trust God with their soules then men with their estates the answer of one marchant that was wiser then my selfe by many thousand pounds I deny not but many of them are very punctuall in keeping their words yea have but their bare promise you may as much build upon it as upon my Lord Majors Band much more are their oaths to be taken And yet they make no more conscience of sinne as it is sinne then Herod did of breaking his promise touching Iohn Baptists head Sect. 38. Secondly how common is it with them to straine and â—â—umble at small sins and passe over great ones like Saul who made great conscience of eating the flesh of Shâ—â—p and Oxen with the blood but none at all of sucking and shedding the blood of fourescore and five of the Lords Priests Or Herod who much scrupled the breaking of an unlawfull oath but never stood upon cutting a holy Prophets throat Or lastly those hypocrites the Scribes and Pharisees who were very punctuall in tything of mint and annis and cummin but neglected the weightier matters of the Law as judgement and mercy and fidelity without any trouble to their consciences As for instance They will plead much for order and decency when none live more disorderly pretended lovers of peace they are but profest haters of truth not to be uncovered at the Name of Iesus they hold worse then to sweare by the Name of God They are more severe against the breach of a holy day especially Christmas day then of the Sabbath They make great conscience of keepeing holy dayes but none of keeping those dayes holy Yea they will commit more uncleannesse and be drunk oftner upon such dayes then any in the Calender except the Lords day You cannot hyre them to eat flesh upon a Good Fryday nor to abstain from Adultery upon another day The precept for keeping of Lent they more strictly observe then any in the Decalogue But how They fast from flesh but feed upon more delicious and provoking meats Or if they abstaine from all meat thereby to merit they fast not from one sinne the more Yea your Gallants who esteem the truth of religion a disparagement to their greatnesse and are almost ashamed to say grace to their meat so affect a forme of Religion that going all the yeare besides in Scarlet yet will for the holy time of Lent put on a black out side though their soules remain crimson In all which they resemble the Papists who forbear allowed Matrimony and admit forbidden Adultery Yea while they vow contenency they resolve to deflower Verginity Neither should it be better here then it is at Rome where the Iewes enemies to the Name of Christ doe live in peace but the faithfull Christians are burned And where in time of Lent the Shambles are shut and the Stues are open might these formall hypocrites have their wills And therefore these are the men that straine at a Gnat and swallow a Camel Matth. 23 24. And not the religious who both in small and great matters walke according to rule And have great and weighty reasons for their making scruple of the lightâ—est and smalest sinnes As Sect. 39. First Be the sinne never so small yet God hath forbidden it and Christ suffered for it as well as the greatest An evil thought or a vain word can no more be justified then a wicked action The Law is spirituall and binds the heart from affecting no lesse then the hand from acting Yea it injoines us to shun the very occasions or least appearances or first motions of sinne aswell as actuall sinne it selfe Besides the committing of the least single sinne is the breach of the whole Law Ja 2. 10. and an offence to that God who is almighty in power and infinite in love which is ground sufficient to any that truly fear God who doe not so much scan the weight of the thing as the authority and goodnesse of the commander And certainly if the smallest curse of God be too great to suffer the smallest sinne against God is too great to doe Neither can it stand with repentance to favour our selves in any one sinne though never so small for sound repentance turnes the back upon all sinnes And saith unto God as once Ruth to Naomi Ruth 3. All that thou biddest me I will do be it great or small in the worlds account Now God commands us and I pray mark it to be pure 1 Tim 5. keep thy self pure saith St. Paul to Timothy vers 22. And blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Matth. 5. 8. which implies No purity no blessednes And likewise to be holy yea shall be a holy people unto me saith God Exod. 22. 31. and without holines no man shall see the Lord. Heb. 12 14. Yea we are commanded to be holy in all manner of conversation even as Christ was holy 1 Pet. 15. And Paul writing to the converted Corinths useth these words The Temple of God is holy which Temple ye are 1 Cor. 3. 17 And again Seeing we have these premises dearely beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit and grow up unto full holines in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. Thirdly We are commanded to bee perfect and that as God is perfect yee shall be perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect saith our saviour Matth. 5. 48. And St. Peter Beloved be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse 2 Pet. 3. 