Catholick Vnity OR The only way to bring us all to be of one Religion By Rich. Baxter To be read by such as are offended at the differences in Religion and are willing to do their part to heal them JAMES 3.17 But the Wisdom that is from above is first Pure then Peaceable Gentle easie to be intreated c. London Printed by R. W. for Thomas Underhill and Francis Tyton and are to be sold at the sign of the Anchor and Bible in Pauls Church-yard and at the three Daggers in Fleet-street 1660. To all those in the severall Parishes of these Nations that complain of the disagreements in matters of Religion Men and Brethren AS in the midst of all the impiety and dishonesty of the world it is some comfort to us that yet the Names of Piety and Honesty are still in credit and ungodliness and dishonesty are terms of disgrace so that those that will be ungodly and dishonest are fain to use the Mask and Vail of better names to hide their wickedness so also it is some comfort to us in the midst of the uncharitableness and discords of this age that yet the Names of Love and Concord â—ound so well and are honoured by those that are furthest from the Things For thus we seem agreed in the main cause and have this advantage in our debates that whatever shall be proved to be against Love and Unitâ— and Peace we are all oâ— us obliged by our professions to dâ—sown I may suppose that all that read these words will speak against the uncharitableness and contentâ—ons and divisions of the present times as well as I. Doth it grieve my soul to hear professed Christians so censoriously condemning and passionately reviling one another while they are proudly justifying themselves I suppose you 'l say It grieves you also Do I mourn in secret to see so many divisions and subdivisions and Church set up against Church and Pastors against Pastors in the same Parishes and each party labouring to disgrace the other and their way that they may promote their own I suppose you will say You do so tâ—o Do I lament it as the Nations shame that in Religion men are of so many minds and manage their differences so unpeaceably that it is become the stumbling block to the ungodly the grief of our friends and the derâ—sion of our enemies I know you will say that this also is your lamentation And is it not a wonder indeed that such a misery should be continued which all men are against and which cannot be continued but by our wilfull choice Is it not strange that we are so long without so great a blessing as Unity and Peace while all men say they love it â—nd desire it and while we may have it if we will But the cause is evident while men love Unity they hate the Holiness in which we must Unite While they love Peace they hate the necessary means by which it must be obtained and maintained The way of Peace they have not known or knowing it they do abhor it As well as they love Unity and Peace they love the Causes of discord and division much better The drunkard and whore-monger and worldling say they love the salvation of their souls But yet while they love and keep their sins they will miss of the salvation which they say they love And so while men love their ungodliness and dividing wayes we are little the better for their love of peace If men love Health and yet love Poyson and hate both medicine and wholsom food they may miss of health notwithstanding they love it Where know you a Parish in England that hath no disagreements in matters of Religion In this Parish where I live we have not several Congregations nor are we divided into such parties as in many other places But we have here the great division some are for Heaven and some for Earth some love a holy diligent life and others hate it some pray in their Families and teath them the word and fear of God and others do not some spend the Lords Day in holy exercises and others spend much of it in idleness and vanity some take the service of God for their delight and others are weary of it and live in ignorance because they will not be at the pains to learn Some make it the principal care and business of their lives to prepare for death and make sure of everlasting life and others will venture their souls on the wrath of God and cheat themselves by their own presumption rather then be at this sweet and necessary labour to be saved Some hate sin and make it their dayly work to root out the relicts of it from their hearts and lives and others love it and will not leave it but hate those that reprove them and endeavour their salvation And as long as this great division is unhealed what other means can bring us to any happy Unity It would make a mans heart bleed to consider of the folly of the ungodly rout that think it would be a happy Union if we could all agree to read one form of prayer while some love and others hate the holiness which they pray for and if we could all agree to use the sign of the Cross in Baptism while one half either understand not the Baptismall Covenant or wilfully violate it and neglect or hate and scorn that mortified holy life which by that solemn Vow and Covenant they are engaged to They are solicitous to bring us all to unity in the gesture of receiving the Sacrament of the Lords Supper while some take Christ and life and others take their own damnation When they should first agree in being all the faithfull servants of one Master they make a great matter of it that the servants of Christ and of the Devil may use the same bodily posture in that worship where their hearts are as different as spirit and flesh Poor people think that it is the want of Uniformity in certain Ceremonies of mans invention that is the cause of our great divisions and distractions When alas it is the want of unity in matters of greater consequence even of Faith and Love and Holiness as I have here shewed If once we were all children of one Father and living members of one Christ and all renewed by one sanctifying Spirit and aimed at one end and walked by one Rule the word of God and had that special Love to one another which Christ hath made the mark of his Disciples this were an Agreement to be rejoyced in indeed which would hold us together in the most comfortable relations and assure us that we shall live together with Christ in everlasting blessedness But alas if our Agreement be no better then to sit together in the same seats and say the same words and use the same gestures and Ceremonies our hearts will be still distant from each other our natures will be contrary and the
Law as not being capable of the use and ends of a Law And so if our salvation or damnation lye on our obedience to Gods Word and Law it s an intolerable reproach to God and it to say it is such as we cannot understand 3. Must we not be judged by this Law Undoubtedly we must And then should we not measure our Causes by it now 4. May not Arbitrators make use of a Law to decide a controversie before it come to the Judâ—e Doubtless they may 5. What Judge would you have There are but two in the world that pretend to be the Universal Infallible Judge of controversies and that is the Pope and a General Council For a General Council there is none now in the world nor like to be to the end of the world God forbid we should defer our Peace till then And its Decrees are as dark and much more uncertain then the Word of God And for the Pope he is Head of a sect or party and therefore not fit to be judge you may well know he will judge on his own side He must be judged by this Word of God himself He is too far off of all conscience for us to go or send to Where Rome is the most of you know not A shorter journey may better dispatch our work The Papists themselves tell us that many Popes have been Murderers Adulterers Simonists perjured persons and some Hereticks and Infidels And must such as these be our only Judges They have erred oft already and therefore they may deceive us And if you send for the Popes Sentence you must take the Messengers word that he was there and that its true But yet if all this will not serve turn I will make a motion that none can gainsay that hath the face of a Christian. Let us first agree in all those points that Papists and Protestants Calvinists and Lutherans Arminians and Anabaptists and Seperatists and all parties that deserve to be called Christians are agreed in What say you is not this a reasonable motion O happy you and happy the places where you live if you would but stand to it And let us consider of this motion first in the General state of our difference and then in the particular parts of it Truly Sirs the main difference in this world is between the Godly and the Vngodly and all other differences that are not parts of this are nothing to this being of lesser danger and easier toleration or cure The whole world is divided into two Armies Christ is the Captain General of one and the Saints only his true Souldiers and the seeming Saints his seeming Souldiers The Devil is the General of the other and all the unregenerate or ungodly are his Souldiers An enmity is put since the beginning between the seed of the woman and of the Serpent Gen. 3.15 and there is no middle state nor one man on earth that is not in one of these Armies I come not to reconcile the Commanders Christ and Satan for they are unreconcileable but to reconcile you to Christ and draw you from a deceiver I tell you â—irs this great difference between the holy and the unholy is the first that must be healed We can go no further with you if you will not begin here at the heart of the difference When this is doâ—e you shall see before I have done with you that I will quickly tell you how we may do well for all our other differences You know if one of us believe that there is a God and another that there is none iâ— were foolery for us to dispute how God must be worshipped before we are agreed that there is a God So here when it is the nature of ungodliness to make men false to the very truths that they do profess and heartily to be of no Religion at all it is in vain to dispute about circumstances and mode with such kind of men Who would dispute whether Infants should be baptized with a man thaâ— knows not whâ—â— Baptism is Evâ—n an accepting of God for ouâ— God and Christ for our Lord and Saviour and the Holy Ghost for our Sâ—nctifier and an absolute delivering up our selves to the blessed Trinity in these relations by a solemn Covenant professed â—nd sealed by water renouncing the flesh the world and the Devil O were but this much