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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78425	The inconsistencie of the independent way, with Scripture and it self. Manifested in a threefold discourse, I. Vindicia vindiciarum, with M. Cotton. II. A review of M. Hookers Survey of church-discipline. The first part. III. A diatribe with the same M. Hooker concerning baptism of infants of non-confederate parents, cap. 2. Of his third part. / By Daniel Cawdrey ...	Cawdrey, Daniel, 1588-1664.	1651 (1651)	Wing C1629A; ESTC R22287	14,160	25

THE INCONSISTENCIE OF THE Independent way With Scripture and It Self Manifested in a threefold Discourse I. Vindiciae Vindiciarum with M. Cotton II. A Review of M. Hookers Survey of Church-Discipline The first part III. A Diatribe with the same M. Hooker Concerning Baptism of Infants of Non-confederate parents Cap. 2. Of his third part By DANIEL CAWDREY a Member of the Assembly and late Preacher at Martins in the Fields JEREMY 6.16 Stand ye in the waies and see and ask for the old paths where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall finde rest for your souls LONDON Printed by A. Miller for Christopher Meredith at the Sign of the Crane in Pauls Church-yard MDCLI THE EPISTLE TO THE Dissenting Brethren IT is some mens happinesse I know not how or why unlesse it be out of the partiality of their Followers to their own way and party that write they or preach they never so weakly or absurdly they finde some admirers to cry them up all their words as Oracles and all their works as Wonders Other men though they do clearly discover perhaps because they do discover the weaknesses and contradictions of those waies and works must have their Books buried in silence slighted and scorn'd or themselves censured and traduced Ep. to the Way cleared pag. 2. as carrying on a design endeavouring by pen to blot the fair Copy of Truth and to crosse out of the Book of mens memory and esteem the names of them whom God will honour though they will not c. I have observed it as a depth of Romish policy of late That they have left off to answer to any controverted points being beaten out of the field by the full and clear confutations of their Doctrines by our late learned Champions and betake themselves now to a complyance with all Heresies and Sects so to oppresse the Truth in another way by crying down both Ministry and Learning To which purpose some Jesuiticall Pamphlets have been vented of late in severall dresses The Swords Abuse asserted The vanity of the present Churches c. and scattered abroad to do mischief which have been answered and confuted but they have the wit not to reply lest they make the cause worse This practice some of our Independent Brethren have too much imitated Witnesse the Diatribe about Ordination Imposition of hands and preaching by Gifted men not in Office which being learnedly and judiciously answered by D. S. and proved to be a Paradiatribe the Authour thereof thought to be a great man amongst them is unwilling it seems to reply whether out of consciousnesse of his own weaknesse or out of pride and scorn of all not of his own way and opinion that his Disciples may think it is not worth answering The like I may say of Vind. Clav. which having discovered many weaknesses and contradictions in The Keys and Way is answered rather with slighting and scorn then any solid convictions as will appear in this present Vindication Of 7. Chapters in the Vind. Clav. he answers but to one and of 3. Sections in that first Chapter he answers but to two and throughout those 2. Sections doth rather reproach his adversary by the undeserved names of Vindex and Avenger then satisfie his charge And after a threefold promise with attestation of the Name of God twice to give a further answer shakes him off as some contemptible person set to be slighted rather then answered When I had upon the first sight of his book read what he had written I presently set pen to paper and made a draught of this present Vindication but yet was not perswaded to print it partly because I waited till M. Baily and M. Rutherford put out their Reply to joyn it with theirs which I have long in vain expected and partly because I was unwilling to make any further Discovery of the weaknesses of the Reverend Authour and partly because I might think the best answer to a slight answer was no answer But when I considered that the Book was cried up by the Epistler to it as so exquisite a piece in these words In the latter part of this Book The Way Cleared being controversal you have a fair Additional to the Models afore printed of the Church-way so much called for not Magisterially laid down but friendly debated by Scripture and argumentatively disputed out to the utmost inch of ground and defended Cap a pie as they speak from the head to the heel of every branch of truth essentiall to the controversie and when withall I perceived that this and other Books of that Way published were highly esteemed as unanswerable and very taking with weak and unsetled mindes to the disturbance of the peace of the Church I found no rest in my spirit till I had seriously tried the strength thereof especially of that Reverend and Learned M. Hookers Survey of Church-Discipline which I heard most magnified as the strongest piece of that Way and so by the way give in a short answer in Vindication of Vind. Clav. from the Reply of M. J. C. so far as concerned my self Ep. to the Way Ep. to the Way cleared To forward this undertaking I was the rather provoked 1. By the importunate and reiterated recognition of those Tracts those Models as they call them of the Church-way Ibid. viz. Church-Government Church-Covenant c. and now the late Modell or crambe saepe cocta of M. Bartlet and this Additional of the Way Cleared 2. By the often repeated quarelling Ep. to the Way at our calling for a fuller Treatise and a clearer Modell of the Church-way 3. By the non-performance of that promise so long ago made so often pretended Of a fuller Treatise of the same Subject with ampler demonstrations by joint consent of the Churches of Old and New England But will they never take notice of the Answers given to most or many of those for they all hold out the same things And why are they not rather offended we have told them we are and they ought to have given us satisfaction had they esteemed us brethren offended I say at their own scandalous breach of promise in not exhibiting that fuller Treatise by joint consent c. Our Brethren of the Assembly how long how oft did they promise a full Modell of their Way which yet we have as long and as oft called for and expected but all in vain The time was when some complained but causelesly as an excuse of their neglect of promise Ep. to the Woy That their hands were bound up and of the unwillingnesse of Licensers to License their Tracts c. But sure these last two or three years their hands have been loose enough and the presse open but still this fuller Treatise by joint consent c. cannot finde the way into the Light We have rather cause to think that their disagreement among themselves is the reason why they dare not give us their Model lest the world

