yield more easily to the antecedent Arguments of the Infallibility of that Church But if the Doctrine for which she vouches this Authority does upon the most impartial tryal that I can make appear to be worldly unscriptural or contrary to common sence then I am bound to examine the grounds of her Pretence more severely than in the former case And there is no question but such Doctrines may be taught by men pretending to Inspiration or Infallibility which will justifie a man in rejecting that Pretence out of hand and troubling himself no more about it If a Physician of never so great name should tell me that he would infallibly cure my Disease and then prescribe a dose of Arsenick I think Reason would advise rather to question his Infallibility because he goes thus madly to work than to take his Poyson because he promises an Infallible Cure Now if I am not to do violence to my own understanding in things that concern my bodily health much less should I do the same in things that regard my everlasting state And they are a strange sort of men who will allow people the liberty of using their Reason as well as they can for the security of their worldly interests but will have them be led in the great affairs of Religion and Eternity as if they had no reason at all For to judge aright and to know the truth in matters of Religion which is our highest concernment was the principal end for which we have Reason and are Creatures of judgment and choice And they may as well say that 't is dangerous for a man to walk abroad with his eyes open as that 't is dangerous for him to take upon himself to judge as well as he can whether he be in the right way to Heaven or not § 2. If we consider what has been already said it will not be difficult to answer the second Question 2. Whether a liberty of examining and judging in matters of Religion doth mischief in the Church and be the cause of Heresies and Schisms To which I answer that To affirm this is in effect to say that it had been much better in order to the peace of the Church and the prevailing of Truth that men had been nearer to stocks and stones than endued with natural Abilities of judging and natural propensions to use those Abilities which I think would be to reflect upon the Wisdom of our Maker For certainly it had been better for men to have wanted the faculties of judging and proving if it be so dangerous a thing to the Church to make use of them Nor is it much for the credit of the Church that it should be against her interest for men to examine her Doctrine and use their Reason about it as well as they can To speak to the thing It is not the liberty of examination and judgment in order to the knowledge of the Truth that causeth Heresies and Schisms but the not making a right use of this liberty i. e. mens entring upon this work with Pride and the prevalency of Lust and Passion and worldly interest their want of care and diligence and of proving things sufficiently their taking up Opinions without reasonable examination and then seeking for Pretences to colour their obstinacy The Lusts and Vices of men are against the peace of the Church and the interest of Truth but not the use of that Reason which is the divine part of our Natures and which God hath given us to restrain and govern our inferiour Faculties 'T is true indeed that if few or none troubled themselves at all to judge in matters of Religion there would be no Heresies But 't is true too that if they had no reason to judge of these things at all there would have been no Heresies and 't is as true that if there had been no Religion at all it were impossible that there should be Heresies in Religion But will any men say that Reason or Religion is therefore the cause of Heresies And yet there is as much reason to say this as to conclude that the use of our own understandings in the things of God is the cause of Heresies These things are too gross to need a Confutation And yet this Pretence against the liberty of proving what is propounded to us in Religion is intended chiefly against private and ordinary persons but not against the publick Guides and Officers of the Church whereas in truth if there be any thing in it it holds more strongly against these than against the other And that because the most pernicious Heresies that ever came into the Church were brought in by men of Learning and Authority in the Church And if this Pretence be good they of all men should be forbidden to inquire into matters of Religion because if they fall into any dangerous mistake their Authority is likely to give reputation to it and to make it go down more easily with the common People than if it had been started by one of themselves So that we must not lay the Heresies that have been in the Church to the liberty we have been contending for unless we will be content to exclude all from the duty of proving what they have been taught to 〈◊〉 And no man can think this reasonable unless he 〈◊〉 all Religions to be equally true that is every one to be alike false And he that believes this needs not care what Heresie he is of § 3. 3. But if every man hath a just liberty and right to examine for himself is not this a good reason for Toleration or for the universal liberty of practising according to a mans Conscience or Perswasion For to what purpose is liberty of enquiry if after all I must be concluded by the Authority of my Superiours or else suffer under those Laws by which they provide for Uniformity in Religion To this I answer That every mans right and duty to judge for himself in matters of Religion is no good reason for Toleration unless it were also apparent that every man used that Right as he ought to do i. e. with industry deliberation and impartiality If all men were sincere and would examine without prejudice without that byass to one side which is made by lust and passion and worldly interest if they all intended to know the truth that they might do their duty then doubtless it were very fit that all should enjoy an undisturbed liberty of practice according to their Judgment for then no man would err in things plain and necessary to his own salvation and the peace of Church and State For our Lord hath assured us that if any man will do the will of God he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God But so long as there is that Hypocrisie in the World whereof men are conscious to themselves so long as all those Vices also reign which insensibly corrupt the Judgment and make men disloyal to the Truth
