Church and therefore need no casting out Ans. Were they never baptized or is not baptisme Christâ— appointed means of admission into his Church Obj. They were baptized in their Infancy and afterward bred up in ignorance and profaneness know not what their baptisme is nor ever soberlyâ—wned it Answ. Either they still profess themselves Christians and attend Gods ordinances with the Church or not If not then they are Apostates If they do then they do own their Baptismal Covenant by a continued profession If you accuse them of not understanding this profession or of living contrary to it you must proceed against them one by one as Christ appointeth and first admonish them and then tell the Church and not say they are ignorant and profane and expect upon your saying so they should all be unchurched Yeâ— if you prove them ignorant if they be willing to learn it is fitter presently to instruct them than to excommunicate them nor do you reade of any excommunicated for meer ignorance But we confess that in gross ignorance they may shew themselves uncapable of sacramental Communion and may be denied it while they are learning to know what they do But the mercy of God hath made points absolutely necessary so few that this may be done in a short time if the Persons be willing and the Teachers diligent and sufficiently numerous for that work And though it is to be lamented that in many great City-Parishes the Ministers are not enough to catechize the twentieth part of the people yet for the generality of Parishes through the Land if Catechizing were used as it might be there would not any great numbers be long kept away for meer ignorance And he that is the cause of his Parishes ignorance by neglecting Catechizing and personal conference then unchurcheth them for the ignorance which he is guilty of doth take but a preposterous course for his own account and comfort or for the peopleâ— good Obj But they refuse to learn or be instructed Ans. If that and their gross ignorance be proved together as you may delay them for the later so you may reject them for the former because it sheweth their impenitence But this must be proved of them and not affirmed without proof Obj. But their Baptisme made them members only of the Universal Church and not of any particular Church And therefore will not prove them such Answ. True But he that is a member of the Universal Church is fit to be received into a particular Church And there wanteth no more but mutual consent And if he have statedly joyned with a particular Church in ordinary communion Consent hath bin manifested and he is a member of that particular Church and must not be rejected by it but in Christs way And this is the common case in England The persons who were baptized in Infancy were at once received into the Universal Church and into some particular Church have held communion at age with both and have right to that communion till they are publikely proved to have lost their right And if we had no Churches but particular Churches were to be gathered anew yet he that is a baptized member of the Universal Church and consenteth to communion with that particular Church in all the ordinances of Christs appointment doth lay a sufficient claim to his admission and cannot lawfully be refused unless he stand justly censured by a Church which formerly he was in Yet this we confess that he can be no member of that particular Church who subjecteth not himself to the particular Pastors of it and to the necessary acts or parts of their Office and Ministration Because he denieth his own consent 11. The sinfulness of unchurching Persons or Parishes without Christs way of regular process consisteth in all these following parts 1. It is a casting off the Laws of the great Law-giver of the Church and so a contempt of his authority wisdome and goodness and a making of our selves greater or wiser or holâ—er than he 2. It is gross injustice to deprive men of so great Priviledges without any sufficient proof of their forfeiture It is worse than to turn whole Parishes out of their Houses and Possessions without any lawful process or proof upon rumours or private affirmations that they are Delinquents It is not doing as we would be done by what if any should say of you that you are Heretical and deny Fundamental Truths Or what if they should say of a separated Church that they are generally Hereticks or of wicked lives as the Heathens did of the ancient Christians and therefore that they are no Church nor to be communicated with would you not think that they should every one personally be accused and proof brought against them and that they should speak for themselves before they were thus condemned 3. And it is an aggravated Crime in them that so much cry down Church-tyranny in others to be thus notoriously guilty of it themselves what greater injustice and tyranny can there be than that all mens Christiâ—nity and Church-rights shall be judged Nâ—ll upon the censures and rumours of suspitious men without any just proof or lawful tryal That it shall be in the power of every one who hath but uncharitableness enough to think evil of his neighbours or to believe reports against their innocency to cast them out of the Family of God and to unchristen and unchurch men arbitrarily at their pleasure That any man that is but unconscionable enough to say They are all ignorant and prophane shall expect to have his neighbours excommunicated 4. It maketh all Churches to be lubricous and uncertain shadows when a censorious person may unchurch them at his pleasure What you say of others another may say of you and as justly expect to be believed 5. It unavoidably bringeth in uncurable divisions For there is no certain rule of justice with such persons and therefore they know not who are to be received to their Communion and who not And the same man that one thinketh is to be rejected and kept out another will think is to be received And who knoweth which of them is to be obeyed If one say that a Parish is a Church and another say that they are to be unchurched who knoweth which of them to believe 6. It is a reproach to the Church and Christian religion when we tell the world that that we have not so much justice and equity among us as Heathens have in their worldly societies 7. It depriveth the Church of the solace of her Communion when the best man is not sure but a censorious person may at his pleasure turn him out as unworthy 8. It greatly wrongeth Jesus Christ who so dearly loveth the weakest of his flock and hath purchased their priviledges at so dear a rate and whose body is maymed when any of his members are cut off and who taketh the wrong that is done them as done unto himself These are the great virtues
