the Cause But that our hearts may yet more relent in this sad condition of the seduced let us hear the following words Besides saith he we cannot understand the meaning of such phrases as dull Christians Ignorant and injudicious Christians For whoever are Christians indeed have received an anointing by which they know all things 1 Joh. 2. 20. 27. And should not have such vile Epithets affixed to them which only â—â—nd to expose even Christianity it self as if it did not cure those that sincerely imbraced it of their Ignorance and Injudiciousness Answ. It is no disgrace to Christianity that it is set off by the presence of Ignorance and Injudiciousness As sickness maketh us know the worth of health Nor is it long of life or health that doleful diseases remain yet uncured For were it not for them instead of diseases there would be death It is Godliness and Christianity which bringeth that Light and Health into the World that is in it And men are not ignorant and bad because they are Christians and Religious but because they are not better Christians and more Religious Perfect Christianity would make men perfectly judicious The weakest true Christian exceedeth the Learnedst Ungodly Doctor even in judgement and knowledge Because he practically and powerfully knoweth that God is God and to be preferred in honour obedience and love before all the World and that Christ is Christ and to be believed in for Justification and Salvation And that the Holy Spirit is his Advocate and our Quickener Illuminater and Sanctifier to be believed and obeyed and that there is a Life of Happiness to be hoped for which is better than all the pleasures of sin and the felicity of worldlings In a word they have a real though imperfect understanding of the Baptismal Covenant and of the Creed or Symbole of Christian Faith And this is a great and noble knowledge and Cure of them that were lately ignorant of all these things and were led Captive â—y the Prince of darkness at his will If the Reader that would see the difference will peruse my small Tractate of Catholick Unity he may be informed of it But yet is there no such thing as Ignorant dull injudicious Christians because they know all things Must we not use such phrases and Epithetes because Christianity cureth them Dear brother I have no mind to make you odious nor to open your sin to others But you have opened it to the World and I must open it to you if possibly you may repent But especially I am bound to try to save mens souls from this perilous deceit And therefâ—â—â— I shall prove to you that there are such 〈…〉 and ignorant and injudicious Christians And 2. I shall tell you the greatness of your error and sin That there are such is proved 1. By the words of Scripture Heb. 5. 11 12 13 14. Seeing yee are dull of hearing For when for the time yee ought to be teachers yee have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the Oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat For every one that useth milk is unskilfull or unperienced in the word of Righteousness for he is a babe But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil 1 Tim. 3. 6. Not a novice lest being lifted up with Pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil The verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is otherwise by our Translators in the margin turned besotted And Strigelius saith that it signifieth not only puffed up but one crack'd brain'd and phanatick And Lyserus saith of the same word 2 Tim. 3. 4. translated High minded that it answereth an Hebrew word which signifyeth to be dark and not to shine clearly which Leigh reciteth See Martinius de Typho 1. Cor. 3. 1 2 3 4. And I brethren could not speak unto you as unto Spiritual but as unto Carnal as unto babes in Christ I have fed you with milk and not with meat For hitherto yee w 〈…〉 t able to bear it neither yet now are yee able For yee are yet Carnal For whereas there is among you envying the word is Zeal that is emulation and strife or contention and divisions or factions are yee not Carnal and walk as men or according to man For when one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo are yee not Carnal Eph. 4. 14. That we henceforth be no more children tost to and fro and carried about with every wind by the sleight or cousenage of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive but speaking the truth in Love may grow up c. Luke 24. 25. O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Mark 6. 52. They considered not the miracle of the Loaves for their heart was hardened Mark 8. 17. Why reason yee because yee have no bread Perceive yee not yet neither understand Have yee your hearts yet hardened Having eyes see yee not And having ears hear yee not And do you not remember Luke 12. 16. These things understood not his Disciples at the first Luke 18. 32 33 34. They shall scourge him and put him to death and the third day he shall rise again And they understood none of these things and this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things which were spoken 1 Cor. 8. 