to perswade men that we are not of the same body and to own a sinful dishonourable separation 17. And by all these means these Over-doers do greatly increase Atheism and Infidelity and prophaneness among us while their zeal against Truth and reproaches of sound doctrine do make men think that our Religion is nothing but proud humour and self-conceit and while they see us so boldly condemn almost all the world except our selves they will think that so few as we deserve not to be excepted 18. By this injurious extremity against the Papists we do but kindle in them a bitterer enmity to us and hatred of them breedeth hatred in them of us and so we set them on plotting revenge against us as implacable injurious enemies when we should deal soberly and righteously with all men and seek to win them by truth and gentleness 19. I And such dealings with them do draw Persecution on the Protestants that live under their Dominions and if we refuse to use them here as Christians no wonder if abroad they use not the Protestants as Men. 20. And by such great abuses of Reformation men hinder Reformation for the time to come and do their part to make it hopeless while they discourage such attempts by dishonouring the Reformation which is past Even as David George and Muntâ—er and the Munster Doâ—ages and Rebellions do hinder the â—eviving of Anabaptistry in the world and the shame of their old practices and successes is as a Grave stone upon the Sepuleher of their Cause so do these men do their part to make it with the whole Reformation that none hereafter may date to own or meddle with such work These that I have opened briefly to you are the real fruits of false injurious and ignorant zeal and over-doing against the Papists And if Popery revive it 's like to be by such men S. But Popery is an heinous evil and corrupt nature is so prone to evil thaâ— you need not thus disswade men from going too far from it or from over-doing against it no more than from being overmuch religious P. You may say the same as truly of the errors on the contrary extream All of them are evil and men are prone to evil But 1. Little know you how common it is in the world to spend mens zeal against the real or supposed evil of other mens Opinions and thereby to strengthen the mortal evil of their own carnal affections and passions and worldly lives and to take a zeal for Truth and Orthodoxness for real Holiness while usually such miss of Truth it self 2. And you know not the wiles of Satan how ordinarily he betrayeth a good Cause by the ill management of its most zealous friends and doth undo by over-doing When he will play the Devil indeed with Eve he will seem to be more than God himself for Knowledge of Good and Evil and for the advancement of mankind to be like God and God shall be accused by him as if he were untrue and envyed our perfection When he will play the Devil indeed with Christ he will seem to be more for valiantness and trusting God than Christ was and pleadeth Scripture for tempting God When he will play the Devil indeed in the Pharisees he will be stricter for the â—abbath and for Discipline in avoiding the company of the Publicans and sinners and stricter in fastings and dyet and other observations than Christ himself And he will be a zealous enemy to Blasphemy and a zealous Royalist for Caesar and a zealous honourer of the Temple and the Law when Christ or Paul or other Apostles are to be destroyed by it And when he will play the Devil in the Nicolaitans Simonians and Gnostick Hereticks he will seem to be for higher knowledge and greater liberty than the Apostles were And so when he would sow discord among Christians and would kill their Love and divide Christs Church and set them in a mental and oral War against each other he will aggravate the errors and faults of others and he will seem a more zealous friend of Truth and enemy to Popery Heresie Error Superstition false Worship or other faults than Christ is But he knoweth why S. But God telleth us himself that he is jealous about his Worship and hath in Scripture more severely executed his Justice upon the corrupters of his Worship than almost any other crime P. No doubt but God is jealous against Idolatry He that knoweth not the true God from Idols cannot honour him And he that worshippeth him not as a most Great and Holy God dishonoureth or blasphemeth him on pretence of worshipping him And to worship him by an Image is to perswade men that God is like that which that Image doth represent which is to deny him to be God And no doubt but the Jews great temptations to Idolatry from the Nations about them were to be oppugned by great severities of God And no doubt but Moses Law was to be honoured by Gods severe executions on the breakers of it But when you come to Christs preaching you find how oft he teacheth the Pharisees to go learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice When he conferreth with the Woman of Samaria John 4. she presently turneth from the doctrine of faith as Sectaries do among us to the Controversies of the times Our Fathers say In this Mountain and you say At Jerusalem men ought to worship But Christ calleth her off such low discourse and teacheth her to worship God as a Spirit in spirit and truth if ever she would be accepted of him S. But it is a time now when Popery is striving to rise again and how unseasonably would you abate mens zeal against it P. No more than he was against his Lawyers Zeal who grew hoarse with senseless bawling for him saying I am glad he hath lost his voice or else I might have lost my Cause I am so much against Popery that I wish it wiser and abler adversaries than self-conceited unstudied Zealots who will honour Popery by entitling it to the Truths of God and the Consent of the Antient or Universal Church or would make people believe that it consisteth in some good or indifferent things as in some Doctrines Forms or Government which others can see no harm in And so teach men to say If this be Popery we will rather be Papists than of them that rave as in their sleep against they know not what Could these men be perswaded to lay out their Zeal and diligence in propagating the practical knowledge of Christianity it self and let things alone which they understand not and SUSPEND TILL THEY HAVE THROUGHLY STUDIED or at least to forbear hindering wiser men and calumniating and backbiting those that would by wisdom defend that truth which by folly and rashness they go about to betray they might be meet for their share of that honour which now they forfeit S. You strive against Gods Judgements by which he
