a damnable neglect or the fear of persecution or a perswasion of greater perfection falls soon into Schism and Apostacy and cannot perform that duty of Charity which he is obliged to by his Christianity Vult Deus adorari nos in verâ congregari charitate saith Oecolampadius God will be worshipped and will have us to be assembled in true charity Qui ab Ecclesia Dei se scindit non orat versus Hierusalem quando quidem illam non cupit reparatam a qua ipse seperatur He that cuts himself off from the Church does not pray with his face towards Jerusalem as the Prophet Daniel did because he does not desire that the Church should be repaired from which he is seperated Thus Oecolampadius These Dissenters may reform and purify the Church they are to advise about till they leave it naked not only of Rites and Ceremonies but also of useful Truth faederal Conditions and holy Duties as others have done and do still to this day Here Mr. Baxter shall vouch for me and I will instance in the great Article of Justification He charges not a small party with misunderstanding of the nature and use of Christ's Death and Obedience as he says thinking that Christ obeyed or satisfied by suffering or both as in our persons so that the Law takes it to all ends and uses as done by us our selves as when a man payeth his debt by his Delegate This opinion saith he if I understand it blots out Law and Gospel at one dash And he adds a little after That from that Doctrine this opinion follows That we are justified before we believe nay before we sin nay before we are born nay that it is an immanent Act in God and therefore eternal and that Infidels are justified as Infidels And a little after he says The beginning of these mens misery is usually pride of their supposed graces This leads them first to a seperation from their Brethren and contempt of their Guides next to Anabaptistry and at last they turn Antinomians and Libertines and are given up to a Spirit of Madness As Luther observ'd in his time eo feruntur Spiritu Satanae ut rideant doceri a nobis fidem charitatem They are carried with such a Spirit of Satan that they deride we should teach them Faith and Charity But to return to Mr. Baxter who goes on thus When men will so horribly abuse thSe on of God as to make him a friend to sin who hath done and suffered so much to destroy it and to make his blood the chiefest defensative of transgression and the price of a Lawless and Licentious life which was shed to demonstrate God's hatred of sin and to purge the Souls of men from its power and pollution c. It 's no wonder then as he concludes if God bears no longer but do appear against them from Heaven Excommunicate them and deliver them up to Satan the Spirit of Delusion It appears by the Confutation of that Physician that Mr. Baxter thought Dr. Lewis Moulin had taken too strong a Dose of that pernicious Doctrine And he tells us further that my Lord Brooks made this the Basis of all their Vanity Pride and Insolence They have the Spirit and so know more than all the Learned Pious Godly men in the World They have the Spirit they cannot sin they cannot err Adultery is but an Act of the Flesh but they are all Spirit and no Flesh. In this case if they be Traitors heady highminded c. Who will wonder What may they not be carried up to by the imagination of the Spirit That Lord as Mr. Baxter cites him goes on with their Character and concludes How can these things be spoken of Arminians Socinians or our Prelates These Dissenters should resolve the World whether these be the more eligible or only the tolerable party they communicate with in their separation from the Church of England But because they Appeal to the word to the word let them go That word tells us of Prelates and refers us to their Authority and sets forth their Faith and Practice for our Pattern Heb. 13. 7. 17. It tells us also of false Apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ 2 Cor. 11. 13 14 15. But it charges us not to follow their pernitious ways And so I leave them The Dissenters Fifth Section THey plead that ther 's no Obligation upon them to own the Churches Power to impose New Terms of Communion unless the Church can prove her Power from Christ It 's not for them to disprove it it lies upon her to prove it and to prove it substantially too or else it will be hard to prove it their duty to own it The Answer 1. That Power which the Church had from the Apostles she had from Christ for the Apostles as was proved above had the mind of Christ if they did not deliver what they had received they were unfaithful And if they were unfaithful in this they might be unfaithful in all the rest and so our whole Christianity will be call'd in question 2. The Church hath not only made her Claim to a Power but has bin in actual Possession of it for more than 1600. years without interruption That Plea is enough for her to keep possession and many Rules of Law will Justify her in it 1. Melior est conditio possidentis He that is in possession has the best Title and 2. Cum Partium Jura sunt obscura favendum est Reo When the Rights of the Parties Litigant or Contesting are obscure and doubtful we are to favour the Defendant that is the Party whom the Actor or Accuser desires and labours to thrust out of Possession or lay a Guilt upon And the Law says further in dubio favendum est Superiori imperanti in doubtful Cases we are to favour the Commands of our Superiors That the Church is not Bonae Fidei Possessor and comes not honestly by her Title and Possession of this Power cannot by the Rules of Law or Equity be determined by the Melius Inquirendum of an Adversary The Actor Aggressor or Plaintiff must bring his Writ of Ejectment to try the Title and if these Dissenters have not yet been sufficiently bafled in this attempt let them at last offer us substantial Proofs to this effect and I dare promise them we shall not follow the example of this Author we will not be scurrilous not droll or quibble upon him about a substantial proof of circumstantial matters 3. This Power is not pretended to be such a plenitude of Power as they claim in the Church of Rome not a Power to all intents and purposes No not a Power to make any new Articles of Faith or institute any new Sacraments or parts of Divine Worship But only to make Orders touching Circumstances Rites and Ceremonies in the publick performance of God's service and the Administration of Discipline amongst the Members
Men preach such as they print with Publick Allowance and therefore they ought to provide better for their Souls elsewhere Especially they say That the Doctrine of Justification is Articulus stantis vel cadentis Ecclesiae an Article with which the Church falls or stands This Article say they in the Parish where we live is quite demolish'd by the Doctrine of Justification by Works We are bound therefore to provide for our safety and depart and when We are once out We will advise upon another Church not which is tolerable but which is most eligible and in all things nearest the Word p. 161 Sect. 5. They plead That there 's no Obligation upon them to own the Churches Power to impose new Terms of Communion unless the Church can prove her Power from Christ. It 's not for them to disprove it it lies upon her to prove it and to prove it substantially too or else it will be hard to prove it their duty to own it p. 181 Sect. 6. They say The World is pestered with Disputes about Worship about Religion and therefore since All cannot be in the right they are willing to go the safest Way and worship God according to his Word If the things disputed be lawful to be done let them be so they are sure it is lawful to let them alone And they think there 's no great hazard in keeping to Scripture Rule nor can believe that Christ will send any to Hell because they did not worship God in an external Mode more neat and spruce them God commanded p. 190 Sect. 7. They pretend That the things impos'd are parts of Worship which none can create but God nor will God accept of any but such as are of his own creating and whether they be Integral or Essential parts They do not know but in the Worship of God they find them standing upon even ground with those that are certainly Divine or at least as high as Man can lift them p. 196 Sect. 8. They do not find that God ever commanded the things imposed either in General in Special or their Singulars If God has commanded a duty to be done the Church must find a place to do it in But though the Church must find a place for the Duty a time for the Duty she may not find new Duty for the Time and Place p. 216 Sect. 9. They are the more cautious of all Ceremonies because the Old Church of England in her Homilies Serm. 3. of Good Works tells us That such hath been the corrupt Inclination of Man superstitiously given to make new Honouring of God of his own head and then to have more Affection and Devotion to keep that than to search out God's holy Commandments and do them p. 247 Sect. 10. They say They have read over all the Books that have been written in Justification of those things and they find their Arguments so weak their Reasons so frivolous that setting aside Rhetorick and Railing there 's nothing in them but what had been either Answered by others or is contradicted by themselves which hardens them in their Errour who are gone astray into the right Way p. 254 Sect. 11. They say It 's their Duty to endeavour a Reformation according to the Word which if others will not they cannot help it and hope they will not be angry with the Willing p. 262 A Fresh Inquiry Into the PLEA of the NON-CONFORMISTS c. SECT I. THey plead that some things are imposed upon their Faith tendred to subscription as Articles of Faith which are either false or at least they have not yet been so happy as to discover the truth of them In Article 20. they