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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26982	Richard Baxter's penitent confession and his necessary vindication in answer to a book called The second part of the mischiefs of separation, written by an unnamed author with a preface to Mr. Cantianus D. Minimis, in answer to his letter which extorted this publication.; Penitent confession and his necessary vindication in answer to a book called The second part of the mischiefs of separation. 1691	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.; Minimis, Cantianus D.	1691 (1691)	Wing B1341; ESTC R13470	98,267	107

were put to draw up Additional Forms which we did in the very Words of Scripture And though some called it The Reformed Liturgy because it seemeth an entire Frame yet it is falsely said that we would have that or none for we only offered it to the Bishop's Examination which they would never do And even this Accuser hath nothing that I find against it but that I confess it was hastily drawn up in eight Days and therefore must needs be imperfect and deserve a Review And so it is our Crime that we take not their three Books to be all such Effects of Infallibility as to have no one Fault contrary to God's Word and yet to confess our own though in the Words of Scripture to be the Work of defectible imperfect Men and therefore needing a perfecting Review Humility and not Subscribing to an Arrogant Claim of their Indefectibility is our great Crime § 123. III. They yet more dangerously deceive their Believers persuading them That we appropriate Godliness and serious Religion to our Extemporate Praying and to the Opposition to Bishops Liturgy and Conformity and that we falsely dishonour their Church by representing their Candidates and Clergy to be more unable Preachers or more ungodly Livers than the Nonconforming Ministers and Candidates and their Parish-Flocks to be more unqualified for Church-Communion and a more irregular Church than such as we have desired in our Motions for Reforming-Concord Whereas say they we have the best Clergy and Church in all the World To which I say 1. That we have largely enough in Folio oft told the World what it is we account and call Godliness even the making and keeping the Baptismal Covenant Believing willing and living according to the Creed Lord's Prayer and Law of Christ We offered them a Liturgy we owned all that was good in theirs We know that Prayers from a Book as from a Habit are accepted if they come from a penitent believing and obedient Soul and that the Prayers of ungodly Hypocrites are unacceptable to God whether with a Book or without 2. And we love and honour Conformable Ministers and People that are Christians indeed and shew it by serious practice of Christianity And we are very thankful to God that England hath had so many such that were conformable long ago and we doubt not hath many such yet even under the new and much worse Conformity We know not that Nation that hath more excellent Men than many of the Bishops were in Queen Elizabeth's Time and than many Divines since have been such as Robert Bolton Dr. Presion Dr. Sibs Mr. Scudder Mr. Wheatley Mr. Dyke Dr. Taylor Mr. Downham Dr. Stoughton Dr. Gouge Mr. Gataker Dr Willet Dr. Whitaker Dr. Field Archbishop Usher Bishop Downam Bishop Beadle c. Oh how many of such excellent Men hath this Land been blessed with And the pious Nonconformists were of the same Spirit though not in all things of the same Opinions I have lately told you in a small Book called CAN and ABEL what are the things that make the difference which hath my chief Regard But such Conformists as I have named have since Laud's ●ays with many gone under the name of Conformable Puritans and by this Accuser are reproached by the Name of Passive Conformists because they had rather the Ceremonies and needless Subscriptions were forborn than able faithful Preachers silenced The Prejudice that he saith I had from my Youth against the Bishops and Clergy was only against Ungodliness and Malignity Is it like that I was against the pious Conformists when I was tutored by them heard them and was of their Judgment But can we not even among Conformists distinguish the Malicious Ungodly Worldly from holy Men of Love and Peace § 124. If Posterity and Strangers must be deluded by such false Historians as this that tell them the serious Godly Ministers and People were Schismaticks and Rogues and the Haters of serious Religion were the most Religious who can help it They talk so now to those that live among both Parties And the debauched