14. with many the like And how can wee indeavour aâ—ter or indeed desire this holines purity and perfection in the least if we make not conscience of al sin and of every duty yet thou like a wicked and prophane wretch as thou art dost jeere and scoffe at those that make conscience of small sins and are scrupulous of doing what thou dost and wouldst have them to doe But little dost thou know or consider who sets thee on work and what this thy flouting at purity and holinesse will one day cost thee In the mean time know that such have no good consciences who dare gratifie Satan in committing the least sin or neglect God in the smallest precept I grant there is a first and a second a great and another commandement Matth 22. 38. 39. But that second or other is like unto it vers 39. Therefore sacrifice must not turne mercy out of doors as Sarah did Hagar Nor the flame of zeal consume the moisture of â—harity as the fire from heaven dranke up the water put to Eliahs sacrifice But our Saviours rule is both plaine and home to the point in hand these things ought ye to have done speaking of the greater matters of the law and not to have left the other undone viz. the smaller matters as tything of mint and annyse and cummyn Matth. 23. verse 23 But Sect. 40. Secondly Gods people make conscience of the least sinne because small sins like
men for matter of act they are loyall subjects live civilly amongst their neighbours paâ— every man his owne are neither drunkards nor adulterers but deny the power of Godlines and are reprobate to every good worke for to let passe other things scarce one in forty of them will allow God upon his own day above four hours Or that duely prays in his family yea this is a superfluous expence of time and a means to hinder each one in their severall stations For as touching that of the Prophet Pour out thy fury upon them that know thee not and upon the families which call not on thy Name Jer. 10. 25. it is a hard scripture and out of their reading yea of these civill honest men scarce one of an hundred that fears an oath or makes conscience of a lie for at least they will â—wear by their faith and troth I do not say they will forswear themselves for an advanvantage but I that scarce know what a tryall in law is have not a little suffered bâ— their wicked answers in Chancery And as for lying and commanding others to ly what more usuall then to bid a wife or servant if such an one ask for me say I am not within which none dare do that fear God or that have any truth of Religion in them Indeed others often pay them in their own coyn with shame to boot as once Cato served Nasica And sometimes God reckons with them for all their lyes together for it often falls out that a servants denying his master to be at home brings him within compasse of the statute for banquerupts a just punishment for such as will be wise without God and good without grace Sect. 86. Again I know these civill men passe for as good Christians as the best with men of the world Yea with the reverend Prelats and their creatures for they count men religious as they are conformable to their Canons And all the Congregation is alike holy and holy enough to naturall men as Korah and his prophane consorts told Moses and Aaron when they rose up against them Numb â—6 1. 2 3. But as Isaac if he had not been blind would not have blessed Jacob for Esau nor Jacob taken Leah for Rachel if it had not been in the dark so these if they were not ignorant of the Scriptures would not take meer civil men for true Christians but as empty pots and boxes in Apothecaries shops having written upon them fair titles of the best drugges and electuaries do deceive ignorant commers in so these though their hearts be base and vile empty pots yet as they are overlayed with the silver drosse of glozing words and glorious shews do deceive simple Christians who onely judge according to the outward appearance Yea perhaps they may deceive wise and able Christians for a while since the lamps of these foolish virgins blaze no lesse then the wise ones Matth. 25. And treeâ— that have onely leaves may make as great a flourish as others that bear abundance of fruit True wise men having heard them speak and observed their practice will soon see what christians they are at least Christ that knows their hearts and cannot be deceived with shews will one day cull them out and let them know what it is to come into his presence and sit at his table without the wedding garment of faith and love Matth. 22. 11. At which time it will be too late to expostulate Or if so their own consciences shall stop their mouths much after this manner Thou thankest God with that Pharisee Luk. 18. 11. That thou hast been no extortioneâ— thou hast paid thy tythes given every man his own c. but what will satan and conscience say is this enough to make thee a true christian no thou payedst men their dues but didst thou pay God his dues the due of praying hearing beleeving reading confaring meditating in his word of sanctifying his sabbaths loving his children promoting his glory gaining of otherâ— to imbrace the Gospel didst thou repent and beleeve the gospel precepts and menaces aswell as promises didst thou declare thy faith by thy works didst thou fear an oath hate a lye c. no not one of these things ever troubled thy mind yea thou didst ever hate zeale and devotion so inveterately that thou couldst in no case away with it in others What difference then between thee and an honest Infidel Is not unhonest religion as good as irreligious honesty Alas honesty without piety is but as a body without a head yea without a soul even a rotten and stinking carrion and not a sweet smelling sacrifice in Gods nostrils Divers will say of morall men if they go not to heaven Lord have mercy upon us yet Christ saith except your righteousâ—esse exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall not come there Matth. 