2. 7. 10. If any man think that he knoweth any thing he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge but some with Conscience of the Idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered to an Idol and their Conscience being weak is defiled Shall not the Conscience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to Idols See Rom. 14 and 15. Gal. 6. 1. 1 Cor. 9. 22. Gal. 3 and 4. throughout Col. 2. 21 22 c. Heb. 13. 9. 1 Tim. 1. 3. Should I recite all such Epithetes convictions and reproofs in Scripture it would be tedious 2. The thing is further proved by the common experience of mankind which it amazeth me to think a man that liveth among men in the world awake and in his senses can be ignorant of Enemies know it Friends know it not only that there are Ignorant and Injudicious Christians but that the far greatest part are such though not in a damning yet in a sad and troublesome degree And that the far greatest part of those that we hope are truly godly remain so lamentably ignorant of abundance of things that should be known and continue in such an infancy of understanding as is a great advantage to the Tempter and many waies calamitous to themselves and to the Church It is the lamentation of all experienced Ministers Alas how ignorant even honest people remain And how
have us receive If they shut out us that is not our sin but theirs The hurt and loss is farr more to the excluder than the excluded to him that loseth his Charity than to him that loseth but Communion with others And I know that as none shall take out of Christs hands those that are given him by the Father and he himself will in no wise cast them out so he will at last give no more thanks either to Diotrephes or to any separating parties that would rob him of his own and say that his Children are not his Children and that his Churches are not his Churches and that his Worship is not his Worship but Idolatry than you will give to him that will turn out your Children and servants and take away your goods and lands and say that they are not yours Brethren it grieveth me to the heart that neither party Conformable or Non-conformable is more sensible of the sin and danger of our distance Though I know that in both parties there are many wise and holy persons who I suppose lament it more than I do It layeth my soul in daily lamentations to see how we run further and further from each other to the apparent danger of the Protestant Cause and of the Kingdoms welfare and of all the hopes of our posterity And that in stead of repenting of those sins which every party is guilty of and taking warning by our former experiences or by the dreadful judgements of God upon us all that yet we are daily losing the little Love that is left and still flying further into more and more exasperations and distast As if all the Church and Kingdoms hopes consisted in overcoming one another When our long experience telleth us that subduing those that must still be members is no Cure of a divided body and that treading men down doth but alienate them the more And I know that it is Concord and Union upon such terms in which we are all agreed that must be our Cure if ever we be Cured And that no Covenant nor partial interest can possibly justifie us if we will stablish our union on such terms as shall either exclude such on one side as Jewel Grindal Downam Hall and other such Bishops or such on the other side as Ames Hildersham Cartwright Bayne Egerton and other such worthy persons that were Nonconformists For my part my terms should neither exclude Episcopal Independent nor Anabaptist But one that will separate and exclude himself or one that will tyranizâ— and exclude all others we cannot any otherwise have Concord and Communion with than distantly by Christian principles and patience But at long running they shall be all convinced that the Cure of the Church is not by meer Conquest or Contempt of others Nor by the Union and Concord of some Parties only but of the whole And that the sound and sober Conformists and Non-conformists are the parts in England that must be united And that neither Violence nor unjust separating Censures are the healing way And that which party soever it be that contriveth and endeavoureth a Union by the extirpation and ruine of the other part is schismatical and taketh the way of desolation And that it is the Devil the Infidels and the Papists that will be the gainers by our continued divisions And therefore though I know not the man alive in England who hath more fair pretence from the ungrateful usage of the differing partieâ— to desist from any more such conciliatory attempts yet let my hopes be never so low seeing it is a thing that must be done or we are undone I will imitate honest Mr. Dury and choose rather to wast my daies in vain attempts for Peace than to go quarrelling and contending to