Ignorance ought to be the Mother of Devotion with none but those that cannot be devout upon better terms it is the glory of a man that he is Religious upon Reason and that his Duty and Sacrifice are not blind or forc'd but free and reasonable Truth upon Knowledge though vext with Schism wise and good men will chuse before Ignorant Religion with Uniformity Enough of this But this Notion of an Infallible Visible Judge is as false in Reason as in Fact For first it takes away the Use of every Man's Reason and it is a Contradiction to have any unless he were such an Interpreter and such a Judge as would conclude us by Conviction and not by Authority that would be the most Wellcome person in the World But to over-rule my own Sight to give the Lye to my own Understanding say Black is White and that Two and Three make Ten thus Subjugare intellectum in Obsequium fidei to yield my Understanding to such an In-evident Way of Faith nay which is worse to believe a Lye for so it is to them to whom the thing to be believed appears Untrue is most-Unreasonable If we must be Led it had been easier and better for us to have been born Blind we might have follow'd then the Dog and the Bell for we could not mend our selves but to see and to be Led and that in ways we see to be foul or wrong this is Anxious Here lies the Dispute and truly here the Question might fairly end Either put out our Eyes or let us use them but if we have Eyes for our Minds as well as for our Bodies I see no Reason why we should trust any man or men against the Eyes of our Understanding any more than we ought to confide in them against the Sense and Certainty of the Eyes of our Bodies Where is the poorest Mechanick that would be paid his Labour in Brass half Crowns for Silver by either Pope or Bishop and can we be so bruitish as to think our Nobler part void of Distinction about that Treasure which is of eternal Moment For though Peter was to feed the Sheep yet the Sheep were not to follow Peter but Christ My Sheep hear my Voice and follow me and a Stranger they will not follow Here is no Mediator betwixt Christ and his Sheep nor does any body else hear his Voice for them but they hear his Voice themselves And though the Shepherd may have many Servants yet he only is their Shepherd and they are only the Sheep of his Fold But there are three places of Scripture that come fresh into my Remembrance that are very pertinent to the present Occasion The first is this That which may be known of God is Manifest in Men for God hath shewed it unto them That is The Spirit of man being the Candle of the Lord God hath enlightned it to manifest unto Man what is necessary for him to know both of God and himself Here is no need of Wax-Candles or Tapers or a Visible Guide and Judge for â—e that believes has the Witness in himself Another Passage is this Be ye Followers of me even as I am also of Christ In which the Apostle is so far from setting himself up a Judge over the Church of Corinth that he makes his appeal to them concerning his Doctrine and Conversation bounding both with that of his Lord Jesus Christ and making them Judges of the Truth of his Conformity to that Example Be ye Followers of me How after what manner What! Absolutely without Examination must we believe thee without any Tryal and take what thou sayest for granted without any more to do no such thing Be ye Followers of me even as I also am of CHRIST I submit my self to be judg'd by you according to that Rule and all Men and Churches are to be thus measur'd that lay Claim to the Name of Christian The Third Passage is in his Second Epistle to the same Church of Corinth 't is this Therefore seeing we have this Ministry as we have received Mercy we faint not but have renounced the hidden things of Dishonesty not walking in Craftinesses nor handling the Word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the Truth commending our selves to every man's Conscience in the sight of God Here is the Utmost Imposition the Apostle makes use of he requires not Men to receive him without Evidence and refers himself to that of their own Consciences in the Sight of God This was the Way of making Christians then and this is the Way of making and keeping Christians now Conscience in the best Sense has ever been allow'd to be a Bond upon Men in all Religions But that Religion which under Pretence of Authority would superceed Conscience and instead of making Men better the End of Religion makes them worse by confounding all Distinction betwixt Good and Evil and resolving all into an Implicite Faith and blind Obedience unto the Commands of a Visible Guide and Judge is false it cannot be otherwise For to admire what Men don't know and to make it a Principle not to inquire is the last mark of Folly in the Believer and of Imposture in the Imposer To be short a Christian implies a Man and a Man implies Conscience and Understanding but he that has no Conscience not Understanding as he has not that has delivered them up to the Will of another Man is no Man and therefore no Christian I do beseech you Protestants of all Sorts to consider of the danger of this Principle with respect to Religion Of old'tw is the Fool that said in his Heart there is no God But now upon this Principle Men must be made Fools in order to believe Shall Folly which is the Shame if not the Curse of a Man be the Perfection of a Christian Christ indeed has advised us to become Little Children but never to become such Fools for as the Proverb is this is to be led by the Nose and not by our Wits You know that God hates the Sacrifice of Fools I will pray with the Spirit and with Understanding also saith the Apostle Let us commend that Testimony which we believe to be true to the Consciences of Men and let them have the Gospel priviledge of Examination Error only looses upon Trial. For if this had been the Way to Christianity with Reverence be it spoken God had not made our Condition better but worse For this translates our Faith and Dependence upon God to Man and the Possibility if not Probability of Man's erring exposes us to greater insecurity than before For where I never trusted I never could be deceived But if I must abandon my own Sense and Judgment and yield my self up to the Faith and Authority of another to say no more of the Blindness and La neness of such Belief and Devotion what Security can I have that the Man or Men whom I trust may not 〈◊〉 and deceive me and that
Deceit is irrepairable Again since Mankind is a reasonable Creature and that the more reasonable he is in his Religion the nearer to his own being he comes and to the Wisdom and Truth of his Creator that did so make him a Religion without Reason Imposed by an unaccountable Authority against Reason Sense and Conviction cannot be the Religion of the God of Truth and Reason for it is not to be thought that he requires any thing that carries any violence upon the Nature of his Creature or that gives the Lye to that Reason or Sence which he first endow'd him with In short Either Convince my understanding by the Light of Truth and Power of Reason or bear down my Infidelity with the force of Miracles for not to give me Understanding or Faith and to press a submission that requires both is most unreasonable But if there were no other Augument then this it goes a great way with me that as to such as have their understanding at liberty if they are mistaken there may be hopes of reclaiming by Informing them but where the Understanding and Conscience are enslav'd to Authority and where Men make it a Principal Doctrine to suspect their own Sense and strive against their own Convictions to move only by other mens Breath and fall down to their Conclusions nothing seems to be left for the soundest Arguments clearest Truths to work upon They had almost need to be re Created in order to be converted for who can reasonably endeavour to make him a Christian that is not a Man which he cannot be truly said to be who has no understanding or resolves not to use it but reject it which is yet worse for he that has no understanding has no prejudice against it but he that purposely denys abuses it is so much worse as that he turns Enemy to him that has and uses his understanding He therefore can never be convinced oâ— his Error who is prejudiced against the necessary means of Conviction which is the use of his Understanding without which 't is impossible he should ever be Convinced To Conclude I have reserved till last one Argument which is ad hominem unanswerable by us Protestants and without yielding to which we cannot be consistent with our selves or be thought to do unto others what we would have others do unto us and that is this The Translation of the Scripture was the painful work of our worthy Ancestors This I call their most solemn Appeal to the People against the Pope and Traditions of Rome in the business of their Separation For when the question rose of the divine Authority of this or the other Practice in the Doctrine or Worship of the Roman Church presently they recur'd to the Scriptures and therefore made them speak English that they might witness for them to the people This appeal to the People in defence of their Separation by making them Judges of their proceeding against the Church according to the Testimony of the holy Scriptures puts every man in possession of them Search the Scriptures say the first Protestants Prove all things see if what we say against Pope Church of Rome be not true and in case any difficulty did arise they exhorted all to wait upon God for the divine aid of his Spirit to illuminate their understandings that one should not impose upon the other but commend them to God be Brotherly Patient Long suffering ready to help the Weak inform the Ignorant shew tenderness to the Mistaken and with reason and moderation to gain the Obstinate In short Protestancy is a restoring to every man his just right of Inquiry and Choice and to its honour be it ever spoken there is greater likelihood of finding Truth where all have Liberty to seek after it then where it is denyed to all but a few Grandees and those too as short sighted as their Neighbours But now let us Protestants examine if we have not departed from this Sobriety this Christian Temperance how comes it that we who have been forgiven much have our selves fallen upon our sellow Servants who yet owe us nothing have not we refused them this reasonable choice have we not threatned beaten and imprisoned them Pray Consider have you not made Creeds set Bounds to Faith form'd and regulated a Worship and strictly enjoyn'd all mens obedience by the help of the Civil Power upon pain of great Sufferings which have not been spared to Dissenters though in Common Renouncers and Protestors with you against the Pope Church of Rome for this the Land mourns Heaven is displeas'd and all is out of due course To give us the Scriptures and knock our Fingers for taking them to Translate them that we may read them and punish us for endeavouring to understand and use them as well as we can both with respect to God and our Neighbour 't is very unreasonable upon our Protestant Principles I wish we could see the mischief we draw upon our selves which is worse our cause for the Papist in this case acts according to his Principle but we against our Principle which shews indeed that we have the better Religion but that we also are more condemnable For if we will consider it seriously we shall find it not much more injurious to Scripture Truth and good Conscience that we believe as the Church believes then that we believe as the Church says the Scripture would have us believe For where is the difference since I am not allowed to use my understanding about the Sense of Scripture any more then about the Faith of the Church and if I must not receive any thing for Faith or Worship from Scripture but what is handed to me by the Church or her Clergy I see my self in as ill terms as if I had sat down with the old Doctrine of believing as the Church believes And had the Controversie been only for the Word Scripture without the use and application of it for at this rate that is all that is left us truly the enterprise of our Fathers had been weak and unadvised but because nothing less was intended by them and that the Translation of the Scripture was both the Appeal and Legacy of those Protestant Ancestors for the reasons before mention'd I must conclude we are much degenerated from the simplicity of Primitive Protestancy and need to be admonisht of our Backslidings and I heartily pray to Almighty God that he would quicken us by his present Mercies and Providences to return to our first Love Let the Scripture be free Sober Opinion tolerated Good â—ife cherisht Vice punisht away with Imposition Nick-Names Animosities for the Lord's sake and let Holy Writ be our Common Creed and Pious Living the Test of Christianity that God may please to perfect the good work he has begun and deliver us from all our Enemies I am now come to the last point and that is PROPAGATION of FAITH by FORCE In which I shall with the
