Rational Proof of the danger hazard and Jeapardy which unstable Souls incur by gladding from their Mothers House to enquire after strange Novelties and to exchange a good old Way for a deceitfull By-path and I have insisted the longer upon it out of Duty to my Mother the Church of England and the Testimony of a good Conscience towards my Brethren whose Feet yet stand fast in the High-way of Salvation to keep them steady and fast therein and out of Love aâ—d Pity to my Brethren and Friends that have made an unkind Separation from us if possible to recover them back again that they may be as formerly they have been Ornaments of Grace to our Assemblies and let them think of me what they 〈◊〉 I still retain an unfeigned Love and Respect for their Immortal and Pretious Souls â— Reason 4. Such Mens Principles do lead Souls into a state of Rebellion not only against Man but even against God himâ—elf aâ—d under pretence of taking faster hold oâ— Religion and getting nearer unto God do throw themselves into the Pit of Error and shake hands with their Allegiaâ—ce to their Lawfull Governors as these pretended Saints did for which the Lord himself gives them the Title and Epithite of â—ebell â—7 Chap. 10 ver And the Lord sâ—id unto Moses Bring Aarons Rod again before tâ—e Testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebells These were once a People conformable to the Word and Will of God walking in all the Laws and Ordinances of the Lord and thâ—n God called them his People and own'd them for his Church Testified by the word of the Lord to Moses Eâ—od 3. 7 8 9. And the Lord said I have surely seen the Affliction of my People which are in Egypt and have heard their or by reason of their Task masters for I know their Sorrows And I am come down to dâ—liver them out of the Hands of the Egyâ—tians Now therefore behold the cry of the Children of Israel is come unto me and I have seen the Oprâ—ssion werewith the Egyptians Oppress them Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Phâ—raoh that thou mayest bring forth my Peopâ—e the Children of Israel out of Egypt Hâ—re ye see he owns them for his People and calls them Children of Israel the Seed of Jacob his chosen And afterwards commends them for acknowledging his Rule and Government over them by the Hand and Word of Moses when they spake thus to him at the Foot of Mount Sinai Goye near say they and hear all that the Lord our God shall say and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall Speake unto thee and we will â—ear it and do it And the Lord heard the Voice of your words saith Moses when â—e spake unto me and the Lord said unto me I have heard the Voice of the Words of the People which they have spoken â—nto thee they have well spoken Deut. 5. 27 28. Thrice besides this time had they made the like Protestation in Exo. 19. 2. They departed from Rephidim and were come to the Desart of Sinai and encamp'd before the Mount And Moses went up unto God and the Lord called unto him out of the Mountain saying Thus shalt thou say unto the House of Jacob and tell the Children of Israel Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bare you on Eagles Wings and brought you unto my self Now therefore if ye will Obey my Voice indeed and keep my Covenant then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all People for all the Earth is mine And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests and an holy Nation These are the words which thou shall speak unto the Children of Israel And Moses came and called for the Elders of the People and laid before their Faces all these words which the Lord commanded him And all the People answered together and said All that the Lord hath spoken that will we do and Moses returned the Words of the People unto the Lord. And at another time Exod. 24. 3. Moses came and told the People all the words of the Lords and all the Judgments and all the People answered with one Voice and said All the Words which the Lord hath said will we do And again at ver 7. Moses took the Book of the Covenant and Read in the Audience of the People and they said All that the Lord hath said will we do and be Obedient Now who would ever have thought that these Men after such Solemn Vows Promises and Protestations made in the hearing of God Angels and Men would so soon after as they did utterly renounce and deny them and wipe their Mouths with a clean Handkerchief of pretended Holyness as if they had never promised any such thing at all To day they promise to obey him in all things and in a short time after in an assaulting manner tell him to his Face That he took too much upon him to lift up himself above them to exercise Authority in Commanding them or shewing them their Duty and this so unexpectedly to Moses that with astonishment and wonder he fell upon his Face and admires that such formerly so good Subjects should now turn Rebells For he only is a Rebel which was a good Subject and afterwards Revolts from his obedience O that I could say that â—hat subtil insiâ—uating Beast that old â—erpeâ—t which is called the Devil aâ—d Satan had not in our Daies put into practice and acted upon the Stage oâ— the World the like nay worse things by many Degrees if worse may be against a Faithfull