A PERSWASIVE TO AN Ingenuous Tryal OF OPINIONS IN RELIGION LONDON Printed for Tho. Basset at the George near St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet 1685. A PERSWASIVE TO AN Ingenuous TRYAL OF Opinions in Religion § 1. THE great reason why they are few in comparison who come to a right understanding and a well-grounded Perswasion in matters of Religion is because they are not many who make a due inquiry into them Were this done more generally there would not be so much ignorance and errour in the world nor so great a variety of Opinions and Sects as there is and for the most part hath been in the world And there are three sorts of men who fail of knowing the truth for want of due endeavours to find it out Some there are who want ability or opportunity to inquire others who wanting neither do utterly neglect it and will not apply their minds to it at all a third sort make but a very imperfect search after truth And so all ignorance or mistake in things of moment that concern the salvation of men or the peace of the Church may be attributed either to want of power and means to inquire after truth or to unwillingness and perfect negligence where it may be sought and attained to or to laziness inactivity and partiality in seeking it To the first sort we are not onely to reckon Ideots who want a competent measure of Reason and Understanding wherewith to judge but those also that having the same common natural gifts of the mind with others are yet by reason of their outward circumstances kept almost invincibly ignorant having very little or no occasion given them to inquire into things that they might know them better And thousands who sit in Pagan or Mahumetan or Popish darkness are thus detained in gross errours and remediless ignorance as the case at present stands with them But blessed be God this is not our case who live in such a time and place as put no man under circumstances of incurable ignorance As for the second sort of men who have plentiful means and fair opportunities of being better informed but utterly neglect to use them they are either such who remain under the power of those false Principles which were instilled into them in their Education or who blindly follow erring Guides whose persons they have in admiration resolving never to trouble themselves with a free and impartial use of their own reason concerning those Doctrines which they have in their own opinion wisely and safely taken upon trust It happens likewise very often that men are led away by lofty conceits of their own judgment and the extravagant opinion they have of themselves will not suffer them to attempt such an ingenuous examination of things as implies a possibility of their being deceived But I believe they are more who take up Opinions and engage in Parties for worldly ends and carnal interests and these of all others are farthest from inquiring conviction because it is a great uneasiness to a mans mind to find himself mistaken in those opinions which are for his profit or pleasure in this world And mostly the power of custom strengthens all these causes of obstinacy in neglecting to inquire Men are not willing to quit the Perswasions they have for a long time entertained but had rather keep where they are without troubling themselves to begin all anew and to inquire whether they have not been all along deceived And where most of these obstructions meet together as they often do in the same person if he be not succoured mightily by the grace of God his mind is barred up for ever against the knowledge of the truth A third sort miss of the truth not that they make no inquiry but because they do this very imperfectly and superficially and that either through sloth and laziness being not willing to take that pains and care which is requisite for the discovery of truth or through partiality whence it comes to pass that they examine and 〈◊〉 onely or chiesly what is offered in favour of their own side and make it the great end of their search not to follow what shall appear to be true upon inquiry but to be confirmed in their present Perswasion And because diligence and honesty are very necessary dispositions in order to the right understanding of a great many things in Religion no wonder that they who inquire without these advantages are rather hardned in Errour than convinced of the Truth Now these being the common causes of ignorance and errour amongst us at this day and since they all center in want of due inquiry I shall set my self to excite all sorts of people who are not made incapable by natural weakness of understanding to prove and examine things which concern their own Souls and the peace of Christians with that diligence and ingenuity which becomes reasonable creatures And though I know 't is a hard task that I am undertaking by reason of the prejudices and corrupt interests of men which I must encounter yet I am sure no advice can be more rational than this that we would be perswaded to use our Reason which if we do not we lay up the common Talent of our natures in a Napkin For God hath endued us with Faculties whereby we can discern between Truth and Errour and moreover with a natural desire to know the truth so that the use of these Faculties is inexcusably neglected and this desire is foully corrupted and debased if we are easily imposed upon in things of great moment God in our creation hath enabled and inclined us to seek the knowledge of Truth and to inquire into the grounds of our Belief and Practice And therefore to neglect this is to abuse the first Gifts of God and to sin against Nature And it should be every mans care to find out that truth which concerns Religion and another life 〈◊〉 this is every mans greatest interest we should 〈◊〉 most diligence there where to be deceived is of most dangerous consequence But because there are some plausible Pretences against a due and impartial enquiry in matters of Religion I shall prepare my way by endeavouring to remove those Prejudices that lie against it and in order hereunto I shall consider these three Questions 1. Whether it be dangerous to private men to leave them to use their own judgment and to be led by it in matters of Faith and Religion 2. Whether a general liberty of examining and judging in those things doth mischief in the Church and be the cause of Schisms and Heresies 3. Whether if every one have a just Right to examine for himself this be not a good reason for Toleration or the universal liberty of practising according to a mans Conscience or Perswasion after examination § 2. 1. Whether it be dangerous to private men to allow them the use of their own judgment in matters of Religion Now to leave men wholly to themselves