which conquers the World and purifies the Heart by no means But 't is to believe that the Church of Rome is the True Church and the Pope Christ's Vicar and the Visible Head of that Church So as that Self denyal which relates to our Wills and Affections in a corrupt State they apply to the Use of our Understanding about Religion as if it were the same thing to deny that which we understand and know to be Evil which is the Christian Self denyal and to deny that very Knowledge and Understanding which is God's Gift and our Honour Whereas Religion and Reason are so Consistent as that Religion can neither be understood nor maintain'd without Reason For if this must be laid aside I am so far from being Infallibly assured of my Salvation that I am not capable of any Measure of Good from Evil Truth from Falshood Why I have no understanding or use of any which is the same All the Disadvantage the Protestant is under in this is that of his greater Modesty and that be submits his Belief to be tryed which the other refuses under the Pretence of unaccountable Infallibility to that Authority Reason decides So that whereas some people excuse their embracing of that Religion by urging the Certainty that is in it I do say 'T is nothing but Presumption For a man can never be Certain of that about which he has not the Liberty of Examining Understanding or Judging Confident I confess he may be but that 's quite another thing than being Certain Yet I must never deny but that every Christian ought to believe as the Church believes provided the Church be true but the Question is Which is that true Church And when that is answered as a Man may Unlawfully Execute a Lawful Sentence so he may falsly believe as the True Church believes for if I believe what she believes only because she believes it and not because I am convinced in my Understanding and Conscience of the Truth of what she believeth my Faith is false though hers be true I say it is not true to me I have no Evidence of it What is this Church or Congregation rather as worthy Tindal every where translates it but a Company of People agreed together in the sincere Profession and Obedience of the Gospel of Christ Now look what Inducement they severally had to believe and embrace the Gospel that we must have to joyn with them for as they made not one another an infallible Authority to one another upon which they first embrac'd the Gospel neither are we to ground our Belief thereof upon their Authority joyntly but as they had a Rule to believe and commune so must we have the same Rule to embrace their Communion So that that Church cannot be the Rule of my Faith that have the same Faith and Object for my Faith that she has I argue thus I must believe as the Church believes that is I must have the same Faith the Church has then I must have the same Rule because the Church can be no more the Rule of that Faith then she can be that Faith of which some would make her the Rule If then the Church has Faith and that Faith a Rule and that she can no more be the Rule of her own Faith then she can be that Faith it self it follows she cannot be the Rule of the Faith of her Members because those Members have the same Faith and that they in Society are this Church For that which is the Rule of the Congregation's Faith in general must reasonably be the Rule of every Member's Faith that makes up that Congregation and consequently of every Member that may hereafter adhere to it So that to talk of believing as the Church believes to flowrish upon that Self-denyal and Humility which takes all upon Trust and revile those with the bitterest Invectives that are modestly scrupulous and act the BEREANS for their Souls who think that Easiness of Nature and Condescention might be better bestowed and in this occasion ill-tim'd and dangerous is to put the Knife to the Throat of Protestancy and what in them lies to socrifice it to implicit Faith and blind Obedience For it cannot be denyed but that the great Foundation of our Protestant Religion is the Divine Authority of the Scriptures from without us and the Testimony and Illumination of the Holy Spirit within us Upon this foot the first Reformers stood and made and maintain'd their Separation from Rome and freely offered up their innocent Lives in Confirmation With good Cause therefore it is the general Consent of all found Protestant Writers That neither Traditions Councils nor Canons of any visible Church much less the Edicts of any Civil Session or Jurisdiction but the Scriptures only interpeted by the Holy Spirit in us give the final Determination in Matters of Religion and that only in the Conscience of every Christian TO HIMSELF Which Protestation made by the first publick Reformers against the Imperial Edicts of Charles the fifth imposing Church Traditions without Scripture Authority gave first beginning to the Name of Protestant and with that Name hath ever been received this Doctrine which prefers the divine Authority of the Scripture and Spirit to that of the Church and her Traditions And if the Church is not sufficient implicitly to be believed as we hold it is not what can there else be named of more force with us but the Divine Illumination in the Conscience or Conscience in the best Sense of the Word then which God only is greater But if any man shall pretend that the Scripture judges according to his Conceptions or Conscience for other men and that they must take their Religious Measures by the Line of his Direction such a person makes himself greater then either Church Scripture or Conscience And pray let us consider if in any thing the Pope is by our Protestant Divinity so justly resembled to Antichrist as in assuming Infallibility over Conscience and Scripture to determine as he thinks fit and so in effect to give God Scripture Magistrates and Conscience the Law To this they have without scruple applyed that to the Thessalonians Sitting in the Temple of God exalting himself above all that is caled God To check this exorbitancy the Apostle Paul demands Who art thou that judgest anothers Servant to his own Lord he stands or falls which sheweth with great Evidence that Christians of all sizes great and small are but Brethren and consequently all superiority Lordship and Imposition are excluded But if there be a Difference 't is in this that as Christ taught He that is greatest is to be Servant to the rest but what is more opposite to a Servant then a Lord and to Service then Injunction and Imposition and that on Penalties too Here it is that Christ is only Lord and Lawgiver who is only King of this inward Kingdom of the Soul And 't is to be noted that the Apostle
workest Wonders in the Earth whose Power cannot be Control'd in whose Hands are the Souls of Men and the Spirits of all Flesh who canst turn them in a Moment Turn thou the Hearts of King and People unto thee and One unto another Do thou proclaim a FAST FROM SIN throughout these Sinful Kingdoms let Wickedness and Oppression find no place among us Turn away thy Fierce Wrath Wipe away our Reproach and Love us Freely O God for thy dear Son ' s sake THE SECOND PART OF THE Address to Protestants UPON THE Present Conjuncture HAving then finisht the First Part of my Address relating to the Immoralities of the Times and left it with the CIVIL MAGISTRATE as in Conscience I found my self Oblig'd to do whose Peculiar Charge it is and I Earnestly and Humbly desire and pray that it may be his Great Care Effectually to Rebuke them I shall betake my self to the Second Part of this Address that more immediately concerns us as Profest Christians and Protestants But before I begin I desire to premise and can with much Sincerity Declare that I intend not the Reproach of any Person or Party I am weary with seeing so much of it in the World for it gains nothing that is worth keeping but hardens to a Desperateness what 't is our Duty to endeavour to soften But if without Offence I may speak the Truth that which to the best of my Understanding tends to the Present Settlement and Future Felicity of my Poor Country I shall by God's Help deliver my self with that Modesty Plainness and Integrity that becomes a Real Christian and a True English-Man Those Capital Sins and Errors that relate to the ECCLESIASTICAL STATE or Church-Capacity of these Kingdoms and which are so Inconsistant with Christian Religion and purest Protestancy and that above all displease Almighty God are First Making Opinions Articles of Faith at least giving them the Reputation of Faith and making them the Bond of Christian Society Secondly Mistaking the Nature of True Faith and taking that for Faith which is not Gospel-Faith Thirdly Debasing the true Value of Morality under pretence of Higher Things mistaking the very End of Christ's Coming Fourthly Preferring Humane Authority above Reason and Truth Fifthly Propagating Faith by Force and Imposing Religion by Worldly Compulsion These I take to be those Church Evils that have too much infected even these Parts of the reputed Reformed World And though the Roman Church for the most part hath transcended all other Societies in these Errors and may in a sense be said to be the Mother of them She from whom they took Birth by whom they were brought forth and propagated in Christendom yet there hath not been that Integrity to the Nature of Christianity and First Reason of Reformation from Papacy in our own Country as had been and is our Duty to conserve First In that Opinions pass for Faith and are made Articles of Faith and enjoyn'd to be embrac'd as the Bond of Communion That this is so let us take the most impartial View we can and we shall find it to be true both of the National and many other Select Societies That I may be understood in the Signification of the word OPINIONS I explain it thus Opinions are all those Propositions or Conclusions made by Men Doctrines of Faith and Articles of Communion which either are not Expresly laid down in Scripture or not so evidently Deduceable from Scripture as to leave no Reason of Doubt in their Minds of the Truth of them who sincerely and reverently believe the Text or lastly such as have no New or Credible Revelation to avouch them That this is our Case let the several Confessions of Faith published by almost every Party in England be perused and ye will find such Propositions translated into Doctrines of Faith and Articles of Communion as are First not only not Express'd in Scripture but perhaps not Deduceable from Scripture If one Party may be but believ'd against another this will want no Evidence to prove the Point And in the Next place such as are though not Exprest yet it may be Deduceable as to the Matter of them but either carried so high spun so fine or so disguised by Barbarous School-Terms that they are rather a Bone of Contention than a Bond of Concord to Religious Societies Yet this has been the Unhappiness even of this Kingdom after all the Light of Reformation which God hath graciously sent amongst us Men are to be received or rejected for denying or owning of such Propositions Wilt thou be an Episcopalian then Sign the Thirty-Nine Articles Renounce the Covenant and Conform to the Discipline and Jurisdiction of the Church Wilt thou be a Presbyterian Embrace and Keep the Covenant subscribe the Westminster-Confession and Directory and so on to the End of every Society that grounds Communion upon Conformity to such Propositions and Articles What a Stir have we had in England about the poor word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that says it signifies an Higher Office than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall have no part or fellowship with us On t'other hand they that will debase Episcopos to Presbyteros and turn Levellers of Episcopal Dignity shall be Excommunicated silenc'd punish't Is not this Fact can any deny it that love Truth more then a Party The Fire kindled by this Contention hath warm'd the Hands of Violence It had been well if Men had entertain'd Equal Zeal against Impiety and been but half asmuch Enemies to the Sin as they have been against one another If we look a little back we shall find that the Debate of Free-Will Unconditional Reprobation fill'd this Kingdom with Incharitableness and Division In the Arch-Episcopacy of Abbot reputed in himself a Good Man who ever held that Christ died so for all Men that all men might be saved if they would accept the Means and that none were absolutely decreed to Eternal Reprobation waa near akin to Heresie and Excommunicated as an Enemy to the Free Grace of God which it seems lay in being Narrow In the time of Arch-Bishop Land the Tide turns those that hold an Absolute Election and Reprobation without regard had to the Good or Evil Actions of Men and assert that Christ only died for the Elect and not for all must be discountenanc'd displac'd and pointed at as Men out of Fashion though at the same time Conscientious Sober and at worst Mistaken to be pittied rather than prosecuted and informed rather than confounded This Controversie begot the Synod of Dort he that reads the Epistles of that Judicious man J. Hails of Eaton upon the Matter and Conduct of the Assembly will find cause of being sad at Heart too many of them talked of Religion without the Spirit of it Men perhaps Learned in Books but few of the Sticklers gave any great Testimony of their Proficiency in that Science which is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be entreated This Flame kindled
