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A87658 The pretended antidoe [sic] proved poyson: or, The true principles of the Christian & Protestant religion defended, and the four counterfit defenders thereof detected and discovered the names of which are James Allen, Joshua Moodey, Samuell Willard and Cotton Mather, who call themselves ministers of the Gospel in Boston, in their pretended answer to my book, called, The Presbyterian & independent visible churches in New-England, and else-where, brought to the test, &c. And G.K. cleared not to be guilty of any calumnies against these called teachers of New-England, &c. By George Keith. With an appendix by John Delavall, by way of animadversion on some passages in a discourse of Cotton Mathers before the General Court of Massachusetts, the 28th of the third moneth, 1690. Keith, George, 1639?-1716.; Delavall, John, d. 1693. 1690 (1690) Wing K192A; ESTC W42984 110,748 234

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of the Assembly is manifest from this th●t the far greatest part of them being Presbyterians and but few Independants in comparison of the ●ajor part the Presbyterian Church was then a National Church composed of the whole Body of the Nation both in England Scotland and Ireland as much as possible could be and the Presbyterian League and Covenant did not only take in all who were willing however many thousands of them were of a Scandalous Life but the Promoters of it forced them who were unwilling that either they must take the Covenant or suffer Banishment And it is manifest that the Presbyterian Church in England Scotland and Ireland was as National and consisting of as gross a mixture as the Episcopal or even as the Church of Rome it self as in respect of Scandalous Livers so that what Luther said of his followers in his day may be as much applyed to the Presbyterian Church whose Ministers did mostly compose that Assembly in the fore-cited Book called Mensalia cap. 22. ● 290 The manner of Life said Luther i● as Evil among us as among the Papists wherefore we strive not with them by reason of the manner of Life but for and about the Doctrine And it is manifest as the noon day that not only the far greatest part of the People composing the Presbyterian Church were of a dessolute and scandalous Life but too many of their Ministry and Elders which occasioned the breach betwixt the Independents and them that these called Independents thinking that the multitude of Presbyterian Professors were not duely qualified to be Church-Members as in respect of a strict life erected a new Model of Congregational Churches which are now again almost wholly degenerated if not altogether into a Presbyterian Laxeness and how can it be supposed that a National Church as such can have the multitude of its Professors to be free of a scandalous Life seeing no such instance can as yet be given for the Presbyterian National Church as well as the Episcopal and Church of Rome receiveth Men and Women to be Members of their Church either how soon born or by Infant Baptism and rarely if ever doth excommunicate any for their Vitious manner of living except in some extraordinary cases of Adultery Incest or Sodomy c. but if any dissent from them in Doctrine then nothing but dreadful Thunderings of Excommunication like the Popes Bulls against the primitive Protestants All which showeth that by Profession the Ass●mbly understood much rather a meer verbal thing than the Practise of a holy Life or so much as the outward appearance thereof And ye may be ashamed to cite 2 Tim. 3.5 for that requireth us To turn away from s ch as having a fo●m of Godliness d●ny the Power thereof and that is to be sure from all Hypocrites and such who have not real inward Piety and Holiness for who have not true piety deny the Power of Godliness And that either the Presbyterian or Independent Constitution of a Church require an uniform Practice of a Godly and Christian Life in all the necessary parts of it as of living Soberly Righteously and Godly and denying Ungodliness and worldly Lusts is no wise apparent from their Practise however it may be allowed that some external Practices in some things that Hypocrites may most easily perform yea and Scandalous Persons also may be and are required as particularly To present their Children to be sprinkled To break Bread twice or four times a year more or less c. together To come to Church as it is called once or twice a week To salute the Minister with a Ha●l-Rabbi and a low Cringe in the streets and putting off the Hat and most especially as a most necessary practice To pay every one