unto you as we go on in our discourse Now this Separation commanded and by all the godly to be endeavored I shall lay down particularly and distinctly in seven things I The Ministers of Jesus Christ must in their preaching make a separation or put a difference between the precious and the vile between the godly and the ungodly by confirming and comforting the one and by reproving and threatning the other In the purest Churches there is chaff aswell as wheat dross aswell as gold and that man that undertaketh the calling of the Ministry and yet hath not learned to make this distinction can hardly be judged a Teacher sent from God This this I say is that taking forth or separating the precious from the vile which the Lord giveth in commandment to the Prophet Jeremiah in that place before quoted Chap. 15. 19. And they that ground their gathering of Churches out of Churches upon this scripture as many do do squeez bloud out of the Text instead of sincere milk as will appear by these three considerations 1 From the words conjoyned in the Text which are these Thus saith the Lord if thou return then will I bring thee again and thou shalt stand before me and if thou take the precious from the vile thou shalt be as my mouth let them return unto thee but return not thou unto them These words are spoken unto Jeremiah who was one of the Lords prophets employed in delivering his message to the Church of the Jews especially the native sense and meaning of this enunciation of the Lord to him is thus much If thou cast off all thy distrustfulness impatiencie and grudging against me whereunto thou art inclinable and turnest unto me relying upon me by faith and walking in a constant course of obedience then I will strengthen thee as in times past and give thee grace to attend upon my service freely without any fear or distractedness And if thou dost faithfully and constantly without fear of man or flattery of any declare what the true good is which I approve of and the evil which I dislike if thou countenancest that that is good and dost bear up and comfort good men and contrariwise condemnest that which is evil and keepest down wicked men then thou shalt shew by these effects that thou art my true prophet that thou speakest in thy Ministry as the Oracle of God So as its clear that this taking forth of the precious from the vile was an act appertaining to his ministerial Office in dividing the Word of God aright to the comfort of the godly and terrour of the ungodly and not in gathering a particular Church out of the national Church of the Jews and unchurching the rest of the people 2 We find it no where recorded in the holy Scriptures that the Prophet Jeremiah did any such thing as to take any out of the Church of the Jews and joyn them into a separate Church or society among themselves And certainly if it had been the Lords intention that in that great defection and backsliding of the Church of the Jews the Prophet should have gathered a select number out of them into a particular Church fellowship amongst themselves there would have been some footsteps of his actings in that kind especially considering that it was so new rare and strange a work 3 If the Prophet had attempted to have done such a thing he had without doubt sinned therein and so had not been as Gods mouth but must have been numbred among the false Prophets For he had therein transgressed by digressing from the practise of the Lord Jesus Christ himself who was born in as corrupt a time of the Church as Jeremiah lived in and yet he made no rent nor separation among them but held communion with them in all the Ordinances and Institutions of the Lord kept the holy Sabbath with them in their Synagogues observed the Passover with them waited at Jerusalem during the time of their solemn Feasts doing all things in Church fellowship wirh them as is abundantly manifest in the Histories of the Evangelists So that you see that this word of the Lord to Jeremiah intended not any such separation as some would infer from it but onely the putting of a distinction in his preaching between the godly and the ungodly But this taking forth the precious from the vile putting a destinction between the holy and the wicked in preaching comfortable doctrine to the children of God and terrour to the children of the devil is a duty belonging to every faithful Minister of Christ and if Gods messengers do not observe this distinction they give that which is holy to dogs and cast their pearls before swine which is a thing utterly forbidden them to do Mat. 7. 6. II All the people of God must separate from communion with Idolaters in the worship and service of God This is a duty frequently enjoyned in the word of God And this separation must be twofold 1 From that worship that heathens give to their false Gods unto idols which is forbidden in the first Commandment This is that which is especially intended in the 52. of Isaiah Verse 11. before cited where the Lord enjoyneth his people to depart and go out from Babilon and to touch no unclean thing that they did or offered in the service of their idols We must separate from all idolaters in their idolatrous worship for it is written Mat. 4. 10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve All divine honour both that that is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worship and that which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 service belongeth unto the Lord our God onely and therefore we may not meddle with idolaters not with their idols 2 From the false and idolatrous worship of the true God such as the Papists perform to God by their images and ceremonies Of this kind of Separation it is that the Lord speaketh Revel 18. 