never tell any of their sins nor preach repentance to them whilst I lived and that I must not deny my duty and Charity to one sort because another sort will not receive it and seeing also necessity increase and having already writen and said so much to the other party I resolved to imitate those two excellent faithful Tractates viz. 1. Mr. M. Pool's Vox clamantis in deserto in Latine calling the Non-conformable Ministers to Repentance and Mr. Lewis Stukeley's a worthy Congregational Minister in Exeter and a kinsman of the late General Monkes enumerating copiously most of the Common sins of Religious Professors and calling them earnestly and faithfully to repentance which since the writing of this I find excellently done in a book called Englands danger and only Remedy And therefore I first published some old notes written eleven or twelve years ago called Directions for weak Christians and annexed to it The Character of a sound Christian In both which I wrote that which was as like to have exasperated the impatient as this book is And yet I heard of no complaints And afterward I wrote this which I now defend and sent it to the Licenser who upon perusal refused to License it And so it lay by and I purposed to meddle with it no more But leaving it in the Booksellers hands that had offered it to be Licensed after a long time he got it done and so unexpectedly it revived The Reasons of my writing it were no fewer than all these following which I now submit to the judgement of all men truly peaceable and impartial who value the interest of Christianity and of the universal Church above their own 1. To make up my foregoing Directions to weak Christians more compleat Having directed them about the private matters of their souls I intended this as another Part to Direct them in order to the Churches Peace 2. Many good people of tender Consciences and weak judgements desiring my advice about Communion in the publick Assemblies I found it meetest to publish this general Advice for all to save me the labour of speaking to particular persons and to serve those that lived further off 3. I saw those Principles growing up apace in this time of prevocation which will certainly increase or continue our divisions if they continue and increase I am sure that our wounds are made by wounding principles of doctrine And it must be healing doctrines that must heal us And I know that we cannot be healed till doctrinal principles be healed To give way to the prevalency of dividing Opinions is to give up our hopes of future unity and peace And to give up our hopes of Unity and Peace is to despair of all true Reformation and happiness of the Church on earth If ever the Church be reduced to that Concord Strength and Beauty which all true Christians do desire I am past doubt that it must be by such principles as I have here laid down 4. But my grand reason was that I might serve the Church of Christ in the reviving and preservation of Christian Love As it was an extraordinary measure of the Spirit which Christ made his Witness in the Gospel Church so is it as extraordinary a measure of Love which he maketh the New Commandment and the mark of all his true Disciples And whether afflicting on one side and unmerciful and unjust censures on the other side one driving away and the other flying away be either a sign or means of Love And whether taking others to be intolerable in the Church and unworthy of our Communion and separating from or avoiding the Worship where they are present be likely to kindle Love or to kill it let any man judge that hath himself the exercise of Reason and unfeigned Love I know that this is the hour of Temptation to the sufferers to stir up passion and distaste and that men have need of more than ordinary grace and watchfulness and therefore of more than ordinary helps warning to preserve due Love and keep out an undue hatred of those by whom they suffer And how great a temptation also their censures and discontents will prove to their Superiours and others by whom they suffer and what unspeakable hurt it may do their sâ—uls may easily be conjectured This sin will prove our greatest loss 5. Hereupon men will be engaged in sinful Actions of injustice and uncharitableness against each other They will be glad to hear and forward to believe hard and false reports of one another And too forward to vent such behind one anothers backs And there is no doubt but many of each party already think worse of the other commonly than they are Though alas we are all too bad and some egregiously wicked And those Persons and Churches that would censure a man for Curses or Oaths should also censure men for slanders and backbitings And should I not do my best to prevent such a course of daily sin 6. Both violence and separation tend to divide the builders themselves and keep the Ministers in contending with and Preaching and Writing against each other which should be employed in an unanimous opposition to the Kingdom of Satan in the world And when all their united wisdom and strength is too little against the common Ignorance and Prophaneness of the world their division will disable them and give sin and Satan opportunity to prevail 7. It may engage them on both sides in the dreadful fin of persecuting each other one party by the Hand and the other by the Tongue even while they cry out of persecution And on both sides to hinder the Gospel and mens salvation on one side by hindering the Preachers from their work and on the other side yea on