Rome in honouring the Saints and their Reliques or Images without making our selves obnoxious to the Jews for any reason to do it with For Christianity having put Idolatry to flight which the Law never pretended to do It is not to bee imagined that the having of Images can make a man take those things for God which they represent so long as the belief of Christianity is alive at the heart For neither was it Idolatry though it were a breach of this Commandment for a Jew to have such Images as were forbidden by their Elders not taking that for God which they represented But what honour of Saints departed or what signs of that honour Christianity may require what furniture or ceremonies the Churches of Christians and the publique worship of God in them may require now all the World professes Christianity and must honour the Religion which they profess this the Church is at freedom to determine by the word of God expounded according to the best agreement of Christians For neither is it obliged by the second Council of Nicaea or the violent proceedings of the Church of Rome which have brought it into force in these Western parts nor to the excesses of the adverse parties in the East which made the setting up and reverencing of Images in Churches to bee Idolatry without sufficient ground in the Scriptures for it Confining the literal intent of the Decalogue to those gross Of the third Commandment sins by which all Jews were to understand that the interest of the Nation in the Land of Promise must become forfeited as all reason requireth the taking of Gods name in vain in the third Commandment is in plain terms to swear that which is false as the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it But a Christian takes up Gods name in professing Christianity And when the World sees him do any thing that agreeth not with his profession without doubt hee takes it up in vain For there never was any true Israelite in whom was no guile that worshipped God in spirit and truth but hee might then understand that hee took Gods name in vain if professing the worship of the only true God hee should live like those that worshipped Idols Much more a Christian knowing that hee is bound to direct all his actions to the end of Gods glory and service out of obedience to his declared will must needs know that he shall not bee guiltless to God if they bee not suitable to the profession which hee weareth It is questioned how God blessed and sanctified the seventh What the sanctifying â—f the Sabbath signifieth day at the creation of all things the keeping of the Sabbath being first commanded after the coming of the Israelites out of Egypt For some would have it understood by a Prolepsis or figure of anticipation that God in consideration of his resting from all his Works on the seventh day when hee gave the Law made that day the Sabbath Others think that hee sanctified it from the beginning for a day of his Service though the rest which the Jews were commanded sitting still all the Sabbath came in force from the giving of the Law And truly the memory of the seven days of the week which hath been preserved among all nations who cannot bee thought to have learned any matter of Religion from the Jews seems to intimate a Tradition of the creation remaining among them But it is to bee considered that when Idolatry prevailed the worship of the seven Planets was a prime part of it and Astrology which appropriates the seven days of the week to them a great means of propagating the same And therefore the memory of the creation being obliterated by the superstition which the Devil had graffed upon it the observations of Heathen people are rather to bee imputed to this then to that And otherwise there is nothing in the Scripture to answer Tertullian with demanding of the Jews which of the Fathers before the Law kept the Sabbath But howsoever if wee bee Christians wee must not question that the blessing which God hallowed the seventh day with is the rest of Christs body in the grave on that day by which that rest from the travel of sin and the punishment of it which Christianity professeth and promiseth was purchased for Christians For upon this ground all the time of the Gospel is that Sabbath which the Jewish Sabbath signified And the fulfilling of the fourth Commandment is the rest of a Christian from all his own works all the days of his life Not that I doubt that under the Law the day was to bee set apart for the Offices of Gods Service but because there are other precepts of the Law Num. XXVIII Levit. XXIII by which that is provided for By virtue of which precepts according to the correspondence between the Law and Gospel not only the first day of the week is set aside by the Apostles for the service of God instead of the seventh day which the Jews observe but also other days of Assemblies being appointed by the Church are to bee observed by Gods people for the same reason as the seventh For even the seventh day it self was observed and was to bee observed by Christians for the same reason so long as the custom of the Church required them to observe it for that purpose Besides the letter of the Law having forbidden any work upon the seventh day common reason would serve without any precept of the Law to infer that they ought to meet for the service of God which his people had always professed when they had nothing else