Pastors and Teachers to keep you from being deceived by false Teachers and if you will not submit to their direction you expose your selves to the danger of being deceived and frustrate the merciful intendment of Gods goodness towards you to keep you stedfast in the Truth I know not what excuse any man can make why he doth not readily submit to the guidance of these Pastors and Teachers but only this That first he does not certainly know whom Christ hath appointed for his Guides now since the Apostles themselves are dead long since AND if he does know them yet he cannot confidently relie upon their guidance since they are not infallible in their doctrines as the Apostles were and therefore may possibly be deceived themselves and deceive him that submits to them TO the first I answer 1. YOU may as certainly know who are your Spiritual Guides as who are your Civil Governors namely by the Laws of Church and Kingdom and their solemn Investiture in their several places and charges Which is a greater and surer evidence then any man can have of his natural Parent whom you cannot otherwise know then by the common repute of the neighbourhood and the Testimony of your Mother who is bound in reputation to call her own husband your father since God hath commanded you upon pain of damnation to obey him who is thus reputed your Father why should you not fear the same penalty for disobeying your Guides of souls whom God hath equally commanded you to obey and given you a greater evidence and assurance of their authority over you TO the second scruple I answer that I assert no Infallibility in your Spiritual Guides They are men and may be deceived they may be cunning men and lie in wait to deceive And may not those be such whom you heap to your selves and so willingly run after Those who are set over you are restrain'd by the Laws and accountable to their Superiors so that they cannot publish dangerous Errors without their own danger and the censures of the Laws if they be discovered and being allowed to preach only in the Church cannot promise themselves any safety from secrecy And it is not so probable that they will willingly deceive you who are in danger to lose by their fraud as they who by false doctrines make parties to their no small advantage Besides God always assists his own Institutions and blesses his own appointments God hath forewarned you to avoid strangers to heap to your selves Teachers 2 Tim. 4.3 and who can reasonably expect Gods assistance in Disobedience It is just with him to suffer us to be deceived by those whom he hath warned us to avoid but it is most reasonable to expect his blessing and assistance in obedience to his own order He hath commanded us to submit to them who are set over us and will not suffer us to perish by obedience If we shall be mislead by our own Guides into small Errors he will graciously accept our obedience and not impute those Errors to our condemnation and he will never suffer us to be led by them into damnable Errors unless it be our own fault 1 Cor. 10.13 God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able to bear but with the Temptation will make way to escape This promise would fail if having commanded us to be guided by them he should not either certainly withhold them from Teaching Damnable doctrines or else afford us some means for the avoidance and discovery if we be watchful and not willfully refuse them 1. OBSERVE this Rule of our Saviour S. Jo. 5.39 Search the Scriptures acquaint your selves with the plain and evident texts which need no interpretation and if your Teachers commend any doctrine to you contrary to those believe them not It is an old observation and daily experience confirms it that false Teachers use to build their doctrines upon some few hard and obscure texts that under the colour of the holy text they may obtrude upon their unwary Disciples their own pernicious Glosses Interpretations and inferences so that their disciples belief rests only upon the Interpretation of the preacher who may be deceived or which is worse may indeavor to deceive but when the sober and wary Chrian grounds his belief upon the evident Texts which are so plain that they cannot be more plainly expressed or interpreted he relies undoubtedly upon Gods own word who cannot deceive or be deceived This is the best way to secure our selves against the damnable doctrines of your own false Teachers as for example when you are by any of them taught to rebel against the King or to oppose his Laws to contemn the Church and separate from her Communion Guard your faith against their crafty insinuations of Rebellion by pretence of obscure Scriptures by such plain Texts as these Let every Soul be subject to the higher powers to him that bears the fword not only for wrath but also for conscience sake and whosoever resists shall receive damnation Rom. 13. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as Supreme or unto Governors who are sent by him 1 Pet. 2.13 which are words as plain as can be spoken and cannot admit of any other interpretation These are enough to secure you against the damnable doctrine of Rebellion and against contempt of the Church and Schismatical separation from her Communion take these plain Texts St. Mat. 18. He that will not hear the Church let him be to thee as an Heathen man and Publican Keep the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace Eph. 4.3 Not forsaking the publick assembling of our selves Heb. 10.25 according to the commands of those who are our Governors Heb. 13.17 IF it be objected that all these Texts do suppose the Kings and the Churches commands to be lawful otherwise I may nay I must refuse to obey the King I must not hear the Church I must forsake those Assemblies if unlawful The answer is easie That I cannot be safe in going contrary to these plain texts till I can find that those particular Commands of my Superiors and those Assemblies be as plainly forbidden in some other Texts It is not safe to say I will not obey the the King nor hearken to the Church nor frequent those publick Assemblies because I think and some powerful Preachers tell me these ordinances and Assemblies are unlawful REMEMBER it is God who commands in those plain Texts before mentioned and none but himself can discharge my obedience and therefore you must obey till you find the particular commands of your Superiors forbidden by as plain Texts as those which in general require you to obey If you observe this rule you cannot be cheated into Rebellion and Schism and if you do not it is your own fault that you are deceived THIS Rule is certain but perhaps not large enough to secure us from all damnable
