Malice hath set it self in some one Age of the Church or other to bear it down And God's Wisdom hath still overshot Satan making use of his Malice in opposing Truth for the further clearing of that Truth which he intendeth most to obscure and darken Satan's first design in the first Ages of the Christian Church was to beat down that great Fundamental Truth of Christs Divinity But after long debate this Truth was fully cleared by the means of several Worthies whose Spirits the Lord stirred up in these Ages to mantain That so much opposed Truth Satan therefore being beat off this strong Fort of Christianity retired a little and laboured next to bear down the Truth of Christs Humanity But the Truâ—h hereof the more it was opposed growing the brighter The Lord making Light break up convincingly in the midst of Hot Debates Satan retired a little further yet and bent his whole force in the following Ages against the Vnity of Christs Person And next against the Distinction of his Natures But Satan not prevailing this Way either he set himself to undermine Christ Jesus in all His Offices 1. By setting up the Infallibility of Popes and Councils against His Prophetical Office 2. The Doctrine of Merit in the matter of Justification against His Priestly Office 3. The Doctrine of Free-will and power of it in Man's Conversion to God against the Inward part of His Kingly Office And for the Outward part of it he set himself to wrest the Scepter of Christ's Government from His own Office-bearers and put it in the Hands of Popes Cardinals Arch-bishops and Bishops But after long Contest Truth is now aboundantly cleared and confirmed in all these Thus as One saith the Lord Jesus hath been content to dispute His Ground by Inches with the Devil until almost He hath beat him out of all only Satan hath no will to quit it so it seems to us he is now giving his last and sorest On-set on which in a desperate way he is to venture all wherein his design is evident to cast all in a Confusion First By trampling under foot the Outward Court of God's House I mean the Constitution of His Church Visible by the Doctrine of Renting and Separation And next to deprive the Catholick Church Visible and all Her considerable Members of all Government by the Doctrine of Independancy which confineth the whole Power of the Keys within the narrow circuit of a Particular Congregation whereby all the Particular Churches are left as so many small Boats in a storm to dash one against another having no Intrinsical authoritative Mean to make them steer an even Course without rushing one upon another Thus Satan aimeth to cast all in confusion that he may undo all What in former Ages he could not do in destroying Gospel Truths by Piece-meal and one by one he intends now to do it by whole sale and all at once For if once the bottom of the Ship be split and the Rudder broken the precious Ware contain'd in it can hardly be preserved Now that Satan's main design is to deface these Truths which are about the Constitution and Government of the Visible Church that thereby all may be covered with Confusion appeareth In that not only the method God hath hitherto keeped doth point at it There being few other Points of Truth to clear but also the thing speaketh for it self the main speat of the Errors of the time running directly contrary to these So that certainly as God intends to clear Truth in these so it 's not the least part of Satan's main design against the Church of Christ at this time to obscure Truth in these This then being Satan's design I shall in the next place give some Directions how to manage our Differences so as not to further this main design nor yet be short coming in our Duty against it Of which Directions I shall reckon Three First We ought to examine Opinions and Practices even tho by us conceived just and lawful How far they may contribute for furtherance of that Design and in that respect should be more circumspect and sparing at least in medling with them Thus the Apostle Paul Gal. 2. 3. would not Circumcise Titus tho Circumcision at that time was a thing Lawful as appears from his Circumcising of Timothy Act. 16. 3. much about the same time and yet he would not Circumcise Titus The reason is v. 4. There were False Brethren present who would have taken advantage of That his Practice to confirm themselves in their opposition to that Truth which Satan intended most to bear down at that time to wit The freedom of the Christian Church from the yoke of Mosaical Ceremonies therefore he thinks himself bound to abstain from that practice tho in it self Lawful and which in some other cases would have been necessary And that lest by That his Practice he should have been advantageous to Satan's main design against the Church of Christ at that time It 's true Truth remains still Truth however Satan abuse it yet seing all grant that the venting of some Truths at sometimes is unseasonable and so for that time may be forborn And seing it would seem that nothing makes a Truth more unseasonable than when it is known that Satan will make bad use of it for bearing down that Truth which God intends mainly to clear It will follow that the venting of such a Truth ought to be at least with great modesty and much holy Circumspection if not altogether forborn for that time For Application of this Direction I will not say much Only I shall propose it to your serious thoughts Whether or not the late Proceedings in opposition to the Supreme Judicatories of the Church together with the Tenets whereupon they are grounded which for Peace's cause and from unwillingness to give the least occasion of Irritation I forbear to name whether or not I say These even supposing the Lawfulness of the Practices and Truth of the Opinions seem not to have been unseasonable for the time as being apt to be abused for leading People upon the Errors of the time Such as the Contempt of Ecclesiastical Judicatories Quarrelling the Constitution and Separating from the Fellowship of our Church I fear much it will be hard for People not acquainted with subtile Distinctions to conceive that any Corruption amongst those with whom we converse can make Civil Fellowship with them Unlawful but it must make Church Fellowship especially Communion-table Fellowship with the same Persons to be as much if not much more Unlawful But I forbear not being without hopes but that Brethren Gracious and Wise will ponder what they hold and what they practise when they see bad use made of it beyond their own Intention and Purpose There is one thing further I shall say for application chiefly upon the other hand and it is this Such Practices ought to be eschewed as may prove unjust and unnecessary Irritations unto People to
light breaks out to the clearing of the Truth These are Reasons why Hereticks must be Vse The use is seeing the Spirit of Error began so early to trouble the Church in the Apostles time that were guided with an infallible Spirit then ye are not to wonder that Error should trouble the Church now when there are not such infallible lights as these The Spirit of Error is a bold darring Spirit it will dare to contradict God Himself and find out some shift to cast at that which God Himself sayeth As may be seen Gen 3. The Lord said The day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die And Sathan contradicts it thou shalt not surely die And so no wonder there be such impudence seen in the Spirit of Error now as to cast at any thing which Gods Servants say seeing Satan still Acts the Instruments of Error Vse 2 But secondly from this Doctrine learn not to quarrell with Gods most Holy and wise Providence in that he suffers so many Errors to be We are ready to think that if God had that care of his Church Covenant and Cause as men would think he had he would not suffer such Effronted Spirits and such Blasphemous Hereticks to prevail and to outdare his Truth But that is to quarrel the Lords providence and without a ground He whose furnace is in Zion can make all the tryals of the time that arise from Error to contribute much for the clearing of Truth by this means he will rouse up his People to study Truth to understand it better to search out grounds for it and that is one advantage only ye would know also that these times will be discovering times they will discover many a corrupt heart many unstable hearts and light heads many proud Spirits and many that have Lusts lurking within them So that many will choose that Religion that will gratify their Lusts most For there is not an Error that Sathan hatches but there is one Lust or other within People that speaks for it and there is nothing more ready to make People take in Error than their harbouring of unmortified Lusts. So in 2 Timoth Cap 3. The Apostle speaking of those who should be caried away with false Teachers says in the 6. v. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins led away with diverse Lusts Unmortified Lusts are as fuel to make the fire of Zeal for Error to burn very hot in Peoples bosom and so Error will try People this way Doct V. Next observe he sayes Believe not every Spirit that is believe not every Doctrine that hath the name of the Spirit and fair pretences put upon it as if they were the Doctrines of the Spirit of God believe them not From this we learn That the foulest Errors go out oftentimes under fairest names and are backed with most specious pretences what Fouler Errors than these spoken of here The denying of the Son of God And yet what fairer Names than the Spirit What fairer pretences than that they are Doctrines taught by the Spirit of God We will find this of all Errors spoken of in Scripture for the most part Coraâ— Dathan and Abiram's Error whereby they rose up against the Magistracy of Moses and Preist-hood of Aaron hath a fair pretence for it Ye take too much upon you Moses and Aaron are not all the Lords People Holy And Jeroboams Error his Idolatry in setting up the Calf at Dan and Bethel hath a fair pretence 1 Kings 12. It is too fair for you c. The Peoples ease and the publick good is the thing he pretends though his design was far otherwise And so these that urged Justification by works and opposed the way of free Grace and being justified by Faith they had their fair pretences O! say they to cast off Workes from Justification will make People secure wee may sin that Grace may abound very taking pretences all of them and as taking as any that Error is now covered over with The Reason of the Doctrine is from the cause for which the Tempter presents Error under fair colours and specious pretences which is this That he may make the Error the more taking For these are the baits he puts on the hook that he may deceive and catch the simple Therefore for use of this Doctrine ye would not be deceived with fair pretences or ravishinglike expressions that Error may be fairded over with See what the Apostle Paul sayes to this purpose 2 Thess cap. 2 v. 2. Where speaking against an Error he beseeches them by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ That they be not soon shaken in mind or troubled neither by Spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand It supposes that the spreaders of that Error had all these three pretences Firstâ— they pretended the Spirit that it was a Doctrine taught them by the Spirit of God accompanied by his presence in their Spirits with more than ordinary flashes and raptures and In-bearings of the Spirit of Light And Secondly that they had the word or Scripture to alledge for it And Thirdly they picked somewhat out of Pauls Letters for them so would they say In speaking against us he contradicts himself These are fair pretences and yet sayes Paul be not shaken in mind with them So say I ye would guard your self against the fair pretences which Error may have and look not only to the out side but to the inside of them and then ye will find most bitter Serpents Lurking under fairest flowers As for example The Mother of all Error Tolleration hath a fair pretence for it viz. that good men may Err and so in suppressing Error ye may suppress Piety A fair pretence but it hath afoul end For by this meanes Blasphemers Denyers of God and Jesus Christ must have Liberty to vent their damnable Errors if so be that they can but pretend Conscience and so stable roome must be given in Christs Church to every unclean beast that ever was hatched in Hell The Antinomian Errors again have a fair pretence O say they Christ hath become sin for us and therefore it is taken off from us so we are not bound to repent for it for to say that we are to repent were to take the burthen off from Christs Back and to put it on our own These are specious words without solidity but they contradict Scripture Truths where they are narrowly looked to Peter was a justified Person and yet when Christ looked on him He weeped bitterly Davids sin was pardoned and Christ had taken the burthen of it and yet David was to Repent of it and to be corrected for it and so the Lord tells him that the sword should not depart from his house because he had made the Enemies of the Lord to Blasphem and yet sin was not laid upon David to satisfy divine Justice for it Only he must get
The Magistrate hath much power about Church matters but he hath no Church-power properly so called that belongeth only to Christs own officers Secondly For clearing of the question take this Assertion what we deny to the Christian Magistrate in the power of Governing the Church we deny it to him only as a Magistrate for so we laid it down in the conclusion to be proved A Magistrate as a Magistrate hath no power in Governing the Church otherwise if a Christian Magistrate be chosen an Elder he hath power of Church Government being joyned with the rest Only we say as a Magistrate he hath no power to Govern the Church II. We come to the Second thing which is our Arguments to confirm the Truth And the first Argument is this That Jesus Christ hath given no warrand to the Civil Magistrate for the Government of his Church and therefore he hath no right to it 1 We say that Christ in his word hath given no warrand to the Magistrate for Governing his Church And this will appear from all these places where mention is made of any warrand given to any of Church Government There is no word of the Christian Magistrate in any of them only mention is made of Apostles Ministers and Elders so in Matth 16. 19. The power of Governing the Church to bind and loose is given to Peter in the name of the rest of the Apostles but no word of the Civil Magistrate And Matth 18. 17. the power of Excommunication is given to the Church and if he shall neglect to hear them 〈…〉 be c. The Church of Ministers and Elders hath the power but no word of the Civil Magistrate And so in Timoth and Titus the scope of which Epistles is to instruct Ministers concerning the right way of Governing the Church what is spoken there is spoken to them and to Ministers succeeding to them but there is no mention of the Civil Magistrate And therefore we may conclude he hath no right from Jesus Christ for Governing the Church And what he would challenge of that kind is but an usurpation and intruding unto that to which he hath no right Our second Argument is If the power of the Church Government belong to a Magistrate as a Magistrate then it belongeth to every Magistrate but this were absurd We say if the power of Governing the Church did belong to a Magistrate as a Magistrate then it should belong to every Magistrate for whatever belongs to one as such belongs to all such Now this hath many absurdities following on it For by this Rule Heathen Magistrates might have power of Church Government and be Church Governours which were absurd For they are not Church Members Then Secondly Women might be Church Governours for they may be Magistrates in some cases and yet they may not speak in the Church Yea Thirdly By this it should follow that Children not come to age might have the power of Church Government for they may be Magistrates when Magistracy goeth by succession Now Children cannot have the power of Church Government for that power is not to be Exercised by deputies but by the persons themselves who are intrusted with it A Third Argument to confirm the Truth is this That Magistrates as Magistrates are not Church Officers And therefore they have no power to Govern the Church The consequence is clear for if Magistrates have power to Govern the Church then they must be Church Officers if any thing make a man a Church Officer then power to Govern the Church will do it for State Government and State Officers are Relata and have a mutual Relation one to another and so must Church Government and Church Officers have a mutual Relation one to another But in the next place it is evident That a Magistrate as a Magistrate is no Church Officer and that because among all that roll set down in the word of God wherein Christ reckons up his Officers there is no mention made of the Civil Magistrate Ephes 4. There is a roll verse 11. And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and teachers But no word of the Civil Magistrate and in Rom 12 6 7. There is an other roll of Church officers but no word of of the Civil Magistrate whether prophecy let us prophecy according to the proportion of Faith Or Ministery let us wait on our Ministering or he that teacheth on teaching c. But neither in this place or any other is there any mention of the Civil Magistrate Only some of our Adversaries mutter somewhat of 1 Cor 12. 28. That by Governments there mentioned is meaned the Christian Magistrate but it is easily refuted for the text speaketh evidently of such Governours as the Church had at that time And God hath set some in the Church c. Now the Church at that time had no Christian Magistrate nor for above 200 years after So by Governments cannot be meaned the Christian Magistrate but the Ruling Elder who is often spoken of in other places Our Fourth Argument to prove this point is That the Church did enjoy full power of Government within her self and accordingly did exercise it near 300 years before any Magistrate was a Christian and so the Church hath this power within her self yet For the first part of the Argument it is evident if we consider First That which is not controverted to wit that in the space of 300 years after Christ there was not a Magistrate a Christian If we consider Secondly That all this time the Church had full power of Church Government within her self and therefore Paul sayes to Timothy 1 Tim 4. 14. Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery So they had power of Ordination Power also to dispence Censures as Excommunication 1 Cor 5. 4 5 When ye are gathered together To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the Flesh c. And they had power to relax from Excommunication So 2 Cor 2 6. Where Paul commands to relax the Excommunicate man from that Sentence Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many v. 7. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him c. Fourthly They had Synods meeting together making binding Canons to guide the Church Act 15. The Synod of Apostles Elders and Brethren meet together determine a controversie and Censure those who had troubled the Church Thus the first part of the Argument is made out to wit That the Church did enjoy full power of Discipline within her self long before any Magistrate became Christian And therefore it followes that this power is yet in the Churches hand and not in the Magistrates And that because if the Church at that time had right to dispence this power as undoubtedly she had then they must make it appear how Christ took this right from her and
