishops but qua Presbyte●s and had other Presbyters to joyn with them so that our Ordination from them is valid and may in no wise be disclaimed more than tho●e Ministers who were ordained in the P●imitive Churches They were ordained in Cyperians time by Bishops and Presbyters The fourth Councel of Carthage ordered that no Bishops should ordain without the Counsel of his Clergie Antichrist was not then got in his fea● A Bishop if we consider him meerly as a Bishop was but a Minister and set apart to do the work of a Minister And so Ordina●ion from them was b●t as from Ministers who have Commission f●om Christ to ordain and therefore the Argument proves nothing against us to null our lawfull succ●ssion and Ordination Thus beloved having made a large progress through Mr. Nichols his three Erroneous Propositions having by Syllogist●cal Reasons and by Scriptures shewed unto you what is Babylonish and Antichristian and what not to wit that which is agreeable with the word of God with the express Command of Christ and with practise and example of the Apostles or that which crosseth the word the Command of Christ the practise and example of the Apostles have cleared our Churches and shewed unto you that as Parochial they are not Babylonish neither in their first Constitution Parishes having been constituted before Antichrist was discovered nor in the end of their Constitution that being for the better and more convenient feeding of many Souls by many Pastours nor in their mixture of good and bad together which mixture I have proved in all those Churches to whom Paul in his Epistles did write having shewed also unto you what practises against the word the express command of Christ the examples of the Apostles and according to the Iesuites examples are practized in Mr. Nichols his Congregation which he calls ●he House of God and finally having vindicated our Parochial Pastours and Parish Officiating-Ministers from Mr. Nichols his false aspersion and uncharitable censure of them branding them with the infamous Title of Babylonish I shall draw nearer to an end and conclude wi●h a use of Exhortation to some few duties 2. Vse of Exhortation I have beloved these three Lords dayes carried you about the bounds of Zion and Babylon I have shewed you at large what people what Churches are the Zion of God and what practises are Babylonish and how free our meetings and our Ministers are from such practises and in these three dayes surveying these bounds I have blown my Rams horns that the Walls of Babylon might fall as did the Walls of cursed Iericho formerly at the blowing of them I shall yet cause the sound of them to be heard all the Nation over committing what I have here spoken unto you to the Press that so whatsoever practises are Babylonish in the Land and Nation may be discovered Babylons strength and walls may be more ru●ned while Z●on sh●ll stand as a Rock unmoveable and Hell-Gates Councels and practises shall never I hope prevail against her I have found in my search and Survey of Zions Walls and Bulwarks that yet she stands amongst us Our Churches I have found by the light and truth of Scripture ●o be Gods spiritu●l Zion I have found their Antiquity as Parishes to be ●●om the fi●st P●imitive times and that it belongeth to the Decency and good Order of Z●on that in so stately great a House there be many Chambers and several distinct Tables where the Ordinances of God may be dispensed and the mul●itude of Souls belonging to Zion may be more conveniently fed I have found also out of Scripture that our Parish Officiating-Ministers are true Shepheards with the true properties of Shepheards and true Pastours Ordained by Christ his own Commission to feed the Souls in Zion having the lawfull power of the Keyes by Imposition of the hands of ●he Presbytery without which all Commission given by the people is subreptitious and false and against the Institution of Christ and consequently Babylonish and Antichristian And finally I have found Mr. Ni●h●ls his three Assertions against us to be false not enduring the Trial and Touchstone of the Holy Scriptures and nothing by him truely Objected to prove us Babylonish but that we are a mixt multitude with many cor●upt persons and sinners amongst us which he might as well have Objected against all the Churches mentioned in the several Epistles of Paul to prove Paul false in calling them Saints and Churches and against the Churches of Asia and yet not have unchurched them ●s upon this ground he hath not been able to unchurch us Yet because our sins onely are the great block and beam in his eye which hindreth his sight that he cannot see where a true Church is nor see that we are true Churches yea truer than his I beseech you let it be your care and indeavour for the time to come to give him no further offence by your sins but to live so religiously that this block and beam being removed from his eye he may see that we of Deal as well as those of other Parishes are a Church he may be won and recalled by your Godly walking and Conversation to come back to us and to send back again unto our Churches those whom he hath caused to separate from us Which that ye may perform the better give me leave to conclude this large discourse with an Exhortation to these duties following 1. Duty First Let us humble our