the Truths which they are acquainted with They hold it or imprison it in unrighteousness Rom. 1.18 and therefore is wrath revealed against them They like not to retain God in their knowledge and therefore God doth oft give them up to a reprobate mind Rom. 1.28 They receive not the truth in the love of it that they might be saved no wonder therefore if God give them up to strong delusions to believe a lye that all they might be damned that believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thes. 2.10 11. When they know the Iudgement of God that they that do such things are worthy of death yet they do them and have pleasure in them that do them Rom. 1.32 We may well think that God will sooner reveal his Truth to them that will obey it then to them that will but bury it in the dunghil of a corrupted heart And that he will rather hold the candle to his servants that will work by it then to loyterers that will but play by it or thieves or fornicators that had rather it were put out or to enemies that would do mischief by it and will throw away the candlesticks the Ministers and put the candle into the thatch Is there not many an ungodly person that hears me this day that is convinced in his conscience that a holy life is best and yet will not follow it and obey his conscience Are there not convictions at the bottom that the diligent heavenly Christian whom thou reproachest is in a safer condition then thy self and yet thou wilt not imitate such Can you expect that God should acquaint such with his truth that are so false to it 22. If we were but all Agreed in true Holiness we should have the great advantage of a tender conscience together with an illuminated mind For spiritual wisdom with tenderness of conscience is a great part of sanctification And it is a great advantage in controversies and debates to be wise and tende-conscienced For wisdom makes men able to discern and a tender conscience will make them afraid of mistaking and contradicting the truth and will keep them from rashness and unadvisedness and levity so that such an one dare not venture so easily upon new conceits and will be more suspicious of himself and of any thing wherein himself is much concerned Especially if he see grâ—at probabilities against it or the judgment of the Universal Church or of many wise and godly men against it and see that its like to have ill effects in all such cases a godly man will be tender-conscienced and therefore cautelous But is it so with the ungodly no but clean contrary None so bold as the blind Solomons words describe them exactly Prov. 14.16 The fool rageth and is confident If he be in an error or entangled in any evil cause or way you know not what to say to him for his recovery The less he knows the more he despiseth knowledge and sets his face against his Teachers as if they were but fools to him and scorns to be Ruled by such as they whom God hath made his Rulers Will you go to dispute or debate the case with one of these why be sure of it they will put you down and have the day It would do a man good to dispute with a wise and learned or sober rational man and to be overcome by Reason and by Truth But no man will have so sure a conquest against you as he that hath the least of sense or reason He will go away and boast that you could not convince him As if a mad man should boast that the Physicians could not all of them cure him An obstreperous proud selfconceited fellow will never yield to the clearest reason nor never be put down We have a Proverb that Ther 's no gaping against an Oven especially if it be hot If he have passion as well as ignorance and a tongue he will have the best He that speaks nonsence sayth nothing while he seems to speak These men have the faculty of saying nothing an hour or two together in abundance of words And there 's no confuting a man that saith nothing Nonsence is unanswerable if there be but enough of it Who would dispute against a pair of bagpipes or against a company of boyes that whoote at him If you will make a match at barking or biteing a curre will be too hard for you And if you will try your skil or strength at kicking a horse will be too hard for you And if you will contend with multitude of words or by rage and confidence a fool will be too hard for you as you may see by Solomons descriptions and by daily experience But if you will dispute by equal sober Reasoning it is only a wiser man by evidence of Truth that can overcome you And to be thus overcome is better then to conquer For you have the better if Truth overcome you and you have the worse if you overcome the truth So that you may easily perceive what an exceeding hindrance to Unity and Peace it is to have to do with ungodly persons that are blind and proud and brazen-faced and of feared consciences that fear not God and therefore dare say anything as if they could out-face the truth and the God of Truth But the sanctified have Illuminated minds and therefore are the more capable of further information and they have tender consciences and therefore dare not be unadvised and contentious and strive against the light and therefore have great advantage for Agreement 