his share of the Preists Wages These and the like v●ry ordinary and superficial Practices are the mo●t that I can find are required in your Church Members and what is there required of the Spirit of God or real inward Holiness in all this surely nothi●g by your own confession Nor ought ye to blame me for this Character of your Church Members seeing John Fox giveth me a President in his Book of Martyrs 1. volum Pag. 43. in the like cass where he d●fineth a Christian man after the Popes making by his practisi●g some outward things no wi●● in●●rring inward Holiness of Life and afte● concludeth with these expres● words Now look upon this Definition viz. that he hath given of a Member of the Popes Church and tell me good Reader what Faith or Spirit or what working of the holy Ghost in all this Doctrine is to be required Whereby it is most plain th●t John Fox a man of great Authority among Protestants agreeth with the People called Quakers against both Presbyterians and Independents in the true definition of a Member of the true Church visible viz. That every such Member should have the true Faith and Spirit and working of the holy Ghost which yet ye openly deny to qualifie them thereunto requi●ing only an outside Profession of words and at most some outward Practices that may be and are commonly practised by the greatest Hypocrites Pag. 132. Ye say I find fault with you for using an Hour-glass to know how the time spends and a Bell to gather your Ass●mblies together But for the use of an Hour-glass simply to know the measure of Time I did find no fault with you but that ye commonly measure the Time of your preaching by the Hour-glass which showeth that none of you preach by the Spirit of God which is not limitted to any stinted measure of Time and the primitive Christian Preachers had no such thing as either Hour-Glass or Dial to measure the time of their Preaching nor are we against the civil use of Bells Clocks or Dials but the superstitions use of Bells hanging in high Steeples like the high places used by Idolators of Old and which ye follow the Papists in to call your Assembly together and the sound of which many ignorant and carnal People are vainly delighted with Hospimian de orig Templ saith Bells were not used for certain in the first five Centuries at most of Christianity when yet their Parishes or Church-Precincts were of a greater extent than the most diffused among us P. 133. Ye call the inward Gospel spiritual Bell ringing in the hearts of the faithful which is the living Word sounding in the hearts a Fancy more fabulous than any thing in Aesop Whereby ye show how carnal dark and ignorant ye are for hereby ye deny the inward Call Voice and Sound of Christ the Son of God in the hearts of the faithful which by a figure I call the Gospel Bell whereof Aarons Bells that did hang at his Garments were a Type and it is common in Scripture that the name of the Type is given to the thing typified by it But that Psal 89.15 intends the Silver Trumpets in the time of the Law ye barely alledge without
Bread Rain and Dew only for the efficacy o● it and not for the extent and plenty of it but for this we have your bare authority contrary bo●h to Scripture and Experience of thousands who witness the Word of God plentifully to dwell in them like to the drops of Rain and Dew for plenty of the divine droppings and showerings of it as well as for efficacy Ye grant The Scriptures are both by Metaphor and Metonyme called the Words and Word of God and in so doing ye give away your cause unto the Quakers for we say the same although the great out-cry hath been against us that we do not allow the Scriptures to be properly without all figure of metaphor or metonyme the words and word of God And since ye thus agree with us I see not how ye can call us Apostates for gain-saying you in this particular Pag. 21. Ye say I confound the Metonymie officientis with a Metonyme signi but I say ye prevaricate for I neither mention the one nor the other but the examples brought by me signifie both these kinds of Metonyme without confusion for Moses books are called Moses by the Metonyme Efficientis and Isaiah his book is called his vision by the Metonyme Signi CAP. II. I Shall briefly take notice of your Perversions and Omissions in this Chapter and so proceed to the end for it is but wasting time and paper both which are to be better bestowed than to follow you at large Ye disown the word Inspiration as given in our dayes Pag. 22. wherein as ye are singular so ye are inferior to the Church of England who for all your pretence to spirituality of Worship and Praying by the spirit