A BRIEF REFUTATION OF THE ERRORS OF Tolleration Erastianism Indepéndency AND Separation Delivered in some SERMONS From 1 Joh. 4. 1. Preach'd in the Year 1652. To which are Added Four Sermons Preach'd on several Occasions By Mr James Fergusson Late Minister of the Gospel at Kilwinning EDINBVRGH Printed by George Mosman and are to be Sold at his Shop in the Parliament-Close Anno Domini MDCXCII TO THE HONOURABLE M r. Francis Montgomery OF GIFFINE HONOURED SIR SO soon as I resolved upon the Publication of the following Papers I fixed on You as the only Person to whom they should be Addrest And indeed whether I look on the Author or on my Self I conceive I was many wayes Obliged so to do For as to the Author You are a Worthy Branch of the Noble and Ancient FAMILY of EGLINTOUN whereof God had given Him the peculiar Charge and Oversight in the Ordinary Course of his Ministry A Family which as Himself somewhere testifies were his great Encouragers in going about all the parts of his Function with Joy and not with Grief and for which he had sent up many Fervent Prayers to the Throne of Grace of the Effects whereof You your Self me Blessed be God yet a living Instance It was to that Noble Patriot and Zealous Instrument of Our late Reformation Your Grand-Father and to the Noble Earl Your Father then Lord Montgomery and to Your most Examplarly Pious and Religious Mother That the Author did Dedicate his Exposition of the Epistles to the Galatians and Ephesians And as all who have the Honour to know You are glad to see You so Naturally trace the Religious Example of Your Honourable Predecessors in Your firm Adhering to Your Principles and Purity of Religion Your Encouraging of Piety and Persons Pious Your Streight Sincere and Vpright Deportment towards All a Quality as Eminent in that Noble Earl Your Grandfather as rare in this Generation so I nothing doubt but that if it had pleased God to have spared the Author to Publish any other of his Works He would have looked upon Your self as the most Proper person to whom he should Present them As for my self Your Respect to the Author's Memory with your undeserved kindness to all his Relations and to my Self in particular Do strongly oblige me to take all Occasions for testifying my Thankful Acknowledgements And I presume I can scarce give You a more Acceptable Testimony of my Gratitude than the presenting You with the ensuing Papers which tho the Publication be posthumous yet I hope a serious perusal of them will be sufficient to supersede any further Commendation And indeed my near Relation to the Author will not allow me to speak either of Him or his Works what perhaps others might And therefore without giving You any further trouble but Commending You and Your Vertuous Lady to the Protection of the Almighty And Wishing That as God has blessed You with an Hopeful off-spring who are as so many Living Images of your selves in whom you see your own Lives renewed who by Their Good Enclinations do already give us cause to expect the best of Them So You and They may live together till You see Them prove a Comfort unto You And that after You are gone They may be no less Vseful in Their Generation than now You are I shall humbly crave leave to subscribe my self in all duty Honoured Sir Your most obliged and most humble Servant JAMES FERGVSSON TO THE READER THere are divers years past since the Reverend Learned and Pious Author of the following Discourses fell a sleep in the Lord and is gone to receive the fruit of his Labours from the chief Shepherd of the Sheep Yet we have in his Memory a lasting proof of the Truth of that Word Pro. 10. 7. The memory of the Just is Blessed And that of Psalm 112 6 The Righteous shall be in everlasting Remembrance Their memory is Precious and Honourable For I can truly say though I have heard many of high and low Degree speak of Master Fergusson I never heard any make mention of him but with Honour and Respect As a Man of great Piety and Learning and Eminent for Prudence and Moderation And I am confident there will be no need of Epistles of Recommendation for any of his Works to any who either knew Himself or have perused his Judicious and Pious Treatises published already on the Epistles to the Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians and Thesâ—alonians Nor am I so presumptuous as to imagine my Testimony could raise the Esteem of any thing done by so Famous and Worthy a Man But being his Mediate Successor to the Parish of Kilwinning where he did for many years Labour in the Work of the Gospel and being desired by his Son of the same Name I could not deny to express the esteem I have for his Memory Though I had not the Advantage of knowing him while he lived I am informed the following Discourses were the subject of Divers Sermons delivered to that People in a time when there was much need of Warning It was after that through a Boundless Tolleration a deludge of Errors had broken in upon England and the Sectarian Army having Subdued Scotland and dispersed themselves in all the Parts of it Corrupt Men and Seducers among Them did endeavour to pervert the People from the Truth Then it was anno 1652. When this worthy Author as a Faithful Watchman gave to his Flock Warning of the Danger And that they might be rooted and grounded in the Truth did represent to them the necessity of a sound and well-informed Judgement in order to Holiness and Salvation and for that end did excite and direct them to Try the Spirits and afterwâ—rd for their further Instruction and establishment in the Truth took notice of some particular Errors by which they seem'd to be in greatest hazard at that time and did in a plain and convincing way Refute the Errors and Confirm the Truth making alwayes some Practical Improvement of what he had delivered Although the Reverend Author was known to be a great Master of School-learning and was invited to be Professor of Divinity in the Famous University of Glasgow which yet he humbly refused yet he did not calculate these Discourses for the School or Court But being to speak to a Countrey Congregation wherein were many Common People for whom they seem to have been intirely designed since the Author could never be induced to Publish them in his own time He had such a sense of the holy Apostles example 1 Cor. 14. 18 19. that he choosed to speak to the edification of the meanest and he had a peculiar faculty of making things intricate plain and easie to be understood And I am confident that those who are not for pleasing their fancy with fine notions or their ear with jingling-words but desire to have their judgement informed and their conscience satisfied will find here that which will be very edifying For his
endeavour is That Controversies be clearly stated And with great perspicuity and solidity doth he confirm the Truth by Scripture and Reason and confute the contrary Error and all this without bitterness or wrath but with such calmness and moderation of Spirit wherein he did excell So that as I am informed divers of the English Army though of a contrary Judgement did resort to hear him I know not what effects his Teaching of these Truths had on Them but by the Blessing of God these of his own Flock were so established in the Truth that not one of them was seduced from it And I cannot but record it to the praise of God and commendation of that Congregation and for the encouragement of any who may be invited to be their Pastor when I to their and my grief am to be separated from them to a more difficult Post I say I cannot but record it that as that Congregation of Kilwinning hath since the Reformation been blest with eminent learned and pious Men Mr Glasford Mr Bailie Mr Fergusson and Mr Rogirs So they have by the Blessing of God on their labours been kept not only Sound in the Faith but United among themselves when others have been wofully Divided And they have alwayes shewed a great love to the Gospel and all the Ordinances of the Lord Jesus and the Ministers thereof And I pray That their fruit may abound more and more If some Expressions Concerning the Opinion of Independents or Congregational Men seem severe It would be remembred that the Author doth not speak against Persons but against Things And in a time when many Errors followed that Division about Church Government and the Debate was hot about it and fear that it should have taken place in Scotland But considering the Zeal these of New-England have discovered against Error and their United way of acting in Association and Synods when they think there is need and the love that hath been in time of Common Tryal and the Late Essay which hath been made for an Accomodation betwixt Presbyterians and Them in England I suppose if our Reverend Author had lived until this time he would have concluded the Difference may be so lessened that it need not hinder their walking together in that wherein they are agreed nor their Endeavours to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace I do not know of any particular design of publishing these Discourses now when they have been kept hid for fourty years but that the Author's Son having long delay'd and declin'd to Publish them though frequently and seriously advis'd to do it by many he was advertised that some would publish the Imperfect Notes received from His mouth in the time of Hearing which being incorrect might not only prejudge the Authors name but the Truth and others Edification If these as is hoped they will be acceptable and useful what yet remains unprinted of these Discourses may see the Light in due time There are here subjoyned Four Sermons of the Reverend Author which the Publisher and others hope may be found of good use and may make way for the communicating more of his Pious and Judicious Sermons which are longed for by them who knew Him or his other Works It had surely been of great advantage to the Church had it pleased God to have spared this judicious and pious Author till now and that he had published more of his Works in his own time But seing our infinitely wise and good God hath disposed otherwise it becometh us to submit But if by this or any other of his Works God get Glory and the Church be edified The Publisher will rejoice and bless God as having attained his end And if the Reader peruse his Works with the same Spirit wherewith they seem to be spoken and written I am confident he will not fail of profit Now that the Spirit of Truth and Holiness would lead Thee and all His people into all Truth and help them to edify one another in love and that He would bless His Churches with Truth and Peace and send out many Faithful Labourers into His Harvest with a double measure of the Spirit that was in Mr. Fergusson and other eminently holy Men who then lived shall be the Prayer of Christian Reader Thy Souls cordial Well-wisher George Meldrum Edinburgh June 1692. The Contents SECT I. OF Doctrine in general and the Tryal thereof Being some Doctrines raised from the Text Introductorie to the main purpose Pag. 1 ad 26. Doctr. I. Error is to be Eschewed pag. 3. Doctr. II. Orthodoxy or a Right opinion in the matters of Truth is as much to be stuâ—â—ed as Holiness of Life pag. 5. Doctr. III. As at all times so chiefly when there is danger of spreading of Error there is most need that Love should be intertain'd betwixt Pastor and People Where are some directions for a Ministers carriage in order to the keeping of the affections of his People while he is Refuting their Errors pag. 12. Doctr. IV. The Spirit of Error began very early to trouble the Church Where are some Reasons for which the Lord suffers Errors to spread pag. 16. Doctr. V. The foulest Errors go out oftentimes under fairest Names and are backed with most specious Pretences pag. 19. Doctr. VI. When foul Error is holden out under fair names and backed with fair pretences there is a danger lest People drink them in and believe them Where are 5 things that speak this hazard pag. 23. Doctr. VII Ministers the Servants of God are not to clap Peoples heads or to indulge them in this inclination of Theirs to Error but on all hazards they are to testify against it Where are 3 Reasons for which People ought to reverence much what warnings of this kind are given by Ministers pag. 28. Doct. VIII It is not Gods Way That People because there are differences about Religion should therefore believe no Religion Where are 5 Directions for the unlearned to walk by in order to difference of opinions among the Learned pag. 31. Doctr. IX How fair soever the pretence is that a Doctrine is colloured with It should not be taken upon Trust but must be brought to a Tryal Where are some Directions how to walk betwixt Popish Tyranny and Sectarian Confusion pag. 34. Doctr. X. The right Tryal to be taken of Doctrines preached or any otherwise vented is To try whether they be of God or not Where is shown what is requisite to a Doctrines that it may be said to be Of God pag. 38. Doct. XI There are many Doctrines pretending to the Spirit which yet being brought to the Touchstone will be found Not to be of God p. 44 SECT II. The Doctrine of Toleration Try'd and foundnot to be Of God Wherein as in all the Errors following First The Question is stated 2. Arguments are brought for Confirming the Truth and vindicated from the Opposites Exceptions 3. The Opposites Objections are Answered and Refuted from Scripture
sails so the root of Korah Dathan and Abiram's Error whereby they laboured to bear down Magistracy and Ministry was an unmortified root of pride within them They had a fair pretext for it a pretext of Liberty Are not all the Lords People Holy And may they not rule as well as yee A fair pretext indeed but the root was pride They could not endure to be ruled over and so they will rule themselves Thus when Jeroboam makes separation from the Church of Jerusalem he hath a fair pretext for this 1 King 12 28 It is too much saith he for you to go up to Jerusalem There is the pretext but the root of the matter was a lust within stirring him up to secure to himself the enjoyment of that which was not his own and this Ambition breeds fear that if they go up to Jerusalem to worship his power would quickly turn to nothing So ver 27. If this People go up to do Sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem then shall the heart of this People turn again unto to their Lord even unto Rehoboam King of Judah and they shall kill me There is the matter a desire of Reigning was the cause of his Idolatry and Schism an unmortified lust within was the root and rise of his Error And secondly Scripture holds out That as Error is the Daughter of Prophanity so it is the Mother of prophanity as it rises from Prophanity so it tends to more Prophanity Christs words import this John 8. 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him if ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples indeed If ye adhere and keep closs to the Truth then shall ye attain to walk as my Disciples And it imports on the other hand That if ye drink in Error ye shall not be my Disciples indeed And so as Prophanity is the Mother of Error So it is also the Daughter of Error This serves to clear the point That a Child of God should as much watch and guard against Error as he should do against other gross Sins or prophanity of Life For Use This Doctrine serves for reproof first to those who would have Tolleration of all Opinions in the Matter of Religion and no coercive mean to curb Error And that because say they it may curb Piety Which followes no more than that the suppressing of Fornication will curb Piety the one is as dangerous as the other and God's People may fall in the one as well as the other and therefore the one should be as well curbed as the other Nay I may say that that which is called Liberty of Conscience is the most capital Sin in a Kingdom It is all one as if a King would proclaim liberty to Drink to Swear to Whore and to Steal for both are alike evil and where the one is commonly the other is also and therefore to proclaim liberty to the one is to proclaim liberty to the other We think there is no heart zealous of Gods Glory but should abhorre such a thought as this Vse 2. Secondly the Doctrine reproves those who think Opinions are free Many reason thus If ye lead an Holy Life it matters not what be your Opinion whether for Presbytery Independency Arminianism Prelacy or Popery your Soul is in no hazard if ye be kept from gross Out breakings but this Doctrine showes this sort of Reasoning to be a gross mistake For besides that Error speaks an unmortified root in the Heart Heresie and Error in themselves are damnable and are reckoned up among those Sins which debar from the Kingdom of Heaven Galat. 5. verse 21. Hereticks as well as Murderers are excluded and therefore Folks would not jest and play with matters of Religion so as not to care what side they be on Thirdly this Doctrine gives another use as ye would eschew Prophanity of Life so beware of Errors against the Truth For the one of those ends in the other Grant the Error pretend to much of strictness the upshot or Issue of it is still to Prophanity and therefore ye would advise well when tentations to Error are presented before ye drink in any thing contrary to Truths received if ye would not have it read in the looseness of your Life afterward Many whose Lives were very strict when they began first to change their Way were in a short time led by their new Light to a Prophane Godless Life Vse 4. Fourthly Seeing Errors have their rise from some unmortified root within therefore as ye would be keeped free from Error subdue Corruptions within We are ready to think that Godless Men will stand out best against Error But it will prove otherwise unmortified Lusts of any other thing will prove the greatest Friends to Error such as a Lust of Pride to be Eminent of Covetousness to get your Arms full of the World run as it will a Lust of Laziness in Duties that will make you drink in that Error that casts at all Duties as needless So for an Antidote against the works of the Flesh whereof Heresie is one Galat. 5. verse 21. The Crucifying of the Lusts of the Flesh is brought as one Doct. III. We come to the words themselves and and therein is to be considered first the Stile Beloved A warm and kindly compellation The point we are to raise is from comparing the Stile with the Matter which the Apostle is about He is to warn them to beware of Error and yet he gives them a loving Stile Beloved believe c. And it gives us this Doctrine That as at all times so chiefly when there is danger of spreading of Error there is most need that Love should be entertained betwixt Pastor and People So we find Paul labours to bear in himself on Peoples Affections especially in Galat. 4. ver 10. and 11. Ye observe Dayes and Months c. I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed on you Labour in vain There he reproves them for their Error And in the 12 verse he bears in on their Affection Brethren I beseech you be as I am for I am as ye are ye have not injured me at all And so in the 2 Corinth 12. v. 16. Through the whole Epistle he hath been speaking against their Error and all along he bears in on their Affection especially in the place cited And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you though the more abundantly I loved you the less I be loved c. Abundance of places shew his practice to have been this way The Reason is First because when People begin to differ they are ready to cast at these who differ from them chiefly those who would curb them For there is still a Spirit of Pride with Error it cannot endure to be contradicted or the least thing to be spoken to its own prejudice if not all the more warily it will foam and rage and if it cannot bear down the contrary Truth yet it will