selves for our sins which have been such Offences and Scandals to our Friends and Neighbours which have brought such destructions and divisions amongst us which have stirred up forraign Enemies against us which threaten us yet with greater miseries than those which hitherto we have suffered which make us as unclean as Lepers and cause others to loath us yea to separate from us Oh Let us read our sins in our miseries in our wars in our divisions which are amongst us We have nourished Malignant lusts Babylonish and Antichristian Brats within us which reb●l against the Spirit and fight against the Soul we have made sport and pass-time with those sins which shed the bloud of the Lord Jesus Oh Let those sins draw tears from us which drew bloud from Christ. We have grieved the holy Spirit and therefore well may the Spirit refuse to comfort us who have grieved him Well may

A full SURVEY OF SION and BABYLON And A clear Vindication of the Parish-Churches and Parochial-Ministers of England from the uncharitable Censure the infamous Title and the injurious Nick-name of Babylonish Or A Scripture Disproof and Syllogistical Conviction of M. Charles Nichols of Kent his Erroneous Assertions Justifying his Separated Congregation for the true House of God and branding all the Parochial Churches and the Parish Officiating Ministers in England with the infamous Title of Babylonish Delivered in three Sabbath-dayes Sermons in the Parish Church of Deal in Kent after a Publick Dispute in the same Church with the said Mr. Charles Nichols upon the 20. day of October 1653. By Thomas Gage Preacher of the Word to the Church within the Bounds and Limits of Deal in Kent 2 Tim 3. vers 9. They shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest to all men Gen. 49. vers 6. O my Soul Come not thou unto their secret unto their Assembly mine honour be not thou united Ex Augustino Con. Epist. Pelag. Lib. 1. Cap. 1. Cum non desinant fremere ad Dominici gregis caulas atque ad diripundas tanto pretio redemptas oves aditum undique rimari commune nobis est pestilentibus insidiantibus eorum scriptis medentia munientia scripta praetendere quibus rabies qua furunt aut etiam ipsa sanetur aut à loedendis aliis repellatur London Printed by W. Bentley and are to be sold by Ioshuah Kirton at the Kings Arms in St. Pauls Church yard 1654. To the Worshipfull his ever Honoured Friend Captain JOHN LIMBERY Esquire Iustice of the Peace for Middlesex and of the Admiralty for Oyer and Terminer SIR OF all things which the Lord hath made in this great World Man is the most noble for whose sake other Creatures were created to whose feet the things below are subjected Of all the Essentials which Man the little World doth consist of the Soul is the most excellent It is infused by God which notes out the Dignity of it It hath command of the body which notes out the Authority of it It is a work as one calleth it both great Divine and admirable Of all the powers in the Soul none is comparable to the Reason Of all the Branches in the Reasonable part none is equal to the Minde none excelleth the understanding Of all the vertues in the Minde Wisdom gives the greatest light Wisdom swayeth with chiefest might Oh the breadth that Wisdom spanneth Oh the length that Wisdom reacheth Oh the heigth that Wisdom climbeth Oh the depth that Wisdom gageth when once it comes into a Soul cleared by Gods Spirit in some good measure from those duskish Clouds of Ignorance and Errour with which before it was obscured Without this how can men discern of things that differ how can they see what is good and what is evil and so exercise the power of their reason in ensuing the one in eschewing the other When dangers are imminent and coming against us Wisdom foreseeth them forecasteth against them When troubles are incumbent and lying upon us it doth either remove them or preserve us in them In a word what Walls are to Cities what skins are to beasts scales to fishes feathers to birds and shells to some creeping and baser Creatures the same is wisdom to that naked born Creature Man even a Covering a defence Yea Wisdom saith the Preacher strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the Citie And they are truely endowed with wisdom who by the light of it do distinguish Gospel-truths from errours and keep their Souls pure and undefiled from the infection of false and time-poysoning Doctrines Wisdom truely is in them who by the light and guidance of it have found out and continue in the true Church of Christ the true Zion of God where salvation is truely placed where pardon of sin is onely obtained where Soul-feastings and Divine teachings are truely enjoyed where are protections on every dwelling place where are true Ministers cloathed with salvation where the Saints do shout aloud for joy where all afflictions are sanctified where all good news are to be heard and where God hath commanded the blessing and life for evermore And such a gift of wisdom Worthy Sir have I admired in you by which light in your far and forraign travails you have alwayes discerned good from evil Truth from Errour Religion from Superstition Zion from Rome and Babylon It is true in you that wisdom hath preserved you from many snares to folly If Riches be snares the Riches of the West-India's even those Treasures amongst