that is a temptation or occasion of sinning before another INdeed the word offend hath occasioned the mistake of many in this point to the great ensnaring of themselves and others Offending sometime signifieth only Displeasing or grieving another And this is not the scandal which the Scripture speaks against But it signifieth also the laying of a stumbling block before another upon which he may be occasioned to fall into sin And this is the offence which is called scandal Abundance of well meaning people have thought that they must not use any form or words or order or action especially if it be indifferent in it self which others are displeased or grieved at Because they think that is scandal Indeed there is a grieving others which is scandal that is when by grieving them we occasion them to sin But consider I beseech you these two things First what a wretched person that is who will sin against God every time that his brother doth not humor him Durst these persons profess this openly with their tongues Dare you say Do not you use such a form of prayer or such a ceremony for if you do I will sin against God What elfe do you mean when you blame men for scandalizing you I hope you do not mean that no body must displease you If not you must know that this only is true scandal to occasion you to sin And is it not a shame that you will sin so easily 2. And if bare displeasing had been scandal then peevishness and ignorance would have advanced all that had them to be the Governours of the world For what is it to govern but to have all others obliged to fulfil your wills And if no man must displease you then all must fulfil your wills And he is scandalous that is not ruled by you And if this were so the most childish and womanish sort of Christians who have the weakest judgement and the strongest wils and passions must rule all the world For these are hardliest pleased and no man must displease them But I beseech you remember that scandal lieth in Pleasing men as well as in displeasing them when it may harden them in an errour or tempt them to any sin I will instance to you but in two scandalous acts of Peter himself The first was to Christ in Math. 16. 22 23. Where he thought to please Christ and save him from suffering and would have had him to spare or favour himself And Christ saith Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence to me the Greek word is A scandal that is Thou wouldst do as satan did even tempt me to sin neglect the work which I came into the world about The other was in Gal. 2. 12 13 Where Peter did scandalize the Iews by pleasing them For fear of offending the weak Judaâ—zing Christians he separated from familiar communion with the Gentiles By which he laid a stumbling block or temptation before them to harden them in the sinful opinion of separation If it had been done in our dayes many would have been drawn away with Barnabas and thought that Peter had not given scandal to the Iewish Christians but only separated for fear of scandalizing them Many a time I have the rather gone to the Common prayers of the publick assemblies for fear of being a scandal to those same men that called the going to them a scandal that is for fear of hardening them in a sinful separation and errour because I knew that that was not scandal which they called scandal that is displeasing them and crossing their opinions but hardening them in an errour or other sin is true scandalizing Understand this or you will displease God under pretence of avoiding scandal DIRECT XXIV Make conscience of scandalizing one party as well as another and those most who are most in danger by your offence MAny persons pretend the avoiding of scandal only to slatter one party and to preserve their own reputation and interest with that side which they are lothest to displease And perhaps discern not the deceit of their own hearts in all this but think that it is indeed the sin of scandal which they avoid But why make you no conscience of scandalizing others on the contrary side Who perhaps are more in number and whose salvation should be as much desired by you The Papist perhaps will not deliver the Lords Supper in both kinds nor will forbear his Image-worship lest he offend the Roman-Catholicks But he careth not much that by so doing he offendeth the Protestants and other Churches Nor that his Images are a scandal to all the Mahometans and keep them from the Christian faith And thus every sect saith If you do this or that you will scandalize and offend many good people Meaning their own side But they â—ever regard how many others they shall really scandalize by the contrary One saith It is scandalous to use extemporary prayers And another saith it is scandalous to pray by forms and books And both sides usually mean no more but that their own party will be displeased and take it for a sin But as he is not scandalized by me who only taketh my action to be a sin but he that is ensnared by it in any sin himself so whether it be displeasing or tempting that you mean you must regard one side as well as the other The heavenly wisdome is without partiality and without hypocrisie Jam. 3. 17. And usually they talk most against scandalizing those whom they account to be the lest And the best are least in danger of sinning And so they accuse them to be the worst or else they know not what they say For suppose a separatist should say If you hold communion with any Parish minister or Church in England it will be a scandal to many good people I would ask such a one why call you those good people that are easily drawn to sin against God Nay that will sin because I do my duty He will say No they will not sin but they will take it to be your sin and they will be troubled at it I must answer him you talk of scandal and know not what scandal is scandal is not troubling men nor making them take me for a sinner but occasioning them to sin themselves by some unlawful or needless act of mine Therefore if you know what you say you make the separatists almost the worst of men that will sin against God because another will not sin yea if they would but sin because another sinneth it were bad enough I would ask you therefore whether you take not the people of the Parish Churches to be more than you and to be worse than you If you took them not for much worse than your selves you would not separate from them And if you do think them worse you must think that they are more in danger of sinning or being turned from the liking of godliness and of the Gospel And if so then we are