4. before mentioned Come out of her my people that is Separate from the Papal jurisdiction which is the spiritual Babilon under which the people of God have been in as great spiritual captivity and slavery as ever the Church of the Jews were under in Caldea or all Israel in Egypt And there are two reasons rendered there why we must thus separate 1 Because unless we separate from the idolatrous worship of the Papists we shall certainly be partakers of the sins which they commit in that worship That ye be not partakers of her sins It is a vanity for a man to think that he can be present at a Mass or other worship that they do and yet keep his heart to God and not sin therein presence at idol-worship voluntarily maketh a man to be partaker in the sin of it 2 Because If we do not thus come out all those intollerable miseries that shall come inevitably upon these idolaters shall light upon us likewise and that ye receive not of her
Two Sermons Preached at Christ-Church in the City of Dublin before the Honourable the General CONVENTION of IRELAND The first on Prov. 11. 14. At the first meeting of the said Convention March 2. 1659. The second on Jude v. 19. At a publique Fast appointed by the said Convention March 9. 1659. By Sem Coxe Minister of the Gospel and Pastor at St. Katherines in Dublin DVBLIN Printed by VVILLIAM BLADEN Anno Domini 1660. TO THE HONOURABLE The General CONVENTION of Ireland Worthy Patriots YOur desire which I interpret in the nature of a command hath caused me contrary to mine own disposition and inclination to appear in publique I can behold nothing in these my poor Labours that may deserve your acceptance onely this I can say That I have endeavoured in these two Sermons to discharge a good conscience to God to his Church and to You in particular in which I do and shall find comfort It is no small mercy That plain preaching of seasonable Truths which was formerly stifled by Sectarian spirits is now revived and countenanced through your Patronage this will stand upon your account for good at the great day of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ I am not ignorant of the rash censures of unstable spirits that have passed upon me for preaching these Sermons because I have medled with their Diana and I expect much more unfriendly dealing now they appear to publique view but I shall say with the Poet Hic murus aheneus esto Nil conscire sibi c. I can speak it in sincerity That I have not intended to bespatter any mans person but to set out the loathsomness which is in the Tenets of those men that have studied under the specious pretence of piety and Christian Liberty to enslave these three nations of England Ireland and Scotland yea and which is worse to unchurch them It is now above thirty years since my reverend and learned Tutor Mr. Arthur Hildersam whose name and praise is yet fresh in the Church of God being in his life time accepted of all the godly though differing in judgment as Fuller witnesseth in his History of Britain Cent. 17. Book 11. did frequently advise me and others to beware of separation from the Church of England which errour began then to be busie in the land assuring me That Separation was likely to be the bane both of Church and State How prophetick his words were the wofull experience of diverse years by past hath sufficiently informed us And therefore whilst he suffered much trouble and restraint under the exorbitances of Prelacy he acted both by preaching and writing against this bitter weed of Separation insomuch as the learned Dr. VVillet in his Epistle dedicatory to Christs College before his harmony upon the first of Samuel stileth him Schismaticorum qui vulgò Brownistae malleum What difference there is between the Brownists formerly and our Separatists now I yet descern not both of them in words and deeds denying to hold communion with our Church save onely that these later have put a fairer dress upon this Monster that it may appear more amiable Being warned by this divine Oracle most consonant to Scripture I have endeavoured ever since the Lord counted me faithful putting me into the Ministry to bear my weak testimony against this general errour of the time both because it is the fruitful mother of manifold Heresies depriving the Church of all means to suppress them and also because from this Church-separation hath proceeded State-separation even to the depriving us of all our birth-privileges as subjects if Gods mercy had not seasonably interposed Now God almighty direct you in those great affairs that are before you and help you in the strength of his holy Spirit to contend earnestly for the faith once committed to the Saints both against schism and heresy on the one hand and also against all prophaness and ungodliness on the other hand That ye may be called the repairers of the breach made in the Church of God the restorers of paths to dwell in that so at the last the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ may be advanced in the power and purity of his Ordinances among us and Ireland may be indeed Insula Sanctorum So still shall pray Yours and the Churches Servant in the work of the Gospel SEM COXE From my study in St. Thomas-street in Dublin March 1659. March the 3. 1659. By the General Convention of Ireland ORdered That Sir Paul Davys Sir Theophilus Jones and Doctor Dudley Loftus be and are appointed a Committee to return the thanks of the Convention to Mr. Coxe for the Sermon preached by him before the Convention yesterday and to desire Mr. Coxe to cause his Sermon to be printed And it is also Ordered That Mr. Coxe be desired by the said Committee to attend the Convention every morning to pray with them before the Sitting Signed by Order Ma. Barry Clerk of the General Convention of Ireland The First Sermon Proverbs 11. 