the grave as I have seen too many others do And if both parties in this exasperated age should never so much revile and sâ—ander me though a surviving name be little of my interest I make no doubt but our posterity will be constrained by experience to think better of Peace-makers than of Contenders The names of Melanchthon Bucer Calixtus Bergius Burroughs Hall Davenant c. are far more grateful and honourable to after times than the name of Flacius though an excellent learned man or of Schlusselburgius Calovius or any of our fiery Contenders or destroyers To all this I add that even the separated Churches themselves do find a necessity of Union and Concord for their preservation Division else will pursue the several pieces and the same principles which I write-against if they go along with them will crumble them all to dust The separated Churches in Holland of the English fully proved this Even those members in New-England which Mr. Norton sadly told Mr. Ash and me did withdraw and gather themselves to an unlearned Pastor and would not be intreated by Magistrates or Ministers yet when they were separated would fain keep Concord among themselves And if half of that separated body should again have separated from the rest that fragment would fain keep themselves in Unity And still nature teacheth them to feel that their Unity is their strength and life and that their Division is their dissolution 5. And I must needs tell the world that though I Conform not it is greater things than the matters of Conformity which are the chief parts of my Religion And therefore it is not Non-conformity that we must all Unite in so much as Christianity and soundness in the Faith And I doubt not but the Independents who offer to subscribe to the Doctrine of the Church of England will say that they differ far more from the Quakers and Seekers and Familists than they do from the Conformists And so do I though I would have Love and Gentleness exercised to them all 6. And if the present Conformable Ministry were more to be blamed than they are yet they may learn and profit while they teach Many of them are young coming lately from the University and may yet grow up to ability and piety and greater usefulness in the Church And many of them are prejudiced against their brethren for want of acquaintance And a Christian prudent Loving familiarity and Conversation with them may make them in time become more serviceable to the truth than we are whereas a continued distance estrangedness and censorious aversation will feed their mistakes and uncharitable censureâ— of us yea and their sharp severities against us and will keep up a heart-war and a Church-war in the land And alas who knoweth either when or how or in whose calamity it will End For he that puts on his armour should not boast as he that puts it off I do therefore conclude with this repeated profession that it is the Conformists and the Non-conformists that constitute the English protestant body And it is the Conformists and Non-conformists that must at last when they are wearied with tearing and opposing one another be brought together and the faithful of both
confess to you brother that though I once hoped that we should have been great gainers by our sufferings the fruit of them now appeareth to me to be such in many as maketh me more afraid of imprisonment for the sake of my soul than of my body lest it should stir up that passion which should bear down my judgement into some errors and extreams and corrupt and destroy my Love to them by whom I suffer And truly Brother I am fully convinced that many that think their sufferings are their glory and prove them better men than others are lamentably lost and overcome by their sufferings I think your companion and you are no gainers by it who presently by preaching and writing thus bring water to the extinguishing of Christian Love I think those two Gentlemen before mentioned that turned Quakers in prison and left their Religion as many more have done were losers by it And I think many thousands in these times that are driven into various errors and extreams and have lost their charity to adversaries and dissenters have lost a thousand times more than their liberties and money comes to Woe be to the World because of offences And woe be to them by whom offence cometh Experience of too many maketh me less in love with sufferings than I have been And to think that the quiet and peaceable preaching of the Gospel though under many other disadvantages if God would grant it us would be better for our own souls EXCEPT XIX Answered You proceed But Mr. B. being once got into the chair of the scornful will not easily out and therefore goes on It is an odious sound to hear an ignorant rash self-conceited person especially a Preacher to cry out Idolatry Idolatry against his brethrens prayers to God because they have something in them to be amended Whereas we do not therefore think any thing to be guilty of Idolatry because