〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must have a double look the first look it must cast on the Rule the second it must cast on the Actions be they either necessary or positive or else it cannot be counted Conscience and from thy agreeing or disagreeing with the Rule so thy Conscience accuseth or excuseth accordingly And now I appeal to any sober mans Consideration since there cannot be contrary Rules justifiable whether there can be contrary Consciences Certainly then we may safely conclude in all Constituted Churches since for Belivers actions there is but one Truth but one true Rule there must be for all such Believers but one right Faith there can be but one sound Conscience SECT III. In such Constituted Societies Vnity of Faith must be signified by an open Vniformity GOD who created man for his glory designed him for Society that what comfort he could not get by separation he might compass by Communion And Communion in the state we are in cannot be maintained but by Externals by Bodily offices As the Communion of the Invisible Church must be maintained by Vnity of Faith so the Communion of the Visible Church or any part that is associated or united in obedience to the Faith must be maintained by agreement in the exercise of Religion and Vnity of Profession And this Unity of Profession is properly called Vniformity which is nothing else but a sensible form of an united Society agreeing in one Profession both in words and actions So if any one should ask What is the sign or mark by which we may know a visible Church by or any associated Company to be a part of it I must properly Answer by Vniformity And Vniformity as the word clearly speaks is an Vnity of the outward form of things or an agreement of visible practice and joynt concurrence in the Exercise of Religion both in wards and actions which ought to be in every Congregation of Believers Preaching of the Gospel and receiving the Sacrament of the People as well as of the Minister being indispensable signs of every one that would be accounted of the Church of Christ And first we will undertake to prove that Vnity of Faith must be signified by Vniformity of words and this is not only lawful but necessary and useful 1. Lawful as declared by the practice of all Nations that had a sense of Religion For if Heathen yet reasonably they agreed in the same Festivals and Solemnities in the same Sacrifices and Gestures in the same forms of Thanksgivings and Devotion which because written of by many and confessed by all it will be needless to cite Authors or any further to insist upon the proof of it no question but they Universally agreed in constituting and maintaining Vniformity amidst their Assemblies in all Religious observances If they were a People to whom God had more clearly manifested himself and the true Religion wherewith he would be well pleased these marks they gave of their associating and uniting into a Church by their Vniversal joynt concurrence in Religious Exercises in all Ages in their solemn Congregations And it is facile to prove that among the Jews they judged the fittest Medium to preserve Vnity was Ecclesiastical Vniformity from their coming out of Egypt till their dissolution in Canaan And in some measure the Jews maintain this to this day in their several Congregations They had their set Forms for Aaroniçal Benediction for hymns and praises and prayers of the People who agreed in one express assent to the Covenant and the Law delivered by Moses in the same Sabbaoths and Festivals in the same Sacraments and Ties of Obedience They agreed in the same Prayers composed by Jewish Teachers for their Disciples St. John the Baptist taught his Disciples to pray And Christ's Disciples in the last dispensation would be taught of him to pray as John before had taught his Disciples And our blessed Saviour not only taught his Disciples a Form but a Prayer which they were to say When you pray say Luke 11.2 Our Father c. To follow him can be no mistake Certainly deliberate Composures of Set Forms from Christs Example receive not only Toleration but sufficient Approbation And that the Apostles and their Successors in Primitive times used this Prayer in all their holy Administrations especially at the Sacraments we have more than probable Authority And that the Church had set Forms after the first Century is beyond all dispute And that Reformed Churches have their set Forms now generally is openly manifest except some Phanatical Schismaticks that out of a Spirit of Contradiction and precise singularity by the neglect of these things wilfully Unchurch themselves and would blot out all appearance of a Visible Church upon the Earth Mr. Calvin from the conviction of this Truth Epist 87. approves it That set Forms of Ecclesiastical Rights might be determined that it might not be lawful for Ministers in their Administrations or the People in their Attendances to vary from them And this he was forced to acknowledge from Example Practice and Reason God who cannot erre prescribes set Forms to the Jews and Christ to his Disciples And it would be a misapprehension yea a sin to think that They would injoyn or command what might be an hinderance to Godliness or a disadvantage to the Exercise thereof And the concurrent Judgment and practice of all Churches must convince any sober person of the lawfulness and expediency of set Forms both in Prayers and Worship which will be furthered by his own Reason if he please to consider Scripture directions 2. I shall prove set Forms lawful and expedient from Scripture St. Paul 1 Cor. 1.11 pathetically beseecheth the Church at Corinth by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that they would all speak the very same thing Verba sunt symbola mentis è consensu verborum colligimus consensum animorum Words are but expressions of our Intentions and from agreement in Words we conclude of agreement of Mind And sure enough it was not required there by the Apostle that the Speeches of the Corinthians in their Religious Assemblies should be of the same sense and meaning only but of the same expression not only contradiction of words is prohibited but diversity if they would grant his suit whle he beseecheth them to speak the same thing And well might this be injoyned in Religious Exercises for Vbi novae phrases ibi nova dogmata A quibus Vna fides ab iis requiritur Vna Confessio Where new phrases are used there will be new opinions And in whom there is expected but One Faith from them there is required but One Confession saith Mr. Calvin And when idolizing of the Gifts and Parts of the Ministers caused Contentions among the Corinthians the Apostle might adjudge it necessary that ostentation of Eloquence and excellency of Speech should be forborn among them even in exercises of Devotion and therefore earnestly beseecheth them to speak the same thing So by St. Pauls
AN APOLOGY FOR THE LAWS Ecclesiastical ESTABLISHED That command our Publick exercise in RELIGION AND A serious Enquiry whether PENALTIES Be reasonably determined against RECUSANCY By WILLIAM STARKEY D.D. Rector of Pulham in Norfolk LONDON Printed by T. R. for Henry Brome at the Gun West end of St. Pauls Church 1675 TO THE Right Reverend Father in GOD PETER Lord Bishop of ELY My LORD THere be two Idols set up among our Brain-sick People which must be broken down viz. LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE and TOLERATION Under the Name and Colour of the first many set up their misled Perswasion for a Law and so sin without possibility of any sense of Guilt or Conviction Secondly Under the Name of Gospel meekness gentleness and peacableness they cry up TOLERATION and IMPUNITY and so are without fear to add sin to sin when in no danger of a subsequent punishment These if suffered and countenanced will in time overthrow RELIGION and GOVERNMENT which are the pillars and support of Order and Peace both in Church and Kingdom To encounter and remove these two great obstacles of our Happiness my design hath been in this little Treatise to assert and prove two things 1. That there must be just Laws established in every Society to limit the Conscience of the Christian and Rational man and that whosoever transgresseth those Laws is guilty of sin notwithstanding any plea of Conscience which can give no license for any man to sin 2. That Punishments by Gospel Rules are necessarily inflicted upon obstinate Offenders and that Toleration and Impunity are of dangerous consequence to our King Church and whole Nation The Reasons are many that induced me to dedicate these weak Meditations to Your protection my good Pious Lord as that I might lay hold on the first opportunity of manifesting that just Observance Your worth and dignity as well as your favour have challenged and extracted from me And because honoured with the Title of being Your Son I accounted my self in duty obliged to give you some assurance of the soundness of my Judgment and stedfastness of my Faith and Conscience firmly assenting and adhering to the right exercise of the best Religion and the best Government under Heaven which must tend not only to my own credit but Your content and satisfaction And my Ambition is to give Testimony of some resemblance to be in me to such a Father whose zeal and ability to defend the Church and Government is eminently known to a great part of the World And verily it is but common prudence for my own security to provide such a Patron as You are to assist me in defending a Noble Argument which though full of Truth Loyalty and Necessity fit to be published yet in probability can no sooner be drawn out but it must expect to meet with much opposition Yet this gives me encouragement that while under your Banners though I expect many Gainsayers yet I can fear no Confuters If I should fall it will be honourably yet I dare promise my self to come off victoriously And under Your conduct I cannot but assume fresh Courage if called upon farther to maintain the Faith of the Gospel the uniform Worship of God the Government both in Laws and Penalties justly fixed and executed against Recusancy which will certainly advance the order peace and welfare of our whole Society My prayers and endeavours are intent upon these things and so long as I continue stedfast in those Designs and Attempts I hope You will not account me unworthy to profess my self as the Churches so Your Lordships most obedient Son and Humble Servant W. STARKEY