is evident from Example as in the Case of Peter who for having believed in his heart and confest with his Mouth That JESUS was the Christ and SON of GOD obtained that Signal Blessing Mat. 16. This made Nathaniel a Disciple Rabbi said he thou art the Son of God thou art the King of Israel It was the like Confession that made amends for Thomas's Incredulity when he was sensibly assured of the Resurrection of Jesus My Lord and my God This was also the Substance of Martha's Confession of Faith to Jesus when he said to her I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeeth in me shall never dye believest thou this She answered Yea Lord I believe that thou art the Christ the Son of God which should come into the World She answered him not as to that Particular of the Resurrection but in General that he was the Christ the MESSIAH that was to come into the World and that suffised 'T was a Confession not unlike to this that the Blind Man made to whom Christ gave Sight when Jesus said but to him Dost thou believe on the Son of God Lord said he I do believe and be worshipped him What shall we say of the rare Faith of the Centurion preferred by Christ himself before any in Israel though a Gentile the Faith of the Woman and Inhabitants of Samaria that he was the Messiah of that Importunate Woman that cryed to Jesus To cast a Devil out of her possest Daughter and would not be put off to whom Christ said O Woman great is thy Faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt To which let me add the Faith of the People that brought the Man Sick of the Palsy to Christ who uncover'd the Roof to let him down to be toucht The Faith of Jairus the Ruler and of that Good Woman who pressed through the Croud to touch the Hem of Christ's Garment to whom Jesus said Be of good Comfort Daughter thy Faith has made Thee whole Also the Two Blind Men that followed him out of the Rulers House crying Thou Son of David have Mercy on us To whom when Jesus had said Believe ye that I am able to do this they Answered YEA LORD then touch'd he their Eyes and said According to your Faith be it unto you Also the Blind Man near Jericho The Leprous Samaritan that Christ cleansed And that Notable Passage of the Woman that kissed his Feet and anointed his Head to whom he pronounced this Happy Sentence Thy Faith hath saved thee go in Peace I will conclude this with that Famous Instance of the Thief upon the Cross who neither knew nor had time to make a Large Confession like the Creeds of these dayes but it seems he said enough Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom And Jesus said unto him Verily I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise By which it is easie to learn that 't was the Heart not the Mouth the Sincerity not the Words that made the Confession Valid Nor was this only in the Days of Christ the Effect of his Gracious Dispensation or peculiar Indulgence After-times afford us the like Instances This was the main Bent of Peter's Sermon and when the Three thousand believed that he whom the Jews had crucified was both Lord and Christ and repented of their Sins and gladly received his Word they are said to have been in a State of Salvation Thus Cornelius and his Houshold and Kindred so soon as Peter declared Jesus to be the Messiah and that they had believed the Holy Ghost fell upon them and they were received into the Christian Communion But the Story of the Eunuch is very pat to our purpose As he rid in his Charriot he was reading these words out of the Prophet Isaiah viz. That he was led as a Sheep to the Slaughter and like a Lamb dumb before the Shearers so opened he not his Mouth In his Humiliation his Judgment was taken away and who shall declare his Generation for his Life is taken from the Earth Philip joyn'd to him and askt him If he understood what he read he desired Philip to interpret the mind of the Prophet if he spoke of him self or another Philip upon the place preached to him Jesus the Eunuch was so well perswaded by the Apostle that coming to a Water he said What doth hinder me to be Baptized Philip answered him If thou believest with all thine heart thou may'st To this the Eunuch replyed I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Upon which he was Baptized and 't is said He went away rejoycing which indeed he might well do that felt the Comfort of his Faith the Remission of Sin and the Joys of the holy Ghost I will conclude these Examples with a Passage in the Acts of Paul at Thessalonica 't is this Paul as his manner was went in unto them and Three Sabbath-dayes reasoned with them out of the Scriptures opening and alledging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead and that this Jesus said he whom I preach unto you is Christ And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas and of the devout Greeks a great multitude and of the Chief Women not a few Thus we may plainly see that they were Baptiz'd into the Faith of Jesus and not into Numerous Opinions and that this one Confession from true Faith in the heart was the ground Principle of their Church-fellowship then God's Church was at Peace she thrive there were then no Snares of Words made to catch Men of Conscience in Then not many Words but much Integrity now much Talk and little Truth Many Articles but O ye of little Faith Nor was this only the Judgment and Practice of that Time out of Condescension to Weakness and Charity to Ignorance for both Christ Jesus himself and his Apostles those blessed Messengers of holy Truth have doctrinally laid it down as the great Test to Christians that which should distinguish them from Infidels and justly entitle them to his Discipleship and Christian Communion one with another Then said they to Jesus what shall we do that we might work the Works of God Jesus answered and said to them This is the Work of God that ye BELIEVE ON HIM whom God hath sent Verily Verily I say unto you he that believeth on me hath Everlasting Life And upon another Occasion to the Jews he said For if ye believe not that I am HE ye shall die in your Sins It must follow then that if they did believe him to be the Messiah the Anointed of God to Salvation they should be saved Most plain is that Answer of the Apostles to the Goaler when he came trembling to them and said Sirs what must I do to be saved Believe said they on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved The Apostle
the Hypostatical Union in fine the Athanasian Creed and other Articles of Faith or Rites of your Church not so clearly express'd in Scriptures and not easie to be apprehended or assented to will not this poor Creature be look'd upon either as Infidel or Heretick renounced all share in Christ and Christian Fellowship because his Weakness or Understanding will not allow him to come up to the full Inventory of Articles believed and imposed by you Certainly you must either be partial and give him that Liberty you deny to Persons of equâ—l Tenderness or else you mustafter your present streightness conclude him Infidel or Heretick But I would beseech you that we may consider if this bears any Proportion with the Wisdom and Love of God in sending Christ into the World to save you and me The Apostle became All unto all to win some but this is becoming All unto none to force all he thereby recommends the Utmost Condescention that can be lawful but this use of Humane Authority about Faith seems to make it unlawful to Condescend As if Force were better than Love and Conformity how ever it become at it than Christian Condescention The Blessed Apostle had his Eye to the Good Intention and Sober Life of the Weak and used an holy sort of Guile to catch them he seems as if he â—…ssembled the Knowledge of those Averse Opinions which they held or the necessity of their embracing those Doctrines which as yet they might not believe He fell not to Debate and Canvass Points in Difference between them which instead of Union would have enflam'd the Difference and rais'd Contention No no He became all unto all that is He stoop'd to all Capacities and humbled himself to those Degrees of Knowledge that men had and valued that which was good in all and with this Sweetness he practised upon them to their further proficiency in the School of Christ These Allurements were all his Injunctions nay in this Case he makes it an Injunction to use no other Let us therefore says he as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in any thing ye be OTHERWISE minded God shall reveal even this unto you You shall not be impos'd upon stigmatiz'd or excommunicated for Want of Full Satisfaction or because you do not Consent before Conviction for God shall REVEAL it to you you shall see and know what you do and to God you shall owe your Knowledge and Conformity and not to Humane Authority and Imposition your Faith shall not be implicit nor your Obedience blind the Reason of your Hope shall be in you Pray let us compare this with the Language of our own Times where People cannot come up to the Prescriptions of men but plead the Liberty of Dissent though with never so much Sobriety and true Tenderness of Conscience they are upbraided after this manner Are you Wiser than your Superiours Were our Fore-Fathers out of the Way Did no body know the Truth till you came Are you Wiser than all our Ministers and Bishops and your Mother the Church Can't it content you to believe as she believes Is not this Pride and Presumption in you a Design to make and head Sects and Parties with the like Entertainment Now this is that which you your selves at least in the Persons of your Ancestors have stiled POPERY yea POPERY in the abstract the Sum-Total of that Mystery its great Master piece to wit IMPLICIT FAITH and BLIND OBEDIENCE If so then say I let us also have a care of Popâ—ry in Protestant guise for that Popery is likely to do us most Injury that is least suspected I beg you by the Love of God and Truth and as you would lay a sure Foundation Piece here and eternal Comfort to your own Souls that you would consider the Tendency of upbraiding and violently over ruling the Dissent of Conscientious and Peaceable People For if you will Rob me once of the Liberty of my Choice the Use of my Understanding the Distinction of my Judgment no Religion comes amiss indeâ—d it leads to No Religion 'T was the Saying of the Old King to the then Prince of Wales and our present King Make the Religion of your Education the Religion of your Judgment which to me is of the Nature of an Appeal from his Education to his Judgment about the Truth of his Religion And that Religion which is too tender to be examin'd is unsound Prove all things and hold fast that which is good lies an Impeachment against Imposition deliver'd upon Record by the Apostle Paul in the Name of the Holy Ghâ—st 'T was the same Apostle that commended the Bereans of Old for that they diligently searched the Scriptures whethâ—r those things delivered by the Apostles concerning the Messiah were true Nay Christ himself to whom all power was given in Heaven and in Earth submitted himself to the Test he did not require them to believe him because he would be believed he refers them to the Witness that God bore to him If I bear Witness of my self my Witness is not true He also sends them to the Scriptures pleads the Truth of his Authority from that of his Doctrine and Miracles If I had not done among them the Works which none other Man did And finally challenges them to convince him but of one Sin Which of you convinceth me of Sin and if I say the Truth why do ye not believe me He offers to reason the Matter and submit himself to Truth and well he might who was Truth it self But an IMPOSING CHURCH bears Witness of her self and will be both Party and Judge it requires Assent without Evidence and Faith without Proof therefore false Christian Religion ought to be carried on only by that way by which it was introduced which was PERSWASâ—ON If any man will be my Disciple let him take up his Cross and follow me and this is the Glory of it that it does not destroy but fairly conquer the Understanding I am not unacquainted with the Pretences of Romanists to Abâ—egation to a Mortified and Self denying Life and I do freely acknowledge that the Author of the German Theology Taulerus and Thomas a Kempis and others of that sort of Men in their Communion have written Excellent Practical Things but there is scarcely any thing of this Violent Popery in those Tracts On the contrary the very Nature and Tendency of them is Diametrically Opposit to the present Constitution of that Church and all others that practise Imposition in Religion And as it is one great Mark of the False Church to pervert the right End of True Doctrine so hath she excelled in the Abuse of that Excellent Word SELF-DENYAL For she hath translated it from Life to Understanding from Morals to Faith Subjugare intellectum in Obsequium fidei to subject the Understanding to the Obedience of Faith is the perpetual Burden of their Song and Conclusion of their Conferences But what is this Faith that