in this business without directing them to use the best helps they can to find out the truth is very dangerous indeed and no wise man will contend for this liberty of judgment in behalf of Christian people or of any sort of men whatsoever for this were not so much to advise them to judge for themselves as to conclude for themselves before they had taken any pains to judge For I do not see how men can be said to judge who refuse the means without which they can make no tryal Now the assistance of men of greater knowledge and ability than themselves have is one very necessary means by which private and unlearned persons are to examine and judge in matters of Religion And God hath not onely given us ability to find out some truths by our selves but also to weigh and consider what others offer to us And therefore he hath appointed Governours and Guides of Souls that are to feed the Flock and to instruct Christian people in the way to Heaven And one part of their work is to enable them to give an answer to every one that asketh a reason of the hope that is in them I Pet. 3. 15. which I conceive they cannot do without informing and helping them to judge for themselves So that liberty of examining in order to private judgment does by no means exclude advising with and hearkening to men of greater skill and ability than our selves especially to the publick Guides of Souls but rather makes it necessary so to do this being one means of Gods appointment by which we are to inform our selves And I grant that without very good and clear reason we are not to depart from their Doctrine but in all doubtful cases to presume in favour of it But that it should be dangerous to private persons to weigh and consider as well as they can what their Guides teach them to believe or to do this is that which I can by no means understand unless it were a dangerous thing to follow our Guides like men that have Reason and not like beasts that have none It is at any time as safe to follow a Guide with our eyes open as to suffer our selves to be blindfolded and then to follow him by a string God hath referred us to Guides Heb. 13. 17. but yet he hath trusted us to our selves too and we are to try the spirits whether they be of God otherwise we may follow Guides that want Guides themselves And if the blind lead the blind both fall into the ditch To say that inquiries after truth with the best endeavours and means that we have in our power is the way to be mistaken is to reproach our own Reason and God the Author of it since as it seems the more we exercise and improve our Reason the more likely we are to be in the wrong and to deceive and abuse our selves At the great day of Accounts Seducers shall answer for those whom they have deceived And therefore the Guides of the Church are strongly obliged that they do not through wilfulness or negligence mislead us But if they mislead us in things that touch our eternal state I do not sind that all the blame will lie upon them but rather that we also shall answer for it our selves Otherwise why should our Saviour say Why of your selves do ye not judge that which is right Luke 12. 57. and St. John Believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits c. 1 Joh. 4. 1. and St. Paul Prove all things hold fast that which is good 1 Thess 5. 21. and Let no man deceive you 2 Thess 2. 3. Again if it be dangerous to permit men to judge for themselves in that sense wherein I contend for it then these are not wholsom but very dangerous Exhortations And yet if a Church which pretends to be an Infallible Guide in Religion could make it out clearly and plainly that she is so I should without much examination of her particular Doctrines receive them as the Oracles of God But then I must have stronger Arguments to assure me that she is infallible than those which at present make me certain that she is actually deceived For to submit to a pretended infallible Authority without knowing why I do so is to put it into the power of others for ought I know to lead me into the most damnable errours and to call Virtue Vice and Vice Virtue Therefore they must be very convincing Reasons upon which I am to believe that of my Guide which being once admitted I must take his bare word afterward for all things else I think none of the Roman Communion will deny this And then it will follow that for my own safety I am to use my own Reason and Judgment as severely as I can before I admit this fundamental Article of their Faith And this will amount to what I say that it is so far from being dangerous for men to use their own Judgment in matters of Religion that it is very dangerous for them not to do so since otherwise they are likely to follow men of the greatest confidence as they for the most part are who have the least reason for it Besides if I am led into errour by the Authority of a Church that does not pretend to Infallibility I may hope to recover the knowledge of the truth especially if it be a matter of great consequence more than if she pretended and I believed her infallible For such a Church will not so readily deny me the means of examining her Doctrine and so I may be able to discover the errour my self If not I have this comfort at least that my Guides being not engaged to contend that they are infallible are themselves in the way of detecting their own mistake and will more easily come off from it But they that pretend to Infallibility are stak'd down to their Opinions and though their Cause be never so bad they are engaged to serve it And therefore this Pretence is so far from discharging me of the pains of using my own Judgment and Reason in matters of Religion that I make the most foolish venture in the world if I do not use my Reason as strictly as I can in examining that very Pretence before I admit it And though a Churches claim to Infallibility were in it self never so just and well-grounded it is to me but a Pretence till I understand the grounds of it Nor can any man blame me if before I am convinced of the Infallibility of that Church I take those particular Doctrines into consideration which are to be believed upon this account that I may this way also judge of the reasonableness of that Pretence for 't is not for nothing that men would be thought infallible If I find the Doctrine they would put off with such authority to be indeed divine and heavenly rational and scriptural tending to the reformation and salvation of Mankind this will incline me to