oppression be made mad nor driven from your innocency DIRECT LV. When you complain of violence and persecution in others take heed lest you shew the same inward sin by Church-persecution and cruelty against them or any others BUt because I know that guilt causeth impatience and passion disposeth men to mistakes and false reports before I proceed I must here foretell you 1. That I mean not by Separatists all that are so called by interessed injudicious persons But those 1. that account true Churches of Christ to be no Churches 2. or that account it unlawful to hold Communion with those Churches whose communion is not unlawful because they are faulty or because they differ from them in some opinions or circumstances of worship 3. especially if they practise and perswade others to practise according to these two opinions of which the first is the higher sort of separation and the second the lover And secondly That by Church-dividers I mean both these and all such whose principles and practises are against that love of a Christian as a Christian and that forbearance of dissenters which should be exercised to all the members of Christ and who fly from the ancient simplicity and primitive terms of Church-communion and adde as the Papists do their own little novelties as necessary things And those that do causlesly separate from their own lawfully called Pastors For ubi Episcopus ibi Ecclesia where the true Pastor is there the Church is what ever place it be that they assemble in as Cyprien once said And lastly those that are of uncharitable humerous peevish contentious and fiery spirits and will stir up mâ—tinies and â—idings and causeless diviâ—ions in any Church where they come And truly they that think of the present state of Hartford and some other Churcheses in New England which I will not here make a Narrative of me thinks should fear Separations Schismes or Divisions from oâ— in the Churches called Independent as much as those of a different Discipline do as to theirs if not somewhat more on several accounts Thirdly And remember that I am not here speaking of any mens former faults by way of uncharitable bitterness insulting or reproach but verily brethren if we are not impartially willing to know the truth of eveâ—y side and of our own selves as well as otheâ—s we choose deceit and resist the light and provoke God to forsake our understandings Do we not yet know where Iudgment hath begun after such plagues and flames and Church convulsions And do we not yet know where Repentance must begin Enquire for good news whence you will I vvill enquire whether we are awakened to a true Repentance and by that I will fetch my prognosticks of our fâ—ture state Not whether you cry out against other mens sins but against your own and that particularly with all their aggravations and whether Professoâ—rs of Religiousness do as heartily lament their own notorious publick scandals as they expect that drunkards and fornicators and the friends of loosness should lament theirs Till we see this what promise have we of the pardon of our dreadful temporal penalties to say nothing of the greater Woe to the Land and People that can multiply sin and cannot Repent And wo to them that pretend Repentance and love to be flattered in their sin and cannot endure to be admonished but take all the discoveries of their sin to be injurious reproach among the prophane we take this to be a deadly sign of impenitency And is it so bad in them and good in us It is part of my office to cry with holy Bradford REPENT O ENGLAND and to say after Christ Except ye Repent ye shall all Perish And can I call men to Repent when I must not dare to tell them of what Nor to mention the sin which is most to be repented of I use all this preface because I know that Guilt and Impenitency are touchy and tender and galled and querulous and such will bestow the time in backbiting their Monitor which they should bestow in lamenting their sin But shall I therefore forbear and betray their souls and betray the Land through cowardly silence Must I shew that I haâ—e Professours by not admonishing them Lev. 19. 17. when I must shew that I love the looser sort by my sharp reproofs Must I not fear them that can kill the body and must I fear to displease a professed Christian by calling him to Repentance in a time of Judgments Lord hide not my own miscarriages from my â—ight and suffer me not to take any sin that I have committed to have been my innocency or duty lest I should dare to father sin on God and lest I should live and die without Repentance and lest I should be one that continueth judgments and danger to the Land stir up some faithful friend to tell me with convincing evidence where it is that I have miscarried that Contrition may prepare me for the peace of remission O save me from the plague of an impenitent heart that cannot endure to be told of sin from that ungodly folly which taketh the shame that Repentance casteth upon sin to be cast upon God and Religion which bind us to Repentance and Confession Nay in this place I am not mentioning things past so much to humble you as necessarily to inform you of the groundlesness of your present arguings that you may see the truth Fourthly Note also that I lay not any miscarriages on any whole parties Anabaptists or others For I have found that all parties of Christians indeed have some good experienced sober charitable persons and some self-conceited and contentious novices 1 Tim. 3. 6. But I speak only of the persons that were guilty and no more Fifthly Lastly remember that while I seem to compare the faults of one sort of persons with anothers it is none of my intent to equal them much less to equal the state of the several sorts of Offenders as to the rest of their lives But only to mention so much of the similitude as is nenessary to represent things truly and impartially to your view Read on now with these Memento's in your eye And if after so plain a premonition you will venture to charge me with that which I disclaim do it at your own peril I stand or fall to the judgment of God and look for a better reward than the hypocrites which is to have the good opinion of men be they professours of piety or profane And with me by Gods grace it shall hereafter be accounted a small thing to the hindering of my fidelity to Christ and mens souls to be judged of men 1 Cor. 4. 3. And if there should be any Pastors of the Churches who instead of concurring to heal the flocks of these dividing principles shall rather joyn with backbiters and encourage them in their misreports and slanders because it tendeth to the supposed interest of their party or themselves Let them prepare to