yet are short of them for they in divers places of the Common Prayer pray for Inspiration and the Scots Confession of Faith in John Knox's dayes says expresly That Faith is the Inspiration of the holy Ghost And therefore your Ignorance and Prejudice doth here plainly appear and instead of defending the Protestant Religion ye but betray it and ●onounce it for sober Protestants both Epis●opal and Presbyterian do own Inspiration which ye plainly deny Pag. 23. The Scriptures that both ●he Assembly and ye cite That divine In●pirations and Revelations are ceased to wit of Antient Doctrine for we plead for no New Doctrines are wholly from your purpose as 2 Tim. 3.6 17. Heb. 1.1 2. Prov. 2.19 or any others for notwithstanding all these Scriptures divine Inspirations and new internal divine Revelations continued in the Church after all this in and with the Apostles But ye grosly pre●●ricate by your unfair way of answering That there was no New Revelation of any New Doctrine or New Doctrinal Truth And thus ye think to elude my Arguments before the Eyes of ignorant Readers But this mean Art of yours will not do for ye fight against your own Shadow and not against our Doctrine for we assent no New Revelation of any New Doctrine but of the Antient Doctrine abundantly delivered to the Prophets and Apostles but as their Faith could not save us so nor could their inward Inspiration and Revelation Pag. 27. Ye blame me for pleading for extraordinary Revelations such as the Apostles had which is a gross Perversion and plain Contradictory to my words for I told you that the distinction of Ordinary and Extraordinary Revelation may in a true fence well be admitted and the Prophets and Apostles had both ordinary and extraordinary we plead for the ordinary Revelations they had common to them with other Saints but not for the extraordinary they had whereas your Confession denyeth all sort of Revelation Again ye blame me for confounding Inspiration Revelation and Illumination but I say they are one and the same thing and it is great Non-sence to seperate or divide them and all the differences betwixt them that ye alledge are meerly begged and affirmed but not in the not least proved Ye should remember ye are not now in the pulpits where people take things on trust for your bare Authority but that your Book is gone abroad ye should bring better Proofs than bare Assertions 1st Ye say Ill●mination is common to all Believers Inspiration is peculiar to some But this last is denyed not only by us but by the Church of England and the Scots Confession of Faith in John Knox's days and by the general sence of antient Writers especially Augustine who frequently mentioneth Inspiration in his Works 2dly Ye say Illumination ordinarily accompanies the diligent use of the means Inspirations ye say usually come upon men without using any means for them But this second distinction is also meerly begged Illuminations and Inspirations come ●t times with the outward means and at times without them and yet not without all means very frequently even outward for both the Prophets and Apostles used means to prepare them to receive divine Inspirations and Revelations and in the use of means received them frequently for Acts 10. while Peter went up upon the house top to pray about the sixth hour he had a divine Revelation and when Peter preached to Cornelius and others the holy Ghost fell upon them and as they ministred to the Lord and fasted to wit certain Prophets and Teachers Acts 13.2 the holy Ghost said Seperate me Paul and Barnabas c. It is great ignorance and want of Experience in divine Mysteries to think that divine Inspirations and Revelations are without all means or tend to make either outward or inward means void and useless for commonly and generally all ordinary divine Revelations come in the use of some means or another as hearing reading prayer meditation watching and silent inward waiting all which are means and most especially and alwayes in the exercise of true Obedience unto God Your 3d Distinction is to as little purpose viz. That Illumination becomes habitual but Inspiration is transient for if by Habitual ye understand permanent and abiding Illuminations and Inspirations may be and are permanent of some sorts and of other sorts transient or passing Your 4th Distinction is also vain and idle as that illumination encreaseth grad●ally but not so Inspiration for they may and do increase or decrease according to the various kinds of them and he who is faithful to God may expect his Inspirations daily to be increased continued with him Lastly Ye say Illumination is alwayes understood whenas Inspirations sometimes are not understood but no more is Illumination alwayes und●rstood yea how many have a divine Illumination and yet understand it not and ye your selves deny that Illumination hath a Self-evidence so th●n it would be objective Revelation and fit to be the Rule of Faith and Life which ye deny saying the Scripture is the ONLY Rule Pag. 28. The Saint Experience of inwa●d enjoyments of God and Ch●ist beyond all words warranted from 1 Cor. 2.9 10. Ye call a Rapsody in commendation o● our silent Meetings but this is a poor evasion and answet