it hath something in it to be amended but because it is used in the worship of God without any command of God to make it lawful And this we must tell our Dictator is a species of Idolatry and forbid in the second Commandement And if he will not receive it so it is to use his own arrogant and imperious words because he understands not Christian sense and reason Answ. 1. The charge of Idolatry against the Liturgie and Conformable Ministers I found in Iohn Goodwins book and Mr. Brownes and others But this Brother carrieth it much further 2. He contradicteth himself in his Negation and Affirmation For whatsoever is to be amended which is used in Gods worship hath no command of God to make it lawful For it is sin But whatsoever is used in Gods worship without any command of God to make it lawful he affirmeth to be Idolatry Ergo whatsoever is used in Gods worship which is to be amended he maketh to be Idolatry 3. Reader if this one Section do not make thy heart grieve for the sake of the Church of Christ that our poor people should be thus taught and our Congregations thus distracted and unholyness that is uncharitableness fathered upon the God of Love and our sufferings and non-conformity thus turned to our reproach and wrath and reviling pretended to be Religion thou hast not a true sense of the concernments of Christianity and the souls of men I shall propose here these few things to thy consideration Quest. 1. Whether an Idolater be not an odious person and unfit for Christian Communion That these men think so their practise sheweth Q. 2. Whether he that writeth and preacheth to prove others Idolaters do not write and preach to make them so far seem odious and to perswade men from loving them and having communion with them as Christians Q. 3. Whether he that preacheth up hatred causelesly and preacheth down Christian love do not preach down the sum of true Religion and preach against God who is Love Q. 4. Whether preaching against God and Religion be not worse than talking against it in an Ale-house or in prophane discourse And fathering all this on God and Religion be not a sad aggravation of it Q. 5. Whether this brother that affirmeth this to be Idolatry that he speaketh against should not have given us some word of proof especially where he calleth me that deny it a Dictator And whether both as Affirmer among Logicians and as Accuser among men of justice the proof be not incumbent on him Q. 6. Whether here be a syllable of proof but his angry affirmation Q. 7. Whether thou canst receive this saying of his if thou have Christian sense and reason so far as to believe that all the Churches of Christ fore-named the Greek the Abissine the Armenian the Coptics the Lutherans and all the Reformed Churches that fall under his Charge are Idolaters And couldst bring thy heart accordingly to condemn them and separate from them And whether thou canst take all the holy Conformists of England such as Bolton Preston Sibbes Stocke Dike Elton Crooke Whateley Fenner c. for Idolaters yea and all the non-Conformists that used and joyned in the Liturgie Q. 8. Whether thou canst believe that this same brother himself that writeth at this rate do use nothing in Gods worship which hath no command of God to make it lawful Is all this reviling all this false doctrine all his untruths commanded of God Or doth he not make himself an Idolater Q. 9. Whether if he teach true doctrine there by any Church or person in the World that worshippeth not God with Idolatry I give my reasons 1. There is no one but sinneth or useth sin in the worship of God But no sin is commanded or lawful Ergo there is no one according to his doctrine but useth Idolatry in the worship of God 2. There is no one that useth not some things not commanded to make them lawful in the worship of God Therefore if he teach true doctrine there is no one but useth Idolatry The antecedent I have oft proved by many instances The method of every Sermon and Prayer the words the time and length the translation of the Scripture whether it shall be this or that the dividing of the Scripture into Chapters and Verses the Meeter of Psalms the Tunes Church utensils Sermon notes which some use Catechisms in forms c. the Printing of the Bible or any other books c. none of these are commanded And all these are used in the worship of God And must all Christians in the World be taught to fly from one another as Idolaters Is this the way of Love and Unity Q. 10. Why should this brother be so extream impatient with me for calling Dividers weak and pievish and censorious Christians If in his own judgement all men be Idolaters that use any thing in Gods worship not commanded Is not this to censure all men as Idolaters And yet is a censure of previshness on these Censurers a justifying of persecution Q.
