the Aspersions of false Teachers and to keep the Galatians from aspersing one another There were two things charged against him One was that he had no right to be an Apostle and the other was that he Preached false Doctrine But this is no part of my present Business But to consider the second viz. The Apostles great care to keep the Gallatians in that Peace and Unity which the Gospel to which they were newly converted does require There was a very great heat amongst them insomuch that the Apostle was afraid lest they should bite and devour one another and be consumed one of another Ch. 5. v. 15. The contest was about Christian Liberty And because there is at this day a great stir about it I think it necessary by the way to shew what that Christian Liberty was It was not a Liberty for every Christian to refuse the Orders of the Church and if the Governours of it did not please them in what was required or shew a special command from God for every indifferent thing which was prescribed for Order and Decency presently to turn their backs and heap up Teachers to themselves in opposition to their Governours I am sure that had been an Unchristian Liberty for it had been a Liberty to throw Christianity out of the World so soon as it came into it Or to make it the most ugly and deformed Religion in the World If when the Apostle told the Corinthians that at his coming to them he would set things in order they had sent him word that they would not observe his orders unless they were by special Revelation from God Or they would be Judges whether his orders were fit to be Received It would have made strange work in the Christian Church and spared the enemies of it the trouble of persecuting Christians for the Stubborn and self-conceited if their numbers had been sufficient would have persecuted the Orthordox and such as were of the most Christian humble and submissive tempers The Christian Liberty which we read so much of was quite another thing There were some Judaizing Christians amongst the Galatians They thought that they must as well observe the Law of Moses as the Law of Christ or else they could not be justified and saved The Apostle to rectify their mistakes tells them that they were at liberty from that Yoke and that they ought to take that Liberty Behold I Paul say unto you that if you are Circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing c. 5. v. 2. But however lest that should be of dangerous Consequence he takes care to prevent two great evils which might ensue One was in reference to themselves and the other was in reference to their misled and dissatisfied Brethren He was afraid as to the first that this Christian liberty should be an occasion of Licentiousness and therefore admonishes them that they should not use this liberty as an occasion to the Flesh v. 13. And he was afraid that heats of Opinion should be the Occasion of coldness of affection and therefore adds imediately in the same verse but by love serve one another and for fear they should not he presseth to them the Duty of Brotherly love as that which is a fruit of the Spirit of God and in the conclusion of the Chapter he cautions them against two great evils which obstruct it Vain glory and Envy Vain glory is a branch of Pride by which a man seeks to be uppermost and they that are guilty of it do seldom think they can stand high enough in their Reputations unless they tread upon their Brother and Fellow Christian Envy is a divelish temper of Spirit by which one mans happiness becomes another mans misery One mans health another mans sickness It was a very proper question which was once asked a pale envivous Man Are you sick or is your Neighbour well Where Envy Rules one mans Prosperity is another mans Adversity The envious man how rich soever he is is undone by the Riches of another man The Apostle having Admonisht them of those two great Enemies to Brotherly Love in the Conclusion of that Chapter In this he prescribes some general Rules which tend exceedingly to the healing of divisions and the continuance and promotion of Love amongst Christians I have made choyce of the first which is a direction how Christians who are themselves inoffensive should treat them that offend Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault yee that are Spiritual restore such a one with the Spirit of meekness considering thy self lest thou also be tempted I will not spend much time in the explication of the terms in the Text. I suppose I shall not need to tell you what it is to be taken in a fault I wish we all knew as well what it is to have a Spirit of Meekness and I wish we all knew as well what it is to restore our Brother with such a Spirit A fault is any thing that a man does which is against the Profession of Christianity or against any Law of God He is guilty of a fault who commits any known sin to the prejudice of his own soul by which it is polluted and made obnoxious to Gods wrath and displeasure And he is guilty of a fault likewise who breaks the Peace and Unity of the Church by Schism and causeless Separation I intend my discourse shall chiefly relate to the latter The restor-of them to the Communion of the Church who have separated from it The Apostle speaks at large concerning any fault but in regard the Galatians had been seduced by false Apostles and had been taught false Doctrine we have no reason but to think that he intended this fault as well if not rather than any other And this is the fault in which men are most apt to be taken unawares The Works of the Flesh which the Apostle mentions are so manifest Adultery Fornication c. That men are not apt to be taken with them unawares as he is with this A man is more easily led into errors of Judgment than he is into errors of practice especially considering how easily the Scriptures may be wrested and misunderstood and that there hath been in every age False Prophets and False Teachers and many following their Pernitious wayes Whatsoever the fault is in which our fellow Christian is overtaken he is to be restored by those that are Spiritual But the next question is who they are By the word Spiritual I conceive we are to understand all such as are reformed from the deeds of the Flesh and whose lives do shew forth the fruits of the Spirit according to what the Apostle mentions in the former Chapter I know there is another interpretation given of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which I shall have afterwards occasion to take some notice of but considering the context how the Apostle in the foregoing Chapter ver 13. required that the Galatians should by Love serve one another and in the
forsook them and would rather dye at the Stake and some of them did so than have Communion with them The Faults of the Church of Rome are great enough although we do not call those Faults that are not and from hence it is that though our Divines and other Champions of the Church do not cry out of every thing that is done by them and call it Popery yet like sober wise judicious and Valiant men for the Truth they keep their ground and do not give an inch to the gross Usurpations and Errors of the Papists As the Popes Supremacy Infallibility Transubstantiation Praying to Saints and Purgatory c. Let not any therefore start at those Prayers which are wholsome Forms but joyn in a holy and devout Use of them and instead of bearing a grudge against us for them let them not so much as bear a grudg against the Papists but let us all joyn together in praying to God for them as well as others that God would bring them into the way of Truth who have erred and are deceived as well as others 3. There are some who will not hear the Prayers much less joyn in the use of them because of the Surplice I am almost ashamed to mention it and I am very sorry that people should retain such weak Prejudices Some men plead Conscience for absenting upon that account which is only an argument of a very Weak mind I cannot call that a tender Conscience but a shy or starting conscience or I may call it an affrighted conscience All the account that I think can be given of it is that men were scared at the sight of it when they were young and they never cared for coming neer it since Or they heard of some that were scared at it and therefore they do not care for seeing it If any charge us that we place any Religion in it I might give them a down-right answer if it were not for a Spirit of Meekness When