* * * Such as are most of the sober Heathens in the world For the most religious and sober of them are Pythagorears to this day Lege Varenium de divers Relig. post Hist Japâ—n Bless Lord thy own reconciling Truths to the healing of thy Churches or at least of some dis-joynted minds And teach me with patience to bear the Obloquy and Reproach of mistaken zealous Consurers And forgive them that know not what they say or do And wherein I err forgive and rectifie me and better inform both the Reader and me The Third Part OF God's Gracious Operations ON MANS SOUL Their DIFFERENCE and the OPERATIONS OF MANS WILL. For the fuller Decision of the Controversies about EFFECTUAL and DIFFERENCING GRACE By RICHARD BAXTER LONDON Printed by Robert VVhite for Nevill Simmons at the Princes Arms in S t. Pauls Church-yard MDCLXXV THE CONTENTS THE Preface Pag. 1. Sect. 1. The Presupposed Principles briefly repeated p. 7 Sect. 2. The Order of Divine Operations p. 9. Sect. 3. Of the Operations and Principles as compared p. 12. Sect. 4. How far God useth Means p. 16. Sect. 5. Of the Causes of the different Effects of Grace and Means p. 18. Sect. 6. Of the Limitations of Gods Operations on the Soul p. 20. Sect. 7. Of the Resistibility of Grace p. 21. Sect. 8. What is that Operation of God on the Soul enquired of in many following Questions And whether searchable by man p. 22. Sect. 9. Whether Gods Operation be equal on all p. 31. Sect. 10. Whether it be Physical or Moral p. 32. Sect. 11. What Free-will man hath to Spiritual Good p. 35. Sect. 12. More of Predetermination by Physical Premotion p. 37. Sect. 13. More of Mans Power Natural and Moral p. 43. Sect. 14. Whether the giving of Faith be an act of Omnipotency and a Creation and a Miracle p. 46. Sect. 15. Of the Sufficiency and Efficacy of Grace p. 48. Sect. 16. Of Infused Habits and the Holy Ghost even special Grace p. 53. Sect. 17. Whether Man be meerly Passive as to the first Grace p. 55. Sect. 18. Whether the first Grace and the New and Soft Heart or Faith it self be Promised or Given absolutely or on any Condition to be performed by man ibid. Sect. 19. How God may be said to Cause the Acts of Sin p. 57. Sect. 20. How far God and how far man himself is the Cause of Hell and other punishments p. 62. The Conclusion § 1. The Concessions of the Synod of Dort specially the Brittish Divines More of Divine Motion or Impress p. 67. § 2. The Epitome of Alvarez de Auxil drawn up by himself in Epilogo in Twenty Conclusions considered p. 70. § 3. A Censure of the other three wayes described by him viz. 1. The Jesuits de Scientia Media p. 75. § 4. 2. Durandus's Way p. 76. § 5. 3. That of the Scotists and Nominals Of Gods partial Caâ—sality p. 79. § 6. The true face and Scheme of the Dominican Predeterminant way in the Sense and Consequents in Fifty Propositions and the Reasons of my preferring any before this p. 80. A Summary of all to satisfie sober minds p. 100. Additional Animadversions on Mr. Peter Sterrey's Book of Free-will making God the Author of Good and Evil as he is of Light and Darkness p. 106. The Third Part OF GOD'S GRACIOUS OPERATIONS ON MANS SOUL AND THE SUB-OPERATIONS OF MANS WILL. For the Ending the Contentions about Sufficient and Effectual Common and Special Grace and Free-VVill The Preface THE first Part of this Treatise though largest and fullest of mens contentious Questions and opinions is furthest from the true point of the difference and difficulty which troubleth the Church And is made large by accident by way of disquisition and detection of the many ensâ—aring questions and vain or hurtful wranglings of the Schoolmen The Second Part cometh nearer our chief Controversies and resolveth many other on the by and containeth the summ of that part of Theologie which is most clear and sure and necessary This Third Part which cometh up to the main Controversie is short and troubleth you less with other mens opinions and Schoolmens Wranglings about Grace and Free-will Partly because you had enough of them by the way before And chiefly because I would not by tediousness and recitation of Contentions obscure that which I most desire to make plain nor discourage the Reader by the length I think if I can manifest that there is no real or considerable difference among the Learned and Moderate on each side such as are the Synod of Dort on one side and even Bellarmine Suarez Ruiz c. on the other besides the moderate Lutherans and Arminians who may be ashamed if they go farther from us than the Jesuites besides abundance of Schoolmen that are of a middle strain between the Dominicans and Jesuites few understanding Divines would then think that there were any considerable difference remaining about Predestination or the universality of Redemption Those differences being but respective unto this But about Perseverance I confess that there doth a real difference remain But that it is of less moment than most on both sides say and