Four PROPOSITIONS offered to Consideration I. The Laws of our English Government that command every Believing Subjects Uniformity in the publick exercise of Religion are established according to the Law of Nature and Rules of the Gospel II. The wilful Omission or Recusancy of any Baptized Subjects Conformity to such Laws is an open Sin and a dangerous Disobedience III. The threatning and determining of Punishments to be inflicted upon wilful Transgressors of such Laws are according to the dictates of Human Reason and the constant practice of the Church of God IV. The inflicting of Punishments as determined is just and necessary for the safety and welfare of our Nation Proposition I. Chap. I. Governours are to be appointed over every Believing Society by the Laws of Nature and Rules of the Gospel and our Governours are so appointed especially Section I. What is conceived must be meant by the Law of Nature Section II. What we are to understand by the Rules of the Gospel Section III. By both these Governours are to be appointed over every Believing Society Section IV. Our Governours are thus appointed over as especially A Serious Apology FOR THE LAWS Establisht in the Exercise of RELIGION SECT I. 1. GOD Almighty who of his infinite wisdom in decent and comely sort hath sweetly ordered and disposed all his works in number measure and weight hath given to every of them a principle form and measure of working to moderate and limit their force and power fit suitable and correspondent to their designed end to some Canon Rule or Law A Law which they cannot pass naturally but moving by that Law according to their several conditions they may come to that acquiescency and content that may render them happy according to their several capacities If they be Inanimate Creatures that move unwittingly and yet constantly as the Heavens and Elements The Sun knoweth its rising and the Moon its going down The Stars keep their courses the Orbes their Rotations according to Gods Ordinance or Decree they all move as the Divine wisdom orders them If they be Animate Creatures that have though weak yet some understanding they move from the most perfect principle they have to seek their content and satisfaction To gratifie their senses is their utmost aim And if they be voluntary Agents that clearly apprehend what they do yet kept they are as inclined in one constant tenure and course of working according to the establishment of Natures law And this innate obedience to the law of Nature as God hath ordered is the stay the ballast of the whole World that Gods Creatures cannot naturally or ordinarily do otherwise than to shew themselves apt and inclineable to this innate Obedience Now MAN that hath a Rational and immortal Soul and so a more noble Principle and hath more excellent endowments and perfections than the rest of visible Creatures must aim at nobler Ends attainable by those faculties and abilities with which God of his goodness hath extraordinarily blest him So that to gratifie the sense cannot be his utmost aim but to content the Spirit which is attainable by light of Reason and her improvements directing him to those Actions that may conduct and lead him the readiest way to the enjoying that Happiness which is intended So that Man acts most naturally when he acts most rationally when by that noble principle
Authority That thou esteemest thy self wiser better and Greater than he that is set over thee When thou darest in prejudice wilfully oppose thy own misguided Perswasion against the sober well-grounded Determination of thy Governour which was fixed to minister to Peace And now consider what thou dost that thou maist enjoy thy own obstinate Perswasion thou wilt lose thy Peace and certainly thy gratisying thy Humour will not countervail the loss of thy Peace besides the gauling Guilt of thy wilful Disobedience when by the Light of Nature as well as by the Will of Christ thou art obliged to submit to the Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake whether of the King as supream c. Thou art from thy heart to be subject to their Determinations not only for wrath but for Conscience sake for though the Law or Ordinance be Humane yet thy obligation is Divine The Law may be positive and voluntary of things in their own nature Indifferent yet thy Submission must be natural to just Determinations and according to the Law of Nature and Rules of Christ as certainly as there is any Morality in the fifth Commandement or that Peter was an Apostle and wrote the Will of Christ who bids us submit to every humane Ordinance for the Lords sake When but two sorts of Laws some Natural that are predetermined but are enlivened and further confirmed others Voluntary or Positive that when not unjust receive their being constituting and ratifying from their promulgation by Governours To both these Subjects are to submit not only for wrath but for Conscience sake And for us of this Nation when God hath manifested his approbation and good-liking to our Governours and Government by his wonderful Restauration it were unworthy to think such Ingratitude could be taxed That either the Governours should be remiss in fixing Just Laws for right Ruling or that Reasonable Subjects should be backward in ready Obeying Conclude we then this Point as to our selves That our Governours of England being appointed for the good of the Nation and having established and published Laws Our Subjects are bound to submit to those Laws accordingly CHAP. III. The first care of Governours should be by Laws to oblige their Subjects generally to a Publick exercise of Religion Section I. The first care and main end of Governours should be to instil and imprint an esteem love and care of Religion in their People II. Governours are to endeavour among their Subjects to promote the outward exercise of Religion III. Governours are to take care that the exercise of Religion among their Subjects be Publick and Vniversal SECT I. The first care and main end of Governours should be to instil and imprint an esteem love and care of Religion in their People 1. FOR it being sufficiently proved That Governours in their Offices are chiefly to aim at and contrive for the general good of the People under them that they may live peaceably and happily and because the means nearest to that end must be Religion their next care to compass this End must be to imprint in the minds of the People an esteem and love of Religion as the directest way to their Happiness That naturally every man hath a sense of a Deity is beyond Controversie He sees and observes himself and all things visible to be made and upheld by an Invisible Power and governed and disposed by a more excellent wisdom and discretion From the Creation and Order of things that are made men by natural Reason may come to the knowledge of a Being not made and independent That He is a Spirit Supream Infinite Omnipotent necessarily Eternal All-sufficient and incomprehensibly transcendent in all Perfections from the light of Reason if not clouded He must be acknowledged and being thus acknowledged he must be worshipped It was not only at Athens but all the World over That the God that Made the World ought to be worshipped That this Infinite Being may not be offended but pleased and that his poor Creatures may escape the dreadful and intollerable effects of his Anger who is Almighty and gain all the ineffable contentments of his Love who is All-sufficient must be the main design of Rational men Now to compass this End certainly Religion and the worship of GOD must be the way And what is Religion It is a respectful observance of that Majesty which is to be reverently adored A due respect of the rational Creature to the Supream Being This Respect consists in three things 1. In high apprehensions and estimation of Gods infinite Excellencies and Perfections To think highly and honourably of God is the beginning of Piety and Religion Aug. 2. In suitable Affections Having rightly esteemed God as the best and greatest of Beings that we fear him as the Greatest and love him as the Best is another part of that Respect we owe to him 3. In a suitable signification of both Man being created for Society and naturally inclining to joyn himself to others and seeing in the state we are in we cannot comfortably hold any Communion but by a sensible signification of our Apprehensions and Affections That we give Attestation of these things must needs be natural and necessary And these Sentiments of the necessity and benefit of Religion all People have had from the beginning All Nations were ever perswaded that they should be most Prosperous who were most Religious No People so Barbarous but they gave joyntly their significations of observance and piety and respect to him they accounted Supream Hence they made some testifications and acknowledgments by Sacrifices and other Religious Rites to appease and make that Deity they adored propitious and gracious And though all Nations and People had originally and naturally received these impressions and perswasions of the necessity and commodiousness of Religion yet we never read nor heard of any Famous Governours but they have revived and cleared these Old Impressions by new Laws and Injunctions And whereas this care of implanting Religion in the minds of the People for their good is to be found in all Governours that improve their Reason to right Ends in the discharge of their Offices yet this Care ought to be chiefly and eminently in those Governours that besides the light of Reason have from the publication of the Gospel a most clear discovery of the infinite Excellencies and Perfections of God and of that true Religion which ties men to God which teaches whom and how we ought to worship For if to have God Infinite appeased to us and pleased with us be mans ultimate End and this End is no otherwise attainable than by Religion most easily attainable by the best and truest and that is the Religion prescribed to us in the Gospel certainly that our Rulers should command an observance of that Religion of the Gospel is very agreeable to the end of their Constitution and to their Profession of being Christians The first design of a Ruler set over the People for their good is