14. Where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of Counsellors there is safety THe Proverbs of Solomon the son of David King of Israel are usually methodized under three heads viz. His Ethicks his Politicks and his Oeconomicks His Politicks contain the Doctrine of the Government of Kingdoms or Commonwealths Wherein Solomon treateth of four sorts of Persons that compleat such a Government and make it happy viz. 1 A King or supreme Governor 2 Counsellors of State 3 Nobles Favorites or Courtiers 4 Subjects Where such a Government is the people flourish otherwise they cannot be happy Our Text and our present Occasion lead us to speak concerning Counsellors and their counsels of persons that are called to consult de arduis Reipublicae upon which account ye Noble Senators are convened this day Concerning Counsellors Solomon acquainteth us 1. With the Necessity of them 2. With their Qualifications The first our Text speaketh of wherein the second will also be included So we shall come to the words themselves Where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of Counsellors there is safety That this divine Sentence may have the deeper impression upon our hearts let us seriously consider who hath delivered it This shall be laid down in two particulars 1. Solomon who wrote this golden sentence was the wisest man in the world The Holy Ghost informeth us 1 King 4. 30 31. That his wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East country that is of the Arabians or Chaldeans and all the wisdom of Egypt which was very great as appeareth by that commendation given to Moses Acts 7. 22. that he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians that he was wiser than all men than Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman and Chalcol and Darda the sons of Mahol None that write of civil politie are to be compared with him Now upon this very account his judgment is to be diligently harkened unto A
doth oft times repeat this as an undoubted truth He telleth us Prov. 15. 22. That without Counsel purposes are disappointed but in the multitude of Counsellors they are established And Chap. 20. 18. Every purpose is established by Counsel And again Chap. 24. 6. In multitude of Counsellors there is safety 2 Unto this mediate cause it is that also the Lord himself doth ascribe the prosperity or ruine of Kings and their Kingdoms The Lord informeth us That Rehoboams misery came upon him by neglecting the counsel of the Sages that had stood before his Father their Advice had been his welfare if he had hearkened unto it 2. Chron. 10. 8-14 And the word of God mindeth us that it was the destruction of Ahaziah King of Judah that he hearkened unto the wicked counsel of his Mother and others that were of the house of Ahab 2. Chron. 22. 3-5 On the otherside It was the wisdom of David and that which did strengthen him in his Kingdom That in all weighty cases he consulted with the Captains of thousands and hundreds and with every leader even with all the congregation of Israel 1. Chron. 13. 1-4 He would not act without Counsel 3 Even the Law of nature by its glimmering doth dictate this truth to all civillized Nations That they should have their great Counsels and Counsellors with whom to advise in all matters of moment The Israelites had their Sanhedriâ— The Lacedaemonians had their Ephori The Athenians had their Demarchi The Romans had their Senate The Germans have their Diets We in these Nations have our Parliaments Yea the Indians have some kind of Councils All Nations know that without counsels they cannot well subsist that by counsels their safety is maintained The reason why the prosperity or adversity of a People dependeth very much upon their Counsellors and Counsels is because Counsel is the guide of all actions The transacting of great Affairs without Counsel is like the riding upon a wild colt without bit or bridle it is a thousand to one that the rider is cast Rash proceedings without deliberate Advice do make Affairs miscarry Gods own Counsel and decree took place before his works he said Let it be so and so before he wrought any work in the Creation Gen. 1. 3. 6. 9. Counsel is like the helm of a Ship if that be wanting the vessel is in danger to be dashed in pieces against the rocks if that be sound it steereth the ship through all winds and tempests untill it arrive at its desired haven The Uses of this Doctrine are three 1 Of information 2 Of praise and thanksgiving 3 Of exhortation Of these I shall speak in order First The Use of this point is for information and that again divideth it self into two branches First If it be so That the prosperity or ruine of a people dependeth so much upon Counsellors and counsels then this informeth us of the abominable wickedness and desperate madness of those men in these Dominions who have endeavored to bereave us of our Counsellors and counsels they have done what they can to destroy us That there have been and are such yea many such in this Commonwealth I need not spend time to demonstrate Our too dear bought experience for diverse years by past doth sufficiently inform us so that the very Persons that have been the chief actors may be pointed out by theâ—â— names The Anabaptists the Quakers and even all those that have separated from the Church of Christ in these Nations have so interrupted our counsels dismembred our Parliament and supplanted our laws and birth privileges that it may be said of us as once it was said of Israel 2 Chron. 15. 