threatning it proceeds to acting so that you are punished then you will do wisely to consider whether the cause of suffering-will make it persecution He who is persecuted takes up Christs Cross and follows him he suffers not as an evil doer It is saâ—d to pull upon 1 Pet. 4. 15 our selves self-created Crosses It is saâ—d to bear the Cross and not follow Christ If our Cross is Christs we then suffer for the same cause to bear witness to the truth In the same manner patiently charitably thankfully and for the same end as Christ to take away sin so we to further mortification and be stir'd to repentance How loudly do the Papists cry out of persecution when they are punished and do you think justly How do the Quakers glory much of their persecution for Christ yea and the Donatists and Priscilianists of old have defended their Heresies to death which they counted Martyrdom and Persecution yea the most of men molested for their opinions do the like all thinking they suffer for Christ for righteousness sake and so conclude they are persecuted It is good when we suffer to see for what it is that we suffer and so should it be as you fear or fancy for your Meetings Then consider seriously and conscionably whether in so doing you do well or ill or not well Authority languisheth where it is not feared But if you do well fear no persecution Scripture assuring us that Rulers are not a terror to good works that is works the effect for the cause but to evil works To understand Rom. 13. 3 4. what are good or evil works we are to know that works are so Theologically taken so a good work is that which is done of faith and of a sincere mind for the glory of God it is ill when not done so The Magistrate cannot judge of these because they are inward but of good or Mr. Parre evil civilly so which are according to or contrary to the Law divine humane positive municipal of Kingdoms Cities and Corporations whereby the necessary discipilne of every State is established Of these he judgeth Wilt thou not be afraid do good namely obey and resist not He doth not mean the profession of Christianity for that was then hated but such good which was so in the judgment of the Heathen a civil honest conversation agreeable to the Laws of the State wherein they lived Then he is the Minister of God for such mens good But if thou do evil ver 4. namely moral or civil evil contrary to the Decalogue or positive Law of the place where thou livest fear for he beareth not the sword in vain since we must be subject and their Laws obeyed not only for wrath 1. Of God who is angry with such who resist Authority 2. But also of the Magistrate whom we provoke by disobedience justly to punish but also for conscience sake namely conscience of our brother it being an offence to a peaceable and loyal subject to see any to take liberty to break the Laws of the Magistrates as of our selves lest we wound our own consciences every soul being bound in conscience to obey his lawful Magistrates every part of Gods Law binds conscience And to obey Magistrates is part of Gods Law As we are to render to all theirs so to Caesar his due to Caesar the things which are Caesars Well what saith the Magistrate what saith the Law Mat 22. 21 Do they allow of your Meetings Give me leave to tell you how St. Augustine commends a Law Imperial made against the Donatists and Schismaticks in his time which was That they who separated from the Church and had private Conventicles should be punished with pecuniary mulcts their Leaders with banishment the place wherein they met to be forfeited to the Emperor they should have no power to bestow their own Goods by will nor enjoy any Legacy bequeathed to them Object But you perhaps will say If there is any Law against such Meetings it is not good Answ 1. Will not Papists Quakers and who not object the same of Laws made against them 2. Is it tollerable that a Statute made upon long deliberation by so many wise men and such in Authority should be disclaimed for the private opinions of some novel Divines and unletter'd persons 3. We should be modest and not think our selves wiser than we are Rom. 12. 3. 4. A good subject examines not what is best but what is commanded and submits to it it being lawful 5. If in making Laws every mans fancy was to be regarded there would be no end nor order 6. If men doubt of the lawfulness of things commanded let them go for resolution to such who are peaceable and Prov. 24. 