A DEFENCE OF THE PRINCIPLES OF LOVE Which are necessary to the Unity and Concord of Christians and are delivered in a Book called The Cure of Church-Divisions I. Inviting all sound and sober Christians by what name soever called to receive each other to Communion in the same Churches II. And where that which is first desirable cannot be attained to bear with each other in their distinct Assemblies and to manage them all in Christian Love Written to detect and eradicate all Love-killing dividing and Church-destroying Principles Passions and Practices and to preserve the weak in this hour of manifold temptation By Richard Baxter one of the Mourners for a self-dividing and self-afflicting Land Psal. 120. 6 7. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth Peace I am for Peace but when I speak they are for war Didicerat enim Rex Edilberth à Doctoribus auctoribusque suae salutis servitium Christi Voluntarium non Coactitium debere esse Beda Hist. Eccles. lib 1. cap. 26 London Printed for Nevil Simmons at the Sign of the three Crowns near Holborn Conduit 1671. CAlvinus in Matth. 13. 35 36 37 c. Hoc porro multis valde absurdum esse videtur in Ecclesiae sinu foveri vel impios homines vel profanos vel sceleratos Adde quod plerique zeli praetextu plus aequo morosi nisi omnia ad eorum votum composita sint quia nusquam apparet absoluta puritas tumultuose ab Ecclesia discedunt vel importuno rigore eam evertunt perdunt Quare hic meo judicio simplex est parabolae scopus Quamdiu in hoc mundo peregrinatur Ecclesia bonis sinceris in ea permixtos fore malos hypocritas ut se patientia arment filii Dei inter offendicula quibus turbari possent retineant infractam fidei Constantiam Est quidem haec valde molesta conditio quod reprobis oâ—eratur Ecclesia usque ad finem mundi hoc tamen tempus nobis ad patientiam ideo Christus praescribit ne vanâ spe nos lactemus Graviter quidem Pastores incumbere decet ad purgandam Ecclesiam Et hac in parte ab omnibus piis adjuvandi sunt quatenus fert cujusque vocatio Verum ubi omnes in commune mutuas operas contulerint non tamen eo usque proficient ut penitus ab omni sorde purgent ecclesiam Deinde etiam eorum Zelum froenare moderari qui fas esse non putant societatem nisi cum puris Angelis colere Qui ad extirpandum quicquid displicet ê‘raepostere festinant antevertunt quantum in se est Christi judicium ereptum Angelis officium temere sibi usurpant Et in Mat. 6. Quod Iohannes privatam orandi â—â—râ—nam tâ—adidit suis discipulis id fâ—cisse existimo prout temporis ratio ferebaâ— Res tune valde apud Iudaeos corruptas fuisse notum est Tota certe Religio sic collapsa erat ut miâ—um non sit precandi morem à paâ—cis ritâ— cultum fuisse Ruâ—sus quum instarâ—t promissâ— redemptio sidelium mentes precandâ— ad ejus spem dâ—siderium exâ—itari oportuit Iohannes ex variis Scripturae locis certam aliquam precationem conficere potuit quae tempori congrueret ac propius accederet ad spirituale Christi regnum Et in Rom. 14. 3. Prudenter apposite utriusque vitiis occurrit Hâ—c enim vitio laborant qui sunt firmiores ut eos qui inanibus scrupulis detinentur â—inâ—uam superstitiosulos despiciant atque irrideant Contra hi vix sibi cavere à temerariis judiciis queunt ut noâ— damnent quod non assequuntur Quicquid fieri contra suum sensum cernunt illud malum esse putant Illos ergo à contemptu dehortatur hos à nimia morositate Calvin on Matth. 13. This seemeth very absurd to many that ungodly or prophane or wicked men are cherished in the bosome of the Church And very many being over morose under pretence of zeal unless all things be composed to their desires because absolute purity is no where to be found do tumultuously depart from the Church or by unseasonable rigidness do overthrow and destroy it Therefore in my judgement this is the simple scope of the Parable that as long as the Church sojourneth in this world bad men and hypocrites will be mixt with the good and sincere in it that Gods Children may arm themselves with patience and among the offences that might trouble them may retain unbroken faith and constancy Indeed this is a very troublesome condition that the Church is burthened with Reprobates to the worlds end But this is the space that Christ prescribeth us for patience lest we flatter our selves with empty hopes The Pastors indeed must diligently labour to purge the Church And in this all godly men should help them as far as their Calling doth allow But when all men have done their best they shall not so far have success as to purge the Church from all defilements And Christ would bridle and moderate their Zeal who think it unlawful to have Communion or fellowship with any but pure Angels They that preposterously make haste to root out all that displeaseth them do as much as in them is prevent Christs judgement and snatch and usurp the Angels work Calv. on Mat. 6. That Iohn delivered a private form of Prayer to his Disciples I suppose he did it in suitableness to the time That matters were then very corrupt with the Jews is known All Religion was so collapsed that it is no wonder that the manner of praying was rightly observed but by few And when the promised Redemption was at hand it was meet that the minds of the faithful should by prayer be stirred up to desire and hope for it Iohn might from several places of Scripture make up one certain prayer which should be agreeable to the time and might come nearer to the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ. Here I desire the Reader again to note that though Prayer was then so corrupted by the Pharisees yet Christ usually joyned in their Synagogues Luke 14. 17. and never medled with our Controversie about the Lawfulness of set Forms Calv. on Rom. 14. 3. Paul doth prudently and fitly meet with the faults of both sides For this is the fault of the strong that they despise and deride them as superstitious folk who are detained with vain scruples On the contrary these can hardly forbear censorious condemning that which they understand not And they think that to be evil which is against their own sense Therefore Paul disswadeth the one sort from contempt and the other from overmuch moroseness THE CONTENTS OF THE FIRST PART A Preface to those Readers who are of the Excepters mind and are offended at my Book called The Cure of Church-Divisions Expostulating with them that have made my perswasions to Love and Communion the occasion of their displeasure backbitings and slanders and proveing the necessity of Union among all real
never tell any of their sins nor preach repentance to them whilst I lived and that I must not deny my duty and Charity to one sort because another sort will not receive it and seeing also necessity increase and having already writen and said so much to the other party I resolved to imitate those two excellent faithful Tractates viz. 1. Mr. M. Pool's Vox clamantis in deserto in Latine calling the Non-conformable Ministers to Repentance and Mr. Lewis Stukeley's a worthy Congregational Minister in Exeter and a kinsman of the late General Monkes enumerating copiously most of the Common sins of Religious Professors and calling them earnestly and faithfully to repentance which since the writing of this I find excellently done in a book called Englands danger and only Remedy And therefore I first published some old notes written eleven or twelve years ago called Directions for weak Christians and annexed to it The Character of a sound Christian In both which I wrote that which was as like to have exasperated the impatient as this book is And yet I heard of no complaints And afterward I wrote this which I now defend and sent it to the Licenser who upon perusal refused to License it And so it lay by and I purposed to meddle with it no more But leaving it in the Booksellers hands that had offered it to be Licensed after a long time he got it done and so unexpectedly it revived The Reasons of my writing it were no fewer than all these following which I now submit to the judgement of all men truly peaceable and impartial who value the interest of Christianity and of the universal Church above their own 1. To make up my foregoing Directions to weak Christians more compleat Having directed them about the private matters of their souls I intended this as another Part to Direct them in order to the Churches Peace 2. Many good people of tender Consciences and weak judgements desiring my advice about Communion in the publick Assemblies I found it meetest to publish this general Advice for all to save me the labour of speaking to particular persons and to serve those that lived further off 3. I saw those Principles growing up apace in this time of prevocation which will certainly increase or continue our divisions if they continue and increase I am sure that our wounds are made by wounding principles of doctrine And it must be healing doctrines that must heal us And I know that we cannot be healed till doctrinal principles be healed To give way to the prevalency of dividing Opinions is to give up our hopes of future unity and peace And to give up our hopes of Unity and Peace is to despair of all true Reformation and happiness of the Church on earth If ever the Church be reduced to that Concord Strength and Beauty which all true Christians do desire I am past doubt that it must be by such principles as I have here laid down 4. But my grand reason was that I might serve the Church of Christ in the reviving and preservation of Christian Love As it was an extraordinary measure of the Spirit which Christ made his Witness in the Gospel Church so is it as extraordinary a measure of Love which he maketh the New Commandment and the mark of all his true Disciples And whether afflicting on one side and unmerciful and unjust censures on the other side one driving away and the other flying away be either a sign or means of Love And whether taking others to be intolerable in the Church and unworthy of our Communion and separating from or avoiding the Worship where they are present be likely to kindle Love or to kill it let any man judge that hath himself the exercise of Reason and unfeigned Love I know that this is the hour of Temptation to the sufferers to stir up passion and distaste and that men have need of more than ordinary grace and watchfulness and therefore of more than ordinary helps warning to preserve due Love and keep out an undue hatred of those by whom they suffer And how great a temptation also their censures and discontents will prove to their Superiours and others by whom they suffer and what unspeakable hurt it may do their sâ—uls may easily be conjectured This sin will prove our greatest loss 5. Hereupon men will be engaged in sinful Actions of injustice and uncharitableness against each other They will be glad to hear and forward to believe hard and false reports of one another And too forward to vent such behind one anothers backs And there is no doubt but many of each party already think worse of the other commonly than they are Though alas we are all too bad and some egregiously wicked And those Persons and Churches that would censure a man for Curses or Oaths should also censure men for slanders and backbitings And should I not do my best to prevent such a course of daily sin 6. Both violence and separation tend to divide the builders themselves and keep the Ministers in contending with and Preaching and Writing against each other which should be employed in an unanimous opposition to the Kingdom of Satan in the world And when all their united wisdom and strength is too little against the common Ignorance and Prophaneness of the world their division will disable them and give sin and Satan opportunity to prevail 7. It may engage them on both sides in the dreadful fin of persecuting each other one party by the Hand and the other by the Tongue even while they cry out of persecution And on both sides to hinder the Gospel and mens salvation on one side by hindering the Preachers from their work and on the other side yea on both by hindring the success For what can be more done to make men despise the word than to teach them to despise or abhor the Preacher And what more can be done to destroy mens souls than to harden them against the Word Is there any sâ—bâ—r man on either extream that dare say I would have none of the people saved that are not or will not be the hearers of our party If you dare not say that you would have all the rest to be damâ—ed dare you say you would not have them be taught by others Or that you would not have them profit by the Word they hear If not how dare you tempt them to vilifie and despise their Teachers If they will not learn of you be glad if they will learn of any other and do not hinder them 8. By these means they will cherish an hypocritical sort of Religiousness in the people which is more employed in Sidings Opinions and Censurings of others than in humble self-judging and in a holy heavenly mind and life A man need not the Spirit of God and supernatural Grace nor much Self-denyal nor Mortification of the flesh to make him choose a certain fashion of external Worship and think that now he