are not desperate and covereth sins instead of condemning without proof would equally cure them both And let me yet conclude with this double protestation against the carping slanderer who useth to falsifie mens words First That I intend not in all this any flattery of the ungodly or making them better than they are or forbearing plain reproof or Church-discipline nor any unlawful communion with the wicked nor countenancing them in any of their sins nor neglecting to call them to repentance Secondly That while I here name persecution my purpose is not to mark out any persons or party above others or determine who they be that are the persecutors But only to detect the deceitfulness of our hearts when we most complain of it and to shew that wherever that sin is indeed it cometh but from the same principle as sinful separation doth even from the death of Love to others Thirdly and I add that though I here aggravate the persecution of unjust excommunications or separations as robbing men of the priviledge of Christians yet leaving them the common liberties of men and subjects it is none of my purpose to equal this absolutely with that destroying cruelty which leaveth them neither and will not suffer them to enjoy so much liberty as Heathens and Infidels may enjoy or as Paul had under such Act. 28. ult DIRECT LVI Keep still in your thoughts the state of all Christs Churches upon Earth that you may know what a people they are through the world whom Christ hath communion with and may not be deceived by ignorance to separate from allmost all Christs Churches while you think that you separate from none but the few that are about you THousands of well meaning people live as if England were almost all the world And do boldly separate from their Neighbours here which they durst not do if they soberly considered that almost all the Christian world are worse than they But narrow minds who can look but little further with their Reason than with their eye-sight do keep out at once both Truth and Love It is a point that I have often had occasion to repeat and yet will not forbear to repeat it here again It is but about one sixth part of the known world who make any profession of Christianity and are baptized besides how much peopled the unknown part of the world may be we know not Of this sixth part the Ethiopians Egyptians Syrians Armenians the Greek Churches the Muscovites and all the Papists are so great a body that all the Protestants or Reformed Churches are little more than a sixth part of this sixth The Papists being about a fourth or fifth part and the other Christians making up the rest And of these Protestants Sweden Denmark Saxony and many other parts of Germany making up the greatest part are such as are called Lutherans And of the other half which are supposed to be more Reformed there is scarce any of so Reformed lives as these in England and Scotland And among these how great a number are they that you separate from If you look to the Papists their worship is by the Mass If you look to the Muscovians they have a Liturgy much more blameable than ours and have a few Homilies instead of preaching If you look to the Greek Church to the Armenians the Abassines and all the Eastern and the Southern Churches in Asia and Africa they also worship God by Liturgies much more lyable to blame than ours and have but little preaching among them besides Homilies and the Members of their Churches are commonly far more ignorant than the worst of ours even than the rudest part of Wales If you look to the Lutherans they have Liturgies and Ceremonies and Images in their Churches though not adored and have far worse Preachers and of worse lives and more unprofitable preaching than is usually found with us and the people more ignorant and vicious If you look to the remnant called the more Reformed Churches in Holland France Helvetia Germany though they have much less of Liturgy or Ceremonies yet are their Church-members usually as ignorant as ours and more addicted to intemperance and there is no less scandal in their lives than among ours Now this being the true state of the world and though we daily pray that it may be better yet it is no better I would only intreat you but to think of it as it is and that to answer me deliberately these few Questions Quest. 1. Do you believe that all baptized professed Christians not denying any essential part of Christianity are Christs Universal Visible Church Qu. 2. Do you not believe that this Church is only One and that every particular Church and every Christian is a part of it Qu. 3. Do you not believe that it is unlawful in any case whatsoever to separate from it And that to separate from the Universal Visible Church is visibly to separate from Christ Qu. 4. Do you not believe that to give a Bill of Divorce to the Universal Church or to many hundred parts of it or to any one part and to declare that they are none of the Church of Christ is not great arrogancy and injury to men and unto Christ himself Qu. 5. Dare you say before God Let me have no part in any of the prayers of all these Churches on earth who use a Liturgy as culpable as ours because I will have no Communion with them Do you set so light by your part in their prayers Q. 6. If you travelled or lived in Abassia Armenia Greece or any Christian Country where their worship is not Idolatry nor substantially wicked nor they force not the worshippers to any false Oaths subscriptions or other actual sin would you refuse all communion with them and all publick worshipping of God Or would you not rather joyn with them than with no Church at all Qâ— 7. When you remember on the Lords days that now all the Christian world are congregate and are calling upon God and praising him in the name of one Christ and in the profession of one Faith dare you think of being a Body separated from them all And can you think that Christ disowneth them all save you Qu. 8. Can you think it agreeable to the gracious nature design and office of Jesus Christ to cast off and condemn so many hundred parts of the Church-universal and to accept that one part only which you joyn with Judge by his actions and expressions in the Scriptures Qu. 9. If there were bâ—t ten persons of your mind in all the world would you believe that God would save none but those ten or accept the worship of no more or that it were lawful to have communion with none but those ten If not how can you think so in a case so neer it Qu. 10. Can you prove that Christ doth separate from all the Christians of the world which you separate from or that they have no visible Commâ—nion with him or
