by their own interest to teach this doctrine of peace It is not many weeks since the chief of your Fathers as you terme them preaching before the King's Commissioner and many members of Parliament on that Text Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace told his hearers in the very entrie that the particular rules of mutual for bearance and tendernesse given in that Scripture by the Apostle were only convenient for the then state of that Church wanting a Christian Magistrate But now there being a Christian Magistrat his authoritie should quiet all scruples and might not be demurred by these pretenses and going on to show that the only way to peace is to allow to the King not only an outward coercive power but also an inward directive architecktonick uncontrollable power O fear the Lord all ye his Saints over conscience in the matters of Worship with much ado as eye and ear witnesses do attest he stammered through a part of the first chapter of a new Piece entituled a Discours of Ecclesiastical policie And thus he delivered to us the very same doctrine of peace which in several places of your Dialogues you do very plainly hold out Whether or not then it be in the same principle and for the same end that ye do here pray for peace love and charity let men judge For our part your power riches and dignities in themselves to say the truth the very meenest of these trifles are by us neither coveted nor envied Our souls desire and earnest prayer to God both in your and our own behalfe is that God would open our eyes turne back our hearts heal our backslidings and restore unto us his Gospel and blessed Ordinances in power and purity O turne us again Lord God of hosts cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved then shall Glory dwell in our Land mercy and truth meet and righteousnesse and truth kisse each other then should the work of the Lord appear unto his servants and the beauty of the Lord our God even peace unity and love be upon us As for these Scriptures wherewith you second your wish for peace Were I not more tender in opposing Scripture to Scripture then you are in abusing it to your own designe it were easie for me to repay your admonition to love by a more seasonable exhortation to you of repentance But since the very consideration of the words by you cited may rectify your misapplication my single desire is that you had pondered or could yet ponder them If there be therefore any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercies let us fulfil the Lords joy that we be first of a sound minde then like minded having the same love being of one accord of one minde Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory a short discharge of all the pride persecution and pompe of your prelatick order but in lowlinesse of minde let each esteeme others better then themselves Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among us let him show out of a good conversation his◠works with meeknesse of wisdome But if you have bitter zeal or envying For seeing that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wanting this adjunct signifieth also envie without the least reflection upon that holy zeal of God's house which is said to eat up even the pattern of meekness Prince of peace your poor criticisme in altering the translation shewes more of your malice then your learning and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be Zealous there fore and repent of your perjurie and Covenant breaking this wisdome descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual and devilish for where zeal or envying The word is indeed still the same and so is your folly in this remarke and strife is there is confusion and every evill work But the wisdome that is from above is first pure then peaceable not first peaceable and then impure as that of your partie is Gentle and easie to be entreated full of mercie and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie O desirable quality And the fruit of righteousnesse is sowen in peace of them that make peace Let us put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindnesse humblenesse of minde meeknesse long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave us so let us do and above all things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness And let the peace of God rule in our hearts to the which also we are called in one body and let us be thankfull Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdome teaching and admonishing one another in Psalmes and Hymns and Spiritual songs singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord and whatsoever we do in word or deed pray observe this fundamental direction Let us do all in the name of the Lord Iesus What shall we then say to these who in the Bond to the Publict Peace would not admit the name of the Lord to be mentioned Giving thanks to God and the Eather by him In all this I wish we were sincerily agreed And that these words were more deeply infixed in our mindes for I confesse I am wearie of vain janglings as much as you are and do long for truth and peace as much as you do for your much courted peace and indeed there is nothing that doth so much portend the Lords displeasure and imminent wrath as that not any pleadeth for truth they trust in vanity and speak lies they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquitie they hatch cockatrice eggs and weave the spiders web he that eateth of their eggs dieth and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper their works are works of iniquitie and the act of violence is in their hand they do much love outward peace but the way of peace they know not and there is no judgement in their goings they have made them crooked Pathes whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace Therefore is judgement far from us and justice doth not overtake us we waite for light but behold obscurity for brightness bot we walk in darkness for our transgressions are multiplied before thee and our sins testifie against us for our transgressions are with us and as for our iniquities we know them in transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God speaking oppression and revolt conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falshood and judgement is turned away backward and justice standeth afar off for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter yea truth faileth and he that departeth from evill maketh himself a prey Whether you or your N. C. account these words to proceed from a fretted minde or not I know not sure I am
