Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	apostle_n	doctrine_n	spirit_n	2,517	5	4.9028	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97109	The vanitie of the present churches, and vncertainty of their preaching, discovered. Wherein the pretended immediate teaching of the spirit, is denyed, and the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures teaching, is maintained. With, a new and true method of reading thereof, for the peace of the mind, and rule of life.	Walwyn, William, 1600-1681, attributed name.	1649 (1649)	Wing W693A; Thomason E1367_1; ESTC R210498	20,838	55

taught unto them the truth whereof they were enabled and did confirm with miracles so as it might be as truly said of them as it was of Christ our Lord that they taught as men having authority and not as the Scribes nor as the uncertain pharisaicall teachers of these times Unto which word of theirs we are principally to give heed but therein also we are chiefly to discover and to mind what that Doctrine was which they by the spirit were ordained to preach because that being understood and believed doth give the beleever thereof the name and being of a Christian how plain and brief soever it be for we must note that there are many things written by the Apostles upon occasions that concerned only or chiefly the times wherein they wrote and the places and persons to whom they wrote which is the true cause that many things are too hard for us to understand but there was one universall Doctrine which they were to preach to all Nations where with all their writings do abound and which is very plain and easie to be understood And this is it namely that the same Jesus whom the Jewes crucified was Lord and Christ That he is the propitiation for our sins and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world That it is the bloud of Christ which cleanseth us from all sinne That his love is so exceeding towards us that even when we were enemies Christ dyed for us This was the Doctrine which begot people unto the faith and made them Beleevers and they used no other inducement unto Beleevers to walk as becometh this Gospel or glad tydings of peace and reconciliation between God and us but this ye are bought with a price therefore honour God both in your bodies and in your spirits their strongest Argument to perswade being this and the like That the love of God which bringeth salvation unto all men hath appeared teaching us to deny all ungodlinesse unrighteousnes of men and to live righteously godly and soberly in this present world that we should love as Christ hath loved who gave himself an Offering and a Sacrifice for us so that if we would try each others Faith we are to consider each others love so much faith so much love so much love so much pure and undefiled Religion extending it self to the fatherles and to the Widdow to the hungry the naked sick and imprisoned it being evident that he who hath this worlds goods and suffereth his brother to lack hath not the love of God in him yea though he have never so great parts of knowledg zeale tongues miracles yet being void of love he is nothing plainly manifesting that all other Religions are but as defiled and impure in comparison of this And these are the Doctrines which make good the rejoyning of the Angels bringing glory to God in the highest in earth peace good will towards men These are sufficient and in these do all sorts of Christians agree and never had disagreed but for false Teachers Wolves in sheepes Clothing who crept in to devoure the flock causing divers strifes and contentions about genealogies and about the Law which made the Apostle abundance of trouble crying out O foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you telling them plainly if righteousnesse came by the Law then Christ dyed in vain others it should seem fell to observe Dayes and Times Sabaoths and Weeks justifying themselves and censuring others provoking the Apostle to tell them he was afraid of them that he had bestowed labor in vain upon them earnestly desiring them to let no man deceive them in respect of an holy day or of the new Moon or of the Sabaoth c. The truth is and upon experience it will be foudn a truth that once exceed these plain indisputable Doctrines and you will be ever to seeke for though it be a kind of happinesse to read in Genesis the proceedings of God towards our first Parents to Abel Cayne Enoch to Noah and the world that perished in the floud to see his mighty power at the Confusion of Babell his love to Abraham and Sarah to Isaac Jacob and the twelve Patriarks to see their way of worship to observe his mighty wonders in Egypt in the Wildernesse and in the promised Land under the Judges Saul and David Solomon and the rest of the Kings of Judah and Israel To know with what power he spake by his holy Prophets in all times even to John the Baptist Yet when we have done all we must acknowledge that very many things exceed our understandings and that we draw no comfort like unto this that unto Christ do all these beare witnesse and though we have great cause to blesse God for those wonderfull things we read of the life of Christ of his wisdom goodnesse and power by which he beat down the wisdom craft and policy of the Scribes and Pharices of the high Priest and great ones of the world and whereby he made it manifest that he was indeed the Christ yet draw we no comfort like unto that which the Apostles publish't by the power of the holy spirit the