to you to see so populous so famous and so antient a City as Bristoll is on a light Flame Your Hands bound with Cords and your selves hall'd along the Streets like Fellons and delivered into the Custody of cruel and hard-hearted Men with infinite more mischievous and unknown Miseries that attend Wars whither civil among our selves or Foreign by Invasion of Strangers Are there none of you left alive in this City that can testifie what the unspeakable Miseries were which this distracted Kingdom endured in the time of that Scism that so grievously wounded and disturbed the Peace of the Church in the Reign of that pious Prince King Charles the I. if there are as doubtless there are many ask them and they will tell you what horrible Confusions there were both in Church and State and the Government of both utterly subverted till God in Mercy restor'd them to us again and will continue so till the same Spirit of Faction and Scism do for our Sins give us another overturn Oh England England once the Mistress of Islands if a true list and number of those thy Natives which most cruelly slew one another in thy late civil Wars should be brought to thy view And if all the Christian Blood then shed to satisfie the Factious Humours of some Men had been exhall'd by airy Vapours and now shour'd down upon thy fertile Fields and populous flourishing Towns and Cities thou wouldst see strange and prodigious Sights If those deep Sighs and Groans which thousands of excellent and vertuous Ladies and Gentlewomen utter'd from their afflicted Souls and standing with Petitions in their Hands at the doors of a company of Thieves that called themselves Committees praying from day to day from week to week and from month tomonth to buy their own Estates their lovely Cheeks bedew'd with a flux of brinish Tears from their tender Eyes If such things as these can be pleasing to any sort of profest Christians surely they are void of a right Understanding they are led not by Reason but by a Spirit of Madness which hath very little fence in what it acts Consider these things my Brethren in time lest ye repent it when it is too late And now lastly I pray you seriously to consider that there are no greater Enemies to the service of God in our Church Assemblies than the Apostate Church of Rome consisting of Monks Fryers Jesuits and Mass-Priests Can ye then do them a greater pleasure than to joyn with them in Hatred and Contempt of it Did they not burn both the Book it self and the choicest Persons of those that composed it and will ye throw their Ashes into the River they tied them to Stakes and will ye shoot at their Hearts with bitter words Next unto the sacred Scriptures I am bold to say that our Common-Prayer Book is the surest visible Bulwark to keep out Popery from ever being established by Law in this Kingdom any more for ever and will ye persevere in throwing dovvn such a Fortification and so let in again the Antichristian Beast of Rome to ruin and destroy us and to make us and your selves an everlasting Reproach and a perpetual shame O do not rob those Martyrs of that Honour vvhich they purchased at so dear a rate for the Benefit and Good of their surviving Brethren and Friends that then vvere or thereafter should be made Members of the Body of Christ O do not disgrace their Labours by blotting and staining them vvith scurilous Language and thereby expose the Protestant Faith to the Scorn and laughter of a cruel Adversary for over your Shoulders do the Blood-thirsty Papists shoot at our Hearts O that ye vvere vvise that ye vvould consider these things and return to the high way of Salvation again What joy would there be in our Churches What loving Embraces What mutual Society What Gladness of Heart What inward Comfort and Consolation to our Immortal Souls What reviving of Spirits How sweet would such Unity Peace and Concord be to the whole Kingdom How mediately-secure should we be not only from all fears of a Foreign Invasion but from all doubts of a Civil War amongst our selves Then should we offer our daily Sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one Shoulder and one Consent Thus have I discharg'd my duty to all that profess the name of Christ in this Kingdom wherein I was born What the effect of it may be God knows for I do not I leave the issue of it to the only wise Saviour of the World in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge whose poor weak and unworthy Servant I am and hope to persevere therein Dum Spiritus hos Regit ortus And lest any Reader should here and there meet with a word or two in this Postscript which he may happily think hath a tang of Acerbity I have thorowly season'd and sweetned it with the judgment of a Martyr'd Monarch a Stedfast and Faithful Defender of the truly antient Catholique and Apostolick Faith Upon the Ordinance against the Common-Prayer-Book IT is no News to have all Innovations usher`d in with the name of Reformations in Church and State by those who seeking