is but FIGMENT they have peremptorily concluded and confidently imposed upon others a Necessity of Entertaining Conclusions of that Nature and to strengthen themselves have broken out into Divisions and Factions opposing Man to Man Synod to Synod till the Peace of the Church vanished without all Possibility of Recall Hence arose those Ancient and many Separations amongst Christians Arianism Eutychianism Nestorianism Photinianism Sabellianism and many more both Antient and in our Time And as he hath told us one great Occasion of the Disease so he offers what follows for the Cure And were Liturgies sayes he and Publick Forms of Service so framed as that they admitted not of particular and private Fancies but contained only such things as in which all Christians do agree Schisms on Opinion were utterly vanished Whereas to load our Publick Forms with the Private Fancies upon which we differ is the most-soveraign Way to perpetuate Schism unto the World's End Remove from them whatsoever is scandalous to any Party and leave nothing but what all agree on and the Event shall be that the Publick Service and Honor of God shall no wayes suffer For to charge Churches and Liturgies with Things Unnecessary was the First Beginning of all Superstition If the spiritual Guides and Fathers of the Church would be a little sparing of Incumbring Churches with Superfluities and not over-rigid either in reviving Obsolete Customs or imposing New there were far less Danger of Schism or Superstition Mean while wheresoever false or suspected Opinions are made a piece of the Church Liturgy he that separates is not a Schismatick for it is alike Unlawful to make Profession of known or suspected Falshoods as to put in Practice Unlawful or Suspect Actions He further tells us in his Sermon of Dealing with Erring Christians That it is the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace and not the Identity or Oneness of Conceit which the Holy Ghost requires at the Hands of Christians A better Way my Conceit cannot reach unto then that we should be willing to think that these things which with some Shew of Probability we deduce from Scripture are at the best but Our Opinions For this peremptory Manner of setting down our Conclusions under this High Commanding Form of Necessary Truths is generally one of the greatest Causes which keeps the Churches this Day so fâ—r assunder whenas a Gratious Receiving of each other by Mutual Forbearance in this kind might peradventure in time bring them nearer together Thus much of this Great Man concerning Schism the Cause and Cure of it and for the Notion of Hereticks he will help us altogether as well For though they are generally taken for such as err in Judgment about Doctrines and Articles of Faith yet if this Man may have any Credit and perhaps none of his Profession has deserv'd more he tells us that Heresie is an Act of the Will not of Reason and is ind eeda Lye not a Mistake else sayes he how could that known Speech of Austin go for true Errare possum Haereticus esse nolo I may err but I am unwilling to be an Heretick And indeed this is no other than what Holy Scripture teacheth A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition reject knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being CONDEMNED OF HIMSELF Which is as much as to say that no body is an Heretick but he that gives the Lye to his own Conscience and is Self-condemned Which is not the Case of Men meerly Mistaken or who only err in Judgment And therefore the Term of Heretick is as Untruly as Uncharitably flung upon those that Conscientiously dissent either in point of Discipline OF Doctrine from any Society of Christians and it is not hard to observe that those who have best merited it have most liberally bestow'd it But to show you that neither true Schismatick who is One that unnecessarily and unwarrantably separates from that part of the Visible Church of which he was once a Member nor true Heretick who is a Wilful Subverter of True or an Introducer of false Doctrines a Self-condemned Person can ever shelter himself under this Common Confession of Christianity sincerely made Let us consider that who-ever so declares Jesus to be the Messiah and Anointed Saviour of God to Men must be supposed to believe all that of him with respect to which he is so called Now that for which he is so denominated is that which God sent him to do the Reason and End of his coming he could best tell who hath told us thus I am come that ye may have Life and that ye may have it more abundantly The World was as dead in Trespasses and Sins the guilt and defilement of Transgression had kill'd the Soul as to Spiritual Life and Motion and from under this powerful Death he came to redeem the Soul unto Life in short to restore Man from this Fearful Degeneracy his Disobedience to God had reduced him to The Way he took to accomplish this Blessed Work was First To preach Repentance and the Approach of the Kingdom of God which is his Rule