This way Satan in his instruments lies at all advantage to disable and prevent the Word for taking effect upon the hearts of men as Mat. 13.19 And this is the theft that the aforesaid theeves and robbers had not repented of and not Antichrists stealing of the Lords Baptisme out of his Church But it is thought by some that the gold and rich attire by which Antichrist is painted and the golden cup in the Gentlewomans hand are the ordinances of God as Rev. 17.4 As there is little matter in this to any purpose I shall answer in briefe to the same And first that this is a comparative speech with reference to that outward pompe and glorious state wherein shee sits triumphing as a Queene Rev. 18.7 And withall the same wisely and cunningly composed by humane policy under a generall forme of an outward profession of Religion yet opposing the truth and power thereof Cant. 5.7 Under a shew of humilitie and pretence of zeale by her forwardnesse in the executing of her power against all such that refuse subjection to her holy orders and to worship God according to that image and forme which shee hath set up Col. 2.8.18.20 21 22 23. Rev. 13.15 16. Thus by her policy shee draws forth her forme in some resemblance of truth so far as it suits with reason and humane wisdome and therefore it is that the greatest Politicians and artificers are of her side Rev. 18.23 and so carries out things with a strong hand against all that shall oppose her Rev. 13.4 and through her great wisdome art and policy shee is exalted and becomes famous and in great esteeme for the generalitie of men as Ezek. 2.8 Rev. 13.3 Rev. 18.18 19. And therefore such are best accepted of her that are the strongest for reason and the most skilfulst artificers to paint and to trim her up and to set her forth in her glory and beautie to the eyes of men And by this means shee as an harlot deceives the simple and bewitches the Nations as Pro. 7.16 17. Nabum 3 4. Gal. 3.1 Rev. 18 All which is to be understood in a spirituall sense and in matters of Religion and then her golden cup and all her rich attire will appeare to be onely of the Gentlewomans own devised painting and not any of the Lords ordinances as Jer. 51.7 Jer 2.33 with Jer. 4.30 Rev. 18.12 13.16 So that here the holy Ghost sets forth her state to be Babylon spiritually considered as Rev. 11.8 and her Ministers are set forth under the name of Merchants because they buy and sell trade for her in all the Merchandise of her Religion wherein all things are set at sale as much as the soules and bodies of men Rev. 18.13 that is the penall laws imposed to the forcing of their consciences such as are rich to escape for money or friends but such as are poore or conscious to abide the punishment as a Pet. 2.3 the Merchants are stiled or called The great men of the earth ver 23. that is great for humane learning arts and policy to keep up her state and trade and make out the same against all gaine-sayers and what they want in skill they have it in power and so able to beare downe all before them for they are the great men of the earth and who is able to make war with the beast The things they merchandise withall are all manner of precious stones and the like which holds forth the curious art of nature for the ordering and composing of all those things concurring for the making up of that state and forme in so neere a resemblance to truth All which is without substance for at length no man will buy their ware which causeth great lamentation among the Merchants Rev. 18.11 And so I shall now leave this subject to the wise godly Readers consideration to mind well the truth of such a practise that leave a church as false and Antichristian and yet approve of that Baptisme there administred by a false and an Antichristian power to be the true ordinance of God I must here conclude with Doctor Hall in his Apologie against the Brownists pag. 17 18.31 That either such must goe forward to baptisme or else turne backe againe from whence they came for there is no middle way nor the least light in the word of God to beare out the same but the contrary You shall not doe whatsoever is right in your owne eyes for you are not as yet come to your rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you Deut. 12.8 9. Arise and depart for this is not your rest because it is polluted Micah 2.10 I am come a light into the world that whosoever beleeveth on me should not abide in darknesse Joh. 12.46 And now why tarry yee arise and be baptized and wash away your Antichristian sinnes calling on the name of the Lord Act. 22.16 or submitting to the order and way of Christ They resisted the counsell of God against themselves being not baptized of him Luk. 7.30 Arise therefore and obey the Lord and thinke not within your selves we are baptized already and that by Antichrist for I tell you that you are never able to prove your selves to be under the Lords holy ordinance of Baptisme by all the light in Scripture and art in nature in that way you goe namely to deny the state as false and Antichristian and yet retaine your baptisme there administred by the same power as the Lords ordinance and assume a Church to yourselves upon the same baptisme I speake in subjection to better judgement I thinke the last Church is as much against the Rules of the new Testament as the former For certainly where there is a false state constituted by a false power all that stative ordinances essentiall to the same and constituted by the same power must be also of the same nature together with the rest which is all alike false therefore if you take hence a corner stone to lay in your foundation and build you a resting place upon the same know this that it will not lie firme but ever be rouling under you that you shall not rest long upon it therefore arise and depart for this is not your rest because it is polluted it will destroy you even with a sore destruction look betimes the higher you build the greater the fall will be if it be not right upon the true foundation I doe beleeve that God will cause his truth to shine forth with power both to cleare the darke clouds of ignorance off the hearts of men and beare downe that which stands in opposition to the same and if such hath been so hard put to it in the darke as it were that they are forced to leave the holy and blessed word of God and betake themselves to Antichrists power and testimony to prove them under Gods holy ordinance of baptisme though the whole body of the Scripture lies against