to gain Reputation with the Vulgar for their extraordinary Parts and Piety must needs undo whatever was formerly settled never so well and wisely So hard can the pride of those that study Novelties allow former times any share or degree of Wisdom or Godliness And because matter of Prayer and Devotion to God justly bears a great part in Religion being the Souls more immediate converse with the Divine Majesty nothing could be more plausible to the People then to tell them They served God amiss in that Point Hence our public Liturgy or Forms of constant Prayers must be not amended in what upon free and publick advice might seem to sober Men inconvenient for matter or manner to which I should easily consent but wholly cashiered and abolished and after many popular Contempts offered to the Book and those that used it according to their Consciences and the Laws in force it must be crucified by an Ordinance the better to please either those Men who gloried in their extemporary Vein and Fluency or others who conscious to their own formality in the use of it thought they fully expiated their Sin of not using it aright by laying all the blame upon it and a total rejection of it as a dead letter thereby to excuse the deadness of their Hearts As for the Matter contained in the Book sober and learned Men have sufficiently vindicated it against the Cavils and Exceptions of those who thought it a part of Piety to make what prophane objections they could against it especially for Popery and Superstition whereas no doubt the Liturgy was exactly conformed to the Doctrin of the Church of England and this by all Reformed Churches is confessed to be most sound and Orthodox For the matter of
upon him for it as Aaron here did but as for Miriam she neither Confest her Sin nor shew'd any Sorrow for it but stubb rnly persisted in it For notwithstanding God Arraigned her himself and sate himself as â—udge in Moses's Cause and ask'd her why she was not affraid to speak against his Servant Moses she made no Reply by an humble Plea for Mercy but stood as a sullen Mute and so God recorded her and left her to Judgment and departs from her in great Fury Num. 12. 9. 2. The second Infectious Disease is the Pestilence which prevails mightily by Infection killing Thousands in a short time So doth the Plague of Spiritual Delusions Infect and Destroy many Thousands of Souls in a very few Days And that these Mens Principles in my Text had the same Effect it was too apparent in their Punishment and one may read their Sin in their Punishment And that there was a Spiritual Plague fore broken and running upon these Mens Spirits It is evident by the Injunction which God laid upon the rest of the People to depart from them and not to come near them nor touch any thing of theirs least their Sin should Infect them and they perish with them in their Sins And so Infectioâ—s was it to many Thousands in Israel that it brake forth upon them on the Morrow and in a Congregated Assembly Murmured against Moses and told him he had Killed the People of the Lord. How nearly doth Heresie in the Soul resemble the Pestilence in the Body for as fast as that lothsom Disease cleaves to the Body so fast doth Heresie stick in the Soul and Heart of a Man For as it is a very difficult thing and almost Impossible for a Phisttian to heal the Plague of Pestilence in the Body So it is a very hard and difficult thing for the best Majestrate or the best Minister in the World to reclaim any Man or Woman from the Error of their way that have forsaken the Publick Service of God the High-way of Salvation and betook themselves to the By-paths of a Pestilential Conventicle one Year Hence it is that the Apostle St. Paul Exhorts Titus to Reject A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition And subjoyns this Reason Knowing that he that is such is subverted and Sinneth being Condemned of himself Titus 3. 10 11. Now you may happily ask what an Heretick is I Answer A Heretick is one that obstinately Defends and Maintains an Opinion contrary to the Faith Practice and Profession of the truely Antient Catholick and Apostolick Church But ye may happily say why doth the Apostle Exhort Titus to be so quick and brief in Admonishing such an one and upon a second Contempt imediately to reject him I Answer Answer Because they have refused the way of Truth and chosen and prâ—fer'd an Erronious Opinion be ore it and obstinately reâ—use to return again This assâ—ion iâ— verified by the Testimony of the Prophet Jeremâ— Chap. 6. ver 16. Thus saith the Lord Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old Paths where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find Rest for your Souls This was the first Admonition the Prophet gave them aâ—ter their Revolt unto which they obstinately answered We will not walk therein The second word of Admonition is in ver 17 Also I set Watchmen over you saying Hearken to the sound of the Trumpet Unto which they made this stubbora Answer We will not Hearken Upon this their refusal after their second Admonition to return to the antient ways of God the Prophet proceeds in the name of the Lord to give Judgment upon them in ver 18. 