Pious Prudent Prince to his Subjects as ever Moses was to the People undâ—r him all Circumstances considered I mean King Charles I. of Blessed Memory For who would have believed Or who would have thought that those English Patrio's Seir-named the Long Parliament Legally Elected to sit there for the Service of God their King and Country after they had at the beginning of their Session taken the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacie and within a while aâ—ter form'd and took a Solemn Protestation explaining the sence and meaning of them both and in such a form of dreadfull Words which I would not here incert did Inot sear from many Symptoms apâ—arent that there are yet some Men alive sick of the same Disease and are still sitting to hatch the Cockatrice Egg the Fruit whereof may if God in Mercy prevent it not prove a fiery flying Serpent The Protestaâ—ion generally ordâ—red to be taken Die Mercu. 5 May 1641. I A. B Do in the Presence of Almighty God Promise Vow and Protest to maintain and defâ—nd as far as Lawfully I may with my Life Power and Estate the true Reformed Protestant Religion expressâ—d in the Doctrine of the Church of England against all Popery and Popish Innovations within this Realm co-trary to the same and according to the Duty of my Allegiance to His Majesties Royal Person Honor and Estate as
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
what may we then learn from this sacred Oracle of God's Revealed Will Why I humbly conceive they teach us these Three things 1. That Uniformity of Prayer in the Publick Worship of God is the best way and manner of waiting upon God 2. That such Publick Worship of God comes nearest to the Heavenly of any other upon Earth and therefore most suitable to his Nature and most agreeable to his Mind and Will 3. That such Uniformity is the absolute Determination of his Divine Will and shall be the standing Rule and Practice of his Church and People in the midst of all their Enemies Those People then that reject despise vilify and reproach with opprobrious words and scurrilous Language such a Form of Prayer and such a Method of Serving God which is Beautified and Adorned and Seasoned with the Salt of God's Holy Word are one sort of Anti-Scripturians But tho' there be too many that do so yet it is never the worse for their dirty Language no more than the Heavenly Manna was because some seditious Israelites gave it the scurrilous name of Light Bread The Holy and Heavenly Angels continued feeding on that Food which proud and haughty Men trampled under their Feet and gave it no better Commendation that Light and Lothsom Bread I do not therefore much admire at the contempt which some have taken up against the Prayers of our Church when Israel God's chosen People and the Seed of Abraham grew weary of Heavenly Manna the Food of Angels But what shall we say to these things For since the chief of the fallen Angels in the shape of a Serpent Poisoned our Nature with the Venome of his own Sin no Age hath been free from some Appearances of it among the Sons of Men nor ever will be till Satan be confined to the Bottomless Pit I am sure in the time of the Prophet Ezekiel the Church was pestered with such sort of Cattle as he calls them Chap. 34. 18 19 20. Seemeth a it small thing unto you to have eaten up the good Pasture but ye must tread down with your Feet the residue of your Pastures And to have drunk of the deep Waters but ye must foul the residue with your Feet As for my Flock they eat that which ye have trodden with your Feet and they drink that which ye have fouâ—ed with your Feet Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them Behold I even I will Judge between the Fat Cattel and between the Lean Cattel Because ye have thrust with Side and with Shoulder and pusht all the Diseased with your Horns till ye have scattered them abroad Therefore will I save my Flock and they shall no more be a Pray and I will Judge between Cattel and Cattel Hence it is Evident the Lord will one Day Judge between the Holy Martyrs that Composed the Prayers of our Church for us and afterwards Sealed it with their Blood in Flames of Fire Whither they did well in so doing or whither they do wickedly who think their Tongues their own to vilify and scornfully reproach it at their own Pleasure and with out all controul for who is Lord over them Come my Brethen be not angry with me nor account me an Enemy because I tell you the truth and I will ask you a few Questions I. What good thing there is that any of you ask in your Extempore Prayers that we do not ask in a well-set Form of sound Words II. Whither there be any one Petition in the Daily Prayers of our Church that doth contradict the least Branch of God's Revealed Will that savours of Impiety or that can be truly said to hinder the work of Grace in the Heart of any Sinner III. Whither there be any thing wanting that may make a miserable Man happy even in this Life if he can obtain the things he Prays for IV. Whither the things we pray for therein if granted be not of force to make the worst of Sinners to become one of the better sort of Saints upon Earth V. Whither there be any thing that is requisite or necessary for Soul or Body to make our Lives comfortable here and our