be pleased to re-examine your instances I doubt not but you will find them neither to be unanswerable nor that the Doctrine of our Teachers against causeless Separatists doth homologate your inference As to what you add That it is a great cruelty if a Minister be put from his place whether justly or unjustly that the people should be starved Sir I am verily of your opinion and therefore as I wish our outed Ministers had testified more love in despising hazards for the relief of Souls so I cannot but remember you how dreadful a charge this driving away of Pastors and starving of Souls will one day amount to against such who have been its direct Authors However seing the love and faithfulness of Christ the Great Shepherd hath secured the event they that believe need not make haste for verily they shall be fed Your N. C. next Argument is That your Curates are naughtie men and weak preachers Sir such is the notoriety of this charge and so afflicting ought it to be to every one concerned in the credit of the Gospel and honour of its Ministery that I am assured all sober men will rather impute it to tenderness then want of matter that I incline not either to inlarge the objection or insist in the examination of your answere You think it an odd piece of Religion for us to reproach our Pastors by the name of Curats a designation not to be ashamed of but though the name Curate ows its invention only to the vanity of men by whom the lowly Scripture-stile of Minister was disdained and be of no proper origination and in effect the product of the corruption both of the Churches humility and purity of the Latine Tongue yet seing you account it honourable and I and many others do rather use it for distinction I heartily wish that you and others who do appear so sensible of an apprehended reproach may be as serious in reflecting upon that important aggravation it shall furnish in the last Judgement against these who in stead of caring for Souls do visibly destroy them As for what you insinuat that the Curats are our Pastors and over us in the Lord pardon me to say that I cannot finde the relation either in their office or exercise and that if Scripture-marks do intitle to Scripture-names these Intruders entering not by the door are liker to Theeves these false Teachers are but revening Wolves and these Prophets who teach lies are but the taill Nay every one who rightly considers how that in place of minding the Lords Work whereunto they pretend and honouring him before the people they have made his offering and Sanctuary to be abhorred and his name to be prophaned in liew of that honour which you acclaime may justly conclude that they that despise the Lord shall be lightly esteemed Say not where is Christian Charity to call the manifest lewdness and lies of these pitiful Miscreants whose gross abominations are almost every where the grief of the godly and the very scorn of all nay such whereof your self pag. 30. doth abhorre the patrociny and for which you pretend to be a bitter mourner in secret Slight grounds and to bid men be slow to take thence an impression is plain mockery Charity that beleeveth all things resteth and rejoiceth only in the Truth and rejoiceth not in iniquity neither can you alleadge our grounds being good your Church in our not complaining to be neglected it were strange charity to beleeve as the proverb runs that Satan will reprove sin As for your alledging that to separate upon the personal â—ailing much more weakness of a Preacher will open a wide door to Separation Whatever danger may be in your smooth generality yet I am confident not to owne for as to separation I have already cleared how the practice of these you do condemn doth differ from it for Ministers such vitious intruders and flagitious livers as your Curates are is a Soveraign expedient for preserving both of Truth and Christian Unity and that as to ty the good of Worship to the sincere intention of him that manageth it is an error so to think that Gifts and a suitable converse in a Minister are of no influence or regard as to the work of his Ministery and that because not to hear Sermons only but the solemn worship of God is the chief end of our meeting wherein you are mistaken if you think that you and we do not agree which we can do be the Minister what he will is irreligion unmixed which your jejune commending of the reading of good Scriptures and singing of good Psalmes doth not palliate Be the minister what he will What be he Socinian Arminian notoriously flagitious an Adulterer or Incestuous Person a despiser of Discipline a strengthener of the hands of the Wicked and sander of the hearts of the Godly a Symoniack is nothing but what he may will and many of yours do de facto will nay be he Popish Mahumetan Pagan or Atheist all are but what he may will O execrable latitude But you conclude this point that our crouding to hear such weak men now in Conventicles who formerly were of no esteem among us sayes we are not so zealous for good Preachings as we would make the world beleeve Pray Sir if a man in plenty make choise and in penury make a shift will you thence inferre he is not desirous of the best this is too weak but to be ingenuous with you I question not but some Curats make constantly more able and frequently better Sermons for the matter then weaker Non-conformists and vet the just grounds of our exceptions do still conclude that they are neither so good men nor acceptable Preachers as these whom we preferre As for what you add That the way to make a man popular among us is to rail against Church and State It is a malitious calumny wherewith you endeavour to slander us unto our Rulers and which they who ought to be as the Angels of God may easily discerne and repell Your N. C in the next place objects to you the obligation of the Covenant wherein the whole Nation and the posterity are engaged to maintain our former Presbyterian Ministery extirpat your Prelacie and all depending on that Hierarchie and whatsoever shall be found conâ—raire to â—ound Doctrine and the power of Godliness I shall not improve this argument being of such an obvious evidence in any further explication but briefly review what you answere on the contraire And 1. Your evil Conscience foometh forth your indignation against the Covenant in your reproachfull calling it our Goliah alwayes brought out by us to defy the Armies of the living God whose strength like Sampsons lay in its hair the Armies that fought for it and not in any innate vigour But as notwithstanding all the arrowes of malice blasphemy and rage that you and your party have shot at it it still abideth in strength and the Armies of its