did not write this to a private Brother or in some special Case but to the Church as a General and standing Truth and therefore now as Authentick and proper as then And if this be true I cannot see how any or even the most part of the Church that are still but Brethren to the rest of one voluntary Communion and Profession can with any shew of Reason impose upon them and escape the Reproof of this Scripture for all Societies are to govern themselves according to their Institution and first Principles of Union Where there is Violence upon this part Tyranny and not Order is introduced Now since Perswasion and Conviction began all true Christian Society all Christian Societies must uphold themselves upon the same free Bottom or they turn Antichristian I beseech you here let us examine our selves faithfully and I am of belief that something of this will yet appear amongst us that shew great Reverence to that free Name But to make good their unreasonable conceit of Church Authority they object Christ's Words GO TELL THE CHURCH that is say they The Church is the Rule and guide of Faith whatever the Church agrees upon and requires your assent to and Faith in that you must necessarily believe But though as before 't is confest in a sense we must believe as the true Church believes yet not because she so believes but for the same Reasons that she her self does so believe because none can truly believe as she believes but must so do upon the same principles and motives for which they believ'd that first made up that Christian Church To talk of being the Rule and Guide in point of Faith is to contradict Scripture and justle Christ out of the Office which is peculiar to him and his Spirit he is given to his Church an Head that is a Counsellor a Ruler a Judge and is called a Lawgiver and says the Apostle The Children of God are led by the Spirit of God And he was Wisdom and Righteousness to the Church Apostolick and is so to his own Church all the World over Besides 't is absurd that the Church can be the Rule and Guide of Faith for as such she must be her own Rule and Guide the Faith of the Members being that of the Church which cannot be But what then can be the meaning of Christs words Go tell the Church Very well I answer 't is not about Faith but Injury that Christ speaks and the place explains it self which is this Moreover if thy Brother shall TRESPASS against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone here is Wrong not Religion Injustice not Faith or Conscience concerned as some would have it to maintain their Church power if he shall hear thee thou hast gain'd thy Brother but if he will not hear thee then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three Witnesses every word may be established and if he shall neglect to hear them TELL IT UNTO THE CHURCH but if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen man and a Publican Verily I say unto you whatever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven c. The matter manner of which passaged eliver'd by Christ shews that he intended not to set up Church power about Faith and Worship unto which all must bow even without if not against conviction The word TRESPASS and FAULT prove abundantly that he only means private and personal Injuries and that not only from the undeniable signification and use of the word TRESPASS and FAULT but from the way Christ commands for accommodation viz. that the person wrong'd do speak to him that commits the Injury alone if that will not do that he take one or two with him but no man can think that if it related to Faith Worship I ought to receive the Judgment of one or two or three against mine own This has not been the practice at least not the principle of the most degenerated Church since the Primitive times for most if not all agree that nothing below the Church can detemine about matters of Faith and even many with reason cannot go so far yet Christ seems to fix a blame upon him that complies not with the Person he has offended but more if he refuse to give satisfaction after one or two have also intreated him therefore it cannot relate to matters of Faith and scruples of Conscience but personal and private Injuries Which is yet clearer from this part of Christ's saying viz. That in the Mouth of two or three Witnesses every Word may be established Which Implies a Tryal and Judicial proceeding as is customary in civil cases about personal and private Trespasses for it were not so proper to speak of Witnesses on any other account This is interpreted beyond exception by the Apostle to the Corinthians where he reproves and forbids them to go to Law one with another before Unbelievers arguing thus Do you not know that the Saints shall Judge the World and if the World shall be judged by you are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters This shews the meaning of Church Authority is those dayes and is a natural Exposition upon Christ's words in case of Trespass and Refractoriness Tell the Church And 't is yet the Practice of all sober just and quiet People raher to refer their Controversies to approved men than to tare one another to pieces at Law But it is worth our notice that as any Decision up on an arbitration oblieges only the Parties to sit down content with the awardment of such loss or gain as they the Arbitrators think equal as the next best way to accommodate differences and not that such awardment should alter their first Thoughts and Opinion they had of their right or force them to declare they are of the Arbitrators mind So is it most unreasonable where the Church is only an Arbitrator about Personal trespasses or umpire at most to imagine a Power to determine and impose Faith and that upon severe Penalties as well of this unto which Christ's Church has no relation as of the other World I say this very thing well weigh'd breaks all their Fallacies to pieces and decides the business beyond all contradiction between those that stand upon the Spirit within and the Scripture without on the one hand and such as meerly rest upon the Traditions of Men and Authority of the Church on the other hand For if in an Arbitration I am not bound to be of the Arbitrators mind though for Peace sake I submit to their Award and that the Church Power in this place controverted relates only to external and personal Trespasses Injuries or Injustices as the place it self plainly proves there can be no sense reason or modesty in the Earth on the part of those high Church men who
would from hence wring and extort the Power of defining resolving and imposing upon all people under temporal and eternal punishment Articles of Faith and Bonds of Christian Communion I Conclude this of the Church with saying that 't is not Identity of Opinion but Justice not Religious Uniformity but Personal Satisfaction that concerns the text and therefore Reason sober Consciencâ— and good Sense may at any time lawful insist upon their claim to be heard in all their Scruples or Exceptions without disrespect to that excellent Doctrine when rightly understood Go tell the Church To this let me add somthing about this great Word CHURCH Some men think they are sure enough if they can but get within the pale of the Church that have not yet consider'd what it is The Word CHURCH signifies any Assembly so the Greeks used it and it is by Worthy Tindal every where translated Congregation It has a two fold sense in Scripture The first and most excellent Sense is that in which she is called the Body and Bride of Christ In this respect she takes in all Generations and is made up of the Regenerated be they in Heaven or on Earth thus Ephes 1. 22. 5. 23 to 33. Col. 1. 16 17. 18. Heb. 12. 22 23. Rev. 21. 2. Chap. 22. 17. Here Christ only can be Head this Church is washed from all Sin not a Spot nor a Wrinkle left ill men have nothing to do with this Church within whose pale only is Salvation nor is this Universal and truly Catholick Church capable of being conveen'd to be told of Wrongs or Trespasses The other use of that Word in Scripture is alwayes referred to Particular Assemblies and Places that is the Church which by Christ's Doctrine is to be told of Personal Injuries and whose determination for Peace sake is to be adhear'd to must of necessity be the adiacent or most contiguous company of Christian Believers those to whom the Persons in difference are by external Society and Communion related and that such private and distinct Assemblies are so called the Church is apparent from the acts and writings of the Apostles the Church of Jerusalem Antioch Corinth Ephesus Galatia Thessalonica Crete c. peruse these places Acts 5. 11. 9. 31. 11. 22 26. 14 23 27. Rom. 16. 5. 1 Cor. 1. 2. 4. 17. 14. 4. Rev. 2. 3. Chap. By which it plainly appears that the Universal visible Church so much bragg'd of for the Rule and Judge of Faith c. is an upstart thing and like mean Families or ill got Goods it uses false Heraldry to give it a Title For the Apostoilick times to which all others must vail and by whom they must be tryed know no such conceit and the Truth is it was then first started when the Pride of one man made him ambitious and his Power able to bid for Headship Empire and Soveraignity 't was then needful to his being Universal head that he should first have an Universal body But suppose such a Church there were 't is utterly Impossible that such a Church could be called together in anyone place or at any one time to be told or to determine of any thing so that yielding the thing by them desired it is useless and impracticable to the ends they desire it for But alas who knows not that loves not to be blind that the Church among them is the Priesthood the few cunning men govern the Majority and intitle their conceits the Canons of Christ's Church and humane Power and Force the Policy and Weapons of this world must back their decrees And all this comes from the Ignorance and Idleness of the People that give the Pride and Industry of the Clergy an opportunity to effect their crafts upon them For so mean spirited are the People as to take all upon trust for their Souls that would not trust an Arch-Bishop about a slit Groat 'T is prodigious to think what Veneration the Priest-hood have raised to themselves by their usurpt Commission of Apostleship their pretended Successions and their CLINK CLANK of extraordinary Ordination A Priest a God on Earth a Man that has the Keys of Heaven and Hell do as he says or be damn'd what power like to this The Ignorance of the People of their Title and Pretences have prepared them to deliver up themselves into their hands like a Crafty Usurer that hedges in the Estate on which he has a Mortgage and thus they make themselves ever in Fee to the Clergy and become their proper Patrimony So that believing as the Church believes is neither more nor less then Rooking men of their Understandings or doing as ill Gamesters are wont to do get by using false Dice Come come 't is believing as the Priesthood believes which made way for that offence wise and good men have taken against the Clergy in every Age And did the People examine their bottom the ground of their Religion and Faith it would not be in the Power of their Leaders to cause them to Err an implicit Veneration to the Clergy begun the Misery What! Doubt my Minister arraign his Doctrine put him to the Proof by no means but the Consequence of not doing it has been the Introduction of much false Doctrine Superstition and Formality which gave just occasion for Schism for the Word has no hurt in it and implies only a Separation which may as well be right as wrong But that I may not be taxed with partiallity or upbraided with sigularity there are two Men whose Worth Good Sense and True Learning I will at any time engage against an entire Convocation of another Judgment viz. Jacobus Acontius and John Hales of Eaton that are of the same mind who though they have not writ much have writ well and much to the purpose I will begin with Jacobus Acontius at large and do heartily beseech my Readers to be more then ordinarily intent in reading what I cite of him their Care and Patience will be requited by his Christian and very acute Sense It remains that we speak of such Causes of the not perceiving that a Change of Doctrine is introduced as consist in the Persons that are taught Now they are cheifly two Carelesness and Ignorance Carlesness for the most â—part ariseth hence In that the people trust too much to their Pastors and per swade themselves that they will not slip into any Error and that therefore they have small need to have an Eye over them but that they are bound rather to embrace whatsoever they shall hold forth without any curious Examination Hereunto may be added many other businesses whereunto men addict themselves For that Saying is of large extent Where mens Treasure is there is their Heart and that other No man can serve two Masters Now how it may come to pass that after a people hath once had a great Knowledge of Divine Truths the said Knowledge may as it were vanish away besides that Cause which