wrong way while they never use that liberty of examining the grounds of their Perswasion to which the Church so vehemently perswades them by her Ministers If it be urged that when a man sets himself with honesty and diligence to examine the Case of Communion with the Chnrch and doth all that he can to inform himself aright in this matter but cannot be satisfied that he may lawfully conform and this through mere weakness of understanding it is not reasonable that he should suffer any thing for that It may be said on the other side that there are many more who fail of understanding their duty in this kind for want of examination and inquiry and through the prevalency of Prejudice and passion than there are of those who continue erroneously perswaded through mere weakness of understanding But as for those who in perfect weakness remain unconvinced if I may suppose any such I wish the Laws could distinguish them from the rest and that they could be known by some visible characters that they might be exempted from undergoing any penalties But since this cannot be it must be endured that a few or none in comparison come to have hard measure by means of that which is necessary for the common and publick good § 4. Having premised thus much concerning this subject I shall proceed in this method following I. To consider in what cases we are to enquire most of all into the Truth II. To shew how or by what Rules or Tests we are to try and examine Opinions in Religion III. How we ought to be disposed and qualified that our Inquiries may be profitable and successful IV. To lay down some Motives whereby to perswade men to such Inquiry and examination V. To consider what becomes us and is our duty after the discovery and knowledge of the Truth I. I shall consider in what cases we ought to be most careful in making inquiries after the Truth lest we be imposed upon or mistaken All inquiries about Religion are either concerning the truth of Religion in the general or supposing the existence and providence of God which is the true Religion whether the Pagan or the Jewish or the Mahometan or the Christian or the truth of the Christian Religion being granted what Communion of men professing Christianity is to be chosen for instance whether the Church of Rome or the Church of England or the Communion of the Dissenters who separate from this Church But now all things are not alike needful to be proved or are equally proper matters of inqniry For 1. Every man is not bound to know all the false ways of Religion that are in the World and therefore not to try and examine every one of them It is sufficient for most men that they well consider the Faith and Profession to which they have been educated that if it be the Truth they may be well-grounded in it if it be false that they may upon good reason depart from it 2. Things that are self-evident need not to be examined for no Argument can make them plainer to us than they are already We may without any hesitation assent to such Principles as these That God cannot lie That men ought to observe fidelity and justice to one another and the like If there were not some Principles that needed no proving it were impossible to prove any thing and the more plain any thing is in it self the less need there is to examine it If I am told that white is black I shall not go about to disprove it because the thing is evidently false of it self and I can use no Argument that can make the matter plainer than it was at first In like manner if any man pretends that there is no difference between Vice and Virtue but in name and that all things are equally lawful this shall not put me to the trouble of examining the thing because 't is contrary to the common sense of mankind And for this reason any man is to be excused that dismisses the Doctrine of Transubstantiation without taking much pains about it because upon a very little consideration there appears so many gross contradictions and inconsistencies in it that I can have no greater reason to believe any thing is true than I have to believe that is false 3. Some things are hardly worth the examining and it signifies little or nothing to understand the right side of the Question If the Doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary were true yet it were not worth a quarter of the pains they have taken about it in the Church of Rome It is by no means true that an infallible living Judge is necessary upon Earth and that for the deciding of all Controversies in Religion since all such Controversies are not necessary to be decided some of them being of so little concern to us that it is no great matter if they remain Controversies to the Worlds end But we ought to use our Reason as well as we can to find out the truth in all those cases wherein it will be dangerous to be deceived and therefore in these four First When any man or company of men would gain us over to their way by lofty and extraordinary Pretences Secondly When Doctrines are propounded to us with considerable Authority which seem to encourage licentiousness and to render all care of living well needless Thirdly When we are tempted to separate from the Communion of the establish'd Church where we live or if we are in a state of Separation from it Fourthly When Opinions in Religion are propounded to us by those that would get us to yield up our Judgments wholly unto them and do what they can to keep us from examining them A prudent man would examine in all these cases First When men make extraordinary Pretences The reasonableness of which I have already shewn with reference to that Pretence of the Church of Rome to Infallibility And the like is to be said of those that pretend to work Miracles or that talk of immediate Revelations of knowing the Truth by Inspiration and of more than ordinary Illuminations For it is not onely a childish thing to be frighted with big words from looking what is under them but a very dangerous sort of cowardize to be afraid of calling those things into question which are set off with such highflown Pretences For from hence it has come to pass that Superstition and Idolatry Enthusiasms and Impostures have prevailed so much in the World It is somewhat strange that we should believe men the more for that very reason upon which we should believe them less that is for magnifying themselves And yet if this had not been common Mahomet had not imposed upon so great a part of the World nor the Church of Rome upon so great a part of Christendom nor our Enthusiasts upon so many People in England as they have I would not be backward to give that man a hearing that