3. Now for a long season England Ireland and Scotland have been without Law Who hath not felt the direfull effects of these mens fury upon their persons families and estates yea and upon our Religion also So that we are all brought thereby to the very brink of ruine and destruction Of these men I affirm two things 1 That it is abominable wickedness in them that have acted thus to the dismembring and interruption of our Parliament or great Council they have contributed what they could to the overthrow of these Dominions It is a great sin to contrive the death or ruine of a single person onely David complaineth of this as a great fault in his adversaries Psal 31. 13. They devised saith he to take away my life How much greater is their sin that have endeavored to cut off the Head of three great Nations at one blow And this their sin is the greater upon a twofold account 1 Because they have devised this mischief against those that trusted them and looked upon them as their friend received them into their counsels put Commissions Arms Ammunition Treasure into their hands and expected the support of Religion Laws Liberties Parliaments by their means So that we may well complain with the Prophet David Psal 55. 12-14 It was not an Enemy that reproached me then could I have born it neither was it he that hated me that magnifyed himself against me then I would have hid my self from him But it was thou mine equal my guide and mine acquaintance We took sweet Counsel together and walked unto the House of God in company O this is a great aggravation of their offence that they have devised evil against their neighbours that dwell securely by them Prov. 3. 29. Treachery against trust is superlative wickedness 2 Because they have done all this wrong to the Commonwealth under a pretence of Religion as if thereby they should advance the Kingdom and Interest of our Lord Jesus Christ These persons have dreamed certain dreams of the personal reign of Christ upon earth and of their own Saint-ship and holyness as the onely persons fit to reign with him and from hence they have endeavoured to set up for themselves and to take the whole Earth into their possession These piae fraudes are those cheats which are most abominable both before God and man But can they think to have any thanks from the Lord Jesus for seeking to advance his Interest by subverting his standing Laws of Magistracy and Ministry Or is this the way to introduce the Kingdom of Christ to trample those great Ordinances and Institutions under foot I trow not By his written word they must be judged at his glorious appearing and in his Kingdom which word saith thus Rom. 13. 1. Let every Soul be subject to the higher powers And 1. Pet. 2 13-15 Submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lords sake For so is the will of God These persons learned not this lesson of the good old Non-conformists who were disgracefully called by the name of Puritans but of Stock and Muncer and John of Leiden and other Rebels Apostates from the reformed Religion And therefore it is pity that their miscarriages should be cast in the teeth of any honest and sober Christians But it is no
multitude of unstable spirits in the land who change in their principles upon every occasion of whom ye are admonished to beware Prov. 24. 21. My son fear thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with them that are given to change Hearken not unto them have nothing to do with them that are every day devising a new cut in regard of religious and civil matters And he giveth you fix Reasons against this unsetledness of spirit and against intermedling with them that are so changeable in Verse 22. For their calamity shall rise suddenly and who knoweth the ruine of them both 1 Calamity shall be the portion both of these changlings and of those that meddle with them their calamity shall rise c. neither of them shall escape danger Gideous idolatry in making an Ephod putting it in his own city became a snare to him and to his house and to all Israel Judg. 8. 27. it brought much misery upon them 2 This calamity shall rise as a bird out of the bush unthought of by such ways and means as are not by us imaginable by some extraordinary hand of God As it fell out with King Uzziah who would needs invade the Priests office to burn incense in the temple but the Lord in a miraculous manner plagued him the leprosy even rose upin his forehead saith the Text 2. Chron. 26. 19. 3 It shall rise suddenly before it can be thought of Prov. 6. 15. Tberefore his calamity come suddenly suddenly shall he be broken without remedy They shall have no time to parley with it 4. This calamity shall end in ruine in a total destruction the misery of such persons shall be capital Thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked saith Habbakkuk in his prayer Chap. 3. 13. God will utterly destroy them 5 It shall be the ruine of them both They that are given to change and they that meddle with them shall fare both alike Not onely Korah Dathan and Abiram did perish for their innovation in matters appertaining to religion and civil government but also those two hundred and fifty princes that were ensnared by them and drawn into that mutany as you find Numb 16. 31-35 6 This ruine shall be unexpressible unconceivable Who knoweth it who is able to declare how great it shall be Ye shall not doubt have many giddy phanatick spirits fawning upon you who will seek to unsettle your judgments and to turn you out of the right and old way for these croaking frogs swarm in every corner Therefore stand your ground be well resolved in your own judgments And as you must be well settled in your judgments so you must take good courage to carry on the work before you and to withstand all difficulties you shall encounter with This befitteth your place Be strong and of a good courage saith the Lord to Joshua Ch. 1. 