A92138:1280
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.
But that they cast them out of the Synagogue, or cast Paul out of the Synagogue, where is it to be read? let Erastus teach us.
Erastus. It is hard to say, what it is to be cast out of the Synagogue,1 it was not Excommunication, it seemeth to be some note of infamy, Joh. 12. or a particular banishing them out of a town, and Jesus seemeth, Luk. 4. to be banished by the Nazarites, and it seemeth to be a denying of right of the City; so as the cast out of the Synagogue shall be no more esteemed for a true Jew, but as a proselyte; Proselytes dwelt amongst the Jews, and had right to those same holy things with them, yet were they distinguished from the Jews: so it seemeth to be that which is Ezra 10. to be separated from the Congregation of those that had been carried away captive. It agreeth with that Deuteronomy 23. where the Children of Edom were admitted •• enter into the Congregation2 of the Lord in their third generation. Its absurd to think• that God who is no accepter of Persons, will not have one cut off, a Bastard, an Ammonite, a Moabite received into his Kingdom: So the Lord refused not that they should be circumcised and admitted to the Sacraments; but he would not have them counted for true Jews; He would have Egyptians and Edomites received in their third generation: so their Father, Grand-father, and great Grandfather had been circumcised, otherwise to the thousand generation they were •ot received, and [Greek or Hebrew], and [Greek or Hebrew] to cast out, or to be cast out of the Synagogue are meeker words then to condemn, cast out, excommunicate; and though the Pharisees should debar