21. not consult in matters of obedience with such who refuse to obey 7. In matters doubtful follow the safe Rule hold that which is certain leave that which is uncertain leave reasoning and obey the Magistrate that is certain It is our duty 8. Hear reverend Dr. Sibs who saith The Laws under which we live are particular determinations of the Law of God therefore ought to be a Rule unto us so far as they reach although Sib's souls conflict Edition first fol. 364. pag. 2. I note the Edition because later Editions have corrupted the Author so that what he speaks in general they restrain to some things of the second Table it be too narrow a Rule to be good only so far as mans Law guides unto yet love being the joynt reason and consent of many men for publique good hath an useful guidance of actions that fall under the same where it ☞ dasheth not against God's Law what is agreeable to Law is agreeable to conscience Object If any of you say as some do Authority will not save souls Answ Give me leave to tell them That the Religious commands of Authority such as of David Jehosaphat Josiah Hezekiah for the keeping of the Passeover and order in the service of God such as of our Kings and Governours for the observation of the Lord's day for the hearing and preaching of the Word with other such did and doth save souls and far more than your Meetings yea so much as a thing well and legally done furthers it more than a thing done illegally and disobediently Besides if all which is taught in your private Meetings is good and warrantable yet it is so far from converting that it perverts many souls causing them to judge amiss of wholsom Laws and good Government causing them to slight the Ministers of the Gospel whom they are to hear and obey making rents and divisions in the Church hardning Papists profane people in their unwarrantable ways and making many well-minded people at a stand not knowing what to do And as it is certain that the commands of such who are in Authority over us concerning matters of Religion tend to the conversion and edification of men so it is without all
England as unchristian and persecuting was constrained to mention as I have done 3. And in thus doing I imitate a good President St. Paul who names in his writings especially to the Corinthians his own sufferings and from them also For my self I was glad I had such a living to lose for so good a cause and an heart so willing to part with it I in so doing finding the truth of a saying Ministers portion p. 208. in Dr. Sclater Affliction is the best tutor to devotion And such experiences of Gods mercies to me and mine that I was as all who knew me can testifie patient content and cheerful And since my return which is eighty ears I have not shewed the least dislike to those who outed me and therefore now being scarce able to go and shortly to end my pilgrimage I hope I shall cherish no such hellish vermin as malice and desire of revenge in my heart but endeavour to live with such love and peace which are the furtherers to that future love peace and joy which are for ever Should any question why I make so much use of Mr. Ball and some old Non-Conformists of Mr. Bayly and other later Presbyterians most men without my telling may conjecture rightly â—ecause such mens sayings will sooner prevail with those I deal withal than of the Fathers and other Divines As also because men may see the vast difference betwixt them and those whose so lowers they pretend to â—e when in truth they are followers of Mr. Barrow Greenwood â—â—d such of the separation who had Mr. Ball Mr. Brinsly c. old Non-Conformists Mr. Edwards Mr. Bayly c. late Presbyterians their great opposers JAM 1. 16. Do not err my Beloved Brethren THE three last Lords dayes I preached unto you of conscience I shewed you what it is the kinds of it how it is God's Officer what its duty is and what its rule That we are not to take all for conscience which pretends to be so And since conscience is in every one and it will live with us for ever that we should be careful to have our consciences such that we and they may have peace and comfort and that for this end we should endeavour to have our consciences enlightned faithful lively and not blind slothful dead or erroneous therefore I purpose to shew you what it is to err the danger of error and in the words of St. James disswade you from it Do not err c. The Apostle having disswaded from thinking God to be the Author of sin an horrid blasphemy he perswades them Psal 119. 176. Isa 63. 17. not to err or wander a Metaphor taken from sheep going astray Errors are of two sorts 1. In practise going from the Word the Rule of righteousness erring from God's wayes 2. In judgment going off from the Word as the standard and measure of truth which we commonly call error To make way to what I intend I will lay down some few Propositions I. Proposition The first That error is common to man ever since the fall of man It is evident how Adam and Eve erred and how their posterity smart for it is manifest yea how their posterity were polluted with error we see in Cain and in the old world for which the Lord sent the Deluge After which errors so abounded that Languages were confounded Sodom and Gomorrha turned into ashes After the Lord chose Abrahâ—m and his seed to be his peculiar people they soon erred in Egypt in the Wilderness and in Canaan worshipping Calves and Baal yea sacrificing their children to Devils When our Saviour Christ was upon earth how oft doth he check for erring not knowing the Scriptures How oft doth he confute the errors of the Scribes Pharisees and Saduces What warnings and caveats doth he give to us Mat. 7. 