to do Otherwise it is true which Origen so often chargeth that they could not assemble without some breach upon the strict sense of that command not to stir out of their place on that day And this sitting still is as properly sanctifying the day as the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a hâ—ifer sprinkling the pollutâ—d sanctifieth to the purity of the flesh according to the Epistle to the Hebrews IX 13. So the keeping of this Commandment under the Gospel is the serving of God all the days of a mans life as our Catechisme expoundeth it When the fifth Commandment promiseth long life to them The meaning of the fifth as to Christians that honour Father and Mother will any man say that this promise is made to Christians that profess to take up Christs Cross and to lay down their lives for Christ If hee do let him say what Land it is which Christians are promised If it bee not the Land of the living which the Land of Canaan figureth Wherefore it is manifest that the honours due to the King and all Civil Powers under him are due by the letter of this precept as properly comprized in the name of Father according to the use of that language The obedience also due to the Elders of the Synagogue is by the Metaphorical signification of the word Mother standing for
delivered by the letter of Moses Law Whereas indeed and in truth the Moral Precepts of Gods Natural Law though of greatest consequence to the everlasting estate of immortal Souls which the Law supposeth rather then expresseth are onely the matter of the Carnal Covenant which contracteth not for the doing of them out of that reason and with that intent which God requireth because it contracteth not for the world to come wherewith that intent is rewardable For as the keeping of the precepts materially qualified that people for the Land of Promise so the keeping of them in obedience to God and for his Service qualified them then for Heaven as Christians always supposing the expectation of Christs coming for the redemption of Gods people Therefore though it bee necessary for Divines under Christianity to distinguish between moral and positive in Moses Law yet they will confound the ground of that distinction as it took place under the Law to Gods people if they expect that the letter of the Law should express it The not considering of this is that which suffers not men to How the Spiritual sense of the Decalogue concerns Christians see that sense which the plain letter of the Decalogue signifieth being transported with a prejudice that the Moral Law signified as much to the Jews and required as great duty of them as the exposition of them preached by our Lord Christ requireth of Christians Whereas by that which I have said it may appear that the mistake which our Lord corrects in the meaning of Moses Law is â—he Haeresie of the Scribes and Pharisees promising everlasting life in recompense of the outward observing of it Whereas the Law indeed rewardeth it with the Land of Promise intimating onely the reward of the world to come to those that should serve the searcher of hearts from the heart in expectation of the Messias his coming So the Decalogue being the brief of those conditions upon which God contracted with the Generality of that people for the Land of Promise carries not with it the least presumption in reason that whatsoever it containeth is either moral or perpetually positive to wit according to the carnal sense which the letter of the Law first presenteth Indeed according to the spiritual intent of it by which true Israelites were conducted even then to the world to come it signified and required the same spiritual obedience which the Gospel obliges us to though in a measure proportionable to those helps of grace which God then gave compared with those which the Coming of Christ hath brought forth So that in one word admitting the literal sense â—f the Decalogue to bee that which obliged the Jews the spiritual sense which it is to carry with Christians is to bee valued by the correspondence of the New Testament with the Old in the mater of every particular precept What can bee more manifest then this in the Preface to it The meaning of the first Commandment in this sense Can Christians say truly that God ever delivered them out of the Land of Aegypt and the bondage of it must they not all say that God hath delivered them from the bondage of sin and Satan correspondent to it might not all true Israelites in whom was no guile say the same in regard of that worship of Idols which all other Nations were enslaved with and the sin to which it engaged therefore a Jew understands this first precept to bee the chief point of his Law that hee acknowledg but one God but that one whom his Fathers knew And if the Mater bee examined it will appear that both Jews and Mahumetans stand at distance with Christians upon this false pretense that the Faith of the holy Trinity agreeth not herewith For the Alcoran insinuateth this poyson every where But the Christian goes farther in the meaning of this precept And believing the Father Son and Holy Ghost to bee that one God which gave them this precept believes himself redeemed from the bondage of sin by the blood of the Son and by the Grace of the Spirit And therefore making the will of God the ground and his glory and service the intent of all his doings renounces all respect to the