hath been even now alleadged we shall in another place make discovery of some other Reasons We shall for the present add only this one That the people themselves are in a perpetual kind of Mutation some daily dying and departing others succeeding and growing up in their stead Whence it comes to pass That since the Change which is made in every Age is small either the people cannot perceive it or if they do observe it yet they esteem it not of such moment as to think fit to move any Difference thereabout This thing also is of very great force to keep the people from taking notice of a Change in Doctrine when men shall perswade themselves that they are not able to judge of matters of Religion as though it is it is not and other words used in Scripture do not signifie the same which they do in common discourse or as if nothing could be understood without some great Knowledge in the Tongues and Arts or Sciences and as if the Power of the Spirit were of no efficacy without these Helps Whereby it cometh to pass that whilst they think they understand not even those things which in some sort they do understand being expressed in most clear and evident words they do at length arrive to that Blockishness that they cannot understand them indeed so that though they have before their Eyes a Sentence of Scripture so clear that nothing can be more evident yet if they to whose Authority they in all things subject themselves shall say any thing point-blank opposite thereunto they will give credit unto them and imagine themselves not to see that which they see as clear as the Light And by these means verily it comes to pass That when the Doctrine of Religion is corrupted the Mutation is not discovered Furthermore when the Doctrine is once begun to be changed it must needs be that out of one Error another should spring and propagate infinitely and God for Just Reasons of his own blinding them men bring upon themselves so great Darkness and slip into such soul Errors That if God out of Mercy open a mans Eyes and let him see those Errors he lives in he can scarcely believe himself or be perswaded that he was ever enveloped with such blind Errors Which thing is as true and as well to be seen in Men of greatest Learning Experience If thou shalt thorowly peruse the writings of some of the School-men as they call them thou shalt in some places meet with so much Accuteness as will make thee admire Thou shalt see them oftentimes cleave a fine Thred into many parts and accurately Anotomise a Flea and a little after fall so foully and avouch such Absurdities That thou caâ—st not sufficiently stand amaz'd wherefore we must obey that Advice of the Poet Principijs obsta sero medicina paratur Cum mala per longas invaluere moras Resist betimes that Med'cine stayes too long Which comes when Age has made the Grief too strong Now there is need of a double Caution viz. That there be no Change made in the Doctrine when it is pure And if any Change be made that there be notice taken of it Now look what Change is made in this kind all the Blame is laid upon those whose Office it is to instruct the People for though themselves are the Authors of the Change yet will the people impute it to the Ministers Sleepiness and want of Care at least It concerns therefore the Pastors and Teachers to be Eagle eyed and to be very well acquainted with those Causes whereby the Change of Doctrine becomes undiscovered and to have them at their Fingers ends and to be wary that on no hand they may miscarry Now it will be an excellent Caution for the keeping of Doctrine pure if they shall avoid all curious and vain Controversies If they shall set before their Eyes the scope and end of all Religious Doctrine and likewise a Series or Catalogue of all such things as make to the attainment of that End of which we formerly spake if they shall affect not only the matter it self but also the words and phrases which the Holy Ghost in Scripture makes use of and exceedingly suspect all different Forms of speaking Not that I would have them speak nothing but Hebraisms for so their Language would not be plain nor intelligible but I wish that they will shun all such Expressions as have been invented by over-nice Disputants beyond what was necessary to express the sence of the Hebrew and Greek and all those Tenets which men by their own Wits do collect and infer from the Scriptures Now of what Concernment this will be we may gather by this Instance The Papists think it one and the same thing to say The Church cannot err and to say in the words of our Lord Wheresoever two or three shall be gathered together in my Name there will I be in the midst of them Yet is the Difference very great which may thus appear forasmuch as in case any one shall conceive the Church to be the Pope Cardinals and Bishops anointed by the Pope he hearing the aforesaid Sentence will judge that whatsoever they shall decree ought to be of Force But if he shall rather mind the words of our Lord and shall consider that those kind of men do regard nothing but their own Commodity Wealth and Dominion he will be so far from so understanding them that peradventure not being able to allow the Deeds and Practices of these Men he will come to hope from those words That if himself with some other good Men loving God with their whole Heart shall come together and unanimously implore the Assistance of God shall be better able to determiâ—… What it is that ought to be believed and practised for the attainment of Salvation then if they should persist to put their Confidence in such Pastors Now this Rule that the words of the Scripture ought to be used rather than any other is then especially to be observed when any thing is delivered as a certain and tryed Truth or as a Rule of Faith or Life or out of which any other thing is to be inferred For in Expositions and Explanations as there is need happily of greater Liberty so is there less Danger if it be taken For whenas the Word of God and the exposition thereof are at one and the same time both together in view as it were there no man can be ignorant that the Exposition is the word of Man so that he may reject it in case it seem impertinent And look by what means a man may hinder the Doctrine of Religion from being changed by the self-same he may find whether it be chang'd or no. Now every man ought to compare the Doctrine of that Age wherein he lives with no other Doctrine then that which was out of question spotless which is the Doctrine of the Apostles Wherefore notwithstanding that in our Age the Gospel is as
for me to judge that this man does rashly and unadvisedly if he shall arise and contradict Is not the Spirit able to reveal somewhat to him which he hath hidden from thee Now if the Spirit have revealed somewhat to him and to that end revealed it that he might contradict that by his means the thing may be revealed to the Church shall I say that he hath done rashly in obeying the holy Ghost And if thou think otherwise verily thou art not perswaded that the Spirit is the Author and Teacher of this Knowledge but that all the praise thereof is due to Studies Watchings and the Wits of men And if this be thy judgment I tell thee again That thou art not only unworthy to be the sole Speaker but worthy rather to be the only person not permitted to speak in the Congregation And that thou mayst the better understand that the most Unlearned ought to be allowed to speak consider God will have himself to be acknowledged the Author of his own gifts he will not have his praise attributed unto our Studies or Wits but unto himself But if the man that hath spent all his Life in Study speak wisely it is not attributed to God but to study In word perhaps it may be attributed to God yet not without a vehement Reluctancy of our Judgment and this is that which I say God will not abide But if so be thou shalt hear a wise word come out of the Mouth of some unlearned Person thou must needs whether thou wilt or no acknowledge God to be the Author thereof So when God was minded to give unto â—srael a Victory against the Midianites under the Conduct of Gideon and Gideon had gathered together Thirty Thousand Men lest the Israelites should boast that they had gotten the Victory by their own Strength and not by the Assistance of God which might have been conceived if Gidean had fought with so numerous an Army he would not suffer him to have above Three hundred that it might appear that he was the Cause of the Victory and not the Number or Valour of those that fought Now besides the Glory of God hereby great Profit does accrue to the Church For if the People shall see now one man now another endued with the Spirit beyond all Expectation many will thereby be encouraged to hope for the same Gift if they shall ask it many will learn and profit and it will thereby come to pass that when Occasion shall be to choose a Minister the Church shall not need to call strange and unknown Persons to that Office but she may have of her own such as are fit to be chosen Men whose Conversation and Manners are sufficiently known And when the number of such as are able to prophesie shall be great the Church will not be forced to use such Pastors as from their very Childhood have proposed to themselves such Offices as the reward of their Studies and addicted themselves to the study of Scripture and Religion no otherwise then they would have done to some Trade whereby they meant in time to get their Living So that a Man can expect but very few of them to prove other then Mercenary or Hireling Pastors Now that it was the Custom of the Jewish Church that all might thus Prophesie we may hence conjecture in that it is upon Record Luke 4. how our Lord upon the Sabbath day decording to the Custom came into the Synagoguge took a Book and expounded a place of Esay and how being twelve years of Age he sate at Jerusalem in the Temple among the Doctors and did aispute For he could not so do by vertue of any ordinary office forasmuch as his Age was uncapable neither did the Doctors know who he was Yea rather our Lord in so doing must needs make use of the power which was granted to every one to speak It remained in the Christians Congregations until the times of Constantine at the least Forasmuch as we have these words of Eusebius the Writer of Church affairs to that effect If any man inspired by the Grace of God should speak unto the People they all with great silence fixing their Eyes upon him gave such attention as if he had brought them some Errand from Heaven So great was the reverence of the hearers such order was seen among the Ministers One after another another after him Neither was there only two or three that Prophesied according to what the Apostle said but to all was given to speak so that the wish of Moses seems rather to have been fulfilled in them when he said Would God all the People might Prophesie There was no Spleen no Envy the gifts of God were dispensed every one according to his ability contributing his assistance for the confirmation of the Church And all was done with love in such sort That they strove mutually toâ—honour each other and every one to prefer another before himself But to the end this common prophecying may be profitable to the Church we must diligently mark what the Apostle advises For a sure thing it is that the Pride of Man is so great that whatever hath once fallen from him he will by any means have it stand for a Truth neither can he suffer that any man should infringe the same So that if he might be permitted to judge that last spake it will be a Miracle if a man in his Life time should see any one give way to him that contradicts him What is Paul's advice therefore in this case Let two or three Prophets speak and let the rest judge He will not therefore have the same Persons to be Parties and Judges And he adds a little after And the Spirit of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets for God is not the Author of dissention but of Peace So that as soon as any man hath spoken his own mind he ought to rest himself satisfied with the judgment of the rest and not obstinately to make no End of contending if this be not done a sure thing it is there will be no end of strife But what if any man will not be content to submit to the Judgment of the rest Verily I would avouch that being sharply admonished that he disturb not the Congregation and that he go not against the command of the Apostle or rather of our Lord commanding the Spirits of the Prophets to be subject to the Prophets he ought to be cast out of the Society though he should hold the prime place in the Congregation The people likewise must frequently be admonished that liberty for any one to speak in the Congregation is not therefore granted by the Apostle to the end every one should speak what comes to his Tongues end as if he were in a Market but whereas he gives liberty to him to speak to whom any thing is revealed he would have all Rashness and Impudence to be laid aside He that reverences not the Church of God let