such as is no way fit to quench Christian Love or alienate Christians from each other or hinder their liberties or peaceable communion I have fully proved in the Second Part and formerly in a peculiar Treatise entituled My Thoughts of Perseverance If therefore I can truly disprove our pretended difference about the â—â—â—rations of Grace or at least prove it to be but as it is no greater not more intolerable than that of Perseverance I shall think that all is done that is thus necessary The main difference seeming or real is about the Power of Mans Will Of which I have spoken much in the First Part and purposely leave much to the Reconciling Praxis in the Second Book which shall dissipate the cloud of ambiguous words Till then it shall here suffice to manifest 1. That we are agreed with them whose conciliation I endeavour that â—â— is not the natural Powers essential to a man which we are deprived of 2. But that these Powers have by our common corruption a sinful Disposition unfitting them for a due exercise for God and against sin 3. And that all men at least at age are not depraved in the same degree 4. That this Ill disposition is called a Moral Impotency when it is such as while it remaineth the sinful Act is ever done or the commanded act is never done There is then no Moral Power 5. That the vitious sinful impotency of the will and its Habitual or dispositive unwillingness to good and proneness to things forbidden is all one 6. That he is Morally Able who without any other grace than he hath can do the thing commanded or forbear the thing forbidden 7. That there is no Power but of God 8. That Nature common grace and special grace give several powers or dispositions 9. That a moral power
Children and not to strive by needless disputes I pray you be you the Teacher and I will be the Learner and tell me what you would have us believe in these particulars which you have named And first of the first Lib. I. Men must be taught to come presently to Christ without staying for Preparations and not discouraged delayed or kept off The first Charge P. By Coming I suppose you mean Believing and Accepting I pray you teach me further then Quest 1. Must men believe in Christ before they Hear of him Lib. No How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard P. Quest 2. Must they Believe that he is the Mediator between God and man before they have learned that there is a God and that this God is True and Just Quest 3. Or before they have learnt that man is a sinner and deserveth death and what sin is Quest 4. Or before they have learnt that we cannot redeem and save our selves Lib. No That were a contradiction P. Quest 5. Must men Believe that Christ is the Son of God and the Saviour of his Church before they have learnt what it is to be the Son of God or what a Saviour is and what is the salvation which he hath wrought and will vouchsafe us before they understand the Articles of the Christian faith that he was conceived born suffered was buried rose ascended is glorified and the like Lib. No man can Believe that which he doth not Understand P. Quest 6. Must men take Christ for their Saviour before they heartily peâ—ceive that they want a Saviour through sin and misery and that they are lost for ever if he save them not and that no other can do it Lib. No this is an impossibility and contradiction P. Quest 7. Must a man take Christ for his Saviour before he is willing to be saved Lib. Yes He must come to Christ to make him willing and not think that he must bring willingness with him This is your Legal doctrine P. Quest 8. Is not Accepting Christ an Act of the will a willingness that he shall be my Saviour And do you say that a man must be willing to have Christ before he is willing and not stay till he is willing Lib. You would make me ridiculous I say not that he must take Christ before he is willing But he must come to Christ for a will P. In despight of edification you will stick in the Metaphor Come to Christ What mean you by coming Lib. Poor blind soul If you had been taught of God you would have known what it is to Come to Christ But you will not come to him P. With such exclamations you cheat the ignorant Cannot you tell your own meaning What mean you by Coming to Christ Lib. I mean Believing in him and casting my self wholly on him P. Still you stick in Metaphors Can you cast your self upon him for a will before you are Willing Is not that casting your self the act of your will which we call Trust or Affiance Lib. You would hide your Lyes with words You teach that men must have good desires before they come to Christ as if they must bring with them good desires of their own or by Preparatory Grace P. Quest 9. Can a man Accept of Christ as a Saviour to save him from sin and punishment and Gods displeasure and to justifie sanctifie and glorifie him before he hath any desire to be saved from sin or punishment or Gods displeasure or to be justified sanctified or glorified Lib. He that hath no such Desires must come to Christ for them and believe P. Still Coming must hide your sense Doth Christ give these Desires to be saved before we Take him for our Saviour by Consent Or after Lib. You are catching me by craft If I say Before you will say Then it is Preparatory to our Consent If I say After you will say that it is impossible to consent to the Means till a man desires the end and to Accept a Saviour before he is willing to be saved But besides this you tell men that they must not come to Christ till they are broken hearted and sorrow for their sins You heat the Winâ— of the Gospel so hot that it shall burn mens lips and then invite them to it P. Quest 10. Is it possible for a man Heartily to perceive that he is a heinous sinner and hath displeased God abused mercy hilled