pleasure or profit or honour and greatness of this World so far as it is not the means to serve God Acknowledging that when hee declines from this resolution hee makes his Belly his God or his riches his Idol as St. Paul saith or rather the Devil that offers him some little part of that which our Lord refused in gross the God whom hee worships The second Commandment setting forth God for a God The extent of the sâ—coud Commandment that is jealous of his people whether they worship him or not manifestly supposeth their Covenant to forsake all other Gods beside him a contract of Mariage between him and his people Which if it bee so it is no less manifest that the Images which the precept supposeth are the representations of other Gods which his people were went to commit adultery with by worshipping them for God For seeing it is manifest how much Idolatry was advanced by Imagery though it may bee without it there can bee no marvel that there should bee a peculiar precept against it Wherefore it is manifest that Jews by the letter of this precept are tied from all Images which their Elders who had the power of limiting what is lawful and what is not by the Law should declare to bee unlawful But to think that their declarations ought to bind Christians were to imagine that Christians ought to bee Jews And the letter of the Law forbidding all Images at all times and in all places as well as some it is not possible to show how Christians can bee tied from any kind of Image at any time or in any place more then others by the letter of this precept But by the positive part of the precept implied in the negative which it expresseth thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them Christians must needs find themselves bound to that worship of God in spirit and truth which it is not possible for Jews to think themselves tied to in consideration of the Land of Promise And therefore having the Word of God for the rule of their worship must needs condemn the worshipping of God by any imagination of their own devising for superstition and will-will-worship In standing upon that which God declareth not that hee regardeth for the discharge of their duty to him and in tendring him things of their own chusing for the worship which they acknowledge to bee due For as I said afore it is not possible that they who lay such a weight of their diligence upon things of their own choise should discharge the duty of worshipping him in spirit and truth in that measure which the comparison of Gods will with our own choise requireth And by this rule wee condemn all excesses of the Church of
the Church of Rome produceth For in plain terms we make our selves Schismaticks by grounding our Reformation upon this pretense For on the one side wee profess the Separation to have been our intent not a consequence of the Reformation by the fault of the Church of Rome in not complying with it Because wee give such a Reason for it as if be true wee cannot without renouncing our Christianity hold communion with those whom wee charge with it Whereas Reformation is indeed and alwayes was the thing intended Division in the Church which it hath occasioned is the crime of those that refuse to come in to it upon such terms as the common Christianity requireth On the other side this cause which would bee more then sufficient to justifie Separation did it appear to be true Charges the mischiefes of the Schisme upon those that proceed upon it before it be as evident as the mischiefes are which they run into upon it So that should this Church declare that the change which wee call Reformation is grounded upon this supposition I must then acknowledg that wee are the Schismaticks For the cause not appearing to me as hitherto it hath not and I think will never be made to appear to me the separation and the mischiefes of it must be imputed to them that make the change And as they who justifie the Reformation by charging the Pope to bee Antichrist and the Papists Idolaters So on the other side they who overcharge the Reformation to bee Haeretickes make themselves thereby Schismatickes before God CHAP. II. The supposition of Antichrist and Idolatry prejudicial to the truth The supposition of one Visible Church the ground of Communion as well within the Reformation as in the whole Church What the Romish Missionaries get by the charge of Haeresie and the pretense of Infallibility What we get by the charge of Idolatry and Antichrist Immoderate charges vaine on both sides The charge of Schisme on both sides moderate as to the Church The sin of Schisme as to God horrible The Schisme of the Donatists in charging the Catholickes to bee Apostates The sad consequences of that Schisme FUrther as I began to say before supposing for Disputes The supposition of Antichrist and Idolatry prejudicial to the truth sake but not granting for truth that the Pope is Antichrist and the Papists Idolaters And that thereupon wee are to have no communion with the Church of Rome are not the particulars to bee decided by the same Reasons and therefore upon the same termes as if neither the Pope were Antichrist nor the Papists Idolaters For this being clear beyond Dispute what do wee gain by a supposition so impossible to bee set in the light of competent evidence Even that which wee see is come to pass An unchristian rather then an unreasonable apprehension That the further