proceed from the Spirit of Error Now if you think that I am injurious in referring thus the trial of Spirits and doctrines only to this one Rule while I have told you before that S. John layeth down Two more in this Chapter to the same purpose I shall readily confess the charge but without any Imputation of injustice yea shall take advantage from hence the more to strengthen this Assertion and to lay down this as the chief and principal Rule forasmuch as both the others do relate to it and are instances of it For a free undaunted confessing of Christ in times of danger and loving cordially our Brethren are both of them chief branches of Christian vertue and holiness and indeed as they are almost above all other things commanded by our Saviour so they have the choicest and most endearing encouragements annexed to them So then the Argument from this place will be very clear and concluding for in that very place where S. John enjoyns the trial of Spirits and Doctrines he layeth down this as the great Rule for that trial and though he add Two other Rules also yet they are but particulars and branches of this great one And then the whole of the Apostles directions in this case amounts to thus much Whatever doctrine doth conduce to make men truly holy especially encourageth to the right taking up the Cross of Christ and a cordial constant love to our Brethren that doctrine issueth from the Spirit of Truth and whatever doctrine is contrary either to these Two single Christian vertues or to it in general doth certainly proceed from the Spirit of Error and this I take to be the natural and true purport of S. John in this Text. But I would not have you think that he is singular in this or without good authority for what he saith we shall find he had sufficient warrant from his great Master Christ Jesus as we may clearly see if we consider that speech of Christ Mat. 7.16 20. By their fruits ye shall know them In the preceding Verses our Saviour is forewarning his Disciples of the coming of false Prophets into the world and of the very specious pretences that they should make to deceive people by Having done this and caution'd against them he layeth down in this place a Rule to know and discover them by which Rule is very positive and plain and twice repeated that we should not doubt of it or forget it By their fruits ye shall know them i. e. by the natural consequences and fruits of their doctrines by such conclusions as do naturally and by right arguing follow from them So that the trial of Prophets is to be made by trial of their doctrines and these are to be tried by the natural consequences and effects of them not by what a man can discover in the professors or venters of such doctrines for these many times are very close and subtil Hypocrites and lead their lives with very great heed and wariness wearing the Sheeps skin to conceal the Wolfs heart and always putting on the form of godliness to cover their malicious and rotten designs and no wonder for Satan can transform himself into an Angel of light but by the natural consequences and effects of the doctrines For otherwise it were almost utterly impossible to make a discovery of doctrines by this Rule since all men do not live up exactly to the consequences of their own Tenets One man may have a right faith and yet lead a wicked life and another may have a rotten false belief in some particulars and yet be tolerably well in his life And there is no doubt but many a well-meaning man may embrace an Error in simplicity without understanding rightly what the mischievous consequences of it are yea perhaps without ever practising those consequences Men may be honest and yet careless and be imposed upon and so on the contrary too but I shall say more to this hereafter In the mean time we may rest satisfied that our Saviour means by fruits such things as are the natural consequences and proper products of such doctrines and this he clears and assures the truth and reasonableness of by an excellent and well known comparison and indeed it holds true both ways men do not gather Grapes from Thorns nor Figs from Thistles nor do Vines yield the Berries of Thorns nor doth the Doune of Thistles grow upon Fig-trees For though it be possible and God knows too common too for a man to detain the truth in unrighteousness Rom. 1.18 yet the unrighteousness issues from the man not from the truth And though a Heretick may possibly be eminent in some good things yet his heart is to be praised for it not his head i. e. his goodness is not the effect of his Error nor upon any account at all ascribable to it So then if we keep us to our Saviours sense the Rule is true and will never deceive us Those doctrines that design nothing but to make men pure and holy and conscientious and strictly regardful of our Christian duty cannot but issue from the Spirit of Truth and Satan can never be contributive to a doctrine that tends so much to the overthrow of his design and great Interest in the world But whatever doctrines or broachers of them do any way infuse into men or encourage and prompt them to any Impiety any Sin let their shews be never so specious their pretences never so fair yet those Prophets are false Prophets and those doctrines fumes from Hell whose great