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<DATE>2008-01-23</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Twelve con&s;iderable &s;erious
CAUTIONS,
VERY NECESSARY
to be ob&s;erved, in, and about
a REFORMATION
according to the Word of God. Wherein diver&s;e particular incon|&s;i&s;tences
with the word of God, very incident
to <HI>Reformations</HI> (&s;o called) are briefly in&s;i&s;ted
upon, and argued from the Word of God. <HI>By</HI> JOHN GOODVVIN, an unworthy
&s;ervant of God in the Go&s;pel of his deare Son.</P>
<Q>Beware of fal&s;e Prophets, which come to you in &s;heepes cloathing, &amp;c.</Q>
<BIBL>Mat. 7. 15.</BIBL>
<Q>Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.</Q>
<BIBL>Joh. 7. 24.</BIBL>
<Q>Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the Councells, and &s;courge
you in their Synagogues.</Q>
<BIBL>Mat. 10. 17.</BIBL>
<Q>Adulterum e&s;t, impium e&s;t, &s;acrilegum e&s;t, quicquid humano furore in&s;u|tuitur,
ut di&s;po&s;itio divina violetur.</Q>
<BIBL>Cypr. ep. l. 1. ep. 8.</BIBL>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI>
Printed by <HI>M. S.</HI> for <HI>Henry Overton,</HI> and are to
be &s;old at his Shop in <HI>Popes</HI>-head Alley.
1646.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>Cautions nece&s;&s;ary to be ob&s;erved in and about
a Reformation according to the word of God.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_IN the Name of God begins all that is bad,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In nomine Do|mini incipit omne malum.</NOTE> was the
complaint of many, in the dayes of Popery. And
if men be carnal and unworthy in their end, the
Machiavillian directs them, <HI>Agant &s;ua vota &s;ub
illo;</HI> let them take the Name of God, and of Re|ligion,
to make a covering for their nakedne&s;&s;e.
There is none like to this.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 36. 10.</NOTE> <HI>Am I now come up</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Rab&s;hakeb)
without the Lord again&s;t this land to de&s;troy it! The Lord &s;aid unto me,
Go up again&s;t this land and de&s;troy it.</HI> The Jewes pretended they
had a law (meaning from God him&s;elf) for the putting his own
Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>(God ble&s;&s;ed for ever)</HI> to death.<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 19. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Wee have a Law,
and by our Law he ought to die:</HI> even as &s;ome men now have a Re|formation,
and that from God, or <HI>according to the word of God,</HI> by
which the faithfulle&s;t &s;ervants of God ought to be mole&s;ted, and
the light of the pure&s;t wor&s;hip of God put out.</P>
<P>But if the hot-pre&s;&s;ers of Reformation in the&s;e dayes, have not
an heart and an heart, but are regular, &s;ingle, and &s;incere-ended in
their motions, and really intend and de&s;ire to make all things <HI>ac|cording
to the pattern in the Mount,</HI> I mean according to <HI>the word of
God</HI> (the mo&s;t unque&s;tionable and lea&s;t-en&s;naring clau&s;e in all that
&s;olemn covenant, which they adore as if it were <GAP DESC="foreign">, the con|trivement
of God, and not of man) they &s;hall con&s;ult this ho|nour,
and a name of Integrity to them&s;elves for ever in this
noble enterpri&s;e, if they will be carefull to advance by the way of
the&s;e Cautions following: but if they &s;hall (e&s;pecially wil|lingly
and knowingly, and mo&s;t of all, if con&s;ultedly) digre&s;&s;e
and &s;in again&s;t them, as the Lord liveth, the &s;oule and &s;pirit of
their de&s;igne is no <HI>Reformation according to the word of God,</HI> no nor
yet <HI>according to the example of the be&s;t reformed Churches;</HI> but accor|cording
to the exigency of &s;ecular intere&s;ts, and the in&s;piration
of the accommodations and good things of this world.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Caution"> Fir&s;t, they who intend a Reformation <HI>according to the word of
God,</HI> mu&s;t take heed of admitting human pa&s;&s;ions into their con|&s;ultations:
<PB N="2" REF="3">
<HI>For</HI> (as in <HI>James</HI> his Divinity) <HI>the wrath of man work|eth
not the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">James 1 20.</NOTE> i &s;ubjects a man to an incapacity
of doing that which is truly agreeable unto his will; &s;o is it as
