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A34730 A word to the LII London ministers shevving that the most zealous professors of religion in all ages have been the greatest persecutors of Christ and his most spirituall members, illustrated and proved / by Nicolas Cowling. Cowling, Nicholas. 1648 (1648) Wing C6514; ESTC R3567 8,345 24

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the betrayers and murtherers of the Lord of life and so those people that but even now feared no danger for Christ being no higher principled than in the carnall commandement of godlinesse given by Moses which is but the utter Court of the Temple were easily drawn aside by the specious pretence of that seeming godlinesse which the Scribes and Pharisees lived in and thereby deceived themselves as well as the people and so thought it a more Pious equitable work to vote that a murtherer who was penitent should live than to preserve a Blasphemer that continues in his sinne and so disturbes the peace of their carnall Church Vpon the same accompt did our Popish Bishops destroy the Lollards and burne the Martyrs not because they were godly people but because they were adjudged Hereticks yet wee condemne them as great persecutors of the Saints and yet we must make up the measure of our Fathers iniquity if Penry Barraw and Grenwel will be so bold as to affirme Bishops to be Antichristian he must hang for it in the dayes of famous Elizabeth and if Hack●t will affirm that Christ is in him the hope of glory he must●russ likewise I hope you will not conclude our Clergy to be maliciously wicked but what they did was in order to the peace of the Church and the glory of God as it did then appeare unto them Christ told Peter that flesh and bloud revealed not that confession as if he should have said If thou hadst all the Divinities of the Preists Scribes Pharisees and learned Grecians nay if thou hadst been Doctor of the Chair in Oxford and Cambridge all these nor any of these can reveal me but my Father which is in Heaven and therefore the time shall come and still is that the Rabbies of the Churches shall thinke they doe God good service when they kill my beloved ones Now my deare hearts and fellow members in that glorious head the Lord Christ Iesus bee not bitter in your spirits and judge nothing before the time experience is the best teacher and therefore to you that are not privy to your selves of any secret selvishnesse but are simply and purely zealous for God as was Saul and will not knowingly smite or offend the least of Christs members I say let me be bold in love to impart unto you my former experience in the mysterie of Christ I thought a long while a faith in Iesus that dyed at Ierusalem was the top gallant of a Christian but since it doth cleerly appear that all the faith the disciples had in Christ their Master which was a faith only without and none of the mistery of Christ within them I say that faith in the person of the Lord Iesus dyed with him so that when he was dead there was not one that did expect ever to see him againe for Mary went not to see whether he was risen but to anoint his dead body yea the disciples who had ground enough for belief could be so charitable as to judge Mary to bee no better than a lyer in reporting fained things affirming that he was risen and we trusted it had been him that should have delivered Israel said the two disciples but he is dead so that its clear all the faith they had in Iesus dyed with Iesus now the Apostle tels you Phil. 3. 9. That we may be found in him not having mine own righteousnesse which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ not in Christ the righteousnesse which of God by faith And likewise it is not sufficient that wee beleeve there was such a one dyed at Ierusalem and God was fully pleased in him But the same Apostle tels you Col. 1. 24. That as the head passed through sufferings so there is a remainder of afflictions of Christ in our flesh for the bodyes sake And ver. 27. And that it sufficeth not that there is a Christ without us But Christ in you the hope of glory And therefore it is Christ in the mistery that will save a wooden leg that is tyed on may doe some service but the leg that is naturally fixt is usefull for all occasions seeing by all those former examples that the Prophets the Lord Iesus the holy Martyrs not one of them in their generation died as the servants of the Lord but as blasphemers and dangerous hereticks according to the account of the reverend Clergy then living whose zeal for God and the preservation of the peace and purity of holy mother Church to preserve the glory of the one and the honour of