comforter promised by Christ before his Assention because by this dispensation of God only do we come to know the benefits of Christs death and that he is the end of the Law for righteousnesse and the propitiation for our sinnes whereby we have peace of Conscience and joy in the Holy-Ghost We Read with thankfulnesse to God the Acts of the Apostles all the Epistles of Paul of Peter James Jude and the Epistles of John the Revelat. to St. John But we must still acknowledge that there are very many things in them all which wee apprehend not fully We Read of Apostles E●angelists Prophets Pastors and Teachers and of the ordering and regulating of Churches and of gifts given to all these from on high but not so plainly exprest as to leave the Conscientious without dispute and difference thereupon nor so collected into any one Book as to convince that God now under the Gospel so exactly enjoyned Church Government as he did under the Law where Moses was expressely commanded to write particularly all that was required not leaving out so much as Candlesticks Snuffers or Besomes And when we come to compare the Churches or their Pastors and their abilities of our times with those we read of or the infallible power by which they spake with the uncertaine Doctrines of ours alas we must lay our hands upon our mouths and hide our faces as children use to doe when they are discovered by people of understanding at their childish immitations of Christnings and Feastings where in a low and miserable weake forme they counterfeit things reall so that if we shall deale plainely with our selves we must confesse wee are at a losse in these things and that hence onely is our rejoycing That wee undoubtedly know Jesus Christ and him Crucified and knowing him accompt all things as losse and

THE VANITIE Of the present CHURCHES AND Vncertainty of their Preaching discovered WHEREIN The pretended immediate teaching of the Spirit is denyed and the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures teaching is maintained WITH A new and true Method of reading thereof for the peace of the mind and rule of life Gal. 6. 15. 16 For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new Creature And as many as walk according to this rule peace be on them c. London Printed by J. Clows and are to be sold in Cornhill and Popes-Head-Alley 1649. To the Reader ALthough I dissent from some things in this Treatise and other things seème dark and doubtfull to me yet there are many plain clear and evident Truths of great use to all Christians Therefore that the Truth may be manifest to all And that all Believers and Churches of the Saints may be of one mind and may edifie the whole body in love And in all their Doctrines and Conversations hold forth the truth as it is contained in the written word the perfect rule of the spirit to guide us into all Truth and to make us wise unto Salvation through that one necessary thing Faith which is in Christ Jesus which is by the Gospel the power of God to salvation preached unto us And that errour may be discovered reproved and corrected and if possible that the guilty may be convinced and reformed Therefore I say to this Epistle and the ensuing Treatise February 23. 1648-49 Imprimatur THEODORE JENNINGS The vanity of the present Churches and uncertainty of their Preaching discovered c. AS there is nothing more cōmendable amongst men then a true correspondency between the heart the tongue the hand so no thing is more lovely amongst Christians then that the Conscience the profession and the practice do universally agree though somthing be allowable unto frailty yet when the defect or discord is continued and that to the reproach of Christianity in generall and to the prejudice of humane society then certainly a reproofe is not only requisite but the neglect thereof a sinne of an high nature And so those whom this discourse now deemeth worthy of reproofe did seeme to judge when they condemned the persecuting practices of the new raysed Presbyters whose positions and professions whilst they were persecuted by the Bishops did clearly hold forth a full and compleat liberty of Conscience in the exercise of Religion and justly and truly did the Independants reprove them as their many bookes of that Subject do sufficiently testifie their reproofes were sharp and their replyes driven home whereby they put the question of the utmost liberty of Conscience out of all question accompting nothing more base or mis-beseeming a Christian then to question or vex or reproach any man for his judgment or practice touching matters of Religion and inciting all men to peace unity love and true friendship though of never so many severall opinions or different wayes in Religion By which their ingenuity they as the Puritan Presbyter had done before them gained abundance of love and respect from all men their Congregations multiplied and in conclusion obtained much countenance from authority which they no sooner tasted but instantly some of them began to pride themselves and to dispise others and to reproach and villisie all such as upon tryall and examination of their Churches their Pastors and Sermons finding all to be but fained imitations nothing reall or substantiall forsooke their societies and thereupon as the Presbyters had used them so deale the Independant with these and all that any wayes adhered unto these raysing nick-names and bitter invective reproaches against them sparing neither art nor paines to make them odious to