great changes in God's House not as a King but as a Man of God and all was done by the Commandment of the Lord to him and Nathan the Prophet 1 Chron. 28.19 David had all in Hand-writing 2 Chron. 35.3 Doth not the Lot signify the Divine Appointment as in choosing Matthias in the room of Judas 2 Chr. 29.35 Could David as a King injoyn Posterity But these things have been well replied to by others but by none better if so well as by the ingenious Mr. Alsop in his Melius Inquirendum Bring forth you that talk of Wits many of yours in one Scale we will put this Man in another I vindicate his Arguments not every Mode of Expression If other Writers will not set forth your Church in its Colours I hope Mr. Long of Exon hath lately done it or else I think it will never be done For his Divinity he hath declared plainly That Kneeling in the receiving the Lord's Supper after it was laid aside in King Edward's Days was taken up in Queen Elizabeth's to satisfie the Papists who might come to Church and receive owning the real Presence For his Politicks He hathlately replied to the Life of Mr. Baxter but in that Reply hath deceived the World of their Money and Time by printing about as I remember an Hundred and fifty Pages verbatim out of his other Book against him printed about 16 or 17 Years since What ails the Gentleman Was he troubled with the Hickocks I had replied to it had I not appeared against the Book as well as he tho' on different Accounts Some great Men have said That Mr. B's Book hath done them that is the King's Party more Mischief then any Book printed for Twenty Years past and that it is pity but it were burnt by the Hand of the Common Hangman If it were say I it is pity it should go there alone Mr. Long his Book would be a very good Companion for it For 1. He unsaints Mr. Baxter for a Rebel no Rebel he says can be one What Man What then becomes of the Tribe of Levi now By what Names or Titles soever they be now dignified or distinguished who with the Gentry of the Nation invited over our King and took up Arms against King James Thus I affirm is the King wounded by our Levites who have sworn to him kept Thanksgiving Days for their Deliverance by him His Son indeed is a Non-Juror The honester Man he if he be of such corrupt Principles 2. What may not a Penitent Rebel be saved These Men Corrupted Mr. Baxter and made him turn at last a Non Resister of which he hath to his shame and the shame of his Friends often declar'd and yet no Saint He shamefully denys the Story of the Earl of Antrim which Mr. Baxter as well as others hath sufficiently prov'd May not the Epitaph He hath like a poor empty Man Printed in two Books serve some of the most Reverend Fathers How common was it when the Prince of Orange was expected daily to go to Church in some places twice a day And Pray for King James Grant him in Health and Wealth long to live strengthen him that he may vanquish and overcome all his Enemies And then come out I Pray Is there any hope the Prince will Land we are all undone if he do not And yet to the same Prayers in the Afternoon This Gentleman turns the wrong end of the Perspective when he would ken Rebels that are not Saints I would not be mistaken I know there are a few good excellet unanswerable Passages in the Book as How Oliver Cromwel's Virtues were such that it was wisht Richard might be Heir of them c. Pol. Aphor. And yet both talkt of so odly in the Relique it was a pittiful poor Plea to Mr. Bagslau I think not the worse of Christ Heaven c. Because Oliver own'd it But I have almost forgotten my self This is not my work now For my thus plain dealing in a Letter to the afore named Gentleman I am informed he threatneth to do me what mischief he can to whom I replyed I would take the first oppertunity I could to do him any kindness I could For of all Men I was more obliged to him for my Convictions about Kneeling in the receiving the Sacrament more then to Rutherfords Gelapse or Ames himself Whatever I have said of Mr. Baxter I declare I mean no more then what B Saunderson said at the Savoy He was an illogical Piece yet as one told me who liv'd with him He said He was the best Logician in the World that got all out of his own Head Mr. Baxter tells us in his Life that he early and without having a Tutor one Month all his Days studied Aquinas Occam Scotus and Durand which was able to make Giddy the strongest Head in the World that is to say his own This infected him with a wrangling way of disputing of which he sometimes was so sensible that he caution'd some Candidates for the Ministry against it This also made him sometimes to blunder as when he saith Justification was a transient Act c. In his last Book against Grisp It is the last Plea of some Conformist Obj. But Nonconformist