the Spaniards never ensnared your conscience If honour entice who of our English Nation was ever more honoured by Spaniards in the West-India's than your self as the ●ime of your abode in Hispaniola and at the Court of Santo Domingo doth sufficiently witness If favour of Great men and Princes doth allure and often obscure the light of true wisdom who ever of our English Nation enjoyed such a favour from that Gre●t Don of Spain the Duke of Medina Sidonia as your self as also from the Duke of Nacara the Duke of Maqueda the King of Spains Chief favourite that great Conde Dugue Earle of Olivares and the Count of Castilia then President of the India's being trusted by the first to go and view the Silver and Golden Treasures of America a favour denied unto others and fully empowered by him to make choice of what Ports you pleased and there to lade your Ships with what Commodities might seem most advantagious unto your self If pleasures and vanities do tickle where do they abound more than in the India's and in that place especially where with so much honour from the best and Noblest in Santo Domingo you did sometime abide Yet in the midst of all these snares with wisdoms light you eyed Zion still you kept your self free from errours you were never defiled with Babylons superstitions Yea when troubles and evils were incumbent and lying upon you even the loss of ship and of Riches at your return into England wisdom preserved you in the midst of evils and as a true Member of Zion you found your losses and afflictions sanctified unto you Zion and Babylon Truth and Errour are the subject of these my weak indeavours which must be known by the light of wisdom With which light as you have hitherto discerned good from evil so I desire you may with the same take notice of Zion and of Zions true Ambassadours pointed out unto you in this my Treatise and eschew those Errours of Babylon and Antichristian fallacies which as Rocks and Sands under the waters are here discovered to be amongst us under a pretence of Christian and Gospel-Truths I must confess that when I called to minde that Proverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 know thy self I was not without some ●nwillingness drawn to a publick Dispute and afterwards to preach in publick upon this subject not being ignorant

as is the plague or spotted feaver that a Neighbour may warrantably separate from such a Neighbour though under that infection he have still the true substance and essence of a man Even so ●hough in Rome there be some true substantials of a Church yet they lye under such filthy such contagious corruptions such loathsome and abominable Idolatries that we are bound and sufficiently warranted from the word to separate from them in the sense of Du Plessis above quoted we d●part not from the Temple but from the Idolatry committed in the Temple nor from the Common-Wealth but from the tyranny which oppresseth the Common-Wealth nor from the Citty but from the pestilence which infecteth the Citty nor from the Communion and fellowship of the people but from the conspiracy of Antichrist and of his maintainers 3. Objest But thirdly Mr. Nichols may Object Why then may not I and my people separate from your Churches if we finde in them corruptions sufficient to warrant our separation Ans. To whom I answer that as every disease must not keep us from our Neighbours society but infectious ones such as the plague No more must every corruption in a peoples manners make us separate from a true Church Onely gross and general errours at least must warrant such a separation If Mr. Nichols can shew that infectious plague those botches of the Whore of Babylon upon ou● Churches that ab●minable Idolatry of worshiping of Saints and images and a Bread God that unbloudy yet dayly Sacrifice of Christs body and bloud upon the Al●ar against that Sacrifice once offered by Christ himself that base Doctrine o● Purgatory derogating from the full sa●●sf●ction of Christ for our Souls and making null and void the abundant me●i●s of his sufferings and Passions those filthy rotten rags of mans own Righteousness stripping the Soul of the white and pretious Robe and garment of Christ his Righteousnes All which with many more do warrant our separation from that Church If Mr. Nichols can shew the like or any of these infections amongst us well and warrantably may he keep himself and his from such a plague But where no such infections are but rather a new face of Reformation from what hath been found to be corruption formerly now to separate from our Churches Oh how unwarrantable will Mr. Ni●hols finde it if he search the inwards of his heart with the light and candle of the word of God Oh when God is coming towards a Church then to run from it when God is turning his face towards it ●hen to turn our backe upon it when God is building it up then to be ●ct●ve in pulling it down When a Ch●rch professeth willingness and readiness to be conformed to the Rule of the word then to separate from a Reforming Church This is a sad thing and surely if rightly apprehended must sit sadly upon the spirits of some Now when our Churches are coming up out of the wilderness now that they begin to boyl out their scum now that they begin to be more refined and reformed now to forsake them truly this is no small