sober men can think it a reasonable thing that Judges should leave off their Robes and Schollars in the University should wear no Gowns because there are some who are offended at them I shall think it reasonable that Ministers should leave off their Surplices In the mean while I pity their sickly weak-sighted Consciences who cannot endure to see a white Garment and do think that they may be numbred amongst the frenzy ones to whom it would be more proper to give Physick than Arguments Let not any therefore upon such mistakes and weak Conceits turn their backs upon that great and solemn part of Gods Worship from which his House hath its denomination and is called a House of Prayer for they can never give an account of themselves to God for so doing unless they can imagine that God will make their Passions and Prejudices to be his Rule of judging 2. There are others who do not absent from the Prayers but give very great offence by their Unreverence at that time when others are praying to God Either by siting carelesly as if they could hear them but they cannot joyn their Devotions with others in the use of them which is the Language of some concerning them And they think that it is a very great Adventure and that they deserve very well from the Church for such a Compliance as this is If this Case be truly and rightly considered it may make all men afraid of enclining to the ways of Schism and Separation for what is this but a publick Affront to God and a manifest Contempt of that way of Worship by which it is acknowledged that our Fore-Fathers have served God acceptably and we hope that we do so likewise And what a great Offence must this needs be to those who are Religious and Devout to see what contempt is cast upon God at the time of his publick Worship and Service and how they are accounted but Vain and Idle by shewing Reverence to God at the time of their Devotions We all acknowledge that all Outward shew of Reverence to God is Vain and Hypocritical if there be not an Inward dread of God in the mind It is for a man to draw near to God with his Lips when his Heart is far from him But it is a strange Extream that men run into if to avoid that Hypocrisie there shall be no outward shew of Devotion at all It is as if the Souls of men were in their Bodies like Statues which can make no outward sign of what is within Yet if this were all it would not be so offensive If those that Kneel or otherwise express their Devotions in crowded Congregations were satisfied that those who have Dissented do joyn their hearts with them in their Prayers to God it would be a great satisfaction to them But it is scarcely any breach of Charity because it hath appeared as well by Words as Deportments to say that they only sit with Patience during the time of Prayers till they can hear the Sermon I need not tell you that every man hath naturally so much Reverence for that Deity which he worships that it is a great offence to him to hear or see the least contempt cast upon his Religion by Words or Actions This is one Reason why Turks and Heathens will not endure Christians to come into their publick Places of Worship They know that we despise their Religion and if we should go into their Temples it would only be to gratifie our Curiosities and that would be an Offence and a great Disturbance to them It were well if all those that are of other Religions were forbidden to come into our Congregations that they might not see that unreverence amongst many Christians which we could not see amongst them if we were in their Congregations If those that Worship the Gods which are yet no Gods are from a natural principle of Reverence to a Deity so offended that they will not endure the least contempt of their Religion If it were such an offence to Nebuchadnezzar that he thought a Furnace could scarce be hot enough for those that would not bow down to the Image which he had set up How can men be blam'd for being offended at those who will not joyn with them in shewing Reverence to him whom they all acknowledge to be the true God Before I pass this particular I would ask him that is only in Love with the way of Worshipping God in separate Congregations this question Suppose that one of those who think they cannot serve God so acceptably any other way as in the Form of Prayer which the Church hath prescribed should come into a seperate Congregations and all the time that the Minister is Praying and the people expressing the most ardent Devotion should sit carelesly and rather shew his Contempt of that way than joyn in it would it not be a great Offence to you Would you not think him to be not only irreligious but very uncivil I am confident
them by our Saviour what to do in case of Offences Matth. 18.15 16 17. If thy Brother shall trespass against thee go and tell him his Fault between thee and him alone If he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy Brother But if he will not hear thee then take with thee one or two more that in the Mouth of two or three Witnesses every word may be established And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it to the Church c. I am sure those Persons are far from obeying the command of our Saviour and observing the Rule which he hath prescribed who never tell Offenders their Faults privately but take the first occasion to publish them with the greatest Aggravations And I am sure they are very far from observing what the Church requires and therefore are themselves very fit to be complained of and would certainly be censured by her Governours if they obstinately persisted in it There is one Homily of the Church against Contention in which a Spirit of Meekness is commended That by being Soft Meek and Gentle in answering we may overcome our Adversary with Gentleness especially in matters of Religion and Gods Word which should be used with all Moderation and Soberness For it is better to give place Meekly than to win the Victory with breach of Charity We may by this see what temper of Spirit the Church requires her Sons to be of and we may conclude that those who are of a contrary Spirit do offend those to whom it belongs to censure Offenders 2. It is a great offence to Ministers It hinders them from doing that good which otherwise they might do in convincing men of the Necessity of uniting and the Reasonableness of a hearty Compliance with the Church as it is now established A reviling reproachful Spirit in the People is enough to make them lay the fault upon the Preacher according to the old saying like Priest like People And if they do not yet it is enough to make them forsake the Church again or come very seldom to it And it is a hard case that Ministers must ask the People leave whether they shall have an opportunity of convincing men of their Errours and Mistakes and treating them with such a Spirit of Meekness as the Gospel requires and which tends to the restoring of them I know it is Objected that Ministers have not been careful in this matter but upon all occasions have discovered a contrary Spirit They have shewed such a Spirit of Bitterness as might rather encourage Reviling than suppress it Ans I cannot deny but there have been and are such Ministers whose Zeal for the Churches interest have so far transported them that they have not considered so well as they should have done that they do not shew that temper of Spirit which the Gospel requires nor that which answers the end which they propound to themselves viz. The bringing of those to the Communion of the Church who have separated from it and the more firm Establishment of those who have not As to the first Sarcasms and Satyrical Reflections do commonly make those that have been hearers who are of wavering minds turn their backs at least upon that Preacher if not upon all other Ministers of the Church And as to the other that which may be and I hope is design'd to encrease in the hearers a dislike of Separation doth only more highly exasperate the minds of some against Dissenters and I am sure there is no need of that but is very displeasing to those that are sober and serious-minded Christians I have therefore somtimes thought that if those men whose Parts and Learning are to be admired would improve them only by meek Insinuations and strong and rational Arguments it would bring Dissenters to be their Auditors and Admirers and might make them prefer their Sermons before those which they hear from others The Apostle