design it is to corrupt mens manners debauch their lives and keep them from the love and practice of piety This is all that I have to offer from these Two places of the New Testament and truly I think what hath been offered enough to confirm the Collection and to gain the assent of every good Christian to the truth of it CHAP. IV. The old Testament cited also for the proof of this and two great considerations added to give more Evidence to it This the rule to try Prophets by of old and the best Criterion of a true Divine Miracle THE former Chapter having acquainted you with some proofs for this out of the New Testament I shall proceed to add some to them also out of the Old For this is no new thing nor unknown to the Jews in time of old but it was deliver'd to them also as the great Rule to judge by in this case of which I take that place of the Prophet to be clear evidence To the Law and to the Testimony Isaiah 8.20 and if they speak not according to this Rule it is because there is no light in them In the preceding Verses the Prophet is inveighing against and condemning the attending to any extraordinary pretenders to knowledge or revelations such as Wizards and Necromancers and those that consulted familiar Spirits And in this Verse he layeth down a Rule by which to try all revelations and
Omniscient and Active and can never fail either to know what doctrines will best comport with its great design among men or to pursue and reveal those doctrines to men when it hath pitched on them And he that will consider how very subtil a Spirit the Devil is and how unweariedly restless in managing his own designs in the world can neither think him ignorant and unable to pitch upon such doctrines as are conducive to that design nor slow and backward to obtrude the belief of them upon men He that thinks otherwise of the Spirit of truth thinks very unbecomingly of God and as much as in him lies precludes the way to his own welfare and safety and deprives himself of that comfort which would issue from the hearty belief of the Omniscience and Providence and Watchfulness of the Spirit of truth for his good And he that thinks otherwise of the Spirit of Error and looks upon the Devil either as a dull and unactive or a silly and ignorant Spirit is imprudent and injurious to himself in undervaluing that Enemy against whose subtilty and strength his utmost endeavours will be little enough He is called a Lion for his strength and an old Serpent for his subtilty and his restlesness to execute the effects of both render him justly formidable 3. Thirdly the great ends of these two Spirits in the world are only these to make men really and truly holy and to make them really impure and vicious The first is the great design of the Spirit of Truth this latter of the Spirit of Error The first the Spirit of Truth intends as the only way to make men happy The second the Devil mainly intends as the sure way to render them Eternally miserable There needs not much be said on this branch of our Argument the Scriptures are copious in attesting the truth of it on both hands The great work of the Spirit in the O.T. was to strive with man as is intimated by Moses Gen. 6.3 i. e. to withdraw him from sin and to induce him to the love and practice of vertue And the same is the end he is sent for in the New to convince men of the evil of sin of the gain of righteousness and as a means to both to assure them of the certainty of Judgment John 16.18 and for this reason is called the Spirit of holiness often not only because he is essentially and eminently so himself but likewise because his main business is to teach and encourage men to be so too and to assist them in being faithful to those encouragements and teachings And then on the other hand as it assures us that the first sin of man owed it self to the temptation and suggestion of the Devil so it assures us that all his endeavour ever since hath been to heighten that sin and to promote the love and practice of wickedness among men For this reason he is frequently called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wicked one not only upon the account of his own wickedness but for his striving perpetually to propagate that wickedness by drawing men into all the sad instances of it And for the same reason he is called The Enemy and the effects of his Enmity chiefly discover themselves in this the endeavouring to make men wicked like himself and so to bring on them a portion of those torments that are reserved for himself and for all those mad Sons of men that are wicked as he is And whosoever observes his actings as they are recorded in the Scripture or will but consult the stories of his dealing with the Heathen world examine but the doctrines which he taught them and the rites and modes of Religion that he instituted among them will clearly see how all those doctrines tended to sin and how the whole body of the Heathen worship was indeed what the Apostle calls it a mystery of wickedness Now from these things the strength of the argument will discover it self For since all the design of the Spirit of truth is to make men holy to guide them into all truth that it may thereby lead them to all goodness And since the Spirit of error designs directly the contrary And