may suffice unto us to beleive what the holy scriptures testifie that because Acts 17 Faith is offered ●nto all men or that God hath given assurance to all men that God hath raised the man Jesus from the dead therefore all shall be accountable to him and be judged by him and whoever shall perish their Destruction shall be for not believing in Jesus Christ who hath been preached unto them pag. 92. Ye say That Moral Honesty is a Meritorious Cause either of Salvation or of any further Discover●e● of saving Grace to men 〈◊〉 a Jesuitical Principle And this ye would fix upon me or us but all in vain we hold no such Principle although if we did hold it your Refutation is poor It s held by the Jesuits therefore it is false Ye might argue as strongly it is held by the Jesuits that there is a God therefore c. Every thing held by the Jesuits is not false but some true and some false However as we do not say that Moral Honesty is a Meritorious Ca●se c. so we have another understandi●g of Mo●al Honesty than either Jesuits or ye for both ye the Jesuits by Moral Honesty understand only some outward acts of ju●tice Temperance performed by the Authority and Powers eitheer of some outward rules of Honesty or by the meer natural and carnal and corrupt dictates of mens natural understanding But we understand it qui●e otherwise viz. that all true Honesty is performed by the Power Authority and Efficacy of a divine Principle even the Word of Faith divinely inspiring the hearts of Mankind universally with a general Revelation and Discovery of the Mind of God relating to general Piety towards God as a Creator and to beleive in him fear love and obey him as such and to exercise other Acts of Temperance Justice Meekness and as this part of general Religion is sincerely performed though with some weakness God is pleased not by way of merit but for his great love and mercy and for his dear son Jesus Christs sake to fo●low that first more general Revelation and Discovery of his wi●l with a more special Revelation and discovery of it in the peculiar Doctrines 〈…〉 first part of Rel●gion towards God as Creator ● where Christ as come in the flesh and crucified c. is not distinctly revealed is called by some not so unfitly pe●haps De●sm or Th●●s● ● e. a Religious Worship and Service to God as Creator as good holy just wise c. and such was the Religion of Cor●eli●s before Christ was preached to him by Peter and such was the Religion of Abimelech and others mentioned in Scripture but the second more exellent part is Christianism or the Christian Religion where Christ come in the flesh and God in Christ so come in the ●●esh is known believed in worshipped loved and obe●ed The first is introductory and preparatory to the second the fi●st may be called the Law which as a School-master leadeth unto Christ both Jewes and Gentiles But such is the infinite goodness of God and so Large is the purchase of Christs Death that not only to such who have been honest and sincere in the fi●st Dispensation but to the most unworthy in all the world one time or another within th● day of Visitation the Gospel is preached unto them and the Gospel Grace discovering in some measure Jesus Christ c. is extended unto them else how is the Gospel preached to every Creature and how is Christs Command to be fulfilled that he hath given 〈…〉 Successors in all Ages and how is the Prophecy of Christ fulfi●led that so it shall be before the end and how shall God be just to take Vengean●e on a●l the Wicked for not obeying ●he Gospel for let all the Scriptu●e be searched and it shall not be found that the Second Death or casting into the Lake of Fi●e is appointed to any but who fina●ly reject Christ and disobey the glorious Gospel and b●aspheme again●t the holy Ghost which is the only impardonable Sin that is neither to be fo●given in this World nor in that to come and therefore the Writer to the Hebrews distinguisheth betwixt the Punishment due for the breach of Moses Law and that due for Vnbelief and Contempt of the Gospel and not hearkning to Christ the