true of other di&s;tempers al&s;o, as of envie, covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, ambition,
&amp;c. neither do any of the&s;e (much le&s;&s;e all them in conjunction)
<HI>work the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God,</HI> in this &s;en&s;e: but are as ho&s;tages gi|ven
to Satan, to &s;ecure him, that they mean no ill to him or his
kingdome. The tenor, nature, and frame of the word of God, are
of a pregnant antipathy again&s;t all the&s;e, and &s;uch like inordina|cies
in the hearts of men; and are bent with an high hand, to op|po&s;e
and contradict all their motions, actings and proceedings
what&s;oever. Therefore mo&s;t certain it is, that &s;uch a Reformation
which is calculated for the meridian of the&s;e, or any of them, and
the face of it &s;et, either for the mole&s;tation of &s;uch per&s;ons with
whom we are offended, or who&s;e honor or peace we envie, or for
the enriching or exalting our &s;elves in the world, is not, cannot
be <HI>according to the word of God.</HI> No man ever made hoops or
bowes of timber that was &s;treight, according to the naturall
growth or &s;treightne&s;&s;e of it; but were fain to u&s;e art, or force,
or both, to de&s;troy the&s;e, to make tho&s;e commodities.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Caution"> Secondly, a Reformation <HI>according to the word of God,</HI> mu&s;t
not be ob&s;tructive, much le&s;&s;e de&s;tructive to the comfort and
peace of the children and &s;ervants of God, who wor&s;hip him in
Spirit and Truth. <HI>Do not my words</HI> (&s;aith God him&s;elfe by his Pro|phet<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Mica 2. 7.</NOTE>) <HI>do good to him that walketh uprightly?</HI> Therefore what Re|formation
&s;oever grieveth the &s;oule, and makes &s;ad the Spirit of
the generality of tho&s;e in a land, who <HI>walk uprightly</HI> in the &s;ight of
God, it is a certain &s;igne and evidence again&s;t it, that it is quite be|&s;ides,
and not <HI>according to the word of God.</HI> And if the inward
and e&s;&s;entiall frame or con&s;titution of the word of God, be &s;uch,
as to make it <HI>the joy and rejoycing of the heart</HI> of godly ones<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Jer. 15. 16.</NOTE>;
doubtle&s;&s;e what&s;oever is either acted or projected in conformity
to it, mu&s;t needs hold the like corre&s;pondence with them. Never
was it heard to this day, that a Reformation <HI>according to the word
of God,</HI> was ever burden&s;ome or grievous to the mo&s;t con&s;idera|ble
part of religious per&s;ons, among&s;t whom it was advanc'd,
or &s;et up.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Caution"> 3ly, They who de&s;ire to reform <HI>according to the word of God,</HI> mu&s;t
beware of putting any &s;uch ingredie~t into their reformatio~, w^c^h is
(or is like to be) ob&s;tructive to the cour&s;e of the Go&s;pel, or to the
<PB N="3" REF="3">
propagation of the truth among&s;t men. <HI>We can do nothing</HI> (&s;aith the
Apo&s;tle) <HI>again&s;t the truth, but for the truth;</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 13. 8</NOTE> meaning, that neither
he, nor any of his fellow-Apo&s;tles, had any power or authority
from God, to act any thing in prejudice to the truth, or to the &s;up|pre&s;&s;ion
or hindering the out-goings of that into the world. And
(2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3. 1.) he de&s;ires the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> to <HI>pray for him, that the
Word of the Lord may run,</HI> or, have free cour&s;e, <HI>and be glorified, even
as it was with them.</HI> Therefore, <HI>certo certi&ugrave;s,</HI> &s;uch Reformers, who
&s;ay unto men excellently gifted by God, and affectuou&s;ly inclin'd
by God, and ardently de&s;ired of men, for the work of the Mini|&s;tery,
<HI>Preach not in that Name</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Act. 5. 28. 40.</NOTE> except you will preach in our
name al&s;o, except you will acknowledge in us a power to give
you leave to preach, and a power to re&s;train you from preaching,
and be willing to receive neither you nor we can tell what, by
our impo&s;ition of hands upon you; &s;uch Reformers (I &s;ay, the &s;e|cond
time) that calculate and modell their reformation upon &s;uch
terms, that either the precious &s;ouls of thou&s;ands mu&s;t &s;tarve, or
el&s;e the precious con&s;ciences of tho&s;e that &s;hould feed them, be