both by hindring the success For what can be more done to make men despise the word than to teach them to despise or abhor the Preacher And what more can be done to destroy mens souls than to harden them against the Word Is there any sâ—bâ—r man on either extream that dare say I would have none of the people saved that are not or will not be the hearers of our party If you dare not say that you would have all the rest to be damâ—ed dare you say you would not have them be taught by others Or that you would not have them profit by the Word they hear If not how dare you tempt them to vilifie and despise their Teachers If they will not learn of you be glad if they will learn of any other and do not hinder them 8. By these means they will cherish an hypocritical sort of Religiousness in the people which is more employed in Sidings Opinions and Censurings of others than in humble self-judging and in a holy heavenly mind and life A man need not the Spirit of God and supernatural Grace nor much Self-denyal nor Mortification of the flesh to make him choose a certain fashion of external Worship and think that now he
and those that are of that fashion are the only people and to reproach all of other fashions as ungodly and to think that he is therefore a better Christian than the other because his fashion of outward Worship seemeth the better to him Not that any thing in Gods Worship should be denyed its due regard But its pity that by an unproportionable estimation of mens several outward fashions words and gestures poor souls should be tempted to deceive themselves and to forget that he is the best Christian that hath most Faith Humility Love and Heavenliness which is the true Holiness and Beauty of the soul. 9. When men think a Lawful Communion yea a duty to be unlawful it will both keep them in the sin of omitting it and cause them to add their sinful Censures of all those that use that Communion which they avoid They do not only think that they are holier because they hear not and pray not and communicate not in the Parish Churches but they look down with a supercilious pity upon those that do And how many parties have I thus been pitied by As I go along the Streets the Quakers say Poor man thou art in darkness The Papists pity me for not being one of them The Anabaptists pity me for not being one of them The Separatists pity or disdain me because I forbear not the Worship that they forbear And this Excepter lamenteth my condition as passionately as any It is not for Not Worshipping with them that they censure me for I am ready to do it but for Worshipping with others in Words which they like not And whereas holiness was wont to be expressed most by Worship actions now it must be characterized more by Negatives even in external adjuncts And if he be the best man that avoideth most the Communion of others which he taketh to be bad I have and have had neighbours better than you all that never communicate with any Church nor ever publickly hear or pray or Worship God at all because they think all your wayes of Worship to be bad I remember Rivet marketh out Grotius by this that while he forsook the Protestant Churches and called us to unite with the Church of Rome that is with the Pope ruling not arbitrarily but by the Laws of a General Council not excluding that of Trent he did actually communicate with none at all 10. When mens judgements are thus mistaken about Church Communion their Worship of God will be corrupted They will in their hearts earnestly desiee that all others may be of their mind and they will complain to God of that as a sin which is mens duty Especially among those of their own mind And this offering up of their mistakes to God in earnestness as an acceptable service is a sad polluting of holy things So he that is famed to have written this Antidote is said to have made my Book which was written for Christian Love to be the matter of his publick Humiliation And another of my friends in dayes of prayer maketh it his lamentation Lord here are those that are one day here and another day at Common-prayer As if the exercise of Knowledge and Love in impartial Communion with all Christs Churches not forcing us to sin were a sin to be lamented But I need not go further for instance than this Antidote where the Reverend Author taketh it for a service of God to write against those necessary Precepts of Love and Unity which he mistakingly opposeth And so did Mr. Iohnson and Mr. Canne who most confidently presented their Writings for separation to God as a service which he had commanded them and would own 11. This narrow judgement tempteth men on one side to Anathematize all that say There are any other true Churches in England save of one form and fashion and it tempteth others to deny the Parish Churches to be at all true Churches and so to narrow the possessions of Christ. And hereupon it tempteth them to endeavour to disgrace and dissolve each other It draweth many to think that it is the Interest of Religion now in England to have the Parish Churches to be brought low in reputation and deserted and Gods publick Worship which they would have all Religious people use to be only that of tolerated or more private Churches By which they little know what they wiâ—â— against the interest of the Christian and Pro 〈…〉 nt Religion in this Land Nor what hurt they would do if in this they had their wills 12. These dividing Principles and Spirits which I oppose will on one side give shelter to all the prophane malignant minds