of those that would reform them They were grievous persecutors Which of the Prophets did not your fathers kill and persecute saith Christ Matth. 23. Yet this was the Church of God and many think his only visible Church And all these twelve Tribes were not so big as England and were to the bigness of all the Earth no more than one tree to a large Wood or Forrest But doubtless the Gospel Church was both more large and pure Let us therefore take a view of it And I beseech you remember that what I say is not to make sin less odious nor the Church or Godly less esteemed but to shew you the frame of the visible Church in all Generations and how it differeth from the invisible lest you should take on you to be wiser than God and to build his house after a better rule than his Gospel and the primitive pattern and marr all by being wise in your own conceits and by being righteous overmuch Eccles. 7. And I pray you forget not that the Primitive Church was the most pure and the pattern of those following and had inspired Apostles to be its Guides and inspired Prophets to be its Helpers and abundance of Miracles and extraordinary gifts to gather and edifie it to silence its enemies and to terrifie and restrain offenders and to bring up the Church to the highest degree of holiness that could be well expected And withall the Members were not driven in by force by Magistrates nor allured by any worldly commodities but were a few Volunteers who in a time of persecution professed Christ to their hazard or suffering in the world Yet see what they were The faultiness of the Teachers The Apostles before the death of Christ though they had so long heard his doctrine and seen his miracles understood not that he must die for our sins and be buried and rise again and ascend into Heaven and there intercede for us and rule the Church Ioh. 12. 16. and 10. 6. Luk. 18. 34. and 9. 45. and 24. 43 44 45. Peter so much perswaded Christ from that suffering by which the world was to be redeemed that Christ speaketh to him as he did to the Devil Matth. 4. Get thee behind me Satan for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Matth. 16. 22 23. Iames and his beloved disciple Iohn called sons of thunder perhaps for this or such like zeal would have called for fire from heaven to destroy the unbelieving adversaries of the Gospel and knew not of what spirit they were Iudas was one that was sent out to preach the Gospel by Christ himself who knew his heart Many that preached and prophesied and cast out Devils in his name were workers of iniquity whom he never knew with special approbation Matth. 7. 22 23. When he came to his sufferings they all slept when they should have watched and prayed with him one hour in his agony and this after his admonition When they should have confessed him in suffering they all forsook him and fled Matth. 26. 56. And Peter that seemed to stick closer to him did with forswearing thrice deny him after he had promised to die with him and not to forsake him though all forsook him And when he was dead they said Luk. 24. We trusted this was he that should have delivered Israel as if their faith had been extinct And when he rose and appeared to them they hardly believed what they saw and Thomas one of them resolved that he would not believe unless he might put his fingers into his side And when they spake with him before his Asceâ—sion they dreamed still of an earthly grandure and askt him Whether now he would restore the Kingdome unto Israel Act. 1. And they understood not the descent of the Holy Ghost And when the Holy Ghost was come upon them one of their first Deacons Nicholas was the original of a Sect whose doctrine Christ did haâ—e Paul and Barnabas contended even to parting Peter dissembled by a sinful separation walking not uprightly and drew away Barnâ—bas into the dissimulationâ— Gal. 2. Phil. 1. 15 16. Somâ— preach Christ even of envy and strifâ— and some of good will The one preach Christ of contentions not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds Many were made like the heads of Sects and some were of Paul and some of Apollo's and some of Cephas as the Papists be now And some built hay and stubble which must be consumed 1 Cor. 3. 12 Of Timothy and the rest Paul saith I have no man like minded for all seek their own and not the things which are Iesus Christâ— 3 Joâ— 9. 10. Diorrephes who loveth to have the 〈◊〉 among them receiveth 〈◊〉 not prating against us with malicious words and not content therewith neither doth he himself receive the Brethren and forbiddeth them that would and casteth them out of the Church As the Apostles themselves before Christs death were striving which of them should be the greatest so this vice still followed many of the Pastors so that Peter is fain to exhort them not to Lord it over Gods heritage nor to rule them by constraint but willingly 1. Pet. 5. And what abundance of Sect-masters did arise from among the Ministers of the Gospel in the Apostles own times Insomuch as Paul forewarneth the famous Church of Ephesus not only that grievous Wolves that is Hereticks should eâ—ter that spared not the flocks but also that of their own selves men should arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them Act. 20. 30. And in the Apostles dayes while one had a Prophesie and another a Psalm c. they brought confusion into the Church-worship even by abuse of extraordinary gifts And they so abused the Love-feasts at the Lords Supper that Paul was fain to perswade them rather to eat at home 1 Cor. 14. and 1 Cor. 11. so much of the true state of the Primitive Teachers and Pastors of the Church The faults of the Church of Rome What Heretical Judaizers were among them is intimated in c 1. 3. to the Romans And how little they understood the doctrine of Justification is intimated in cap. 3 4 5 6 7 8. What dissentions there were about meats and drinks and days the weak judging the strong and the strong despising the weak appeareth cap. 14 15. And some caused divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which they had learned serving not the Lord Iesus but their own bellies and by good words and fair speeches deceiving the hearts of the simple Rom. 16. 16 17. The faults of the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 1. 11 12. There are contentions among you Everyone of you saith I am of Paul and I of Apollo's and I of Cephas and I of Christ. Mark the extent of the sin every one of you that is very many among you 1 Cor. 3. 13. I could not speak to you as spiritual but