and those that are of that fashion are the only people and to reproach all of other fashions as ungodly and to think that he is therefore a better Christian than the other because his fashion of outward Worship seemeth the better to him Not that any thing in Gods Worship should be denyed its due regard But its pity that by an unproportionable estimation of mens several outward fashions words and gestures poor souls should be tempted to deceive themselves and to forget that he is the best Christian that hath most Faith Humility Love and Heavenliness which is the true Holiness and Beauty of the soul. 9. When men think a Lawful Communion yea a duty to be unlawful it will both keep them in the sin of omitting it and cause them to add their sinful Censures of all those that use that Communion which they avoid They do not only think that they are holier because they hear not and pray not and communicate not in the Parish Churches but they look down with a supercilious pity upon those that do And how many parties have I thus been pitied by As I go along the Streets the Quakers say Poor man thou art in darkness The Papists pity me for not being one of them The Anabaptists pity me for not being one of them The Separatists pity or disdain me because I forbear not the Worship that they forbear And this Excepter lamenteth my condition as passionately as any It is not for Not Worshipping with them that they censure me for I am ready to do it but for Worshipping with others in Words which they like not And whereas holiness was wont to be expressed most by Worship actions now it must be characterized more by Negatives even in external adjuncts And if he be the best man that avoideth most the Communion of others which he taketh to be bad I have and have had neighbours better than you all that never communicate with any Church nor ever publickly hear or pray or Worship God at all because they think all your wayes of Worship to be bad I remember Rivet marketh out Grotius by this that while he forsook the Protestant Churches and called us to unite with the Church of Rome that is with the Pope ruling not arbitrarily but by the Laws of a General Council not excluding that of Trent he did actually communicate with none at all 10. When mens judgements are thus mistaken about Church Communion their Worship of God will be corrupted They will in their hearts earnestly desiee that all others may be of their mind and they will complain to God of that as a sin which is mens duty Especially among those of their own mind And this offering up of their mistakes to God in earnestness as an acceptable service is a sad polluting of holy things So he that is famed to have written this Antidote is said to have made my Book which was written for Christian Love to be the matter of his publick Humiliation And another of my friends in dayes of prayer maketh it his lamentation Lord here are those that are one day here and another day at Common-prayer As if the exercise of Knowledge and Love in impartial Communion with all Christs Churches not forcing us to sin were a sin to be lamented But I need not go further for instance than this Antidote where the Reverend Author taketh it for a service of God to write against those necessary Precepts of Love and Unity which he mistakingly opposeth And so did Mr. Iohnson and Mr. Canne who most confidently presented their Writings for separation to God as a service which he had commanded them and would own 11. This narrow judgement tempteth men on one side to Anathematize all that say There are any other true Churches in England save of one form and fashion and it tempteth others to deny the Parish Churches to be at all true Churches and so to narrow the possessions of Christ. And hereupon it tempteth them to endeavour to disgrace and dissolve each other It draweth many to think that it is the Interest of Religion now in England to have the Parish Churches to be brought low in reputation and deserted and Gods publick Worship which they would have all Religious people use to be only that of tolerated or more private Churches By which they little know what they wiâ—â— against the interest of the Christian and Pro 〈…〉 nt Religion in this Land Nor what hurt they would do if in this they had their wills 12. These dividing Principles and Spirits which I oppose will on one side give shelter to all the prophane malignant minds that itch to be afflicting others that fear God more than they And on the other side it will give shelter to all kind of Heresies and Sects of which experience is too full a proof 13. Yea before our eyes the most pernicious Heresies even those of Quakers are still not only continued but increase And we see men that to day condemn Communion with the Parish Churches and then with the Presbyterians do shortly fly from Communion with the Independents too And mens passions in sufferings pervert their judgements And frequently men are overcome by tryal when they think they are most constant and have overcome It s commonly known how many of late are turned Quakers And what considerable persons lately in prison fell to that unhappy Heresie Yet they that by a Prison lost their Religion no doubt thought themselves more honourable by their sufferings than those that go to Common-prayer And shall we stand by and see this work go on and neither lament their sin that drive men to this nor warn them of the Passions and Principles that lead to it 14. Separation will ruine the separated Churches themselves at last By separation I mean the same thing that the old Non-conformists wrote against by that name It will admit of no consistency Parties will arise in the separated Churches and separate again from them till they are dissolved I beseech my deer brethren that are otherwise minded to open their eyes so far as to regard experience Brethren what now Comparatively are all the separated Churches or parties upon Earth Would you have all Christs Churches and all the interest of the Christian Religion to be as short lived and to stand upon no more certain terms than they do How few separated Churches do now exist that were in being an hundred years ago Can you name any And would you have had all the Churches of Christ on Earth to be dissolved when they were dissolved Or do you think that all were dissolved with them This would make us all seekers indeed 15. Separating and narrow principles befriend not Godliness as they pretend to do but lamentably undermine it If it were but by driving off and disaffecting the lower sort of Christians whose Communion you reject The Case of three or four Churches in New-England grieve my heart But the Case of the Summer Islands as
mens mouths doth never make you scruple their Communion I intreat you do but study an answer to one that would separate from you all upon such grounds as these First for the sin consider of these texts Exod. 23. 1 2. Thou shalt not raise a false report put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest it Psalm 15. 3. He that backhiteth not with his tongue nor doth evil to his neighbour nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour Rom. 1. 30. Backbiters â—aters of God 2 Cor. 12. 20. Lest there be debate strifes backbibitings whisperings c. Prov. 25. 23. An angry counterance driveth away a backbiting tongue Tit. 3. 1 2. Put them in mind to be ready to every good work to speak evil of no man 1 Pet. 2. 1. Laying aside evil speakings 1 Tim. 6. 4. Whereof cometh evil surmisings Eph. 4. 31. Let evil speakings be put away from you Jud. 10. These speak evil of those things which they know not Jam. 4. 11. Speak not evil one of another He that speaketh evil of another and judgeth another speakevil of the Law and judgeth the Law Have you more and plainer texts of Scripture agninst the Common Prayer than all these are Now suppose one should say that a people of such sin as this should not be Communicated with especially where there is no discipline exercised that ever so much as calleth one man of them to repentance for it what answer will you give to this which will not confute your own objections against Communion with many Parish Churches in this Land 5. Lastly hence note how still overdoing is undoing By the Principles of Love and Peace conteined in the book which some reproach had they not disowned them they might have had their part in this just Vindication against them that accuse the Non-conformists Principles of Enmity to Love and Peace But they would have no part in it and have cast away their own vindication and so have confirmed their accusers and tempted them to believe that some Non-conformists are indeed such as they described But I must again intreat them to distinguish Many sects go under the name of Nonconformists from whom we differ incomparably more than we do from the Conformists as the Quakers Seekers Bâ—hmenists and some others We are none of those men that because we all suffer together under the Prelacy do therefore more close with these than with the Conformists with whom in doctrine and the substance of worship we agree But because it is their own resolved choice to disown the Principles and Vindication of that book I shall only say I. To our Accusers It is not these Dividers which we Vindicate that will not stand to our Vindication II. To posterity whose historical Information of the truth of matters in this age I much desire If you would know what sort of men they are that these times call sectaries and Dividers or separatists I will give you but their own Character of themselves that you may be sure I wrong them not Peruse the book called The Cure of Church-Divisions for they are persons so contrary to that book as that they take it to be an evil and mischievous thing and greatly to be lamented and detested in so much that some of them say It had been well if the Author had dyed ten years ago and others that this book hath done more harm than ever he did good in all his life So intolerable is it to them to have their Love-killing and dividing principles so much as thus contradicted while they cry out against the Imposing spirit of others The measure of