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Show ~ 48 Confiderat~onJ, toucbing the Edification, and Pacificati.o n _ _ __ ,I fl: n.· Comfort or Encouragement, as Occafi.on might n rUl.tiOn, , b d b d The minifier; For public/tReprehenjion, were to e e arre. • o-ther Addition, that I mean, is, T~a~ the fatne Exercife, .were ufed in the Vniverjitie.r, for young Dzvme.r, bef~r~ they ptefumed p each as well as in the CoHntrey, for Mmi.fter.r. For t~ey ~~v: .. in fome colledges,an Exercife, calle~ a Common Place; Whtch ~an 'in no Degree, be fo profitable, bemg . but t~e Speech, of on; Man, at one time. And if it be feared, that 1~ ~ay be Oc-caHt: on, t o whet Mens Speeches~ f. or Controverfies, Ift c IS eafily re-me d1. e d' J by 1r•0 me fl:rict Prohibition, th•a t Matteors· o{i . on. trovehr - lie tending, any way, to the viol:.ttmg, or •. qua:tmg, ~ e Pea:> ce o f the church be not handled or entred In io; Whtch :> . b G ,r; p e Prohibition in regard, there ts ever to e, a rave per_; on,. r - jid t r .,.todcratour cannot be frufrrate. Thefecond Confidera-· en· J, o hJve. ther it we' re not conven•i ent, h {h ld b . t ere o~. e a more tezxoanC t ts: > w f . ; fl. N . 1 that Probation , and Examination, o M1nt_r~r.r; arne y, the Rijhops, do not ordain alone, but b~ Adv1fe; ~nd then, that Ancient, Holy Orders of t?e C~u~ch might be revtve?.: By . .the which the "£,jbop did ordatn Mznifler.r,but at foH~efet t11nes,of the ear; ~hich were calle.d, f!2.!!tttuor Tempora; whtch,are,no~,cal{ ed Ember-week!;· It be10g thought fit, to accompany, fo Htgh an Art· w1· th general! F alting and Prayer, and Sermons, and all (;J z,on' 'J, ' • k . r f h ~ h Hol Exercift.r; And the Namef, h ew11e, o t o e :> t ~t we~e to 6e ordained, were publiilied-> fo~e daye~, befor~ ~heir Ordz..- t · . T 0 the end Exceptions m1ght be taken, tf J nft Cau fe na zon' The -;rh·trd Confideration is that if the Cafe of the . were. • , ' . . k f ll Church of England be, that wh~re ahCoVmp~tat1otCt Ishta · en~ o ta the p arochi an Chwrches, ( allowmg t e nton o ?c , as were oo [mall, and adjacent;) And agatn) a Computat1on, to be taken, of the pe1fons, who are worthy to be P a flour 1; And, u ~on the faid Account, if it fall out, that there. are many more Cht~rchn, t.hen p tJjlour 1 ; Then of .Neceffity, Recou.r~e muft be had, to on: of thefe Remedies; Etther, that Pluralrttef, muft be allowed, (f ecially, if you can by permutation, ma_ke the Benefices more · p t.ble ·) OrthattherebeAllowedPreachers, tohaveamore compa 1 • b p ;fh fi enerall Charge, to fupply, and ferve, y tu rn~ anJ'"'ef un ur-g · {h d . For that c; me Churches iliould be provided, of P a flours, n1 e • ' a· r h able to teach; and others wholy ~euitute:>_ ~~emetl, to m~:>to be a~ainfi the Commu~io~ ~f Saints., and_Chrifltanf; A~d agamfr the Prtl{]ice, of the Prrm1ttve Church. II Touching' . ' of the Church tJf England. -- Touching the Abufe, of Excon1munication ~ EXcommunication, is the greatefi Judgement~ upon Earth; Being that, which is ratified in HeavBn; And being, a.Precurfory, or Prelufory Judgement, of the great Judgement,of Chrifl, in the End ofthe~orld. And therefore, for this, to be ufed unreverently, and to be ma~e, an Ordinary Procejfe, to lackey up and down·, for Fee1, how can it be, without Derogation, to Gods Honour, and making, the power oft he Keyes) contemptif9Je? I know, ve.ry well the Defence thereof, which hath no great Force; That it iffu: eth forth, not for the Thing it felf, but for the Contumczcy. I do not deny, but this judgement is, (as I faid before,) of the Nature of Gods ]udgements, of the which, it is a Modell. For,as the Judge= m.ent o( God, take• h hold, upon the ledft fin:> of the Impenitent; And taketh no hold,ofthegreatift Sinofrhe Convert, or Penitent: So ExcommHnication, may, in cafe, ifiue, upon the fmallefi Offence ; And, in Cafe, not ilfue, upon the great eft : But is this · ContHmacy, fuch a Cont1tmacy, as Excommunication is now ufcd for? For the C ontumt~cy, mufi be fuch, as the Party, (as far, as the Eye and Wifdom:~ ofthechurch,can difcern,) fiandeth inState, ofRe~ probati011, and Damnation: As one, that for that time, feemeth given over, to Finall Impenite~tcy. Upon this obfervation;, I ground two Conftderations: The one, that this Cenfore:> be rertored; to the true Dignity, and Vje, thereof; which is, that it proceed not) but in Caufes, of great weight; And that it be decreed, not by any Deputy, or subjiitute, of the Bifhop ~ but by the Bifhop ~ in Per .. lfon; And not by him ~lone, but by the Bijhop AJ.fifled. The other Conjideration'Jis, That in liew,lher~o(there he gi veb, to the Ecclejiafticall Court,fome ordinary Procej]e, with fuch Force and Coercion,as appert:aineth; That fo the Di(gnity, offo high~ Sentence, biing:> retained:> and. the Neceffity,of Mea1A Procej{e iupplyed, the hurch,may be:>indeed:>refior~d,to theAncient Vjgour, and Splen our. To this purpofe:> joyn'd with fome other Holy:> arid Good, purpofes, was there a Bill, drawn in P arli.1ment) in the Three and Twentieth Year, of the Raign,ofthe ff2!!een decca· fed; (~hich was the Gravell: Pt,trliament, that I have known;.,' And the Bill, recommended, by the gravefi, CON1Zfillor of Fflate, in Parliament; Though afterwards, it was fra)'Cd, by the ff2!!eenes, fpeciall. Comm11.ndement, the Nature of thofe Things confidered. Kk -r'ouching ~49 |