first mercifull end which God hath to his people in permitting errours in the Church to sift his people 2. A second mercifull end which God hath to his own people in the permitting errours viz. to exercise and quicken our graces As God suffers corruptions in our persons to exercise and quicken us he could as easily destroy them as subdue them unbeâ— them as conquer them so he suffers errours in his Churches on purpose to exercise and quicken his own people We had need of quickning rather then God would suffer his people to be dead he suffers the Canaanites to be as thornes in their sides and rather then dead he suffers errours in the Church and if there be any life in you this will quicken this will raise it God hath on purpose permitted in all ages some errour or other on foote to exercise the graces of that generation the Fathers were famous in their times for contending against the errours of their dayes Augustine was famous in his Contests against Pelagius Athanasius in his against Arius Cyrill in his against Nestorius Gregory Nazianzen in his against Macedonius Leo in his against Eutyches Hierom in his against Jovinianus Ruffinus c. Every age hath had its poison and its antidote There was never any generation but as there were some suffering truths in it some truth that perverse generations would not close withall so there were some infecting and poisoning errours in former times the abounding errours were the errours on the left hand and God grant that the spreading errours now be not errours on the right hand The Devill hath been so long beaten at the other that now like a wily serpent he will goe and change weapons he hath long been a prince of darknesse who hath ruled in the children of disobedience and now he would become an Angel of light if possible to seduce the children of the light You have something of that insinuated in the text Deceivers shall come in Christs name and say of your opinions loc here is Christ and this is high deceit It may be God will exercise this generation with more of this kind then others because they have learn'd Christ better they have more knowledge he hath done more for this generation then any other and therefore God may exercise us more then others And this is another end God hath in permitting errours to quicken and to exercise the graces of his people And there are foure graces or gratious dispositions that God chiefely aimes at to exercise in his people by this suffering errours abroad 1. He would exercise their knowledge or rather their conscientious study and search to know the mind of God more fully God would put them on to reade more studie more converse more to search the Scriptures more to examine what is truth and that diligently Many that are too much of Gallios temper now of whom you reade when he heard of those things which Paul preached it is said he cared not for those things This is a prophane temper of spirit and is naught A man may as well reject truth as errour if a man doe not try and examine for ought he knowes he hath rejected a truth instead of errour if he doe not sit down to examine what is truth and search whether it be an errour or a truth how should he be able to close with the one or reject the other There are many that reject the opinions of these dayes for errours because they will not be troubled to search and examine them whether they be truths or no. We are commanded to try all things 2 Thess 5.21 and how should we be grounded and established in the truth or know truth from errour if we doe not search into the mind of God and learne what is his mind and will 1 Joh. 4 1. Beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God anno Many a truth is rejected in these dayes because many an errour is entertained You doe by opinions as you doe by Pamphlets because there be many lies abroad therefore you will not beleeve truth Certainly this is that which God preacheth to you in these times by the multitude of opinions to search what is truth to take more paines to examine and search out the mind of God It is not enough with Pilate to say what is truth and then sit still as many doe aske questions rather for discourse sake then out of desire to be satisfied but you must search the mind of God inquire diligently 2. God would now exercise your zeale of love if you have any love in you shew it to the Lord love is a zealous affection We say the fire burnes the hotter for the cold weather the colder the weather the hotter and more scorching is the fire it is per Antiperistasin so the more errours abroad the hotter will your love and zeale burne to the truth and in the truth As the bellowes blow the fire and intend it so doth this opposition intend our affections the more or love to God to truth to others 3. God doth it to exercise a dependentiall faith upon God that he would not suffer us to be carried away with errour If you have any faith you will now exercise it faith to beleeve promises he hath said we shall be taught of God he hath said he will leade us into the way of all truth c. here is faith exercised to close with promises to sue out promises and to depend on God for the performance of them Oh now the soule gets to a promise finds sweet there and some stay it the midst of his unsetlednesse now he esteemes a promise above a world 4. A fourth grace God would exercise is the grace of prayer Now will the soule goe and improve all his interest in Heaven that God would leade him into the way of all truth that he would not leave them to be carried away in any way of errour Now doth the soule ply the throne of grace indeed tells God of his pliablenesse to entertaine any truth of God truth with penury truth with prison truth with any affliction now he goes and tells him how willing he is to let in any light of God his eyes shall be broad open to receive what God shall reveale now he goes and beggs for the Fathers teaching the Spirits leading into the way of all truth professing the universall willingnesse of his spirit to close with naked truth upon any termes Such dispositions are now drawne forth which perhaps had no occasion to appeare all thy life before and there is comfort in exercise of them the soule is comforted in their actings although he cannot yet find what is the will and mind of God And this is the second mercifull end God hath to his people in the permitting and suffering errours as to sift them so to exercise them 3. A third mercifull end which God hath to his people in suffering errours and that is to