since all the doctrines that issue from these are directed only to these great ends It must needs follow that whatever doctrine tends to holiness must needs issue from the Spirit of Truth And whatever tends to the contrary must needs proceed from the Spirit of Error And that this is a sure and safe way to judge whence they proceed by For these two Spirits will ever be true to their own purposes and interests and will always have an eye to the promoting of them in all the doctrines that they propose to the Faith of men 2. Another Argument may be drawn from the great end and design of Christian Religion For if we suppose the author thereof prudent and wise every doctrine therein will be so contrived as to comport with and promote the great aim of the whole otherwise he would in effect pull down with one hand what he endeavoured to build with the other Now he that will consider and examine this Religion with that seriousness and impartiality that things of this nature may justly expect and challenge from all men will soon find that it is indeed what S. Paul calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 3.16 a mystery of godliness The Author of it the ever blessed Jesus was indeed the Lamb of God for his spotless innocency as well as other reasons A perfect pattern of all holiness and vertue A divine person whose life was never sullied with the least of those crimes which so horribly stained the lives of the Heathen Deities Whose innocency approved it self so clearly to his very Judge as to extort from him this confession that he was a just person Mat. 27.24 Yea that most Envious and Critical observer as well as Virulent accuser of good men could find nothing whereof to accuse the blessed Jesus The Prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in me And if you look into the Religion that he instituted in the world you will soon find how exactly it resembles and bears the lineaments of its holy Author in all the parts of it All its precepts and commands are so many injunctions of all the instances of holiness or prohibitions of the contrary instances of wickedness and vice All its promises are great encouragements to induce men to comply with the purpose of those commands And its threatnings are added only to deter and affright them from all neglect and contempt of the same And should we survey the Articles of its Faith and the doctrines that it proposeth to the belief of men we should soon find how mighty wisely they are all contrived to promote the same great end Even those that seem mostly speculative and irrelative to duty yet upon a closer view will be found to be excellently conducive to it For
PIETY THE Best Rule OF ORTHODOXY OR An Essay upon this Proposition That the Conduciveness of Doctrines to Holiness or Vice is the best Rule for private Christians to judge the Truth or Falshood of them by In a Letter to his Honoured Friend H. M. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Clem. Alexand. By Hen. Hesketh Vicar of S. Hellens and Chaplain to his Majesty LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops-Head in S. Paul's Church-yard 1680. THE CONTENTS THE Introduction CHAP. I. The great need of every Christians taking heed of Error The difficulty in our present circumstances of doing so The greatness of that charity that endeavours to assist men in order thereto The pitching upon a rule whereby every man may do this from that place of S. John 1 John 4.6 CHAP. II. The Collection drawn from the preceeding Text That Piety is the best rule of Orthodoxy The sence in which the proposition is to be understood Two Postulata's in order to the proof of it God hath provided such a rule for men to judge by and the reasons urging a belief that he hath done so This rule must be for the benefit and guidance of all men CHAP. III. Two ways proposed for the proof of the Assertion Scripture and Reason This Text improved largely to this purpose and Mat. 7.16 of which a full explication is endeavoured CHAP. IV. The old Testament cited also for the proof of this and two great considerations added to give more Evidence to it This the rule to try Prophets by of old and the best Criterion of a true Divine Miracle CHAP. V. A further discourse of Miracles and their Evidence and how to know which are Divine and which are not An addition to all from the Nature of Heresie and wherein the Notion of it doth consist CHAP. VI. The Arguments from reason for the proof of the Collection Four proposed and Two insisted on in this Chapter The first taken from the end of these Two Spirits in the World The second from the great design of Christian Religion CHAP. VII The third and fourth Arguments proposed The Inconvenience of substituting any other rule but this and the manifest advantage of this above any that can be substituted CHAP. VIII Six rules laid down to be observed by us in our judging by this rule and three of them insisted on 1. That we consider the Doctrines only and not the men that maintain them 2. That we consider Doctrines not only in themselves and appearances but also in their natural and direct consequences 3. That we be sincere and unprejudiced in considering and do not allow our selves to pervert and wrest them CHAP. IX The other three rules insisted on 1. That