was afraid lest Timothy being a young Preacher and I suppose they are Chiefly if not only such who are complained of should be faulty in this and therefore requires him that he should look carely to the Temper of his own mind which is of great moment to every Christian but especially to a Minister 2 Tim. 2.24 25. The Servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle unto all men apt to Teach patient In meekness instructing them that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them Repentance to the acknowledgment of the Truth However some few Ministers may be blamed for being too severe in their Expressions yet I am sure there are others men of the greatest Eminency in the Church who are of that Meek temper which may commend them to all good men Such a Temper as was in the Prophets of old time who could not tell how to deliver a harsh Message but were very forward to expostulate the case with sinners and to tell them their Faults and the punishment which they were bringing upon themselves after such a manner that there appeared no fault at all in them Such as Jeremiah was who when he was commanded to tell the Jewes of their Captivity which was approaching declared his grief for it Neither have I desired the woful day thou knowest Jer. 17.16 And such as Daniel was who when he interpreted the dream to Nebuchadnezzar did it with an Aching heart He was astonied and his thoughts troubled him They are of that Temper which the Apostle was of himself and which he requires should be in Timothy and all other Ministers of the Gospel And they have had very great success for by treating men with a Spirit of Meekness they have brought many Proselites to the Church It is well known that many who have Dissented coming but accidentally to hear them have been so satisfied as to return no more to the wayes of Separation And what a great Offence must it needs be to those Ministers if the People shall discourage those from frequenting the Church who may be so treated there as to have delight in her Ministers and her Communion 3. It is a great Offence to all Sober Pious and Orthodox Christians who are Conformable to the Orders of the Church It is their hearty desire and earnest Prayers to God that those who have Dissented may return to the Communion of the Church and that they may be treated with the Spirit of Meekness It is the grief of their hearts to see what causeless Divisions there are amongst us and therefore they cannot but rejoyce at any opportunity which may tend to the healing of them I dare say that those who have been guilty of Reviling are none of those many hundreds of Communicants who meet every Moneth at the Lords Table but are such who absent from the Sacrament and this Spirit of Bitterness which they do discover shews that they are not fit to come to it As I am sure they are a very bad sort of men so I hope the number of them is not great
Whoever they are they are a great Offence to all Pious and Good Christians who hear of their ill Deportments which may be of good use to those that have been ill treated by them that they should not be discouraged by those Miscarriages which are as offensive to us as they are to them And it should be of good use to them that have been guilty in this matter They should consider that as our Saviour said to his Furious Disciples they know not what Spirit they are of They do not consider that it is neither pleasing to Magistrates nor Ministers nor yet to any good Christians who are of the Communion of the Church and who are as great Enemies to Division and Separation as they can be But 4. It is a great and unwarrantable Offence to those who have Dissented We are as I have already mentioned to shew all Meekness unto all men and we are exceedingly to rejoyce in any opportunity of expressing Love and Kindness It is a very great mistake if any think that a man cannot shew Respect and Kindness to another but he must be a favourer of his Opinion We may easily propound to our selves sufficient Reason why we should Love every man let his Judgment be what it will and I am sure that there is the greater necessity of shewing kindness to those who have Dissented that we may be the better able to rectify their Judgments and to convince them of their Mistakes But more particularly There are three things hinted in the Text why we should not offend such but restore them with a Spirit of Meekness 1. The first I take from the Apostles Compellation Brethren As he gives that Title to the Galatians who had been exceedingly to blame for indulging their Errors and Mistakes so should we to those that have separated from us I know the Devil as I have already mentioned hath by his Factors abroad sent other Names amongst us and they pass very readily but if we look into the Scriptures and consult the Gospel we shall find that our Saviour and his Apostles hath only furnished us with such Titles as signifie Love such as may oblige and win upon those that have erred and not such as may provoke or discourage them It is true that when our Saviour speaks of those who have so offended that they will not be reclaimed by the secret Admonitions of him whom they have trespassed against which is an Argument of a most sweet and pleasant temper of mind and therefore shewes that the offending Person is very stubborn and Obstinate nor regard the counsel of one or two more who come as well to plead with them that they may amend as to be witnesses against them if they continue obstinate nor regard the Publick Complaints made against them to the Church which is the last remedy his direction is That such should be accounted as a Heathen Man and a Publican that is their Society should be avoided and they should have no Communion with them or as Dr. Hammond explaines it in his Paraphrase upon the Place Look upon him as a desperate deplored Sinner fit for the censures of the Church to overtake him Our Saviour saith If thy BROTHER offend thee thou hast gained thy BROTHER which shews that when men have offended they must not presently be cast off with Wrath and Indignation but there must be the Love of a Brother still continuing and it must appear in the Methods which are to be used for the reclaiming of him The reason why our Saviour requires that he should be told his fault privately is that he may be reclaimed and not be exposed to any shame or Reproach for what he hath done by which a man shews the Love and Tenderness of a Brother But I am sure they are very far from observing this Rule and from expressing this Love and Tenderness of a Brother who never tell men their faults privately nor with one or two more but take occasion to upbraid them with their faults publickly and it is at that time too when they are mending their faults and therefore do not so much as want a private admonition I do the rather mention this of our Saviour because though it seems to relate only to personal Offences If thy Brother shall trespass against thee c. Yet doubtless it is to be understood of any Offences whatsoever because they give occasion to Christians to exercise their Charity towards the souls of their Brethren as well as any personal Offence committed by them The Apostles followed this Rule of our Saviour and required that whatsoever Offences men were guilty of yet still they were to be accounted Brethren and the Love of a Brother was to be shewed to them I will mention but one and it hath a Special relation to the case that I have in hand 2 Thes 3. v. 14.15 And if any one obey not our word by this Epistle note that Man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed and what followes Does the Apostle by this encourage them to cast Contempt and Scorn upon him wheresoever they see him No but requires that there should be a tender Love shewed to him Yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a Brother These two verses have a special relation to that which goes before at the 11th verse For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly working not at all but are busy-bodies There were such persons amongst the Thessalonians as we have too many of them amongst us who are disorderly persons that had rather mind any other business than that which belongs to them and instead of minding their work they are disputing the Orders of the Church and by what Authority it is that the Governours of it requires this or that to be done for which there is no express Rule Such persons as these are must needs be exceedingly offensive to the Governours of the Church because of their Haughtiness and Insolency And they must needs be very Offensive to all Religious Members of the Church because they disturb the Peace Unity and Harmony which should be amongst the Worshippers of God But however though their Offences were so great that other Christians of better Tempers were to avoid their company yet when occasion was offered they were to admonish them as Brethren as those for whom they still retained a great Love and hearty Desire for their good We ought to retain a Love for them in reference to their temporal Concerns and to be very sorry that they should incur any Penalty which may tend to the impoverishing of themselves and Families This common Ingenuity requires of us and therefore much more doth Christianity require it And we ought more especially to be concerned for their Spiritual and eternal Welfare because they are our Brethren and they are called so from that Relation which we bear unto our Heavenly Father 2. A second Intimation which I have