contrary I say it will work not only on the passions which move in a lower orb but it will work on the affections As the sea is moved this way or that way by the strongest winde so the affections are moved and operated upon by the strongest perswasions though the perswasion be false yet if strongest it doth command the affections up to it Affections they are but the servants of and to the understanding and follow it according to it's results and dictates they are but coecae potentiae but blinde faculties and the understanding is their guide and they follow that though it be in an errour and that 's miserable for then The blinde leads the blinde and both fall into the ditch You know the lesser wheels move as the greater carry them the dyall goes as it is set so the affections they move according to the motion of the understanding if the understanding be in an errour the affections are carried with it there is no question but mens affections may be strongly wrought upon in an erroneous way the affections come up to those apprehensions which the judgment hath they follow the notions of the understanding they are but the servants of the understanding and follow it more faithfully in an errour then they doe in a truth because they are corrupt Errour and sin agree a corrupt head and a corrupt heart doe better agree then a sound judgment and a corrupt heart and therefore they doe not onely follow the understanding in an errour but follow it more faithfully more uniformly and universally The Master and the servant are well agreed Indeed they may follow the understanding with gain-saying with reluctance and bearing back in a truth but they follow it freely naturally chearfully in an errour So that you see errour may work upon the heart and affections too you know while Paul was an enemy to the Gospel and doctrine of Christ he was in an errour yet it was such an errour as worked strongly upon his heart and affections he was in an errour with conscientious respects and his affections they were moved according to his false light insomuch that he was zealous in his way and tells us that he was eminent in his zeal for his errour and in opposition of those who professed the contrary as he tells us Phil. 3.6 As touching the righteousnesse of the Law he was blamelesse and as concerning zeal he persecuted the Church So eminent was he in his love and affection towards his own erroneous way and so eminent in his opposition of the contrary that he persecuted them of a contrary minde And he saith upon his own experience the same of the Jews who were in the same way of errour Rom. 10.2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge here were affections zeal is amor intensus as the Schools say it is the heat of love or if you will it is an affection compounded of love and anger love to that which they apprehend to be truth and displicency and anger against the contrary they had a zeal to God but it was not according to knowledge that is according to sound and right knowledge it was according to their knowledge but not right knowledge they might walk conscientiously and with conscientious respects according to that knowledge and apprehension they had but yet walk in a way of errour their affections might move according to their notion and apprehension of things and yet you know they moved in an errour And I conceive plain experience doth tell us this that errour will work upon the affections as well as truth if you look abroad upon any erroneous Religion or if you look at home upon erroneous opinions they will all tell you this that errour doth work and work strongly upon the affections as well as truth 3. Error will not only work upon the affections but it will steer a mans life conversation according to it It will put a man to speak according to it and act according to it live according to it mens practices are but the results of their principles their lives waies they are but the expressions of their doctrins and opinions Men may be as true to erroneous as others are to religious principles erroneous opinions may not only have an influence upon the conscience but the conversation too will cause a man to order his waies and steer his conversation according to them Errour entertain'd doth binde the conscience as well as truth to walk answerable to it they dare no more recede from their erroneous principles walk unanswerable to them without wound of conscience then a man dare recede from the truth it self Nay here is a wonder as a godly man will walk holily to adorn the truth and dignifie the Gospel of Christ and dare not walk disorderly lest the waies and truth of Christ should be blasphemed for his cause so may a man in an errour out of the like conscientious respects endeavour to walk holily for the gracing and adorning of an errour which yet he apprehends to be a truth and he dare not walk disorderly lest he should give occasion to others to condemn and speak against that opinion which he apprehends truth but is indeed an errour And this I could evidence by instances enough if it were need I suppose that Scripture speaks to it Phil. 3.6 Paul while in ignorance held up the righteousnesse of the Law against Christ as they did in Rom. 10.1 and he walked answerable to this knowledge For as touching the righteousnesse of the Law he was blamelesse And no question but he made conscience to walk so much the more exactly that he might adorn this opinion and give out to the world that there was no lesse exactnesse no lesse strictnesse and holinesse in that way he was in then there was in the Apostles who held out the contrary way men may walk with honesty of heart in an erroneous way when they walk answerable to their principles though they be erroneous It is one thing to walk with an understanding another thing to walk with an honest heart in a way Such a man as doth not close with an opinion for base respects nor recede from his principles for worldly respects either gain or losse such a man as walks answerable to his opinion though an errour may be said to doe this with honesty of heart without hypocrisie but yet with a deluded heart They have a zeal but yet without knowledge When the Disciples were sorrowfull because Christ told them he was to goe away Christ saith to them If you loved me you would rejoyce I goe to my Father Certainly they loved him they had forsaken all to follow him and Christ did neither doubt of their love nor blame their want of love here * Christus culpavit non affectum sed consilium He blamed their judgements not their affections though they loved him yet they
I have gathered you together c. but now these things are hid from thine eyes Oh hadst thou known the time of thy visitation And therefore take heed of this if God is comming in with any truth take heed of wilfull shutting of your eyes either out of pride corrupt affection love of sinne love of the world feare of men this is the way to be given up to errour 2. When a man doth entertaine the truth of God partially I say partially 1. In respect of the object not all truth It may be they will embrace such as may make for them but not such as may make against them such as whereby they may keep their lusts their sinnes too but not such as may disturbe them or are inconsistent with their sinnes 2. Or partially in respect of the subject our selves when we entertaine it into our heads not our hearts the notion of it but not the love of it when we doe not close with it in our hearts and affections This you see in the 2 Thess 2.10 11. where there is the same sinne and the same punishment because they received not the truth with love of the truth for this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should beleeve a lie What is that receiving of the truth with love of it but receiving it wholy in respect of the subject into the understanding will affection and the receiving of all truth in respect of the object Men that love truth as truth doe love all truth every truth is welcome A man that loves truth for other ends he will only entertaine so much of truth as may stand with those