practically known we should be all United in this one Baptism Still I say Unholiness is thâ— great point of difference and the dungâ—on of Confusion and puddle where all the heresies of the world are blendâ—d and made into a body that is something worse then heresie When you cry up Unity and cry down Holiness you are distracted and know not what you say You talk of joyning us together and you cast away â—he glue and soder You talk of building the Church in unity and you cast away the lime and morter the pins and nails and all that should fasten them You complain that the garment of Christ is rent and you throw away the needle and thred that should sow it up You see our wounds and blood and take on you to have pitty on the Church and call for healing but you hate and cast away the only salve Do you not yet know that the Churches Unity is a Unity of the Spirit and of Holiness and that there is no way in the world for us and you to be United unless you will be Sanctified and live in the Spirit as you have done in the flesh Sirs let us come nearer the matter â— know our Towns and Countries have two sorts of persons in them some are Converted and some Unconverted some holy and some unholy some live for heaven and some are all for earth some are ruled by the Word of God and some by their own flesh or wills If ever these agree and be United one party must come over to the other Either the Godly must become ungodly or the ungodly must become Saints and godly Which must it be which do you think in your Consciences is the way Must we yield to you or should you 〈◊〉 away to us Pardon that I 〈◊〉 my self with the sanctified 〈◊〉 dare not deny the mercies of God and the priviledges of his house Let us come fairly to debate the Case and lay our Reasons together and I will here protest to you if you can give us better reasons why we should forsake a godly life I 'le turn to you and if we can give you better reasons why you should embrace an holy life will you here promise to turn to us and let them carry it that have the better cause and let us be resolved to go away United and fall all together into that one way that shall be proved to be the best Well let us come to a debate and see whether we must come to you or you to us 1. If we ever agree and unite you know it must be on terms that are possible He that
rid the Countrey of them but the same men that confess all these to be great and grievous sins will keep them and delight in them as if it were in despight of God and man or as if they bore a deadly grudge to their own immortal souls 10. There is none of you that bears the face of a Christian but must agree with us in profession that One thing is needful and that we must seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and labour most for the food that will not perish Luke 10.41 42. Matth. 6 33. Iohn 6.27 and that God should be loved with all our heart and soul and might and that no man can love him too much nor serve him too carefully nor be too diligent in the seeking of his salvation Why then will you not all agree to do thus But the very same tongues that confess all this will yet speak against the service of God and call it Puritanism and preciseness and say its more ado then needs Why Sirs if you will say and unsay there is no hold to be taken of your words and therefore what agreement can be with you Will you confess that all should take more care for their souls then for their bodies and take more care for heaven then earth and yet will you not agree to do it but rather speak against them that do it when you confess that it is bâ—st Why if you can agree no better with your selves how can you agree with us If your own opinions and profession be at such odds with your wills and practices no wonder if you be at odds with others More particularly I hope you will all confess that it is the duty of all that can to hear the Word of God and frequently to read it and labour to understand it and to meditate in it day and night and for Parents daily to teach it their children at home and abroad lying down and rising up Deut. 6.6 7 8. 11.18 19. Psalm 1.2 3. and to pray in their families and in private even alwaies or frequently to pray and not to wax faint but in all things to make known their requests to God that all things might be sanctified to them by the Word and Prayer All this is plain in the Word of God Dan. 6.10 11. Luke 18.1 1 Thes. 5.17 Psalm 55.17 1 Tim. 4.5 Phil. 4.6 But will you all agree with us in the practice of these things Will all the Families in Town and Countrey agree together to pray morning and evening reverently to God and to banish profaneness out of their doors and to instruct their children and servants in the fear of God and spend the Lords day in holy exercises and help one another to prâ—pare for death and judgement and exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin â— Heb. 3.13 To what purpose should I mention any more particulars till we see whether you will Unite and agree in these All these are your own Professions I know you cannot deny any one of them and yet we cannot perswade you to Consent with us in the Practice of what your selves profess No nor scarce to forbear the open opposing of it Either resolve now that you will all agree with us in these things which you confess the Lord hath made your duty or else tell us plainly that you are the deadly enemies of Unity and Peace that we may take you to be as you are and troublâ— our selves no more abâ—â—â— you If you are resâ—lved against Agreement and Vnity tell us so and save us the labour of any further trâ—aties with you Talk no more childishly about our petty differences in ceremonies and forms of Worship about Bishops and Common-prayer Books and Holy-daies and such like as long as you refuse Agreement in the main There 's a difference between you that is an hundred times greater then these some of you are for Heaven and some for Earth some of you live to the Spirit and some to the flesh some of you are hearing reading or meditating on the Word of God when others think it needless and had rather have a pair of cards or dice in their hands some of you make Gods Law your Rule and some are Ruled by the world and the flesh some are drunkards gluttons wanâ—ons worldlings and some are sober temperate chaste and heavenly some think almost any thing enough in the Worship of God and for the saving of their souls and others think the best they can do too littlâ— and when they have done most lament that they do no more some Families use daily prayer reading and holy instructions and others use daily swearing railing ribaldry and peâ—haps deriding of holiness it self In a word some give up themselves to God and Heaven and others to the world the flesh and the devil some are converted and become new creatures by the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost and others are yet in the state of nature and never knew a true conversion This is the great differâ—nce of the world Sirs Till this be healed it is in vain to talk of the healing of our petâ—y differences And therefore once more I tell you if you will not be Converted to an holy life and Unite with us on these terms you are the enemies of Peace and Unity and the great Incendaries of the world AND now having proceeded thus far in the treaty with you because I will either bring you to Agreement or leave you at least without excuse I will here annex some further Reasons to move you if it may be to so happy a work 1. Consider I pray you that if you will not agree with us in the things that you make profession of and confess to be your duty you are then treacherous and false to God and to your selves and therefore not fit for any to make Agreement with till you change your minds Do you know that God is best and yet will you not Love him better then the world Do you know that Heaven is the only happiness and yet will you not seek it more then earth Do you know that an holy life is best and yet will you be unholy Do you know sin is the worst and most dangerous thing in the world and yet will you not let it go Who will trust such men as you that will go against their own knowledge and confessions If you will be false to God and false to your own souls no wonder if you be false to us 2. Moreover all your pretended desires of Unity and Concord are base hypocrisie as long as you refuse to Unite with us in the way and state of holiness To take on you that you are troubled at the Divisions of the world and to wish that we were all of one Religion and to talk against sects and opinions as you do is meâ—r self-condemning and such gross dissembling as exposeth you to
perfection where all our differences will be ended and we shall be perfectly Agreed in mind and will being One in him that is the only Center of Universal Peace and Concord And it s a great comfort to us in our darkness and differences that we are in the sure and ready way to perfect light and Harmony of mind 2. Yea and till we do come thither we are still on the mending hand and if we do but thrive in Holiness we shall certainly thrive in Concord and in Peace And it s a comfort to a sick man not only to be certain of a full recovery but to feel himself daily on the mending hand 3. And in the mean time God himself will bear with all our differences though not so far as to approve or cherish them yet so far as to own us for his children though we are too often falling out with one another and so far as to pitty our frailty and infirmity and to pardon us and deal as a Father with us And if our quarrels cause him to use the rod it is but to keep us in quietness afterwards that as we had the taste of the four fruits of our contentions so we may after have the quiet fruits of righteousness And thus I have given you in four and twenty particular discoveries a sufficient Proof that A Vnity in the Spirit and an Agreement in Holiness hath abundant advantages for our further Agreement in lowers things and such as all other men are destitute of and therefore that there is no way possible for a just a safe a durable Agreement but that we all Agree in a Holy life and be United in the sanctifying Spirit of Christ. BUt perhaps you will Object If all this be so whence comes it to pass that there are so many differences still among those that you call the sanctified Do we not see that they are more contentious and divided into partyes and make more stir about Religion then any others Answ. 1. The differences among the godly are