brought into a &s;nare, and &s;o defiled, well may they reforme by
&s;ome other rule, but their <HI>according to the Word of God,</HI> they leave
for others.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="Caution"> Fourthly, they which intend to reform <HI>according to the Word of
God,</HI> mu&s;t not call that common or unclean, which God hath &s;an|ctified
or clean&s;ed: <HI>What God hath clean&s;ed</HI> (&s;aith the voyce from
heaven unto <HI>Peter) call not thou common</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Acts 10. 15.</NOTE>. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI>
by commi&s;&s;ion from heaven; <HI>I will therefore</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that men pray
every where, lifting up,</HI> &amp;c. So then, God having &s;anctified the whole
world, and every corner and place of it for his Saints to wor&s;hip
him in they that by a &s;trong hand &s;eek to bring them back again,
either to <HI>this mountain,</HI> or <HI>to Jeru&s;alem to wor&s;hip</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Joh. 4. 21.</NOTE>, that will allow
the Saints no other places as lawfull to wor&s;hip God in (at lea&s;t
publikely) but tho&s;e only, concerning which, the greate&s;t <HI>Que&s;tion</HI>
is, whether they of all others, be &s;anctified or no; and which the
judgements and con&s;ciences of many thou&s;and of the Saints look
upon, as exceptions from Gods generall rule of &s;anctification in
this kinde; the&s;e without all controver&s;ie or que&s;tion, &s;hape their
Reformation, rather <HI>&s;ecundum u&s;um Sarum,</HI> then <HI>according to the
Word of God.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, they who would have this golden Motto, <HI>According to
the Word of God,</HI> written as well in the heart, as in the face of their
<PB N="4" REF="4">
Reformation, mu&s;t be free from all collaterall ingagements unto
other patterns be&s;ides this <HI>Word of God;</HI> they mu&s;t not &s;uffer them|&s;elves
to incline, no, not &s;o much as a du&s;t in the ballance amounts
unto, to any Reformation of any other Church or churches what|&s;oever,
further then they are reformed according to the &s;ame
word. <HI>Be ye followers of me</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>even as I al&s;o am of
Chri&s;t.</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 1.</NOTE> The be&s;t patterns and examples under heaven, are but &s;e|ducers,
in what they fall &s;hort of, or be&s;ides, the Word of God.
The injunction from heaven is very particular and expre&s;&s;e: <HI>See
that thou make all things according to the pattern &s;hewed unto thee in
the mount</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Heb. 8. 5.</NOTE>. And Ezek. 43. 10. <HI>Thou &s;on of man, &s;hew the hou&s;e to the
hou&s;e of I&s;rael, that they may be a&s;hamed of their iniquities, and let them
mea&s;ure the pattern,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>viz.</HI> to build with all po&s;&s;ible exactne&s;&s;e
of conformity to it. Now then, when Reformers &s;hall look partly
upon the Word of God, partly upon other Reformations, where|in
it is a thou&s;and to one, but there is &s;ome fle&s;h, as well as &s;pirit,
they mu&s;t needs (upon the &s;uppo&s;ition) bring forth a party-colou|red
Reformation, as <HI>Labans</HI> &s;heep brought forth &s;peckled and
&s;potted lambs, by looking upon the pilled rods which <HI>Jacob</HI> pre|&s;ented
them with, at the time of their conception<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Gen. 30. 38, 39.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>But what if we be bound by covenant and oath, to reform, as
well according to the examples of the be&s;t reformed Churches,
as according to the Word of God? I an&s;wer:</P>
<P>Doubtle&s;&s;e, no man ever covenanted, or &s;ware, to reform accor|ding
to the example of any Church, or churches what&s;oever, in
oppo&s;ition to the Word of God:<NOTE PLACE="marg">To violate an abominable and accur&s;ed oath, out of con&s;cience unto God, is an holy and ble&s;&s;ed per|jury.</NOTE> or if they did either, they have
cau&s;e to abhor them&s;eves in du&s;t and a&s;hes for it. And to reform
with them, or according to their example, in concurrence with
the Word of God, is nothing but what every man &s;tood bound in
con&s;cience unto, whether he had covenanted or &s;worn it, or no.