ends he will not dash his own designe in peeces When a man doth entertain truth for ends will he entertaine such truths as are destructive to those ends A man that loves the Law or a man that loves Divinity he will for it selfe entertaine it in the largenesse of it but now he that only loves these things for ends will take in so much as may be serviceable to him in his practise as a Lawyer but he cares for no more for he aimes at profit not excellency in knowledge Now this is another sinne that God doth punish with errour partiall receiving of truth 3. Entertaining of truth deceitfully you shall see many who will give entertainment to truth but upon what grounds It is with corrupt principles upon corrupt grounds and for corrupt ends and such men entertaine truth deceitfully and shall not hold it long 4. Unanswerable walking to those truths which God hath revealed You give your servants a candle to doe their work by if they will play you put out the candle let them play in the dark you will not be at cost to find them candle to play by God gave the light for this end that you might know how to walke and if you will not walk by your light God will put it out if you will doe works of darknesse you must be in darknesse It is one reason that God doth withdraw the light he hath given nay and suffer men to be given up to wayes of errour because they walke not answerable to the truth received You see this Rom. 1.21 24 25. 5. When a man growes weary of that light he hath when God hath made knowne something to a man and because it will not suffer him to sinne quietly he growes weary of it or it will not stand with his ends and designes You see this Rom. 1.28 Because they did not like to retaine God in their knowledge therefore God gave them over to a reprobate mind c. So when you are weary of your light weary of Religion profession it is too exact precise too troublesome too laborious too costly because you like not to retaine God and the wayes of God therefore God gives you up to wayes of errour These sinnes doth God often punish with errour and I say more unreclaimednesse under any sin what ever will bring in errour Object But doth God punish one sinne with another Answ As God doth make one evill the cure of another to the godly so he suffers one sinne to be the punishment of another to wicked men As you see plaine Rom. 1.24 27. 2 Thess 2.10 11. So in Psal 81.12 13. My people would not obey here was their sinne Therefore I gave them up to their own hearts lusts there was their punishment yea and sinne too And woe be to that man to whom God makes one sinne the punishment of another It is not so much to make sicknesses losses death prison c. punishment of sinne as to make one sinne the punishment of another It is better to have any judgement the punishment of sinne then to have one sin the punishment of another then to have sinne punished by it selfe And is it not so with you your ignorance is a sin and is it not the punishment of neglect of meanes contempt of meanes the sleighting of it This is a still punishment but God keepe us from it better any evill then sinne to be our punishment 2. A second judiciall end which God hath to wicked men and it is a sad one too viz. for the further hardening of their hearts There are many long disputes of Divines against the Papists concerning hardening of the heart whether or no God doe harden the Papists charge us in this point that we make God the authour of sinne in saying that God doth harden any though there be many Scriptures that speake plaine God is said to blind to harden c. as you see Exod. 9.12 Exod. 4.21 Ezech. 14.9 Rom. 9.19 He hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he heardeneth And God may be said to harden the heart divers wayes 1. Abstrahendo by abstracting of his grace take away the light and darknesse must needs follow take away the Sunne and night must needs ensue So take away softning grace and man must needs be hardned Joh. 12.39 40. Non malum chirudendo sed gratiam non concedendo Aug. Therfore they could not beleeve because Isaiah said he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should heale them 2. Proponendo which is objectivè by propounding objects by which a mans heart shall be hardened which may be the Word and Sacraments as you have it Isa 6.9 10. And oh what a woefull condition when that which should soften doth harden Jer. 6.21 Behold I will lay stumbling blocks before this people and they shall fall upon them Christ himselfe is an object to harden he is set up for the rise and fall of many c. and the word is said to be a savour of life and a savour of death 3. Tradendo by delivering a man up to the Devill to be blinded and hardened 2 Cor. 4.4 Whom the God of this world hath blinded 4. Permittendo by suffering a man to
inticement not by demonstration they inveagle they doe not informe the understanding they perswade by inticing and not by evidence and reason A man may well suspect those opinions which are wrought upon the understanding by the affections and not by demonstrations the affections often inveagle the understanding sometime inforce it sometime they bribe somtime they threaten the understanding into an opinion its dangerous for the affections to work upon the understanding The lesse the understanding hath to deale with the affections in judgement of truth or errour and the lesse the affections with the understanding the safer and clearer is the judgement A man may well suspect those opinions which are wrought upon the understanding by perswasions and not by demonstrations The Philosophers used to say that to win the understanding by gaining first into the affections is to woe the Mistris by the maid Affections are to attend and serve the understanding and not to inforce it they are not to tell what is truth but to follow the understanding with love and delight in the embracing of it Suspect that for truth that you are threatned or bribed into And so much for the second ground 3. A third ground of credulousnesse is the similitude and likenesse which errour may carry to a truth of God you must know that though Gods people may entertaine errour yet no damning though defiling errours nor doe they entertaine any errour as an errour but under the notion nay apprehension that it is a truth and there is such similitude which an errour may carry to truth that they may entertaine it without debating and examining of it I told you from the 2 Cor. 11.13 14 15. That Satan might transforme himselfe into an Angel of light and so may represent errour under such a shew of truth that it is not for every one to distinguish between that and truth There was never any errour set on foote but it was indeavour'd to be grounded on the Scripture the word is pleaded on all sides and many places alledged which may seeme to afford strength even to false opinions by which an errour may be represented to them who are not able to discerne as if it were a truth There are but few errours in our dayes but they carry some resemblance of truth with them at least the face and appearance of truth nay but few but have some ingrediency of truth in them and therefore carrying such a resemblance with truth looking upon the first view like a truth the best may be deceived with errour instead of truth if they take