23. And if all these Advantages should not yet so far prevail as to bring us up to a full Agreement yet if we be but united in the Spirit and a Holy life we should be the more easily able to bear with one another under all our lesser differences until the time of full Agreement come We should hold our differences as Brethren their diversity of statures and complexions or at least as common human frailties with Love and compassion and not with hatred and divisions We should Lovingly consult together upon Rules or terms on which we might manage our unavoidable differences to the least disadvantage to the cause of Christ and to the common Truths that we all maintain and to the work of God for other mens conversion and to the least advantage to sin and Satan and the malice of ungodly men And I think this is a fair Agreement for Imperfect persons short of Heaven to have Unity in the Spirit and Agreement in things of greatest weight and to bear with one another in smaller matters and manage our differences with meekness and with Peace 24. Lastly If all this be not enough there is yet more for our encouragement 1. If we are but once United in the Spirit and Agree in an Holy heart and life we have the infallible promise of God that we shall shortly all arrive in Heaven at the place and state of full
life in their souls and some favour and experience of the matters of God But when we dispute with the ungodly we deal with the blind we talk to the dead we offer the bread of life to men that have no appetite or savour of it yea we speak for God to enemies of God and for truth to the natural enemies of such truths and the more obstinate enemies because they know it not Had we nothing but mistakes to argue against and had we but to do with men that have the free use of their reason we should do well enough with them But when we must perswade the deaf the distracted and the dead when we must dispute with Pride and Passion and Enmity and perswade a Lyon to become a Lamb and a Serpent to lay by his venom no wonder if we find a difficult task of it Had we none but the Godly to deal with we should have abundant advantage for success we should deal with men that Love the truth and are willing to use right means to discover it They would pray with us for truth as well as dispute they would with meekness search the Scripture and see whether these things be so or not They would yield to light when it appeareth to them and not in prison it in unrighteousness And it would move us to more tender dealing with them while we see and love Christ in them and when we remember that the men that we now dispute with we must live with in Heaven and join with in the everlasting Praises of the Lord. I profess Sirs I speak to you from sad experience I have been troubled with Antinomians and Anabaptists and other errours in well-meaning men as much as most And many a daies work they have made me in writing and disputing against them But alas this is nothing to the trouble that the profane ungodly do put me to I thank God I have dealt with all these errours with so good success that I live in peace by them and I know not of an Anabaptist or Socinian or Arminian or Quaker or Separatist or any such sect in the Town where I live except half a dozen Papists that never heard me But Infidels Atheists ungodly wretches I am pestered with still One heresie called Drunkenness that denyeth the use of reason it self doth still walk the streets in despight of all that I can say or all that the Magistrates will do and none of us all are able to confute them In one hours time they will fetch more arguments from the Alehouse then all the reason in the Town can effectually answer And as the ungodly are most desperately principled of any Hereticks in the world both for the quality and the radication of their errours so there are far greater numbers of them then of all other Heresies set together It may be we have one or two Anabaptists in a Parish and in some Parishes none in some few it may be twenty But O that I could say I had not twenty and twenty and twenty and twice twenty more unsanctified ungodly persons in my Parish though I hope there is as many better as in any Parish I know Alas Sirs into how many Parishes may you go and find gross ignorance profaneness worldliness contempt of God and heavenly things to be their common air which they breath in and the natural complexion of the inhabitants as blackness is to Ethiopians It is a blessed Parish that of three thousand inhabitants hath not above two thousand natural hereticks even ungodly persons that are strangers to sanctification And who then do you think is likest to be the cause of our distractions and divisions Moreover let me tell you Profaneness and Ungodliness is not a single errour or heresie but it is the summe of all the heresies in the world You will think this strange when you see so many that joyn with us in a sound profession and some of them zealous defenders of the truth and many of them cry out against errours But alas they believe not that which they think they do believe They hold not that which they say they hold There 's much in their Creed that was never in