while they perceive it not it is by no means reasonable that the State under which we live should leave us lawless and free from all obligation of temporal Penalties what Religion we profess and what Communion we observe For the most dangerous Pretence for the â—â—â—rying on of seditious and rebellious designes against the Government is that of Religion And a few men that mean nothing but their own greatness and power shall be able to manage the Zeal of a superstitious Multitude against the Government for their own private ends while they scorn the superstition of their Followers and perhaps all pretence to Religion in their own hearts And therefore it concerns the Government to take care that the true Religion be protected by the Laws and then to provide by the most prudent methods that no other be professed in the Commonwealth If it be said that the end of all liberty to inquire and judge for our selves is destroyed if at last we must conform to the Laws or be punished for our refusal The contrary will be easily shewn to any one who believes that we are infinitly more concerned what will become of us in the life to come than in our present fortunes For suppose that they are Errours which Authority requires us to profess and that they are unlawful things which it requires us to do in Divine Service and that by a due and diligent examination of things I come to know this do I get nothing by my enquiry but the severity of those humane Laws that are against me Do not I obtain the comforts of a good Conscience in having honestly endeavoured to know the truth and in doing what I thereupon knew to be my duty If I do hereby obtain Gods Favour at present and shall obtain Gods Rewards in a better life is not this worth all my care and sincerity though I should get nothing by it in this World but Trouble and Persecution So that it is worth the while to examine the Doctrine imposed upon me by Authority though I know before-hand that be it right or wrong I must be punished by man if I receive it not True Religion and our observation to profess Gods Truth and to do his Will stands indeed upon the Authority of God and the Evidence of divine Revelation but nevertheless the profession thereof ought to be encouraged and protected by the Powers of the World and by consequence all false Religions should be discountenanced and the profession of them made uneasie by their Laws Scripture and Reason teach us that they no less than Parents should use that Authority for God which they have received from him But if they for want of sincere tryal and examination do themselves establish Iniquity or Heresie by a Law and turn the edge of their Power against the true Religion they must answer it to God at the day of Judgment who hath shewed them as well as others what is good and what he required of them In the mean while Persecution distinguishes between the Sincere and the Hypocrite and as the insincere study how to perplex the Truth and to avoid the convictions that are upon their minds and to reconcile their Apostacy to their Credit and Consciences so the honest inquire into the grounds of their Faith more diligently and being desirous to strengthen themselves under Sufferings by a full assurance that they suffer for Righteousness sake they search into all the grounds of their Perswasion more narrowly than if they had never come under this temptation and by this means the true Doctrine comes to be propounded to the World with the advantage of stronger Arguments and those better managed than if it had never met with opposition But if the true Faith and Worship be establish'd by Law and the Penalties of Nonconformity be strictly required this is so far from hindring men from enquiring that it lays an obligation upon a great many to consider things impartially who otherwise would never have looked but upon one side of the Question I mean all those whom either Wantonness and Self-conceit or Faction and Worldly Interest or the undue admiration of mens persons and the like would have held under a constant prejudice against Reason and Truth A carnal Argument for a good Cause is very often a wholsom means to remove a carnal prejudice against it And the Authority of the Magistrate can hardly be better used in matters of Religion than to make such a difference between the Observers of the Ecclesiastical Laws and the Dissenters from them that it shall be very hard for any man to lie under a Worldly Temptation to dissent sufficient to recompence the damage he must undergo This will make a great many impartial in weighing the Objections against Conformity with the Arguments and Answers on the other side and by degrees bring them to the knowledge of the Truth and at length to a sincere love of it It is a false Maxime That Force in matters of Religion makes Hypocrites but not true Converts For sometimes it cures Hypocrisie very often Ignorance and Partiality and that is a good degree towards Conversion And yet this will not justifie the putting of men to death for mere difference in Religion The least degree of severity which will do the business is great enough The Supreme Powers should consider their Subjects in these cases as a wise and good Father would consider his own Children who if he had power of life and death over them would not kill his misbelieving Son and yet would try to reduce him by Worldly Discipline and drive him to consideration by the sensible effects of his Displeasure The moderation of the English Laws for Uniformity is visible to all disinteressed persons and though the unevenness of their execution hath rendred them less effectual yet there are several who have cause to bless God for being compelled to come to our Churches and to consider the Terms of our Communion with some impartiality whereas if there had been an absolute Toleration their Ignorance and Prejudices might have led them they know not whither The Church of England causeth the Scriptures to be publickly read and puts them into the Peoples hands and desires nothing more than that every one would diligently and impartially consider the cases between her and those that separate from her And it is no absurd thing to say that this liberty of Judgment which she allows is consistent with the English Laws that require conformity of all since if it had not been for those Laws some men had never attained to liberty of Judgment but had still been held in bondage to their Prejudices and Errours 〈…〉 that they make the greatest noise for liberty of practice according to their Judgment who have made little or no use of their Judgment in distinguishing between good and bad true and false They demand one liberty while they make no use of another the liberty of being undisturbed and licentious in a