19. Therefore hear ye Nations and know O Congrâ—gation what is among them Hear O Earth behold I wâ—ll bring Evil upon this People even the Fruit of their Thoughts because they have not hearkned unto my Words nor to my Law but rejected it Twice did those Men in my Text return a stubborn Anâ—wer to Moses that they would not return to their former Conformity but deâ—perately resolved to stick close to their former Remonstrance for when Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Eliab to come to him doubtless to perswade and advise with them to forbear the further Prosecution of their wicked Designs and to consider the manifold mischiefs that would unavoidably follow such wicked enterprizes as they were now begining to prosecute then they returned this resolute Answer We will not come up and aggravated it with this Expostulation Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land thâ—t floweth with Milk and Honey to kill us in the Wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us ver 13. and then in ver 14. They follow their blow with a Moreover thou hast not brought us into a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey or given us Inheritance of Fields and Vineyards Wilt thou put out the Eyes of these Men We will not come up Upon this second Repulse of theirs to Moses's Admonition he utterly Rejects them and now will have no more to do with them but turns his Prayer directly against them And in the Indignation of his Spirit said unto the Lord Respect not thou their Offering And what the Effect of such a Prayer was like to be may be easily read in the Judgment that followed for the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up with all that appertain'd to them and I wish with all my Heart that these Mens Principles had sunck into the Ground with them and never appear'd again upon the face of Earth but vae mihi 3. A third Infectious Disease in the Body of Man is the Cancer a sore fretting Disease very small in the beginning dangerous in growth and pernitious in the end Such is all Scismatical and false Doctrine in the beginning scarcely discern'd but by degrees it eats so far into the Soul that it destroys both Faith and Practice We have this confirm'd by the Apostle St. Paul in an Epistle of his to the chief Pastor of the Church of Ephesâ—s 2. Tim. 2. Cap. 16. 17. 18. ver But shun prophane Bablings for they will increase unto more Ungodliness And their Word will eat as doth a Canker of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus Who concerning the truth have erred saying That the Resurrection is past already and overthrow the Faith of some O Lord for thy Mercy sake save and deliver thy Church and People in the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and the Religion Established by Law therein from the fly insinuating creeping Soul-infectious Diseases of Sediton Privy Conspiracy and Rebellion false Doctrine Heresie and Scisme and work in us such a Reformation in all our Lives that our Conversations before God and Man may be such as may beautifie and adorn our most Holy Faith and demonstrate to the World that we are living Members of Christ's Body I have now finished my third
is a wife Man and endued with Knowledge among you Let him shew out of a good Conversation his Works with Meekness of Wisdom But if ye have bitter Envying and Strife in your Hearts glory not and lie not against the truth This Wisdom descendeth not from above but is Earthly sensual Devilish For where Envying and Strife is there is Confusion and every evil work But the Wisdom that is from above is first Pure then Peaceable then gentle and easie to be intreated full of Mercy and good Fruits without Partiality or wrangling and the Fruit of Righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace Do ye not know that the Church of God is built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets whereof Christ Jesus the anointed Saviour was the corner stone And do ye not know that all of them have from time to time declaimed against all sorts of false Doctrin Heresie and Scism and declared for Unity Peace and Concord amongst all that proâ—ess the Christian Religion If ye have forgotten these things be not angry with me if I bring to your Remembrance the Testimonies of some of the Prophets who have given their suffrage to this Assertion The first is that of the Prophent Isaiah Chap. 35. 8. And an High-way shall be there and it shall be called the way of Holiness Now thus much I am bold to say in Vindication of the Publick Service of our Churâ—h that it is not only Formally an High-Way but really a Way of true Holiness and Righteousnuss if we can but frame our Lives and Conversations thereunto and obediently answer God in the things we pray for without which no one can walk in the Light of God's Countenance upon Earth nor ever see his Face in the Kingdom of Heaven The next is the Prophet Jeremiah chap. 31. 