6 7 9. And stir up one another in the words of Joab 2 Sam. 10. 12. Be of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the Cities of our God and the Lord do that which seemeth him good V. Lastly Ye must also be unanimous of one heart and of one spirit in your counsels and consultations else ye shall never be able to save the people from falling Though Counsellors be many and prudent yet if they fall to division among themselves and side into parties and make factions the people can have no hope of safety and protection from them but must needs be in continual fears and jealousies This was it that put the Israelites into very sad thoughts in the time of their war against Jabin the King of Canaan because that the Reubenites were divided from them in that enterprize and made more account of their own security than of employing themselves any way for the assistance of their brethren in that common danger Judg. 5. 15 16. For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart Divisions and factions in counsels are sad signs to a Land or to a particular person When that Ahitophel counselled Absalom to fall upon David while he was weary and weak-handed and on the otherside Hushai advised to protract the time untill a great army could be prepared to fight a set battel 2 Sam. 17. 1-13 you know what ruine it brought at last upon Absalom and his party It is strange to observe how great miseries and calamities befell both to Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal or Gideon and likewise to the men of Shechem after that God had sent an evil spirit of division between them Judg. 9. 23. they rested not till they had contrived and effected each others destruction But unity and oneness in counsels doth usually procure safety We use to say viâ— unita fortior and it is a truth Many arrows bound together are strong but being divided asunder they are weak and easily broken in pieces I know that I am speaking to such worthy Persons as are very sensible of the bitter fruits of divided counsâ—ls no people in any age have been more disturbed by factions and parties than we have been Wherefore I humbly beg two Petitions of you who are to be our Representatives in this great Council 1 That ye keep a full accord among your selves Fall not out by the way was the good advice of Joseph to his brethren Gen. 45. 24. Satan and his instruments will do their utmost to divide you watch therefore I beseech you against all temptations in this kind you cannot be too heedfull The Apostle Paul giveth excellent counsel which I also give unto you Rom. 16. 17. Mark them which cause divisions and offences and avoid them have nothing to do with such men 2 That ye also hold a full correspondence in your counsells with your brethren in the other nations that live under the same government with you and particularly with the Parliament of England now so mercifully restored to their freedom and with those that they shall leave in Government during the interval of Parliament From them you have received eminent assistance in your national distress O let it never be forgotten by you The Islands of great Brittain and Ireland are like two bottles swimming in the water if they clash they break or rather they are like a gallant ship and a small boat floating in the Ocean if they dash one against the other by reason of winds and tempests the boat is in great danger to be sunk or split in pieces Think not that you are able to stand alone in taking advice with England will be your honour and safety and a threefold cord is not easily broken as Solomon observeth Eccles 4. 12. Some of you have already made a Covenant and league of friendship with them with hands lifted up to the most high God you must not onely vow but pay your vows to God most high Psal 50. 14. Having thus spoken concerning the Qualifications of Counsellors that would save a Nation I am
Act. 16. 23. Ministers must preach such points as may be of most use for the present occasion Now the special work upon Fasting dayes is to humble the soul for sin God requireth that on the tenth day of the second month which was the aniversary day of humiliation to Israel they should afflict their souls Lev. 16 29. 31 and threatneth Chap. 23 29 that whatsoever soul it shall be that shall not be afflicted on that same day shall be cut off from among his people Hence it is that the word of God ought to be preached upon the Fasting day that so the people may be brought to sound repentance and humiliation for sin and so made more fervent in their supplications to God for pardon As appeareth by that direction the Prophet Jeremiah giveth to Baruch Jer. 36. 6. 7. Go thou saith he and read in the roll which thou hast written from my mouth the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lords house upon the Fasting day it may be they will present their supplication before the Lord and turn every one from his evil way But how should we mourn for our sins unless we know them That which brought David to true sorrow and heart breaking for his sin was the certain knowledge he had of his own sinful condition I know or acknowledge my transgressions saith he Psal 51. 3. and my sin is ever before me And how should we know our sins so as to mourn for them unless Gods Ministers do their endeavours to discover them to us David of whom mention was made before never repented or mourned for his sins of Adultery and Murder until Nathan the Prophet came unto him and took pains with him in the discovery of them as is clear Psal 51. title you may read the whole history a Sam. Cap. 12. To this end it is that the Lord calleth upon every one of us who are his Heralds Isa 58. 