others and their lives if it were possible a burthen to themselves and though reasons have been offered and conferences desired that they might see their error and forbeare to deale thus contrary to their positive owned and declared principles yet have they persisted therein and go on still without ●easing manifesting a most destructive and persecuting disposition not only towards these but towards many others whom they now as compleat Judges of other mens Consciences judge to be erronious or heriticall and seeme to have placed their felicity in the ruine of those whom their own Consciences cannot deny to have been instrumentall in their preservations and who have not thought their lives too precious to purchase them that freedom which now they enjoy And therefore it hath been conceived not only just but of absolute necessity to publish to the judgments of all impartial people both of the Congregationall way and others this their hard measure and unthankful usage of a harmlesse well-meaning people and withall to discover to all those who are conscientious the error of their wayes and emptinesse of the things wherein they glory and to let all those who are wilfull or meere polititians amongst them beare their shame openly and since they are proofe against their Consciences and can take up and lay down principles professions and practices too as stands most with their advantage and like the Jewes in their worst estate make no reckoning of oppressing all that are not of their tribes it is but equall that such should bear their mark in their forehead that all men might be warned from conversing with such deceivers and if any tartnesse appear herein they are the occasion it being no more then they deserve And not only so but we have herein also indeavoured to support the weake and by establishing them upon the sure foundation of the written word of God inclining them to give eare thereunto as unto the only true infallible teacher of spirituall things in our times and by directing them in a brief and plain method in the reading thereof how to attain to that one necessary Doctrine and main design intended therein unto man for his temporall and eternall comfort To which end that we may neither seeme to wrong the one sort nor to delude the other and for full satisfaction of all that are or shall be concerned herein we affirm it to be most palpably evident That ye of the Independant Congregationall or of any Church-way whatsoever have not that true essentiall mark of a true Church to be found amongst you which only can distinguish the true from the false and without which a true Church cannot be A true Church in the Scripture sence being such only as wherein the very word of God is purely and infallibly preached that 's the mark Now though it have been usuall among you in your prayers to desire of God that your auditors may give eare to the word that you preach not as unto the word of a mortall man but as unto the word of the ever living God and this too with such solemn countenances lifted up eyes and earnestnesse of expression as if it were the sin of sinnes for men to doubt it Though this hath been your course

do ye not tremble when you consider it to think that you should so frequently practice so grosse an imposture as openly to pray unto God that your eronious doubtfull uncertain conceptions for what other are your Sermons shall be heard and received as the word of the ever living God what greater impiety nay blasphemy then to call mans word Gods word to counterfeit a Preacher an Evangelist an Ambassadour of Christs and to deliver a Word a Message a Gospel mixt and made up of opinions and conjectures as if it were the true reall word of the ever living God What is this but even to debase belye and offer despite to the spirit of God himself for advancing your own false Honour and repute amongst men Consider this serioussy all ye that are captivated with the charmings of these Sophisters that are intangled in their formes of godlinesse that are drawn into their imaginary Churches that are deluded into an opinion that they are pastors feeders preachers of the word of God and be so true to God whose honour lyes at stake to your selves whose peace and comfort lyes at stake and to your Neighbours whose good name lye at stake also as to make a clear examination whether these pretended pastors Churches are taught immediately by the spirit of God or not as they pretend try them by the word they preach And you shall find however they have prepossest you to the contrary that neither they nor your selves have any understanding at all of such divine or heavenly things as bring peace of Conscience and joy in the Holy-ghost by any other way or meanes but only and solely by the Scriptures and that neither they nor your selves are taught by the spirit as they have long perswaded you and whereby chiefly they delude you into a belief that they are true pastors and your Churches true Churches of Christ For Judge you had they the spirit of God as they pretend would they need as they do when they have resolved to speak to you from a Text of Scripture to go sit in their Studies three or four dayes together turning over those authors that have written thereupon and beating their own braines to find out the meaning and true intent thereof no certainly had they the spirit of God it could in an instant in the twinkling of an eye inform them the meaning of his own writings they would not need to be studying seven ten or twenty