doctrines and modes of Religion formed by them be not considered only in some single instances but complexly and fully in all especially those in which they differ from others 2. That men have a right notion of holiness 3. That holiness be considered not only in its immediate exercise but also with all the helps advantages and encouragements to it CHAP. X. Some Inferences made from this Collection particularly a Vindication of the Church of England which may justly challenge any Sect at this day to joyn issue with it upon this Principle The Conclusion THE INTRODUCTION Dear Sir AMongst those very many Sweet and Gustful Relishes that the Sense of your Friendship leaves upon my Spirits The fresh discoveries that I every day make of your real worth and Goodness is truly the greatest And certainly that man oweth much to Providence and his recognitions to it can hardly equal the Blessing that hath the good hap to contract Intimacies and Friendships of which he finds no reasons afterwards to repent and be ashamed and to which he needs not study to put any Interruptions And this is the case of every man who hath a worthy man and a good man to his Friend and it is at present mine Sir I do not intend to flatter you in this I know that would be the surest way to make my self more unworthy of such a felicity than I am Nor do I intend to take the measures of your worth from any things but such as are certain and will assure such deductions I do not proclaim you worthy and Good because you are rich and kind and affable and courteous and studious as becomes a Philosopher But I do this because you are concern'd for Religion and are tender of mens Eternal Interests and have a dear respect to Souls and would have all men partake of those felicities of which your great Piety procures you many blessed Antepasts now and perseverance in that piety will assure your full and perfect fruition afterwards And truly Sir these are things which in every age have reflected honour upon men but will much more do so in this For a Gentleman to retain any sense of Religion now when unconcernedness for it is so much the mode and scoffing at every thing that is Sacred so much the common entertainment and so hugely gratifying to the Genius of the Age. To be solicitous for humane Souls when so many are ready to question whether they have any or no and of those that profess to believe they have yet so very few are pleased to have any regards for their welfare To be studying and contriving helps and advantages for them in their progress to Heaven when the disbelief of any future state hath so much obtained and when it is counted wit and a specimen of parts to buffoon and droll all thoughts of it out of the breasts of men To do all these things with sincerity and zeal which perhaps will meet with no better entertainment than derision or scorn is certainly an evidence of a great and fixed goodness and renders you little less worthy of that praise which the Spirit of God was pleased to give Job for being perfect at Luz and Lot for retaining his purity in Sodom I shall not so far trespass upon your Humility and Modesty as to mention all the Instances in which these things discover themselves This that your present commands for so I always interpret a Friends desires require of me is alone enough It is to give you my thoughts what I judge to be the best Criterion of truth and by what marks a man might most certainly discover it in this mist and great dust that the eager Contentions and tumultuous disputings of men have raised about it and obscured it in And by what methods a private Christian should proceed in this amazing diversity of Opinions and from whence take his measures of truth and safety This is if I mistake not much an act of such kindness that it is not easie for you to shew or men to receive a greater and if I can do any service towards reallizing the effects of it I do not well know many instances in which I may more safely rejoyce And truly as for that reason I do the more willingly
as he doth in another viz. verse the 24. of the same Chapter For their not believing the unparalell'd Miracles which he did among them which certainly he would never have done but that the Evidences and Convictions of truth were equal in both 3. But then thirdly I add that every Miracle is not an unquestionable Evidence of truth nor a sufficient warrant for men presently to believe upon its sole account All the world I think is agreed about this also For all men unanimously believe that only true and really Divine Miracles are sufficient to assure the credibility of things And all Miracles are not so for there are lying wonders as well as true and it is not safe to believe equally in both cases 4. And therefore fourthly there is an absolute necessity that a man be assured the Miracle is truly Divine before he can safely believe upon the authority thereof otherwise he may believe the lying wonder as well as the other and believe what Jannes and Jambres say as well as Moses 5. It is so very difficult that it is almost next to impossible by any thing immediately in the Miracles themselves to know which is truly Divine and which is not so I say in the Miracles themselves I mean they do not carry such signatures upon them that a man by