I think I should have done it And who can prove that this had been his sin And yet this was a using of another mans gifts instead of his own And I have heard men that are much against Parish Churches and Liturgies wish that some unlearned men of good utterance might read some excellent Sermonâ—books to the people in ignorant places that can get no better And who can prove the reading of a Homily unlawful Moreover Christ hath given to all his members such gifts as are suitable to their places as well as to Ministers such gifts as are suitable to theirs And the place of a Master of a family requireth the gift of Catechising and instructing the family And they are as truly obliged to use their gifts as Ministers are theirs And yet who doubteth but it is lawful for Parents to teach and catechize their children by such books and forms of Catechisms as are composed by the gifts of abler men Moreover Prayer is the duty of every one and specially of the heads of families And therefore every true Christian hath gifts procured by Christ for so much as is his duty And he is bound to use his gifts And yet those gifts are so low in many that I fear not to call that man effectively an enemy to families souls and prayer who forbiddeth all such to use such forms of prayer as are composed by the gifts of others The famousest Divines in the Church of God even Luther Zwinglius Melancthon Calvin Perkins Sibbs and abundance of Nonconformists of greatest name in England did ordinarily use a form of prayer of their own before their Sermons in the Pulpit and some of them in their families too Now these men did it not through idleness or through temporizing but because some of them found it best for the people to have oft the same words and some of them found such a weakness of memory that they judged it the best improvement of their own gifts Now besides the first composure of these prayers which perhaps was done 20 years before none of these men did use their own gifts any moâ—e than if they had used a form composed by another For the memory utterance is the same of both These all were famous worthy men whom no wise man judgeth to be insufficient for the Ministry for want of gifts But if such as these may so many years forbear the exercise of their gift of extemporary prayer much more may far weaker Ministers do it Abundance of young Ministers are trained up under aged experienced Divines what if one of these should sometimes make use of the same words of prayer which the aged Minister used the day before as finding them fitter than any that he could devise himself Must he forbear to do better because he cannot do so well by the use of his own gifts alone And in some Ordinances as Baptism and the Lords supper c. the same things must be daily prayed for And he that thinketh he must not frequently speak the same things will quite corrupt the Ordinance of Christ. And he that will imâ—gine that he must have always new words will at last have new things or worse than nothing If then it be meet to use often the same words why may not a weak Minister use the better words of others when he hath none meerly of his own that are so fit Nay is it not the Duty of such to do it Every man is bound to do Gods service in the best manner that he can Cursed be the deceiver that hath a better in his flock and bringeth that which is corrupt But to utter prayers and praise to God in a full methodicall and congruous manner and in words suitable to the Majesty of the worship of God is better to the people and to the honour of Religion then to do it in a more confused disorderâ—y broken manner with barrenness and incongruity of speech But this lâ—st is the best that many honest Ministers can do by their own giâ—ts when they may do it in the former better manner by making use of the words and gifts of otherâ— Therefore it is a duty for such men so far to use others gifâ—s of inventing words before their own And among us there is no man forbidden in the Pulptt to use his own gifts to the utmost and pray without any set form of his own or other mens And I would at last desire any of the Objectors but to name that text of Scripture which directly or indirectly commandeth every Minister to use his gift of inventing words and method or his gift of extemporary prayer every time that he prayeth to God Or which forbiddeth to use the gifts of others though better than his own Obj. But what if the forms imposed be worse than the exercise of our own gifts Answ. First That may be below one mans own invention which is above-anothers Secondly And that may be more defective than your own invention could reach to which yet may be more desirable for other advantages As if all the Churches for some good ends should agree to to use one mode or method or form as now we do in singing Psalms the benefit of that concord might do more to the Churches service than my singular better form or words could do And if the lawful Rulers commanded me that which perhaps I could somewhat exceed my self I should do much in obedience to their command Or if the people had a greater averseness or unfitness for my more congruous words than for others more fective I should take that for the best food or physick which is most agreeable to the stomack and disease But especially if I am restrained from the publick preaching of the Gospel or exercise of any of my Ministry unless I will use a more disordered or defective form I shall take it for my duty then to use it Because it is more to the Churches edification In a word God hath bound all his Ministers to use all their gifts to the Churches greatest edification But to use a more defective form with liberty to use my best gifts also and to exercise my Ministry publickly to all is more to the Churches edification than to use my own gifts only a few days in a corner and then to lie in prison and use them no more Though no man must of choise prefer the less congruous before the more congruous when he is free which I confess is a sin yet it is a duty to prefer a less congruous order before none or before a better for a day with a restraint of that and all our Ministery hereafter For my part I have often truly professed that I look at many Liturgies which I have read as I do at the prayers of some honest men who use little method nor very meet words and often toss Gods name through weakness who put that last which should be first that first which should be last but yet the
