capacity of favour with God by the bloud of Christ so it is faith with a life conforme to the Gospel that gives us an actual interest in his Death and thereby unto the peace of God but seing the result of this in plain language is no other then that our Lord having by his own bloud ransomed fallen and forfeited mankind hath in liew of the first Covenant made with man and by him transgressed proposed to us a second adding to the condition of a holy life required by the fâ—â—st that of beleeving That this is altogether dissonant both to the declared love of God and the grace revealed by Jesus Christ in his Gospel any Christian may discern Your next words are And a fourth And the root of this new life is a faith which worketh by love purifieth the heart and overcometh the world and there fore Iustification is ascribed unto it in Scripture But pray Sir how is it that faith becometh such a fruitful root Is it not by laying hold on Christs Righteousnesse by which pardon being obtained and we reconciled unto God we have right unto and so do attain in due time the benefite of all the promises of Grace which in Christ Jesus are yea and Amen or that the same faith which layeth hold on him as our Righteousnesse in Gods sight doth also unite us to him for Sanctification and ingraffing us as it were in him through the communication of his grace purifieth the heart and overcometh the World Or lastly is it not that by faith we are brought to the bloud of Sprinkling which is both the bloud of atonement that sprinkleth from an evill Conscience and also the Laver which cleanseth from all sin and wherewith we are sanctifyed This being then the Scripture account and it being most apparent that Christ through faith becometh first our Righteousnesse for remission of sin and Justification in Gods sight and then our Sanctification unto Good works your own acknowledgement that faith is the root of this new life of holiness may evince that a holy life subsequent to faith and our acceptation therethrough cannot be therewith joined as a condition for our Justification But that which followeth in your discourse and therefore i. e. because of the above enumerat fruiâ—s which it produceth Iustification is ascribed unto faith in the Scripture is the grossest error of all because 1. It directly repugnes to Scripture clearly intimating that it is unto faith as the instrument only whereby the Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ is unto us applyed that Justification is in Scripture ascrived If we be justifyed by the faith of Jesus Christ and if by the Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ the free gift cometh upon all to the Justification of life if he be the propitiation through faith in his bloud and our righteousnesse which is of God by faith are you not affrayed to say that Justification requiring a satisfactorie righteousnesse is ascrived to faith because of its poor and imperfect fruits in us and thereby to â—light and vilipend the perfect Righteousnesse of Christ the immediat object whereon it layeth hold and our only acceptation in Gods sight 2. Because this your error derogates from Divine justice We have already heard you call Justification a legal or judicial act and consequently an act wherein free grace doth not more favour the lost sinner then justice doth regard a valuable ransome and surety If Iustification then be ascribed in Scripture to faith this must certainly be understood either as faith is in it self or is relative to a compleat and adequat satisfaction Now to think that faith in it self or as it is an act or habite which is the Gift of God or its fruits which beside that they are also the gift of God and our dutie as from us are mixed with much weakness and imperfection or lastly that any thing else then the Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ apprehended by faith can be commensurable to holy Iustice is more then redargued by the simple proposal 3. This your ascribing Iustification unto faith in regard of a holy life which it produceth doth no less detract from the praise of the glory of the grace of God wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved Is it the praise and commendation of this wonderful love and grace that he spared not but gave his only begotten Son to be a ransome for sinners and that it is in the Beloved that we are accepted and justifyed and should not you be ashamed to say that it is unto faith as the root of a holy life and not as it doth respect and take hold on him who was made to be sin for us and knew no sin that we might be made the Righteousnesse of God in him that Iustification is in Scripture ascrived 4. This your error as it is contrary to the Scripture and derogatorie to the Righteousnesse of Christ the Holinesse of Divine justice and the Glory of free Grace so it is the manifest product of and cannot but be a most dangerous temptation to that inward and spiritual pride in the heart of man of all sin the most subtilly insinuating deeply rooted and pernicious A price or something meriting or moving at least of our own is that which the natural man liketh well nay knoweth not how to renounce was it not a subtile and strange effect of this pride and corrupt selfe Shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul When as the thing required by the Lord was to do justly love mercy and walk humbly with God And whence did the Iews their stumbling at the Gospel proceed Was it not that they went about to establish their own righteousnesse and therefore they did not submit themselves unto the Righteousnesse of God Say not that this accusation against you is unwarranted I know you tell us That your explanation ascribes all to Christ through whom it is that our sinnes are pardoned our services accepted and grace and glory conveyed to us But it is evident that these are but vain words in as much as though you here tell us that our services are accepted through Christ yet almost immediatly before we heard you say that it is faith and a life conforme to the Gospel by way of antecedent condition which gives us an interest in his bloud Now that our services cannot be prerequired by way of condition to his acceptance of us and also only accepted as performed by us in himâ— is of it self manifest 2. Though you should more clearly and consistently ascribe all unto Jesus Christ yet by turning his grace into a condition the subtilty and folly of your pride doth but the more bewray it self For as simply to obtrude our own good works which in the acknowledgement of the most exact and confident legalist are both commanded and given us of God is a proud presumption so the more you attribute either the strength or the acceptance of performances