their Belief Doubtless ungodliness is the nest of all the Heresies in the world Will you give me leave to instance in some particulars The greatest errour in the world is Atheism when men deny the Godhead it self And do not the most of the ungodly deny him in their hearts If he be not Just he is not God and they deny and hate his Justice If he be not Holy he is not God and they deny in their hearts and hate his Holiness If he be not True he is not God And they commonly believe that he is not true shew them where he hath said that none but the converted the sanctified the regenerate the heavenly the self-denying shall be saved and they will not believe that this will be made good but hope its false If he be not wise and be not the Governour of the world he is not God And these wretches quaâ—rel with his holy Laws as if they could tell how to mend them themselves and were wiser to make a Law then God is and by flat Rebellion deny his Government So that we may truly say with David Psal. 14. that these fools say in their hearts that there is no God or else they durst not say and do in his presence as they do Moreover Idolatry which is the setting up of false Gods is a most abominable damning sin And every ungodly man is guilty of it Covetousness is idolatry Eph. 5.5 and the sensual make their belly their God Phil. 3.18 And Pride and Selfishness which are the heart of the old man are nothing else but making our selves our Idols Every unsanctified man is his own Idol giving to himself the honour and pleasure and love that 's due to God alone and setting up his own will instead of Gods Polutheism which is the feigning of many Gods is a most damnable errour And how many Gods have all that are ungodly No man departeth from the one true God but he makes to himself many false Gods in his stead His wealth and his credit and his throat and his recreation 〈◊〉 Rulers that are capable of hâ—rting him are all as his Gods and to them he gives that which is due to God only Infidelity is one of the most damning errours in the world when men believe not in Christ that bought them But this is the case of all the unsanctified An Opinion they have that the Gospel is true and Christ is the only Lord and Saviour but Infidelity is predominant in them and therefore should denominate them or else they should be saved if they were true Believers Never did they give an hours true entertainment to Christ in their hearts To set up a false Christ is one of the most damning sins in the world And what else do all the ungodly that place
the application and destroy the corruptions that blind us and hinder us from perceiving the Truth Whereas the unsanctified are all in the Dark and what wonder if there they disagree and are of many minds They be not guided by the word and Spirit and they are strangers to the Light that must Reconcile us if ever we be reconciled It s true too true that the godly are illuminated but in part and therefore as yet they differ in part But yet this imperfect illumination doth more to a true and safe Agreement then all the world can do besides If you would stop your ears against the flesh yield all to the teachings of the word and Spirit we should be sooner agreed 13. And if we were once United in the Spirit and Holiness We should all have the use and benefit of all the Reconciling Healing means and Ordinances of God which would be an exceeding great advantage to us The unsanctified have but the outside the sound and shell of Ordinances but it is the Sanctified that have the light and life and fruit of them Every Chapter that you read and every Sermon that you hear will do somewhat towards the healing of our breaches It will further our Knowledge and our Love The Communion of the Saints in all holy Duties especially at the Lords Supper when they partake of one Christ will enflame their Love and humble them for their divisions and soder and glue their hearts together as being all one bread and one body And so they will be all as of one heart and soul Acts 4.32 1 Cor. 10.16 17. Acts 2.42 43 44 46. When we hear of the tender Love of Christ to his weakest members how can we choose but love them if we be his Disciples When we hear how much and how freely he hath forgiven us how can we choose but forgive them Mat. 18.35 When we have Communion with them in holy worship as servants of the same Lord as Members of the same body how can we choose but have the affections of fellow-Members 1 Cor. 12.26 When we joyn with them in Prayer or holy Conference and perceive the fragrant odour of their Graces and the holy breathings of their souls after God we cannot choose but Love Christ in them As the new Commandment so frequently pressed in the Gospel is the Law of Love Ioh. 15.12 17. and the New Nature of the Saints is a Disposition of Love for this they are taught of God effectually 1 Thes. 4.9 So the Ordinances do all of them exercise that Love and engage us to it We must leave our gift at the Altar and go first and be reconciled to our Brother if we remember he hath any thing against us Matth. 