Christ undone his soul and wronged others and not be sorrowful for it nor be vile in his own eyes or feel that he is a lost sinner Lib. No but all this he must come to Christ for or Believe for P. Do you mean that he must first Believe that the Gospel is True and that Christ is an Offered Saviour or else do you mean that he must first Accept him as offered for a Saviour or do you mean that he must first Believe that he is his Saviour accepted or do you mean that he must first Trust in him as his Saviour All these are different acts Lib. You would confound us with your distinctions to keep out the light This is the trick of such carnal Sophisters P. Saul You hear what this man hath to say against us You hear that when he hath cryed out against Preparations to Believing that here are ten several Preparations which he cannot deny I will now tell you what is our Doctrine and the truth about Preparations We hold that Christ is the True Light who lighteth every man that cometh to God but in various degrees by various means He is the Lord of Nature as its Restorer Rom. 14. 9. All power in Heaven and Earth is given to him and all things put into his hand Matth. 28. 18 19. John 17. 2 3. John 5. 22. He teacheth those that have not the Gospel and those that have it first by the Light of Nature many Natural Truths as that there is a God who is Almighty Wise and Good that we owe him our Love and duty that he is Just c. As the Sun enlightneth the earth at its rising before it appear it self so doth Christ the world By the Gospel he teacheth us more even supernatural truths about himself and our Redemption c. Some commoner co-operation of his Spirit goeth along with the Gospel convincing and moving many that are not yet or at all converted Those that Christ converteth savingly are first in order brought to understand the Meaning of the word and next to Believe the Truth of it and so to Believe what Christ is and what he hath done and suffered for us and what need we have of him by sin and misery and how freely he is offered to our salvation And they are moved so seriously to consider all this till it prevail with their wills first to desire not only their own deliverance from Hell and misery as all men may do but also from a state of sin and then to desire
that we are commanded not only Thankfully to Accept but Thankfully to obey our Lord Redeemer and Saviour Lib. No. P. Quest 3. Date you deny that life or death eternal dependeth on this as a Condition or Moral means and that we shall be judged according to it Lib. No. I deny it not P. Quest 4. Is it not a Law that thus commandeth us and by which we must be judged Lib. Yes If it were no Law there were no duty and sin in belief and unbelief P. Quest 5. Is not a man so far just and justifyable by that Law as he keepeth it and justifyable against the charge of being one that must be Damned by producing the Condition of pardon and life performed Lib. Yes I deny it not P. Quest 6. And doth not the same Law virtually justifie the performer now whom it will justifie as the Rule of Judgement at last Lib. Yes no doubt P. Quest 7. And is not the Name of Righteousness many score times given in Scripture to our own actions done by Grace and measured by the New Covenant Lib. Yes I cannot deny it P. Why then while you deny neither Name nor Thing what wrangle you about And let me plainly tell you that such men as you by indiscreet ever-doing are not the least of Satans instruments to bring the Gospel under scandal and harden the world in Infidelity and the scorn of Christ while you would so describe the Christian Religion as if this were the very heart and summ of it Believe that all the Elect have fulfilled perfectly all Gods Law by another and that Christ did it as personating each of them and therefore no crime of their own is imputable to them nor any kind or degree of Goodness or Righteousness in and of themselves is at least required of God as any means or condition of their present or future justification by their Judge or as having any hand therein As if God were become indifferent what we all are so that Christ be but Righteous for us when as it was Christs grand design to restore lapsed man to God which he doth not only by Relative benefits but by Renewing them to his Image in love and holy obedience Lib. Have you not lately and oft been told that holiness and obedience are necessary now but it is to other Ends than to justifie us as for Cratitude c. P. 1. We easily grant it is for other Ends than Christs Merits were and not to justifie us as they do nor in that Causality They are not to purchase for us a free gift of pardon and life nor the Holy Ghost c. as Christ did 2. But again tell me Hath not Christ a Law that commandeth our obedience to those ends as Gratitude which you mention And is not the keeping that Law a thing that the same Law will so far justifie us for Yea a Condition that life dependeth on And if the Cause in Judgement be Have you kept it or not must you not in that be accordingly Justified or Condemned Give over cavilling against plain necessary truth Lib. By this you will fall in with the Papists who take Justification to be partly by Christs Righteousness and partly by our own and partly in pardon and partly in faith and holiness P. Tell not me of the Names of Papists or any to frighten me from plain Scripture truth 1. Why may not I rather say Why go you from all the antient Writers and Churches even Augustine himself by your new and contrary opinion Was true Justification unknown for so many hundred years after the Apostles 2. The most zealous Antipapists do confess that some Texts of Scripture do so take the word Justification And multitudes of Texts so take the words Righteous and Righteousness And he that will impartially