their distaste against these Principles of Love and Unity I leave you to gather out of the exceptions which I am now to answer CAP. 2. The true state as the Controversie between me and those whom I call Church-Dividers BEcause the Excepter carrieth it all along as if he understood not what I say or would not have his Reader understand it I must state the Case as it standeth between us for the sake of them that love not to be deceived nor to be angry at they know not what Know therefore that the design of the Writer of that Book was to restore Love and Unity among Christians which he saw decaying and almost dying through the temptation of our sufferings from some and our differences with others and through the sidings of parties and through the passions which conquer some mens judgements and the hy 〈…〉 e of others who place their Religion in their sidings and in the forms or fashions of the words of their prayers or the circumstances of outward Worship And to acquaint Christians with the wiles of Satan who would kill their Grace by killing their Love whilst they think they do but preserve their Purity And to open to them the secret windings of the Serpent and the workings of Pride and Wrath and Selfishness against the works of Love and Peace And to shew them the great deceitfulness of mans heart which often fighteth against God as for God by fighting against Love and Unity and which oft loseth all by seeming to overcome and forsaketh Religion by seeming valiant for it And I especially intreat the Reader to note that I said much more about Principles than Practices Because I know that as to Communion with this or that Church mâ—ns practices may vary upon accidental and prudential accounts of which I pretend not to be a Judge And therefore I first speak against Love killing Principles and then against such Practices only as either proceed from such Principles or increase them If I see a man stay from Church as I know not his reasons so I judge him not unless as he doth it upon sinful causes and especially if he would propagate those Causes to others and justifie them to be of God when they are against him And whereas Hatred and Enmity worketh by driving men from each others Societies as wicked or intolerable and Love worketh by inclining men to Union and Communion and again mens distance increaseth the Enmity which caused it and their nearness and familiarity increaseth Love and reconcileth them I did therefore think it a matter of great necessity to our welfare to counsel men to all lawful nearness and Communion and to disswade them from all unnecessary alienation and separation from each other Let the Reader also understand that in this my purpose was not to condemn mens separation from the Parish Churches only nor more than any other sinful separation But from any true Church of Christians whatsoever when uncharitable Principles drive them away Whether it be from Presbyterians Independents Anabaptists Arminians Lutherans c. Only because that those I deal most with make most exceptions against Communion with the Parish Churches I bestowed most words in answering such exceptions Therefore
observe 1. That it is none of our Question Whether you should Communicate with the Parish Churches alone and no other 2. Nor Whether you should Communicate with every Parish Church or any one whose Pastors are through insufficiency heresie or impiety intolerable which I have written against Dir. 36. p. 202 c. 3. Nor Whether we may hold local Communion in Worship with a Church which denyeth us such Communion unless we will sin This I have oft enough denyed p. 203 c. 4. Nor Whether caeteris paribus local Communion with a purer and better Church be not ordinarily to be preferred before local Communion with a worse which I assert p. 203 c. 5. Nor Whether a man be a Separatist from another Church meerly because he is not locally present with it For then when I am in one Church I separate from all other in the world 6. Nor Whether it be lawful to remove ones dwelling for Communion with a better Minister and Church supposing that we are free p. 204. 7. Nor Whether it be lawful to remove to a better Church without removing ones dwelling in a place where another Church is near to which we may go without any publick injury or hurt to our selves or others which is greater than the benefit pag. 204. 8. Nor Whether we may remove both from Church and Countrey by the occasions of our Callings or Trades or other outward weighty reasons pag. 298. 9. Nor Whether we may keep in Communion privately with our lawful Pastors if they be turned out of the publick Temples Which I have asserted pag. 299. and have said that where the Pastor is there the Church is in whatever place they do assemble p. 250. which Dr. Hide also thought when he began his Book with an assertion of the necessity of separating then from the publick places And so did other Prelatists then and so think the Papists now and most other parties 10. Nor is it any of our Question Whether you should have Communion with a Diocesan Church as such It is a Parochial Church with such others that I spake of and never a word of a Diocesan Church 11. Therefore it is none of the Question Whether you must own our Diocesan Bishops 12. Nor yet Whether you must have Communion with any thing called A National Church as a Political Society constituted of an Ecclesiastical Head and Body and denominated from that form â—r Constitutive Head Though we must own a National Church as it is improperly so denominated from the King that is the Civil Head accidental and not Constitutive to the Spiritual Church And as it is a Community of Christians and a part of the Universal Church united by the Concord of her Pastors who in Synods may represent the whole Ministry and be the means of their agreement 13. Nor is it the Question Whether you must needs hold Communion with those individual Bishops whom you account the Persecutors and Causes of our silence and confusions I have told you in the Story of Martin how he separated from the Synods of thâ—se individual Bishops and from their local Communion without separating from the Office the Churches or from any other Bishops This is a matter that I did not meddle with because it is not their Communion that you are called to but the Parish Churches Indeed to save mâ—ns lives he did yield to the Emperour once to communicate with them But saith Sulp. Severus â—iâ—l 3. p. Bib. Paâ— 254. Summa vi Episcopis nitentibus ut communionem illâ—m subscriptione firmaret extorqueri non potuit And the Angel that appeared to him said Merito Martine compungeris sed aliter exiâ—e nequiâ—ti repara virtutem resume Constantiam nâ— jam non periculum gloriae sed salutis incuâ—reris Ita ab illo tempore satis cavit cum illa Iâ—haâ—ianae partis Communione misâ—â—ri And after finding his power of Miracles abated with tears he conâ—essed to Sulpit. That propter Communionis illius malum cui se vel puncto temporis necessitate non Spiritu misâ—â—isset dâ—trimentum sâ—etire virtutis Sâ—dâ—â—im pâ—sâ—ea vixit annos nullam Synodum adiit ab omnibus Episcâ—porum Conveâ—â—ibus se remâ—vit But this was only from those Bishops who by provoking Magistrates against the Priscillian Gnosticks had brought all strict Religious people under scorn But he separated not from any others 14. Nay I made it none of our Question Whether you should Communicate with any Parish Minister who concurreth with theâ— in the said matters whiâ—h yâ—u â—â—cuse the Bishops of aâ—y farther than by Câ—â—â—orming to the Laâ— For it is but few o◠〈◊〉 Parish Ministers that were Convâ—cation Men or that you can prove did ever consent to our silencing 15. Nor is it any of the Question Whether those also be guilty of separation and divisions whâ— shall make unnecessary Engines of division and â—â—y upon the neâ—ks of any Churches such unnecessary things as have a tendency to divide Who hath said more against this than I have done 16. Nor is it any of our Question Which of the two is the greater cause of divisâ—â—â—s or which of the foresaid persons is mâ—â—t 〈◊〉 Who hath spoken plainlier in this than I Iâ— the Brother that excepteth would maâ—â— you believe that any one of these is the 〈◊〉 iâ— you believe him he doth but deceiive you But whom I mean by Sâ—paratiâ—â— I havâ— plaâ—ly told you pag. 249. 2â—0 c. ☞ And that which I perswade men to is this 1. To love all Christians as themselves 2. To hold nothing and do nothing which is contrary to this Love and would destroy it 3. Therefore to deny no Christians to be Christians nor no Churches to be Churches nor no lawful Worship of any Mâ—de or Party to be lawfull 4. Not to sepâ—â—ate from any others upon any of these three false suppositions or accusations viz. 1. As no true Christians 2. As no true Churches 3. As having no true Worship or as worshipping so as it is not lawful to joyn with them 5. To choose the most edifying Ministry and the soundest Church and purest manner of worshipping God that possibly you can have on lawful terms as to your ordinary use and Communion so far as you are free to choose 6. To joyn with a defective faulty true Church ordinarily and in a manner of Worship which is defective when you can have no better on lawful terms as without the publick injury or your own greater hinderance than help And I prove that this is the worst that you can charge as to this matter of Communion on those Parish Churches in England that have honest compâ—tent Pastors and the same others charge on the Churches of Independents and Anabaptists And that it is a duty to hold communion with any one of thâ—se constantly when you can have no better 7. That if you can statedly have better yet sometimes to Communicate with a defective Church as a stranger may do that is
not intâ—ressed in their discipline or is no stated member is not only lawful but for the ends sake is a duty when our never communicating with them is scandalous and offensive to our Rulers and tendeth to make people think that we hold that to be unlawful which we do not and when our actual Communion is apt and needful to shew our judgement and to cherish love and Christian Concord On which account as I would statedly communicate with the Greek Church if I were among them and had no better and would sometimes communicate with them in their Prayers and Sacraments if I did but pass through the Countrey as a stranger or if I could have better even so would I do with a Parish Church if as faulty as you can justly charge it with the foresaid limitations or with a Church of Anabaptists or Independents if they did not use their meetings to destroy either Piety or Love This is my judgement This is the summ of all that I plead for as to Communion If the Excepter deny not this he talketh not at all to me If any that have passionately reviled my Book and me do say We thought you had gone further and pleaded for more I answer them that we should not speak untruths and revile things before we understand them and then come off with I thought you had said more It is this with other Love-killing distempers that I strive to Cure And again I tell you that it is 1. Ignorance 2. Pride or overvaluing our own understandings 3. And Uncharitableness generated of these two which is the Cause of our CRUELTIES and our unlawful SEPARATIONS and which breed and feed our threatning Divisions among the parties on both extreams And it s the death of these three that must be our Cure CAP. 3. Some Objections or Questions about Separation answered AS to that party who think Anabaptists and Independents unfit for their communion I am not now dealing with them and therefore am