that itch to be afflicting others that fear God more than they And on the other side it will give shelter to all kind of Heresies and Sects of which experience is too full a proof 13. Yea before our eyes the most pernicious Heresies even those of Quakers are still not only continued but increase And we see men that to day condemn Communion with the Parish Churches and then with the Presbyterians do shortly fly from Communion with the Independents too And mens passions in sufferings pervert their judgements And frequently men are overcome by tryal when they think they are most constant and have overcome It s commonly known how many of late are turned Quakers And what considerable persons lately in prison fell to that unhappy Heresie Yet they that by a Prison lost their Religion no doubt thought themselves more honourable by their sufferings than those that go to Common-prayer And shall we stand by and see this work go on and neither lament their sin that drive men to this nor warn them of the Passions and Principles that lead to it 14. Separation will ruine the separated Churches themselves at last By separation I mean the same thing that the old Non-conformists wrote against by that name It will admit of no consistency Parties will arise in the separated Churches and separate again from them till they are dissolved I beseech my deer brethren that are otherwise minded to open their eyes so far as to regard experience Brethren what now Comparatively are all the separated Churches or parties upon Earth Would you have all Christs Churches and all the interest of the Christian Religion to be as short lived and to stand upon no more certain terms than they do How few separated Churches do now exist that were in being an hundred years ago Can you name any And would you have had all the Churches of Christ on Earth to be dissolved when they were dissolved Or do you think that all were dissolved with them This would make us all seekers indeed 15. Separating and narrow principles befriend not Godliness as they pretend to do but lamentably undermine it If it were but by driving off and disaffecting the lower sort of Christians whose Communion you reject The Case of three or four Churches in New-England grieve my heart But the Case of the Summer Islands as
against separation because all this spurious offspring was fathered on them and still laid at their doors And withal because they found how hard it is to stop men that begin to find real faults with other men from fancying abundance more that are not real and to keep men from running into extreams And experience told them that their own party was in danger of running from them and it was not easie to keep them stable in the sober 〈◊〉 of the truth Especially the Independents oâ— this account are obliged to be the greatest disswaders of separation because all sects are fathered on them and too many of their congregations in England and New-England have been lamentably corrupted or subverted and dissolved by them 23. There is 〈◊〉 man that is acquainted with Church history but knoweth that as Christ was Crucified between two thieves so his Church hath been 〈◊〉 and troubled between the prophane malignant persecutors and the heretical and sectarian dividers even from the dayes of the Apostles until this age Insomuch that Paul himself and Peter and Iude and Iohn were put to 〈…〉 as largely against the Dividers almost as the persecutors Iraenaeus Epiphanius Augustine Theodoret besides the rest do sadly tell us in their Catalogues and Controversies how lamentably these Dividers then hindered the Gospel and distressed and dishonoured the Church And the sad stories of Hâ—lland Munster and others in Germany Poland and especially these twenty years past in England do bring all closer to our sense And are not the Watch-men of Christ still bound to tell the Church of their danger on the one side as well as the other Yea in some respects to say more on this side than on that because Religious people are easier and ofter turned to be Dividers than to be Persecutors or Prophane 24. All these dangers lying before us and the Non-conformable Ministers being under great reproaches and lamentable hinderances from their sacred work and called by God to fidelity as in a day of tryal what guilt would be upon us what shame would be our due if we should all be silent whilest we see the principles of Division continually increase The 〈◊〉 principles which the old Non-conformists confuted greatly propagate themselves through the smart which alienateth the peoples minds And Reason doth so hardly prevail against Feeling that all that we can say will prove too little This is the true cause why they cry out now Oh the case is changed It is not with us as it was in the old Non-conformists daies Because they did but hear of what was in those daies but they see and feel what is done in ours Therefore we had so easie a work comparatively to perswade men that the old separatists were mistaken but can hardly now perswade them that the same principles are a mistake because now they smart and Passion is not easily held in by reason I can make shift to hold in a mettlesome horse while he is not provoked But if a Bishop will come behind me and laâ—h him or prick him and then blame the rider if he run away with me I cannot help it But sure if we must needs have to do with such men it concerneth us to hold the reines the harder And if after such grievous judgements as plagues flames poverty reproach and silencings and