Souls eternally Happy hereafter that is omitted or left out in the Prayers of our Church VI. Whither the matter contained in the Book of Common Prayer be not a constant acknowledgment and Vindication of the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints And whither we are not Exhorted earnestly to contend for it VII Whither there be any thing that may savingly inform the Judgments of Men in mattrrs of Faith or enlighten the Understanding in the Mystery of Mans Salvation or that may encourage Sinners to turn from Darkness to Light and from the power of Satan unto God which are not to be found in the Doctrin and Discipline of the Church of England And now I beseech you my Friends ask your selves this one Question Whither it savours of Wisdom in any that profess the Name of Christ or own themselves to be his Servants to question the truth of his Word Who as a Prophet hath foretold the desolation of Kingdoms to proceed from their Divisions Hath not Moses that Man of God told Israel of old that God would raise them up a Prophet like to himself and that God the Father would put words into his Mouth and that whosoever would not give heed thereto God would require it of him And doth not the Apostle St. Peter tell us Acts 3. That Christ was that Prophet and that whosoever would not hear him should be destroyed from amongst the People And hath not Christ by vertue of his Prophetical Office told us That a Kingdom divided cannot stand but is brought to desolation O let us not Tempt Christ by our divisions to try whether he will or can save us from Desolation contradictory to his own word I think therefore and I do Appeal to the Conscience of any unbiassed Man that professeth the Christian Faith whither it be not better for you to return to the High-Way of Salvation again then by your Divisions to continue rambling from one by-path to another till ye know not which way to take and leave the Breach open for our Enemies to break in upon us and lay our Land Desolate Do ye not hear what the Son of God said Mat. 24. 15. When ye therefore shall 〈◊〉 the Abomination of Desolation stand in the Holy Place Standing where it ought not so St. Mark reads it And hath he not told us elsewhere that The Divisions of a Kingdom will bring it to Desolation Shall we then call our selves Believers and give no credit to his Word in so weighty a concern as the Preservation of a Kingdom from Ruin and Destruction May we not safely conclude from the Words of our Saviour that Divisions and Dissentions amongst Profest Christians is an Abomination unto the Lord And that Scism is a provoking Sin Did not Christ weep for the Divisions of Jerusalem And shall we
Heresie and Scisme and so undiscernibly maâ—age their Crafty Devices that the very elect choise and eminent Christians will hardly escape from being entangled with such Deceits Now then seeing that these things are certainly true it cannot but be dangerous and unsafe for the best of Christians to venture themselves into any such Congregations as have made a causeless Separation from such a Church where the the Word of God is truely taught Publick Prayer in a Form of sound Word suitable to every State and Condition of Men answerable to all their wants both for Soul and Body and all put up to God in the Name of his only Son Jesus Christ And all this Confirm'd and Establish'd by the Successive Royal Laws and Sacred Statutes Acts and Ordinances of the most Christian Kings Princes and Parliaments that ever were since the Reformation as the Church of England is in Statu quo Our Blessed Saviour hath assnred us by the words of his Sacred Lips That many will come in his Name and deceive not a few but many And the Apostle St. John saith That there are many Antichrists and exhorts them not to believe every Spirit because many false Prophets were gone forth into the World Seeing then that the number of Deceivers are many and the Deceived a Thousand times more I hold it the greatest Wisdom that can be in a Christian to take heed how he adventures into every Congregation of People least he become one of those many that Christ fiath foretold will certainly be deceived for want of this special Gift of the Holy-Ghost to discern Spirits Reason 2. A second Reason is because such Mens Principles will leave a black Brand of detestable hatred upon their very Names amongst the Generations of the People of God that shall Survive them For tho' they may prosper for a time and take their swinge for a time and run their Wildgoose chase for a time and tho' they take liberty to kindle these Fires and compas themselves about with such Sparks and tho' they walk in the Light of these Fires and Sparks of their own kindling yet this shall they have at the hand of the Lord they shall lie down in Sorrow and leave a Curse upon their Names amongst the Surviving Genâ—rations And this was verified on these very Men in my Text for when the Geneologies of the Surviving Tribes were Numbred and Recorded there lieth a Bloâ— of Disgrace upon their Names so that in plain Terms their Names stunck after they were dead The Record is to be seen in Chap. 26. of the Book of Numbers ver 7 8 9. the Words of the Record are these These are the Families of the Reubenites and they that were Numbred of