nothing for number or greatness or weight in comparison of yours I have shewed you in my Discourse of the Catholick Church twenty great and weighty points in which they all agree together and in which the ungodly agree not with them What if they agree not whether Church-Government should be exercised by the Elders only the flock consenting or by all the flock the Pastours Guiding Or whether One among the Pastours should be of a superior Degree or of a superior Order or whether they should only be of the same Degree and Order though chosen to preside and moderate for the time What if one think that its Necessary to read the publick Prayers out of a Book and another think its necessary to pray without book and a third more truly thinks it is in it self indifferent whether it be within book or without with other suchlike differences as these which will keep no man out of Heaven Are these like our differences with ungodly men Our differences with you are Whether Heaven or Eath is chiefly to be loved and sought after Whether Grace and Holiness or sin and carelesness be the better whether it be the more sweet and desirable life to be heavenly minded and live in the Love and Service of God and to be much in holy communion with him and meditating upon his Law and upon the Life to come or on the contrary to live to the world and to the flesh whether it be better to obey the Word of God and his Ministers that speak it in his name or obey our fleshly desires and the proud conceits of ignorant minds In a word our difference with the ungodly though they will not confess it and speak out is plainly this whether Heaven or Earth be better and whether God be God and shall be our God and whether Christ be Christ and shall be our Christ and whether the Holy Ghost shall be our sanctifier or whether we shall live after the flesh and Rule our selves against the Will and Word of God and so in effect whether God be God and man be man and whether we should live as men or as beasts and so whether we should choose Salvation or Damnation If you could but understand your selves and the depth of your deceitful hearts you would see that here lyeth the difference For though some of the unsanctified have a fair and plausible deportment and will speak handsomly of the Christian Religion because they have had ingenuous Christian education yet all this is indeed but little more then formal complement so far are they from a Heavenly mind and a heart that 's truly set on God as their careless lives and carnal unsavory conference sheweth if not their scorns at a state of Holiness So that our differences are nothing in comparison of the difference with you 2. Moreover the servants of God do mind the matters of Religion more seriously then others do and therefore their differences are brought to light and made more observable to the world Their very heart is set upon these heavenly things and therefore they cannot make light of the smallest truth of God and this may be some occasion of their difference Whereas the ungodly differ not about Religion because they have heartily no Religion to to differ about They trouble not themselves about these matters because they do not much regard them And is this a Unity and peace to be desired I had rather have the discord of the Saints then such a concord of the wicked They are so careful about their duty that they are afraid of missing it in the least particular and this with their Imperfect light is the reason of their disputings about these matters But you that are careless of your duty can easily agree upon a way of sin or take any thing that comes next to hand They honour the Worship of God so much that they would not have any thing out of order but you set so little by it that you will be of the Religion that the King is of let it be what it will be And its easy to agree in such an ungodly careless course Astronomers have many controversies about the positions and motions of the heavens and all Philosophers have many controversies about the matter of their Sciences when ignorant men have none of their controversies because they understand not and therefore regard not the things that the learned differ about And will you think ever the better of Ignorance or ever the worse of Learning for this The controversies of Lawyers of Historians Chronologers Geographerr Physicians and such like do no never trouble the brains of the ignorant But for all that I had rather be in Controversie with the Learned then without such controversie with you If you scatter a handful of Gold or Diamonds in the street perhaps men will scramble for them and fall out about them when swine will trample on them and quietly despise them because
3.18 But it is the Lord that is the portion of the Saints Psal. 16.5 They lay up a treasure in heaven Mat. 6.20 and there they have their conversations Phil. 3.20 Being risen with Christ they seek the things that are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God for they are dead and their life is hid with Christ in God Col. 3.1 3 4. The business that the Saints and that the ungodly have in the world is clean contrary Their business is for Heaven and yours is for earth They are sowing to the spirit in hope of everlasting life and you are sowing to the flesh and shall reap corruption Gal. 6.6 7. They are making Provision for another life that never shall have end and you are making provision for the flesh to satisfie its desires Rom. 13.14 And how is it possible for these to be United What concord between light and darkness or Christ and Belial or righteousness with unrighteousness 2 Cor. 6.14 15. Can two walâ— together except they be agreed Amo. 3.3 We must better agree of our business in the world and of our journeys end before we can keep company with you While you are for earth and we for heaven it is not possible that we should go one way While one is for the world and another for God they must needs differ For God and the world are masters that are unreconcileable If you will cleave to one you must despise the other The work of the Butcher and the Souldier is to kill and the work of the Surgeon and Physitian is to cure And do you think these will ever take one course The Souldier studies how to wound and kill The Surgeon studies how to close these wounds and heal them And surely these must go contrary wayes Sirs as long as your business is principally for the flesh and the world and the business of the sanctified is against the flesh and world and for the Spirit and the world to come how is it possible that you should be agreed You must bring heaven and earth together first yea heaven and hell together first before you can have a Christian Unity and Agreement between the sanctified and the unsanctified 5. There is no Vnity to be had but in the Gospel The Apostle tels us there is One Faith Eph. 4.5 If an Angel from heaven would preach another Gospel he must be accursed Gal. 1.10 11. But the unsanctified do not truly and heartily entertain this Gospel You think and say you truly believe it when you do not If you truly believed it your lives would shew it He that indeed believes an everlasting Glory will sure look after it more then after the world or the flesh 6. There is no Christian Unity but in the Christian Nature Contrary natures cannot close Firâ— and Water the Woolf and the Lamb the Bear and the Dog wiâ— not well Unite The sanctified havâ— a new divine and heavenly nature Ioh. 3.6 2 Pet. 1.4 2 Cor. 5 1â— Their Disposition is another way then it was before But the unsanctified have the old corrupt fleshly nature still One is as the fire still bending upward the other as the earth or stone still bending downward to the earth And how can these agree together 7. There is no Christian Vnity to be had where the Affections run quite contrary wayes But so it is with the sanctified and the unsanctified One loves God above all and cannot live without holy Communion with him and retireth into him from the distractions of the world and maketh him his Rest Content and Solace The other mentions the goodness of God but findeth no such sweetness in him nor desires after him One treads the world underfoot as dirt or valueth and useth it but as a help to heaven And the other makes it his happiness and sets his heart on it One delighteth in Holiness and the other hateth it or regardeth it not One hateth sin as a Serpent or as death and the other makes it his meat and drink and business And how is it possible for men of such contrary affections to be agreed and natures at such enmity to Unite 8. The sanctified and unsanctified are moved by contrary Objects One lives by faith on things that are out of sight and strives for Heaven as if he saw it and strives against Hell as if he saw it for his faith is the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 7. We live by faith and not by sight 2 Cor. 5.7 2 Cor. 4.18 But the unsanctified live upon things that are seen and things believed little move them because they are not heartily believed 9. The Holy and the unholy do live by contrary Laws One liveth by the Law of God and there asketh counsel what he must think or say or do resolving to obey God before his flesh and all the world The other will say he will be ruled by Gods Law till his flesh and carnal interest contradict it and then he will take his lusts for his Law His Pride is a Law to him and the pleasures and profits of the world are a Law to him and the will of great ones and the customs of men are his Law And how is it possible for mâ—n to agree that walk by such contrary Rules as these 10. There is no true Vnity but in the Covenant with Christ. As Marriage Vniteth man and wife so every truly sanctified man hath delivered up himself to Christ in a peremptory absolute Covenant and hath quit all claim of interest in himself and is wholly Gods But the unsanctified will not be brought to this any further then the lips and therefore they cannot be well United 11. The true members of the Church are built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Eph. 2.20 21. But the unsanctified regard them not if they cross their minds 12. There is no true Christian Vnity but with the Holy Catholick Church The body is but one 1 Cor. 12.12 13. Eph. 4.4 But the unsanctified are not of the Holy Catholick Church but only in the visible external Communion of it 13. There can be no true Christian Vnity with the Saints without a special Love to the Saints For by this we know that we are passed from death to life because we love the Brethren he that lovetâ— not his brother abideth in death 1 John 3.14 By this must all men know that we are Christs Disciples John 13.35 Love is the bond and cement of the Church He that doth not heartily love a godly sanctified man because he is such hath no true Unity with the Church But the ungodly love them not as such They see no such beauty and loveliness in Holiness Though Scripture call it Gods Image they be not in Love with Gods Image but think it a conceit or hypocritical pretence or a wearysom thing Why poor carnal wretches do you hate the godly and yet would you have Unity with them Do you hate them and yet cry