sensual Youth and the covetous and ambitious Worldlings seem partly to believe them But so do not the sober Sort that daily see the Confutation of their Malice § 125. For my own part I will conclude That if I had not known that sort of serious Godly Men whom the present Malignants now render odious by their Calumnies I fear I should not have sincerely believed in Jesus Christ and that his Gospel is true For the rest both Ministers and Laity whom I ever knew shewed no serious ●elief of that Christian Faith which they professed Here and there there was a civil Person by Temper and Education but commonly not a serious Word could I hear from their Mouths about God or our Redeemer and the Spirit 's sanctifying Works or of Death and Judgment and the Life to come save in the Pulpit nor did they love to hear any such from others but their Talk and whole Conversation was about the World or common worldly Things and as Mr. Bolton largely describeth them any Godly serious Discourse did but disgust them and marr their Mirth and make them revile the Speakers as Puritaus Hypocrites or some such Names Few did I know of them that excelled Cicero Sencca or equalled Ant●nine Epictetus Plutarch And if Christ made Christians no better than the Philosophers how could I think better of him than of them Or trust that Physician that cureth none I thank God that I have found more of the Effects of his Saving Grace than the ordinary sort and Members of the described Church-Party which these Men extol did ever shew me Note The Words in the Epistle and pag. 84. about School Masters are thse and no otherwise to be understood That no indulged Persons under severe Penalties to breed up Scholars or to teach Gentlemen's Sons University-Learning because this may be justly looked on as a Design to propagate Schism to Posterity and to lay a Foundation for the Disturbance of future Generations Dr. Stillingfleet ' s Unreasonableness of Separation Preface pag. 88. How many excellent Preachers hath God raised by this Way which he would have hinder'd by severe Penalties And how many Souls converted and confirmed by them A Catalogue of Mr. Richard Baxter's Books sold by Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns near Mercers Chapel at the Lower End of Cheapside Folio 1. Mr. Baxter's CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY Or Cases of Conscience 2. Catholick Theology 3. Methodus Theologiae Quarto 4. Saints Everlasting Rest 5. Church-History 6. History of Councils Second Part. 7. His Treatise of Episcopacy 8. Annotations on the New Testament 9. Life of Faith 10. Naked Popery 11. Apology for Nonconformists 12. Answer to Dodwell and Dr. Sherlock 13. Second Defence of Nonconformists against Dr. Stillingfleet 14. Catholick Communion In Six several Controversies 15. Which is the True Church 16. Moral Prognostication 17. Search for English Schismaticks 18. Farewell-Sermon 19. Alderman Ashurst's Funeral-Sermon 20. Mr. John Corbet's Funeral-Sermon Octavo 21. Treatise of Self-denial 22. His Catechism for Families Or Teacher of Householders 23. Spiritual Comfort In Thirty two Directions 24. Directions for Weak Distemper'd Christians 25. Mr. Baxter's Treatise of Justification Imputation of Righteousness and Imputation of our Parents Sins against the Accusations of Dr. Tully 26. A full and easie Satisfaction which is the true and safe Religion 27. The Cure of Church-Divisions 28. The Certainty of Christianity without Popery 29. A Key for Catholicks to open the Jugling of the Jesuite 30 31. Two Treatises of Death and Judgment 32. The Defence of the Nonconformists Plea for Peace Or An Account of the Matter of their Nonconformity Against Mr. J. Cheyny's Answer 33. A Defence of the Principles of Love 34. More Reasons for Infants Church-Membership In Answer to Mr. Tombs 35. Immortality of the Soul 36. More Reasons for the Christian Religion 37 38. Two Disputations of Original Sin 39. Mr. Stubbs his Funeral-Sermon These Under-written are lately Printed Quarto 1. Mr. Baxter's ENglish Nonconformity sa under King Charles II. and King James II. truly Stated and Argued 2. A Treatise of Knowledge and Love compared In two Parts I. Of falsly pretended Knowledge II. Of true saving Knowledge and Love 3. The Glorious Kingdom of Christ described and clearly vindicated 4. A Reply to Mr. Thomas Beverly's Answer to my Reasons against his Doctrine of the Thousand Years Middle Kingdom and Conversion of the Jews 5. Of National Churches their Description Institution Use Preservation Danger Maladies and Cure partly applied to England 6. Church-Concord Containing I. A Dissuasive from unnecessary Divisions and Separation and the real Concord of the moderate Independents with the Presbyterians instanced in Ten seeming Differences II. The Terms necessary for Concord amongst all true Churches and Christians * Said to be one Parker a Lawyer ☞ ☞ * See Mr. Clarksons proofs See Dr. Sherlock's Defence Hath not Bishop Stillingfleet himself taken K. William's Oath * So Dr. Ashton prosessed as before God that it is 〈…〉 Covetousness that we conform not