on the fingers to make him more warry and to scar all Justified Persons in time coming from doing the like We might so run through all the Errors of the time as that of Independency whereby power is denyed to Presbytries O say they to put power in Presbytries and make them receive Appeals from Congregations it is to Tyrannize over particular Flocks and therefore say they nothing is better than that every Congregation have compleat power within themselves and be left to their own guiding not being countable to any Judicatory above them but only to Christ This seems a specious Bait for such as would have liberty but when it is duly pondered it will be found most contrary to Truth For by this means if a particular Flock should Err and if one should sufâ—er wrong at the hands of a particular Session there is no remedy to repair the oppressed man and to bring the Erring Congregation to a right mind and how far this is derogatory to Jesâ—s Christ who was perfect in all his house any man may judge We might run through more of them But because we have a mind to refute these Errors by themselves we shall insist no further here having said enough to clear the point that the most dangerous Errors may be born in under the fairest pretences and therefore ye would not take all to be Gold that glisters take not all for Truth that is decked up with a bundle of brave high ravishing expressions Doct. 6 We proceed Believe not every Spirit sayes he He speaks not this in vain It supposes he saw an inclination in them to believe The point of Doctrine that ariseth from it is That when foul Error is holden out under fair Names and backed with fair pretences There is a danger lest people drink them in and believe them for John saw that hazard and therefore gives them a Watch-word So in the 16 of the Rom. ver 18. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own Belly and by good words and fair Speeches deceive the hearts of the simple Their baits hook'd the simple before they were aware We need no further proof of this than the Example of our neighbour Church in England Errors which could not have been named but People would have loathed at them such as the Arminian Error against free Grace c. Yet being decked with the name of new light they are greedily drunk in by too too many Wee shall give some Reasons to make you sensible of this hazard How great danger there is when Error is in spreading that People be taken off their feet with it We shall point at four or five things that speaks this hazard And the first is the proneness of our nature to Drink in Untruths We see this in Eva for Error is natures brood And as we said Error is the copy of some Lust and therefore it soon infects Truth again it hath nothing in us no party for it in our hearts and therefore it is harder to make us take with it there must be word upon word and precept upon precept we drink in Truth slowly and after much pains taken upon us we are hut to begin to learn it but the Spirit of a man is quick to take up Error Ye will find men more able in a short time to debate for Error than in a long time to debate for Truth I would seek no greater presumption that such a tenent is an Error than this that as soon as it is set on fire it runs through great numbers and sets their Spirits on edge for it we are not so hot for Truth it is not our nature to be so taken with it Reason 2 Then there is a Second thing that speaks this hazard and it is the shallowness of Peoples apprehension together with their foolish hast before they try From the shallowness of many it is that they cannot put a difference betwixt a fair pretence and a foul Error that is hid under it and from the hast of Peoples Spirit it is that they ingage suddainly with any thing having the colour of Truth and being once ingaged they are still the more and more involved These two laid together are another thing to point out this hazard Reason 3. We may add a Third and this is desire of Novelty in People spoken of in 2 Timoth Chap 4 v. 3 after their own Lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears And they shall turn away c. Where by the way observe that Lust within is the cause of drinking in Error from without But the thing we mark is That they have an itching ear lusting after new things and this comes from their little practising of old Truths Reas 4 There is a Fourth Reason and it is the diversity of baits and pretences that is put upon several Errors according to Peoples several humors So subtile is Sathan that he puts a bait on for every appetit there are some that are Piously strict and are enclined so to be both towards themselves and others and he hath a bait to catch those to wit a pretence of strickness which the Error of Separation is covered with for this Error alloweth Church fellowship with none but these that have a real evidence of Grace in them It is a way think they to shame natural Men. Again there be some whose humor is for looseness he puts on a bait to gratify this humor also let them believe in Christ and let them live as they like sayes the Antinomian and so according to Peoples several humors there is a bait put on by the Devil upon Error Now when these baits and Peoples humors agree it is like powder and fire presently they kindle Reas. 5 There is a fifth thing which speaks this hazard and it is this The Lord that Error may be a tryal in his holy Justice lets out more than ordinary parts and abilities on spreaders of Error and on the Spirits of People when they are taken with it The Lord for a Judgement to themselves and for a tryal unto others gives them as we speak a cast of their craft he elevates them above their ordinary Sphere or what is their ordinary way And this we speak not without Scripture It is said of false Antichristian Teachers they shall come with lâ—ing signs and wonders And there is a Spirit of Error which he foretells shall accompany Error Be not soon shaken in mind neither by Spirit nor by word c. In that place that we already cited 2 Thess 2 2. When we look on all these things we hope we have made out the point viz. that foulest Errors even when they are colloured with fairest pretences there is a danger lest People drink them in The use of the point is If there be this hazard then ye would be afraid of your selves it is said The Righteous fear alwayes I would seek no clearer mark of any person that is
like to be taken in the snare than that they think themselves so stout and stedfast that no Error will gain upon them and I would think it an evidence very good when people are afraid of themselves and do humble themselves in the sense of their own weakness and are employing Christ daily to bear them through For Blessed is he that feareth alwayes Only remember that this fear would be of the right Stamp And for clearing this we shall point at three or four things wherein this holy fear does consist specially with Reference to Error First where â—his fear is There will be a labouring to root Truth in the heart Ye know when People are affraid of losing any thing that they will labour by all meanes to be sure of it A man that hath this Holy fear over himself lest he be ensnared with Error will study to gett Truth rooted in the heart Prov 2. 16. The Spirit of God speaketh of hiding of understanding putting it in the secret place of the heart A second thing accompanying this fear is a forecasting what Truth may cost you there would be a fore-casting of this and a taking an Essay of the Cross before hand and this for fear lest that to eschew suffering ye quite the Truth if the tryall come on you unexpectedly Paul while he is exhorting the Disciples to stedfastness informs them That through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Acts 14. 22. Then there is a third thing accompanying this Holy fear and that is a fear to venture on Temptations to Error except there be a Providence putting to it of necessity and this fear rises from the Sense of our own weakness to engage with or stand the shock against Temptations this is implyed in that direction which the Apostle Paul gives 2 Timoth 3 5. At the end of the verse From such turn away v 6. For of this sort are they which creep into houses When a man is sensible of his own weakness the fear of his being ensnared will keep him from walking among snares A fourth thing accompanying this Holy fear is that tho ye find these Truths ye have had once sealed to your Spirits begin to be questioned and that ye are not able to answer what is brought against them and so perchance your Judgment may incline to think that what ye thought once to be Truth is now Error Yet where this Holy fear is ye will rather suspect your own want of knowledge to discern than any way suspect the Truth to be untruth and it will make you at least abstain from venturing even on that which your light points out for the time Now by these ye may know what is the Fearlessness that makes People to be in danger and it is this when it makes thee so inconcerned that thou never Labours to get Truth brought lower than thy head when thou never casts an account what Truth may stand thee when thou art so confident of thy own wit and knowledge that thou will venture uncalled to dispute with Sectarian Spirits or when any thing is born in as Truth contrary to what thou hast maintained as a Truth before and contrary to thy Covenant engagment thou grippes presently to it without once suspecting that thy own shallow understanding may be deceived This I sayâ— speaks a fearlesness that borders neigh unto Error Doct VII The Doctrine that followeth next from these words Believe not every Spirit is that Ministers the Servants of God are not to clap Peoples heads or indulge them in this inclination of theirs to Error they are not to humor them in it but on all hazards they are to testify against it Therefore sayes John Believe not every Spirit So also the Apostle Paul does very sharply inveigh against People when they are beginning to tamper with Error And lest People should say Paul and John were Apostles and knew what was Error and what was Truth being guided by an infallible Spirit and that therefore they might stoutly testify against Error but for other ordinary Ministers they may err as well as other People and so it is ill reasoned from what the Apostles did to what Ministers may now do Therefore to clear this we shall give a place where Paul bindes it as Duty on every ordinary Minister to to testify against Error In the Acts ch 20. v. 28. Therefore take heed unto your selves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers c. And in the 29. Verse he gives an instance wherein they were to take heed to the flock For I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the Flock verse 30. Also of your own selves shall men arise c. So it is a duty lying on all ordinary Preachers to watch over their People lest they be seduced with Error and that because First of that which we spoke of before that Error in the point of Truth should be as much eschewed by People as other particular sins and therefore Ministers are bound to guard People against it And secondly Truth is a precious Jewel and therefore in a special manner they ought to contend for it And Thirdly the Souls of People ought to be pretious to Ministers and therefore Ministers ought to watch over them they ought to guard them against Error because as other sins so Error is a damnable Soul-destroying sin And therefore as Ministers love Truth and Souls committed to them so they must watch over the People and guard them against Error Vse I. This show's the great task lying upon Ministers at every time but chiefly in an Erring time we spoke somewhat of this before how difficult it is for a man to meddle with reproving of Error more difficile than to reprove Prophanity because a prophane Man's Conscience is convinced of the evil of his way and therefore however he may be displeased with free Preaching against his sin yet his Conscience clears the Minister and thus he keeps him at least at some reverence But it is not so in a Soul taken with Error the misinformed Conscience speaks for it and therâ—fore whatever is spoken against him he casts at it as Error and untruth and readily the man that speaketh it may lose respect for his pains and yet we see the Word of God binds it on Ministers to speak against it Vse 2. But Secondly If it be so that Ministers be bound to reprove Error and testify against it then the People are bound to take the word of reproof from them we mean not that they should be so bound as what Ministers say should be the Bible but this much we say That People should presume as much on them as another to ask Councel from them as much as from another and to respect them as much as any other And that for these Reasons First because the publick Minister hath a promise which private men have not at
Antinomians that tends to prophanity of life cannot be of God Secondly that Doctrine that is of God tends to exalt Christ. John 16. 15. Speaking of the Spirit of Truth he sayeth he shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you And so that Doctrine of the Papists I mean their Doctrine of Merit is not of God Thirdly That Doctrine which is of God humbles men as Error doth fill men with pride Thus those Sectaries that are spoken of in Jude are called Lofty and so the Doctrine of Separation is not of God because whatever be the pretence of strickness that it caries along with it there is an over-weaning conceit of the Man's self and undervaluing of others that cleaves to this Error And Secondly it maketh People orderly in standing for it So is it said of Christ His voice is not heard in the streets Now these marks as we have said do but usually follow for because of the corruptions of men even the Doctrines that are of God may want these properties and the Doctrines that are not of God may have a shew of them and therefore the first mark to wit the word is the adequate Rule So that all Doctrines ought to be brought to it Whatever be the shew any Doctrine hath whether of Holiness exalting Christ and free Grace whatever shew it have of Humility and orderly carriage in those who profess it in their avowing of it Yet if it be not according to this Rule viz. the word of God it is not of God Doct XI We come now to our main design to wit the Refutation of some of the most dangerous Errors of the Times The ground of what we are to speak to this purpose is taken from the following Doctrine which is evidently imported in the words to wit That there are many Doctrines pretending to the Spirit which yet being brought to the Touchstone will be found not to be of God For while he bids us try the Spirits whither they be of God He evidently insinuates that there are some Spirits which being brought to the tryal will be sound faulty and not to be of God I shall God willing give instances of this and accordingly make it out upon the most taking dangerous and most Erronious Doctrines of the Times particularly upon those following First the Doctrine of Tolleration Secondly the Doctrine of Erastianism Thirdly the Doctrine of Independency Fourthly the Doctrine of Separation Fifthly the Doctrine of the ordinary Preaching by unsent men Sixthly the Doctrine of Antinomianism And Lastly the Doctrine of Anabaptism In all which we shall with the Lords assistance make it appear here that however they pretend to be Doctrines warranted by the Spirit of God in his word yet they are not so warranted in a word we shall show they are not of God SECT II. A BRIEF REFUTATION OF THE ERROR OF Tolleration WE shall begin with the Error of Tolleration of all Opinions in the matter of Religion a Doctrine that is much cryed up among Sectaries and a Doctrine that is very taking what thinks People if they get leave to serve God according to their own Conscience they need not trouble themselves what others do Our purpose is to show that this Doctrine though it pretend to the Spirit is not of God and for this end we have read these places of Scripture whereupon we are to ground the most of what is to be said against this Error I begin to refute this Error of Tolleration First because it is the Sectaries main refuge it is their Holy of Holys wherein they shelter themselves in their grossest Errors what say they it is our Conscience and who dare meddle with Conscience but the God of Conscience Secondly we think it needfull to begin with it First because of all other Errors it is the most dangerous and damnable in so far as other Errors do only evert these particular Truths of Scripture to which they are contrary but by this one Error this Monster of Tolleration way is made to evert all the Truths contained in Scripture and to the setting up all Errors contrary to every Jote of Truth and in the mean time there shall be no power on earth to hinder it or take order with it In prosecuting of this we shall follow this Method First we shall clear the state of the question Secondly we shall bring our Arguments for confirming the Truth and vindicate them from the Adversaries exceptions Thirdly We shall bring forth their Arguments and shall refute them from Scripture and Reason And Fourthly We shall apply the whole to some practical use First For the state of the question what a thing this Tolleration is that we Labour to refute There is a two-fold Tolleration of Error There is a Church Tolleration and a State Tolleration A Church Tolleration is That whereby it is pleaded that Error and Heresy should have liberty to be vented and go free even from Church Censure such as suspension from the Sacraments or Excommunication There are but few Sectaries of any note that plead for Tolleration in this Latitude and that because the Scripture is so plain against it Paul sayes An Heretick after the first and second Admonition reject Therefore they are content that Church-censures such as Excommunication be inflicted on Hereticks providing First that they be free from Civil censure Secondly That Excommunication be inflicted for no Error but for these that are contrary to fundamental points of Truth or as some say contrary to the very light of Nature Upon these and no other will they have Excommunication to strike Though this be not the main question which we are to insist upon Yet we shall lay down some assertions contrary to their Doctrine even in this point And First we do not see what reason can be brought to exeem Hereticks from civil Censure but the same may be brought to exeem them from Church Censures also If Conscience as they say be free from the one what reason but it should be free from the other also And if fear of civil Censure against those who Err do as they say enforce the Conscience and make People Hypocrites we see not but the fear of Church Censures may do the same Or if notwithstanding of Church Censures the Conscience is not forced the Service not constrained which they grant then notwithstanding of Civil Censure it is not forced or the Service constrained either And so from their own grounds this vast Tolleration of Error falls to the ground Secondly We cannot assent to that which they affirm that Excommunication is not to be inflicted for any Error but these which are contrary to fundamental points of Religion and that because Christ gives us a rule upon what faults Excommunication should strick to wit on every scandalous Fault done against a Brother or the Church wherein the Offender persists obstinate and will not be reclaimed So Matth. 18. 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the
consulted with for knowing what was Heresy what not Isâ— 8. 20. To the Law and to the Testimony c. And for the application of the rule to persons that they might know who were the Hereticks we never read that they consulted Vrim and Thummim but used a judicial Process against the person challenged and proved the Fact by Witnesses So Deut. 17. 4. There must be a scandal of Idolatry upon the man challenged And if it be told thee and thou hast heard of it and enquired diligently c. And it must be proved on him by Witnesses verse 6. As the mouth of two Witnesses or three Witnesses shall he that is worthy of Death he put to death They except Fourthly That in the Infancy and Nonage of the Church God Typed out things Spiritual by things Earthly and so those Punishments were Types of Spiritual Censures Excommunication and Hell and therefore are not now to be put in practice We answer First Excommunication and Damnation were things present to the Jewish Church and so they had no Types of them Secondly This is to turn Scripture to Allegories and by this same reason we may cast at punishments of Sins against the Second Table as being Types of Spiritual Censures Hell and Damnation and there is as much ground for affirming the one as the other This much for Arguments from the Old Testament We shall next hint at some Arguments from the New Testament First If so be that it were unusual for Magistrates to meddle with men in matters of Religion then certainly Jesus Christ and his Apostles should have used this legal Defence when the Magistrate called them before him to answer about their Doctrine They would have said ye have no place to challenge us for our profession for matters of Opinion are free but we do not hear that they declined the Judge or used any such Defence for sure Christ and his Apostles would have left no lawful mean unessayed There is a second Argument taken from Rom. 13. 4. Where speaking of the Civil Magistrate the Apostle sayeth For he is the Minister of God to thee far good but if thou do that which is evil be afraid There is set down the object of the Magistrates Power and the extent of it and it is set down indefinitly upon him that doth evil And therefore if Hereticks Maintainers of falle Worship be doers of evil they fall under the Magistrates Power Now that spreaders of Heresie are doers of evil we did prove in the second Doctrine raised from this Verse where we shew that Heresy and Error was as much to be eschewed as Adultery and other Sins against the Second Table and the Magistrate as Magistrate should put forth his zeal against them as much and all the places commanding zeal against Error which are not few in the New Testament proves this for they bind every one according to his place the Minister according to his place and the Magistrate according to his There is one Exception they make much of against this Argument and it is this say they By doers of evil cannot be meaned these that are taken with Error and Heresy and other Sins against the First Table And that because the evil that is here spoken of is the evil that is mentioned in the beginning of the Verse But if thou do that which is evil be afraid It is an evil say they that any that were guilty of it had need to be afraid of the Magistrate because of it and so it is not meaned the evil of Error and Heresy against Christian Truths For the Magistrate here spoken of is the Roman Emperor and Senate who themselves were Enemies to Christian Religion and so none needed to be afraid of them for spreading Errors but rather for mantaining Truths and therefore the doers of evil here meaned must be the controveeners of the Emperors Civil Laws and not Hereticks and such like For Answer This exception is grounded on a wrong supposition for by the Magistrate is here meaned not only the Roman Magistrate but all Magistrates in general doing their Duty as they ought Paul indeed takes occasion from the Roman Magistrate to speak here what is the Duty of all Magistrates and it is clear from several Circumstances of the Text We shall mark one of them from the first words of the Text For he is the Minister of God to thee Now sure it is this must be meaned of Magistrates in general and not astricted only to the Roman Magistrate he not being the Minister of God unto every one who was to make use of this Scripture There is another Circumstance of the Text proving this in the 3 Vâ—rse For Rulers are not a Terror to good Works Now sure this must be expounded of the Office of Magistracy in general and of that which Magistrates should be and not of the Roman Magistrate who then was well known to be a Terror unto many good Works not only unto Christian but also unto Moral Vertues We shall give you only another Argument shortly taken from that Prophecy Revel 17. 16. A Prophecy tâ—at the Civil Magistrate shall bring down the Antichrist and that Error of the Roman Religion as a most acceptable work to God And so the Magistrates Hand is not bound up from punishing Error and Heresy against the First Table no more than from punishing other Sins done against the Second Table And this much for our Arguments brought in defence of the Truth In the Third place we promised to bring forth some of their Arguments and solve them Herein we need not spend much time for this being Truth there can be nothing said against it which is Truth Yet there being some nimble Spirits to propone Arguments which every one cannot answer we shall stay a little on this Third point also The First thing they object is this If so be that it were the Magistrates Duty to punish Error and Heresy then Jesus Christ would have reproved the Jews for Tollerating the Pharisees and Saduces But so it is he never reproves the Jews for so doing Nothing of that kind is recorded by any of the Evangelists To this we Answer First That it does not follow that Christ did not reprove the Jews because it is not written For John sayes Chap. 20. 30. He did speak many things which are not written so it follows not But Secondly we say although it be granted that Christ did not reprove them yet it follows not that their neglect was not a Sin For First by that reason we might say that the Mgistrate should not punish Theft because Christ speaks nothing of the punishment of it in the New Testament Neither Secondly reproveth he the Church for not Censuring them and yet it followeth not but that they ought to be Censured that way And Thirdly God had revealed his Will before And Fourthly It would have been for no purpose to have stired up the Magistrate to this Duty then for the Sectarieâ—