propoundeth Impossibilities to be agreed on is the enemy of agreement But it is impossible for us to come to you and so to Unite with you Thâ—s I now prove 1. â—t is Impossible to have any Vniversal Vnity but in an Vniversal Head and Center and that is only God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost As I told you the Army must Unite in the General the Kingdom in the Soveraign the Family in the Master the School in the School-master In order of Nature you must Unite with God in the Redeemer by the sanctifying Spirit before you can Unite with us But while you are unsanctified you are divided from God Do you not feel your minds strange to him your hearts draw back from him and find by his strangeness to you that there is a division It s impossible for us to be United to you till Christ be United to you For 1. It s against Nature seeing he is the Center and the Head and Fountain of Life And what good would it do you to be one with us and not with him 2. God is against any Unity without him If you will not begin with him he will take it but as a treasonable conspiracy and will break it We dare not go without him lest he be angry and destroy us Souldiers must not make either Peace or war not so much as treat without the General Do you not remember how Iehosaphat had like to have sped by a friendship and confederacy with Ahab 2. Moreover the Godly and ungodly are of contrary natures I told you God hath put an enmiâ—y between them You must chanâ—e your nature or we ouâ—s before we can Unite You may as well think else to Unite fire and water or to build in the air or to incorpoâ—â—â—â— fire and Gun-powder or to reconcile men and serpâ—nts and maâ—ry the dog and the bear together Sirs these â—hings are meer impossâ—bilities 2 Cor. 16.14 There is no agreement between Christ and Belial righteousness and unrighteousness light and darkness dâ—ath and life the members of Christ and the members of an harlot or a drunkard or such like We have contrary spirits how then can we be One One hath the Spirit of holiness and the other the Spirâ—â— of profaneness One is led by the Spirit of God and the oâ—her by the flesh We live not by one Law Gods will revealed in hâ—s Word is Our Law and the will of the flesh and the course of the world is your Law We live not on one sort of food how then can we accord together Christ and his heavenly truth and holy Spirit and Ordinances is the meat and drink of the Saints they cannot live without them And the world and fleshly delights are your food you cannot be without it Your food would be our poyson your worldly cares your drunkenness and profaneness would be a torment to an honest heart They cannot live without some Communion with God in Faith and Love by Prayer and â—editation and your heart is against it They have not the same â—nd as you have Their work is all for Heaven and yours is all principally for earth Their work and yours are contrary Thâ—y go one way and you another So that its Impossible to be United and agree till one side change And we cannot Possibly turn to you God holds us fast by his Love and Spirit and will not let us go nor suffer us ever to be willing to go Do you not read Christ â—elling you that its impossible to deceive the Elect that is so far as to turn them away from Christ. We are kept by the mighty power of God through faith to salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 And who can break away from the upholding arms of Almighty power Christ hath such hold of us that he is resolved none shall take us out of his hands Ioh. 10.28 So that we cannot come over again to you But you may come over to us if you will God calls you and Christ would welcome you and the Holy Ghost would hâ—â—p yâ—u the door is set open by the blâ—od of Christ the promise is â—o you and to your children that you may and shall have Christ and life if you will come in and accept the offer The Devil cannot hinder you against your wills he holds you but in the fetters of your own wilfulness by his meer deceits Seeing therefore that you may come over to the sanctified and they cannot possibly come to you let any reasonable man be judge on what terms we should unite and agree 2. Moreover if we Agree it must be on terms of wisdom and honesty A dishâ—nâ—st Agreement is not to be desired but abhorred For you to lâ—ave your ungodliness and turn to the Love and Fear of God is an honest coursâ— of Agreement for it is but to have dishonesty it selâ— and become honest I hope none of you dare charge the way of God and godliness with any dishonesty God calls you to nothing but what is holy and just and good and therefore Honesty requireth you to yield But for the sâ—nctified 〈◊〉 unsanctified for the 〈…〉 bâ—come ungodly to be one 〈◊〉 you this were the bâ—sâ—st dishâ—â—â—sty in the world We know your way to be of the Devil and 〈◊〉 flesh and is it honest then to joyn with you in it We have â—yed too long already in the dâ—â—es oâ— our ignorance and have found it dishonest and deceitful and would you have us go against our own experience We were once in the way that you are in and were forced to renounce it or else we had been undone body and soul for ever and should we â—â—ck up the vomit which we were forced to cast out we were once Agreed with you and God constrained us to break that Agreement and shall we renew it again Alas your way hath cost us dear Many a bitter repenting day and many a sad thought to the breaking of our hearts and the very sense of Gods displeasure a taste of Hell was cast into our consciences many a groan and â—ear and prayer it cost us before we could recover the hurt that we câ—tâ—ht in the way of ungodlinâ—ss and yet we have not fully recovered it to this day And would you have us stark mad to forget so soon our former sorrows and turn to a hâ—e that hath cost us so 〈◊〉 already No we have paid too dear for it and smarted too much for it to go that way any more It brought us to the very brink of Hell and if we had but dyed in that condition we had been damned at this hour And would you be so unreasonable as to wish us to go back again No by that time you know as much of an unsanctified state as we do you will run from it your selves as fast as you can run as â—he Israelites did from the cry of the company of Dathan and Abiram lest the earth should swallow them up also Numb 16.34 We are cerâ—â—in that the Lord
them You will wish and wish a thousand times that you had done as they did and lived as holily as the best on earth You will then wish O that it were to do again and that my life were again to be lived and God would but try me on earth once more Those tongues that railed against Religion will a thousand times more reproach your selves for those reproaches and the neglect of this Religion You will then cry out Where was my wit and reason when I made so mad a change as of God for the creature Christ for sin and Heaven for Hell Do you think Sirs that it were any wisdom for us to Agree with you now in that for which you will fall out with your selves for ever and to go with you in that loose ungodly way which you will wish your selves that you had never known Besides we know that it is only the Saints that we must live with for ever and therefore you must become Saints if you would be Unitâ—d to us here What! Should we be so careful to Agree with you a while and be separated from you eternally or do worse by suffering with you But if you will Unite with us in Christ and Holiness this will be a lasting Unity which you will never have occasion to repent of The Union between the Lord Jesus and his members shall never be dissolved Heartily joyn with his servants now in the wayes of Holiness and you shall certainly joyn with them in the state of Happiness and in the joyful fruition and praises of the Lord. Well Sirs in this much of our treaty I have layed the case plain and open before you and shewed you that we cannot come over to you It is not Possible nor Honest nor Safe we cannot forsake an holy life without forsaking God and our Redeemer and our salvation which no man that is a man indeed should desire us to do nor can we do it till we first forsake our understandings But oâ— your side the case is oâ—herwiâ—e You may turn to God and an holy life without any hurt or wrong to you at all nay it is the only way to your felicity and if you do it not you are undone for ever So that the case is past all controversie before you that there is no way in the world to Unity but by Consent in Piety If half the Common-wealth turn Rebels and so shall make a Division in the body the way to Unite them is by the returning of the Rebels to their Allegiance and not for the true and lawful subjects to turn all Rebels and joyn with them For without the Head there cannot be a Union So that if the world be still divided and disagreed it is not long of the godly but of the ungodly And if you would have an Agreement it s you that must yield who cause the disagreement You may do it and must do it or do worse but the godly may not yield to you What say you now would you have Unity or Division Would you have Peace or no Peace You complain that the world is of so many minds Would you have them all reconciled and of one mind If you would let us see it The work sticks with you on your hands it lyeth and it is you that must do it if ever it be done If you would have all ungodly you deserve not to live on the earth Shall we then without any more ado agree all upon a life of Holiness O that our Towns and Parishes would all joyn together in this Agreement and it must be this or none But perhaps some of you will say What need you make so many words about a matter that no boâ—y doth deny We all knâ—w we should â—e Holy and Godly and nâ—ne should be ungâ—â—ly who doubts of this But the Question is What Holinâ—ss and