and his Authority in the Hearts of men which brings us to the Second thing to be believed namely What he Taught 1. First his Doctrine led Men to Repentance Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand No Man could receive the Kingdom of God whilst he lived under the Kingdom and Power of Satan so that to Repent is not only to bring their Deeds to the Light which Christ exhorteth Men to but to forsake that which upon Examination appeared to be Evil. Wherefore I conclude that such as have not been acquainted with this Holy Repentance do not sincerely believe neither can Rightly confess Jesus to be the Christ the Son of God the Saviour of the World Therefore saith the Apostle Let him that nameth the Name of the Lord depart from Iniquity plainly implying that those do rather Prophane than Confess the Name of the Lord who do not Depart from their Iniquities And saith the Apostle in another place No man can call Jesus LORD but by the Holy Ghost Which opens to us the Nature of the True Confession to wit That the True Confession of Jesus to be both Lord and Christ is from such a Belief in the Heart as is the work of the Holy Ghost and those that do not Confess him or call upon him by Virtue of the Overshadowings of this Divine Spirit and Power are not truly Christians true Worshippers Believers and Disciples Furthermore they that receive Christ receive his Kingdom his Power and Authority in their Souls the strong Man that kept the house becomes bounâ— and his Goods spoil'd by this stronger man the LORD 's CHRIST who is come from Heaven to dwell in us and be the Hope of our Glory for so he was preached to the Gentiles This Kingdom the Apostle tells us stands in Righteousness Peace and Joy
that man know he despiseth the Spirit of God who is President there and shall be sure not to escape unpunished Before a man propounds any thing to the Church he ought to consider again and again how sure a manifestation he hath of that thing and whatever the matter be let him be sure not to forget a sober modest bashful behaviour without which vertues doubtless no good can be effected But here we must attentively consider both how far a man â—ught to submit to the judgment of the Congregation and who may deservedly be accounted a Troubler of the Church Verily I conceive a man ought so far to give way as that after I have alledged what I had to say for my Opinion if yet the rest shall not allow of my Judgment I ought to give over defending of it and cease to be troublesome to the Congregation concerning the same But I ought not to be compelled to confess that I have erred or to deprecate any fault whiles I do not yet understand that I have erred for so I should sin against God He therefore is a Troubler of the Church that will not so far as we have expressed submit to the judgment of the Church but goeth on to be troublesome but especially that man who would exact of another that which he ought not to do viz. to recant being not perswaded that he is in an Error But those men are commonly reputed troublers of the Church who refuse to ratifie whatever shall any ways fall out of the Pastors Mouthes Again in this place it may reasonably be demanded whether when that a matter hath been once or twice debated and some man knowing the judgment of the Congregation would again reduce it into Controversie he ought to be heard or enjoyned silence and take the matter for determined But of this we shall in another place more conveniently dispute That which remains therefore is that we wrestle with God by daily Prayers to grant that we may have the use of this so soveraign and saving liberty so profitable to the Church and that thereby we may reap abundance of Fruit. And that he would to that end tame and break our Spirits with his Spirit and render them milde and gentle and not suffer what he hath ordain'd for the confirmation and establishment of his Church to be by the stubbornness and perversness of our Wits and Minds turned to the mischief and destruction thereof With much more to the same purpose too large to be here inserted What I have cited makes an Apology for doing so needless his whole Book is a most accurate account of Satans Stratagems to cause keep up divisions among Christians deserving a first place with the most Christian Writers since the Apostolical times He was an Italian of excellent Natural and Supernatural endowments Banisht about Luther's times for the Gospel Let us now inform our selves of the Judgment of that great Man J. Hales upon the matter in hand viz To your second Query Whether the Keys were confined to the Apostles only The Answer is in no case hard to give it may perchance in some case be dangerous for there is a Generation of men in the World the CLERGY they call them who impropriate the Keyes unto themselves and would be very angry to understand that others from themselves should claim a right unto them To your Question then no doubt but originally none received the Keyes from the Mouth of our