us free and will not suffer our selves to be imposed upon or intangled with a Yoke of bondage Is it because we maintain that no power upon Earth can make things Necessary which God hath made Indifferent more then they can make things indifferent which he hath made Necessary Is it because we know or will acknowledge no Law-giver or Lord in the house of God beside our Lord Jesus Christ and are bold to put all pretenders to produce our Masters warrant when they call for our obedience to their Commands as not darring to make the will of a poor frail fallible creature the Law of our Conscience In a word is it because we dare not with you homologat all the impieties of that Partie who have burst these holy bonds for Reformation and Righteousnesse wherewith together with us they had so solemnly bound their Souls and are now returned to their former vomit Is our esteem of and adherence to the wayes of righteousnesse an overrating of things more then we ought and are we only guilty of Superstition because we cannot be Metamorphosed into a detestable newtrality and Gallio like indifferencie in the matters of God Truely Sir providing our Zeal for these things were such as our own heart did not reproach us for a sinful short coming and defect in as alas it is not we could bind al your reproaches for what ye count excess and over-rating unto us as a crown and indulge you a libertie to lay to our charge things that we know not and cast iniquitie upon us without taking further notice of what ye have said then thereby to be stirred up to pour out our complaint before God and Pray him that he would not hold his peace since the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitfull is opened against us and have spoke against us with a lying tongue But I know ye follow your old Leaders D. Mortown D. Burgess c. who had the same unhappiness to go before you in accusing the Brethren who could not be cudgelled into a complyance with nor cast in the mould of your Ceremonies that you have in following of such who in this did not follow the Lord fully and had not the lamp of the word to shine in their way They did plead innocent asserting they were not guiltie of Superstition in using and imposing Ceremonies but the N. C. were in refuseing But Sir ye should either have had the head to have made the insuficiencie of these great mens vindication manifest or not have had the fore-head to renew the same challenge without taking notice of their replyes which stand unanswerable to this day your over-rating 〈◊〉 the Doctors reason such as it is couched in it they alledged the N. C. guiltie of Superstition why because forsooth the N. C. say they place a special peice of Religion in not using of these Ceremonies and teach others to abstain from using them for Conscience sake and this is the vermiculation of your puâ—se too But what would these Gentlemen have said or what will the altitude of your invention suggest to the Apostles words why are ye subject to Ordinances touch not taste not handle not c. i. e. Keep youâ— selves free from these things which are after the commandments and doctrines of men be ye not subjuâ—â—â— as the servants of men to the observation of such things which are obtruded upon you as a peice of Religion being meer human inventions without any warrant from the Word of God was there nothing of Religion in abstaining from these Sir ye and your Fellows have the unhappiness to be of a different minde from thâ— Apostle who had the minde of Christ. Are meâ—s Consciences nothing concerned to stand fast in the liberty where with Christ hath made them free and to withstand while a Dominion over their Faith is usurped and the thing intended is to wreath a Yoke of bondage to the Doctrines of men about the neck of the Conscience 2. If this be good arguing may not the prophane multitude have the same plea against all who abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the Soul May not these I say be prompted by your â—ogick to flout at all who run not with them to the same excess of riot as superstitious fools because they place any thing of Religion in these negatives and suppose that conscience is concerned in that abstinence Hence 3. we say that we look upon our abstaining from a complyance with the Commands and Doctrines of men from foolish and vaine Ceremonies from whatsoever is obtruded upon us in the matters of God without his warrant as acts of common obedience and as service to our Lord and Master but we no more fansie this abstinence to be an act of immediat and formal worship as you would make the world beleeve we do to the end that beleeving us they may beleeve ye speak truth and reason then we do a keeping of our selves unspotted from these pollutions and corruptions which come not within the compass of worship so that we may be aswel said to over-rate things Superstitiously because we do not drink whoâ—e lye steall break Covenants persecute the People of God who desire to hold fast their integrity while broken in the place of dragons and covered with the shadow of death as because we cannot we dare not comply with abjured and wicked Prelacie Lording it over Gods inheritance and recuiring obedience to their vain inventions I must tell you moreover that I do not admire your definition of Superstition ye had it I grant from your friend Doctor Hamond and to make it your