are required to subscribe this Doctrine The Church hath Power to decree Rites and Ceremonies Which Clause of the Article as we fear it hath been by some indirect means shuffled into the Article it not being found in the Authentick Articles of Edw. 6. so it proves also that the Terms of Communion have been enlarged since the first Times of the Reformation The Answer The Articles of the Church of England are not imposed under Oath nor required to be received with a like affection and piety as the holy Scriptures are nor to be believed as Articles of Faith further then they can approve themselves to be contained in the Holy Scriptures For the Sixth of those Articles declares thus Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation so that whatsoever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an Article of the Faith or be thought requisite and necessary to salvation The moderation of the Church of England herein is evinced in another Treatise viz. The Proselyte of Rome called back c. p. 7. to the 10. There is no Protestant Church of any creditable denomination more moderate and ingenious in this point then ours is To keep them from Sects and Corruptions and tie them up close to the Doctrine of the Augustan Confession we find it decreed among the Lutherans Nemo quicunque sit That no man whatsoever shall be admitted to any Office or Ministry in their Churches Schools or otherwise nor shall any such be tolerated therein unless they shall approve and receive such a body of Doctrine as there mentioned and shall persevere therein and neither by word nor deed oppose the same And it is further decreed and established That if any shall be but suspected as contradicting those Doctrines and the unanimous consent therein if they refuse to be better instructed and give no place to the Fatherly admonitions of others their Superiours they shall be removed from their Offices or Employments or else their names shall be signified that due execution of punishment may proceed against them as persons refractory and contumacious And 't is their practice too upon occasion to make their Ministers and Professors to renounce such opinions as are declared to be erroneous sub jurisjurandi sacramento even under the Sacrament of a solemn Oath And the Calvinists are no less strict in this point The Proxies or Deputies to be sent from the Provinces to the National Synod as is expressed in the Form of the Letters written à Synodo Victoriacensi in Brittain are tied to this Solemn Engagement Promittimus coram Deo c. that is We do promise before God that we will submit our selves to all things which shall be agreed and decreed by your holy Assembly and will execute the same with all our power because we are persuaded that God presides over it and that he will direct you by his Holy Spirit according to the rule of his Word into all truth and equity Here we have a promise of submission made before God by a kind of implicit Faith and blind Obedience to the Decrees of a Synod of Calvinists before the Convention of it And this is grounded upon a Divine persuasion else with what confidence can they
promise before God That God would preside amongst them and direct them into all truth and equity The Church of England requires no such subjection As to the twentieth Article They object first against the Substance and secondly against the Superfoetation of it since the time of Edward VI. 1. That the Church hath power to decree Rites and Ceremonies This they say is false or at least a truth which hitherto they have not been able to discover This is a bold Charge against the Church of England That she obtrudes a falshood to be subscribed But doth it not argue an affected blindness in these Dissenters that they will not see the Churches Power or else a malicious obstinacy that they will not acknowledge it But To clear the Article it will not be amiss to declare what we mean by Church and what is intended by Rites and Ceremonies which we assert the Church hath power to Decree and establish As to Rites and Ceremonies David Rungius for the Lutherans tells us That the necessity of Order and Decency which the Apostle injoins doth require that there should be some Ceremonies in the Church and among the Calvinists it is the peremptory assertion of Zanchy That the Church of God on Earth never did or ever can want Ceremonies cum sine Ceremoniis c. because the Faithful can neither grow up into one body nor perform any publick Worship to Almighty God without them Hereupon Grotius has very well observed That the Christian Church as established by Christ and propagated by his Apostles and their Successors is a Body joined together not onely in Opinions as the Sects of the Philosophers nor in Rites and Ceremonies only as the Pagans of old nor in Government onely as the People of Poland sed in tribus his vinculis colligatum but a Body bound up together in all these three Bonds of Union To this effect others have observed that there are two sorts of Laws prescribed to the Church of God some concern the very essence life and substance of Christianity and the necessary Acts and Duties of Faith Hope and Charity And these are the primary the principal and fundamental Laws of Christs Kingdoms these are of Christs own Institution and appointment and for any Church to pretend to a power herein is Vsurpation In reference to these Laws and Ordinances the Church hath but the Office of an Ark to preserve and keep them and of a Pillar to support and declare them to the World Other Laws are secondary and suppletory having respect to the circumstances of those principal Acts and Duties and tending to the more facile and commodious observation of them These Laws may be called positive and inservient for that reason and the whole Legislative power of the Church consists in making Laws of this inferiour nature To this purpose Zanchy observes a twofold Power given to the Church one definite and determined quatenus scilicet determinata praescripta habet mandata ultra quae non licet progredi Inasmuch as it hath Commands determined and prescribed which it ought not to transgress And such is the Power which the Church hath in preaching the Word administring the Sacraments c. The other Power of the Church is indefinite and more ample whereby according to the circumstances of time and place and as shall seem most expedient She may appoint many things of their own nature indifferent that may make for good Order Decency and Edification Sub Ceremoniarum nomine complecti quicquid externe geritur ad cultum divinum celebrandum religionisve causa peragitur saith Joan Bunderius Under the name of Ceremonies is comprehended all that is outwardly acted in the celebration of Gods Worship or performed for Religion sake But this definition takes in all Gods external Worship even the Holy Sacraments are Ceremonies in this sense and notion Whereas the Rites and Ceremonies we treat of have their Scene in a lower Sphere among things indifferent Such are The Time of Publick Worship not onely as to the ordinary proportion but likewise as to extraordinary occasions for Fasts and Festivals The Persons in their several stations and parts of the Ministration The Place with all the Furniture of Books Utensils and Ornaments thereto belonging The Forms of all particular Offices and Administrations The Ministerial Habit and the Gestures both of Priest and People respectively in the performance of Divine Service with all Observances Actions and Circumstances of Deportment pro hîc nunc in Religious Assemblies which may be judged more commodious to procure Reverence and Devotion or to add Solemnity to Gods Publick Worship and Service These in the general are called Rites and Ceremonies and as to the Specification and particulars of them they are in the Churches power and are left to the prudence and care of Governours to determine and set in order But we meet with Complaints in many Holy men and learned Authors That the Church of God hath been made a Theatre of Ceremonies many of which are unintelligible and some of them opposite to the Word of God and yet in these men place their righteousness and holiness and in these consist the whole Practice of their Piety These Ceremonies are made matters of Merit and of Merchandice too Remission of Sins and other Spiritual Effects are attributed to them they are made so essentially necessary as if Christ could not save us nor be served at all without them The Grievances which have afflicted godly minds upon this account do arise 1. From the number and multiplicity of these Ceremonies 2. From their Futility and Lightness 3. From the necessity and value that hath been put upon them And lastly From the use and end that hath been assigned them And indeed they are not onely vain as our Saviour calls them but pernitious when through the high esteem men have for them 1. They do depretiate Gods Word and Ordinances 2. When they incumber and justle â—ut Gods substantial Worship and Service 3. When men rely upon them in an expectancy of grace and life from them as if the use of these could supply the want of Reformation and amendment That we may not split upon this Rock we have certain marks given us by the great Apostle to steer our Course and Practice by and those marks are four The Ceremonies ordained must be 1. Expedient 2. Decent 3. Significant 4. Prescribed by Authority 1. They must be expedient and that requires two things 1. That they be few and easie 2. That they be safe and inoffensive 1. They must be few and easie because we are not under the Law but under Grace and Christs Yoke is easie his Burden light Whereupon he hath knit together the Society of Christian People novi populi by Sacraments in number few in their observation easie and in their significancy most excellent saith S. Augustine who therefore towards the end of his 119. Epist. complains that