Saviour but the Apostles only none did nor ever could manage them with that Authority and Splendor as the Apostles did who were above all most amply furnished with all things fitting so great a Work For whereas you seem to intimate that the preaching Mission was communicated to others as the seventy two Disciples as well as the Apostles you do but mistake your self if you conceive that the Keyes of the Gospel were any way committed to them for concerning the Mysteries of Jesus Christ and him crucified for the Sins of the World wherein indeed the opening of the Kingdom of Heaven did consist they received it not they knew it not To be the prime Reporters of this was an honour imparted only to the Apostles Yet were they not so imparted as that they should be confin'd to them Every one that heard and received the Light of the saving Doctrine from them so far forth as he had understanding in the wayes of Life had now the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven committed to his Power both for his own and others use Every one of what State or Condition soever that hath any occasion offered him to serve another in the wayes of Life CLERGY or LAY MALE or FEMALE whatever he be hath these Keys not only for himself but for the bâ—nefit of others For if Natural goodness teach every man Lumen de Lumine Erranti comiter monstrare viam c. Then how much more doth Christian Goodness require of every one to his ability to be a Light to those who sit in Darkness and direct their steps who most dangerously mistake their way To save a Soul every man is a Priest To whom I pray you is that said in Leviticus Thou shalt not see thy Brother Sin but thou shalt reprove and save thy Brother And if the Law binds a Man when he saw his Enemies Cattel to stray to put them in their way How much more doth it obliege him to do the like for the Man himself See you not how the whole World conspires with me in the same Opinion Doth not every Father teach his Son every Master his Servant every Man his Friend How many of the Laity in this Age and from time to time in all Ages have by writing for the publick good propagated the Gospel of Christ as if some secret instinct of Nature had put into mens minds thus to do c. To this let me add his Sense of the force of the Fathers Authority in the decision of Controversies and how far the Antients whether Fathers or Councils ought to be interrested in the debates of these times which may not be improper to the present subject because not a few build upon their bottome You shall find says he that all Schisms have crept into the Church by one of these three wayes either upon matter of Fact or matter of Opinion or point of Ambition For the first I call that matter of Fact when something is required to be done by us which either we know or strongly suspect to be unlawful so the first notable Schism of which we read in the Church contained in it matter of Fact For it being upon Error taken for necessary that an Easter must be kept and upon worse then Error if I may so speak for it was no less than a point of Judaism forced upon the Church upon worse than Error I say thought further necessary that the ground for the time of our keeping that Feast must be the Rule left by
Byass Tradition gives to those men who have not made their Religion the Religion of their Judgment For such will forbid all the Inquiry which might question the Weakness or Falshood of their Religion and had rather be deceiv'd in an honorable Decent then be so uncivil to the memory of his Ancestors as to seek the Truth which sound must reprove the Ignorance of their Ages of this the vainest of all Honours they are extream careful and at the very mention of any thing to them new though as old as Truth and older then this World are easily urg'd into a Tempest and are not appeased but by a Sacrifice This Ignorance and want of Inquiry helps on Persecution 5thly Another Reason and that no small one is Self-love and Impatiency of Men under contradiction be it out of Ignorance that they are angry with what they cannot refuse or out of private Interest it matters not their Opinion must reign alone they are tenacious of their own sense and can't indure to have it question'd be there never so much reason for it Men of these Passions are yet to learn they are Ignorant of Religion by the want they have of Mortification such Persons can easily let go their hold on Charity to lay Violent hands upon their Opposers if they have power they rarely fail to use it so not remembring that when they absolv'd themselves from the tye of Love Meekness and Patience they have abandon'd true Religion and contend not for the Faith once deliver'd to the Saints which stood therein but for meer Words It is here proud Flesh and a capricious Head that disputes for Religion and not an humble Heart and a divine frame of Spirit Men that are angry for God Passionate for Christ that call Names for Religion and fling Stones and Persecute for Faith may tell us they