things on trust though this deceit shall not be an undoing deceit if it be not an undoing errour and that Gods people shall never be given up unto We say though error fortunae a mistake in the estate doth not cause an anullity in marriage yet error personae the errour of the person doth if you were married to one whom you tooke to be another person this doth cause an anullity in the marriage The entertainment of truth or errour is a kinde of marriage between the soule and it and there is a firme marriage between corrupt hearts and errour but the contract which is between a godly man and errour is a false contract and therefore that claime which errour hath to him is a false title because though it be an errour yet he entertain'd it for a truth and therefore it shall not damne him though it doth for the present defile him 4. A fourth ground of the credulousnesse of the godly their facile and easie beliefe it is the high and specious pretexts which an errour may carry Errour may beare as big a saile and hold up as high pretexts as truth it selfe and this may prevaile much to the entertainment of an errour this is a great advantage which errour hath It may hold forth the same authority beare it selfe up upon the same bottome it may pretend holinesse the glory of God the good of our soules c. and what not Doe not the Papists hold forth the same authority for their errours which we doe for truth doe they not perswade to the entertainment of them by the same arguments will they not tell you that these are for the glory of God for the good of your soules Was it not the usuall argument of the hierarchy for their superstitions and humane inventions for their Altars and Jesu-worship and bowing towards the East with the rest that all this was to declare our reverence humility c. in coming into Gods presence it was for the glory of God c. And are there any errors now that carry not as high as fair pretexts as specious shewes Who doth not say loe here is Christ and here is Christ who doth not challenge patronage from Heaven for their severall opinions who doth not stamp their opinions with the authority and minde of Christ Is it not that which Christ doth here foretell they shall come in his name that is they shall pretend to doe so they shall pretend his authority and commission and they shall say I am Christ they shall pretend that that which is held forth is the minde of Christ which sets out the danger of the temptation such an errour comming with such high and specious pretexts being held forth with such authority may prevaile much towards the entertainment of it In our dayes if we looke upon the present contentions of the times the cause now on foote and acting sadly with the sword doe not our adversaries hold up the same pretences doe they not speake in our own language doe they not say the same things that they fight for the Protestant religion Liberty of the subject Laws of the Land and if we take all on trust how daÌ„gerous to be deceived When the Pirate hangs forth your own colours there is danger of robbing The Crokadile sheds teares when he hath a minde to shed bloud the foulest designes are often masked with the fairest pretences the spiders webb is full of art but she her selfe is full of venome you may truly suspect most venome where you see most art There is not any bad cause nor any errour but is handâ—d to us under faire pretexts and specious colours which wins many and that 's the fourth ground 5. A fift ground why men are apt to take opinions upon trust either because they cannot try them they want knowledge and wisedome to examine and try them or they want judgement to determine upon triall either they cannot or they are unwilling to put themselves to the trouble in the triall of them But I passe this We have done with the first ground why men are carried away with errours and that is weaknesse 1. Weakenesse of understanding 2. Want of stability 3. Too much credulity and I have given you the severall grounds of these also We come now to the second generall ground why men are carried away with errour The second ground and that is wickednesse A
travel over the births of many ages especially if former ages have been as pregnant as our present age is Besides the Apostle tells us Rom. 14.1 Him that is weak in faith do not receive to doubtfull disputation and why so lest you should stagger him unsettle him trouble him and certainly if they are not to be received to doubtfull disputations they are not to go to them if it had been their duty to go it had been the others duty to receive them Indeed we are to search let not any prophane loose carelesse secure atheist think I give indulgence to his lazinesse and security Let not any think I go about to patronize or countenance their carelessenesse You are to search God is revealing glorious things in the world many precious truths come masked to you under the notion of errour and many errours may be handed to you and seem to borrow the name of truth we had need to search we had need to pray we had need of a discerning spirit Only this take the measure of your own strength and put not your selves to difficulties above your measure if you meet with difficulties in these knotty times be not too swift to conclude make not your conclusions before your premisses are framed A man may be too soone in an errour too long out of a truth but that man is in a truth too soon who embraceth it in his affections before it be made evident to his understanding who entertains it before he can in some measure maintain it who concludes before he hath cleared That cannot be good judgement that is passed before evidence is brought in Nor that can be no orderly receiving of truth before which there hath not gone discussion and search But I will proceed no further these are the foure things which I thought to premise before I came to the answer of the query 1. That no man can plead an unerring spirit an immunity from all kinde of error Consul misner de eccl p. 657 c. 2. That the best of men are subject to the worst of errours 3. That though they be subject to them of themselves yet are they secured from them by the grace of Christ 4. That the way Christ doth secure us is in the use of means We now come to the resolution of the Query viz. Who are in danger to be led awâ—y with errour Qu. Who those are that are in danger to be led away with errour 1. All such who have not retained the notions of God in a holy and pure heart A corrupt heart is neither a fit receptacle for the receiving nor fit house for the entertainment of truth A sinfull heart will not long be the house nor truth long a tenant there Indeed where truth comes and abides it comes not as the tenant but as the Landlord the Master of the house that will dispose and order of all according to his own rules Now this no sinfull heart can brook withall he would take in truth to be his servant but not to be his Lord he would close with truth to serve him but not to serve truth he would live on truth but truth shall not live on him to speak plain he would entertaine truth no further then it will maintain him this is a corrupt heart and will not long be the receptacle of truth such a man is in the high way to be carried away with errour He that will not be Gods servant shall be the Devils