not to answer their Objections Only on the by I shall here mind them 1. That it is not such as the old German Anabaptists who denyed Magistracy to Christians c. that I speak of But such as only deny Infant Baptism And that many of them are truly Godly sober men and therefore capable of communion And that the ancient Churches left it to men liberty at what time they would have their Children baptized 2. That many Independents are downright against Separation Mr. Iacob hath notably written against it Therefore those that are but meer Independents refuse not communion with the Parish Churches And why should you refuse communion with them 3. That many that separate secundum quid or pro tempore from some part of Worship only and for a season yet separate not simply from the Churches as no Churches nor would do all as they do in otheâ— circumstances For instance when they come not to the publick Assemblies yet they will not refuse you if you will come to theirs Go to their meetings and see if they so far separate as to forbid you Nor perhaps to their Sacraments if you will submit to their way as you expect they should do by yours Now seeing we are all agreed that the Magistrate doth not make Ministers Churches or Sacraments but only encourage protect and rule them I desire you but to be so impartial as to consider that 1. You count not your selves Separatists because you never go to one of their Meetings in their houses or other places Why then should you call them Separatists only for not coming to yours 2. But if they are guilty of Separation for holding either that your Churches and Ministry are Null or that Communion with you is unlawful by Gods Law enquire how far you also are Separatists if you say the same without proof by any others Though their lawfulness by the Law of the Land I justifie not no nor the regularity of their Church Assemblies 4. And I would here note how partial most men are They that think an Independent or Anabaptist yea or a Presbyterian intolerable at home in their several Churches yet if they would but come to their communion they would receive them as tolerable members And they that think it unlawful to hold communion with the Prelatists and give the reason partly from their unfitness yet would receive them in many Churches if they did but change their Opinions and desire communion with them in their way But it is those that judge Parish communion where there are godly Ministers unlawful that I am here to speak to And their principal doubts are such as many good and sober persons need an answer to QUEST I. Quest. 1. DOth not the second Commandment and Gods oft expressed jealousie in the matters of his Worship make it a sin to communicate in the â—â—turgiâ— Answ 1. The meaning of the second Commandment mistaken by many is directly to forbid Corporal or Interpretative Idolatry and worshipping God by Images as if he were like â— Creature And scandalouslâ— symbolizing with the Idolaters or Worshippers of false Gods by doing that which in outward appearance is the Worshipping of a false God though the mind be pretended to be kept free Now the Worshipping of the true God in the words of the Liturgie hath none of this nor will any but a sinful Câ—nsurer think that it is the worshipping of a false God Nor is every use of the same places words or other things indifferent a symbolizing with Idolatry But the saying those words or the using those Acts or Ceremonies by which their false Religion in specie is notified as by a tessera or badge to the world Or using the Symbols of their Religion as differing from the true Even as the use of Baptism and the Lords Supper the Creed and the constant use of our Church-Worship are the Symbols of the Christian Religion So their Sacraments Incense Sacrificings and Worshipping Conventions were the Symbols of Worshipping false Gods which therefore Christians may not use But they that say that all false Worship of the true God is Idolatry add to Gods word and teach doctrines which are but the forgeries of their own brain Though more than Idolatry be forbidden by Consequence in the second Commandment that proveth it not to be Idolatry because it s there so forbidden 2. I have after distinguished of false Worship and told you that if by false you mean forbidden or not commanded or sinful we all worship God falsly in the Manner every day and in some part of the matter very oft Our disorders confusion tautologies unfit expressions are all forbidden and so false worship And if God prohibit any disorder which is in the Liturgie he prohibits the same in extemporate prayers in which some good Christians are as failing as the Liturgie And as the words of the Liturgie are not commanded in the Scripture so neither are the words of our extemporate or studied Sermons or Prayers 3.
as much sign of pride in you to think you know more than I as in me to think that I know more in this than you The truth is Pride is not a true valuing but an over-valuing our selves and our own understandings If either you or I be in the right and both think our selves confidently to be so he is the Proud person which ever he be that is in the wrong For it is he that over-valueth his own understanding Here therefore the Evidence must decide the Case EXCEPT V. p. 3. Answered Your 5th Exception implieth more Untruths The first is that I did not consider that fault of the Imposers which I have written in that very book so much against and elsewhere and before said more against than any man that I know in England This was not considerately spoken The second is that all or most of those that you separate from made tearing engines and dividing impositions If this be not implied you speak not to the point But you may easily know that in all the Parish-Churches of England there is not one man or woman no not one Minister of very many that ever made or imposed such Engines The third implied untruth is that I plead either for subscribing Assent or for such Communion as cannot be had without subscribing Assent to what you know is sinful when you may joyn as far as I desire you without subscribing any Assent at all EXCEPT VI. Answered 1. As to the sense of 2 Cor. 6. 14 15 16. and Rev. 18. 6. You confess that the Texts do directly and properly concern only Infidels and Idolaters there mentioned 2. You say It belongs to others that are guilty of the same Crimes under the name of Christians proportionally Answ. Very true If it be not a contradiction If any called Christians be notorious Infidels and Idolaters they are not Christians and so not fit for Christian Communion But from the Societies of such we must flie our selves But not from the societies of Christians alwaies when some such shall intrude 3. You say We are commanded strictly to separate from every one that is called a brother if he be covetous or a railer c. Answ. The Church and not a private man must exclude such a one from church-Church-Communion And you your self must exclude him from your private familiarity But you are not commanded to separate from the Church if they exclude him not I am not bound to separate from the Church where you are for this Book which you have written though I could prove it railing How few separated Churches know you on earth that have no Covetous person or railer Or at least where the people hold it their dutie to separate from their own Church if any Covetous person or railer be there 4. You add that if notwithstanding all admonition any Church will still retain them we are not to own such a Church as a Spouse of Christ and therefore must come out of it c. Answ. 1. I have in that Book proved the contrarie by abundant Scripture instances And in the next exception you your self confess the primitive corruptions and lay the stress of your Separation only on Imposed Conditions of Communion 2. You give us no proof of this naked assertion If a Scolding woman or a Covetous Professor be reteined in a Church otherwise pure you are not therefore bound to separate much less to take it for no Church For that is a true Church which hath the true essentials of a Church But so may one that reteineth a Covetous man or a Scold Ergo By your rule you must Separate not only from Parish Churches but from most of the Separated Churches that ever I was acquainted with I find no particular Church called A Spouse of Christ but the universal only As a Corporation is not a Kingdome but a part of a Kingdome 5. Above twenty Arguments in my book for Infant Baptism shew that you did not truly say that the best argument that all learned men have ever defended it by is the proportion it hath to Circumcision EXCEPT VII Answered You say that I impertinently recite the Corruptions of the Scripture Churches to prove that we are not to separate c. your reason is Because many Errors in Doctrine and life were formerly admitted yet none of them were imposed as conditions of Communion Answ. Do you not see that here you seem to deny what you said so confidently in the last Exception There you say We must come out if they will receive such for members after all admonition and retein them Here you seem plainlie to yield that up and to lay all on imposed Conditions of Communion as if else you could communicate with Churches so corrupt You can bear your own contradiction better than mine 2. What is imposed on you as a condition to your Communion in the Doctrine and Prayers of the Parish Churches but your actual Communion it self If you will say that their bad Minister and their imperfect form is imposed as a Condition because you must be present so they may say that you also impose your imperfect manner and expressions on them as Conditions of their Communion in your Churches And thus you are all Imposers EXCEPT VIII Answered First you say I said that I met with many Conscientious Professors c. That 's your fifth untruth I said no such thing but only many Censorious professors 2. You say It is hardly possible to believe it But that is possible to men that use to be more careful of speaking truth themselves and that are acquainted with the people of England by such means as Conference which is hardly possible to others 3. You ask Ought not such things to be concealed And you abuse Scripture to confirm it But 1. Are you not here partial Is it your judgement that we should conceal the faults or ignorance or errors of the Bishops Conformists and Parish members Or be they not commonly multiplied and aggravated And yet must the Separatists ignorance and error be concealed 2. Do you desire their Repentance and humiliation whose faults you would have concealed And do you imitate Nehemiah and others of Gods Servants that use to Confess the sins of all ranks and sorts of men 3. Do you use in publick humiliations to confess this ignorance of Professors or not If not what a kind of humiliation do you make If you do do not you publickly reveal this secret 4. How grosly are you unacquainted with England that take this for a secret or for hardly to be believed when we have Congregations and multitudes of such and the land and world ringeth of them 5. Do you not thus harden them that charge us with factiousness when you shew your self so solicitous for the Concealment of the ignorance of your party while you have no such care for others 4. But it is your sixth Untruth in point of fact when you say