from the Text is from the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As the Galatians were overtaken in a Fault so we must account those to have been likewise who have dissented from us There is a great difference between Errors of Judgment and Errors of Practice When men are guilty of Errors of Practice they are Wilful and Obstinate and act quite contrary to their own Principles for they know they are wrong and offer violence to their own Consciences and yet they are to be treated with a Spirit of Meekness that they may be made sensible of their Wickedness and reclaimed without punishment by the Execution of Laws against them if it can be effected And if these men of whom it cannot properly be said that they were overtaken in a Fault because they knew the Fault before they commited it are to be treated with a Spirit of Meekness in the first place much more then are they to be dealt tenderly with of whom it may very properly be said that they were Overtaken No man runs wilfully into an Error of Judgment but it is through Weakness and Ignorance and Inability of mind for which he is to be pitied The minds of Men are liable to such errors and mistakes that sometimes men have thought that they have done well when they have done the worst Acts. Our Saviour said to his Disciples John 16.2 The time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God Service His Expression is not whosoever killeth you will say but he will think that he doth God Service It shall be according to the perswasion of his Mind His erroneous Concience will tell him that he doth God service I may mention a very strange Error which takes place in our dayes and does great mischief to the Church There are thousands amongst us who speak very reverently of our first Reformers from Popery that do exceedingly honour their memories and yet they flie as far from the Reformation that was established by them as if to return to it were to return to Popery and all that they did signified nothing but only to that age in which they lived All the Alterations and Amendments which have been made since their time signifies nothing but their orders must be wholly thrown away How little did those Holy and Learned Men think that such things would come to pass I mention these Instances because some men will not be perswaded that there is any thing but Wilfulness and Obstinacy that is the cause of mens dissenting and therefore they ought not to be treated with a Spirit of Meekness We ought in this case to call to remembrance the years that are past to consider how men were affrighted by their Teachers at any thing that did but in the least countenance Conformity to the Church of England They were brought up in a Dislike or rather an Abhorrence to the Rules and Orders of it They engaged themselves in a Communion with men of other perswasions and made choice of a Minister to be their Pastor who Dissented from the Church Nay it may be they are good men and were converted by that Minister or some other of the same perswasion from the ways of Wickedness to the practice of Religion It is well quoted by a late Learned Writer for the Church In the Division of hearts that are in the World it is certain that some good may dissent If we consider what Educations men have had and what Principles have been instil'd into their minds we may well conclude that they were overtaken in the fault of Separation and not that it was a wilful Choice and therefore they are to be treated with the Spirit of Meekness Besides we ought likewise to consider as a Consequent of this that Errors of Judgment being deeply fixt and having been of long continuance are not easily removed When men have entertain'd an Errour how weak and unaccountable soever it be yet it is truth to them and therefore they are very loath to part with it In this case he is mad who thinks he can scold a man out of his Opinion or that Reviling him will restore him There must be another and a milder way used He that would rectifie a mans Judgment must use his utmost endeavour to get first into his Affection The Apostle saith Rom. 15.2 Let every one of us please his Neighbour for his good to Edification He that would do good to another man he that desires his Edification that he may be built up in the Faith and that he may grow in Grace and Knowledg must do all that he can or may to please him Their jnfirmities must be born withal according to what the Apostle saith in the foregoing verse and nothing must be done to discourage them A man that hath indulg'd an Errour will scarcely hear what another man saith who hath no kindness for him It is to be questioned whether he will be convinc'd by him that hath Remarkable to this purpose is that forementioned place 2 Tim. 2.25 In Meekness instructing them that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them Repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth Doct. Hammonds Paraphrase upon the place is thus with great Calmness and temper dealing with those that are of different Opinions from us though in opposing us they oppose the Truth as counting it not impossible or hopeless but by the Grace of God they may be brought to Repentance and so come to acknowledge the Truth at length There are Three things very sit for us to take notice of in what the Apostle saith First That to shew a Spirit of Meekness is the best way to deal with men of different Opinions from us If any thing prevails with them that will If we think to deal otherwise with them it is the way to make them oppose the Truth still and us likewise and all that we can say to recover them Secondly When we deal with men after this manner Meekly and Gently yet it is but a Peradventure whether it will have any good effect upon them because men are commonly so wedded to their Opinions that they part not so long as they live Thirdly He that useth a Spirit of Meekness hath most reason to expect the assistance of Gods Grace who as I have already shewed requires that Temper of mind and delights in those that have it If we consider that he that hath dissented is not only our Brother but likewise that he hath been overtaken in a Fault we are not only obliged to treat him with a Spirit of Meekness from a principle of Love and Ingenuity but from the Necessity of the Case because it is our Duty to use our utmost endeavour to restore him and a Spirit of Meekness makes us most fit to effect it There is somewhat which may be considered from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the text which I told you signifies the Setting of a bone that is broken or out of joynt Those that