sad confusions which God hath tryed us with in these times his Ministers should through passion policie or sloth sit still and let Professors run into sinful principles and extreams it will be our Aggravated sin 25. And one reason why I set upon this work was because I saw few others do it If it must be done and others will not then I must take it for my duty 26. And another reason was because I knew but few that I was willing to thrust upon it so forwardly as my self for fear of being the author of their sufferings Many may be abler that are not in other respects so fit Some Ministers are young men and like to live longer to serve God in his Church and their Reputation is needful to their success If they be vilified it may hinder their labours And experience telleth us that the dividing spirit is very powerful and victorious in censorious vilifying of dissenters But I am almost miles Emeritus at the end of my work and can reasonably expect to do but little more in the world and therefore have not their impediment And for popular applause I have tryed its vanity I have had so much of it till I am brought to a contempt if not a loathing of it And whereas some brethren say that Censures will hinder the success of my Writings I answer No man shall do his duty without some difficulties and impediments If my writings will not do good by the evidence of truth in them and if the censures of Dividers are able to frustrate them let them fall and fail And some of my brethren have great Congregations to teach which are so inclined to this dividing way that they cannot bear their information But when I preached in my house to the most I knew scarce any of the Parish that came not to the Parish Church but such as lived in my own house Also many Ministers being turned out of all their maintenance have families and nothing to maintain them but what the Charity of Religious people giveth them Little do some know what the families of many godly Ministers suffer And some Independents are maintained by their gathered Churches and if they cast them off both reputation work and maintenance would fail For those that silence them will neither honor them nor maintain them And though I suppose that these brethren would serve God in the greatest contempt and poverty and self-denial if they perceive that God doth call them to it yet I think it a duty of Charity in me to go before them and do the more displeasing work to prevent the sufferings of such or at least not to thrust them on so hard a service For I have no Church that maintaineth me nor any people whose estimation I am afraid to lose that are dividingly inclined nor through Gods mercy have any need of maintenance from others and therefore may do my duty at cheaper rates than they 27. And I will add one reason more of the publishing though not of the writing of my book When it had been long cast by â—â—ound in the Debater and Ecclesiastical Polititian that the Nonconformists are made ridiculous and â—dious as men of erroneous uncharitable and ungovernable principles and spirits Though we subscribe to all the Doctrine of the Church of England And I thought that the publication of this book should leave a testimony to the generations to come by which they might know whether we were truly accused and whether our principles were not as much for Love and Peace as theirs and as consistent with order and government Is not the Non-conformists doctrine the same with that of the
slowly they come on in knowledge 3. If God have made it one half the work of the Pastors of the Churches to labour all their daies to heal the Ignorance of good people then such Ignorant ones there are But the antecedent is plain in Scripture and believed by most Ministers as their daily Sermons tell you 4. Do not the multitudes of Sects and Errors and Contentions that have torn the Church from the Apostles daies till now prove it Were all those in the Catalogues of Epiphanius Augustine Philastrius c. Certainly graceless Or were none of them Ignorant and Injudicious And though Church-tyranny be a grand Divider that this was not the only Cause two instances prove to the great disgrace of this assertion of his First the instance of the said sects of Christians for the first 300 or 400 years when there were no such Impositions Secondly our late twenty years or neer contentions and divisions and numerous parties when there were little or no impositions Was it impositions or tyranny that bred sects in the Armies and in England and Ireland in the daies of liberty 5. And is it not sufficient proof to England that there are weak ignorant injudicious Christians when the ruines of twenty years experience overwhelmeth us and when so many years unreconcilable differences prove i And when we have so many sects and differences to this day What all these differences these wars these disputings these censurings divisions and confusions and yet no Ignorant Injudioious Christians O what will pass for proof with them that will not take such experience for proof 6. And what say you by all the Greek the Abassine Armenian Nestorian Iacobite c. Christians that are alas in National general Ignorance Which will you affirm Brother That all these Nations are damnable Infidels or no Christians Or that there are no Ignorant Christians among them 7. And what say you by all the Contentions of Lutherans and Calvinists Arminians and Antiarminians the troubles of Germany by Muntzer and his Anabaptists and those at Munster and those in Holland and many