Ecclesiasticks consider the Civil Magistrates share herein for though the Church-Men are principally guilty that being profest Ministers of a Religion which renounces and condemns Force they incite the Magistrate to use it both to impose their own Belief and suppress that of other mens yet the Civil Magistrate in running upon their Errands and turning Eexecutioner to their Cruelty upon such as dissent from them involves himself in their Guilt That in this Protestant Country Laws have been made to prosecute men for their Difference and Dissent from the National Worship and that those Laws have been executed I presume will not be denyed for not only our own Histories since the Reformation will furnish us with Instances but our own Age abounds with Proofs Thousands have been Excommunicated and Imprisoned whole Familes Undone not a Bed left in the House not a Cow in the Field nor any Corn in the Barn Widows and Orphants Uncommiserated no regard had to Age or Sex and what for only because of their Meeting to Worship God after another yet not a less Peaceable Manner then according to the Way of the Church of England Nor have they only suffered this by Laws intended against them but after an excessive rate by Laws known to have been never design'd against them and only intended against the Papists and in these Cases four times the Vallue has not served their turn we can prove 60 l. taken for 13 l. and not one Penny returned as we made appear before a Committee of the late Parliament which is the Penalty of four Offences for one to say nothing of the gross Abuses that have been committed against our Names and Persons by men of ill Fame and Life that have taken the Advantage of our Tenderness and the present Posture of the Law against us to have their Revengeful and Covetous Ends upon us And though yet unredrest not a Session of Parliament has past these Seventeen Years in which we have not humbly remonstrated our suffering condition we have done our Part which has been patiently to Suffer and modestly to Complain 't is yours now to hear our Groans and if ever you expect Mercy from God deliver us The late Parliament just before its Dissolution was preparing some Relief for us if that Parliament could think of it yea begin it we hope you will finish and secure it To remove all Scruples or Objections that Politically or Ecclesiastically on the part of the State or the Church may be advanced against us in this request I shall divide this Discourse into these two Parts First Caesar's Authority next the Church's Authority about Force in things that relate to Faith and Conscience with my Reasons briefly to both Our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did long since distinguish the Things of Caesar from the Things of God in his plain and notable Answer unto that ensnaring Question of the Jews about paying Tribute to Caesar Render saith he unto Caeâ—ar the things that are Caesar's and to God the Things that are God's that is Divine Worship and all things relating to it belong unto God Civil Obedience to Caesar God can only be the Author of right Acts of Worship in the Mind this is granted by all therefore it is not in the Power of any Man or Men in the World to sway or compel the Mind in Matters of Worship to God Where this is attemped God's Prerogative is invaded and Caesar by which Word I understand the Civil Government hath All. For he doth not only take his own Things but the things appertaining to God also Since if God hath not Conscience he hath nothing My Kingdom says Christ is not of this World nor is the Magistrate's of the other World Therefore he exceeds his Province and Commission when ever he meddles with the Rites of it Let Christ have his Kingdom he is sufficient for it and let Caesar have his 't is his Due Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's Then there are things that belong not to Caesar and we are not to give those to him such are Gods things divine things but those that belong to Caesar and his Earthly Kingdom must be of Duty rendred to him If any should ask me What are the Things properly belonging to Caesar I answer in Scripture Language To love Justice do Judgment relieve the Oppressed right the Fatherless be a Terror unto Evil-doers and a Praise to them that do well for this is the great End of Magistracy But perhaps my Answer shall be reckoned too general and ambiguous and a fresh Question started Who are the Evil-doers to whom the Civil Authority ought to be terrible But this ought in my Judgment to be no Question with men that understand the Nature of Civil Authority for those are the Evil-doers that violate those Laws which are necessary to the Preservation of Civil Society as Thieves Murderers Adulterers Traytors Plotters Drunkards Cheats Vagabonds and the like mischievous and dissolute Persons Men void of Virtue Truth and Sincerity the Foundation of all good Government and only firm Bond of human Society Whoever denies me this must at the same Time say that Virtue is less necessary to Government than Opinion and that the most Vitiated Men professing but Caesar's Religion are the best Subjects to Caesar's Authority consequently that other Men living never so honestly and industriously and having else as good a Claim to Civil Protection and Preferment shall meerly for their Dissent from that Religion a Thing they can't help for Faith is the Gift of God be reputed the worst of Evil-doers which is followed with exposing their Names to Obloquie their Estates to Ruin and their Persons to Goals Exiles and Abundance of other Cruelties What is this but to confound the Things of Caesar with the Things of God Divine Worship with Civil Obedience the Church with the State and perplex human Societies with endless Debates about Religious Differences Nay is not this to erect new Measures to try the Members of Worldly Societies by and give an Accession to another Power then that which is necessary to the Constitution of Civil Government But that which ought to deter wise Rulers from assuming and exercising such an Authority is the Consideration of the pernicious Consequences of doing so For First It makes PROPERTY which is the first and most fixt Part of English Government floating and uncertain for it seems no Conformity to the Church no Property in the State and doubtless the Insecurity of Property can be no Security to the Government Pray think of that 2dly It makes me owe more to the Church then to the State for in this Case the Anchor I ride by is not my Obedience to Laws relating to the Preservation of Civil Society but Conformity to certain Things belonging to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church so that though I may be an honest industrious English man a great Lover of my Country and an
Extent in the Punishment of the Offender If the Offender will neither receive private Admonition nor hear the Church then says Christ let him be to thee as an Heathen c. Here 's not one word of Fines Whips Stocks Pillories Goals and the like Instruments of Cruelty to punish the Heretick for the Purport of his Words seem to be no more than this If any Member of the Church refuse thy private Exhortation and the Church's Admonition look upon such a Person to be obstinate perverse no more of you let him take his course thou hast done well and the Church is clear of him Well but say the Church Fighters of our Age Did not St. Paul wish them cut off that troubled the Church in his time Yes But with what Sword think you Such as Christ bid Peter put up or the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God Give him leave to explain his own words For though we walk in the Flesh WE DO NOT WAR AFTER THE FLESH for the WEAPONS of our Warfare are NOT CARNAL but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong Holds casting down Imaginations and every high Thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing every Thought into Obedience to Christ What think you of this Here are Warfares Weapons Oppositions and Conformity and not only no External Force about Matters of Religion used or countenanced but the most express and pathetical Exclusion and Rejection of any such Thing that could be given It was this great Apostle that askt that Question Who art thou that judgest the Servant of another to his own Lord he standeth or falleth but he shall stand for God is able to make him stand Can we think that Imposition or Persecution is able to Answer him this Question in the Day of Judgment Do we with Reason deny it to the Papacy With what Reason then can we assume it to our selves Let us remember who said Not that we have Dominion over your Faith but are HELPERS of your Joy HELPERS then not IMPOSERS nor PERSECUTORS What Joy can there be in that to the Persecuted but if Paul had no such Commission or Power over Conscience I would fain know by what Authority more inferiour Ministers and Christians do claim and use it The Apostle Peter is of the same mind Feed says he the Flock of God not by Constraint c. neither as being Lords over God's Heritage The Heritage of God is free they have but 〈◊〉 Lord in and of their Religion Christ Jesus and they 〈◊〉 Brethren The Apostle Paul says That where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty but where Coertion Fines and Goals are there is no Liberty Is it to be supposed that men in these days are instructed by the Spirit of the Lord to destroy People in this World for their Faith about the other World it can't possibly be such mock at it Again says that Apostle to the Christians of his time You are called to Liberty from what Sin and the Ceremonies of the Law And shall the end of that call be the enthraling Conscience to human Edicts in Religion under the Gospel this would make our Case worse than the Jews for their Worship stood on divine Authority and if to make men free from them Christ came and that those very Ordinances are by the Apostle call'd beggerly Elements is it reasonable that we must be subject to the Injunctions of men in the Worship of God that are not of equal Authority The same Apostle yet informs us For this end says he Christ both dyed and rose again that HE might be Lord both of the Dead and Living But why dost thou judâ—e thy Brother then which nothing can more expresly oppose the Imposition Excommunication and Persecution that are among us 't is as if he had said Christ is Lord of Christians by what Authority dost thou pretend to judge his Servants thou also art but one of them A Brother at most Thou hast no Dominion over his Faith nor hast thou Commission to be Lord over his Conscience 't is Christ's right his purchase he has paid for it For this end he both dyed and rose again that he might be Lord of Dead and Living that he might rescue them from the Jaws of Oppression from those that usurpt their Consciences and made a prey of their Souls But why dost thou judge thy Brother If not Judge then not Persecute Plunder Beat Imprison to Death our Brethren that must needs follow Come let us look at home and view our Actions and see if we are not the Men. In short Let every man be fully Perswaded in his own mind and if any thing be short God will reveal it let us be patient It was not Flesh and Blood that reveal'd Christ to Peter they are Christ's words therefore let us leave off the Consultatiâ—ns and Weapons of Flesh and Blood and trust Christ with his own Kingdom he hath said the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it and we cannot think that he would seek to Hell Gates to maintain it and if it is not of this World then not to be maintain'd by that Force and Pollicy which are the Props of the Kingdoms of this World God the Apostle tells us has chosen the weak things of the World to confound the mighty Therefore he has not chosen the Strength and Power of this World to suppress Conscientious People that as to humane force are justly accounted weakest and most destitute in all Ages of defence I will here conclude my Scripture Proofs with this Exhortation or Injunction rather of the Apostle Ye are bought with a Price not to be made the Servants of men The Subject here is not human wherein human Ordinances are to be obeyed that is not the Question but Divine and those that for fear or favour of men desert their Principles and betray their Consciences they renounce their Lord deny him that bought them and tread his Blood the Price under Foot Ye are bought with a Price Christ has purchast you you are not your own but his that bought you therefore be not the Servants of men about God's things or Christ's Kingdom vail to no mans Judgment neither make mans determinations your Rule Stand fast in the Liberty wherewith he has made you free be not entangled again into Bondage for we are not come to that Mountain that we cannot touch to Sinai we are not now to be kept under like School Boys or Minors that Imposition might be useful then which is a bondage now Moses was God's Servant and faithful he saw heard and went upon the Mount for the People but Christians are come to Mount Zion to Jerusalem the Mother of Peace and Freedom Much then depended upon the Integrity of Moses it pleased God then to appear by those ways but now the Law is brought home to every mans Heart and every one shall know