1. Cry aloud spare not lift up thy voice like a trumpet and shew my people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins This alone is the usual way that God taketh for the discovery of sin Yet to make an exact and particular discovery of sin is a thing altogether impossible to be done by any Minister in the world For who can know his own errours Psal 19. 12. how much less the errours that other men are overtaken with Wherefore the Ministers of Christ have used to do in this case of the discovery of sin as he that draweth the Land-skip of a Country or Kingdom who because he cannot describe every bush or tree or house doth therefore take notice onely of the most eminent cities and towns and rivers therein Nathan takes notice of Davids great spots stains onely 2 Sam. 12. 9. Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and hast taken his wife to be thy wife he speaketh of his great sins So the holy Prophets in their discovery of sin take notice of the foulest as of Ingratitude against God Hypocrisy Covetousness Murder Drunkenness Idolatry Lying Pride Contempt of Gods word Security in sinning and the like The greatest sins are especially to be taken notice of Upon this account that I may discharge my duty aright upon this our Fasting day I have singled out the sin of Separation as the foulest sin of this age and generation and therefore most seasonable to be spoken of that we may be humbled before the Lord our God I know indeed that it is the part of the Lords messengers to cry out against and to endeavour to bring others unto a godly sorrow for all the abominations of the Land for all that gross ignorance superstition and damnable prophanness that is rise amongst us And I doubt not but my brethren that are to beat a part in the work of this day will endeavour to acknowledge all our iniquities and transgressions before the Lord and wrestle with the Lord for the pardon of them But I must ingenuously profess that I conceive the sin of Separation to be the Achan the great abomination of these Lands upon diverse accounts of which I shall speak anon and therefore most to be laid to heart by the Lords people this day To which end I have made choice of this Text These are they who separate themselves c. And before I proceed any further I must first shew the dependance of these words upon those that go before The subject matter of this Epistle is a vehement exhortation of the Apostle Jude to all the godly in all ages That they contend earnestly for the faith which was once committed to the Saints as you see in the third Verse and That they suffer not themselves to be drawn from the faith and belief of the Gospel by those false teachers who were crept in among them unawares in the fourth Verse The arguments by which the Apostle persuadeth with these believers to beware of these seducers are of two sorts I He argueth from the punishments that the Lord hath inflicted upon those sins to which these false teachers endeavoured to seduce them which judgments he layeth down before them in three examples 1 Of the destruction of the people of Israel for their unbelief in the fifth Verse 2 Of the everlasting ruine of the reprobate Angels for their pride in the sixth Verse 3 Of the vengeance of God upon Sodom and Gomorrha for their fornication and buggery in the seventh Verse II He also argueth from the personal vices that raigned in these seducers Whence it was altogether unfit that they should be leaders of these believers and also unsafe that these believers should be followers of them The sins that these seducers were guilty of are reckoned up under thirteen heads in this Epistle two of them are comprised in this Verse viz. 1 Schisme they were such as made a rent in and separation from the Church of God that is laid down in these words These are they who separate themselves 2 Steering their course by sense and carnal reason and not by the Spirit of God in these words Sensual having not the spirit Mine intention is to speak of the first of the sins mentioned in this Verse to which these false Teachers were addicted and which did evidence them to be seducers they were such as did separate themselves from the Church and people of God Where it is to be noted how the Apostle pointeth them out as it were with the finger 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As if he should have said thus Behold observe and mark these men to be vile and pernicious persons for they do willingly cut themselves off from communion with the Church of God The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Estius noteth upon the Text signifieth to lead or allure beyond the bounds of the Church to break the pale thereof A term which I am not ashamed to use though it have been much flouted a◠of late These are they that single