other Countreys 8. And what say you by all the books now extant Dr. Crispes Mr. Saltmarshes Cop's Mr. Cradocks Mr. Dels Mr. Dens Mr. Randalls Iacob Behmens and all the Germane Prophets Andr. Osiander Swenkfieldius c. Is there no Christianity or no ignorance and injudiciousness apparent in them Besides all the writings of Episenpal Presbyterian Independents Separatists Anabaptists c. against one another 9. Do you not think your self that multitudes of Conformists yea Ministers are Ignorant and Injudicious Sure you do And can you judge them all to be no Christians 10. Do you not think that I am Ignorant and Injudicious If not you must not only think that I am no Christian but also extreamly maliciously wicked But if you do so think of me can you think so of all the non-Conformable Ministers of my judgement I am sure if you believe your self and as you write Ignorance is the easiest charge we can expect from you 11. And will you put sorth such a book as your own to the World and when you have done deny the Ignorance and Injudiciousness of all Christians This is all one as to swear that there is never a swearer among Christians 12. I appeal to the common Charges of Ministers in their Sermons and books who charge weak Christians with dulness ignorance and injudiciousness 13. I appeal to the experience of all Masters of Families whether they meet with no such Christians there Yea how hard it is to meet with better 14. I appeal to the experience of every self-knowing Christian whether he find not abundance of dulness ignorance and injudiciousness in himself 15. I appeal to the prayers of almost all Christians whether they charge not themselves with this to God 16. I appeal to almost all the disagreeing disputers of this and every age whether they charge not one another with it 17. I appeal to most Parishes in England whether many of the people charge not their Ministers themselves with it 18 I appeal to Universities Tutors and Schools whether they know none such 19. I appeal to any judicious man whether he find not the judicious even among good Christians yea and Ministers to be alas too rare 20. And I appeal to all men that are awake whether there be no Christian children in the World And whether all such children are cured of Ignorance and Injudiciousness and know all things by the anointing of the Spirit And if all this be no proof it is time to give over teaching and disputing And now that if perhaps you may repent and others be preserved I shall tell you what nature this sinful doctrine and practice is of 1. It is a cherishing of Pride which is the first-born of the Devil Yea of spiritual Pride even a Pride of mens Knowledge and Iudiciousness which is worse than Pride of wealth or ornaments 2. Hereby it resisteth a great work of the Gospel and Spirit of Christ which consisteth in the humbling of souls and making them become as little children conscious of Ignorance and teachable 3. It defendeth that sin which all experienced judicious men complain of as that common calamity of mankind which is the grand cause of contentions and errors in the World Which is mens thinking that they know what they do not and over-valuing their own understandings thinking that they are wise when it is otherwise 4. It contradicteth the Holy Ghost and reproveth his language and reproofs as I have before shewed To which I adde 2 Tim. 3. 6 7. They lead captive silly women laden with sins led away with divers lusts ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth 1 Cor. 15. Where Paul is put to prove the Resurrection ver 34. Some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame ver 36. Thou fool that which thou sâ—west c. Hos. 9. 7. The Prophet is a fool the spiritual man is mad c. 1 Cor. 3. 18. Let him become a fool that he may be wise If you say that some of these were not true Saints I answer 1. Paul calleth the Church of Corinth in general Saints 2. Our question is of more than true Saints even such as may by others who are no heart-searchers be called Christians whether we may call any dull ignorant or injudicious Christians 5. You teach Parents and Masters to neglect and betray the souls of their children and servants that are Christians And children and servants to reject the teaching of Parents and Masters For if they are not dull nor ignorant what need they to be taught or to learn And at what age do they come to know all things and to be past the title of Ignorant Is it at 4 or 5 or 7 years old Doubtless they may have the spirit then If not where is it that you will set the bounds At what age were you past
you avoid what you injuriously impute to others when you cry out What could Parker c. have spoken more reproachfully c. Sure you thought I had spoken against fervent preaching it self or else you would not have talk'd as you do Here also after some mention of my Pride and Folly you adde two more gross Untruths 1. That what I spake of individual persons without respect to any party Conformists non-Conformists or Separatists and instanced in many of my own acquaintance some of which now Conform yea are zealous Conformists who were the ferventest loudest Preachers that ever I knew in all my life If I will not tell you who they are alas man did you never know such you must think it concerns all that are at this day engaged in a Gospel separation Answ. Had you said We will think so it might have been true But 1. I had made no mention at all of separation in the whole Direction nor intended any more than I expressed But