Preâ—â—dent for his zeal against the Quakers in the end of his Address in his Commentary De vera et falsa Relig. de Verbo Dei cap. de Ecclesia contra Emserum saith Qui in Ecclesia Scripturam Caelestis Verbi explicari audit c. In English thus Who in the Church heareth the Scripture of the heavenly Word explained judgeth what he heareth but that which is heard is not the Word it self whereby to wit chiefly we believe for if we did believe by that Word which is heard or read then all should become Believers and after he saith It is therefore manifest that we are made faithful by that Word which the heavenly Father preacheth in our hearts whereby he doth also enlighten us that we may understand and draweth that we may follow And again Who are instrusted with that Word judge the Word that soundeth in the Preaching and striketh the Ears but yet the Word of Faith which is seated in the Minds of the faithful is judged by none but by it the external Word is judged which God hath appointed to be preached although Faith cometh not to wit chiefly by the external Word Both which Testimonies of Augustine and Zuinglius do manifestly confirm the Quakers Doctrine against C.M. and his Brethren who acknowledge no inward Word in the hearts of the faithful by which their Faith is wrought and will have the Word of Faith to be only the written or outward Word contrary both to Paul and Zuinglius who give the preheminence to the inward Word and call it the Word of Faith And as Zuinglius holdeth for the Quakers in asserting the inward Word against C.M. and his Brethren so in that called Original Sin for thus he saith expresly lib. de Baptismo Paul cap. 3. to the Romans saith That the knowledge of sin cometh by the Law where therefore there is no knowledge of the Law as in Infants there can be no knowledge of sin but where no knowledge of sin is there is no Prevarication and so Damnation cannot be And after Because Paul saith That Death is come upon all men because all have sinned Theologues from these words judge That that Disease and Contagion that is Hereditary unto us all and is naturally lodged in us is sin that bringeth to us Damnation but they Err the whole Heavens wide Where it is to be noted That Zuinglius doth acknowledge That there is a sinful Disease and Contagion conveyed from Parents to Children but yet it is not imputed unto them to bring Damnation upon any Infants plain contrary to C.M. and his Brethren who affirm That many Infants both of unbelieving and believing Parents are eternaly Reprobated and Damned only for Adams Sin imputed to them Which is most horid Uncharitableness and horridly reflecting upoâ— the Mercy of God And the same Zuinglius in his Chapter of the Eucharist plainly asserteth That Christ by his Flesh and Blood with which he feedeth the Souls of the faithful doth understand a spiritual thing which only the Spirit giveth and not any Flesh consisting of Veins and Nerves withal affirming with Origine and Augustine That Christs Flesh and Blood which he feedeth the Saints with is called so by an Allegory and 〈◊〉 but is really the Word it self called also by an Allegory Bread Wine Milk Honey Marrow Fatness c. Again the same Zuingâ—ius in his Commentary de vera falsa Relig. doth thus comment on Pauls words Rom. 1.19 The knowledge of God is manifest in them so doth he translate the place so doth the old English Translation for God hath showed it unto them We see here openly saith he that 〈◊〉 knowledge concerning God is of God which we ascribe to I know man what Nature for he saith God hath manifested it and what other thing is Nature but a continuing and perpetual operation of God and disposition of all things And again in his Cap. of God he saith If any of the Philosophers have spoken truly of God somethings it was from the Mouth of God who hath scattered some Seeds of his Knowledge even among the Gentiles although more sparingly and more obscurely So that Zuinglius had far more Charity towards honest and conscientious Gentiles than C.M. who differeth fâ—om him very widely as in the 〈◊〉 particulars mentioned so in this last that he affirmeth That what knowledge of God the Gentiles have ought to be attributed to God and not to Nature and therefore not to mans Reason as C.M. would have it which is nothing but a natural Faculty of the Soul And Thomas Shepherd that had been a Preacher at Cambridge in New-England in his Exposition of the Parable of the Ten Virgins saith plainly That that inward Law given to the Heathens is falsly called the Law of Nature for it is of God and so saith Buchannan in his Book De jure Regni apud Scotos and a large Volumn might be printed of Testimonies both out of antient and latter Authors all of good esteem for Piety and Learning yea and even divers Protestants that do acknowledge That the Illumination that is generally in men that teacheth them that there is a God and showeth them