years to understand the truth of the Gospel and when they have done so too be as farre to seeke as they were at first for any expresse certainty therein for do but observe that when they have for some years preacht up a Doctrine they are many times forst to preach it down again as ye well know most of them have done and that in very materiall points As for instance are they not one while zealous for the baptizing of Infants another while for the baptizing of Beleevers only and then again for no Baptisme at all for want of a true Ministry do not the Pastors differ amongst themselves and contentions arise not only between Church and Church but in every Church within it self are there not some that for many years have preacht up election and reprobation and afterwards have as much preacht it down and cryed up generall redemption and that man hath free will or a negative voice in his salvation and this in a Church gathered and taught by the spirit as they would make the world believe and those who by praying and preaching ex tempore would be thought to have yet a more immediate teaching of the spirit how extreamly are they to seeke in the ready understanding of the Scriptures what weake and indisgested matter issueth from them is too easily discerned yea what contradictions they huddle one in the neck of another though through confidence in the speaker and superstition in the hearer all passeth for currant truth But consider can it be of the true spirit to produce uncertain Doctrines if the Trumpet give an uncertain sound who can prepare himself to the battle so if the preacher preach uncertainly how can he affirm his word to be the word of God or how from such doubtfulnesse can true faith be begotten in the hearts of the hearers is not a Church founded upon such uncertainty founded upon the sand and built up with hay stubble not able to stand the least blast of a reasonable opposition and will ye that have Consciences towards God any longer be instrumented in this mocking of him and by your countenance thereof partake with them in this strong delusion What doth the Pope and his Clergy more then belye themselves and blaspheam God in saying they have the true spirit of God which leads them into all truth whilst by their lying miracles by their art and sophistry they lead the poor deluded people in the greatest errors for maintenance of their own pride covetousnesse and luxury The Bishops they come and by pretence of the true spirit discover abundance of faults in the Pope and his Clergy and make shew of great reformation but advance only themselves and their uncertain Doctrines for their own ambitious ends only without any regard to the glory of God or good of men then comes the Presbyters and they cry out against Common-Prayer that was faulty enough and studied Sermons as stinters and suppressors of the true Spirit of God in them and they are no sooner in the Chaire and their Prayers preachings examined but they also are found to differ one with another to contradict themselves to mind only their own honour and profit and to be possessed as both the former with a persecuting Spirit which is abhorred of God of Christ and of all his true Ministers and Apostles Then comes the Independents and pretend to erect a holy pure and undefiled worship according to the pattern shewed unto them by the true Spirit indeed pleading for generall liberty of conscience void of all compulsion or restriction and professing the meeknes of the very Lambs of Christ and humility towards all men who now could have suspected what since hath been discovered Namely that they as the rest belyed the Spirit of God pardon the harshnes of the expression it s for Gods cause and must be spoken they being no more infallibly certain of the truth they raise from Scriptures then any of those whom they so much condemn they as the rest pray preach and do all for mony and without it they do nothing taking mony for that which is not bread but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and sand mixt together that di● 〈◊〉 ●eople swallow it whole without 〈…〉 mination it would be as gravell between their teeth and they would 〈◊〉 it out of their mouths And since they are increased in number● and have as it were scumm'd the Parish Congregations of most of their wealthy and zealous members Do they not fully discover a serpentine disposition hankering after persecution Do

or reall Christian vertue and no marvaile For such as the tree is such ever will be the fruit they boast to have the Spirit of God you see it is but boasting or their own imagination only and in the mean time take the Scriptures for a dead Letter and either reject them or make them speak according to the spirit of their own Imaginations and so instead of being reall are at best but fantastick Christians uncertain if not false Teachers and such are their fruits The greatest part of their time wherein they should be imployed to feed the hungry cloath the naked or in visiting the fatherlesse widdow or in delivering the Captive and setting the oppressed free all which are workes so fully and plainly set forth in Scripture as most pleasing to God being spent in talking upon some hard texts of Scripture such are their Sermons or in disputes contests upon some nice difficult questions And this exercising themselvs there in week after week and day after day and in fastings and repetitions and in writing of these doubtfull Sermons is by them called a Religious exercise and those who