protect and succour the Church of God Vnde observandum est c. Whence we may observe saith he That besides the common Profession of the Faith there is required of Princes something more because God gives them Power and Authority to Protect the Church and to advance God's Glory This indeed concerns all Men but for Kings the greater their Power is the more they are obliged to lay out themselves for the Interest of the Church and the more carefully to regard it Vnde Videmus saith He quà m alieni sunt à regno Christi c. Hence we may see how repugnant they are to the Kingdom of Christ who would take away the Authority and Power of Kings in Church affairs that they may transfer it upon themselves But here we are to observe that the Power of Kings in Ecclesiastical matters is not Privative but Cumulative not design'd or intended by Almighty God to infringe or weaken the Authority of the Church but to fortifie and assist it To this purpose the Professors of Leyden tell us it is the Duty of the Prince or Magistrate to settle the Worship of God according to his Ordinance by the Ecclesiastical Ministery and when it is setled to preserve it intire and pure per judicia Ecclesiastica and when corrupt or depraved to reform it by the advice and judgment of Ecclesiastical Officers and as much as in him lyes to prevent and suppress all Seducers and false Teachers that would hinder the practice and progress of true Religion In hoc enim reges sicut eis divinitùs praecipitur Deo serviunt in quantum reges sunt si in suo regno bona jubeant mala prohibeant non solum quae pertinent ad humanam Societatem verumetiam quae ad divinam Religionem Herein Kings serve God according to his Command when they enjoyn what is good and forbid what is evil not only in things relating to Humane Society but in Matters of Religion And this is all the accompt needful to be given to that inquiry what we mean by the Church in this Article That the Church hath a Power to decree and settle Rites and Ceremonies to support her own Government and Administrations and to promote the publick and solemn Worship of God may be proved irrefragably out of the premisses 1. What things are needful or expedient to be decreed appointed and settled in the Church to support her Government and Administrations and to promote God's publick and solemn Worship those things the Church hath a Power to appoint decree and settle otherwise Christ hath not been faithful in his House is deficient in things expedient and necessary and has not provided for the well-ordering of his Church and Kingdom But some Rites and Ceremonies are expedient and needful to be decreed and settled in the Church to support her Government and Administrations and to promote God's publick and solemn Worship This has been proved already by Reason and Authority in the former part of this Disquisition I shall add but one or two Authorities more the first shall be Mr. Calvin's who delivers himself fully in the point Hoc primum habeamus saith He Let us lay down this for a Rule That if in every Society of Men we see some government necessary to preserve the common Peace and Concord if in the performance of all Matters some rite or other is in force which it concerns the publick honesty and humanity it self not to reject that is more especially to be observed in the Churches of God which being best supported by the well-composed Constitution of all things therein administred when they are without Concord they fall to nothing wherefore if we regard the safety of the Church we must take care of St. Paul's Injunction that all things be done decently and according to order and appointment But seeing there is such diversity in mens manners so great variety in their Minds such opposition in their Wits and Judgments No Government can be firm and stedfast unless it be establisht by certain Laws Nec sine statâ quadam formâ servari ritus quispiam potest Nor can any Rite be preserved without some set Form Huc ergo quae conducunt leges tantum abest ut damnemus ut his ablatis dissolvi suis nervis Ecclesias totasque deformari ac dissipari contendamus Such Laws therefore and Decrees as tend to this effect we are so far saith he from condemning that if these be taken away we may avouch that the Nerves and Sinews of the Churches are dissolved and that they are all deform'd and shattered to pieces Thus Mr. Calvin and we find it by sad experience whereupon Whitaker does acknowledge Habuit Ecclesia semper authoritatem leges ecclesiasticas condendi sanciendi easque aliis imperandi ac eos puniendi qui non observarent The Church had always a Power and Authority to make Ecclesiastical Laws and to establish them to injoyn them to others and to punish such as would not observe them 2. That Power which hath peculiar Officers assigned and special Rules prescribed to direct the exercise of it in the Church That Power is invested in the Church otherwise that assignation of Persons and Prescription of Rules would be nugatory trifling and to no purpose But to direct the exercise of appointing and settling Rites and Ceremonies in the Church peculiar Officers are assigned and special rules prescribed Of the Officers assign'd to exercise this Power in the Church we have said enough already and of the Rules prescribed I shall add no more than what is said by one or two Protestant Writers upon that Text Let all things be done decently and according to order Hinc colligere promptum est saith Mr. Calvin from hence we may gather That those Ecclesiastical Laws which concern Discipline and Order are Pious and not to be accounted humane Traditions because they are grounded upon this General Command and have a clear approbation as out of the mouth of Christ himself My next Authority shall be out of David Dickson a Scotchman and a Presbyterian He reckons it the seventh Precept touching Good Order Vt decorum observetur in personis ad publicum Conventum Ecclesiae accedentibus in rebus ad publicum cultum necessariis ut omnia cum gravitate modestia sine Superstitione sordibus peragantur partes Cultus Divini inter se ita Ordinentur temporibus suis disponantur ut Dei gloriae aedificationi Ecclesiae inserviant Maximè That a Decorum be observed of all Persons that come to the Assemblies of the Church and in all things allyed to the Publick Worship that all things be performed with Modesty and Gravity without Superstition and a Clownish sordidness and that all the parts of Divine Worship be so ordered among themselves and so disposed to their proper times that they may be inservient as much as is possible to the Glory of God
consider the Lillies of the Field to avoid anxiety And he teaches us to make this spiritual improvement not only of the works of Nature but of Art also and of emergent Accidents He commanded that the Censers of Corah and his Accomplices tho' abused to Superstition and Sacriledge yet should still be continued in use about the Worship of God that they should be made a Covering for the Altar to be a Memorial to prevent all Sacrilegious Vsurpations of the Priests Office Numb 16. 40. Hereupon Mr. Calvin observes as he had done before of God's Mercies and wonderful works so now of his Judgments Statim excidere ac deleri ex cordibus hominum nisi adminiculis quibusdam exerceantur in eorum Meditatione that they do soon slip out of the memory and are soon blotted out of the hearts of Men unless they have some helps for their exercise in the Meditation of them And he says This happens not only through their ignorance but through their neglect we should therefore be more attentive to such helps of Memory as may keep us to our Duty Another instance we have to the same purpose Numb 57. 10. And the Lord said unto Moses bring Aarons Rod again before the Testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebels and thou shalt quite take away their murmerings from me that they die not Upon which words the same Mr. Calvin takes notice That men are forgetful and sluggish in considering the great Works of God and many times they do wickedly Drown and Bury the Memory of them and therefore not without an Exprobation God Commands that Rod to be safely kept as a sign of their Contumacy and Rebellion And it will not be amiss to take notice that these Instances as well as that of the Altar erected by those Tribes are in reference to Religion and God's Worship All Rites and Ceremonies appointed in the Church and about God's Worship must be designed for Order Decency and Edification Vt Retinacula sint incitamenta Pietatis that they may be stays helps and incentives unto Piety says a Learned Lutheran Such as are idle insignificant and unprofitable would be nugatory and ridiculous But we must always remember that whatever the Church appoints she does not pretend to add to Divine Institutions but to assist our Infirmities in the use of them It is not in her power to meliorate an Ordinance of God's appointment but to adorn the Solemnity to imprint our duty and heighten our affections to it God's Sacraments cannot be made better in their own Nature But the Faith the Devotion and Piety of the Receivers and Worshippers may be more or less intense and vigorous according to the impressions made upon their Faculties And he that is not sensible of the force of words and visible signs to this effect is too stupid and bruitish to write himself a Man There is scarce any Object but may be helpful to our devotion and serve us to some spiritual and heavenly end and purpose and when there is none offer'd we should study and make occasions to be heavenly minded 'T is a good Observation of Mr. Arrowsmith in a Sermon before the House of Commons on Revel 12. 