themselves had the Power that was of it And Lastly the Jews at this time had not the Power of Civil Punishment in their Hands but the Romans and so it was not in their Power to punish There is a Second Objection which they bring from the Apostle Paul's words in the Epistle to the Philipp 3. 15. where speaking of Differences among Christians he sayes Let us therefore as many as be perfect â—e thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you Say they we see what was Paul's Judgement That notwithstanding of Differences there should be Heart Waling or Uniting and therefore the Magistrate should not be stired up to Censure those who Err. To this we Answer Paul speaks nothing there of State Tollâ—ration for then the Civil Powers were not for Christ but of Church Tollâ—ration in respect of that meekness and tenderness which Christs Servants should have in inflicting of Church Censures for fear of breaking Love Secondly He commandeth not all Errors to be thus Tollerated for so he should contradict himself in another place where he sayes An Heretick after the first and second admonition reject And Thirdly Paul limits that Tolleration that he would have here and that in two things First As to the time how long God shall reveal even this unto you And Secondly He supposes the persons differing from them should walk with them in things wherein they differ not according to the same rule and so make no separation Now it does not follow that those who remained Obstinate in their Error should be still Tollerated and that the Censure of the Church should not strick on them at all chiefly if it be such an Error as causes Rents and Schisms for he sayes Take heed to those that cause Divisions and Offences and avoid them Rom. 16. 17. Their Third Objection is That this is contrary to the way the Apostles took with those that Erred their way was to watch against them that Erred Acts 20. 29. For I know this that after my departing shall grievous Wolves enter in among you not sparing the Flock Verse 31. Therefore watch That which the Apostle commands is to watch against them And in Rom. 16. 17. Now I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences and avoid them And in the 2 Timoth 2. 24. it is said And the Servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle unto all men apt to teach patient Now say they this is a far other way than to stir up the Civil Magistrate against those who differ from us This Savors not of the meek Spirit of Christ. I answer It is the Duty of Ministers to watch against Error and that is one mean for suppressing of Error and Heresy but one mean destroyes not another it does not follow that this which is in controversy is not another mean also neither is it contrary to that meekness commanded to wait on them more than to deliver to Satan or to Curse and Excommunicate Apostates with that great Curse called Anathema Maranatha 1 Cor. 16. 22. They may as well say It is contrary to Christs meek Spirit to establish the Sword in the Hands of the Christian Magistrate according to Rom 13. 4. For punishing Sins against the Second Table and so under this pretence Adulteters Murderers Seducers Thieves and all should go free unpunished But they do far mistake the Meekness of Jesus Christ Christs Meekness is not to let people live in their Sin to let vile Hereticks trample on Truth destroying Souls And in the mean time binding up the Hand of the Magistrate that he dare not hinder it this were a disrespect to Truth and cruelty to poor Souls in danger to be carried away which our Lord was very tender of There is a Fourth Objection from Matth. 13. 24. Taken from the Parable of the Tares where the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man that sowed Wheat and the wicked one comes and sowes his Tares among it and both is bidden let grow till the Harvest Now say they by these Tares is meaned Hereticks therefore they should not be plucked up by the Sword of the Civil Magistrate We Answer If they astrict the Word Tares to Hereticks in this sense That the Sword of the Civil Magistrate should not be used against them by the same reason they may say that they should not be disputed against for that is a plucking up of them also Secondly We answer That by the Tares that are commanded here to be suffered let grow up to the Harvest is no more meaned Hereticks than other Scandalous Livers And this we shall make out from Christs exponding the Parable Verse 41 And they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend Now Hereticks are not all things that offend other scandalous Livers offend also Thirdly By the Tares is meaned Them that do Iniquity vers 41. Now others besides Hereticks are such And Fourthly If by the Tares were here meaned Hereticks then by the Wheat are meaned only the Orthodox and so every man that is Orthodox should Shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of Heaven vers 43 But there are many who are Orthodox who yet are evil Livers and so will never go to Heaven And therefore by the Wheat must only be meaned the truly Regenerate and so by the Tares must not only be meaned Hereticks but all other Evil-doers And further By this it would follow that Hereticks should not be Excommunicate for that is a rooting out But what can be meaned by the Tares then for whatever be meaned by them it will follow that by this Parable Verse 30 they should be tollerated and to say that all vile scandalous Persons should be tollerated is more absurd than that only Hereticks should be tollerated Answer If we narrowly observe Christs exposition of the Parable we will find that part where he bids Let both grow together until the Harvest is not exponed although he expone the rest which doubtless he would not have omitted if it had been his mind that we should have built any Doctrine of this kind on it therefore we say this is not Christs meaning that he would have all men how Godless and Scandalous soever let alone for that were contrary to other places of Scripture But that Christ is to show that when all pains are taken by Christs Officers for purging the Church yet there will be alwayes some Hypocrites in it and it is Christs mind though he hath given order to Censure scandalous Offenders yet that his Servants should not press after such a separation of the precious from the vile as to have all the Weeds and wicked in heart to be cast out lest when they gather out the Graceless Tares they should root out also the Gracious Wheat with them Object 5. There is a Fifth Objection from Luk 9. 54 Where Christ reproves James and John for seeking fire to come down from
of God to commit the great affairs of his House to those whom he hath not qualified to that purpose Besides no instance can be given that ever he trusted any with those things but he promised them furniture and in some measure enabled them accordingly So when he sendeth forth Moses Jeremiah Isay c. he giveth them furniture and when he sendeth out the Apostles he furnishes them for that End So John 20. 21 Then said Jesus to them again peace be unto you as my Father sent me even so send I you There is the commission given them and upon the back of this in v. 22. And when he had said this he breathed on them c. There is the Furniture And so does he to Ministers whom he entrusts with this power He promises them Furniture Matth 28 20 and lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World There a promise made to the Apostles and in them to the Ministers as appears from these following words even unto the end of the World And so these promises could not be fully verified in the Apostles who were to die within a little but in Ministers their successors to the Worlds end Now it is very evident he hath neither made such promises to every particular believer for Governing the Church neither doth he perform them unto them What Is every believer furnished with that measure of knowledge prudence and wisdom that is required for the right managing of the affaires of Church Government Yea God doth not require it of them And so certainly it stands not with his wisdom to have committed the power of Church Government to all and every one of believers This for ouâ— third Argument Our Fourth Argument for the Truth is If so be that the power of Governing the Church belongeth to Church Members Then it belongeth to them either as they are gifted for it and chosen out for that purpose And if so then we have our intent For then all are not Church Governours but only those who are gifted and chosen And so Church Officers Or it belongs to them as believers or Church Members and if so then it Belongs to all for every one is a Church Member as well as another and every one that hath Faith is a believer as well as another and whatever priviledge floweth from Faith belongs to every believer the meanest as well as the greatest So if the right of Church Government be grounded on Faith and Grace then every believer and none but believers should have the right of it from whence shall follow many absurdities as that Children as well as Parents the simple as well as the wise Women as well as Men may Preach Administrate the Sacraments lay on hands in Ordaining the Ministers sit in Sessions inflict Censures Excommunicate and what not Secondly Then none but believers should have right to Church Government So none hath power to Baptise Censure c. But they that have Grace And upon this People should have Reason to doubt whether they be rightly Baptised or not because they know not if the Minister who Baptised them had Grace or not and if he wanted Grace he had no power of Church Government by this Doctrine And so no power to Baptise We bring a Fifth Argument for the Truth and it is this private Christians are in no place of Scripture acknowledged to be Church Governours There are no names nor titles given to them importing this power to be in them as is given to Church Officers 1 Tim 5. 17. Let the Elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour And 1 Corinth 12. 28. And God hath set some in the Church first Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly Teachers c. But no title of that kind is given to private Christians Yea they are set down plainly under names in opposition to Governours As the flock to Overseers Acts 20. 28. Take heed tberefore unto your selves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers c. Yea and are commanded to honour obey submit to their Governours set over them and distinct from them Hebr 13. 17. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves c. Now it is strange to imagine That Christ should have intrusted them with highest power of Government And yet in all the stiles he gives them there is nothing imported of that power but much of their Subjection Surely he hath not done so with Officers as we have shown And let any discover the Reason of the difference A Sixth Argument for the Truth is this If so be that the power of Governing the Church be given but only to some then it does not belong to all but so it is that the power of Governing the Church is only given to some therefore not to all Church Members The first part of the Argument cannot be denyed For the second That it is only given to some see those proofs that limit this power only to some as Ephes 4. 11. And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets c. Some and therefore not all 1 Cor 12. 28. which we cited before and God hath set some in the Church first Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly teachers There are but some that he hath set for Governing his house and therefore not all and Heb 13 17. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves c. Tim 5. 17. as is likewise before cited There are some then that rule to whom the rest ought to submit And so all are not Rulers There is a Seventh Argument for clearing the Truth And it is this That power which Jesus Christ hath not set down rules and limits to order it by in his word is not of God but he hath set down no Rules how to direct the managing of Church Power in the hand of Church-Members therefore it is not of God The first part of our Argument That whatever Power is appointed of God he hath set down Rules how to order it is very clear As we may prove by the Enumeration of lawful Powers He hath set down Rules how to Regulate the Power of a King that he play not the Tyrant He hath set down Rules to Regulate the Power of Masters Parents by So the Power in the Hand of the Church Officers is regulated that they Rule with Diligence Rom. 12. 8. And so through the Epistles to Timothy and Titus But so it is that he hath set down no Rules to order Church Government by in the Hands particular Believers For in no place of the word will such Rules be found Ye that are the flock govern the Pastors and feed them watch over the People of God lay hands suddenly on no man I say there are no such directions given to private Christians and therefore this pretended Power is not of God Our last Argument for the Truth is If so be the Power of governing the Church doth belong to every
Church-member then every Church-member is bound in Conscience to attend all Church Judicatories to wait on the deciding of all Ecclesiastical questions But what inevitable confusion would follow on this How long time would it take to inform People about the Circumstances of things How tedious would it be to hear every mans judgment to the point And what distractions would it be to Peoples Callings This certainly would bring great confusion And so such a Power as this cannot be from God who is the God of Order These are now the Arguments for the Truth III. In the next place we shall answer their Arguments brought against the Truth The first they use is grounded on Coloss. 4. 17. A command There is given to the Body of Believers in reference to the Minister Say to Archippus Take heed to the Ministry which thou hast received in the Lord. From this they infer That People have Power to Censure their Minister And so have Church Authority We answer They make much of this Argument and yet it is little worth For they build their Power to Censure upon this that they have Power to Say A poor reason So Matth. 18. 17. Say to the Church or tell the Church It is the same word that is here used But to infer from this that one man had Authority over the Church were very ridiculous Surely if he had commanded a judicial act of Authority he would have said Command and Charge Archippus with all Authority as in the like case he speaks to Timothy But as we shew in the state of the question private Christians have Power to exhort and admonish one another yea their Pastors But this doth not import any Power of Church-Government over others else women who are not permitted to speak in the Church should have Power of Church-Government to make Church Canons Censure and Ordain their Ministers For they are bound to exhort and admonish as occasion offers Obj. 2. A second Argument they bring from Act. 11. 1. When Peter comes up to Jerusalem verse 3. the people Challenge him saying Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and didst eat with them and verse 4 He begins to clear himself to them and rehearsed the matter from the beginning c. And from this they reason thus That the Church hath Power to call Peter to an account And therefore they have Power to Censure for Scandals It s answered first Besides the People there were Apostles and Brethren There verse 1. Secondly We answer It doth not follow because Peter purgeth himself of a Scandal unjustly laid upon him That therefore they had Power to Censure him For every Christian is bound to clear himself to another Christian of that which he is stumbled within his carriage yet one private Christian hath not Church Power over another to Censure So Peter was bound to clear himself before any one of them and if he had done wrong to take with it but that That one could not be a Church Judicatory having Power to inflict Censure on Peter our Opposits themselves will grant Obj. 3. A Third Argument they bring against the Truth is from Revel 2. 14. I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the Doctrine of Balaam The Spirit of God here is wriâ—ing to the Church of Pergamus And after he hath commended them for their Doctrine he reproves them for not exercising Discipline against these Hereticks to wit Balaam Iesabel and the Nicolattans Now from this they argue The whole Church is reproved here for not executing Discipline against these Hereticks and therefore they had power to do it Otherwise they would not have been reproved for the neglect of it But that all were reproved they prove from vers 13. and its connection with the 14. say they these who are commended in the 13. are rebuked in the 14 verse I know thy Works and where thou dwellest even where Sathan's seat is c. But so it is that not only the Ministers and Elders but all the People dwelt where Sathan's Seat was Therefore they all are reproved Answer It followeth well that they are all reproved for one fault But not that they were accessory to it after one and the same way It was the Rulers part judicially to cast out these vile Hereticks It was the Peoples part to have stirred up the Rulers to it Now because these were neglected on both hands both have their own guilt and so both reproved for their respective guilt The People are reproved for not Mourning to God for the tollerating such like abominations and their not stirring up the Rulers to take course with them But it will not follow that they were reproved for not sitting down in the Judicatory and inflicting Censures themselves That was the Rulers fault And therefore we deny that they are all rebuked for their accession to that guilt in the same way And we clear it thus Doubtless the Teachers did not teach against these vile Hereticks Now there were Women there and yet surely they are not rebuked for not Preaching against them for They ought to be silent in the Church So their fault as of all other Church Members was of another kind to wit Their not Mourning nor stirring up the Officers And so it followes that it was their Duty to Mourn stir others up to their Duty which we grant But not to exercise the Power themselves for that is not the thing they are reproved for Obj. 4. The Fourth Objection is grounded on Mat 18 17 If he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the Church but if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a Publican Whence say they the power of Church Censure is in the hand of the Church but so it is Church Officers are never called the Church Neither can they be so called without the Body of the People Therefore the power of the Church Censures is in the hand of the Body of the People Wee Answer This Argument will make more against them than us and that because they grant that neither Women nor Children have hand in Church Government but only professing Men Now they shall get no place in Scripture wherein the name of the Church is given to the Body of the Men Assembled without Women and Children Secondly We grant that the name of the Church is very sparingly given to Officers without the People Yet we say 1. 't is given them in some places As for Example Acts 18. 22. It is said of Paul When he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and saluted the Church c. Now by the Church here certainly cannot be meaned the body of professâ—rs which did amount to many thousands of People as shall appear from Acts 21. 20. In its own time So by the Church must be meaned the Chief men and Rulers of the Church For Paul having so short time to stay he seeing them but at the by could