can but attain to so much boldnesse and utterance as to speak and pray an howre two or three together take upon them and are reputed guifted Christians and principall religious persons when as many of them get good estates by so doing good benefices and others who make not a trade of it as many devout pastors do yet gaine so much credit thereby as doth much increase their Trades and advance their Custom and dealing in the world and now and then helps to a good round Office And whilst any of this strain of Christians may live in this kind of devotion twenty years preached for twenty or forty shillings a year and have the repute of a most religious knowing Christian from the testimony of the most grave learned and solemn pastors of all Congregations if but a part of their religious disbursments be spent upon them it is not to be wondered at that so few are found to serve God sincerely in the way of pure and undefiled Religion which would plume their Peacocks feathers and cost them more in one year then all their lip-service and Church-devotion doth many of them in their whole life-time Nay so impudent are many of these proud boasting Churches who glory to follow precisely the pattern shewed in the mount that contrary to all example of the Apostles and first Christians they can content themselves to be known usurers and those that are not such themselves can allow it in their fellow Members their Pastors Elders and Deacons can tolerate it and why not as well as for their pastors to take monies from such as are of lesse abilitie then themselves nay do not many of them spend the greatest part of their time either in making buying and selling of baubles and toyes such as serve only to furnish out the pride suxury and fantasticallnesse of the world yea view them well in their apparell from head to foote consider them in their dyet and usuall feastings in their furniture for their houses even in these sad and miserable times and then say whether their silks their fine and delicate linnen their Laces Beavers Plushes their Fancies Plate Rings and Jewells do not demonstrat from what roote they are that they are meere worldlings indeed and Christians only in name and tongue and not that neither if they are well observed For there are many amongst them for slandering and back-biting for circumvention and an hipocriticall carriage shall vie and compare with any sort of men in the world they can play the part of Spies Intelligencers plot and betray upon pretence of intimacy of endeared friendship and familiarity eat drink be merry with you day after day week after week for months yea for many years and after al professe boldly openly confidently before their Church to Neighbors friends or strangers that all this intimacy friendship familiarity was only and meerely to deceive and to discover what might be to mischief the parties with whom they held it shall we aske which of the Apostles was a slanderer a spy an Intelligencer a betrayer certainly none but Judas and the followers of Judas let them henceforth professe themselves at least let all that know them so account them unles they manifest their speedy true repentance for bringing such reproach ●o the profession of Christianity But what will such men stick at as have once dared to dissemble before God to call themselves Preachers and are not to gather Churches and to joyn and continue in the fellowship of meere mock-Churches that dare attempt the Ordinances with prophane hands without and before Commission given from above that dare pretend Commission and yet can shew no seale no letters of credit from Heaven that dare affirm their own opinions and Sermons to be the word of God and all this after admonition from such persons too as out of Conscience have seperated from them against whom also they persist to shoote their most sharp and poysoned Arrowes even bitter words false invectives lyes and slanders O therefore consider this all ye whose Consciences are yet sound amongst them or but a little taynted and see into what a wretched condition ye may be led before ye are aware there is no stop in wickednesse but a progresse from one degree of evill to another unlesse at first therefore stop in time and come out from amongst them least ye soone partake with them in their sinnes and neither approve nor connive at what you see and know to be against the judgment of your Consciences least in time you become as the worst and vilest of them Study the Scriptures that word of truth blesse God for them forsake them not for the vain traditions of men for the uncertain notions Doctrines and comments of pretended Preachers and be certain of this that you may as soone as they themselves come to a good and right understanding therein and that you may do so Read them with these Considerations That although whatsoever is written is written for our learning and that we have great cause to be thankfull to God for vouchsaffing us the knowledge of the severall wayes of his dispensations to man according to the severall times and ages which were from Adam which was the first unto the time of the descending of the holy spirit which was the last yet are we seriously to know that this last dispensation of the holy spirit is that which principally concerneth us rightly to understand and to apply to our selves both for our comfort and rule of life for unto this time and depensation doth our blessed Saviour himself referre us saying I will send you another Comforter he shall lead you into all truth he shall bring to remembrance the things that I have told you and he performed his promise effectually to the Apostles whose writings we have containing what the same spirit