So that covenanting or &s;wearing to reforme <HI>according to the ex|amples
of the be&s;t reformed Churches,</HI> as well as <HI>according to the
Word of God,</HI> doth no wayes bind any man to regard or minde
their reformation for matter of example or imitation further then
this comports with the Word of God; and thus farre, they who
reform <HI>according to the Word of God,</HI> mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily follow
their example, at lea&s;t materially, and &s;o cannot fal&s;ifie in the lea&s;t
with their covenant and oath.</P>
<P>Sixthly, the &s;ons of &s;uch a Reformation as hath been oft na|med,
mu&s;t beware of &s;eparating between mens &s;pirituall and tem|porall
<PB N="5" REF="4">
conveniences, when God by his providence hath graciou&s;ly joy|ned
them together. <HI>What therefore God hath joyned together, let no man put
a&s;under,</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Mar. 19. 5.</NOTE> (&s;aith our Saviour.) The rule or precept is generall, (though
given upon a &s;peciall occa&s;ion) and ought to take place (e&s;pecially)
in all things which concern the comfort and peace of men. If &s;o, how can
that Reformation be according to the Word of God, which &s;hall ei|ther
force men from their dwellings, the conveniencie whereof affords
them, and theirs, the be&s;t of their &s;ub&s;i&s;tence in the world; or el&s;e from
their relation unto &s;uch a Mini&s;ter or Pa&s;tor, by whom God is plea&s;ed
to ble&s;&s;e them in their &s;pirituall e&s;tate, incomparably beyond what they
have any ground to expect from that Pa&s;tor they mu&s;t in &s;uch a ca&s;e
&s;ubject them&s;elves unto? Yea, or which &s;hall interdict the precious
&s;ouls of men their &s;pirituall accommodation from the hand of &s;uch
Pa&s;tors, who want the eyes, and tongues, and hands of other men, and &s;o
can neither &s;ee, nor &s;ay, nor do many things, which they can; and yet
may be eminently &s;erviceable in the work of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and peculi|arly
gifted for the edification of &s;uch and &s;uch men? A Reformation
<HI>according to the Word of God,</HI> mu&s;t not &s;acrifice the comforts of the people
of God, upon the &s;ervice of the credits or advantages of their Mini&s;ters.
The people were not made for Mini&s;ters, but Mini&s;ters for the people.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="Caution"> Seventhly, A Reformation <HI>according to the word of God,</HI> mu&s;t be like a
Bi&s;hop or Mini&s;ter <HI>according to the Word of God;</HI> that is, <HI>no &s;triker, no braw|ler</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 2, 3.</NOTE>,
<HI>mu&s;t not &s;trive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; In meekne&s;s
in&s;tructing tho&s;e that oppo&s;e them&s;elves, if God peradventure, will give them
repentance to the acknowledging of the truth</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2, 24, 25.</NOTE>. Therefore certainly that Re|formation
which is froward, rough, peremptory, impatient, imperi|ous,
and will gather where it hath not &s;trewed, and reap where it hath
not &s;own, exact obedience and &s;ubjection from tho&s;e, to whom it hath
not effectually taught or per&s;waded obedience and &s;ubjection, nor ever
gave any tolerable account unto truly con&s;cientious and con&s;idering,
and di&s;intere&s;&s;ed men, of any worthine&s;&s;e in it, why it &s;hould be &s;ub|mitted
unto; but &s;hall rather ob&s;truct its acce&s;&s;e to the judgements and
con&s;ciences of &s;uch men, by advancing it &s;elf by wayes, and methods,