you never read 1 Cor. 10. 1. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. It 's too long to transcribe Did you never read Heb. 3 and 4 Nor read of the sins of the Polygamy the putting away of wives and other faults of the better sort and the generality of the Jews Did you never read how common the high place-worship was even under godly Kings Nor yet how the Law was neglected till the book was almost unknown Did you never read of the sins of Noah Lot and his Family Abraham Isaac Iacob Moses Aaron and his sons the company of Corah David Solomon Peter c Did you never read of Christs rebuke of his Disciples for their hardness of heart their ignorance their striving who should be greatest And how he took that occasion to warn them by the comparison of a child and by his washing and wiping of their feet Nor yet of his rebuking their common expectation of a temporal Kingdom Are not the errors of the several Religious Sects reproved by the Ancient Writers Irenaeus Tertullian Epiphanius Augustine c. Did you never read any writing counselling men to avoid the errors and sins of the Donatists nor the Novatians the Monothelites the Nestorians Eutychians c The errour of the Religious sort among the Lutherans is Consubstantiation Church-Images Ceremonies c. The error of the Religious Calvinists is too much neglect of the Lords day What those of the Arminians and the Anabaptists and many other sorts are I leave to you Did you never read any man that warned others to avoid these sins and errors Did you never find in the Antimonians writings that the stricter sort of good people went too far in pressing humiliation tears and degrees of sorrow so as to be too dark and sparing in pressing the doctrine of Grace and Love And it was partly true Did you never hear or read how superstition â—remetical and monastical lives excessive fastings and austerities were caused by the strictest people Nor yet of touch not taste not handle not Nor of some lawful things feigned to be unlawful Nor yet that ever Paul wrote to the Corinthians Galatians c. And Christ by Iohn to six of the Asian Churches to know and avoid the sins of Christians together with the hereticks among them Nor yet that Paul said Act. 20. Of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them Nor yet that he said I have no man like minded as Timothy for all seek their own things and not the things that are Iesus Christs Nor that all forsook him at his appearing before Nero Nor that all his Disciples forsook Christ and fled Nor that Paul said that the Ministers of Satan transformed themselves into Ministers of Righteousness In a word that beside all other sins the carnal siding and divisions which Paul reproved the Corinthians for most ages have among the stricter sort been guilty of Would you teach your hearers to put their doctrines or practices to a Major Vote of Professors Do you think we know the sincere from hypocrites Or that either hypocrites or sincere are without sin Or that we must take no warning by good mens falls Must we all do over again all the faults that Religious men have done these 30 years You make my heart grieve Brother to think that there should be a man among us that thinketh the Church must be built up by such doctrines and such means as yours You say We are commanded not to conform our selves to the World Answ. Nor to sinning Christians neither But first say you to suppose that the Religious party have generally some common errors among them and then to advise that we should carefully study to escape them This counsel we think Mr. Baxter may be the father of nor do we envy him the honour of it Answ. 1. Have the Religious sort among the Greeks Abassines Nestorians Iacobites Armenians Lutherans Anabaptists Arminians c. no common error among them 2. Are you for more Infallibility and Perfection than the Papists themselves 3. Will any Christian besides you that is sober deny that we should study to escape them 4. Did you ever read any sober Writer of another mind I beseech you take heed of this pernicious flattery of Professors And I beseech all the Religious that love their souls to take heed of being ensnared by such flattery into a proud impenitent state And in the grief of my heart here I must say to the people that which I expect this brother should impute to enmity to godliness You see by this manner of teaching what you have brought your selves and your Teachers to I have oft grieved to observe that many look that Preachers should make it their business to flatter them and extoll them in the highest praises and to prick others as deep and vilifie them as much as may be and this is the preaching that they are best pleased with I know that the precious and the vile must be widely differenced and he is no Preacher of the Gospel that doth not do it But when the Preacher must notifie our party as precious and cast dung on those as vile whom uncharitable men without proof think vile and must hide all our sins as if to touch them were to reproach Religion it self and must aggravate theirs even the greatest that differ from us or else be a flatterer and temporizer O that such