own you have supplyed the Doctors Nimiety with your over-rating But if you think it not an honour to erre and be put to a disadvantage with the Doctor you should have guarded your self and your partie from the rebound of your own blow Sir what your over-ratings of foolish Traditions and vain Ceremonies are hath been at a very dear rate experienced by the bleeding and weeping People of God in whose bloud exile bonds spoilings persecutions and afliction you have made your minde and exorbitant esteem of these things legible Your most bigot and fond Conformist must grant that the things ye plead for Patronize and press are not necessary in themselves and have no connexion with the Salvation of the Soul by way of midse or by virtue of divine precept and that all the degrees of necessity they can pretend to is only from the will of the imposer Now Sir may a man ask you without putting you inâ—o a chaffe what an over-rating of these things is it for you to debarre eject vex and smite faithfull Shepherds scatter the Flocks turne such Labourers out of the Vine-yard who have a seal of their being the sent Embassadours of Jesus Christ upon the Souls of many and a Testimony of faithful servants in the Consciences of some of their grand Opposites as hath been found when their Conscience began to
consideration the matters of Decencie whereof both the conveniencie and use flows only from the common exigence of all humane actions do not fall And that this is the true notion of Christian liberty the Scriptures whence I take it and wherein it is so clearly distinguished from the Jewish bondage there also described Iohn 4. 21. Gal. 3. 4 and 5. Col. 2. are so plain that nothing can be added Only I observe that because by this liberty we are delivered from these performances whereunto the exercise of Religion requiring in every act of worship or service toward God the Faith and Conscience of a Divine prescript without which it is impossible to please him was formerly by Moses Law astricted Therefore it is indeed and is rightly termed liberty of Conscience which while you and others do conceive to be nothing else then a freedom to think things to be free in themselves that are not commanded by the Lord you do not only grossly mistake it as distinguished from the Jewish servitude but open a door to humane lust and invention to incumber and deprave the whole body of Religion and the worship of God with whatsomever fopperies they please to devise seing that in your opinion it is impossible that Christian liberty of Conscience can be thereby prejudged Now to prove that your exactions are high impingements upon this freedome I need not mention these compliances which you crave and are in effect directly opposite to the will of God but even your other ceremonies all added as in and by themselves significant to the worship and service of God without the warrant either of his word or of the common exigence of all performances and so thereby made Religious in their use and object and therefore certainly belonging to Conscience needeth no other argument to eviâ—ce it then the subsumption of a condescendence Having thus in some measure cleared what I proposed lest you or any other should account these things to be matters of meere doubtfull disputations I must adde that as it hath alwayes been observed that the greatest urgers of conformity in the externalls of humane invention have been very little if at all serious in the life and substantials of Religion so the great prejudice thence ensuing to the power and practice of Godliness partly by reason of the imposers evill lusts and ends partly by reason of that spirit of delusion to which they are given up and partly by reason of the vanity of the things imposed and the Lords abhorrence of them doth both discover that Mysterie of Hypocrisie and Wickedness which secretly worketh under these vain formes and should ever render them most odious to all the lovers of truth and holiness I might here further adde that as your impositions are invasive of Christian liberty injurious to Conscience and corruptive of the pure and acceptable worship of God and consequently such as no power on Earth can lawfully command them or we therein obey so were it but for the offence that may thence redound to the stumbling of the weak and hardening of the imposers to proceed from small beginnings to the grossest mixtures all conscientious Men may very justly be therefrom deterred but to this I shall speak at greater length 5. Having shewed that Paul's Christian civility doth make nothing for your imposed conformity and that to turne the free exercise of a charitable compliance unto a yoke of bondage is a perversion intolerable I shall summe up the whole matter with this brief reflection viz. that admitting the things required of us were only such externals and nothings as you would groundlessly perswade and that our forbearance had in it more of weakness then sound reason yet the free Spirit of Christianity which you alleage and Paul describeth Rom. 14. is so farre from urging us to your desired compliance that I am very confident to affirme that if the severest Non-conformist had had the rule to dictate pardon the supposition blessed be the Dictator he could not more manifestly and directly have condemned your rigid exactions in thir matters then the Apostle doth in this place I need not insist upon particulars the whole chapter is most expresse Let not him that eateth and you think all the points of the controverted conformity of no greater moment despise him that eateth not How do you then vex them with hard Laws and grievous pains more then you do heynous Malefactors Who art thou that judgest another mans servant Is a demand which one day will concerne Kings and Rulers more then any of their Subjects Why do they then judge Why do they set at nought their brethren for all shall stand and that on even ground before the judgement seat of Christ Let us not therefore judge one another but let us judge this rather