sillable but recite some place of Scripture which by serious intention hath imprinted it selfe in their minds If you demand a reall Demonstration of the Spirit they can give you none but peradventure will tell you that you must awaite Gods time and he will enlighten you That their Spirit is as the white Stone in the Revelation the name whereof no body knew but he that received it making use of false darke and misterious Scriptures intended for another end to prove that they are unable by any sound argument or sensible demonstration to manifest Whereas were they really endowed therewith they could not conceale it nor we be unconvinced of its devine and supernaturall Power but must needs bend our knees and hearts in acknowledgement thereof If we urge the Scriptures against them they tell us the Letter killeth abusing and that so grosly that place of Scripture to the upholding their own vain imagination nothing being more evident then that by Letter in that place of the Romanes is to be understood the Law and by Spirit the Gospel And if men did not too much Idolize their owne fancies it would soone appear That now in our times we have no Preacher of the Gospel but the Scriptures which being the infallible Word of God the Word of Truth Eph. 1. 13. not the word of man but as it is in truth the Word of God 1 Thes 2. ver 13. which was not yea and nay but yea 2 Cor. 1. ver 18 19. 20. The Word of God that abideth for ever Is it not strange that our pretended Preachers of all sorts should so far prevaile upon the minds of men as to draw them from giving eare to what this Word of truth plainly and evidently holdeth forth for the peace of their minds and direction of their lives and take up their time and thoughts wholly or principally with their uncertain fallible Sermons making them in effect forsake these living fountains and digg to themselves broken Cisterns that can hold no water Nay a wonderfull thing it is that it should be received for a currant truth That this the greatest blessing the World knows this word of the ever living God should now come to be esteemed but as a dead Letter this sword of the Spirit that forceth it self into our dead naturall understandings plants it self there makes us one with it and forms us new this regenerating word this immortall seed should be so undervalued as to passe but as a dead Letter Time was that it was otherwise in England when our fore-Fathers would have given any thing in the world yea many of them gave up their lives rather then they would part with the smalest part of this precious Word translated into English by the first sincere professors of true Christian doctrins but then Godlinesse was esteemed the greatest gain and the iniquity of Learning was not arived to so much impudence as to make a gain of Godlynesse to make a trade of Religion and to become rich by pretended preaching Nor weaned they the people from the Scriptures to give eare to their notions and opinions telling them they had the Spirit and that the Scriptures were but a dead letter but invited and perswaded all men to a diligent consideration of the true scope and intent of them Neither did they preferr the understanding of men with difficult points or obscure doctrins but as Luther insisted altogether upon the Doctrin of free Justification by Christ alone and in way of thankfulnes for so great a benefit invited all men to live righteously Godly and soberly in this present world therein following the example of the Apostles and the very end scope and main design of the Scriptures which is that unum necessarium and which if people did rightly and seriously mind they would not so easily be drawn to follow such Teachers or to give eare to such Sermons whereby they are alwaies learning but never come to the knowledge of this one necessary truth For how long work soever Ministers and pretended Preachers make of it to maintaine themselves and families in wealth plenty and honour necessary Doctrins are not at all hard to be understood nor require long time to learne them and if it did not concerne their livelihood and profession to make men beleeve they were people would soone understand sufficiently for their establishment and comfort and would fall to practice that so they might become an honour to their profession of Christianity for the Scriptures or word of God having once planted this truth in the understanding viz. That it is the bloud of Christ which cleanseth us from all sinne this Evangelicall truth of its own nature would instantly set man on work to do the will of him that hath so loved him and constrain him to walk in love as Christ hath loved so that after this all the care would be how to advance the Gospel by making our light to shine forth before men that others seeing our good works may glorifie our Father which is in Heaven But this is no profitable way for any of our pretended Preachers this Doctrin is to soone learned for if men once come to know that this short lesson is sufficient what will they regard either printed discourses or Sermons and if once they find them also full of uncertainty contradiction and unnecessary things they 'le not part with their mony for such trash when they may go to the two breasts of Christ himself freely at all times to the Scriptures and buy this sweet milk and