you would be exceedingly offended why then will you offend those who are of the Churches Communion who serve God after the Ancient way of Christian-Worship and that which is approved of by other Reformed Churches as not only Lawful but very useful and profitable for the Souls of men There are others who are guilty of a far greater Offence and they are such as are so far from joyning with others and listing up their hearts to God with them in their Prayers that they spend that time in talking of Vanity and if what I have been credibly informed be true of Lies also They make the House of God to be the place in which they meet to reproach and slander their neighbours This hath been so great an Offence that some who have been their Pew-fellowes have been exceedingly as well they might disturbed at it They do not love the Common-Prayer and therefore that they may lose no time they will be serving the Divel till Prayers be done There is another kind of Unreverence and that is mens having their Hats on all the time that the Minister is Preaching Nay there are some who will not be uncovered whilst the Minister is Praying but only remove their Hats from one part of their heads to another as if there might be some kind of outward Reverence exprest to Almighty God at the time of Praying but it is no matter how little it be But suppose their being covered be only at that time when the Minister is Preaching and suppose that there were nothing to be said to prove that it is indecent and unreverent for it is not my present business to enquire into it yet it is the occasion of Offence And whilst no man can plead the breach of any Law by it I am sure to speak the best it is a great breach of that Ingenuity which Christianity requires in men in that it gives great offence When men come into the Church where they see those that are the Frequenters of it with their heads uncovered and they keep their Hats on it is hard for the most Charitable to say less than that there is thereby Contempt cast upon those who are in another posture and that it doth implicitly accuse them of Folly and Superstition in the service of God I may suppose that which must not be granted that if there were nothing to be said for it but that it were an Offence purely taken and not given yet since it is an offence and a disturbance to the minds of men in the Worship of God and of those men too whom Authority doth commend and countenance in so doing He that is Pious Prudent and Ingenuous will be careful that he be not the occasion of that offence Thus have I shewed what the Offences are by which the minds of men who are Conformable to the Church are exasperated against those that have dissented from her Communion to the end that they may take all possible care to avoid giving those offences and to do that which may oblige those with whom they come to Worship God and not offend them If you would be treated with a Spirit of Meekness and are not willing to meet with any provoking Words or Actions you must have a care that you do not offend others But this is not all that I have to desire of you Methinks it is a hard case if Christians shall think it enough if they give no offence who are commanded by our Saviour to love one another and to be one as he and his Father are one That which I earnestly desire is that you would not think it sufficient if you sometimes come to the Church and shew some Respect to the Service of God but that there be a hearty and sincere Compliance which will certainly be the greatest Satisfaction imaginable to you and then there will be no such occasion for the Exercise of Meekness Consider I beseech you the dreadful mischiefs which Disunion and Separation have been the cause of in our dayes beyond what the Soberest of the discontented Party ever thought of Consider how the life of the King was lately in danger by those who either wholly absented from the Church or we are sure never received their pernitious Principles from it Consider how unsuccessful God hath made all Attempts against the Church when they who were no Lovers of it had those advantages to establish another Constitution which they cannot now hope for And consider I beseech you how infinitely it will tend to the Churches Peace to the Reputation of the Reformed Religion and to the Good of your own Souls if you could be satisfied to forsake the wayes of Separation and have Communion with that Reformed Church whose Ministers and People do hate Popery and earnestly desire the promotion of true Holiness and Goodness as much as you can do howsoever Prejudices and a Misunderstanding have been the cause of most Unchristian Censoriousness And it may tend exceedingly to your Satisfaction and avoid all occasions of Reviling and Bitterness if these Rules may be observed 1. Let not Education be of any force in this matter I know that it is a dreadful thing for men to forsake the practice of Religion in which they have been educated It is a fearful thing for those that have been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord to forsake their Education and to fall into the practice of sin and Wickedness But for men to make this their Rule as to Modes and Circumstances and matters of Opinion in Religion is altogether unaccountable because a man may as well be brought up in an Error as otherwise and because he may serve God as acceptably after another manner than that in which he hath been educated We know that a great Cause of our Divisions hath proceeded from this that men have been brought up in a Dislike of that way of Worship which is now established and have from their Cradles received Prejudices against it But yet there is nothing more unreasonable than to make that to be a Rule For if it be every one may conclude that to be the best Religion that comes first which certainly every one will grant to be very absurd And whereas some think they are right because they received their Principles from those men whom they accounted Holy and Religious I may reply that there is no Party whatsoever but have Zealots who are of a strict and severe life The Hereticks of old could never have done so much mischief to the Church if they had not been of exemplary Lives Education must therefore be wholly laid aside and men must consider with themselves that if what is required of them be not repugnant to Gods Word and Inconsistent with true Piety and Holiness the Churches Peace and the necessity of Union amongst Christians must silence all the secret pleadings of Education which I know are of themselves very powerful Besides if it be granted that many are educated
THE SPIRIT OF Meekness Recommended for the Reducing of the Erroneous AND Such as have Dissented From the CHURCH OF England By William Smythies Curate at St. Giles Cripplegate London LONDON Printed by T. Milbourn for Samuel Lee at the Feathers in Lumbard Street 1684. To the Honoured John Pery Esq One of His MAJESTIES Justices of the Peace for the County of Middlesex SIR I Will not offend you by Publishing my Obligations to You And I hope I shall not offend You by the Dedication of this small Treatise as I am sure I should if there were the least expression in it of Disloyalty to the KING or Disaffection to the Church of England And yet I must acknowledge that I expose it to Publick view partly that I may vindicate my self from the guilt of some Aspersions by which others have endeavoured to Expose me as one Schismatically enclined In the late times of Usurpation I had no sooner left the Vniversity and began to Preach but there was a Caveat entred against me in the Book of Cromwells Tryaâ—s of Ministers amongst those who were accounted Episcopal-men by one as I had cause to suspect who afterwards conformed to the Church and became my unsuccessful competitor since I came to London I was thereby forced to leave my Native County and to live a precarious Life for some Years till His Majesties Return But I bless God there never was and I hope never shall be any objection against my Conversation There are some now who would represent me to the World as a dissembling dissatisfied Conformist and Consequently both a great Hypocrite and a very great Fool. The greatest cause of this report hath proceeded from my Treating Dissenters so that I might gain upon their Affections as being the best way to bring them to Conformity to the Church and which hath been the good effect of it their being my Auditors It is a sad case that it should be our Duty and our great Concern to bring those to the Communion of the Church who have Separated from it and yet our great Reproach if they become our Hearers But I may well be contented and account it an honour to be reproached considering that it hath been of late the lot of some of the most Eminent Divines in this Age Men whose Works have not only praised them in this City but in both the Universities throughout this Nation and some other Countries and have been an eminent means to fix sound Principles not only in great numbers of the Laity but of the Clergy likewise Those men who have done the greatest Service to the Church are reproached and scorned by a furious sort of men that pretend most regard to it But as those Worthys cannot but have great