and practices that &s;avour more of the &s;ubtilty of the Serpent, then the
&s;implicity of Chri&s;t; doubtle&s;&s;e (I &s;ay) &s;uch a Reformation, which com|mends
it &s;elf unto the world upon no better terms then the&s;e, cannot be
judg'd a Reformation <HI>according to the Word of God</HI> by any, except tho&s;e,
who either <HI>&s;uppo&s;e gain to be godline&s;&s;e,</HI> or the re&s;olutions of Synods <HI>the
word of God.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Caution"> Eighthly, A reformation worthy this crown of glory, I mean to be
<PB N="6" REF="5">
named a Reformation <HI>according to Word of God,</HI> mu&s;t take heed of <HI>eat|ing
fle&s;h,</HI> to <HI>the offence of a weak Brother;</HI> I mean, of plea&s;ing, humoring gra|tifying,
inriching the &s;trong, and tho&s;e that think they know all things,
to the grieving, angui&s;hing, afflicting of tho&s;e that are weak, and not
able to &s;ee this Name of <HI>My&s;terie,</HI> written in the forehead of it, <HI>according
to the Word of God. It is good neither to eat fle&s;h, nor to drink wine, nor any
thing whereby thy brother &s;tumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Ha&s;t thou
Faith? have it to thy &s;elf before God, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Rom. 14. 21, 22.</NOTE> <HI>But when ye &s;in &s;o again&s;t the Bre|thren,
and wound their weak con&s;cience, ye &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t. Wherefore if meat
make my Brother to offend, I will eat no fle&s;h while&s;t the world &s;tandeth, le&s;t I
make my brother to offend</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 8. 12, 13.</NOTE> Therefore that Reformation, which &s;hall tread
and trample under foot the weak and tender con&s;ciences of the Bre|thren,
<HI>for whom Chri&s;t dyed,</HI> like clay and mire in the &s;treets, taking no
pity nor compa&s;&s;ion on them, that it may recompence the contrivers of
it with <HI>fle&s;h to eat, and wine to drink,</HI> and make their faces to &s;hine in the
world, is (doubtle&s;&s;e) no Reformation <HI>according to the Word of God,</HI> ex|cept
it be <HI>the word of the God of this world.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="Caution"> Ninthly, that Reformation which <HI>the Word of God</HI> will own, as con|form
to it, mu&s;t take heed, either of gathering or &s;cattering with Satan,
and be carefull to do both the one and the other, both to gather and to
&s;catter with Chri&s;t: mu&s;t be a tender and nur&s;ing-mother unto all, not
a bloody cruel &s;tepmother to any the Churches of Chri&s;t. <HI>He that is not
with me,</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>is again&s;t me: and he that gathereth not with me,
&s;cattereth abroad</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Mat. 12, 30.</NOTE> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul: Be&s;ides tho&s;e things that are
without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of</HI> ALL <HI>the Churches.</HI>
Therefore that Reformation, which is &s;o far from taking care for <HI>all</HI>
the Churches of Chri&s;t, that it cannot &s;ub&s;i&s;t (with any tolerable con|tentment)
without the di&s;&s;olution and ruine of many of the&s;e Churches,
&amp; tho&s;e of the mo&s;t Apo&s;tolical &amp; Chri&s;tian building, is no Reformati|on
<HI>according to the Word of God,</HI> except the Word of God be divided
again&s;t it &s;elf, and de&s;troyeth that, which it buildeth up. Some impeach
that Reformation which gathereth Churches out of Churches, as a Re|formation,
over which the Scripture rejoyceth not, nor yet countenan|ceth.