wee run from them the neerer wee shall come to the truth of Christianity Whereas wee are to take no less heed that wee run not beyond the Church of God The Unity whereof if it bee indeed ordained by God is ordained to no other purpose then to render the true bounds of Christianity that is the means of salvation visible to all Christians For the truth of the particulars in difference stands where it would stand whether the Pope bee Antichrist and the Papists Idolaters or not But they that believe them so must needs thereupon incline to believe them further from the truth then indeed they will appear to bee if it bee not true And therefore must needs have a hand in the Schisme in departing further from them then they ought to do He that takes the Pope for Antichrist and the Papists for Idolaters can never weigh by his own Weights and mete by his own Measures till he hate Papists worse then Jewes or Mahumetans who cannot be Idolaters which some but few of them profess to do Is not he that runs from Rome with this Opinion in danger to forget the Proverb Ita fugias ne praeter casam and run by the door of Gods Church Now suppose wee can have no Communion with the Church The supposition of one Visible Church the ground of Communion as well within the Reformation as in the whole Church of Rome because it appeareth that the Pope is Antichrist and the Papists Idolaters Yet ought wee to hold Communion with all Christendom besides that own not Antichrist nor his Idolatries I say if the Visible Unity of the Church appear to bee the Ordinance of God in the next place to holding the truth of Christianity we shall stand obliged to hold Communion with the rest of the Church But this Communion cannot bee maintained without an express profession that the Visible Unity of the Church is the express will of God and his Ordinance though the will of man render it frustrate This profession it is that obligeth all to stand to those grounds and those termâ— upon which it is to bee maintained Whatsoever differences may arise to render it questionable And it is the not acknowledging of thâ—se grounds that hath made way for those Divisions which have succeeded within the Reformation in several parts of it For as they have all proved incurable for want of this Principle of Unity So it is not possible that ours which have come to pass in the last place should be cured upon any other principle of Christianity to the salvation of souls however the benefit of publique peace may prevail to keep them from doing that mischief in the World which they have done The truth is they of the Church of Rome have overcharged What the Romish Missionaries get by the charge of Hâ—reâ—ie and the pretense of Infallibility us in calling us Haereticks Taking that charge to signifie division upon matter of Faith But they that would have the Pope Antichrist and the Papists Idolaters have revyed it upon them and taken their Revenge beyond the bounds of blameless defense For the profession of Idolatry necessarily signifies utter Apostasie from Christianity to Paganisme There is nothing else known by the name of Idolatry in the Scriptures By which they must prove if they do prove them Idolaters For the Idolatry of the Gnostickes which I am confident is mentioned in divers Texts of the New Testament may well bee accompted the Idolatry of the Pagans though pretending to bee Christians Because they did not stick to exercise the same Idolatries with the Pagans when occasion was offered though they had their own Idolatries besides whether peculiar to their several Religions or as Magicians This is the reason of that which I said before that wee need not Dispute which side is the true Church if wee can prove them Idolaters But it is to be feared that the Romish Missionaries do advantage themselves more by the pretense of Haeresie then they by the pretense of Idolatry or Antichrist For having obtained this great truth that there is no salvation out of Gods Church and then
the whole Church is more destructive to the substance of Christianity then all that corruption which the Reformation pretendeth to cure But to confining our sense of the Scripture our opinions in mater of Doctrine and the Laws which wee demand within that which the Faith and the Laws of the whole Church may appear to require wee are half the way onward to the point of Reformation having the ground and the reason and therefore the measure and the terms of it The mistake of the Schools and of the Council of Trent after The Fanaticks further from the truth of Christianity then the Church of Rome the Schools in the nature of Justification and the effect of infused righteousness to which they ascribe it is no way destructive to Christianity No more is the opinion of satisfaction and merit in the good works of Christians so long as it is grounded upon Gods promise which they that inflame that opinion to the highest in the Church of Rome must acknowledg to come into consideration whether they will or not As for the merit of Grace by the works which a natural man is able to do commonly called meritum congrui as that which is fit for God to give though not for the worth of the works It is indeed an Errour of greater danger but never was general in the School and now generally disallowed so far it was always from being enjoyned by the Church But what is this in comparison of that furious Doctrine