be Publick so must it be 2. Vniversal The Father naturally cares for the welfare of every Child Gods Providence is over all his Creatures for their good And it is the care of his Deputies to provide for the welfare and happiness of all their Subjects Now if Religion be the only thing that can make men happy as it is proved the Governour cannot compass his End which is to procure the happiness of his Subjects but by enjoyning the Exercise of Religion to be Universal CHAP. IV. Our Governours of our Church of England have done well to injoyn every Believing Subject an open Profession of his Faith in his respective Congregation The particulars incident to this Head are Four I. We are to consider and agree what FAITH is II. That of that Faith there ought to be Profession III. That Profession ought to be made by every Believer IV. This is to be done in respective Congregations SECT I. 1. OUr Governours are not only as Gods Deputies under the Law of Nature to injoyn their Subjects the Care of Religion but as Deputies of Christ under a more perfect Law revealed by him in this last dispensation to injoyn their Subjects the right Exercise of true Religion prescribed in the Gospel which he published to fulfil the Law of Nature that man might come to that Happiness for which he was created and designed And this I understand to be the most proper Notion of Faith viz. The true Religion well ordered and rightly modified by Gospel Rules by the right Exercise whereof we worship and serve God acceptably so that whatsoever is not of Faith is sin and without Faith it is impossible to please God For being Baptized into the obedience of the Gospel of which obedience Baptism represents our Profession we ought to have a firm Perswasion of the goodness and reasonableness not only of the Duties in the Gospel prescribed but of our conformity to those Prescriptions for the carrying on that true and undefiled Religion wherewith God is well pleased So that Faith is the Gospel grace that teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live holily righteously and soberly in this present world And Believing is a comprehensive Duty and signifies not only a tacit assent to Evangelical Rules as true and warrantable as a barren act of the Understanding but a firm election and perswasion of these Rules as good and comfortable and implies a firm purposing and resolving of a total Gospel Obedience I heartily pity and bewail the differences and distances that are to be seen among Professed Believers in this Nation and upon serious Consideration I fully perswade my self there is nothing contributes more to the being and continuance of our Division than a general rashness and injudiciousness When men run away with some sudden partial Notions and slight Apprehensions of things of great necessity and deserved esteem in the World and do not seriously and discursively make a right Judgment and agree of the full sense and meaning of them as they import To instance in some few particulars which is easie for any to observe The Gospel most say they highly esteem and yet we cannot but observe that most snatch and run away with it as a promise of Mercy but never regard it as a rule of Duty and direction of an holy life The two Sacraments are Seals of the Covenant betwixt God and us and most men are very heedful at Receiving them that God may seal to them Remission of sins and never regard that at the same time they covenant under Seal to yield Obedience to God The Blood of Christ is precious and its shedding to be had in everlasting remembrance but when most men most solemnly remember it this Consideration contents them That Christs Blood was shed for our Redemption for remission of sins to reconcile God to man c. When we should think how this Blood-shedding was That men might be reconciled to God and be redeemed from an unclean conversation and by this sprinkling be sanctified and purged from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.13 14. Graces and gifts of the Spirit we justly value and admire but is it not too apparent men are taken up with gifts of Edification and pass by gifts and true grace of Sanctification so that if a man be but ready in a Scripture phrase hath gotten a voluble Tongue a round expression c. he gets the name and repute of a Saint immediately But the exercise of Piety and Charity which are the certain evidences of true Sanctity These things stand by neglected and despised I might instance in several things that we frame the same Consideration of If we give God but a piece of a Duty we think a maimed and imperfect sacrifice will content him and expiate and satisfie him and excuse all our defects and enormities and with gross mistakes we see evidently men delude and deceive themselves in this untoward generation And although in many things our mistakes of these sorts hasten our irreligious miscarriages yet in nothing are they more manifest than in the nature of Faith From all Christians that make any profession of the true Religion we shall hear these pretences That they live by Faith walk by Faith are justified by Faith are saved by Faith c. And yet for all this noise we hear of these things we can see but few that make a true judgment or have a right understanding of the full meaning of the real Faith in Christ or Faith of the Gospel It s undeniably true that without believing that supernatural Truth of Christs Merits for our pardon and remission of sins there can be no peace for men but they must die and consume in the guilt of their Transgressions It is certainly true that Christ our High Priest put away sins by the sacrifice of himself but when Christ our designed Mediatour was King and Prophet as well as Priest It is not barely a fruitless relying or a lazy recumbency on Christs Merits as our Priest only but our believing his Laws and Directions he left his Church as a King the observing his Counsels and Injunctions he gave as a Prophet is necessary to make up that Faith which will bring us to the end of our Hope which is the salvation of our souls It 's undeniably true that in the Gospel are given exceeding great and precious Promises of Mercies and Salvation upon which God hath caused â—he to hope yet when these Promises are not absolute but conditional upon our conformity to those Rules of Duty that are prescribed unless we be carried on to the practice of those things required that pertain to life and godliness we cannot be rationally concluded to have that Faith in the Gospel in us which will certainly bring us to that happiness which we openly design and expect And upon a serious inquiry we cannot conclude any of the Theological Graces to be truly infused into any man unless they discover
themselves by their operations Love is practical and works where seated a care of keeping Commandements Hope is purifying He that hath hope of heaven is heavenly and purifieth himself as God is pure And Faith it self works by Love and Love by Obedience This then is that precious Faith we should contend for as becometh Saints In this we should strive to continue in grounded and setled and not be moved away from the Hope of the Gospel All these things are premised that the Reader may easily conclude what we plainly understand by that Faith which the Ruler hath religiously injoyned and the Subject is bound willingly to maintain namely a sincere and a firm purpose of mind of adhering and conforming to the Rules of the Gospel by a total Obedience He that Believes thus shall not be ashamed when Faith makes him have respect to all Evangelical Commandments SECT II. Of this Faith there must be Profession NAturally we are to look of our selves as related to Society so that of our internal Piety there must be an external signification intending not only Gods glory by setling our private Peace but by promoting our Neighbours good and edification So that as care must be had by us of Religion so of its Exercise and as of Faith so of Profession of Faith And this is required by the Gospel evidently when it is injoyn'd That Christ be confessed before men that all that by Baptism are consecrated to the obedience of the Gospel hold fast the Profession of their faith without wavering 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometimes rendered Confession sometimes Profession in that they agree either of them it is frankly and openly to declare what we hold in matters of Religion to justifie and bear witness to any Truth of the Gospel be they either supernatural or natural Priviledges or Mercies promised or Services or Duties injoyn'd yea the offering the sacrifice of Praise to God continually that is the fruit of our Lips is explained by an Holy Author to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 13.15 a giving thanks or confessing to his Name Profession of Faith we understand to be a voluntary and open declaring amidst the Society in which incorporated of our free and full consent in believing the Gospel not only the Mercies promised but Duties injoyn'd and that we assent to them all not only as true and infallible but also as good and comfortable and a declaring of our desires study and care to observe them accordingly An express signifying of Profession of Faith is a declaring of our resolution of Evangelical Obedience our assenting and adhering to the right Exercise of true Religion as prescribed in the Gospel The work of Faith and Religion is not wholly to be done within but many externals are necessary and essential for constituting a visible Church she is to be a light upon an Hill Every Believer is to shine as lights in the World in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and that can only discern Externals Therefore the Believers outward carriage and deportment and converse must be so ordered like lights to the inlightning and warming the blind and benummed World Outwardly we are to manage our selves as we may direct strengthen and comfort our Neighbour Poverty of spirit hungring and thirsting after Righteousness Purity of heart c. These are Duties of the first rank and primarily to be taken care of to present our selves so as to be approved by our God These ought ye to have done and not to have left the other undone For there be many external Duties necessary for Communion amidst the society of the Faithful that must not be omitted and refused as Preaching and hearing the Word Administring and receiving the Sacraments meeting and assembling together in those Assemblies mutual exhortations and provocation to good Works confession of Sins of Thanks declared resolutions as well as desires of Holiness and other Duties all comprehended in profession