satisfaction from themselves in that they have discharged their duties to God in their Ministerial Function so have I And the good success which it hath pleased God to give me by bringing many not only to the Church but to both the Sacraments who had from their Cradles despised the Ordinances of the Christian Religion is a Satisfaction to me which out-weighs all the reproaches which heady inconsiderative men can heap upon me I bless God I can with a good conscience declare to the World that I ever designed to do good by my Ministry according to my mean Capacity and to that end I have alwayes set my self against the two great evils of the Age Division and Debauchery I have likewise made it my business upon all occasions to commend the Discipline and Methods of the Church of England as tending more to the promotion of true Holiness than any of those Devices which have been formed against Her and which God never prospered and I am sure the same will appear to be my design in this Treatise which I humbly offer to you I know no Person to whom I can with more confidence present it than to your self I have taken occasion in it to shew the necessity of Obedience to Government That I am sure is well pleasing to you for I am confident there is not a day passeth but all that are admitted into your company may take notice of your affectionate Loyalty to the King I have commended a hearty compliance with the Rules and Orders of the Church than which nothing is more acceptable to you as appears by your great delight in Episcopal Authors the great esteem which you have for the conformable Clergy and your diligence in Suppressing the Conventicles and which is the greatest expression of sincerity your early attendance every day upon the Publick Prayers of the Church My chief design in it is to perswade the People to treat those who have Dissented with a Spirit of Meekness I am sure that is very agreeable to Your Disposition for it hath been your earnest desire and request to men of stubborn humors that they would not make themselves obnoxious to the just severity of the Laws but live in peaceable obedience to Government That you are of this temper appear'd likewise by your great displeasure when you heard of complaints made by the Dissenters of some Affronts and Incivilities that were offered to them when they came to the Church which was the only occasion of this discourse for which I am sure I shall not suffer in the esteem of sober and good men Sir I know your Soul abhors Flattery and so does mine I would not therefore have mention'd these things if I did not fear that some ill men should misrepresent you as they have done others who are truly Zeallous for the good both of Church and State That the God of Heaven may Prolong your dayes continue to you the great Opportunities of doing good both in your Publick and Private Capacity is and shall be the hearty Prayer of Ever Honored Sir Your most Obliged and Devoted Servant William Smythies THE CONTENTS A Preface shewing the occasion of the Words Page 1. The Text Explained p. 6. Arguments to perswade to Meckness From the Excellency of it in it self p. 15. From its acceptance with God p. 17. From the Publick Good that is done by it p. 23. From a Particular good to those that are of this Spirit p. 28. It is an Argument Of Piety p. 29. It is an Argument Of Wisdom p. 39. It is an Argument Of Humility p. 44. From the necessity of it in reference to others p. 48. A contrary Spirit is Offensive To Magistrates p. 49. A contrary Spirit is Offensive To Ministers p. 54. A contrary Spirit is Offensive To all Pious and Orthordox Christians p. 59. And an unwarantable Offence to Dissenters p 61. The Application p. 78. to the End THE SPIRIT of MEEKNESS GAL. Chap. 6. Ver. 1. Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault ye which are Spiritual restore such a one in the Spirit of Meekness considering thy self lest thou also be tempted THE great design of the Apostle in this Epistle is to vindicate himself from
Conclusion of the Chapter immediately before my Text that they should not Provoke one another nor envy one another And in the words next to my Text that they should bear one anothers burthens I know not why by Spiritual we should not understand every good man in whom the fruits of the Spirit do appear Restore The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies properly to set a bone that is broken or out of joynt The bonds of Christian Love are very strong and it is by them that we are knit together like joynts inclosed with nerves and sinews and when one dissents and breaks Communion it is or should be like a bone broken or out of joynt at which the rest of the members should be deeply concerned Thus we may consider the meaning of the word if by being taken in a fault we understand the fault of separating from the Publick Communion of the Church which as I mentioned is a very proper sense of the words In the Spirit of Meekness It is very necessary that we should understand what the Spirit of Meekness is that we may rejoyce and be thankful if we have it and earnestly strive and pray to God for it if we have it not It may best be known by its opposites 1. Meekness is opposite to turbulent passion that which doth exceedingly disorder both the soul and body where it is prevalent The Apostle therefore joyns a meek and a quiet Spirit together 1 Pet. 3.4 He that takes another in a fault and is so rufled and discomposed that he knows not how to speak calmly to him in order to the restoring of him wants a Spirit of Meekness 2. A meek Spirit is opposite to a revengful Spirit This made Moses so famed for the meekest man in all the Earth Numb 12. Because when Aaron and Miriam spake against him and said Hath the Lord only spoken by Moses hath he not also spoken by us He was not moved to passion nor did he seek revenge And therefore it is said ver 3. Moses was meek above all men which were upon the face of the Earth 3. A Meek Spirit is opposite to a rigorous Spirit When a man desires the Punishment rather than the Reformation of him that is taken in a fault which is the end of Punishment such a man hath not a Spirit of Meekness The Apostle saith to the Corinthians 1 Epist chap. 4. ver 21. Shall I come unto you with a Rod or with a Spirit of Meekness Where the Spirit of Meekness is opposed to the Rod which signifies severity 4. A Spirit of Meekness is opposed to a Spirit of reviling and speaking evil Meekness bridles the Tongue Our Saviour was famed for this Spirit because he was dumb and opened not his mouth He was silent and answered not a word when to be sure there were no provocations which could be compared to his Or if it doth not shut up the tongue yet it commands a soft and gentle speech which is exceedingly obliging to the offending person Thus Lot shewed his Meekness to the men of Sodom when they pressed upon him and would have offered violence to the Angels that were his Guests I pray you Brethren do not so wickedly Gen. 19.7 A taunting reproaching tongue is as contrary to a Spirit of Meekness and as contrary to a Christian Spirit as any thing can be as will appear more in the sequel of my discourse The words being thus explained I proceed to that which is principally contained in them They give us a direction how we should treat our Brother when he hath done amiss We must restore him we must use our utmost endeavours to set him right again and this cannot be done any other way so well as by a Spirit of Meekness Or to be sure this must be the first way that must be used with him I have thought fit to discourse on this Subject as that which is very necessary and very seasonable All that we can do being little enough to allay those Unchristian heats which are amongst us and which are blown into a Flame upon every occasion There is nothing more requisite at this time than that we should treat those that have been taken in a fault with a Spirit of Meekness and yet there are Complaints as if men were farther from it now if possible than they have been heretofore The rage and fury of some men and their desire to ruine all that have done amiss is such that he who speaks but a Meek word concerning them is supposed to be guilty of the same fault himself Many men are so far from observing this Rule and Precept of Christianity restoring him that is taken in a fault with a Spirit of Meekness that they account a Spirit of Meekness to be the greatest fault of all It would be