God for himself from the least to the greatest My Sheep says Christ hear my Voice And let us remember that there is no possibility of deception here where there is no necessity of trusting In fine Ye are bought with a Price be not made the Servants of men One is your Lord even Christ and ye are Brethren But methinks I hear a stout Objection and 't is this At this rate you will everthrow all Church Discipline all Censure of Errors if no man or men can determin My Answer is ready and short No Scripture Church Discipline is hereby oppugn'd or weakned Let not the Sentence end in Violence upon the Conscience unconvinced Let whoso will expound or determin so it be according to true Church discipline which can be exercised on them only who have willingly joyn'd themselves in that Covenant of Union and which proceeds only to a separation from the rest a disavowing or disowning but never to any Corporal or Pecuniary Punishment the two Arms of Anti christ or rather that great Beast which carries the Whore But let us observe what sort of Church Government the Apostle recommends Avoid foolish Questions and Genealogies and Contentions and Striving about the Law for they are unprofitable and vain A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition reject knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being CONDEMNED OF HIMSELF or Self-condemned It s very remarkable First That this great Apostle instead of exhorting Titus to stand upon Niceties and sacrifice mens Natur I Comforts and Enjoyments for Opinions of Religion injoyns him to shun Disputes about them leaving People to their own Thoughts and Apprehensions in those Matters as reputing the Loss of Peace in striving greater than the Gain that could arise from such an Unity and Conformity wâ—â—ch excellently well coheres with another Passage of his Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall REVEAL even this unto you He did not say You shall be FINED PILLAGED EXCOMMUNICATED FLUNG into Prison if ye be not of our Mind 2dly That in the Apostles Definition an Heretick is a Self confounded Person one conscious to himself of Error and Obstinacy in it but that are not Conscientious Dissenters for many Ten Thousands in this Nation act as they believe and dissent from the National Religion purely upon a Principle of Conscience to Almighty God And with Men of any Tenderness or common Sense their continual great Sufferings in Prison and Estate and their Patience under them are a Demonstration or there can he none in the World Nor can their Persecutors disprove them unless they could search Hearts and that is a little too far for a Fallible Spirit to reach and an Infallible One they deny So that the Apostle makes not the Heretick to lie upon the side of Mis-believing or not coming up to his Degree of Faith and Knowledge but upon the side of Wilfully Turbulently Obstinately and Self condemnedly maintaining inconsisting Things with the Faith Peace and Prosperity of the Church Granting us then not to be Obstinate and Self-condemned Dissenters and you cannot reasonable refuse it us how do you prove us Erroneous in the other Part All Parties plead Scripture and that for the most opposite Principles The Scripture you say cannot determine the Sense of it self it must have an Interpreter he must either be Fallible or Infallible If the first we are worse then before for men are apt to be more confident and yet are still upon as uncertain Grounds If the last this must either be an external or an internal Judge if an external you know where you are without pointing for there stands nothing between you and Popery in that Principle If an internal Judge either it is our selves or the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us not our selves for then the Rule is the Thing ruled which cannot be and if it be the Spirit of Christ Jesus and the Apostle tells us That unless we have the Spirit we are none of Christ's then is the Neck of Imposition broken and what hast thou to do to judge me let me stand or fall to my own Master And upon this Foot went Luther Calvin Melanâ—…on Beza abroad and Cranmer Ridlâ—y Hooper Jewel Bradford Philpot c. at home and as good Men and constant Martyrs in Ages before them But suppose Conscientious Dissenters as ill Men as the Apostle describes an Heretick to be what is the Punishment this is close to the Point stand it 3dly A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition reject that is deny his Communion declare he is none of you condemn his Proceedings by a publick censure among your selves What more can be strain'd by the fiercest Prosecutors of Men for Religion out of these words But will we be govern'd by the Rules of Holy Writ have we any true Veneration for the Exhortations and Injunctions therein then let us soberly consider what the Apostle Paul advises and recommends to his beloved Timothy upon the present Occasion and I dare promise an End to Contest and Persecution for Religion Flee Youthful Lusts but follow Righteousness Faith Charity Peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure Heart but foolish and unlearned Questions avoid knowing that they do gender STRIFES And THE SERVANT OF THE LORD MUST NOT STRIVE but BE GENTLE UNTO ALL MEN APT TO TEACH PATIENT IN MEEKNESS INSTRUCTING THOSE THAT OPPOSE themselves if God peradventure will give them Repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth There is such a depth of Wisdom lodged in this one Passage that I find difficulty to express my self upon it and yet I shall with pleasure endeavour it Here is both Faith and Government Religion and Duty all that becomes us towards God our Brethren our Neighbours yea our Opposers and Enemies Flee Youthful Lusts that is avoid Sin turn away from every Appearance of Evil flee the Temptation as soon as thou seest it lest it ensnare thee but follow Righteousness Charity and Peace seek and love Holiness and there will be Charity and Peace to thy self and in thee to all men For the Kingdom of God stands in Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the holy Ghost not in Contest about Words nor in maintaining foolish and unlearned Questions such as reach not the Soul nor carry any force upon our Affections that learn not men to be better to have more piety vertue goodness but are meer Notions and Speculations that have no influence upon holy Living or tendency to the Regiment of our Passions Such Questions as the Curiosity or Wantonness of Men's Wit or restless Fancy are apt to start under Pretence of Divine Truth and Sublime Mysteries these Niceties Conceits and Imaginations of Men not bottomed on the Revelation of the eternal Spirit but humane Apprehension and Tradition such Questions avoid meddle not with them but next
those that Persecute for Religion are Irreligious 2dly The next Cause of Persecution is the gross but general Mistake which People are under concerning the Nature of the Church Kingdom of Christ for the lamentable Worldliness of mens minds hath put them upon those Carnal Constructions which have made way for all the external Coertion and Violence used by bad and suffer'd by good Men on the score of Religion from the beginning And no wonder if ordinary Persons tumble upon this Construction when the Disciples of Jesus shew'd themselves so ill read in the Mysteries of his Kingdom that after all the Intimacy they had had with him they resrain'd not to ask When shall the Kingdom be restored to Israel They look't abroad had a Worldly Idea in their minds Jew like they waited for external Deliverance from the Power of the Romans rather then an Internal Salvation from the Dominion of Satan and interpreted that to Worldly loss and freedom which did relate to the loss and Redemption of the Soul but Jesus taught them better things yet so as not to deny or flatly discourage and rebuke them that though true might have been more then they could have borâ— therefore he winds off with them upon the Time and the Season of the thing knowing that the Time was at hand that they should be better taught and satisfied of the nature of his Kingdom unto which he referred them When the Spirit of Truth comes it shall lead you into all Truth c. That the Kingdom of Christ is not of this World has been before observed and the Reason is so great that all men of common Sense must allow it upon Christ's Principle for says he then would my Servants fight for me truly implying that because the Kingdoms of this World are evidently set up and maintained by Worldly Force and that he will have no Worldly Force used in the Business of his Kingdom therefore it is not of this World Consequently those that attempt to set up his Kingdom by Worldly Force or make that their Pretence to use it are none of his Servants they are truly but Men of this World such as seek an Earthly and not an Heavenly Kingdom themselves and not Christ Jesus Where by the way let me observe That though the Jews to engage Pilate the more easily to their side impeach't Christ of being an Eâ—â—e my to Casar they were Enemies and He a Friend to Caesar for he came to reform the Lives of Men to make them better Subjects to obey Caesar not for Fear but for Conscience sake so would Caesar's Provinec have been easie and safe But the Jews would have had him Caesar's Enemy one that should have forcibly rescued them from Caesar's Power they waited for a Captain General to begin the Revolt and with an high Hand to over bear and captive Caesar as he had done them and 't is more than probable that his Appearance being to another End they therefore rejected him their Heart being set upon this But to return Christ told his Disciples that he had chosen them out of the World how not to converse or live bodily in it no such matter but he had chosen or singled them from the Nature Spirit Glory Policy and Pomp of this World How Persons so qualified can make a Worldly Church or Kingdom unless they desert Christ's Doctrine is past my Skill to tell So that the Capacity that Christians stand in to Christ is Spiritual and not Worldly or Carnal and therefore not Carnal or Worldly but Spiritual Methods and Weapons only are to be used to inform or reclaim such as are Ignorant or DisobediÌ„ent And if we will give Antient Story credit we shall find that Worldly Weapons were never employed by the Christian Church till the became Worldly and so ceast to be truly Christian But why should I say the Church the most abused word in the World her Leaders have taught her to eâ—â— and that of believing as the Church believes is so far from being true in point of Faith as well as Reason that the Church her self his ever believed as the Clergy that is the Priests believed since that sort of Men have practised Distinction from and Superiority upon the Laity He that will peruse the Ecclesiastical Story delivered us by Eusebius Pamphili Secrates Scholasticns Evagrius Ruffinus Sozomen c. will find but too many and sad Instances of the Truth of this In short Peoples apprehending the Church and Kingdom of Christ to be Visible and Worldly like other Societies and Government have thought it not only to be Lawful but Necessary to use the Arts and Force of this World to support that Church and Kingdom especially since this Interest of Religion hath been embodied with that of the Civil Magistrate for from that time he hath been made Custos utriusque tabulae and such as offend though about Church Matters have been reputed Transgressors against the State and consequently the State interested in punishing the Offence Whereas had Christians remain'd in their primitive Simplicity and Purity in the Self-denying Patient and Suffering Doctrine of Christ Christianity had stood in Holy Living not in Worldly Regiment and its Compulsion would have been Love its Arms Reason and Truth and its utmost Rigour even to obstinate Enemies or Apostates but Renouncing of their Communion and that not till much Forbearance had been used to them To sum up all The Kingdoms of this World stand in outward Bodily and Civil Matters and here the Laws and Power of Men reich and are effectual But the Kingdom and Church of Christ that is chosen out of the World stands not in Bodily Exercise which the Apostle says profits little nor in Times nor Places but in Faith and that Worship which Christ tells us is in Spirit and in Truth to this no Worldly Compulsion can bring or force men 't is only the Power of that King of Righteousness whose Kingdom is in the Minds and Souls of the Just and he rules by the Law of his own free Spirit which like the Wind Bloweth where it listeth And as without this Spirit of Regeneration no man can be made a Member of Christs Church or Kingdom so neither is it in the Power of Man to command or give it and consequently all Worldly force employ'd to make men Members of Christs Church and Kingdom is unnatural and ineffectual I could be very large upon this point for 't is very fruitful and so much the cause of Persecution that if there were never another to be assign'd this were enough for upon due consideration it must needs meet with every mans Judgment and Experience I will here add the sense of memorable Hales of Eaton upon this subject When our Saviour in the Acts after his Resurrection was Discoursing to his Disciples concerning the Kingdom of God they presently brake forth into this Question Wilt thou now restore the Kingdom unto Israel Certainly this Question betrays their