that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brothers way You assure us and seem perswaded that the things pressed are of themselves nothing but to him that esteemeth them unlawfull to him they are unlawfull and he that doubteth is damned if he do because he doth not of faith How then can you require this conformity and of how different a temper was the free and charitable Spirit of the Apostle who not only indulgeth the weak Non-Conformist but becometh such himself to evite his offence If thy brother be grieved with thy meat or with any of the matters now in debate for you make no difference now walkest thou spoken in my opinion to the Prince as well as Peasant not according to charity destroy not him with thy meat or your acknowledged humane inventions for whom Christ dyed Say not that the things in controversie being concluded by Law are no more free or in the condition of the things here mentioned for if not only judging and despising the Forbearer be here forbidden but even the conâ—raire practice when to him offensive how much more must the designed framing and strick executing of Laws for no other visible end then the violenting of scruplers and racking of their Consciences acknowledged by your self for the widest step to Atheism that can be made be in this Scripture condemned If you urge that to carry this indulgence so high is to frustrate all humane Laws seing the person unwilling to obey may alwayes pretend from Conscience the privilege of forbearance And as de facto you reason Any offender may decline Discipline and say that the thing being indifferent by command it becomes necessary and so a burthen of Conscience 'T is answered that as the burthen of Conscience doth not stand in a necessity by Divine precept of the things imposed otherwayes the Lords commandments that are certainly most easie should thence become most grievous but in effect in a forced obligation to practice in things wherein Conscience requiring the Lords warrant in order to his acceptation cannot at all finde it so the liberty and privilege here spoken to is only in order to Conscience viz. That
there is that truth in them that though David's wished for wings may better suit your desire of rest yet Ieremiah's waterie head and weeping eyes with his retirement to a wildernesse would be the more agreeable wish to our condition But our relieff is that the Lord seeth and who knowes but he is displeased that there is no intercessor and that therefore his arme may bring salvation when he shall put on righteousnesse as a breast-plate and an helmet of salvation upon his head when he shall put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and cloath himself with zeal even that zeal which you go about to maligne as with a clock However this is most certaine that the Redeemer is come to Zion and unto them that turne from transgression in Jacob saith the Lord. But your N. C. recals me and tells us that the further he seeth in the great businesse of Religion he is the the more coovinced of a serene and placide temper which so qalisies the soul for Divine converse And these words do ravish and unite your heart to him in such a manner that for a conclusion to these your roving Dialogues you do very agreeably evanish in a fancied transport And really Sir I do as little question that the further a man seeth and is seriously exercised in the great businesse of Religion he will certainly be therby rendered of a more serene and placide temper The statutes of the Lord are indeed right rejoyceing the heart the commandement of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes the divine light doth certainly give pure joy and pure joy no doubt doth elevat above all carnall perturbations and drossie pleasures there is a vertue in Religion that powerfully rebuking not only the windes of our tempestuous passions and the tossings of our vaine desires but the dreadful tempest of Gods anger doth make a great calme which bringeth unto Jesus Christ for refuge unto God for our rest and blesseth us with his peace that passeth understanding and filleth us with all joy in believing But your insinuation as if a serene and placid temper not flowing from but previously disposing unto Religion and fellowship with God were of special influence as to divine converse is at best but a continuation of your delusion I shall not say deceit suited to your great designe of preferring peace to truth and fraiming Religion to your own accommodation And truly in order to that end the advantages of a serene indifferencie and placide compliance resolving all difficulties by the conveniencie of ease and not striving in any case against the Authority and commands of such on whom our outward peace depends can not be denyed But seing it is the great work of Religion first to open the eyes and to turne from darkness unto light and from the power of Satan unto God that we may receive forgivenesse of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith and in these excellent graces true peace and full joy let him who would have a minde truly serene and not only a placide temper but a tranquill and joyful conscience studie and walk in this light discovering and abhorring every evill way and by purity and faithfulnesse even in that which is least make sure his peace and so shall he not only be qualified for but certainly attaine unto divine converse Serenity and tranquillity of minde when flowing from that wisdome from above which is first pure then peaceable and is the product of pure Religion and undefiled is no doubt no other then that light wherein God dwells and that calmness and weakness of Spirit wherein he delights But as for your serene and placid Temper whith you exhibite to us rather as preparatory then subsequent to Religion I must again tell you my feares that I find it so little agreeable to Religion's genuine methode and so very suitable to your carnal designes that I greatly apprehend that instead of advancing you to true divine converse it only seduce you into a fools paradise of your own dreams and imaginations