though Fear without Love be not a state of Saving Grace and greater Love to the World than to God be not consistent with Sincerity yet a little predominant Love prevailing against worldly Love conjunct with a far greater measure of Fear may be a state of Special Grace And that Fear being an easier and irresistible Passion doth oft obscure that measure of Love which is indeed within us And that the Soul of a Believer groweth up by degrees from the more troublesome but safe Operations of Fear to the more high and excellent Operations of Complacential Love even as it hath more of the sense of the Love of God in Christ and belief of the Heavenly Life which it approacheth And that it is long before Love be sensibly predominant in respect of Fear that is of Self-love and Self-preservation though at the first it is predominant against Worldly Love And I found that my hearty Love of the Word of God and of the Servants of God and my desires to be more holy and especially the hatred of my Heart for loving God no more and my Love to love him and be pleasing to him was not without some Love to himself though it workt more sensibly on his nearer Image 4. Another of my Doubts was because my Grief and Humiliation was no greater and because I could weep no more for this But I understood at last that God breaketh not all Mens hearts alike and that the gradual proceedings of his Grace might be one cause and my Nature not apt to weep for other Things another And that the Change of our Heart from Sin to God is true Repentance and a loathing of our selves is true Humiliation and that he that had rather leave his Sin than have leave to keep it and had rather be the most holy than have leave to be unholy or less holy is neither without true Repentance nor the Love of God 5. Another of my Doubts was because I had after my Change committed some Sins deliberately and knowingly And be they never so small I thought he that could sin upon knowledge and deliberation had no true Grace and that if I had but had as strong Temptations to Fornication Drunkenness Fraud or other more heinous Sins I might also have committed them And if these proved that I had then no Saving Grace after all that I had felt I thought it unlikely that ever I should have any This stuck with me longer than any of the rest and the more because that every Sin which I knowingly committed did renew it And the terms on which I receive Consolation against it are these Not as those that think every Sin against Knowledge doth nullifie all our former Grace and Unregenerate us and that every time we Repent of such we have a new Regeneration but 1. All Saving Grace doth indeed put the Soul into a state of Enmity to Sin as Sin and consequently to every known Sin 2. This Enmity must shew it self in Victory for bare striving when we are overcome and yielding to sin when we have a while striven against it proveth not the Soul to be sincere 3. Yet do not God's Children always overcome for then they should not sin at all But he that saith he hath no sin deceiveth himself 4. God's Children always overcome those Temptations which would draw them to a wicked unholy state of Life and would unregenerate them and change their State and turn them back from God to a fleshly worldly Life and also to any particular Sin which proveth such a state and signifieth a Heart which hath more habitual Love to the World than unto God which may well be called a Mortal Sin as proving the Sinner in a state of Death as others may be called Venial Sins which are consistent with Spiritual Life and a Justified State 5. Therefore whenever a justified Person sinneth the Temptation at that time prevaileth against the Spirit and the Love of God! not to the Extinction of the Love of God nor to the Destruction of the Habit nor the setting up of the contrary Habit in predominancy as setting up the Habitual Love of any Sin above the habitual Love of God! The inclination of the Soul is still most to God And he esteemeth him most and preferreth him in the adherence of his Will in the main bent and course of Heart and Life only he is overcome and so far abateth the actual Love and Obedience to God as to commit this particular Act of Sin and remit or omit that Act of Love 6. And this it is possible for a Justified Person to do upon some deliberation For as Grace may strive one instant only in one Act and then be suddenly overcome so it may strive longer and keep the Mind on Considerations of restraining Motives and yet be overcome 7. For it is not the meeâ— Length of Consideration which is enough to excite the Heart against Sin but there must be clearness of Light and liveliness in those Considerations And sometimes a sudden Conviction is so clear and great and sensible that in an instant it stireeth up the Soul to an utter abhorrence of the Temptation when the same Man at another time may have all the same thoughts in so sleepy a degree as shall not prevail And sometimes the weakness of Grace