of Faith These are all External yea are all Gospel Duties and have been and will be used in the Church of Christ Thus the Church of God among the Jews that met at the Ark and Temple in Jerusalem The Tribes went up for the Testimony of Israel to give thanks to the Name of the Lord and these were External Thus the Church of Christ united under the faith of the Gospel had their Praying preaching the new Law singing of Hymns while Christ continued on Earth amongst them And when gone up to Heaven they continued in Assembling and breaking of Bread and Prayers They had their Liturgies and publick Administrations not only in works of Charity but works of Piety They had their sacrifices of Praise the fruit of their lips and giving thanks to the Name of the Lord. They had their prophesying at Church at Corinth and what was to be done by the Church on Earth They had Visions of the Examples to lead them from the Angels both in Earth and Heaven Neither can a visible Church or Society think to be continued without open profession and declaration And in the Gospel They that worshipped God in their spirits were ready to bow their knees to him They that knew God made their acknowledgment They that believed in their heart for their Righteousness made confession with their mouths to help on their own and others salvation Thus by Presidents of Saints on Earth and Angels in Heaven the Gospel of Christ doth lead his Church as the Law of Nature directs it not only to Religion but its exercise nor the Gospel only to Faith but the profession of Faith that every Member united to that visible Society of Believers must hold the profession of his Faith without wavering And there 's the next particular The injunction of what both Nature and the Gospel directs us unto is not unlawful but necessary and both require that of our Faith we should make Profession and it is very good that Rulers from their Subjects require the same SECT III. Every particular Believing Subject ought to be injoyn'd to this open profession of Faith PRofession of Faith is an essential of the visible Church and none can be concluded in the Judgment of men of the visible Church that doth not make profession of Faith The visible Church is not a Company but a Society and what makes the Society a Church is profession of Faith Every one is to evidence himself of this Society if he will claim right to the Priviledges of a Society he must perform the offices and duties and be diligent in the Ministration of the Society A Minister may gather a Company but he cannot gather a Church nor make them to be so by his own single confession Every man that will approve himself of the Church must not only give a tacit but an express consent by an open Profession This is necessary for constituting every man in Church-membership and this is rationally required and injoyn'd of Christian Governours to their Believing Subjects for
the operation of one Faculty hinders the operation of another the imployment of the Vnderstanding and Invention must hinder the intention of the Will and Devotion Sure we must acknowledge the busying of the Invention in him that speaketh and his Consideration in him that heareth whether things be warrantable or acceptable that is spoken or not must hinder the Intention of either And since Intention is more prayer and more likely to prevail with God than Elocution I may possibly busie my head and strain my Invention when I go about to please men and if possible quicken my Elocution in preaching But I will settle my heart and fix my Intention when I go about to intreat or speak to my God In Reason therefore I must conclude and from Experience avouch it That Devotions united in same Expression like Waters streightned in one Channel run the most irresistably yea undoubtedly premeditated and fore-known Expressions heighten Intention and Devotion and make the Prayers of any Congregation the more acceptable and the more prevalent with God The Objection is frivolous and weak which our dissenting Adversaries make against those Repetitions used in our Common Prayer as if they did remit and bedead our Affections when if rightly considered and applyed they intend inliven and invigorate them Our Saviour at the last Agony in the Garden three times retired himself and prayed thrice the same words Mat. 26.44 Sure none dare say he wanted ability to alter his Expression or that he wanted affection though he did not No sure we may safely conclude to this Point That as Christ so the Christian hath his Devotion helped and not hindered by a set and foreknown expression 3. The weakness of the People is to be considered and I appeal to any sober man to judge It being to be granted that the generality of the People are dull of Apprehension of slow Judgment prone to inconsiderateness and inadvertency whether set Forms seriously fore-weighed and prudently digested and prescribed are not more probable Helps of Devotion and better preparations for the Peoples general Concurrence who have neither quick Apprehensions nor discerning Judgments than extempore indigested and voluntary effusions 4. The manifold necessities we are involved in and wants we are streightned with and the infinite number of Mercies wherewith we are blessed and have received cannot in an instant be called to remembrance and duly be considered So it is not to be supposed that our Petitions or Thanksgivings can be fully or comprehensively expressed upon extempore effusion but only upon serious and deliberate premeditation Lastly It would be good to leave to future times and to other Churches for their Example our setled Agreement and Consent unanimously concurring in the soundness and incorruptness of our Religion which we cannot evidence without we agree in constant Vniformity in Words and set Forms fore-known and agreed unto by Priest and People But I forbear If we will follow the practices of all Nations that pretended to Religion true or false If we will be guided by the Rules and Directions of the Gospel If we will follow the dictates of discursive Reason we must conclude it lawful necessary and expedient and conducing to the practice of true Piety That Vnity of Faith should be signified by Vniformity of Expression in all Believing Congregations And as Vnity of Faith was to be signified by agreement in the same Words so by Vniformity in alike Gestures and Actions in all the Congregations that were parts of the Catholick Church of Christ From those Prophecies that fore-tell what there would be we may conclude what there should and ought to be expected in the Church of the living God Christ fore-told his Spouse in her Militant state Cant. 6.9 10. should be an Army under Banners sub vexillo Crucis whatever distraction of an Army when secure yet when terrible under Banners They all agree in the same posture offensive or defensive In the same guard the same march and motion And no less is intimated Cant. 1.9 when the Church is compared to a company of Horses in Pharaohs Chariots for this resemblance was not only to intimate of believing Parties equally joyned together in the same design that like Pharaohs Horses there was quickness in expedition but also that there was Vniformity in that motion Not that one stood up and another ly'd down not that one drew forward and another backward that one pulled this way another that way But when one stood they all stood when one ran they all ran all went the same way all the same pace all used the same motion And thus the Saints of Believing Congregations might be said to be like a company of Horses in Pharaohs Chariots And that inlightned Divine that saw a door opened into Heaven and a Throne fixed and one sitting upon the Throne and Elders and Angells ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands worshipping him that sate upon the Throne represents them to us in their glorious state as all unanimously agreeing to fall down and cast their Crowns before him that liveth for ever and ever and all saying Blessing honour glory and power c. All recorded without question to inform us what ought to be our behaviour on Earth if we would be like them in Heaven namely alway to be busied in a joynt concurrence of acknowledging and worshipping God as with the same words so with the same actions And if any would yet further defire to see this Vniformity more expresly urged by the Apostle upon particular Churches in the Primitive times let them observe St. Pauls direction to the Church at Corinth To them he could not write unto as spiritual but as carnal and the reason was because there were strifes and divisions and that when they came together in the Church of God they eat and acted distractedly and shew'd they were bent more to gratifie the humour of a Party rather than to preserve the Vnity of a Society by a well-ordered decency Shall the Apostle praise them in this No such meetings were for the worse and not the better They were to maintain no such custome in the Church of Christ in that there were to be no Divisions but all things were to be done decently and in order So to the Ephesians If they would walk worthy of the Vocation whereunto they were called they were to hold the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace True indeed Vnity of spirit is internal but Peace and its bond their endeavour and walking were all external and it is no more than this That they would endeavour to hold the Spirits Vnity by their obliged Vniformity So Heb. 10. After the Divine Author had set out the glorious Priviledges they might expect from Christ he proceeds to direct them a joynt profession of Faith to a demonstration of love to a provocation to good works to mutual exhortations to Publick meeting And as he to them so to all the rest of the