and tyranny if men shall be called Ignorant Scandalous and Hypocrites without proof And therefore to exclude baptized professors by whole Parishes or Multitudes without bringing proof against each person one by one is quite to over-turn Christs rules and order and Church Constitutions and all Church justice I confess it is the thing which I have long lamented and often written of especially in my Treatise of Confirmation that those who are baptized in Infancy are not called to a more explicite understanding profession of the Covenant then made and have not a more solemn transition into the number of adult Communicants And we are not out of hope that this may at last be brought to pass But in the mean time the same persons though less regularly do make profession of the same thing both at the Lords Table and in their publick worship and in their common claim to the faith and honour of Christianity so that all such must be rejected as hypocrites upon accâ—sation and proof of Impenitency in some gross sin and not in the lamp as if they were no professors For professors certainly they are And though I abhor their malignity who would vilisie Religion by over-hasty accusing of higher Professors and would flatter the wicked and ignorant by making an indifferency and tepidity seem sufficient in the things of God yet God would have me bear witness to this truth to cure some mens contrary extream that as this age as is said doth need no proof how heinously high professors may miscarry so in the place where I exercised my Ministry I found some give me a satisfying evidence in their last sickness that they had long lived a truly godly life who were never noted by their Neighbours for any extraordinary zeal at all If you ask me How can it stand with grace to be so much hid I answer They made the common profession of Christianity they usually attended the publick worship they lived blamelesly in their places but they were of silent retired dispositions and were inferiours who by their superiours were restrained from private meetings and some converse with more zealous persons which they desired And for ought you know there may be very many such who must not be rejected as no professors nor without a particular accusation and proof unless you would be used in the like kind your selves DIRECT IV. Affect not to be made eminent and Conspicuous in Holiness by standing at a further distance from these lower Professors than God would have you IT is the loathsome scab of the Romish Church that they who will be taken for Religious must go into a Monastery of Fryars and Nans and separate themselves from the rest of Christians as worldly secular people that so their Religion may be a noted thing they may be set up in their singularity as publike spectacles for the world to admire Though perhaps they come thither but under the gripes of Conscience to expiate the guilt of whoredome murder or some notorious sins which the contemned seculars never committed And it is somewhat easie to proud corrupted nature to enter into a life of greater self-denial than most Monasticks are put upon when by it they shall be thus separated from the rest of mankind as a people of more admired holiness To set our selves up in a separated society as persons whom the world must account more Religious than the common sort of Christians hath so much oftentation in it as is a great allurement to Pride For many a one who perceiveth how childish a thing it is to set out ones self to be observed for fine cloathes or for bodily comeliness or for high entertainments curiosities houses lands or such vanities doth yet think that it is an excellent thing to be honoured by men especially by the wisest and the best as a person of Wisdome and Piety and Goodness And indeed it is the truest and the highest Honour to be Wise and Good And it is exceeding natural to man to desire honour And it is lawful to have a due and moderate sense and regard to our honour And all this being so how easie is it for Pride to take this advantage and to go a little farther while we think that we go but this far and keep within our bounds And the root of the errour lyeth in Atheism Self-fishness and Carnality By the first we neglect the Honouring of God which should be our utmost aim and to which all our own Honour should be purely referred as a means By the second we Idolize our selves and are sunk into and centered in our selves and seek that honour to our selves which we should wholly refer to God alone And by the third we over-value Man and his esteem and live upon the thoughts and breath of mortals and seek the honour which is given by one to another more than the honour which is of God Whereas we should make it our grand care and study to be pleasing to our Maker which is the highest honour and lawful and necessary to be sought and should be more indifferent as to the esteem and thoughts of man as being no further regardable than it conduceth to our divine and ultimate end And when Pride hath thus turned the eye of the soul from God to our selves and to the Creature it is a working sin and will be alwayes seeking to fetch in fewel for its self to feed on and to find out wayes to make our selves conspicuous and observed in the world And to separate our selves into distinct societies that the world may see we are above Communion with the colder duller sort of Christians is one of the most notable means to this self-exalting end And many Christians that are more humble do yet so much mis-understand the Scripture principles of Communion that they think they should corrupt the Church and sin against God if they stood not in a separated state from those of the colder sort And this is caused much by taking those Scriptutes to speak of all cold and carnal Christians which speak only of the Heathen and Infidel world And this cometh to pass by the happiness of their birth and breeding because they are born and bred where there are almost none but professed Christians and they see not the swarms of Heathens that worship idols and creatures or of the Infidels who scorn and persecute the Christian name therefore they live as if there were no such persons They know that the world and the Church comprehend all mankind and that the Church is gathered out of the World And because they see the Church but see not the world out of which it is gathered therefore they are looking for the world in the Church and think that the commoner sort of Christians are the World and the better and more zealous sort only are the Church which therefore must be gathered out of the World And so they gather the Church out of the Church while they think that