Godliness is Tell us thâ—refore whâ—t you meâ—n by it â—nâ— who those be that you takâ— to be the Godly sanctified people Answ. If we are all agreed of the Necessity of Holiness then those that are not yet agreed to be Holy themselves do sin against their own consciences and condemn themselves in the things which they allow and wilfully divide themselves from Christ and from his Church And if any of you have been so long Baptized into the Name of the Holy-Ghost as your Sanctifier and yet know not what Sanctification is and who are to be accounted sanctified and godly you shew that you have perfidiously cast away and broak your Covenant with God and made but an â—ll use of your Baptism or any Means and Ordinances since But if you know not who are godly or ungodly I shall quickly tell you A godly man is one that being formerly in a state of sin and misery both strange and backward to God and heaven and an holy life and prone to earthly flesâ—ly pleasures is now by the powerful wâ—rk of the Word and Spirit of God converted to unfeigned faith and repentance broaken-hearted for his former sin and misery flying to Christ as the only Hope anâ— Physitian of his soul and so is made a new creature having his heart set upon God and everlasting life and contemning all the pleasures of the flesh and the things of this world in comparison of his hopes of Glory hating all known sin and not wilfully living in any and loving the highest degree of Holiness and willing to use the means that God hath appointed to destroy the remnants of sin and bring him nearer to perfection This is a truly godly man And he that is not such is ungodly He that yet remaineth in his Natural depraved state and is unacquainted with this great and holy change that hath any sin that he had rather keep then leave and any that he wilfully liveth in and wilfully neglecteth known duties as one that had rather be free from them then perform them and had rather live a fleshly life then a spâ—ritual and an holy life and is more in love with the creature then with God with his life on earth in flesh and sin then a life in heaven wiâ—h God and his â—aints in perfect holiness this man is undoubtedly a wicked and ungodly man how evilly or religiously soever he may seem to live in the world And so I have in a few words told you who they be that are godly and who are the ungodly The Question now that we are treating about is whether we shall all agree together to be godly Do you not believe it to be best and necessary If not you are blind If you do let us agree on it without delay You tell us with many great complaints of the many differences and divisions that are among us but shall we Agree so far as we are agreed that is shall we agree in heart and practice so far as we are agreed in opinion and profession O that you would make a solemn Covenant that you will but Consent and go along
scorn And thus he that will be saved must not only go to heaven without the company of the most of his neighbours but must go through their opposition and reproaches and discouragements And the Lord be merciful to the miserable world most places that one shall come into are more agreed against holiness and salvation then for it and had rather that all the Parish would agree together against a godly life which is indeed against Christ and heaven and their own souls then for it And some places are so miserable that you may hâ—ar them thank God that they have not one Puritan in their â—arish or but few at most meaning by Puritans men that seek heavâ—n above earâ—h aâ—d had rather leave their sins then be damned And this dâ—sâ—eaâ—teneth many that have some mind to godliness to see almost all the Town and Parish against it But now if you had all but so much wit and grace as to meet together and make an Agreement that you will All be a holy people to the Lord and you will All joyn together in a godly life and you will All be the sworn professed enemies of the way to Hell and joyn together against your Ignorance and Pride and Covetousness and Drunkenness and Swearing and Railing and all Profaneness and Iniquity and if you would All agree together to set up prayer and reading and holy exercises in every house in Town and Parish and that you will all redeem the time for your souls especially that you will wholly spend the Lords day in the necessary delightful work of God then what abundance of your difficulties would be removed and how easie and pleasant would the way to heaven be Then there would be none to discourage poor ignorant souls by deriding at a godly life nor none to entice them to wicked courses nor none to tempt them by their ill examples and the number of the godly would encourage men as the fewness of them now discourageth Thâ—s troubleth men in theâ—r passage to Heaven when we are ill-yoaked togeâ—her and one draws backward as the othâ—r draws forward and if the husband be for God the wife is for the world or if the wife be for Heaven the husband will needs go the way to Hell and if one neighbour be godly the two if not ten or twenty next him will be ungodly And as the Israelites spies they raise up false reports of the Land of the state of godliness and of the persons themselves to discourage others whereas if you would all agree together you might march on comfortably without all this ado O how sweet and pleasant a life is it to see brethren dwell together in such an holy Unity as this Psal. 133.1 Happy are they that dwell in such Towns and Parishes as these if there be any such in the world Where neighbours go all hand in hand together towards heaven and take sweet counsel together and go to the house of God in company and when others meet in Ale-houses and about fooleries and profaneness they will meet together to talk of their meeting in the presence of God and the joy and praises of the Living God and the Communion with Christ and with Angels and with one another which we shall then possess when they will pray together and comfort one another with such words 1 Thes. 4.18 And when others are talking idly or of the world they will be admonishing and exhorting one another and speaking words that are edifying to the hearers Col. 3.16 Ephes. 4.29 and opening their cases and experiences to each other and faiâ—hfully watching over one another agreeing to tell one another plainly and lovingly of their sins and to take it thankfully of those that do so and endeavour presently to amend What a sweet and blessed life were this if all our Towns and Parishes would agree in it Who would not rather live with bread and water in such a Town as this then be a Lord or Prince among the ungodly Well Sirs it is much in your hands now to make your own and your neighbours lives thus sweet and comfortable and to make the way to heaven thus easie Why then will you not Agree and do it 6. Moreover such an Holy Unity and Concord would be the highest honour to your Towns and Countries that in this world they can possibly receive It is the highest glory of the Kingdoms of the world to become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ Rev. 11.15 You think it a great honour for your Towns to be rich and have fair buildings and to have worldly priviledges buâ— alas these are bawbles in câ—mparison of the other O if it were but the Happiness of this Town and Parish to be brought to such an Holy Agreement as I mentioned that you would all joyâ— together in a godly life and every Family Agree to worship God with holy reverence and all set together against pâ—ofaâ—eness and all known sin what an honour would it be to you of this place How would your fame go through all the Land All Countries would ring of Kedâ—rminster what a victory Christ had gotten there and what an overthrow the Devil and sin had there received and what a blessed place and people it is where they are All agreed to be Holy and to be saved and are all like the antient Primitive Believers that were of one heart and one soul Acts 4.32 O how the world would ring of such a Town where there is not one family that is ungodly that serveth the Devil by worldliness swearing drunkenness or any ungodly course but all are United in Christ and Holiness and are like to live together in Heaven Truly neighbours this would be a greater honour to you and to the Town then if you were every man a Lord or Prince In the eyes of God and all wise men it would be the greatest honour in the world And O what an excellent example would it be to all the Towns and Parishes in the Land When they see your holy Unity and Peace or hear of a place that is so happily agreed it may shame them out of their ungodliness and kindle in them a strong desire to be like you and agree together as you have done O that you would but give them such an example and try the issue 7. And I desire every one singly to consider that it is the unspeakable mercy of God that he calleth you to this holy Union with Christ and Communion of Saints and that he doth not thrust you away and forbid you coming near but will give you leave to be of the holy Society fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God God hath made his promise and offer so large that you may have part in it as well as others if you will not wilfully shut out your selves The feast is prepared all things are ready and you are every man and woman invitâ—d Christ hath opened to you a door of