way of Christ It is observable that as soon as ever any begin to decline from us though they were the entirest bosome friends before such as took sweet counsel together walking to the House of God together as friends fasting and praying together often in publike and private communicating at the same Table of the Lord c. after all this they first withdraw and estrange themselves then come to slight both us our Ordinances and Ministry as well as our persons and in some it ends in an open or secret opposition and it 's to be feared at last it will end in hottest persecution The Spirit of Christ is a spirit of meeknesse gentlenesse and forbearance The way of Christ and the wisedom which is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated c. These considerations of the evil fruits of the Independent way so called I doe not therefore exemplifie God is witnesse to cast reproach upon the persons of any of that way who are as I trust many are truly godly but only to give them occasion seriously to review the principles by which they walk And I would humbly entreat them to reade the following discourses without prejudice or partiality and then judge whether there be not a Discovery made of the weaknesse of the foundation of their way And if it prove so to be to retract what they have more weakly built upon it for the glory of God and the peace of the Churches If any say you have said much against their way but nothing or little for the goodnesse of the Presbyterian way I answer Enough hath been said for it already by the London Divines in their Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici and the Vindication of the Presbyterian Government by the Province there This to me is a very probable argument of the goodnesse of the Presbyterian way That all sorts of men Athiests Papists Episcopal Anabaptists all Sectaries and prophane men do so much oppose it That way said he must needs be good that Nero persecutes whereas most of these the latter especially like well of and comply with the Independent way as granting more Liberty then the Presbyterian will Besides that the fruits of the Presbyterian Government in other Reformed Churches especially in the preventing or suppressing of errours heresies and profanesse speaks sufficiently for it I had also some thoughts to have vindicated the Presbyterian government from those unjust aspersions cast upon it by M. B. in his Model p. 52. c. but they are either so weak or so false that they fall by their own weight before an indifferent and intelligent Reader I shall now stay the Reader no longer in the porch but referre him to the Tracts themselves Desiring the Dissenting Brethren with single and impartiall Judgements to consider the miserable rents and divisions the errors heresies and blasphemies broken out in this Church of England since their way got footing and countenance here and withall in the fear of God to study how they may be repairers of those breaches made and restorers of Truth and Peace lost to this distracted and almost destroied Church Amen To the Preface 1. THe Authour of Vind. Clav. did not therefore conceal his name that he might secretly accuse whom he durst not openly charge but for other reasons made known to and approved of by Reverend and godly Brethren here Nor was there any need after the Roman custom for him to shew himself face to face especially when he charged nothing clanicular but what he found and any might finde publikely in the Authours own books And had not the Subject and Titles of his books discovered him he did not so much as name him in all his book but only the first letters of his name except once by citing the words of the Prefacers to The Way in their Epistle Love it is true is the best way to heal dissentions but it is rather love of the Truth then of mens persons if those must be severed And this the Authour of Vind. Clav. thought he manifested in his vindication of it from those errours and contradictions which he found as he still thinks in those books he undertook Yea he thought he could not better shew his love to the Reverend Authour then by manifesting his errours as well as the weaknesses of that way wherein he is a Leader to many such is the respect to his person besides the way of Truth Amicus Plato c. And whose books do most breathe lust to contention his who discovers errours or theirs who defend them being discovered is left to the judgement of all indifferent Readers 2. There is no doubt but the name of the Authour of Vind. Clav. is well enough known to this Reverend Brother by information of some from hence He is one who is known to honour and reverence his person worth and holinesse as much as any man and as sorry to see him so mistake his way One he is that came to the reading of his books with praier and sincerity to finde and submit to the Truth found Gal. 2.14 But when he saw that he walked not uprightly according to the Truth of the Gospel he thought it his duty to withstand him as Paul did Peter and to vindicate the Truth suppressed and the Keys usurped into the hands of the right owners And that is the proper sense of the word Vindiciae The Assertion of Liberty or Freedom for the oppressed It was not therefore an argument of much love to take the word in the worser part and to call the Authour by the name of vindex which sometimes also signifies a Redressour of things or a Defender or Restorer of Liberty much lesse the Avenger as if the title and purport of the Book did hold him forth to be a man of Revenge For as there was no reason no former difference being between them so there appears no footstep of Revenge in all his discourse The purport of the book was not to revenge himself but to vindicate that is to rescue Truth which he thought he saw oppressed not so much by the strength of Reason as by the Authority of men in reputation for learning and holinesse And he thinks and so do others with him there is more appearance of Revenge in the names of Vindex and Avenger put upon him unjustly besides the slighting of him in the shortnesse of the Reply of which more hereafter then is to be found in all his proceedings If there be any phrase or passage too sharp or unbeseeming the gravity of either party as he begs pardon for it so he desires it may be imputed to that zeal he bears to the Truth and to the souls of many seduced into a mischievous separation the consequences whereof are found to be so dangerous to this Church of England as threatning its utter desolation 3. But what saies he to the charge in the Title page of weaknesses and contradictions If saies he Christ