God and the wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1. And as he made no use of Humane learning all this while So in 1 Cor. 2. he plainly renounces it and rejects it saying Ver. 1. And I brethren when I came to you came not with excellency of speech or wisdom declaring unto you the Testimony of God Ver. 2. For I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him Crucified Ver. 3. And I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling Ver. 4. And my speech and preaching was not with entising words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and Power Ver. 5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but in the power of God Ver. 6. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect Yet not the wisdom of this world nor of the Princes of this world which come to nought Ver. 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a Mysterie even the hidden wisdom which God Ordained before the world unto our glory c. Ver. 13. Which things also we speak not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth but which the holy spirit teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual things In a word this whole Chapter tends to the utter rejection of Philosophy which is the wisdom of the world in the Kingdom of Christ which is the Kingdom of God He also in his Epistle to the Collossians chap. 2. gives forth another plain Testimony against Philosophy desiring ver. 2. that the hearts of the believers might be comforted and that they might be kniâ— together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the Mysterie of God and of the Father and of Christ in whom are hid all the Treasures of wisdom and Knowledge And this saith he I say least any man should beguile you with entising words Wherefore v. 8 saith he Beware least any man spoyl you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the Tradition of men after the Rudiments or Elements of the world and not after Christ for in him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily and ye are compleat in Him who is the Head of all Principality and Power Here is a sufficient caution again Philosophy for the true Church for ever For what need we if we are true Christians to turn aside for Wisdom and Knowledge and Learning and curious Arts to the Heathen seeing God hath given Christ to us in whom is treasured up all the heights and depths and lengths and breadths of Wisdom and Knowledge whereby the whole world was made and every Creature formed and fashioned and in which it hath its being subsistence and operation Yea in this Christ dwells all the fulness of the Infinite and eternal God and he is the head of all Principality and Power in earth and Heaven and there is in him alone infinitely enough to make us wise and learned for ever without calling in the help and contributions of the vain Philosophers and their foolish wisdom It is enough for Christian Schools to be taught to know Christ by the Ministration of the Spirit and all other Learning that is out of Christ though it seem to be never so high and deep all faithfull Christians are to reject it as meer Sophistrie and Deceit And thus you see that the Apostles aswell as Christ taught their Scholars and Disciples only the Gospel and spake not one word for Philosophy but directly against it And the following Fathers and next Teachers of the Christian Church after the Apostles they also obeyed the command of Christ and followed the example of the Apostles in this matter For the Bishops and Presbyters that is the Overseers and Elders had tender regard to the children of Christians and did teach them aswell as the people the pure Doctrine of the Gospel They held forth to them Christ Crucified and did exhort them to faith new Obedience the Confession of Christ and patient suffering and did not at all â—ntermingle Philosophy with their Divinity but alwayes rejected and condemned it all along the first and purest times of the Christian Church till the Mysterie of iniquity began to arise and did cunningly insinuate it self into the Church by the means of Humane Learning And here it will not be amiss to Relate what Justine Martyr saith of himself as to this matter who was before his Conversion to the Christian Faith a great Philosopher and lived about 150. years after Christs Nativity He in his Dialogue which Tryâ—ho relates How first he joyned himself to that Sect of Philosophers called the Stoicks and after to the Peripateticks after to the Pythagorean Sect and after to the Platonists but had no satisfaction in his mind by all this knowledge But at last he beholding the torments and sufferings of Christians and seeing them bear them with such comfort and constancy he did thereby conceive that it was impossible for that kind of people to be subject to any vice or carnality which vices of their own nature are not able to sustain any sharp adversity much less the bitterness of death And hereupon he began to love and search after the Christian Religion and being afflicted in mind he did withdraw himself into a solitary place where there met him an old Antient Father of comely visage and gentle behavior who began to reason with him and to tell him that there was no knowledge of truth among the Philosophers who neither knew God nor were aided