aggravation to this desertion For Mariners at sea to forsake their ship when she is ready to sinke though it may be an errour possibly an over-sight in them so to do yet it is pardonable But if the ship shall begin to rise and float again so as they see apparent hopes that with a little pumping she may be saved now to leave her much more to cut holes in her sides their owners will give there little thanks for it Some years since the Church of God amongst us seemed to be in a sinking condition then to leave her might be pardonable but now that through the mercy of God she begins to be somewhat floatsome and boyant so as a little industry paines in the pumping and purging may free her and save her now to desert her or which is worse to cut holes in her Surely surely never was separation from a Church so unwarrantable Can our separation from Rome so warrantable it being from a Church growing worse and worse more and more corrupt be a president to separate from a Church reforming growing better and better 4. Object But Mr. Nichols replies and Objects that we are mixed with many wicked and corrupt livers we exclude none from our communions therefore he and his people cannot sit down with us for what concord hath Christ with Belial Though otherwise the Doctrine be good and sound and much corruption have been purged out yet we cannot joyn with the wicked 1. Ans. This is not onely Mr. Nichols his Plea but now in this County begins to be a Plea of others who will by no meanes be thought to favour a separation even while they do separate from their Parishes some with their Ministers some from their Ministers for a purer Communion among themselves But to all such I answer first acknowledging that indeed it was never my practise or judgment freely without any discretion to admit to the Communion of the Lords supper any scandalous person or notoriously wicked liver in a Parish but have always judged it fit for a time to suspend such an one till some amendment be observed some reformation publickly seen in his life conversation But to deny the Seals to a whole Parish who are not so notoriously wicked or to a sinner in particular not pro phanely scandalous but one frailly sinfull shewing sign●● of conversion and thirsting after a nearer Communion with Christ I dare not nay I am loth to frown upon him over whom the Angels rejoyce Luke 15. vers 10. 2. Ans. But S●condly I answer them with what Morneus de Eccl●sia notes though I will forbear to term them as he doth Those who otherwise seem nev●r so godly that separate from true Churches like Novatus for a stricter course of Discipline like Donatus from some bad ones in the Church as they suposed like Andius from some lesser corruptions and abuses are Schismaticks This is the judgement of this learned man And I doubt not but those of judgement in learning and Antiquity who separate from us will acknowledge that Novatus and the Novatians Donatus and the Donatists Andius and his followers were anciently by the Churches justly condemned for Schismaticks I leave it then to the Novations of our times to judge what may be concluded against them who build upon th●se Schismaticks own grounds to separate from us some lesser corruptions and abuses for some bad ones in the Church or for some stricter course of Discipline Of such Augustine saith that under the colour of faith they break in sunder the bond of fellowship And Zanchie expressly calls such a schisme as one should say a cutting off 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that they cut in sunder the unity of the Church by this their departing And in the same place he absolutely affirms that neither difference in doctrine vices of the Mininisters lewd life of them that

altogether that they were hatched in the Nest of the secret Colledge of Jesuites from which time I have observed more Arguments against our Churches and Ministery more proficients in this Jesuitical Colledge more fire of division and Schisme more ha●red in the people against the true Clergie more tergiversation and backsliding from Order from Government from Discipline than ever before was known in England Nay I am perswaded it will be worse yet if that cunning that subtil Crew and Company of Ignatius Loyola be suffered to lurk in the houses of the forraign Ambassadours A liberty denied it is to our Ambassadours in Spain who indeed may have one Chaplain in their houses to Preach in private but are not suffe●ed to let in any of the Spanish Nation to their exercise nor to harbour any Spanish Priests that shall profess any Doctrine contrary to their Church which if our Ambassadours should do such Priests would soon be taken out and without any respect to our Ambassadour would be translated to their Inquisition dungeon Yet in England by twenties and fourties Priests and Jesuites enemies to our Church and Profession are harboured by Ambassadours by which policy our Religion is indangered divisions are fomented separation is incouraged Jesuites Arguments against us are vented and commonly pleaded and thus those who cry us down for Babylonish practise themselves what is Antichristian not knowing by what subtil Serpent they are let on against us nor who it is that laughs and Triumphs and cries Up Rome to the spoil while we mourn and sigh and grieve to see our divisions dayly