good and evil is a Principle above Humane Reason As among English Protestants Henry Moore cited by Increase Mather against the Quakers and praised by Baxter as above who saith expresly in his Moral Cabbala cap. 1. v. 1 2. of Genesis By the Will of God every man living on the face of the Earth hath these two Principles in him Heaven and Earth Divinity and Annimality Spirit and Flesh but that which is Annimal or Natural operates first the spiritual or heavenly Life being for a while closed up at rest in its own Principle c. but by the Will of God it is that afterwards the Day light appears though not in so vigorous Measure out of the heavenly or spiritual Principle And carrying on the Process of Gods work in mens hearts by way of Analogy from the First Day to the Seventh concerning the Seventh he saith Gen. cap. 2. v. 3. of his Mor. Cabb So the divine Wisdom in the humane Nature celebrated her Sabbath having now wrought through the Toil of all the six dayes Travel and the divine Wisdom looked upon the Seventh Day as blessed and sacred a Day of Righteousness Rest and Joy in the holy Ghost And thus if C.M. had but some ordinary Reading in English Writers and did but understand what he reads he might have found an inward and spiritual Sabbath or Day of Rest not only in the Scriptures and the Quakers Books but in Henry Moore a man of far more Sense and Learning than I suppose C.M. will pretend unto Also he might have found it in Calvin lib. 2. Instit cap. 8. n. 30. So that he showeth his Ignorance sufficiently in comparing the finding of a spiritual or inward Seventh Day to the difficulty of finding the Quadrature of the Circle which if it were found it is probable the Penury
to Rom. 1.21 22. but in this as mostly every where he perverteth my words and sense for he hath left out my following words according to the present state And what I mean by them I show a little after That such who have a measure of sincerity in their Gentile state but having no Faith in Christ crucified are but Servants and not Sons of the free Woman but are under the Law and though accepted so far as sincere in the Servants state as I proved from Acts 10.1 2 34 35. yet not thereby justified as Sons for I have acknowledged that without the Faith of Christ crucified and raised again without us none are or can be so justified yet they are as the Kings Prisoners and as the Man-slayer was in the City of Refuge under the Law till he heard of the Death of the High-Priest and such are shut up under the Safeguard of the Law as Beza translates it unto the Faith that is afterwards to be revealed Gal. 3.23 So there is a place of Refuge although C.M. know it not Nor doth Rom. 1.21 22. contradict it for that place speaketh not of all Gentiles but these of the worst of them 2 dly That some may be saved without outward hearing or preaching is granted by the Westminster Confession in the case of Infants and Deaf and Dumb Persons and therefore how devout and Conscientious Gentiles can be saved hath not the least shadow of greater difficulty to understand And that none are eternally saved wiâ—hout the Faith of Christ I have granted in my Catechism and other Treatises and do still grant see Sect. 4. Quest. 10. but how this Faith it wrought in such is best to leave it until God be pleased further to open it seeing as the Westminster Confession saith God worketh by his Spirit when where and how he pleaseth and as Christ said The Spirit bloweth where it listeth the greek word can well be translated Spirit and is so by some Translators 3 dly That the Principle of the New-Covenant is in all Men is not contradicted by Ephes 2.12 but is confirmed by Rom. 10.8 9 10. compared with Deut. 30.14 and Christs Parable of the Seed sown in four grounds And why may not the Seed of the New Covenant lie in the hearts of unregenerate Men for a Season as the Seed of Wheat may lie not having root in the cold dry ground for a Season till it be moistened warmed with the Showers Sun's warmth in the Spring 4 thly That having more Wives than one was unlawful under the Law is not contrary to Mat. 19.45 48. for altho' Man had but one wife given him at the beginning yet the Law that permitted such a thing to men as the like in the case of Divorce came in afterwards And it is absurd to think that Abraham sinned against the Law in his Conscience writ in his very Nature and therefore commonly call'd the Law of Nature in having two Wives at once for all sins against the Law of Nature are hainous sins and of great aggravation as the Westminster Confession acknowledgeth But seeing no such sin is charged on Abraham and that he was in great favour with God at that very time it cannot be said to be against that Law writ in his Nature though it be against the Law of the New-Covenant now under the Gospel 5 thly That we are to wait in Silence for some aid and assistance of the Spirit to help us to pray