to cure such small distempers that arise without The life of â—aith the love of God the love of Brethren and the Churches peace and welfare with the humility and self-dâ—nyal that is in every Christian will do a great deal to the healing of divisions among the Godly They will be content to meet together in Love and pray it out and refer the matter to the holy Scripture and they have all some special illumination of the Spirit But perhaps you will say Why are they not then more fully agreed I answer 1. Because there are such a multitude of ungodly persons among them that hinder them from opportunities and advantages for agreement And many of these ungodly ones are hypocrites that take on them to be godly and so are traytors in our bosoms and hinder peace the more by seeming to be godly when they are not 2. Because of the remnant of sin that is yet in the sanctified and because they are not yet perfect and in Heaven If they had no sin they would have no divisions And as their sin is healed as to the dominion of it but not perfectly till they come to heaven so their divisions are healed in the main but not perfectly till they are perfectly United to God in Glory 9. Consider also I beseech you what a joy it would be to Christ and to the Angels of heaven and to all good men if you would but all make such an Agreement and heartily joyn together in Holiness The whole 15. Chapter of Lukâ— â—s by divers Parables to tell you this wâ—at Joy there is in heaven it self for the conversâ—on of one sinner O what would there be then if Towns and Countries would agree in Holiness And I am certain it should be a Joy to the Princes and Rulers of the earâ—h for such a Unity only will â—old and be a blessing to their Dominions Plutarch makes it Agâ—silâ—us his reason why the Spartans had no Walls because the people being 〈◊〉 of one minde had no need or Walls And Pliny tells us of a stone that will swim if it be whole and sink if it be broken And so will Common-wealths that are brokeâ— fâ—om Christ and void of the cement of the Spirit that should â—nite them And to the Ministers of the Gospel and all good Christianâ— such an Unity as this would be an unspeakable joy Somewhat I know of other mens hearts by mine own Could I but prevail with this Nation yea with this one Town and Parish to meet all together and hearâ—ily Consent Agree and Resolve to joyn all together in an heavenly life I should more rejoyce in it then if I had the house full of gold and silver yea as to mine own interest then if I were Lord of all the world O what a joyful day were this if I could this dâ—y bring you to this Holy Unity and Agreement How comfortably should I spend the few remaining dayes of my pilgrimage among you if you would but all be brought to this Whereas I may now say as David Psalm 120.5 for all the godly that are among you Wo is me thâ—t I sâ—journ in Mesech that I dwell in the Tâ—ntâ— of Kedar My soul â—ath too long dwelt with him that hateth this holy peace I am for peace but when I speak and perswade men to it they are for war and continuance in the dividing course 〈◊〉 ungodliness Alas it grieveth us to see such divisions in all the Churches and Nations of the Christian world and O that we did know how to heal them But when we cannot heal the most ungodly separations and divisions of one Town and Parish it discourageth us from hoping for any great matters of such large extent Some attempts I have made and more I would fain make to further a Union and Peace among the Churchâ—s through the Land But when I cannot procure the Unity of this one Town and Parish what hope can I have to look any further â—lâ—s what a shame is this to you and what a grief to us that we cannot bring one Parish one Village that ever I knew of in all England to be all of a mind in thosâ— great those weighty needful things where it is worse thâ—n a madness for men to bâ— unresolved or disâ—greed As Melanthus made a jeâ—t of a great man that went about to reconcile all Greece and bring all the Princes and Stâ—tes to Peâ—ce when he could not bring hâ—s wiâ—e and her servant-maid to agreement in his own house So with what hopes can we attempt any publick peace when we cannot bring one Parish one Village yâ—a but very few â—amilies to agree in that which they must agree in or else the refusers will be certainly condemned I beseech you â—irs make glad the 〈…〉 of your Teachers â—nd of all good mâ—n by your Agreement You owe us this Comfort and you owe it to Christ and the Angels of heaven deny us not our due but without any more delay Agree togeâ—her to live as Saints What a Joy it would be to your Pastors you are not easily able to believe When Gregory Thaumatuâ—gus came first to be Bishop of Neocâ—sarea he found but seventeen Chrâ—stians in the City And when he lay on his death-bed he desired them to make enquiry how many Infidels were unconverted and they found but just sâ—venteen Infidels left and all the rest were converted to Christianity And though he rejoyced that he left but just as many unconverted Infidels as he found converted Christians yet he grieved withall that he should leave those seventeen in the power of the Devil When I came to you I found you all Professed Christians But Oh that I could say that I shall leave but seventeen unconverted when I am called from you for all that O that there were no more thâ—t are Infidels or Impious under the name of Christians But I and you are unworthy of so great a mercy 10. And I pray you consider this in time that all of you that now refuse this Agreement in Holiness will wish ere long that you had heartily embraced it and joyned with the godly and done as they And why will you not be of the mind that you will be shortly of And why will you be of that way and company that you will wish at last you had not been of The Prodigal in Luke 15. did think it a slavery to be kept up so strictly by his Fathers eye he must have his portion in his own possession and abroad he must be gone but when smart had taught him another lesson and misery had bâ—ought him to himself then he is glad to be an hired servant and casteth himself at his Fathers feet in the confession of his unworthiness to be called a son God grant that thâ—s may prove your case But let me tell it you for a certain truth theâ—e is not one of you that now 〈…〉 tâ— become so 〈◊〉 and joyn your selves in the wayes of God but
leave the infallible judgement to God It is only â—eal Saints that have the internal special Unity of the Spirit and saving Communion but its Professors of Faith and Holiness thaâ— must have external Communion wiâ—h us in Ordinances as they have a visible Union of Profession with the Church But if they profess not Holiness they ought not to have any Christian Communion at all O Christians keep close to Christ the Centeâ— of your Unity and the Scripture which is the Rule of it and cherish the â—pirit which is the vital cause walk evenly and uprightly in a dark generation and give no offence to those without nor to the Church of God Know them that are over you in the Lord and be at Peace among your selves and the God of Peace shall be with you 1 Thes. 5.12 Phil 4.8.9 Object BVt may not a Profession of the same Faith procure a sufficient Vnity among us though all be not Saints and savingly regenerate Let us first be of one Religion and then we may come to be sincere in the Practice of that Religion by Degrees Answ. 1. For the Churches sake we are thankful to God when we see a common concord in Profession though most are false in and to the Religion which they profess Many wayes God doth good to his Church by unfound Professors 1. Their Professing the same Faith doth somewhat tye their hands from persecuting it And of the two we can better bear Hypocrites then Persecutors 2. And it somewhat tyeth their tongues from reproaching the Faith and arguing against it and seducing others from it And of the two it would be more hurtful to the Church to have these men open enemies to the truth and bend their wits and tongues against it and to have the multitude assaulting their neighbours with invectives and cavils against Religion then to have them falsly pretend to be Religious 3. And it is a great mercy to the Church hereby to have the benefit of these mens common parts and interests When they profess the same Religion with us though unsoundly yet it engageth them to stand for the Religion which they profess and their illumination and conviction may lead them to do much service for the truth By this means many hands are at work to build up the Church of Christ. And by this means the lives of many faithful Christians are preserved and their estates much spared Many have skill in building that are not true heirs of the house which they build Many have excellent gifts for preaching and expounding Scripture by which the Church may be edified and the Truth defended against the adversaries when yet the same men may themselves be destitute of the Power of this truth The Church hath great cause to be thankful to God for the gifts of many an unsanctified man Had the Church been denyed the Minâ—stry and Gifts of all mâ—n except Saints it would have been confined to a narrower room and many a soul might have beâ—n unconvâ—rted that have been called by the Ministry of unsanctified men By some such did God work Miracles themselves for the confirmation of the Christian Faith And in times of war if the Church had none but Saints to fight for them it could not stand without a continued Miracle And if we had not the daily help of others in civil and secular affairs we should find by the miss of it what a mercy we undervalued Were every unregenerate man an open enemy to the Church we should live as Patridges and such other birds that must hide themselves from every Passenger 4. Moreover this Profession of Hypocrites doth much restrain them from many a sin by which God would be much dishonoured and the Church more wronged and the godly more grieved and the open enemies more encouraged 5. And also it is some honour to the Gospel in the eyes of men to have a multitude of Professors Should Christs visible Church be as narrow as the mystical and should none be Professors of the Faith but those few that are sanctified Believers the paucity of Christians and narrowness of the Church would be a dishonour to Christ in the eyes of the world and would hinder the Conversion of many a soul. All this I have said that you may see that we do not despise a Unity in Profession and that we are not of those that would have all hypocrites and common professors shut out Yea that we take our selves bound to be very thankful to God for the mercy which he vouchsafeth us by the gifts and favour and help and interest of many such Professors And such a Unity of Profession we shall endeavour to our power heartily to promote as knowing that the Church as visible consisteth of such professours 2. But yet for all this I must come closer to your objection and tell you that this Vnity of meer Profession is comparatively so poor a kind of Unity that this will not this must not satisfie us and serve the turn which I desire you to observe in these discoveries 1. This Unity in meer Profession is properly no Christian Vnity because you are not properly Christians If this be all it is but in the bark and shell that we are agreed It is but a seeming agreement from the teeth outward but not an hearty agreement to be Christians What! shall we all agree to say we are Christians when with most it is not so For all this Agreement you will still have one Father and we another You will not be United with us in Christ the Head you will not have the same Holy Spirit who is the Life of the New creature You will be contrary to us in Nature or Disposition You will not have the same Intention and Ultimate End with us but you will aâ—m at one thing and we at another You will not go the same way nor walk by the same Rule and Law as we It will be but a tying â—ogâ—ther the Living and the Dead Bellâ—râ—ine himself confesseth that the ungodly are but dead members It is not life that Uniteth a dead member to the living You will bâ— stilâ— either openly or secretly betraying the Body to which you profess your selves United and taking part with its deadly enemies the flesh the world and the Devil Your very Hearts and ours will still be contrary You will love the sin that we hate and set our selves against and you will dis-relish that Holy Heavenly life which must be our business and delight Your Affections will go one way and ours another You will Live by sense when we must live by faith and you will be laying up a treasure on earth when we are laying up a treasure in heaven You will be asking counsel of flesh and blood when we must advise with God and his holy Word You will look first to your bodies when we must look first and principally to our souls It will be your business to feed those sins which it is our daily work