5. 20. Yea he plainly affirms that publicanes and harlots shall get into heaven sooner because the other beleeved not neither are they so apt to justifie themselves as the civilly righteous Matth. 21. 31. Many arguments might be brought to aggravate the wickednesse of a negative christian but nothing can be spoken to his comfort for the best of such christians shall without sound repentance and true saith in Christ go to hell as the Scripture every where shewes It is not onely the robbing of Christ or imprisoning him but the not giving to him the not visiting of him shall condemn us Matth. 25. 42. 43. The servant that increaseth not his talent though he does not diminish it shall be bound hand and foot and cast into utter darknesse Matth. â—5 30. And what saith our Saviour Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewen down and cast into the fire Matth. 3. 10. Neither was it sufficient that the Fig-tree which he saw Matth. 11. made as great a shew wâ—th leaves as any other but he cursed it for being fruitlesse Mucâ— more does that earth deserve rather a curse then a blessing which having been watered with the dew of heaven brings forth nothing but thornes and bryars to scratch and teare the husband man that manures it Heb. 6. 7. 8. Sect. 87. And so much to prove that all naturall men viz. Prelatical and scandalous Ministers prophane and loose libertines Cunning Polititians ignorant persons and civil honest men Who professe the same religion with us and who unanimously call the religious Puritans and hypocrites are really and indeed most grosse hypocrites and puritans I might likewise shew that our open Antagonists the Papists even while they curse and raile so upon the truly religious for Puritans and hypocrites are of all others the most notorious ones for besides their works of merit and congruity how contrary yea how diametrially opposite is their profession and practice but to speake to them were to knock at a deafe or dead mans dore Only let the ingenuous stander by heare what Mr. Fox in the beginning oâ—
preferment hee desired which was the Prelats plea when any Zealous Minister spake against Pluralities superstitious Ceremonies and other vices and abuses in the Clergie Yea though they lost their livings it was but to augment their maintainance by lying in a Prison Thirdly and lastly you cannot admonish them of their swearing drinking sabbath breaking c. without being called Puritane which in their language is an hypocrite or disembler yea worse as being of a larger extent as I shall after shew I grant most that use the Name know not what it signifies yea ask what themselves mean by it they are not able to tell you And no marvell they should take admonition the chief office of friendship so ill for poore soules they think we take too much upon us as Korah and his company twitted Moses Numb 16. 3. Neither know they how strictly God commands and requires it Levit. 19. 17. Heb. 3. 13. 2 Tim. 2. 25. Thes 3. 13. Ezek. 3. 18 to 22. 2 Pet. 2. 7. 8. Whence as the chief Priests answered Judas What is that to us so these prophane persons will blaspheme God tear Christ in peeces and more then betray even shed his innocent blood digging into his side with oaths and say when told of it what is that to us They might as well say what is Christ to us what is heaven to us or what is salvation to us For to us the one cannot be without the other we shall never inherit part of his glory in Heaven if wee doe not take his glories part upon Earth And with God it is much about one whether we be a doer of evill or no hinderer For if we must not see our Neighbours Ox nor his sheep go astray or fal into a pit but we must reduce him and help him out of it Deut. 22. 1 We are much more bound to keep our neighobur himself from droping into the bottomlesse pit of hell And what know we but we may win our Brother and so save his soul Mat. 18. 15. like Eugenia who being the naturall daughter of Philippus became spiritually the mother of her owne Father and begat him a new to the grace of Christ he being an Infidel before as Eusebius notes And no man but stands in need e of admonition for graces like good hearbs will not grow of themselves where as vices like weeds need no sowing Or in case wee prevaile nothing yet wee are discharged 1 Cor. 5. 2. and hee who requires it at our hands will returne the same into our owne bosomes Jsa 49. 4. 5. Pro. 11. 18. and 25. 