1 2. That besides the Natural there is a spiritual use to be made of all the Creatures and I will add of all the works of Art and of all occasional emergencies Man 's Soul says he is an Alembeck in which when the Creatures are laid like so many herbs if there be any fire of Devotion within many sweet Meditations may be distilled Natural hearts are apt to make a sensual use of Divine things but Spiritual hearts have an Art of making Divine uses even of Natural things which says he we should all do well to learn And may we not set up our Furnace in God's House May we not extract such Spirits and Essences in Matters of Religion and Divine Worship Should we endeavour to be devout and heavenly-minded at all times and shall we be prophane in God's House when we are about his Worship and Service shall we be prophane then for fear we should be accounted Superstitious God forbid Let us always bear in mind the Apostles Rule and let our Practice make it ours Do all to the Glory of God To help the truely weak and conscientious over that which these Dissenters have made so great a stumbling block I mean the sign of the Cross I shall conclude this Section with a Meditation of that Polite and Learned Prelate Bishop Hall His Subject is a Red Cross upon a Door and his Devotions run out thus Oh sign fearfully significant this Sickness is a Cross indeed and that a bloody one both the form and the colour import Death The Israelites doors whose Lintels were besprinkled with blood were passed over by the destroying Angel here the destroying Angel hath smitten and left this mark of his deadly blow we are wont to fight cheerfully under this Ensign abroad and be victorious why should we tremble at it at home Oh God there thou fightest for us Here against us under that we have fought for thee but under this because our sins have fought against thee we are fought against by thy Judgments Yet Lord it is thy Cross tho' an heavy one It is ours by Merit thine by Imposition O Lord sanctifie thine affliction and remove thy vengeance Certainly there 's more Devotion and Piety in such Godly Meditations upon the Cross then in quarrelling at the Innocent use of it And I am sure 't is no Superstition to use any thing for a help to heavenly Meditation but only then when I treat it with affections and a regard above the true value of it and court it with Adoration To conclude this Subject If I be low of Stature as Zacheus was and shall meet with any Tree that lifts me up to a Salutary apprehension of my Saviour I will neither make it my Idol by a Religious veneration nor will I superstitiously reject it upon a vain or pretended fear of becoming an Idolater at the sight of it See more of this Subject Sect. 8. at the end Dissenters Third Section THey Plead That since Communion with the Church is suspended and denyed but upon such Terms as take away Christian Liberty in part and by Consequence leaves all the rest at Mercy They dare not accept of Communion upon those Terms There are some things which God has in the general lest free and indifferent to do or not do yet at some times and in some Cases it may be my great sin if I should do some of them as when it would wound the Conscience and destroy the Soul of a weak Christian If now I shall ingage my self to the Church that I will never omit such an Indifferent thing and the Soul of that weak Christian should call to me to omit it I have tyed my hands by ingagement I cannot help him tho' it would save His or a
is evident he dissents not out of weakness but out of Pride Animosity and Stubbornness Ferus could say very truly and pertinently on Rom. 14. Non loquitur de his quae ex impudentia pertinatia aut destinatâ malitiâ committimus The Apostle speaks not of such things as we commit out of impudence obstinacy or prepensed Malice and Design For if he who takes offence does it out of Malice Nempe quòd vel nullâ offuscatur ignorantiâ vel illâ penitus cujus potest facile convinci sed aut per vafritiem aut per obstinationem Scà ndalizatur neutiquam tenemur morem gerere nequitioe ejus saith Soto if he be not clouded with ignorance or with such ignorance only as he may easily be convinced of and yet is scandalized either out of craftiness or through obstinacy we are by no means bound to satisfie his wickedness For otherwise as he says we should be bound to connive at Hereticks and for instance to abstain from flesh for fear the Jovinians should take offence at us And because the Dissenters take Sanctuary upon all occasions in the Fourteenth Chapter to the Romans we shall the more particularly consider it That the Doctrine therein delivered was peculiar to the Jews is the affirmation of the Learned Estius and he has it twice for failing and our Synopsis says the same after him De Ceremoniis Judaicis non Christianis Apostolus Loquitur The Apostle speaks of Jewish not of Christian Ceremonies saith Matthisius and Mr. Perkins is of the same judgment For he saith That Commandement Rom. 14. 22. was given by Paul for those times when men were not fully persuaded of the use of God's Creatures as Meats Drinks c. but to these times it is not Nor indeed can it directly be applied to us for this Reason The Apostle there gives Directions to accommodate the differences betwixt private persons But among us the contest is between Authority and Faction the Church and Private Dissenters from her Communion Now when from an indifferent action or the omission of it one of two Evils will necessarily follow right Reason dictates that I must so act or omit acting that I may avoid the greater evil But certainly being under her Jurisdiction 't is a greater evil to offend the Church than any private person or persons who are but Members of it And as when the competition is betwixt them I must obey God rather than Man So when the Competition is between the Church and private persons Common Reason will soon determine which is to be prefer'd The right stands presumptively for the Governing Party who are in Possession of their Authority and I am certainly obliged in Law and Conscience to adhere and submit to them because the Law concludes Melior est conditio possidentis They that are in Possession have the fairest Right Especially where the Possession began upon so good a Title and has been of so long continuance without interruption Give none offence saith the Apostle neither to the Jews nor to the Greeks nor to the Church of God 1 Cor. 10. 32. which we must interpret by that other Rule of the Apostle Gal. 6. 10. Let us do good unto all men especially to them who are of the houshold of Faith If I cannot please all I must be sure not to offend the Church to which I stand more strictly obliged than to any Conventicle or private Person whatsoever I would fain know also of these Dissenters under what Form they will place themselves If they be strong in the Faith then they are so well instructed in the Nature of Christian Liberty and things indifferent they cannot be offended at the use or forbearance of such things If they be weak that weakness proceeds from ignorance ' and a proneness to Superstition as was observed above and 't is their duty to seek for better information and acquiesce in the Sense and Resolution of Authority when they have it But they should do well to remember there is another sort of Men a Faction that is a sort of obstinate Men and how little value is to be set on such we have heard from Mr. Perkins 2. But it will be alleadged that the Apostle will have us to receive him that is weak in the Faith but not to doubtful Disputations Rom. 14. 1. We must use them gently as we do by sick persons the weakness of whose Constitution will not indure stronger Medicaments we must apply remedies that are more mild take care of their Diet and attend them with great Care and Diligence But we must not forget that this was only a Temporary provision to keep the Peace among private Christians Itaque suscipiendi erant ad tempus non spernandi saith Catharinus quoad usque securis ad radicem poneretur They were not to be despised but to be received for a time until the Axe was laid to the Root That is saith he until the Apostles had made a perfect Determination and by that means had cut off those Leaves of the Law which were without Fruit and the wholsom Sap of Truth We know it is the office of the Bishop not only to instruct in meekness but to reprove rebnke and by sound Doctrine both to exhort and convince Gainsayers And when Authority hath settled matters of difference The Subjects Rule is express and Positive Phil. 2. 14. Do all things without murmuring and disputing V. Act. 16. 4. 3. But it is objected as the charge of the Apostle That no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brothers way Rom. 14. 13. But this is to be understood of an Active Scandal design'd as a Mouse-trap set and ready baited on purpose to entice and catch the unwary Mouse as Tirinus notes from the word It is to be understood saith Cajetan of putting a stumbling block formally Secundum propriam rationem Scandali according to the proper account of Scandal to the Mortal ruine of another person This Scandal is in a matter that is in my own Choice and Power Rom. 15. 1. And it is to be understood in Cases wherein Authority has not interposed her Determination for that does Supersede my Choice 'T is very well observed therefore by G. Ambianas That Liberty is Promiscuous both to the strong and to the weak but with this Limitation Vbi nec Pietas violatur Conscientiae nec Ecclesiae temeratur Auctoritas where the Piety of Conscience is not violated nor the Authority of the Church infring'd But here we must observe some Rules to direct our Practice 1. I must not omit a Duty to avoid Scandal for that were to do evil that good may come which the Apostle says is damnable Rom. 3. 8. Nor 2. Can I properly be said to give Scandal by performing that which is my duty antecedently to that Scandal for then my duty should be my sin and I should be under a necessity of