by his holy Spirit And did farther reason with him of the immortality of the soul of the reward of the godly and punishment of the wicked Then Justine being satisfied with his reasons yeilded to him and demanded of him how he might attain to that true knowledge of God whereof he had spoken Who counselled him to read the Scriptures adjoyning therewith prayer c. And as thisâ—ustine left all other Learning and betook himself only to theâ—criptures so in the understanding of the Scriptures he rejected all his Philosophy and Philosophical apprehensions Saying that the Interpretation of the Scripture is to be accommodated to the will of the Doctrine of the Spirit and not to Humane reasonings and that he might be sure and safe in all things he had constant recourse to the Scriptures thus understood So that Justine Martyr being effectually Coâ—verted wholly leâ—t his Philosophy and betook himself to the Scriptures and taught them to the Church as he had been taught them of God by his Spirit Constantine the Emperor though he were the first that brought in the Mysterie of Iniquity into the Christian Church by mingling the Civil and Ecclesiastical states and Laws together there being in his time a great increase of Christians through the Ministry of the Gospel and a great confluence of them to his Imperial Citie for the Words sake he wrote to Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia in a special Letter Wherein he desired him withall
A Plain and Necessary CONFVTATION Of divers gross and Antichristian Errors DELIVERED To the Vniversity Congregation The last Commencement Anno. 1653. By Mr. Sydrach Simpson Master of Pembroke HALL in CAMBRIDGE Potentior est veritas quam eloquentia potior spiritus quam ingenium major fides quam eruditio ut Paulus ait Stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus Luther Epist. ad Caspar Bornerum Profes Lipsens Non est istud temeritas sed fides neque inconsideratio sed ratio neque furor sed fiducia Hilarius lib. contr. Constantium Augustum LONDON Printed by Robert White for Giles Calvert and are to be sold at the Sign of the Black-spread-Eagle near the West-end of Pauls 1654. An Apologie to the Reader touching the following Reply to Mr. Sydrach Simpsons Sermon IF it shall seem grievous to any that I have dealt thus freely and plainly with Mr. Sydrach Simpson one of the first pastors of an independent Congregation in England let them consider how Paul dealt with those Brethren Gal. 2. to whom according to his Zeal and the present occasion he gave no place by subjection no not for an hour that the Truth of the Gospel might continue with the Galatians and though those brethren seemed to be somewhat yet saith Paul what ever they are it makes no matter to me seeing God accepteth no mans Person And so notwithstanding their Reputation he did not spare them Yea let them consider how Paul at Antioch withstood Peter to the face for dissembling with the Jews in the case of the Gentiles and for not walking uprightly according to the Truth of the Gospel wherefore Paul did publikely and sharply reprove him before them all For no true believer is to keep silence when the Doctrine of the Gospel is corrupted by the Doctrines of men or to be modest in this matter Wherefore I was compelled to speak thus plainly to him for his gross prevarication in the things of God and I am well satisfied in my conscience in the discharge of my duty whatever shall be the censure of carnal Christians who have no true sense of the Glory of Christs Gospel or of the profit of his People whom yet Christ so loved as to lay down his life and to be Crucified for them Again if it shall offend any that I deal thus roundly against Humane Learning Let them know that I am not against Humane Learning upon all accounts but do allow Humane Learning so it be sober and serious in its own place and Sphear as well as other Humane things But I do oppose it as it is made another John Baptist to prepare the way of Christ into the world or to pepare the worlds way to Christ And also as men make it necessary for the true knowledge of the Scriptures Yea the very Unction for the Ministry And herein according to the grace of Christ I both do and will contend against it for ever Seeing Humane Learning mingled with Divinity or the Gospel of Christ understood according to Aristotle hath begun continued and perfected the Mâ—sterâ—e of Iniquity in the outward Church Wherefore I do in all boldness appear for Christ the wâ—â—dom of God against Humane Learning the wisdom of thâ—world knowing assuredly that he is as very Antichrist who opposes Christ as the Wisdom oâ—God as â—e that opposes Him as the Power and Righâ—ousness of God and men may as well bring into the Church of God another Righteousness then Christ and another Power then Christ as another Wisdom then Christ Wherefore as they who bring in Humane Righteousness that is civil or moral Righteousness or any Works or Duties of men for Righteousness into the Church of Christ they are true Antichrists in so doing seeing herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Righteousness of God And as they who bring in Humane Power or the Secular Arm into the Church of Christ to do or leave undone to reward or Punish to promise or threaten to encourage or discourage