Moral change I used most undeniable Reasons and Means as Moral Causes I set Heaven before them in my Promises and Hell in Threatnings I convinced them of the Evil of Sin and of the Misery of unconverted Sinners and of the Vanity of all that can be set against the Mercies and Hopes which I set before them and of all other Remedies without my Grace And yet unless I would by Omnipotency heal them they would not be healed However God use the way of unresistible Omnipotency on some and will not be frustrate in his Design of the Saving of his Elect nor leave the Event of his Grace to the uncertain Determination of the Will of Man yet those will be found unexcuseable that wilfully go on and perish after all the sapiential moral Methods Reasons Perswasions Mercies and Patience warning and Corrections that were used as tending to their Cure Chap. II. Sect. 1. The Author's Profession of his own Repentance § 1. HE is unfit to profess himself to be called of God to call others to Repentance who is Impenitent himself And what Man hath a louder Call to Repent from God and Man than I my Self And should I not be truly willing to know my Sin that I may Repent of it and to confess it bewail it and forsake it when I know it Conscience would tell me that hereby I should aggravate it beyond all just excuse Alas it hath not been so sweet so profitable or friendly to me that I should take its part or be loth to leave it It hath been worse to me every day of my Life than all the Enemies that ever I had in the World And since God taught me effectually to know what Sin is and what God and Christ and Grace and the Hope of Heaven is and to know my Self all the Sufferings that ever I have had from Men from Malice from Envy from Persecutors from Slanderers have been next to nothing to me in comparison of what in Soul and Body I suffer daily for and by my Self and Sin § 2. Therefore I humbly and earnestly beg of that God that is the Hater of Sin and the Father of Lights that he will not deny me that illuminating convincing Grace which is needful to make me know the truth of my own Condition nor that uprightness and tenderness of Heart which is necessary to my true Humiliation and that I may not forbear any true Confession which is necessary to my exercise of Repentance and to my Forgiveness It is no time for me to deny or extenuate my Sin when I am waiting daily in pain and languishing for my final Doom at my approaching Change when I shall quit this transitory World and all its Vanities for ever If I knew nothing of dangerous and doubtful Consequence by my Self yet am I not thereby justified And how small a matter should it be to me to be judged and acquit or praised by Men when there is one that Judgeth me by the final Sentence even the Lord. The false applause and praise of Men the miserable Hypocrites reward addeth no Joy to those in Heaven nor abateth the Misery of those in Hell Whether they praise or dispraise me they are all Dying as well as I and in that day their thoughts perish And who that seeth a Skull cast up doth much care what that Man thought of him while he was alive Verily every Man at his best Estate is altogether Vanity Cease therefore O my Soul from Man § 3. But what Must I or may I therefore Repent of all that men of divers Minds call me to Repent of How impossible is that How foolish and how wicked There are above Sixty Books written against me in part or in the main scope And I have written above a Hundred and twenty which must needs make work for many mens censure And are all or most Wise and Judicious that read and censure them I. The Sadduces censure me for asserting the Life to come and the Resurrection II. The Somatists censure me for the asserting of the Difference of Spirits from Bodies III. The Antitrinitarians censure me for shewing what Evidence of Trinity in Unity God hath imprinted on the whole frame of Nature and Morality IV. The Church-distracting Hereticators censure me for taking the old Controversies with the Nestorians Eutychians and Monothelites to be capable of easier reconciliation and gentler handling than