could any Man be more tender of giving offence whether by word or deed than he was and that he would have us to be so too when the Party is to be treated with tenderness we may conclude from the severity of his Sentence upon such as do the contrary Mat. 18. 6. But for all that great Compassion which he had for his little ones His weak and infirm Disciples His Divine Wisdom was pleased to make a difference and he had his vae vobis His Let them alone His sharp reproofs and his dereliction for the Scribes and Pharisees Mat. 25. 12 13 14. And truely we do not desire much less dare we pretend to be wiser or more charitable than our Lord and Master Danda quidem opera est quoad licebit ne qua ex nostra dicendi ratione offensio nascatur sed extremae insaniae foret velle nobis prudentiùs Moderari quam edocti sumus à Coelesti Magistro saith Mr. Calvin Care must be taken as much as in us lyes that no osfence arise from the manner of our words or actions but it were a part of extreme madness to think we can carry our selves more Prudently than we are taught by our Heavenly Lord and Master Christ knew very well that the Pharisees were offended at his Doctrine saith the Learned Luc. Brugensis Sed non judicabat operae pretium ut placandis illis intenderet aut clariùs interpretaretur doctrinam contumacitèr rejecturis But he did not think it worth the while to endeavour to pacifie them or to give a clearer Interpretation of his Doctrine to them who would reject it with Contumacy and stubborness And a little after Significat hîc porro Christus Christ does signifie thus much to us that such men are not so much to be regarded as that their offence should greatly trouble us who take occasion of osfence from our Good when the cause of it is solely in themselves Yet there is some need of Judgment and Prudence that we may distinguish betwixt the weak who being offended out of ignorance Mox se reddunt sandbiles do quickly become Curable and the Malignant and Contumacious who study invite and pick up Scandals almost out of every word and action Thus Luc. Brugensis The Dissenters go on thus There are some things which God hath in the general left free and indifferent to do or not to do yet at some times and in some Cases it may be my great sin if I should do some of them as when it would wound the Conscience and destroy the Soul of a weak Christian. To this I Answer 1. That the Pleas of Christian liberty and weakness were never more abused than by such as have pretended to defend them The abuse hereof against Sobriety and Temperance have been taken notice of by the two great Apostles and Caveals entred by them both against it Gal. 5. 13. 2 Pet. 2. 10 18 9. See Soto ad Rom. 14. 16 17. p. 379. The abuse hereof against Authority St. Paul takes notice of Rom. 13. Vnde non dubia conjectura Colligimus fuisse tum quosdam inquietos qui libertatem Christianam stare non putarent nisi deturbata Civili Potestate From whence we undoubtedly Collect that there were unquiet Spirits in those times who thought Christian Liberty could not stand without the disturbance of the Civil Power saith Mr. Calvin Hence St. Peter As free and not using your Liberty as a Cloak of Maliciousness 1 Pet. 2. 16. freed by Christ from many yoaks but not from that of subjection to God or to Superiours and therefore not pretending to any such Liberty nor covering Sedition c. under colour of Christianity as the Gnosticks did who said they were free from all Publick Laws and despised Dominion as St. Jude hath it but as the Servants of God ac proinde etiam eorum servi quibus Deus nos servire jubet and therefore the Servants also of those whom God commands us to serve In short when Christian Liberty is set up against Order Decorum and common honesty 't is set up against Authority 1 Cor. 14. last when it is set up against the common Methods of Edification and Peace 't is set up against Charity Rom. 14. 19. when 't is set up against Temperance and Sobriety 't is made an occasion to the flesh Gal. 5. 13. when it is made use of to palliate the designs of factious and ambitious men 't is used as a cloak of malitiousness In all these Cases there is Apostolical Authority to restrain our Liberty And in Matters of Religion what Liberty can we justly claim more than what Christ hath obtain'd and his Grace conferr'd upon us A Liberty to serve God acceptably in all instances of the First and Second Table with reverence and Godly fear Hebr. 12. 28. To this purpose Mr. Calvin observes That St. Peter pronounceth them free who are the Servants of God Vnde colligere promptum est hanc esse finem libertatis nostrae ut promptiores magis expediti simus ad obsequium Dei Neque enim aliud est quam manumissio à peccato Atqui peccato dominium tollitur ut se in subjectionem justitiae homines addicant From whence saith He 't is easie to Collect that the end of our Liberty is that we may be the more prompt and ready for God's Service and obey him with the greater expedition Nor is this Liberty any thing else but a Manumission from Sin And the Dominion is taken from Sin that men may render themselves up to the Subjection of Righteousness Thus Calvin 2. I must tell my weak Brother that Christ hath establisht a Church and placed me under Governours and given them Authority to restrain and determine the use of my Liberty according to their Christian Prudence by such Rules and to such ends and purposes as he himself has prescribed And tho' he has left some things free and indifferent in the general yet it will certainly be my great Sin to do them unseasonably as when I despise Authority break good Order and destroy the Vnity and Peace of the Church for this will be an affront to Christ himself who establisht such a Constitution in his Church long before I came into the Communion of it and hath said He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me And every Soul which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the People Hereupon I take it for granted that I am justified in my Obedience to the Voice of the Church by the Concession of this Author which hath been mentioned already somewhere in the Margent of these Papers For saith He if my Brother will be offended at what God has made my duty there 's no Remedy but that he lay aside his unjust offence and not that I lay aside my necessary duty Mel. Inquir page 348. which Rule if well apply'd will very near determine the
whether the aversion he has to the present Constitution and Orders of this Church does not proceed from some one or more of these grounds viz. either from want of Humility and Modesty in Himself or from want of Love and Reverence to the Governours or from want of a due examination of the nature ends and usefulness of the things establish't or from want of Candour and Ingenuity in putting a fair construction on them For the very same Rites and Ceremonies which we have in the Church of England are in use in all the Lutheran Churches with many others And although the Churches under Calvin's denomination have not all that are practised amongst us yet none are more strict than they in the Observation of such as they have establisht For Obedience to Authority is certainly the duty of God's Servants St. Peter calls it well-doing 1 Pet. 2. 13 15 16. and makes it as well a branch of God's Will as an exercise of our Christian Liberty For as Mr. Perkin's on Gal. 4. 28. has very well observed This is perfect Liberty when man's will is conformable to the Will of God Nor does any Church think her Liberty impeach't by such Impositions For the use and excellency of my Christian Liberty lyes in this that it teaches me to be just and dutiful without constraint and so 't is no burden to me I can comply with the Commands of my Superiors and carry my Liberty along with me And all the while I hold to the generous Resolution of the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. 12. All things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the Power of any Knowing the Dominion I have over such indifferent things I will gratifie my weak Brother as far as I am able treat and instruct him with all ingenuity and freedom in the use of them And if my Superiours shall think fit to retrench the Practice of my freedom in some particular Instances that the world may see I am not under the sullen Spirit of fear and bondage but acted by a free Gospel-Spirit the Spirit of Power of Love and of a sound mind I will conform my self to their Commands with so much ease cheerfulness and satisfaction that it shall not look like a force or restraint upon me but as an exercise of my Liberty being very well assured for whose sake and upon what account and Principles I do it And 6. When I consider that things indifferent may be well or ill used as Mr. Perkins has observed and every Man's Experience can tell him I cannot but think my self happy in the Churches appointment for when she has determined my choice by her Injunctions to stand or kneel for example if I perform it with alacrity and reverence as I should do I find a satisfaction in my Humility and Obedience and I am the more obliged to my Superiours for the good use of my Liberty which I might have used amiss and for making that which was but indifferent of its own Nature to become of good advantage to me by her Authority And yet such is my Christian freedom even in the use of these things that while I practice them I am not at a loss either for my liberty or my duty I am not in bondage either to fear a Curse or to hope for Merit or to seek for ease of Conscience or Salvation in them The Dissenter goes on thus If I shall engage my self to the Church that I will never omit such an indifferent thing and the Soul of a weak Christian should call to me to omit it I have tied my hands by engagement I cannot help him though it would save his or a thousand Souls out of Hell because I