them were Forty and three Thousand and seven Hundred and Thirty And the Sons of Pallu Eliab And the Sons of Eliab Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram This is that Dathan and Abiram which were Famous in the Congregaâ—tion who strove against Moses and against Aaron in that Company of Corah when they strove against the Lord. And the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up together with Corah when that Company Died what time the Fire Devoured two Hundred and Fifty Men and they became a Sign Nor did their Names stink only upon Record but in the Memories and Thoughts of the Surviveing honest Hearted Israelites as appeareth by the Words of the Plea of the Daughters of Zelophehad made in open Court for Inheritance of their Fathers which Plea was also Recorded aud continueth to this Day Num. 27. ver 1 2. Ver. 1. Then came the Daughters of Zelophehad the Son of Hepher the Son of Gilead the Son of Machir the Son of Manasses the Son of Joseph And these are the Names of his Danghters Mahlah Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah And they stood before Moses and Eliazar the Priest for Aaron was then Dead and before the Princes and all the Congregation by the Door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation saying Our Father Died in the Wilderness and he was not in the Company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the Company of Corah but died in his own Sin and had no Sons 4 Why then should the Name of our Father be done away from amongst his Family because he hath no Son give unto us therefore a Possession amongst the Brethren of our Fathers 5. And Moses brought their Cause before the Lord and the Lord spake unto Moses saying 6. The Daughters of Zelophehad speak right thou shalt surely give them a Possession of an Inheritance amongst their Fathers Brethreu and thou shalt cause the Inheritance of their Father to pass unto them By the Contents of which Record it is evident that the Remembrance of these Mens Doings was Odious to Posterity more Instances we have as in Simeon and Levi Simon Magus Thudas Judas of Gallilee Nicolitans c. Reason 3. Is because the Breath of such Mens Doctrine is infectious to a sound Judgment the Sons of Men are as really snbject to Spiritual Infection as the Body is to that which is Carnal the Body is not more liable to the Infection of the Plague of Pestilence than the Judgments of the Sons and Daughters of Men are to the Plague of Spiritual Delusions And this my Assertion I ground upon Reason drawn from the Testimonies of Sacred Writ besides Woful and Daily Experience There are three Diseases amongst Men notably Infectious above others viz the Leprosie the Pestilence and the Cancer all whieh three Diseases of the Body do paralell the three grand Infectious Diseases of the Soul viz. Disobedience Heresie and Scisme The first whereof is Epidemical and hath Infected all Mankind with the Leprosie of Original Sin The second is more Secret and indiscernable falling upon sound Constitutions when they think least on 't even whilest they are Talking and Drinking with their Friend and concerning this Disease it is observable that the Party Infected hath a desire to Infect others tho' never so near and dear to them the like desire have all Scismaticks The third Infectious Disease viz. the Cancer hath its Residence for the most part in the Mouth or Tongue that they who drink of the same Cup with them are in danger of Infection For Confirmation of this Assertion I shall give you a Precedent and Precept from the Sacred Scriptures The Precedent is double and of Lamentable Memory because the Sin appeared in the Punishment of those that Committed it The Precept is alone yet worthy of a serious notice because it was Transmitted by an Epistle from an Universal Apostle to a Bishop of a particular Charge 2 Tim. 16. 17. 18. The first Precedent or Example is Recorded in Numb 12. where two prime Servants of God are found Tardy in their Obedience to him which shewed it felf in the Malignant Humour of Miriam and Aarons Murmuring against Moses who tho' their own Brother yet under God their Supream Governour nevertheless they could say
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
Gospel and the surest way to Enthrone Christ in the Hearts of the Sons and Daughters of Men. And I say the contrary and will prove that there is no such thing in Religion as Liberty of Conscience such a Liberty of Conscience I mean as for every Man to serve God after what way and manner pleaseth him best It is easier to keep Sin out of the Conscience than to cast it out when it is in If that Light which is within us naturally for God hath lighted up a Candle in every Mans Conscience be darkned with Spiritual Errors how great must that Darkness needs be The Devil is the Prince of Darkness but he can Transform himself into an Angel of Light He is a fiery flying Serpent and if he can but get in his Head he will quickly winde in his whole Body How many Virgin Professors have lost their Spiritual Chastity in an hour by gadding abroad to trim their way by thinking to go in a cleaner Path than the High-way of Salvation is and so in a trice deprived themselves of that Peace of Conscience which they have not recovered again whilest they have lived O take heed then of being Humorsom and Selfwill'd under your Profession of Religion and Pray that the Lord will not leave you to your own Wills nor to the Councils of your own Hearts nor to the Wisdom of your own Spirits nor to the Nerves of your own Strength nor to the Steps of your own ways nor to the course of your own Natures nor to the Liberty of your own Consciences for if he should ye are in the High-way to eternal Destruction FINIS A POSTSCRIPT To all sorts of DÃssenters From the Church of ENGLAND As it is now Established by Law COme my Brethren and Friends let us Reason together and as the Lord of Hosts the Lord Jesus by Haggai the Prophet hath commanded Consider our Ways Chap 1. 