as much appeareth by making no resistance at all by causing deliberation even in Sins of Passion and Surprize as at other times it doth by yielding after dull deliberations 8. And though a little Sin must be hated and universal Obedience must prove our Sincerity and no one Sin must be wilfully continued in yet it is certain that God's Servants do not oft commit Sins materially great and heinous as Fornication Drunkenness Perjury Oppression Deceit c. and yet that they often commit some lesser Sins as idle thoughts and idle words and dulness in holy Duties defectiveness in the Love of God and omission of holy Thoughts and Words c. And that the Tempter oft getteth advantage even with them by telling them that the Sin is small and such as God's Servants ordinarily commit and that naturally we fly with greater fear from a great danger than from a less from a wound at the heart than a cut finger And therefore one reason why idle words and sinful thoughts are even deliberately oftner committed than most heinous Sins is because the Soul is not awaked so much by fear and care to make resistance And Love needeth the help of fear in this our weak condition 9. And it is certain that ususally the Servants of God being men of most knowledge do therefore sin against more knowledge than others do for there are but few Sins which they know not to be Sins They know that idle Thoughts and Words and the omissions of the contrary are their sins 10. There are some Sins of such difficulty to avoid as the disorder or omission of holy Thoughts and the defects of Love to God c.
when they have none to contradict them and how possible it is that those that never knew me may believe them though they have lost their hopes with all the rest I take 〈◊〉 to be my Duty to be so faithful to that stock of Reputation which God hath intrusted me with as to defend it at the rate of opening the Truth Such as have made the World believe that Luther consulted with the Devil that Calvin was a stigmatized Sodomite that Beza turned Papist c. to blast their Labours I know are very like to say any thing by me which their Interest or Malice tell them will any way advantage their Cause to make my Writings unprofitable when I am dead 3. That young Christians may be warned by the Mistakes and Failings of my unriper Times to learn in patience and live in watchfulness and not be fierce and proudly confident in their first Conceptions And to reverence ripe experienced Age and to take heed of taking such for their Chief Guides as have nothing but immature and unexperienced Judgments with fervent Affections and free and confident Expressions but to learn of them that have with holiness study time and trial looked about them as well on one side as the other and attained to clearness and impartiality in their Judgments 1. But having mentioned the Changes which I think were for the better I must add that as I confessed many of my Sins before so since I have been guilty of many which because materially they seemed small have had the less resistance and yet on the review to trouble more than if they had been greater done in ignorance It can be no small sin formally which is committed against Knowledge and Conscience and Deliberation whatever excuse it have To have sinned while I preacht and wrote against Sin and had such abundant and great obligations from God and made so many promises against it doth lay me very low not so much in fear of Hell as in great displeasure against my self and such self abhoâ—â—ence as would cause revenge upon my self were it not forbidden When God forgiveth me I cannot forgive my self especially for any rash words or deeds by which I have seemed injurious and less tendeâ— and kind than I should have been to my near and dear Relations whose Love abundantly obliged me when such are dead though we never differed in point of Interest or any great Matter every sowr or cross provoking word which I gave them maketh me almost unreconcileable to my self and tells me how Repentance brought some of old to pray to the Dead whom they had wronged to forgive them in the hurry of their Passion 2. And though I before told the Change of my Judgment against provoking Writings I have had more will than skill since to avoid such I must mention it by way of penitent Confession that I am too much inclined to such words in Controversal Writings which are too keen and apt to provoke the Person whom I write against Sometimes I suspect that Age sowreth my Spirits and sometimes I am apt to think that it is long thinking and speaking of such things that maketh me weary and less patient with others that understand them not And sometimes I am ready to think that it is out of a hatred of the flattering humour which now prevaileth so in the World that few Persons are able to bear the Truth And I am sure that I cannot only bear my self such Language as I use to others but that I expect it I think all these are partly Causes but I am sure the