hony without mony and without price and if men and women come once to understand this they will not comber themselves with many things but possessing this unvalluable truth will ever worship God in Spirit and in Truth and declare unto others this blessed one necessary comfortable way and that not by preaching or long set speeches which are apt to deceive but by conferences and mutuall debates one with another the best way for attaining a right understanding far excelling that which is called preaching But then how shall Demetrius and the Crafts-men live even by some lawfull calling this being the most palpably delusive of any in the world and it is very strange that all men do not discerne and avoid it It is so as cunningly as it is carryed as high in repute as it is hath long time been having no foundation but in the weake credulity of men for if men but once consider it their Sermons will appear to be but as common discourses full of mistakes errors and at the least altogether uncertaine and that all their preachings and prayings are only for mony and that their greatest skill and labour is to hold men ever in suspence and upon pretence of truth to give them a bastard Scholastick knowledge which only serve to make men proud wrangling Sophisters and Disputers vain boasters talkers busie-bodies censurers Pharisees wise in their own eyes and despising others void of all true piety

therefore and to distribute forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased whilst we have time and oppertunity let us do good unto all men Let us all strive to go on before another in love and let there be no other strife at all amongst us we wish with all our soules that all reproach despites and envyings amongst men might for ever cease and that difference in judgment may no longer occasion difference in affection there being in our apprehension no cause at all but that all men going in their severall wayes of serving God whether publique or private may neverthelesse be free to communicate in all civill Offices of love and true friendship and cordially joyne with any for a publique good but if notwithstanding all that hath been endeavoured or hath been said this Generation of congregationall men shall continue to puffe and swell through pride of heart to lift themselves up into the Chayre of the scornfull and as the man in Peters Chayre assume a power of life and death over all opinions and wayes not owned by them as if they were infallible judges of all controversies making no scruple of blasting mens good names and reputations or of undoing of whose Families thereby they must then expect to be told their own and be made appear to the world as they are not as they would be esteemed It being evident by what hath been said that although they have boasted themselvs to be rich and increased with goods and to have need of nothing yet they are as the luke-warm Church of Laodicea miserable wretched and poore and blind and naked and for all their bigg and swelling conceipts of parts of gifts of Saint-ship of the Spirit in effect pharisaically crying out Lord we thank thee we are not as other men nor as those poore Publicans that receive all their knowledge of Divine things from the Scriptures onely and are taught onely thereby Notwithstanding these bigg swelling words their Peacocks feathers being thus pluckt off you see and they will they nill they must also see that they must be content at last to shake hands even with those poore Publicans and acknowledge that they have no other infallible Teacher of Divine things but the Scriptures and that they partake no more of the Spirit then what that blessed Word of the Spirit planteth in them And if their consciences are awakened will be enforced to forsake their falling Churches unlesse for politique ends they shall stifle the power of these Truths within them chusing rather to perish in the rubbish then to seem to have bin so exceedingly mistaen which will prove an unpardonable error For however the best of men may erre yet they are the worst of men that persist in error after the discovery And therefore if there be any whose consciences shall be fully informed of the vanity of these Churches and yet for any ends shall continue to support the reputation of them let all such know that those who dare be so impious as to stop the continuall cry of their consciences must necessarily desire in their hearts there were no God whose Uicegerent Conscience is which is the most sad and dangerous conditon that man can fall into in this life And certainly they will find it far better to forsake their tottering immaginary structures confess their emptines sinfull imitation taking shame unto themselves and giving glory unto God whose name and power they have much diminished hy affirming those to be Churches which are not those Pastors and Preachers which are not those Saints which are not his blessed Word to be but a dead Letter that to be his Word which is but conjecturall Sermons and in censuring those to be erronious and carnall Christians who have more warrant for what they do then themselves And then by a more considerate ingenious and Christian-like carriage to make amends for the future which would very much rejoyce the herrts of all that love the Lord Jesus in sincerity whose Truth and Glory will be advanced by the Scriptures when all the roving wild and wandring immaginations of mens spirits shall vanish and come to nought FINIS Feb. 23. 1648-49 Imprimatur THEODORE JENNINGS