enough if some might be judges to prove a man guilty if he does not presently fly in the face of him that hath done amiss As if the Character which our Saviour gave of a Disciple were to be blotted out and another quite contrary were to be placed in the room of it That it should be no longer By this shall all men know that yee are my Desciples if yee love one another But by this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye hate and revile one another and speak evil one of another The world is come to that pass now that it requires more than ordinary courage in a Minister if he dares commend a Spirit of Meekness But I will adventure to do it and to tell you the reason of it too which may exceedingly aggravate my crime There is a grievous complaint made by some who have dissented from the Church that upon their return to it they do not meet with that Christian Spirit by which they should be encouraged to have Communion with us and to continue it but with Revilings and Affronts to the great grief and discomposure of their Spirits in the House of God This Text tells them that Christianity requires men to be of another Spirit and such persons and all others that have been overtaken in faults ought to be otherwise treated I shall therefore recommend a Spirit of meekness to you from the consideration of these five things I. From the consideration of what it is in it self It is a most sweet pleasant and delightful temper of mind A meek man is alwayes at quiet in himself When other men are almost consumed by the heat and rage of their own passions Wrath Kills the foolish man He is like Jonah under his Gourd cool and in very good temper When other men are like the Israelites in the Wilderness fretting and vexing themselves because every thing doth not happen as they would have it wrangling with God and distrusting his Providence as if he did not know how to provide for men in their streights or how to deliver them from their fears and are therefore complaining against their Governours he is like
and brought up in a false Perswasion and that the men of that Party whatever it is may be of such unblameable Lives that they may from thence mistake and conclude that they are right I may in the next place tell you that we of this age have the greatest Cause that ever any had to suspect our Educations because of the many Opinions that were amongst us when we were young which were espoused by men of strict Lives and very good Conversations I cannot therefore but highly commend those both Ministers and others who do not hang the Clogg of their Opinions upon the Consciences of their Children but are very willing that they should comply with the Church of England 2. Lay aside or rather abandon those Prejudices which you have heard and received as indeed Unchristian You have heard that the Ministers and People of the Church of England are so scandalous that good and holy men cannot have Communion with them Let me tell you with a Spirit of Meekness 1. That it is doubtful whether ever any age produced Ministers of greater Eminency both for Piety and Learning than this hath done or whether ever any age had Christians in it more eminent for good Works than those which this Age hath produced who are of the Communion of the Church of England though they make no noise of it It was not long since confest by one who is no Lover of the Church that the men of her Communion do most good by their great Liberality I should not have mentioned this if a false Aspersion did not make it necessary It hath been objected by some that we are no True Church because God hath not blessed the Ministry of it with the Conversion of Souls I pray God convert them that say so Those who heartily comply with the Church may find a very considerable number of Holy Communicants and blessed be God for it Ministers have been very successful in bringing many young Persons and others to Righteousness 2. Those that are vicious and profess a great Respect to the Church are a great Grief to those Pious Ministers and Christians who are lovers of the Church 3. Whereas men pretend to seperate upon that account I must tell them That Debauchery and Wickedness are not so much the Cause of Divisions as they are the Effect of them Death-beds have complained that because there have been such Doubts which is the Right way men have resolved to take no way but the way of Sin and Wickedness I appeal to any sober man in the World whether he doth not think that Division and Separation hath been a great Cause of that Atheism and Profaneness which hath of late abounded And I appeal to any sober man whether a hearty Compliance with the Church of England by which there would be care taken both of young and old by the execution of Censures against those that are Vicious and Irregular would not tend exceedingly to the restraint of Wickedness and the promoting of true Holiness and Goodness Men have dissented from a Pretence that they reap great benefit to their Souls by it but I am sure if they were not prejudiced and did understand and consider the methods of the Church of England they would have little reason to think that any Constitution can tend more to the good of Mens Souls But however men must not tear the body of Christ in peices pretending that they do it for the benefit of their souls The Church is Christs Body which must not be divided upon any pretence whatsoever 3. Consult both sides Be as willing to hear what is said on one side as on the other If men take in with one Party and conclude that they are right and that continuance in their way is Perseverance and to comply with any other were Apostacy which I find to be the Conceit of a great many and therefore they will not hear what others have to say to them it is no wonder if men continue obstinate and perverse If men dealt fairly and Christianly in this case they should go to some Ministers of the Church and tell them that they would gladly comply with them if they could be satisfied concerning some things which they doubt of declaring what their Doubts are and that they are very willing to receive satisfaction that they might not offend by separating from the Church If men did so our Divisions would quickly be at an end And if they do not they have not followed the things that make for Peace for they never endeavoured to be satisfied concerning that which they doubted of There are two things which I will mention as Motives to this Complyance First There are many Good and Holy Christians who are by this means fully satisfied and are not only Devout in the use of the publick Prayers but frequent Communicants at the Lords Table Secondly Those who are thus satisfied must needs have far greater Peace than those who still continue in the wayes of Separation They avoid outward Troubles and whatsoever Disturbances come to the Church or State they are not the Occasion of them Their minds are not royled and exasperated as others are but they live in Obedience to the Laws of their King and Lead a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty I will conclude with a brief Exhortation to those that are Lovers of the Church You see that I have not chosen this Subject in Favour of those that have Dissented but have been guilty of a long Unwonted Digression that whilest I am contending with you to shew a Spirit of Meekness towards them I might speak of those things to them with the same Spirit which have occasioned their offending of you which otherwise had been very improper from this Subject thereby using my utmost endeavour to restore them to the Communion of the Church I will now renew my Request and leave it with you that there may be no more Complaints made that this Spirit is wanting in you I will add but very little to what I have said 1. Consider that a Spirit of Meekness is a good Reputation to the Church which you are Lovers of Church of England-Men have been Eminent for their bearing the Reproaches of others It is great pitty that they should be accused of Reviling others Besides when men give ill Words it is a sign of a bad Cause and that they have but weak Arguments and that is a disparagement to the Church whose Sons have kept their ground and Valiantly encountred all that opposed them on every side by the force of Arguments 2. I would add somewhat concerning those that are come to our Congregations 1. Consider that they are men of the best Tempers amongst those that have Dissented There are others