State so is it in the Church as to this purpose No Union can be there as of one actually incorporate Body except it be under one and the same Supreme Rulers So is it in the Church So long as there is no agreement about One and the same Supreme Representative under whose Authority we may stand for the present But one part standeth for it's Authority another is contrary unto it or setting up another against it In this case the matter is clear there is no compleat Union but a fixed Schism or at the best a strong tendency unto it A Third thing to be eyed is If so Our Union must be under one Supreme Representative then such ways of Union will do no good as carry not alongs the Body An Union if not with the Body instead of healing doth widen the Rent A resolution or desire to unite with a few not caring for the rest will not produce an union I mean of the Church altho it may be of a stronger Party in the Church These few would possibly as gladly unite as others would have them if it were not evidently a strengthening of the Breach Fourthly Yet a Part ought to labour with the Body for condescending as low as warrantably can be for Peace's sake Only a Caveat must be here They are so to deal with the Body to condescend for Vnion as to beware of making a new Rupture in the Body upon their not granting For that were in a desperate way to make a new Rent because others will not take Our way for removing of the Old Fifthly If we desire an hearty cordial Vnion it would be endeavoured without rubbing upon the Credit 1. Of Persons 2. Of Parties 3. Of Ordinances If the Credit of all can be held up it 's well He is no friend to Vnion that would endeavour the contrair But if some must suffer Love to the Publick and Zeal for God will teach That the former is to yeild to the latter viz. Persons to Parties and the Credit both of Persons and Parties yea and of both Parties themselves if need be are to stoop for upholding the Authority of Divine Ordinances A litle of this Self-denial would do much good But how litle of it is there to be found Sixthly Dividing Principles and such as tend of their own nature to obstruct Union should be abandoned There is One Principle often spoken of by some and now made more publick which if maintained in Our judgment will close the door upon Union in hast to wit That it is unlawful to sit in an Assembly with those who have enacted persecution against the Godly And this in the sence of the Propounders as it is expresly tho injuriously applyed by them is as much as to say It is unlawful to joyn in any Assembly made up for the most part of those who acted in and approved of Our late Controverted Assemblies Now if it be unlawful to joyn in an Assembly made up for the most part of such why not also unlawful to join in a Synod or in a Presbytry likewise made up of such yea and to join at a Communion Table where the most part are such And indeed some of the People chiefly draw out their Principle to this full length A Principle which to say no worse of it striketh at the very throat of Peace and if stood to makes it desperat and so I hope is and will be disowned by all who cordially pretend to Peace and Union in the Church These I conceive and many moe should be eyed by Us in Our aiming at Union if we would have Our endeavours effectual But because a Compleat Union in an ordinary way is not to be so soon expected I shall in the next place give Two Directions for managing our Differences So as the Church of Christ may have less hurt by them at least The first Direction is That we ought to guard against these Tentations which Our Standing Division may readily make way for Whereof I shall mention Three The First Tentation is this An oversight of every other fault almost whether in Ministers or Professors providing they be true to the Party A Party is a dangerous thing and in nothing more dangerous than in this That it driveth men if not all the more tender to take fidelity unto the Party to be the prime if not the only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and badge of honesty and enclines them to look on all other things whether Corrupt Principles or loose Practices as excusable Infirmities A woeful Tentation and destructive both to Truth and Piety And therefore ought so much the more to be guarded against on both hands A Second Tentation is The secret wishing after and rejoycing in the Slips one of another An Evil so woeful that David complains to God of it even in his avowed Enemies Ps. 38. 16. When my Foot slippeth they magnify themselves against me And Jeremiah complaineth of it in his false Friends Ch. 20. v. 10. They watched for my halting And yet an Evil that even Good men if once engaged in Parties will have a Battel with A Third Tentation upon Our standing Divided and which is also to be guarded against is A bending of Our selves to the outmost of Light and possibly beyond it for strengthning of our selves to the doing of these things in relation to these who now Rule which not long since we would have abhorred both in our selves and others It is very possible that as Gifts blind the Eyes of the Wise Exod. 23. So the seeming advantage unto that which we conceive Truth may draw out somewhat like an Approbation to such like Work from those of our own Judgement and if these do approve it is the less matter think we that others do disapprove But we ought to remember there are others to sift our Actions Forreign Churches abroad our own Conscience being sober and settled and above all God the Judge of All. A Second Direction for managing our Differences is That we ought not to be so taken up with others as to take our Eye off from guarding against that which is Satan's main design against the Church of Christ at this time Satan does as a subtile Warriour labour to raise a Mutiny among the Forces which should oppose him that while they are wrangling one with another he may carry his Point without stroke of Sword Being to insist a little on this Direction I shall first speak to what I conceive to be Satan's main design against the Church at this time 2 I shall give some Directions to manage our Differences So as not to further this his main design nor yet to be short-coming in our Duty against it And First For taking up what is Satan's great Design we shall in a word or two lay before you a wonderful Contexture as it were of God's Wisdom and Satan's Malice since the first beginnings of the Christian Church even untill now There is no Truth almost but Satan's
cast themselves head-long upon the Errors of the time I do not love that any thing should be done of purpose to make People as we say kyth or appear in their colours I mean to bring out these Practices the Seed whereof thou conceives to be already within which at the best is to cast a stumbling Block before the Blind I might reckon several Practices which are not only Irritating but also in themselves Sinful such as Promiscuous admissions of Clean and Unclean to the Lord's Table Little pains taking by Ministers to Instruct People with Knowledge Shewing much of Passion but little of Reason against Errors There be many whose Zeal is honestly fervent against Error and Confusion who yet by these and such as these are not a little indirectly instrumental to the furtherance of it Our Second Direction how to manage our Differences so as not to further Satan's main design is That all especially Ministers would beware of such things as of their own Nature do prove and by constant observation have proven Fore-runners of Error and Confusion Of which I shall reckon Three The First thing to be eschewed is Unscriptural Expressions while speaking of things Religious as Cases of Conscience Exercises of Mind and Scripture Truths An affected way of bringing forth old Truths in new and uncouth Phrases high soaring Notions serving more to astonish than inform the Hearers Paul 2 Tim. 1. 13. bids Hold fast the form of sound words and not only of sound Doctrine It was Calvin's Observation in his time and severalls since that those who coin new Words and strange Expressions tending only to amuse the Hearers are in hazard to be carried away themselves and to carry others with them unto some New and Dangerous Opinions 2. Ye must beware lest a disgust of old Truths spread amongst the People together with an itching after new Things new Opinions new Cases new Fellowships new Teachers Ye'll find 2 Tim. 4. 3 4. That itching Ears in People go before the turning the Ear from the Truth For preventing whereof Ministers should be much in the inculcating of old Soul-saving and Soul-humbling Truths And for keeping these still fresh and savory much of the need of Christ should be pressed to a Soul-hungring for Christ every bitter thing is sweet but a Soul full of Conceit loatheth the Hony-comb A Third Thing predisposing to Error and so to be guarded against is The undervaluing of the Ministry It hath been Satan's method in drawing on People towards Error at all times and in no time more than these of late First To make them despise their Faithful Ministers that once getting the Ear stopped by prejudice against thesâ— he might get the more ready access for his Emissaries to infect them with Damnable Errors It is the Observation of a Reverend Writer of late speaking to the same purpose That the Galatians were easily seduced so soon as they were made to disgust Paul their Faithful Teacher This much for the Second Direction for managing of our Differences so as not to come short in defence of these Truths which Satan is labouring most to deface Our Third Direction is To be watchful over the first Buddings of Error That way There are some lesser Errors whereby Satan scoureth the Field and maketh way for these great Ones which he mainly intends Whereof as to the present case I shall mention some Concerning which whatever we might speak from our own knowledge of the propensity of severals towards some of them yet I shall rather choise to speak of them in the abstract as such That if People should be taken with them will make way for that Confusion which Satan mainly aimeth at Error 1. The first whereof is That no Man truly Godly ought to be Censured for Opinion or Practice which we conceive he owneth or practiseth from grounds of Conscience tho his Opinion or Practice tend never so evidently to the Renting of the Church Error 2. Secondly That the presence of Scandalous Persons at the Lords Table defileth the Ordinance unto all who Communicate knowing such to be there Error 3. Thirdly That a Minister Scandalous tho not Judicially proved such ceaseth to be a Minister so that it is unlawful to receive either Word or Sacrament at his hand or to join in Discipline with him Error 4. Fourthly That there is no special tye upon People to countenance the Ordinance in that Congregation whereof they are Members But a liberty left to go constantly where they may be most edified tho with the discouragement of those whose hands they are bound to strengthen I have only mentioned these Tenets without Refutation being confident that none of Christs Ministers to whom herein I mainly speak will own them Only I shall point at three things Ministers should make conscience of as their Duty in relation to these or such like First As it is our Duty to watch against prophanity and Scandal upon the one hand so to be learning where any thing of this kind vents it self either in Practice or Contentious Reasoning Secondly We should not think lightly of such when they do appear and that Because 1. They do evidently make way for Satans great design in these times which is to cover the Church of Christ with Confusion 2. Because that however possibly such do not reflect so much upon our own Ministry as upon others who we may conceive have justly procured their own grief yet a year or two may lay them down at the door of him who thinks himself for the time at greatest distance from them and that with so much the more weight as that he did not resent these evils sooner 3. Such would not be thought of lightly Because Experience sheweth That the simple overseeing of such is not the way to root them out but rather to make them take strength And therefore the Third thing that Ministers should make Conscience of in relation to such is To set about the Curing of them wherein ye are to eye two Caveats 1. As ye would thrive so set about the Cure of One evil as not to neglect Another They are not to be approven if any such be who in their Reproofs bend themselves wholly against Error but little against Prophanity and Vice neither are they to be approven if there be any such who pass over the reproof of Error wholly because the Person to be reproved will hardly take with it or that prophane men will take occasion to mock at Piety because of it These things require indeed that the Duty be wisely and tenderly done but not that it be left altogether undone A second Caveat to be eyed is your Cure should be more in Convincing Arguments than in Bitter Reproofs Else it will be taken but for the venting of Passion and that ye have nothing to say in Reason which will make the Disease worse This much for the second branch of our last Use. The Third shall be some Considerations to the People especially for
it self is expressed by the Word Truth Behold thou desirest Truth in the inward parts c. Whereby is not meaned Truth in the Judgement opposed to Error nor Truth in People's Words opposed to the Sin of Lying and speaking Untruth But it is Truth in the Heart and Affections called here Truth in the inward parts In a word it is the Grace of Sincerity and Singleness of Heart For so is this Grace often expressed in Scripture Isai. 38. 3. I have walked before thee in Truth saith Hezekiah and with a perfect upright or sincere Heart And Ephes. 6. 14 Having their loins girt about with Truth c. That is with Sincerity and Single-heartedness This then is That Truth which God requires as a necessary seasoning Ingredient in all Duties and especially in all Religious Performances And which David here holds out with a Behold as the thing which above any other thing he had aimed at and yet would aim more at in his Penitential Address unto God We have then in the Words 1. A Note of Attention Behold which David prefixeth to that which he is to say I call it a Note of Attention for that is the use it serveth for in this place as I shall clear afterwards 2. There is That which he subjoineth to this Behold The Lords Complacency and Delight in the Grace of Sincerity and the Exercise of it as that without which his Present Address could not be savory or acceptable to God Thou desirest Truth in the inward parts I shall observe Two things in General before I come to the Particulars of the Text. 1. From this David holds out the Rule he had walked by and was to walk by for making his Present Address to God In confessing of Sin and pleading hard for Pardon acceptable Hence take this Doctrine That it is not enough that we do somewhat of Commanded Duties but we must labour to do what we do in some measure acceptably David not only confesseth Sin and pleads for Pardon but he aims to do it in Truth that so he may do it Acceptably For while he saith God did desire Truth in the inward parts it is evidently implyed that He aimed to have it There is reason for this Because If the thing we do be not done Acceptably and in the Right Manner though the thing done be never so good in it self the doing of it is but lost labour unto us Thus though it was a piece of Commanded Duty under the Old Testament to offer up Sacrifices to God yet when People made not Conscience to discharge this Duty in the Right Manner all they did was to as little purpose as if they had done nothing at all Hence Isai. 1. 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me saith the Lord c. Yea the more excellent any Duty is in it self and the greater good is to be had by going about any Duty in a Right and Acceptable Manner the greater is the Hurt and Damnage which we incurr by it when we advert not how we do it And when without taking heed to our Feet we rush foreward to it and carry our selves but carelesly in the mean time that we are imployed about it What more excellent comfortable and Soul edifying Ordinance is there than this of a Communion which through God's Mercy ye have yet the liberty of approaching unto Is it not a Feast of Fat things of Wine on the Lees well refined wherein we Feast with Christ and upon Christ His broken Body is Meat indeed the most excellent that Heaven or Earth can afford And yet saith Paul If ye come not to this Ordinance in the Right Manner if ye set not your selves so to go about it as that ye may be accepted in your work if ye eat or drink unworthily without previous Examination of your selves Ye shall eat and drink Damnation and Judgement to your selves Not only shall your Table prove a snare but your meat be turned into poyson And therefore consider this in the entry and labour to have it imprinted on your Hearts That it is not enough to come rushing foreward to your Work not considering how ye come Your coming ought to be according to the Direction given Eccles. 5. 1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God c. As at all time so especially when ye approach unto such a dreadful Ordinance a this is whereof the advantage is so great if ye come Right and the hurt and hazard so unspeakably great if ye come Wrong But Secondly observe yet in General That in going about Commanded Duties in some measure Acceptably ye ought now and then to reflect upon the Manner and Way of your discharge of Duty even in the mean time when ye are about it For so doth David Here He casts an eye upon the Right Manner how He should have prayed to wit In Sincerity and Truth even in the very midst of his prayer while he saith unto God Behold thou desirest Truth in the inward parts And thus Christ in Luke 8. 18. saith unto His Disciples in the very mean time they were Hearing Take heed therefore how ye hear And surely our Hearts do oft turn formal vain wandering and lumpish or heavy in the Service of God because we do not seriously mind how sinful shameful and unseemly it is that it should be so A check of this kind in time and seasonably to a vain straying and wandering Heart would do much through God's Blessing to make it halt David doth this oft especially Psal. 43. 5. where he turns his speech from God and gives himself a rebuke and check for the present unsuitable frame of Heart wherein he then was Why art thoucast down O my Soul saith he And why art thou disquieted in me hope thou in God c. So that this reflecting upon the Manner and Way how ye discharge Duty even in the mean time when ye are about it is useful When ye find your Heart out of frame a serious timous check given unto it will prove an effectual mean to reclaim it Besides if upon your reflecting thus ye find matters tollerably Right and your Heart in such a frame for the Main as the Lord requireth it will furnish you with matter of boldness courage and confidence as here it doth David who having found somewhat of this Truth and this upright and sincere frame of Heart in his own Inward parts He takes ground of Confidence from That to expect that God who had given him This could also give him more In the hidden part saith he thou shalt make me to know Wisdom For Vse This doth shortly speak two things 1. The Service of God is a Work not of the Outward Man only but also and mainly of the Inward Man The Heart and Mind of a Man must be exercised in it if so be go rightly about it And that many wayes And this is One way The Heart must be exercised by reflecting now