have given away my freedom to the Church Answer That all Clergymen are engaged to the Churches in which they are appointed to Administer is no new thing no matter at all of wonder For how else can the Church be secure of their fidelity How can she trust them with the Sacred Office This therefore is the practice of every Church of any creditable Denomination But when Men get into a vain of Scrupling they can seldom or never find the way out of it One scruple begets another like circles in a troubled water Mr. Calvin has pursued this Observation rarely well in his Institutions to which I refer the Reader He concludes when some superstitious opinion has cast a scruple into our heads things that are pure in their own Nature become contaminated and unclean to us and we can make use of nothing that God allows us without perturbation and disquiet of mind When a man begins to scruple at the Cross soon after the Wedding Ring will pinch the Finger the Surplice will become an eye-sore or a burden and bowing the Knee to our Heavenly Father at the Sacrament will be thought so hard a task we shall not be willing to buckle to it Nay if we suffer our selves to be haunted with these fears a Religious Oath a Honorary Title a Civil Salutation will be a Bug-bear to our jealous minds 'T is the duty of a Ghostly Father or Spiritual Guid not to foment but to dissipate and expel such Scruples And though they have voluntarily tyed up their hands for the Satisfaction of the Church yet their tongues are let loose enough Do they therefore lay open the Nature of things indifferent Do they declare that they may be used or let alone without Sin till Authority does interpose about them Do they acquaint the People with the Power wherewith the Church is invested by the King of Saints and instruct them in their duty to that their Spiritual Mother as the Spouse of Christ Do they represent the excellency and reward of obedience to Superiors according to the Fifth Commandment and back their Discourses with their example to lead them unto Conformity These things they ought to have done whatever they have left undone Those Good Women of the Church of Corinth might have scrupled at St. Paul's injunction of the Vail and silence in the Church They might have objected that it went against the grain of a tender Conscience and their Christian Liberty to submit to such impositions which were nothing else but some of the old Traditions amongst the Jewish Rabbins They might have alleadged that Christ had made them free that they had Innocency as well as Confidence enough to lift up their faces before Angels and that for Sion's sake they could not hold their peace Whatever the Women did we know there was among them a sort of bold Men who thought they had good warrant to controul the Apostles Orders 1 Co. 14. And how does the Apostle encounter them but by an allegation of God's gentle Nature and the temperament of the Church according to it God is not the God of Confusion but of Peace as in all Churches and the impulse of his Spirit does not push men on to Contention but to love and unity and are
respondeant Paulo qui nobis hodie imaginariam quandam fidem fastuosè jactant quae secreto cordis Contenta Confessione or is veluti re supervacaneâ inani supersedeat Nimis enim Nugatorium est asserere ignem esse ubi Nihil sit Flammae neque Caloris Let them consider what they can Answer to St. Paul who at this time do proudly boast of a certain imaginary Faith which being conteined secretly in the heart Supersedes Confession and all good works as vain and needless things For it is too grosly Nugatory and trifling to affirm there is a fire there where there is neither heat nor flame In the Doctrine of Justification let these Dissenters take Faith in the general Gospel-sense or in the sense now mentioned from Dr. Owen and there will be no Dispute much less Offence about this Article But there are very Learned men who return this Objection upon at least some of these Dissenters who overthrowing the remission of sins do utterly demolish as our Author words it the Article of Justification as well by Faith as by Works and the necessity of New obedience For if the satisfaction and death of Christ were suffered and made in our stead and formally made ours they do certainly expiate all our sins and free us from all guilt as well of Omission as of Commission And upon this account being made not only innocent as free from all Commissions but also actually just as omitting no part of our bounden duty we have no need of Pardon or Remission because here remains no sin to be remitted And then we have Christ's Obedience and Merits for a surplusage and consequently have no need of Repentance or New obedience but a fair title to eternal life upon Christ's account without them So that this Authors Argument turns clearly upon themselves For they who take away the necessity of remission of sins do demolish the Article of Justification But these Dissenters or a Sect of them do take away the necessity of remission therefore they do demolish the Article of Justification which consists in remission Rom. 3. 7 8. Eph. 4 ult Colos. 1. 14. We appeal therefore to all Protestant Churches to judge how well they provide for their safety by departing from our Communion Yet depart they will and as this their Advocate saith when they are once out they will advise upon another Church not which is tolerable but which is most elegible and in all things nearest the word But suppose you mistake the word 'T is possible men may think themselves nearest when indeed they are furthest off from it for you dare not pretend to be infallible 'T is Calvin 's Observation Tanta est ferè in omnibus Morositas There is among men such Morosity Envy contempt of others and such an immoderate esteem of themselves that were it lawful every man would erect a Church to himself because he finds in his own disposition some difficulty to accommodate himself to the Manners of others Some thought themselves as near the Mark certainly as these Dissenters so near that they took upon them to controul the Orders about matters of Indifferency and Decorum of the great Apostle and t is worth our Observation to take notice how severely he checks them for it 1 Cor. 14. 36. What Came the word of God out from you Or came it unto you only Objurgatio asperior Calvin calls it a sharp objurgation or chiding but no more than what was needfull to abate and blunt the pride of those Corinthians who studying nothing but themselves would defer or allow nothing to the primary Churches from whom they had received the Gospel But carried themselves saith D. Dicson as if they had been the only Christians in the World to whom the Apostles had been sent and to whom alone it did belong to judge of matters of Order and Decency in the Church The Apostle therefore does justly expostulate with them Are you the prime and only Christians No you are not there are other Churches besides yours and of more Antiquity It is not meet therefore that you should despise them their Customs and practice to do all things according to your own Way Mode and Arbitrement Thus the Learnud Calixtus To separate from any Church of an Apostolical Constitution which cannot be justly charged with Heresy Idolatry or the practice of any deadly sin with allowance or without controul as from a body full of Wens and Vlcers to the great scandal of many of that Communion is undoubtedly Schism For the Church and such a Church is undoubtedly the Spouse of Christ Who gave himself for it that he might sanctify and clense it with the washing of water by the word That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it might be holy and without blemish This is the end of Christ's dispensation tho not accomplisht to perfection till she comes to Heaven The mean while if she be chaste and loyal he does embrace and cherish her not give her a bill of divorce for little faults and curable infirmities no more must we Mr. Baxter himself could once tell the World I confess I have no great zeal to confine the Church to the party that I best like nor to shut Christ out of all other Societies and coop him up to the Congregations of those few that say to all the rest of the Church Stand by we are more holy than you He therefore that separates from such an Orthodox Church out of a real intent to be take himself to another which he thinks more pure he ought to be very sure that it is so and not to stand in need to advise about it whether it be or no and he ought also to observe these two rules 1. That he do not profess a total separation from it much less to do it with reproach as if it were not a Member of Christ's Body for that will defame the Spouse of Christ of whose honour and safety Christ is very tender and jealous 2. That he does it so as may give no scandal to those truly pious tho but weak ones of that Communion which he deserts Solius enim puritatis Majoris amor tanti fieri non debet quanti unius fratris infirmi Scandalum atque Offensio For the love only of greater Purity ought not to be so much regarded as the scandal and offence of one such weak Brother when by such a breach of concord he gives scandal also to his Superiors and by that means may hinder that Reformation which in due time if need were his sober carriage and example might promote in that Communion Hereupon the Apostle exhorts Heb. 10. 24 25. Let us consider one another to whet and provoke unto love and to good works Not forsaking the assembling our selves together but exhorting one another He that forsakes the Church whether it be out of