Churches doth St. Paul injoyn that they should adorn their Profession that their Conversation should be becoming the Gospel that they should behave themselves orderly as in the House of God And now certainly it may be concluded both from Scripture and Reason from the practice of Saints in the Church Militant or Triumphant That as internal Vnity of spirit is to be indeavoured after to present us blameless to God so should external Vniformity in words and actions be endeavoured to be preserved in all believing Congregations And now I have plainly and perspicuously discoursed of every Section contained in this Chapter and I think convincingly to any sober Reason I may justly complain that there be too few will believe our Report Infaelix infirmitas ad se vocat medicus ut litibus occupatur aegrotus Peace and Vnity is praised of many◠but very few endeavour to preserve it And Wo is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesech and have my habitation among the Tents of Kedar My soul hath long dwelt with them that are enemies to Peace And now I speak for peace I look that some are ready to prepare themselves for battle I look that that which is the lot of many good Physicians should be mine at this time that although my design God knows is not to torture my sick Country-men but to heal them that some like frantick Patients should run from me and that others now but touched should cry out of me Many either insensible of their sickness or else in love with their distemper are not only careless but backward to be cured I see and bewail it that many men are miserably wounded with and yet I justly lament it that I find a great unwillingness in most of them to be Healed For Vnity of Faith How many men either out of weakness or partiality or prejudice or interest or acquaintance have espoused rashly a wilful Opinion and set it up and idolize it And this fancy Opinion perhaps Perswasion they shall cry up and publish it abroad for Conscience Judgment Faith For which God knows if examined they have not the least shadow of a Rule or appearance of Reason So I may complain with St. Hilary ad Constant Aug. Facta est fides fides temporum potius quam Evangeliorum periculosum miserabile tot nunc fides existere quot voluntates Excidêrunt ab eâ fide quae sola est dum multae fiunt ad id coeperunt esse ne ulla sit I lament that too apparently to be seen in our daies what the Holy Father complains was to be found in his viz. That the Faith among us is the Faith of the Times rather than the Faith of the Gospel It is very dangerous and miserable that there should be among us as many Faiths as Wills and as many Consciences as obstinate Resolutions They have departed from that Faith which is One and while they pretend to have many Faiths they cease to keep any And if it be rightly considered what Faith or Conscience is there is scarce any true knowledge or practice of either to be found in too great a part of our Generation I hear the words frequently among us but I must publish it that I do not understand them May I not have liberty of Conscience May I not differ in Judgment from other men and yet agree in Affection May we not go several waies and yet meet together at the end of our Journey Were ever any such things reasonably vented in a Constituted Church Have not the men lost both Reason and Religion that dare confidently publish these things Can there be such a thing as Liberty of Conscience Are they not absolutely inconsistent Consider and it must be acknowledged If thou hast Conscience of any thing thou hast no Liberty if thou hast Liberty there can be no Conscience May not men differ in Judgment and yet agree in Affection What ad idem in respect to the same thing certainly No it is impossible If I judge a thing lawful and thou judgest the same thing unlawful our Affections must differ as much as love and hate and certainly these are contrary Affections Can we not go several waies and yet meet at the end of our Journey certainly No. The end of our Journey we both tend to is agreed on to be Heaven Happiness Now if Vertue be the right way to Happiness and that lies in a strait line as Morality teaches us sure there can be no declining this Line but there must be obliquity If the Way to Heaven be narrow and streight on as Divinity teaches us thou canst not go besides this Way but thou wilt at last fall headlong into the Ditch We must both of us keep the same way or else one of us must be in the broad way that leads to destruction And for Vnity of Affection where can we find that in a Family much less in a Parish or Congregation If ever the Complaint was true it is now in our daies that Fratrum concordia rara est We are all pretending to travel with the same design from Egypt to our Father in Canaan and we are Brethren but how few of us look to the Charge given us How few are they that take heed that they do not fall out in the way There be two Graces that Christ commends to us as the way to the kingdom of Heaven Humility and Charity but instead of these we see the contrary Pride and Contention All pretended Members of Christs body yet no sympathy no bearing one anothers burthen We are ready to laugh at each others infirmity and to rejoyce at each others misery Our iniquity aboundeth and love waxeth cold Our distinguishing Garment is rent clean in pieces which should be our Charity and that is the bond of perfectness This mans hope is that mans fear One mans joy is another mans sorrow And as we can hardly find Vnity in Judgment or Affections so rare it is to see Vniformity in Words or Actions For words instead of agreement what difference what opposition And for those that separate from the Communion of the visible Church of England where can we find that Congregation that agrees to speak the same thing We dwell among People of a strange Language The Trumpets have given from most Pulpits an uncertain sound and how can the Souldiers agree to prepare themselves to the Battle We may observe many of our Priests have been lingring to offer strange Fires such wild expressions and inconsiderate excursions as instead of helping have diverted our Devotions and distracted our Affections And for Actions instead of decency and order what distraction yea what confusion in all our separated Congregations By appearance one would judge them of Babel rather than of Jerusalem Such distractions as if every one had a peculiar God by himself or rather such universal profaneness or irreverence as if no God were thought of as present throughout their whole Congregations Our Neighbours
therefore we speak of a visible Church be it Catholick National or Parochial it is Coetus evocatorum a Company of Men called not invisibly internally but externally sensibly and such as have manifested their complyance with that Call Not a Company but a Society of Believers joyned together by a mutual profession of Faith For as Vnity of a sincere Faith is necessary for the Constitution of the Church invisible so is Vnity of profession of Faith necessary for the Constitution and being of a visible Church And to avoid rash unanswerable expressions and unbecoming behaviour it is both reasonable and necessary that words and actions should be reasonably agreed upon and determined The thoughts of our Souls like the eyes of our Bodies without an Object to terminate them will wander to the ends of the Earth therefore the prime work of Piety and Religion in the Rational Soul is to set God before the eyes of its Understanding That upon serious consideration seeing and concluding him the Best and the Greatest man may rationally both think and speak most honourably of him and behave himself most reverently towards him For Vniformity then in Religious exercises of necessity there must be the same Object GOD who is infinite must be proposed That our considerations and respects may be terminated upon him And of necessity there must be Rules and Forms agreed upon and fixed to direct and limit all associated Professors that their considerations and respects may be united either in knowing God or worshipping him Circumstances cannot be left indefinite and undetermined for mans Thoughts are as diverse naturally as their Faces and Tempers Their Words and Actions usually wild and extravagant and not only different but contrary also unless all these be bounded and terminated what Vnity can there be An arbitrary Will-worship will follow according to every mans fancy and in every meeting instead of a well-ordered Unity there must necessarily happen distraction and confusion And these things are obvious to every man that rationally considers them for never any Nation that had Religion true or false but alwaies agreed on a Common Ministration And in all their Sacrifices either propitiatory or gratulatory they have united together by certain Rules in a common Service and a joynt concurrence in it to that Deity which they adored And certainly all those Reasons formerly alleadged to urge an open profession of Faith return with new vigour strictly to oblige every Visible Church to acknowledge the necessity of fixing and observing Rules of Vniformity in every respective Congregation That the infinite Majesty of GOD may be generally and worthily glorified That our Neighbours and our selves may be most probably edified and comforted That those that are Vnbelievers may have their Conversion best furthered there must be Canons and Forms prescribed by Rulers to carry on a general Uniformity To conclude this Section then Governours must Rule by a Law their Laws can reach only to Externals in the exercise of Godliness In which Exercise of Godliness the first aim of Governours by their Laws is to promote Vniformity in Religious Assemblies To settle and continue an Vniformity there must be Rules to limit and direct SECT II. That the Canons and Forms in our Liturgy prescribed to the ends above-mentioned are most agreeable to the Rules of the Gospel is the next considerable LITURGY in its etymologie if rightly understood gives its full import and signification It is a Form or Rule of Administration in some publick Office Sometimes it is put in Scripture for Ministration in offices of Humanity and Liberality But our discourse and common Acceptation leads us to take it for that kind of Ministration that relates to Holy things about the Service and worship of God So here we understand it to be the Canons and Forms prescribed in a Visible Church of external profession of Faith by an evident demonstration of Obedience For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod fit per populum sit publicum a publick Religious Ministration in a Congregation of Believers So the People must be understood concerned in the Ministration as well as the Priest And those of the People that would be accounted of the Visible Church are to submit and conform to such Canons and Forms as are prescribed in the Ministration And when a Church is not an Assembly only but a Society of the Faithful not internally Faithful only for that is not discernible by us but externally by publick Profession either by words or actions What our Judgments must be of them that in Assemblies