knew but what manner of spirit they are of You adde that I make my advice ridiculous by forgetting that I bid men agree with the Universal Church Answ. I said expresly In the necessary Articles of Faith And must we therefore agree with them in all their sins and errors Or may I not say separate not from most or any Christians as to things true and necessary and yet avoid their sins and he followers of them as they are of Christ. Alas poor Christians that ever you should either be instructed at this rate or yet have need to be instructed against it EXCEPT XXIX Answered Why Brother did you never till now hear either Familists Socinians or the grosser Quakers such as Major Cobbet writes against and Smith called by the name of a Sect Had you no greater thing to quarrel with You shall call them how you will Your anger I pass by EXCEPT XXX Answered Yâ—â— say May we not justly suspect that to be bad in the worship of God which the wicked sort do love Answ. I spake not of what they love but what they are for This change of my words is unrighteous I only advised men not to reject a good cause because it is owned by some or most bad persons And why did you not answer my instance of the Pharisees long prayers We have had many Religious persons or sects that have of late been some against Infant Baptisme some against singing Psalmes some against Ministry and Church-meetings and some against Sacraments and instituted Ordinances and some against Tythes
remedy that the formal Hypocrites will either apply or endure That men would become Christians O that the truth of faith and the power of true Christian belief might be seen in the hearts and lives of those that knowingly put the neck in Christs yoak So far Eldersfield See also Dr. Patrick of Baptisme Dr. Hammonds words I have recited after my Treat of Confirmation They are very worthy of consideration But to leave this digression 2. My second reason why I dissent from them that will have other Tearms of Church-entrance than Baptisme and a stricter exaction of a Title to membership than a professed Affent and Consent to the tearms of that Covenant is because if in our very Church-title and Constitution we forsake the Scriptural and primitive tearms we are liable to the exceptions of all dissenters and cannot justifie our selves against their accusations nor well answer them that say It is long of us and not of them that they communicate not with us 3. Because we shall unavoidably injure many of Christs members and keep those out whom he will own and would have us own to the great injury of him and them 4. Because we shall lessen and weaken the Church of Christ which is already so small and so be injurious to it 5. Because we shall be alwaies at uncertainty on what tearms to go For if once we leave Gods prescribed tearms we shall never know where to fix But every Pastor will examine as he please and form such Covenant-tearms as are agreeable to the measure of his own private judgement and Charity And even among Congregational men we see already that the tearms of mens Titles do vary as the Pastors or Congregations differ in point of strictness 6. And this layeth a certain foundation for perpetual dissentions and divisions when there are no certain tearms of Concord And there is no Union when we depart from Christs authority And it is not in vain that Christ himself prescribed a form of Baptizing And if all his Churches since the Apostles daies have brought us down that Creed or those Articles of Faith and form of Baptizing used universally among them New waies and various waies even as various as mens degrees of prudence and charity will never be the tearms of the Churches Unity 7. And I am very much the more confirm'd against this extream by my long experience Having made it much of my work to know the minds and lives of all the people of the great Parish where I lived and since that having conversed with many of the inferior rank both for estate and profession of piety I have found that there is much more good in a great number of those that are not noted openly for special Professors of Religiousness than I did before believe For no man is usually noted now for Religious in this stricter sense 1. Whose knowledge hath not some readiness of expression in conference and in prayer 2. And who doth not come to private meetings and associate himself with the stricter and forwarder sort of Professors But there are abundance of things which may hinder some serious weak Christians from both these Dulness of natural parts and want of good education and use and teaching and company may keep mens parts and utterance very low And some young Christians for want of former use at their first true Conversion cannot speak sense in the very fundamentals which yet they have a saving sense and knowledge of but are like Infants and their prayers have little better expressions than Abba Father and the unutterable groans of the spirit And some never had the opportunity of