A92138:878
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. This is a mere conjecture as Erastus granteth most he1 saith against the place is; for he saith, Aliam conjecturam etiam addidi, such a violent remedy of repentance, as is the cutting off of a member from Christs body, being the most dreadful sentence of the King of the Church, nearest to the last sentence, was to Paul, and ought to be a matter of sorrow to all the Servants of God, as the foretelling of sad Judgements, moved Christ to tears, Matth. 23. 37▪ Luke 19. 41, 42. And moved Jeremiah to sorrow, cap. 9. 1. And yet Christ was glad at the home-coming of sinners, Luke 15. 6, 7, &c. These two are not contrary as Erastus dreameth, but subordinate; to wit, (That Christ should inflict the extremest vengeance of Excommunication, which also being blessed of God, is a saving, though a violent remedy of repentance,) and (To rejoice at the blessed fruit of Excommunication, which is the mans repentance:) And the Apostle 2 Cor. 7. professeth his sorrow, That he made them sad, ver. 8. and also rejoiceth at their gracious disposition who were made sorry: He is far from excusing himself, as if he had done any thing in weakness; this were enough, and it is an Argument of our Protestant Divines, to prove that the Books of the Maccabees, are not Dited by the Holy Ghost, as Canonic Scripture is; because the Author 2 Macab. 15. 38. excuseth himself in that History, as if he might have erred, which no Pen-man of holy Scripture can do: And Erastus layeth the like blame on Paul, as if he had repented that he made them sorry, by chiding them, for not praying for a miraculous killing of a Brother: This is enough to make the Epistles of Paul to be suspected as not Canonic Scripture; yea, Paul saith the ⟨p. 324⟩contrary, 2 Cor. 7. 9. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance, for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing, and