heard with meekness and good attention Quam hoc utile necessarium sit in Causâ Religionis hic locus apertè ostendit How profitable and necessary this is in the Cause of Religion saith he this place does plainly manifest And that moderate Divine adds a little after Si viri boni jure jurando vel aliis idoneis rationibus se legitimè excusent recipienda est eorum excusatio If good men can purge themselves by Oath or by other meet ways their excuse is to be received There are some that will stubbornly maintain what they have once propounded Such men saith he are Authors of great mischief in Church and State Let not the Reader wonder that I insist so much upon these Authorities For has not the Church of England purged her self sufficiently by Argument against these Dissenters and entred her Protestation too to satisfy their jealousies Let us hear the Learned Pious and Judicious Bishop Dr. Sanderson Our Church God bethanked saith he is far from any such impious presumption viz. as that of the Pharisees and the Church of Rome and hath sufficiently declared her self by solemn Protestation enough to satisfy any ingenuous impartial Judgment that by requiring obedience to these Ceremonial Constitutions she hath no other purpose then to reduce her Children to an orderly Uniformity in the outward worship of God so far is she from seeking to draw any opinion either of Divine necessity upon the Constitution or of effectual holiness upon the Ceremony Thus Dr. Sanderson Our Dissenting Brethren should have been so Charitable as to have followed the steps of those Ten Tribes They should have declared their satisfaction upon the Churches Protestation and have blessed God that she is so perfectly clear of their suspition They should have been highly pleased that matters are so well this they should have done rather then to revile and cavil as they have done rather then to condemn and forsake her Communion upon their own jealousy to set up a new Altar and Altar against Altar condemn'd by all the Orthodox among the Antients They have indeed the jealousy rashness of those Tribes but not their ingenuity and condour And to shew their uncharitableness they bear the World in hand that we set up these Rites and Ceremonies as Parts of God's worship matters of necessity and design'd to insnare the Conscience But to mollify the Objection and Censure they say at last if these Rites and Ceremonies do not stand upon even ground with those things which are certainly Divine yet at least they stand as high as man can lift them But by their good leave they are mistaken in this suggestion too for they stand not so high as they are set up in the Church of Rome Aquam sale conspersam populis benedicimus ut eâ cuncti aspersi Sanctificentur ac purificentur As Alexander the First has it in an Epistle We bless Water and Salt for the People that all who are sprinkled therewith may be Sanctifyed and Purified They attribute Spiritual effects to their Ceremonies not only a power to cure Diseases to expel and drive away the Devil but to procure Grace to remit venial sins to Sanctify their Persons And they use Spiritual Acts of Consecration and solemn Benedictions to Hallow them to these effects Do the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England stand thus high For shame in cool blood they will not say it I suppose therefore the meaning is only this That they stand as high as of due right and lawfully we can lift them If this be their meaning tho there may be a malitious insinuation that we do something more then we ought yet really to do what of due right and lawfully we may do is no sin in us but 't is sin in them to break Communion and seperate from us upon that account Here we may observe the method and progress of Discord First they fancy and pretend a fault then they take the confidence Calumniari fortiter to make the Calumny as black as may be and to stick it upon us with as great an Odium as they can and when they have shewn their spite they mince the matter they were mistaken in their exaggeration we have done nothing but our Duty or at least what is warrantable in exalting God's solemn worship and service by lifting up the Appendages thereof to their due and decent station For other Protestant Churches do lift up their establisht Rites and Discipline as high as we and this is evident from the severity they design and inflict upon such as are refractory to the use and practice of them When such Rites and Laws about them are established the Church does not account the Observation of them so mean and vile as to be violated through contempt and with the scandal of others but such transgressors she looks upon as undecent and disorderly walkers and exerciseth her Authority to note to admonish to reprove and rebuke them and endeavours by all wholsom means to reduce them to a sound mind This is the Duty of the Church when it may be performed seasonably saith a Protestant Divine of great Learning and an acute Judgment And does not Mr. Calvin say the same I am sure it was his Practice And upon those words 1 Cor. 11. 16. If any man seems to be contentious he writes thus Tales sunt omnes qui bonos ritus utiles Convellunt nulla necessitate c. Such are all they who without any necessity root out good and profitable Rites and Ceremonies such as make controversies about matters of no difficulty such as no reason can satisfy such as will not endure to be reduced to Order such also are they who are unsociable and are carried away with a foolish affectation of novelties Such as these St. Paul will not vouchsafe to answer Because contention is a pernicious thing and ought to be banisht out of the Church Hereby as Calvin goes on he teacheth that refractory and contentious Persons are to be bridled by Authority rather then refuted by disputations c. And Grynaeus upon these words Colos. 2. 5. Joyning and beholding your Order refers Order to the whole Liturgy and Discipline of the Church and of such as walk disorderly as those mentioned 2 Thes. 3. 6. he saith Quoad ejus fieri potest in ordinem Disciplinae Ecclesiasticae severitate adhibitâ redigendi sunt They must be reduced to Order by the severe use of Church Discipline Haec ille The Dissenters Eighth Section THey do not find that God ever Commanded the things imposed either in general in special or the singulars of them If God has commanded a Duty to be done the Church must find a place to do it in but tho the Church must find a place for the Duty a time for the Duty she may not find New Duty for the time and place The Answer 1. To this I Answer That the Church can never fix upon
for we are not God's Mates and Companions but only Religious And that this External Religious Worship is due to God and to God only he proves thus The Devil when he tempted our Saviour desired no more of him but the pròstrating of his Body But Christ denies it and Answers Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Matt. 4. 10. This is a Part of God's Worship but of whose Creating Not of the Churches but of God's the Church does not immediately and Originally injoyn it but rather exhorts to it Psal. 95. 6. O come let us worship and fall down and Kneel before the Lord our Maker She directs also and determines when it is most suitable and decent to be used All the Question then will be whether the Appointment of the use of it at the Sacrament be convenient Kneeling doubtless is a Gesture which very well becomes Supplicants and 't is very suitable and Decent in such as Pay their Homage or beg a Boon or commemorate a sad Tragedy wherein they have been and are still concern'd And all these Cases meet together in such as come worthily to the Sacrament That this Sacrament was always received with Adoration we have Authority and Evidence beyond expectation That in the Primitive Church they received it standing was thereby to assert the great Article that supports our Christianity that is Christ's Resurrection But when the Church was well setled in the belief hereof without any more hesitation and the World generally perswaded of it then to shew her own Power and Liberty in the Alteration she changed that Practice for another no less consonant to God's Law and more suitable to the Nature of the Duty For tho standing be more proper to assert tho Resurrection being a Gesture of Reverence with erection and alacritie of Spirit yet Kneeling being a Gesture of Reverence with dejection and humility is more suitable at the Lords Supper being the Annunciation of the Lord's Passion and death wherein we had a Guilt and now expect a Benefit which cannot but bring an apprehensive Soul that is Devout upon her Knees as well to bewail the one as to receive the other The Rite and Ceremony at which the greatest offence is taken is the sign of the Cross which is fal'n under the same Fate with the Preaching of it and I heartily wish this were only as that was among Jews and Gentiles But if we can find a General Command and some Parity of Reason in Scriptural instances to warrant it I am in good hope among wise and modest Christians this scandal of the Cross will vanish 1. That Confession of Christ Crucified is an External Act of Worship cannot reasonably be denyed and the necessity hereof is grounded upon the words of our Blessed Saviour and his Apostles Be ready to give an Answer always to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you 1 Pet. 3. 15. Here is a flat Commandment for Confession saith Mr. Perkins And our Saviour saith Whosoever shall be asham'd of me in this Adulterous Generation of him shall the Son of Man be asham'd also when he cometh in the glory of his Father with his holy Angels Mark 8. 38. 2. This Confession or Profession has a threefold way to shew it self 1. By the Mouth and that is most Ordinary and of this express mention is made Rom. 10. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation Non Solum fidem interiorem affectum requirit Deus sed externam Confessionem liberam ejus professionem saith our Synopsis God requires not only Faith and an inward affection but outward Confession also and a free Profession of it But then 2. This profession may be exprest by the hand by Subscription Isai. 44. 