Ministers take the bread out of our Mouths and our People from us You took the bread first out of their Mouths and their People from them when King Saul took Davids Wife from him and gave her to Phaltiel David takes her from him by the first opportunity Let him come weeping behind David cares not for that takes his own Yet I confess it is pity they should take the bread out of your Mouths tho no doubt it could be wisht they could sometimes take the Cup from some of your Mouths And I tell you plainly The Dissenters are but half Beneficed Men generally and the People allow them a poor Maintenance to their reproach and shame be it spoken If they give Forty Shilling a Year they think it much that can give a Thousand Poundsor some Hundreds with a Child I cannot easily think they Love the message much that care so little for the Messenger Yet in many places they were first ours with their Consent and yours without their Consent I now think it convenient having Apologiz'd for many Congregational Men so now for some Anabaptist against the Charge of Antinomianism Countenancing Tradesâ—â—ns Preaching c. That there are Learned Anabaptists in the City and Reverend Divines cannot be denied Mr. Steed Seven Year as I remember an Oxonian Mr. Collins Mr. Harrison and others who are Masters of their work Some that are no Schollars are yet studious Men Preach and Discourse well and such Conformists and Presbyterians themselves sometimes admit tho I think it should be done very sparingly Let such Preach the Gospel who can defend it against Papists Socinians Deist and others I remember He that wrote a Book call'd The Present State of Holland commends the Anabaptist there for their peaceable
ad regnum non causa regnandi as they did another Saying of his Bona opera non praecedunt justificandum sed sequuntur justificatum How often read you in Scripture such Phrases it may be Scores of Times in one Psalm 119. The path of thy Commandments The way of thy Precepts c Is there no Truth but Christ No Life but Christ Sometimes you say Christ is not in our Sermons It may be his Name is not in the Text in the Chapter Will you tare them out of the Bible For acting for Self sure if you think it a Weakness in Moses to have an Eye to the Recompence of Reward do you think it so in Christ who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross 12 Heb. 2. Mr. G. Firmin in that admirable piece The real Christian hath by the way corrected the Errors of some other men besides you that call this self love and hath proved that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or self-love condemn'd in Scripture is senfual self that this self-love we speak of are we prest to in Scripture Thou mayst call thy self Christian but C. will call thee worker of iniquity I may say to such of you that talk of being the best Christians what Bp. Jewel says in his Apology about the Popes being Peters Successor In qua re in qua functione in qua parte vite illi successit Quid enim unquam aut Petrus Papae aut Papa Petro simile habuit So say I in what thing in what work in what part of thy Life followest thou Christ For wherein was Christ like thee or thou like him Is this true Without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord c. But tell me in short what is your Opinion Cp. I have given the Eccho without any change in me I believe my Sins are forgiven me that they are not mine but Christs he hath obeyed for me if I sin this contents me I am never sad about it I never confess fin when in a good frame nor beg Pardon of God for I know my sins were forgiven before committed Ct. I think you read not many Books no not the Bible but one Book I am sure you and all your Brethren have read Cp. What Book is that I Pray you are so consident of Ct. Your Horn-book and there you learnt Forgive us our Trespasses Well if you minded Hollowed be thy Name thy will be done on Earth Tho I believe well of some call'd Antinomians and too deservedly they are upright in the main yet as for you and such as you you are some of the Eldest Sons the Devil hath Not confess Sin nor beg Pardon Words one would think too big for the Mouth of the Devil Cp. I Pray have you read Dr. Crisp's book throughout It is the best Book in the World I dare defend it Ct. No I read it not all I was Sick to read so much Cp. This it is to censure a Book and not read all Ct. You I doubt censure Books you read none of And some of them that put their hands to the Book I hear confess they read it not over which is worse But you that are so hot Did you ever read it over Cp. I little thought you would ask me that Question But I will not lye for I confess I never read one quarter of the book over yet I doubt not all is sound Ct. I am glad you would not tell a Lye nor look