neglect and despise Profession according to Rules prescribed is easily to be concluded For whatever good opinion others blindly may have of such or they may have of themselves yet not giving in their Assemblies any evident signs of external Profession they are in reason not to be judged of the Visible Church of Christ And this shews how unjustifiable the Meetings of our Separatists are when there is no publick exercise of Religion no vocal confession of Faith no express desires of Obedience in any of their Congregations To give evidence of any Assembly that it is a part of the Visible Church there must be a sensible Profession an apparent submission to the Canons and Forms of a Liturgy And conformity of the People to those Rules gives satisfaction who are to be reputed but wilful omission and neglect declares who are not to be reputed of the Church of Christ And blessed be God we have as it is necessary and expedient from our wise Governours considering our infirmities and extravagancies Canons and Forms prescribed in our Liturgy for Religious Ministration which are most agreeable to the Rules of the Gospel The Rules of the Gosple given by Christ and his Apostles are of so different natures such different sorts The Canons and Forms ordering our Common-Service in the publick exercise of Religion are so numerous and various as it were the work of an Age to discourse distinctly and pertinently of every particular that may be comprehended in this Section But first let us consider what we understand by the Rules of the Gospel to which our Canons and Prayers are to conform Now our Blessed Saviour at the first planting of the Gospel upon the Apostles and Seventy before his Passion and upon some Chosen Vessels for his Honour after his Ascension having all power given him did in those daies plentifully pour out his Spirit upon them and gifts graces and ability he gave to them in an extraordinary manner and measure for the work of the Ministery and edifying his Body by the prevalence of his Word and Gospel which he sent them abroad to preach confirming the Word by signs following That the whole power of the World was not able to resist the wisdom and Spirit by which they spake divers Gifts he distributed of miraculous operation For different Administrations as Gifts of Healing working of Miracles Prophesying discerning of Spirits diverse kinds of Tongues Interpretation
Publick Worship with all the precise method of that Order and Decency that ought to be used in it in which they will pretend to better and transcend the excellency of our Liturgy which is prescribed and used among us Si quid novisti rectius istis Candidus imperti si non his utere mecum And until they can do this their wisdom is to study to be quiet and conform to this till they can find out and propose a better Method of our publick Worshipping of God beyond all exceptions that they will abide by And now I say what Subject of the Church of England can reasonably desert or reject our Liturgy which is visibly the best that is extant to us upon sober Consideration And how can I but stand amazed that the Common Service as prescribed should by so many of our Neighbours not only be neglected but contemned when it can neither be justly blamed nor amended Certainly I am not uncharitable but should be too conniving if I did forbear to declare a want of Religion and Reason in those men that run away to the flocks of our pretended Companions that hold no Uniform Communion that is Visible When no worship of God is evident no practice of the Peoples Devotion no vocal Confession of the Believers Faith no offering any sacrifice of Praise and yet every Christian is bound to Conform in all those things as well as the Minister in every Believing Congregation Why will ye go away from us O ye of little faith we hold fast the words and practice of eternal life Friendly Perswasives to my Country-men COme then my beloved Countrymen since these things are so that an Vniform profession of Faith must be maintained in Believing Societies and fifth by our Liturgy according to Gospel Rules we are ordered and directed to this reasonable Service Let us lay aside all prejudice and partiality all contentious humors Let there be no longer a Spirit of Opposition or wilful Contradiction be found among us Let us follow after the exercise of those things that make for Peace and wherewithal we may best edifie one another Whatever things are honest whatever things are just whatever things are pure let 's think and conclude of the practice of such things Let us endeavour to bend our selves to the quiet of the Church of God and to hold the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace Let 's evidence the God of hope hath filled us as with all joy so with all peace in Believing There is but One Truth but One Faith among us let there be but One Spirit but One Conscience Let us shew the God of Patience and Consolation hath granted us to be like-minded Let 's not forsake the Assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is but let us hold fast the form of sound words and the profession of our Faith without wavering Let there be no divisions but let us speak the same thing to declare we are perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same Judgment Let there be no divisions among us about Ministers account of them as Stewards of the Mysteries of God and yet your Faith stands not in the wisdom of Men but in the power of God Have their Persons not so much in admiration as if lords of your Faith by Preaching only esteem them highly for their works sake whereby they lead you to the holding fast the Profession of your Faith and the true exercise of right Godliness which hath the promise c. And as in your speeches you declare your Vnanimity in your holy Assemblies so in your Behaviour let there be Uniformity Let your Conversation be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ and let all things be done decently and in order and reverently as in the House and presence of the living God Worship God in the beauty of Holiness so as if an Vnbeliever come among you he may be convinced and fall down and worship God also because he sees verily of a truth God is in the midst of you It is the fit time for Christ to be born in us when Vnity is among us In a calm night the Dew descends to the Earths refreshment and Grace is like to come down to us when we are in the way of Peace Finally Brethren farewel be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace as directed and the God of love and peace shall be with you AMEN Proposition II. The wilful Omission or Recusancy of any Believing Subjects Conformity to those Rules is an heinous Sin and a dangerous Disobedience I Heartily beg of the Candid Reader so much charity to believe it as true what I publickly declare and avow That I am a Reformed Christian of the Church of England and that I shall never attempt to perswade my fellow Subjects to any practice that is ungodly or contrary to the Rules of the Gospel And be assured whoever thou art that I sincerely desire every man may come to the knowledge and practice of Truth and be saved and therefore I dare not by a flattering compliance or connivance sooth any man in the errour of his way which will lead him securely to his destruction And I dare not daub over Recusancy as some desire with a paint and varnish of a trifling weakness or infirmity or palliate it over with a false pretence of tender Conscience when it will prove if considered an heinous sin and a dangerous Disobedience Give me leave therefore without offence if thou beest willing to be Informed to bring to thy Remembrance what I have formerly delivered and am ready to defend concerning our Canons and Rules of Uniformity prescribed about the Publick exercise of Religion 1. Our Governours as subordinate under Christ do not Rule their Believing Subjects arbitrarily but by Laws subordinate to the Rules of the Gospel 2. All that the power of Governours can reach unto in a Visible Church is to order and direct Externals in the publick exercise of Religion 3. That the right exercise of true Religion is the open profession of Faith 4. Of that open Profession there must be Uniformity 5. Every Baptized Subject of England is obliged to conform to such Laws prescribed For to command or prohibit as the Gospel directs is warrantable And all our Laws to the Common sort of Believing Subjects are according to those Rules If Natural or expressly Evangelical there can be no dispute if a Christian thou art bound to obey And if the Laws be Positive or Humane and not against Nature or Injust thy Obligation is divine and thy Submission is natural being thou art to submit to every Ordinance of man for the Lorods sake SECT I. Let us determine and agree what we are to understand by those Laws and the Conformity to them that the Believing Subject of England is bound to observe THE Governours aim and care is not only at the keeping and diverting from the People what is grievous