slave he that will not be a servant to truth shall be a vassal to errour As we say he that will not be under the soveraignty of Christ shall be under the tyranny of sin he that will not be under the command of grace shall be under the power of lust so he that will not be subject to truth shall be enslaved to errour you have something of this expressed in Rom. 1.21 25 26. Rom. 1.21 25 26. Because when they knew God they glorified him not as God c. for this cause God gave them up to vile affections 2. All such who have not entertained the truth with love of it men that take it into their heads to know but not into their hearts to love Truth hath rather a tyranny then a soveraignty over some men it awes many whom it doth not perswade it convinceth their understandings but doth not convert and turne their hearts their heart is up in rebellion against all their light their affections are in armes against all their knowledge and their spirits are not brought into a peaceable subjection to those things revealed And such men truth will quickly be weary of them or they of truth where the heart doth not close with truths reveal'd but still stands up in armes against it this man is in danger to be given up to a way of errour You have this in 2 Thess 2 9 10. 2 Thess 2 9 10. Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved For this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie and be damned It may be God hath revealed some truths to thee and thou hast entertained them into thy head in notion but not into thy heart with love and affection here is light without heat thou hast no heart to embrace those things revealed may be upon examination thoâ— findest they will not suite with thy greatnes with thy interesâ— with thy hopes thy aimes thy ends and therefore cannot cordially close with them thou cannot deny thy selfe and become a servant to truth Thou art the man who art in danger to be given up to a way of errour 3. All such who have not walked sutable to those truths which God hath revealed to them It may be thou hast had many precious truths revealed to thee and thy corruptions would not suffer thee to walke sutable to them there is light in thy head but darknesse in thy life truth in the understanding but errour and sin in practice and conversation let me tell thee thou art in danger to be given up to errour Men that will not doe what they know shall not know what to doe men that will not follow the guidance of truth shall be led aside with errour Sinne in practice will bring in errour in principle Men of a bad life cannot long be men of a good beliefe 2 Thess 2.12 2 Thess 2.12 the Apostle tels us of such who were carried away with the deceiveablensse of errour who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in unrighteousnesse If you know Gods will and will not doe it if God have revealed his minde to you and yet you will not square your lives to it if you will walke in waies that are not good notwithstanding God hath revealed the evil of them you are the men are in danger to be given up to errour 4. All such who have embraced and adhered to former truths out of partiall respects private
religion is the great distance and disunion there may be onenesse in heart and affections in lesser differences but differences of such height as Christ or not Christ when they doe arise so high as to un-Christ un-Church nay ungrace men as that opinion in a kinde doth that holds forth Christ It is a hard thing to keep onenesse of affection men that have salvation and eternity in their eye the glory of Christ their aim it is a hard thing to perswade them to take it well if they un-Christ them and ungrace them It is not probable that a man should be well pleased to have another spit in his face condemn his principles and practice and upon so high grounds when yet a man is perswaded upon knowing and conscientious grounds so farre as appears to him that he is in the right We may say what we will and wish and pray but this will be found that men of different Creeds will hardly be of one Pater noster Men differing upon so high grounds as what can be higher they can hardly be of the same affection In lesser and smaller differences they may but in so high differences when an opinion is held forth for Christ it will be more hard to turn all disaffection into pity if they apprehend them in an errour then to renounce their own and embrace theirs if it were apprehended to be a truth Men pity a persecuted errour or men persecuted in an errour but they enviâ— a prospering errour or men prospering in a way of errour That which raiseth the difficulty is the prosperousnesse and successefulnes of that which they do apprehend an errour when they see it to succeed to draw away the hearts of the most godly holy the best of their people it will be no easie matter in stead of disaffection to act pity to them and because they apprehend them to act affections rather then judgement in entertaining of them therefore they act disaffection rather then pity in the rejecting of them Happy were we if the grounds of their opinions were thorowly examined and impartially searched who do hold them forth under this notion Loe here is Christ and if true embrace them or that they who hold them up upon so high terms would convey them in a more low and humble manner seeing so many godly learned dissent from them if which be not there will be I fear the seed of as great differences among the godly as ever was in the Church and as much disaffection Assure your selves Christ or not Christ will be a great parting and dividing stone both to divide persons and affections I speak this with a bleeding heart fore-seeing the sad and miserable affects of it if this difference be not happily taken up God knows what a foundation of future misery will be laid for future generations The differences between Luther and Calvin were not so great but they might have been easily taken up in their time but posterity quickly turned these differences in judgement to the decisions of the hand and it hath been the ground of raising many a warre and shedding of the blood of thousands whose differences might easily have been composed at the first This remains a sad spectacle to us and all Christian Churches and makes me tremble to thinke what future times will be if God doe not mercifully unite hearts which should put men to pray to study an accord and not to fuell and heighten our differences and make them unreconciliable 4. Dangerous are these opinions if errours because they passe the highest censure upon those which doe dissent from them he that saith of any opinion or way Loe here is Christ doth negatively censure and condemn all those who doe dissent from it there is but one Christ one Lord one faith This opinion must needs hold forth both a doctrinall and a practicall censure against all such who dissent from it and not only censure their way but their persons and declare them who are contrary either to be men of corrupt affections of corrupt mindes who detain the truth of God in unrighteousnesse who are byassed with carnall respects secular advantages and ends or at the best that they are but ignorant blinde deluded or deceived such as yet know not the minde of God And what this will amount unto I leave any to judge And