greatest Prophet of all but this to you will be a great mystery Pag 93. Ye wrongfully charge me for pleading for New Revelation o● things not contained in S●ripture If by things ye mean Doctrines and Principles of Faith and general Precepts of Christian Religion I have oft told you the Revelation is New but not of any New Doctrine c. Yet since both some Infants and Adult Deaf and Dumb Pe●sons belong to Gods Election as ye confess God doth reveal some things without the outwa●d testimony of Scripture by your own confession and therefore all divine Revelation is not ceased nor is all committed to writing as if that were the only and alone means and instrument which ye confess reacheth not to Infants and Adult Deaf and Dumb Persons Pag. 94. Ye say I forget all Laws of Disputation when I bid you disprove it viz that all honest Gentiles some time or other had not faith in Christ crucified for Affirmantis est probare Answ Ye rather forget the Lawes of dispute and mind not rightly to distinguish betwixt a Negative relating to a Doctrine or Principle and a Negative relating to a matter of Fact the Negative relating to a matter of Fact oft times cannot be proved and yet s●metimes it can but the Negative relating to Doctrine both can and ought to be proved by him who strongly asserts it as Paul doth excellently prove That by the Works of the Law no flesh is justified but by Faith in Christ Jesus And Protestants commonly prove against the Papists that the Bread of the Eucharist is not Transubstantiated into Christs Body Therefore seeing ●e assert a Negative so confidently That the honest Gentiles who lived in remote places where C●rist was not preached outwardly be one they dyed had no knowledge nor faith o Christ crucifi●d ye ought to prove it But ex abundanti I had pro●ed the Affirmative to wit That all honest Gentiles who were faithful in their Gentile state were in a state of Salvation begun b●t not per●ected and therefore they could not perish and consequently they behoved to have the Faith of Christ some time before the end in order to their Perfection Pag. 94. Ye are miserably beset and put to it to answer to the two i●stances I g●ve you the one of Nathaniel the other of Cornelius both which had so g●eat a Testimony of God that they could not be in a state of Damnation but were in a state of Salvation at least begun tho' not perfected and ye grosly abuse me to say as if I did affirm they were Vnbelievers for they had faith in God tho' not in Christ come in the flesh as I
proof and that ye say Antient and Modern Interpreters agree therein y● show your rashness for ye name no antient Writer that saith so And Theodoretus a very antient Writer expoundeth that place Psal 89.15 in his Commentary on the Psalms of the J●bilation or joyful Sound in the Gentiles in Gospel-dayes who should believe in Christ and it is evident that the Psalm is a Prophecy of Christ and of the great blessings that should come to all Nations both Jews and Gentiles by him as both Theodoretus and other antient and modern Writers understand it as is clear from vers 25 26 27 28 29 c. that is not applicable to David but to Christ whereof David was a Type And that ye say The Quakers give notice of their Meetings we grant but yet we use neither Bell nor Drum to give such notice and find no need nor occasion for any such superstitious Custom Pag. 135. Ye query May ye not succeed the Apostles in their Ministry though not in their Apostleship I Answer Nay seeing ye deny that which qualifieth all true Ministers of Christ which is the Spirit and Power of Christ inwardly revealed and that ye require nothing of real inward Godliness necessary to constitute a Minister of Christ ye have no President for your Ministry that ye plead for without true piety from the true Apostles but from Judas the Apostate that betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and in so doing fell from his Ministry yea ye are not ashamed to mention him and the Pharisees for your Presidents and Patrons to which I have formerly replyed And though the Apostles ordained Elders and Over-seers over gathered Churches yet it was by the direction of the holy Ghost and this ye deny that your Ordination was such Nor was it proper and peculiar only to the Apostles to travel through the Nations to preach the Gospel but was common to other Pastors and Teachers as to the Apostles as is clear from the Acts of the Apostles and from Christs Commission And every true Minister of Christ is to know his place and calling by the Spirit of the Lord how long he is to stay among a People whether all his Life time or for some season But