and separate themselves from the Church making parties and factions therein and drawing into sectâ— among themselves observe avoid them Now whereas the the Apostle reckoneth up this for one of those great sins that these false teachers were guilty of that they did separate themselves from the Church of God You may observe Doct. That there is a Separation that hath been an old errour even in some men that have pretended to be knowing and religious men and have undertaken to be leaders and teachers of others You see the doctrine to be clearly grounded upon the Text These persons Jude speaketh of were such as pretended to be so full of knowledg and piety that they undertook to be guides to these Christians and again these Christians looked upon them as meet for such an employment so as the Apostle is necessitated to write unto them to admonish them that they be not seduced by them and yet though they pretended to so much they were guilty of Separation this was one of the great faults they were inclined unto I must acknowledg that this point although it be a plain truth arising naturally from the Text may seem to some to be a most unmeet point to be insisted upon in such an age as this is and especially at a publique Faâ—t and before such an honorably Assembly as is now gathered together But I must profess that I judg the sin of Separation to be the great sin of our times as I said before and that therefore I am bound to give mine open testimony against it here in this publique Assembly as well as I have done in mine own more private Congregation in the worst of times which I speak not God is my witness out of any vain ostentation for I have nothing to glory in save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ but that I may withhold an occasion from them that shall seek occasion of offence at this doctrine And because I know and shall prove that there is a Separation even amongst us that is a great sin therefore I am convinced that it is my duty to speak of it upon this our day of Humiliation and that no time is more seasonable than this Yet in treating upon this point I resolve the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ assisting to use all circumspection and caution and to speak nothing but by plain proof of Scripture And therefore 1 I resolve that I will not willingly use any sharp or bitter reflections upon any that I hope do truly fear God so as justly to grieve them I know it is a foul fault to make the heart of the rightous sad whom the Lord hath not made sad Ezek. 13. 22. which is done by speaking lies and not by speaking plain Scripture truths For to the godly every word of God is sweet yea it is the joy and rejoycing of their hearts as Jeremiah speaketh Chap. 15. 16. 2 I shall in my discourse design the information of mistaken judgments rather than the dirt-daubing or bespattering of those that differ in judgment from me and that I am sure is a duty commanded Gal. 6. 1. Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness 3 I will not gratify wicked prophane and superstitious men by any thing that I shall speak unto this point For that would be a great sin to strengthen the hands of the wicked that he should not return from his wicked way by promising him life as the Lord speaketh Ezek. 13. 22. I profess to hate prophanness and superstition on the one side as I do sinfull Separation on the other side That therefore I may duly qualify that which I am to speak at this time it must be known and remembred that I condemn not all Separation as sinfull I said There is a separation that is an errour not that all kind of Separation is erroneous For there is a lawfull and holy Separation and an unlawfull and unholy Separation there is a Separation commanded in the Word of God and there is a Separation forbidden in the same Word And it will be needfull and I hope profitable to speak of both these to the intent That those who decry and speak against all the people of the Lord under the name of Sectaries Schismaticks and Separatists may be convinced of their fault and humbled for their miscarriage in their rash censuring and nick-naming of those that are sound and orthodox in their judgments and That those who are guilty of this sin indeed may be informed in their judgments and if the will of God be so may also be reformed First There is then a lawfull Separation and holy Separatist Such were the Nazarites mentioned Numb 6. 1. Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them saith the Lord when either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite to separate themselves unto the Lord he shall separate himself from wine c. And they were called Nazarites of Nazar separavit because they were separated from worldly occasions and devoted and sanctified to the Lord. Thus all those that are baptized into the name of Christ are by profession Separatists that is they are separated from sin the world and the devil to the use and service of God onely and they ought so to walk as those that are dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ And as baptized persons are by their baptism declared to be separated and set apart to God so we are all bound to judg them to be Gods and to have full right to all Church mercies whilest they continue in that good profession This was Pauls judgment Gal. 3. 27. As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ Yea there is a Separation strictly commanded of God and to be made by all the godly as appeareth by many Scriptures of the old and new Testament of which these are the chief Isa 52. 11. Depart ye depart ye go ye out from thence touch no unclean thing go ye out of the midst of her And Jer. 15. 19. Therefore thus saith the Lord If thou return then will I bring thee again and thou shalt stand before me and if thou take forth the precious from the vile thou shalt be as my mouth let them return unto thee but return not thou unto them And 2 Cor. 6. 17. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing And 2 Thes 3. 6. Now we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye withdraw your selves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the traditions which he received from us And Revel 18. 4. Come out of her my people I have mentioned all these Scriptures together that you may observe the harmonious consent of Gods holy Word for an holy Separation what is intended in them will be opened