A92138:1247
The divine right of church-government and excommunication
The divine right of church-government and excommunication: or a peaceable dispute for the perfection of the holy scripture in point of ceremonies and church government; in which the removal of the Service-book is justified, the six books of Tho: Erastus against excommunication are briefly examined; with a vindication of that eminent divine Theod: Beza against the aspersions of Erastus, the arguments of Mr. William Pryn, Rich: Hooker, Dr. Morton, Dr. Jackson, Dr. John Forbes, and the doctors of Aberdeen; touching will-worship, ceremonies, imagery, idolatry, things indifferent, an ambulatory government; the due and just powers of the magistrate in matters of religion, and the arguments of Mr. Pryn, in so far as they side with Erastus, are modestly discussed. To which is added, a brief tractate of scandal ... / By Samuel Rutherfurd, Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Published by authority.The divine right of church-government and excommunication: or a peacable dispute for the perfection of the holy scripture in point of ceremonies and church government; in which the removal of the Service-book is justifi'd, the six books of Tho: Erastus against excommunication are briefly examin'd; with a vindication of that eminent divine Theod: Beza against the aspersions of Erastus, the arguments of Mr. William Pryn, Rich: Hooker, Dr. Morton, Dr. Jackson, Dr. John Forbes, and the doctors of Aberdeen; touching will-worship, ceremonies, imagery, idolatry, things indifferent, an ambulatory government; the due and just powers of the magistrate in matters of religion, and the arguments of Mr. Pryn, in so far as they side with Erastus, are modestly discussed. To which is added, a brief tractate of scandal ... / By Samuel Rutherfurd, Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Published by authority.
London: printed by John Field for Christopher Meredith, 1646
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Ans. In the following books, Erastus refuteth some Treatises of Authors without names, the books I cannot have, and if he do them right in repeating their mind faithfully, I know not; but I know in many things, and in this very argument Erastus fancied arguments on Beza, which he would reject as none of his. 1. Sacrificing seemeth to be a confirming ordinance, as eating the Passover, and the Communion of the Lords body and blood; and as there was some examination of the persons for whom sacrifices were offered required in the Priests, as I said before, from Mat. 8. 4. Levit. 14. 3, 4. 9, 10, 11, 12. So there is Moral cleanness required in all that are to partake of the Sacraments, that presupposeth conversion; and I grant the first and native consequence of these is, that it was the sin and hypocrisy of the persons themselves who sacrificed first and principally. But that it was not the sins of the Priests who admitted those that were no better then Sodom and Gomorrah Esa. 1. 10. and had hands full of blood, ver. 15. is now the question; I conceive that it is a taxing of the Priests and Church Rulers, that is, Esa. 1. 10. no less then of civill judges and the people, yea, that he rather taxeth the Priests called Rulers, v. 10. and that that is not as Socinians say, a new commandment of Christ, but an old, Mat. 5. 23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift unto the Altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee? What if the Priest should know that he had ⟨p. 449⟩killed an innocent man, and beside the guilt of innocent blood, that the sad hearted widow, and the weeping Orphans had any blood to charge him withal, was the Priest either to offer or sacrifice for him, while he were reconciled to the widow and fatherless? Christ addeth v. 24. Leave there thy gift before the Altar, and go thy way, first [Greek or Hebrew] be reconciled to thy Brother, and then come and offer thy gift: I offer it to the consideration of the Reader, if as the offerer of the gift was to leave his offering, knowing himself to be under blood, and to have offended his brother, he was to leave his offering at the Altar, so if the Priest who offered the same should also know that the same day he had offered his child to Molech or the Devil;