the Righteous but also punishing the wilful Sinner and pouring out wrath and tribulation upon the Vnrighteous giving them that Recompense which is meet And therefore we see not only Scepters and Purses and Crowns as Emblems of the Judges Honour but also Rods and Swords and Axes to signifie the design of their Office to be as well a terrour and avenger of them that do Ill as a Countenancer and rewarder of them that do Well The Sword is not to be born in vain but to manifest the Rulers intention to Righteousness He ought to discover it by his threatning and the determination of Punishments against wilful Offenders Fourthly The religious Ruler is to shew himself like God in exactiness of Justice and to evidence himself no respecter of Persons and to do all things without partiality Righteousness is best when in a Land like the Sun in the Firmament it shineth with equal influence upon the thatched Cottage as on the Ivory Palace Justice shews all the same countenance weighs all things with an equal balance Gold and Dirt Pibbles and Diamonds according to their weight turn her Beam Diverse weights and measures the accounts an abomination Gods Deputies are to incline to exact Judgment and to shew themselves ready to punish the rich and mighty as soon as the poor and contemptible And this is best done by Governours fixing and predetermining of Punishments upon the Offence without respect to the quality or relation of the Offender Thus Impartiality and Justice Wisdom and Purity these Divine graces are best discovered in Gods Deputies which unquestionably is the most reasonable thing in the World One thing remains yet to be proved which is asserted in this Proposition That threatning and determining of Punishments by Rulers upon such wilful Transgress orts is according to the constant practice of the Church of God And if we consult the prophane Histories of all Ages and Nations we shall find never any People joyned in Society of any Religion true or false but had their determinations of Punishments upon those that were openly disobedient upon those who wilfully neglected and contemned such Services and Duties enjoyned that they judged expedient and necessary to procure the favour and blessing of that Deity which they agreed to adore And this is so evident as is confessed of all and needs no further proof or illustration But if we will consult Sacred Writ which may content us we cannot but observe that GOD himself can rarely be found to have taken care of the Conduct of any persons or People to direct them in the exercise of an acceptable Religion but he fenced up their way with Thorns to limit their aberration and restrain them from sin with a Commination of Penalties Thus that our First Parents might fear to eat of the forbidden Fruit he threatens them with Death as a certain effect and consequence of their Disobedience Thus to Cain If thou dost not well Sin lies at the door Thus to move Abraham and his Seed to keep his Covenant of Circumcision God threatens Gen. 17.14 That the uncircumcised Man-child whose flesh of his Fore-skin was uncircumcised that Soul should be cut off from his People for he hath broken my Covenant Thus in that Theocracy over Israel every where we read Curses denounced upon Disobedience And by Moses and all the Prophets he threatens to visit their sins with Rods and their offences with Scourges So Levit. 26.14 c. If you will not hearken to me and will not do all these Commandements If you shall despise my Statutes I will set my face against you for evil c. saith the LORD And if you will walk contrary unto me and not hearken I will bring seven times more Plagues upon you according to your sins And certainly it cannot be bad or unreasonable for Rulers to use the same method in governing their Subjects that GOD used in ruling his own People Israel If we consult the method Christ used to govern his Church in this last Dispensation it is impossible but we must acknowledge That a coercive Power by Commination of Judgments to restrain from evil and quicken to good cannot be unlawful for the Christian Magistrate when it was practiced by Christ himself John the Baptist that Messenger sent by Christ before his face to prepare his waies presseth upon his Auditors the Gospel duty of Repentance and this he inforceth from this reason because the kingdom of Heaven was at hand Which is not to be understood of Mercies and Priviledges only that were promised that might attract and encourage them to Gospel Duties but of Judgments and Punishments threatned to be executed which might inforce them to receive and obey the Gospel And there Matt. 3. this Holy Preacher tells them The Axe was laid to the Roots of the Tree Fire and Wrath was coming upon the unbelieving World which could not be escaped but by Repentance and bringing forth fruits worthy of Amendment of life And Christ himself preacheth the same Doctrine and urgeth the necessity of it from the same Motive For except they Repented they should all likewise perish And when Christ had cured the Impotent man to make him every whit whole and to restrain him from sin he affrights him with a Commination of a worse thing coming unto him And to quicken his Disciples to work the works they were sent about while it was day he minds them of a night coming when no man should work Thus to awaken his Country-men at Jerusalem to know and consider the time of their Visitation and to mind the things that concern their Peace he tells them of a time when Peace should be hid from their eyes and their Houses should be left to them desolate And thus did the Apostles in the Primitive times who knew the mind and had the Spirit of Christ they threatned the Impenitent with a day of wrath a day of vengeance a day of punishing those with everlasting destruction that knew not God and obeyed not the Gospel of Jesus Christ So the Author to the Hebrews to deter and terrifie those Baptized persons from Separation and forsaking holy Assembling not to decline mutual exhortation and profession of Faith he tells them of a day of Judgment a day of Vengeanee was suddenly approaching And this course was used by Christ and his Apostles in the Primitive times at the planting of the Gospel by threatning of Judgments and Vengeance to drive their Followers to Repentance Certainly upon sober consideration it cannot be lookt upon as unwarrantable if pious Governours affright from evil those Subjects that else would be disobedient with menacing and determining Punishments to be inflicted upon them Those frivolous Objections we meet with against this Truth are not worth the mentioning and if throughly perpended we may conclude them the issue of heat and passion of men bent to Opposition and not the words of sober Reason And what Spirit they are led with let any sober man judge who
shewn to have been ordered to be determined and inflicted by any Rules of the Gospel nor proved that ever they were determined or executed by Christ or his Apostles especially not upon Omission or difference of any in the open profession of Faith or publick exercise of Religion And without haesitancy with as much earnestness but with more truth and reason we utterly deny all these things and doubt not but to any sober Reason we shall assert and prove the direct contrary It is confessed by all and not denied by any that I have met with That before the last dispensation Bodily and External Punishments might lawfully be agreed upon and inflicted and so they were in every Polity and Government that Sin might be restrained and Righteousness executed to preserve Peace and promote the welfare of the Society Before Christs Incarnation this is owned to have been natural and universal and according to the different heinousness of Offenders Crimes and their noxious influence so by wise Governours there hath been ordered variety and difference of Punishments The highest whereof have been Capital mortal destructory of the Body and Life which is all the Ruler can reach unto And that those have been lawfully inflicted before the Law and in the Law is acknowledged by our Adversaries themselves Now if our Opposers cannot shew where this was repealed in the Gospel I am sure I can shew where it was established For Christ came not to dissolve or destroy the Law of Nature but confirm and fulfil it and it must continue in Polities as lawful in the times of the Gospel as it was before and in the time of the Law And this Inference must follow If Capital and destructory Punishments may certainly those that are Emendatory may be determined and inflicted by Governours from the Rules of the Gospel Now that the open and obstinate may perish by the Sword of the Higher Powers who beareth it not in vain is so plain from Christs own words and the Apostles Letters as it were mispending of time to insist in a further proof or demonstration Therefore some of our Adversaries are so modest as to confess the Gospel doth permit Capital Punishments to be inflicted by Magistrates upon contumacious persons disturbing publick Charity and Peace but for things or actions that concern Piety or Religion either for Omission or Transgression the Gospel gives the Offender an Impunity and Indempnity say our Opposers in this particular but with what truth or reason let any man judge But yet it is confidently asserted That Heresie or any erronious Opinion which man can give a Reputation unto with a specious name of CONSCIENCE when it can be nothing less ought not to be punished If by Heresie they mean a secret though resolute electing or adhering to some Opinion or Perswasion contrary to some fundamental Article of Faith or some duty of Religion if they keep it secret that no man hath cognizance of it the Magistrate can neither judge it nor punish it for his Power reacheth only to external and manifest things But open publication of this defaming the Gospel or any one Article of Faith accompanied with an endeavour to gain Proselytes to his Erroneous Perswasion this may be justly censured or punished Declared Heresie and open Schisms are of dreadful consequence to disturb the Peace of the whole Society St. Paul wished and not unlawful if the Magistrate endeavour they may be cut off that trouble it For such not only disturb the Society in point of Piety but in point of Charity and Peace while they cause difference of pretended Judgment Faith Consciences upon which there must follow alienation of Affections and Contentions as hath been declared before sufficiently Now if those sins that abuse our Piety to God have as bad or worse influences for unhappy consequences as the sins that abuse Charity to our Neighbours why they should have lesser or no punishment it is beyond my narrow Reason to discover This then I positively affirm and will not doubt to maintain That Heresie or Schisme when open and declared and disturbs the Peace of the Society or any other manifest sin ought to have Punishments determined and inflicted by Magistrates by the Rules of the Gospel And I hope it will be granted what was ordered by those Rules may lawfully be ordered by the Laws of Rulers to the end of the World It is yet insisted on These things were not done by Christ or his Apostles That Christ threatned woes and destruction to the unbelieving Jews is unquestionably evident and that as he threatned them so upon their impenitence he inflicted them True indeed all the time of Christs Ministery and Humiliation he did not manifest his Regal power by inflicting Punishments but only by threatning them upon supposed Disobedience But when Ascended taking upon him to be Judge and King he punished the Rebellious and the Judgments and ruine of the Jews must be acknowledged to have come by the avenging Power of Christ As he threatned so he caused the root of the Tree to wither for its unfruitfulness For not returning Fruit when demanded of his Vineyard he pulled down the Wall thereof