doth not contradict Acts 8.22 for as Peter commanded Simon Magus to pray so he bid him Repent and Pray and that he had not the Spirit was his own fault as it is the fault of all others who have it not to assist them both to wait and pray also Nor doth mens want of the Spirit because they depart from it and resist the gentle Motions thereof excuse their neglect of Prayer no more than a mans want of Money excuseth him to pay a just Debt yet he must not go to pay his debt with falsâ— Coyn no more should a man pray with a Hypocritical Spirit Nor 6 thly doth Rom. 3.28 prove that Repentance as well as Faith is not a necessary Condition and Instrument of our Justification for true Gospel Repentance is not the Work of the Law but of Faith and his Reverend R. Baxter doth hold with the Quakers against him That Faith and sincere Obedience are necessary Conditions and Instruments of Justification and to teach so he doth not think Popish as doth sufficiently appear by what he hath printed on that subject see his Aphorisms of Justification pag. 80. where he saith Some Ignorant Wretches gnash their Teeth at this very Doctrine as if it were flat Popery viz. That Men are justified by Faith as it is an inward Obedience Nor 7 thly doth Rom. 9.11 prove that Esau was a Reprobate before he was born or at any time afterwards yea Cotton Mather with his Boston Brethren in their former Book dare not affirm That Esau was a Reprobate and that men are not born Reprobates though some are preferred to others before they are born but become Reprobates after they have nothing good left in them is clear from Scripture that calleth reprobate men Dross after the precious Mettle is extracted from it and Chaff that hath no grain of Wheat in it Nor 8 thly doth Acts 8.38 prove that Christs Baptism is with Water for as the Practice of Circumcision after Christs Resurrection doth not prove it a Gospel-Precept no more doth the practise of Water Baptism but both Christ and John did teach That Christs Baptism was with Fire and the holy Ghost but no where is it said that Christ baptizeth with Water Nor 9 thly doth 1 Cor. 11.26 prove That Believers may not feed upon Christ by Faith and so sup with him and he with them as well when they eat not as when they do eat together outwardly remembring the Lords Death with Solemn Prayer and Thanks-giving which we grant is good frequently to be done And thus I have fully answer'd all his frivolous and weak Objections against my Catechism so that he hath not discovered the least grain of Error in it nor doth any thing that I have said in my other printed Treatises contradict the Doctrine of my Catechism as he doth falsly alledge perverting my words in most things to a sence contrary to my mind or to what they can bear so far is he from that Candor of giving them a favourable Construction But I intend not to follow him in his manifold Impertinences to weary either my Reader or my self and shall come to give a brief and plain Answer to his Five Arguments whereby he would perswade the People in New-England to turn away from hearing me the which Arguments savour more of bitter Prejudice and extream Folly and Rashness than of â—â—y Wit or Judgment and hath nothing of Truth in them and might be easily retorted upon himself where they have the best seeming
19. And again When they come to ministâ—â— at the Altar let them not bring a blemish lest they dye Which woâ—â—â— of Cyprian and his Collegues are as much against Impious as Heretick Ministers and yet Protestants who judge Popish Priests to be great Hereticks allow of their Baptism so far that they do not baptize any that leave Popery and joyn to them And Athanassus in his Interpretation of the Parables saith Who 〈◊〉 will do the Work of God who will teach others or be profitable unto 〈◊〉 is behoveth him to be in the first place Virtuous and to receive the Gifâ—◠〈◊〉 Grace from God and to possess the Fruits of the holy Spirit and the Treasures of the Knowledge of the good things of God and then he can impart Gifts to others for if any go with his hands to anoint another with Oyl and have no Oyl how can he give to others what himself hath not and after the same manner we must judge of a Teacher As for C. M's great Clamour for Maintenance to him and his Brethren for preaching from 1 Cor. 9.14 and Gal. 6.6 Let them first prove that they are true Ministers of the Gospel and have a divine and spiritual Gift and Ability to preach it and we should allow to such that Maintenance which the Scripture mentioneth which to be sure is neither any stinted Sallary nor forced which yet many of the Priests of New-England have had and yet would have if they knew how and which C.M. doth plead for Nor is he less Impertinent in his seeking Shifts and Evasions to excuse their putting to Death our four Friends in New England one time telling us There are Laws for iâ— against the Quakers for speaking