consider them may find that more Texts than are by us so confessed do by Justifying mean Making us Just and so Accounting us on all these causes conjunct 1. As being Redeemed by Christs Merits 2. And freely pardoned 3. And having Right to life 4. And renewed to Gods love and Image 5. And so justifyable at the Bar of Grace by the Law of faith and liberty 3. And the reality of all the Matter of this Doctrine is past doubt if the Controversie de nomine Justificationis were not so decided CHAP. IV. Whether the Gospel be a Law of Christ Lib. III. YOu bring in your doctrine of personal Righteousness to Justification by feigning Christ to have made a new Law whereas the Gospel is but a Doctrine History and Promise and not a Law and so no Rule of Righteousness and Judgement And this many Protestants have asserted P. I have read some such sayings in some men And some I think meant no more but that Christ did only expound and not add to the Law of Nature called by them the Moral Law And these I have excused for their unhappy kind of expression But for the rest that mean as the words sound universally they subvert Christianity and as the Arrians denyed Christs Godhead so do they his Office and Government and are somewhat worse than the Quakers who say that the Spirit within us is the Law and Rule of Christ which is better than none I pray answer me Quest 1. Is Christ the King and Ruler of the Church Lib. Yes P. Quest 2. Is not Legislation the first and principal part of Government Lib. Yes P. Quest 3. Do not they then that deny Christs Legislation deny his Government Lib. Yes P. Quest 4. Is it not essential to Christ as Christ the name signifying Relatively his Office to be King Lib. Yes P. Quest 5. Do they not then by this deny Christ to be Christ Lib. No for they confess that he hath a Law but not that he made any since his birth P. We grant 1. That the Law of Nature now is His Law 2. And that the first Edition of the Law of Grace to Adam after the fall was his Law 3. And Moses Law was partly his But you will not say that we are under this last nor I hope that he hath no other than the two first Lib. Why what other can you prove P. It is the Name or the Thing that you deny for you use to confound the cases 1. Whether the name be fit judge by these Texts Gal. 6. 2. Bear ye one anothers burdens and so fulfil the Law of Christ James 1. 25. The perfect Law of Liberty Rom. 8. 2. The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus c. Rom. 3. 27. Boasting is excluded By what Law Of Works Nay but by the Law of faith Mic. 4. 2. For the Law shall go out of Zion c. So Isa 2. 3. 8. 16 20. 42. 41. The Isles shall wait for his Law 1 Cor. 9. 21. We are under the Law to Christ Heb. 8. 10 16. I will put my Laws into their minds and hearts James 4. 12. There is one Law-giver c. Isa 33.
me of my error 6. Is not unrighteousness a sin in your judging and reports as it is in publick Judgements Should not a man be heard before he be condemned especially a Minister of Christ 7. What a sin is it to receive false reports from others and encourage backbites whom you should rebuke and frown away 8. What a heinous sin is it thus to destroy the Hearers souls and as those that have the Plague to carry your infection from house to house and kill mens Love and breed in them false conceits and bitter injurious thoughts of others 9. What a sin is it with such unthankfulness to requite Christs servants that spend their dayes and strength and estates in labouring for mens good When I take none of your money when I have these twelve years preached as I had liberty freely without hire when I had been put on to plead the Non-conformists Cause in the costliesâ— circumstances and to bear the greatest odium for it when I was I think the first that was silenced on such accounts when I have been twelve or fourteen years deprived of all Ecclesiastical maintenance when I refused a Bishoprick when I have laboured in Writings and other duties to the consuming of my flesh in daily and hourly pain and weakness and now look every Sermon for my last and am ready to appear before my Judge to be to the very last thus calumniated and reviled by pievish Sectaries would be a sad reward were your favour my reward But is this just or grateful or shall the unrighteous and unthankful be accounted the best men I know I could have been one of the highest in your favour and applause if I would have humoured and followed you But I had rather that God should keep me from your honour than buy it at so dear a rate 10. And is it no sin thus to hinder the success of our labours by making us odious or suspected by them that should profit by us 11. Is it not hypocrisie to cry out of the Bishops for silencing us when you shew that you would fain do it your selves Would not you silence me now if it were in your power Yea I doubt not but when I die some of you will rejoyce and say that God did it in judgement on me 12. And thus to make divisions among Christians that should hold the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace will one day be known to be a sin 13. And so it is hereby to harden the enemies of Religion by your clamours and the divisions which you cause and tempt them to hate both you and us 14. And it is worst of all to father all this on God and Truth and Godliness and use such holy Names for so bad a Cause 15. And it aggravateth your sin that you take no more notice of all those plain and terrible Scriptures which as openly condemn your sin as the sin of Drunkards or Swearers is condemned were it but James 3. it would leave you utterly without excuse 16. Yea and that you can see the sins of such Drunkards and Swearers yea and see the Mote in the eyes of one that doth but use a Form or Ceremony which you dislike and