and it was trodden down For killing the Heir he miserably destroyed the Husbandmen Because Jerusalem would not be gathered together under the Obedience of the Gospel he caused their House to be left unto them desolate And sure it cannot be supposed unlawful if it be lone by Christian Rulers upon open and obstinate Transgressors which was evidently done by Christ himself And for the Apostles Though they were not Kings yet they had Authority to censure and punish those that were obstinately disobedient and they did exercise their Power wherewith they were intrusted to this end when their Excommunication was oft attended with Temporal Penalties to the destruction of the flesh sometimes that the Soul might be saved And who dare say It is unjust for Rulers appointed by God to do the like things for the same Reasons and End which the extraordinary Spirit of Christ given to the Apostles effected One thing yet remains to prove viz. That this was done upon Omission or Recusancy of Obedience to the Gospel And questionless so it was for Christ because the Jews would not know the time of his Visitation in mercy visits them with Judgments They rejected him and his Counsel would not receive the Gospel and therefore he ordered and brought destruction upon them And thus was it done by the Apostles also who for open sins and disobedience to Gospel Rules came not alway with spirits of Meekness but sometimes with a Rod. The obstinate Offender was ordered to be Corrected that he might be ashamed sometimes he was taken away from the Society of the Faithful and delivered to Satan for the destruction of the Flesh And why should it seem unjust for our Magistrates to order the like things when by the Rules of the Gospel by the practice of Christ and his Apostles Punishments may
labour will not be in vain if some of our wel-wishing Friends of more moderate Tempers will deign the favour of a look upon these weak Endeavours If they be not informed yet they will be more fully confirmed in the practice of those Duties that are required at all our hands when most agreeable to the Law of Nature and the Rules of the Gospel But to our Reasoning and Arguing we must call in the Magistrates Sword to assist all without this will be little effectual to reduce that general Vniformity desired which will prove the beauty and glory both of this Church and Nation To you therefore I am constrained in this necessity for our full Releif to make my humble Address that are our RVLERS and in Authority appointed by God for our good It is evident your Concern by your Offices is to carry on this great design and are not barely to have respect to the Notion but to the Execution of Righteousness and so you are not only to animadvert severely upon Transgressors of moral natural necessary and divine Laws but upon those that break the positive particular human Ordinances that you have in Your Wisdom deliberately and justly established among us If persons were so well disposed as Counsels or Monitions might perswade all to be good from the Pulpit or in the Closet then no need to urge any Rigour from either Bench or Barr but our unhappy Necessities require this at Your hands who are Ministers of Remunerative Justice to shew your selves as well a Terrour to them that do evil as a Countenance to them that do well You see what a lamentable success your Lenity hath had hitherto it must be Severity must do your business Your method of leading this People must be now like God leading his Israel from Aegypt to Canaan the Conduct must not be only as in the day to lead them by a Cloud but in this night it must be by a Pillar of Fire The eyes of these People have too long been daubed up with Hony they must at last be opened with Gall better to suffer some smart and Cure them than suffer them through blindness to run headlong into the pit Breath then at last fresh life into the languishing Laws of a fainting Kingdom by an impartial Execution Offer unto God the sacrifice of Righteousness and take all care that Justice and Judgment may be executed in the midst of us Remember Lenity and Indulgence are Encouragements to the Transgressour and Cruelty and Grievances to the Innocent If you conceal and smother Disorder if you wink at Wickedness and countenance Disobedience Oh sad Consequences both your selves and your wholsome Laws are dishonoured and slighted You are injurious to the Offender while his heart is hardned because for his sin he is not corrected You offend the Righteous when he is scandalized You hurt your weak Neighbour for he is stagger'd if not perverted You hurt your own Souls for you are perjured yea You are injurious to GOD by Indulgence to Recusancy for his Worship is undervalued and contemned For your own for the Laws for the Offenders for the Righteous for your weak Neighbour for Religion for Gods sake let there be no more halting no longer connivance be found in the midst of us Execute true Judgment without partiality and if we cannot have that Obedience to the Laws which is justly required let the Offender feel that just Vengeance which is threatned Then and not till then we may hope to see the two standing Ordinances MAGISTRACY and MINISTERY will be reverenced and respected which as yet are but mocked at and despised Then we may hope the Laws about the publick Exercise of Religion will find obligation and observance which as yet are let loose and weakned and from too many meet with scorn and contempt Then we shall once again see the Faith of the Gospel openly professed by every Believer which now is concealed in most Congregations as if men had cause thereof to be ashamed Then and not till then will the Church of England recover her attractive comliness and beauty which is now much defaced and loathed Then Vniformity the Glory of a Believing Nation which hath been too long banisht will be brought back with joy into every Congregation Then there will be no more running into Corners but the Tribes of our Israel will unanimously go up to the House of their God unto their Testimony to give thanks unto the Name of the LORD Then shall God be glorified in all the Assemblies of his Saints by open Confession which he knows is my earnest endeavour and design in my constant prayer in the Name of the Lord JESUS To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory and honour now and for ever Amen A Catalogue of some Books Printed for and Sold by H. Brome since the dreadful Fire of London to 1675. Divinity MR. Farindon 's 130 excellent Sermons in 3 Vol. in fol. Price 2 l. 5 s. A large Concordance by S.N. to the Bible fol. 16 s. 51 Sermons in fol. by Dr. Franck 15 s. Dr. Heylin on the Creed fol. 15 s. A Guide to the Humble by Tho. Elborow B.D. in octavo 2 s. A Guide to Eternity by John Bona octavo 2 s. A Guide to Heaven with A Rule of Life 10 d. A Companion to the Temple or A help to publick Devotion by Tho. Cumber in octavo 4 s. Holy Anthems of the Church 2 s. 6 d. A Looking-glass for Loyalty 2 s. Bishop Wilkins Principles and Duties of Natural Religion in octavo 5 s. Bishop Lanyes Sermon at Court against Comprehension 6 d. Sermons Dean W. Lloyd 's Sermon before the King about Miracles 6 d. his Sermon at the Funeral of John L. Bishop of Chester 6 d. his Sermon before the King in Lent 1673 6 d. M. Naylor 's Commemoration Sermon for Col. Cavendish 6 d. Mr. Sayers Sermon at the Assizes at Reading 6 d. Mr. Tho. Tanner 's Sermon to the scattered Members of the Church 6 d. Mr. Stanhopp 's four Sermons on several Occasions octavo bound 1 s. 6 d. Dr. Du Moulin 's Papal Tyranny as it was exercised over England for some Ages with two Sermons on the fifth of Novemb. in quarto 1 s. 6 d. his Sermon at the Funeral of Dr. Turner Dean of Cant. 6 d. Histories The Life of the Duke Espernon the great Favourite of France from 1598. where D' Avila leaves off to our Times by Charles Cotton Esq in fol. price 18 s. The History of the Ottoman Empire with Cuts by P. Ricaut Esq in octavo 6 s. Bishop Wilkins Real Character in fol. Bishop Cosin De Transubstantiatione octavo 2 s. The same in English 2 s. 6 d. The Commentaries of M. Blaiz de Montluck the great Favourite of France in which are contained all the Sieges Battles Skirmishes for three Kings Reigns by Charles Cotton Esq in fol. 14 s. The Fair one of Tunis a new piece of Gallantry by C. Cotton Esq in octavo 2 s. 6 d. The History of the Savarites a Nation inhabiting part of the third Continent called Terrae Australes incognitae 1 s. Erasmus Coll. in English octavo 5 s. Poems Elvira a Comedy by the Earl of Bristol 1 s. M. A. Bromes S. and Poems octavo 3 s. 6 d. his with other Gentlemens Translation of Horace in octavo 4 s. Virgil 's Travesty by Ch. Cotton Esq 1 s. 6 d. Lucian 's Dialogues Burlesque 2 s. 6 d. Horace with a Song at every Act by C.C. Esq 1 s. Mr. Cowly 's Satyr against Separatists Physick Dr. Barbettes and Dr. Deckers excellent Practice of Physick and Observation 2 s. 6 d. Sir K. Digby his excellent Receipts in Physick and Chyrurgery and of Drinks and Cookery 3 s. 6 d. The Anatomy of the Elder Tree 1 s. 6 d. Miscellanies Dr. Glisson De vita Naturae quarto 8 s. Lord Bacons Advancement of Learning The Planters Manual very useful for such as are curious in Planting and Grafting by C. Cotton Esq The Compleat Gamester 2 s. Dr. Skinner 's Lexicon in fol. 1 l. 5 s. 14 Controversial Letters in quarto 4 s. 6 d. The Vindication of the Clergy 1 s. 6 d. Toleration discussed by R. L ' Estrange Esq 2 s. 6 d. A Treatise of Human Reason in twelves 8 d. Essays of Love and Marriage being Letters disswading from Love and answered with some Characters and other Passages of Wit in twelves 1 s. 6 d. School-Books Nolens Volens or you shall make Latin 2 s. 6 d. Centum Fabulae in octavo 1 s. Artis Oratoriae in duodec 2 s. Law The L. Cook 's Institutes in 4 Vol. fol. 2 l. 5 s. Sir James Dyer 's Reports fol. 18 s. The Clerks Guide in 4 parts and the first part alone The exact Constable Controversies The seasonable discourse against Popery in 4o. 6 d. the Defence of it quarto 6 d. the Difference betwixt the Church and Court of Rome in quarto 6 d. The Papists Apology to the Parliament answered 6 d. The Papists Bait or The way to get Proselytes by Ch. Gataker B.D. 1 s. Dr. Du Moulin against the Lord Castlemain 6 d. A Journey into the Country being a Dialogue between an English Protestant Physician and an English Papist Friendly and seasonable Advice to the Roman Catholicks of England in twelves 6 d. FINIS