15. Mat. 24. 24. Act. 8. 9 13 18. 2 Tim. 2. i7 Rev. 2. 14 15 20. 2 Cor. 11. 13. Gal. 3. 1. Phil. 3. 1. Rom. 16. 17. Eph 4. 14. 1 Tim. 4. 2 2 Tim. 3. 1 2. 2 Tim. 4. 3 to beware of false Prophets in sheeps cloathing and acquaint us with the danger of such After our Saviours ascending into heaven errors did abound notwithstanding the pains and piety of the Apostles Simon Magus bewitched the people Elymas also with Hymineus and Philetus Some in the Asian Churches held the doctrine of Balaam some of the Nicolaitans and some the filthy follies of Jezabel The Corinthians were drawn from the doctrine of the truth by false Apostles The Galâ—tians bewitched from the truth The Philippians in great danger The Romans staggered with such who caused divisions and the Ephesians subject to be carried about with every wind of doctrine The Apostle also foretels of swarms of errors which should be and how men will not endure sound doctrine but after their lusts heap to themselves teachers having itching ears turning their ears from the truth and be turned to fables Since which all ages shew how this was fulfilled for in the first hundred years after Christ many gross errors abounded as the Symoniani of Simon Magus the Hyminei of Hymineus and Philetus The Nazareni so called of the City Nazareth See opus Epiphanii de Haresib Augustin de Haeresib Tom. 8. The Menandriani of Menander Scholar to Magus The Ebionites of Ebion whom St. John confuted The Nicolaitans of Nicholas one of the seven Deacons The Cerinthii of Cerinthus whom St. John called the first-born of Satan The Saturniani of Saturnus The Basilidians of Basilides c. In the second century after Christ there sprung up above thirty several sorts of which number were the Maritae of Marus who called themselves perfect yea more perfect than Peter and Paul They denied Christ's taking humane nature and the resurrection of the flesh About this time also arose the Gnosticks so called because of their excellent knowledge in their own opinions although but vain By others they were called Barbaritae because of their wickedness and filthiness They fancied two souls in each good man one holy of the substance of God the other adventitious which is in man as in other creatures They taught the being of two Gods the one good the other evil That Martyrdom was not to be undertaken for Christ They worshipped the Images of Christ and had images in as great esteem as Pagans their Gods In the third Century there arose about twenty sorts of Heresies of which I will name two The Catharists so called from their sanctity in their own opinion they gloried of merits of their good works they denied repentance to such who fell through infirmity and condemned second marriages as unlawful The Donatists also of Donatus who affirmed the Church of God on earth to be without spot None to be compelled to live well Hereticks not to be repressed by Magistrates That the worthiness of the Sacrament is from the holiness of him who gives it That persons baptized by the Orthodox are to be rebaptized
prophane Schisms of the Brownists and by Mr. Paget from the testimony of the Dutch Church and of the Magistrates of Amsterdam instancing in Studley Whitaker Holder and others yea in Mr. Brown himself who being reproved for beating his Wife said He did not beat his Wife but a curst old Woman Moreover since errors will have the worst at last they cannot hold out truth will prevail and since such who maintain errors shall not find favour with God Jobs friends Job 42. 7. held an error unknown and for zeal to God yet God was angry with them and is with such Mat. 5. 19. Lastly Considering that many errors are damnable mortal Jam. 5. 19 20. deadly a freeing from them being a freeing from death our care should be not to dally with them there being death in them as the way of truth is the way of life so also to draw others from them and so procure their conversion and Act. 4. 12. Joh. 17. 3. pardon for none can be saved without Christ Such who are saved by Christ must know him and believe in him and we must believe in him according to the tenour of Scripture the rule of faith and not err from it Object If we do err ours are but small errors Answ Differences about lesser points of Doctrine of Scripture held up for by ends against conscience may be damnable for then a lesser opinion is in the same rank with a known sin and so an error may be damnable by circumstance a man Joh. 3. 