cannot see these Beams in your own For all these sins I admonish you presently to repent S. Who is it that is censorious you or I It is sin with you to open your sin P. I desired you to open it But see now how hard a work Repentance is when in a Professor such sins as these will not be confessed S. Well come to the cause it self Is it I or you that comply with Papists P. I make that the business of this Conference with you It is not you only but some wiser men than you that look so much at the evil of Popery that they forget the evil of an unrighteous opposition and of the other extream And they do as one that by labouring to cure another of a Dead Palsie casteth himself into a Phrensie or a Feaver or like one that to avoid a Carrion that stinketh in the Ditch doth run himself into the Ditch on the other side the way Gods Truth must be vindicated only by Truth and Wisdom is best justified of her own children by Wisdom God hath no pleasure in fools noâ— doth his Glory need our lye There is a time when the Devil will seem to be against error and sin and so against Popery but it is in a way which shall promote it which commonly is by ill-doing and over-doing I tell you plainly the Cause of Truth and Reformation gets nothing by some men that seâ—m most zealous for it For an unstudied half-wise honest Minister or private man to believe false reports of the Papists and to mis-state Controversies and to rail on them on such suppositions and to mix many errors of his own in his opposition and to backbite those that know more of the matter as symbolizing with the Papists this is certainly serving the Devil how honest soever the instruments in the main may be S. I perceive that you have an aking tooth at the Protestant Divines as well as at me Are you wiser than all they or are you not warping to Grotianism which you have written against P. Among the Protestant Divines there are well studied knowing solid men that understand what they say such as Bishop Usher Dr. Chaloner Dr. Field Dr. White Chillingworth Morton Davenant Andrews and many such and abroad Camero Dallaus Blondell Drelincourt Amyraâ—dus Placaeus Vâ—ssius Junius Martinius Crocius Bergius Bucer Musculus Melanchthon and many others and there are ignorant hot-headed self-conceited men that rave in extreams as Gallus Ambsdorsius and their companions did against Georg. Major for saying Bona opera sunt necessaria ad salutem And it is no wonder that the best Churches have many such and if such are the forwardest to judge and cry down all that are not as ignorant as they And in our times the World is more beholden to the fewness of buyers and the wit of Booksellers refusing to Print them than to the humility or modesty of such men that the Shops do not abound with such furious Writings â—s Mr. Brownes Antichristomachus Mr. Danvers Mr. Bagshaw c. and that Antichrist Antichrist is not made in Print the Universal Consutation of sober truth as commonly as it is bawled out in words S. Is it not safest to get far enough from Antichrist and Popery Your study is to teach men how near they may come to sin without sin and how to dance about the brink of Hell For my part I will be one of them that shall come out of Babylon and partake not of her sins nor touch the unclean thing and that keep their garments undefiled and not one that like you is grown Lukewarm by being over-fond of Unity and Peace You will follow Grotius it's doubt at last P. Uncleanness must not be touched nor sin partaked of nor lukewarm indifferency
left to their own discretion in such and such circumstantials But do they dream of Perfect Concord on earth and that men of such various Interests tempers educations converse and degrees of knowledge should not differ in a word or gesture Our English Rulers make no Laws what Gesture shall be used in singing Psalms or in Hearing Sermons and there is no division or great disorder in them But if on pretence of nearer Concord they should tye all to one Gesture this or that we should presently find it an engine of division And O how many such Engines have the Papal Clergie made and used long and to what purpose To silence faithful Ministers to torment faithful Christians in the Inquisitions to brand the best men with the names of Hereticks and Schismaticks to gratifie all profaneness and malignity to quench brotherly love and to tear the Church into pieces And no experience will make them wiser II. And the DOGMATISTS also have done their part by departing from the Simplicity of the Christian Doctrine to set the Christian world together by the ears Of which Hilary hath written sharply against the Making of new Creeds not sparing to tell them that even the Nicene Fathers led others the way And Hierome wonders that they that were for the word hypostasis questioned his Faith as if he that had been Baptized had been without a Faith or Creed which all at Baptism do profess But this will not serve turn to these Corrupters Councils Doctors and Schoolmen have been led by the temptation of more subtle-knowledge to be Wise and Orthodox over-much till the Churches Faith is as large as all the Decrees of General Councils de side at the least and the Churches Laws a great deal larger And what abundance of dubious Confessions Declarations or Decrees are now to be subscribed or believed and justified before a man can have his Baptismal birth-right even the Love peace and Church-Communion bequeathed to him as a Christian by Christ And now controversal writings fill our Libraries by Cart-loads And a Use of Confutation is a great part of most Sermons among the Papists Lutherans and many others And men are bred up in the Universities to a Militant striving kind of life that their work may be to make Plain Christians seem unlearned dolts and dissenters