are Christians if they will but no body would know them to be such by their Fruits to be sure they are no Christians of Christ's making I would to God that the Disputants of our time did but coolly weigh the Irreligiousness of their own Heats for Religion and see if what they contend for will quit the Cost will countervail the Charge of departing from Charity and making a Sacrifice of Peace to gain their point upon so seasonable a reflection I am confident they would find that they rather show their love to Opinion then Truth and seek Victory more then Concord Could men be contented as he whom they call their Lord was to declare their Message and not strive for Proselites nor vex for Conquest they would recommend all to the Conscience and if it must be so patiently endure Contradiction too and so lay their Religion as he did his not in Violence but Suffering But I must freely profess and in duty and Conscience I do it that I cannot call that Religion which is introduced against the Laws of Love Meekness Friendship Superstition Interest or Faction I may There is a Zeal without Knowledge that is Superstition there is a Zeal against Knowledge that is Interest or Faction the true Heresie there is a Zeal with Knowledge that is Religion therefore blind obedience may be superstition it can't be Religion and if you will view the Countries of Cruelty you shall find them Superstitious rather then Religious Religion is gentile it makes men better more Friendly Loving and Patient then before And the success which followed Christianity whilst the antient Professors of it betook themselves to no other defence plainly proves both the force of those passive Arguments above all corporal Punishments that we must never hope for the same Prosperity till we fall into the same Methods Are men impatient of having their conceits own'd they are then most to be suspected Error and Superstition like crackt Titles only fear to be toucht and run for Authority and number Truth is plain and stedfast without Arts or Tricks will you receive her well if not there is no compulsion But pray tell me what is that desired Uniformity that has not Unity and that Unity which has not Love Meekness and Patience in it I beseech you hear me for those men depart from the Spirit of Christianity that seek with Anger and Frowardness to promote it Let us not put so miserable a Cheat upon our selves nor affront upon Christianity as to think That a most gentle and patient Religion can be advanc'd by most ungentle and impatient Ways I should sooner submit to an humble opposition then to the greatest Zealot in the World and sooner deliver my self up to him that would modestly drop a controverted Truth then to such as seek tempestuously to carry it for even Error bashfully and patiently defended endangers Truth in the management of impudent hasty Zeal and gives to it that Lnstre which only good Eyes can see from Gold Alas 't is for want of Considering that men don't see that to disorder the mind in Controversie is a greater mischief then to carry the point can be a benefit in that it is not to be Religious to apprehend rightly but to do well the latter can scarcely be without the former but the former often is without the latter which brings me to my sixth Cause of Persecution 6 hly Another and that no small cause of Persecution is a misapprehension of the word Religion For when once the Ignorance or Prejudice of men has perswaded them to lay more weight upon their own Opinion or Dâ—ssent of their Neighbours then in truth the thing will bear to excuse their Zeal or justifie their Spleen they presently heighten the difference to a new Religion whence we so frequently hear of such reflections as these new Gospels and Faiths upstart Religions and Lights and with the like Scare-crows amuse the Vulgar and render their own design of ruining honest men the more practicable But I would obviate this mischief for a new Religion has a new Foundation and Consequently where there is the same Foundation there cannot be a new Religion Now the Foundation of the Christian Religion is Christ and that only is another Religion then the Christian which professes another Foundation or corruptly adds to that Foundation by adding other Mediators and introducing a new way of Remission of Sin Which cannot be said of the several sorts of Protestants therefore for Protestants to reproach each other with new Religions and Gospels and by their Indecent and Unchristian behaviour to enslave their own Reckoning and draw into more discord is a Sin against God an Injury to the common Cause of Protestancy and to the Security of the Civil Interest of that Country where the Inhabitants are of that Religion as well as a real Injustice to one another for Protestants don 't only agree in the same Fundamentals of Christianity but of Protestancy too that is in the reasons of Separation from Rome which indeed is Christianity Let not every circumstantial difference or Variety of Cult be Nick-named a