profitable company And some are hindered from such converse by bashfulness And some by poverty and business or distance And some by the restraint of Parents Husbands Masters c. And some by ill company and scandall may have a prejudice against those Religious people who are neerest to them who yet may be real lovers of Christ. Having found in many called common people more knowledge though not beter utterance than I expected and more trust in Christ and more desire to be better and love to those that are better and more willingness to be taught crowding in publick or private when they have a full opportunity and affectionately hearing the closest preaching I am grown the more fearful of wronging Christ his Church and them by numbering such with those that are without when they are Baptized persons that never were proved to have apostatized nor to have lived impenitently in any sin so gross as the back-bitings proud-censoriousness and divisions of too many Religiouser people are 8. To which may be added the sad experience of this age of the dreadful miscarriages of the more noted sort of Professors turning Infidels Ranters Quakers Socinians Antinomians and too many scandalous in life and such as have destroyed Order Government Unity Reformation when there was scarce an enemie able to hurt it much besides themselves Which is no dishonour to the Profession of Holyness much less to Christ and Holyness it self But it seemeth to me a notable rebuke of our common over-valuing the meer Parts and utterance and extemporate performances of the people and of Ministers flattering such Professors and over-looking all of Christ which is in many that have had no such helps for gifts and utterance as they 2. The second Point in which the New-England Synod agreed was the stated Consociation of Churches and use of Synods And herein saith the Defence p. 99. there appeared no Dissent or dissatisfaction in the Synod Where they adde also as to the point of Separation We never said nor thought that there should be a withdrawing from other Churches upon differences errors or offences of an inferiour and dubious nature yea though continued in We are far enough from hastyness or harshness in that matter being professed adversaries to a spirit of sinful and rigid separation And that Apostolical man Mr. Iohn Eliot hath printed a draught for stated Synods for Counsel and Concord which is their proper use which will go far enough to satisfie moderate men in that point and saith more for such Synods than ever I said 2. Having said thus much of the Iudgement of Congregational men in New-England against Separation I shall adde somewhat of the second Assertion That it concerneth the Congregational Party as much in point of Interest to be against it as any sort of men whatsoever 1. Because their Churches have no other bond of Concord here but voluntary Consent And if that break they are dissolved 2. Because their members being usually neither so low as to be ignorant of matters of Controversie nor so high as to be able solidly to Resolve them are most like to be quarrelsome and fall into divisions And honest people that have a zeal of God and for Truth and Unity and not knowledge enough to guide it steadily are likey to contend and trouble one another than either they that are
Consequences on your person but it 's easie to see that it will follow from this opinion that Christ was a sinner and consequently no Saviour and so no Christ. Alas whither would you carry the people of the Lord Nor do you prove Paul's Case to be like this Eating at the sacrifiâ—â—s in the Idols Temples was visible Corporal Idolatry forbidden indeed in the second Commandement as Idolatry interpretative visible external corporeal It was that very Act by which an Idol was outwardly worshipped Therefore it was a Professing-act interpretatively Symbolizing with Idolaters I have told you is Professing for a Symbole is a Professing sign But he that is present with a Church professing to worship not an Idol but the true God and that according to the Scripture and is united to the Church only in this profession doth not by so doing Profess Consent to a Ministers ill wording or methodizing of his Prayers or his Sermons which is the work of his own office 2. As for your charge of Blasphemy c. on me for intreating you to take heed lest you blaspheme by making Gods foreknowing of faults to signifie an approbation I pass it by and will not by so frivolous a return be drawn to enter further on that point EXCEPT XXII p. 13. Answered Whether it be bitterness fierceness fury or proud impatience to reprove these sins in an instance which your self presume not to contradict And whether the opinion that no truth is to be silenced for peace be fit for judicious peaceable men to own or be not fit to be gain-said I have long ago debated in my book of Infant-Baptisme pag. 218. EXCEPT XXIII p. 13. Answered If you dissent why did you answer none of the six Reasons I gave