5.23 24. We must pray for forgiveness but on condition that we do forgive Differences and Divisions that make a breach in Christian Charity are so insufferable among the Saints that they long for healing and smart as the wounded body doth till the time of healing and are pained as a bone out of joynt till it be set again And as they cannot bear it themselves when they are themselves so the Church cannot bear it but is engaged to watch over them and to set them in joynt again so that God hath hedged in his Servants into one holy Society that they should not straggle from him or from each other and hath set Pastors over them for this very end to guide them and keep them in holy Unity Ephes. 4.11 12 13 14. Now all these Uniting Healing Ordinances are effectual upon the Sanctified for their hearts are open to them and their New nature is suited to the new Commandment and work But to others they are in a manner as Food or Physick to the dead They hate the power of them they break the holy Enclosure of Discipline and proudly Rebel against their Guides and say Let us break their bands and cast away their cores from us Psal. 2.3 what must we be Ruled by such and such It is but the outside of Sacraments Praises and Prayers that they are acquainted with and these have no such healing force So that in this you see the great advantage that we should have for full agreement if we were but once agreed in the main and United by the Sanctifying Spirit 14. Moreover if once we were United in the Spirit and in Holyness We should manage all our differences in a holy manner and be awakened and disposed to seek after healing in a healing way It would put us upon enquiring after Peace and studying the meetest terms of Peace till we had found out the way in which we should accord The Spirit of Love and Holiness would provoke us to begin and seek for Peace with those that will not seek to us and that seem averse to it and to follow after peace when it flyeth from us Heb. 12 14. and even to lie down at the feet of men and deny our honour and worldly Interest if it might procure Brotherly love and peace Whereas a proud unsanctifyed heart will scorn to stoop especially to those that are below them or have wronged them and will scorn to ask forgiveness of those that they have wronged When you have shewed them the plainest word of God for it and perswaded them to it with undeniable reasons you lose your labour and may almost as well perswade the fire to be cold If you will stoop and humble your self to him and ask him forgiveness and give him the honour or change your minde and be of his opinion and say as he saith and do as he would have you perhaps you may have some Peace with the most ungodly man But the servants of Christ have a spirit of Meekness and Humility and Self-denyal and therefore if there be fallings out among them they can humble themselves and seek for reconciliation If there be difference in Judgement about any weighty matters they will go or send to one another as Brethren and confer about it in Love and meekness and search the Scripture and seek after Truth and compare their evidences and Pray together for that Light and Love that must Reconcile them If they fall out they can say to one another We are Brethren and must not Live at a distance nor suffer any wounds in our Affections or any breach of Charity to remain The Sun must not go down upon our wrath Come lâ—t us go together in private and beg of God that he would repair our Love and reconcile us and prevent such breaches for the time to come And thus they can pray themselves friends again I am perswaded that one quarter of an hours fervent Prayer would do more to quiet our distempered minds and reconcile us if thus we would get together in private then many hours debates without it Now the Spirit of holiness is a Spirit of Prayer and therefore disposeth the servants of Christ as meekly and lovingly to search for Truth so earnestly to
pray themselves into Agreement 15. Moreover were we once United in the Spirit We should be under the Promise of Divine assistance which the unsanctified have no part in When we Pray for Light and Peace and Concord we have a promise to be heard and helpt at least in the time and measure as shall be fittest we have a promise of the Spirit to be our Teacher and to lead us into Truth We have promises for the maintaining and repairing of our healing Graces and our Communion-Graces our Love to Christ and one another our Patience and Meekness and the rest Aud this must needs be a great advantage to Unity and Agreement For God is partly engaged for it 16. And if we were United in the Spirit and Agreed in the main The Great Truths which we are agreed in would very much direct us to find out the rest which yet we differ in For these have an influence into all the rest and the rest are all connext to these and also linkt and knit together that we may finde out many by the help of one All holy Truths do befriend each other but especially the Great and Master points which the rest depend upon and flow from There is no way to a right Agreement in other points but by agreeing first in these Fundamental Rudiments 17. Also if we were once Agreed in Holiness we should have that continually within us and before us that would much