against mâ—n iâ—â—hey 〈…〉 〈…〉 are men from Loving their enemies 〈◊〉 â—â—â—ssing them that curse them and doing good to them that hate them and praying for them that despightfully use them or falsely accuse them and persecute them that they are hardly kept from hating those that Love them and cursing those that bless them and hurting those that would do them good and falsely accusing and despightfully using and persecuting those that pray for them And yet lest they should not be flattered in their sin and that yet they may judge themselves the children of our heavenly father they will do all this as Acts of Love to the Church and Truth and to the persons souls and will Love them as is said with a hurting a reviling a slandering a cursing and a hating and malicious Love O that the God of Love would pitty and undeceive the selfish and passionate sort of professed Christians and teach them to know what manner of spirit they are of O that he would rebuke the evil spirits that are gone foâ—th The spirit of Coveâ—oâ—sness and Pride 〈◊〉 Hypocrisie and Religious Imagery Oâ— Self-conceitedness Of Malice and Wrath Of Back-biting and False accusing before that both Christianity and Humanity be turned into Devilisme 2. Tim. 3. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and earth be more conformable to Hell O that the spirit of Light would make us of one mind and the spirit of Love would mortifie both mens malignant and religious passions contentiousness and malice and cause us to Love our Neighbours as our selves That as the envious and striving wisdom from beneath hath caused Confusion and every evil work so the wisdom from above which is first pure and then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated might bring forth Mercy and good fruits without partiality and hypocrisie that we might edifie the body of Christ in Love Eph. 4. 16. and frustrate the hopes of the enemies of our peace who wait for our total dissolution and triumph already in our Divisions when it is their own Mill which grindeth us into powder But God can make their Oven to bake us into a more Christian and salubrious Consistency that I may use Ignatius his â—llegory but it must be first by â—ermenting us with unfeigned Love and then we shall be Lovely in his â—ight and the God of Love and Peace will be with us 2 Cor. 13. 11. Amen POSTSCRIPT THat the Excepter may yet further be convinced that it is not any Party of men called Independents or Anabaptists as such that I here speak against As I did in my opposed Book declare that I thought them both and all others that hold the foundation and disclaim it not by Heresie or wicked lives to be such as the Churches should receive into their Communion and that it is their duty to hold Communion in the same Assemblies notwithstanding their difference and that it is not the Opinions which denominate them that I write against but only the Love-killing and Dividing principles which are among them which make them fly with censure and alienation from their brethren that are as meet for Church-Communion as they and oft break them into pieces among themselves so do I yet again here declare the same And not only so but that if it were in my power when their Communion with others cannot be procured they should yet be tolerated in their separation it self and enjoy Communion with themselves alone in their separated Congregations under the Laws of Peace being not tolerated to turn their preaching or worship into a reviling and reproaching of the Orthodox to the destruction of Christian Love And I should not doubt but the Communion of the Orthodox Churches maintained in Constant Synods together with the special Countenance of the Christian Magistrate and the daily experience of Believers which would still make the aged sort forsake them would suffice better than violent severities to repress the evil and to give victorious Truth opportunity to do its proper work And to silence this calumny yet more I do renew the Profession which I have often published that my own opinion is so much for Independency as that I think no Church is made by God to be a Ruler to other Churches under the name of a Mother Church or a Metropolitane or Patriarchal but that all these are humane forms And that Councils are not the proper Governours of the particular Pastors but are for Communion of Pastors and Churches directly by way of Consultation Consent and Agreement As I have heretofore declared that Bishop Usher professed his judgement to me Though I confess that the Pastors in Council are still the Guides of the people as well as singly at home and by their Consent lay a stronger governing obligation on them And that the General Law of Unity and Concord doth consequently bind the several Pastors to concurr in all things Lawful Consideratis considerandis with the Confenting Churches And even Dr. Hammond is for Independency so far as to say that every such regular assembly of Christians under a Bishop such as Timothy was an Oeconomus set over them by Christ was the Church of the Living God Though he adde such again every larger circuit under the Metropolitane c. Yet he confesseth And such all the particular Churches of the whole World considered together under the supream head Christ Iesus dispensing them all by himself and administring them severally not by any one Oeconomus but by the several Bishops as inferiour heads of unity to the several bodies so constituted by the several Apostles in their plantatiâ—â—s each of them having an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a several distinct commission from Christ immediately and subordinate to none but the supream Donor or plenepotentiary So far he on 1 Tim. 3. 1â— e. To this do but adde what Bishop Bilson of subjection largely sheweth and other Bishops as well as he that Metropolitanes and Patriarks are not of Divine but humane institution ad accidental to the Divine constitution of Churches And also what Ignatius saith of the Unity of Churches and description of a Bishop that To every Church there was one Altar and one Bishop with the Presbyters and Deacons and so every communicating body or Congregation that had an Altar had a Bishop as Mr. Mâ—de on this of Ignatius sheweth and then you will see how far Independency is owned by others as well as by me And for further silencing the calumny let it be noted that the Churches in New-England are commonly called Independent or Congregational and yet they are against Separation and do find by experience that Separation is as perillous a thing to Independent free Churches as it is to Diocesane Churches and somewhat more Because they use not outward force to preserve their Unity and because one single Congregation is sooner dissolved by division than such a thing as a Diocesane Church is And therefore no men should be more willing to suppress Dividing Principles and
Passions than the Independents both because they are most charged with them and with all our Sects and Confusioâ—â— and because they are not the least in danger of them And that the New England Churches are against the Separation which hath been commonly known by the name of Brownisme I will give you these following evidences 1. Even Mr. Robinson himself a part of whose Church began the Plantation at Plimouth though he was one of those that was called a Semi-separatist yet hath written for the lawfulness of hearing in our English Conformable Parish Churches And in his Letter to his people in New-England in Mortons Memorial he hath these honest observable passages How imperfect and lame is the work of grace in that person who wants Charity to cover a multitude of offences Neither are you to be exhorted to this grace only upon the common grounds of Christianity which are that persons ready to take offence either want Charity to cover offences or wisdom duely to weigh humane frailties or lastly are gross though close hypocrites as Christ our Lord teacheth Mat. 7. 1 2 3. As indeed in my own experience few or none have been found which sooner give offence than such as easily take it neither have they ever proved sound and profitable members in societies who have nourished this touchy humâ—ur To these he addeth special Reasons from themselves Mr. Browne accusing the Ministers as being Separatists and would be Anabapists c. The Ministers answered that They were neither Separatists nor Anabaptists they did not separate from the Church of England nor from the ordinances of God there but only from the corruptions and disorders there c. Old Mr. Wilson Pastor of Boston being desired by all the Elders of the Churches assembled at his house that on his dying bed he would solemnly declare to them what he conceived to be those sins which provoked the displeasure of God against the Countrey told them that he had long feared these sins following as chief among others which God was greatly provoked by 1. Separation 2. Anabaptisme 3. Corahisme when people rise up as Corah against their Ministers and Elders as if they took too much upon them when indeed they do but Rule for Christ and according to Christ yet it is nothing for a brother to stand up and oppose without Scripture or reason the doctrine and word of the Elder saying I am not satisfied c. And hence if he do not like the Administration be it Baptisme or the like he will then turn his back upon God and his Ordinances and go away c. And saith he for our neglect of baptizing the children of the Church those that some call Grand-children I think God is provoked by it 4. Another I take to be the making light of and not subjecting to the Authority of Synods without which the Churches cannot long subsist And so for the Magistrates being Gallio like not caring for these things or else not using their power and authority for the maintenance of the Truth and Gospel and Ordinances c. Morton p. 133. 184. And among the Poems there recorded of him this is part Firm stood he 'gainst the Familist And Antinomian spirit strong He never lov'd the Separatist Nor yet the Anabaptists throng Neither the Tolerators strein Nor Quakers spirit could he brook Nor bow'd to the Morellian train Nor childrens right did over-look p. 186. And Pag. 195. in the Poems on their famous Mitchell it followeth The Quaker trembling at his thunder fled And with Caligula resum'd his bed He by the motions of a nobler spirit Clear'd men and made their Notions swine inherit The Munster Goblin by his holy flood Exorcis'd like a thin Phantasma stood Brown's Babel shatter'd by his lightning fell And with confused horror pack'd to Hell Let not the brazen Schismatick aspire Lot's leaving Sodom left them to the fire But the fullest evidence is the work of the New-England Synod 1662. who determined of two great points of Church-practice so as greatly tendeth to reconcile them to all the moderate Presbyterians and other peaceable Christians The one is 2. That Members of the visible Church according to Scripture are confederate visible believers in particular Churches and their Infant-seed that is Children in minority whose next Parents one or both are in Covenant The Case of Christians that are of no particular Church is not here medled with 3. And that The Infant-seed of such when grown up are personally under the Watch Discipline and Government of the Church 4. That these adult persons are not to be admitted to full Communion meerly because they are and continue members without such further qualifications as the Word of God requireth thereunto 5. That Church-Members who were admitted in minority understanding the doctrine of Faith and publickly professing their Assent thereto not scandalous in life and solemnly owning the Covenant before the Church wherein they give up themselves and their Children to the Lord and subject themselves to the Government of Christ in his Church their children are to be baptised As to the points themselves having written a Treatise on the