the other was the principle cause that led them forth to deal so cruelly with them Now seeing that unmatchable Pharisee Saul which profession in the church of God in that generation was accounted most pious that could say as concerning the law he was unblameable in his conversation being mad in his zeale for God against the dear Saints of God Consider in how desperate a condition he was in when going to Damascus if mercy had not met him and seeing the Lord Iesus constitute in his church never a Constable nor Iustice of peace to meddle with any of his Saints why are you so importunate to call in the Magistrate for your assistance seeing you doe not produce your warrant or president from him seeing I find but one civill officer in his family namely a Treasurer and for his sake be so courteous as not in the least to engage the civill Magistrate with his corrective power to enforce any man to be a beleever before that holy spirit convince him so shall the church more probably bee freed from hypocrisie and backsliding and you shall not through mistakes attract any guilt upon them or your selves and the rather because you ingeniously confesse that you do but conceive this way you prescribe to bee the right way See how our grandmother Eve was deceived in her conception when shee brought forth Cain it could be no lesse then the Mesiah as she thought and lo a Murtherer and Abraham a Prophet of the Lord and the father of the faithfull thought he had gotten the heire of promise when he had Ishmael and hee had nothing but a persecuting scoffer therefore take heed of zeal not rightly enformed and surely those severall forty stripes save one which Paul so frequently met with will fall very smart upon his back that will at any time take the boldnesse upon his fallible judgement to lend them unto any Saint and surely it will not repent any Saint of God that he did not enterprise to grieve the least little one that beleeveth And therefore sweetly David 1 Sam. 25. 33 34 By which counsel he was diverted from executing the determination of his counsell of War consider seriously who they were that persecuted Iesus Christ the Prophets and the Martyrs were the men that did openly professe themselves enemies to godlinesse nothing lesse suppose in the dayes of Christ Iesus the people would have had Religion reformed who should have been chosen for the Assembly doubtlesse it must have been Scribes and Pharisees and no Publicans surely Gamaliel was likely to have been Prolocutor and his disciple Saul might have been the publique notary and yet see how these learned soules in their zeal for God were mistaken leave all the rest and to our present time how many of our reverend Divines in the time of their Prelaticall obedience how earnestly did they contend for the upholding of the Leturgie against such as opposed it which now they cast out with tonges and slice And had Bishop Laud not steadfastly beleeved God was highly concerned in those materiall churches and that mens cringing and crouching were of high concernment before God he would never have run the hazard of his head as he did It is good to be zealously affected alwayes in a good thing Gal. 4. 18. And having no other ground but our fallible conceptions to guide our selves and others by let us be very tender of enforcing Now Christ alone having the government upon his shoulders who is only wise and infallible and seeing the temple is filled with smoake and that he wil bring his people into the wildernes and plead with them and that tongues shall cease and ye shall no more say one to another know the Lord but ye shall be all taught of me from the greatest to the least why shall we limit the holy one of Israel and say the time is not yet And seeing he hath a fanne in his hand he wil throughly purge his floor And bee not like those officious husbandmen who no sooner thought they saw a blade like a tare but they must be picking of it up the answer was let both grow together untill harvest and unto Iames Iohn ye wot not of what spirit ye are of I come not to destroy but to save It may seem here is begging for a tolleration for my self I passe not what men conclude on in the matters of God if they break his bonds cast away his cords and will not have Christ to raign over them they are but laught at and will fall to pieces knowing and being wel assured that there is a rest for the people of God and they that enter into it cease from their workes as God did from his and that the kingdomes and the powers shall serve the Lord Christ in the Saints and this sufficeth me FINIS a Rom. 10. 2. b Gen. 3. 5. 6. a Numb. 16. 12. a Isa. 42. 1. 6. 7. b Isa. 66. 3. a Ioh. 11. 49. 50.