22. And yet we are blamed for so doing and thought contentious They may as well tell me if it had been said to Adam before he eat the forbidden fruit to Iudas before hee betrayed his Master to Jezabel before she plotted Naboths death c. Take heed what you do that this had beene aâ— ill office and that in following such councell they should have had cause to repent themselves But Oh the many and foolish misprisions of carnall minds As how are they mistaken in their opinion of peace like Ahab who thought Eliah a turbulent troubler of all Israel because he did as God commanded him and would not flatter them in their sinnes to their utter destruction for true peace is to have peace with God War with their and ouâ— lusts Rom. 5. 1. and 7. 22. 23. Where as they would have us to be at peace and in league with their sins at war with God and our consciences Yea it no way deserves the name of peace except we be at enmity with the serpent and all his works of darknesse Peace must be followed with holines Hebrew 12. 14. Wherefore Zachariah joyneth Faith Peace and truth together Zach. 8. 16. And St. Paul peace and righteousnesse peace and edification peace and joy in the holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. 19. c. Yea St. Pauls usuall stile in all his Epistles is Grace and peace as if onely where grace is there peace is as where the fire is there heat is Sect. 48. Againe how extreamly will they condemne that preaching which awakens mens consciences works upon their affections and saves their soules And applaud such Corinthian preachers as tickle the ear only and please the sence As let some Boanerges thunder out the judgements of God against sinners and threaten their destruction if they amend not their lives as Jonah when in three daies he converted that great City Nineve Or discover their most secret thoughts as Christ did to the Woman of Samaria Iohn 4. Or drive an application home to their consciences touching some one sinne of theirs as Iohn Baptist dealt with Herod Or as Peter with the Iewes when he converted 3000. at one sermon Acts 2. 41. and 5000. at another Acts 4. 4. Then not only the wit-foundred Drunkard cauterised blasphemer but the civil honest man will strangely censure him and most bitterly enveigh against him for preaching nothing but Law and damnation saying he is factious and Scismaticall a Busie body a fire flinger one that railed upon the Parish spake Daggers points and aimed at somebody Neither are such sermons to be heard for they only drive men to dispair Yea it s much if they do not conspire together to do him a mischiefe as more then fourty Iews did against Paul Acts 23. 12. 13. I deny not but a Minister may be bitter without discretion if he have not due regard to circumstances namely the manner how and the persons to whom he preacheth For to kill a flie on the forehead with a beetle and in stead of sweeping the house to pull it quite downe would become none but a mad man Hearbs cold or hot beyond a certaine degree are mortall Wherefore Both good and well must in our actions meet Wicked is not mnch worse then indiscreet Zeale without discretion is as an offering without an eye which was by God forbidden Levit. 22. 22. Discretion without zeale is as a sacrifice without fat which was likewise forbidden Levit. 7. 25. Zeale without knowledge is a sire without a Chimny Knowledge without obedience is an eye without a foot religion without conscience is a body with out a heart Conscience without zeal is a heart without spirits In fine the fire of the spirit the mother of all true zeale hath light in it as well as heat Wherefore a good Pastor will avoid both extreames not deliver Law without Gospel nor Gospel without Law but a sweet composition of severity and mercy wherein Law and Gospel shall meet as Moses and Christ met upon the Mount Neither know I whether mercy belongs more to the humble and broken hearted to refresh and comfort them or justice to the presumptious to humble and terrifie them Seeing some like Peter are called with a calme voice others like Paul with a thunder-clap And cold sides have no lesse need to be spurred up then â—ot mouths to be held in with bits â—s Plato
Luthers story speakes of the Church of Rome in generall His words are these under pretence saith hee of Peters Chair they exercise a Majesty above Emperours and Kings under the Vizard of vowed Chastity raigns adultery under the Cloake of professed Poverty they possesse the goods of the temporality under the title of being dead to the world they not only raigne in the world but also rule the world under the colour of the keys of heaven to hang under their girdle they bring all the Estates of the world under their girdle and creep not only into the purses of men but into their consciences also they heaâ— their confessions they know all their secrets they dispence as they are disposed and loose whom and what and where they list And wherein did our Lordly Prelats who have alwaies made Gods people under the colour of puritans the onely object of their cr uelty come short of the Papists Did they not under a colour pretence of being fathers of the Church by their usurped government dethrone Christ the head of the church and under the colour of Religion take away the vigour and power of Religion And while they calld themselves the chiefe priests were they not Christâ— chief enemies certainly none will now when they are so well discovered deny it that have eyes in their heads and open