and writing Blasphemous Opinions despising of Government c. And so had the Jews a Law as they said against Christ and so had the Papists against the Martyrs that they burned in Queen Mary's time But what the blasphemous Opinions were that these were guilty of who were put to Death at Boston hath not yet been made appear nor any other thing worthy of Death or Corporal Punishment And suppose which yet I never heard sufficiently proved that some called Quakers said to People in New England things that were blasphemous as Thy Bible is the Word of the Devil we deny thy God c. as C.M. saith but doth not prove must the innocent suffer for the guilty if these that were put to death said no such thing as ye can never prove they did they were unjustly put to Death and their Blood yet lieth upon them that either shed it or doth justifie the shedding of it and it were far better to C.M. not to take innocent Blood on him if he were wise Another while again These Laws were but begun to be executed before the New-Englanders grew sensible of their Error in making them c. But then if it was their Error to make them why should C.M. use so many Evasions to justifie their executing them Another while The Quakers would not have born New-England men to have done the like c. But the Quakers have suffered a great deal more disturbance even in their â—ublick Meetings and never used any such Violence even where they 〈◊〉 Power And his Example of a mans entring into another mans Horse 〈◊〉 Plague upon him without that others Consent is altogether imâ—â—â—per for the wide World or any wide part of it as New-England â—â—â—ereth far from a mans private Dwelling and if this Example had â—ny force in it it hath the same for the Papists in France and Spain â—â—nishing and putting to Death the Protestants there But it seems C.M. is not of our Saviours mind who bid suffer the Tares and the Wheat to grow together in the Field which he expoundeth to be the World until the Harvest And this Example of C.M. is like that which I heard that a New-England Preacher gave to move the People to put the Quakers to Death though they could not prove them guilty of any fact worthy of it That men use to kill the Wolves they catch as well these who have done no harm to the Sheep as others who have done harm because it is the Nature of Wolves to do harm and the way to prevent their Harm is to kill them And for all C. M's fair Pretensions of Lenity to the Quakers now-a-dayes yet seeing he calleth us at least the Speakers among them grievous Wolves it showeth his envious Mind and how he would have us treated if his Perswasion could prevail nor ought we to believe his Protestations to the contrary seeing he doth so much contradict them in his so much justifying the putting our Friends to Death But it is no new thing that the Sheep should be put into Wolves and Bears Skins as C.M. doth to us in the Title page of his Book calling it Little Flocks guarded against grievous Wolves but the Title of his Book had been most true and proper Cotton Mather proving himself a grievous Wolf against the poor innocent Sheep of Christ called in scorn Quakers for his fierce and ravenous Spirit against the Quakers is more like to a Wolf than any thing that ever appeared in any of us against him or his Brethren and he can never prove that ever one of us stirred up the Magistrate to Persecution against any that differed from us in any part of the World But we can prove that his Brethren the Priests in New-England did most earnestly stir up the Magistrates in New-England to persecute our Brethren and did prevail with them to do it and if C.M was too Young or not born in those dayes to joyn with his Blood thirsty Brethren it is well if his Father Increase Mather was not equally guilty with others of them and I find not as yet but that C.M. doth approve their deeds and so bringeth their sins upon him as Christ said to the Pharisees who in the like Hypocritical Spirit said If 〈◊〉 had lived in our Fathers dayes we would not have killed the 〈◊〉 Mat. 23.30 And seeing according to C.M. the Quakers that 〈◊〉 put to Death were Mad and fitter for Bedlam than to be put to Dâ—â—â—â— on which Concession John Delavall in his Appendix to my Boâ—â— proveth by the Law of England That these who put them to Death 〈◊〉 Murtherers and deserved Death for so doing What saith C.M. to this Surely nothing at all CHAP. VI. HIs Apology for using You to one and saluting with the Hat is very weak and silly viz. Because to say you to a single Person became a Custom when the Common Wealth of Rome was turned into a Kingdom first to treat Persons of Quality in the plural Number with You and so by degrees it s descended unto all particular men But if 〈◊〉 be a sufficient Reason to justifie a 〈◊〉 then all the 〈…〉 and vain Inventions of Heathens and Papists may be allowed but the Scripture saith The Customs of the People are