it hath found by such fierce Dividers V. The Arrians and Socinians say I judge too hardly of them that deny the Godhead of Christ VI. The Arminians censure me for holding special Election and Differencing Grace VII The hot Anti-Arminians censure me for holding any such free Will and Universal Redemption as Usher Davenant Preston and such other knowing men have defended VIII The Anabaptists call me to Repentance for Writing so much for Infants Baptism IX The Antinomians deeply censure me as being against Christ and free Grace and ascribing too much to Man to Faith to Work and our own Righteousness and for detecting their Errours X. The Separatists call me to Repentance for separating no further from the Conformists than they force us from them and separate themselves from necessary Truth And for perswading men to Communion with the Parish Assemblies XI The Conforming Separatists call me to Repentance for not separating from all save themselves and for knowing and owning those to be true Members of the Church of England and faithful Servants of Christ whom they eject XII Clement Writer and the Seekers censure me for asserting the certainty of Scripture Verity as sealed by the Spirit by Miracles and Sanctification and for maintaining that there is yet continued a true Ministry and true Churches XIII Mr. Liford and some others censure me for taking the Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost to be fixed Infidels judging Christs Miracles to be by the Devil XIV Mr. Henry Dodwell censureth me for not taking the Office of Presbyters to be specified or measured and varied by the Will of the Bishop or Ordainer and not determined by the Institution of Christ and for not denying the Presbyters and Bishops of all the Reformed Churches to be really Ministers and their Churches true Churches who have not an uninterrupted Succession of Canonical Ordination by Diocesans as from the days of the Apostles and that they commit not the Sin against the Holy Ghost by administring Sacraments as being but Lay-Men while he holdeth such as the French to be true Ministers XV. The Erastians censure me for vindicating the Power of the Keys and the necessity of Ministerial Church Discipline XVI The Independents blame me for being for a National Church and some of them for being against their unnecessary Covenanting terms of Communion and their giving too much Power to popular Votes XVII The Scots Presbyterians blame me for blaming the Imposition of their Covenant and for being so much for a superior sort of Bishops or Archbishops XVIII The English Diocesan Enemies to Episcopacy who are for setting

I never wrote a word to justifie his Death but only once told the Papists that they were unmeet Accusers as being guilty of more 2. I preach'd against it 3. I wrote against it over and over 4. It cost me the dear Labour and Sufferings of almost two years in the Army to have kept them in Loyal Obedience 4. I called them oft and long to Repentance Whence then did this Man find matter or occasion for such a shameless forgery As for the Notion of Martyrdom I leave Canonizing to the Righteous Judge § 19. Accus VI. Who more opposed the Return of our present Soveraign Ans Mendac VI. 1. Ask for his proof of this 2. The King testified the contrary 3. See my Sermon before the Parliament the day before he was Voted Home 4. And my Sermon to the City on their Thanksgiving called Right Rejoicing 5. Would the King have made such an Enemy his Chaplain and a Bishop The Truth is this There were two Seasons that called to me for my Endeavours for the King The first was at Worcester Fight and at Sir George Booth's Fight At that time I openly declared the Army to be in a state of Rebellion in which none should own them But I durst not meddle on either side Not for the Cromwellians their Cause being sinful Not to restore the King because I foresaw all the Divisions Silencings Persecutions and Calamity to the Kingdom which his Bishops and other revengeful Instruments would bring in Nor was I deceived in expecting most that hath befallen us of twenty nine years since save that I thought that Popery and Cruelty would have made a speedier progress than they did Not knowing by what methods God would stop them And I durst not hasten Gods Judgments on the Land till I knew that he required it 2. But afterward when I saw that the Army cast all into utter confusion and that Gods Providence had resolved the doubt how much I did towards a due subjection to the King is not a thing that wanteth evidence I cannot Repent that I was not one that brought into England