they gather it out of the World And all this is because they know no more than they see or at least are affected with no more but live as if England or Europe were all the world One years abode in Asia or Africa might cure this errour In 2 Cor. 6. 12 13 c. the Apostle forbiddeth the Christians to marry with Infidels because light hath no communion with darkness nor righteousness with unrighteousness nor Christ with Belial And therefore inferreth that he that believeth hath no part with an Infidel nor the Temple of God any any agreement with Idols And for this he citeth the words of the Prophet Come out from among them and be ye separate and touch not the unclean thing All these words which the Apostle so plainly speaketh only against marrying with Infidels and Idolaters and having communion with them either intimately or in their sin are by abundance of ignorant Professors abused as if they had commanded us to separate from the colder and common sort of Christians and to come out of the Church whereof they are members What profaning of Gods word is this and how gross and palpable a contradicting of its plain expressions It was a Church of such mixed Christians as our Churches do consist of to which the Apostle wrote those words And because he commandeth them to separate from intimacy with Heathens and Infidels yet so as when they are once married to them to continue in it therefore these men say that one part of the Church is called to come forth and separate from the rest And with the like abuse they apply the command Come out of Babylon to them that have no communion with Babylon And when ignorance uncharitableness and passion have taught them to call Christs Churches Babylon they add sin to sin the sin of separation to the sin of slander and reproach and abuse the Text according to their false exposition of it DIRECT V. Understand rightly the true difference between the Mystical and the Visible Church and the qualification of their Members and do not confound them as if it were the same persons only that must be Members of both THE Mystical Church indeed hath none but true Saints But the Visible Church containeth multitudes of Hypocrites who profess themselves to be what they are not They profess to believe in God while they neglect him and to be ruled by God while they disobey him and are ruled by their lusts They profess to Love God and forsake the world whilest they love the world and God is not in all their thoughts They profess to love the holy Scriptures whilest they neglect them and love not the holiness of their precepts They profess to believe in Jesus Christ whilest their hearts neglect his grace and government They profess to believe in the holy Spirit and to hold the Communion of Saints in the Catholick Church whilest they resist the Spirit and love not Saints All this sheweth that they are Hypocrites But abundance of Hypocrites are in the Visible Church Nay God would have no Hypocrites cast out but those who bewray their hypocrisie by impenitency in proved Heresie or gross sin We must not model the Church of Christ according to our private fancies We are not the Lords of it nor are we sit or worthy to dispose of it Look into the Scripture and take it for the Rule and see there of what manner of persons the Visible Church hath been constituted in all ages of the world till now In the first Church in Adams family a Cain was the first born member and so continued till he was excommunicated for the murder of his brother In a Church of eight persons who were saved out of all the world the Father and Pastor was overtaken with gross drunkenness and one of his sons was a cursed Cham. In a Church of six persons saved from the wickedness of Sodom two of them Lot's sons in law perished in the flames among the unbelievers a third was turned into a pillar of salt the Father and Pastor was drunk two nights together after the sight of such a terrible miracle and after so strange a deliverance to himself and committed incest twice in his drunkenness The two that remained his daughters caused his drunkenness purposely and committed incest with him In the Church in Abrahams family there was an Ishmael And in the Church in Isaacs family there was an Esau and even Rebeka and Iacob guilty of deceitful equivocation And Abraham and Isaac denied their wives to save themselves in their unbelief In Iacob's family was a Simeon and Levi who murdered multitudes under a pretense of Religion and under the cover of false deceit And almost all his sons moved with envy sold their brother Ioseph for a slave and some were hardly kept from murdering him And his daughter Dinah was defiled by desiring to see the company and fashions of the world In the Church of the Israelites in the Wilderness after all the miracles which they had seen and the mercies they had received so great were their sins of unbelief and murmuring and lust and whoredomes and idolatry and disobedience that but two of them that came out of Egypt were permitted to enter the promised land In the times of the Judges they so oft renewed their idolatry besides all their other sins that they spent a great part of all those ages in captivity for it And when the villanies of Gibeah had imitated the Sodomites and ravished a woman to death the Tribe of the Benjamites defended it by a war and that in three battels till fourty thousand of the innocent Israelites were slain and twenty five thousand of the Benjamites Look through all the Books of Samuel the Kings and Chronicles and the Prophets from the sad story of the sons of Eli and of Samuel to all the wicked Kings that followed who kept up odious Idolatry even Solomon himself and scarce two or three of the best did put down the high places And when Hezekiah was zealous to reform the hearts of the subjects were not prepared but derided or abused the Messengers whom he sent about to call the people home to God Manasseh's wickedness is scarcely to be parallel'd And when God sent his Prophets to call them to repentance they mocked his Messengers and despised and abused his Prophets till the wrath of the Lord arose and there was no remedy 2 Chron. 36. 15 16. Read over the Prophets and see there what a people this Church of God was The ten Tribes were drawn by Ierâ—boam to sin by setting up Calves at Dan and Beth-el and making Priests of the vilest of the people and forsaking the Temple and the true worship of God and the lawful Priests And these lawful Priests at Ierusalem were ravening Wolves and greedy Dogs and careless and cruel Shepherds The false Prophets who deceived the people were most accepted The people are accused of cruelty oppression whoredom drunkenness Idolatry and hatred