But I hasten to acquit the innocent whom all these guilty persons do most unjustly and maliciously accuse and stigmatize for the sole and only puritans and hypocrites In whose tryall two things are principally to be examined and enquired of First What profession they make and how agreable that is to the rule of Gods word Secondly What their practice is and how agreeable that is to their profession Sect. 88. Ob. Now as touching the first they are much found fault withall as what needs so much profession faith the sensualist when his spight is at Religion cannot men serve God in secret but they must blow a trumpet and hang out a flag for others to take notice of it Answ To the which that I may make a full and satisfactory answer pardon the prolixety of it First Such are to know that profession can no more be separated from the truth of Religion then light from the Sun If thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt beleeve with thine heart thou shalt be saved for with the heart man beleeveth unto righteousnesse and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation And whosoever beleeveth on him shall not be ashamed Rom. 10. 9. 10. 11. True fire not painted cannot but heat breake forth and ascend We cannot carry musk in our bosome but the sent will disperse it self There cannot be a candle in the house but it will appear at the window every fountain hath it streams by which it may be known Three things saith the Spanish proverb cannot be kept in Fire love and the cough it may as truly be said of grace If Christ the Paschall Lamb be in the House of the soul the sprinkling of his blood will be seen without by sanctification and holines of life Whosever is indeed good shall and must also seem good for first his works will praise him whether he will or no his fruits will shew what tree he is Indeed profession may be without grace as leaves may be without fruit but grace cannot be without profession as fruit cannot be without leaves That which is not gold may glister but that which is gold cannot chuse but glister We read of Wolves that come in sheeps cloathing but never of sheep that come in wolves cloathing Many harlots will put on the semblances of chastity never the contrary It is no trusting those who wish not to appeare good Good men in Scripture are compared to good and fruitfull trees the heart is the root grace the sapp good works the fruit profession the leaves and blossomes Now if there be sap in the root of a tree and fruit grow on the branches its impossible but some blossoms and leaves will shew themselves Nor can it be expected that eveiy such tree like the mulbery should first bring forth fruit and then blossoms For even repentance and good works are but the fruites of faith and the usuall method is First the roote then the tree then the leaves and blossoms and last of all the fruit Sect 89. Indeed there is a dead faith spoken of Iam. 2. 17. 20 26. which cannot be seen which resembles the Ebone tree that bears neither leaves nor fruit But a true and lively faith is operative and works by love Gal. 5. 6 Yea it constrains thereunto for the heart and mind having begot holy thoughts the lips will not fail to bring them forth witnesse the thiefe upon the crosse If the law of God saith David be in a mans heart his mouth will speak of wisdom and his tongue will talk of judgement Psal 37. 30. 31. The soul that hath received fuâ—l confirmation from God in the assurance of its salvation cannot but bow the knee and by all gestures of body tel how it is ravished whence it is that many at their first conversion are held by their carnal friends to be mad or beside themselves as our Saviour was by his kinsfolk Mark 3. 21. Ioh. 10. 20. Secondly Vnlesse he keep his lips alwaies sealed up he must either dissemble which is cowardly and base Or else his language will bewray what countryman be is For if he speak like the vertuous woman in the Proverbs he opens his mouth with wisdome and the law of grace is in his tongue And while the door of his mouth is open the standers by may behold as it were in a temple the goodly similitudes and images of the soul Neither can he avoid speaking for admit he be in adverse company they will so beset a man with questions and draw him on and pick it out of him that without an absuâ—d silence he must shew an inclination one way even as a ballance cannot stand still but falleth to one side or other or if he do not they will gather as much by his silence as by his speech For in this case carnall men are very apprehensive for as the paynter Protogenes knew Apelles by the draught of one line though he had never seen him before so will they a gracious soul by his very silence Or lastly a man cannot dissent from their wicked customs he cannot refuse to run with them to the same excesse of ryot in drinking swearing prophaning the Lords day and the like much lesse can he admonish them and so discharge his conscience as who having but a spark of the spirit of God in him can choose but he makes too great a shew and his profession troubles them Sect. 90. Indeed they name profession but their spight is against your religion for be but as prophane as they their quarrel is at an end yea it is only your holy religious conversation