for what I said nor seem to take notice of them But only when I say It were easie to instance in unseasonable and imprudent words of truth spoken to Princes which have raised persecutions of long continuance ruined Churches caused the death of multitudes c. Upon which you put four questions To which I answer 1. The flattery of some will not justifie the sinful imprudence of others 2. If you should be guilty of the blood of thousands by one sin will it excuse you that another was more guilty 3. Elijah Micaiah and Iohn Baptist spake not unseasonably or imprudently Nor is all imprudent that bringeth suffering or death 4. Gospel Ministers may follow them that spake prudently but unseasonable and imprudent speaking is not following them I have recited elsewhere a saying even of Dr. Th. Iackson that It is not because great men have not sins and wrath enough that there are no more Martyrs under Christian Rulers but because there be not John Baptists enough to tell them of them to that sense But either by all this you mean to defend unseasonable and imprudent speaking or else you mean that there is no such sin or else you must needs contend where you consent If it be the first or third I will not be so imprudent as to sence with you If the second it is gross contradiction of reason and morality and of Christ himself Matth. 7. 6. 1 Tim. 2. 11 12. 1 Cor. 14. 28. 34. Amos 5. 13. Eccl. 3. 7. EXCEPT XXIV p. 14. He hath found out a new Cause of Separation and such as we doubt not the Pope will thank him for when he saies Almost all our contentions and divisions are caused by the ignorance and injudiciousness of Christians For it is evident that our contentions at this day are principally if not wholly caused by the pride impertinencie and tyranny of imposers which guilt Mr. Baxter would ease them of by charging it on the ignorance and injudiciousness of Christians Answ. These last words are your 17th Untruth 1. Where have I said a word to ease them of it May not two persons or parties be both guilty of Division Yea if one were guilty wholly that is of the whole yet he may not be guilty solely and no one with him 2. Have you or any of your party done so much to have stopt that cause of divisions which you accuse as I have done And did I ever change my mind 3. O that God would make you know what spirit you are of and what you are doing Alas brother will you leave England no hope of a Cure What hope while we are impenitent What Repentance while we justifie our sins Yea while the Preachers teach the people to justifie them and become the defenders of the sins which they should preach against and fight against their brethren that do but call mâ—n to â—â—pâ—nt What! is Godliness up and in honour among us while Repentance is down as an intolerable abhorred thing What a Godliness is that which abhorreth Repentance I am offended greatly with my own heart that melteth not into tears over such lines as thâ—se for England's sake and for Religions sake For the honour of God and for the souls of men Is that a new Cause of separation which hath been the Cause since the daies of the Apostles to this day Did ever man read the histories of the Schismes and Heresies of the Churches and not find out this Cause this old this ordinary Cause If you had remembred but what Socrates and Sozomene say of the Church of Alexandria alone what contentions what tumults what blood-shed these weaknesses and faults of Christians caused it might have told you it is no new thing O lamentable case of miserable England that even among the zealouser sort of Ministers any should be found that either vindicateth all Christians from the charge of Ignorance and Injudiciousness Or that thinketh these are no Causes or no culpabie Causes of divisions That have no more acquaintance with the people of this land And know no better them that they plead for That such should seek to flatter poor souls in despite of that open light and undeniable 〈◊〉 of all the Christian World That in an age when the weaknesses and faults of Christians have wrought such heinous effects among us they should be denied And when God by judgements hath so terribly summoned us to repent by silencing dissipations imprisonments reproaches and most dreadful plagues and flames alas shall we call to professors that have ruined us by Ignorance and Injudiciousness the gentlest names that their sin will bear and say Repent not Christians you are not ignorant or injudicious It is not you that are the causes of our divisions and calamities Our Contentions at this day are principally if not wholly caused by the pride impertinency and tyranny of the Imposers Believe not Christians that you are innocent Believe not that you are not ignorant and injudicious as you love your souls and as you love the land If once God deliver us up to Antichristian darkness and cruelties it will be cold comfort to you to think that you once were flattered into impenitency and made believe that you were not