father and mother more than me He that prefers father and mother more than me and my doctrine and will renounce that or any part of it to save them or his own life and whatsoever is dearest to him in this world is not worthy of me The sincere Resolution of preferring God and his holy Truth before all worldly advantages is that which makes the honest and good heart which affords depth of earth for the Seed of Gods Word to root in and bring forth fruit to life eternal St. Luk. 8.15 Let us therefore retire to our closets and frequently renew this honest purpose and resolution especially when we come to the holy Eucharist that we may get it seal'd and confirmed there by the Grace of the holy Spirit let not the cost we may be at affright us the rich pearl of the holy Faith the end of which is the salvation of our souls 1 Pet. 1.9 is not dearly bought though we sell all that we have to purchase it St. Mat. 13.46 THIS resolution will not continue stedfast unless we purge out of our hearts all such violent lusts and passions as will ravish our Wills from the holy Faith which we have believed let us therefore be careful to cast out them especially those which are most dangerous to the stedfastness of the Faith As 1. THE inordinate love of this present world this made Demas forsake St. Paul after he had been a long time his fellow-laborer in the preaching of the Gospel 2 Tim. 4.10 There be too many such who follow Christs doctrine for gain who make great profession of this holy Faith when it fills their baskets Jo. 6.14 who run away from it as fast to any impertinent nay damnable Error which appears more advantageous if we have hearts exercised with covetous designs we shall certainly forsake the right way as Balaam did for the wages of unrighteousness 2 Pet. 2.14 2. AMBITION and Vain-glory Diotrephes who loves to have the pre-eminence receives not the Apostles nor their doctrine Jo. ep 3. Nay slights their doctrine vilifies their persons prating against them with malicious words vers 10. and all this to get himself a name and esteem amongst the credulous vulgar This hath made most of the Hereticks and Schismaticks in elder times as Epiphanius and others have observed when they thought their worth and merit not enough rewarded when they could not be so great or powerful as they affected to be when they could not obtain by the regular and just wayes of preferment such places and dignities such esteem and repute as their ambition made them covet and think themselves to have deserved then they broacht new Doctrines and invented new Disciplines to draw parties after them of the weaker sort that they might be in a Faction what they could not be in the Church Chiefs and Leaders Nor doth this Ambition appear only in the Leaders but every little member of the most ridiculous Sect is swoln with the same tumorous vain-glory each party affecting to be call'd the Godly Where this winde of Ambition blows no wonder if it carries them away to divers and strange doctrines Heb. 13.9 How can ye believe receiving or catching at Glory one of another Joh. 5.44 When the Teachers court the people and they again the Teachers for applause and reputation when vain-glory is the end of the deâ—ign how can men be stedfast for when the holy Faith becomes as oftentimes it does vile and contemptible in the eyes of the people such men must needs forsake it and profess any new though damnable doctrine that grows popular Besides no man can hope to stand stedfast in the Faith without the assistance of Gods grace who resists the proud and gives his grace only to the Humble Jam. 4.6 if we will be constant Disciples of Christ we must be like him lowly in Spirit Mat. 11.29 3. THERE is in our nature a softness or tenderness that is apt to betray our constancy As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that would appear with a fair face without a skar renounce their Christianity and turn Jews only lest they should suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ Gal. 6.12 This tenderness made the Apostles St. Peter and all once forsake their Lord and the same hath made too many forsake the Lords holy Truth It may not perhaps be thought needful to urge this any further at this time when God be thankt there is no present danger of suffering persecution for the Faith of Christ it being now defended by the Defender of the Faith but though Confessors of the Faith and Doctrine of our Lord be not persecuted by the sword of Authority it is at least some part of it curstly persecuted by the spears and arrows and sharp swords of slanderous tongues who like the Donatists of old cry out of persecution even then when they are thus sharply persecuting those who profess and preach the holy Truth and Faith of Christ To instance in a few particulars let any man preach or practise Decency and Order in the Service and Worship of God which is a direct command in Christs holy Doctrine 1 Cor. 14.10 Let him preach or practise Loyalty and Obedience to the King and his Laws which is part of the same holy doctrine Rom. 13.5 1 Pet. 2.13 Let him preach or practise obedience to the Church according to our Lords direction Mat. 18.17 And submission to the guidance of those who by God and mans Laws are set over us to watch for our Souls Heb. 13.17 and he shall soon find the truth of that which I have said his doctrine slandered and his person reproached and persecuted by malicious tongues The fear of this persecution we see hath made some who are too tender follow our Lords doctrine as St. Peter did his Master at a distance it is not amiss to remember what the Holy Ghost hath observed for our instruction in St. Peter that soon after he drew back and followed at a distance he forsook nay forswore his Lord Mat. 26.58,74 from all which we may certainly conclude that we shall never stand stedfast in the Doctrine and Faith of our Lord unless we indeavour to harden our faces and strengthen our foreheads against all such fear of the looks or tongues of men Ezek. 3.8,9 4. AS there is a tenderness so there is a fickleness and love of change in our corrupted nature St. Paul calls it childishness Eph. 4.14 loving much but not long delighting in change not only in ordinary matters dresses and fashions but even in Religion too new Prayers new Doctrines new Governments many men having itching ears heap to themselves Teachers 2 Tim. 4.3 after their own lusts such as may rub their ears and gratifie their lusts and several humors with doctrines suitable and please their childishness with novelties new Revelations new Truths are by many much affected and daily expected I pray God we come not to the