7. And that which I humbly conceive may be most advantagious for us all in this Affair will be by comparing our ways wherein we walk with those Antient Paths wherein the Servants of God did walk in of Old My Reason for this Conception is grounded upon the Word of the Lord by the Mouth of the Prophet Jeremiah Ch. 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 Now I beseech you my Brethren consider that this Prophet was not sent only to the Jews but also to the rest of the Nations and therefore the Words of his Prophecy belong to us as well as to them for when he wrote this Prophecy he inserts his Commission which runs thus Chap. 1. ver 4. 5 6 7. Then the Word of the Lord came unto me saying Before I Formed thee in the Belly I knew thee and before thou camest out of the Womb I Sanctified thee and Ordained thee a Prophet to the Nations Then said I ah Lord God behold I cannot speak for I am a Child But the Lord said unto me say not I am a Child for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak Then the Lord put forth his Hand and touched my Mouth and the Lord said unto me behold I have put my Words into thy Mouth See I have this Day set thee over the Nations and over the Kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down and to build and to plant I have read the Book of this Prophet very frequently in my daily Course of reading the Holy Scriptures and have taken diligent notice of the Measures he took in delivering it which I humbly conceive to consist mainly in these Six Heads 1. He gives them a Breviate of his Call and Commission from God to his Place and Office 2. Gives them a Draught of his Charge against them for their manifold Sins Iniquities and Transgressions which with gries of Heart and with Checks bedewed with Tears he frequentlyrepeats 3. A Demonstration of God's just Judgment against them for such their Tranâ—gressions 4. Exhortations and Admonitions Tears and Intreaties to for sake their own evil Ways and so prevent the Execution of those Judgments which he Denounced against them 5. The Way and Method he took to persuade them there unto 6. The nature of the Punishment to be inflicted on them in case they did not return and leave their ill Courses Now it is very remarkable that before he chargeth them with any gross Polutions of the Flesh or Prophane Debaucheries he begins with their Faults of Spiritual Wickedness and amongst the many Particulars these following are some 1. He chargeth them with their unkindness and indiscretion in forsaking their first Love to the first Principles of their Profession of Religion Chap. 2. 1. 2. in these words Moreover the Word of the Lord came unto me saying Go and Cry in the Streets of Jerusalem and say Thus saith the Lord I remember thee the Kindness of thy Youth the Love of thine espousals when thou wentest after me in the Wilderness But now they were no such People they knew better things or at leastwise were resolved so to do they were now for some Novelties they must have Quails to their Manna which put the Lord to this Expostulation Ver. 5. What Iniquities have your Fathers found in me that they are gone far from me As if the Lord had said what Evil do ye find in the Law and in the Ordinances thereof which I set before you as a Rule to walk by 2. He charges them with their Delight and Pleasure in changes Aarons Bells made no Musick in their Ears except they Rung the Changes Chap. 2. 11. Hath a Nation changed their Gods which are no Gods But my People have changed their Glory for that which doth not profit Except they might have Alterations and Amendments in the High-way of Salvation agreeable to their own Humors they resolve not to walk in them any longer This made the Lord Expostulate with them again after this manner Chap. 2. 31. O Generations see ye the Word of the Lord have I been a Wilderness unto Israel A Land of Darknes Wherefore say my People we are Lords we will come no more unto thee That is we are our own Masters and at our own liberty to serve God how and when we please and as for the Antient ways of God we will know them no more so as to walk in them any longer And further at Ver. 33. the Prophet asketh them this Question Why trimmest thou thy way to seek Love Therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy Ways i. e. to forsake the High-way of Salvation And then at Ver. 36. He reinforceth this charge saying Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy ways Hence it is very remarkable that in this 2. Chap. the Prophet gives the unstable Israelites the