9. I will cause them to walk by the Rivers of water in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble And then at ver 21. he explains his meaning in this ver saying Set thee up Marks make the high heaps set thine Heart toward the High-Way even the way which thou wentest turn again O Virgin of Israel It seems by these Words of this Prophet that the People did formerly walk in the common High-way of Salvation but now they had forsaken it and drawn away many after them and caused them to stumble into their ways from the antient Paths to walk in Paths in a way not cast up i. e. to make a Profession of such a Religion which had neither Fence nor Bounds nor Form nor Method and so at last to make their Land desolate chap. 18. ver 15 16. I could instance the Testimonies of several other Prophets but two such Witnesses as these two Prophets were and such great Sufferers as they were for witnessing against the Scism that was raised against the Church of God in the time of their Prophecying may be sufficient to convince any unbiast Person that the increase and continuance of Scism in a Kingdom are sure Harbingers to the Ruin and Deâ—truction of it They that will not believe this will not believe Moses and the Prophets and they that will not believe them neither will they believe tho' one should arise from the Dead with the Flames of Hell-Fire about him But haply some one or other may ask this Question what is the Foundation of Scism or whence doth it arise Why truly the question is worth asking and the Answer if I rightly apprehend it may do some good to the Church of God for the time to come however under Correction I will give my Judgment upon it and if it can plainly appear that I am mistaken in my Judgment I shall ingeniously confess that I am a Man and not God and therefore may err The Question is whence Scism ariseth I Answer Scism ariseth from hence when a Man of Knowledge and deep Understanding in the Mystery of Godliness which he had attained unto by his constant attendance on the the publickâ— Ministry of the Word and Service of the Church at length begins to grow weary of serving God in the Highway of Salvation and to think in himself that he knows as much or more than his own Minister can teach him and that he can make better and longer Prayers than the common Prayers of the Church are he is not at rest till he hath found out a creeping hole of â—islike at something or other tho' it be but some harmâ—ess Ceremony and so having once disgusted it he resolves to dissert the Communion of the Church and then is at a Stand in himself what to do or what Society of Men to associate with just like a Man that hath variety of Business with divers Men in several Places and not yet resolv'd whither to go first takes his Staff in his Hand and at the door sets it as upright as possibly he can and that way that his Staff falls that way he steers his Course So likewise do those knowing Men that for little or no cause forsake the publiqué Assemblies of our Church set up the Staff of Conscience and towards what Society of Men it falls thither they trudge Such a Similitude as this doth that smart Prophet Hosea Uâ—e when he reprov'd the humersom and Headstrong Tribe of Ephraim and the unstable Tribe of Juda for their easie Compliance with new-fáshion'd Altars and making a new Covenant and for taking new Measures of Divine Worship and justling out that which was before established bâ— the Law of God Now this similitude of the Prophet is written in the 4th Chapter of his Prophesie Ver. 12 13. My People ask council of their stocks i. e. their stock of knowledge and their staff declareth unto them for the spirit of whoredoms that is of Spiritual Whoredoms hath caused them to err and they have gone a whoring from under their God They sacrifice upon the tops of the Mountains and burn Incense upon the Hills under Oaks and Poplars and Elms. Thus Scism sprung up like Hemlock amongst the Backsliding Israelites and thus it sprang up amongst the English Deus dabit his quoque finem The Lord in Mercy put an end to our Divisions for they are very many great and very destructive for A Kingdom divided cannot stand well A Parliament divided cannot make Laws well A Church divided cannot pray well A Clergy divided cannot all preach well A University divided cannot study well An Army divided cannot fight well A Fleet of Ships divided cannot sail well A Chamber of Aldermen divided cannot Rule well A House divided cannot thrive well A Man divided in himself doth seldom think well and A Vestry divided will never do well either to Church or Poor So that by all these Experiments it is too evident that where Strise and Divisions are there will be certainly Confusion and every evil work will follow But where Unity Peace and Concord are there are the choicest of God's Blessings attending yea there God