pretends to great things in teaching Religion but then I should be something forward to give him a tryal too for otherwise I might encourage a very impudent Hypocrite to be more impudent still and to play upon my easiness till I had swallowed all the foolish and damnable Opinions which he would have me believe for his own advantage Secondly When we meet with Doctrines that seem to strike at the foundations of Morality and good living we are to examine them too before we yield our assent though they be recommended by men of name and authority For the end of divine truth is a good and holy life and therefore I should suspect that to be false Doctrine which in my judgment either takes away the necessity of Piety and Virtue or discourages men from endeavouring to attain them For instance I find this Doctrine maintained by some men of great note That God hath from all eternity absolutely chosen some men to salvation and reprobated the rest without respect to any personal qualifications Now if this be true I cannot see for my life how the obtaining of eternal happiness and the avoiding of damnation depends upon any care of mine or upon any thing that I can do since every mans state is absolutely over-ruled by predestination and an irreversible decree so that let me do what I please all that I can do for another world will be but lost labour and might as well be spared But if I am sensible of this it is but reasonable that I should not rely upon the credit of the Author or of the Preacher for so perilous a Doctrine but because it is pretended to be grounded upon the ninth Chapter to the Romans I should go to the Apostle my self and carefully inquire into his meaning in that place by the best Rules of interpretation that I can learn And whoever goes thus impartially to work will find that the Apostle in that place was discoursing of another Question and indeed upon a subject that has nothing to do with this Question of absolute Election or Reprobation of the persons of men and that though the words sound that way to a man that is already prepossess'd yet the meaning of them is nothing to the purpose Suspicion of Doctrines when it is grounded upon so good a reason as we are now speaking of should cause inquiry and then that inquiry will discover on which side the truth lies He that would be a Libertine and live as he lists may be pleased when he meets with any pretended Doctrine of Religion that will excuse a wicked life or discourage Virtue and holiness and therefore it is likely that he will rest satisfied and examine no farther But an honest mind will not let a man deceive himself in this manner but if it does not cause him to reject such Opinions as soon as ever he has well satisfied himself of their consequences it will at least keep him from admitting them till he has tried them every way that he can Thirdly We ought also to be very well satisfied and that upon much consideration of the matter before we separate from the Communion of the Church where we live For whatever some men may think of it this is a business of so weighty a nature and consequence that it is not to be resolved upon or continued in till we are sure we are in the right and that upon most plain and evident reasons And if there be any case in which a Christian ought not to go rashly to work this is one And therefore it is greatly to be lamented that so many amongst us pretending to the power of Godliness should make so light a matter as they plainly do of running into separate Congregations it being very notorious when one discourses the point with them that they never enquired why the Church-Assemblies were to be forsaken and what it is in the establish'd Forms of Worship or in the Terms of our Communion that makes it needful for an honest and wise Christian to depart from it And this is an Argument that they take it to be a matter of very little consequence for otherwise they would have applied themselves with more diligence to weigh it in all the particulars that belong to it And therefore I shall offer some Reasons in behalf of such inconsiderate People to convince them how bold and dangerous a thing it is to separate from this Church of England unless they were fully satisfied upon mature examination that there are just and necessary causes for separation such namely as will make them sinners against God if they do not separate 1. If without just cause I separate from this Church I do wilfully reject the great blessings and advantages of Communion with it and must be answerable to God for slighting that merciful providence of his through which I happened to be born and bred in a place where I might enjoy the benefits of Church-Communion without venturing at any disorderly and sinful practice for them Surely it is no small blessing if my lot has been cast where so great a blessing did as it were lie in wait for me where the true Christian Doctrine and way of Worship was recommended to me by publick Authority and establish'd by Law and Custom and defended to my hand by clear and strong Arguments If this be our Case in the Church of England then my separation from her I say it again makes me guilty of a stupid and ungrateful contempt of Gods exceeding mercies in disposing my condition in this World so to my advantage that I was born baptized and bred in a place where the Truth invited me and was ready to receive me before I made one step towards a search after her Indeed to be baptized within the Communion of a particular Church and to have been born and to live under that Authority which requires me to keep close to it is of it self no sufficient reason why we should continue to be of it but it is a mighty reason why we should examine things carefully before we leave it or take up a resolution never to return to it if we have left it already because if there be no just reason for separation we shall have the more to answer to God For it is a great fault to neglect searching after the Truth in matters of this concern even when it lies a great way off from a man but it is much more inexcusable to reject it when it lies at our doors 2. I had need be very careful and impartial in this case since if the reasons upon which I separate be not really weighty and substantial I am at once guilty of throwing off that subordination and subjection to the Pastors and Guides of the Church which the Christian Profession requires and of contemning the lawful commands of my Superiours in the State contrary to the Rule of the Gospel which obliges me to submit to their Ordinances I should not easily be