by that they are true Antichrists in so doing seeing herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Power of God So also they that bring in Humane Wisdom or the Learning and Philosophy of men into the Church of Christ they also are true Antichrists in so doing for herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Wisdom of God For Christ is and is to be the only Power the only Wisdom and the only Righteousness in the Church of God And he that brings in any other Power Wisdom or Righteousness besides Christ Himself that man is in very deed Antichrist And in this matter also it was necessary that I should be bold for Christ against Antichrist 3. Again if any shall be offended that I speak thus freely against the Universities which are of such honorable esteem everywhere in the Nation especially with the Ignorant and Vulgar people and with men of all sorts who have not the right Knowledge of Christ and his Gospel wherein are so contained all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge that no part of this Treasury is left out thereof to enrich Heathenish Philosophy withall which by the Gospel is left as a desolate thing empty and destitute of all true Wisdom and Knowledge I say if any think that I have too deeply censured these Universities let them know that I have done in this matter but as Wickliff Hus Luther and several others holy men of God and happy Instruments in the hand of Christ have done before me As for instance Wickliff terms the Universities Castra Caimitica Cains Castles Synagogas Satanae the Synagogues of Satan and affirms they were never Ordained or Instituted by Christ John Hus or Otho Brunfelsius if he set out the Contents of the Chapters calls them Satrapas Antichristi the Lieutenants of Antichrist Luther in his book Contra Ambrosium Catharinum shewing out of Daniel the Prophet that Antichrist is Rex facierum the King of faces or appearances he affirms that the Universities are one of those faces of Antichrist and that they are very comely or sightly to look on and yet indeed are a very chaos and open gate of Hell and that in these the most choise youth of Christian people are prostituted and are cast into the open throat of Hell And that in these Aristotle is read whereby the wits of Christian youth are possessed busied with Humane Heathenish Learning Yea are quite blinded and oppressed with it He saith also that the Universities are the Woe that the fifth Angel mentioned Revel. 9. brought upon the earth and that who ever it was that did first institute and confirm Universities he was a star fallen from Heaven to Earth to wit from the Gospel of Christ to Humane Learning And in his Exposition on Psal. 22. he calls the Universities the Mothers of Learned men the Gates of Hell and saith they are called Scholae i. e. Ludi Schools that is Plays by a fatall name seeing
Again if any shall Object in reading this Reply that I my self make use of Humane Learning whilst I speak against it I Answer what part of Philosophy is here made use of or who of the Heathens are here quoted I have chiefly made use of the Testimony of some faithfull Christians who have lived in several ages and yet have all witnessed by the same Spirit the same Truth And it is no more Humane Learning to quote Believers in the Church since Christ then to quote the Patriarks and Prophets before Christ or the Apostles and Evangelists which immediatly followed him 5. And last of all If any say I my self relate to the University why then do I speak against it thus I answer that I neither do nor will relate to the University as it is polluted with any of the Abominations herein mentioned But as by the Providence of God alone I have been brought to that Relation in which I now stand and continue in it against the wills and workings of many so through his good pleasure I will remain till he shall otherwise dispose of me and during my sojurning with them I will not fail to testifie against their evil and to endeavor to win all those whom God shall perswade to receive his Truth from Heathenism to the Gospel and from Antichrist to Christ Wherefore let none be offended that I am made willing to hazard and part with my worldly accommodations for Christs Names sake but let them rather praise the Grace of God which hath enabled me to witness a good confession what ever worldly disadvantage I might run into thereby Wherefore welcome the Kingdom Righteousness Power Wisdom Word of Christ though they swallow up all my earthly accommodations For such love hath the Lord put into my heart that I would not willingly conceal any thing of his most precious Truth either to gain or to preserve to my self the whole World And so righteous Father not my will be done nor theirs but Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven FINIS Isa. 62.1 For Sions sake I will not hold my peace and for Jerusalems sake I will not rest until the Righteousness thereof go forth as brightness and the Salvation thereof as a Lamp that burns MAster Sydrach Simpson the last Commencement preaching to the Vniversity Congregation in Cambridge and to many others especially Ministers there gathered together at that time from several parts of the Nation among other things he let fall in that discourse of his these gross and Antichristian