therefore happy still it were that men would strip themselves of all self and self-respects and faithfully debate that opinion that is held forth upon so high terms and if truth let us close with it or that those who doe hold it up so high would in regard it is in such dispute and so many godly differ from it that they would hand it to men and convey it and seek to passe it upon lower terms and more moderate grounds seeing such are the sad effects of it Indeed if the way be of God if it be that in truth which it pretends to be in holding forth and if they were necessary truths such as were necessary to life then if there were sadder effects then these did accompany the holding it forth yet there is comfort enough in it but when the thing it self is disputable first whether there be any such thing as an exact and uniform government and when this is disputable among those who doe hold there is such a way what is that government we see some godly holy and learned men assert one and no lesse godly and learned defend another and when all is done who ever is in the truth it will not be found that the income is proportionable to the sweat the truths held forth are not necessary but only accessory truths not such as concern the being of Christians but the wel-being I only demand whether the comfort and benefit that may come to the Church of Christ by the stiff maintaining and high passing of such an opinion may ballast and bear weight with the sad effects and trembling consequences that will surely come upon themselves and the Churches of Christ if so passed and if so maintained I leave it to you to judge And thus much for the first viz. that errour will work it self into the heart and affections of the receiver upon as high pretexts and specious pretences as truth it self And that which I have spoken upon it is not to charge any opinion to be an errour which doth seek to passe it self upon so high terms that is not my work to doe in this place but to make you circumspect in the entertaining of opinions though they carry such high pretexts as these seeing it is possible for errour to make the same pretences and seek it's entertainment upon as noble terms as truth it self We come now to the second 2. When an errour is entertained it will work upon the heart and affections as well as truth it will work love to it in them who embrace it it will work fear of betraying it will work hatred and displacency against the
9.5 You can have no communication of truth but there is a conveyance of life with it every notion will beget motion every beam of light will be a stream of life and carry you on with power to the obedience of truth revealed the same spirit which is the spirit of truth is the spirit of life and of power and where hee is a spirit communicating light and truth there he a spirit conveying life and power to the soul also To conclude this then you have entertain'd some opinions for truth but are they soul-quickning truths are they helpfull to the life of God and to the life of grace in you Tell me doe they dead you or doe they quicken you more and doe they quicken your graces or stirre up your corruptions Are they serviceable to grace or are they helpfull to sinne It is the nature of truth to quicken our graces but to dead our corruptions and this is the nature of errour to provoke our lusts but to dead our graces A fifth Operation of truth where it is entertain'd it hath a Opera 5 heart-inflaming power Truth is a beam of that Sun which doth not only enlighten but heat and warm us Claritas in intellectu parit arderem in affectu Light in the understanding begets heat in the heart the understanding is as the medium between the heart and Christ and serves as the burning-glasse to the heart whereby the heart is set on fire with those notions which are carried from Christ by the understanding to the soul hee that is baptized with the holy Ghost the spirit of truth is baptized with fire Fulget cherub intelligentia luce ardet Seraph charitatis igne Pic. Mirand de dig hom his affections are inflam'd with the love of it He that like the Cherub doth shine with light and truth like the Seraph burns with heat and love Truth hath an heart enamouring power could wee but see it in it's beauty as the Philosopher said of vertue I may of truth we could not chuse but be in love with it and that which doth enamour the heart must needs enflame the heart that which takes the heart must needs set the heart on fire either with desire to enjoy it or with love in the enjoyment of it Indeed it is true many are too hot in an errour and others are too cold in the truth and it is the ones sinne and the others shame the one is the fruit of the partiall reception of truth they take it into the head not into the heart Thâ—y receive not truth with the love of it as the Apostle saith 2 Thess 2. and the other is the fruit of the blinde entertainment of errour they have light without heat and thou hast heat without light their light is a false light because it is not joyn'd with heat and thy heat is a false heat because it is not joyn'd with light And yet I confesse many are zealous in a way of errour when the best are too cold in the truth it is our shame as their sinne But here is the comfort a little true heat is worth a great deal of false fire a little zeal acted with grace is worth a great deal spirited with corruption Men in ignorance are like those under the frigid zone they are cold and frozen and have no heats or affections in them Wee may love things we have not seen as the Apostle speaks of Christ 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen Ignoti nulla cupidâ— Invisa pos summa amare incognita ne quaquam yet you love but wee cannot love things wee have not known and men in errour are like men under the torrid zone who burn with a false heat but men in the truth they are like those who live under the temperate zone whose heat is comfortable and makes them fruitfull or if you will take it in another comparison men in ignorance they are like dead men altogther cold and have no heat in them Men in errour are like men in a fever whose heat is their distemper but men in the truth they are like unto men in health whose heat is their health and enables them to action and resisteth corruption And that is a fifth operation of truth where it is entertain'd it hath a heart-warming a heart-inflaming power We come to the last Oper. 6 Sixthly and lastly Truth hath a heart-raising and spiritualizing property where it comes into the heart with power it doth raise and spiritualize a man indeed the naked knowledge of truth doth no more raise the heart then the sight of the Sunne doth lift a man up to heaven but when truth comes into the heart in it's power it carries the soul thither whence it came All truth as it came from God so it carryes the soule to God it rayseth and spiritualizeth a man it doth spiritualize and rayse his understanding his notions and conceptions of things it doth spiritualize a mans heart a mans affections a mans actions it makes him a spirituall man 1 Cor. 2.15 Men are much according to their notions of things men of low conceptions are men of low spirits men of higher and more spirituall notions are men of finer tempers of more refined spirits so farre as truth is received so