them only can easily make a judgment 1. I have no reason to doubt but that evil Spirits by God's permission may effect things that are truly miraculous or if you require it plainly true Miracles For my part I do not see any reason why the same things done by the forenamed Sorcerers were not as true Miracles as when done by Moses and it will be hard for any man to shew a difference If the turning a Rod into a Serpent was a Miracle they did it as well as Moses If converting water into bloud was a Miracle it was so when done by them as well as when done by Moses and though it be true that Moses did some Miracles which they could not yet that relieves us little for though they did not all Miracles which he did yet they did some So that still they wrought true Miracles as well as Moses 2. Nor secondly shall men be relieved by saying some are lying wonders and some are true For it is probable those wonders are called lying wonders not because they were not really wonders or Miracles for the word signifieth equally both but because they were designed to attest an untruth a lie For so the Greek seems especially to mean 2 Thess 2.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 miracles or wonders of falshood as our own Translators put it in the Margent and so the learned Grotius expounds it and justifies the Exposition by a known truth Nam quod vice genitivi est apud Hebreos saepe finem significat where you have a Learned discourse to the purpose I am now upon And Beza also expounds it to the same pupose too Mendacii stabiliendi causâ edita Wonders wrought on purpose to confirm a lie 3. Nor thirdly will it any more help us to grant that some are lying wonders in the other sence unless we could certainly tell which were so Whether the wonder be real or no it is all one to me unless I be able to distinguish betwixt them Suppose those of the Egyptian Sorcerers or Simon Magus or Apollonius Tyaneus whom the Heathens set up to vye with Christ I say suppose these were not real Miracles but prestigious and delusive yet how shall any man know and make it appear they were so they are as Convictive as true ones unless they could be plainly discovered not to be so and how to do this from any thing in the things themselves I profess my self wholly ignorant 4. For fourthly I shall receive little satisfaction by what is commonly said in this case that 's a true Miracle which can only be effected by a Divine power for suppose that were granted true yet how shall I know what can only be effected so and what not No man knows the limits of Satan's power nor can say hitherto can he go and no further unless he can tell more than ever man yet did nay perhaps no man can exactly tell the utmost reach of natural power or define precisely how far natural causes when rightly applied can work And if he know not this he knows little in order to satisfaction in this matter 5. Nor truly is there much more relief in flying to the evident greatness of Miracles though I gladly confess there is something in it and it ought to be adored as a signal act of Divine Providence that Moses and especially Christ herein have the eminency above any other pretenders to Miracles in the world for Moses his Rod swallowed up the Magician's Rods and Apollonius could not heal all diseases as Christ did c. But still this is short of fully relieving us for perhaps some things may seem greater Miracles to us which are not so indeed And subtil wits would say many things to make it seem at least that all Miracles are equally great And suppose it to be so that many people might see some of these Miracles only and not the other As suppose the Samaritans that saw the Miracles of Simon Magus did not see those of Christ or the Apostles nor those that saw the wonders of Apollonius to have heard of the other I ask now what they should do in this case If a Miracle be a good ground of truth then they had that warrant to believe as grand falshoods as ever were in the world But further yet if you look into the Gospel you shall find Christ telling his Apostles Mat. 24.24 that the false Christs that should arise after him should shew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 great signs and wonders and so great as to deceive the very Elect were they not mightily assisted to avoid that deception 6. From all which I collect that a bare Miracle is not enough to assure the truth and warrant the belief of every Doctrine attested by it for then the doctrine of Apollonius and Simon Magus had the same credibility as that of Christ Rev. 13.14 And if you look into the Revelations of S. John you shall find mention of a Beast which deceived men by Miracles which he had power to do And in another * Rev. 16.14 place we read of the Spirits of Devils going forth to work Miracles and ‖ Cap. 19.20 again of a false Prophet that wrought Miracles If Miracles therefore warrant Faith of every Doctrine then they do also warrant that of the Devil and his Spirits which God forbid 7. Upon the strength of all which Considerations I say that Miracles themselves need something to attest them and shew men when they are to believe them and when not to do so and I mistake much if what hath been said do not make this apparent 8. And therefore lastly to bring all to a final