Errors The Rehearsal of the Errors 1. He brought in that Scripture 2 Kings 6. v. 1 2. which was his Text the words whereof are these And the Sons of the Prophets said unto Elisha Behold now the place where we dwel with thee is too strait for us let us go we pray thee unto Jordan and take thence every man a beam and let us make us a place where we may dwel and he answered Go yee This Scripture he used to prove the Lawfulness and Religiousness of the present Vniversities and the usefulness and necessity of humane Learning to the Church and Ministery of the New Testament And what the Scripture speaks of those Schools he brought to countenance encourage and justifie these adding that if it were objected That that was the Old Testament He did answer That the old and the new were not distinct Testaments but Administrations thereby holding forth that the Vniversities now are answerable to the Schools of the Prophets that were then and that the Vniversities are as agreeable to the New Testament as the Schools of the Prophets to the Old 2. That they who have endeavoured to pull down Schools have alwaies been men who were found enemies to Religion So Julian the Apostate shut up the doors of the Schools because he would have all Religion to go down 3. That the knowledge of heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth and that all Divinity is swadled in Humane Learning 4. That Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel and that God took him so fitted and made him an able Minister of his Church 5. That mens hatred to God doth as well appear in their hatred to Humane Learning as if they hated the Scriptures 6. That if the spirit teach without means men may as well be without the Ordinances as without the Vniversities and Humane Learning 7. That men now are not to receive the spirit in that immediate way to understand the Scriptures in which it was given to them who wrote the Scriptures 8. That men now are to get knowledge by studies and humane Learning and not by inspiration 9. That Humane Learning is as the outworks to the Fort of the Gospel and as the outer Court to the Temple of the Gospel and so if you will keep the Fort well you must keep the outworks strong and if you will preserve the inward you must look to the outward Court 10. But what is the bottom of all this to wit of some mens appearing against Humane Learning as the unction of the Ministerie and against the Vniversities as the Fountain of the Ministerie but this that some say They are one with Christ and as Christ hath the Divine nature in him so every believer hath and he that hath God in him need not go to any man to learn whereas John 17. Christ speaketh of believers as at an infinite distance from him And if believers be so united to Christ as they say they will follow that Christ should not be the only begotten of God and that Christ and we should be equal and be not our Lord c. 11. Arts and Tongues are the Cups in which God drinks to us 12. We shall never keep up Religion if we do not keep up Learning but when Learning goes down Religion goes down too 13. Seeing Religious Foundations are so Antient then keep them up Your Destruction will never be but from your selves These Notes were take from Mr. Simpsons mouth and delivered to me by an honest hand and affirmed to be true for the substance of them and I also heard several others who were hearers of that Sermon relating the same things Now because I find that this Doctrine hath not only grieved the hearts of the faithful but also strengthened the hands of the carnal and evil People The things which he then delivered being usually the thoughts of their hearts and words of their mouths I thought it my duty being set in my place for the defence of the Gospel to give a Publike Reply to such gross Errors so publikely delivered to the danger of so many and which one would never have thought should have proceeded from such a man especially after the day of the Gospel hath so far dawned and the Antichristian shadows are so far retreated and flowen away And so I shall begin with the first of these Errors and proceed in the Order in which they are set down 1.
be foretold Rev. 9. which Scripture it is worth the while to rehearse and a little to unfold for John saith The first Angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit c. I will here make tryal a little with my own apprehension Now certain it is that by Angels through all the Apocalyps is meant the Overseers of Churches as doth plainly appear out of the second and third chapters where it is written to the Angel of Ephesus Smyrna and others Further that other sort of Angels which sounds the Trumpet of which there are seven mentioned chap. 8. cannot agree to any but the Roman Bishop seeing no others are said to sound with Trumpet Now to sound with Trumpet can be nothing else as appears by the consequence of the Text and the following effects then to make Decrees which none ever arrogated to himself besides the Bishop of the Roman Church Neither is it said in vain that they prepared themselves to sound seeâ—ng chiefly in these Popes there hath been an impatient fury and unquiet Tyranny to make Laws and thereby to subject others to themselves But let us come to our first Angel who was the first among three who