And do the&s;e men think, that yet it will rejoyce over, or counte|nance
&s;uch a Reformation, which &s;catters and ruines Churches of Chri&s;t
into no-churches at all; and that &s;aith to the Saints &s;weetly combined
in Church-fellow&s;hip, and walking together with love and peace in
the ways and wor&s;hip of the true God, Be ye &s;cattered into the four
winds of the heavens,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 26. 19.</NOTE> and go and <HI>&s;erve other Gods?</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="Caution"> Tenthly, that Reformation which glorieth as being <HI>according to the
<PB N="7" REF="5">
word of God,</HI> mu&s;t not be partiall, or a re&s;pecter of per&s;ons: mu&s;t not
ab&s;olve the le&s;&s;e, and condemne the more innocent. <HI>I charge thee before
God, and the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the elect Angels, that thou ob&s;erve the&s;e
things without preferring one before another, <GAP DESC="foreign">, doing no|thing
by partiality</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Tim. 5. 24.</NOTE> <HI>My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,
the Lord of glory, with re&s;pect of per&s;ons</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Iam. 2. 1.</NOTE>. Therefore that Reformation w^c^h
ju&s;tifieth tho&s;e, who <HI>profe&s;&s;e they know God, but deny him</HI> (and that mo&s;t
notoriou&s;ly) <HI>in works;</HI> but falls heavie upon tho&s;e who make no &s;uch
hypocriticall profe&s;&s;ion, but rather ingenuou&s;ly profe&s;&s;e and acknow|ledge
their doubts &amp; &s;cruples in things appertaining to the knowledge
of God, and withall are far more regular and Chri&s;tian-like in their
conver&s;ation, holds no other then a diametral corre&s;pondence with <HI>the
word of God.</HI> For doubtle&s;s, he that &s;aith he beleeves that there are three
per&s;ons and one God, and yet gives demon&s;trative te&s;timonies (or be it
but &s;trong pre&s;umptions) again&s;t him&s;elfe, that he indeed and in truth
neither beleeves the one nor the other, is a far greater offender, and
con&s;equently de&s;erves a far greater puni&s;hment then hee who belee|ving
neither, profe&s;&s;eth accordingly. Therefore that Reformation which
&s;hall puni&s;h men, and that with greater &s;everity, not for not beleeving,
but for not profe&s;&s;ing to beleeve, or for profe&s;&s;ing not to beleeve that
which indeed they do not beleeve, and &s;hall connive at, or pa&s;&s;e over
with &s;ome light cen&s;ure, tho&s;e that &s;hall abu&s;e heaven and earth with
their di&s;&s;imulation in this kind, and &s;hall only &s;ay or profe&s;&s;e, that they
beleeve &s;o or &s;o, though it be as cleare at the Sun, that they indeed and
in truth beleeve no &s;uch thing: Such a Reformation (I &s;ay) that &s;hal be
thus importunely and uncon&s;cionably partiall, holds no good quarter
with the word of God.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="Caution"> Eleventhly, that Reformation which pretends to that badge of ho|nor
of being a Reformation <HI>according to the word of God,</HI> mu&s;t not &s;eek to
advance and lift up it &s;elfe in the world by unrighteou&s;nes, by &s;peaking
evill, e&s;pecially untruly, and again&s;t its own con&s;cience, of the Saints &amp;
&s;ervants of the mo&s;t high God <HI>Put them in mind</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>to
&s;peak evill of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, &s;hewing all meekne&s;&s;e unto
all men</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Tit. 3. 2.</NOTE> <HI>The Cretians are alwayes liers, evill bea&s;ts, flow bellies</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Tit. 1. 12.</NOTE>, <HI>&amp;c. Yee
&s;hall not &s;teale, nor deale fal&s;ly, nor lie one to another</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Lev. 6. 11.</NOTE>. <HI>For he &s;aid, Surely they
are my people, children that will not lie</HI><NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 63. 8. 8.</NOTE>. <HI>Lie not one to another</HI><NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Colo&s;&s;. 3. 9.</NOTE>, <HI>&amp;c. But if
yee have bitter envying and &s;trife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not again&s;t
the truth</HI><NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Iam. 3. 14.</NOTE> <HI>But the fearfull and unbeleeving,&mdash;and all liers, &s;hall have their