is contained in this Agreement that 's made when a sinner is truly sanctified 2. If once you were united in the Spirit and Agreed in a Holy life you would differ in nothing that could keep you out of Heaven And if we have some small differences on Earth as long as they are such as cannot hinder our salvation they may be the more easily born Paul and Barnabas had a little falling out but O how sweetly are they now reconciled Hierom and Chrysostom Epiphanius and Iohn of Hierusalem Theophilus and Chrysostom were at odds Luther and Zuinglius had their disagreements But Oh how happily are they now agreed Our imperfection of Knowledge causeth us here to erre and differ in part But if we are all united in Christ and agreed in the main how quickly shall we see that blessed Light that will reconcile all our controversies Marvail not to find some contests among the most learned and most godly unless you 'l marvail that Earth is not Heaven or that in that body we see not the face of God which is the all-disclosing reconciling light If we were all here together in the dark and were of many opinions about the things before us if one did but come in among us with a candle it might end all our differences in a moment When we are newly out of this obscuring flesh and this dark deceitful earthly world O what an unconceiveable reconciliation will be made by that blessed Light There 's no contending or quarrelling For there are none of those errors or passions that should occasion it As Imperfect Holiness produceth an answerable Imperfect Unity so perfect Holiness will prfectly Unite And is not this then the only way to Unity which will help us here to what is here attainable and secure us of eternal perfect concord in the world that we are passing to O see that you be once Agreed in the things that are necessary to salvation and then the hour is neer at hand that will end all your differences and agree you in the rest 3. If once you be but Agreed in Holiness you will have no difference left that shall destroy any Grace in you that 's necessary to salvation The power of Divine faith and Love and Hope and Fear and Zeal will still be safe Your diseasâ—s will not destroy your vital faculties And if the Head the Heart and principal parts be sound you may the better bear a small distemper The disagreements of the ungodly from God from Scripture and the Saints are mortal to them and prove them under the power of darkness and of Satan that leads them captive at his will 2 Tim. 2.26 Eph. 2.23 Acts 26.18 But the differences of the sanctified are but as the different complexions or statures of children or at worst but as their falling out which will not cause the Father to turn them out of his family so that as long as Faith and Love and Hope and other Graces are kept sound we shall certainly do well for all our differences And this is the benefit of Agreeing in Holiness 4. Moreover if once we were all Agreed in the Spirit and in Holiness of Heart and Life we should escape all Heresies or Errors that effectually subvert the Essentials of the Christian faith Mistaken we might be but Heretikes we could not be I stick not upon the bare word whether smaller errors may be called Heresie but taking Heresie as commonly it s taken a sanctified person cannot at least Habitually be a Heretick For should a man so hold a point inconsistent with any one Essential point of the Christian faith at least Habitually and Practically hold it it s as impossible that this man should be then a Christian as that contradictories should be true And therefore certainly whosoever is a true Christian is frâ—e from such Heresies And therefore as if you are sure a man so holds a Heresie you have no reason to believe his shews of Holiness so where you see a great appearance of real Holiness you must long deliberate and have good evidence before you judgâ— that man a Heretick For this is the certain Priviledge of the Sanctified that they cannot be Hereticks though they may have many errors as in sensu composito all confess 5. Morover if we were but all Agreed in true Holiness we should be freed from most of those scandalous sins which are the common occasion of our reproaches and divisions It is sin that is the greaâ— trouble of the Church and of the world Iohn 7.25 This breeds our quarrels This setteth all into a flame When a Drunkard or an unclean person or a slanderer or a raiseâ— or any scandalous person is râ—proved or openly admonished or for impenitency rejected then the Devil and sin bestir themselves and rage against the Church and Officers and Ordinances of God It is sin within that animateth the malignant to bâ— contentious And it is to defend and take part with sin that they fall out with God and his Word and Servants Now Holiness is contrary to this sin that troubleth us Mortification of sin is part of Sanctification If therefore we were Agreed in Holiness it were as ready a way to procure our Peace as quenching the fire in your thatch is the ready way to save your house I know there are too many scandals given by the best But it is commonly but by the weaker worser sort of the best And it is not a common thing with them neither And none of them make a trade of sinning nor have any unmortified reigning sin If a Noach a Lot a David be once scandalous in all his life this is not the case of all the godly and it is not like the case of the ungodly that are either often or impenitent in it And therefore though it may disturbe the Church yet not so much as the frequent and impenitent scandals of the ungodly O could we but all Agree against this make-bate this great disturber and troubler of the world what Peace might we enjoy 6. And also if once we could Agree in Holiness the matter and occasion of offences separations and contentions would cease What caused the Donatists separation of old but the scandals in the Church and the receiving of such upon repentance into Communion or ministry And so the Novatian schism also was occasioned And though the Donatists and Novatians were too blame to be against the Ordination or reception of such Penitents yet the prevention of the sin would have been the prevention of the breach What hath caused so many to turn separatists in England but seeing so many ungodly persons in our Churches and Communion You that are most offended at Schisms and Private Churches are the common occasions of it your selves If such ungodly persons were not in our Assemblies few godly persons would separate from them Though I do not justifie them yet I must needs condemn you as the cause Were it not for you we should be
that it is impossible that Unity should consist in these 3. Furthermore if our Unity were laid on these Religion would be for none but the learned and as the Ancients ordinarily argue against the Heathens that cavilled at the plainness of the Scripture God should be then Partial and should make a way to Heaven that poor men cannot go For the poor cannot possibly attain to so much Learning and spend so much of their lives in study as may bring them to the knowledge of all these lower difficult points 4. Yea if our Unity or Salvation lay on these it is certain it would shut us out all both from Unity and Salvation so that there would no two be at Unity in all the world and no One be saved For all men on earth are Ignorant in many lesser truths even such as are revealed to us in the Scripture and we should endeavour to understand What man dare affirm that he understandeth every word of the Holy Scripture Did the Pope himself think that he had attained to this Infallibility he would ere this have written us an infallible Commentary If the best must say with Paul himself we know but in part then sure those smaller doubtful things which all the truly sanctified know not are not the matter of the Unity of the Church 5. I have shewed in my Discourse of the Catholick Church that to shut out all from the Church and our Communion that differ from us in such lower things is utterly against the design of Christ and the tenour of the Gospel and very dishonourable to him and to his Church God hath more mercy then to shut out the weak and will you dishonour him so far as to perswade the world that he hath no such mercy The design of the Gospel is Grace and Love How tender was Christ even of his little ones that believe in him How compassionate is he to them in their infirmities And would you go about to perswade the world that he hath so little of this compassion as that he will admit none to Heaven or to the Communion of his Church but those that attain to Knowledge and Agreement in all these lesser doubtful Controversies and indifferent things The Church is small enough already but if you would cut off all that do not Agree in every circumstance you would make it small indeed This is no better then under pretence of Faith and Unity to un-Church the Church and damn your selves and all the world 6. The Arguments in the Text are very forcible verse 3. For God hath received him As if he should say Dare you despise or cast out him that God receiveth ver 4. Who art thou that judgest another mans servant ver 10. Why dost thou judge thy brother or why dost thou