that Tribe of Revengeful destructive Prelates and their Agents that corrupted and divided the Church of England § 20. Accus VII Or hath been as active in making the Government uneasie Ans 1. Uneasie To whom To the King I have his Testimony to the contrary He sent D. Lauderdale to me purposely to invite me to receive the Testification of his Favour and Acceptance Read his Character of us in his Gracious Declaration Read Mr. Gaches Letter to me for the King translated and published by the means of Duke Lauderdale I know nothing that I did to make his Government uneasie unless all my labour to have united his Subjects made it uneasie Or unless his Confessor Huddleston was in the right that he was before for the Roman Religion and it was uneasie to him to be stopt in promoting it Of which confess I was oft guilty But if he mean the Prelates Government I believe I did much to make it uneasie to them I laboured by such reasons to have prevented their ejecting 2000 Godly Ministers at once and all the Cruelties and Miseries that have followed that it must needs be uneasie to their Consciences and Credit while they could make no answer to the proof of their iniquity I gave such reasons against their Lay Excommunicaters and their Cursing Canons and their causless and obstinate dividing of the National Church by their frivolous tearing Impositions as must make Cruelty the more uneasie But if I be not blind and mad the Government of Church and State had been more easie if they would have heard our pacificatory Requests § 21. Accus VIII Or who hath or can do more than Mr. B. to renew all our troubles and confusions Ans By what By studying praying preaching writing and speaking and exemplary living for Unity and Peace which God knoweth hath been my chief or second study and labour these Forty four years valuing the supernal Wisdom which is first Pure and then Peaceable But methinks I hear the Legion that are his Army who was a Liar and Murderer from the beginning say What have we to do with thee Art thou come to torment us before the time But they have had leave to enter into the Swine And O that their suffocation in the Sea of confusion occasion not Christ to be driven out of our Coasts by them that love their Swine better than Christ § 22. Accus IX So that I could not devise to give a better Epitome of the late Rebellion and Schism than this account of Mr. B's Actions and Writings which is an Abstract of the rise and progress of both in whom they yet both live and with whom I wish they may both die Ans To the same purpose saith Morley of me Ex uno disce omnes And though I unfeignedly think my self worse than the most Nonconforming Ministers that I know yet I intreat all Forreigners and Natives of future Ages to think no worse of the Parliament and Nonconformists than this Accusation alloweth them to do They were at least no worse than I which I say because the Accusers seem to allow you this much And all the rest have not wrote above Sixscore Books to make themselves known as I have done and so by me you may know the worst of them ex uno omnes The Sum of my wickedness is the Wars But 1. What 's this to all the rest of the Ejected Silenced Ministers of whom I think there is not living one of fifty or a hundred that ever medled with the Wars though one Archbishop did and many that Conform And why would they never grant my earnest request that they would Silence only me and all others that had any hand in the War except the Conformists and no more 2. I thought I had been a Rebel if I had been against the Parliament the Representative Kingdom and the salus populi or bonum publicum and I thought the Legislative power was the Supream and that this power was in King and Parliament conjunct and that neither of them had power against the other but that their Union was the constituted summa potestas which I was bound to endeavour and their division was the dissolution of the Government And I thought that all Subjects were under the Law and that the King might not protect them from his Courts of Judicature 3. I knew that Points of Humane Policy and Laws are not in our Creed nor such Controversies so clearly decided in Scripture as that Salvation should lye on them Though Rich. Hooker's Opinion was for more popular power than mine I find not that our Clergy place him in Hell for it or call him the most Bloody Instrument of Rebellion 4. I have elsewhere shewed that the chief stream of the Writers of Policy Laws History Heathens and Christians Papists and Protestants Lawyers and Divines doth give so much more power to the people