if ye were indeed called of God to sit down all your dayes in one pl●ce how cometh it to be so usual among you to remove from one place to another and most commonly to some new place where ye can have a greater Benefice or some better outward Accomodation Pag. 136. Ye say I reflect a Scandal upon you in respect of the endeavours for the Conversion of the Indians for this ye refer to the printed Accounts But ye should have mentioned in particular what these printed acounts say that they might be examined whether true or false for we know many printed Accounts are false and it is most manifest that great Sums of Money have been sent out of Old England to encourage that work of preaching to the Indians and it is as manifest that much of that Money hath been ill bestowed and improved as the Country of New-England knoweth well enough and these called Christian Indians your pretended Converts are known generally to be worse than the poor Heathens CAP. X. PAg. 136. Ye say so little in defence of that ye call your Two Sacraments confessing withal That the Scripture saith nothing of the word Sacrament that I shall not spend Paper nor Time to answer all your Impertinencies considering that I have said enough that may suffice to answer you in my former Reply to Pardon Tillinghast for if Water-Baptism be no Gospel Precept then surely sprinkling Infants is none only I shall consider some of the grossest of them Pag. 137. As for sprinkling ye say ye plead not for it but for pouring Water not on the fore-head only but on the face This seemeth a learned distinction that may pass current among ignorant People what difference betwixt sprinkling and pouring seeing all the Water ye pour is neither gallon nor pint but so much as ye can hold in the hollow of your hand which cannot well wet the whole face and therefore is more sprinkling but still ye are to seek for a proof that either sprinkling or pouring Water on a childs fac● was ever commanded by Christ or practised by any of the Apostles or Ministers of Christ record●d in Scripture Ye say Origine and Cyprian tell us that the Apostles gave order for the baptizing of Infants withal citing Augustin but this is no Scripture-proof and Authority of antient Writers without Scripture ought to be of no weight among true Protestants The Church of Rome doth so argue for her unscriptural Traditions and is more ingenuous than ye that she doth confess There is no A●t●ority for Infant Baptism but only the Tradition of the Church and if ye have no better Authority than Tradition your cause is desperate and your Refuge to the Tradition of antient Writers proveth you more Popish than Protestant And as for Origine Cyprian and Augustine they lived long after the first Century and ye can give no evidence in Church History that Infant Baptism was practised until Cyprians time past two hundred years from Christs Resurrection and whereas while the practice of Water-Baptism continued in the Church it was required that before Baptism the Persons that were to be baptized should confess to the Truth and also that they did confess their sins and declare their Repentance and Faith which Infants could not do and therefore were incapable of Water-Baptism to supply which defect in after Ages the invention of God-fathers that should confess and vow for them was set up that hath no shadow of ground in Scripture Pag. 139. Ye say I fraudule●tly omit that clause citing Luke 18.15 16. For of such i● the Kingdom of God Answ I do not fraudulently omit it but saw no necessity to repeat it as having not the least seeming strength in it for Water-Baptism to Infants for granting that those Infants or such belonged to the Kingdom of God it doth not therefore follow that they were baptized with Water ye must show either Precept or Practice but ye do neither and that ye say It is above the capacity of Children to receive the Lords Supper so call'd ye give no instance wherein that is more above their capacity than to receive Infant Baptism by sprinkling or pouring seeing both ye say are signs of spiritual Mysteries and in Augustines time that call'd the Supper was given to Children or Infants if they be uncapable of understanding the thing signified by the one so are they of understanding the thing signified by the other Ye falsly alledge That Contra-distinguished signifieth two Contraryes the one to the other but I did not un●e●stand any c●ntrariety betwixt John's Baptism and Christ'● but only a diversity nor doth the word contra-distinguished import any other contrariety but as the Type hath to the Anti-type i. e. counter-type Pag. 140 141. Ye contend that Mat.