subject under the name of Confirmation and therein distinctly shewed my Opinion in reconciling terms though it may seem stricter than these propositions and more inclining to the dissenters in some things I shall say nothing of it here But by this it is visible that the New-England Synod do not only exclude the practice of Gathering Churches out of Churches which was the great contest in England between the Assembly and the Congregational party but they provide that not so much as any particular persons that were Baptized in their Churches in Infancy shall be made Church-members de novo unless by removing from one Church to another but shall be accounted members till they apostatize notoriously or are Excommunicated And so shall their children after them succeed by the way of Baptism into the Church and they will have no other ordinary Church-door but Baptism And so gathering Churches of Baptized persons will cease unless it be in a ravelled state when the old Churches being dissolved believers are to embody themselves anew And Mr. Davenport and a few more seeing that by this way their Churches would fall into the way of England and other Churches by a succession of Members growing up from Infancy and not by making them up of new Adult enterers as the Anabaptists do did oppose himself by writing against the Synod which by some of them is largely Answered Wherein they tell us that there were nâ—t ten in a Synod of above seventy that did in any thing Vote on the Negative and not above three against the third Proposition which carryeth the Cause They frequently disclaim Separation They cite Allen and Shephard p. 33. as advising for the Reformation of such Churches as our Parishes that they be acknowledged true Churches and then called to Repentance and Reformation and a select number of those that agree to it
Christians and in particular between the Non-conformists and Conformists 1. The General Part or Introduction Chap. 1. A Narrative of those late Actions which have occasioned mens displeasure of both sides against me The Reasons of my omitting the Narration of those former Actions which Mr. Durel and many others have reported falsly because they wrote of that which they knew not The Reasons of my earnest displeasing endeavours with the Bishops for Reconciling and Uniting terms in 1660. Our Common Profession about a Liturgie at that time and about this Liturgie and my practiee ever since How the Non-conformists must be united among themselves Of our judgement about Communion in the Liturgie and Sacrament with the Parish Churches in aâ— 1663. My ends in opening this 27. Reasons for the writing and publishing my Book called The Cure of Church-Divisions A word of the Debatemaker Of the filse reports that have been vented of my Book aâ—d me and of some Inferences to be noted by the Reporters Chap. 2. The state of the Controversie which I specialy managed in that Book with thâ—se that I called Diâ—iders Chap. 3. Objections and Questions about this subject Quest. 1. Doth not the second Commandment and Gods oft expressed jealousie in the matters of his Worship make it a sin to communicate in the Liturgie Quest. 2. Doth not the Covenant make it now unlawfull Quest. 3. Whether the case be not much altered since the Old Non-câ—nformists wrote against separation then called Brownisme And whether we have not greater Light into these Controversies than they had Quest. 4 Is it not a shameful receding from our Reformation now to use an unreformed Liturgie and a pulling down what we have been building Quest. 5. Will it not strengthen and encourage the adversaries of Reformation Quest. 6. Will it not divide us among our selves while one goeth to the Parish Churches and another doth not Quest. 7. Shall we not countenance Church Tyranny and harden Prelates in their usurpations and invite them to go further and make more burdens of Ceremonies or Forms to lay upon the Churches The manifold danger of feigning the Scripture to be a particular Rule where it is none The Contents of the Answer to the Exceptions Except 1. False Worship distinguished and opened Whether I speak very little against persecution Exc. 2. Whether I was as guilty as any one whatsoever in stirring up and fomenting the War Whether it be unbecoming a Minister to blame the sin which he hath been guilty of or to blame the Effects if he encouraged the Cause Whether nothing of the late Military Actions be to be openly repented of Whether I never mention the prophane but with honour Exc. 3. Of partial tenderness as to Reproof Whether my prayer was jesting c. Exc. 4. Of the supposed Expressions of my Pride Exc. 5. More of the Excepters mistakes Exc. 6. What separation Scripture calleth us to and what not Exc. 7. Of the Corruptions in the primitive Churches and of Imposing Exc. 8. Whether I be a Revealer of mens secrets Exc. 9. Whether the Universality of Christians ever took the Pope for their Head Of my Dispute with Mr. Johnson alias Terret on that point Whether all History be uncertain Whether it be intolerable to say that the Papists understand not that answer which is Christian sense and reason Exc. 10. Of Local Communion of separating from the particular Churches which we were never members of Exc. 11. Of Censurers requitals Whether a Papist can go beyond a Reprobate Exc. 12. Of Scandal and of Pauls case 1 Cor. 8. explained Exc. 13. More of my revealing secrets and other of the Excepters mistakes Exc. 14. Whether by Separatists I meant the Independents as such Exc. 15. Whether I speak slightly of Prayer in comparison of Study Whether it be a slighting of Christ to say that he increased in wisdom which is opened Whether Christ needed not prayer but as a pattern to us c. Exc. 16. Of expounding Scripture by the Impressions set upon our minds in Melancholy How the Spirit cureth our fears and giveth us comfort by twelve acts Exc. 17. Whether my saying that God hateth neither extemporate prayers nor forms be as if I could never speak meanly enough of prayer Whether I be a Trifler that neither believe the Scripture or my self for saying that in Christs time both Liturgies by forms and prayers by habit were used and that Christ yet made no question about them Seldens words upon the Iews Liturgies Exc. 18. Whether I did ill in disswading men from jeering and jesting at other true Christians manner of Worship And whether I purposely justifie persecution Exc. 19. Whether all be Idolatry which is used in the Worship of God without a Command of God to make it lawful The unhappy consequents of making so many Christians and Churches Idolatrous Exc. 20. More of the Excepters mistakes Exc. 21. Whether our presence at the prayers of every Church be a professing of consent to all that is faulty in those prayers Exc. 22. Of not silencing any truth for peace Exc. 23. Of imprudent speeches to superiours Exc. 24. Whether there â—e any weak ignorant and injudicious Christians and whether they hereby have been any cause of our divisions And whether these be vile Epithets not to be given to Christians but instead of them all Christians are to be told that they have the anointing and know all things Twenty proofs of such ignorance And the greatness of their sin especially Ministers that would hide it or deny it at this time manifested in forty aggravations Exc. 25. Whether any hearers use to be more moved with the affectionate delivery of meaner than with a colder delivery of more excellent things Of my forsaking the Lords work Exc. 26. Whether there be any Article necessary to salvation unknown to the universal Church Whether in points of difficult speculation one clear judicious well studied Divine be not to be more hearkened to than the Major Vote Whether the perfection and plainness of the Scriptures prove all Christians to be of equal understanding or to need no others help Exc. 27. Whether honest people be not in danger of following others into error and sin And whether to say so be enough to make people afraid of being honest Exc. 28. Whether it be new or intolerable to advise men not to imitate Religious people in the sins which they are most prone to What it is to flatter Professors of Religion and what it is in them to expect it Exc. 29. Of the name of a Sect. Exc. 30. Whether we must avoid that good which is owned by bad men Exc. 31. Of his accusations of my unsetledness in the point of Church Government and suspectedness in the point of Iustification Exc. 32. Whether we can speak bad enough of corrupted Nature Twenty instances of speaking too bad of it Whether I understand by the flesh only the sensitive Appetive Whether I be strongly inclined to deny Original sin
and heresies in meer opposition to their afflicters I know that the great objection is That under pretence of Love I would bring ungodly persecutors into reputation and tempt men to unlawful Communion with them and that I make an ill application of good principles to hide the odiousness of their sins that care so little for the souls of men as their usage of Ministers and people doth openly declare If I had only perswaded you to unite in Love to one another and not to think better of the destroyers of the Church nor to comply with them in their Idolatrous way of worship you could have born it Brethren will you that take it for injustice in a Iudge who will condemn a man before he hear him speak for himself be intreated but to repress your passions for a little while till you have calmely considered these things following 1. Did I ever perswade you to think well of the faults of other men while I perswaded you to love their persons unless you call the Communion a fault of which we are to speak anon Did I ever seek to abate your dislike of the sins which you most speak against Either malignity cruelty persecution or any other 2. The thing which I perswaded men to in that book was Communion with all Christians but differently as they differ in degrees of purity That which I motioned and pleaded for I summed up in the latter end with the contrary extreams which you may there read in five propositions 1. To adhere to the primitive simplicity and make nothing necessary to our Concord and Communion which is not so 2. To love your neighbours as your selves and receive those to Communion whom Christ receiveth and that hold the foresaid necessary things be they Episcopal Presbyterian Independents Anabaptists Calvinists Arminians Lutherans c. so they be not proved heretical or wicked Peruse the rest When you come to your selves you will confess that this was no unreasonable nor unchristian motion Which of all these Parties is it that you are angry with me for perswading you to Communion with Must every one of the Parties renounce Communion with all the rest O how unlike is this doctrine to that of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 1. 10. 3. 1 2 3. Rom. 14. 