principal Cause is a long Custom of studying how to speak and write in the keenest manner to the common ignorant and ungodly People without which keeness to them no Sermon nor Book does much good which hath so habituated me to it that I am still falling into the same with others forgetting that many Ministers and Professors of Strictness do desire the greatest sharpness to the Vulgar and to their Adversaries and the greatest lenity and smoothness and comfort if not honour to themselves And I have a strong natural inclination to speak of every Subject just as it is and to call a Spade a Spade verba rebus aptare so as that the thing spoken of may be fulliest known by the words which methinks is part of our speaking truly But I unfeignedly confess that it is faulty because impruâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 that is not a good means which doth harm because it is not fitted to 〈…〉 and because whilst the Readers think me angry though I feel no 〈…〉 times in my self it is scandalous and a hinderance to the usefulness of 〈…〉 write And especially because though I feel no Anger yet which is worse I know that there is some want of Honour and Love or Tenderness to others or else I should not be apt to use such words as open their weakness and offend them And therefore I repent of it and wish all over-sharp passages were expunged from my Writings and desire forgiveness of God and Man And yet I must say that I am oft afraid of the contrary Extream lest when I speak against great and dangerous Errours and Sins though of Persons otherwise honest I should encourage men to them by speaking too easily of them as Eli did to his Sons and lest I should so favour the Person as may befriend the Sin and wrong the Church And I must say as the New-England Synodists in their Defence against Mr. Davenport pag. 2. Pref. We heartily desire that as much as may be all Expressions and Reflexions may be forborn that tend to break the Bond of Love Indeed such is our Infirmity that the naked discovery of the fallacy or invalidity of anothers Allegations or Arguings is apt to provoke This in Disputes is unavoidable And therefore I am less for a disputing way than ever believing that it tempteth Men to bend their Wits to defend their Errours and oppose the Truth and hindereth usually their information And the Servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle to all Men c. Therefore I am most in Judgment for a Learning or a Teaching way of Converse In all Companies I will be glad either to hear those speak that can teach me or to be heard of those that have need to learn And that which I named before on the by is grown one of my great Diseases I have lost much of that Zeal which I had to propagate any Truths to others save the meer Fundamentals When I perceive People or Ministers which is too common to think they know what indeed they do not and to dispute those things which they never throughly studied or expect I should debate the Case with them as if an hours talk would serve instead of an acute understanding and seven years study I have no Zeal to make them of my Opinion but an impatience of continuing Discourse with them on such Subjects and am apt to be silent
be unjustly forbidden to Preach while Ability and Mens need continueth we must neither obey nor rebel XVI A Man may go further in obeying the Civil Power that only sets up Publick Teachers or Catechizers if they be unworthy than those that set up Church Pastors to whom we must commit the Pastoral Care of our Souls if they be unfit and receive the Sacraments from them Of which Mr. Philip Nye's Papers now printed may satisfie you XVII On some occasions it is lawful to hear an unmeet Minister And his Sacramental Administrations may not be Nullities or invalid to the Innocent Receiver We lose not our right when he loseth his reward But it is not lawful to encourage any intolerable Person in his usurping of the Ministry either by ordinary attending him or by committing the Care of our Souls to him that is 1. To such as are intolerably unable in Knowledge or Utterance or Practice 2. Or to such as are Atheists Infidels or true Hereticks 3. Or to notorious Malignants that do more harm than good XVIII Though its a hard Question how far other Vices disoblige us from submitting to such a Ministry e. g. Perjury Renouncing Reformation and Repentance great Errours Drunkenness Idleness and such like yet 1. He that can without greater mischief than benefit have a better should undoubtedly prefer him 2. And a Man that feeleth the need of a better to his own Soul and knoweth how much a Scandalous Ministry wrongeth Christ and the Church is very unfit to be persecuted or troubled for preferring his Soul's benefit before a Humane Parish Order For Cyprian and an African Council in the Case of two Portugâ—l Bishops have laboured to prove out of Scripture That A Libellaticke and so such like scandalous Sinner is uncapable of being a Bishop or Pastor