seem odious or suspected men and themselves to be the wise and Orthodox persons and triumphant over all the erroneous that were it not for these Contenders would destroy the And so Ministers are armed against Ministers Churches against Churches Christians against Christians yea Princes against Princes and Countreys against Countreys by wrangling contentious Clergie men And O what an injury is â—t Young Students are almost necessitated to waste much of their lives which should be spent in preparing them to promote faith holiness and Love in reading over multitudes of these wrangling writers to know which of them is in the right And most readers catch the disease hereby themselves And those few that at great cost and labour come to the bottom of the differences do perceive that the Proud Opiniators have striven partly about unrevealed or unnecessary things but chiefly about meer ambiguous words and arbitrary humane notions and multitudes condemn and revile each other while they mean the same things and do not know it One writeth a Learned Book against such a party and another confuteth such an Adversary especially about Predestination Redemption Free-will Humane Power Grace Merit Justification Pardon Imputation c. and then many read and applaud all as excelently done Alas for the low estate of the Clergie that while when a truly discerning man perceiveth that it is but a striving about unexplained words for the most part And thus being Over-wise in pretences of Zeal for Truth and under-wise in understanding it and departing from Christian simplicity of doctrine and even deriding the Christian Creed hath made even some honest men become dividing Engineers and their Articles and Controversies the Churches calamity III. And what Practical misguided zeal about worship hath done almost all Sects Novatians Anabaptists in Germany and here and the various sort of Churches that refuse Communion with one another and that condemn or cast out dissenters from them and preach and talk and backbite their brethren into the odium or distaste of their seduced auditors the bitter invectives in Pulpit talk and press of the several Pastors and people against each other and worse than words where they have power all these speak so loud as may spare me the labour of any further discovery and calls us all to make it the matter of our lamentation And what shall I say in the conclusion now I am near to my departure from this contentious world but sound a Retreat to all these unhappy militants that will not let Holiness prosper by the necessary advantage of Peace Cease your Proud contendings O vain-glorious Militant Clergie Learn of the Prince of peace and the holy Angels that preached him to give Glory to God in the highest who giveth Peace on Earth and well-pleasedness in or towards men Did Christ or his Apostles make such work for Christians as you do The great Shepherd of the flock will take your pretences of ORDER ORTHODOXNESS or Truth and PIETY for no excuse for your corrupting ORDER FAITH and PRACTICE by your TYRANNY SELF-CONCEITEDNESS and blind ZEAL and SUPERSTITION and for using his name against himself to the destroying of that Love and Concord and Unity which he hath bequeathed to his Church and for serving his enemy and dividing his people and hardning Infidels and ungodly ones by these scandals Return to the primitive simplicity that we may return to unity Love and peace Dream not of them upon your own corrupting terms And read and read over again and again Jam. 3. which doth describe you condemn you and instruct you If you say Physicion heal thy self Who hath wrote more of Controversies I answer peruse what I have written and you will see it is of Controversies but against Controversies tending to End and reconcile If any thing be otherwise except necessary defence of certain necessary faith or duty I retract it and condemn it Let it be as not written I have meddled much with Controversies in this Book but it is to end them The God of Peace give Wisdom and peaceable principles minds and hearts to his servants that though I shall not live to see it true Love and Piety may revive in the Christian world by the endeavours of a healing Ministry and the shaming restraint and reformation of the CONTENTIOUS CLERGIE whether TYRANNICAL DOGMATICAL or SUPERSTITIOUS Amen Jan. 25. 167â— Of DIVISIONS and CONTENTIONS among Christians Consider I. The EFFICIENT I. PERSONS 1. The Devils 2. Men 1. A Contentious Clergie 2. Unwise and wicked Rulers instigated by them 3. The deceived people that follow them II. QUALITIES viz. I. Remotely 1. Selfishness in Carnal hypocrites who prefer worldly interest 2.
Slothfulness in Students in seeking truth 3. Hastiness in Judging before digested conceptions and proof II. Nearly Want of 1. Humility and self-acquaintance Pride 2. Knowledge Ignorance and Error 3. Love to others Envy Malice and Bitterness III. Instruments or Engines 1. In General Corrupt departing from Christian Simplicity 2. Particularly 1. From Simplicity of Doctrine by DOGMATISTS Words Notions 2. From Simplicity of Practice by SUPERSTITIOUS additions 3. From Simplicity of Discipline by CHURCH-TYRANNY II. CONSTITUTIVE Causes viz. DISCORD 1. In JUDGMENT of things necessary ALIENATION 2. In WILL and AFFECTION viz. 1. Privative by denying due Communion 2. Positive 1. By Contention 2. Malice 3. Hurtfulness to each other DIVISION 3. In Necessary PRACTICE III. The EFFECTS viz. I. On THINGS viz. on Church 1. Doctrine Preaching and Writing turning it into vain and hurtful wrangling 2. Worship Prayer Sacraments corrupting them by faction partiality and wrath 3. Discipline corrupting it into Secular or factious Tyranny or a dead Image II. On PERSONS viz. I. Particular 1. Themselves 2. Their followers 1. The Guilt and