only meant to direct people to avoid that error in the choice of Teachers which prepareth them for any seduction and division 2. I had largely spoken there for affectionate Preaching 3. I am not acquainted with very many such as in England have been known by the name of Separatists that go no further But those few that I do know I take to be colder duller Preachers than those that are called Presbyterians byfar for the most part of them so far was I from meaning them But Quakers and Fifth-Monarchy men and some Anabaptists I know and many revilers of the Ministry I have known in Armies and Countreys that were just such as I describe 2. It is an untruth that you had no pretence of Reason for that I can think of that I have left off the Lords work and instead of helping it forwards with you am weakening your hands and disgracing the builders If you mean that I preach not in the Pulpit no more do you If you mean that I have not a separated Church I never had one on your principles at least If you mean that I preach not in London 1. I cannot if I would 2. I never had any Pastoral Charge nor place in London but preach'd one year up and down for others and another year took but a voluntary Lecture 3. London I was forced eight years ago to forsake for my health and life 4. Gods work is not only in London 5. I have no call thither nor any people related to me as a Pastor there 6. There are very many worthy men there that want both employment and maintenance whom I will not injure Are not all these reasons enough But if you think otherwise 7. Are not all the Preachers in England forsakers of Gods work that preach not in London 8. I think you preached not for many years when you lay so long in prison Did you then forsake Gods work But I must confess Brother I have alwaies been too slothful and unprofitable a servant and still am Yet I can say that I know no other employment that I have and that I spend no more time in other things than necessities of life require I play away none and I idle away but little and preaching were it oftner is a small part of my work and that will be proved to be the Lords work which you think is against him as all have done that ever I wrote against almost And I love you much the better for being zealous for that which you do but think is the Lords work But I am past doubt that it will prove at last that such doctrines passions and practices as yours will be the weakeners and hinderers of the builders EXCEPT XXVI Answered p. 16. I intreat the Reader to peruse my words which you except against so angrily and I am assured he will find them useful to him in the great Question Who shall be Iudge And to help him out of his perplexities 1. It is a notorious untruth that you say It is altogether a new way of deciding Controversies to affirm Dictator like in all points of belief or practice which are of necessity to Salvation you must ever keep company with the Universal Church Be it right or wrong who knoweth not that knoweth what was held of old that it is the way that Irenaeus Tertullian Epiphanius Hierome Augustine Optatus and abundance more have largely written for And which Vincentius Lirinensis wrote his book for Quod semper ubique ab omnibus c. 2. Note Reader that he leaveth out that I said here no man must be Iudge no not the universal Church but only that they are our associates and that here every Christian maketh the Articles of his Faith his own and upon no mans authority c. But I maintain that it is no Article of absolute necessity to Salvation that hath been unknown to the Universal Church till now for then it were no Church But saith our brother who shall tell us what is the Universal Church And where shall we find it Answ. Are these Questions now to be answered by me Did you never before hear it done by others The Universal Church is the Universality of Christians It is to be found militant on this habitable earth Did you not know this But you ask How comes the Scripture not to be mentioned Answ. Because it was not seasonable or pertinent I was not defining the Church If I had it was definable without the naming of the Scripture at least before the Scripture was written And whence think you did I mean men should make the doctrine of Faith their own past controversie but by the Scripture Good brother till you have written more books for the authority of Scriptures than I have done or preach'd more for it own not such disingenuous intimations 2. You say that what he addes is much more conceited and singular In matters of high and difficult speculation the judgement of one man of extraordinary understanding and clearness is to be preferred before both the Rulers and the Major Vote Answ. It is another Untruth that this is singular My very words are almost verbatim in Mr. Pemble Vind. Grat. elsewhere cited Why do the Scotists so far follow Scotus and the Nominals Ockbam and the Dominicans Aquinas c. if this were a singular opinion Do not all the Peripateticks say the same of Aristotle in Philosophy And the Atomists of Epicurus Democritus and Lucretius and the Cartesians of their Master Doth not Dr. Twisse say the like of Bradwardine and of Piscator And do not many besides Rutherford think the same of him Do not the Ramists say so of Ramus Do not the Protestants say so of Calvin as to all that went before him Nay is it not almost the common opinion of all Learned men And a thing beyond dispute Did ever any man put such points of high speculation to the Major vote Alas brother that you should