set at naught thy brother we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ The Church doth not censure men for small or doubtful things nor must we condemn those that God doth not condemn 7. The laying such stress on smaller things doth multiply controversies and fill the minds of men with scruples and ensnare their consciences and engage men in parties against each other to the certain breach of Charity and ruine of the Peace of the Church and of their souls The fire of Contention will never go out for want of fewel if unnecessary things be made necessary and small things pretended to be great uncertain things pretended to be certain Abundance of vice will be daily set and kept at work upon this borrowed stock 8. And what a world of precious Time will be wasted by this means while men are Studying and Reading to maintain their own opinions and when they must waste their hours when they are together in Conferences and wrangling-Disputations to the discomposing of their own and others minds and certain troubling the Church of God! Oh what use have we for those precious hours for surer greater and more needful things 9. The things that our salvation and the Churches Peace are indeed laid upon are so great so necessary so pleasant and so profitable that it leaveth us the more without excuse to waste our time in things unnecessary We have our great Creator to know and honour we have the mysterie of Redemption to search into and admire we have the Nature and Life and Death and Resurrection and Ascension and Glorification and Intercession of Christ to study and believe and all the Love and Wisdom of God the Mercy and the Holiness and Justice that was revealed in him we have Judgment to prepare for all the Graces of the Spirit of Christ to be received or cherished increased and exercised in our Souls We have a Hell to scape and a Heaven to obtain and the foreseen glory of it to feed upon for the strengthning and delighting of our Souls we have many particular duties of Holiness and Righteousness to attend And in the midst of all this great employment should we make more work and trouble to our selves and that about unnecessary things 10. These unnecessary or lower things when once they are advanced above their ranck do undermine and wrong the greater matters which they pretended to befriend They divert the thoughts and speeches from them and take up the affections and will not be contented with their due proportion but are as the Proverb is like a Begger on horse-back that will never light If men be but set upon Ceremonies or private opinions of their own they are upon it in all companies and you shall sometimes have almost nothing else from them And that 's not all but the Interest of their unnecessary or lower points is ordinarily set up against the Interest of that Body of Christian Verities which we are all agreed in so that they can be contented that Christianity lose much advantage in the greater points that their cause may be advantaged If this were not so we should not have had ceremonies formalities have cast out such abundance of excellent Preachers heretofore Nor private Opinions have set so many against the labours of faithful Ministers as to our grief and shame we have lately seen And the mischief is that unnecessary things made necessary do so involve the Imposers interest with their own that they think they are Necessitated to drive them on and see their Impositions obeyed or else their wisdom or authority is 〈◊〉 â—1 And thus they directly lead men to persecution and occasion those that must needs have their wills to Lord it over Gods heritage 1 Pet. 5.3 when the desire of being the Churches God hath prevailed so far with any of its members as to set them upon a course of Law-giving and domineering and bringing others into a conformity to their wills they look upon all men as sinners that disobey them and think that their power will warrant them to force â—â—edience to their commands or 〈◊〉 to deprive the Church of her Pastors Many a Congregation have I known change
the world that our Religion is not changed at all Our worship is the same whether within Book or without Our Prayers are the same for matter with those in the Common Prayer Book And if I should one day use the Common Prayer Book and another day forbear it I should not change the worship of God To pray is part of his worship but whether it be on a Book or off it is no part at all but only a mode or circumstance which may be altered as occasion serveth I doubt not but a Book is fittest for some but not for all And do they think that we know not what adding and chopping and changing they have made with their Mass Book Who is it then that hath changed their worship Is it like the same Book that it was before the changes made by Gregory the great It was so ordinary a thing to change the manner and forms of worshp that private Bishops did it without any Synods whence else had the world the forms that are now in use Tell us how many of those in the Biblioth Patrum were made by Apostle or General Council if you can When Basil the great had set up a new way of singing to God and made some other changes in worship the Clergy of Neocesarea were offended with him for the novelty and told him that none of that was used in Gregory's dayes To whom he answers that neither was their own Letany known in Gregory's dayes who yet had lived not 140 years before and was the famous founder of their Church by miracles Basil Epist. 63. And Basil added to the Clergie of Neocesara But how can you tell that these things were not in use in Gregories daies when you have kept nothing unchanged which he was used to And that you may see his mind in this he adds But I pardon all these things though God will examine all Only let the principal things be kept safe If we had changed the Sacraments as the Papists have done viz. a Commemorative Sacrifice into a Real Sacrifice of Christ himself the Sacramental Body and blood of Christ into the Real Body and blood the administration of it in both kinds into one kind alone defrauding the people of the cup the Communion into a private Mass the people only looking on the Priest when he receiveth alone himself c. I say had we made such changes as these they might have called us changelings indeed and have told us of novelties in the worship of God 18. Moreover this laying so much upon lower or unnecessary things doth impoverish the soul and make it low and empty and formal according to the matter that it hath to work upon As the great unquestionable Truths of God are they that sanctifie and elevate the soul and leave their Image on it so will contending about private opinions or laying out our zeal in ceremonies and shaddows depress the soul and famish it and turn our Religion into a shaddow We find by sad experience that people are so prone to turn all Religion into meer words and shews and customary formalityes that when we have done our best we cannot cure them of this mortal sin God is a Spirit and will have such worshippers as worship him in spirit and in truth John 4.23 We have little need to cherish this disease of hypocrisie seeming histrionical outside Religiousness when we see so many perish by it after all that we can do for their deliverance 19. And this making a Religion of unnecessary things or laying the Churches Unity thereon is a dangerous snare to delude the Ignorant and ungodly and make them believe that they are godly people and in the way to Heaven as well as others I use not this or any Argument against the profitable use of any forms in order to the understanding of the matter nor against the due circumstantiating of the worship of God But if profitable forms and Gods own Ordinances are somwhat lyable to this abuse we cannot devise how to increase the danger and quite enthral these miserable souls more certainly then by multiplying unnecessary formalityes and placing Religion and Unity in them For they that are most ignorant and empty of the Love and fear of God and the bitterest enemies to a Heavenly life will presently set in with these formalities and make themselves a Religion of these and then they will take themselves as godly as the best You shall never make them believe that they are ungodly They think the difference lyeth but in the way and manner of serving God You serve him one way and they another but yet they serve him as well as you Yea they will overdo in these Indifferent things that they may make up that which is wanting in true godliness and then they will think that they are better and righter then you Thus did the Heathens cry out against the ancient Christians with a Tollite impios away with the ungodly and killed them and cast them to wild beast to be torn by them because they would not worship their Idols And so many ungodly wretches now that will not be perswaded to a Holy life will yet cry dow others as impious because they observe not all the Ceremonies which they observe When we have used all the means we can to bring them to the study of the Scripture and to meditate in the Law of the Lord and to holy conference and servent prayer to hatred of sin the contempt of the world the mortifying of the flesh to the Love of God above all to a thankful admiration of the Love of Christ and the great mystery of Redemption to the believing delightful forethoughts of everlasting life and preparation for it c. I say when we have done all to bring them to this which is godlyness indeed we lose our labour and leave them as we find them They cannot away with so precise a life But yet a Religion they will have instead of it to deceive their souls and quiet them in the way to Hell For instance I must speak it with grief of heart that I meet with no small number among us that know not who Christ is some say he is God and not man some say he is man and not God some say he was made both God and man at once some say he is neither God nor man but a Spirit some say he is not God but the Son of God and hath the power of God given him Abundance say that he is God only and not man now he is in Heaven though he was both on earth and very many know not what Christianity is nor wherein the Christian Religion doth consist And yet all these persons that are Heathens rather then Christians are the most zealous Keepers of Christmass as it is called and the bitterest condemners of those that do not and so do make themselves believe that they are Christians as well as others The same persons that know not