Deceit of false-Religious zeal 2. The Death of true Holiness and Heavenly Conversation 3. The Death of Love and Life of Wrath and injuries 3. Rulers viz. 1. Corrupting them by factious clamours against their Subjects 2. Tempting them unto persecuting Laws and Executions 3. Engaging them in bloody Wars abroad 4. The Innocent viz. Injuries to 1. Private persons 1. By censures slanders backbitings making them hated 2. Denying them due Love Communion and help 3. Persecution silencing and other mischiefs 2. Princes 1. Weakning and grieving them by the Subjects discords 2. Dishonouring them by defaming Excommunications 3. Urging them to be the Clergies Lictors or Executioners 5. Enemies and Strangers scandalizing and hardning them in Infidelity sin II. Societies I. Churches 1. Corrupting them in Doctrine Worship and Order 2. Weakning them by discord and division 3. Shaming them before the World 4. Making them less fit for Gods Love and Communion II. Kingdoms Weakning them dishonouring them and drawing them into the Guilt of Feuds Wars and Persecutions IV. The REMEDIES I. Persons 1. Christ the Prince of Peace and the Churches Head and Center 2. Wise Princes who understand the Interest of 1. Christ 2. Their people 3. Themselves 3. Able Wise Holy and Peaceable Pastors 4. The Mature Experienced Mellow Peaceable sort of the people II. Qualities 1. Diligent Study under wise Teachers 2. Sincere Holiness A dying life 1. Humility 2. Knowledge 3. Love to others as our selves 3. Deliberate Judging upon tryal III. Means 1. Returning to Christian Simplicity 1. In Doctrine The antient Creed c. 2. In Worship 3. In Discipline 2. Magistrates forcing the Clergie to keep the peace and forbear strife 3. Subjects obedience in all lawful things required by Authority V. HEALTH or Cure 1. Rulers Pastors and people of one MIND 2. One HEART in Love 3. One MOUTH and practice in things Necessary in Communion and mutual help And mutual loving forbearance in Infirmities and things unnecessary edified in Love VI. The EFFECTS hereof I. GLORY to God 1. In the Hallowing of his Name and Honour of Religion 2. In the increase of his Kingdom and Conversion of the World 3. In the Doing of his Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven II. Peace on Earth 1. Increase of Holiness Heavenliness and Love 2. Mutual Delight herein The Joy of Health and Concord 3. The Churches Strength and Glory III. Gods WELLPLEASEDNESS in MEN His Church will be meet for his Love Delight and Communion and be liker to Heaven and enjoy its foretastes An Appendix to this Premonition SInce the Printing of this the World hath seen a specimen of such contention as I lament in a contest between a young insulting Assailant and a jocular contemptuous Defendant in my judgment both running into extreams whether verbal or real their own explications must further tell us The extreams of the former are reprehended by many By the later a person of great wit and piety I perceive that some men have such conceptions of the Covenants of God as will give occasion to some Readers to think that by mis-describing them I have erred and misled men through this and many other Writings And men that are not able to conquer the obscuring and tempting notions of their Authors are still calling for Answers to every inconsiderable objection or contradicting word that is suggested to them and little things puzzle and stop such Readers though otherwise pious and worthy persons who have not by long and accurate studies methodized and digested the matter that is disputed of Not therefore to offend any man by opposition or to defend other mens extreams but to prevent the frustration of some of these Writings and the scandal or trouble of my Reader I must take notice I. That some think that the Covenant of Grace must be considered 1. in its Constitution and 2. in its Execution The Constitution of the Covenant is God's firm and unchangeable purpose of saving his Elect to the praise of his glorious Grace For the word signifieth a disposition appointment or ordering of matters whether there be a restipulation or no the English word Covenant seduceth our understandings The fixed purpose and determinate counsel of God in Scripture is called a Covenant Jer. 33. 20. II. The execution of this fixed Constitution is God's wise and gracious managing of all things for the accomplishment of that glorious design which he had in the prospect of his eternal counsel which he steadily and regularly pursueth through all the vicissitudes that his mutable creatures are obnoxious to c. pag. 718 719. 1. On God's part whatever grace and mercy was in his eternal purpose that is given out to us by Christ c. III. 1. Christ cannot be the foundation of the Covenant because Christ himself is promised in the Covenant as the great comprehensive blessing Isa 49. 8 9. 2. Free Grace is given as the true reason of the Covenant Heb. 8. 8. IV. The Constitution of the Covenant in God's purpose and counsel hath no condition at all nor is that the Condition of the Covenant required of us on our part which God promiseth to work in us on his part nor that which God in Covenant bestoweth nor that which presupposeth other Covenant mercies antecedent c. V. A promise of pardon and life on condition of believing and obeying is no Covenant of Grace at all and neither better nor worse than a threatning of condemnation c. It 's no more a Covenant of Grace than a Covenant of Wrath. It 's no great matter where it is founded p. 584 586. VI. God hath not dispensed with one jot or title of the moral Law but Do this and live is as strictly exacted as ever so that unless a Surety be admitted and the righteousness of another owned the case of all the sons of Adam is deplorable and desperate To deny the righteousness wherein