their Opinions whose persons they admire and mostly to that degree as not to hear with any patience an Argument against them Such a Precious man said this or that and therefore no body must say otherwise But it is at once disingenuous and silly to entertain such an opinion of any man as to take all that he says for Gospel for the best men are fallible and 't is easie for an Hypocrite to make himself pass for a Saint in the opinion of ordinary people and therefore men may be led into great errours whose judgments are captivated in this manner To this we may adde that Prejudice which arises from conceiving hard things of mens persons which an ingenuous man will by no means yield to but will consider what another says though he does not fancy the man It is reason enough with some people to reject all that their Minister says to convince them of their mistakes if he be called a High Church-man or goes for an Arminian and all this while they stand in their own light and will not suffer themselves to be instructed in many profitable Truths which they might learn Thus the Jews though they were astonished at our Saviour's Doctrine and Works yet believed not and this because they were offended at him for the meanness of his Parentage Some are so weak as to be prejudiced against Opinions and Practices meerly because they have heard them often abused nicknamed and inveighed against in a rude and reproachful manner And this goes a great way with some Dissenters to make them deaf to all our Reasons that when they are got together they hear the Rites and Prayers of our Church scoffed at and called by vile names But it stands not with the least ingenuity to run away with prejudice against things that are abused and laugh'd at without examining whether there be reason for it Sincerity is opposed to those Prejudices that arise from vicious affections and worldly interests and it consists in a firm resolution to do the Will of God and a vehement desire to know it for that end And this is a most necessary preparation to know the Truth because nothing is more common than the perverting of mens judgments by the inordinacy of their lusts and the serving of a corrupt interest The love of any Vice makes a man partial and insincere in examining the truth of that Doctrine by which he stands condemned The belief of it is uneasie to him it is not for his interest that it should be true This is the reason why the fool saith in his heart There is no God The worldly interests of men do strangely byass and fashion their Judgments It were a thing never enough to be admired that so many men of Parts and Learning should not be ashamed of those pitiful grounds upon which they maintain the Supremacy of the Pope the Doctrine of Purgatory the Half Communion the Sacrifice of the Mass the Invocation of Saints and the like but that those things do notoriously serve the Wealth and Grandeur of the Roman Church If it be needful to go to a Conventicle for the getting of a rich Fortune or the bettering of a mans Trade a little enquiry will for the most part serve his turn and satisfie him that the Separation is lawful and the Causes of it are just A man ought to set aside all consideration of his worldly interest and to propound eternal life to himself as the end of his inquiry when he labours to know the Truth The affectation of Popularity and the love of Praise and Flattery cannot consist with a sincere love of the Truth and does very often hinder the attainment of it It is hard to convince men of those things that check their vainglorious ends and purposes And therefore says our Saviour How can ye believe in me that receive honour one of another and seek not that honour which cometh of God onely The wise man exhorts us to buy the truth intimating thereby that we must quit all our sinful lusts and affections and our carnal interests in prosecuting of it In a word we must be in mind prepared to believe all truth by being resolved to do whatsoever appears to be the Will of God let what will come of it in this World having our hearts evermore fixed upon the great concernment of eternal life And this is more necessary for the best knowledge than vastness of Parts and Learning Where the mind is thus prepared there will be little need to press the two remaining Dispositions whereof the former is 2. Competent diligence Errour is sometimes made to look so like the Truth that a superficial examination will not serve to distinguish one from the other Sometimes the Truth must be had by laying a great many things together and the proof does not lie in one but in many Arguments pointing the same way Sometimes also a conclusion is offered with the shew of many Motives of credibility which neither singly nor joyntly prove what is intended And here patience and industry commonly helpeth more than quickness of judgement Our Saviour bad the Jews search the Scriptures those very men who in all probability had read them but as it seemeth not with diligence enough It were very well if those that begin to study Divinity would not presume upon the diligence and honesty of others whose Books they see full of Citations of Scripture but take some pains to judge whether that be the true sence in which they are quoted For want of this several have miscarried in their first entrance upon this work and the errours of men of name and authority have been propagated It would also be very happy for this Church and for themselves too if the dissenting people would not presently conclude that what they read in the Books of their own way is all agreeable to Gods Word because they see abundance of Scripture in them but would use some diligence to judge whether that be the true meaning in which the Scripture is there understood It was doubtless with designe to catch such slothful people that the Catechism of H. T. was published in our Language wherein he pretends to prove all the lewd Doctrines of the Romish Religion by Texts of Scripture But if any man will take the pains to examine his pr̄oofs he shall find such miserable wresting and perverting of the Scripture that he will never trust a Book more merely for store of Scripture-Phrases and Citations but go to the Fountain of Truth it self the pure Word of God to see whether the interpretations of men are indeed the unpolluted streams of that Spring from whence they are said to come We must be willing to sift things to the bottom if we would not be imposed upon A very little pains will serve to make a man confident but 't is not a little that will make him confident upon safe grounds 3. To Diligence we must adde Prayer for the divine Illumination