15. c. If not every one which of them is it Is any one of all these Parties the whole Church of God who dare say so Why should I refuse Communion with any one of these while I scruple not Communion with all the rest Or if it must be but with one sort how shall I know which of them it must be I know some men judge of others by their Own opinions and self interest But is that indeed the Christian Rule Some of the Episcopal way are angry with me for including the Independents when I doubt not but the far greater part of them are the sincere servants of Christ And since their Synods late moderation I know not many Churches in the world besides the Waldenses of the Bohemian Polonian and Hungarian Government who are neerer to my own judgement in Order and Discipline than those in New England are and none that for Piety I prefer before them Some are angry with me for taking in the Anabaptists when it is not such as the Munster Anabaptists that we have to do with but godly men that differ from us in a point so difficult that many of the Papists and Prelatists have maintained that it is not determined in Scripture but Dependeth on the tradition of the Church I am not of their mind and I have given them my reasons in my book for Infant Baptism But having had more invitation to study the point throughly and treat of it largely than most of those that are offended herein let them give me leave to say that I know it to be a very difficult point And I know as good and sober men of that mind as of theirs that are most against them And I know that in the dayes of Tertullian Nazianzene Augustine men had liberty to be baptized or to bring their children when and at what age they pleased and none were forced to go against their Consciences And I know not that our Rule or Religion is changed or that we are grown any wiser or better than they I once motioned terms of Concord to the Anabaptists and was in as hopeful a way for Peace with them as with most others till Some are offended that I put in the Arminians when I am confident that there is not one of many hundreds whoâ— are against Communion with them that know what Arminianisme is and truly understand the difference And the same men refuse not Communion with those Anabaptists who are Arminians And it hath been the work of not only Mr. Dury but many other excellent men for many years to reconcile the Lutherans with the Calvinists and it hath justly been thought a blessed work to draw them to Communion with each other And yet the Lutherans are not only of most of the Arminan opinions but also have superintendents liturgies ceremonies exorcisme Church-images c. When so much labour hath been bestowed in this work and so many excellent Treatises written for it by pious Dury Junius Paraeus Calixtus Ludov. Crocius Joh. Bergius Conrad Bergius Hattonus Amyraldus Hall Davenant Morton c. When all sober Protestants have prayed for their success or approved this design are we now come to that pass that those that seem the zealousest for the Church and mutuall Love shall think it to be a sin either to hold Communion with the Lutherans or to write for it But the great offence is that I put in the Episcopal as fit for our Communion which I suppose is principally because of their manner of worship in which we must have Communion with them Which foreseeing I answered more objections against this than against the rest which hath occasioned some falsly to affirm that I write only to draw men to Communion with the Church of England I will therefore here proceed to some further expostulations of this point 3. Is there ever a word in all my Book perswading you to Communion with a Diocesan Church as such 4. Is there one word in it for your Communion with a national Church that hath one political spiritual Constitutive Head under Iesus Christ though the Kings supremacie none of us question Do I once meddle with any such thing 5. Is there a word to perswade you to Communion with Persecutors Though I am forced to displease you by answering that objection and telling you that we should be Impartial and remember what most parties or many have done to others which you were not able it seems to bear though it was plainly necessary to the due resolution of the Case in question whether any Persecutors may be Communicated with 6. Is there one word to perswade you that every Parish is a true Church and fit to be Communicated
liberty to preach the Gospel but that it was a burden which they should cast off as soon as they had liberty so to do And I knew some who urged them to declare their Repentance for their former conformity and to have confessed it to have been their sin But I never heard of any considerable number of them that ever did it or that changed their minds And though Ministerial Conformity as to Engagements is now much altered many of them that are yet living do again confâ—rm And though I then was not nor yet am of their mind my self yet I would not shun Communion with the Reverend members of that Assembly Twisse Gatâ—ker Whittaker and the rest if again they werâ—â—sers of the Liturgie among us 3. But what if in all this I be mistaken and if Communion in the Liturgie prove unlawful should you be so impatient as not to bear with one that in such an opinion differeth from you As I write for my opinion so do you for yours And why should not you bear with my dissent as well as I do with yours My judgement commanded me First to exhort all sober Christians to draw neerer and to lay by those principles which drive them from each other as not to be Communicated with And Secondly where that cannot be obtained to bear with one another in our several Assemblies or Churches and to manage them with Love and peace This was my exâ—â—rtation And the time once was even when the five Dissenting brethren pleaded their cause with the Assembly at Westminster that this motion would have been accepted or at least not judged so great an injury as now it is O brethren do not expose your selves and cause so much to the censure of impartial men and of posterity as to let them know that you are grown so high or that in the very day of our humiliation these terms seem so injurious to you as these exceptions intimate Mr. Nye and Mr. Tho. Good win were so friendly with Dr. Prâ—ston as to publish his works when he was dead And I verily think if you had been acquainted with such Conformists heretofore as he was and Dr. Stoughton and Dr. Taylor and Mr. Downam and those forenamed and abundance more you could not choose but have thought them both tolerable and lovely if you had not thought it lawful to Communicate with them Much more you should have endured such as the Non-conformists of that age who used Parish Communion and pleaded for it against the Separatists in far sharper language than ever I used to you as their books against Johnson and Cann and Brown and Ainsworth do yet visibly declare If you think their Reasons and mine for the Lawfulness of Parish Communion to be insufficient so do I think of yours against it I have read divers that charge the Liturgie with Idolatry Did I ever lay so heavy a charge on you Did I ever say that it is unlawful to have Communion with you as you say it is to have Communion with others Why then should you not bear with lesser Contradiction when others must bear with far greater from you Will you proclaim your selves to be the more impatient You will then make men think that you are the most guilty You say of such men as those before named your worship is Idolatry and it is unlawful for any Christian to hold Communion with you in it and all that are present and joyn with you are guilty of the Idolatry I do but say that you make the Case more odious than it is and injure others by this charge What a world are we come to when those that you count unworthy of your Communion must not take your charge of Idolatry as too sharp and yet you that should be most patient take it for a heynous crime and injury to be told that you wrong them and that you judge too hardly of them and that their Communion is not unlawful Nay is it seemly for thâ—se men that have said and done so much I say so much for Liberty of Conscience and would never consent to the Westminster Assembly to declare against it even as to those parties whom you counted very erroneous your selves to be yet so impatient of our liberty to tell the Church our judgement about the Lawfulness of other mens Communion Is it meet for them who are offended with those that silence us and restrain us of our liberty to be so tender as to shew by such language as this Excepter useth and by such unjust fames as some others have dispersed how little themselves can bear dissenters I know that displeasure and impatience in the divers parties is expressed different wayes But O that yet you would consider how near of kin the principles are and how much defect of Love and Patience there is in you as well as others 4. And I intreat you to mark but what your own objection intimateth You could endure it if I had only pleaded for Peace and Concord among the Non-conformists But doth not this intimate that Peace and Concord in it self is desirable among all those that should agree and be united Why I am as well able to prove that all true Christians should have Peace and Love and Concord for the strength of the Universal Church as any of you all are able to prove that any one Party should have Concord in it self The Episcopal part would have all possible Concord among those that are Episcopal and the Presbyterians among Presbyterians and the Independents among Independents and the Anabaptists among Anabaptists no party is for Divisions among themselves till the particular temptation doth prevail And yet I am not pardonable for motioning that all sober Christians as Christians may have all possible Love Peace and Concord among themselves Brethren I am sure that Christs body is but one I do not despise all those words of Christ and the Spirit which I cited in my book I know that the diversity of knowledge and gifts among true Christians should not make diversities of Churches 1 Cor. 12. When I know this and cannot choose but know it why should any be angry with me for knowing it I know that the Godly Conformists and Non-conformists in England should be united as well as each party among themselves I know that our division gratifieth the Papists and greatly hazardeth the Protestant Religion and that more than most of you seem to believe or to regard I know that our division advantageth Profaneness and greatly hindereth the success of Ministers on both sides I know that it greatly pleaseth Satan and buildeth up his Kingdom and weakneth the Kingdom of our Lord His own mouth hath told us so And shall I not believe him As in our Worcestershire Agreement heretofore we proceeded on terms which excluded not the Episcopal so in our desires and terms of Concord we must still go the same way and shut out none from our Love and Communion whom Christ receiveth and would