on it as a part of your Christian Liberty but if you had committed such a small sin you would not have added a greater to be troubled for it Cp. No for I am not the Lyar for Dr. Crisp well observes Thou art not the Idolater or Thief So I not the Lyar then the Doct. speaketh very comfortably Sin can do me no hurt And that after the greatest Sins I could commit I must as certainly conclude I am Pardon'd before any Humiliation as after say what you will he was the most Gospel Preacher in the World Ct. You will find somewhat else is to be minded besides Comforrt Your Gospel you know is a Lawless Gospel And I declare I never heard an Antinominian Sermon in my days till I heard the Reverend Linen-Draper When Heresy and Nonsense and Impudence seem'd to contend which should make him most infamous Cp. But what have you to say against Dr. Crisp All the world shall not convince me but he was a very Good Man Ct. Who denys he was Or if it might be denyed It is in vain to at tempt it to a Man resolv'd never to believe it Have I not said enough already why I am displeas'd with him See what woful work he makes of Faiths being an Eccho 493 296. Cp. But I am angry with them that say Men are not justified till they believe and that Faith is the Vniting Grace when it follows Vnion John 15. 5. Confounds you all Ct. Were the Controversy about a Priority of Nature I would not contend Our Act of Faith and Gods Act of justifying are coeval and instantaneous Acts but it is a Priority of time you plead for from Eternity from the Womb in the higth of all wickedness You must know there is a great diflerence between Vniting and Vnion as is between Marrying and Married Cp. What more displeaseth you Ct. That tho Christ sayeth My Father loveth me because I lay down my Life for my sheep Yet the Doctor talks of his being separate from God odious to him as sin being on him I know not how more then by imputation sure Doth the Judge hate a substitute punisht for anothers fault Volenti non sit injuria by the way he may so punish Doth he hate him as the actual Murtherer Traytor Thief 4â—8 Also he talks at a wild rate 98 Of Pouring Physick down the throat c. Prosper says well Voluntas in tantum libera in quantum liberata And we all say acta agit mota movit prius a Deo conversa convertit se ad Deum And his Sixteenth Sermon against Evidences is intolerable Sin doth no hurt Duties no good c. Cp. But you tell Men they should be troubled for Sin even Believers for their falls and faults Ct. Why was not David so Was not sin his burthen Cp. What David did he did of himself and he erred as when he said hath the Lord forgotten to be Gracious c Ct. Hold thou thy Tongue thou Blasphemous Corrupter of Scripture I think not this thy bold impudent assertion worth Confutation We thus might lose the best of Psalms the Penitential Psalm Psal 51. Sinned Peter when he went out and wept bitterly Or the three Thousand when pricked at the heart by Peters Sermon As in the natural birth there is no bringing forth without pain tho not in all alike so in the Spiritual Birth If a child cry not when born a cry is in the Room it is a dead Child Apply it you as you will Cp. If
you for your freedom and do not despise your Arguments which tho a common practise is no fair one I know not but that some Ceremonious Scots and English Men too now must be notorious Schismaticks on your Principles as well as mine Your Servant I hate vain Inventions but thy Law do I love says David Postscript IN the Administration of the two Great Ordinances no place is left for the Ministers Gifts not in Prayer to God and which is worse if worse can be not in Instructions to the People O Blessed Apostle when thou didst enumerate Ministerial Gifts to the Church of Corinth thou didst forget the Gift of Reading and the Church of England Give these Men a Common Prayer Book in one Hand and a Book of Homilies in the other they have enough This is done not only in Publick Churches but Private Houses Did the Jews read Prayers in the time of Christ The Pharisees Practice shews their Custom You cannot think they knew that unmanly as well as unscriptural word I Pray who reads Prayers to Day What Ancients did you attempt to Name that did this In what Countrey did they live Did they read Prayers in their Antilucana that Pliny telleth Trajan of I grant as you say your Prayers are moving Prayers for it is a hard matter to sit still and hear them and the most serious commonly leave them It seems to me a poor Plea for any one to say for such a Worship only it is lawful What if only the Lords Prayer was us'd in a Parish at the Lords Supper would you continue there and say it is lawful c. And not go to another place where done much better Are some few words enough of Plague Pestilence and Famine