and ought to be forsaken by the People though the Neighbour Bishops own him 2. Pope Nicholas and the Canons of some Councils Command that no one hear Mass of a Priest that liveth in known Fornication And may not a Christian be tolerated in being but as strict against Vice as the Papists and Councils are and being of the opinion of so holy a Martyr as Cyprian and erring if he err but as he and that African Council did XIX All this is but Preparatory To the Case I say you must distinguish between the Command and the Prâ—hibition of your Rulers and your Parents 1. The Command of you Prince is the Command of a lawful Power and to hear honest tolerable Ministers such as we have many in the Pubâ—ick Assemblies is a lawful Command whatever some say without profit against it and therefore you ought to obey it And your Parents are a lawful Power for the many Reasons which I publickly named expresly mentioned rather than Princes in the fourth Commandment And to Hear and Communicate in the Assemblies of Orthodox godly Christians unlawfully prohibited by Man is a lawful Command and ought to be obeyed Both the Powers are lawful and both the Commands lawful and both must be obeyed as far as you can at several seasons But you cannot be in two places at once 2. Intending no dishonour to Authority I must not betray Truth and Souls while it is my Office to resolve their Doubts proposed with submission to better Information I am past doubt that both the Prohibitions in your Case here are lawful and neither of them to be formally obeyed That is in general to take any true Ministers of Christ for no Ministers or Christians for no Christians and Churches for no Churches and so to avoid them or to take their Communion for sinful when it is not is a heinous sin He that thus avoideth lawful Communion as unlawful reproacheth the People and Worship of the Lord and in a degree doth as it were Excommunicate all those Churches judging them unworthy of Communion And if it be a great sin rashly to Excommunicate one Christian what is it so to Excommunicate whole Parishes Cities Counties or Congregations Your Parents forbid you to hear in Publick It is an unlawful Prohibition of a lawful thing commanded by the King and Laws and you are not to obey it You say the Laws forâ—id you to joyn with any Nonconformable Ministers and Christians in other Assemblies than the Parish Churches If they do so I humbly conceive that it is an unlawful Prohibition of a thing that God to some commandeth and therefore is not to be formally obeyed God commandeth us not to forsake the assembling of our salves Hebr. 10. He chargeth all true Ministers to preach his Word and be instant in season and out of season and woe be to them that are truly called and not lawfully deposed if they preach not the Gospel when there is need He that shall say That now in England there is not true need of the joynt Labours of all faithful Ministers of Christ Conformists and Nonconformists will but shew that ignorance or unconscionable indifference in the Matters of Salvation as will warrant all wise Men to suspect his Counsel and all that know the Falshood to reject it Christ requireth all his Servants to live in purity love and peace and consequently not to reject Communion with each other as unlawful when it is not so nor to go any further from each other than they needs must nor unjustly to judge one Man much less Christian Societies He that in the days of the Emperours of various Opinions Constantius Valens Theodosius Junior Zeno Anastasius the Leo's and others that were some for Images and some against them would have called the Pastors and Assemblies unlawful and unfit for Communion because they were forbidden would have been a guilty Separatist And so may he be that separateth from forbidden Assemblies as well as he that separateth from commanded ones by men And if God command Love and Communion of all Christians as they have occasion as being one Bread and one Body what God commandeth and conjoyneth no Man may forbid or put asunder Therefore I conceive you owe Obedience to both the positive Commands but to neither of the general Prohibitions of Communion XX. But you cannot obey both at once I answer Obey both as far as you can and obey neither when it tendeth to your destruction If Parents bid you joyn with Hereticks or Rebels obey them not If others bid you commit the Pastoral Care of your Souls to intolerable Men obey them not But where formal Obedience ceaseth Prudence must direct you about material Obedience It is Obedience when we do it in Conscience to the Authority It is Prudence when we gather our Duty from the End Avoid that most that bringeth the most intolerable Consequents and prefer that which tendeth to the greatest Good Some dwell where there is no Competition all the Ministers being only of one way Some when the â—ll Consequents are more on one side and some where they are more on the other And Rituals give place to Morals Go learn