thoughts they appear to be but extrinseck and of little moment so pray Sir whence did they proceed And what have they produced Certainly if either serious reflections upon all the Ages of Christianity especially upon these alterations that have happened amongst us since the Reformation or a just consideration of the present condition and state of affaires could have place as the pride and avarice of corrupt Church-men and consequently of the worst of men assisted since the rejection of the Pope with the same irreligious spirit and practices observed in former times of an aspiring Supremacie moving under the specious pretexts of order and peace will appear to be the only spring and cause so ignorance profanity violence and distraction will be found the woful fruits of these innovations But it is of the Lord for the punishment of our iniquities especially our not receiving and walking worthy of the glorious Gospel that judgement is farre from us neither doth justice overtake us we wait for light but behold obscurity for brightness but we walk in darkness We look for judgement but there is none for salvation but it is farre from us The Lord see to it and let his Arme bring salvation and his name be glorified As for the concluding complement of affection which you do here give your Non-conformist and make him to repay at our cost with the confession of his former unmeasured fury it is but too palpably the wantonnesse of your own extravagant fancie wherein to looke for more truth then you do shew constancie in your resolution to put a point to these matters controverted and never to resume them againe were great weaknesse You add in words Let us provoke therefore one another to charity and good works and yet we know your practice to be to press your trifling conformity and provoke the Powers against such as cannot comply We have indeed a blessed exercise for our tongues even with them to bless God the Father but since you do persist in your maligning the wayes work and people of God your mouth must and shall be stopt if the small endeavours by me used might make you minde the pursuance of truth more then the study of your so often repeated Temper my satisfaction would be little inferior to your advantage but seing both your words and works do shew that thou art neither cold nor hot but lukewarm I counsel the in the words of the great Counseller To be Zealous therefore and repent behold he standeth at the door and knocketh if any man hear his voice and open the door he will come in to him and sup with him and he with him To him that overcometh will he grant to sit with him in his throne even as he also overcame and is set down with his Father in his throne And thus passing your preposterous postscript and your Icarian Pindarick I proceed to your Continuation The Continuation OR The seventh DIALOGUE Answered SIR Beginning this your seventh Dialogue with your ordinary insinuations whereof the slender artifice obvious to the first view needeth no further discovery I only take notice that where your preface affirmeth that the true reason of your consenting to the publishing of the former Dialogues was That since yow had allayed a great deall of the heat you met with in your N. C. upon these matters you presumed it might produce the like good effect in others It is an alledgeance too serious to be groundless and beyond what the license of the fictitious form of your conferences will allow and therefore since any excess of heat that appeares in your N. C. is not ours but purely your own invention your pretense of having allayed it doth both bewray your vanity and shew this to be indeed the true cause of the publication As for the advantages yow reckon upon yow reckon before your Host reckon again and then boast of your Reason But you would also be accouâ—ted a Droll forsooth though you say you have only adhibite somwhat of that not out of humour but for sweetening the transitions according to the manner of all Dialogues certainly you Latitudinarians are all brave comprehensive spirits Masters of all good qualities whether you possesse them or not and yet I dare affirm that a pleasant humorist will laugh more at this passage of your conceitedness then all the drolries that hitherto you have vented But now begins your half-proselited N. C. and without connexion tells you that some charge you with Socinianisme others with Poprie others with Arminianisme and others with Quakerisme though as it seems to him upon very slender grounds Sir what may have moved you after what we have heard in your sixt Dialogue again in this place to resume these things to so small purpose I do not conceive You shew as if you were extremly picked by such reproaches and tell us that you know the arts of such who will tell their people that you are unsound and heteredox and back ther hard words with grave nods and ivry faces Poor man your passion is stirred and I am sorry to find you so impotent as again to relapse in such a childish reflection whereas to have used it once before was too much and unworthy of your gravity Buâ— sure who ever are your accusers who really to me are unknown they have too visible an advantage in this your weakness and if many men be not mistaken no less ground of retortion in your own scenical gesticulations and affected grimaces The thing I am concerned to notice is why being so sharp in your resentment are you so scant in your purgation You ask if they do understand things who charge him with Socinianisme who believeth that Christ is the eternal Son of God and hopes for salvation only through his blood And I grant that these things being truely understood and believed as I hope you do are indeed the truth opposite to the Socinian errors But seeing you know that some Socinians do also very easily admit and acknowledge the same form of words and that the cardinal point of this Controversie is whether or not Iesus Christ the Son of God be indeed essentially naturâ Deus according to that Scripture And we are in him that is true even in his Son Iesus Christ this is the true God and eternal life I wish you had chosen the same positive assertion for your vindication As for your clearing your self of Poprie in the matter of Justification because forsooth that you ascribe all we receive in this life and in that to come to the love and grace of God thorough Iesus Christ. It is so far from being a sufficient test of your orthodoxy that I am confident there is scarce one understanding Papist who would not say it were a calumny to charge them with the contrary Nay you your self in your sexth Dialogue do plainly say that they hold the foundation Jesus Christ and expressly wave their opinion of Justification in the enumeration of