more and more to increase And thus beloved having answered Mr. Nichols his second Proposition and having shewed that his Church is not the house of God it not being the Pillar and ground of Truth having also shewed unto you what untruths and Antichristian practises are in it having discovered unto you my judgement in part knowledge from what poysoned Jesuitical fountain those practises of his and many others against us do spring I shall now come to his third Proposition wherein he affi●ms Officiating Parish Ministers to be Babylonish And bec●use his grounds for this his errour were not in publick Dispute discovered I shall handle it more briefly and so conclude wi●h some use of Exhortation unto you My Method therefore in handling this point shall be this First by reasons and Arguments of Learned Divines and by some of my own clearly to shew unto you the contrary to what Mr. Nichols ignorantly and uncharitably affirmeth of us and secondly to answer some Objections which may seem to countenance Mr. Nichols his gross errour I thus therefore p●ove that our Parish Officiating Ministers in England are not as Mr. Nichols saith Babylonish Popish or Antichristian which in his sense must be all one 1. A●gument Those Ministers which are Diametrically opposite to Babylonish Priests and to the Shavelins of Antichrist cannot be Babylonish nor Antichristian But our Parish Officiating Ministers in England are Diametrically opposite to Babylonish Priests and to the Shavelins of Antichrist Ergo Our Parish Officiating Ministers in England are not Babylonish The Major need not much clearing Contraria contrariis repugnant all know that two contraries are repugnant one to the other and one cannot be the other fire cannot be water nor dry moist nor cold hot nor white black The Minor I prove thus First Babylonish Popish Priests are ordained to Sacrifice But our Ministers are sent to Preach and to Preach against Romes unbloudy Sacrifice and to pray Secondly They teach the Traditions of men But ours teach the perfect word of God Thirdly They mix the Sacraments and alter both their number and their nature But ours preserve them in their purity both for number and nature Fourtthly They are for Mass. But ours abhor the Mass as a filthy idol Fifthly They are the Popes s●orn Vassals But ours have witnessed with their bloud against him and his Sixthly Those pervert Souls and draw them from Christ. But ours convert Souls and bring them to Christ as Mr. Nichols and his Congregation can witness for let them but consider whether they did not receive the work of Conversion from sin unto God which they presume to be wrought in them first of all in these our publick Assemblies from which they now separate It was but lately the Confession of one old woman whom Mr. Nichols received into his Congregation that upon the preaching of one Mr. Gardiner a Parish Officiating Minister in Sandwich she had been converted Upon which Confession she was by Mr. Nichols his Congregation judged to be a true Convert and to have sufficient calling to separate from Mr. Gardiner his own wayes of maintaining publick Parish Assemblies who had been Gods Instrument for her calling and conversion to a holy religious course of life though much mistaken in her imbracing Mr. Nichols his separation You see beloved how clearly this first Argument sheweth unto you not onely that we are not Babylonish but that on the contrary we are Diametrically opposite to Babylonish Romish and Antichristian Priests But further against this Erroneous Assertion of Mr. Nichols I argue thus 2. Argument The Parish Officiating Ministers in England are either Christs or Antichrists But they are not Antichrists Ergo They are Christs and so cannot be truely called Babylonish or Antichristian The Major is clear For in the new Testament this distinction may comprehend all Ministers as of and under one of these two and those that be Christs Ministers are true Ministers and those that be Antichrists are the false Ministers The Minor or second Proposition is also as clear and evident as I sh●ll prove thus First because the Parish Officiating Ministers in England are against Antichrist in Doctrine and by Oath against his supremacy have renounced him and so do con●inue preaching against him Their Doctrine from Scripture is their calling from God to witness their departure from him their O●th the best outward trial of truth in man and their preaching an open publication to all men of their Faith against Antichrist what can be further required Secondly Because they do shew no obedience unto Antichrist Obedience is a mark of a servant Rom. 6. vers 16. 2 Pet. 2. vers 19. and Iohn 8. vers 34. Now they be not in bondage unto Antichrist whose Tyrannous Authority with his Laws as far as they be judged contrary to Gods Laws are by our Church abolished Thirdly It is apparent They be none of his because Antichrist himself disclaimeth them not onely as none of his but as no Ministers at all condemning them as Hereticks forbidding all that belong unto him to hear us and if he can get us into his Bearish paw he is by fire and faggot ready to devour us as l●mentable experience of his cruelty doth manifest If we were of him he would love us for the world doth love her own Iohn 15. vers 19. and the Devil is more politick than to be divided