Whether your ensuing raptures do thence proceed I leave it to others to judge But sure I am were you as earnest to pray Deliver my soul O Lord from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue as you would appear serious in the following regrete of having too long dwelt among them that hate peace You had rather choosed to suffer affliction with the people of God esteeming the reproach of Christ even treason and sedition great riches and respecting and looking for the recompense of the reward the eternal love and peace of God then to have taken the compendious way of a sinful compliance for obtaining this worlds ease and quiet Which I am confidentâ— that holy man whose words you usurpe would have abhorred at the rate As for the thick fogs and mists of contention which you complaine of if this life were indeed to you a valley of tears as you give it out while all light and purity is almost destroyed by the lust and ignorance of your prelatick party it would have been to these infernal vapors and clouds of smok by which our Sun and air are darkned and not to the just and necessary opposition of a small faithful remnant against your apostacy that you had ascribed the noisomness which you mention But behold the nimblenesse aswell as the delusion of the mans fancy he hath for outward ease cast away a good conscience and preferred all along peace unto truth All the disturbance he meeâ—eth with is the dissent of a few faithfull unto God and stedfast in his Covenant whom he and his party do therefore persecute This small innocent non-complyance he complaineth of as if he were the most refined and tender Saint grieving for the wicked and rageful persecution of the ungodly from which imaginary and feigned distresse with the same artifice and facility he pretendeth that his relieff is in divine contemplation whither as to the mountaine of God he flieth forsooth for Sanctuary that he may take rest But this triumphing of your presumption shall be but short the joy of the hyhocrite is but for a moment though his excellency reach up to the heavens and his head reach unto the clouds yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung they which have seen him shall say where is he he shall fly away as a dream and be chased away as a vision of the night for who Lord shall dwell in thy holy hill and who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousnesse and speaketh the truth in his heart he that backbiteth not with his tongue nor doth evill to his neighbour nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour in whose eyes a vile person is contemned but he honoureth them that fear the Lord he that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not he that hath clean hands and a pure heart who hath not lift vp his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousnesse from the God of his Salvation If therefore your pretensions be such as you professe you must not overlooke the way that God himselfe hath designed but walk in it with fear Your vain phantastick soarings will not carry you either over or by it Nay in the end they will prove a lie and tumble you into destruction For what is the hope of the Hypocrite when he hath gained when God taketh away his soul Think not that these things are from ill nature and spoken in bitterness Nay Sir I may very seriously protest that when I reflect on your laxe and unsound principles not only in the matters of Government and Worship but even in the head of justification and several other parts that you have given me occasion to touch with your enmity and reproaches against the work of God and the Kingdome Ministry and Ordinances of our Lord Iesus Christ and how on the other hand you endeavour to shreud your self under the high pretenses of peace love charity and devotion wholly heavenly I can scarce refrain from trembling in the thoughts of such deep and abusive hypocrisie And therefore though you should scorn my compassion yet will I not forbear to give you my best advice You seem to have the forme of knowledge and of the truth in the word Nay thou makest thy boast of God and divine contemplation the secret of Gods presence and the refreshfull shades of the Almighty where joy unspeakable and the most pure solaces flow appear to be your familiar retreat But as it is too too evident that neither your principles nor practice are very suitable to this profession nay that there is no noise heard of this profession while you are bussied in serving mens designs and your own fancies And that it is only after you have striven to the outmost in perswading or contradicting that you seek to evade or delude by these pretensions So my earnest request is that in place of fancie that evaporats all your knowledge into imagination faith and love may suck down the truth into your heart to convert you indeed unto God and reveal in you with power his Son Iesus Christ that you may love the Lord with all your soul and strength and trust in him alwayes have respect unto all his Commandements and observe all his Ordinances then should you walk in the way safely and the Lord should be your confidence And though you should be exercised with the same perverse disputings of men of corrupt mindes the same strife of tongues and persecution of adversaries whereof we have so large an experiment yet amidst all these boisterous windes and tossing waves God would be your Rock light joy strength and salvation for ever Sir this is our faith and also our victory for which when you shall as seriously contend as you do vainly pretend to outward peace and mans favour then shall true peace even that peace which the World neither gives nor can take abound unto you to establish you unto the end Let us therefore fight the good fight keep the faith and lay hold on eternal life that we may finish our course with joy so shall we receive that Crown of Righteousnesse which the righteous Iudge shall give unto us at that day and not unto us only but unto all them also that love his appearing Even so come Lord JESUS FINIS