A02990:268
A friendly trial of the grounds tending to separation in a plain and modest…A friendly triall of the grounds tending to separation in a plain and modest…
A friendly trial of the grounds tending to separation in a plain and modest dispute touching the lawfulness of a stinted liturgy and set form of prayer, Communion in mixed assemblies, and the primitive subject and first receptacle of the power of the Keys: tending to satisfy the doubtful, recall the wandering, and to strengthen the weak: by John Ball.A friendly triall of the grounds tending to separation in a plain and modest dispute touching the lawfulnesse of a stinted liturgie and set form of prayer, Communion in mixed assemblies, and the primitive subject and first receptacle of the power of the Keyes: tending to satisfie the doubtfull, recall the wandering, and to strengthen the weak: by John Ball.
Cambridge: printed by Roger Daniel printer to the University of Cambridge for Edward Brewster, 1640Cambridge: printed by Roger Daniel printer to the Universitie of Cambridge for Edward Brewster, 1640
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
and of their confident arguing, That if it were the will of God that persons notoriously wicked should be admitted into the church, then should he directly cross himself and his own ends, and should receive into the visible covenant of grace such as were out of the visible state of grace, and should plant such in his church for the glory of his name as served for none other use then to cause his name to be blasphemed? That all true churches, from the beginning to the end of the world, are one in nature and essential constitution, and the first the rule of the rest: and if it was not lawful for the godly to contract with the wicked in the civil covenant of marriage, how much more in the religious covenant of the church? That God gave unto Abraham and to his family the covenant of circumcision, which the ⟨p. 210⟩Apostle calleth the seal of the righteousness of faith. And to affirm that the Lord would seal up with the visible seal of the righteousness of faith any visible unrighteous and faithless person, were a bold challenge of the most High for the profanation of his own ordinances? These and many the like are broken to pieces by this observation, That the whole nation of the Jews, sinful, laden with iniquity, corruptours, revolters in course of life, were Gods separated people by covenant, and might lay claim unto and could not be debarred from the visible seals of the righteousness of faith, though in themselves faithless and unrighteous. And if it was no pollution to the Jews, to suffer notorious wicked ones amongst them, so they discharged such other duties as were enjoined them by the Lord, because they had not power to cast them out; it is no pollution for private and particular Christians, who have not the power of excommunication in their hand given unto them by Christ, to suffer such as be ignorant and scandalous to communicate in the ordinances of grace with them, if they perform all other duties which God requireth at their hands. Moreover, if the Jews had not power to cast out a wicked person, they had power to cut off the presumptuous; and the neglect of the one is as inexcusable as of the other:
and of their confident arguing, That if it were the will of God that persons notoriously wicked should be admitted into the church, then should he directly crosse himself and his own ends, and should receive into the visible covenant of grace such as were out of the visible state of grace, and should plant such in his church for the glory of his name as served for none other use then to cause his name to be blasphemed? That all true churches, from the beginning to the end of the world, are one in nature and essentiall constitution, and the first the rule of the rest: and if it was not lawfull for the godly to contract with the wicked in the civil covenant of marriage, how much more in the religious covenant of the church? That God gave unto Abraham and to his family the covenant of circumcision, which the