A WORD To the LII LONDON MINISTERS SHEVVING That the most zealous Professors of Religion in all Ages have been the greatest Persecutors of Christ and his most Spirituall Members illustrated and proved By Nicolas Cowling IOH. 16. v. 2. They shall put you out of the Synagogues yea the time commeth that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service IOH. 7. v. 48. Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharises beleeved on him LONDON Printed in the Yeare 1648. A Word to the 52. London MINISTERS HAving seen of late a little Book entituled a Testimony to the Truth of Jesus Christ and finding my selfe by name listed for an Heretick in that I have formerly Asserted that a Beleever is perfect in this life or never which I yet hold for a truth seeing that as the tree falleth so it shall lie and it hath been the Doctrin of reverend Hierom Bolton Dod and others As the day of death leaveth thee the day of judgment shall find thee but to be convicted for an Heretick by no other Argument but that female one it is so because it is so I cannot so be satisfied therefore my humble desire unto you is that some one amongst you will be pleased to set forth from the letter of the Holy-Scriptures without any of your fallible interpretations The time when the place where and the means by which a man that before hee dyes is not perfectly made one with the Father and the Sonne by the Spirit but shall be made so after death It shall be sufficient unto me to retract my opinion although I have nothing asserted but is Scripture phrase in the letter thereof if you please to consider the same seeing the Apostle affirmeth on the behalf of his brethren the Iewes I bear a them record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge Giveme leave to set before you that glasse that hath plainly shewn me my former mistakes when I was zealus in my conformitie unto that administration of the Prelacy since of that covenanted form of Independency those that did know mee in either can bear me witnesse of the truth of my zeal unto my principles but having a clear manifestation of the true ground and cause from whence ariseth all the revylings bitings and devourings that is amongst brethren to be no other but that old root of bitternesse which separated Adam from his Maker namely Ambition and Covetousnes his Ambition led him no higher than God but to be equal with him in knowledge his Covetuosnesse led him out to that which was none of his either by gift or purchase the same principle of Ambition and Covetuosnes remaineth but in a different manner no more ascending up so high as God for that way our necks were broken but now the designe is we will fetch God down as low as our selves or we will have none of him nay wee will knock him out of the country if he dare to manifest himselfe in any other way then wee prescribe him As wee may plainly see in Cain when hee had formed a sacrifice in which he thought GOD was bound to meet him and the way of Abel was accepted and his rejected how was his countenance cast down and wrath encreased against his brother so that nothing could satisfie his disconted soule but the death of his brother that so hee might no more be troubled with such a manifestation of God as appeared in him which was contrary unto his for me b Korah because all the people were holy would not allow that manifestation of God unto Moses to be any whit superlative unto him or any of the people and therefore stubbornly wee will not come up a more particularly come and see the reason why the Prophets of the Lord could perish no where but at Ierusalem where the temple of God was the high Priest that was anointed with holy oile the Tabernacle the Mercy seat the Altar of Incense the daily sacrifice and the Holy of Holies where were the Oracles and yet in this place must the Prophets fall Vndoubtedly for no other cause but that the Lord was pleased to manifest himselfe in them unto the people in a more spirituall and salubious manner then he did appear in the Scribes who were their expositers of the law of Moses seeing therein no farther than the bare letter the Prophets being no weekly Lecturers nor Masters of any Synagogues but spake only when sent and as the Spirit gave them utterance It may seem strang that Isaiah a Prophet of so long standing as to prophesie unto foure Kings should in his old age be by the learned Rabbies awarded no better death than to bee sawed in peices It must needs be for some grievous blasphemy two of which yee may find in his prophesie a according to their expositions the first was that the Gentiles should be a glorious Church the second was that which raigneth so much amongst us now namely hee preached down b Ordinances Hee that killeth an Oxe as if he slew a man he that sacrificeth a Lamb as if he cut off a Dogges neck he that offereth an oblation as if hee offered swines blood he that burneth incense as if he blessed an Idoll this was blaspheming enough to deserve the Sawe and that the first was blasphemous enough to deserve death may appeare by that of St. Paul Act. 22. 21. And he said unto me depart for I will send thee far hence unto the gentiles v. 22. And they gave him audience unto this word and then lift up their voices and said away with such a fellow from the earth for it is not fit that he should live so that to all such now as are yet in the ministration of Moses no farther can and will kill any that live higher above Ordinances in the Spirit if they can but get Pilate to give judgment for the like causes did all the rest of the Prophets suffer the being more spirituall God bearing witnesse in them did out-shine those that lived in the bare letter of Ordinances and therefore could not bear such doctrines that did crosse their mouthes First their Sacrifices and their standing before the Lord to enquire after his wil their hypocritical humiliations and bowing downe the head like a bulrush These things with many other spoken of by the Prophets and sharply inveighed against many more which I could mention but for brevity I omit were the only causes why those godly men according to the letter did deale so inhumanely barbarous with those deare servants the Prophets of the Lord but you will say if the whole Sannedrim of the Iewes did consent how came their Prophesies to be enrolled in the cannon of holy writ It is probable that in all ages there were some few that had their negative voice and did survive the execution of those horrid councells and when good Magistrates reigned then were those records reveiwed then was enquiry made for