times doth shew your Hearts are woefully backward to Hear and lay to Heart any thing that is spoken to this purpose But seeing the thing is needful and so needful as that all your other pains without coming up to what ye hear to this purpose will be to no good purpose Therefore ye ought to bestir your selves striving in earnest against your own Backwardness And if ye seriously set your selves to strive against it I doubt not but ye will get it overcome at least in part This much for the Note of Attention Behold I come next to that which is subjoined to This Behold viz. The Lords complacency and delight in the Grace of Sincerity and the exercise of it As that without which David's present Address could not be Savory or Acceptable to God Thou desirest Truth in the inward Parts We 'l find Three things in the Words For clearing what it is which makes our Performances accepted of God 1. In general It is somewhat which God desires approves or loves Thou desirest c. 2. It is somewhat in the Inward Parts not so much That which is External and seen by Men as what is Internal and known only to God and the Man 's own self 3. One main particular hereof is condescended on to wit Truth the Grace of Sincerity and the Exercise of that Grace Thou deâ—irest Truth in the Inward Parts Of all which I shall endeavour so to speak as that therein ye may see both your bypast failings for your Humiliation and also may see a Rule to which ye ought to Conform your selves for time to come As in the practise of all Duties so especially in your Address to God at this time First then observe The Rule of going about Commanded Duties Acceptably and in the Right manner is God's approbation For David doth not propose unto himself to follow That which would please his Own Humour or the Humour of others but that which God Desires Loves and Approves of Behold saith he thou desirest Truth c. As if he had said The tâ—ing O Lord which I aim at is That which thou Desires and Approves Thus the Lord saith to Abraham Gen. 17. 1. Walk before me and be thou perfect He â— have His Approbation hinted at in the words Before me the Rule of his walking acceptably This was the Rule which Christ himself when he came unto the World did walk by Psal. 40. 6 7 8 Sacrifice and Offering thou didst not desire Then said l Lo I come I delight to do thy will O my God And there is reason for it If we consider 1. That God is our main Party to whom we must give an account for all we do We must give an Account to others also but he 'l reckon with us when all others have done with us 2. He hath tyed us to this Rule and will reckon with us according to it Deut. 5. 32. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you You shall not turn aside to the Right hand or to the Left And therefore 3. Ye must look mainly to what He approves or disapproves else all ye do will be to no good purpose Matth. 6. 2. They do their Alms that they may have Glory of Men verily I say unto you they have their reward This ought to make you search what is the Rule ye walk by and to which ye labour to conform your selves most in your walk And for your more easie search I shall point at some who walk not by this Rule 1. Those walk not by this Rule who set themselves to come up in their way not to what God desires but to what the time and any Party who bears â—way in the time desire This is the Rule which the Pharisees would have had all in their time to walk by John 7. 48. Have any of the Rulers say they or of the Pharisees believed on him And it is the Rule that many walk by in all times they know no other Religion than That of the Times and which pleaseth Them best who bear the greatest sway So that if Such should change their way every year once They will not scruple much to change it as oft This is the Rule which these did follow whom God doth threaten Hos. 7. 3. They make the King glad with their wickedness and the Princes with their Lies They cared not what they did if so they might please their King and Rulers by it Such are Time-servers Men-pleasers and so cannot be God-pleasers For saith Paul If I yet pleased men I should not be the Servant of Christ. 2. Those walk not by this Rule of God's Approbation and Desire whose highest design in the point of Duty is To follow the Example of others And whose great enquiry is not so much to know what God Desires as what others do and rest upon that as sufficient that they may do the like This is the Rule which God forbids to follow Exod. 23. 2. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil c. And Broad is the way which leadeth to destruction and many there be that go therein And yet it is a Rule which many follow both as the matter what and the manner how they do it How many are there that though they want not their own Convictions and Challenges for several things they themselves are conscious of yet if there be many who are under the Power of the same Evils with themselves they force themselves to take Peace and hold on because there are many guilty of the same fault Alas That is but a very poor ground of Comfort To go to Hell with Company and speaks but very little zeal for God's Honour else the more thou seest it trampled on by others thou would be the more tender of it and consequently the more Common any sin is thou should hate it the more because God gets the more Dishonour by it This was David's way Rivers of Tears saith he run down mine Eyes because of the wicked who transgress thy Law 3. Those walk not by this Rule who walk only by that which their own Carnal Wit and Natural Reason approves How many are they who though they cannot but know that God in His Word requires more exactness in their Walk yet they rest on that which they think their own Carnal Wit thinks may suffice They 'll do what they can in Religious Duties which indeed is but to do what they please But for further God must forgive them Thus they 'l medle with what is easie pleasant and profitable in Religion But for what is hurtful burthen some or may bring loss they 'l never owne that Because their Carnal Reason suggests unto them that less than that may serve the turn Religion is good but People ought not to impoverish or destroy themselves for it Thus many do easily dispense with themselves for the neglect of all painful Hazards and expensive Duties such as To deal their Bread to the
in it If so he do bewail it and flee to Jesus Christ to get pardon for it and strength to subdue it It is not for this end I would have you to search and try your Inlakes in the exercise of Sincerity that ye may give your selves over for Rotten-hearted Hypocrites But that you may bewail it take with it judge your selves for it flee to Christ to get it pardoned and to get Grace to amend it And your making this use of your foul Failings as to this point shall be a clear evidence that though there has been much unsincerity and shameless Hypocrisie in you yet ye are no real Hypocrites But the main Use of the Point is That as ye desire to come to the Lords Table Acceptably and in the Right Manner so deal with God sincerely and in Truth that is Let your great Work ly about your Heart and Inward Parts to get some right frame and disposition put on them whereof I spoke before Only an humble hungring frame thirsting after Communion and Fellowship with him is a good frame at such a time Again let your coming flow from Spiritual Motives and level at Right and Approven Ends But especially deal Sincerely and in Trâ—th with God by labouring to be That indeed which by your Act of coming to the Communion ye give your selves out for Now ye give your selves out for many things 1. Your Coming saith That ye have need of Christ and must be at him And therefore deal sincerely and in Truth with Christ in searching out and being affected with the need ye have of Him 2. Your Coming to the Lords Table speaks that ye are weary of your old Masters and have a real mind to change them Now I beseech you deal sincerely and in Truth with God and see it be so that ye are really weary of your old Lusts which formerly enslaved you And that ye have a mind indeed to quite them 3. Ye do hereby give out that you have a mind to take God for your Master to enrol your self in the List of His Soldiers to fight against the Devil the World your own Flesh and every thing which is an Enemy with Him Deal in Truth and dissemble not with God in this See ye come not to give God a Day with a secret purpose to give the Devil an Year 4. Ye do hereby give out that you mind to close with Christ on His own Terms See ye deal sincerely with Him in this also And for this end Ponder well and think on the Terms before hand for if ye close a Bargain with Him on his own terms and so deal sincerely and in Truth with him Ye must first take him Freely For Come and buy saith he without money and without price Isai 55. 1. And therefore ye must not keep back from Him or come heartlesly to Him because ye find no worth in your selves for which ye should be beloved by Him If ye do so ye deal not Sincerely and in Truth with Him 2. If ye take Him on his own Terms and so deal Sincerely with Him ye must take him wholly not only as a Priest to save you but as a King to Rule in you If ye mind to make no other use of Christ but to get your by-past Sins pardoned by Him that ye may take on a new Score in time to come ye deal not Sincerely and in Truth with Him ye pretend to take Him on His own Terms and that is to take Him wholly And yet ye will not take Him as a King to Rule over you 3. Ye must take him with all the hazard that may follow upon your taking of Him ye must take him with a resolution to â—leave to him through Well and through Woe aswell when the World frowns upon him as when it smiles otherwise ye deal not Sincerely with him For these are his own terms whereon ye pretend to close with him If any man saith he will be my Disciple les him deny himself take up his Cross and follow me And lastly Ye must take him Irrevocably for it is an everlasting Covenant So that if the next day when the sensible Fruits of a Communion do not answer your expectation ye loose your grip and quite the Bargain ye do not deal Sincerely and in Truth with Him I shall shut up all I have said by giving some motives for making you deal thus Sincerely and in Truth with him Know 1. He is dealing Sincerely and in Truth with you He minds indeed to close a a most blessed Bargain with you and with all of you who mind to take him at his Word and to give him Credit And if ye will but credit him ye shall find from experience ere long that he hath been sincere real and in earnest with you And to the end ye may trust him He gives the most speaking evidences of His Real sincerity towards you which can be given Before ye take a tryal of him ye have His Word for it His Writ for it His Oath for it and ye shall have His Seal and Pledge of it Even that He shall be all that to you which He gives himself out for so that I may well say The Lord is dealing Sincerely and in Truth with You and therefore do ye so with Him 2. Your dealing thus Sincerely and in Truth with Him as I shew'd before will make him overlook your many other Failings which otherwise he will take notice of and reckon on your Account 3. If ye deal not Sincerely and in Truth with Him now it is a venture when or if ever again ye get such another occasion to do that which ye now leave undone Many of us have often at such times dealt deceitfully with God our Hearts have not been straight before Him And yet for all this he gives us a New Offer That notwithstanding all that is come or gone He shall be our God and we his People And if ye close with this Offer in Truth and on his Own Terms ye shall find him to be forth-coming according to his Offer But if ye shall slight him and deal deceitfully with him seeming to close a Bargain with him when really ye do it not It is a venture I say it over again if ever ye get such another Offer The shaddows of the Evening in respect of the bright Sun-shine of Pure Ordinances we have hitherto enjoy'd seem to be stretched out upon the Land and our Sun drawing towards a declining But though that should not be yet who is there among you can infallibly promise That he shall ever see another Communion yea or hear any number of Sermons after this And therefore while it is to day hear his Voice and harden not your Hearts Behold Now this very present Now is the Acceptable time and the day of Salvation And therefore Seek the Lord while he may be found and Call upon him while he is near A SERMON PREACHED AT KILWINNING MAY 11th 1663. Upon the Munday
immediatly after the Giving of the COMMUNION The Third SERMON LUKE 7. 23. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me. Beloved in the Lord THAT place 1 Cor. 1. 23. We Preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block hath had its accomplishment in all Ages and in no Age more than in this Jesus Christ and His way of working both with Churches and Particular Souls hath been a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to many yea moe and moe are stumbling still what through one occasion or other many who once did seem to run well in the way to Heaven in the way of Truth and in the way of Piety have either already taken up or are in hazard to take up such an halt as Christ may be conceived to say to those very few who seem resolv'd to follow him through Better and Worse as once he said Joh. 6. 67. Vnto the twelve when many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him will ye also go away I have therefore chosen this Text to speak from now immediatly after having engaged your selves to walk in Christs Way that thereby ye may guard against that woeful common evil of Being offended in Christ or of stumbling and taking up an halt in his Way of Truth and Piety notwithstanding all the stumbling blocks and rocks of offence ye may meet with For Blessed is he saith Christ whosoever shall not be offended in me The Words are a Part of Christs Answer to that Question propounded to Him by Two of John's Disciples at John's desire verse 20. Art thou he that should come or look we for another Ye may wonder that John who knew Christ so well should have moved such a Question But the Answer is First Tho Souls know Christ never so well they 'l desire and have need to know him better and to get what knowledge they have of him confirmed to them especially in the day of Trial For John was now in Prison And 2dly They 'l desire that others may know him also For it appeareth from what goeth before that John propoundeth this Question for his Disciples satisfaction and to satisfy their Doubts more than his own Christ's Answer hath two Parts 1. He bids them shew John what they saw him doing Verse 22. Tell Iohn saith he what things ye have seen and heard how that the blind see the lame walk the lepers are cleansed the deaf hear the dead are raised to the poor the Gospel is preached If ye ask what makes this to the Answer of the Question I answer It maketh much for it shews he was doing that which Scripture foretold the Messias would do Isai. 35. 5 6. And therefore he behoved to be the Messias 2. In thir words he answereth a main Objection against this Truth taken from Christ's own low condition and the practice of his Followers which made many bear off him For they expected a Glorious Messias a Great earthly Monarch And because Christ was but obscure and mean therefore they stumbled and were offended in him To this Christ answereth Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended or scandalized in me The word rendered here offended or scandaliz'd seems to be a Metaphor taken from Travellers who having dashed their Foot or Leg at some stone or block in the way do stumble or take up an halt so as they can go no further at least advance not so quickly in the way as they did And Secondly while he sayes Offended in me take this first Actively And so the meaning is They should not take occasion of stumbling from any thing in Christ or in His Way 2. It may be taken Passively so as to point out the Way that we should not stumble nor take up an halt in For there are some wayes to wit Every sinful course and way that it were good for People to stumble in and turn their backs upon But this Way wherein we should not stumble is Christ Himself and the Way of Truth and Piety prescrib'd by him Blessed is he saith Christ who shall not be offended in me As if he had said Happy is that Man who taketh not occasion from Me or any thing in My Way to stumble or turn his back upon Me and that course of Truth and Piety wherein I have commanded him to walk The Words are but One entire Proposition and Sentence I need not therefore spend time in dividing them But shall come to the Doctrines First The Lord applyeth the general Prophesies Concerning the Messias in the Old Testament to Himself in particular shewing they were verified in Him For the Words in me have in them a direct Answer to the Question propounded by John's Disciples and shews the Messias was come and that He is That Messias Whence we might mark That JESUS CHRIST the Son of Mary who was Born in Bethlehem brought up in Nazareth and Crucified in Jerusalem is that very same Messias who was to Come and promised to the Fathers We might observe 2ly That before He gave this Answer that He was the promised Messias whom they were to follow and not to stumble at He doth first prove by Scripture that it was so while he hids John's Disciples tell their Master he was doing such miraculous Works as the Scriptures did foreshew none but Christ should do Whence we might learn That all Questions and Debates about Religion should be determined from Scripture and according to the Rule set down in Scripture For here when a Question ariseth among John's Disciples If JESUS the Son of Mary was the promised Messias neither John the Baptist than whom there was not a Greater Prophet among these that are Born of Women yea nor Christ himself who was Greater than he do take it upon them to determine in it But John sends them to Christ and Christ sends them to the Scripture for a Solution Thus To the law and to the testimony saith the Lord Isai. 8. 20. if they do not speak according to this word it is because there is no light in them The neglect of this Rule hath been the In-let to Humane Traditions without and contrary to Scripture both in Worship and Government in the Antichristian Church And if this Rule once be laid aside there can be no end of Humane Ceremonies untill all that trash which is in the Roman Church be brought in upon the Church of God For if the Authority of a Man can make way for One it may also make way for all the rest But passing those The two following Doctrines are these that I intend most to insist upon And both of them are implyed 1. That there are many stumbling Blocks in Christ's way whereat People are apt to Offend take up an Halt and stumble And yet Secondly There is nothing of that kind which ought to make us stumble For if there were not some stumbling Blocks Christ needed not so much guard against them and by his guarding against them he