thereof which cannot be untill a man be borne from above and such as are spirituall alive are the onely subjects of Baptisme This will be further cleared in the constitution of the Church which now follows which constitution is the orderly collection conjoyning of persons into the new covenant or visible union with Christ their head and so consequently into an orderly body among themselves wherein the Saints are the matter and the covenant the forme from which two concurring the Church ariseth and is by them constituted as Ezek. 16.8 Jer. 31.33 Heb. 8.10 Gal. 3.18.29 Heb. 6.17 Zech. 13.9 with Deut. 26.16 to 19 Deut. 29.12 13. Rom. 9.8 with Gal 4.28 By which it appeares that it is the promise or the covenant of grace that produceth a Christian and gives him a beeing in such an estate of grace as in Church-fellowship and so consequently the Church it selfe for that which is true in a part is the same in the whole Now for the constituting causes by which God ordinarily useth to effect this worke are these First the word of God which is to fit and prepare the matter for the forme Secondly the confession of faith which is to declare the fitnesse of the matter for the forme Thirdly the free and mutuall consent and agreement of the particular persons upon the practise of the same truth beleeved and confessed as aforesaid And lastly the Spirit of Christ uniting and knitting up their hearts together in and by the same truth and of each of these a word First of the Word of God sitting and preparing of the matter and this appeares in the ministery of John thâ—â— Baptist who was to goe before Christ in the spirit and power of Elias for to turne the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient unto the wisdome of the just and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord as Luk. 1.17 Compare with this Luk. 3.4 5 6. where he is said to prepare the way of the Lord and to make his paths straight And now the manner how this is to be done is to fill up every valley and to bring down every mountain and hill and to make the crooked straight and the rough wayes smooth And so verse 6. by the valleys is to be understood of such as whose hearts were possessed with fear either of Gods displeasure against them for sin or fear of the dangers straits and difficulties that attends the Gospel of Christ in the true profession of the same From both which the hearts of such are to be freed that are fit to follow Christ and prepared subjects for his Kingdome Luk. 14.26 In which sense the Gospel is a preparative meanes to fill up such valleys by powring in the great abundance of Gods rich grace and free love in Christ towards all such as beleeve and his all-sufficiency to preserve such as suffer for his Names lake And for laying low the mountains and hills that is to humble and to bring downe the proud heart of man that exalts himselfe and cannot submit unto the simplicitie of the Gospel and to that low and meane condition of Christ upon his Crosse as Isa 2 11-22 with 2 Cor. 10.4 5 6. And for the crooked to be made straight that is the crooked and Serpent like nature wayes and evill dispositions of men these shall be changed and made conformable to Christ And so for the making of the tough smooth that is the hard and rough turbulent spirits of men that will admit of no rule order or peaceable societie at all shall by the word of God be made soft smooth and of such a meek temper of spirit as that all such shall live together in love innocent and harmlesse with unitie peace and uniformitie to Christ in all things as Isa 11.6 7 8 9. All which Christ himselfe often affirmed that except a man deny himselfe he cannot be his disciple All which change thus upon the hearts of men is by the power of the Word of God by which they as matter are sitted and prepared for the forme The second constituting cause is the confession of faith which declares the fitnes of the matter for the forme which confession of faith is produced by the power of the Gospel shining into the heart of man and drawes away the same after that which is by the Gospel revealed Which truth is of such a working nature that will not be kept in but like unto leaven which so seasons and sweetens the whole man that as fire at length it breaks forth and discovers it selfe or rather such as have it not onely so but it brings them together by which they come now to conferre about the same so that at length they come to be of one and the same minde and judgement in it and withall convicted of their obedience thereunto And upon this here follows a third constituting cause which is their free mutuall consent and agreement upon the practise of that truth so by God revealed and by faith received as his will in their obedience thereunto which agreement is between God and them in his truth who by his power subjects them to himselfe by the same and where this is in truth Now comes the cause in the last place which 〈…〉 and concludes the whole work and that is the Spirit of grace and power going forth in their hearts by faith uniting knitting them up together in one for the manifestation of their obedience to God in their practie all subjection to Christ in the said truth by them received and agreed upon as aforesaid and this is the Covenant that formes the Church which ever goes in order before the externall