take us off from vain contendings and from an over-zealous minding of smâ—ller things We should have so much to do with God in holy Duties and so much to do with our own hearts in searching them watching them and exciting them and mending them reproving and correcting them supporting and comforting them by the application of the Promises that we should have less time for quarrelling and less minde of it then the unsanctifyed have We should have so many great and practical Truths to digest and live upon that lesser and unnecessary matters which are the common causes of Contention would find less room Or at least we should allow each Truth its due proportion of our study and talk and zeal and so that lesser would have comparatively so small a share and be so exceeding seldom and remissly medled with that their would be the less danger of Contentions 18. Yea if once we were united in the Spirit the very forethought of an Everlasting Vnion in Heaven would have a continual influence upon our hearts for the healing of our breaches We should be thinking with our selves Shall we not shortly be all of one mind and heart and all be perfected with the blessed vision and Reconciling Light of the face of God! There will then be no dissention or division or unbrotherly censures or separations And should we now live so unlike our future life Shall we now be so unlike to what we must be for ever Shall we now cherish those heart-burnings and dissentions that must not enter with us into Heaven but be cast off among the rest of our miseries and shut out with the rest of our enemies and hated for ever by God and us Must we there be closed in perfect Love and be all imployed in the same holy Praise of God and our Redeemer and does it beseem us now to be censuring contending and separating from each other Thus the belief of the Life to come will be a more effectual means with the godly for Agreement then any that unsanctified men can use 19. Moreover they that have the Spirit of Holiness have a dear and special Love to Truth as well as unto Peace And therefore they have a great advantage for the receiving of it in all debates and consequently they are fairer for a just Agreement They are friends with the most searching spiritual truths But the ungodly have at enmity to all that Truth that would shew them their sin and misery and duty and make them holy and lead them up from the creature unto God And as the Proverb is He that would not know cannot understand When you deal with a wicked graceless heart you do not set Reason against Reason for it that were all we should soon have done but you set Reason against Will and Passion and Appetite and fleshly Interest and when you have convinced them you are little the neerer prevailing with them You may as well think to satisfie a hungry belly with Reasons or to tame a wild beast with Reasons or to humble the Proud and bring the sensual person to self-denial by all your Reasons For they Love not the Truth because they Love not the Duty that it would perswade them to and because they Love the sin that it would take from them There are two sorts of Satan in a wicked man that none but God can batter so as to win them that is A Proud and Ignorant mind and a Hard and sensual Heart Many a year have I been battering them by the Word of God from this place and yet with many can do no good But the sanctified heart that Loveth the Truth will meet it and welcome it and thankfully entertain it Love maketh a diligent hearer and a good schollar and giveth us hope that informations and debates may be succesful A godly man is so far from hating truth and flying from it that he would give all the riches of the world to purchase it He prayes and reads and studyeth for it and therefore hath great advantage to attain it 20. Moreover if we were all Agreed in Holiness and united in the Spirit of Christ we should Love the Truth in a Practical manner and we should know that every Truth of God hath its proper work to do upon the soul and therefore we should Love the end of each Truth better then the Truth it self And therefore we could not pretend the Truth against the Ends of Truth And therefore we should see to the security of those ends in all our debates and controversies We should not make havock of the Church of Christ nor easily be guilty of divisions nor quench our Love of God and of our Brethren under pretence of standing for the Truth which unsanctified men will easily do Truth is for Holiness and Love as its proper end Ungodly men will tread down Love and Holiness or at least disadvantage it and hinder it in the world for the exalting of their own conceits under the name of truth They will cure the Church by cutting it in pieces or by cutting the throat of it and are presently dismembering for every sore But with the godly it is not so 21. Moreover the sanctified have a great advantage for Agreement in that they have hearts that are subject to the Truth and will be True to it when they understand it Did they but know the right way they would presently walk in it Nothing is so dear to them that should not be forsaken for it or sacrificed to it But the wicked are false to