the courage to go on in Christs Way and set their Face against the storm of reproach and disgrace which is raised up with such like work But notwithstanding know there is no reason to stumble at Christ or his Way for any thing of that kind Because 1. He approveth no such Scandalous outbreakings His Word condemns them in all and in none more than in his Followers Because David by his fall made the Enemies of God to transgress therefore the sword never departed from his House 2. He permits such Offences to be for holy wise and just Reasons or that wicked men may thereby get occasion to vent that inward Spite they still carried against Religion and Godliness and so in Gods holy justice be permitted to break their necks upon them And 3. That all even the best may see therein their own weakness before a tentation and what unspeakable obligations they are under to God That they are not made examples of humane frailty unto others as others are to them And 4ly That all may learn not to have the Persons of men in admiration to love Truth and cleave unto it not for the Piety of men who owne it but from that worth that is in Truth it self So as that tho the very Ministers themselves who Preach it should run away from it or by their Scandalous outbreakings thro durt upon it Yet ye may still adhere to it In which case that whereon others stumble and break their neck should make you advance the faster in your way and God should bring you meat out of the eater A 6th thing that proves a stumbling block unto many is Diversity of Opinions There are so many Religions and Opinions about Religion they know not which to follow let all men once agree among themselves and then thy I 'l choose but till then they 'l forbear and so in effect do mock at all Religion But neither should this be For in the deep wisdom of God There must be Heresies that they which are approved may be made manifest 1 Cor 11. 19. Besides It lyeth not in the Devils power so to confound matters but that humble seekers of God will find out the right way He that guids the blind in a way they know not will lead such There are proud conceity People even tho otherwise good and there are also Careless profane People that is Such as look upon all Religion as Policy who are most like among such uncertainties to lose their way 7. People are ready to stumble at Christ and his way Because of the Quality of his followers It 's the Poor receive the Gospel John 7. 48. Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him And as Christs Followers are of the poorest sort So usually the Cross is their Livery Through many tribulations saith Paul they must enter the Kingdom of Heaven And who is Poor sickly tender despised mocked at afflicted in body and mind if Christs Followers be not But there is no Reason for stumbling at Christ and his Way for this And if thou stumble at it thou stumbles at the wisdom of God who 1 Cor 1. 27 Hath chosen the foolish things of the World to confound the wise and the weak things of the World to confound the things which are mighty And base things of the World and things which are despised hath God chosen And as to the Cross they get noe more of it than what is needful for them 1. Peter 1 6 Though for a season if need be ye are in heaveness It is needful and they find it needful so as many times they will be made to say they could not want one dram of it besides that the bitter Cross makes Christ the sweeter to them and so sweet as to furnish them with more contentment in their Crossed condition than a King hath who swayeth a scepter Psalm 4. 6. The light of Gods countenance made David Glad c. To this add Their Heaven is not here and the Lord of purpose maketh earth bitter to his followers that Heaven may be the sweeter when it cometh 8. Not only common Calamities from God but bitter persecutions from men attend the way of Godliness and these make many stumble and take up an halt Christ our Lord Matth. 13. 21. Speaks of a sort of men who when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by they are offended And the experience of all times sheweth that many formerly forward do then faint Neither want they their pretended Reasons for they are made to suffer as evil doers often as disloyal or seditious persons which to some makes sufferings more terrible than any other thing Again they 'l but faint and shame the Truth when they are put to it and therefore think it better to quite it in time And how can they be answerable to God to run the hazard of losing all they have in the World and to make themselves and posterity Beggars To this add what if sufferings should run higher than goods even to their life They are not ready to dye and so they may lose their Souls besides they yeild but in a little but quit not all and therefore it is not wisdom think they to be too peremptor These and such like Reasons make many stumble at Persecution and a suffering Lot when it attends God's way and those that walk in it But there is as little cause to stumble at Christ and His Way at this as for the rest For seeing Christ our Lord and Master went to Heaven through a sea of many sad sufferings why should it be look'd upon as a matter unbeseeming or a ground of stumbling that it is with the Servants as it was with their Lord and with the Disciples as it was with their Master Christ strives to prevent his Disciples stumbling by the same Reason John 15 15. Again a Suffering Lot hath still when it followed Christ's Fellowers made Christs Way the Way of Truth and Piety a gainer It hath ever proven so as might be made appear both from Scripture and Ecclesiastick History As it was with the Apostle Paul Phiâ—p 1. 12. So hath it been and so it will be with all Christ's suffering Followers I would saith he Ye should understand that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the Gospel This ever hath is and will be God's none-such Way wherein none can follow him to make his Truth his Work his Church his Interests thrive best when they are born down most As the Children of Israel Exod 1. 12. Who the more they were afflicted the more they multiplied and grew and therefore to stumble at Christ's way because of Persecution and a suffering Lot which usually doth attend it is nothing else but to break our neck upon the deep and infinite wisdome of God because he takes his own Way the surest and speediest way to make his Church to grow and will not take Ours
Besides all these pretexts and excuses of stumbling on this account may be easily answered For tho it hath been the lot of Gods Servants even when they have suffered for Righteousness to be suffering in the eye of the World as evil Doers yet in that case men must think it enough that they approve themselves unto God and that there is a day coming when their integrity shall be brought forth as the Light 1 Cor 4 3 with me saith the Apostle it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's Judgment he that judgeth me is the Lord. Again none ever suffered that for him which he did suffer for them He takes nothing from men but what he hath first given unto them neither puts he them to more than what he doth fit and strengthen them for It holdeth constantly In the mount the Lord will be seen And 1 Pet 4. 14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth on you And when People are put to the outmost of what can be expected even to lay down their Lives what is it but a paying of their debt a little sooner For once die they must And tho they should shift the matter at that time how quickly may God take their life from them another way possibly in a long lingering and pineing sickness with greater torment and a gnawing worm of Conscience besides and for any loss of goods Lands and inheritance that either People themselves or others of their Relations may sustain by cleaving to Christ's Way in a suffering time It is not to be valued to the loss of God's favour and countenance which cannot but follow if men do otherwise God's peace and Favour the light of his countenance listed up is that Hundred fold more than houses brethren sisters Children and Lands which a man who suffereth the loss of all these things for Christ's sake and the Gospels shall receive even now in this life As our Saviour teacheth Mark 10. 29 30. So besides that God hath a thousand ways to make up to men any loss of that kind at least so far as no man who sets his face towards Heaven shall want a competency for carrying him there and when a man 's once there he needs no more Matth 6. 33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you And many things may fall out that may impoverish you in which ye will neither have that honour nor satistisfaction which attends the Christians loss for Christs sake And tho ceding for a little might put a storm of trouble by yet he that is not faithful in the little will never be faithful in that which is more and it is Satan's Policy at all times to draw out the cause of sufferings to small things As Moses's Hoof Mordecart's Beck and Daniel's opening of his window In which case to wit the case of Confession even small things become great From all which It 's aboundantly clear there is no real Reason why any should stumble at Christ and his Way because of Peresecution or a suffering lot which usually doth attend it But a Ninth and Last thing which makes People ready to stumble at Christ and his Way and not only at one piece of his way but the whole bulk of Godliness and turn perfect Atheists is The temporizing temper of Ministers When Alas so much the more is our shame it is usually observed the generality of Ministers almost of all Countries are of that Religion and Way which is most in Credit and which the sway of the Court runs most for Thus among Papists almost all are Papists In Sweden and Denmark almost all are Lutherans And here with Us and in France and Holland almost all are Calvinists And that which increaseth the Scandal and Rock of Offence is When it is observed they easily turn their Tongues to speak the language of all times forewardly crying up such a Way the one year when the Ruling Power is for it and not only crying it up but engaging their Credit and Conscience by the most solemn Tyes which can be imagin'd amongst Men to promote it and pressing with all the most serious vehemency that Men can use upon the Lords People to do the like And yet when times change and that they perceive the promoting of such a Way doth not make for their Worldly interest they will cry it as much down again As if there were no respect to be had either to God Conscience or Credit but only to Peoples Interest and Standing Thus in the dayes of Constantine the Great a Godly Prince all the Ministers almost were Orthodox Again in his Son Constantius his dayes almost all of them even the same Men who had been at the Council of Nice and condemn'd the Arian Heresy turned Arians Hence it was then said Vnus Athanasius contra totum mundum And as it was in that Age so hath it been almost ever since The sway of the Court and Ruling Power of the Times hath carried with it the generality of Ministers too great a length to say and unsay as they did enjoin them This I grant is indeed a Rock which of any other hath in it most of Offence a Rock whereon many a Soul hath made Shipwrack And if the mighty Power of God did not preserve his own Elect It were a Worlds wonder if it did not banish all sence of Religion out of the World making all Flesh turn Irreligious Atheists But notwithstanding the Word of the Lord doth furnish us with something to say of this Rock also that there is no reason why any should stumble at Christ's Way for it And 1. Because both Scripture and Humane Histories do shew That though it hath been so almost in all times yet the Lord hath guided the matter so that he hath still keep'd a Church to Himself I have shewed so much already from Church History in Constantine's time And for Scripture History Ye know in Elijah's time 1 Kings 19. 14. The torrent of Defection was so prevalent that for any thing could appear to such a sagacious Man as Elijah He and he only was left alone And Rev. 3. 4. There were but a few Names left in Sardis which had not defiled their Garments with the Iniquity of the Times 2. This may also contribute to remove stumbling That the Lord amongst all the most general Defections of Ministers hath ever keeped some streight So as the Way of Truth and Piety is not left without a Witness and some encouragement to those that walk in it In Achab's time there was one Elias yea several others tho Elias knew not of them And in Sardis there were a few names at least who had not defiled their Garments Wheâ— the Arians so far prevailed that it was said the whole World groaned and wondred at it self that it became Arian yet there
was One Athanasius And when Antichrist was to prevail it is shown Rev. 11. 3. That notwithstanding all the Tyranny of Antichrist and the torrent of Corruption in these times God should have His Two that is tho not many yet some few Witnesses 3. The Lord in His deep Wisdom doth measure out such a Dispensation for heightning His Churches Tryal And that these who keep their Garments clean may come forth as Gold It is but an inconsiderable Tryal and calls for little Resolution to stand it out When all the Lord's Ministers speak one thing lifting up their Voice as a Trumpet and denouncing the dreadful Judgements of God on all who turn their back on Truth and Piety But when the generality of Ministers at any time do blow the Trumpet of Defection from the Lord That speaks Loyalty indeed If then notwithstanding such Defection People stand to the Lords Banner and in nothing be moved from it And that because the Trumpet gives an uncertain sound speaking one thing one day and another thing the next So that to stumble at Christ's Way because of this when it falleth out is to stumble at the Wisdom of God 4. Therefore should no Man stumble at Christ nor His Way for this because the Lord in all times hath made it and no doubt will yet make it tend to the advantage of His Way in the close So as afterwards times growing more favourable the Church of God hath thereby been freed from a Fleece of Time-servers who would never otherwayes have discovered themselves Besides that others who through weakness had turned aside in some degreâ—â— with the torrent of the time somewhat against their Heart have been made to acknowledge their weakness to God's Glory And so make up by their Repentance the breach they had made on God's Way by their Fall And consequently for any to stumble at Christ's Way because of This is to break their neck on that which in God's method doth make His Way most lovely in the Close There are other Two Points yet which might be handled jointly as the former The one Expressed The other Implyed and both of them serve to confirm the last to wit That whatever we meet with in Christ's Way we should not love Christ nor His Way the less None of these things should make us take up an halt in His Way much less turn our back upon it For 1. It is an happy thing not to stumble at Christ or His Way This is expressed in the Text. 2. The Man who is offended in Christ who turneth his back upon Him because of Stumbling-blocks or Rocks of Offence in the Way That Man is an unhappy Man and cursed I might prosecute both these Points but for the time I shall forbear and only say something in Answer to a needful Question I think one may readily ask what I call Christ's Way whereat we should not stumble For there are Men and Parties of several wayes There are Papists and Protestants Sectaries Socinians Formalists Anabaptists Prelatists or Episcopâ—l-men Presbyterians Independents and Quakers every one whereof have their Own Way about Religion And no doubt all of them will call their Own Way Christ's Way And therefore it is needful to know which of these wayes are Christ's Way indeed that so we may not turn our backs upon it In Answer to which Question It cannot be expected if it were but for the time I can enter in a Debate concerning what is Right or Wrong what is Christs what is not Christs in All those Wayes I shall therefore only give you some general Directions for finding out what is Christ's Way amidst the tide and torrent of so many contrary Opinions And these such that upon the one hand I think there is no Man having his right Wits about him with the least Grain of Piety but he must give his Assent unto them And yet such as through God's Blessing being rightly improven shall not leave you without a Guide what to choose as God's Way and what not First then I doubt not it will be taken for granted by All. That the Way of Christ whereat we should not stumble are the Essentialls of Piety and Christianity I mean Faith in Jesus Christ Repentance unto Life Holiness and tenderness of Walk in eschewing all known Sin and coming up to the Practice of all known Duty This is it I intended mainly all alongs to wit That notwithstanding all the forementioned Rocks of Offence ye would not turn Profligate Profane Debauch'd and Irreligious Atheists but hold on in the Way of substantial Piety notwithstanding of all and over the belly of all 2. But this is not all It 's but a loose way of Religion and very near to no Religion at all for a Man to pretend to no more but adhere to the Practice of substantial Duties and the Faith of Fundamental Truths while in other things he sayes and unsays and rolls about with the times For hereby they may suffer the Devil to do with the most part of Scripture what he pleases For Truths absolutely necessary to Salvation are but few the Lord in Mercy having so provided that the meanest capacity may explicitly comprehend them and all of them seing they cannot be saved without them But tho there be some few Truths only of absolute necessity for Salvation yet there are others in their own kind also necessary to wit for Gods Glory and your own Comfort and the Lord will have you sticking closs by these Truths once knowing them to be Truths as well as by others and that because a great part of Christ's Way lyeth in a Mans adherence even to these Truths to wit God's Glory and the Man 's own Comfort And a Profane loose and indifferent Spirit as to these doth both in the nature of the thing and in God's just Judgement beget in progress of time Profane Indifferency and Atheism as to other more great and substantial Truths So doth the Apostle Paul inform the Galatians Ch. 5. 9. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump Thus then the great Question is to know which is Christ's Way in Truths of that sort that so we may not stumble at it For which in the first place take Paul's Rule Philipp 3. 16. Nevertheless whereto we have already attained let us walk by the same Rule And 2 John 8. Look to your selves that we lose not these things that we have wrought In a word whatever a Man is perswaded on good ground to be Christ's Way let him stick closly by That as his way and whatever he meet with beware of doing any thing wherein his own Heart will condemn him I say this because there are some Truths of an inferiour Nature which are as clearly revealed in Scriptures as other more substantial Truths And consequently a Man may as much be perswaded of the one as the other And tho another Man may think or say he is perswaded of the contrary Error that it is Truth and be deceived
had been converted and indued with saving Grace neither doth Grace here signify Gods Grace inherent in them but Gods Grace and free Favour which he saw in the effects of it in that it wrought so Powerfully in bringing a great many to embrace the Doctrine of the Gospel among whom there doubtless were many sincere and real Converts though all of them were not so However the thing he saw was The mighty progress and success of the Gospel and this occasioned by a strong and cruel Persecution mentioned verse 19 the Ministers are forced to flee from their Flocks wherever they go they Preach Gods Grace and mighty Hand accompanies their Labour to the Conversion of many thousand Souls this is the Grace which Barnabas saw Hence take this Doctrine That sadest Persecutions for Truth do frequently prove an occasion of the Gospels spreading Thus it was Act 8. 3. Saul made havock of the Church entring into every House and haling Men and Women committed them to Prison v. 4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where Preaching the Word Even as far as Phâ—nice Cyprus and Antioch as it is ver 19 of this Chapter The making havock of the Church occasioned the enlargement of the Church which hath frequently fallen out since which gave ground to that true and ancient saying The Blood of Martyrs is the seed of the Church The Reasons why the Work and Grace of God thrives best at such times may be many As 1. Peoples Ears are then bored and readiest to drink in the Word with greediness because then they have little other comfort left them Affliction and Persecution is a Tasty Sawce to make the Word Relish Psal. 141. v. 6. When their Judges are overthrown in stony places they shall hear my words for they are sweet 2. At such times the Servants of Christ are more diligent in their Work as they can have access to it and more fervent in dealing with God by Prayer for a Blessing to their Work because the thriving of their Work is all the reward which they can then expect And 3. The Lord doth then usually countenance the Labours of his Servants most because they are most despised few do then care for them or takes any notice of them And therefore the Lord takes this way both to hearten them and to put respect upon them And 4. The Couragious Constant and Cheerful enduring of Hardships and Sufferings for Truth doth commend that Truth for which they suffer unto others even to indifferent Spectators and makes them enquire after it and desirous to know what so much worth there can be in it I shall not insist for Application hasting forward to the latter part of the Text Only if it be so Then People are not to lookupon Persecution and a suffering time for Truth whenever it comes as so sad so dismal and dreadful a thing For this at least may be expected to be lovely in it The same Truth which men labour to bear down shall spread the faster and the further And that this is so the following Doctrine will shew Another Doctrine ariseth from the first effect this sight did work on Barnabas It made him Glad for so saith the Text Who when he came and had seen the Grace of God was glad The Doctrine is this That the Gospel and Truth do spread and gain ground among People is matter of Joy and gladness to a Godly heart though the times were otherwise never so sad For there were many things to make Barnabas sad at this time If we consider 1. How they had stoned the first Martyr Stephen to death a man full of the Holy Ghost and used him so as if he had been the most notorious Malefactor that ever the Earth carried And 2. The prosperous state of the Churches Enemies the Scribes Pharisees High-Priests a company of degenerate corrupt Church-men who at that time did sit at Jerusalem guiding all things at their pleasure That if any did but mutter against their State and Dignity though in the furthest part of all the Realm their hand could easily reach them They needed no more but hound out a Saul with a Commission if it were to Damascâ—s to take them and bring them bound to Jerusalem As is clear from Acts 9. 1 2. And 3. if ye consider his own poor condition and that of others the Servants of Christ at that time who were hunted from corner to corner yea from Kingdom to Kingdom These and many such things as these were at that time to make Barnabas sad and yet this makes him take all in the better part and in a manner digest all That when he came he saw the Grace of God had accompanied the Labours of his despised Servants and a rich Income of Souls to the knowledge of Christ and the Gospel And when he saw this he was glad He is in some sort so transported with it That in a manner he forgets Stephen's death he envyeth not the prosperous state of the Churches Enemies noâ— doth much resent his Own hard lot or that of others who were Christs Faithful Saints and Servants All which cleareth the Doctrine That the spreading of Truth will make a Godly Heart Glad though the times otherwise were never so sad Thus was it with the Apostle Paul Philip 1. 12. The things which happened unto me saith he meaning his Bonds Imprisonment and other harsh usage have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel Whereupon v. 18. he breaks out What then notwithstanding every way whether in pretence or in Truth Christ is Preached and I therein do rejoyce yea and will rejoyce For Vse 1. Try your selves by this What it is that makes you Glad Is it the thriving of Gods work in Souls The down-bearing of Sin The growth of Piety If so It speaks thee to be a man of Barnabas temper and upon the other hand If things of that kind do rather make the sad and if the back-going of Gods Work The destroying what he hath built The plucking up of what he hath planted The thriving of sin and Wickedness The general Loosness of the times If I say these things make thee Glad It speaks thee to be a man of a woful temper a very Godless Heart But 2. If this be a thing that will make a Godly Heart Glaâ— in the saddest of times then Pray to God for it that it may be so That the Work of God may thrive in Hearts That those woful Spiritual Plagues of Security Deadness and Hardness of Heart may be removed and the Gospel may take many by the Heart who never hitherto knew the Power of it It 's easie for God to bless his Truth in the Mouth of his despised and persecuted Servants and to make a gracious Change tho Wickedness were at the greatest hight And if he do it whatever may be the other sadness of the Times thou who art a Godly Heart shall have reason to be Glad yea and thou shall