administration of any other ordinance then the matters joyning together for orderly practise for persons must be informed of the truth in judgement and bound by the same in conscience and agree upon the practise before the same can orderly be put into execution which foresaid union is the holy Ghosts conjoyning and uniting the said persons together in one and the same truth and so consequently into an orderly body among themselves immediately under Christ their head Which conjunction is called in Scripture the unitie of the Spirit Eph. 4.3 and the gracious covenant by which God becomes their God and they his approved people in such a visible relation Gen. 17. as Deut. 29.12 13. with Deut. 26.17 18. Ezek. 16.8 Ier. 31.3 This is called also joyning to the Lord as Ier. 50.5 They shall aske the way to Sion with their faces thitherward saying Come and let us joyne our selves unto the Lord in a perpetuall covenant that shall not be forgotten And the sonne of the stranger that joyns himselfe to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and to be his servant c. Isa 56.6 And bâ— that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 And of the rest durst no man joyne himselfe unto them Act. 5.13 And when Paul
to God and receive according to the things done in their bodyes whether they be good or bad therefore no conscience ought to be forced in the matters of Religion because no man can beare out another in his account to God if in case he should cause him to sinne Ninthly I do beleeve the King is set upon his throne by God who hath given him power and authority to reigne and rule for God over all his subjects as supreame head over all persons in his Dominions in whom is resident all power to punish any that shall offend either against his royall person crowne or dignity and that all his Subjects are to obey him out of conscience to God and all in lawfull authoritie under him and wherein they rule wâ—â—l I am bound in conscience actually to obey and assist them to the utmost of my abiliaie both in my person and state and wherein they goe amisse that I cannot with a good conscience actually obey them as aforesaid I shall passively submit my body to suffer their pleasure according to the Word of God in what they shall inflict upon me without resistance this is my faith and the faith of all that I desire to have fellowship with And lastly I do beleeve that there is an holy and blessed communion of Saints that God of his grace calls suck as belong to life by election unto the fellowship of his Sonne by the Gospel of which matter God by his Word and Spirit joyns them together in his covenant of grace and so constitutes his Church as I have before shewed And as God hath thus built for himselfe an holy habitation of such pure matter and also after ho holy a manner even so hath he provided a way of preservation and safetie for the same as Isa 26.1 We have a strong Citie salvation will God appoint for walls and bulworks which Citie is said to have a wall both great and high and built upon twelve foundations great that none shall break through high that none shall overtop or get over and strong in the foundation that nothing shall shake it 〈…〉 5. 〈…〉 3. and God hath said that he will be a wall of fire round about and the glory in the midst of it and that he will keepe it and watch over it by night and by day that nothing shall hurt it and as God hath built himselfe a house after his own minde and is a guard to the same even so he also is said to beautifie the same with salvation 〈…〉 3. 〈…〉 and to make the place of his feet glorious and that he will lay all her stones with faire colours and her foundations with Saphires and her windows of Agaâ—s and her gates of Carbuncles and all her borders of pleasant stones and all her children taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of her children Which Citie and the streets thereof are said to be of pure gold like unto cleare glasse 〈…〉 11 whose light is like to a stone most precious even as a Jasper stone cleare as Crystall Of which Christ saith Thou art all faire my love and there is no spot in thee 〈…〉 and that the Kings daughter is all glorious within and her clothing is of wrought gold And as Christ doth thus signifie unto us the nature of his Church both in respect of her matter her forme her grace and comely order in him her head even so he holds forth his love to her and delight in her by these and the like sweet expressions of comfort and solace 〈…〉 The Lord hath chosen Zion be hath desired it for his habitation saying this is my rest and here will I dwell for ever And so faith the Apostle In Christ all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord 〈…〉 1 〈…〉 in whom you are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit and therefore God is said to love the gates of Zion more then all the dwellings of Jacob and glorious things are spoken of thee O thou Citie of God Which Citie is said to be Jerusalem which is above bo is the mother of us all And so the mountain of the Lords house is said to be established in the top of the mountains and to be exalted above the hils 〈…〉 6. For whose sake saith the Lord I will not hold my peace nor rest untill I cause the righteousnesse thereof to break forth as brightnesse and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth And so called by Christ and holy people the redeemed of the Lord a City sought out and not forsaken The name of which Citie from that day shall be 〈…〉 12 〈…〉 8. The Lord is there And further called his vine his plant his temple his flocke his pleasant portion his first borne his bride his Queene his Spouse his wife his body his love his dove his onely joy and place of Rest Consider Some were perswaded with the things that were spoken but some beleeved not Act. 28.24 ERRATA Faults escaped Page 8 line 5. Reade as for is p. 12. l. 4. r. therefore though the first c. p. 19. l. 45. 〈…〉