A92138:184
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.
SECT. IV.
Any Positives not warranted by some special word of God1 shall be additions to the word of God: But these are expressly forbidden, Deut. 4. 2. Deut. 12. 32. Prov. 30. 6. Rev. 22. 18, 19. To this Formalists answer: 1. They have a general Commandment of God, though not a special. Ans. So have all the unwritten Traditions of Papists; hear the Church, she is Magistra fidei; so doth the Papist Horantius answer Calvin, That the spirit of God hath given a general and universal knowledge of mysteries of Faith and Ceremonies belonging to Religion, but many particulars are to be received by tradition from the Church: but of this hereafter. 2. Master Prynne answereth that is a wresting, These Texts (saith he) speak only of additions to books or doctrines of Canonical Scriptures then written, not of Church-Government or Ceremonies; yea, God himself ⟨p. 52⟩after the writing of Deuteronomy caused many Canonical books of the old and New Testament to be written: Many additions were made to the service of God in the Temple not mentioned by Moses. Another answer R. Hooker giveth, teaching with Papists, Bellarmine (as in another place after I cite) with Cajetane, Tannerus and others; That additions that corrupt the word are here forbidden, not additions that expound and perfect the word: True it is, concerning the word of God, whither it be by misconstruction of the sense, or by falsification of the words, wittingly to endeavour that any thing may seem Divine, which is not, or any thing not seem, which is, were plainly to abuse even to falsify divine evidence: To quote by-speeches in some Historical narration,