part in the take which burneth with fire and brim&s;tone, &amp;c</HI><NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">Rev. 21. 8.</NOTE>. Therefore if any
thing be <HI>vero verius,</HI> more true then truth it &s;elf, true it is in this degree,
<PB N="8" REF="6">
that that Reformation which &s;hal take Satans office out of his hand, and
turn accu&s;er of the brethren, &amp; <HI>love all devouring words</HI><NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">1 P&s;al. 52. 4.</NOTE>, that &s;hal not
&s;pare the names or reputations of tho&s;e who are as the <HI>Apple of Gods</HI>
own <HI>eye,</HI> &amp; whom he &s;eeks to commend unto the world as glorious
in their generation, and more excellent then their neighbours, and
witne&s;&s;es of the truth, but &s;hall con&s;ult with the powers of darknes, &amp;
oracles of hell, by what calumnies, reproaches, &s;landers, untruths, to &s;et
the world on fire with hatred and indignation again&s;t them, yea and
&s;hall &s;till, <HI>oleum addere camino,</HI> write book upon book, book upon book,
now a Treati&s;e &amp; then a Treati&s;e, to grind all the credit and intere&s;t that
&s;uch men have in the world, to powder; and all this to make it &s;elfe a
foot&s;tool, whereby to a&s;cend into its throne; a Reformation (I &s;ay) that
&s;eeks to build it &s;elf an hou&s;e with &s;uch polluted &s;tones as the&s;e, certain|ly
doth not build with God, nor God with it: The <HI>word of God</HI> knowes
no &s;uch art of building as this.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="12" UNIT="Caution"> Twelfthly (and la&s;tly) A Reformation that would not be flattered, and yet be &s;tiled,
A Reformation <HI>according to the word of God,</HI> mu&s;t give leave to the wind to blow
where it li&s;teth; and give liberty to the Spirit of God to do with his own what he plea|&s;eth;
to make what di&s;coverie of truth he plea&s;eth, and to what per&s;ons, and when, and
where he plea&s;eth; and mu&s;t not confine him to his market, or compel him to traffique
only with Councels and Synods for his heavenly commodities. <HI>The wind bloweth
where it lu&s;teth &amp;c</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Iohn 3. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Friend, I doe thee no wrong,&mdash;take that which is time own,
and go thy way, I will give unto this la&s;t as much as to thee. Is it not lawfull for me to doe
as I will with mine own? Is thine eye evill becau&s;e I am good</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Matth. 20. 13, 14.</NOTE>? <HI>And after &s;ix dayes, Ie&s;us
taketh unto him Peter, and Iames, and Iohn</HI> (&s;o that the major part of the twelve were
pa&s;&s;ed by in this di&s;pen&s;ation) <HI>&amp; carrieth the up into an high mountain alone, &amp; his &s;hape
was changed before them, and his rayment did &s;hine, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Mark 9. 2. 3.</NOTE> Therefore that Reformation
which a&s;&s;erts the authority of Councels, Synods, A&s;&s;emblies, major parts of men, as
infallible, again&s;t the light, judgement, apprehen&s;ions, either of particular Churches,
or men, or that re&s;trains the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel from declaring unto men the
whole coun&s;el of God, and in &s;ome things the truth of the coun&s;el of God concerning
their &s;alvation, that condemns as hereticall, the works, writings; tenets, of &s;ober, lear|ned,
pious, and con&s;cientious men, onely becau&s;e an incon&s;iderable number of men,
(for &s;o is the number of 100, 200, 300, in compari&s;on of tho&s;e that are judicious, lear|ned,
and pious in a great and flouri&s;hing Kingdome) imagines (it may be, only dreams)
them to be incon&s;i&s;tent with the Scriptures; or that &s;hall &s;ubject the world (and in|deed
the glory of God him&s;elfe) to &s;uch hard and mi&s;erable terms, as that men &s;hall
not publickly reap or ta&s;t of the pretious fruit of the gifts, parts, knowledge, wi&s;dome,
learning, which God hath liberally be&s;towed upon many thou&s;ands in a nation, but on|ly
according to di&s;cretion, and at the allowance of a very &s;mall parcell of men; (and
tho&s;e it may be, not of the greate&s;t abilities neither, for di&s;cerning) when either the
Alcoran of the Turks, or the Mi&s;&s;all of the Papi&s;ts &s;hall appeare to be <HI>according to the
word of God,</HI> then may &s;uch a Reformation as this hope to partake of the &s;ame honour
al&s;o.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