the Cause But that our hearts may yet more relent in this sad condition of the seduced let us hear the following words Besides saith he we cannot understand the meaning of such phrases as dull Christians Ignorant and injudicious Christians For whoever are Christians indeed have received an anointing by which they know all things 1 Joh. 2. 20. 27. And should not have such vile Epithets affixed to them which only â—â—nd to expose even Christianity it self as if it did not cure those that sincerely imbraced it of their Ignorance and Injudiciousness Answ. It is no disgrace to Christianity that it is set off by the presence of Ignorance and Injudiciousness As sickness maketh us know the worth of health Nor is it long of life or health that doleful diseases remain yet uncured For were it not for them instead of diseases there would be death It is Godliness and Christianity which bringeth that Light and Health into the World that is in it And men are not ignorant and bad because they are Christians and Religious but because they are not better Christians and more Religious Perfect Christianity would make men perfectly judicious The weakest true Christian exceedeth the Learnedst Ungodly Doctor even in judgement and knowledge Because he practically and powerfully knoweth that God is God and to be preferred in honour obedience and love before all the World and that Christ is Christ and to be believed in for Justification and Salvation And that the Holy Spirit is his Advocate and our Quickener Illuminater and Sanctifier to be believed and obeyed and that there is a Life of Happiness to be hoped for which is better than all the pleasures of sin and the felicity of worldlings In a word they have a real though imperfect understanding of the Baptismal Covenant and of the Creed or Symbole of Christian Faith And this is a great and noble knowledge and Cure of them that were lately ignorant of all these things and were led Captive â—y the Prince of darkness at his will If the Reader that would see the difference will peruse my small Tractate of Catholick Unity he may be informed of it But yet is there no such thing as Ignorant dull injudicious Christians because they know all things Must we not use such phrases and Epithetes because Christianity cureth them Dear brother I have no mind to make you odious nor to open your sin to others But you have opened it to the World and I must open it to you if possibly you may repent But especially I am bound to try to save mens souls from this perilous deceit And therefâ—â—â— I shall prove to you that there are such 〈…〉 and ignorant and injudicious Christians And 2. I shall tell you the greatness of your error and sin That there are such is proved 1. By the words of Scripture Heb. 5. 11 12 13 14. Seeing yee are dull of hearing For when for the time yee ought to be teachers yee have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the Oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat For every one that useth milk is unskilfull or unperienced in the word of Righteousness for he is a babe But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil 1 Tim. 3. 6. Not a novice lest being lifted up with Pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil The verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is otherwise by our Translators in the margin turned besotted And Strigelius saith that it signifieth not only puffed up but one crack'd brain'd and phanatick And Lyserus saith of the same word 2 Tim. 3. 4. translated High minded that it answereth an Hebrew word which signifyeth to be dark and not to shine clearly which Leigh reciteth See Martinius de Typho 1. Cor. 3. 1 2 3 4. And I brethren could not speak unto you as unto Spiritual but as unto Carnal as unto babes in Christ I have fed you with milk and not with meat For hitherto yee w 〈…〉 t able to bear it neither yet now are yee able For yee are yet Carnal For whereas there is among you envying the word is Zeal that is emulation and strife or contention and divisions or factions are yee not Carnal and walk as men or according to man For when one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo are yee not Carnal Eph. 4. 14. That we henceforth be no more children tost to and fro and carried about with every wind by the sleight or cousenage of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive but speaking the truth in Love may grow up c. Luke 24. 25. O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Mark 6. 52. They considered not the miracle of the Loaves for their heart was hardened Mark 8. 17. Why reason yee because yee have no bread Perceive yee not yet neither understand Have yee your hearts yet hardened Having eyes see yee not And having ears hear yee not And do you not remember Luke 12. 16. These things understood not his Disciples at the first Luke 18. 32 33 34. They shall scourge him and put him to death and the third day he shall rise again And they understood none of these things and this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things which were spoken 1 Cor. 8. 2. 7. 10. If any man think that he knoweth any thing he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge but some with Conscience of the Idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered to an Idol and their Conscience being weak is defiled Shall not the Conscience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to Idols See Rom. 14 and 15. Gal. 6. 1. 1 Cor. 9. 22. Gal. 3 and 4. throughout Col. 2. 21 22 c. Heb. 13. 9. 1 Tim. 1. 3. Should I recite all such Epithetes convictions and reproofs in Scripture it would be tedious 2. The thing is further proved by the common experience of mankind which it amazeth me to think a man that liveth among men in the world awake and in his senses can be ignorant of Enemies know it Friends know it not only that there are Ignorant and Injudicious Christians but that the far greatest part are such though not in a damning yet in a sad and troublesome degree And that the far greatest part of those that we hope are truly godly remain so lamentably ignorant of abundance of things that should be known and continue in such an infancy of understanding as is a great advantage to the Tempter and many waies calamitous to themselves and to the Church It is the lamentation of all experienced Ministers Alas how ignorant even honest people remain And how
God hateth every sin in every prayer but he hateth the avoiding of prayer and of due communion much more He hateth every disorder in extemporate prayer And yet he more hateth that Censoriousness and Curiosity which would draw men to forsake the substantials of Worship or Christian Love and Communion on that pretence Gods Jealousie in his Worship is most about the heart and next about the substantials of his own institutions and of Natural Worship and least about the phrase of Speech and order while it is not such as is grosly dishonourable to the Nature of God and to the greater things And though God under the Law expressed his jealousie much about Ceremonies yet that was not for the Ceremonies sake but to controll gross irreverence and contempt of holy things as in the Case of Uzzah the Bethshemites Uzziah Aarons Sons and to keep up an esteem of the Holiness of God and to restrain sacrilegious presumption And under the Gospel it is neither this place of Worship nor that neither this Mountain nor Ierusalem but Spirit and Truth that God most looks at It is not whether you pray by a Book or without by words fore-studied or not by words of your own contriving or of anothers that God is now jealous of For even when you want words he accepteth the groans excited by his Spirit Rom. 8. 26 27. If Christians should plead Gods jealousie about his Worship as Censoriously against thelr own prayers as they do against other 〈◊〉 and Churches in this case they would turn prayer into the fuel of despair and torment For God is so jealous of his Worship that he hateth all the sinful dulness emptiness wandrings vain repetitions confusions unseemly expressions of all your secret prayers and all your family prayers And yet I would advise you neither to think that God therefore hateth you or the prayer it self nor yet to fly from God and prayer nor family Worship where it is no better done Gods jealousie especially under the Gospel is to be minded for to drive us from our sloth and carelesness to do the best we can but not to drive us from him or from prayer or from one another These are Satans ends of minding men of Gods jealousie as he doth troubled souls to drive them to despair And others may scruple joining with your weaknesses and faults in Worship on pretence of Gods jealousie as well as you with theirs What if twenty Ministers be one abler than another in their several degrees and the lowest of them doth weaklier than the Liturgick forms Doth it follow that only the ablest of all these may be joyned with because that all the rest do worse It is granted that we must offer God the best that we have or can do But not the best which we cannot do And many things must concurr and especially a respect to the publick good to know which is the best QUEST II. Quest. 2. DOth not the Covenant make it now unlawful to hold Communion in the use of the Liturgie Answ. To hold Communion in the Liturgie Ordinarily where we cannot lawfully have better and extraordinarily where we can have better is a thing that we are bound to by the Covenant and not at all bound against For those of the Independent way who think as Mr. Eaton writeth that the Covenant bindeth not I need not here say any thing as to their satisfaction For others I say 1. There is no word in all the Covenant expresly against the Liturgie 2. If there had been any word in it against Communion with the Churches that use the Liturgie it had been sin and against our duty and therefore could not bind 3. The judgement of Protestants is that Vowes must not make us new duties of Religion but bind us faster by a self obligation to that which God binds us to without them Therefore though if we should Vow an indifferent thing it would bind yet this could not be taken for the Covenanters intention 4. And it is commonly agreed that if we Vow a thing indifferent it bindeth us not when the indifferency ceaseth which may be by the Magistrateâ— command or by another mans necessity or change of Cases Else a man might before hand prevâ—â—t most of the Magistrates obligations and his Pâ—reâ—ts and Masters too and escape obedience and might say with the Pharisees it is Corban or a devoted thing 5. It remâ—â—neth therefore that no man of us all hath need to go or ought to go to the Covenant to know what is his duty in the worship of God but only to the Scripture seeing if Scripture make it noâ— a duty the Magistrates Law will make the doing of it a sin And if Scripture make it not a sin the Magistrates command will make it a duty But when we know what is duty or sin in our case we may go to our Vows next to prove that it is a double duty or a double or aggravated sin but no otherwise Therefore let the Scripture only decide the first case whether it be lawful or not 6. The Covenant or Vow expresly bindeth us against schisme But the renunciation of Communion which I now dispute against is plaine schisme Therefore we are bound against it by that Vow 7. The Covenant bindeth us against all that is contrary to the power of Godliness and found doctrine But the separating which I plead against is certainly such 8. The Covenant bindeth us to Unity and the nearest Uniformity we can attain But as the world goeth now this Communion is the nearest and needful to express our Unity 9. The Covenant bindeth us to Reformation according to Gods word and the example of the best reformed Churches But to prefer no publick worship or a worse before the Liturgie is deformation and prophaneness And it is greater Reformation to prefer the Liturgie before none than to prefer extemporate publick worship before the Liturgie And all the Reformed Churches in Christendom do commonly profess to hold Communion with the English Churches in the Liturgie if they come among us where it is used Therefore it seemeth to me to be perjury and Covenant-breaking either to prefer no publick worship before the Liturgie or to refuse occasional Communion with the Churches that use the Liturgie as a thing meerly on that account unlawful QUEST III. Quest. 3. WHether the Case be not much altered since the old Non-conformists wrote against separation then called Brownisme And whether we have not greater Light into these Controversies than they Answ. 1. The Case of Ministers Conformity is much altered by a new Act which requireth subscribing new things Declaring Assent and Consent to all things prescribed and conteined in and by three books and by some other things But that part of the Liturgie which the people are to joyn in is made better as is shewed before And if we are returned to the same state that they were then in we are under the same duties that they were under And let