c I remember I have read when London Bridge was on Fire the Priest Pardon me Sir it was the Name Laud gave and blotted out the word Minister brought the Common Prayer Book and Read For all Women labouring with Child for all sick Persons and young Children c. An Old Woman cryed out Good Lord what is all this to London Bridge c. Do you call that a Prayer where a few words are read to God in a large History or spoken to Men when we Pray with our Hats on and a Cup in our hand at Home at Feasts in Coffee-Houses when we speak of the King Church or our Friends Using commonly in a conceived Prayer the same words for the King or Parliament c. Make it not a Form Is it â—â—â—â—ful or would it not be Phantastical to have Crowns on your Heads and Palms in your Hands as well as white Robes on your Backs You know how John saw Christ Rev. 1. What if you wore such a Girdle would it not be Phantastical Schism you now tell me was the Point you did Pursue I am sure you did not so at first I cannot Answer your thoughts but words Would you not Baptise Infants 〈◊〉 only the Adult if your Church so requir'd and say There is no plain positive Command to the contrary A doubtfull Conscience was much with Paul Is this sense Nothing can excuse our running in Schism but the imposing of what is plainly and positively a Sin Would it be Schism then as you call it Conformist THere are several Passages which do well deserve to be animadverted upon but I pass all to pursue our main point till that be settled and then we will proceed as you see cause For as to the Reason use and advantage of our Liturgy Ceremonies c. It is not time to come to that till we have first consider'd whether the imposing these be a sufficient cause for Schism because if it be not all the inconveniences improprieties which you objected were they granted will not excuse your separation from the Church or make your separation not to be a Schism In order to this I first set down the Power as I conceive the Church hath not Viz. To appoint means of Grace and by this I cut off most of the Popish Ceremonies 2. That the Church hath Power to appoint Ceremonies or Rights of an inferior order to this This you seem to deny and build upon the Command of not adding to or diminishing from the Law of God But to add to the Law of God is to add something as the Law of God which is not For if I add some Ceremony or Circumstance unless I pretend that it is the Law of God or a part of it it is no addition to the Law Teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men this is an addition to Gods Law when I teach the Commandments of Men as Doctrines that is as Laws of God but to teach the Commandments of Men only as the Commandments of Men this is not teaching them as Doctrines and so no addition to the Law of God Thus for Example when we teach the use of a Surplice only as a Commandment of Men we add not to the Law But if you forbid a Surplice as a thing unlawful tho commanded by humane Laws then you teach this as a Doctrine and so you not we add to the Law of God For forbidding is as much a Law of God as injoyning Now then there are but too things to make our Ceremonies or Rights unlawful and consequently which can justify a separation on their Account 1. If they are forbidden in Scripture 2. If we teach them as Doctrines and Laws of God and seeing neither of these are the Case I see no third thing that can justify a separation upon this Account Let us keep close to this point till we have ended it Let us settle to our selves some Rule by which we must govern our selves in this important enquiry Now give me leave to take notice of some Passages in your Paper which relate to these For the other I pass by as I said at first You say that with us no Kneeling no Sacrament No Cross no Baptism Nay tho the Salvation of Infants dying without it be question'd yet run a Risque here rather than go without the Cross Good God say you What madness doth superstition lead Men to Now might I not justly return this Exclamation What will prejudice c. Make Men believe For in the Office of private Baptism which is particularly appointed for Children that are in danger of Death the Cross is not used And whoever useth it in private Baptism transgresseth the Rubrick and the Common Prayer which is a Demonstration that our Church doth not think the Cross necessary in Baptism or to be a part of it Yet you bring this as an Argument that she did think it necessary and so necessary as to Risque a Child dying without Baptism rather then go without the Cross As great a mistake is That of No Kneeling no Sacrament Every day it is given to Sick Persons without Kneeling and where there is any reasonable excuse it will not be exacted But let me ask you will you give it in your Church to