ye would 3. Do not needlesly and without a ground call in question the reality of your former closing with him For that as I told you before will make you heartless to set to it of new Or however ye question the reality of what ye have done already yet see that in no terms ye question your Right to close with him by Faith and believe in him for time to come For whatever thou hast done formerly the Gospel Offer is yet at thy door and a Command from God unto thee to close with it and if thou hast not done it in earnest before thy need is so much the greater to do it frequently and in earnest now But now to proceed By the Lord to whom he exhorts them to Cleave is not only meaned The Lord Himself as he is offered in the Promise but generally all that he hath recommended to our care as an evidence of our respect to him Thus we testify our respect to absent Friends by owning their Concerns and Interests and if ye ask what these things are that the Lord Christ hath recommended to our care I answer in two words First His Truth and next his Service So that 1. ye are to Cleave unto and Continue in his Truth against Error according to what the Apostle Jude commands V. 3 Ye should earnestly contend for the Faith to wit the Doctrine of Faith or Truth which was once delivered unto the Saints 2. We are to Cleave to and Continue in his Service whether the Duties of Immediate Worship we should cleave to these against Superstition voluntary neglect Will-worship and Idolatry Or the Duties of our Particular Callings and Stations All which should be gone about as Service to him So Servants are to do their service with good will as to the Lord and not to men Ephes. 6. 7. Now that Cleaving to all These is meaned by Cleaving unto the Lord appears from Deutr. 10. 20. and 30. 20. where Cleaving to the Lord is explained by fearing the Lord by obeying his voice by serving him and swearing by his name Now to speak a little to each of these 1. Ye must Cleave to and continue in his Truth Gaius is commended for this 3 Joh. 3. even that he walked in the Truth And Prov. 23. 23. we are bidden Buy the Truth and sell it not And ye heared from Jude Ye should contend for the Truth For Error contrary to Truth is of a Damning Nature 2 Peter 2. 1. They are called Damnable Heresies And Error in point of Truth makes way for Prophanity and loosness of Life a sound Heart and an unsound Head cannot well subsist Therefore doth Peter 2 Epist. 3. 17. call Error The error of the wicked For helping you to this needful Duty of Cleaving to the Lord by Cleaving to His Truth I shall recommend to you these things 1. Beware of Scepticism or making all Truths debateable or those Truths especially which may bring you in greatest hazard to confess or cleave to This is down right contrary to the Cleaving to Truth here enjoined 2. Do not undervalue any Truth say of no Truth as Lot said of Zoar is it not a little one and so I may skip from it It 's true there is a difference among Truths some greater Truths and some smaller But as it is of Sins so it is of Errors The lesser alwise doth make way for the greater and there is no Truth which cometh not from the God of Truth And therefore no Truth which ye should look on as a thing Indifferent whether ye think so or otherwise of it Besides in times of Defection from Truth it is the usual Artifice of Persecuters to extenuate those Truths they labour to bear down as things Indifferent and very triffles When in the mean time their own practice doth give theâ—r Profession the lie For if they thought them things indifferent and triffles why would they persecute Mâ—n for adhering to them Besides tho some Truths be not so absolutely necessary to Salvation but a Man may be saved tho he think otherwise yet it doth not follow we should be careless of all such Thus tho a Man's hand be not so absolutely necessary but he may live without it yet he were a mad Man who on that account would wittingly and willingly cut it off Besides an Error in some Truths which will not damn one may condemn another who knows at least may easily know it to be an Error and yet will live and die in the Justification of it without Repentance 3. Ye ought chiefly to cleave to those Truths which ye are most engaged to owne either by God's sealing them to your Spirits or by Catechising and Instructing you from your very Childhood in them so that ye are put out of all doubt of the Truth that is in them or by bringing you under most sacred Tyes of Solemn Vows and Oaths to maintain them I say ye ought to look upon it as your Duty chiefly to Cleave unto such Truths 2 Joh. 8. Look to your selves that we lose not those things that we have wrought And Solomon saith It is not safe after vows to make enquiry If a Man's Conscience grow once so wide as to let such Truths pass through either for Errors or Triffles he may perswade himself there is not a Truth in all the Bible if he be hard put to it that he 'l stick at but that meeting with a pressing suitable tentation he 'l let it slip through after them 4. We are to Cleave to Truth not only by retaining the knowledge of it and by giving assent to it in our Judgements but also by giving a modest and faithful profession and confession of that Truth on all hazards when we are called to it This is commanded 1 Pet 3. 15. Be ready alwise to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meakness and fear and Rom 10. 10. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation This is necessary both for the honour of God Truth being a piece of his Name which we are bound to confess Rev 2. 13 Thou holdest fast my name and hast not denyed my faith And its necessary also in order to our own Salvation For whosoever saith our Saviour will confess me before men him will I also confess before my father which is in heaven but whosoever will deny me before men him will I also deny before my father which is in heaven This now as upon the one hand it doth not justify unseasonable Confession contrary to Matth 7. 6 Cast not your pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rent you So upon the other hand it reproves those who dar not or will not give a Confession of the Truth even when they are called to it and much more those who deny the Truth either expresly or Interpretativly That is when they
labour to bear down him that speaks it So Hereticks are called Murmurers Complainers Jude verse 16. So a Minister in reproving Error would guard against this danger lest he do more hurt than profit and all the Issue of his pains be to work a prejudice against himself And Secondly This Argument will be the more strong considering the evil that comes by prejudice There is nothing that makes people run faster headlong into Error than prejudice against Faithful Pastors Therefore this hath been the Devil's Method First To bear down the Ministry by making the people first cast at one then at another and so at all that their Ears being once stoped with prejudice at what Ministers say their Ear may be boared to let in any Error that the Devil or his Instruments pleaseth to vent Therefore a Minister would make it his Study so to behave himself that there be no ground of prejudice given by him but that all his Carriage may savour of a Resolution to entertain Love Now because our fear is that Error may spread and that if the Lord give us leave we intend from this Verse to speak to the most infecting Errors We shall solve this Question What a Minister is to do for entertaining Love For clearing of this we shall first shew what he is not to do He is not to be silent at Error for fear of Irritating and losing Affection That were not Love considering what is said of the nature of Error It is all one as if we would not reprove a loose Liver for fear of angring him Secondly Neither is he to speak against them in a Cold-rife manner as if it were a thing indifferent whether they return to a right Judgement or not No He must as he would be faithful to God aggravate the evil of Error to the utmost declare its hazard denounce what Scripture pronounceth against it whether it anger them or not Better anger and loose them than anger God What then must he do Answer As in other sins he must first reprove them Levit. 19. ver 17. And secondly so reprove as it may argue Love to the person reproved Jude ver 23. Only there would be this difference betwixt reproving of Error and other sins Other sins may be inveighed against without pains to convince the person reproved that such are sins Nature is born with a cry against such But Error hath an erring Conscience to stand up in its behalf therefore the most of a Ministers work would be in convincing from the Word that the thing he holdeth is Error Otherwise to inveigh against what he holdeth without this will harden him more he will look on it as the Man's passion and that he hath nothing to say from Scripture or Reason against what he holdeth 2. In dealing with erring persons there would be a difference put betwixt Seducers and those who are seduced Those who are rooted in Error and those who are only Doubters so Jude verse 23. For Use Ye may see from this what a great Task Ministers have and how great need of help there is from people to Ministers in Erring times In some respect it is harder to deal with one Man tainted with Error than with twice so many Prophane Livers A prophane Mans Conscience must readily say the same that we say and so keep us at Reverence But an erring Mans Conscience speaks against us takes us to Err and so readily cannot endure us and yet we must speak venturing in Gods strength But there is need so to speak least in speaking we loose more then we gain The next thing that followes is the Exhortation Believe not every Spirit That is do not credit every Doctrine that hath a fair pretence Or every Preacher that pretends the Name of the Spirit From this we learn That the Spirit of Error began very early to trouble the Church in the primitive times when the Apostles were yet living there were even then some who contradicted them to their very face so the averrers of Circumcision Justification by workes denyers of the resurrection c. Reas 1. The Reason is first because the Spirit of Error is shameless it will affront the most convincing evidences for it is natures Brood and credit is so engaged in it that it trampleth upon all that would bear it under if an Apostle were speaking a Sectarian Spirit would out-dare him It is an affronted and malapert Spirit Secondly The Lord saw it fitting that in the latter ages of the Church his People should be tryed by erring Spirits and therefore he would have the primitive times troubled with them also that we might be the less troubled seeing that even the Apostles themselves were not fre'd from such like perplexity as to have to doe with Spirits of Error But there is an other Reason why the Lord suffers his Church both in former times and in latter times to be troubled with the Spirit of Error set down in the 1 Corinth 11. verse 19. For there must be also Heresies amongst you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you There must be Heresies there is a must be put upon it Now this is not an absolute necessity but a necessity or a must be upon the supposition of Gods most wise decree to permit wise decree to permit and suffer those things for most wise ends and the end for which he permitts them to be is First for the tryal of Persons and secondly for the tryal of Truth First for the tryal of Persons this End is set down in the verse cited Heresies and Hereticks must be that they which are aproved may be made manifest among you The Spirit of Heresie let loose hath a discovering efficacy with it it discovers who are of a humble frame of Spirit and who are Proud Lofty Conceity and of a Selfish spirit It discovers who are light weak and easily carried away with any thing unstable minds as the Apostle speaks and who are more solid and Ballanced with the Spirit of Sobriety and solid Wisdom that is from above It discovers these who have put a price on Truth that they will buy it but will on no termes sell it and also discovers those who have put no price upon it or that will suffer little for it That is the first end why Hereticks must be to discover Persons and try them And secondly Hereticks in the Lords wise Providence tend to the tryal of Truths and the making of them brighter and clearer they scoure Truths so to speak so that the disputs of Hereticks and venting of Error make Truth the brighter The more debating there is betwixt these two Error grows the blacker and Truth the clearer When the Lord hath a mind to have a Truth cleared and rooted in his Peoples Spirits He does in his Infinite Wisdom take this way a strange way indeed and yet making much for the purpose He will let some Error arise to oppose the Truth through occasion whereof more
and then upon it self and observing its own present frame and disposition how it comes up to the Rule prescrived by God for making what we do in the Service of God Acceptable And next it speaks the great guilt of many in God's Service A piece of the Iniquity of our Holy Things for which we ought to be humbled That many times wheâ— our Tongue is busie our Heart is idle when our Outward Man is present the Inward Man is away and gets liberty to depart from God without check or challenge This is it that God complains of Isai. 29. 13. This People draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their heart far from me But now I come to the words in particular 1. David prefixeth a Behold while he is to speak to that which was necessarly required for making his Adress acceptable to God Behold is somtimes a note of Admiration prefixed to such things as are wonderful as Isai. 7 14. Behold a virgin shall conceiveâ— and bear a Son c. And so it may be taken here it is indeed a thing wonderful that God should desire or delight in Truth in the inward parts or that any thing which is in us or proceeding from us should be lovely to him There is such a mixture of unlovely sinful dross in every thing of that sort But we think it doth rather serve here as often elswhere For a note of Attention Only taking it so ye must consider that David's design and aim hereby is not so much to stirr up God as his own Heart and the Hearts of others in whose hands this Piece of Scripture should come to take heed to the following Purposes We shall from this shortly mark Two things 1. The Hearts even of the best have need of being stirred up to take heed unto what is the Lords mind concerning the Right and Acceptable Manner in going about commanâ—ed Duty For therefore doth David see it needful to pluck his own ear as it were for making himself more attentive to this Subject by prefixing a Behold a note of Attention unto it Behold thou desirest Truth in the inward Parts The Truth is if we get the substance of Duties gone about we are ordinarly too apt to think that it is but needless scrupulosity to be anxious about the manner how to do it So are we in Prayer So are we in Hearing and so are we also in coming to Communions when ever occasion is offered and an outward Call or invitation given us to come there is none almost but his Conscience will challenge him if he stay aback But as to the qualifications of the Call and what is required of you for coming Acceptably It is a wonder to see with what a careless ear the most part do hear any thing of that sort as if the Communion were a Charm to work upon People whether they be fitted to Receive it or not So that Sermons for Preparation do serve as to many for no other use but for a Customary Ceremony and to fill up so much time These necessary Directions which are given you to come in the right manner and the warnings you get telling you how dreadful a thing it is to come Wrong are minded no longer by the most part than the mean time they hear them and by some scarcely so long Hence certainly it is that the Lord is not so Familiar with the Hearts of People at his Own Feast as sometimes he hath been It is no wonder Because we come not as Prepared Guests with a Wedding Garment to meet with him Yea doubtless hence it is that the Lord doth threaten so hard to draw his Table and to suffer men to impose upon us a Dead lifeless formal way of Worship that therein we may see the Copy of our own Hearts who if they get the outward form gone about they care little for the inward Life Power and Substance and surely if ever it come to this as God knows how soon it may that all our Religion shall consist in threed-bare Imposed Forms and that more pains be taken by Ministers to press upon People the observance of these Forms than the very Life and substance of Religious Performances we must justifie the Lord in it for that is the very Copy of our formal Hearts Our Love to and resting on Formality may provoke the Lord to wreath the yoke of a Dead Lifeless and Formal Service on our necks that we shall not be able to shake it off though we would The Lord oftimes shapes out Cross Dispensations in the publick according to these sinful Distempers which are common and prevalent in the Hearts of People that therein they may see the unlovely Representation and Idea of their Own Heart Jer 5. 31. He 'l suffer even The Prophets to Prophesy falsly and the Priests to bear Rule by Their means If his People love to have it so But Secondly The consideration of this your Dulness and Aversness to hear what is the Lords mind concerning the Right and Acceptable Manner of going about Commanded Duties should make you so much the more to stir up your selves to give diligent heed unto any thing that is spoken to that purpose For therefore in order to his own upstirring doth David prefix a Note of Attention Behold to the purpose in hand 1. Directions of that kind are needful to be given For as ye heard though ye do all that is Commanded as to the Substance and Matter yet if ye do it not in the Right Manner all ye do is to no purpose as I cleared from Isaiah 1. 11. 2 If it be needful that such Directions be given then it is needful that ye diligently hear them else ye cannot obey them ye'l but leave them where ye find them as oft-times ye do In which case your Hearing them doth but aggravate your guilt in the neglect of them 3. Our backwardness and aversness to hear and lay to Heart what is spoken to that purpose though it be great yet is not such but if it be wrestled against and manfully opposed it may be overcome It is only Our giving way to it without resistance which makes it strong importunate and shameless when our setting our selves seriously and in earnest to wrestle against it would make it to cede according to that word Jam. 4. 7. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you I shall not insist on this only This serves in place of a Preface for stiring you up to hear and lay to Heart what I am to say on the rest of the Text which holds out the Lords mind as to one thing at least concerning the Right and Acceptable Manner of going about Commanded Duties and especially This Duty which now ye are called to of approaching to the Lords Table The Lord desireth Truth in the Inward Parts It 's true not only what ye heard from the former Note but your own experience at such