farre it doth refine a man if it enter the head a man is part refined but if it be received into the heart the whole man is spiritualized A mans head may be refined and yet he may have a grosse heart as Christ saith Make their hearts grosse that seeing they might not see they did see in the head and that was refined but they did not see in their heart and therefore that was still grosse but if the heart once be spiritualized with truth then the whole man is made spirituall for truth is of a spiritualizing nature And so much shall serve for the operations of truth and this third and last Character viz. Truth doth advance the whole worke of grace in the hearts and lives of Saints Well then you see there are many opinions abroad Vse and it may be some of you have given entertainment to some of them I doe not say that they are all of them erroneous but many are others have much errour mingled with some truth I have given you three touches whereby you may be able to judge of them three Characters whereby you may be inabled to discover truth from errour And doe you try your opinions by them see are they such as are word-revelation doth the word plainly and evidently hold them forth or are they deductions drawne from the word But see is not the place mistaken are the deductions rightly gathered are they consonant to the harmony of Scriptures doe they suite with Gods maine end in Scripture By these you may be able to discover them Again the opinions which are held forth or you have entertained doe they I say advance God doe they advance all God all the Attributes all
nature of Christ who is pure and holy though it say Loe here is Christ yet believe it not it is an errour and no truth of Christ 3. That opinion which suites not with the life of Christ which was exact holy humble c. though it hold forth Loe here is Christ yet it is none of Christs 4. That opinion which obscures and robbs Christ of his glory and gives to man that which is due alone to Christ though it say Loe here is Christ yet it is an errour and no truth of Christ 5. That opinion which breeds a distance and estrangement between Christ and the soul that interrupts the soule in communion with Christ either in believing or obeying that draws the soul either froÌ„ the obedience of faith or the obedience to the command though it say Loe here is Christ yet it is an errour and no truth of Christ By these touches you may discover many opinions to be errours that goe under that name which shews you the danger of drinking in all opinions that language themselves unto you under the name of Christ A third ground why men are so apt to take opinions on trust is because besides all this they may carry some fair and lovely aspects which may render them lovely and desirable as if they were truth it self many men are tempted into an opinion rather then perswaded into it they are led rather by affection then by judgement the benigne and fair aspects which an opinion may carry may much take men and prevail with them for the entertainment of it It was our fall at first the lovely aspects which the fruit did bear and it is many an ones fall still even the fair and lovely aspects which an opinion seems to carry with it I have told you the Prince of darknesse may transform himself into an Angel of light and he may convey errour to you not only under the notion but under the habit of truth it self and render an errour every way as lovely desirable and acceptable as the truth it self And therefore there being so much danger dealing with so subtle an adversary we had need to beware what we entertain and sift it to the bottome before ever wee give it welcome into our hearts And that 's the first Caution I will be brief upon the rest 2. Beware of prejudice look not prejudicially upon an opinion As wee are not to look upon an opinion with affection and so give up our hearts to it before wee have tried it so wee must not look upon it with disaffection and so set our hearts against it before wee have examined it Indeed there are some opinions not worthy tryall Some are to bee lookt upon with abhorrency as such which are destructive to faith and godlinesse when I say you are not to look upon opinions with prejudice I mean not these for those you are to look upon with abhorrencie but I mean such as are controverted among the godly themselves and such as may consist with all holinesse of life and conversation of these I would be understood to speak when I say look not with prejudice against any way men when they receive prejudice against a way either they will not search at all or if they doe they will not know As affâ—ctions to a way doth hasten the understanding to know and the heart to embrace it so disaffection to a way doth hinder the understanding from knowing and hold off the heart from embracing It is a hard thing to perswade that man whose heart is either ingaged to a contrary way or his understanding prejudiced to this way Such a man may bee convinced but it is hard to perswade him his affections and ingagements act against all that light that he will not see he will not know it must be our work if wee will finde out truth to beware of prejudice You know it was that which hindered the Jews from closing with Christ who was the great truth and it will be that will hinder you from embracing of lesser truths Formerly the novelty of a way the paucity of professours the meannes of their condition the weaknesse of their parts and abilities the bad entertainment a truth had in the world were the great stumbling blocks or prejudices to the entertainment of truth It was so in the Gospel as you all know and it is well if the prejudices be not turn'd the other way and that the ancientnesse of an opinion the multitude of professours the quality of them the greatnesse of their learning and parts the favour it may finde in the world be not the great prejudices which may hinder from the closing with it God hath often times in providence smiled upon an errour and discountenanced a truth and he may please to let the truth finde favour and errour bee discountenanced Wee look for those daies when God shall make Kings nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers to his Church when the Kingdoms of the earth shall become the Lords and his Christs this is promised and therefore this should bee no prejudice when God doth bring it about to hinder us from the entertainment of an opinion If you would finde out truth beware of prejudice on any side and look singly upon the opinion without any other respects at all 3. Beware of being byassed with carnall and corrupt affections most men of the world are carried with byasses rather then with principles they are moved rather by affections then judgement by things without them rather then principles within them There are four great Byasses which carry most men in the world 1. The first Byas is the love of the world which is a strong byas There are too many that stand as the people in the Market-place who would not goe into the vineyard till they were hired so they are not willing to entertain an opinion embrace a way till they can see what it can doe for them they must be hired with filthy lucre and will doe nothing till they see what will be most advantagious God keep us from such a spirit He who doth not see truth all riches shall never be the possessour of it such a man will see nothing to be truth or errour but what may stand with his own ends his secular advantages As they used to say of a corrupt Judge he had Bos in lingua he had money in his tongue and being bribed would say any thing So J may say of a worldly man he hath bos in corde the world in his heart and hee will not close with or embrace any thing but what may stand with his advantages where there is the love of the world Caeterae cupiditates ingenti cupiditati subservient there is desire to get the world and fear to lose the world and such a man will make all to serve his main corruption You see the desire of gain it made Judas to sell Christ Demas forsake Christ he forsook Christ and did cleave to this