who speak as ill of us as if we were Jews or Pagans that we are Enemies to Holiness and Destroyers of mens Souls c. And yet if we have opportunity we ought to treat those men with a Spirit of Meekness And I am sure we ought to Pitty them and earnestly to Pray to GOD for them Surely then it doth not become us to be unkind to those who are less Censorious and more Compliant 2. Consider what these men endure from those who are so Censorious They write Letters and tell them of Apostacy and Back-sliding and many are more incens'd against them than they are against us It is a very hard case that they should both suffer by us and by them for their beginning to comply with us This may make them desperate and give way to a Temptation to forsake that Religion which we all contend for 3. If we do not treat them with a Spirit of Meekness we shall wholly discourage the good Inclinations of others who have dissented If they hear that their Brethren who come before meet with any Repulse they will be very loath to follow them who otherwise might come and help to fill Gods House and be of the number of those who Surround the Lords Table GOD of his infinite mercy grant that all Christians whatsoever their opinions are may lay aside all Vnchristian Passions and Prejudices That we may follow peace with all men That we may not make it our business to please our selves but that it may be our great concern to please God in the first place and our Neighbour in the next That we may not rejoyce in any evil which befals others but may endeavour in Christian Love and Kindness to rectify their mistakes and pray to the God of Peace for his Blessing upon our endeavours by which men may understand the necessity of Obedience to Government in all lawful things that they may not suffer but that they and we may all joyn together in Serving and Worshiping God in this World and in Singing Everlasting Praises and Hallelujahs to him in the World to come FINIS
shew a Spirit of Meekness towards you and I value not the Censures of furious and unreasonable men for what I have done so I do intreat you with no less Importunity that you will receive with Meekness that which I have to offer to you 1. Let me desire you to take care that a Spirit of Meekness be not wanting in you towards others that are of conformable Principles to the Rules and Orders of the Church They that complain that a Spirit of Meekness is wanting in others should take great care that it be not wanting in themselves They that would not be bitten should take care that they do not bite They that would not be Reviled must take care that they do not Revile others You know that what I have already mentioned is very true viz. That many of the Religious Members of the Church of England have been accused of being Popish and Superstitious and of having a Form of Godliness though some will scarce allow that but not the Power of it whereas it appears to Sober and Unprejudic'd Persons that they abhor both Popery and Superstition and that they have the Power of Godliness as well as the Form of it It is my earnest desire that you should never be Reproached for that which is true I hope therefore that you will take care for it is a dreadful thing that you Revile not others for that which is false And the truth is I know no Advice more necessary to be given than that all sober Christians whatsoever their Perswasion be should make it their business to discourage Revilers and Evil-speakers upon all occasions whatsoever although they be of the same Opinion with themselves It is great pitty that all men do not consider the truth of a good old saying A good word does no hurt and a bad word does no good Revilers and Evil-speakers are certainly the most mischievous men of any party whatsoever But this is not all that I have to desire of you therefore 2. If you would not be offended this way by opprobrious Language or uncivil Carriage let me desire you to take care that you give no offence any other way as I must needs say too many do and I will shew you wherein 1. There are a great many of you who cast Contempt upon one Ordinance for the sake of another Such I mean as will come to hear the Sermon but will not come to joyn with their fellow Christians in lifting up their hearts to God in the use of the publick Prayers of the Church Gods house must be only the house of Preaching to them and not the house of Prayer The great Reason is that they have heard it spoken against by those whom they have accounted the best men and therefore they cannot be satisfied to make use of it By the same Reason if those Ministers had commended it they would have liked it very well If this be the Reason and I am confident there are many men whose Consciences tell them that it is so what Infallibility do they attribute to their Preachers And what Partiality are they guilty of For if they granted the Ministers of the Church to be Religious men and such as aim at the Glory of God and the good of mens Souls they would for the same Reason be convinc'd that it is an acceptable Worship of God Some have been so weak and misled as to think Extemporary Prayers to be the best because they are dictated by the Spirit of God This proceeds from a high Opinion that some people have of their Ministers for I never heard of any Minister that pretended to any such Divine Inspiration The weakness of this Conceit hath been sufficiently exposed and therefore I will not enlarge upon it However I will speak something and I hope you will not think that I forget my Text and lay aside a Spirit of Meekness I have seriously considered of it and I can not tell of any Spirit that extemporary Prayers come from more than other Prayers unless it be a Spirit of Opposition to the Publick Lyturgy of the Church for before that Opposition not only some Ministers of the Presbyterian Persuasion but likewise some of the Independants made use of a set Form of which I could give particular instances from the acknowledgments of men of both Perswasions I may add to this that if extemporary Prayers were really more beneficial to the People and did not tend only to the gratifying of their curiosity or to the cheating of them by a vain conceit that they are dictated by the Spirit of God or that New words when men pray are the Gift of Prayer a new-coyn'd expression for I find it not in the Scriptures there are many Ministers who would Pray extempore as well as they and no question but use would soon make great perfectness in it Or if they could understand that New words every time they pray to God would be more acceptable to him and tend more to the good of the People they would use a new Prayer every Lords Day which the Church doth not forbid them I must needs say that it is a very strange Conceit that men should think it unnecessary when they pray to the Great God to bethink themselves before hand what they shall say to him or that it should not be a great happiness to the People that they have a wholsom Form prescribed them in the use of which they may lift up their hearts to God with great and acceptable Devotion There is another Reason why many come not into the Church till the Prayers be done And that is an apprehension they have that our Prayers are taken out of the Mass-Book and therefore this were for them to Pray as the Papists do I should not need to mention this or make any Reply to it if I could be sure that the Books which are published for satisfaction in these cases are perused by those who have been dissatisfied However I shall speak very briefly concerning it and with a Spirit of Meekness Suppose we pray as the Papists do Nay suppose we Pray in many things as the Turks do who Worship the True God as well as we there is no hurt at all in it Besides our using the same Form of Prayer with them can be no Disrepute to us or occasion of any starting from it if we consider what our Religion is as it relates to the Church of Rome It is Reformation from them and not a Malicious Destruction of them Reformation must only be the excluding of that which is bad and the retaining of that which is good If it were Malice or Hatred against them we should then indeed reject all that they do Our Reformers wisely and Piously considered that Peace and Communion with them and with all that profess Christianity is exceedingly to be desired But in regard of some horrible Corruptions that were broken in amongst them they could not have Communion with them For these they