A57976:394
A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbytery in Scotland, or, A modest and…A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbyterie in Scotland, or, A modest and…
A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbytery in Scotland, or, A modest and brotherly dispute of the government of the Church of Scotland wherein our discipline is demonstrated to be the true apostolic way of divine truth, and the arguments on the contrary are friendly dissolved, the grounds of separation and the independency [sic] of particular congregations, in defence of ecclesiastical presbyteries, synods, and assemblies, are examined and tried / by Samuel Rutherfurd ...A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbyterie in Scotland, or, A modest and brotherly dispute of the government of the Church of Scotland wherein our discipline is demonstrated to be the true apostolick way of divine truth, and the arguments on the contrary are friendly dissolved, the grounds of separation and the indepencie [sic] of particular congregations, in defence of ecclesiasticall presbyteries, synods, and assemblies, are examined and tryed / by Samuell Rutherfurd ...
London: printed for John Bartlet, 1642London: printed for Iohn Bartlet, 1642
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.
9. Argument. 1If Church-worship, where wicked people worship with us, be defiled to us believers, then Peters preaching was defiled to the converts, Acts 2. because Ananias and Sapphira, Simon Magus did worship with them: Moses, Elijah, Joshua could not but be defiled by the presence of stiff-necked people, whose hearts were going after Baalim, and they sinned in taking part and consenting to a polluted covenant, Passover, feast of the Lord, Sermon or the like. It is not enough to say, if they knew the worshippers to b• such, they were not to communicate with them. I answer, then the worship public where wicked persons do communicate, doth not of it self contaminate and pollute the worship to others who are true believers, but only upon condition that believers know the wickedness, for 1. We desire a warrant of this from the Word of God, or the nature of the worship. 2. And if so be baptism administered by a private person, whom we take to be a faithful Pastor, should be lawful, I never thought our knowledge had ⟨p. 148⟩power to change worship from a pure and clean case, to make it impure and unclean, by this means light and darkness, Christ and Belial, the woman's seed and the Serpents seed may remain together, we may stay with the infectious botch of unclean worship, while we know it, and the Church rebuke and censure it, but it is too long, to lye in the fire, and be burnt to ashes, till we take notice of the secrets that are known to God, that is, whether the whole thousand professors that worship with us, be believers or unbelievers. 3. This answer helpeth not against our argument, for Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Apostles, knew most part that these with whom they did publicly communicate in public worship were stiff-necked, rebellious, idolatrous, superstitious, and yet they did not separate from the public worship, for their wickedness.
9. Argument. 1If Church-worship, where wicked people worship with us, be defiled to us beleevers, then Peters preaching was defiled to the converts, Acts 2