that the assurance of a mans Predestination is justifying Faith In which the opinion of absolute Predestination to Glory and of Gods predetermining a man to do all that hee doth is twisted together with an Enthusiasme that wee are justified and made the children of God by being assured hereof by his Spirit Not supposing any condition of Christianity in consideration of which it is had and by the knowledg whereof it is assured us For they that believe that Gods predetermination is the reason and the ground of freedom in mans Will and of contingence in the effects of it supposing freedom and contingence do thereby bar the ill consequence of their own mistake But hee that can think himself assured of that which the Gospel promiseth not being assured that hee performeth the Christianity which by his Baptisme hee undertaketh why should hee hold himself tied why should hee study and endeavour himself to perform it Nay holding his Christianity and the Scriptures which The consequence of their principle worse then that of Infallibility teach it by the same dictate of the Spirit which assures his salvation upon those terms why should hee not hold that which Christianity and the Scriptures teach not with the same devotion and assurance which he accepteth the Scriptures and his Christianity with Why should hee not with the Gnostickes and Mahomet and the Mannichees place his salvation in that which the Spirit teacheth him beside and above the Scriptures allowing Christianity for proficients The same consequence takes hold in some measure of those who believe the Infallibility of the present Church For making the sentence thereof the only reason of believing they tye themselves to accept whatsoever it shall decree for mater of Faith and therefore concerning their salvation as much as it concerns their salvation to believe the holy Trinity Indeed there is not so much danger for them For the persons on whom they repose themselves for the Church being persons of that interest in the World which cannot stand with the open corrupting of Christianity The fear is that they may authorize those corruptions which the coming of the World into the Church shall make popular Not that they shall think it for their interest to change that which it is not popular to change In the mean time having shewed the point of Reformation The point of Truth in the middle between both by shewing the point of truth whereby all that the Reformation disputes with the Church of Rome is cleared namely that that Faith which moveth to undertake Baptism is the Faith which alone justifieth I have shewed withal that the express profession hereof is that which must clear us from all impuâ—ation of the Schism with the Church of Rome and of compliance with any Fanaticks that have taught the opposite Haeresie being by such profession excluded from all liberty of teaching it for the future They who take justifying Faith to bee Confidence in God through our Lord Christ do commit the mistake which I have shewed And if they go farther to think that by being assured of Gods Grace they can never dye cut of that estate they may indeed think themselves tyed to return to God by Repentance But may they not easily bee deluded to neglect it thinking themselves certain before hand that they shall do it Which if it bee considered the danger of the mistake will appear no less then that which the Doctrine of the Council of Trent threatneth As for the Question between mans free Will and Gods Praedestination How Salvation is concerned in the matter of Free Will and Grace and Grace taking it by it self as not complicated and twisted with the other concerning justifying Faith the difficulty of it being so great as it is the true resolution of it which is the reconcilement of Grace with free Will can by no means seem to concern the substance of Faith necessary to bee held for the Salvation of all Christians But the denying either of mans free Will or Gods free Grace may and certainly doth concern it And therefore the second Council of Orange having determined as well that no man is appointed by God to death and therefore to sin as that whosoever perseveres until Death is appointed by God unto effectual Grace there appears no necessity why the Church should run any hazard of division by decreeâ—ng farther in the Point which wee see come to pass in the United Provinces having that decree received of old by the Western Church to settle the bounds of necessary Truth Nor is there any other means of settle the necessity of Baptism Salvation concerned in the Sacramentâ— â—pon the same terms and of the Holy Eucharist but the profession of this truth for the sense of our Creed in the Article of one Baptism for the remission of sâ—ns the neglect whereof hath occasioned not only the Sects of our Anabaptists Qâ—akers and other Enthusiasts and Fanaticks but hath given Sâ—cinus ground enough to count Baptism indifferent And some of our Fanaticks to think it a meer mistake that any man was ever baptized with water to make him a Christian since the ceasing of Moses Law and Johns Baptism As for the Sacrament of the Eucharist that which concerneth Salvation in it is manifest admitting the Premises Namely that they who make good or revive the Covenant of their Baptism in receiving it shall receive the body and blood of Christ and by consequence his Spirit hypostatically united to the