present world Hence Christ saith Joh. 5.44 Joh. 5.44 How can you believe so long as you seek honour one from another and doe not seek that honour which is from God only And the fear of losing the world made the Jews deny Christ and reject him If wee entertain him say they the Romans will come and take away our place and Nation Men that love the world they will doe any thing to get and any thing rather then hazzard and lose that they love so dearly Hence Jam. 4.4 If you love the world the love of the Father is not in you he that will be a friend to the world is an enemy to God and it is upon this ground because if ever God and the world come in competition he will forsake God and cleave to the present world 2. A second byas is popular applause men naturally love to be some body there is no man that would willingly stand as it were for a Cipher Every man with Simon Magus would be given out to be some great one and when men cannot be taken notice on in a crowd they will be singular As this may be a ground why many doe deliver an opinion to difference themselves from others in esteem by differing themselves from others in judgement So it may be a ground why others entertain and receive an opinion to difference themselves from others by their practice to be thought more singular more holy more conscientious they are men only accounted conscientious which differ from others alas they think that others take all upon trust and are of the State-religion and close with any way and therefore thinke they if J will be accounted singular if J will be esteemed indeed conscientious and religious above others I must difference my self from others and oftentimes where there is least holinesse they will be most forward to goe this way to gain an esteem of holinesse men that cannot get an esteem of holinesse by their practice they may labour to get an esteem by their opinion J doe not say any doe so but certainly men may doe so which is a fearfull spirit these make but Religion serviceable to worldly ends Godlinesse advantagious to their own gain which certainly is the worst of spirits and that is the second A third byas which carries many and of which you had need to beware is 3. Compliancies correspondencies or engagements to friends who are this or that way or of this or that opinion And we know by experience that this hath been a strong byas As disaffection to persons hath wrought a distance and dislike of the opinions they hold and the waies they walk in so affection and love to persons hath too much perswaded with many to the entertainment and embracing of their opinions also A man looks upon such and such friends such to whom he stands thus and thus related it may be a father a sonne a brother a husband a wife c. or such to whom he is so and so engaged or such upon whom he hath such and such dependences and they are of this or that opinion and this comes in either as a great motive to close with the same that so they may be rendered more acceptable and gratefull to them or it stands as an obstacle to hinder their closings with what is contrary to them We should not indeed know either father or mother husband or wife sonne or daughter in the cause of God As we are to sleight all interests and relations if they stand not with God if they walk in a way of errour our engagements to God must drown all other engagements our relations to him must swallow up all other relations to the creature though they are dear yet God is dearer so we are to wave all interests and relations in the finding out and entertainment of truth It was Davids spirit Amicus Plato amicus Socrates magis amica veritas Whom have I in heaven but thee and in earth I desire in comparison of thee We are neither to be frighted into errour nor bribed into truth we should take in our opinions by judgement not by affections by revelation from God not by relation to the creature if our interests or relations or engagements and dependencies doe come in while we are in the disquisition and search of truth we shall finde them great byasses either to carry us to the embracing of errour or rejection of truth or if neither of them yet to the blinde reception of truth the Apostle tels us he did not consult with flesh and bloud but was obedient to the heavenly vision implying that if he had consulted with flesh and bloud he had not been obedient so if you consult with your flesh and bloud with your relations friends ingagements either you will not be obedient or you will yeeld a blinde obedience to the heavenly vision a man may entertain an errour honestly and receive truth corruptly he that entertains an errour singly and simply without being byassed with corrupt affections doth entertain it honestly but he that receives a truth being byassed with interests and engagements c. doth receive it corruptly If you would finde out truth beware of being byassed by friends relations dependencies ingagements in the disquisition and search of it let your relations to truth swallow up all other relations otherwise you will sinfully embrace an errour or blindely and corruptly entertain a truth It will be ten thousand times better for him who is honest in an errour then for thee who art corrupt in the truth 4. A fourth great byas which is all the rest in one is self Self is not only the principle which worketh in most men but it is also a byas in working It is a master wheel to set men on work and it is as oyl to the wheels to keep on working it was the great prayer of Augustine A me ipso me libera Domine Good Lord deliver mee from my self and it may well be ours if self interpose you will never finde out errour nor discover truth Self-aims self-ends self-advantages will blinde our eyes from beholding truth or errour if self reign in any man truth shall never command there because the laws of truth and the ends of self are inconsistent one with another if self keep the door it will admit and let in nothing that may be dâ—structive to it It will doe by opinions as men doe at the gates of a City enquire whether they be friends or enemies before they let them in and if upon enquiry they be found to be such as will not correspond with their selfish ends and principles they will do by them as Elisha did by Ahabs messenger shut the door and hold them fast there because they apprehend the sound of the Masters fâ—et behinde they apprehend that the entertainment of such a truth will be destructive to their selfish aims and ends If ever you would finde out truth you must learn to deny