19. walking against light be the error but small the danger is great if a walking against light And gross negligence or not taking pains to know better is equivalent to standing out against the light it arguing a secret fear and suspition of the truth And such men who live and die in less errors about Joh. 3. 20. 2 Pet. 3. 5. 1 Cor. 3. 13. faith and worship being willingly ignorant if they be saved they may expect to be saved with much difficulty by fire as loss of much comfort of much peace being scorched in spirit and kept in dark and doubtful wayes These things thus premised I will shew you what an ererror is what it is to err Error strictly and properly taken is that which men hold or do out of ignorance of the truth It is in practise when we are ignorant of what is better to be done it is in opinion when we are ignorant of what is better for us to believe or hold Error then is an opinion Mat. 22. 29. or action swerving from the Rule of Gods Word when that which is false is believed to be true contrary to the mind of him from whom we say we have received it as if a man should believe idols to be Gods because Scripture calls them so It is an error when a thing which is false is believed to be true because he from whom we received it thinks it is true Should a man think the soul was made of moats because Lucretius thought so and we read it in him It is an error When out of another mans writings some true thing is believed which he who wrote it did not believe as to think an Epicure did place good in continency because he praised it It is an error Error is a wandring or straying Act. 10. 45 from th◠right way it is hardly cured being very prevalent 2 Thes 2. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A scopo aberrare to swerve from the mark Gal. 5. 20. and it is the way to Heresie although it is not Heresie Heresie being an error and more Heresie must be in some fundamental point or truth it takes men off from Christ or from the foundation of saving knowledge It is accompanied with pertinacy and obstinacy after cleer light offered it is possible to have an error about some fundamental point yet be no Heretick Heresie makes men take pleasure and delight in it therefore it is called a work of the Tit. 3. 10. flesh and such are often wounded by themselves although they will not be convinced by others Heresie being an error in judgment a pertinacy in will and a taking delight in it in our affections so an error and more we are the more careful to take heed of it since such like tares are sown amongst Gods wheat yea while the Apostles lived and the causes of it still remains namely ignorance of God pride of heart self-conceitedness want of love to Christ and his truth Satans malice ambition covetousness flattery and Gods permitting such still for trial of his as gold by fire for the cleerer confirming of the truth and for the punishment of the contempt of his truth and careless entertainment of 2 Thes 2. 11. his word It is no wonder then if after a faithful Pastor there comes a Wolf Quest If any doth ask why God permits deceivers to draw men into errors and men to be drawn into them Answ 1. Scripture shews it is for the tryal of his to shew the corruption or sincerity which is in men Deut 13. i 2 3. 1 Cor. 11. 19. Jude 3. 2. To make his to contend for the faith Some are busie to spread errors that others may be busie to withstand them to avoid them A Cut-purse is like another man yet when men are assured such are in the crowd every one will look to his purse So when errors are abroad every one should take more heed to himself 3. God often punisheth one sin by another Men continuing in sins of practise God suffers them often to fall into sinful Ezek. 14. 7. 2 Thes 2. 11. opinions false doctrines are fit plagues for false hearts They who love not the truth are punished with belief of errors and such are sore punishments which are made of sins That we may therefore avoid error (1) Psal 25. 9. Be we humble (2) John 7. 17. Be diligent in obeying the Word (3) Psal 119. 113. Tit. 3. 10. Grow up in love to the affecting of the truth Take heed of Heretical Books and of company with such persons they being infectious take heed of covetousness and ambition which have made many Hereticks and reject those who are such Object You said from Timothy that they are mildly lovingly and tenderly to be dealt withal How then reject Answ They are so whilst there is hopes they may be gained and won for in so doing we imitate God who admonisheth Gal. 6. 1. before he smites He commands also to restore with meekness and by so doing we shew our great love to the offendor and imitate St. Paul who used not the rod so long as meekness would prevail Such places therefore as Rom. 16. 17. 2. Joh. 10. are to be understood after admonitions and good means used for their reclaiming which proving vain they are to be rejected In regard of themselves (1) 1 Thes 5. 5. To work sorrow for their sin (2) 2 Thes 3.