were to bring three woes upon the earth and this is He who did first institute and confirm Universities whom it is not easie for me to name Histories so varying in this matter But let him be whosoever he was he was a star fallen from heaven to earth whether it were Alexander of Hales or which I rather think St. Thomas who onely after the Universities were approved and this Angel had sounded was either the first or chief Author of bringing in Philosophy into the Christian world being the most Aristotelian yea plainly Aristotle himself to whom as to the Earth he fell from Christ the Heaven having obtained the authority of that most wicked Angel approving such studies And he received the key of the bottomless pit and opened it and brought forth to us Philosophy long ago dead and damned by the Doctrine of the Apostles and from thence ascended the smoak of that pit that is the meer words and opinions of Aristotle and the Philosophers as the smoak of that great Fornace for then Philosophy prevailed and became of large extent and power so that Aristotle was made equal with Christ in respect of Authority and Faith And hereby was the Sun darkned even Christ the Sun of Righteousness and Truth Moral vertues being brought in in stead of Faith and infinite Opinions instead of Truth and the ayre also with the smoak of the pit that it may be understood not to be an Eclipse of the Sun but the obscurity of the Ayre and Sun by the smoak of the pit ascending to wit humane Doctrines obscuring Christ and his Faith as the Sun and Aire And out of the smoak of the pit there came forth Locusts on the earth Here the people of the Universities bred and born of Philosophy are called Locusts by a most fit name because they are without a King that is Christ and flie in companies as is said Prov. 3. and also because they waste and burn up all green things where-ever they light and so the Grammarians think they have their name Locustae Locusts a loco usto vastato from the place which they burn and waste And so this people of the Universities consumes and burns up all the green pasture of Christ that is the fruit of Faith And power was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have power to wit to wound the Consciences of men because the green fruit of Faith being wasted which heals the Consciences of men it cannot be but the Conscience must be hurt and prejudiced And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing that is that they should not hurt the Elect. For they do not hurt all neither do natural Locusts huâ—t every green thing but some certain place so it is here But onely those men who have not the mark or seal of God in their foreheads that is some grass they should hurt to wit those who have not Faith which is the mark of God which we carry in a pure Conscience and free conversation And it was commanded them that they should not kill them but onely should torment them five months This seems to be spoken of Moral Doctrine which seeing it teaches us the knowledge of sin like the Law of God it doth not kill but onely afflict a man with vain studies wherein he is always learning and yet never coming to the knowledge of the truth for they being killed with the Letter are quickned with the eternal Spirit onely they are tormented five months that is the whole time of their sensual life in which moral Vertues reign And we see by experience that all Moral Divines are of a most evil and unhappy Conscience full of scruples and unquietness and have power neither of good nor evil and therefore it follows And their torment is as the torment of a Scorpion when it strikes a man Behold here a wounded conscience for here he expounds what he had said before that they are not savingly killed nor spiritually quickned And in those dayes men shall seek death and shall not finde it and shall desire to dye and death shall flee from them to wit the death of sin which doth too much live in the conscience and yet is not rightly known for if it were known presently it being slain would perish but this cannot Aristotles Ethicks do but it is the office of the Letter and the Spirit And the shapes of the Locusts were like to horses prepared to battle to wit of Scholastical disputation and conflict He describes the war by this Allegory for they are ready to argue pro contra as they speak And on their heads were as it were crowns of gold that is the Names and Titles of Degrees as Magister noster eximius sacrae Theologiae humilis indignus professor c. that is Our famous Master and the humble and unworthy professor of sacred Theology and the like And these crowned ones John Hus called Hypocritas Coronatos Crowned Hypocrites and by reason of these Crowns they have Authority and power among the multitudes of carnal Christians who are willing to entertaine Antichrists pompe into Christs Church Yet have they not true crowns but as it were Crowns of Gold which they are very proud of and are much pufft up with them though usually they are set on the head of Ignorance and Error And their faces are like the faces of men because their doctrine and life is governed not by the spirit of faith but by the dictate of natural reason and by the light of nature illuminated by Aristotle And they had hairs like the hairs of women For Philosophy brings