no happiness to any but to those that are lovers of Truth and Goodness here I shall conclude this point with one consideration more That at this time we have very confiderable advantages and opportunities towards the discovery of Truth in the present Controversies among us We of this Church are perswaded that Papists and other Sectaries do causelesly divide from our Communion and grievously sin against God and endanger their own Souls as well as disturb the quiet of the Church by their separation from it and their combinations against it And therefore some pains has been taken more than ordinary to shew them the errour of their way by going through the several points upon which they pretend to justifie their doings And it is plain as I have shewn already that in things of this nature they are mightily concerned to know the Truth And therefore if they neglect so fair an opportunity of examining things as is now offered them they will have the more to answer for another day The several Controversies between this Church on the one side and the Dissenters and the Recusants on the other are stated and argued in a plain and familiar way and brought down for the most part to the capacity of ordinary Readers And therefore let both the one and the other look to it that they do not either in obstinacy or in laziness or for worldly interest put away the Truth from themselves We should be very sorry if our endeavours should have no other effect than to make them more inexcusable at last It will be our grief but it will be their condemnation § 9. V. When after due examination we have setled our selves upon true grounds whether in keeping our first Perswasions or in changing them if we found they were wrong for better we must remember that there are duties incumbent upon us growing from the knowledge we have gained 1. We are to be thankful to God for the Truth we have learn'd When we see how miserably some men are mistaken and deluded in things that are both plain enough and of great moment we should not insult over them and grow into self-conceit but into humility and gratitude to God acknowledging it to be of his grace and goodness that we are not led away into the same delusions We are indeed to thank him for all things that contributed towards our escape or recovery If we have a better natural apprehension and judgment than some others who was it that made the difference If we had a good Education and were put into a right way at first it was God that chose those happy circumstances for us If we have recovered from any way of dangerous errour in which we were bred up the conversation the friends the books and all other means by which we came to be better informed were ministred unto us by the good providence of God And that degree of a good mind which either prompted us to inquire or prepared us to do it with success was likewise from his Grace Finally it was his Blessing that crowned all For every good and perfect gift cometh from above from the Father of lights So that in effect God is to have all the praise And if we make it our business humbly and thankfully to acknowledge all his goodness in that knowledge of the Truth to which we have attained we shall reap this great advantage and comfort thereby that by his grace and providence he will communicate to us more and more knowledge if it be needful for us or at least that he will not suffer us to fall into any dangerous errour For we are not safe from damnable errours merely because we believe the Truth at present our perseverance in it depends upon the Grace of God which is forfeited by nothing sooner than by Pride and Ingratitude For God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble And if by the impiety of neglecting to acknowledge God in those Blessings we have received from him we should provoke him to leave us to our selves our Judgments though they be set right at present will easily be depraved and corrupted by vicious affections and by degrees we may fall from one delusion to another till we come to believe the same things with those men whom we were once apt to scorn or to pity for their stupidity and blindness Now the ways are very plain by which we are to express our thankfulness to God for the knowledge we have gain'd We must do this in our dayly Prayers if we would shew our selves grateful in any proportion to the greatness of the benefit we have received We are to thank God for the least of his mercies because we are less than the least and therefore for all the Blessings of this life and of the outward man that we are not blind or lame that we have not distorted limbs or a deformed shape But is it not a more valuable Blessing still to have a mind clear from all foul and monstrous errour endued with soundness of Judgment and replenisht with the knowledge of Divine Truth Does not this therefore call for particular acknowledgments and thanks We must be sure to express our thankfulness by better obedience and by improving in all Virtue and Piety as we have improved in Knowledge Otherwise we receive this Grace of God in vain Knowledge conduceth to a mans true happiness by leading him to do well but if he holds the Truth in unrighteousness by increasing knowledge he does but increase sorrow and that because he increaseth his guilt But that which I chiefly intend here is this That God by inlightning our minds with a more full discovery of the Truth has laid upon us a great obligation in general to love him more perfectly and to perform his Will in all things more readily and cheerfully than we have done And this is true thankfulness if because God hath led us to the understanding of some things which we were ignorant of heretofore we do more heartily perform those plain Duties and obey those divine Rules of which we were not ignorant before Finally it is a principal expression of our gratitude to God for being enlightned and undeceived our selves to be charitably helpful for the undeceiving of others and leading them into the knowledge of that Truth into which God by his providence and grace hath led us For God is never more pleased with us than when we do good one unto another And therefore our charity to our mistaken Brethren is the most acceptable Sacrifice of Praise that we can offer to him But this is so considerable a thing that it ought to go by it self for one remarkable use we are to make of having gained the knowledge of the Truth Wherefore 2. Let us consider how we are after this to behave our selves to others I have already told you that in gratitude to God we are to do what we can to recover those to whom we have opportunities to