5. One shall say I am the Lord another shall call himself by the name of Jacob and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the the Lord and surname himself by the Name of Israel Upon which place Mr. Calvin observes that true faith will break out into Confession And there are four words used to intimate so much Invocari nomine Israel c. to be call'd by the name of Israel to Subscribe to Surname himself and to say I am the Lords Nec enim obmutescere oportet qui verè Deum Colunt sed quod intus in animo gerunt factis etiam dictis testari Such as truly Worship God ought not to be mute but by Words and Deeds to testify their inward Piety Whence it follows 3. This Profession may be made by Symbolical signs or real tokens Caeremoniae ad Dei Cultum institutae Pars quoque sunt nostrae Confessionis saith Calvin on Rom. 14. 22. This I doubt not will easily be granted of such Rites as are under particular Command and of Divine Institution as Baptism and the Lord's Supper But we can produce other Instances for which there is no such Command or Institution to be alledged What was the true meaning of that Altar forementioned The building of it gave offence to the Ten Tribes as if it had been a Monument of Superstition or Idolatry but as Calvin observes Congeriem Lapidum erigere trophaei Loco vel in testimonium Miraculi vel in memoriam insignis Dei gratiae nusquam lex prohibuit To erect a heap of Stones as a Trophy in Testimony of a miracle or in memory of some special favour of God this was never forbidden by the Law otherwise both Joshuah and many holy Judges and Kings after him had defiled themselves with Profane novelties But those words ver 26 27. Let us build an Altar that it may be a Witness that we may do the service of the Lord before him with our Burnt Offerings Which words make it plain that they intended that Pattern of the Altar Jos. 22. 28. to be a Recognition of the God of Israel a Real Protestation of their Relation to him and of their sincere Devotion to his solemn Worship And that the use of the Cross in the Christian Church was introduced upon the like account is affirm'd by our Synopsis upon that very Text The words are these Sic Ecclesia nobis ante oculos ponit Crucis Christi figuram thus the Church sets the sign or figure of Christ's Cross before our eyes not to invite us to Worship it but to put us in mind of that true and salutary Cross the Passion and Death of Christ which wrought our Atonement and Redemption But we have a more pregnant instance than this to our purpose We read Dan. 6. 10. when Prayer to Almighty God was interdicted Daniel went into his House and opening his Windows towards Jerusalem He Kneeled down and Prayed The opening of his Windows was an open Protestation of his Faith and Worship For why did he open them Not to let in Heaven or to let out his Devotion but to
maliciously Treacherous or falsé Brethren there ought not to be the least yielding His Reasons are these Lest hereby we should confirm the Superstitious in their Superstition or Minister Scandal and an occasion of Errour to such as are conformable or afford such false Brethren matter to glory in The Learned Meisner has muster'd up no less than Seven Arguments to the same purpose which I shall collect as briefly as is possible 1. The first is drawn from the Nature of things Indifferent which is such as that they may be freely used or freely disused or abrogated but when the disuse abrogation or practice is obtruded as of Necessity and Coaction the nature of such Indifferent things is violated 2. From the Nature of Christian Liberty This is a valuable Treasure and of Christs own purchasing but 't is endanger'd by a double Invasion 1. When things not commanded by God's Word are imposed as absolutely necessary to be observed 2. When things not forbidden by God's Word are restrain'd as sinful to be practised There is Errour and Superstition on either side and Christian Liberty is equally betrayed in them both which Authority therefore should neither abet nor tolerate 3. From the Duty of true Christians An ingenuous Profession of the Gospel to assert the whole Truth thereof with the Priviledges which accrue to us thereby especially when assaulted and opposed and such is our Christian Liberty with the free use or disuse of things Indifferent not determined by Authority whose Power the Gospel has established This is a Christians Duty A flat denial whereof is against that Profession which Christ requires Matt. 10. 33. and to dissemble it is unwarrantable and we ought to avoid the appearance of it as one of the unfruitful works of darkness that we betray not our Profession 4. From the general Command touching the lawful use of Ceremonies and things Indifferent Wherein three things are to be observed Order Decency and Edification Good Order is not kept in tumultuous Alterations All Change is dangerous in Church and State No man can foresee what disturbance will ensue upon an inconsiderate variation of indifferent and inoffensive Ceremonies especially in a time when such Christian Priviledges and Publick Authority ought to be own'd and preserved inviolable What Doubts may arise upon such a Change and what Confusion may follow it who will take upon him to determine Is not the Confusion great when things Indifferent are exposed for Necessary and things Absolutely necessary accounted but Indifferent Can it be inservient either to Order or Decency when there is no degree of Superiority and Subordination among the Ministers of the Church No distinction of Habits between the Laity and the Ministers of the Gospel observed Who can think the Church is Edified where all Genuflexion all Reverence all evidences of a Devout mind are out of practice When all the Proper Lessons that should inculcate the Great Mysteries which are to be represented for our Memory our Devotion and Gratitude on the Festivals of the Nativity the Resurrection and Pentecost c. are abrogated and perhaps the History of Lot's Incest and the like things most incongruous for such Sacred Solemnities shall be surrogated and read in their stead 5. A Fifth Argument is drawn Ab incommodo from the great Incommodiousness of it As the general Command requires in matters of Indifferency that all things be done to edification so the Law of Charity forbids us to do any thing that may either offend the Weak in the practice of their Conformity or confirm the Adversaries in their Errour the Example of the Great Apostle affording us signal Instances to these purposes The Mischiefs of such a Scandal are sufficiently collected from the Woe our Saviour has denounced against the Authors of them Matt. 18. 6 7. And the Mischiefs of such a Confirmation of obstinate Dissenters are too evident saith he by Experience The Peace of the Church is not hereby obtained but the safety thereof much endangered for the Adversaries do not acquiesce in such Concessions but take occasion from thence to proceed in defending their Errours and disturbing the Church an Example whereof has given us a late Experiment in the Dukedom of Anhalt If they can obtain to have things abrogated because they are pleased to load them with the reproach of Superstition and Sinfulness they cannot with a fairer occasion to traduce other Matters and by this specious Argument of yielding in such Cases among the weaker and worse sort of Men to render Them suspected in their Principles whom they had formerily treated with all respect and reverence as the Ministers of God Hereupon such as are not well Confirmed will be apt to fall away and others will be offended at their defection and so the Church saith he will not be edified but destroyed the Course of the Gospel not promoted but hindred and at last Truth it self not asserted but weakened and subverted 6. A Sixth Argument he draws from The Practice of the Primitive Church Circumcision being then but a thing indifferent as he observes St. Paul according to the Rule of Charity and Christian Liberty did sometime practice it but when false Brethren did fraudulently intrude to spy out and betray the Liberty of the Church and attempted to impose it as a matter of Necessity St. Paul did absolutely reject it and condemn it Simile ergo c. In like manner the Rites and Ceremonies used in the Lutheran Churches are Adiaphora things indifferent neither commanded nor forbidden either by any Divine Law or Prohibition God leaving them as a middle sort of things which the Church may either freely use or not use at her pleasure Now saith he seeing the Calvinists would put a necessary abstention and restraint upon us as to the use of these things 't is out of all question they would in effect betray our Liberty Wherefore such as are faithful Asserters of the Christian Liberty ought not to yield to them in the least that according to their duty the Truth and Priviledges of the Gospel may be preserved inviolable from all bondage and dissimulation Such as do otherwise by a tame and cowardly Cession do betray our Liberty give scandal to the weak and offer a manifest violence to Apostolical Practice 7. His last Argument is drawn from the insufficiency and weakness of the Adversaries Reasons to make good their pretensions which he does clearly evince as will appear to any man that shall take the pains to examine the Discourse it self to which I remit the Reader I have studied to be concise in the Abridgment of his Arguments which he concludes thus That the Calvinists may obtain what they desire 't is necessary that they urge their abrogation upon an honest Title and prove by evident Reasons that the Rites received in our Churches are not purged from the Superstitions and abuses of the Romanists but serve to nourish them Which since they never did attempt because Experience is a clear