Ignorance their thoughts still ran upon a Kingdom like unto the Kingdoms of the World notwithstanding they had so long and so often heard our Saviour to the contrary Our Saviour therefore shortly takes them up Non est vestrum your Question is nothing to the purpose the Kingdom that I have spoken of is another manner of Kingdom then you conceive Sixteen hundred Years et quod excurrit hath the Gospel been preached unto the World and is this stain spunged out yet I doubt it Whence arise those novel and late Disputes do notis Ecclesiae of the notes and visibility of the Church Is it not from hence they of Rome take the World and the Church to be like Mercury and Sosia in Plautus his Comedies so like one another that one of them must wear a Toy in his Cap that so the Spectators may distinguish them whence comes it that they stand so much upon State and Ceremony in the Church Is it not from hence that they think the Church must come in lâ—ke Agrippa and Bernice in the Acts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as St. Luke speaks with a great deal of Pomp and Train and Shew and Vanity and that the Service of God doth necessarily require this noise and tumult of outward State and Ceremony Whence comes it that we are at our Wits ends when we see Persecution and Sword and Fire to rage against the true Professors of the Gospel Is it not because as these brings Ruin and Desolation upon the Kingdoms of the World so we suppose they work no other effect in the Kingdom of Christ all these Conceits and many more of the like Nature spring out of no other Fountain then that old inveterate Error which is so hardly wiped out of our Hearts That the State of the Church and Kingdom of Christ doth hold some proportion some likeness with the state and managing of temporal Kingdoms Wherefore to pluck out of our Hearts opinionem tam insitam tam vetustam a Conceit so antient so deeply rooted in us our Saviour spake most excellently most pertinently and most fully when he tells us that his Church that his Kingdom is not of this World In which Word of his there is contained the true art of discovering and knowing the true Nature and Essence of the Church For as they which make Statues cut and pare away all Suporfluities of the matter upon which they work so our Saviour to shw us the true proportion and feature of the Church prunes away the World and all superfluous Excrescenties and sends her to be seen as he did our first Parents in Paradise stark naked As those Elders in the Aprocryphl Story of Susanna when they would see her Beauty commanded to take off her Mask So he that longs to see the Beauty of the Church must pull off that Mask of the World and outward shew For as Juda in the Book of Genesis when Thamar sat Vail'd by the Way-side knew not his Daughter from an Where So whilst the Church the Daughter and Spouse of Christ sits vail'd with the World and Pomp and Shew it will be an hard matter to discern her from an Harlot But yet further to make the difference betwixt these Kingdoms the more plainly to appear and so better to fix in your Memories I will briefly touch some of these Heads in which they are most notoriously differenced The first Head wherein the Difference is seen are the Persons and Subjects of this Kingdom For as the Kingdom of Christ is not of this World so the Subjects of this Kingdom are Men of another World and not of this Every one of us bears a double Person and accordingly is the Subject of a double Kingdom The Holy Ghost by the Psalmist divides Heaven and Earth betwixt God and Man and tells us as for God He is in Heaven but the Earth has he given to the Children of Men So hath the same Spirit by the Apostle St. Paul divided every one of our Persons into Heaven and Earth into an outward and earthly Man and into an inward and heavenly Man This Earth that is this Body of Clay hath he given to the Sons of Men to the Princes under whose Government we live but Heaven that is the inward and spiritual Man hath he reserved unto himself They can restrain the outward Man and moderate our outward Actions by Edicts and Laws they can tye our Hands and our Tongues Illa se jactat in aula Aeolus Thus far they can go and when they are gone thus far they can go no farther But to rule the inward Man in our Hearts and Souls to set up an Imperial Throne in our Understandings and Wills this part of our Government belongs to God and to Christ These are the Subjects this the Government of his Kingdom Men may be Kings of Earth and Bodies but Christ alone is the King of Spirits and Souls Yet this inward Government hath influence upon our outward Actions For the Authority of Kings over our outward Man is not so absolute but that it suffers a great Restraint it must stretch no farther then the Prince of our inward Man pleases for if secular Princes stretch out the Skirts of their Authority to command ought by which our Souls are prejudiced the King of Souls hath in this case given us a greater Command That we rather Obey God then Men. 3dly A third great Cause of Persecution for Religion is this that men make too many things necessary to be believed to Salvation and Communion Persecution entred with Creed making for it so falls out that those who distinguish the Tree in the bulk cannot with the like ease discern every Branch or Leaf that grows upon it and to run out the necessary Articles of Faith to every good or true thing that the Wit of Man may deduce from the Text and so too as that I ought to have a distinct Idea or Apprehension of every one of them and must run them over in my mind as a Child would â—on a Lesson by Heart and that as the Creed of which I must not miss a tittle upon my Salvation this I think to be a Temptation upon men to fall into Dispute and Controversie and then we are taught by long Experience that he that has most Power will oppress his Opinion that is weaker whence comes Persecution this puts Unity Peace too much upon the Hazard Mary's Choice therefore was not of many things but the one thing necessary as Christ terms it the Lord of the true Divinity and pray what was this one needful thing but Christ Jesus himself and her Faith Love and Obedience in and to him here is no perplext Creed to subscribe no Systhime of Divinity to charge the Head with this One Needful thing was Mary's Choice Blessing may it be ours and I should hope a quick End to Controversies and consequently to Persecutions 4thly Another Cause of Persecution is The Prejudice of Education and that
for it is not of the Nature of my Religion and Kingdom And as I neither assume nor practise any such thing my self that am the great Author Promoter and Example of this Holy Way so have I not only never taught my Disciples to live or act otherwise or given them a Power I refuse to use my Self but expresly forbad them and warn'd them in my Instructions of exercising any the least Revenge Imposition or Coertion towards any This is evident in my Sermon preached upon the Mount where I freely publickly and with much Plainness not only prohibited Revenge but injoyned Love to Enemies making it to be a great Token of true Discipleship to suffer Wrongs and conquer Cruelty by Patience and Forgiveness which is certainly a great Way off Imposition or Compulsion upon other Men. Furthermore when I was strongly bent for Jerusalem sent Messengers before to prepare some entertainment for me and my Company in a Village belonging to the Samaritans and the People refused because they apprehended I was going to Jerusalem though some of my Disciples particularly James and John were provok'd to that Degree that they asked me if I were willing that they should command Fire from Heaven to destroy those Samaritans as Elias in another Case had done I turned about and rebuked them saying Ye know not what Manner of Spirit ye are of for am not come into the World to destroy Mens Lives but by my peaceable Doctrine Example and Life to save them At another time one of my Disciples relating to me some Passages of their Travails told me of a certain Man they saw that cast out Devils in my Name and because he was not of their Company nor followed them said he we forbad him as if they had thereby served and pleased me but I presently testified my Dislike of the Ignorance and Narrowness of their Zeal and to inform them better told them they should not have forbid him for he that is not against us is for us My Drift is not Opinion but Piety they that cast out Devils convert Sinners and turn Men to Righteousness are not against me nor the Nature and Religion of my Kingdom therefore ought to be cherisht rather then forbid That I might sufficiently declare and inculcate my Mind in this Matter I did at another Time and upon a different Occasion preach against all Coertion and Persecution for Matters of Faith and Practice towards God in my Parable of the Sower as my Words manifest which were these The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a Man which sowed good Seed in his Field but while Men slept his Enemy came and sowed Tares among the Wheat and went his Way but when the Blade sprung up and brought forth Fruit there appeared the Tares also so the Servants of the Houshoulder came and said didst thou not sow good Seed in thy Field from whence then hath it Tares he answered an Enemy hath done this the Servants said unto him wilt thou then that we go and gather them up but he said NAY lest while ye gather up the Tares ye root up also the Wheat with them let boâ—h grow together till the Harvest and in the Time of Harvest I will say to the Reapers gather ye together first the Tares and bind them in Bundles to burn them but gather the Wheat into my Barn And that I might not leave so necessary a Truth misapprehended of my dear Followers or liable to any Mis-constructions my Disciples when together desiring an Explanation I interpreted my words thus He that soweth the good Seed is the Son of Man the Field is the World the good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom but the Tares are the Children of the Wicked One the Enemy that sowed them is the Devil the Harvest is the End of the World and the Reapers are the Angels This Patience this Long Suffering and great Forbearance belong to my Kingdom and the Subjects of it my Doctrine speaks it and my Example confirms it and this can have no possible Agreement with Imposition and Persecution for Conâ—cience 'T is true I once whipt out the Prophaners of my Father's Temple but I never whipt any 〈◊〉 I call'd I cry'd to every one that thirsted to come and freely offer'd my Assistance to the Weary and Heavy Laden but I never impos'd my Help or forced any to receive me for I take not my Kingdom by Violence but by Suffering And that I might sufficiently deter my Followers from any such Thing as I profess my self to be their Lord and Master so have I commanded them to love one another in a more especial Manner But if instead thereof any shall grow proud high-minded and beat or abuse their Fellow-Servants in my Religious Family when I come to take an account of my Houshold he shall be cut asunder and appointed his Portion among the Unbelievers Behold the Recompence I appoint to Imposing Lordly Persons such as count others Infidels and to make them such Believers as themselves will exercise Violence towards them and if they prevail not will call for fire from Heaven to devour them and if Heaven refuse them will fall a Beating and Killing and think it may be they do God good Service but their Lot shall be with Unbelievers forever Nay I have so effectually provided against all Mastery that I expresly charged them not to be many Masters for one was their Master I told them that the greatest amongst them was to be Servant to the rest not to impose upon the rest nay that to be great in my Kingdom they must become as gentle and harmless as little Children and such cannot force and punish in Matters of Religion In fine I strictly commanded them to love one another as I have loved them who am ready to lay down my Life for the Ungodly instead of taking away Godly Men's Lives for Opinions and this is the great Maxim of my holy Religion He that would be my Disciple must not crucifie other Men but take up his Cross and follow me who am meek and lowly and such so enduring shall find Eternal Rest to their Souls this is the Power I use and this is the Power I give How much this agrees with the Language Doctrine and Example of Jesus Christ I shall leave them to consider that read and believe Scripture but some affected to present Church Power and desiring their Ruin that conform not to her Worship and Discipline will object That Christ did give his Church Power to bind and loose and bid any Person agrieved tell the Church I grant it but what binding was that with outward Chains and Fetters in nasty Holes and Dungeons nothing less Or was it that his Church had that true Discerning in her and Power with him that what she bound that is condemned or loosed that is remitted should stand so in God's Sight and Christ's Account But tell the Church and what then observe Christ's